Pour réfléchir.

J'ajouterai éventuellement la version française. 

As a post script, I wish to add here a reflective piece that I was required to do as part of a university course this semester. It captures a little bit more the feelings and some of my understandings that I attempted to lay out in the previously written blog.

It is as follows:

During this reflective piece I am going to be discussing a personal migration experience, specifically in the form of a university exchange. Earlier this year, between January and July 2017, I participated in an exchange in France. I was situated in a town called Tours, in the Loire Valley, with a population of around 150 thousand people. The reason that I point out the population is that, typically speaking, the smaller the town, the less variety in languages you are likely to see. During my experiences, finding French people who spoke English was quite limited, which in itself was not a bad thing as my primary motivation for going to France was indeed to practise my French language skills. It did, in some respects however, provide a barrier between myself and the vast majority of people around me. I feel that I have learnt a sense of empathy towards other immigrants coming to Australia as a result, as they would be thrown into a position where almost the entire country speaks only English.

What I found interesting, at least after having read the chapter on ‘us and them,’ was the discussion of the ‘in-group’. As I was on an exchange, it became increasingly evident that I needed to find people to spend time with. The vast majority of my friendship group became made up of like-minded foreign students. We quickly became acquainted, and I found that making friends with these people was something that happened very quickly, to the point that they became close friends faster than were I to be meeting someone for the first time back at home in Australia. The interesting thing, though, is that in most cases in a situation where the rolls were reversed, these people would have been considered part of the out-group. Non-native English speakers coming from various countries such as Spain, Italy, Germany, etc. would certainly not be considered “the same” or “one of us” in a fashion that was immediate. However, due to the circumstances, I was suddenly on the other foot, considered an outsider, and thrown into a position where I needed to make friends with people who were, in some respects, completely different to me. I can certainly understand why people may congregate when immigrating to a new country as it provides them with people to live with and relate to.  

My interactions with the French themselves, was, in some respects different, at least in the initial stages of my stay. Anxious is a word that I would definitely use to describe my initial feelings towards speaking with them. I had a shared kitchen in my halls of residence and the initial move to speak with them was daunting. Trying to communicate with people when you are not confident in their language is a big challenge. However, fortunately for me, these people were very open to discussion, and as a result, my confidence grew and my language improved greatly.

I think, generally, I was very lucky with my experiences. It could be attributed to the notion that I am a white male who was visiting predominantly white societies. There is an example of ‘otherness’ (as discussed by Robins) that I was subjected to when in Paris, however. I walked past a Frenchman (with an Australian friend of mine) who was offering to do our caricatures; we were not interested and politely declined, in French. However, this man decided that it would be a good idea to start abusing us, referring to how he was sick of American tourists – in somewhat broken English. At the time I wanted to do nothing more than to insult him back in French. My intended response (of which I did not actually say out loud) stemmed from two things. The first being that I did not like being incorrectly labelled as American - I was perhaps labelled as such due to the large amounts of American tourists, but also because of our use of English, and of our skin colour. It was a generalisation that, once again, allowed me to empathise with people who are more greatly affected by generalisations in their daily lives. The second, however, was that I wanted to reply in French. I wanted this man to understand that I was not so different to him, that I spoke his language and that his perceptions of me were unfounded, untruthful and unwarranted. I felt like I belonged in French society, that my small town where I had been living felt like home and suddenly my thoughts and feelings were being attacked. I can only imagine what this is like for people who need to put up with this every day. It created a sense of distance between my newfound “home” and myself, that I had been yet to experience.

This idea of an in-group was, despite all of my previous experiences, at its strongest when coming across other Australians. There was a sense of home, or of comfort in hearing an Australian accent. The connection was almost instantly there; it was existent on the preconceived notion that we were the same based on our patriotism. No matter the background of this person, socially, economically, or otherwise, we fit. These people may not necessarily be people that I would spend time with in Australia, as our interests and Australian cultural backgrounds were diverse. It was these contexts and conditions that allow for a transcendence of these differences - as there is an unspoken understanding that we are a long way from home. This further cements my thoughts and empathy towards those who create communities as migrants within Australia.

I think that, above all our differences, whether it be with my relationship to other Australians, foreign students, or French people, there is a transcendence above these things that takes place when the context allows for it. Sameness and difference is all relative to the context.

La fin - très en retard

Please note that I will get around to adding pictures at some point. Probably not for a while as this is already 4 months over due at the time of posting on the 28th of October 2017. As per usual Traduction Française à la fin.

Gonna jump straight into this one. Went to London directly after Paris. We were there for 4 days and saw a few things including the British Museum and the Imperial War Museum, both of which were really quite interesting and full of stuff worth seeing. There was even an unknown building that looked pretty cool that I decided to take a picture of. But it looked cool so that was nice.  When I arrived in London I went to a friend’s house. He is an Australian paramedic but has been working there for the last couple of years. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see him. When we got there we realised that there was an oven in the house. It was a good opportunity – since there was nothing to cook with when we stayed the youth hostel – to cook ourselves some dinner. We cooked up some roast pork.

During the few days there we went around and, as I said, looked at some museums. We also played some card games, which was a refreshing change of pace from the usual running about trying to do the whole tourist thing. We went to a pub dedicated to these kinds of games, which I thought was a great idea. And of course, the games slowly became more and more difficult to play as the beers started piling up. But that was all part of the fun. A couple of days later we went on a pub-crawl with all the boys who were staying in the house. There were 6 of us who went on the crawl with the intention of completing a “mile of micro-breweries”. It was a fun experience and an opportunity to taste a number of different drinks. We later decided to head back home. However on our arrival back to the house we learnt that one of the boys had invited back a number of people whom we had met on our travels that day. We began to have a small house party; everyone was getting a bit drunk by this point. There was a hot tub that a few of the people were spending time in, and there was a good vibe. That is, of course, until we turned on the news. It turns out that while this was happening, there was the attack on the London Bridge going on. I started to watch it on the news to follow the situation. It was quite a surreal experience to be hearing about all of these things in real time – particularly when it was happening so close. Normally when these things happen, I am in Australia, and thus these attacks are happening when I am sleeping. I don’t often hear about these things until after the fact. People began to get phone calls and messages from their friends, making sure they were ok. Not only that, but as a result of a large proportion of these people being (now inebriated) paramedics, the festivities came to an abrupt end for fear of a need to possibly have to go to work. Regardless of this event my time in London was well spent. I enjoyed my time, as well as having an opportunity to catch up with a mate. I even had time to go to the local velodrome that they had there. It was only a kilometre or two away from where I was staying. I borrowed one of the boys’ bikes and rode down to have a look. It was nice to see after such a long time. They have a really cool bike area there in London, with bike paths, both on and off road, as well as a bmx track around the velodrome as well.

