Eventually Home, but...

Hello dear ones!

As you can read in the title there, just above, my plane took off on Friday the 24th! And it was on time too, can you believe it?

I won't talk about my journey to the airport, as it was a boring bus and then coach journey. The waiting at the airport was quite boring too and the flight itself was, well, like all other flights really; boring. I slept most of the time.

I was so happy that I'd be in Geneva on time and that we wouldn't get home too late. We had that delicious filet mignon en croûte you see? Awaiting for us. And some Christmas presents too! We always celebrate our "little" Christmas on the 24th with my parents and my brother. And then on the 25th, that's the big family Christmas.

Unfortunately, Fate hadn't finished hassling me! For my suitcase never arrived in Geneva! Easyjet have lost my suitcase, and I still haven't had any news about it =( Half of my presents are in that suitcase, plus clothes and stuff I really don't want to lose...

So fingers crossed. Again!

A Night at the Airport

Dear readers,

I wish I was writing this article sitting on my bed, surrounded by my cats and hearing my parents and brother going about their business in my home.

But no. I'm sitting on the couch watching TV, alone in my English home. I was supposed to fly back to Basel yesterday evening, but my flight got cancelled because of the freakin' snow... Let me tell you all about my nightmarish couple of days.

I left Soham at about 8 o'clock on Monday morning. Took the bus to Ely's train station. I had to take the train to London Kings Cross. The train was half an hour late, but that was to be expected. Then I arrived at Kings Cross and looked for the train to Gatwick but couldn't find it. So I asked one of the security guys and he told me that all the trains to Gatwick were cancelled and that I had to go to Victoria Station. So I had to take the tube to Victoria. I was carrying two suitcases so it was not a walkover, trust me!

Then I arrived at the airport and waited to check-in. I checked in, passed the hand luggage checking and waited for my gate to open. It was supposed to open at 17:05. At 17:05, it said it was delayed to 18:50. I wasn't surprised though. A one-hour delay is nothing, right? Then the gate opened, so I walked to gate 109, feeling really happy that my flight hadn't been cancelled after all. There was a big queue at the gate, so I joined it. After a while, the loudspeaker announced the boarding would begin "shortly". Never trust someone who says something will happen "shortly". I should have known. A couple of minutes later, they announced that a person needed special attendance and that they were waiting for an ambulance or some vehicle. But of course, it was stuck in a traffic jam and was late.

That's when it started snowing. And that's when I thought "fuck, fuck, fuck". At around 8pm, it came: "we have just been informed that the runway has now been closed due to the snow". God. They said we'd have some other information at 10pm. Great. But only a couple of minutes later did we learn that our flight was cancelled. And all the other flights.

We were told we had to go back to the departure lounge and get our luggage back. It was chaos. Like, the whole airport needed their luggage back. And of course, we couldn't get through to the baggage claim area alone. We needed to be escorted. But before we could go, the people who hadn't checked in any luggage and had bought duty free stuff had to return those items to the shops. I still don't understand why only those who hadn't checked in a luggage had to return their stuff... Anyway. It was funny because when they made that announcement, everybody laughed. It was quite comical! I had to laugh too. Better laugh than cry, right?


After what seemed like ages, we were eventually escorted to the baggage claim area. We had to wait for a little while and then we got our luggage back. Phew. That was out of the way.

In fact, I didn't tell you about the girl I met at the airport. I started talking with her back when we were queueing to board the plane. And we discovered we only live 10 minutes away from each other in Switzerland. That was a really really really lucky encounter. If I hadn't been with her, I would have panicked like hell!

So. Where was I. Yeah. Then we started looking for some computers so we could try and book another flight. I got there, logged in my mum's account (she had booked my flight, see?) and was "lucky" enough to transfer my flight to the 24th of December, from London Luton to Geneva. My new friend wasn't as lucky, since she couldn't access her dad's account as the latter was fast asleep and wouldn't answer her calls. She could only access the account today and, unfortunately, only got another flight on the 26th of December.

Then what did we do? Well, it was obviously too late to take the train back to Soham! All the hotels were full. So we spent the night at the airport. Not the best night of my life... I barely slept. Maybe for ten or fifteen minutes at the most... We left the airport at around 7am. I went to Victoria, then took the tube again (gosh, I hate that tube) to Kings Cross. Where we were told to go to Liverpool Street station if we had to go to Cambridge. Bummer. I took the tube once again and was finally able to take a train to Cambridge. Took one hour and a half to get there, then 30 minutes to get to Ely. But that was not the end of my woes. As the bus to Soham was 45 minutes late. I was literally freezing. When I eventually stepped through the door, at a quarter past twelve (do the maths), I just cried my eyes out for at least 15 minutes. It was a mixture of relief, pain, frustration and sadness. Release of pressure.



