Mon studio

Well, I have moved into my little studio flat. I did that on Friday night. I knew that it would be hqrd, so I was ready for feeling awful, but that didn't make the feeling awful any easier to handle! It is so small and there is kind of nothing to do. There is no oven, just two hotplates. I have bought an electric jug, but the cord doesn't reach the plug. I have walked, been to the supermarket, read two books..... Basically I am just feeling lonely. I guess it will get better. I have also done quite a bit of study and hopefully I now know a bit more about conjugating verbs. Although sadly things don't stick well in my elderly brain.
This afternoon there was some action however. I went with my landlords to a Catholic "picnic" which in fact was a big lunch. I felt a bit out of place but people were very nice to me. And Albert Tatlock was there! He didn't die in Coronation St at all. (Non-Coro viewers can skip this part.) Truly, he was the spitting imqge, and I really think it was his twin if not the real bloke. (Who would now no doubt be over 100! Lol.) And who would have thought that he was really French? Anyway, there were a couple of nice women there who spoke a little bit of English and made suggestions that we meet, etc. But I don't know my phone number yet, qnd didn't have it on me. Still it may happen. It would be nice to hqve someone to speak English with occqsionally, and in return I could get them to help me with my French.
Anyway, after the lunch and tidying up, Marie-Hélène (studio owner) took me to an art exhibition. We have just got back from it in fact. It was out in the country a bit and the drive was very pleasant. In fact I had got the wrong end of the stick, as I do, and it was in fact an egg exhibition! I don't think I have ever been to an egg exhibition before. Whilst my immediqte reaction was, "Why would people do this?", I realised that we all get our kicks from different things and fair enough. It's not for me to judge. Some of the eggs were extraordinarily intricate and/or artistic, and there were some I really liked a lot. Some were very very awful, but it's the same with all craft exhibitions I guess.
So that's been today. It was a really long morning and I don't like that feeling of filling in time. I think too much about things and have endless conversations going on in my head. I knew it was going to be hqrd on my own. I just don't do on my own very well. That phrase has a very real sense of déja vu to it, so I have obviously written it before. But it's true that I have struggled this weekend and wondered again why I do these things! I have this need to fill my life with 'stuff', being aware that it's so short. Life, not stuff. But I also need to be with people. Adventures are all very well.....
Anyway, university tomorrow. Perhpas the weeks with routines will be just fine. I don't have the internet in my studio and Christian says I won't be able to get it! But we may be able to work something out. Indeed I hope so!! They have kindly let me use their computer, but it's not the same as being able to check in whenever one feels like it.
So that's me. Signing off from Poitiers, France. A lovely sunny day of about 20 degrees.
A bientôt.
Alison.

Hmmm.....

Today was not so good. When I went with a group from university to somewhere in Centre Ville to get my carte de sejour, I found I had to have my birth certificate and marriage certificate, along with all the other paperwork I knew about. It will now be a time consuming drama to get them. The young man who was dealing with me, who was very nice I might add, said that it was urgent and could they be faxed straight away! I rang Jane, my sister, on my cell phone to ask her to get them, (and woke her up :-)), and it cost me 50 euros!!!!!! ($100 NZ.) All the money I had put on my phone. It would have been quite straightforward if I had been told I would need them.
Also, while I was waiting politely for my turn to be interviewed for the carte de sejour, I became aware that it was very possible that I was the only representative from a country where people do indeed wait politely in queues! After many 'push-ins' I had to get a bit assertive too. I know it all sounds like nothing much, but there was a lot more to it than that. And it took a long time. Then I couldn't find my way out of the building, and then when I was out, I had trouble getting back to where I wanted to go. Thank goodness for a good sense of direction. Which didn't save us in London, Pat, but it was useful today.

It's the first time I have thought that this is just too hard. I submitted heaps of paperwork for my visa and had no idea there was this carte de sejour thing as well. I am a pretty damned good guesser, but I have my limits. My host "mother" says she will come and visit me in prison. Lol.

