lizblog

Sunday in Montpellier

I've spent a lazy day today. Well, fairly lazy. I walked into town to begin with which is about two miles. I have the blister to prove it. Then spent a pleasant lunchtime at a cafe eating a salad with the romantic name of La Vie en Rose. Thankfully I didn't have to sing it prior to eating it. It was delicious ...... lots of salad with smoked salmon and shrimps.
After lunch I walked to the school where I am working tomorrow with Ruth, the other teacher who is assigned to the school with me. That was about half a mile .... and back. My blister is really quite sore and on the ball of my foot so not really a place where one can stick a plaster. Hope it's better tomorrow.
On Tuesday there is a transport strike so that will be a repeat of all the walking today.
After the school trip we spent a very pleasant few hours in a street cafe under the shade of enormous plane trees. Then home for tea.
The picture is the fountain in La Place du Comadie.

Language school

So .... Here I am in Montpellier, France. This is the terrace of the language school where we can have a coffe or lunch. The time spent here is small compared to the time we spend in the classroom. We start at 8.30 and finish at 5 with an hour for lunch. I was very gratified to be put on the top group with the University graduates and have actually been pleasantly surprised at just how much French is surfacing from lessons of long ago. However it is very hard work and my brain is beginning to fry. I am thinking in both languages and beginning to mix the two when I am speaking.

I am living with a French family consisting of a man and wife, two children and two other language students, one german and one Swiss.

I am also having fun! The weather is lovely and I am enjoying getting to know the other teachers. I have enough 'me time' to survive happily too. Tomorrow is a Bank Holiday in France so although we have had to work extra today and will work extra on Friday it means we have tomorrow free.

I am so glad I have had the opportunity to be here. I also hope this first posting to my blog via my iPhone works.

Garden progress

Well ... after the house came the garden!

Last year it looked like this.

Now it looks like this.

To see the transformation go to: Small Garden