The Masterton of France

Let me first start by saying "Wow!" and giving myself a huuuuge pat of the back for sticking to this 'new post every few days' thing, because it's really working out for me! Hm, je crois que je dois reflechir...

Ok, so this time it's not all due to me coming down with a severe case of the lazy bones (although let's be honest, that's a huge part of it, blogging is time con-su-ming and thought re-qui-ring) but I'll admit there have been some other contributing factors to this equation as well, like the rather major issue of having no wifi, of course.

The past two weeks have been the holidays here in France. Spring break I guess you'd call it, although that's an extremely americanised term I can't imagine myself ever seriously using, and while it kills me to say it, the recent weather really doesn't seem to fit with the word 'Spring' in any case. I feel I talk about weather a lot on this blog, which I suppose might only interest very few and also may be ever so slightly confusing for others, as the sky seems to be changing its mind every few minutes... Although it really is a huge thing for me because the cold really does limit what I can do with my spare time. However, I'm pretty sure I'm boring even myself with the constant banter about clouds and rain, so all I'm going to say now is that le temps is very temperamental at this point in time, I kid you not. It's sunny and 25 degrees one minute, and then there's a full on storm, complete with thunder and lightning, and then an hour later the sun decides to steal the show again. In other words, it's a bit of a nightmare when getting dressed in the morning because you have no idea what tricks the weather man (again, not the one on la télé) has up his sleeve... Actually, there's a French proverb my host mum taught me which is "En avril ne te découvre pas d’un fil, en mai fais ce qu’il te plaît." The rough translation for this is "In April, don't remove a thread of your clothing, but in May, do as you please." which is, of course, no where near as romantic or wise sounding as its French twin right there (sorry, that would be my translating skills) but I must admit, whoever came up with this knows their France, because you never know when you might need that jacket you decided to leave at home...

Alors, where was I before I went against my word and had a total rant about the weather? Right, a little place I like to call La Roche-sur-Foron (actually everyone calls it that, probably because that's the town's actual name...) or more appropriately and my personal favourite, the-slightly-prettier-definitely-more-historic-but-sort-of-similar-in-a-way, Masterton of France.

So, now that I've got your attention, I'll now let you know that this was my home for the whole first week of the holidays and the best word I can think of to describe it would be interesting. That's a both genuinely fascinating, and somewhat strange, type of 'interesting' too, and here are my reasons behind this...

While La Roche-sur-Foron is a very small town (population of 11,000), I was staying in an even smaller village just outside of it, called Reigner-Esery (population of 6,900), with a couple in their 60s. Firstly, I'd just like to say that this couple, Zou-Zou and Lou-Lou, are extremely lovely people and I truly appreciate their hospitality and generosity in letting me stay, but I think you can all see where this is heading... Whenever I told a friend my plans for the holidays, I'd always get the same wide eyed expression, the initial shock I guess, followed by a bit of a pitiful smile, and often ending in a small laugh. At first I was confused, and then I discovered the reputation of this very small town, which is just that I suppose, a very small town, and people were just confused as I was that an exchange student was being sent there to discover its wonders. 

I had high hopes however, because I was assured that I would have plenty to do as the woman, Zou-Zou, that I was staying with loves art and creative projects, enjoys a good talk, and has had many exchange students before. All in all, this sounded promising, and I thought it might get my hands dirty with paint or food or something... alas, this was not to be the case. 

It's true, I'll admit, Zou-Zou does like her art, but I suppose she prefers to do it alone, as I was often left to do my own thing while she traipsed down into her little basement-come-studio to get creative. I suppose this is as good of a time than ever to mention the fact that this couple didn't have a tv, or wifi, much to my dismay, and to make matters worse, it rained practically the whole time I was there, give or take 1 or 2 days. 

Pretty much, this means I found myself devouring some books in English she had from another Kiwi who had stayed with her (I thank you silently, stranger, for your slightly above average taste in literature) and writing my own book, which I really shouldn't complain about, except that by the third day I was a bit sick of having not much else to do. 

We did go on occasional outings of course, a brief and swift march around 'town' (I think there was one clothes shop, not worth mentioning, but more importantly lots of pretty buildings), a visit to her son's house bus (felt very stealthy as I successfully snapped some sneaky photos), a herky-jerky drive up a mountain to see the view of Geneva (this was a warm day thankfully, and the view was amazing) and finally a saunter around an organic farm open-day (absolutely freezing unfortunately, but I did pat two adorable puppies).

