Sonntag

Above - The view over Herrnhut with Poland in the distance.

Above - the view over Herrnhut and another town with the Czech Republic in the distance.

Above - a typical building in Herrnhut.

Above - a statue of Zizendorf in Herrnhut - he was a very important man in the town's history.

Above - the Jesus Haus where I'm living and working in Herrnhut.

I got up this morning at about 8h and had breakfast with Jenny and Jannik. I then went to the church service with them and Heidi and Renée and a lot of other people too. It was really interesting. Obviously it was all in German but because it’s so international here there’s an English translation. There was a lot of singing and the sermon was excellently delivered, it was funny and everyone was so relaxed and friendly. Afterwards there was coffee and cake which, apparently, happens once a month. That lasted until about midday and then I helped Heidi prepare lunch. We were going to eat outside. There were 9 of us – Heidi and her two flat mates, Jannik and Jenny, Tanya who is Ukrainian and a few other people too. We had potatoes, green beans, broccoli and sausages, except I had an egg instead of the sausages. Afterwards Tanya washed and I dried. And now, it’s the afternoon and I’m waiting to go around Herrnhut with Jenny and Jannik.

We left at 16h and went with a lady who was a complete expert on the area around Herrnhut. Jenny translated it all into English for me. We went up to a tower with a view over the area. You could see the Czech Republic and Poland in the distance because we are so close to the border. We walked around and learnt about the area and then we had a tour of the Jesus Haus where I’m staying which included learning about the plans for its future. Afterwards me and Heidi talked about the teaching which begins tomorrow and then everyone went to watch the football – the Euro 2008 Final between Germany and Spain. As I was in Germany I felt I should be supporting Germany but to be honest I really wanted Spain to win and they did! Yay! After the match I came back and went to bed.

From Gatwick to Dresden

Above - the kitchen.
Above - the kitchen - complete with oven!! Luxurious!!

Above - my room in the Jesus Haus.

Above - my room in the Jesus Haus.

Above - the view out of my window.

Above - the view out of the window.

Above - the kitchen.

I left Amanda’s at 8h45 on Saturday morning. I took a train from Hove to Brighton and then changed to go to Gatwick Airport. When I got the airport I took the transfer train from the south terminal to the north terminal. I then checked in. My case weighed in at 14.7kg – considerably light by comparison to what it had weighed the last time I’d been at Gatwick! I went through the hand luggage scanning and had to remove my shoes. By this time it was about 11h. The flight was due to take off at 12h10. I went to see whether a gate had been displayed yet but what it actually said was ‘delayed until 13h30’. Grand. I had plenty of time to become acquainted with Gatwick Airport! Thankfully there are quite a few shops. I bought a newspaper and a hot chocolate and the time soon passed. Eventually a gate was displayed and we were allowed to go through to the departure lounge. By the time we took off it was 14h. Apparently the delay had been due to the flight previously being late and the flight before that also being late. Anyway I arrived in Dresden and Heidi, the girl I’m going to work for, was there to meet me. She was parked outside and was with Renée, her flat mate and Jenny and Jannik – both German, who had been living in England and would be doing the food for the students coming to study on the Intensive English Course. We drove back to Herrnhut which took about an hour. By the time we arrived it was about 18h. Heidi showed me around and took me to my room. It’s quite a big room which is bright and it’s so quiet. She’d put a welcome note on the bed and a bowl of fruit and some chocolate too! And then there’s a kitchen which I’m sharing with the other people on my corridor, including Jenny and Jannik, but as we eat with the students and meals are prepared I won’t need to do a lot of cooking. In the evening I unpacked and relaxed. My first impressions of Germany were that it’s green like England but that it’s clean and the houses in Herrnhut are a bit like how I think I expected Switzerland to be – perfect and well, you’ll have to look at the pictures – it’s quite hard to explain!

The adventure begins: phase 1.

