not alot to say since i last wrote you, last night i went to see dodgeball with hariett, my french wasnt quite good enough to get all the jokes so it wasn't that great, think it might have been kinda cool otherwise,
at least you get time off during the week! we`ve started referring to going out as 'work' sometimes it feels that way, until ive had my nightly round of tequilla! im a little concerned about my liver though, im getting addicted to tequilla, i cant get enough of the stuff, other people look at me when i drink it with a slack jaw, maybe i should take that as a sign.
im supposed to be meeting some people at the beach today after school, which by the way im like 2 hours late for because i got home at like 4am, im just waiting for teh break to show up so my lateness isnt quite so obvious, this is the 3rd time ive done this, i dont feel too bad tho because many people have missed a lot more classes than me, i think when he left this german guy peter missed about 20hours all up, ouch, such a waste of money.
my friend cyril crashed for a while because his train doesnt come till like 5:30am, and when he left at like 6am my landlady came in and went nuts! i told her i didnt know who it was, coz all she saw was a light leaving the flat, maybe i should have told the truth coz she is all paranoid that it was a burgler.... hmmm, anyway i justify this to myself by saying that her rules are stupid anyway so i am not respecting them, only 2(maybe 3) nights left,
look slike th plans to meet up with tristan after xmas is going to work out well, however short but sweet;
off to sweden for new years, i hope these swedes can handle my level of partying, anyway i better get to class, ill write some more later, sorry that this was so disjointed, you know how it is, no doubt.
Thursday, September 30, 2004
Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Friday, September 24, 2004
random update
for class today we played trivial pursuit and taboo, home made french styles, pretty fun, my team got creamed coz we made up easy quiestions for them and then the ones they gave us were absoltuely haneous,
weather today isnt that great a bit overcast, still warm tho and ill head on down to the beach after i have my daily panini
in case you are interested: my plan is this, i finish classes on the 18th of dec and start again on the 2nd of jan, i am meeting up with amy mum lee and ben in paris and then we're all driving down to meribel to go snowbaording until the 26th at which stage me and ben will probably make our way up to amsterdam, paris and problably head to stockholm around the same time as tristan and ben dyer
i think once i conquer french im going ot invest some effort in spanish, i quite like it and it seems a rediculous amount easier than french,
adios cabrones
lots of love from your friendly neighbourhood teage
ps. i have to re-read my posts several times these days ,my english is getting quite bad, im spelling some english words in a french way, for example i wrote qute instead of cute, and they arent exactly near on the keyboard.
weather today isnt that great a bit overcast, still warm tho and ill head on down to the beach after i have my daily panini
in case you are interested: my plan is this, i finish classes on the 18th of dec and start again on the 2nd of jan, i am meeting up with amy mum lee and ben in paris and then we're all driving down to meribel to go snowbaording until the 26th at which stage me and ben will probably make our way up to amsterdam, paris and problably head to stockholm around the same time as tristan and ben dyer
i think once i conquer french im going ot invest some effort in spanish, i quite like it and it seems a rediculous amount easier than french,
adios cabrones
lots of love from your friendly neighbourhood teage
ps. i have to re-read my posts several times these days ,my english is getting quite bad, im spelling some english words in a french way, for example i wrote qute instead of cute, and they arent exactly near on the keyboard.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004
ziegermans
the german kids who were leaving so i got nice and drunk for them as a going away, Nice styles.
not alot to report, yesterday i increased my class load for next week because im still feeling pretty scared about my capabilities, im sure ill be fine by the end of the semester, but during will be a rough ride; its about an extra 80 euros to up from 20 to 30 hours a week,
someone from my class back in perth has introduced me to a couple who live in strasbourg, i have been writing to them (in frnech which is really hard!) and they are being rediculously nice, at first i was going to stay with them for a few days, but now that im not getting there until a bit later i've said thanks but i dont need to anymore, but they have told me that they will give me some strasbourg-specific advice, help me with finding a job and claire has even insisted that im not allowed to buy sheets in town, she will lend me some, im very lucky to have found such nice people before i even get there.