Anyway, the roast pork is smelling pretty good so things aren't all bad. And I bought a cool fabric calendar today with all the days of the week, seasons, weather options etc. En français of course! :-)
Even as I type I'm feeling better, but it was a hard day.

mercredi 23rd

Hi. A few more photos. The main one is of my class at university who were all happy to be published on my blog. The person in the middle with her hands in her pockets is Sophie, our tutor. They really are a great bunch, and although there are days at uni that are better than others, (just like work or school), mostly I really enjoy going. Yesterday a bunch of us had lunch together which was lovely. (Did I say lunch? HOW many courses?) So I'm enjoying it. Also, it seems pretty much agreed that it is impossible to go to school as well as to university full time, plus the tutorials, (I REALLY need extra help with understanding what people are saying.)Plus go to the library etc. So it looks as if it will be uni till December and school after Christmas. But opinions change so I will keep you posted!
The other photos are of 1)two of my morning bus friends, Sarah and Ken, with whom I chat in English. Ken is from Taiwan and Sarah from England. 2)Jean up one of the towers in La Rochelle, showing a beautiful view in the background. 3) A sign which I have interpreted as 'school for normal female primary teachers'. Which seemed a bit like stating the obvious to me, as aren't we all? :-)
My Brownies which I made to take out for tea last night weren't all that nice, but edible, and people ate them. In fact they were rather more delicious in leftover mode at lunchtime today. We had a very late night last night and I'm not used to that mid-week. It was a lovely evening but I have been really tired and have come home and had a nap!
Tomorrow my routine changes a bit and our class is all meeting in the morning in Centre Ville (middle of town)and we go through the Carte de Sejour process at the town hall or somewhere. I guess I will stay in town for a bit afterwards and have a wander round.
I hope you are all well. Take care.
Love Alison.

