Warning! This is not an original idea!

Thanks for the idea, bro ;)
Ok, my favourite films... Anyone who knows me well will know how much of a torture this is... Deciding which films are my all-time favourites is almost impossible, as I change my mind nearly every single time I watch a new one. Not to mention that it also depends on my current mood... So, the best I can do is: at the present moment, my favourite films are........



First Category: (yes, I divided them into categories...)
Romantic comedies / drama:
Garden State (humm, Zach Braff :D)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Love Actually
and I can’t help adding Brokeback Mountain which I saw yesterday... and I’m struggling not to add The Last Kiss)

Second Category:
Funny stuff:
Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre
Kaamelot (I know, it is not a film, but it cracks me up)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Third Category:
Scary stuff:
I don’t watch scary movies (well, I did see Scary Movie, but you got my meaning), because I have nightmares if I do...

Fourth Category:
Fantasy:
The Return of the King (there had to be one of these...)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban (and one of these too...)
Willow (not as much anymore, but I did love as a kid)

Fifth Category:
Animation:
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Corpse Bride
Wallace and Gromit (no, sorry, I just can’t choose just one)

Sixth (and last) Category:
Action:
Matrix (the first one)
De Battre mon coeur s’est arrêté
Sin City

Phew, this was hard. And I’ll change my mind about half of these in about ten minutes, but well, I did say “right now”, so, there you go... what is your list, folks?

seven more days...

Today, I was observed in my school, and I "finished" my assignment. Now what? I have two possibilities right now: I can either decide that being a teacher is not worth all the trouble it takes, and buy an ice-cream van (Carmen's daydream when she began teaching), or struggle on, and keep wondering if this is the right decision. I honestly don't know. Right now, both solutions have their appeal... Well, come to think of it, I might not have a choice very soon, for instance when Carmen reads my rubbish of an assignment!
Seven more days in that school. Eleven more days before I go back to France. I suppose it IS coming nearer. It is, isn't it?
And, no, I don't really have a light note for today's post. Let me think... hummm.. no, there isn't any, I'm afraid.
Aline

News From Abroad

Lots of things have happened since my last update...

First, the Christmas holidays don't seem to be coming any nearer. I know that it's in less than a month, but wow, that month is long! I miss Abel an awful lot, of course, and it's hard sometimes to hear him on the phone, asking me to come back, knowing that I still have a month to go before seeing him again... And I also miss everyone else, I can't wait to go and do some shopping with Marion, chat with Florie, and moan with the FLE girls about Mrs Schuwer & co.

My school placement is ok, I suppose, but there are times when I wonder what on Earth I am doing there! There are some very nice class, with model pupils who do their work and actually WANT to learn some French (or German), and then, there are the others... I still struggle with my Y10 bottom set: the girls certainly don't give a shit about French, and classroom management with them quickly become a trench war... So, all in all, it's ok, I suppose, but the lesson planning is a real pain, honestly! And I sometimes feel that it's quite pointless.

Enough about work... As some of you already know, there's been some change in other areas of my life. I now have a boyfriend:) His name is Ralf, and I met him during my last trip to London, over a year ago. He is 31, he is Dutch, and well, blond-haired and blue-eyed of course, but then, what else do you expect? ;) So he is currently in London, working to get enough money so that he can go back on his trip (Pakistan, India, Nepal, Tibet and China, if I remember correctly), and after spending Christmas in Holland, he will be back in B'ham until the 1st of February...

That was quite short, but I might send something a bit longer soon... Right, I have to plan a lesson for the 10K3, the Class From Hell, and one for the 8K1 (sweet kids)... Oh, and I had parents' evening tonight: another pain, but hey, I did choose to be a teacher, didn't I?

Bizzzzzzzzzzzz
Aline

Stand-up Comedy!

Yup, last Friday, after a week of hard work, I went to a club called the Glee Club with friends to see some Stand-up comedy. The week had been long and painful, I had been a lot at the back of classrooms, observing dreadful teachers and fearless pupils, knowing fully that I would have the pleasure of teaching them myself very soon... Ok, the pupils weren’t that bad, nor were most of the teachers. Actually, I started teaching my worst class long ago. They are the 10K3, and they hate teachers, they hate French, and all they want to do during a French class is talk among themselves, plan some great fun for the weekend, and certainly not listen to a word we say. But, fortunately, I have Great Scott. Scott is great: he is a fellow PGCE student, and he is also at Hillcrest for his first placement. This means that we spend a LOT of time together, especially doing nothing in the staffroom, like right now. We team-teach two classes: the 9K1 and the 10K3. Well, we will, at some point in the future, teach the 9K1, but they are in the middle of their assessment or something at the moment.