I had lunch and then went straight to bed and had some sleep. Now I'm still really tired and my whole body aches like hell. I'm still sad of course and I really hope my plane will take off on Friday. If not, I might have a nervous breakdown... But at least I have somewhere to stay until Friday, unlike some people who've been sleeping at the airport for days now, waiting and hoping to hop on a plane!

School's Christmas Dinner

I knew I had forgotten to write about something!!

On Wednesday, with the Soham teachers, we went to Cambridge for the annual Christmas dinner. We went to that restaurant called "Loch Fyne". It was really nice and the food was very tasty. Ok. Apart from the broccolis, which were undercooked and thus really crunchy. But not in a good way haha.

For the starter, I had chicken liver paté. That was yummy! Really enjoyed that! Then I had pan-fried salmon with red cabbage (mmmh...), roast potatoes and some crunchy broccolis. The dessert was sublime. I had a chocolate and orange torte with some raspberry coulis. I didn't want it to end, so I tried to make it last as long as possible. That was truly delicious!

Also, I had a good time with the teachers! We cracked some crackers, laughed at the bad jokes and messed around with the paper hats. After the main course, we did "secret Santa". Before the meal, everyone had got an envelope with someone's name and had to buy that someone a present. Then, my mentor put all the presents in a sack and distributed them! I got Body Shop shower gel and body lotion, in a funky Santa bag =D That was fun! I had never done secret Santa before!

After Three Months in England...

It's been almost three months guys! I can't believe it! Time has flown, it's crazy! But that's it! I've now been working as an FLA for three months... Six to go. And time will be going by real quickly, because my brother is visiting me in January, after that I'm going to Berlin, then two of my friends are coming in February, then it's Easter and my parents might come, and then it's over!

But the point of this article is not to talk about how quickly time goes by, but to tell you about how my British experience has been so far.

Well. It's been pretty good! I'm enjoying my job, even though it can sometimes be really boring. Indeed, most of the time, I take out small groups of pupils to make them talk for five minutes. So basically, I repeat the same things over and over for one hour. It's a bit tedious... But I've talked to my mentors and hopefully, I'll have the chance to do a bit more after Christmas! I would like to work with more pupils and have more time with them. It would also be nice to talk about my country more. Most pupils still think I'm from France and they don't know much about Switzerland!

What about the school system? Well, on the whole, everything seems to be related to the exam that the pupils will sit at the end of Year 11. The GSCEs. They study for this exam. And the teachers teach according to what's going to be in the exam. It's a shame really, and a bit sad, too! They only concentrate on things that matter for the exam. The students don't study for themselves. And at the end of the day, they don't know much!


As for my life outside school, it's going great too! The only negative point is that I haven't met any native people my age. Yet. I find it really hard! I'm attending some keeping-fit classes, but only "older" people go there... So apart from my host family, the German assistant and the schools' staff, I don't have any friends! So that sucks. But I guess it's ok because spending some alone time is usually not a problem for me. Still, it would be nice to have English friends!

Feeling homesick? Mmmh not really no. I'm really looking forward to going home for Christmas, of course, but I don't feel horrible. I miss my family and friends, some days more than others, but I don't think that's homesickness... If it is, then it's not as bad as I thought it would be!

So yeah, this year's been pretty good so far!

Christmas Carol Concert @ Ely Cathedral

Yesterday evening, there was a Christmas concert at Ely Cathedral. And guess what! I was singing in the choir! Well, I felt pretty useless actually, because I could only sing Jingle Bells and one part of a carol called A Shepherd's Pipe Carol. But I tried my best and the rest of the concert was very nice! There are some really talented kids at Soham Village College!

It was inside the cathedral, so the setting was an impressive and amazing one. But it was also freezing cold. By the end of the show, I couldn't feel my toes!

Here is a picture I found on Google. It might be a picture from yesterday's concert. If it is, then I'm there, somewhere haha!

An English Christmas Dinner

Last Sunday, my host mum cooked a Christmas dinner for us. She invited her sister and nephews. She wanted me to experience an English Christmas (I'm going home for Christmas so I won't be spending it here).

The menu was: smoked salmon on toast and prawn cocktail for the starter. Then we had the traditional turkey, with sprouts, parsnips, roast potatoes, sausage, Yorkshire puddings, stuffing, carrots and gravy. For dessert, we had the famous Christmas pudding. That was fun because my host mum poured Brandy on it and set it alight. Then she poured some cream on it and it was ready! I thought I wouldn't enjoy it, because it's just some candied fruit and I don't like candied fruit, but it was actually quite tasty! We also had some mince pies, that my eight-year-old host sister made herself and they were yummy!

Here is a picture of how the meal looked like:


Here is the pudding:

















And the mince pies!










