I've been in France for just over two months. It doesn't feel like it at all, the time has flown by.
I first came to my small town here in France was amazed by the cultural difference between France and Ireland. Nothing is open on Sundays, except McDonalds. So if I want to eat anything that isn't McDonald's I've to make sure I buy food on Saturdays.

College is OK so far, my classes are interesting but it's quite hard to understand what's going on in a lot of them. But I'm here to learn.
The night life is good during the weekends, there are a good few Irish pubs around so we go to them a lot, there's not many clubs around though!

I'm nearly finished my mid-term break. Tara came to visit me and Becca and Becca's friend Helen came to visit from Ireland. It was a fun midterm. We went out for Halloween together. We dressed as Dead Dolls (we got a few funny looks). Something else I've discovered about France, they don't really do Halloween. It was so hard to find costumes for going out. The supermarkets had some brooms and teeth but that was it. We tracked down some white make up and just played around with make up and clothes we already had

Erasmus . . . Why must there be so much to do ?

Bonjour bonjour :)

Yaaaay first post from me :D This post is actually gonna be a little bit of a rant about why there's so much to do and so little time before I actually go away, and how I'm now realising how unorganised a person I actually am :P

So it is currently 01.21am a week and a day before I say Au Revoir Dublin and Bonjour Lorient, and I've come to the conclusion that even if I had another 10 years before I go away I still wouldn't have anything prepared ^_^ Still so much random little things to do, like get documents photocopied and sorted, buy last minute things and actually start packing, which, I tried starting about a half an hour ago and had abit of a meltdown over what exactly am I meant to pack ? Like, I've never actually thought I was that materialistic until I tried to just generally sort out my wardrobe and exactly what I'd want to pack, and suddenly I must bring every bit of clothing I own, plus 7 pairs of heels, (which I rarely wear, 4 of which are black, and 3 that are the same pair of heels just in different colours) and 13 lipsticks . . . something tells me it's not really gonna work since I've only got one checked bag, a carry on bag and then half of my sister's checked bag. (Being realistic though, she'll probably be bringing more clothes then me, and she's only coming over fo' a few days. ^_^) 

Also I haven't a bloody clue what French people wear, and I'm extremely lazy with clothes too, so chances are I'll look like a hobo (Which, since myself and Katie don't have accommodation sorted yet, there's a possibility of me being one, ahahaha :P) I'm sure once I start properly packing next week it might be easier . . . I can only hope. xD Really should stop buying more clothes though !

Also, Note to grant offices and college people and just in general to anyone looking fo' certain documents to prove I'm going away, would you please stop making everything so complicated and confusing, please ? :)

I'm worrying about packing and document stuff when what I really should be worrying about is my French, or lack of it ^_^ The other day I only realised that Bonjour was like 'Bon Jour' like Good Day in English . . . After 8 years of learning French it's good to know I've finally copped that at least bahahahaha ^_^ If people don't speak English, Je suis tres fucked, Meh I'll worry about it when I get over there . . . Sure it'll be grand ;)

That's pretty much it fo' now from me, Au Revoirrrrrrrr,

Becca :]

Oh oh before a go, this survival guide thing for students travelling abroad is actually AMAZING ! It's more directed towards Americans studying abroad but it's still so handy fo' all random bits about studying abroad and things ye tend to forget about :) http://thestudyabroadblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/UltimateGuideUpdate4.pdf 

Almost time to leave

Hello Tara and Becca

So it’s a week and a bit until we all leave, a very daunting thought to grasp onto. I am beginning to get very excited about it which is good because I’ve been quite nervous all summer. I still have plenty to do in the next week, some shopping, some forms to sort out but then we’ll actually be going away. ‘We’re leaving on jets planes and don’t know when we’ll be home again’, well we’ll be home at Christmas, but it’s still a long time away from home. The Erasmus year is the biggest thing I’ll have done with my life. I’m ready to gain new found independence, make new friends and hopefully remember some French. 

I am so glad that my Mum is going over with me for a few days because going alone is not impossible but a bit scary. We’re going to have our own holiday for a few days before my induction course starts and hopefully I’ll find accommodation while she’s still around.

No idea what to expect when I arrive but I shall blog about it when I get there.

Looking forward to reading your entries :)

Katie

This blog was initially set up as we found it very difficult to find ANY type of info on our french universities and student experiences about living on Erasmus in France, the only stories we could find were usually horror stories (not very nice) so here we are, I'm Tara and I'll be blogging with my two college buddies Becca and Katie, we are all in the same course and over two years have become good friends, this is going be be like a diary for us to look back on, and hopefully help any one in the same situation as us :) 

We leave good ol' Ireland in just over two weeks, so obvz we will blog more once we settle in get or steal someones wifi ;) and when Becca and Katie find a place to live or they will be homeless :'( no I kid (jk jk) really but we have a busy few weeks ahead of us!! Erasmus Y U SO UNORGANIZED!

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