last night was a complete right-off, lots of people from school are leaving today so we had to celebrate, but somehow i think i was celebrating more than most. i can barely remember a thing, last thing i remember is drinking a lot of tequilla, then at some stage im pretty sure i was vomiting a little, and thats it, somehow i managed to get home, with my phone camera and wallet, and all my money is still there as well, im going to try to find some people to ask what happened. im pretty sure i was so drunk i didnt even have a kebab on the way home, but not 100%
ive moved back into the appartment, the hostel was too expensive; no kitchen, no washing machine etc. and this time im paying a tiny bit less as well, all of which im sure you'll be glad to hear. there is a mexican guy staying there; bruno, he's pretty cool , very relaxed as you can imagine for a mexican, he came out with me last night; so maybe i can ask him, but im pretty sure i would have lost him at some stage, i looked at my phone this morning and cyril had written saying; "where are you, ive lost you."
by the way, im sorry if my english is a little off; between a rather severe hangover and all this french, im probably writing a little strangely, i have already made several corrections.
when i first got here it was all german people everywhere, i sometimes felt a little isolated because everyone would speak in german, now its the same thing with spanish, i have met 2 columbians, 3 mexicans and like 7 spaniards, incidently i think im learning more spanish than french, which is probably a bad thing because it will confuse me, but i think once i have mastered french i will start to learn spanish, its a really nice and easy language. awevo! (that is a really strange mexican word that literally means egg, but it is used to describe testicals, but people mainly use it for just about anything, kind of like saying "hell yeah!" eg. -do you want to go see a movie? -awevo!
probably my favorite word so far, also i have learnt t'quero (i love/want you) and chingala which basically means fuk/shit/damn etc.
bruno told me a really great mexican joke:
everyone thinks of mexicans as lazy, the french are romantic americans are stupid and english people are ugly, thats just the way people think, but everyone thinks of mexicans as being lazy, agreed?well picture your typical mexican household, there is the husband sitting there in the corner, very drunk, wearing a really big sombrero, a bottle of tequilla in his hand and he's wearing a poncho, suddenly he yells out to his wife who is in the kitchen making some tacos "quick! bring me the scorpion antidote" and his wife says: "why have you been bitten by a scorpion?" and the husband replies: no! but i can see him over there and he's coming towards me!
and people think that mexicans are lazy....
trust me its a lot funnier when someone tells it with actions and a mexican accent, and according to bruno its even funnier in spanish.anyway, thats pretty much all i have to report, . cant wait to send all my photos home and tell the stories behind them, although they all involve alcohol.i hope everything is at home and i miss all you guys, also i hope i havnt made you worry too much with my stories, at least you can take comfort in the fact that im being very economical, last night i mainly drank other people's vodka.
not alot to report, yesterday i increased my class load for next week because im still feeling pretty scared about my capabilities, im sure ill be fine by the end of the semester, but during will be a rough ride; its about an extra 80 euros to up from 20 to 30 hours a week,
someone from my class back in perth has introduced me to a couple who live in strasbourg, i have been writing to them (in frnech which is really hard!) and they are being rediculously nice, at first i was going to stay with them for a few days, but now that im not getting there until a bit later i've said thanks but i dont need to anymore, but they have told me that they will give me some strasbourg-specific advice, help me with finding a job and claire has even insisted that im not allowed to buy sheets in town, she will lend me some, im very lucky to have found such nice people before i even get there.
last night was a complete right-off, lots of people from school are leaving today so we had to celebrate, but somehow i think i was celebrating more than most. i can barely remember a thing, last thing i remember is drinking a lot of tequilla, then at some stage im pretty sure i was vomiting a little, and thats it, somehow i managed to get home, with my phone camera and wallet, and all my money is still there as well, im going to try to find some people to ask what happened. im pretty sure i was so drunk i didnt even have a kebab on the way home, but not 100%
ive moved back into the appartment, the hostel was too expensive; no kitchen, no washing machine etc. and this time im paying a tiny bit less as well, all of which im sure you'll be glad to hear. there is a mexican guy staying there; bruno, he's pretty cool , very relaxed as you can imagine for a mexican, he came out with me last night; so maybe i can ask him, but im pretty sure i would have lost him at some stage, i looked at my phone this morning and cyril had written saying; "where are you, ive lost you."
by the way, im sorry if my english is a little off; between a rather severe hangover and all this french, im probably writing a little strangely, i have already made several corrections.