Whatever. On Thursday (yes, I will eventually talk about Stand-up Comedy, bear with me), we went (well, Scott wasn’t there, I’m talking about the other PGCE students) to the pub, at the Bristol Pear, near my place, and then, we went to have some curry at the Shamon, which is one of the best curry in Brum. I haven’t been to any other curry, but I believe it. Oh. My. God. This was so good! I couldn’t of course finish my plate, let alone the nan, but it was brilliant! If anyone comes to visit me in Brum, I’ll take you there! Then, we had planned to go to see the fireworks (Bonfire, folks!). So, Catherine (who had planned all this), Anna, Alex and me went to that place, quite far away, frankly (and yes, we were walking in the cold), and we could see the fireworks in the distance. Catherine had checked on the internet, and it was supposed to begin at 9 and finish at 10. We left the restaurant a bit after 9pm, and when we almost got to the place, we met this crowd going the other way: it actually finished at 9! Arghhh, we walked a long way just to see a few fireworks in the distance... Whatever, the restaurant was great.

Back to Friday and the stand-up comedy. The week hadn’t been terrific, and Friday was the biggest day: I was to solo-teach for the first time ever, and it was for a German lesson! Since the beginning of the year, I really didn’t feel confident at all about my level of German, because I haven’t spoken a word in 8 years, and honestly, I thought it would all come back quite quickly, but it didn’t at all! So, I was terrified. Fortunately, my German housemates helped me a bit with the planning of the use of the Target Language. Still, I felt quite nervous, especially as the teacher had told me to do the whole classroom routine at the beginning, like calling the register, checking if they all had their equipment, and all. But it all went well! I loved it, and the teacher told at the end of the day, when we met in the staffroom to talk about it, that, this was the first time it ever happened to her with a student teacher, she had absolutely NO suggestion to make, that my lesson was perfect, exactly how she would have done it! I love that woman! And, after that, I had a lesson of French too, and I also was a bit nervous, but it went so well too! So, by the end of the day, I was in a great mood, and I knew that I was going to see some stand-up comedy with some great friends. How cool is that?

So, I met with Nirvana (she was the one inviting me) and her friends at a bar called Las Iguanas (latino, as you will have guessed). We had a sangria before heading to the club. It is quite a small club, although I can’t really compare with any other. The stage is small, and in front of it are the tables: they are arranged in a semi-circle. We were sitting almost at the front (but not quite, because that is the worst possible place at a stand-up comedy show, because then you are always picked up by the comedian). The line-up was excellent: even Nirvana, who goes quite often, said that she had never seen such a great show. My favourites were the last two artists, especially the last one: Michael McIntyre. He was just Brilliant. He improvised a lot, and was never boring, or even banal. Really, I loved it! Then (the show lasted about 3 hours), we went for a last drink at a club near by. We had apparently just missed Chris Barrett there. No idea who he is, personally, but he is apparently famous on my side of the Channel, and last but not least, he is gorgeous. I’ll have to check that, I think.

So, yeah, that was a bloody good evening!

One last thing: I heard it was cold in France, but here, it is OMG so cold! Look at the picture: that’s the front garden (at my place), and, yes, it’s like that every morning. And the worst thing: the sunset is now at about 4:30pm, and it’s only the beginning of November! Bouh.....

The Brothel on the Hill

Right. Last week, I began my first School Placement (induction week). The school is Hillcrest Girls School and (mixed) Sixth Form College. Fortunately, it is not too far from home (and, yes, it is on a hill), so not far, actually, that I can even walk there! Of course, it does take at least half an hour, but hey, at least, I am fully awake when I get there. This week is half term, meaning that the kids are on holiday, but we, oh so lucky PGCE students, aren’t. So, instead of wandering aimlessly in the streets in B’ham, we just go back to the University, and see our dear tutor, Carmen D’Arcy. (Who, by the way, was in a foul mood yesterday morning... Ooooh, scary)

So, on the 30th of October, we begin our school placement “for real”. The timetable is ok: I’ve got about ten hours a week of teaching, but the evil English thing is: we can’t leave the school even though we are not teaching. This means that even when I don’t work on Mondays (every other week), I still can’t plan a long weekend. Arghh. Stupid English people.

Still, the school is nice. There are about 700 pupils (I think), and the staff is quite ok on average. Well, the language teachers are mostly cool and supportive. There is even a handsome German assistant...

But the most important thing that has happened during the last message is: Abel came to Birmingham for a weekend! And, you know what? He’s coming again next weekend!!! Of course, then I won’t see him again in seven weeks, which is WAY too long, but well, don’t really have a choice there, unfortunately. I still haven’t found a decent birthday present for him too, but I am still looking, and I will be going to the city centre tomorrow again: somebody told me about a toy shop, and I’ve got to see if they could possibly have nice things for Abel. Still, I already got a T-shirt and two little puzzles, but that’s not nearly enough for my little angel (wow, I’m going sentimental there). Got to compensate for the absence, right?