Weekend on the Atlantic Coast

Hi everyone. I will try typing this on a word document and saving it on to my memory stick and then adding it to my blog when I’m on line. Of course, I’ve almost forgotten which keys are which on my laptop! Lol.
First of all, I’ve just got home from an appointment at uni having thought that I was getting my carte de sejour, which is like an entry permit I guess, but I found that my appointment was just to get a student card. I now have to get even more identity photos taken and go somewhere in the city to get the carte de sejour. I am upset because a) I got a pile of photos taken in Auckland at some expense and I’m sure I brought them with me, but I can’t find them, and b) the very first I ever heard of a carte de sejour was a few days before we flew out from Aucklqnd. It had never been mentioned before and I still don’t actually know what it is. All that had ever been mentioned was a visa and I thought that was it. I also need to go to the tabac and get some more bus tickets, and go to the supermarket and get some ingredients to make a dessert to take out tomorrow night. I am nervous about that as I got growled at by the checkout lady last time I went there. (Do you know that I am mixing my a’s and q’s in reverse??) And I have discovered that just about all the desserts I like to make require whippable cream. My honeycomb cheesecake is a bit of a legend in Papatoetoe, but whipped cream? Cream cheese? I am going to have a go at Brownies and see how that works out. Toby, oh famous dessert maker – where are you when I need you? Actually, anybody…. please comment or email me if you have any foolproof-in-France recipes which reflect New Zealand! How’s that for a challenge? 
Anway. Le weekend. I got home at lunchtime on Friday and soon after we headed off in la voiture (little French lessons tossed in here for nuffink!) towards the coast. We stayed in a holiday house in a little village called Grues, which isn’t actually on the coast but not far away. A peaceful and idyllic setting really> it sort of reminded me of Taranaki, but I guess it was nothing like it really – not a mountain or even a mound to be seen. It’s probably just that when I’m in the country I’m invariably staying at Ruth and Murray’s farm out of Stratford. So the peace and quiet made that connection> Oh, btw, on the way to Grues there were quite a few of those power generating windmills. I guess they’re a great way to get electricity, but I have to say that I tend to agree with Brian Turner, Anton Oliver et al…. they are rather obtrusive and I would hate to see them spoil Central Otago.
Oh, I’m digressing again. We then drove to the sea and walked along the beach. It wasn’t beautiful in a pretty way, but unspoilt, and hey, it was the Atlantic Ocean if I’d swum out and kept going I would have roughly made New York. That really had the wow factor for me.
On Saturday morning we went to a large village/small town called Tranche sur la Mer. Which is on the coast as the name implies. Lots of shops and markets and people. I could have stayed there all day! Happy as a sandboy in shops, me. We went back home for lunch then wended our way to another village and a chateau called Talmont St Hilaire. It was originally built by William the Great, Duke of Aquitaine and count of Poitou in 1018, and then various other rulers made it theirs. Richard the Lionheart has a strong connection with this castle. Did you know that Richard the Lionheart was king of England and could only ever speak French? Fancy that. Anyway, this was a special weekend and all historical things had free entry which was not to be sneezed at. The Talmont St Hilaire chateau was just fantastic. I know I do go on about castles. We had a guided tour, and although it was in French – rats! – the young man spoke clearly and not too quickly and I picked up bits and pieces. It is just so amazing and even haunting to be in places that people were living in so many many years ago. J’aime l’histoire.
After the chateau visit we went for a brisk walk in a forêt which somewhat resembled New Zealand bush. Certainly there were lots of ferns around. We also walked along craggy outcrops above the beach and I did fear that I might fall! (John T, I have discovered that I have got accents in the insert thingee. Whoopee!) It did occur to me when we were tramping along that we should have been dropping breadcrumbs, as it was all pretty similar, and sure enough we took the wrong track on the way back. It was OK and we retraced our steps. But getting lost is a biggie for me. I feel like I'm pretty much lost most of the time, so to actually get physically lost would be just awful.
It was quite late and I was exhausted when we got home. But a good day.
The next morning we packed up the house and set off again. We went to a church which had also in the past served as a fort, and we clambered up a long spiral staircase right to the top. That’s not usually allowed but it was because of it being the special weekend. I kept away from the edge of the ramparts - no need for being silly I thought - but still got to see some great views.
We then went on to La Rochelle. Well, what a beautiful city. Just lovely. Some of the architecture reminded me of Paris. We walked though the town and gazed upon the GORGEOUS shops which were CLOSED!!!! Everything everywhere is closed on Sundays. Tragic! We then came out on to the harbour and it was fairly humming. People everywhere. A wonderful atmosphere. And quite beautiful. Not unlike the Auckland viaduct in some ways.
Later. I have just returned from the supermarché. There was a photo booth there like the one where we had photos taken at the Wellington railway station in 19-something or other, Ruth.  So I had my photos taken there which is a load off my mind. They are incredibly horrible, but hopefully the authorities won’t send me back to New Zealand because I’m ugly.
Back to Sunday. We spent most of the day hanging out at La Rochelle which was great. We looked through the wonderful old town hall, had a wee boat trip on the harbour and toured through a fortified tower. We joined the queue as they only let a few people in at a time. Congestion would cause all sorts of problems as the passageways are so narrow. We were about third in the queue and when we got out it was stretching about 10 metres down the street, so we did quite well really! La Rochelle is a real tourist spot and I even stopped getting excited when I heard English spoken as I heard it quite a lot. Actually, I didn’t stop getting excited. I just got excited quite a lot more often.
I’m sure we did other things but you have probably stopped reading already and I am tired recalling it all! I was absolutely exhausted by the time we got home. Tired but happy, as they say. And kids say,(well, write in their stories)“And then I woke up and found it was all a dream.” But so far it aint!
The photos, by the way, are of me contemplating the Atlantic, and St Hilary's castle. More photos to come, but the camera battery needs recharging. It's been working overtime.
Bisous,
Alison.