The Thursday following my day trip to Brighton I take the 9h20 from Ludlow to Newport. I then changed to go across to London Paddington. Sounding familiar? I told you Network Rail was becoming my second home! The trains were busy as everyone was making their way to Glastonbury. I have never seen so many Wellingtons! When I changed at Newport the Glastonbury people took a different train. I went onto Paddington where, usually, I take the Circle line to Victoria. But not this time. We were going to do things a bit different. I took the Hammersmith and City line (pink rather than yellow) to Farringdon when I got a train to Brighton where I changed to go to Hove. I thought I’d done a pretty good job of packing lightly with only one suitcase and a handbag but by the time I got to Oxfam in Hove I’d had enough of lugging my suitcase around. I’m sure it put on weight as the journey went on. So, what was I doing at Oxfam in Hove with a suitcase you might ask? No, I hadn’t just spent another 5 hours and another 5 trains crossing the country to make a donation! I was going to be staying with Amanda until Saturday when I would take yet another train up to Gatwick to fly out to Dresden in Germany. I arrived at Oxfam on Thursday afternoon at around 15h. I stayed in Oxfam, met a couple of the new volunteers, helped out a bit. In the evening I went back to Amanda’s and we stayed in and watched tv and had a catch up. On Friday morning she took me to La Forchette – a French café, as she thought I might be having withdrawal symptoms! The people were French! The menu was in French! If it hadn’t have been for all the English speaking people and the grey sky I could see out of the window I could have been forgiven for thinking I was back in France. In the afternoon I was going to go into Brighton and to the sea – remember, my feet never did get their paddle, but it was raining so I took shelter in Oxfam with Amanda and did some sorting. I quite enjoyed it. Not too much has changed. There are new volunteers but my word, they were needed. Things have been moved around and there’s more for sale now, the back room is also messier and Amanda is the new manager but all of these things are good. In the evening I showed Amanda my photos of Marseille and then I packed my suitcase. Yes, again. I still haven’t properly unpacked my suitcases from Marseille… I’m beginning to see a bit of a theme to my life – trains, planes and suitcases… Tomorrow would be no exception.

Reality Check

Back in the cold, grey climate that is England where everything is so green I’m faced with unpacking. But no, that’ll have to wait. There are more pressing matters. The small issue of 16,000 words of dissertation to write. One was finished, I just needed to create the 3 appendices. A quick job I thought… hmm, how wrong was I?! The other dissertation however needed some work. I had a week. I finished it, created the appendices and printed it. The printing and putting together was what took the time. In fact, I think it took longer to print the thing and assemble it than it did to write it! Ok, that’s a slight exaggeration but it took a long time to assemble after I’d finally managed to get the thing printed. The relief to have two copies of each dissertation in my hand complete with appendices was incredible. I’d done it. Complete. Finished. 8000 on social problems in Marseille. 8000 of pedagogic report focusing on English in the French education system and the role of the language assistant. Now all I need to do was get the thing handed in by Monday at 17h. That involved a day trip to Brighton. Something I really wouldn’t recommend. Oh Network Rail, how you’re becoming my second home. I left Ludlow station at 8h20 with hopes of changing at Newport and then Reading to get a direct train to Brighton. But no, it didn’t quite work out like that. I changed at Newport and was supposed to get off at Reading but as we were only just pulling into Reading station at 11h09 and my direct train to Brighton left at 11h11 I decided I’d never make it and so stayed on the train to London Paddington. I then took the circle line of the underground to London Victoria where I got on a train to Brighton. I then changed go to Falmer. When I got to the uni, 5 trains and 5 hours later, I found where I had to hand in my dissertation – the office was well hidden to say the least! I was greeted with the news that my candidate number needed to be at the top of each page. Did I groan? I most certainly did as I picked up a pen and began writing out my candidate number on the top of over 100 sheets of paper! When I’d done that, found the course codes, had a chat with a girl, also copying out her candidate number a hundred times over, about how she experienced an earthquake in Martinique on her year abroad, filled in the cover sheets and bumped into Alex and Sukina, I realised I really ought to be making a move back to the station. No time for a trip to the beach, not if I wanted to be home before midnight! I got a train from Falmer back to Brighton and then changed to go back up to London Victoria where I took the circle line of the underground to London Paddington and then a train heading to Swansea. There was a direct train from Paddington to Hereford but it didn’t get in until 21h29 and I thought I could do it quicker than that going via Newport so I did. I still didn’t get to Ludlow until 21h35! Oh well, at least the dissertations got handed in. My feet just had to sacrifice their paddle in the English Channel so that my hand could copy out my candidate number a hundred times over! All I can say is that I hope I get a decent mark!!