Following London I decided to go and spend some time in Scotland. Having never been I didn’t really know what to expect. It turns out, however, that despite it being their summer at the moment, they share similar weather to that of Melbourne during winter. Arriving in Glasgow to find that it was 15 and raining whilst it was also 15 and raining in Melbourne was somewhat amusing. Scotland was lovely. I was staying in the home of a friend’s family member. I saw parts of Glasgow where I caught up with some friends whom I had met in Tours. We visited various smaller towns along the way as well including a visit to the oldest pub in the country, and the point where the Vikings first landed in Scotland hundreds of years ago. We also visited the old worn down ruins of a medieval abbey. I couldn’t help but think that it must have been quite cold living in such a place during the winter, particularly when it was that cold during the summer! I took a day trip on the second last day in Scotland down to Edinburgh. It was probably my favourite part of the trip. There is a lot to see there, including a big castle that has a few museums within commemorating various wars and military achievements of the Scottish.

After Scotland I headed home for a couple of days back to Tours before moving on to the beach in Royan on the west coast of France. It was a tiny little town, but very pretty. I was there with two of my friends from Tours, one from Germany and the other from Poland. We went swimming in the beach a few times and I had forgotten how much fun it was to do so. The weather was great for it, in excess of 25 degrees each day, with hardly a cloud in the sky. On one of the days we went exploring the town, and found a church that had been built a lot more recently than some of the ones that I had seen throughout my stay. It was a more modern take on a traditional style, and really quite cool to look at once inside. During that day we went to a park type thing, almost like a zoo, that they have there. Inside the park there were heaps of animals and little parts that showcased different types of natural formations. They had there everything from spiders in glass cases to guinea pigs and chickens throughout.

After my 4 or so days in Royan I embarked upon my trip to another country. This time I was on my way to Spain. I left Royan in the morning and took the train into Toulouse, but only after various delays that got me to my destination some 4 hours later than I had expected. As I had a plane to catch first thing in the morning, this meant that I went to bed (at an AirBnB) rather than have a bit of a look around like I had planned. I left for Spain in the morning. I flew from Toulouse airport to the airport in Malaga in the south of Spain. I had a few hours to kill once I got there as I was awaiting a train to take me to Antequera, where I would meet some of my friends who were going to show me around. I had a brief look around, and bought some food – which I must admit, was quite daunting not knowing how to speak Spanish. I finally got the train and took it to a station a bit north to another small town where I was met by a car full of 3 Spaniards (well 2, and one from Basque country). It was lovely to see these people. I was driven from there to the house of one of my friends. When I got there I found that it was close to 40 degrees. It was a lovely contrast to the weather that I had been faced with in Scotland. I was also met (by what seemed to be) close to the entire family of my friend. It was somewhat surreal greeting the entire family, and being introduced as the Spanish equivalent of “kangaroo” –which I believe is just kangaroo with a Spanish accent (canguro). 

The following 4 days were fantastic. I saw so much and learnt a lot about Spain. I had never been, and learnt later that neither had my family members. I was staying in a small town called Rute, it had around 15,000 people living there. The landscape was astonishing, with a mountain looming over the town that allowed for a rather picturesque landscape. On the first day, after the family lunch that I had been fortunate enough to take part in – the food was amazing, there were many foods from all over Spain – we went for a walk with the two dogs that also lived at my friend’s house. On this walk we went to the top of a small hill that overlooked a lake. Small trees surrounded this particular lake and these trees were absolutely everywhere (and you can see just how many of them there are in the pictures). All of these particular trees were olive trees, thousands upon thousands of them. We returned to the house after the walk, before have a small siesta and heading out to share some drinks and have dinner together.

The following day we drove into Granada. We visited an old castle that had once belonged to an Arabic kingdom that, I later learned, occupied parts of Spain for over 700 years. The castle was amazing, and the views fantastic. Amusingly, whilst we were there, a French person came up to me and asked – in English- for a photo of their group, only to be surprised at my response in French. I did think this mildly odd considering I hadn’t yet spoken a word of English to my Spanish companions. Following the castle, we went for a look around some of the gardens that they had there. We saw a peacock, as well as many other statues, and medieval buildings including an aqueduct. The day was warm and so we stopped many times on our journey, and on one of the stops we sat down to some sangria and tapas. The cool thing about tapas, is that it seems to come free with all of the drinks that you buy, so buying food at restaurants is rarely required as food seems to be given out with each drink you purchase, thus making eating much cheaper. Granada was really pretty and well worth going should you ever have the opportunity.

The following day we went into Rute and had a look around. It is a very pretty little town with lots to see. We went to the mountain and found a small old castle that overlooked parts of the mountain. Walking through the town it was cool to find a small little vine that had grapes growing on it. We spent most of the afternoon there before deciding that we wanted to go and climb the mountain (which I had been wanting to do since I got there). It was a difficult task, but certainly one worthwhile. We couldn’t find the initial path to take us to the top, so we decided that it would be a good idea to climb up the side, with lots of loose rocks – which in retrospect made our climb much more challenging that it need otherwise have been. We finally got to our destination near the summit, and the view was fantastic. There were left over ruins of a keep that we decided would be a good idea to climb, which again in retrospect, probably wasn’t the safest thing to be doing. Regardless, we climbed it and it left us with something of an amazing view. We stayed a little too late at the top, however, and found ourselves attempting to climb back down the mountain in the darkness. It was much more difficult on the way down, and I nearly fell over a handful of times due to the loose rocks that were strewn about everywhere. We did eventually make it home safely after the treacherous descent.

On my final full day in Spain we went to Cordoba. It was probably the hottest day that we had while I was in Spain. As a result, water and shade were our primary concerns. We visited an old Arabic mosque that had been subsequently converted to a Christian monument. It was really quite cool to see all of the Arabic architecture, and really showed off that Spain had, for a time, been occupied by Arabic influences. There were more gardens in the town that we walked through which were really lovely. At one point there were some sprinklers that we had decided we needed to stand in front of due to severity of the heat. And so we did. Throughout our exploration Cordoba we managed to have short water fights at various water features and fountains, which was quite amusing.

The following day was my travel day back home to Tours. I found it quite hard to say goodbye to my friends with whom I had spent the previous days. I arrived with approximately a week left of my time in France, spent the remaining days cleaning out my room and seeing people for the last time. One of my goals while I was away was to go and visit the botanical gardens that I had been meaning to do since I’d heard about them. I did finally go, and saw some emus and wallabies there. The irony was not lost on me that I was 17,000 kilometres away from home, and yet I was standing mere metres away from native Australian animals. On one of the very last days I went and had lunch with an Austrian friend of mine. It was great to reminisce a little bit and reflect on our time spent in Tours.  On the last night I shared an AirBnb with another friend of mine once we had both left our apartments. It was nice actually as it allowed me to get to know him a little bit more. I had met him late in my exchange and so spending the last couple of days with him was a good opportunity to hang out and learn a bit more about him.

