Le Nouvel An

I'm sitting at gate number EI 2682 Dublin to Geneva about to start my trip to what I've been calling home since I have been back in Ireland and I have to say I feel much better than this time last year.

Granted it was not easy saying goodbye to everyone, but thinking back to 4 months ago I'm doing a lot better mentally. I can remember wondering how hard it would be to find a place to live and what work would be like, and being very aware that I was about to jump in to the deep end of things. While now I have all that done, I will be in my door five minutes after getting in the bus station compared to the 10 days it took me last time!

I can't help but feel the new years optimism, (although maybe it's just Mulan's I'll make a man out of you playing next to me at the disney stand in duty free) but this part of my year in France should be the best, there is finally snow on the ground in Annecy and I will have the next season of perfect whitewater kayaking so as they say it's all ahead of me!

I wish everyone reading good luck for the new year even if it's slightly late!

Éanna
Buona fortuna!

Happy Christmas!

It's been quite some time since my last post and I do apologize, it turns out working in another country with another language takes it's toll eventually, especially there has been a need to supplement my income!

Another problem I was having with posting here is that it has become more and more biographical than the original goal I had which was to showcase what Annecy has to offer. I feel now that it's not so important as to stop me from writing, you can always skip the bibliographical posts!

However I'm now home for the holidays visiting family and friends and the girlfriend Niamh, which has been super! But it was not an easy journey and I hope to give you a good laugh as you recover from your festive excess!

When I woke up for work on Thursday the 18th of December I realised I had lost my wallet, This lead to me missing the early train and I had to search the couch for money to actually get to work! (Which did not put me in the best humor let  me tell you!).

Skip to Saturday morning, the wallet was found (although my french card was cancelled), leaving me with little funds to work with. As I strolled up to the train station at 7 o' clock my sleep deprived brain failed to realise straight away as to why there was about 50 people standing next to the customer service desk at this time. It turned out the SNCF decided to pull a strike (pretty convenient time but apparently very common) resulting in the first two available trains to Grenoble cancelled.

I still took my time figuring out that the next train would be too late for my connection to Grenoble airport so I would have to find a taxi when I got there. Which ended up being a whopping 80 euro! Thank god the parent bank was able to bail me out!

And then imagine my delight when the flight was delayed by an 50 minutes! To top it off I was flying with ryanair so I had loads of space for my legs*!

               (*Please note this paragraph contains dangerous amounts of sarcasm)

I have learnt some things from this which I wish to pass on to you,

1. If you can at all possible when travelling to Annecy fly in to/out of Geneva as it is cheaper and less connections to miss (it is also possible to get the bus which is a lot more reliable strikewise!).
2. When travelling with SNCF check their Réservation query here  the night before because they go on strike frequently.
3. ALWAYS have an emergency fund available to you in cash in case your wallet goes missing and causes problems!

Anyway I hope you have had a good Christmas and have a very good new year, thanks for reading!

Joyeux Nöel!

Éanna

Update!

It's the 18th of December and I have finally after nearly 2 months of living in France started to get used to living abroad. Don't you worry you will of course be getting multiple posts about the things that differ from Ireland in France  in the future but this one will be about what has changed since I arrived! The days are starting to get darker sooner here and the snow on the mountains means that winter is definitely coming! Incoming ski season whoop whoop!

Ski bourse!

While it has been snowing heavily upon the mountains in Annecy we were not so lucky and all we ended up with was rain. Something that I have actually been missing from Ireland! Although after recent news I'm not sure how I feel about it anymore. 

If you look closely you can see the snow on the mountains!

Since I started kayaking in first year in university the idea that whenever it rains means kayaking has been ingrained into me. You get to do the harder rivers and all the moderate ones get harder the more and more rain there is, which is all great fun, until that is it all goes wrong. 

On the 14th of November Shane Murphy from Dublin, Baldoyle died while kayaking one of these hard rivers. I can't imagine the effect that had on the people around him but it hit me pretty hard, were weren't close but it still felt incredibly sad how alike we were and how easily it could have been me. I knew he from the skate park in Donaghmede, though we rarely talked we would always give each other a little clap by banging the tail of our boards on the ground when one of us got a trick we had been trying for a while, a kind of recognition. 

The thought of having to drag my dead friends body from the river and perform cpr until the ambulance comes is what my nightmares are made of. Another kayaker also died that day, Juanito de Ugarte from Peru so clearly the river gods were not happy that day! But it just shows how suddenly life can change.

I usually write on friends facebook pages for their birthdays is well done you're old as a joke, but recently I think I have started to understand what birthdays are actually for.

 There is no doubt that I have matured since arriving in France and I think this is the biggest thing that has changed for me.

To finish off on a happy note here is a video I made about a trip I did to Slovenia with my university kayak club. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpCdIpANVCI

Adiós, Éanna.

The kindness of others

This is a bit of an 'ould mushy post so if you're sensitive to this stuff better not look down!

Up until Wednesday I had been suffering from notgettingpaid-itis something not even eating kilo-upon kilo of pasta for the last while could save me from, but I got a really nice little pick me up on Tuesday.

