Misunderstood.

Living abroad is always going to have its ups and its downs. It wouldn't be normal if I was continually living in this bubble of continual happiness and joy in a country that is not my native one. Of course, I could paint this rose-tinted image of my life here, skiing at the weekend, crazy French parties and experiences and a little work during the weekend.. and in general it is like that, but not this week. This week I have hit a considerable down, luckily we're slowly climbing our way out as I type this..!

It's been a long time (again) since I've updated but life really does just seem to take over at the moment. I have had car problems, laptop problems, leg problems, the 2 most amazing weeks in la Plagne, a fair amount of skiing days, a week in the UK and the start of semester 2 at French university. And in the main it's been great, but coming back to Grenoble after a week at home is always hard work. I don't know what it is, but being here by myself makes me feel exposed, something that only being back in the family bubble takes away. 

Of course, coming back to a car with only 2 wheels never helps. Someone decided while I was away to take off my 2 front wheels and put them under the car and cut all the electrical wiring, as you do. Cue 2 long treks to the other side of Grenoble to the garage and a 400€ bill later. It's also been the start of the semester and when your prof stands at the front of the lecture hall and says that only 30% of the class have passed your exams, you know you're probably on the wrong side of 50%.

In other news, winter is in full swing and I'm certainly taking advantage of the mountains here - although I did fall over quite badly a couple of weeks ago and thought I'd broken my leg for a week.. happily it seems to have recovered so we're getting back on the skis! On Saturday I did my first lesson for EGUG, which was a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be and we even managed to get a couple of awesome pistes in! 

Life here is an experience and a half and I don't think I've never knew how hard it would be. People said I was brave coming out here and I never really gave it a second thought - lucky really, as had I thought the logistics and bureaucracy, I'd definitely still be in the UK. Living abroad doesn't just mean that you have to get used to a new language, but a new culture, new people and a new way of doing things. All these changes are something that the locals don't understand and being a foreigner doesn't just mean you have to adjust to living in another country, you have to adjust yourself to how you live in that country.