And just like that, it was all over. Six months of my life spent in another country. Or at least it would have been if it weren’t for the horrendous plane flight on the way home. Economy to and from Europe is shit, just putting that out there. I digress. I think here is where I attempt to have somewhat of a reflective piece based on my time in France and Europe. I don’t really know where to begin other than to look at the number of friends that I have made from all over the world. Many different cultures, beliefs and thoughts in the one place really allows for one to have an open mind, it allows one to understand that people are all very different, but also very much alike at the same time. For the most part, we were all there for a purpose, which was to experience another culture while learning the French language at the same time. We all have similar motivations in that regard. Everyone out there is appreciative of the opportunity that they have been given and tries to make the most of it. They mingle with others and get to know people from countries they’ve never been to or necessarily even heard of. We set aside any political ideas or preconceptions that may have been present previously and began to understand that we are all there to learn, to better ourselves, and most importantly to have fun whilst doing so. Racial lines, politics, whatever the subject may have been, were not considered when making friends. These topics were certainly talked about and various people had different views. But at the end of the day, being thrown into the deep end, in another country, not knowing anyone, allows you appreciate people for who they are, regardless of what people tell you should think.

I dunno, that was meant to be a somewhat inspiring “don’t hate each other, racism is bad, you’re a fuckwit if you’ve got a problem with people based on anything other than if they’re an asshole or not” kind of bit. I don’t know if it really worked, but I feel like I’m more open minded towards this kind of topic as a result, and I think people need to learn to let go of stereotypes, misconceptions and hatred, and just learn to appreciate people for who they are.

Anyway, I’m back at uni now, currently in second week. This post is like 3 weeks late but whatever. I’ve caught up with a lot of my friends back at home which has been really lovely. I do confess that I already miss France and my friends who live in Europe. I also miss the language and being able to go and speak it whenever I feel like it. I’m sure I’ll be back in Europe soon. Who knows? I may even go live there one day.

On est fucken’ allé, et on va aller encore. We fucken went, and we’ll fucken go again.

***FRANÇAIS***

Dans l’article dernier j’ai fini par parler de Paris. Après, nous sommes allés à Londres. Nous avons resté pendant 4 jours et pendant nos temps nous avons vu le Musée British et le musée de guerre impérial. Les deux étaient très intéressant avec beaucoup de choses à voir. À mon arrivé j’ai vu un bâtiment qui était cool, je ne sais pas encore ce que c’était, mais j’ai pris une photo néanmoins. J’ai fais sûr d’aller voir un ami de moi qui travaillait à Londres pendant presque deux ans. Il est Australien mais je n’avais pas passé de temps avec lui depuis longue-temps, et donc nous restions chez lui pendant le séjour. Chez lui, il a un four dont on a profité. C’était en particulier plaisant après de ne pas en avoir un dans l’hébergement jeunesse.  Donc, nous avons cuisiné de rôti de porc pour les habitants de la maison.

Nous avons profité de notre temps ensemble. On a joué des jeux de cartes, qui étaient quelques choses différentes après tous nos activités touristique. Nous sommes allés dans un pub dévoué à l’idée de jouer des jeux comme ça, qui j’ai pensé était une idée super ! Quelques jours plus tard nous avons fais une petite tournée des bars avec tout le monde qui habitait dans la maison. Nous étions 6 avec l’intention de visiter "une mille des brasseries locaux". J’ai pris l’opportunité de découvrir des saveurs des bières inconnues. Nous avons passé quelques heures buvant des bières, mais finalement décidé de rentrer à la maison. Inconnue à moi en revanche, on a invité quelques uns qu’on a rencontré pour continuer la fête. La nuit se passait bien, tout le monde était un peu bourré et il y avait de bonne ambiance. Jusqu’à on a décidé de allumer la télévision. À ce moment-là, les attentats terroristes se passaient au pont de Londres. L’ambiance a commencé de changer, et j’ai trouvé l’expérience d’être un peu surréaliste. Normalement quand ces attentats se passent, je suis en Australie et ça me semble d’être différent à cause de distance. Les gens ont commencé de recevoir des appels. L’ambiance a été changée et (parce que la plupart de ces gens sont ambulanciers) la fête s’est arrêtée pour peur de devoir aller au centre ville pour aider ceux qui étaient blessés. Tout l’événement était effrayant. Malgré ces évènements je ne les ai pas voulu me décourager. Le lendemain je suis allé au vélodrome à Londres. Je n’avais pas su avant, mais j’ai appris qu’il était moins de 2 kilomètres de la maison. J’ai pris l’un des vélos des gars pour y aller. Après quelques mois, c’était sympa de le voir. L’endroit soi-même était très cool. Il y a des chemins autour d’un parc et il y a des pistes pour les bmx aussi. Un véritable hommage du sport.

Après Londres je suis allé en Écosse. Parce que c’était ma première fois là-bas, je n’avais pas su ce qui m’attendait. Contrairement à la saison, le temps était pareil à ce qu’on trouverait en Australie au même temps. En Écosse c’était l’été, à Melbourne c’était hiver. Á Melbourne il faisait 15 degrés avec de pluie, en Écosse il faisait 15 degrés avec de pluie. Pendant mon séjour j’ai passé de temps à Glasgow avec quelques amis que j’avais rencontré à Tours. Puis j’ai visité quelques petits villages, et finalement je suis allé à Edinbourg. Pendant l’exploration des petits villages on est allés à la bar la plus vielles dans le payes, et aussi on est allés à l’endroit où les Vikings ont débarqué il y a quelques siècles. On est allés aussi aux ruines d’une abbaye. L’infrastructure et l’architecture étaient très intéressantes à voir, et on pourrait imaginer la vie de ceux qui auraient habité là-bas. Edinbourg était probablement ma partie préférée de la visite. On a vu beaucoup de sites touristiques qui ont compris un monument d’un auteur et un château médiéval dans lequel il y avait des musées en hommage des  exploits militaire de l’Écosse.

