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Parlez Comme Une Vraie Stéphanoise

A few tips on how to speak like a real French Southerner.

"Chépa" - Probably your most used phrase during your year abroad. It's just a short way of saying "Je ne sais pas", as the french never say the "ne". A definite must know!! 

"Bahh" - I've noticed the french constantly saying this before saying "oui" or "non". It's basically our equivalent of ummm or ermmm... A noise to show they are thinking long and hard.

"En fait" - This translates as in fact, actually, as a matter of fact and the French like to use this in front of every statement they say. Word of warning, when using this be sure to pronounce the T at the end of fait... I know it's the complete opposite to what we have always been taught, I'm just as stumped as you. 

"Franchement" - This translates as honestly, frankly and again you will hear the French constantly using this word. I think it's to do with their constant need to debate and give their opinion on everything!!1

"C'est bon" -  Just say this whenever you don't want to be bothered by a shop assistant, you want to politely dismiss someone or maybe when you are a little annoyed. In english can translate as it's okay or as a typical teenager would say fine then. 

"Putain" - Turns out this word is thrown around by all adults, teachers and even pupils. It literally translates as whore, but the French use it whenever they are frustrated with the smallest thing. Anything can be putain... it was a shock to the system hearing the kids use this on a regular basis. 

"Chouette" - This translates as great and I've found is much more commonly used than genial in colloquial terms. Although don't get me wrong, everything is still "super" in french. 

"Stop!" - Yes, an english word I know. But the french love using this when talking to children or perhaps in an argument. I heard it constantly being used in the schools I worked in and also when walking in the streets from mothers' yelling at their kids. 

Hope these few words and phrases come in handy when in the South of France. I know I use them almost everyday and am glad that I was quick in finding the meanings and uses for them. 

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Le Temps A Passé Trop Vite

Wow. So I am officially leaving France in just over 2 weeks. I can’t believe how fast the time has actually went, and now I am spending my time preparing for the big move back home. As my dad brought me to France and helped me set up my apartment, I feel it’s only fitting to end the journey with him - and let’s not kid on.. I need the extra suitcase and pair of hands to clean! So mon papa arrives in a couple weeks to kick off the packing process but before that, I’m meeting my boyfriend in Paris next week to see the amazing JT in concert and spend some time in the so called ‘city of love’. This will be the first I’ve seen him in 6 weeks - actually the shortest we have been apart throughout the entire 7 months - but I am so so so excited and know I will be running towards him as soon as I spot him amongst the crowds in Gare du Nord. 

Now I know I’ve been awful at keeping you all updated with my time here and the never ending process of admin that goes on in France. I will try my best to upload some hints and tips for all those who will be embarking on their journey in the next few months. To think that was me only 7 months ago, is quite crazy! If you wish to know about anything in particular then feel free to drop me a message to ask! I completetly understand how daunting the experience can be but now I’ve been through it I feel I can help in many ways!

Bisous x

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Salon du Chocolat

Recently me and a few of the girls went to the Salon du Chocolat here in Saint Etienne. It was basically a festival for chocolate and omg it was amazing. The variety of chocolates and what you can do with this mouth watering sweet treat was simply jaw dropping. There were statues and displays all made from chocolate, a fashion show with the clothing made from chocolate and chefs presenting their abilities live to an audience. Safe to say I had one too many tasters!

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Tourist in my Own Country

At the beginning of March I had a two week break as the kids were on holiday for their ‘winter break’ - I know, strange. I decided quite early on I wanted to go home to spend time with my boyfriend and family, and a trip back to Scotland split the 4 months after Christmas just nicely. What made the trip even better was my beaut of a friend Jamie decided to come stay with me for a week to discover my country for herself. I first met Jamie back in September after we both arrived in Saint Etienne, and we have been inseparable ever since. The girl has quickly became a very close friend of mine and saying goodbye next week doesn’t even bare thinking about. Although all the upcoming trips to Canada to visit her are a nice perk :)

After she arrived we spent some time over a few vodkas catching up and organising the rest of our week. We had the most amazing time and showing her around my country made me realise how much I love my home and blessed to live in such a beautiful country. I’ll leave you with a few pictures of all the sights and hopefully inspire you to visit my home of Scotland.

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one of the simple pleasures living in france

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coming for you Paris!

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Breakthrough At Last

I thought I’d write a little about some of the troubles I’ve had dealing with the 3éme’s at one of the schools I work at. If anyone is about to be working in a Collège during your year abroad then this is a good heads up! Since the beginning of my placement, I’ve felt that the older kids really struggle to engage in what I’m teaching them and basically show no interest in anything I plan. Obviously it’s a little disheartening for me as I try my best to come up with fun lessons which are still teaching them something useful for their future. I guess some of the kids are just not interested in improving their English which doesn’t help me any, but for those who are, I want to leave knowing that I have provided them with positive skills and knowledge about a different culture. What doesn’t help is each teacher provides me with different numbers of students for different periods of time during an hour class. For example, one teacher likes for all her kids to see me in one hour so I end up with 7 kids for 10 minutes which makes teaching incredibly difficult! With another teacher, she gives me around 6 pupils per half hour and another half the class for a half hour. This at least gives me more time, but then preparing work for different sized groups is also challenging. I have tried everything, from talking about school clubs, british schools, the commonwealth games, jobs, scotland, describing personalities and they all seem to have the same response - a silent classroom. But then today at last I had breakthrough! As it is coming up to Valentine’s Day I decided to do a lesson about Dating. I knew it would be a sensitive subject to bring up with 15 year olds but why not give it a bash anyways! So basically I brought in some pictures of all different people and told the kids that they were to pretend to be that person and they were looking for a date for Valentine’s Day. They had to create a profile for themselves (think of a dating website), then come up with some features which they wanted their love interest to have (for ex. similar hobbies, interests, looks). After doing this, we had a speed dating experience, in which the kids had one minute to find out everything they could about the other person, we rotated and then in the end they were to choose who they thought was their perfect match. Now I know it sounds silly, but this is the biggest success I’ve had to date! The kids were coming up with so many ideas, laughing, joking and were completely willing to participate in the entire lesson. Yay! So think I’ve came to the conclusion, that the kids just want you to be real with them. Talk about real life things, relate to what they’re going through but make it fun. Show that you understand them and that you know what it’s like to be a teenager, cos at the end of they day we still are pretty much (well I feel like one haha)! Hope this helps for any future assistants and if you want the lesson plan then just get in touch :)

Bisous x

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Cannot wait to go to London with my amazing mum at the end of May! 

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Distance sometimes let's you know who's worth keeping and who's worth letting go.

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Fête des Lumières

Apologies for the serious lack of posts. I thought I would be better at keeping you all up to date with everything I have been doing during my year abroad, but from now on I promise to make more of an effort! :) So going back to December, I went to the famous festival of lights in Lyon! Me and the rest of the assistants decided to go on the Saturday night as a few of us worked Fridays. Oh man. I've never seen a city soooo busy, supposedly there was around 4 million people wandering the streets that night to view le spectacle. It was extremely claustrophobic, especially when the police decided to stop everyone from moving in to the most popular show, causing the whole street to come to a stand still for around 20 minutes. Anyways, we eventually made our way round the city and seen some of the most wonderful sights I've ever seen. So glad we went to the festival as it's probably something I'll never see again, even if it was mobbed! Here's a few pictures I took from the night, and if anyone is heading to France for their year abroad in the future then I highly recommend taking the time to visit Lyon for the fête :)