T minus 15 days

Two very good friends are heading off to Versailles/Paris and Lyon for their Year Abroad tomorrow. Not only am I going to miss them, despite going to see them in respective cities, it has also made me realise just how close Lannion is getting. I'll be heading over there in 15 days. 15 days from now, I'll almost be arriving at Plymouth port.

On another note, it seems that preparation for the YA is intrinsically linked with spending a lot of money. In the past three days I've spent £185 on YA insurance, £50 on an apostille for my birth certificate, £12 on an ink cartridge so I can photocopy ALL the documents and £120 on flights home for Christmas. It's just a depressing amount of money and I've not even arrived on the continent. It doesn't end there though. Tomorrow, I'll be getting my eyes tested, which inevitably will mean new lenses (will probably get whole new glasses, just in case I break/lose a pair in France)...

So what have I been doing to mentally prepare myself?

Negative:

Avoiding packing and other planning/preparation.

Curling up on my bed in denial.

Positive:

Watching videos of Lannion on Youtube

Voluntarily translating an article from French to English

Going for meals with friends to say goodbyes.

I've actually forgotten where I was going with this post.

I'll go away and come back later.

A bientôt!

Living in Denial

So, I've just realised that by this time in 25 days, if everything goes to plan, I will have already arrived in France, set up a bank account and will now be going on a mini tour of my town. I keep telling myself that once I arrive and have dumped my bags, it'll be okay and I'm just worrying over nothing. Or maybe, once I've got there, set up the bank account, gone to the CAF to explain that I don't have a social security number, finally met my classes, AND made it to St. Brieuc before 9am on the training day... just then, and only then, might I start to feel calmer.

As I'm sure you've caught on by now, I've already started applying for housing benefit (now on referred to as CAF - Caisse d'Allocations Familliales), even though we were told in the Year Abroad talks that we couldn't apply until about a month after we arrived. This is technically true, but my landlord was insisting that I started now as it's the date of application which counts. So what I've had to do is tell them everything I could and then at the end of October, just update them, which is apparently easier and quicker than starting from the beginning.

I've read many a time that French bureaucracy is enough to put anyone off from moving to France, either temporarily or not. So far, I have to say I've not found it too horrific, I've just photocopied every single piece of identification and information and sent it to the CAF. The only trouble I have come across is cultural differences. I was asked for a Social Security number, and as we don't have that over here, I left it blank. After I posted the entire form to my landlord so he could complete his part, he started asking me about this number. At the time, the only thing I could think of that might have been similar was my National Insurance number, so gave him that, along with a rough outline of what NI does. He then replied to me explaining exactly what Social Security is, which is when I realised that my EHIC would be the closest information I could give. After describing the NHS and the EHIC card, he wrote all the numbers on the form, just in case. I'd like to think that I survived that discussion rather well.

This success doesn't stop me from living in denial though. I was thinking the other day about the aspects which scare me the most about the next 9 months or so. This is what I've come up with and I'll try to put them in some sort of order.

Not being good enough to teach: This is definitely my number one worry. I'm going to have to stand up in front of a classroom full of teenagers and come up with something relatively entertaining for an hour, every week. I realise that planning is key for this, and planning I will do, but what if I plan the wrong things?

Being faced with a constant wall of silence: Linked to the previous one, what if my lesson plans are okay, but the kids are just really stubborn and don't care about what I've prepared? What if they strike and just refuse to participate?

Living with two guys: Not a major worry, but it certainly exists. I didn't really think that it could have been a possiblilty. It's certainly going to be different from having an ensuite for the last two years!

The language barrier: You might have thought that I would have placed this higher. Don't get me wrong, I'm worried about how my spoken French will go and how there'll be cultural clashes with humour, but the teaching anxiety is huge. Maybe I should have applied to university...

Packing: How, just how, do you fit your life into a suitcase and a rucksack? I don't have any luggage restrictions per se, just whatever I can carry. Considering I needed a van to move out of my flat in Leeds (read bedroom and part of kitchen), I think I may struggle.