Après l’Écosse je suis revenu à Tours pour le week-end avant d’aller à Royan, qui est une petite ville par la plage. J’étais là avec deux amis de Tours, un allemand et une polonaise. On a passé le temps là-bas par nager dans la mer. J’avais oublié à quelle mesure la plage m’a plaît parce que il avait fait longue-temps depuis ma dernière fois. Il faisait beau chaque jour, plus de 25 degrés, qui était parfait pour aller à la plage. L’un des jours était passé explorant la ville et on a trouvé une église, la Notre Dame de Royan. Elle était construit beaucoup plus récemment que les autres que j’avais vu en France. C’était une interprétation plus moderne du style commun en France, et l’église était monumentale dés qu’on est entré. Pendant la journée nous avons trouvé aussi un grand parc qui s’appelle planète exotica. Il y avait beaucoup des animaux et jardins à voir. C’était tranquille et calme. Il y avait tout, des araignées jusqu’aux cochons d’Indes.

Après 4 jours à Royan j’ai recommencé mes voyages. Cette fois à un autre pays. Je suis parti tôt dans le matin pour prendre un train d’aller à Toulouse, où il y avait l’aéroport de mon départ. Malheureusement mon train avait beaucoup de délayes, donc mes intentions d’explorer Toulouse pendant que j’étais là n’étaient pas réalisé. Je suis arrivé 4 heures en retard. Je suis parti le matin pour aller à l’aéroport, j’ai pris l’avion pour aller à Málaga et je suis arrivée enfin en Espagne. À mon arrivé j’ai attendu quelques heures pour un train d’aller à Antequera où mes amis m’attendaient. Les trois Espagnols (ou deux Espagnols et une de payes basque) et moi sont partis pour aller à la maison d’une des filles. L’accueil qui m’attendait de mes amis était tellement chaleureux, et pas juste parce qu’il faisait plus de 40 degrés. À l’arrivée à la maison, j’ai rencontré beaucoup de la famille de l’une des filles. J’étais présenté de la famille sous le surnom « kangourou » qui j’ai trouvé les deux amusant, et amoureuse.

Quand j’étais là j’ai appris beaucoup de chose de l’Espagne et j’ai vu beaucoup de sites très intéressants. Je restais à un village qui s’appelle Rute (prononcé comme ruté) dans lequel habitait environ 15000 de personnes. Le paysage était tellement joli, avec une montagne qui surplombait le village et qui a donc créé un paysage pittoresque. Le premier jour, après de déjeuner avec la famille (d’un côté, la nourriture était formidable), on s’est promené avec les chiens de mon amie. On est allés au sommet d’une petite colline de laquelle on pourrait voir un lac. Autour du lac il y avait presqu'un milliard de petits arbres, qui, j’ai appris plus tard, étaient des oliviers. On est rentré pendant quelques heures pour faire une sieste avant de sortir pour partager quelques petites boissons et de dîner.

La journée après on est allé à Grenade. Dés qu’on est arrivés on est allé à un château qui avait été parti d’une royaume Arabe. L'occupation a duré 700 ans et a commencé il y a presque 700 ans. Le château était une vraie juxtaposition aux autres que j’avais vu jusqu’à ce jour-là et c’était bien vaut la peine du voyage qui avait pris plus d’une heure dans la voiture pour y aller. Quand on était là, il y avait une française qui m’a demandé de prendre une photo. Jusqu'à ce point là, je n'avais que parlé en français, donc c’était un peu étrange qu’elle m’a demandé en anglais et qu’elle était étonnée de trouver que je pourrais parler en français. Ensuite on a erré par des jardins qui étaient près du château. Il y avait un paon et beaucoup de statues qui m’ont intéressé. Il y avait aussi quelques bâtiments médiévaux et même un aqueduc. Grâce à la chaleur on avait besoin de faire des pauses souvent. Pendant l’une de nos pauses on s'est assis à un resto pour quelque sangria et de tapas. La chose intéressante de tapas et que c’était souvent gratuite avec une boisson, et donc c’était pas nécessaire d’aller dans un resto pour acheter le diner.

Le lendemain on est allé dans la ville de Rute et a jeté un coup d’œil. C’est très joli et il y avait beaucoup de petits trucs à voir. On a trouvé un petit château qui nous a permet de voir dans la vallée et qui a surplombé quelques sections de la montagne. Il y avait des vines des raisins que j’ai pensé était inhabituel. Malheureusement, ils n’étaient pas mûrs pour manger. On a passé la majorité de l’après-midi dans la ville avant de décider de monter la montagne. C’était quelque chose que j’avais voulu faire pendant tout mon séjour. La tache s’est révélée difficile, mais bien sûr rentable. On avait du difficulté trouvant le chemin pour aller en haute. Donc on a décidé de grimper le côté de la montagne, cependant ce chemin était bien plus difficile qu’on avait pensé à cause des pierres instables. À l’arrivée on était près du sommet et la vue était un vrai spectacle. On a trouvé des ruines d’une tour qu’on a décidé de monter. On était accueillie avec une belle vue de la petite ville de Rute. On a resté peut-être trop tard au sommet parce qu'il avait tombé sombre quand on a décidé de descendre. La tache était même plus difficile cette fois et je suis presque tombé plusieurs fois à cause de pierres.

Pendant ma dernière journée en Espagne, nous sommes allés à Cordoba. Je crois que c’était le jour le plus chaud pendant que j’étais dans le pays. Comme résultat, de l’eau et l’abri étaient nos concernes les plus pressants. Nous avons visité une mosquée arabe qui a été converti à une église chrétienne.  J'ai trouvé l’architecture arabe très intéressant. Ce bâtiment nous a bien montré que l’Espagne était influencé par un royaume arabe. Il y avait plus de jardins dans la ville par lesquels on a traversé. Ils étaient très beaux. Nous avons trouvé des gicleurs, devant lesquels on a décidé de rester à cause de la chaleur. Ce n’était pas la dernière fois que nous avons joué dans l’eau pendant notre séjour à Cordoba. On a bien profité.

Le lendemain j’ai voyagé pour rentrer à ma chambre à Tours. Je l’ai trouvé difficile à dire au revoir à mes amis avec qui j’avais passé les derniers jours. Plus que j’avais pensé. Mais je savais que ça serait la dernière fois que je les verrais pendant mon séjour en Europe. Je suis arrivé à Tours avec presqu’une semaine jusqu’à la fin de mon Erasmus. L’un de mes intentions était de voir les jardins botaniques qui était quelque chose que j’ai voulu faire depuis que j'en ai entendus. J’y suis enfin allé. J’ai vu quelques émues et wallabies, qui était un peu ironique. J’étais 17 000 kilomètres de chez moi et j’étais juste quelques mètres des animaux natif de l’Australie. Pendant l’une des dernières journées j’ai déjeuné avec l’un de mes amis autrichien. C’était très sympa de réfléchir de nos temps et de raconter des histoires de nos expériences. Finalement, les derniers jours était passé dans la bar la plus connue par moi. La Cabane. C’était où j’ai salué quelques amis pour la dernière fois.

