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Year Abroad. Part 15: Careless Whisper
We were going to Erbusco. Our expectations were meagre, and we had but two: to see what we could see, and secondly, to drink some wine there. We achieved both, […]
Year Abroad. Part 18: Essaix-en-Provence
And at last, my friends visited. Early morning flights means early morning landings, and I was there to welcome them, beret on head, sign in hand. There were 5 of them, […]
Year Abroad. Part 17: La nuit de la verrerie
Nights are normally quieter here in Aix, except for one night. There is a road here called La Rue de la Verrerie and once a year, this bar-lined street in the old town, towered over […]
Year Abroad. Part 16: Buenas Noches
So, Madrid called. They said they wanted to see me, so I popped over for the weekend, and, with my girl being a native, despite her misleading blonde hair, I […]
Year Abroad. Part 15: Sun on Sundays
Mid-February and already layers are being removed. As T-shirts replace scarves we are beginning to slow down into the regular pace of life: morning visits to the park, coffees in […]
Year Abroad: Part 14, The Post Office
I hate the post office in France. It’s shit. And indeed, you might well ask yourselves how 500 words are going to be dedicated to it, but they will be. I will begin by […]
Year Abroad. Part 13: Bridging the Gap
New year, new semester. After a two-week baptism of fire in the French examination system, culminating in a gym furnished with 400 white plastic garden chairs, in which examiners answer […]
Year Abroad. Part 12: The Exam Period
Given my previous experiences of France, I should have expected this to be anything other than straight forward. However, after two weeks in England over Christmas, any nightmarish recollection of […]
Year Abroad. Part 10: Home time
So here marks the end of my first semester, and it makes sense to end it as I began: hot, tired and uncomfortable. I’m sitting on a Ryanair flight to […]