One of my neighbors was moving out and had a couple of things from the kitchen and other bits and bobs that she would be throwing out so instead offered them to me, she could have just as easily thrown them out without having to knock on my door and suffer me stutter in french. I can hear you all ready asking why bother my arse talking about such a small thing.

It highlighted something that I had been feeling for a while, the overall friendliness of the people here in Annecy. Almost everyday I find myself smiling about some small gesture that someone has done for me, whether it be telling me about a different spot to skate or just pointing me in the right direction while I was looking lost it all adds up!


 She knew I was new here so she included some event guides and I even get these green yokes for a while!

Slán Éanna

Getting out there

Les vacances de la toussaint (Halloween holidays) have arrived and seeing as I have met my school,teachers, students and even got some teaching done it's high time I went out and explored the beautiful city of Annecy and the many experiences it offers.

The easiest way to do this is by bike (unless of course you have the luxury of a car), there are several places to rent depending on your preference but being mere peasants we opted to go with Vélonecy. This service is run by the Bus conglomeration SIBRA and you can avail of  low rates ( as little as €2.50 per day which is well worth it) if you have a bus/train pass, an active student card from an Annecy university or you can provide proof of residence in Annecy. The bicycle itself is a standard city bike, nothing special (if you're into that sort of thing road bikes can be rented here at a higher price) supplied with a basket and key.

(Note: You need to put down a deposit of €250 to rent the bicycle from SIBRA, which can be done by card.)

Without doubt the cycle route around the lake is a beautiful way to spend a day soaking up the french countryside. Half of it has a dedicated cycle path and half is on french country roads, with a total distance of 47 km it is no small feat. If you decided to give it a go an the sun comes out to play you will be presented with beautiful views of the surrounding mountains, the lake and the small towns that surround it and holy **** it's sweet - Go see for yourself!

A word of caution before you fire off, be respectful of other bike path users, helmets help you keep all the memories you have made inside your head. We witnessed what can go wrong twice, the first was a sickening reminder of what can go wrong, being resuscitated on the side of the bike path is not something you want to happen to you so be careful!

Settling in

So for anybody who knows me I'm not an organized person, I'm in fact a little bit all over the place and that would pretty much describe the events up to today since arriving in France.
I started the year away on a brilliant note after losing my phone before I had even got on the plane, although I was kindly welcomed in by my contact teacher it quickly became apparent to me just how under prepared I was for the year ahead. Finding my own place to live was first item on the list, but sweet jaysus Annecy is expensive place to live and the landlords are equally as picky.

Before I had found a house though the induction day held by the CIEP was upon me so off to Grenoble for 2 days it was! To be brutally honest I feel that the first day at the stage was completely unnecessary and the stage could have been shortened to 1 day if people had read the information available to them. The second day was better and I pick up many tips and tricks that I can now make use of in the Lycée, although it was rather messy organization-wise! The Evening meal on the first day was well prepared, especially one for over 200 people and I got to taste this famous Tartiflette  for the 2nd time in two days! After a bit of trouble with the buses I said goodbye to some of my new friends (and some old ones) and began to start thinking about my housing problem again.

After 3 days  I managed to find a studio on Rue Carnot (the  O'Connell street of Annecy). While I liked it I felt that I should see much more of the market, but by the weekend after I had got 3 denials and having two house viewings fall through I decided it would be a big loss if the studio was taken while I searched fruitlessly.  The only problem was the lack of internet in the studio, yet another thing to fix!

In the meanwhile I had managed to get myself a french phone, open a french bank account and send off my social security forms. I'm now well versed in the love affair France has with paperwork and while sometimes it makes me want to strangle whoever thought it was necessary for 13 signatures to open a bank account, I have to admit everyone was extremely helpful and understanding at all times!


A plus, Éanna.

3 Weeks, 6 and a half hours 'till liftoff

This is an update of what I have had to do to get to this point, and where exactly this point is! I'm currently studying French and Geography as part of my dual-honors bachelor of arts at Maynooth University (Formerly NUIM) and as part of this it is required for me to spend a large chunk of time in France practicing and getting used to culture etc. So in February I spent many hours filling out and copying reams of paperwork for the French consulate to apply to become a language assistant there. And after many nervous weeks of waiting I finally got an answer, and I was heartrendingly rejected. In actual fact I was put on the reserve list which is actually much better than I had thought originally, and in June on our kayaking clubs annual abroad trip in Slovenia I found out that I had been accepted and also placed in the académie of Grenoble. Many celebratory drinks were had that night due to that email, as Grenoble is at the foothills of the alps and a prime destination for whitewater kayaking!

That was then and now after spending countless hours in front of the computer screen I have made little progress. I have however got a translation of my birth certificate after a few complications about Irish names translated to English, I have made contact with my Lycée and booked accommodation for my first week but I have not been able to sort out permanent accommodation. This is the most worrisome part of all, but pretty unavoidable as it is hard to judge people and places from a few pictures and a line of text!

I hope I am more organized after my first week!