Soudainement c’était fini. Mon séjour en France avait fini aussi vite qu’il avait commencé. Au moins, ça aurait été le cas si ce n’était pas nécessaire pour moi de passer 20 heures dans un avion pour rentrer. Ce n’est pas du tout le meilleur voyage du monde. Ce n’est pas confortable et c’est véritablement dur de devoir s’asseoir à côté d’un inconnu. Heureusement j’avais assez de bonne chance pour être né en 1996, donc il y avait l'opportunité de regarder des films sur le petit écran au dos du siège devant, au cas de l'ennui intolérable. C'est donc ce que j'ai fait et c'a vaincu quelque peu l'ennui, mais pas tous. Malgré mes réclamations, je suis arrivé à Melbourne où j’étais immédiatement salué par les visages amicales de quelques amis et ma famille. C’était le voyage de ma vie, mais pas la dernière, j’en suis sûre.

On est fucken’ allé, et on va aller encore. We fucken went, and we’ll fucken go again.

Lord Varys et la nuit de crêpes

Juin est bien commencé maintenant qui me dit que je suis en retard d’écrire ce texte. Mais pour ceux qui m’ont suivi jusqu’au maintenant c’est évident que je suis rarement ponctuel. J’écris ce texte en Écosse après un peu de voyage.

J’ai passé  les premières semaines du mois à Tours faisant les fêtes par la Loire. Il y avait quelques soirées "d’adieu" pour des gens d’échanges. C’est devenu rare d’organisé des événements parce qu’il y aura toujours des gens qui étaient par la Loire. Je le trouve difficile comme Australien qui habite très loin d’Europe. Je ne sais pas la prochaine fois que je vais être aux pays des amis, et donc c’est important de passer autant de temps que possible avec mes amis.

Pendant les semaines ce n’était pas passé toujours bourré (même si c’était une grande partie). J’ai fait un jour de vélo avec l’un des organisations universitaires (le CUEFEE – la fac d’apprendre le français). C’était cool et on a voyagé par la Loire jusqu’à l’intersection de la Loire et Cher. C’était ma première fois en vélo depuis décembre 2016. Il faisait chaud qui m’est plaît et j’ai décidé de mettre un t-shirt sans des manches. Si je rappelle correctement il faisait environ 28 degrés, j’ai mis la crème solaire et puis j’ai pensé que tout irait bien. Je sais que le soleil n’est pas aussi dangereux en Europe en comparaison d’Australie. Cependant j’ai encore pris un coup de soleil. J’ai décidé que c’est impossible, avec ma peau blanche, d’éviter un coup de soleil pendant l’été - même en Europe. Je suis allé à une fête foraine à Tours qui était cool. Je n’étais pas là pendant longtemps mais j’étais là avec des français qui habitent dans ma résidence. Je ne suis pas de grand fan des manèges et donc je ne les ai pas fais. Mais l’ambiance néanmoins était cool. Une amie d’Australie a passé quelques jours à Paris pendant que j’étais à Tours. J’avais organisé avant de partir de l’Australie que je la verrais. J’ai pris le bus pour y aller, ça fait 3 heures et donc j’ai lu mon livre français (l’étranger par Albert Camus). À mon arrivé j’ai trouvé qu’elle était là avec l’une de ses amies. On a décidé de prendre le déjeuner avant d’aller au Sacré Cœur. On a passé une bonne journée et c’était sympa de les montrer un peu de Paris.

La fête foraine

La vue de Sacré Coeur 

L’une des soirées que j’ai passé avant de partir en vacances était un diner impromptu avec un ami allemand. Il m’a demandé si j’aurais voulu venir et manger quelques crêpes qu’il préparait, j’ai dit oui et je suis arrivé chez lui après environ une demie heure. J’avais pensé que je mangerait quelques crêpes comme un dessert et donc j’ai apporté un peu de diner avec moi. À mon arrivé il a dit qu’il voulait de l’aide avec des crêpes et de la nourriture qu’il a ramené pour manger avec les crêpes. Il y avait une noix de coco (qu’on a ouvert avec l’aide des vidéos de YouTube), quelques autres fruits, chocolat, miel – en grosse, trop de choses. Il n’avait pas encore fini de cuisiner tous les crêpes et j’ai remarqué qu’il avait une grande casserole de liquide qui n’était pas encore cuisiné. À la fin c’était apparent qu’on avait besoin de l’aide de manger tous les crêpes et donc j’ai décidé de demander quelques amis qui habitait dans la résidence s’ils en avaient envie de manger. On était 7 dans la cuisine mangeant les crêpes qu’on a cuisiné.

La dernière chose que j’ai fais pendant le mois de mai était ma voyage à Paris (encore). Je suis allé à Paris pour rendre visite à une amie qui est venu de l’Australie en vacances. J’ai passé une grande partie du voyage traduisant des menus pour mon amie. On a visité tous les sites touristiques pendant les 6 jours qu’on était là. Deux amies que j’ai rencontré à Tours était à Paris en même temps que nous et on les a vus pendant qu’on était là. On a pris des pique-niques par une rivière avec du vin, du fromage et de pâté (et bien sûr du pain).  À Paris on a resté dans un hébergement de jeunesse partagé avec quelques autres. Le logement soi-même n’était pas mal, mais parce qu’on l’a partagé les nuits se sont semblé longue à cause de gens qui sont venus très tard pendant la nuit. On a décidé de donner des noms aux gens qui nous sont énervés. Par exemple, il y avait un homme que nous avons décidé rassemblé Lord Varys de Game of Thrones, et donc c’est devenu son nom. Cependant, on a rencontré des autres gens qui étaient cool, comme un homme de la Russie. Il nous a donne un peu de l’argent de la Russe pour voir, et on a échangé de l’argent Australien. Nous avons trouvé un bar qui n’était pas trop loin de notre logement ou nous avons passé les dernières 3 nuits à Paris. La dernière nuit ce n’était que moi et mon amie Australien qui sommes allés (les nuits avant on était là avec nos amis allemandes). Nous avons rencontré quelques français qui étaient là (heureusement  pour mon amie quelques-uns ont parlé anglais) et on a dit qu’on est Australien. Les serveurs étaient sympas et nous ont permis de choisir quelques chansons pour jouer dans le bar. À la fin l’homme au bar nous a donné une bouteille de Rosé et quelques bières pour nous souhaiter une bonne continuation avec nos voyages.

La Panthéon

Pic-nique par la rivière

Le dernier jour on est partis pour aller à Londres, et j’en parlerais dans le prochain article.

Pour maintenant, comme toujours, on y fucking va.

