Je suis une etudiante de Paris...

...and I have the student card to prove it. Last week, I had my semaine d'integration at Assas, which basically consisted of a 5 lectures on the history and basics of French Law, along with two afternoon sessions on the methodology of French law - basically, how to do the tutorial exercises.



It's only now that I'm actually realising how different education in France actually is. I remember thinking something similar a couple of years back when I went on an exchange and spent two weeks at a lycée - and the differences follow through into higher education. Even down to simple things, like lectures, it is clear that they're conducted differently to how they are at university back home - they're very formally structured, and asides from anything else, they're conducted on a much grander scale than I'm used to.

I started my electives this week-  I'm taking 5 per semester - and at a lecture I went to yesterday morning, I was really surprised to see the sheer number of people - and it wasn't even a compulsory subject! It makes UK law schools look like complete midgets in comparison. People had told me in advance to expect something like this - as I understand it, universities here aren't selective, so anyone can sign up, and each year just gets smaller as people either drop out or fail - but it still took me aback. There was easily 1500 people at that lecture, if not more, which is easily double my entire year group back in London.

The biggest problem I've had so far is taking notes. The lecturers, to my ears at least, seem to talk at about 100mph and whilst my French isn't bad - I wouldn't be here otherwise - when you only understand so many words in 10, that's not helpful. Still, it is only my first week and I think that with practice, I'll get the hang of it.

This week being the first week, it has obviously been lectures only, but the TD's - tutorials - start next week and I'm really interested to see how those differ as well. I've been told that size is, again, a large factor - my biggest tutor group back home probably had 15 people in it, tops, but apparently its more like 30 here. I guess I will just have to wait and see!

In other news, I have actually been doing fun stuff as well. Recently, a group of us went on our first proper night out in Paris - weird that it took us so long to get around to, but there we go - in the Bastille area, which was a really good night out, ending with a late night/early morning McDonalds.



Casually setting fire to the bar - as you do.

I've also been back to the Louvre, and we managed to see a little bit more this time - for instance, we actually managed to see the Mona Lisa. 

I'm not the best photographer - but...

If you've ever heard that this painting is a lot smaller than you expect, well, it's true. I think the fame surrounding this picture encourages people to expect a lot more than is actually there! Not to be a complete downer on Da Vinci's work, mind you - the lady with the mysterious smile is famous for a reason!

Vicky xx

Une recommandation

So - a little time out from the standard "this is what I've been up to" post to recommend a little book I've been browsing - if you are a Law student and you are off to study law in France for a year, I really think it's worth getting hold of and having a flick through. It might be in your uni library - I'm fairly sure I have seen it on the shelf at QM - and of course, there's always amazon.

It's called 'French Law: A Comparative Approach", by Eva Steiner (2010, OUP), and its a pretty good introduction to the mysterious ways of the French legal system. I recommend this one in particular because, as a comparison, it makes it pretty easy for us English Law Kids to understand, using our law studies so far as a reference point, covering legal institutions and methodology as well as some of your legal basics - administrative law, contract, tort etc.

It's also got a section on legal education, explaining how it differs from what we're all used to, and offers a few study tips for les cours magistrals and les travaux dirigés (lectures and tutorials), and also how to answer French problem questions (cas pratiques), essay questions and case studies (un commentaire d'arrêt).

It's this chapter which I have found particularly helpful. We're going to be covering French legal methodology etc. next week in my semaine d'integration, but I am one of those people who likes to go in prepared and I feel like knowing some of this stuff will prevent me from feeling completely out of my depth and make for a much smoother start to my year.

Having been here in Paris for just over a fortnight already, and that time having been all my own, so far it has felt a little bit like I'm on holiday, and as that will all change dramatically from Monday onwards, I'm hoping that at the very least, the prep. I have done will lessen the shock to my system, even just a little.

I will probably post again near the end of next week about my first few days at Assas and whatever else I get up to in the meantime. Here's hoping it's not too stressful!

Vicky xx

J'explore!

So what have I been up to since my last post? We're completely settled into our flat, and we've managed to set up out bank account, etc. etc. so all of the practical stuff is pretty much done which makes my free time really my own!

With that free time, (so far!) me and my flatmate have managed to go out to dinner with two other girls from our home uni which was really lovely. Two of us tried the beef tartare, which to be honest, I'm really undecided about. I didn't dislike it but I wasn't exactly knocked over with enthusiasm for it. This is going to make me sound like such a food heathen, but texture wise, it was really like a... mushy, wet burger. And if I don't like something, it's almost always because of the texture rather than the test. So maybe I just need to try it again but somewhere else?