I also managed to take some pretty flattering photos of the place, so here are an elite few, handpicked for your viewing delight...

 

So I suppose that concluded the week. In all its interestingness, both good and not so good, I'm sure it's a trip I'll remember for a long time, even if mostly from the comedic aspect of it all. If anything, it really did wonders with making me appreciate the home I have here in Annecy even more than I already do, so I suppose it was all worth it in the end. Anyway, now I'll know that if there's a next time, I can either politely decline a week-long stay in exchange for a weekend, perhaps, or at the very least remember to buy a sufficient amount of 3G for my phone, instead of doing the pathetic little 'turn off, turn on' thing I had going on, in order to ration it... Oh what I do for my people in little old New Zealand. 

Anyway, I spent the next week back in Annecy which was a lovely little breath of fresh air. I even stayed the night with my English friend Lola, and met her family who are both hilarious and lovely, not to mention speak a language I can fully understand! It was amazing to sit at the dinner table and understand everything, and even make a few jokes here and there, an art I haven't exactly been able to master in le francais.  

I started back at school on Monday, and not a lot has changed for me. I'm still finding school really difficult, although I'm definitely understanding French a lot more (the language, not the subject, god forbid I actually understood la reine) and am finding it easier to talk, although I'm still pretty shy, unfortunately. 

On a much brighter note, tomorrow, bright and early at 5:30am to be exact, my host parents and another couple are heading to... Italy! I don't think I've ever actually mentioned this on the blog before, but I can barely contain my excitement! 4 days and 3 nights of absolute bliss, eating far too much pasta carbornara and a hell of a lot of walking... I can't wait!

However, more about that later, right now I should probably head to sleep considering I have to wake up in just under 6 hours... I feel like I haven't written anything very interesting, but I really wanted to make a post before Italy, otherwise all of this would become irrelevant (can you really compare les cinq terres and la roche-sur-foron?) I also fear that my quality of writing is steadily decreasing, but unfortunately it is what it is, and it's also almost midnight so I can't be too hard on myself...

For now, my bed awaits... Ciao! 

Yours truly,

me, Eloise x

rising temperatures and rising moods

I'm so confused.

In France, it appears to me as if the weather man (and by this I mean the man in charge of choosing each day's weather, not the one that tells us all about it on TV) had forgotten it was Spring for a good few weeks, and then upon realising his mistake, sent a sudden wave of sun and warmth, or should I say heat, upon us all.

I'm not even exaggerating when I say it went from 11 degrees celsius one day, to a scorching (for this little kiwi, anyway) 26 degrees the next, and honestly I couldn't be happier to see the sun! I've come to realise now just how bad little old New Zealand has it weather wise most of the time, except for the sudden heat wave that happened only after I left the country (we just won't mention this), because Spring here, as late is it is, is already hotter than most summer days I'm used to in Wellington.

The other great thing is that, not only is it a lot hotter here, it's also a lot safer, and there's actually no need to wear sun block, you just don't burn. It's crazy, but it makes enjoying the weather that much easier.

Spring really has sprung in a matter of days. Last week at school I was still wearing a scarf, jacket and boots, and then all of a sudden yesterday I was able to wear a dress and, lo and behold, bare legs! Also, looking at the scenery around town, there's just no comparison to the past month. People are riding bikes in t-shirts, baguettes sticking out of their front baskets (I'm not just putting a cliché here for the sake of it, I swear this is something I truly saw) and literally out of no where, hundreds of beautiful pink cherry blossoms have sprouted, along with daffodils, daisies and various other belles fleurs, joined with the welcomed song of happy birds.

It's only now that I realise how quiet and bare winter really was, after the novelty of snow had worn off slightly. As much as I enjoyed it, I'm welcoming the new season warmth with open (and bare) arms and really looking forward to seeing a whole new side of Annecy, through sunglasses, might I add.

