Another Of My Seven Months Down: Reflections on December

And suddenly, only four months to go until the language assistant program is over…

December was definitely a quiet month. We’d spent a month already in our studio apartment and so we could enjoy starting to be in the swing of things, after the stress and new beginnings of both October and November.

During December we travelled to Vienna and Bratislava to see an old friend and experience Christmas markets in both cities. Josh’s little sister also spent a weekend with us here in Marseille. She’s currently on a working holiday visa in the UK and it was nice to catch up with her.

At the beginning of the month, Josh turned 31! We celebrated with some friends of ours, who very kindly took us to the beautiful seaside town of Sanary-sur-Mer, which is approximately a forty-five minute drive east of Marseille. It was entirely decked out for Christmas with fairy lights over everything: lamp posts, buildings, even all the boats in the harbour. It was such a sight to behold – the only word for it is magical. After we’d had enough of the Christmas lights, we all went and had some scrumptious crepes for dinner. It was a wonderful evening with great company, atmosphere and food.

There was the UK general election on the 12th of December, with the very surprising result of Boris Johnson winning. I actually cried out in horror, “oh my God!!” right in the middle of the staff room at one of my schools upon reading the result on my phone. Since I hold a British passport, I had been very much hoping that Brexit wouldn’t go ahead after all and I could continue living in the EU unrestricted, indefinitely. Oh well, wait and see what happens next.

I didn’t spend very much time at all at school due to the strikes, which are still happening and look set to become the longest running in the history of France. Happily I am still receiving my salary even if I don’t have any classes to go to. Actually, it was school holidays this week and the last. I’m supposed to return next Tuesday, but one wonders if the teachers will *still* be on strike.

And to wrap up this monthly reflection, here is a selfie of Josh and I in Bratislava. I shall try to get better at including photos in all my posts from now on!