After a slightly extended term (due to strikes and occupations), the universities in France are slowly closing down for the summer. Although a few students still have exams, many of the admin staff are already working on ‘summer time’.
My partner sat her last exam yesterday, writing a 4 hour essay on technical and social aspects of maritime history from 1500 to 1900 – in French of course.
We are now left with seven weeks before we return to the UK. This mirrors perfectly the time we had at the beginning of our year before Becky started her first course – an intensive French class – last September.
Our first seven weeks were a busy time of setting up bank accounts, getting a TV, telephone and broadband package, sorting out health cover and getting to know the local area.
In our final seven weeks, we will need to cancel these arrangements and start contacting utility companies in the UK. I will need to ensure a seamless transfer of my health care back to the National Health Service (I’m sure there will be further posts about this).
We are also planning trips and outings to do some of the things that we haven’t managed to do yet – like a evening visit to Mont-St-Michel and a guided tour of the D-Day beaches.
Most of all, we need to slowly say goodbye to our home for a year Рvisiting our favourite caf̩s and restaurants and absorbing as much of the atmosphere as we can.
For some time we have been thinking and talking about taking back some of the things we have learned about ourselves during this year.
We both feel we have changed and some of our excitement about going back to the UK is to see how much more we can get out of life there.