when i first got here it was all german people everywhere, i sometimes felt a little isolated because everyone would speak in german, now its the same thing with spanish, i have met 2 columbians, 3 mexicans and like 7 spaniards, incidently i think im learning more spanish than french, which is probably a bad thing because it will confuse me, but i think once i have mastered french i will start to learn spanish, its a really nice and easy language. awevo! (that is a really strange mexican word that literally means egg, but it is used to describe testicals, but people mainly use it for just about anything, kind of like saying "hell yeah!" eg. -do you want to go see a movie? -awevo!
probably my favorite word so far, also i have learnt t'quero (i love/want you) and chingala which basically means fuk/shit/damn etc.
bruno told me a really great mexican joke:
everyone thinks of mexicans as lazy, the french are romantic americans are stupid and english people are ugly, thats just the way people think, but everyone thinks of mexicans as being lazy, agreed?well picture your typical mexican household, there is the husband sitting there in the corner, very drunk, wearing a really big sombrero, a bottle of tequilla in his hand and he's wearing a poncho, suddenly he yells out to his wife who is in the kitchen making some tacos "quick! bring me the scorpion antidote" and his wife says: "why have you been bitten by a scorpion?" and the husband replies: no! but i can see him over there and he's coming towards me!
and people think that mexicans are lazy....
trust me its a lot funnier when someone tells it with actions and a mexican accent, and according to bruno its even funnier in spanish.anyway, thats pretty much all i have to report, . cant wait to send all my photos home and tell the stories behind them, although they all involve alcohol.i hope everything is at home and i miss all you guys, also i hope i havnt made you worry too much with my stories, at least you can take comfort in the fact that im being very economical, last night i mainly drank other people's vodka.
Tuesday, September 21, 2004
princess harriett
check out this awesome photo of me and the lovely princess harriett, imported all the way from new zealand
Monday, September 20, 2004
australiasia
dont talk to me about summer! im so sad im goign to miss the australian summer, i mean here its ok but its just not the same, although the sun here is much weaker (they still have an ozone layer) so you can lie out for like 3 hours and not get burnt, thats pretty cool, but the beaches here are all rocky, like pebbles you would find in a river or something, which has its good points(you dont get sand everywhere) but obviously it can be a tad uncomfortable and awkward.
anyway thats long enough for now, stay in touch and let me know how things are going in perth.
sorry this is all a bit scattered, i cant remember much and i have constructed all this from old emails i have sent people, from now on ill do this properly tho, so stay posted. also im happy to reply to people's emails personally, so keep the perth etc news coming kids.
cya!
this is a photo of my awesome representation of australiasia using des galets found on teh beach in nice
anyway thats long enough for now, stay in touch and let me know how things are going in perth.
sorry this is all a bit scattered, i cant remember much and i have constructed all this from old emails i have sent people, from now on ill do this properly tho, so stay posted. also im happy to reply to people's emails personally, so keep the perth etc news coming kids.
cya!
this is a photo of my awesome representation of australiasia using des galets found on teh beach in nice
Sunday, September 19, 2004
housemates
here is a pic of the kitchen in my apartment in nice with 3 of my housemates, hariett from nz, and the german girls bec and verrina. Just another average day here in Nice. beautiful weather, beacutiful water, etc. I have a pretty badass tan happening here; pity its completely useless because im about to head up north for the cold ass winter of northern france; fun! skin cancer? bring it on. Speaking of which, here is an interesting fact that many of youz may not have considered; the sun here is completely different to at home; because there isnt a giant fuk off ozone hole right above our heads here, you dont get burnt; pretty much at all; i can spend like 5 hours straight in the sun with no cream and hardly go pink at all; consider doing the same thing on cottesloe beach sometime people; yeah, didnt think so. Whats even stranger is that here the sun FEELS really really hot; even much hotten than at home; but as i said barely does any damage at all. Very strange indeed, maybe i will take a photo of my ass and show you how much i have tanned in just a couple of weeks; its crazy i tells ya.
