IX13 - Top 100 International Exchange and Experience Blogs 2013

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French and Russian undergraduate student, trying my hand at the real world.

Friday 15 March 2013

Friday musings

Hello chaps,

I just wanted to share my week with you as goodness knows, it's been an interesting one.

A friend of mine has come up with the "five week" concept, which is that five weeks into term, you hit a low point and start to hate things. This was true in Piter and it has proven itself here. Living abroad is a challenging one to deal with as your daily life is completely different - even the things you used to do at home, like simply buying a pint of milk, become foreign and alien. There is only so much that anyone can take of anything, and this week, France was not in my good books.

I did something I hate doing this week. I took two days off and hid myself from the world as I found myself grievously unable to cope with "life" due to major homesickness and stress. I never adopt "hermit mode" except in moments of feeling unutterably horrible. I am going to make no bones about this one, and if any future employer reads this, I am proving I am human and I have my weaknesses. My strengths and achievements are shown on my cv, but what is important is how such things are achieved and the moments of being at the absolute bottom that are not. Everyone has a point when they are run down into the ground, it is how you pick yourself up from it that matters.

Me? I chose coffee.
I chose coffee and I chose action.
I left my flat.
I made resolutions to be proactive.
I telephoned my parents who told me to get a grip.

As a result, I went for coffee with a French person from my International Relations class, who taught me French idioms and that the French hate the English for a number of reasons - but mainly because we used to be Best Buds - then sold ourselves out to the Americans. Controversial.

I've started voluntarily teaching English to my Italian friend - by using our shared language of French to facilitate things. It is this kind of experience which really makes me value my degree for its benefits to me as a person - I would be hopelessly incapacitated without it in these situations. I think I have also found my vocation for at least some small part of my Twenties - teaching English as a Foreign Language to adults. I previously taught it occasionally to my Greek-Cypriot housemate in my first year of university and loved it, so it was something I wanted to do out here with anyone who wanted to improve their English. As patronising and colonialist as that sounds, English these days is becoming a requirement for anyone to get a job in Europe, so, as it is my mother tongue, I feel relatively well-equipped to help people.

Pet hate of the week: French translation teacher telling us our English was wrong. Hang on a minute.

So this week has been mixed, but I feel better for feeling terrible then picking myself up. There is nothing better than a good action plan and a cup of tea (or six). This year abroad is proving more educational and character building than I ever thought possible, and I will remember it in many years to come.

Also, I have been wearing my Russian Orthodox scarf every day this week. Not a single person has commented on it, so I am going to tell you guys, my dear readers about this. I love it. It is of a unique design, it is pure wool and I had wanted one since I started studying Russian History at A Level. It is one of my most sentimentally valuable possessions and wearing it makes me feel worldly wise and reminds me of the Russian people who have been so generous to me in my visits out there. My scarf collection is ever growing, but my Russian orthodox scarf will always be one of my most treasured possessions and indeed, more simply, one of my favourite scarves!

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