After the meal, we cracked some crackers. That was fun! Inside, there was a paper crown, a small gift (I got tweezers) and a joke. My joke was: - What do you call a reindeer with no eyes? - No eye deer. Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ha ha ha ha!


I had a really nice time and I'm happy to have experienced a true English Christmas!

"Chicago" and London Lights

Hello people!!

Last week end, I went to London. Yeah. Again. Before leaving for England, I told my mum I'd probably go to London once a month and it's exactly what I've been doing! And as my brother is coming in January (yay!), we'll probably go to London together, so I might go on with my "Londony" routine!

Anyway. I had a really good reason to take the train to the capital city this month; I went to the theatre to see Chicago, the musical! I've always loved musicals and really wanted to see one before Christmas. So I booked a ticket on the Internet. Easy peasy!

I took the train in the morning, because I had a couple of things to buy. Obviously, I spent far too much money, like always. But God it feels good to empty one's wallet! I went to Oxford Street and it was surprisingly quiet. After that, I walked to Covent Garden and had lunch there. Covent Garden is an amazing place if you have some money to spend, really. And I really love the covered market too, it's really nice! There was a huge reindeer made of bushes at the entrance of the market (it was Rudolf, the red-nosed reindeer actually!) . That was pretty impressive! Here is a picture:


After a bit of wandering around, it was eventually time to head to the theatre. I collected my pre-booked ticket at the box office and bought the soundtrack CD (I always buy the CD!). Then I just had to wait. I had quite a good spot in fact. That surprised me, because I had bought the cheapest ticket, and there weren't many left!

Then it started. The set was really simple; the band was on stage (they're not usually), on a platform, and stayed there for the whole show. And apart from two moveable ladders, there was nothing else. The actors wore the same costume throughout the whole thing. But it was still really good! Everything was in black and white and I felt like I was in a black and white film from the 30s or something! It was really funny at times and I'm happy to say that I understood almost everything! The dancing was fabulous. All the moves were sexy, sensual and very subtle. I have to admit that the boys' bodies added to the fabulousness mwa ha ha. No but seriously, the whole cast is H-O-T. It's part of the story I guess?

So to conclude, I really enjoyed Chicago. My favourite musical remains Billy Elliot though. I don't know if any other musical will ever top that. One of the teachers in Ely recommended Jersey Boys, another musical. So I might want to see that next year! And in the Spring, I'll maybe treat myself with Mamma Mia! A fresh and feel-good show!















When I came out after the show, it was dark and all the Christmas lights were lit up. It was beautiful! I saw a shiny bush reindeer and some presents and umbrellas in Oxford Street. I also heard the mini carol concert that was being held before the massive Christmas tree of Trafalgar Square. There were dozens of Santas there, drinking and dancing. My mum told me they had paraded to Trafalgar Square; it was a Santa flash mob! Mwa ha ha!

To finish this article, here are some pictures of the Christmas lights and decorations!

Snow and Chinese Food

Good evening!

As you can read in the title, this article won't be about much. I just wanted to write an article haha. So here we go!

Last Thursday, we went to a Chinese restaurant in Ely with the Soham teachers. It was a meal to welcome some German teachers who are now here for an exchange. Well it was a nice meal. I love Chinese food! We had a good time too, even though I was sneezing, blowing my nose and coughing the whole time haha.

Also on Thursday night, it snowed for the first time in Soham! I was really pleased! It was just a couple of snow flakes, but it was snow all right! =D This morning when I woke up to go to the loo, there was a really thin layer of snow. But by the time I got up at 11am, it had all gone, so I couldn't even take a picture! =(

Well that's it for this oh-so-useless article! =)

Poppy Day (Remembrance Day) and London

In November, the British celebrate Bonfire night, but November is also a time of remembrance. What do they remember? They remember all the British soldiers who died at war, specifically since the First World War. "Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918" (Wikipedia). But you can see people wearing a poppy on their jacket for weeks! The red poppy is the emblem of Remembrance Day because of the poem "In Flanders Fields" by John McCrae. Those poppies bloomed in battlefields in Flanders during World War I. The poppies also represent the blood that was and is still spilt at war.

Anyway, now you know a bit about Poppy Day. And now I can move on to the exciting part; I saw Princes Charles of Wales in London yesterday (13th of November). I just went to London to do a bit of Christmas shopping and to soak up the busy and swarming atmosphere of the City. At around 11am, while I was walking down Downing Street, heading towards my Parliament, I saw that something was going on. Some barriers were up and the police was there, arranging some flower wreaths and talking in their walkie-talkies. So I stopped and asked one of the policemen what was happening and he said that there would be a Service of Remembrance at around noon (it's actually called the War Widows annual Service of Remembrance). So I decided I would come back later to see that! I went to my Parliament and was awed by it, as always. I stared at it for a bit and then headed back to Downing Street.