Dans ma tête c'est comme ça

Je ne sais pas encore où je serai l’année prochaine. C’est vrai que j’ai demandé de renouveler mon contrat. C’était une décision que j’ai prise et même maintenant, plusieurs mois après avoir pris cette décision je ne sais pas si j’ai fait du bon ou pas. Quand j’ai reçu le formulaire de renouvellement je l’ai rempli et je l’ai rendu en disant que non, je ne voulais pas renouveler mon contrat. Après quelques semaines je suis venue de réaliser qu’en fait, j’avais fait une bêtise. Quand j’ai rempli le formulaire la première fois en janvier je n’étais pas contente. Je ne voulais pas être en France. Je voulais quitter le pays pour rentrer en Angleterre, j’avais tellement de problèmes – un Lycée qui s’en fout de moi, je n’avais jamais d’élèves, les professeurs étaient impossible à trouver, personne ne m’a dit qu’est ce qu’il se passait et en plus j’avais les problèmes à moi, c'est-à-dire en dehors du Lycée. J’avais vraiment envie de partir mais il y avait quelque choses à l’intérieur de moi qui m’a forcé d’y rester. J’avais peur d’être un raté. Et si je partais la France j’aurais été un raté, au moins dans mes yeux. Je ne pouvais pas jeter tout le travail que j’avais fait à la fac parce que j’étais trop faible de rester. D’après moi, si on commence quelque chose, on le fini, quoi qu’il soit. Si on prend la décision de faire quelque chose on le fait, quoi qu’il soit. Donc, je suis y resté et les choses ont commencé d’améliorer. J’ai réalisé que je n’ai pas profité de cette année, je n’ai pas fait tous ce que j’aurais pu faire pour en profiter au maximum donc il faut rester. J’ai envoyé un tas d’emails, j’ai appelé le rectorat plusieurs fois et finallement j’ai rempli encore le formulaire pour demander de renouveler mon contrat. J’avais complètement changé d’avis. J’ai passé des mois en disant qu’il serait une erreur d’y rester encore une année. C’est les gens qui sont importants dans la vie, pas la ville. Et comme tout le monde partira à la fin de l’année il n’y aurait personne à Marseille que je connaîtrais à la rentrée. En plus, il faut que je finisse mes études. Mais j’ai quand même demandé de rester à Marseille. Pourquoi? Parce que j’ai fait énormément de choses cette année dont je ne suis pas fière. Je voudrais rester pour montrer à moi-même que je suis capable d’y habiter sans problèmes, que j’ai ce qu’il faut pour y habiter – dans un pays étranger où on est loin de sa famille, où on ne connaît pas énormément de gens, où on n’a pas tout ce qu’il est familière autour de nous. Je veux l’opportunité de montre aux gens qui me connaissent, qui ont vécu cette année à Marseille comme une année étrangère côté à côté de moi, que je peux le faire. Mais j’ai été donné tout ce que je voulais cette année – un Lycée dans le centre de Marseille, des amis, des vrais amis et un appartement en collocation avec une française. Je n’ai pas le droit de demander d’avoir encore le même, c'est-à-dire tous ce que je veux, encore une année. Pourquoi ? Parce que je ne le mérite pas. Parce que, d’une certaine manière j’ai tout gâché cette année donc je ne mérite pas une deuxième chance. Mais on verra. Je vais laisser faire le destin.

Les derniers pas

Above - me and my one hundred odd kilos of luggage outside Hereford station.

Above - Newport Train Station.

Above - Reading Train Station.

Above - Guildford Train Station.

Above - Gatwick.