then again maybe i wont show you my ass; the lifestyle here doesnt exactly agree with my psyique; the lack of exercise and my diet (consisting of pasta and paninis which are like toasted sandwiches with lots of oil and cheese) coupled with my excessive beer consumption has led for me to basically become a big fatass, i cant even afford a gymhere because they are quite literally triple the prince of back home; ouch, i hope there is something with better value in strasbourg or im screwed. I am certainly not looking forward to coming home and seeing all my bronzed buff mates doing the australian swagger. Everyone one here is convinced that they can spot an australian just by the way they walk, especially the guys, and after having it pointed out to me i can clearly see it; we have a swagger, and mine is comparitively mild! Anywho; thats enough of a ramble for today, stay in touch kids; word.
then again maybe i wont show you my ass; the lifestyle here doesnt exactly agree with my psyique; the lack of exercise and my diet (consisting of pasta and paninis which are like toasted sandwiches with lots of oil and cheese) coupled with my excessive beer consumption has led for me to basically become a big fatass, i cant even afford a gymhere because they are quite literally triple the prince of back home; ouch, i hope there is something with better value in strasbourg or im screwed. I am certainly not looking forward to coming home and seeing all my bronzed buff mates doing the australian swagger. Everyone one here is convinced that they can spot an australian just by the way they walk, especially the guys, and after having it pointed out to me i can clearly see it; we have a swagger, and mine is comparitively mild! Anywho; thats enough of a ramble for today, stay in touch kids; word.
class
having decided that my french blows goats, and i am meeting sweet FA french people here i decided to enroll in a french school, which seems pretty good, ive enrolled for 3 weeks now... its looking like fun
also i have found an apartment here, it works out ot be less than half of what i was paying at the hostel and it also has a kitchen, which is a big plus, so all in all loks like im going to stay here for about 3 weeks and then head to strasbourg around the 26th or so.
this is a photo of my french class in nice out on a nice little excursion.
also i have found an apartment here, it works out ot be less than half of what i was paying at the hostel and it also has a kitchen, which is a big plus, so all in all loks like im going to stay here for about 3 weeks and then head to strasbourg around the 26th or so.
this is a photo of my french class in nice out on a nice little excursion.
Saturday, September 18, 2004
Mystery Kebabs
We all know the ancient tradition of getting quite steamed and stumbling home via the kebab store, something I always believed was a bit of an australian tradition, but it seems this phenomenon is an international occurrance, here in Nice is no exception.
But the kebabs here aren't quite like home, for starters you can order 'kebab frites' which funnily enough is a kebab with chips in it, quite good really but not all that interesting. The interesting part of this is the meat.
At home we can get a lamb, chicken maybe even a felafal kebab, not the case here in france, you order a kebab, and thats it, no choice of meat, thats because no one seems to know what the meat is, i have theories, but i can never be certain. I suppose my theories are sort of wishful thinking because the reality is probably far more scary. My main idea is that they get several different types of meat, and put them all mixed up onto a pole, and then roast it on a rotissary, much like at home, things like lamb, bacon chicken etc. and then shave it off, there you have it a kebab. The taste is quite unique but the mystery adds a bit of a scary element, something i am pretty sure i could only stomach whilst quite drunk, mainly because im too out of it to think that hard, but the next day i always have my concerns, so there you have it, the mystery kebab meat, some sort of blend of bacon and lamb mainly i think but who can be sure. The meat shake lucky dip. je pense que je vais vomir
But the kebabs here aren't quite like home, for starters you can order 'kebab frites' which funnily enough is a kebab with chips in it, quite good really but not all that interesting. The interesting part of this is the meat.
At home we can get a lamb, chicken maybe even a felafal kebab, not the case here in france, you order a kebab, and thats it, no choice of meat, thats because no one seems to know what the meat is, i have theories, but i can never be certain. I suppose my theories are sort of wishful thinking because the reality is probably far more scary. My main idea is that they get several different types of meat, and put them all mixed up onto a pole, and then roast it on a rotissary, much like at home, things like lamb, bacon chicken etc. and then shave it off, there you have it a kebab. The taste is quite unique but the mystery adds a bit of a scary element, something i am pretty sure i could only stomach whilst quite drunk, mainly because im too out of it to think that hard, but the next day i always have my concerns, so there you have it, the mystery kebab meat, some sort of blend of bacon and lamb mainly i think but who can be sure. The meat shake lucky dip. je pense que je vais vomir
palais
the one, the only, palais de justice, this is teh regular night spot of nice, you sit there, talk and get drunk before heading out into the old town, normally checkpoint to tell the truth.
