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

Bonjour, mes amis!

... I'm Vicky, and as of yesterday, there are officially no more exams between me and my year abroad. So I thought I would take my newly freed up time to start a blog, because the next year of my life is (hopefully!) going to be worth blogging about!

From September this year, I am going to be embarking on an Erasmus year, studying law in Paris, at l'Université de Paris II, Panthéon-Assas.

Am I excited? Yes...

Am I looking forward to it? Yes...

Am I completely and utterly terrified? Yes!

Its a complete mixed bag of emotions to be honest, not helped by the fact that I actually have yet to hear from my host university...

This blog is, if all goes according to plan, going to be the place I can share all my experiences with you lovely people, and vent all my frustrations (hey, I'm under no illusions. This isn't going to be plain sailing!)

Who am I? Well I am a 20 year old law student, originally from Hampshire... I just finished the 2nd year of my LLB at Queen Mary University of London, with aspirations to become a solicitor once I finish jumping through that massive hoop which is my education - and this is my blog :)

This is really just an introductory post, but I will be posting sporadically over the next few months about the build up and the preparations for my Erasmus year, and then more regularly once I pick up my (very) English life and set down in Paris in mid September. Please say hi if you're reading and comment if there's anything you particularly want to hear about over the next year or so :)

I'm looking forward to sharing this with you all!

Vicky xx