I’m back in chilly Grenobes!

Where to start?! I have been back in Grenoble nearly 2 weeks now and have been trying my best to pack as much in as possible as I start to realise how little time I have left before I have to go back to the real world. 😦 I had the best 3 weeks at home over Christmas, enjoying multiple christmas parties, of course my fabulous 21st, and making the most of all the food that was on offer; I even had a class in Sushi making! All in all it was a much needed dose of friends, family and british-ness. For the final week of my break I went with my dad and sister to Les Deux Alpes for a fabulous week skiing. We were even treated to an incredible trip in a helicopter to Alp d’huez for a bluebird day ripping up the pistes. It was an absolutely incredible experience flying over the mountains, especially as I got to sit in the front seat 🙂 I was a little bit teary when dad and Erin left me at my apartment but I soon got back into the swing of things, starting by restocking the cupboards. #

We celebrated the new year with out flatmates by following the ‘Galette de Rois’ tradition in which you eat a delicious pastry flavored with almonds. Traditionally, the children go under the table while the galette is cut (but in our case it was Lucy) so that they don’t see which slice contains the ‘feve’. The ‘feve’ is a miniature china piece that is hidden inside the galette and whoever finds it in their piece becomes the ‘Roi’ and wears the crown.

The day after I got back, Lucy and I started our (hopefully ongoing) ‘Cinema Sundays’ since there is very little else to do on a Sunday and watching films is a great way to improve our french. We have decided to see a french film or two every week, so far we have seen ‘le Divin Enfant’, ‘Belle et Sebastian’ and ‘Yves Saint Laurent’ all were great films. We have also discovered a huge charity shop/warehouse with everything from pianos to 80’s ski onesies which made for interesting shopping.

Last week was the first week of lectures and I have started a new time-table of 12 hours a week, continuing with many of the same modules as last semester but also taking up a module on language and deafness and one on literature. So far, so good. In addition to this weekly timetable I am continuing with babysitting and have finally found a running club to join even if it is a little different from what i am used to and a little intense! Although, it does help that most of the time we can’t understand what the coach is saying so we don’t have chance to dread  the torture.

Last Friday night, we tagged along with Lucie and her brother to an improvisation show at a theatre on the other side of town. I think I managed to keep up with most of the sketches but some of the ‘jeu de mots’ just went straight over my head! I particularly enjoyed the sketch about ‘les anglais’ which I had added to the suggestions hat.

Of course, no week would be complete without a trip up the mountain, so I headed back to Les 2 Alpes on Saturday and enjoyed a full-on day of perfect skiing conditions 🙂 I am looking forward to many more such days this coming week as Jonny arrives on Friday to take full advantage of the skiing (and maybe to see me too). I have also now signed up to be a volunteer with a group called VSArt who run creative arts and crafts workshops in care homes, retirement homes and in social centres so I am looking forward to the first workshop and the chance to speak some more french!

I’ll keep you posted, A plus! 🙂