Staying true to my word, I think it's fair to say that recently I have rediscovered a bit of my motivation and the change in weather may have a part to play in my change in spirit. I knew it was hiding deep down there somewhere! Straight after the bell marked the end of school last Wednesday at noon, I allowed my feet to lead me in the direction of the nearest bookshop where I bought a pack of three (quite overpriced, but we'll dismiss that small detail) Moleskin journals and some extra writing paper (for letters and such, squared maths paper is getting old), then ventured forth to the little cafe I told you all about. I ate a delicious and lunch of quiche lorraine accompanied in true French style by salad and bread, along with a peach syrup, which cost me a very reasonable 4.50€. It was almost empty, which just a few other customers (regulars I guessed, since they were on first name terms with the two middle aged male owners, who I could only guess by observing, were gay) so I didn't feel very too diffident when I got out one of my empty books and started writing.

I'm liking my restarted novel a lot more than the last, and I've really worked at ironing out the creases in the plot line I've always ignored, mostly during lessons in a sort of sneaky manner, and I've even developed the story a bit so that's there's more potential for a sequel. I feel stupid saying that since the first part is currently 3,090 words long (roughly 5 and a half pages) but I guess it just goes to show the really quite hopeful and excited state I'm in, thinking about it at the moment. It's partially the reason why I haven't posted on here for a while, but for once, I'm not too guilty to say it!

Today was another one of those strange school days that seem to occur quite frequently in France where my class only had 2 hours of lessons, one from 10-11am, then the last at 3-4pm, both of which I found myself writing in, so no complaining there.

Since it was such a hot day again, there have been 4 in a row now, my friends had decided to bike to school, and then take a picnic to the lakeside during our ridiculously long, but appreciated, break. I was invited to join, which I accepted happily as I had no other plans.

First stop was at the supermarket, where we bought salad (tabouli and carrot), fresh baguettes, ham, cheese, strawberries, a delicious kind of buttery cake (healthy, I know) called quatre-quart breton, and some refreshments (including grapefruit rosé, what else?). We then proceeded to stuff everything, after paying for it of course, into all 6 of our bags which, for some reason, was a lot harder than we had first anticipated.

Because I hadn't been told of the plans, I had come to school bike-less, which posed a bit of a problem considering there were 6 of us and weirdly enough, only 4 bikes. In true spirit of my crazy friends here, it was decided that 2 of us would ride on the back of 2 other people's bikes, and let me tell you now, it really was a truly painful, yet hilarious experience. As I sit here writing this, I'm feeling the repercussion of that moment of hilarity on my inner thighs... Let's just say that those wire rack things that you attach saddle bags to are not made for bony bums and bumpy rides! No complaining though, I guess, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for the people who kindly drove me!

The afternoon was spent eating, sunbathing, listening to music, taking photos, talking (not so much me), writing and making daisy chains (only me). Although I couldn't join in on a lot of the conversation, still, I know, I really enjoyed the company of everyone and the sun against my bare skin was definitely an invigorating feeling.

Now, because my blog has been lacking visuals, and also since I have to wake up for school in only 8 hours, I've put together some photos from the past week for your viewing pleasure to finish this post.

I certainly don't hope that me bragging about the French sun to everyone is New Zealand is going to give it stage fright... While it's true that le temps in Annecy really is rather temperamental, I can't bare the thought of going back to wearing a coat any time soon!

I suppose that's all, I'll be back soon...

Yours truly,
me, Eloise x

words: une de mes raisons d'être

Firstly, 101 apologies, because I'm well aware I haven't posted anything on here in almost 2 weeks and I honestly feel truly guilty about it. The only reason this has happened, of course, being that I've been dreadfully lazy and unmotivated and there's really no excuse for it. I've seriously got to sort my priorities out, starting from now.

Unfortunately, the weather here in Annecy is doing nothing to improve my 0.01 level of motivation à ce moment as, even though it's officially been Spring for over 2 weeks, it's grey, wet and cold. Not unlike a typical day in Wellington, might I add, however irked I am that of all the reminders I could be given of home, this is what I get!  Come on sun, I need your warming, uplifting rays of joy! I also want to be able to wear my new leather jacket without turning into an icicle, thankyouverymuch. 

It's really quite strange how when I look back at each day in retrospect when I'm cuddled up in bed, and while it appears to have gone pretty fast, when I think back to the few amazing days before I left New Zealand, it seems like a lifetime ago! I think it's probably got something to do with the fact that from the moment I stepped foot on that very first plane to Auckland, my whole life changed entirely. Cheesy and a cliché, I know, but it's honestly such a truthful statement when you think about it. In fact, I only just realised the other day that I've never been so far from my home, friends or family for this long in my whole life, which is an incredibly strange thing to think about, not to mention a very unfamiliar situation to have to deal with. I think this is probably the reason that while my time here is whooshing by reasonably fast, New Zealand and my life in it, seems like a whole world away.

