First Week in La Rochelle

So I’ve survived a week in France and I’m pleasantly surprised that my poor French skills and lots of nodding and pretending I know what they’re talking about has actually managed to get me a French phone number, a bus pass, a bank account (almost) and most importantly- somewhere to live! I’m not gonna lie, the thought of moving to France with nowhere to live terrified me! I was lucky however that my Mum, Dad and brother came with me for a week before abandoning me this morning! The process of finding somewhere to live was not much fun though, I’m only here in La Rochelle for 5 months and this proved to be rather problematic for most landlords and that wasn’t the worst part, those of you that know me will know that I have an irrational fear of ringing people, so having to ring French people was pretty much my worst nightmare. But I can now say that I’ve done it (lots!) and it (mostly) went pretty well!

 

Anyway, eventually I found a room in a nice French man’s house which is near the town centre and even nearer where I have to get the bus to the school that I will be working in, and he lets two other rooms out to other students, it seemed pretty good to me so I snapped it up quick before someone else did. The only slight drawback being that I don’t have a proper kitchen just what the French call a ‘coin repas’ which is basically two hob rings and a microwave shared with the other two students, who unfortunately I haven’t met yet, but I’m sure it’ll be fine! (this seems to be my motto for my Year Abroad so far!)

Last night was my Mum, Dad and Brother’s last night in La Rochelle so we went out for a meal in the town and after wandering around for half an hour looking for somewhere to eat where we all liked something on the menu we ended up, typical British style, in an Indian restaurant. But it backfired on us as it was probably the worst curry I’ve ever eaten, no wonder the French don’t really go in for Indian cuisine! However, the street the restaurant was in was bustling with people and had a really lovely atmosphere and there was an amazing busker so I think I’ll be returning to try another restaurant in the street at some point in the near future.

 

 The amazing busker!

After a false start involving a flat tyre on my Dad’s car I moved into my room this morning and after helping to unload all my things my Mum, Dad and Brother left to catch their Eurotunnel back to England. I’ve spent the rest of the day slowly unpacking and settling in and drinking tea that I had to make in the microwave because there’s no kettle! I’m still yet to meet the other two students living here as they seem to be away for the weekend.

 

 My room :)

 

My next challenge is starting my teaching assistantship on Monday and meeting my mentor, which I fear could go terribly wrong as it involves getting a bus out to the little village where my school is and speaking a lot of French! Wish me luck! I’ll try and post again soon to keep you updated!

Thanks for reading :)