Sunday was a long day. We got up at 5h30 and left my apartment at 7h. We took the metro from Joliette to Saint Charles and then caught the navette to the airport. The suitcases were heavy – the thought of having to cart them across the continent was not appealing. It wasn’t until I got on the navette at Saint Charles that it really hit me: the year was over. I was leaving. I’d been so busy these last few days packing and sorting out last minute things that I hadn’t really had time to be sad. But taking the metro for the last time, leaving Saint Charles for the last time, it was sad. A line was being drawn. The chapter had ended and there was no going back to re-read it. Thinking back to the beginning of the year I remember how I hated Marseille, just briefly. How I’d wanted to leave no sooner had I got here. How things have changed. My year abroad started in tears. It ended in tears too. But for very very different reasons.

Traversing England

As we touched down at Gatwick I looked out of the window at the greyness, the greyness and the greenness. We were in England and were now to be reunited with the 64.6kg of luggage which we would have to lug across the country. Train number one was from Gatwick Airport to Guildford where we then had the joys of a bus replacement service to Reading. The man who put the cases on the bus was jolly. There didn’t look to be enough room for one of the cases so he said it would have to stay in Guildford! Of course he was joking – there was a second boot around the other side of the bus. The bus journey took a long time. I was bored, I needed the loo, I couldn’t stop fidgeting. When we finally arrived at Reading we had, by about an hour, missed our connecting train to Newport. We waited for the next one. We originally went to the wrong platform so had to about turn and come back down the escalators. We were getting a bit of a routing going by now. I’d go down with a big case and a little case. Then, the second little case without wheels would be sent on the escalator alone and then the second big case would come down. This meant not only did we clog up the whole escalator but I also had to get me and my two cases off the escalator in time to get back to the escalator for when the other little case without wheels arrived. Then I had to get all that out of the way for when the second big case came down! Looking back now it’s hilarious, at the time it was nothing but ridiculous. When we finally got to Newport we took our final train of the day to Hereford. We were only able to go as far as Hereford as there were more bus replacement services due to engineering works. When we finally got home we were exhausted. But we had managed to transport a year of my life across the continent. A year of my life weighing in at 64.6 kg plus hand luggage, I think we’re looking at 100kg, easy. How we ached the next day!

Goodbye Marseille

Above - If only everyday could be like this... in Marseille it is!

Above - can you see the moon? It's les Calanques at Luminy.

Above - Cat and Rachel at Vieux Port.

Above - Reformés on la Canebière.

Above - my last time at Vieux Port on the Saturday evening.

The 15th July would be my last day in Marseille. It was something that was decided long ago when I booked my ticket home. I booked the ticket in January when June seemed so so far away; when leaving seemed so surreal. Even though the contract on my apartment ran until the end of June I would be leaving on the 15th because I had planned to go to Germany to teach English. When the Germany opportunity came along in December I thought it would be worth sacrificing 2 weeks in Marseille (the last 2 weeks of the contact on my apartment) for 3 weeks in Germany. But when the time came to leave I wasn’t so sure. My mammoth packing task began after I’d been out for a meal with Angéline on the Thursday lunchtime. We went to Patacrêpe as it had been my birthday the weekend before. The weather was beautiful, it was hot and sunny – a day of shorts, sun cream and sunglasses. In the afternoon Angéline came chez moi for a cup of tea and I began packing. It wasn’t a happy job. It signalled the beginning of the end. On Thursday evening I met up with Cat and Rachel for one last drink at Vieux Port. We went for a walk around the port snapping photos of everywhere all lit up. I said a final goodbye to Cat as she was going to Paris for the weekend and so I would be gone by the time she got back. I then headed home. On the Friday we went with Angéline to l’Estaque and then for a meal at Chez Noel. In the afternoon we went walking in les Calanques at Luminy. On Saturday I went chez Maëlle one last time and then we went to Café Simon for lunch. In the afternoon we were going to do la Corniche but the bus was full, very full. We didn’t fancy standing so we went home and I finished packing. In the evening the landlord came round to inspect the apartment, and inspect he did, believe me! And then it was a case of finishing packing and going to bed. It had, by this time, got to the point where my life in Marseille was packed neatly into suitcases. I knew I was having to leave and I just wanted to get on with it. Even though I was still there it had, in so many ways, already ended. It was no longer the same, everything had been dismantled and packed away. It really was time to go. I went to Vieux Port to give Rachel her trainers back. We sat with the view of the port and drank our final French coffee together. Walking back home from Vieux Port I became the tourist I’d spent so much of the year despising – taking photos. I walked, for the last time, la rue de la République and through le Passage de Lorette not knowing when I’d be back again. And yes, that is a ‘when’ and not an ‘if’.