Surprisingly I don't have a lot to tell you from the past 13 days... Life has sort of gone on as usual, if I'm perfectly honest. School's been quite long and tiring (although no more visits from le Roi, much to my pleasure), the sun is refusing to shine and I've done minimal shopping (although this is probably a good thing - Dad be proud!) Not everything is completely miserable though, as I feel I'm making it out to be. Mon dieu, I don't want you thinking that! Because although I'm reasonably homesick and some days are pretty challenging, I won't lie, I do love France. 

I've mentioned already that the reason for my absence here has been total and utter lack of motivation, a character fault on my behalf that isn't exactly a new addition to my character, but I've realised that the more I allow things to stay this way, the more time I'm going to waste by being completely unproductive. That's just not a very good way of life, now, is it? 

You see, here's the thing, sometimes I'm too soft on myself, because I think "Oh, just relax Eloise, you've been thinking hard all day, you're so tired, you need a break." and while this is partially true, the more I believe this, the worse it becomes and I get absolutely nothing, zilch, rien done! 

Most of you may have figured by now that I enjoy writing, rather immensely, in fact. I like to think of myself as someone with various passions, and while it's true I enjoy a good  day of shopping or a cupcake baking session as much as the next person, nothing compares with attempting to move my fingers to match the speed of which sentences are forming in my mind. It's a real blast I tell you. I can also honestly say that I truly feel a sense of pride when I look back on things I've written, even if they're not my best work. 

The truth is, I'm so often and easily inspired to write by the things and people around me, but it's a rare occasion that this is then converted into motivation and finally words, because I allow distractions to overcome any form of excitement to start something, and then by the time my mind returns to the thought of getting down to business (hehe), the moment has passed. It's sad, because practically every moment of every day I'm forming sentences in my head, thinking of things to write, but they rarely escape onto paper, and are instead discarded and thrown onto a dejected pile in my mind, never to see the light of day or meet the eyes of potential readers. 

Anyway, I guess the whole point of this rant is to say that yesterday I reread a few chapters of a novel I started back in 2010, and as much as I wholeheartedly hated it and excusing the fact that I mentally picked it to absolute smithereens, it really did wonders with refuelling the author within me. I've decided to restart the novel, because the main idea isn't bad (I literally had every part of the plot down to the smallest details figured out, which makes things easier for me now, thanks 15 year old me), and I think it might have a bit of potential now that I realise it's not ok to use the words 'afro ninja' to describe a character's hair, or that 'could of' is absolutely, definitely, one of the worst grammatical errors ever to have been uttered (regrettably by me, at least 4 times) and not accepted in any size, shape or form. 

To assure I make a start somewhere (and let's be honest, this is NOT going to happen with endless diversions on the internet) tomorrow I plan to buy myself a notebook, walk to Old Annecy, eat lunch at a newly discovered, completely idyllic French cafe, and while away the afternoon with a good spot of writing. The ideas are literally bursting from my head and I absolutely can't wait.

If that doesn't sound perfect, I don't know what does. 

That's all for now, I promise I won't keep you waiting this long for an update again! 

Wish me luck with my new strategy! I wonder how long it will last...

Yours truly, 

me, Eloise x

let me introduce you to 'le roi'

After the immense amount of optimism and positivity I've had on here in recent days, I'm afraid to announce I come bearing a miserable mood.

To be honest, that was a bit melodramatic. The thing is, after having a good old 'bitch' and 'rant' if you like, in French with Sylvie (my host mum) about the incident that has spurred my sudden annoyance, I'm feeling slightly more hopeful now, but I'm still going to complain to all of you, if you don't mind. What's that? You love it when I whine? In that case, full steam ahead...

Yesterday I turned up at school after a somewhat dreary, yet relaxing, three days in bed. My pounding headache was gone, I had managed to keep my eyes open for a full 2 hours already and I was quite happy to see my friends (although I can't really say the same about them... I guess, understandably, when life goes on when Eloise is bedridden) However, my mood completely and suddenly took a turn for the worst when one of them announced that they had to take me to the principal for 'a talk'...

