My place, redux.

After talking to various other students. Everyone has a kitchenette with no oven. Strange. Having met and spoken to a lot of people, i feel a lot better about living here, and being in France in general, although i wasn't feeling bad about it in the first place.

I feel like i'm off the pace in regards to working to a good standard for my Masters, but i think this will be a good experience. I just have to average over 50% in my modules and i'll be fine, it is a terrible attitude to adopt but at least i know there is a floor to avoid.

Regarding moving out - I have no idea if i should, i'm quite content here, but i doubt i could live here for 9 months. Although it could be longer or shorter depending on where my internship takes place. One of the partner companies at my school is Ubisoft which i have to get into at... most costs.

My "place" in pictures.

Having spoken to a couple of good friends tonight, this place could definitely be better. Regardless, have a picture tour of my new place!

 This here is the bottom half of the kitchenette, with no oven (what?) but for some reason, a dishwasher. See also 2 hobs by the coffee maker in the top left.

 Top half of the kitchenette. Microwave, and cupboard with crockery for 4 people despite this being a 2 person "residence". As a result, there is little space to store dry goods.

 Bathroom, nice toilet and sink actually.

 Shower. Which opens from the corner, not like a door.

 Desk, TV and drawers. Can't really complain. TV!

 Window and dining table. The window has a motorised blind which is good as the place gets ridiculously stuffy when the hob is on, or if it's above 20 degrees.

My sofa. 

 Which is also my bed.

 My wardrobe. Actually can't really complain about this. It's small sure, but it's got enough hangers for my jacket and shirts/jumpers.

And here is a shot of the room from in front the wardrobe. Yeah it's small but i think i could live here for 9+ months.

 Except i've decided i can't. Not for 9 months. 9 months without a toaster or kettle is fine, but without an oven. Insanity. So i think i will see if i can get a new place. at least with an oven. at the very most all the white goods!

Need to get better at French.

I thought the French i did know would at least make sure i didn't die while i got better at it, but i am way out of my depth with anything advanced. I realise i really need to step up the learning. Luckily, everything seems to close on a Sunday so i will dedicate that time to pounding through some language tapes, or least being able to identify words. My pronunciation is the worst bit i think. I was in a Tabac (newsagents) trying to buy a water and the shopkeeper couldn't understand me saying water (eau). I was really embarrassed, i didn't think my French was that bad!

I think I'll get better at French through shame rather than any desire to learn it, which is a horrible thing to say as i definitely want to learn, I wouldn't be in France if i didn't want to learn French, but i would want to save more embarrassment more than anything.
                     
                                                                            . . .

After talking to an upstairs neighbour of mine, i think i have fully decided where I'm living isn't going to cut it for the 9+ months i may be here! I have to wait for my paper work to arrive at where I'm staying at the moment, but i think my upstairs neighbour and i will look into getting a place closer to town. (which may not necessarily be cheaper, but it will hopefully be bigger, and have things like an Oven, Toaster and Kettle).

I will definitely do a post tomorrow with a tour of my residence, along with what i feel about it, so it's all together in one place.

So i sort of live in Rennes now...

I say sort of, because my room is more or less in a hotel. A self-catered hotel. Which is fine except there is no oven in the kitchenette unit, but, inexplicably there is a dishwasher. There is also no room to store dry goods, which is also strange. I suppose i could live here for 9 months (the length of my lease) but another problem is my bed is a sofa bed. Which is not cool. There is also no wi-fi which is also lame.

Since i can't read much French i'm having someone look at my inventory list, and after looking at a room with a bed. Still would like an oven though. And wi-fi. I have to go to the lobby to get a wi-fi connection, which makes it even stranger why there isn't wi-fi available in the room!

I have to go to school tomorrow and take a French test. I have no idea why. Maybe to gauge how helpless i'll be while here? I'll update with what the test is about.

I was kind of bummed out when i first arrived, but now that i've set up a few home comforts and not totally isolated thanks to the internet, i'm feeling better. Starting to think i can't sleep on this sofa for 9 months though.

Going on a European Adventure

So, in 6 hours i will begin my journey to live in North-West France. I'm excited, tired and nervous. Tired because packing is a pain. I have 2 bags equalling 37kg give or take. What is weighing so heavy? Is it the Xbox? I bet it is. Hopefully, i'll be able to shed some stuff as i go along, clothes, toiletries etc. I have most definitely overpacked, but it is better to be safe than sorry.

Nervous, well that's because i don't know what to expect with my "apartment" There are some very nice rooms, but i suspect i won't have a top-end room. As long as there is a bed and a semi-decent kitchen(ette) i can live with it.

Excited because there is a whole world to explore! I hope someone comes to visit me, or i am able to see someone somewhere else in Europe not only because it would be great to see familiar people but because meeting in a foreign country sounds so exhilarating! I have several goals for my time in France, but the most important ones would be:

1. Getting a good degree out of all this
2. Getting enough work experience to begin phase 3 of the life goal achievements
3. Become mightily proficient in the local language.

I admire people who can speak more than one language, and there is no way i am passing up the opportunity to not only learn and immerse myself in the lingo, but to become one of those people i admire.

I'll post a photo of me before i leave on my instagram, and i'll do one tomorrow too, just to contrast the trauma of leaving home (again) and becoming a foreigner!

Recap.

For those of you who read this in its previous form, i've done away with all the whining from before. Deleted. I've thrown on a new template, changed the title and decided on a new direction for the content on this blog. Hopefully there won't be whining about girls or how my life is rubbish because right now, I and a lot of you too, are standing on the precipice of greatness. It's just up to us to make that leap and make the most of what we are doing right now.

But, Here's a summary of my last whinge: 

No job, had ambition and aspirations, but no direction. 

But here I am, one week away from moving to France to start a Master's at a top business school, ready to start a career and to bookend the laziness and self-disappointment of previous years and what my blog contained before.

Hopefully, i'll be able to tell you all about what i've been doing, and where i am going. interspersed with reviews and musings of pop culture, current TV i watch and video games i play. 

A recruitment agent told me earlier this year if i want to get where i want to, i should start a blog and write about insight. Hopefully here i'll be able to articulate and analyse what i see and hear into something you want to read and enjoy, encourage discussion perhaps, or just argue about how awesome things are.

It looks like i've forgotten to do most of the things i knew about blogging so this seems like a good time to get into the groove and remember how to write.