Y2-5: Weeks 9 & 10, Mockingjay, finding a placement and the Christmas Market!

As I’ve already said, Weeks 9 and 10 were really hectic and stressful because of deadlines. I had three presentations and three exams in the span of two weeks, and although I had just enough time to manage it all, I had no time to spare which stressed me out.

Week 9 was my last week of lectures, which meant I would soon have more free time to deal with coursework. We manage to, successfully, get our La France presentation done with a pretty great mark considering the lack of time and organization. We struggled to find time for the four of us to meet which meant that the first and only run-through we were able to do was half an hour before our 9:15 actual presentation. Talk about rushing for time… I’m happy with the outcome and the mark though, I know we could’ve done better if we had organized earlier, but for what we were able to do, a 68 is a very good mark. Once that presentation was out of the way, it was time to meet with my European Integration seminar group and start working on our presentation about Turkey and Ukraine for the following Tuesday. As I said, I couldn’t stop for a moment. 

On Wednesday morning I had to get up early because I had an appointment at the RUH. I thought I was going to miss my lessons for the morning, but luckily I finished at the doctor’s quite soon and managed to get to my second seminar and catch up on the missed one on a later session. That was awesome because it meant not having to dedicate free time to go through the seminar slides on my own. Later on that day, we had a French “Atelier d’entretien” aimed at those looking for a placement in France. We were split in two groups and had to prepare a mock interview for a post. The feedback was generally quite good, the bad thing is that I get really nervous and run out of breath. I guess all I can do to avoid that is practice and practice… Any other suggestions? 

That night we decided to take out some time and the girls and I went to ODEON to watch “Mockingjay 2”. I was so excited to watch the film! It was the end of the cycle, although I am not sure if I liked it or not. As a film, I think it is very good. As a book adaptation, I think it could’ve been better. I don’t know; they messed up some bits. And I didn’t like the end at all tbh. But still, I am happy with the films. And I got free posters so now I have the full collection: a poster per film. Call me a geek. It was also great to meet with the girls again, as we don’t get to see Vidushi as often since our timetables don’t match and she lives in Combe Down. A nice break from work altogether.

On Thursday I guiltily skipped fencing practice again because I was struggling with the deadlines. I had an Italian grammar assessment the next day for which I had to revise (and which ended going just fine). Aaaaaand, I also had to prepare my interview. I had got an interview offer from a local English school in Fécamp, Haute-Normandie. I was supposed to have the interview over on Skype on Friday afternoon, but we couldn’t get the call through because they wouldn’t reply. Turns out they had written down the date wrong and forgot about the interview, so I ended up having it again on the following Friday. I got the job (yay!). And so will be working as an English assistant, teaching students of ages ranging from 2 to elderly people. It will be a challenge but I am sure I will learn a lot from it! I will be in France from September to December 2016, so now all I have to do is sign the contract! Yippee!

I basically spent the rest of the weekend at home cooking and studying, sheltered from the horrible cold and rain outside. I had to venture out on Saturday evening to meet with the seminar group in town, which was a massive mistake because with it being Saturday and the Christmas market going on, the traffic was horrible and we didn’t really manage to get anything done other than set another meeting and kind of update the others about the outcome of our research. Again, a bit of a last-minute presentation.

As I said, on Week 10 I didn’t have any more lectures so I had a bit more time to work, but that didn’t mean I was less stressed. On Monday the seminar group met up to finish off some bits and bobs and our presentation on Tuesday evening was alright to be fair, aside from the fact that only the seminar teacher and one student showed up. Our feedback was pretty decent and again I’m happy with the mark we got.

On Wednesday morning I had another Italian assessment, this time for writing class, which also went alright despite lacking a bit of study time. After the assessment I went to have lunch at Lime Tree and joined the French lectrices for their “Rendez-vous café”. I hadn’t managed to go to the one two weeks earlier, but I did show up to this one. It was a nice opportunity to informally practice some French, so I’m glad I went.

On Thursday I went up to campus for my seminar at ten, and then filled in gaps between Lime Tree and the Library. I had a meeting about the TEFL unit I will be taking next semester, just to make sure we had made the right decision when choosing the unit as they have had problems with that in the past. I think I have, it will teach me the skills I will need for my placement and also I think I will find it interesting, even if I don’t end up choosing Teaching as a career. I had French oral at four and by the time that came, I was feeling pretty sick and had a headache, so I decided going to fencing wouldn’t be a great idea. It was a pity because they were having the first part of the beginners’ foil competition, but the stress was caving in and I was feeling quite unwell and needed to rest. Health goes first.

On Friday, I couldn’t go to the Peer Mentor pizza and wine social because I had my interview. But I did manage to get the post so it was worth it. However, I didn’t really have time to celebrate as I had to record my online presentation for Italian. It took ages to do and got pretty frustrating, but I managed to get it done. I decided to watch a Glee episode before bed as a treat, and it was a lovely coincidence that is was Christmas themed so I was feeling quite festive and it was a nice end to a stressful week.

On the Saturday, I decided to take a break from coursework as all I had left was to start reading for my French essay due after Christmas and to study for my Arabic test on Wednesday (and by study, I mean cram the contents of over a month because I had totally neglected the thing- not a great prospect). Anyway, in the morning I did my laundry and took it to the launderette to dry. By chance, we’d found out that there is a launderette at the end of Moorland Road which makes it so much easier to get things done, so I got everything cleaned up quite soon. Then, after lunch, I headed into town to do some Christmas shopping and visit the market. The traffic was crazy and the bus got stuck half way into town so I ended up walking the remaining distance. I first went to a couple of shops before they closed, and then headed to the market. It was absolutely packed and it was hard to walk around, but I am so glad I got the chance to go. As every year, the different wooden huts full of hand-made goodies and food were lovely, and the lights and carols helped reinforce the festive atmosphere. If you ever have the chance to go, definitely do it because it is so worth it! I got half of my presents and also found a great musician busking around the streets. I think I’d seen him before, but he’s called Simeon Baker and I thought he was pretty good, give him a listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDZ7ZeKUlHQ He’s been busking all around the UK and I got his CD- supporting a street artist ;)

On Sunday however, it was time to go back to reality. I basically spent the whole day at home studying Arabic and mutually motivating Amélie to write her essay. The weather was so bad we stayed at home rather than go up to campus, and I sadly could not go to the Open Mic night organised by BUSMS, but I really had to get most of the Arabic out of the way. It took me forever, but everything made so much more sense after I’d studied.

Only one more week of the first semester to go, so keep your eyes peeled for the next post involving Xmas meals and the Snowball!