And waited....

After a (long) while, a fanfare in kilt arrived, playing the bagpipe. That was funny haha. And then, Prince Charles arrived. Although, I wasn't sure it was him then. After that, a man talked for a while, and said some prayers. I moved so I could see better and suddenly, a woman next to me said "Look! Prince Charles is putting the wreath on the pillar!". That's when I knew it was him. And even though I was quite far away, I could recognise him: tall, big ears haha. Then, he just left in a private car and that was it! I left the crowd, with a stupid smile on my face, thinking "Jeez, I've just seen Prince Charles!!" and texting my mum and host mum about it haha!

Here are some pictures to prove that I DID see Prince Charles of Wales:



And as my pictures' quality is crap (sorry about that, I only had my iPod...), here is a decent pic I found on the Internet:


And to finish with, here is a video I took of the fanfare ^^ And I think (though am not sure) that you can see Prince Charles at the very end of the video!

Enjoy! =)

Bonfire Night Party!

"Remember remember the 5th of November!"

On the 5th of November, the British celebrate Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night. What happened on the 5th of November you might ask? Well, on the 5th of November 1605, a group of Catholics, the most famous one being Guy Fawkes, attempted to blow up the House of Lords in London; that is the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Their aim was to kill Protestant James I, the first of the Stuart kings of England. So each year, the British symbolically burn Guy Fawkes in a celebration called "Bonfire Night". They lit fireworks and make a huge bonfire, obviously, with a puppet representing Guy Fawkes in the middle.

I went to a Bonfire Night Party last week end. Not on the 5th, but on the 6th. We were really lucky with the weather! There was no rain at all and the stars shone bright in the clear night! We had mulled wine (made by the German assistant, her boyfriend and myself), which was de-li-cious, and some chilli con carne! I had a really good time. I particularly enjoyed the bonfire. Everyone was happy it was there, because the night was a cold one! BrrRRRrrr...

Here are some pictures!

The bonfire:


Some people in the smoke:


A firework!


Tatjana (German assistant) and I, with some deliiiiicious mulled wine:


People around the fire, in the smoke!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween people!

The German assistant, one of her friends and I went to a Halloween party at The Ship, one of Soham's pubs. I dressed up as a witch. Well, I just bought a 74p hat and wore black clothes really. Still.

We went down to the pub, ordered a cider and found a seat. It was quite packed and the atmosphere was nice and cosy!

We started taking pictures, and there was this guy who kept looking at us. After a while, he just came to us and introduced himself, while apologizing for being drunk. Funny. Well after that, him and his friend kept hitting on us for the whole night. That was actually kinda funny, because we made fun of them. And we got free Baileys too! Yummy. Anyway, those guys were too old and a bit sultry, but I genuinely enjoyed myself, and I think the girls did too.

Here are some pictures of our Halloween night out!

Day Out in Norwich

To finish half-term, I decided to go to Norwich. I went by myself; planned an itinerary, took the train and had a lot of fun, even on my own!

Norwich is really popular for shopping, but it's also a lovely city! Many people had told me it was nice, and gosh, they were right! I really enjoyed my day out there!

I started with the Cow Tower, which used to be part of the fortifications of the city of Norwich.



After that, I went to see the cathedral. It's a really beautiful building, really impressive. Not as impressive as Ely's cathedral though. But that's just my opinion.



I went inside, and believe it or not, it was free!



And one more for the road!


Then I walked along Elm Hill, a historic cobbled street, which is really famous for its old buildings, dating from the Tudor period. It's said to be one of the finest streets in the UK.


I then headed to Norwich Castle, which sits on a hill, thus overhanging the whole city. I was quite impressed by this unusual, cubic castle!


It is a museum now. I visited it. There was art, history, natural history, decorative arts; a lot of different things! That was quite nice, especially seeing the castle's interior! I didn't take any pictures though, as I don't really like taking pictures inside buildings...

After that, I went into Norwich's streets. It was really crowded and noisy. I liked that. People shopping, chatting! I walked along a covered street. There I found Colman's Mustard Shop & Museum (the museum was closed though). It was really nice!!




You could even taste mustard! And I did. Haha it was quite nice. But the mustard biscuits were really strange... And there was some mustard chocolate, but I was not brave enough to taste that...

Then, I walked through the market to see the Forum, which is a community building. The BBC is there, I think... That's a really modern building. I'm not sure I like it, but here is a picture anyway:


And then, I just walked around, did a bit of shopping, and enjoyed the glorious weather! For your information, and as you've probably noticed on almost all of my pictures, the weather has been really good lately. So don't trust people who say it's always raining in England! Thing is, the weather is moody; it can be really sunny one minute, and rainy the other. If you don't like the weather in England, just wait a minute!

And here are two last pictures!