16.10.2010 "that woman smells like pritstick!"

has it honestly been over a week since i last blogged? i have no idea where the time is going here. everything is still going well, and i'm still enjoying myself!

It has suddenly got very cold here in the last few days. the mistral is out in force, especially in the evenings, so i've been getting quite a bit of wear out of my winter coat already! Today i went to the laundrette to do some washing, and on the way back i really began to feel quite autumnal.

the sudden cold weather is making me very excited about coming back home to the uk on thursday. i have a craving for porridge and parsnips and yorkshire puddings. i subscribed to a VPN provider online, which means that i can watch UK tv on my laptop. i think that's where the majority of this week has gone! been catching up on strictly and nigella and countryfile, and am currently watching x factor. bloody brill.

there have been 2 huge national strikes this week. one on tuesday, and one today. they're still protesting the raise in retirement age, and i honestly can't see either the government or the public backing down. the kids in the lycées (college students) have also started getting involved, protesting their right to voice their opinions and barricading the gates to schools so no one can get in. it seems that everyone is using this opportunity to get their bugbears out, and i think it could escalate into a fairly momentous occasion, much like that of may '68. uh oh!!

went out on thursday with some other assistants who i hadn't really gotten to know that well yet, and had a really nice time!! typical english behaviour to make friends whilst half cut! also went out last night to a posh bar in town for one of the assistants' birthday, and pretty much every other assistant in avignon was there. met even more new people, and had a lovely time!! got in from the freezing cold mistral and had a mug of hot choc and some nutella before bed. france isn't so bad after all...

lastly, i went with helen to buy her a bike on thursday afternoon. because there's nowhere for her to leave it where i live, we had to haul it up the stairs into my flat. was fairly amusing: