A Small Detour

Bonjour Dear Reader!

For the linguistically acute amongst you, you'll have noticed that I am writing avec le francais. Prior to leaving the fair shores of Blighty for the year, it was time for the biennial holiday with family friends, affectionately known as "The College Lot". This year we went to Brittany, France, to stay in some lovely gites near Thehilliac.

As usual, the french supermarkets baffled me with its offerings of skinned rabbits, complete with eye staring at you, and cheval (horse) fillets. I also encountered french milk and was advised that "French milk always smells off, so just wait until it goes lumpy to worry about it!". Other gems of new found french knowledge included hands on experience of mad driving style (apparently trying to drive into someone is perfectly acceptable) and that the radio does not censure english songs, much to the amusement of some of the younger members of the group!

During our week long stay, we ventured to three chateaux - in varying states of repair(!); sunbathed at a very sandy beach - leading to multiple cases of sunburn; and visited the salt marshes - one of two methods of producing salt, the other being salt mines. We also explored Caen in Normandy, where William the Conqueror came from, and Badfleur, which claims to be the point at which he originally set sail for England.

The evening entertainment consisted of very competitive games of Pictionary (with the girls winning each by at least half a board, despite the boys 'prayers' to the "All Play" gods) and trying to cook food for 26 people. Trying to work out quantities and timings for so much food is not easy, leading to the the usual huge gap between courses during the "Young Adults" night.

So having played with euros in preparation and practiced attempting to converse with the locals, I am getting ready to discover a new way of life on the continent.

Au Revoir mon amis and wish me Bonne Voyage!

Getting Ready to Jet Set

Hello Dear Reader!

Welcome to my fantastical new blog, through which I hope to share my adventures and travels. My next and biggest venture is to the beautiful town of Konstanz (at least according to the tourism website!), which shall be my home for the next year. I will be studying at the Universitaet Konstanz and living the life of an international student.

For those who do not know, Konstanz is on the Swiss-German boarder and lies 'am Bodensee' (on Lake Constance for English-speakers). According to the guidebooks, it is a university town with students forming one in seven of the population. Everything else about Konstanz you will have to learn with me as I explore...

So wish me Gute Reise und viel Glueck - I'll let you know once I've arrived!