A talk...

with the principal...

in French. 

As if this wasn't intimidating enough, you should know now that le proviseur is one of the most terrifying people I've met in my life. Who knows, maybe it's just the fact that he's a French principal, but the way he leads you to believe he's a young, lenient and hip kind of guy, and then shoots you down faster than you can utter a hopeful"Salut", well that's just damn deceptive to say the least.

 Let me tell you this, my friends, I went in there nervous, yes, but also a little bit relieved, because I thought that after a full 2 months of being here, I was finally going to be asked how I was getting along. During the half an hour I was made to wait for him to rear his ugly head, I was devising little answers in my own head to his imaginary questions, such as "Are you fitting in well with others in your class?" or "How are you finding the language barrier?" heck, I was even ready to talk about how much I was missing everyone in New Zealand, if things got that far.

 I must admit, I was feeling a little bit excited and proud to be able to show him my new found conversational skills considering that on my first day at Berthollet, when he introduced himself, all I could do was stare blankly back, because I hadn't understood a thing. All in all, I have to say, my very first impression of him is still the one I hold today (although it's gotten considerably worse) as in this moment, he thought it appropriate to raise his eyebrows in outrage at Sylvie and express superiorly "Bah, elle comprends rien!" "Ah, she doesn't understand a thing!" 

Yesterday was no exception. I walked into his office and without even greeting me, the delightful man sent another one of his scathing phrases my way, claiming "Alors, tu comprends le Français, mais tu fais rien en classe?" "So, you understand French, but you do nothing in class?"

Wow, hello Monsieur.You've-Only-Met-Me-Twice-Yet-Somehow-Know-Everything-About-Me...

First of all, since when have I understood French? That has got to be the broadest generalisation I've heard in a long, long time. Just because I am able to pick certain words out and guess what the rest of the phrase is does not mean I understand French. I wish what it was true, I honestly do, but in actual fact, I've got a long way to go before I can agree with this statement. One does not just come to France for 2 months and magically understand French, c'est pas possible, je te jure.

Secondly, while it's true I don't do work like the other students in class (this would require me to understand French and, well, quite frankly see above) I certainly don't do 'nothing'. He completely doesn't understand how extremely difficult it is to sit through lessons and try to learn stuff I've never even heard of in my life, in another language... Listening to French every single second of every day is work in itself I tell you, even if it doesn't show with 2/20 averages on paper.

To be honest, standing there in that little office, with this hard-hearted French man (did I mention he's only about 30, which makes his self-acclaimed supremacy even worse... I mean, hellooo, you were practically a student here yesterday!) in front of me, spitting out one discouraging point after another, made me feel completely and utterly small.

I tried to explain in the best French I could muster how hard I'm finding lessons and how in my opinion, for the first 3 months at the very least, I'm at school primarily to listen and learn the language, which obviously, considering I was actually talking to him and not having another 'possum in the headlights' incident, it was making some sort of difference.

He actually had the nerve to tell me that he didn't think I had made any progress with my French. Seriously? You've met me one other time, and I literally said nothing but "Bonjour" and "Au revoir" and yet you think you can come to that sort of conclusion? Blimmin' heck, this man needs to sort out his priorities!

He then went to tell me that since he was "kind enough to accept me into the school in the first place" (oh wow, talk about making me feel welcome), he expects me to do as much work as all his other students, which coincidentally means learning algebra and the rules behind social welfare... Not only have these people been learning subjects like maths and economics their whole lives, they also have the advantage of, you know, being French, and somehow, when you put me into this situation, I think that this is a slightly more than unrealistic expectation. Don't you agree?

By this point, I was seriously hoping for the ground to open up, swallow, and then deposit me anywhere (even Porirua) in New Zealand where I could just take a moment to breathe and relax. I was on the absolute brink of tears, but because I had already stood my ground pretty well in front of my opponent, I didn't want my fair arguments to go to waste by letting my facade down completely.

I walked out of his office feeling like the slightest look from anyone would send me over the rails... At this point, I pretty much had two options, 1. go and have a cry somewhere in the hopes of feeling a bit better, or 2. suck it up and go to French class which I was already over 30 minutes late for. I knew very well what I wanted to do, but unfortunately I also knew that skipping class wasn't going to put me on the principal's good books, so I did the thing I was really, really dreading, and quite frankly, in the end, the rest of my day wasn't so bad.

