My studies commence

No time for photos today I'm afraid. I did not sleep well last night with the sound of other students' voices, the cold, then too hot, nightmares (which are uncommon for me) and then the rooster crowing at 6am. I got only 3 hours sleep which is not that unusual but not good on top of jetlag and feeling unwell.

The sore throat I developed before my trip has not improved and my chest is feeling more and more painful. There is no access to a doctor in a nearby village for at least two days so I'll have to box on somehow but it's making sleeping, studying and enjoying myself more difficult.

The facilities here are very basic and my diet is very 'student-like' but I am working around the limitations. We visited a supermarket today to stock up on provisions and I ended up spending more than I had anticipated. That's because I discovered I needed non-food items like toilet paper, clingwrap, stuff for hand-washing my clothes, shampoo and conditioner and, horrors, a hairdryer. Twenty euros went just on that but with my long hair and not feeling well I decided not to risk getting a chill from wet hair in the cold weather. We are hoping the temperatures will go up this week because it's certainly not summer-like.

The course is interesting and certainly covers a completely new approach to language learning. I had the opportunity to participate in a French lesson at Intermediate level with two other students here who have a lot more exposure to French than I do. Happily I found I could hold my own at that level which was all in French with no English. The thing now is for me to learn how to do that for students of English.

My French got a workout at the supermarket to day. Having never done shopping in French before and not knowing product types vocabulary it took me longer than usual to find what I needed. I had to check labels carefully. I discovered I had no idea what hair conditioner was in French so I found a friendly-looking lady shopper for her advice. She seemed a bit surprised and bemused to have me ask her in French but kindly assisted without giving too much assistance. This gave me self-confidence but included some challenge in being resourceful for myself. The locals here are used to English speakers arriving in the village to study.

I have just put in a couple of hours of homework already tonight so will close and hope that tomorrow is just as good. On a positive note too, the director of the centre has kindly given me a key to the dance studio so that I can practise when I want to. It's a shame I don't feel up to it tonight, hopefully tomorrow.

French conviviality

I enjoyed the BBQ. What a challenge for my french language. In the end I had to concentrate on one conversation at a time and even then it was extremely difficult but I joined in when I could and Pascal and his friends are great company. Did I mention Pascal is a great cook? His chocolate desert is amazing and so was lunch today. I have drunk french champagne (no, not Dom Perignon) and something alcoholic made from apples (no not cider).

I've tried a few new food items and have bought a few groceries to get me started this week. Must find a cheap hairdryer too.For some reason my outlook email won't send mails. Thank goodness I now have hotmail- it seems more reliable. My jetlag is starting to catch up with me- well I haven't rested since I got here so it's probably a good idea if I get to bed before midnight.Thanks for joining me on this journey.

New friends

What a busy day. I woke up at 8am feeling reasonably OK after my jetlag but no-one else was up so I decided to take some photos and then go back to bed for a while. Suddenly it was 10am and time for breakfast with Pascal, his son Axel and his daughter Rebecca who was with a girlfriend. We drove to another village to drop off Rebecca's friend. The countryside is just gorgeous and the villages with their stone houses are equally so. I love the French architecture - medieval but beautiful, strong and very functional but always in harmony with the scenery.

Pascal and I visited Rennes. The largest city in Brittany. Once again, I fell in love with the older buildings, the shops and municipal buildings. There was a civil marriage at the Town Hall and many markets and buskers. We visited some jeweller friends of Pascal where I explained my father had been a manufacturing jeweller. It was great to be back in such a workshop. It reminded me of the times I visited my father's workshop because I could recognise a lot of the equipment-some things don't change much. After a coffee we walked through Rennes for a bit before collecting Axel from the birthday party he was attending. He seems to greatly enjoy the toy Kiwi I gave him. It goes everywhere with him and seems to inspire a great deal of imagination.

Tonight Pascal will create a BBQ for some friends. It will be interesting to see if I can manage enough French to cope with a French social event. I know it will be difficult to manage with a room full of native French speakers, especially with my reduced hearing lol. Perhaps I'll go to bed a wee bit earlier tonight in preparation for transferring to Plelauff tomorrow.

Each day I'm here I feel I am living in the present because everything is fresh and genial. There is no baggage, only new experiences and good people.

The Phoenix has landed

Despite years of trying to get here, dreams in flames and unexpected obstacles I am really in France. Am I jumping up and down in excitement? Strangely, no. I remain relaxed, everything is new but everything is ‘normal’. I’m so hungry. It’s almost lunchtime and I haven’t eaten since 4am this morning.

I’m glad I planned thoroughly but there was a nail-biting moment when the disembodied voice on the Air France Bus to Gare Paris Montparnasse announced we would arrive at 9.58 am. My train was to leave at 10am. A Singaporean man and I looked at each other in horror. Two hours to bus from the airport to Paris? I sat there for a moment feeling helpless and silly but then thought- better see what I can do to get back on track. I spoke to the bus driver and explained my situation. He said no problem I would arrive on time. I had to trust him. It appears that Paris traffic can be very challenging but on this occasion the motorways were flowing freely. The Singaporean made his stop at Gare de Lyon and I made mine in time too.
As the plane taxied on the runway at CDG I was a bit surprised to see numerous rabbits bounding about as we cruised past. No casserole de Lapin?

The TGV is a wonderful creation. It leaves on time. It was almost imperceptible that we had taken off. I saw the station moving but there was no sensation that it was really me inside the train which was moving. It’s so smooth and quiet. I can even plug in my laptop to the free power socket. No internet but it’s great to replenish my battery. That just leaves me to be replenished, in Rennes.

