Seven Months in Marseille

16/03/2020

Waiting for Macron's next national address at 8pm and these songs sum up the current mood 😅😂

I am a Rock - Simon & Garfunkle
Band on the Run - Paul McCartney

Honorable mention to REM's "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKlSVNxLB-A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjlvdcBAKdg

"Don't talk of love, Well i've herad the word before. It's sleeping in my mermory; And I won't disturb the slumber Of feelings that I've died. if i never lov...

13/03/2020

Today could well have been the last day I go to work as a language assistant, now that all of the creches, schools and universities have been closed indefinitely from Monday. People have been asked to avoid travelling unless absolutely necessary, nursing homes are closed to public visits, and people are working from home if they can.

According to the latest report, France has recorded just under 3,700 confirmed cases and 79 deaths from coronavirus. This time last week, there were about 600 cases.

So far in Marseille everything is basically normal. There are a few signs in windows instructing people to wash their hands. Pharmacies are selling out of hand sanitiser every morning. Panic buying and stockpiling have only just begun. That's it really. I guess now people are starting to take it more seriously - last week they were asking "corona or no corona?" before kissing each others' cheeks.

Josh and I are doing fine! Even though France is one of the more severely hit countries, panic has not set in. Everyone is pretty level headed about the whole thing. I'm looking forward to more time to go hiking in the calanques now that I don't have to go to school for god knows how long/forever!

And lastly, it's a good thing Josh and I planned on staying here after the program finishes coz ain't no way we're leaving anytime soon 🙂🙂🙂🙃

28/01/2020

Me today: "So, who were the first people in Australia?"
Student 1: "the French"
Me: "No, as in the very first people"
Student 2: "Americans"

Me: ...

27/01/2020

We could only find one event that was happening here for Australia Day, so along we went like dutiful expats to this Irish pub. In the south of France, to celebrate Australia Day.

It was a wet day and at 11°C it was very much different to normal! We arrived to find the pub all but deserted and although a few punters came and went, it remained devoid of other Aussies for the duration of our visit. We ended up playing foozball and pool with a couple of French guys, which was nice, and left after a couple of hours feeling rather homesick and disappointed about this very anti-climactic "event."

08/01/2020

Food, glorious food! The tastiest way to experience a new culture 😋 Points to Marseille for being a diverse city, because... We got to try out Senegalese food!

Some time back, I wrote a bucket list of all the things I wanted to do while we’re here in Marseille. One of those things was going to a Senegalese restaurant and trying out a new cuisine & #8…

07/01/2020

Today I went to school in January for the first time in my life! Had a nice first day back, including the bit where I found myself trapped in the staff room at lunch time while the teachers hotly debated the prospect of going on strike again (spoiler alert: they are) 🙃

Octopus plate from cool but not especially relevant art gallery

01/01/2020

Fresh on the blog: Part One of our trip to Bratislava! Check it out now:

OMG OMG OMG! We finally visited Slovakia!! One of my dream countries to visit for years! The Danube and UFO Bridge Yes, I know it’s a fairly obscure dream destination, but as far as I’m…