It’s been more than one month. Sorry for all the period that the blog was offline. As you’ll have already suspected from the post title, it’s not happy news for you the blog readers! This blog went through many phases/stages, so it would be a good idea to clear things out in this last one.
To begin with, I started it as a “support” website, for the another portal I’d made. Posts related to fashion, events, or I don’t know what. This lasted a good 2-3 months. I was tempted to turn the thing into a “personal” blog, but having the experience from friends who did the same, I didn’t want to fall into that trap.
Finally, I did. I knew well, that in order to keep posting personal stuff with no filters, limits, and “censorship”, I would have to keep my anonymity. Unfortunately, by linking the blog with the portal, the anonymity was not the case. And aside that, not only I didn’t try to disengage the two websites, but I showed the blog url from personal webspaces (msn/facebook/face2face etc).
The joy of keeping a diary, is to speak about everything and everyone. Added to that, in the case of an online diary, the thing that you can share these views/feelings/events/situations with a bunch of people. The strict rule is don’t mix your audience and your writings. As you can easily understand, when the audience is your friendly environment, there comes a time when you’ll have to speak about something that involves some reader, and at that time, for sure you’re going to filter things or form your post in a way that everyone’s satisfied, none’s offended.
Answering to the possible question of whether I’ll keep blogging under another domain name, I don’t have the answer right now. And even if I do, I doubt you’ll find it.
Of course, I couldn’t leave all of you without a conclusion, and a quick summary of things happened and future plans!
University-wise, things are going rather well, although I am having some trouble following some courses, I manage. Most of these are caused not so much by the language itself, but mostly because we are doing lots of Management stuff, which are really new to me. I must say I was hoping for even more technical stuff, but what the fuck, I’ll get a strong strong taste of Business which maybe will broaden my job search in the following months.
As for the language itself is concerned, I’ve gotten some compliments saying that my level in French is really impressive after just 2+1/2 months stay here. Honestly, I don’t think so. (the French are really polite!) I am a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to languages, and I’m trying to not only understand and speak, but also to immitate the pronounciation.(and the french one is really something!) Thanks to my Francophone friends for correcting me and answering all my questions with patience!
Practical training! I took the decision to skip the January-February practical training part (it’s not obligatory) and focus on finding something for the 2nd part May-October.(obligatory) Finding a job in this town is really difficult because..well.. there are no jobs. If that means I would have to search something in Marseille or another town, I would rather switch to another country. If I am going to move anyhow, why not take advantage and gain some more experience.
Going into detail about that, I found one offer in London, and some in Brussels. I have already went over three interviews, and I am massively applying across Europe. Nothing final yet. I discussed with friends living and working in various cities, and I haven’t got such a good review of Brussels life, although it’s the centre of the EU. London is.. London, but the job offer I have is located in a suburb like 1h+ away from the centre, which limits a lot my transportation. At the same time, London’s rents are really high so I would have to share a flat with 2-3 people (I don’t know), something that doesn’t really motivate me. If I could choose, I’m somewhere between Munich/Berlin and Kopenhagen. I actually made a small research and I bumped into a series of articles and surveys showing that Kopenhagen is one of the best cities to live in and also the centre of many business activities. On the other hand, the last years I had great great feedback for Berlin from friends who visited. (and a great electronic music scene going on there!). So, we’ll see.
The apartment and daily life things are really taking a steady course, and I’m really happy to see that I can manage to get through these with.. no losses! And speaking about losses, last time I checked I was +6kg’s! That’s one hell of a reason to love France! Possible causes for that, well, candies and chocolate, and the fact that I cook really often. I even cook more than most of my female friends! It started with boring pasta+tuna stuff and I’m finding myself doing all kinds of crap and mixtures just by combining. And most of the times, it works! Ha! I knew it I had a thing with cooking. And of course, because I like to be admired, I often have guests tasting it. The reputation is spreading and I think that within a month I’ll be having large meals for 10 people. (thank god there is no place for a 10-ppl-meal in the apartment)
I’m really getting used to living alone, and now I begin to understand what these guys meant when they said that if you get used to live alone then you always need your personal space. It’s a matter of planning your whole life. And personally I was never a team player. I like to do things my way, in my own pace, with a certain style. So maybe I am a loner afterall. Dammit. I can reeeally project my future life in 5-10 years. A Bachelor!
Apart from the daily housekeeping stuff, the social life here is satisfying. OK, the weather is an issue, at least for the people who’re not used to a constant 4 degrees C at night (like me), but you get to used to it. (and you get yourself a nice pair of gloves for 5E at H&M) Afterall, the real problem, isn’t the cold, but the lack of Sun. Fortunately, although Southern France is not Greece, you can get a good quantity of sun exposure in the morning hours. I find myself “chasing” the sunny spots and I’m thinking about all those moments I saw tourists doing the same back home, when us were hiding under the shadow to avoid it. The cloudy days are of course more than Athens, and yes, ALL the Greeks are complaining and feeling depressed then. (actually, many locals complain about that also. It seems that this year’s winter is heavier related to other years. good practice for me and Northern Europe!).
Aix is a small city, but relative to its size you can find a great deal of cafeterias/bars/pubs/clubs. Since the city is mostly students-inhabited, most of the people prefer to stay in organising “soiree”‘s. It’s cheaper, it’s warmer, it’s better. Student’s nights happen on Thursdays, which creates a problem, if you have class on Friday morning. There was one party organised for the students, “Barathon” were all the universities took part, and it was quite good! The French drink, but still they stay happy and “under control”. Maybe they start to shout or drink, or invent short poems for every little detail (as for example me and my nationality heheh). Speaking about nationalities, although there are people from all over the world, they are really outnumbered and un-organised. Sometimes they form small groups of same-nationality-people and they stay together. It’s a bit silly.
The 1-2 months class break will give me a good opportunity, not only to intensify my search for a practical training in May, but also to travel! Until now, I had little or no opportunity to do that, because on my days off, I had to occupy with apartment stuff, which were still unfinished, shopping, small little things that can full a day’s schedule! By using the train, I’ll easily move around France, Belgium and Netherlands to begin with, and Germany Italy & Spain. I’ll have a personal opinion of some cities before I choose the training. Although it’s just a maximun 6-month training, I have to confess I’m not thinking of going back to Greece (yet), and that’s why I’m thinking about it so in detail. Even if I won’t be able to continue my training as a normal employee I will search for another job, ideally at the same place. So afterall it’s not going to be just a 6month thing.
With some of you we talked on the phone, and you asked me if I miss Athens and you and family and all. Well, yes. Now that I’m away I finally understand what’s with Athens. We could say that Athens, is like a girlfriend with which you had a really bad time, but you miss just because you keep thinking about some, a few, good times. Some small hints about the stuff I miss? Well, of course, our climate. UNDOUBTEDLY, Athenian weather (leaving pollution aside) is said to be one of the smoothest globally. The balance between cold and heat is ideal, the sunny days 90% of the year, the difference of temperature within a day not big. (something which here is really noticeable, you can start your day at 8:00 with sweater and jacket and stuff and in the middle of the day you can be DAMN HOT, and then you go out at night for a drink and its DAMN COLD.) Then it’s some stuff like food. Of course, as I’ve said many times, the French know how to eat&drink, but still, you just can’t go into a supermarket and get yourself 1 kilo of olives and 1 kilo of FETA, go to the local market and get several kilos of fruits and vegetables, and for all that pay no more than 10E. There is no such thing here. (and in other European countries I guess). Other thing I miss : The shops. Unfortunately Marseille is not so “chic”, and although it has some Malls, they are definately not compared with the Athenian ones. I’ve been told that Paris is (of course) more exciting in that sector.
I suppose this is where this one ends. I don’t know if I’ve written everything, but wtf, I can always come back, maybe for some photos or some small aditional text.
Have fun, take care,
G
