A Parisian December

Over the last couple of weeks I've had a lot more insight into French culture and society. First of all, I was invited to attend a small party at the university in honour of a lecturer getting a PhD. It turned out, however, that the party was preceded

Strikes!

Considering I've been in France for less than three months, I've already seen a lot of protests and a lot of strikes. Air traffic controllers, lorry drivers, teaching assistants...the list goes on. The bus conductors have a strike planned for December

Delicacies and Days Off

Life here across the channel is continuing much as it would in the UK- we even have a French version of The X Factor! It's called Star Academy and is on Friday nights. I haven't become addicted yet but if this cold snap continues my TV watching will increase

Midnight and a flaming torch

My second month in France; or how I ended up wandering the streets at midnight with a flaming torch. Yes, September in France means lots of (free!) exciting events, one of which was a guided tour of my area. Everyone was given a lit torch and during

Settling in

I’ve been in France for just over a week now and am beginning to settle in. I will be here for a year  working as an English language assistant at the University of Versailles. The job itself, though a full-time contract, is only 12 hours