"france" blog posts
Life in France as an English Language Assistant
Writing this near the end of my year abroad is a bittersweet thing. When I compare the sad goodbyes and homesickness I felt leaving Liverpool, to the wonderful memories I have today, I feel so lucky to have had this experience.
Posted on: 4 April 2024
Wellbeing in France
I generally view myself as a positive, happy person however, like everyone else, sometimes I struggle to keep my well-being uplifted.
Posted on: 3 May 2022
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Year Abroad Diary: December in Lyon
My last month is Lyon was definitely one of my absolute favourites. Trying to cram all the remaining things I wanted to do into one month at the same time as final exam season was definitely tiring, but it resulted in such a fun few weeks. My month started off with a weekend trip to the snowy, magical, little town of Chamonix. The trip took 4 hours on a BlaBla Car bus and was only 40 euros for a return journey! In Chamonix my friend and I sledded, went on snowy walks and drank lots of hot chocolate (it wasn’t quite ski season yet hence the no skiing). It really was the most amazing start to December!
Posted on: 3 May 2022
Eating sustainably while in France
I’m currently on my year abroad in Toulouse in France, a country known for its incredible food. Upon moving here, I was very excited to experience French cuisine whenever I wanted however, I thought that eating sustainably may be a challenge.
Posted on: 5 April 2022
My year abroad: The one with the French culture shock
After being in France for a few weeks, the initial excitement of moving to another country has started to dwindle and is instead being replaced with a sort of limbo-like feeling. I officially live in France, but I’m still not quite used to the complexities of Rennes life and culture. The things that were exotic and fascinating at first now seem confusing and disorientating. We were warned about experiencing culture shock in Liverpool’s pre-departure briefings, but it’s only now that I’m realising that that’s exactly what this comedown is. To help new travellers out, I’ve prepared a list of things to look out for, things to be warned about and things to get you hyped up about going abroad:
Posted on: 17 April 2020
My year abroad: The one with the first week in France (part two)
After meeting the other Erasmus students in Rennes, Emily continues her first week of studying in France by boxing off the admin jobs and going to her first lectures.
Posted on: 3 April 2020
My year abroad: The one with the first week in France (part one)
“Just over a week has passed by in my new home, in my new country, and so many incredible things have happened.” In fact, so many things happened in Emily’s first week of her Study Abroad adventure that we’ve split this entry into two parts. In part one, Emily gets to know her fellow Erasmus students and check out the sights of the city.
Posted on: 23 March 2020
My year abroad: The one with the first day in France
The day of my departure, I arrived at Birmingham Airport with far too much time to spare as usual (thanks mum). So after some weepy goodbyes and a Prêt A Manger baguette (very appropriate), the nerves were very quickly overtaken by a bit of airport boredom. Not the worst thing in the world, believe me, considering the adventure I was about to embark on.
Posted on: 10 March 2020
My year abroad: The one with all the packing
Pack. And then unpack. And then do it again. And still you’ll end up panic throwing something into the case the night before your departure. But at least with this list from Year Abroad student Emily Holtom in front of you, you’re less likely to forget something you really wanted to bring.
Posted on: 27 February 2020
My year abroad: The one with the checklist — 15 things to prepare
There’s a whole lot that needs doing before you go off to live in a foreign country, whatever your pathway. Emily Holtom provides a neat little(ish) list for you to tick off.
Posted on: 20 February 2020
My year abroad: The one with revision and research
In the second part of Emily Holtom’s Year Abroad series, she gives an overview of the things you need to do and think about before your Year Abroad journey can begin.
Posted on: 5 February 2020
My year abroad: The one with all the introductions
French and English student Emily Holtom kicks off a new blog series where she shares her experiences on her year studying abroad in France. For part one of the series, Emily introduces herself and provides an overview of her time so far in Rennes.
Posted on: 29 January 2020
Colette - a writer for our times?
Academic, Pollie Bromilow, reviews Wash Westmoreland’s latest film, 'Colette', and explores what it means for our understanding of this key French author.
Posted on: 9 January 2019
France and football since 1998
France’s World Cup victory in 1998 was seen not only as a sporting triumph, but as a political, social and cultural one as well. In one of the lectures I give on the French Fifth Republic, as part of our first-year Introduction to French Studies module, I always include some discussion of France’s World Cup win. It’s always at this point in the lecture when I start to feel old, realising that our students are either too young to remember the World Cup of 1998, or weren’t even born!
Posted on: 18 June 2018
Five things to do in Merseyside for anyone interested in languages and international cultures this summer
With summer now upon us, you might be looking for things to do in Merseyside before the start of the new term (trust us, this will come around very quickly!). While teaching may be over until September, there’s still plenty of things to do and see in the area that relate to languages: from Chinese to Brazilian culture.
Posted on: 5 June 2018
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Slaves of Fashion: Indian textiles, new artwork and French colonial history
It was in January 2014 that I first met The Singh Twins. They had conceived a project for a number of new artworks that would explore the history of Indian textiles and, having read my work on the French colonial presence in India, wanted to discuss British and French rivalry in India before 1799 as well as the role that Indian textiles played in revolutionising European fashions in the eighteenth century.
Posted on: 9 May 2018
Join us for a celebration of French culture with Francophone Week
May 1968 was a period of significant civil unrest in France, with widespread protests across the country causing a temporary shutdown of government. The mouvement sparked an explosion of French music, art and culture which still resonates with the public today. Fifty years on, we're hosting a Francophone Week series of events to celebrate the best in French culture: from art to fashion, cinema to music.
Posted on: 26 February 2018