And finally, a trivial worry, just to make the others seem more important, the cobbles and the hills: As I get older, (I know, I'm not even 21 yet) I consider more seriously that I may naturally have bad feet. Bad in the way that they hurt if I'm stood up too long, if I walk too far, or if I walk on uneven ground. At first, I thought I was just being pathetic, but it's something I'm starting to look into and if it doesn't improve over the next year, I'll be mentioning it to my doctor when I return to Leeds.

Am I excited yet?

I'm currently trying to determine whether excitement has surpassed my anxiety yet. 

Deep down, I know the answer is no; don't be ridiculous, I'm always going to be anxious about it, each new day will bring new experiences to me. But maybe my anxiousness is reaching a manageable level... 

Over the past few days I've done a few things to bring me that tiny bit more closer to my Year Abroad. I've returned forms to the CAF, sent a letter to the Principal of the college because I believe he didn't receive my email (or ignored it...), talked to one of my housemates, who'll sadly be leaving at the end of September and read a blog from an American girl who was an assistant in the same school as I will be. Certainly some interesting things to bear in mind from reading it...

My last post talked about the nightmarish journey I was preparing myself to have on 3 French trains, however, it turns out that someone, probably my housemate, will be coming to find me at the port. Roscoff is roughly 70km from Lannion, which by car, can be reached in just over an hour. My landlord suggested that, instead of getting all the trains which meant I wouldn't arrive in Lannion until lunchtime, someone will pick me up - then I'll have time to open the bank account that morning. 

What?

I'm sorry... you actually expect me to be awake and coherent enough to be able to open a bank account, in French? On verra.

******************************************************

It's just come to my attention that I've not really told you, the readers, about the school in which I'll be working. So I feel that now is a prime opportunity. I'll be working in a lycée, called Félix Le Dantec, which is like a college here where we would take GCSEs (for how much longer?) and A-levels. Over in France, students take the baccalauréat comprised of varying subjects and pathways. Le Dantec is a polyvalent college which basically means that it is multidisciplinary. 

As I'm sure you've guessed, the college is named after Félix-Alexandre le Dantec, who, according to Wikipédia, was a French biologist and philosopher who died of tuberculosis in 1917. I don't recognise any of his works, but he liked to write about Darwinism and other theories like that. For those of you who can read French, you can read this Wiki page or if you can't, you'll have to live as I can't find an English Wiki page on him. Time for a photo or two to round off, I think:

Roll on, Roscoff!

So, I finally decided to take a ferry from Plymouth as the method of travel to get me to the Hexagone. Annoyingly, the ferry doesn't leave until 11pm on Sept 14th, unlike the 8pm one from Portsmouth, but I've booked it. Following my arrival in Roscoff, I'll need to get a bus to Morlaix, and a train to Lannion with a change in Guingamp, all with big bags of luggage. Cannot wait.

Including today, I leave for France in 36 days. It's so scary. I've said my final goodbyes to Leeds and won't be returning there until Sept 2013. It's so weird to think that. I was meant to be writing about a few things in this post, but I appear to have forgotten most of them.

It's been mentioned that it might be a good idea to take a small gift of 'English' things for my responsables as a thank-you for the work they're going to be doing with us and the support we'll be getting. So far, I have some London themed stickers and not sure what else to get. Tea and biscuits, maybe?

Things that have made me feel a bit more positive about the whole experience are that I've found a LGBT-H association in the town which I think is slightly like a union to join but also runs events and stuff. Yes, because that was coherent... There is also a gay friendly bar and coffee shop 8 minutes walk away from my house. So I think, as long as the house is all legit, things should go okay.

My memory escapes me.

This will do for now.

A roof over my head at last...

Accommodation is sorted, so I've had a few days chilling. I've also applied for housing benefits, pretty sure I've filled for application in wrong, but at least I've got the ball rolling instead of leaving it until September and still not knowing what to do with it. The landlord guy who isn't actually the landlord anymore went to the post office for me and asked about a bank account. Apparently, I can't set one up from home, but I'm going to try anyway, just in case the bank over there said that just so I'd have to be a customer of theirs. Cynical, I know, blame my father.

This is where I'll be living for about 8 months from September. Part of me is skeptical about the reasonable price considering it includes TV, WIFI and 'unlimited' telephone calls to landlines in Europe. Hum... oh well, I'll have a roof over my head, and for now, that's all that matters (I do not own this photo).