ENGLISH

June has definitely already begun and I am yet to have posted another blog post, which of course tells me that I am running behind. Obviously I am usually a smidgen unorganised. I have written the following whilst in Scotland after a bit of travelling around Europe.

Since the previous article I have spent the first few weeks of May in Tours celebrating the end of exams and things by the Loire river- as usual. We have had a few gathering to say goodbye to people who have left to go home already. Due to the frequency of the events down by the river nobody actually really organises anything anymore and it is just assumed that people will be there. I have been thinking about the end of my time here as a result and that, because I live so far away from Europe that it is difficult to say goodbye, as I don’t know the next time I am going to be able to see these people. As a result I have made sure to spend as much time as possible with everyone as I can.

The weeks weren’t however spent completely drunk (even if it was a large part). We had a day of bike riding along the Loire. It was an event organised by the CUEFEE (the university faculty that teaches French to its students). It was a fun day. We travelled along the river up until we found the intersection between the Loire and the Cher rivers. It was the first time I had ridden a bike in over 6 months. It was a warm day, which was nice as I had missed most of Summer when leaving Australia. It was around 28 degrees, so I put on some sunscreen – despite knowing that the sun isn’t as dangerous in Europe as in Australia. It did not, however, stop me from getting fairly sunburnt. It is evidently inevitable that no matter where I go I will always manage to get sunburnt when it is a warm day. There was also, around this time, a carnival that came to Tours. I went with a few of my French friends who live in my residence. I am not a huge fan of roller coasters so I didn’t actually use them. Nevertheless, the atmosphere was cool and it was nice to spend some time with the French! I also went to Paris to see a friend who was there visiting whilst I was in Tours. We had organised previously that I would go and have lunch with her, as she knew I would be in France at the time. I took a bus for 3 hours to get to Paris, during which I decided to read my book – L’Étranger by Albert Camus. When I got to Paris I found out that my friend was there with another and so we all decided to go and have lunch in Montmartre before going to the Sacré Coeur. I had a good time and it was nice to show these people a little bit of Paris.

La fête foraine

La vue de Sacré Coeur 

Before leaving to go on my own trip I had an impromptu dinner with a German friend. He asked if I wanted to have some crepes that he was making, of course, I said yes and so I headed over to his kitchen. I had thought that I would be having crepes as a kind of desert after my dinner and so I had some food before going. When I got there he asked me for some help in making them. He had bought a coconut – which we needed to search youtube for advice on how to open – some other fruit, chocolate and honey, basically too much food. He had a large pot full of uncooked pancake mix that he was using. It was evident that we were going to need some help eating all of these crepes as there were so many of them and so I asked a few friends who live in the same residence as me to come and eat. A total of 7 people were in the room to eat the crepes that he had initially thought would be sufficient for 2 people. It was a nice impromptu gathering, which was a bit of fun!

My travels began on the 26^th of May when I went, again, to Paris. This time I went to see ANOTHER Australian friend who was visiting on holidays. We went and visited lots of the classical touristic sites throughout Paris during the 6 days that we were there. We also met up with a couple of German friends that I had met whilst in Tours. We had a few picnics by the river and it was really nice to spend some time in the sun with them all. While we were in Paris we stayed in a youth hostel with some other people. The lodging itself wasn’t bad, but because it was shared the nights seemed quite long because of the people coming and going  throughout the night. We decided to give nick names to the people that were annoying us so that we could refer to them. For example, there was a man who looked a lot like Lord Varys from Game of Thrones, and so that became his name. However we did meet some people who were cool, including a Russian man with whom we exchanged some currency. He received some Australian coins and we got some Russian rubles. 

We found a bar that wasn’t far from our housing and we spent a few nights there with our German friends. The last night it was just my Australian friend and I. We met a few French people that night, happily for my friend a few of them spoke a bit of English. We told them that we are Australian and the servers were really nice to us after that (not that they weren’t beforehand, just extra-nice now). They had an iPad there and they let us pick some songs to play in the bar. At the end of the night the barman gave us a bottle of rosé and a few beers to wish us well on our journey. 

The Pantheon

River picnics

The next morning we left to go to London – which I will talk about in the next blog post. 

Until then, On y fucking va.

En France, En Pays-Bas, En Belgique, En Italie

Aujourd’hui, le 1^ère mai, est un jour férié en France. Je n’ai rien chose à faire et c’est un bon opportunité d’écrire le prochain article dans mon blog. Avant de commencer, je voudrais remercier mon amie Aurélie qui m’a assisté de corriger le français dans mes premiers deux articles.

Le blog précédent s’est fini disant que ma famille est arrivée à Tours. Je les ai vus quelques fois en plus pendant la semaine. Mais le vendredi après (le 7 mai) on est parti en vacances. L’intention pour le première weekend de nos vacances était d’aller voir la course de cyclisme qui s’appelle le Paris-Roubaix. C’est très connu par les fans de cyclisme. C’est connu pour être l’une des plus difficile courses du monde. La course se passes un jour et environ 250 kilomètres. Cette idée toute seul est impressionnant, mais la vraie difficulté pour les cyclistes est la terre. Il y a plusieurs parties qui comprennent les pavés. C’est-à-dire que c’est vraiment difficile même sans les conditions d’une course compétitive. On est resté dans une petite ville très proche à Lille, Anstaing, et c’est vraiment jolie.

Après Anstaing on est allé à Amsterdam. On a pris le train pour y aller. En arrivant c’était la première fois dans une certain temps que j’était perdu concernant la langue. Heureusement, la grande majorité de gens qui y habitent parlent anglais. Amsterdam m’est souvenu de Vénice. Il y a beaucoup des canaux, dans laquelle c’était possible de prendre des bateaux de tours.  On est visité un musée qui m’a plaît. C’était un musée de l’histoire des bateaux et l’importance de la mer pour l’économie d’Amsterdam. Il y avait aussi un grand bateau qu’on aurait utilisé dans la marine il y a deux ou trois cent ans.  Je l’ai trouvé impressionnant et intéressant d’imaginer habiter dans le bateau. Dans le musée il y avait aussi une carte du monde sans une représentation complète d’Australie qui était cool!

Ypres était la destination prochaine. Ypres s’est situé près de la frontière de Belgique et France. La ville était utilisée dans plusieurs occasions comme une champs de bataille pendant la première guerre mondiale. La ville avait été complétement détruit par les bombardements, mais reconstruite  après la guerre. Elle est presque la même ville qu’avant la guerre sauf quelques petites choses. Dans le centre ville il y a une grande cathédrale, et pas loin d’elle on peut trouver une grande place qui est utilisé pendant les week-ends pour accueillir des marchés. Si on se promène un autre deux minutes, on trouvera la porte menin, un monument qui est dédié aux soldats qui sont morts pendant la guerre. Spécifiquement ceux qui était partis du Commonwealth et qui leurs corps n’étaient pas trouvé après le guerre pour inhumer. Chaque soir à vingt heures il y a une cérémonie du Last Post pour se souvenir des soldats qui est vraiment touchant.