Au revoir Lycée

Tonight I went to Lycée for the last time to watch the Terminale L's play. It was very very good.

Above - A corridor in my Lycée, I used to walk to the end and right to go to Building C. To get to my room I turned left before the end of the corridor and went down some stairs.

Above - A corridor in my Lycée that led from the staff room to the administrative bit and reception.
Above - The staff room.
Above - the staff room and coffee machine - a life saver at break when you've been working since 8h and up since 5!

Above - the centre of my Lycée - all the classrooms are arranged around this central part.

I will miss my Lycée. I will miss the students. I will miss the teachers. I hope that I will get to go back. Je l'espère avec tout mon coeur. Lycée Artaud, ses élèves, ses professeurs, meme mes secondes de merde vont me manquer, j'en suis sure... Merci Artaud, c'est avec plaisir que j'ai travaillé chez vous cette année, vous m'avex beaucoup apporté, vous ne pourriez jamais imaginer.

Mon anniversaire

Above - My Birthday begins with me opening my cards. I later went to meet Rachel, Cat and Fern at Noailles and we took the métro to Rond Point du Prado and then got on the number 19 bus to the beach. It was beautiful and sunny. We went to Patacrepe to eat and sat in the sun - each of us in sunglasses layering on the sun cream.

Above - Me at Patacrepe undoing the present Rachel and Cat bought for me - a green stiped blouse with a silver thread going throught it. It's really pretty. And a bracelet too that is beautiful. But just look at the glorious weather!

Above - Rachel, Cat and Fern at Patacrepe.

Above - Fern, me and Rachel at Paracrepe - again, look at the weather - perfect.

Above - The weather was so glorious Cat and Fern decided that after eating they would go for a swim.
Above - Cat goes swimming in the Mediterranean.

Above - But whilst Cat is swimming in the Med, big, dark, black clouds are rolling in from behind... what happened to the sun...?

Above - It's ok. If you look in the right direction it's still blue sky and sunshine. Just don't look behind you...
Above - Me and Rachel on the beach trying out a bit of self-photography... it was beginning to get windy, we were getting a bit cold... the sky was one of two halves. We thought it might be time to go...

Above - I've never seen anything like it. Definitely time to be going...

Above - Rachel who, despite wearing a towel, didn't go in the sea prepares to depart before the rain falls.
Above - Fern and Cat leave the sea seeing the blackness and decide too that it's also time to leave...
Above - Just time to photograph my footprints in the sand...

Above - Oh dear. Don't they look wet?! We didn't quite make it before the rain came... infact I would go as far to say that it was a tropical storm. I've never experienced anything like it. An umbrella was useless; getting we inevitable.

Above - Me and Rachel dripping on the bus.

Above - Cat wringing her dress out at Rond Point. We really were dripping!

Above - After having gone home and dried up the weather decided it too would dry up to leave us with a beautiful sunset.

Above - Fern, me Cat and Rachel in Exit for a Birthday drink.

So, a memorable birthday and not just because of the tropical storm!

Sous le soleil de Marseille

Above - starting the day à la France with a pain au chocolat and un café.

Above - Notre Dame de la Garde - just look at that sky!

Above - Vieux Port, Le Panier, Joliette et les Docks et L'Estaque as seen from Notre Dame. Beautiful.

I took the bus up to Notre Dame de la Garde this afternoon. It was probably the last time I'll go up there... :(

Shambhala

Above - Shambhala tea rooms.

Above - Shambhala tea rooms.

Above - me!
Above - Angéline

After going chez Céline to give her a private lesson (she's the one preparing the CAPES to become an English teacher) I went to Cours Julien to meet Angéline and we went to Shambhala - a tearoom, where we shared vegetables somosas and a slice of chocolate tart. We also had tea - I had caramel and vanilla tea and Angéline had the 'tisane royale' which is red fruits.