What else... On a random wander around  Paris, we stopped of in the Jardin du Luxembourg, which is really very pretty, with lots of landscaped gardens and places to relax in the sun. It was packed the day we stopped by, as the sun was absolutely blazing (hooray!) It's also home to the Palais du Luxembourg, which is where the French Senate sits. 

Walking further on, we came across a bridge called the Pont des Arts, which is covered in "love padlocks". It's not something I've ever seen before, but my flatmate tells me she's seen it in other European cities so I guess that's just me! Either way, I thought it looked pretty cool :)

On that same walk, we managed to go and see Notre Dame, which I've really wanted to go to for a while, only ever having been to Paris for one short day as part of a school trip before now. The stained glass windows are really spectacular (you can only really appreciate them from the inside, I think) and the gothic architecture isn't something I'm really familiar with. It's really worth going to see, I definitely recommend that!

On the way home, we stopped off at the Panthéon, which is the burial place of a lot of famous French people including Voltaire, Louis Braille, Victor Hugo and Pierre and Marie Curie. It's free to get in go for citizens of the EU if you are between 18 and 25 - as are a lot of places, including the Louvre - so if you're going to Paris soon, that is definitely something worth baring in mind!

Speaking of the Louvre, I have managed to visit, on what will inevitably be the first of many trips because the museum is absolutely vast! I mean - I knew it was big, but really, it's on a scale much, much, bigger than I had imagined, and I barely made a dent in all the stuff that you can go and see. I didn't even make it to the Mona Lisa yet, so I will have to go back and make a whole day of it I think, which I might dedicate a whole post to. We'll see!

Also, my flatmate dragged me to the department store Galleries Lafayette which I have to say, I really loved, just for the building. It's so pretty inside and the roof is really something. You can also go up the roof and outside, where there is a good view of Paris and the Eiffel Tower. I didn't get a proper chance to browse the store itself - my flatmate really wanted sushi! - but I am going to go back soon to look around properly.

And then tonight, my flatmate came home from her semaine d'integration at the Sorbonne where she is studying this year, and suggested we should go to Haagen-Dazs Champs Élysées, which turned out to be a brilliant idea as I had this gorgeous strawberries and cream ice cream dessert (yum). It was really good, if a little bit too sweet. The strawberries in the bowl were in a minty syrupy thing which was a bit odd, but it really worked. 

That's barely a selection of the stuff I've done so far, but this is a blog post, not a dissertation, so that will do for now. As for what's coming up, tomorrow we are going to Montparnasse, and this weekend we are planning to go and find the Catacombs. Also, as I've got all of next week to do some more exploring before I start at Assas the following week, I should have plenty more to blog about! So until then - 

Vicky xx

Bonjour, Paris!

Today is my third day here in Paris so far, and my first (full) day in our lovely apartment in Paris' 13 arrondissement. 

My year abroad has officially begun!

Saturday and Sunday morning were, once me and my mum had dragged two exceedingly heavy suitcases + equally heavy hand luggage the 3km or so to our hotel, pretty good. We explored the area a little bit, visiting the Arc de Triomphe and the Champs Élysées, and I found something dead cool really close to our flat...

Still, beautiful sights and interesting discoveries aside, it was really until this morning that it kind of sunk in that this isn't just a city break of whatever, this is my life now! 

And so far, I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed. Today, for instance, a man came to our flat to do the inventory, and the landlord came over to organise a few things, like the wifi - and my French proved to be rather lacking. To my shame, my flatmate had to do most (if not all) of the talking.

It worries me, seeing as I am going to be very reliant on said language over the next ten months or so. But... having said that, I still have three weeks before the induction programme at my Uni starts, which is three weeks to immerse myself and practice, practice, practice! 

And actually, when I think about it, I'm not so sure my problem is my French, but more my confidence in my French. In either case, both my language ability and my confidence in it are things I am planning to build upon considerably before my official return to the UK next summer. 

Tomorrow, I will be attempting to set up a French bank account, and I also need to go and get a pay as you go SIM card. I'm also hoping to stop by Notre Dame, which I have never seen before and can not wait to lay my eyes on. 

Now that I'm here, I'm obviously going to be getting up to a lot of stuff and that means more blogging! I'm hoping to update at least fortnightly from now on, and if will be more if I have enough to witter about, now that I'm a bona fide year abroader!