Naturally, Sylvie and Michel, as well as Jacqueline and Bernard, think that le proviseur is a complete a-hole (to be blunt). I've definitely had an insight into the firey nature of French people when they're discussing something they're passionate about and it's nice to know that I'm not the only one who thinks this dude is being entirely irrational. I'm here to learn French after all, not learn how to find the square root of pie (I know I sound absolutely pretentious here, but that's my lack of maths knowledge for you)...

After talking with Sylvie, we've both agreed that labelling my new best friend 'le roi' is a fair judgement, which is actually really funny, because all in all, he shares quite a few qualities with my French teacher, aka la reine, and I can't help but think they seem to be working as a team in all of this. After all, it really does strike me as odd that this little meeting between me and the principal only came about the day after the teachers got together to talk about their students, where I'm told Mme. Fremond had less than favourable things to say about me... a little suspicious, non? 

Anyway, all of this brings me to the conclusion that le roi and la reine are having a secret romance and are planning to take over the world one lumpy jersey and bushy hair at a time.

That is all from me, I feel I've successfully done my daily dose of complaining! Over and out.

Yours truly,
me, Eloise x

do i live up to Claude François' Eloise?

Hello my lovelies, this is just a really short post in the hopes of easing my guilt a bit and to explain my absence for the past few days... Here's the truth, I've been busy being as sick as a dog and haven't had the mental ability for anything but reading, sleeping and watching Gossip Girl.

I haven't left the house since Saturday night and I'm going a bit stir crazy. Luckily the weather has been grey, grey, grey so I haven't felt the need to be guiltier than I already am for being such a bed sausage for over 48 hours...

That is literally all I'm going to write, how strange of me to use so little words and feel fine about it.

For now, here's something to help you pass the time since I haven't taken up the usual 10 or so minutes I usually am able to do.

A little blast from the past and a reminder of me all at the same time...

The Barry Ryan version, in English, is also available, but seeing I am in France and the backing dancers are much more hilarious than the pouty, spider-eyed 'Eloise' in the other version, I thought this one was the obvious choice.

I'll back back, hopefully with more to say, tomorrow, and that's a promise!

Yours truly,
me, Eloise x

spring has sprung, and with it, my appetite for brighter clothes

Fridays always have the potential to be rather pleasant days, as they're the end of the week and, in my books, the official start of the weekend (although not so much for me anymore, with school on Saturday mornings...) and much to my delight, today was no exception.

I awoke at the youthful hour of 6:30 to see a warm shaft of sunlight peeking through the crack in my shutters, and to hear the birds, awake as anything, singing a lovely little morning tune right outside my window. Seeing that for the past two months I have been greeted with a scene completely opposite to this (darkness, silence, snow) I'm regarding this as the official start of Spring!

Considering I only got about 3 hours of sleep last night (no, I wasn't being a naughty little night owl, for some reason my brain just wouldn't allow my body to drift off...) I wasn't too lethargic for the necessary early start, which I'll admit I usually consider god-awful, and started my day off nicely with a bowl of coffee (don't worry, not real coffee, something that I'm told is better for you, with breakfast cereals mixed in and stuff...) a pain au chocolat, and half a beautiful, ruby coloured grapefruit. Delicious.

School wasn't much of a drag as my second class was cancelled today and I only had to endure 2 hours of volley ball (when I say endure, I don't mean it in a bad way as, in actual fact, it wasn't all that bad, unlike my hand-eye coordination skills...) and then I had the rest of the day to myself. Nothing pleases me more than free time and sun shine in France!

Here's a list of what I busied myself doing, because I have a habit of writing things with too much description, and quite frankly my dears, I like lists.

1. WENT shopping. The only thing to do when the sun comes out is to buy clothes to suit the new, and, do I even have to say it, much welcomed, warmer temperature... Wouldn't you agree? Yeah, that's what I thought. No one can help a touch of shopping every now and then, can they?

Jersey - H&M, jeans - Naf Nad, scarf - GDM,  nail-polish - Sephora

Finally succumbed to the neon trend... 