On était là le vendredi, samedi et dimanche. Le samedi un ami de moi est rendu visite à Ypres. On a exploré la ville, les magazines, les restaurants, tous ça. Chaque fois que je suis entré dans un magazine j’étais confus. Je n’ai pas su quelle langue j’ai voulu utiliser. Officiellement à Belgique, le français est l’une des principales langues. En revanche, ça semblé que tous le monde ont voulu parler anglais dès que j’ai traduit aux membres de ma famille/mon ami. Dans ma tête c’était bizarre d’avoir quelqu’un veux que je parles anglais, et pas français, dans une situation où c’était possible pour moi d’utiliser le français.

Le dimanche on participait dans un tour de beaucoup de champs de batailles entour d’Ypres. Principalement les champs avaient été transformés dans des cimetières et mémoriaux. J’ai trouvé le tour très informatif et plein d’information intéressant. Pendant le tour on a visité une tombe de quelqu’un dans notre famille qui est mort là-bas. Pour moi c’était effrayant parce que j’avais l’image dans ma tête de quelqu’un maturé et qui s’est passé une vie comme un homme. Mais en réalité il était moins âgé que moi quand il est mort. On est visité, après, un musée qui a abrité beaucoup de reliques de la guerre. Il y avait des armes, des vêtements, et même des vraies tranchées. Comme quelqu’un qui est intéressé par l’histoire, c’était très cool d’avoir une idée des conditions de vie des soldats. Dans le musée il y avait des exemples des coquilles explosives. Mais ce n’était pas la première fois que je les ai vus. En fait, c’est bien possible de les voir si on conduit certaines rues entour Ypres car il y a des fermiers qui les trouvent souvent dans leurs champs et qui les laissent à coté de la rue pour être collecter par les autorités. Les uns que les fermiers trouvent sont encore dangereuse parce que c’est possible qu’ils aillent exploser. Ypres, à cause de l’histoire est l’une de mes endroits préféré. Après Ypres ma famille et moi sommes allés à Paris, le lundi. Je n’étais pas là pendant longtemps car j’avais besoin d’aller en Italie le mardi matin.

La distance entre moi et les autres est égal que le
 point le plus court entre les allemandes et les alliés. 

Je me suis levés à 5 heures du matin pour aller à l’aéroport, et je suis arrivé à Vérone un peu avant 15 heures. Mon amie, qui je suis rendu visite, m’a rencontré à la gare pour me prendre chez elle. J’ai rencontré ses parents, qui étaient vraiment gentils, et j’ai passé l’après midi chez eux. Après, je suis allé à mon logement pour quelques heures avant de partir avec mon amie et son petit ami pour dîner. Ils m’ont pris au resto de pizza, au but de goûter la pizza « vraie ». Je l’ai aimé. Ensuite, ils m’ont montré quelques parties de la ville. Pour ceux qui ne sont pas allés à Vérone, c’est tellement joli. En fait je le considérais l’une des plus belles villes que j’aie vu. Il y a des ruines romanes et médiévales, des maisons colorées en jeune, rouge, et rose, et heureusement il faisait beau pendant la semaine. Quand j’étais à Vérone j’ai visité l’aréna qui était comme un colisée mini. Il y avait un musée très cool avec beaucoup des ouvres romaines. Il y avait des beaux ponts pour traverser la rivière, il y avait des grandes tours, et cathédrales. L’un des jours que j’étais là j’ai rencontré quelques amis de mon amie. On a pris des spritz en nous reposant dans le soleil. Un autre soir je suis allé dans un restaurant avec mon amie et sa famille. C’était au bord d’un grand lac où il y avait des petits bateaux. C’était très sympa. À la fin de mon voyage j’étais triste de saluer tout le monde comme j’avais une expérience très bien. Mon amie et sa famille étaient vraiment gentilles, et j’ai eu une expérience que je ne pense pas que j’aille oublier. Donc, si vous lisez cet article, merci beaucoup. 

 Ici j'ai ajouté mon instagram parce que les images ont une qualité mieux.

Le voyage retourne chez moi pris longtemps. J’ai pris le train de Vérone à Tours. Il y avait 3 changements de trains, et ça pris 12 heures. Je suis part à 7 heures du matin, et je suis arrivé à 19h30. Le voyage n’était pas aussi mauvais j’avais anticipé. J’ai lis, écouté à quelques podcasts, et en train de Paris j’ai parlé à un homme italien qui avait pensé que j’étais Français avant que je lui aie dit que je suis Australien. Il y avait aussi des belles vues des montagnes. Je pourrais les voir dans le fond. Les montagnes avaient de la neige au sommet et en même temps les montagnes semblaient d’avoir la même couleur que le ciel. C’a donné l’illusion qu’on avaient les dessiné, et j’ai pensé que c’était un peu surréaliste. À mon retour je suis allé d’acheter le dîner et puis je suis allé au coté de la Loire pour rejoindre des amis qui j’avais dessiné seraient là-bas.

La semaine suivant j’avais quelques examens et partielles. Maintenant j’ai fini toutes les grandes choses importantes pour le semestre. C’est bon de savoir que c’est presque fini, mais en même temps c’est triste parce qu’il y a beaucoup de mes amis qui vont partir bientôt la France. Je sais, alors, que j’ai des amis en Europe avec qui je peux rencontrer la prochaine fois que je suis ici.

Le 30 d’avril je suis allé à Villandry avec le groupe universitaire. À Villandry on peut trouver un château qui est encadré par quelques-uns des plus beaux jardins du monde. J’ai passé l’après midi dans le soleil avec quelque amis admirant les jardins. On nous a donné des audioguides, mais nous ne les avons pas vraiment utilisé comme nous parlions plus.  Il y avait un lac dans lequel il y avait deux cygnes. Nous sommes resté un peu dans le soleil au bord du lac. Après, nous sommes retourné à Tours où nous sommé allés diner, et puis sommes allés à la Loire afin de passer le soir avec des autres gens là-bas. Le jour était très bien.