Whatever. You know what? I should have the internet next weekend. Isn’t that BRILLIANT!? I just can’t wait! Of course, I assume there will be a problem which will probably mean that it won’t work until another week or two, but hey, it’s still an improvement, isn’t it?

Ok, enough rambling! See you at Christmas! I’ll be in France from the 17th of December to the 7th of January, and I just can’t wait...

Bizzzzzzzz ... Aline
By the way, abel also has his own blog:http://abel.rmcinfo.fr/
How cool is that???? (sorry, no idea how to make a shorcut)

Message from the Brummie!

Hiya!
Wow, it’s already been a month since I arrived in Birmingham!! I know, I should have written before, but I still don’t have an internet access at home, and I usually only use the University computers to check and answer my emails... So: where to begin?

Well, I live in a residential area near the University of Birmingham (which is only one of the Universities in Birmingham) in a nice house. I have four housemates: Fatma and Abdul are German and Stacey and Tina are English. I get along very well with Fatma and Abdul, they are really great housemates and we help each other a lot: I help them with their English, and they help me with my German.

Term really began on the 11th of September for me. I had to spend a week in a primary school to get familiar with the British educational system. Believe me; it truly is different from the French one. Actually, I struggle to find anything in common between both systems. Right, ok, there are little midgets and teachers in schools in both countries. But honestly, apart from that, nothing much in common...

Then, I began the University on the 18th of September. Carmen D’Arcy, with whom I had the interview back in May, is the tutor in French and Spanish, and Carol Gray is the German tutor. Most students have two languages (mine are French, of course, and German). There are about 25 students in the PGCE course in MFL (Modern Foreign Languages), and everyone is very nice and friendly. We all know each other now, and we go to the pub together at least once a week. Actually, I didn’t need to be worried about making friends, as only very few students in the PGCE course come from Birmingham (or were at the University of Birmingham for their studies), and most people are foreigners like me, which means that everyone is eager to meet people. The University is great, and I was pleased to know that it is one of the best in England! It is so huge that it would be quite easy to get lost in there! Fortunately, the Clocktower (see photo) in the centre can be seen from the distance, acting as a lighthouse.

Right, the people that I see the most are Nadine (French, from Moselle, moved in Birmingham 3 years ago), Mounir (French, from Paris, moved in England 2 years ago, married with an Englishwoman), François (French, I just can’t remember where he’s from at the moment, has been in Birmingham for 2 years), Nirvana (English, from London, lived in France during a year), Alex (German, from Munich, trilingual in German, French and English). There are others, of course, but I suppose I’ll talk about them later...

Gosh... There are just SO many things I want to say... But if I did, this message would be at the very least 3 pages long, so I’ll stop now, and if there are precise things you want me to tell you about, please, tell me, and I will, I promise, and you won’t have to wait for a month or so. Promis, juré, croix de bois, croix de fer, et tout le tralala!!!

Bizzzzzzzzz
Aline
PS : je pense beaucoup à vous tous, et je vous embrasse tous TRES fort !!!

L'été est bientôt terminé...

L'été avance à une allure folle... Je suis chez mes parents, à Plouaret, jusqu'au 1er Septembre, et ensuite, je m'envole enfin vers Birmingham! Les nombreux papiers demandés par l'Université de Birmingham sont remplis et envoyés: stage d'observation en école primaire, check; casier judiciaire et traduction certifiée, check; trouver une chambre pas chère proche de l'Université et ayant un accès internet, check; acheter le billet d'avion, check.

Je finis de travailler au Foyer Logement des Personnes Agées de Plouaret le 22 Août, dans moins d'une semaine, vivement que les vacances commencent! D'ailleurs, pour ceux qui ne sont pas au courant, j'ai obtenu mon année de Master 1 Didactique et Linguistique des langues, mention français Langue Etrangère, avec 12.9 de moyenne! Pas mal, non? Ok, je sais, très modeste, mais un peu d'auto-congratulations ne font pas de mal, des fois...

Donc, d'ici au 1er septembre, je vais peut-être essayer de voir des amis, je dois aussi aller quelques jours à Rennes, histoire d'être là, quand même, pour assister à la rentrée d'Abel et rencontrer sa nouvelle maîtresse, et puis, il me reste bien évidemment des choses à acheter avant de partir.

Dernière chose... J'ai commencé une nouvelle histoire sur HPFF, intitulée Tom Marvolo Riddle ... I Am Lord Voldemort. Si le coeur vous en dit, le lien vers my page d'auteur est dans le titre du post intitulé "First Fic", mais je vous préviens, c'est en anglais!