What a beautiful countryside. The trees are wearing their newest clothes, everything is so ordered, tidy, beautiful. I suppose that when a country has been established for 2000 years even the grass and trees know how to present themselves at their best. Even the wind turbines seemed to be at peace alongside the pretty little farms and villages.

And coming up, the next stage of getting to know France will be to meet and get to know Pascal, whom I have never met but who has so kindly offered to be an ambassador for France and look after me for two days.

On My Way

What a civilised way to start my journey; my friends hugging me and wishing me well, taking me to the airport and lingering long enough to see me settled with a hot chocolate. Thanks Yasmin and Muhab for your love and kindness.

On my own and strolling through the international departures it all felt so natural. No great excitement, no anxiety, just at peace with everything. This was rather unusual for me because, if you know me well, you’ll agree I’m rather a worrier, a bit intense and always full of feeling. Instead, I’ve been living in the NOW all day.

As the plane launched itself into the blue I felt no emotional connection with Auckland at all. I wasn’t leaving home, I was leaving a place where I live. Simply a fact, just an observer, mild surprise at this discovery. I’ve never taken this flight path before so it was a pleasant surprise to look down at a couple of Waitakere dams showing signs of emptying from the drought and then we skimmed over Piha and out to sea.

Right now, as I type rather awkwardly in my squashy economy seat, I’m flying at an altitude of 34,000 feet with 4 hours and 53 minutes flight time remaining until I land at Singapore. So far I’ve been in flight for 6 hours with one toilet stop, plenty of food and water but nowhere to plug my laptop in. The guy along from me is OK because he’s got a power supply that plugs into the arm rest. I tried to do the same but my plug doesn’t fit and I don’t think the volts are right so I’m on battery. I’ve also got two movies under my belt, neither really entertained me and my gaze frequently drifted out of the window. Leonardo Di Caprio in Shutter Island or watching The Tasman Sea? Denzel Washington in The Book of Eli or check out the Northern Territory of Australia? Decisions.

I can see a bush fire below me. Either it’s accidental or a controlled burn-off, hard to tell. Inland Queensland has a landscape reminiscent of Mars; expansive, desolate and red, only with a bit more water in ill-defined lakes and puddles. Outside my window right now is the Northern Territory and it’s even bleaker with a colour palette limited to muddy tan and blackish green. The straight lines that dissect the landscape are the only sign of man’s attempts to tame nature. This country really doesn’t seem to want or need people in it.

Now safely at Changi Airport and trying to work out how to use my portable technology. As you can see, I've succeeded with he internet but don't have the right adaptor to power up my laptop so if you don't hear from me for a while that's why, plus the very long flight to Paris Roissy Charles de Gaulle.

What should be exciting is now filled with anxiety

Only four days to go until I leave New Zealand for the biggest and most important adventure of my life (other than becoming a mother). Last week I was happy and excited but over the last two days those positive feelings have been smothered by anxiety. Smothered by cinders threatening French airspace, smothered by molten rock from the centre of the earth.

I absolutely must be in Paris on Friday or I lose the opportunity to get my new qualification, I miss my job interviews and the hope of the new life I have always dreamed and worked for. It cannot be rescheduled.

So much detailed planning to create this window of opportunity. So many encouraging moments from friends and colleagues, the little synchronicities that have occurred lately.

It was great to have Stephen's help to set up my laptop, Laura's best wishes today for Mothers Day, chatting with Lindsay. So many contributions to this milestone in my life. I feel as if I'm taking many well-wishers along with me on this journey. Please make it happen for all of us.

Planning, packing and panicking

I don't know how some folks can make sudden decisions to up and go overseas; blink and they are gone. Not me. Long-haul seems to require army precision and a major packing campaign.

My trip has taken so much planning, dreaming, hoping and effort. Those myriad tasks that demand attention before I can relax into the idea that I'm almost on my way. I'm talking about finding a safe board for Laura, getting on top of my work at Waitakere, obtaining a WOF for the car and paying the registration. Then I discover my drivers license will expire while I'm away. I ask myself what bills will come in while I'm in France. Will my luggage be overweight? How on earth will I know if I'm under or over 20kgs? Is there a weigh-station somewhere for suitcases?

My phone: a friend has suggested I DON"T go for roaming - far too expensive. She suggests I get a french sim card when I arrive.

Watch out for your mascara and liquid foundation at the airport security area - must be in a plastic bag. Mascara for heavens sake? In reality there's never enough of the liquid in those dinky little tubes to last long. What am I going to do with a mascara wand- threaten a gay pilot? Is liquid foundation such a danger to passengers and crew? Only if some people DON"T use it I'd suggest.

I'll have to shove spare knickers in my laptop bag if I want to arrive 'fresh'. Well, I do hope the nice man at customs doesn't get the idea I'm trying to bribe my way into France when I accidently deposit my G-string on his desk along with my passport. Then again, being French, maybe he'll understand perfectly and waive me through with a twinkle in his eye.

Bellydance practice gear, hair dye to cover my grey for several weeks, copies of key documents, CV and cover letters, language course binders and materials, enough pharmaceuticals to look pretty dodgey. Madam, please explain the 2 doz enemas you're carrying - I can just hear it.

No room for a raincoat or umbrella and I've only packed three pairs of shoes. THREE! How on earth will I look presentable in the fashion capital of the world? I've been told to pack a towel but I don't think there's room. Maybe I could wear it instead.

You think perhaps I'm freaking out a wee bit? Getting a bit excited? Feeling as if this is a really big deal, going to France? YOU BET.