neglect

Yes , I have totally neglected this blog that I started to keep me on track with all the things I'm meant to be doing. Well, time is ticking by and I haven't started revising for my management test. I still have nowhere to live and I haven't booked my language course. 

Some of this has a reason. Okay so the lac of revision, no excuse, I just haven't done it. But I will, honestly. 

Nowhere to live...not my fault, I'm spending every spare moment online trying to find a flat in Aix. Because this is going so slow I've decided to sign up to a few aupair agencies. I figure if I can get a position for a few months, that will give me time to sort everything else out. I hope. 

But now that I've given myself all these extra options, none of the are yielding a roof over my head for when I reach france. ARGGGGGGG.

No, no stressing, the whole point of moving to france is to stop my incessant stressing and planing and being sensible from day to day. It will work out, even if I end up staying at the citadine hotel for a few weeks, it'll work out. Yes. 

time takes time

It is now 2 months until I leave my job and 2 and a half months until I leave the country. Just as time can seem to vanish without us noticing, it can also stretch out like the longest running track at school during a sports lesson you don't want to be at. I'm finding my last 2 months is sat in the middle of these two points. I have piles of things to do before I go and I haven't really started that many of them. For one I'm still yet to go and visit my grandmother and see how much money she's willing to give me. Then I have to book onto my language course, find somewhere to live and work out all the rest of that sort of business. It's getting terribly official and just a little be scary now. I'll be plonking myself in a country I don't know terribly well, in a language I only sort of speak, completely on my own with no plans and probably not quite enough money to stay there for my ideal 6 months. 

Right now I still have my certificate in management that I'm a month away from completing, an opera in front of me that I'm meant to  be learning and a wedding I'm meant to be learning all sorts of things for and booking a string quartet. I think maybe these 2 months are just going to vanish before my eyes. 

I should also actually officially resign from my job. I've told them I'm leaving but I haven't picked an actual date, not have I officially resigned...hmmm must remember to do that. 

Aix, je t'aime plus

Yes I know I said I'd write about Aix and then I forgot and then I was busy and only now am I remembering that I said I'd do it. 

So let's pick up where I left off from the last post a month ago:

N and I arrived in Aix far too late, managed to get into the hotel and sat down for a drink with a mixture of english, spanish, australian and french people in the hotel courtyard and stole a load of their wine. Those these people were not locals to Aix, they did work in Marsaille and were my first introduction to the area. It was definitely a good introduction as they were all very lovely and friendly and made every effort for us to feel at home. 

The next morning we obviously set out for the centre of town. Now as I'd only booked the hotel all of 5 hours before leaving for Paris, I didn't really pay attention to how close to the centre it was. It turned out to be a 25 minute walk which I don't mind at all. 

My first impressions of Aix after being in Paris went along the lines of: This place is too small, too quiet, what will I do whilst I'm here etc. And then, as we were wandering through the streets we heard some music, so we followed it. In a side street in the old town was a group of musicians going by the name 'gettabang'. They were exciting, lively, lovely and happy. They provided the soundtrack for the next two days along with another group of musicians playing some trad jazz. One evening we bumped into yet another group of musicians doing some kinda jazz funk kinda stuff. It was on the first day however, sat on the fountain with some bread, olives listening to one of the bands watching BEAUTIFUL women sauntering by, families meeting other families for drinks and dinner etc. All I could think is this is the perfect place to stage my adventure, to find new people and to slow down. I think maybe the important thing there is 'slow down'. I know that if I were in Paris I would not do this, I'd be running around from one thing to another, from one side of the city to another, when what I really want to do is wake up in the morning, go to my local bakery for breakfast, head to school for a few language lessons, sit in the afternoon looking over what I've learnt so far, have a drink with friends in the evening and then get up and do it again. I don't want to feel stressed ever again. (This is and unrealistic ideal, but I can try and do it for at least 6 months).

So yes, that was Aix, and I love it, and I'm counting the weeks before I'm there. 

I'm so ready for it now.