Last, I'd like to mention that my blog has been featured on Top of the Blogs 2013-14 on www.thirdyearabroad.com which is fab! If anyone is reading this and hasn't yet been on that website, I strongly recommend hopping over there right about now. It's got a ton of useful information as other bits and pieces on it.

On which note, I'll sign off for now. 

À bientôt!

Vicky xx

Le compte à rebours commence maintenant...

It is three weeks today until I take the plunge and head to Paris, and preparations are going well. My flights are booked, and we've found an apartment, the details of which we're just finalising now.

At the beginning of September, or thereabouts, I will write my first official year abroad blog post. In the meantime, I just thought I would share a quote that I saw knocking around on tumblr which struck a chord with me.

My whole life I've been telling myself "don't be afraid"

And it is only now that I'm realising how stupid that is. Don't be afraid. Like saying "don't move out of the way when someone tries to punch you" or "don't flinch at the heat of a fire" or "don't blink." Don't be human.

I'm afraid and you're afraid and we're all always going to be afraid, because that's the point.

What I should be telling myself is "be afraid, but do it anyway".

Live anyway.

That is going to be my philosophy from now on, I think. Really sums it up.

Vicky xx

Une liste...

If you were to ask my friends to describe me, one of the things they would almost definitely say is that I'm a list maker.

That, and some serious year abroad blog stalking has led me to the conclusion that to get myself into the year abroad mood - and to make the most of the time I spend in Paris/France in general - I should make a year abroad bucket list of sorts.

This is what I've got so far...
1. Visit the Versailles Palace
2. Go to Notre Dame
3. Visit Les Catacombs
4. Indulge in la cuisine, including croissants, macaroons, et everything else French and/or Parisian.
5. Go to see the Pantheon
6. Spend time in La Jardin du Luxembourg
7. View the Bastille Day Parade
8. Finale of the Tour de France
9. Spend NYE 2014 in Paris
10. Go to the Louvre and see Mona Lisa!
11. Go to Disneyland Paris. Disclaimer: I've actually been here and wasn't going to include it on my list, but my "little" (he's 16) brother insisted that I include it, which was blatantly a not very subtle hint that I should take him.
12. Go to top of La Basilique du Sacré Coeur
13. Stroll down the Champs-Élysées, and end up in the Place de la Concord
14. Visit La Sainte-Chapelle
15. Go to the Palais Garnier, which looks spectacular!
16. Visit Monet's garden at Giverny
17. Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower

This list is definitely not complete - I've got plenty of places in mind to add and lots of googling still to do! :) I also want to add on a couple of things to do outside of France - after all, I didn't have a gap year and this seems as good a time as any to fit a lot of this stuff in! I will probably post again before I actually go to Paris with my final list - in the meantime, any suggestions to add to it are welcome!

Life wise at the moment, preparations for Paris are really stepping up and I should, if all goes well, be there in one month two days today! At the moment, my emphasis is on finding somewhere to live, and once that is sorted, and I've arrived (so as not to tempt fate) I will be posting about the whole experience! This blog will pick up a lot over the next few weeks, so if you are reading, please stick with me!

Until then -

Vicky xx

Les doutes et la vie d'une bureaucrate...

Since we last spoke, I have actually heard from Assas! Yay! In fact, I am drastically more informed than I was just over a week ago, since I have not only heard from Assas but I've also been to a meeting at my own university about all the forms and agreements and bits of paper that I have to sign.

There's SO much of it! I'm not surprised, to be honest, but there is something inherently depressing about the sight of a million bits of paper which all need your attention. As frustrated as I was with the lack of information, I'm now more glad, because at least I got my exams out of the way beforehand!

Plus there's the fact that all the information from France is (quel surprise!) in French. Obviously, I know that from September my French is going to be put into practice on a daily basis. To be honest, that's a large part of the reason that I'm going - having been taught French in one way or another since I was 4 and a half (really) I decided in the middle of doing my UCAS application that there wasn't much more that I was going to get out of a classroom and that really, I needed to take myself off to France and use my language skills.

There's a flip side to the benefits, though. That flip side is that if there is a part of me that lacks self confidence, its my belief in my language skills. To be fair, I wouldn't have got this far if I wasn't capable of it, so I know that I'm being irrational, but there's always that tiny bit of doubt.

So the next few weeks for me are inevitably going to involve a French dictionary, a lot of French practice (for my own peace of mind, so I don't get rusty over the summer) and my first taste of the red tape I have been told abounds over the channel.

It's a good place to start I suppose. Happy June everyone!

Vicky xx