Pour finir, un truc que j’ai trouvé amusant. J’ai fait un peu du shopping la semaine dernière pour trouver des chaussures (qui je dois encore acheter). Dans le magasine j’ai voulu essayé quelques chaussures, et une femme m’a demandé si les semelles des chaussures plus confortable. Je n’ai pas connu le mot « semelle » et donc je l’ai demandé ce que c’est. Elle m’a jeté un coup d’œil qui était l’un d’incrédulité. Ce n’était pas jusqu’à j’ai exprimé que je ne suis pas Français et en fait Australien qu’elle a changé sa visage. Elle avait étonnement, et elle m’a dit qu’elle a pensé que j’étais Français parce que je n’ai pas d’accent très fort. J’ai décidé de le prendre comme un compliment.

 On y fucking va


** English Translation***

Today, the first of may, is a public holiday in France. I have nothing to do and so I have decided that it would be a good opportunity to add to my blog. Before starting, however, I would like to thank my friend Aurélie who helped me to correct some of my previous blog posts.

The previous blog ended with me mentioning the arrival of my family in Tours. I saw them a few more times during the week, however, on the 7^th of May we left on holiday. The aim for our first weekend away was to go and watch a cycling race called the Paris – Roubaix, which is very known in the cycling world. It is considered one of the most difficult cycling races in the world. It is a single stage race over one day, and this time was around 250km. The idea on its own is a feat that many would struggle with, but the real difficulty comes from the terrain. There are several parts of the course that are made up of cobblestones. Everything about this stage would be difficult even without the intensity of a competition happening at the same time. Whilst there we were staying in a little village that was quite close to Lille, known as Anstaing. It was a very beautiful little town.

After we were in Anstaing we went to Amsterdam. We took a train to get there. I realised once I got there that it was the first time in a while that I was in a country that had a language as its primary mode of conversation that I didn’t understand. Fortunately the majority of people there speak English, making everything a little easier. I found that Amsterdam reminded me a little bit of Venice due to there being a number of canals, in which it was possible to have boat tours. We visited a museum that I enjoyed as well; it was of the naval history of Amsterdam. There was also a large boat that would have been used as part of the navy 2 or 3 hundred years ago. It was really quite cool, and I felt it really interesting to imagine living in a boat like that for an extended period of time. I probably would not recommend it. The museum also had an old globe that depicted the world before Australia had been completely discovered.

The next destination was Ypres. It’s a town that is situated near the France/ Belgium border. The town became known as a place for several battles during the First World War. During the war, the town was completely destroyed, but recreated after the war. The town was remade almost building for building. In the centre of town there was a huge cathedral, and not long from there was a square that people use on the weekends to hold markets. From there, a two-minute walk would lead to the Menin Gate. The Menin Gate is a monument that was dedicated to the soldiers who died during the war at these battlefields. The monument was in honour of the members of the commonwealth and whose bodies were not found to be buried. At 8 o’clock every evening there is a ceremony that pays tribute there through the Last Post. It was a touching ceremony.

We were there the Friday, Saturday and Sunday for Easter. On the Saturday a friend of mine came to Ypres to see us. We explored the town, the shops, and restaurants, all of those things. Each time that I entered a shop I was confused. I was not sure which language I should speak. Officially, French is one of the principal languages. On the other hand, it seems hat almost everyone could speak English, and wanted to do so once they realised I would translate to my family. I found it strange to have someone prefer to speak to me in English when it was possible for me to speak French.

On the Sunday we participated in a tour of many of the battlefields around Ypres. Principally the fields had been transformed into memorial cemeteries. I found the tour to be very informative and interesting. During the tour we visited a tomb that housed the body of a relative of mine. It was scary to realise that this person was younger than me, particularly after having the image of a man in my head. Afterwards we visited a museum, which housed many relics of the war. There were weapons, clothes and even some original trenches. AS someone who is interested by history, it was really cool to be able to try and understand the living conditions of the soldiers. In the museum there were examples of explosive shells, however it was not the first time I had seen them. It is possible to see some of these shells whilst driving around town. You can see shells that have been left by famers’ fields. They are left after famers find these, 100 years later, to be collected by the authorities. It is crazy to know on top of that, is that these shells are still live and have a possibility of exploding. As a result of the history that is there, Ypres is one of my favourite places. After Ypres, we went to Paris, in which I spent only a few hours before going myself to Italy.

I woke at 5 in the morning to go to the airport, and I arrived a little after 3pm in Verona. My friend whom I had gone to see met me at the train station. She took me to her house where I spent the afternoon before going to my accommodation. I stayed there for a few hours before going out with my friend for dinner. We went to a pizza restaurant to eat some “real” pizza. I like it. Afterwards we had a walk around the town and learned that it’s a truly beautiful town. There were medieval ruins, and also Roman ruins, coloured houses in red, yellow and pink. When I was in Verona I visited the arena that was there, it was much like a small colosseum. There is also a museum there that houses many roman artworks. There were also beautiful bridges that one uses to cross the river; there were tall towers and cathedrals. When I was there I met a few of my friend’s friends. We had a spritz and relaxed in the sun. On another night we went to a restaurant that was next to a lake where there were small boats. It was really nice. At the end of my trip I was sad to say goodbye as I had had such a wonderful experience. My friend and her family were truly kind, and I’m sure that I am not going to forget my time there. If you read this, thank you for that.

The return trip to Tours took a long time. I took 3 trains, and 12 hours to get home. I left at 7 in the morning and arrived at 7:30 at night. The trip, however, was not as bad as I had anticipated as I had a few books to read, and podcasts to listen to. I also met an Italian man with whom I spoke on the way home. He initially thought I was French as we spoke French together. On the way back there were many lovely views. There were many mountains that I could see in the background. There was snow on top of the mountain, and the mountains seemed to blend in with the colour of the sky. It gave the illusion that the mountains had been drawn, and I found it to be a little surreal. When I got back I bought some dinner and joined some friends by the Loire river.

The following week I had tests and exams. Now, I have finished all of the important things for the semester. It is a relief to know that it is almost over, but at the same time sad to know that people will soon be leaving. I know now though that I have many friends in Europe that I will be able to see the next time I am in Europe.

On the 30^th of April we went to Villandry which is a small castle surrounded by many beautiful gardens. I spent the afternoon in the sun admiring these gardens with friends. There was an audio guide that nobody really seemed to use due to everyone wanting to chat with each other. There was a lake there in which there were two swans. We stayed by the lake in the sun. Afterwards we returned to Tours before getting dinner and relaxing by the river.

In order to finish, I have a little amusing story that happened to me. I went to shopping to look for some new shoes. In the shop I tried on some shoes and one of the women working there asked me if I wanted something. I didn’t understand what it was when she asked me, and so I asked her what the word meant. It was at this point that she looked at me as if I was making a bad joke. It was not until I told her that I wasn’t French that she changed her look. She was stunned, she hadn’t realised, and told me that I did not have a very strong Australian accent, which leads me to believe that I speak French pretty well. I chose to take it as a compliment.

On y fucking va.