Le temps passe vite quand on s’amuse.

We all know the old saying, ‘time flies when you’re having fun’, and it’s true. It does. I’m having fun and time is flying – it’s such an unfair concept!

Each time I stop to think about the near future I feel very shocked. I have  7 weeks left of teaching here in Carcassonne, 2 of those weeks are holidays that I will spend visiting friends in Hull before they graduate (!!!). Mental. It doesn’t seem two minutes ago that I was moving into the foyer, fretting over lesson plans and organising my new French life. Now it’s nearly the end. Of course after my 7 weeks left of teaching I will stay in Carcassonne for a few more weeks but I intend to be home for the start of June. My 21st (another sign that time is flying) and the End of Year Ball… my 3rd End of Year Ball. Only one more left after that and then I’ll be graduating too. Scary!

What will I do with my life when I’m not a student anymore. If I was made of money I’d continue being a student for the rest of eternity. Sadly I’m not and one day I’m going to find a job, a house, a husband and children. I mean have children, not find them. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go nab a few from the town centre. It scares me to think that soon my whole life will actually go into a new phase (stealing that word from Mia’s latest blog as it is the best way to explain it) however, as much as it scares me I am so excited for it. Bring on the future!

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Le jeu de vie.

Another day down the drain. Wasted away. I’m sat here, with nothing to show for my day except a bag of lychees and a larger knowledge of the life of Peter Kay, mulling things over in my brain. Thinking about the different directions my life  could have gone in/be going in. Thinking about things that I have gained and lost as a result of this year abroad experience. Friends, contact with people and my sanity are all amongst the things lost. Whilst the things gained are along the lines of; language, experience, friends and culture.

When I picture how my life could/will be mapped out I see myself stood on a giant ‘The Game Of Life’ board with a few different roads in front of me and one big one behind me. Behind me is childhood, school, college, all my childhood friends, hobbies and experiences. I’m stood on a university circle right now, it’s a big circle because it doesn’t just contain university but also France and all of the trials and tribulations of this experience. I can’t see what’s written on the roads ahead of me yet, they’re too far away but I so desperately want the spinner to move me forward but I have to wait patiently for my turn before I get forced onto one of the roads by fate and possibly luck.

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Des prospects.

For my year abroad it was possible to study at a French university, find a job in France or do an assistantship – being an English assistant in a French school. Of course, I chose the latter and the reason behind my decision was that it would give me an insight into whether I would like to be a teacher in that scary place, the future!

After completing just under 3 months of teaching in 3 French primary schools I can see that to be a teacher you have to have so much patience, the kids will push you to the limit whether they like you or not. For example, I had an inspection, a few weeks ago, from my responsable. Everything was going smoothly to start off with, then the notorious CM2 class queried who the lady at the back of the class was, she explained her role and the naughtiest of children piped up “She’s a good teacher, we like learning English with her”. O how sweet, I thought! Then, for the rest of the lesson, he was the biggest pain in the neck, ever! So he likes me and my classes but that is definitely not enough to make him behave! It is very much a rewarding job though, which makes the decision a little more difficult.

However, a few weeks ago I bought a French book to be reading in my spare time; Jamais Sans Mes Soeurs. As I got into the book I realised that it was in fact an English/American book that had been translated into French and that, in a way, opened a door for me. My favourite part of my French course has always been the translation side, I actually enjoy it. And before now I’d never really thought much about a translation job – simply because teaching appears to be the simple answer to everything. Now I’ve thought about it, I realise how much I would enjoy translating a book from English to French. Maybe that’s a line I’ll follow when it comes to that dreaded ‘thinking-about-the-future’ part of 4th year.

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