Nomination!

So... SOMEHOW there is someone out there who has seen my teenie weenie blog and liked it, and nominated me for his award! Here is the post link:-
http://elephantswithclothes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/liebster-2.html

He's given us all 11 questions to answer, so here goes:

11 Questions

1.) What is your favorite color?

Turquoise. I don't know why; I guess it's quite a happy colour, without being as in-your-face as something like yellow (ew ew ew)

Above: Instagram proof of my turquoise love.

2.) Why did you choose to blog?

I'm making my blog as an online diary of sorts. I'm going away on my year abroad and want to make sure I remember everything- not to mention help others who are going in years to come. Hopefully I'll have made all the relevant mistakes so that they don't have to. 

3.) What is your favorite animal?

I don't really have one- I am not an animal kinda gal. However, I can show you photos of my dogs. Enjoy.

4.) Do you have any siblings?

There's me (left) and my only sister (right). She's 16 and already moved out!

5.) Have you ever travelled outside of your country?

Yes, I've had some phenomenal holidays, and my parents have a house in south-west France, so we spend a lot of time there. I'm a self-confessed francophile, so I feel like I need to convey the general vibe:

Other than France, I'd say my top three destinations would be Iceland, Vermont and Florida. 

6.) What is your favorite type of music?

Don't make me choose

7.) What is your artist or group?

(Presume this means what's my favourite?) 

I will never stop jammin' to the red hot chili peppers. 

8.) What are you most passionate about?

French stuff, Harry Potter and cups of tea. I cannot live without any of these things :D

9.) What are some of your favorite hobbies?

I seem to spend 99% of my time in the pub

10.) What sports do you play or did?

What's sports

11.) What is your favorite city?

Undecided, but fingers crossed that it turns out to be Paris!! There's only one way to find out, and that's now two and a bit days away eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

I kind of trailed off towards the end because I'm just generally not a very sporty/hobby-ish/active kind of person and as much as I might try, that's not going to change! But hey, I tried. I hope you were mildly interested, and I'll carry on the never-ending loop of the liebster award tomorrow (promise) à bientôt!

IT'S OFFICIAL

MY FLIGHTS ARE BOOKED DHSUIOGHSIODVNJUEFAIHBNJSKNHUSI
So I'm officially leaving FOREVER on the 17th of September. I really really really can't wait.

Booking time!

So- the time has come to finally get booking flights! Still not 100% sure what dates I want to leave, it'll either be somewhere among the week beginning 16th of September, or the week after (week  beginning 23rd).
If we leave earlier I'll miss the Manchester freshers week:( But, at the same time, am I really in good enough condition to be grooving and going out on the lash? At best I'll have a walking stick, and part of me is thinking I'll need all the time I can get to find accommodation in time. And at any rate, a two week holiday in Paris isn't so bad!

Ryanair seems to have some ridiculous deals at the moment though, £17.99?!?!?!

I mean, is that even possible?

But alas, ryanair being ryanair, their only flights are Manchester to Paris Beauvais, which is about an hour away from actual Paris. On the other hand easyjet has flights for roughly £30 (to Charles de Gaulle at least) and Jet2 is £24. They're all cheapest for different dates etc etc so I'll have to wait for the mother to come home and discuss- SO EXCITED THOUGH.
And I'm even more excited by the fact that most of my friends are already in their respective language countries- mostly Russia, France and Spain. HOW BLOODY FANTASTIC.
I think I'm going to peruse craigslist just so I can pick out my extravagant parisian apartment...

Everything's going on and up!

So today I had a check up at the hospital and I've been told that I can start putting weight on my leg (yay) so everything is moving forward! Before now, I wasn't allowed to put any weight on my right leg whatsoever in case it would 'undo my surgery'. Now, however, the doctor says I can stand up completely on my own and walk kind of normally as long as I keep using my crutches to help.

It doesn't sound like much, but it is going to be glorious! I've been dreaming of the day I can brush my teeth at the sink without sitting in the ridiculous green plastic garden chair that was brought up for me! Or even when I did stand up, my poor left leg got way too achy after a matter of minutes.

On another note, I've just discovered that a uni friend will be leaving for good ol' Ruski IN TWO DAYS. Less than two days considering it's nearly seven in the evening. I know nothing about Russia apart from the fur hat/cold/vodka thing, so erm, yeah I hope he has a good time...

Anyways, that's enough from me, I'm going to get stuck into a really good book. Can you tell which one?

Faffing...

Currently just faffing with documents and the accommodation search. I've been looking into staying in a foyer (pretty much the equivalent of student halls) and I've seen one that I just can't seem to get out of my head. Apart from the general touristy things, I don't really know anything about Paris and so I've just been completely swept away by the typical paris-ness. LOOK!

That's the view from google streetview- so adorable. It's in Saint-Lazare which is a ten-minute drive from the Arc de Triomphe/Champs-élysées so it's pretty irresistible for a typical tourist like me. The only thing that's holding me back is the fact that it's nowhere near the schools I'm supposed to be working at. It shouldn't matter because there's a huge train station nearby, but it's still a risk. On the other hand, the rent is much cheaper than the area I'll be working in and breakkie is included, wahey!

Basically, I've got no idea and my head is mush!

Anyways, the fam are about to go out for tea to celebrate my sister's gcse results so I'm off, ta ta!

First post ramble!

So, seeing as I haven't actually made it to France yet- and won't do until mid-September- there isn't much to post about!

So as a bit of back story- I go to the uni of Manchester and study straight French, so I'll be spending the entire year there unlike some of my friends who have to split their time between different countries. I've opted to be an English language assistant. I could have gone to uni, but (being a huge nerd) I wanted to choose the option that would make me awesome at French. I just hope all the angry Parisian teenagers don't kill me or swear at me in some colloquial fashion that I don't understand......

Also, believe it or not I was in a car crash over the summer which makes the whole process a lot more difficult; if my doctor says I can't go then I've got a lot of international phone calls to make (long story short: trashed car/broken pelvis/can't walk......), but to be honest, I'll hobble there on crutches if I have to!

That's all for now, but you'll get to know me better as the next year unveils.