What do you do with a BA in French with Italian?

Well.. I know that this has taken a veerrry long time to get up and I'm sorry about that. I have been really busy the past few weeks but now I finally have a bit of time to spare so I can let you know what is happening at the moment. 

Grosse Cloche

I have now finished the INSUP language course and am now into my 4th week at work at the Maison Ecocitoyenne. I enjoyed the course, as most of it was talking about many different things, especially in the last week as we were asked to do a presentation each on anything we wanted (so naturally I chose the rise of the British musical as anyone who knows me knows that I am a pretty big fan of that kind stuff - right now, I'm waiting impatiently for the new Miss Saigon album and really that when I get back to Manchester, all the good tours start!). Anyway, back to INSUP and the only thing I wish, which does sound strange, is that I had more full days than we did, as I think it would have prepared us for work more. Normally, we only had either the morning or the afternoon, and work is normally not like that. In the last week, we had a tour round the city by one of the people at INSUP (don't know why they gave it to us at the end of the course but never mind), and so we got to "officially" meet places like Palais Galien, Porte Cailhau and where the city was founded in Place Gambetta. I managed the other day as well to go into the Cathedral and took a tour into the inside of Grosse Cloche.

Palais Galien

The end of INSUP leads onto working at the Maison Ecocitoyenne. I have the most standard hours that you can possibly get: Monday-Friday, 9-5. A lot of my friends from INSUP have got a lot stranger ones, such as they're working that hour till this hour, or this day but not that day; and unfortunately some work weekends too so it's a lot harder for everyone to meet up at the same time than it used to be. I suppose you're wondering what I'm doing here? Well firstly, I am in charge of giving out the free MacEau kits, which contain tools to put in the sinks, shower and sometimes toilets (depending on the model) that will help save water. Secondly, I am helping out with the children's work that they do, as they often have groups who come here and do activities; such as, we had a group of about 10 children all about 5 years old last week who were told the story of Jojo Lapin (Jojo the Rabbit) and painting with red cabbage water mixed with many different other substances that made it change colour. Last but not least, I am doing some translation for the Maison. The last British person there had translated the Welcome leaflet into English, but while reading it on my first day, I had noticed that there were some mistakes in it, so I offered to correct them. From that, I noticed an article in English that offered tips on saving water, and so I have translated that in French in the hope that it'll be given out with the MacEau kits if people wish. Though it can be quiet quite often, it is a good job and I am enjoying it. 

My family and me at my graduation

The view from Porte Cailhau

As part of the agreement of the Leonardo Ectarc agreement, I have to complete a qualification called the Personal Development Award or the PDA. I don't have to do much for it other than evaluate my experience here as it goes along by keeping a weekly log and then a final report when I go back to the UK. I didn't know about it until a couple of weeks ago so I had to play a bit of catch-up; this is therefore advice to anyone who's applied for the scheme to not forget about it like I momentarily did. 

In my first week of work, I had to leave early for a very special reason... I am now officially a graduate!!! Yes, I had my graduation a couple of weeks ago and got to wear the cap and gown after 4 years of very hard work. It was a really good day and I got to see my course-friends again, as well as my parents, brother and boyfriend. I was incredibly tired though as you can probably imagine from travelling to Bangor and back in the space of three days.  

14th July parade

Tom and I on our last night together

I did not come back alone though. My boyfriend Tom came back with me and stayed with me for just over a week and really enjoyed it. We managed to get a lot done, even with me being at work four days of the week. I say four because the Monday was the 14th July, which is the French National Day, when the Bastille prison was stormed in Paris in 1789 during the Revolution; for that they did a parade and fireworks in the evening by the quay. Anyway, as I was saying, I managed to show Tom as much of the city as I could, including the Miroir d'Eau, the Musée Aquitaine, the Plage du Lac (in the rain too), as well as seeing "How to Train Your Dragon" with Jasmine and Steve (which is AMAZING btw). I loved having him over and am looking to seeing him when I get back to the UK in September.  

Cinema ticket

The beach at Cap Ferret

In other news, due to the Cinema Festival being on and so being able to get a ticket for 3.50, I have managed to see a French film in a French cinema and understood at least the majority of it! It was called "Qu'est-ce qu'on a fait à bon Dieu" and was just like Meet the Fockers, but in French, about a French Catholic couple who have managed to marry their daughters to a Muslim, a Jew, a Chinese and an African. I would definitely recommend it if at all possible. Also, only yesterday we have found another beach called Cap Ferret. This time, it is a proper beach by the sea, with clear blue water, sand that gets EVERYWHERE and some AWESOME waves that my friends and I were often diving into. I don't know how much seawater I managed to swallow though because of doing that... Other than that and being stuck in traffic for ages both ways, it was a brilliant day out, and 4.50 for a return bus ticket was a bargain! 

I think that's everything. Thanks for being so patient with me, promise that the next one will be out sooner than this.

Charlotte