jeudi

Well here I am again folks. It's Thursday afternoon here and I've just had lunch. I think that there is something very lovely about the way the French make every meal into a bit of a ceremony, but having said that, it gets tiring. When I got home from university about 1.00 today there was no-one home, so I got quite excited and grabbed a bit of bread and paté and ate it standing in the kitchen!
I seem finally to have found my right level at uni. I still really struggle with the listening, but if I went too much lower I would be in pre-school I think. I actually have no problem hearing - people seem to speak very clearly - but I just don't understand. Hopefully one day...... There is still the issue of the local AFS man wanting me to be a part time student. He hasn't actually contacted me about it so we'll see. I do the official enrolment stuff and payment on Monday. On Tuesday night we've been invited out for an evening meal and there will be AFS people there including one of the lecturers from uni who speaks English. So that should help clear up any outstanding issues. (Or it may create more, but hey, this is all one big adventure, right? Hmmmm....)
I have made a friend at uni, and Judy, :-), I hope you are impressed. She is a Polish nun! It sounds like some sort of spoof really - Alison and a Polish nun. But there we are. She speaks a bit of English and she seems very nice. Already the workload is quite heavy and when I finish this I need to go and do my homework. Also, we have a test on Monday and have to do a talk with no notes, on Friday, about our arrival in France. It's all very interesting, but I have to say that I await with interest developments in the teaching component of the course. The prof doesn't want us to use the dictionary or have any help when we are doing activities, but for me that's what I need to do in order to find things out and learn. It's as if everything is a test situation to see what we can do. So it's pretty much a worksheet scenario and no reference mqterial. But it's early days and no doubt things will fall into place.
A couple of days ago when I got home from school Jean took me to a little village cqlled Saint Benoit. (There is a ^ on this keyboard but I don't know how to get it combining with the letters.) Anyway, it's a bequtiful little village, somewhqt reminiscent of the Cotswolds. It's pretty much a dormitory suburb of Poitiers, but has its own mayor etc, as all places seem to, no matter how small. It says the population is 7000, but it certainly didn't appear to be hqlf as big again as Stratford. It didn't even seem to be as big as Wakefield. (As you can see I'm moving about a bit geographically. There will be a test at the end.) Anyway, there is a lovely historical abbey, an aqueduct, and just generally lovely old buildings. And a police stqtion of course! I put in the photo of the Saint Benoit police sign especially for Hayden. I can't say that I ever used to consciously look out for the police, but these days I do. I feel like I am almost related!
The other photo is just to fill up the space - one of me at Futuroscope at a tricky little water spout area.
So that's about it for now. Tomorrow as soon as I get home from uni we are off to the Atlantic Coast for the weekend. Somewhere near La Rochelle I think. That should be great.
Amities.
Alison.

Tuesday/ mardi

A better day today. However, my class at uni was still too hard and I may have to drop down again. I may well end up in a cellar somewhere. I'm not trying to have an easy run. I want it to be a challenge, but I do need to have a rough idea of what is going on. :-) So watch this space!
Love
Alison Marie-France. (I like that name.)

Monday/lundi 15th

Well, today has been the hardest so far I guess. The closest I have come to losing the plot really. But back a bit! On Saturday morning Jean drove over to Coussais le Bois where Camella, from Tauranga, is staying for her month. We picked her up and brought her back to Poitiers with us. She was needing a bit of a big town and shopping fix as her village is very little! And it was lovely to see her. She actually used to teach with Rachel and Toby at Avondale College - how about that? So anyway, we did indeed hit the town. We shopped, but also did sightseeing things. We even spent a bit of time trying to find where to buy a French bible and Mass order of service - in French of course. Not something I can say I have ever gone shopping for in any language. :-) The first photo which probably lacks a bit of detail in this size, is of Joan of Arc. (But you can click on it to see it better.) It's one of the beautiful windows in the Notre Dame catherdral of Poitiers. Really lovely. The other photo was taken inside a chocolate shop and in its own way is also very beautiful!
I bought quite a few books to take back to school as resources. I also found a couple of Agatha Christie novels in English which I grabbed. (The other day I even bought a newspaper for British ex-pats! What steps one will go to!) And yes, I bought a cardigan. I knew you were skipping through the rest to find out about clothes. In fact, I'm not too bothered about clothes shopping really. I just need enough to keep warm. It's not that it's hard to shop, but it's hard to do so mqny other things that shopping doesn't seem a high priority. (Stop laughing Jane!)
Anyway, we got the bus bqck home and Camella stayed the night. The next morning Jean took us to Futuroscope. It's a theme park really. But with more of an emphasis on informqtion than rides. Lots of 3D effects in movies and that sort of thing. Check it out on Google. It was interesting and good fun. And a pretty long day.
This morning I went off to university for my first class. I arrived to find that my nqme wasn't on the list. I asked one of the people in chqrge about it and she said that the AFS man here didn't think I should do a full time course as I had a commitment to working at the school too. Which is true, but I was unaware that it was possible to do pqrt time classes. Anyway, the story is rqther long, but I ended up going along to the class that I had been placed in anyway. Level 4. I am no more a level 4 than I am an astronaut! I was completely out of my depth. Unfortunqtely I had done quite well in the written test, but there's a great deal of difference between that and listening, understqnding and speqking. (And typing on a French keyboard.) Yes, I know it takes time, but it's still helpful to understand more than occqsional random words. So I spoke to the person taking it who thought I should leave and talk to the person in chqrge. I went to see her but she wasn't there so I went home. After lunch I went bqck in with Thérèse, my guardian angel, and we tried to sort it out. The problem is, you can do part time, but only at level 4 or higher. And really, I need to be doing level 3 (Or lower!)So I think I am going to do the level 3 course full time and go to school as well. There are school classes till 6;00pm each day. It will be pretty full-on but there doesn't seem to be any way round it.
That all sounded matter-of-fact, but it was in fact very emotionally fraught. I had watery eyes, but didn't cry, so did quite well I thought!
Tomorrow morning I will try again, in the Level 3 class, and I am going to school in the afternoon.
Jean and Thérèse are at a meeting tonight. I was watching the French version of Wheel of Fortune just before, which seemed to have a lot of camera shots of the women's cleavages when they leant over to spin the wheel. And no, I didn't text and enter, as my phone is out of action! I went and got a French sim card on Saturday, and Camella explqined the situqtion to the girl. I then found that it wouldn't work because it's a card just for France! I don't send a lot of texts in France - at this stqge anyway - so I will hqve to get it sorted. In the meqntime, emqil or snail mqil is the only way to mqke contact.
I am also going to have to face the fqct that we are not having an Indian summer here, and stop wearing sandals and summer clothes. It was really chilly today.
Keep in touch.
Alison.