Allez, bizzzz à tous, et surtout, n'hésitez pas à m'envoyer de vos nouvelles! Je suis désolée, mais je n'ai pas été en contact avec grand monde cet été, mais je pense à vous, soyez-en sûrs!

Holidays.. Humm...

I've been on holidays for a few days now... Humm... Well, I've mostly just been resting, so no big news today. I'm trying to write at the moment, both my novel and fanfiction, but it's mostly research. I have a few new ideas that could be quite good, I'm not sure yet, I'll just have to test them I suppose, write them out of my system, and see what they become!

I've recently had some news from Birmingham too, filled a few forms, and everything is on its way. I swear, they really make it difficult for people to register at their University, I even wonder sometimes if they actually want any students!

I'm also about to start packing, as I'm moving out from Rennes on the 1st of July. I'm heading to my parents' place in Plouaret first, as I'll spend the summer there, before going to Birmingham at last, which will be as soon as I find a flat to rent, though probably not before the end of August. We'll just see. And of course I'll keep you posted on everything that happens in the meantime :)

Aline

PS: Here is a pic taken at Abel's school yesterday, as there was the end-of-year show :) Aren't they cute? :D

First Fic!!!!!

I've just finished my first fanfic ever!!!!! I'm just SO thrilled!!!! It is published on harrypotterfanfiction.com, and as you might imagine, it is a fic that takes place in the Harry Potter world, which means that if you fools haven't read the HP books, this might be of little interest to you :) And it is in English of course...
Please, go and have a look, and tell me what you thought about it! And, if you leave a review, it would be best I think you didn't say that we're friends, or that you haven't read the books! There are only HP fans in there, you might be lynched, and then me too :D

Linebelle (by the way, for those who had been wondering, Linebelle is my author's name out there!)

(BTW, the title of this post is a link to my author's page at HPFF.com)

Damn you Liz!!!

Argghhh!!!!! J'y crois pas!! Ces p***** de profs ont casé ma p***** de soutenance MERCREDI prochain!!!! En gros, un nouveau week-end de travail en perspective... Et moi qui pensait naïvement être plus ou moins tranquille ce week-end, ou alors pouvoir me concentrer sur les dossiers un peu moins importants, genre celui de cinéma, ce qui voulait dire re-mater "De battre mon coeur s'est arrêté"... Ben non, je vais devoir le bâcler celui-là aussi!
Bon, pensons à autre chose: Birmingham, par exemple. Je viens de recevoir un super gros dossier contenant genre tout ce qui concerne l'inscription à l'Université là-bas... Déjà, il y a un milliard de pages à lire, des formulaires à remplir. Très simple: adresse au Royaume-Uni (on fait comment quand on n'a pas encore?), formulaire à faire remplir par son médecin (on fait comment quand on n'a pas de médecin en Angleterre et que notre médecin ne parle pas anglais?), et pour couronner le tout, il y a ces p***** de frais d'inscription!!! Oui, je sais, "watch your language, Aline", mais je trouve ça légèrement difficile de garder mon calme aujourd'hui! Bref, £3000 de "tuition fees". Alors, normalement il y a une aide quelque part à laquelle je devrais avoir droit, mais où! Je viens de passer je ne sais combien de temps sur les différents sites (ben non, les anglais ne savent manifestement pas concentrer les informations en un point stratégique), et pas trace d'un formulaire que je pourrais remplir en tant que EU-national, dans un post-graduate teaching course, alors qu'ils disent partout qu'il y en a un. Un formulaire fantôme, peut-être, oui, ça doit être ça... Et les vacances, c'est no-go.
Bon, c'est pas grave, c'est juste une mauvaise journée, ça ira mieux demain, il faut espérer... Et pourtant, ça avait bien commencé, avec l'oral d'anglais... Un petit 18, genre, coeff 5, ça va au moins remonter le reste... Oh, et le point positif pour ma soutenance, c'est qu'au moins, je suis définitivement en vacances le 13 juin!!!! Donc, damn you Liz, mais bon, dans le fond, c'est pas si pire... :)

Creation of a blog

This had been on my mind for some time... I'm not sure how often I'll be sending new posts, or what they will be about... As I am about to move abroad, I guess it will allow me to keep in touch with some of my friends, tell them of my life in Birmingham, and I might publish some stories here as well. Might. Some day. But definitely not now! I'm pretty busy at the moment with the University as some of you know and I still have to figure out how I'm going to get to the end of the semester unscathed!
Bizz to all!
Aline
Oh, and here are a few pics I took in Birmingham this week... (The Bullring and, ... drumrolls: a church...)