I've also had a reply from my other responsable, who welcomes me 'in' Lannion and tells me that there will be a second assistant in the college with me, they're from Germany. I'll reply to them tomorrow and I have to say, I'm going to be so embarrassed if they turn out to be male. They're name is Yves, and my head turned that into the same as 'Eve', therefore, they've got to be female. Yes...

My head feels like it will implode!

So many forms. So much French to read. Surrounded by things to fill in, post, numbers for people to call. I've heard for the first few weeks from when I arrive in France, I'll constantly be reaching for painkillers as I'll have many headaches due to sensory overload. French everywhere.

The last few days have been hectic. I've filled in so many forms for university, the British Council, Administration in Rennes, etc. On Saturday, I seriously started my search for accommodation. After seeing an advert for a room in a house (which I've seen appear many-a-time), I emailed the guy and he asked me to ring him because he was having problems with his computer. As it was 7pm his time, I left it until Sunday lunchtime. As soon as I asked if I needed a French guarantor because I'm English, he told me that he filled all the rooms the day before. Liar. I was really disheartened and quite upset about it, but by that evening I was in contact with another landlord.

This contact didn't go exactly smoothly either, because within a few emails being exchanged, I received an email suggesting that he thought I wasn't serious, I was being a joke and that he wanted no further contact. This really set me back, I began to panic that I wouldn't find anything in colocation and that I'd be living in a studio by myself - which in the end would mean I'd probably hide in my room and struggle to socialise.

Monday morning, I sent another email to this landlord with a copy of my contract with the college to try to prove to him that I was genuine. I asked him to reply, even if it was to just tell me to leave him alone. He replied and with various emails being sent back and forth with photos and contracts, I'm now ready to post him the signed contract with a cheque in pounds.

Oh the hassle over that. I don't know whether it's because he's retired (and presumably quite old) that he wants a cheque, but obviously, he required this in euros, despite the fact that he won't be cashing it in, it's just the bond in case I damage something. But anyway, recorded delivery to France tomorrow, and hopefully, I can start to relax a little bit about accommodation.

Oh wait...

He's told me that I need to apply to the CAF (housing benefit) as soon as possible. I'm confused about this as the university have told us that we can't apply until we've received our first month's pay. He is insisting it's possible, and that I'll just have to update them. The form is so confusing. I then also need to open a French bank account, which hopefully, I can do from the sofa in the living room. I've been given the telephone number for the International Banking Centre with HSBC and hopefully that should be relatively easy, I mean, at least it'll be in English...

With all this going on, I've had to put off applying for the Stonewall Talent Programme. I really want to apply because I think it'll be an amazing opportunity, but with the deadline being Friday and I've got to write about 500 words on why I think I should be accepted on to the programme - not sure if I'll have time, or time to do it well and do myself justice.

Take a deep breath and pick up the pen to carry on...

Bureaucracy gone mad!

I definitely underestimated the amount of paperwork that there is to be done over the next few weeks in preparation of my Year Abroad. Just when you think you've got it under control, you receive another email from the British Council with more documents to read, print, keep, send back to them, send to uni, or give to your parents. Yes, there was a letter for parents, it made me feel like I was back in primary school again where parents would be given a letter saying that there was an upcoming field trip.

I've filled in a lot of them, not quite finished all of them, but as it's now Friday afternoon, I'm doubting they'll get posted until Monday, unless I suddenly drag myself out of this slow, miserable state and post them tomorrow morning. I'm not actually that miserable, I think it's this awful weather. That's all I shall say on it though because everyone is dwelling on it, and it only makes it seem worse.

I've sent an email to each of my responsables and only one has replied so far; Lannion is a very small town with few good links of transport and it is looking very likely that I'll have to find my own accommodation. Something I should really get my backside into then. I would really like my other responsable to reply soon, because if she offers me accommodation, even if only temporary, it would be a real help. I don't want to sign a contract for a place without seeing it, but in some ways, I may not have much choice.

For this afternoon though, I shall finish these application forms (ERASMUS etc.) and email the principal of the college to introduce myself and accept the post.