School, and a bit of history.

The dessert at the school cafeteria today was Crème Brulée! I mean, how good is that? (I take after my grandmother whose weekly letters to Mum used to recount the meals she had had during the week. It's a worry!) Anyway! The picture of the people eating lunch is some of the English teachers, and they all agreed to be published on my blog. The picture of a school is, well, my school.
This afternoon Jean decided that it would be a good idea to go to Futuroscope to get the tickets ahead of Camella's and my Sunday visit. (I may not have mentioned it but the trip to see Shirley in Cluny didn't work out. It's just too far away. Camella is doing the one month AFS thing and is in a small village about an hour away from here.) So off Jean and I went and got the tickets. Then the rest of the afternoon was an amazing historical tour. Jean has been incredibly generous with his time. We visited the site of the Battle of Poitiers, which was fought between the Frankish and Islamic armies in 732. It had a really interesting display, and an audio recount of events (in your language of choice) which included sound effects. It was amazing to stand there and look over the landscape and think of those things happening on that very spot so many years ago. I must admit I love European (including British) history. I guess it's a legacy of my education which was really very English, way back then. We then went to Old Poitiers. The photo of a ruin on the blog is the remains of a 10 000 seat theatre, 116 m in diameter. This is on the site of the ancient town of Vetus Pictavus, at the junction of the Clain and Vienne rivers and dates from 1 AD. Amazing. We then stopped and looked at a few chateaux. The one pictured here is in the little village of Dissay. I never get sick of looking at castles.
Jean doesn't speak English, so we have some interesting conversations as you can imqgine. I usually get the gist of what he is saying, though confess I have at times been guilty of nodding wisely and hoping I was doing it in the right place.
Well, until next time - bye for now.

Thursday Sept 11

Warm today but raining. It rains a great deal. I may have mentioned that! Jean showed me some photos taken last winter and they were very white. Yes, SNOW! When I googled Poitiers before coming over I got the impression that the climate was a bit like Auckland's, and perhqps even a little warmer. Hmmm....
Had lunch with the English teachers today then sat in on a Language Lab training session. I think it would hqve been over my head in English, so I sure struggled to stay awake with it being in French. And after a substantial lunch at the school cafeteria. I didnt have all the courses, but you get an appetiser, a main - meat and vegetables - a dessert, cheese, bread, yoghurt and fruit. They didnt really get it when I tried to explain what we did in NZ. Well, we take sandwiches. Or leftovers. Or buy a pie! :-) In fact, eating a nutritious filling meal could be a jolly good thing for the kids at our school, many of whom think that missing lunch will help them lose weight. Anyway, speaking of losing weight, after lunch we had some Tarte Citron and Tarte du Poivre as it was the birthday of one of the teachers.
I should put in some enlightening information rather than rambling on as I do. And all the time wondering if I have any readers out there! :-)
Do you know about Eleanor of Aquitaine? Eleanor of Aquitaine (or Aliénor), Duchess of Aquitaine and Gascony and Countess of Poitou (1122[1]–1 April 1204) was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Europe during the High Middle Ages.
Eleanor was Queen consort of both Louis VII of France and Henry II of England in turn, and the mother of two kings of England, Richard I and John. She is well known for her participation in the Second Crusade.
I am attached to the Aliénor d'Aquitaine Lycée.
The photo is not of the school cafeteria by the way! It was taken in Paris.
OK then folks. Au revoir.