2. MET up with my host mum's, best friend's, son (phew, what a mouthful) where I took on the role of an English tutor for an hour. When I say this, all I really did was talk and listen to a perfectly friendly French boy speak, in English, on a pier au bord du lac d'Annecy while simultaneously basking in beautiful sunlight. No complaints there, it was nice to have a break from French and see someone else in my position for once!

Are we actually in Wellington?

A feathery friend!

3. ATE a delicious ham and raclette (a special melted cheese specific to the Haute-Savoie department of France) panini for lunch, on a park bench in the sun.

4. TRIED to buy the white converses I've been coveting for bloody weeks now from a shoe shop that was closing down, therefore having a massive sale, but they had run out... Upon hearing this, Michel, my host dad, proceeded to drive me to every shoe shop he knew, but didn't quite understand that I wasn't desperate for just any shoes, I was desperate for these shoes, but we had a nice time anyway. At one point, we returned to the car where he handed me the keys and said "Ouvrir!" (open), so I put the key in the keyhole and attempted to obey his command, however, it wasn't quite working as expected and it was only when I looked up to see him in complete hysterics that I realised that it wasn't our car at all, but in fact a complete stranger's... Oh how he loves to make a fool of me! I swear, that man never puts an end to his antics! In the end, however, I found the right car, returned home, and bought my beloved all stars online.

Don't blame me, these cars are all over France!

All in all, not bad for a day's work, if you ask me... not bad at all.

But for now, I'm off. I may not have been very tired this morning after such lack of sleep, but I sure started feeling it around 5 o'clock! 5 hours later, here I am... I never learn, do I? 

Bonne nuit, or rather if you're in New Zealand, bon matin... 

Yours truly, 

me, Eloise x

here I am, changing my mind again

So I know I said yesterday that I would write in every second day, but I have reason to give you all a quick post, because I'm feeling really quite optimistic at the time being.

Recently I've noticed a huge improvement in my French comprehension and it's truly a reassuring thing. I won't lie, I was having fleeting moments of self-doubt, where I would spend a while with the dreadful thought that I would never learn French as a heavy lump refusing to leave the back of my mind. I suppose it didn't help that people around me were also expressing skepticism (I won't name any names here just in case) and that the possibility of me taking night time French lessons had come up in conversation, something that to me felt like more of a bad idea than a good one, considering how exhausting I usually am in the evenings after being surrounded by French all day as it is.

However, I'm coming out of my shell more and more each day and things at school with my friends are really good right now, meaning I'm finding it a lot less of a daunting thought speaking with people, and as a result of this, I'm starting to feel less pathetic and more like myself, an extremely welcome adjustment!

Much to my delight, a few of my classes were cancelled this morning (unlike New Zealand, reliever teachers don't exist here in France, so no teacher = no class) and all of this means I got to start school at 3pm, something that's completely unheard of back home! I slept in until 12 which I'd usually consider a good thing, but I was actually rather annoyed with myself because I had planned to skype Sam (I can't even remember when we last did this!) but blew all chances of that, unfortunately. I suppose I needed the sleep though, however much I love having a proper conversation with someone every now and then.

Since it's still reasonably early and I've got a bit of time to spare before heading to bed, I'm going take this moment to show you a few photos from recently, since my blog is lacking visual components, I feel.

Making the most of a sunny day two weeks ago and taking a break from French!

What I wore on my 17th birthday... next day Sylvie, my host mum, comes home with the same coat!

Funny trees in the courtyard at my school. Is it just me or do these also remind you of naked whomping willows?

A museum in Saint Etienne, where I went with my class on a school trip last Friday. 

Bernard (a friend of my host parents) being a joker

The view from a 33 meter high keep at a 15th century century Chateau I visited yesterday

And the courtyard... the table and chairs remind me of the ones in my garden back home.

A letter from Sam that finally arrived today, only a month after he sent it!

I know it hasn't been a particularly interesting or funny post, but I really just had the need to tell you about my recent status, because I think that I often come off as annoyed, unhappy or just a bit of a downright complainer in what I write on this blog, and it's not true! Well, most of the time... put me in front of la reine in French class and I might regret writing that.

Anyway, I start school at the normal time tomorrow, and despite having only 2 hours of volleyball, I should probably go to sleep now so I can be well en forme demain...

Yours truly,
me, Eloise x

P.s. It was the first day of Spring yesterday, but regardless of the date, the weather hasn't really changed... still cold enough for scarfs and big coats... here's hoping it warms up soon!