Friday, September 17, 2004
cyrilbulldog
then i met cyril from cameroon, he's pretty cool, we all went and got some really awesome chinese food and then went drinking, happy hour good, non-happy our bad, i liked it when pints were 2.50euros, not 6! bas.tards. after a few drinks down the beach that we bought fro mthe supermarket... ahhh cheapness soo good. we went to a bar, the swiss boys had to get a plane early in the morning so they piked around 11, then thats when the night started and cyril who had previously been relitively quiet and sensible, turned into an insane pain machine who virtually forced pure vodka down my throat.
my belief that australians were hardcore drinkers has left me disillusioned, or maybe im just soft, because this morning, albeit having had a few more hours sleep than me because his female roommates weren't kicking the shi.t out of him for snorning and stinking up the whole room like vodka, was chirpy as hell. sa i was leaving, this part you will like tristan, i met a german girl name julia, but you pronounce it funny, like with a soft J. and so me, having all the game in the world, started explaining to her how her name sounded like eulogy, and, being german and thus not knowing what a eulogy is, the situation nessecitated me explaining that her name reminded me of a speech that one gives and someones funeral...
why dont i pick up more often? doesnt make sense.
then after a walk home, we spotted a casino, and after having gotten our last drinks for free, (barstaff not too bright) i decided to gamble the excess cash away, but they wouldnt let me in with freyed jeans, :( probably for the best,
Ive been looking into doing a french lagnuage class here, its pretty expensive but i think its worth it.
this is the famous cyril.
my belief that australians were hardcore drinkers has left me disillusioned, or maybe im just soft, because this morning, albeit having had a few more hours sleep than me because his female roommates weren't kicking the shi.t out of him for snorning and stinking up the whole room like vodka, was chirpy as hell. sa i was leaving, this part you will like tristan, i met a german girl name julia, but you pronounce it funny, like with a soft J. and so me, having all the game in the world, started explaining to her how her name sounded like eulogy, and, being german and thus not knowing what a eulogy is, the situation nessecitated me explaining that her name reminded me of a speech that one gives and someones funeral...
why dont i pick up more often? doesnt make sense.
then after a walk home, we spotted a casino, and after having gotten our last drinks for free, (barstaff not too bright) i decided to gamble the excess cash away, but they wouldnt let me in with freyed jeans, :( probably for the best,
Ive been looking into doing a french lagnuage class here, its pretty expensive but i think its worth it.
this is the famous cyril.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
nice
uhhh yeah, friday i caught the train down from paris to Nice, pretty long trip, 5 or 6 hours or something, but its pretty good, comfy seats etc. dam those things are fast, something like350km/h and its a really smooth trip too. my hostel is really close to the train ,actually its more of an old shaby hotel where they stick 4 beds in one room, but its pretty good. downsides are that there's no kitchen.... actually thats just about it, but at this stage thats a pretty big drawback because the cheapest food i have found is panani's (toasted sandwich thingos) for 3.50euros, so at something like AU$7 a pop, im gonna be very poor soon.
so when i got here i just sorta wandered the streets, to get a feel for the place, its kinda like surfers paradise except not nearly as crappy, lots of hotels and cansinos and stuff right along the beach, but its european so its pretty tasteful, they wouldnt even let me into the casino the other night coz i had freyed jeans! probably a good thing because i could barely see at that stage, but thats another story.
so i met a couple of swiss-german guys over breakfast yesterday morning, pretty cool guys, picture your typical ultra tanned buff german dudes and that'll serve better than any photo. but here is one anyway. where was i? right, uhhh yeha so i just hung out with them and practiced my french going to the beach ,eating kebabs, you know, the good stuff,
so when i got here i just sorta wandered the streets, to get a feel for the place, its kinda like surfers paradise except not nearly as crappy, lots of hotels and cansinos and stuff right along the beach, but its european so its pretty tasteful, they wouldnt even let me into the casino the other night coz i had freyed jeans! probably a good thing because i could barely see at that stage, but thats another story.