Address

Just briefly, if anyone has the urge to write a real letter, or send a postcard, or just feel secure in the knowledge that you know where I am, here are my contact details.
My address at the moment is: 37 rue des 2 communes

86180 Buxerolles

France.



From the start of October it will be: c/- Christian & Hélène Martin

106 route de Bonneuil-matours

86000 Poitiers

France.

I'm still roaming with my Vodafone NZ phone, but need to get a French sim card soon as it will be costing me a fortune.
Au revoir.

mardi le 9 septembre

Are you out there?
Three things of significance today. 1. I weighed myself. Aaagh! 2. I got drenched in a thunderstorm. 3. I went to a mall!
Back to yesterday. I sat my language placement test along with a large proportion of the population of China, it seemed. Well, a small proportion. It was OK really. There was a photo of some jazz musicians and we had to write about what they were doing, and mqke up stuff qbout how they formed their group, etc. We also had to discuss the statement - Life in the city is better then in the country. I had no trouble waxing lyrical on that. It's easy to say in French, "I love shopping!" I mean, it would have been full of mistakes, but at least i was able to write something.
In the afternoon I went to the school. I was really nervous, and at first the meeting with the principal didn't seem to be going too well - altough it was hard to tell as I couldn't understand him - but then I met the English teachers and they were simply lovely. All female, and all very good English speakers. We chatted for a while, and Im going to have lunch with them on Thursday. We'll then work out a timetable.
And last night Thérèse and Jean had some extended family round for tea which was very pleasant.
This moring I had my oral lqnguage test at the university. It was a beautiful day here so off I went without a coat or umbrella. Not a good idea! As I sat on the bus I could see the sky getting blacker and blacker...... By the time I got to uni it was pelting down, with thunder and lightning added in for good meqsure. It's about a 10 minute walk from the bus stop and I had no choice but to just go for it. So I arrived at my interview absolutely sodden and squelching. I suppose in a way it helped as it was an immediate talking point and I was able to be a bit dramatic. If you can picture that at all. :-) Anyway, that was OK too I guess. And then I went back into the same downpour to get the bus back home.
Oh, an interesting little thing on the bus.... There is a sign that changes and shows the destination, the nqme of the next stop, etc. I was looking at it and I thought, "Gosh, Il est (he is) seems a funny name for a bus stop, compared with Perpinière, Champlain, and other nice French names." And then I looked more closely and saw that is actually said 'Il est 10:20.' Lol!!
Speaking of buses, I notice that there is always someone standing by the driver chatting to him or her. I imagine that practice has been banned in New Zealand since Barbara and I were at Intermediate when we used to stand and chat to a driver called Currant Bun, feeling very proud that we knew him. (I cannot vouch for ther fact that he was the offspring of a Mr and Mrs Bun, but can only say that I knew of no other name!)
Anyway, after drying out, and a long lunch, and a rest, :-), Jean took me to a mall. You may be interested to know that the clothes look much the same as in NZ, although you need to bear in mind that I'm in the provinces! There did seem to be quite a few baggy trousers gathered in at the ankle. Not a good look for Apple Women I'm afraid.
Incidentally, if you don't want to comment on this blog, you can email me at allykroon@hotmail.com If you want. I might be repeating myself here.
And so this episode draws to a close. I will end with some wise words from my lovely form 2 teacher, George Williamson, who said that you are never separated from people as long as they are thinking about you. I thought that was really nice.
Amities,
Alison.

