Holidays

The Christmas holidays were fantastic. Being away from home really does make you appreciate all the little things that you don't get when you're away - family, friends, decent cheese, etc. When I arrived at the airport not having had tea I was pleased to discover my parents were happy to take me to the chippy on the way back. Perfect. So my first night back in the UK consisted of fish and chips - NOT wrapped in newspaper, as one of the teachers insisted on telling the pupils. I don't understand why they hire us as spokespeople for our countries' cultures and then shout down half of what we say based on their own experiences which they had twenty years ago. But my chips weren't wrapped in newspaper.

Christmas itself was great, and returning to France was the last thing I wanted to do. Everyone told me that this was something I'd never want to come home from, but after my first stint, I was perfectly happy to say goodbye to my life in France and go back to uni for the second term. That's not to say I'm the least bit unhappy with my experience, I've had a great time.

Since being back, I've had my new timetable. I've managed to juggle the classes around so that I work 5 hours on Mondays and Fridays, and, depending on the week, a few on Tuesdays or Thursdays. This means not only do I have weekends, but I also have two mid-week days off every other week, so I can think about doing some visiting. I'm warning you all now.

To be continued later...