so i met a couple of swiss-german guys over breakfast yesterday morning, pretty cool guys, picture your typical ultra tanned buff german dudes and that'll serve better than any photo. but here is one anyway. where was i? right, uhhh yeha so i just hung out with them and practiced my french going to the beach ,eating kebabs, you know, the good stuff,
catacombs
im just sitting at my hostel in paris; killing a little time before i head off to the train station on my way down to Nice, hope the good weather holds for while im there.
not alot to report really, i mean im having fun, looking at things like the luxumbourg gardens, notre dame cathedral, the catacombs; you know really awesome touristy stuff... my french is improving slowly, but its a little annoying because all the people i meet are travellers in hostels! i have been hanging out with a bunch of americans of all people. fantasic!
anyway, one of them is trying to distract me right now, so i better wrap this up, internet access aint cheap! like $4 for 30mins. damn...
anyway, write me back and tell me how boring and uneventful sleepy old australia is.. and meanwhile ill try and conjure up a few stories worth telling.
this is a photo of me in the catacombs under paris.
not alot to report really, i mean im having fun, looking at things like the luxumbourg gardens, notre dame cathedral, the catacombs; you know really awesome touristy stuff... my french is improving slowly, but its a little annoying because all the people i meet are travellers in hostels! i have been hanging out with a bunch of americans of all people. fantasic!
anyway, one of them is trying to distract me right now, so i better wrap this up, internet access aint cheap! like $4 for 30mins. damn...
anyway, write me back and tell me how boring and uneventful sleepy old australia is.. and meanwhile ill try and conjure up a few stories worth telling.
this is a photo of me in the catacombs under paris.
london
The next day we go teh bus into london and stayed with amy's friend jess, she live in fulham in a pretty nice place near the tube. I dont really want to talk about london because aside from teh normal touristy stuff...i had a pretty shitty time there, went out for dinner, got cracked onto by gay guys and couldnt get into any pubs. Went back to bristol and had a fairly quiet time of it there, flew into paris on tuesday morning.
That was england.
That was england.
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
amybday
Amy and lee took the day off work and greeted me by taking me for a walk around the place, also trying to keep me awake so much jetlag wouldnt be so bad. That was on the thursday, friday night we went out to a nice restaurant and got well belted for amy's birthday, followed by some clubbing, i was speaking to some girls about how ugly all english people are, which is true for what i had seen so far, but i dont think they wanted to hear it.
Then i was ordering some beer from teh bar when some girl walked into me making me spill my beer on her top, she went nuts while i tried to tell her it was her fault. Then as i walked off some huge guy grabbed my arm and said 'whats going on here?' i told him what happened and so did she and he said that i should buy her a drink, while i was refusing (i was quite drunk and not taking shit from anyone) he noticed my accent... after asking where i was from etc. he said 'well around here we are a bit more polite than that' and i said 'where im from it was her fucking fault' and walked off. such a playa arent i?
Then i was ordering some beer from teh bar when some girl walked into me making me spill my beer on her top, she went nuts while i tried to tell her it was her fault. Then as i walked off some huge guy grabbed my arm and said 'whats going on here?' i told him what happened and so did she and he said that i should buy her a drink, while i was refusing (i was quite drunk and not taking shit from anyone) he noticed my accent... after asking where i was from etc. he said 'well around here we are a bit more polite than that' and i said 'where im from it was her fucking fault' and walked off. such a playa arent i?
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
2alex-and-sannae
Hi everyone, this is my first round of blogging, not sure how it will go, also it is almost 3 weeks after the event so i dont know how much i can remember.
Well, starting with the very very very long flight, i met some pretty cool people, alex from adelaide who is doing something similar to me in Avignon and Sanae from Lyon (france) we 3 got really drunk on wiskey and beer and actually had a pretty good time. We all exchanged addresses and will probably meet up sometime in teh next few months. Total time in transit was like 27 hours, that was pretty, rough.
Well, starting with the very very very long flight, i met some pretty cool people, alex from adelaide who is doing something similar to me in Avignon and Sanae from Lyon (france) we 3 got really drunk on wiskey and beer and actually had a pretty good time. We all exchanged addresses and will probably meet up sometime in teh next few months. Total time in transit was like 27 hours, that was pretty, rough.
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