Still Sunday

A tiring day. I liken it a bit to how my friend Christine talked about being deaf. A slow one-on-one converstation is manageable, but a room full of people going flat out is just dynamite!
Anyway, I went to the market by myself this morning then J, T & I went to a display of clubs and groups that you can join. Then we went to a lovely village , full of history. It's called Nouaillé-Maupertuis. Anyway, I just wanted to pop on these photos. Me, and also Thérèse and Jean.
Love Alison.

If it's Sunday it must be France!

I have managed to put on a sideways photo. If anyone is able to fix it that would be great. I suspect I should hqve rotated it before publishing it. Anyway, that photo is especially for you Jane. It's me outside the Palais de Justice, which I assume is the Poitiers version of the Pukekohe Courthouse. The other photo is of all the people at the dinner part chez nous last night. It's funny how it was just like John and me with friends around. It just seemed exactly the same. It could hqve been you here Bass except that they probably speak French better then you and Hazza. It's funny really - I keep being terribly impressed at how good everyone is at speaking French. How different lqnguages evolved would mqke qn interesting study. (I realise thqt other people hqve indeed studied that very thing. I just think that I would like to.)
But back a bit... I cant remember where I was up to. But that's OK. Last week Thérèse and I went to the university to check out languqge courses, and we went by bus so that i would know how to go on the bus by myself. Anyway, it was a very long and drawn-out process, but fortunqtely T is not easily put off, so we eventually got the info we needed. I am going to the uni on Monday BY MYSELF and sitting a placement test. In the afternoon I have a meeting with the school principal. Then we are going berry picking with friends. I think that Thérèse knows more people than I do. I can hear you snorting Nadean, but it's true!!
Yesterday moring Thérèse and I went for a long brisk walk. Sadly it did not remove my fat stomach in one go, but I'll try again some time! We walked though suburban streets and also through open country, even stopping to pick and eat wild blackberries. Id like to say that that took me back to my childhood, but to be honest I don't think I did a lot of rambling down the South Road picking berrries. Although I do remember picking convulvulus at the tip and making fairy toothbrushes. And digressing a bit further, when I ate raspberries straight from the garden here, it reqlly did remind my of the delicious berries we ate at Grandma's in Alexandra. Real flavour. This blog could become a berry memoir. I will refrain from making berry awful jokes.
But enough. After a brief nap yesterday T & I raced into town again as there is a kind of Arts festival on. We ran into quite a few of T's friends including a chap who spoke English. You have no idea how exciting that was! Anyway, we watched a juggler for ages. He was very good, but I spent 30 years in arty Nelson (all good!)and there are only so many jugglers one needs to see. :-) We then walked back to the bus and came across a wonderful jazz band. I could have easily listened to them for so much longer.
Anyway, we went home and got changed and friends stqrted arriving for dinner. It was a group of friends who holiday together. I had made a pavlova especially, but help me please here - does anyone know of cream you can buy in France which can be whipped? Whipped cream was pretty much unknown to Thérèse, but she did tell me the sort to get that she thought would work. It tasted like tinned milk and whilst it thickened a tad, it really didn't whip. I poured it on to the pavlova where it paused graciously for a moment before glugging off on to the plate. Oh well.....
It was a long night, but just when i thought it was time for bed we all jumped up and went and watched a fireworkes display. Quite impressive in fact.
And now it's Sunday morning. I am continuing to hog the computer. There was an English speaking IT chap here last night who felt confident he could connect my laptop to the internet via wireless, but alas, no luck. But anyway, I had better wind up for today. Remember that if you click on a photo it will enlqrge it. And please excuse my a's and q's. (I wouldn't normqlly put apostrophes there but it looked funny without.)
A bientot!
Alison.

Some photos at last!

Well, I have downloaded my photos on to the family's computer. It was a bit of a mission but they didn't seem to mind. In no particular order, as they change when published: a view of Poitiers; my lovely hosts, Jean et Thérèse Ragonneau; the view from my bedroom window and moi outside a church in Poitiers. The old parts of Poitiers are lovely, but it isn't really a picture postcard city as I think I've said. Zillions of apartments in 60s high rise blocks. In the town centre there are lots of very narrow streets where cars and buses hurtle up and down in both directions! One thing I have noticed is that just about everyone drives small cars. Better for the environment I guess, better for the narrow streets and certainly better for getting a park.

I haven't been to school yet, as le directeur is very busy with La Rentrée, the big start of the new school year. But I seem to have been very busy too. I suspect that AFS has said to the host families to drop us into it, as it were, as Thérèse is very keen for me to do things on my own, and go to places then walk home. I am more then happy to walk, but knowing where to walk to would be helpful! It really is quite scary being here and on the fringe of what's going on. Today we went to the university to enquire about language courses, and Thérèse was all for me coming next time in the bus on my own. However, we are going to have a wee practice together tomorrow before I do go on my own on Monday for the placement test. Hopefully then I will know where to get off! Help! She also chats to me all the time in French, which is lovely, but the reality is that I don't understand most of it. Which tends to mak my brain very very full and it's tiring!

But I'm not complaining. It's all about learning. I'm just not sure why I thought that I needed to keep learning at my age. :-)

You will be pleased to know, I'm sure, that today I made my first clothes purchase. I bought a top at a market. (There are markets everywhere, mainly fresh foodstuffs.) The guy selling the clothes spoke some English, which I have to say is rare in this fairly un-touristy town. I told him where I was from and he said, "Oh, Les Springboks." After I nearly had a nervous breakdown and we sorted it all out, Les All Blacks of course, he looked at me and said "Jonah Lomu." So perhqps he was just having me on in the first place. But isn't it interesting - I don't think we really appreciated in New Zealand just how world famous Jonah was. Well, I didn't.

Oh, the food. Not only have I been quaffing red wine and even drinking coffee, neither of which I do chez moi, I have been eating my evening meal at 8.00pm at night! And this is someone who is usually ready for tea at 5:00pm! It could have something to do with the fact that I have about 6 courses at lunchtime. (I could have put another exclamation mark there but I thought I might be overdoing it.) It's the bread that will be my downfall in the end I suspect. I will need to show restraint of a kind not shown before! Mind you, I tend to tuck in when something is produced at the table, not realising that there is more, and indeed even more, to come. When I get the hang of small portions..... Hmmm.....

The food is simple as a rule, but pretty fresh. No limp exhibits from Foodtown Hunters' Plaza!

I'm also trying to plan a trip to see my friend Shirley who is in Cluny on an AFS award for a month. I have been invited down for the weekend after next, but getting there is proving very tricky. It will involve going on the TGV via Paris, something I find quite scary, because it means changing stations amongst other things. Well, no other things really, but that is enough! Oh no, I think I have to change to a bus before I get to Cluny. Anyway, we will see. Hopefully it will work out.

Well, that's enough for now. Apart from the weather. It's quite cold really for the time of year. If there's something you want me to write about, let me know.

Lots of love,

Alison.

And now it's automne!

Bonjour. I can't really download photos while I'm using my host family's computer as I would have to save it on to their desktop, etc. As it is I'm very aware that I'm using the computer quite a bit.
A gloomy day today and bad weather predicted, but the windows and doors are wide open a ce moment and it's quite warm.
Yesterday Thérèse and I got the bus into the centre of Poitiers. There are some truly wonderful old buildings. There are also zillions of uni students around as they have just started back. So people smoking everywhere!!!
We wandered around and checked out what to do to open a bank account and looked in some shops. And witnessed a couple of beggars? tramps? attempting to belt someone up. Pretty scary. I sort of expected people to look different, but they don't. They could be people from anywhere. Apart from the very strong African presence it's as if they could be from NZ. The only tricky bit is that they all speak French!
I am still a bit hopeless at understanding what I hear, but am certainly better in the mornings. My brain turns to fromage in the afternoons. I think it always has! :-)
Thérèse and Jean and their friends seem very involved in socially left wing groups which is very interesting. As I'm sure you can imagine I connect better with the left than the right! (Apart from any right wing friends who may be reading this! :-)) They are really good people.
The homesickness/separation anxiety still gnaws away at me, and I do wonder why at my age I'm still putting myself through stuff like this. I should be a little old retired lady somewhere! But I will be OK. It comes and goes. The computer is a marvellous thing for feeling some sense of connection and immediacy.
Well, I had better leave this for now. I enjoy your comments and/or separate emails.
Amities,
Alison.