10 awkward moments

The First round of the French presidential election is in three weeks, the deadline of my numerous assessments is fast approaching… Any of this subject would be a suitable blog post but laziness has reached me once again.

Plus, this blog has gone way too serious. Time to bring and share the awkwardness going through my life. 

1. That awkward moment when an English friend tells you “when I think about France, I imagine people naked from the waist down.”

2. That awkward moment when you call someone to say “I would like to speak to…” and instantly forgot the name of your future ex-interviewee.

3. That awkward moment when people think your name is razor.

4. That awkward moment when a vicar gets a potato stuck up in his bottom 

5. That awkward moment when on TV you run a story about the arrest of Toulouse gunman… to deny it an hour after.

6. That awkward moment when you check your blog stats, there has been one view during the day and it’s yourself.

7. That awkward moment when you don’t get a complicated word or sentence, people repeat the exact same thing but LOUDER.

8. That awkward moment when you go out almost in pajamas hoping not to meet anybody you know but you always do because you live in freaking Falmouth.

9. That awkward moment when you laugh at a joke you didn’t understand.

10. That awkward moment when somebody says “you are my favorite French person” and you are the only French person he knows.

Hope you enjoyed this guys, now be nice and share your own embarrassing moments. Don’t leave alone with my awkwardness!

No money in the bank

A week ago, I wrote a cheque for £4736 (5410.72€). No I didn’t win the lottery. It’s the sum of my tuition fees, not to mention £250 (285.73€) deposit I paid over summer to secure a place on the course. In total, the cost of the International Journalism ma at UCF amounted to £4986 (5698.74 €).

Painful isn’t it? Now I fully understand the expression : “it costs an arm and a leg”. Don’t get me wrong, I’m absolutely excited about my degree, but as a French person, I’m not used to spending so much money on higher education.

In comparison, the tuition fees for university in my country are ridiculously cheap. I did a BA in journalism at the IUT of Lannion (in Britanny) which costs 181.57€ a year (£158.88). Actually, I never paid that sum since I had a grant which means my tuition fees were 4.57€ a year. I was also exonerated from the 203€ (£177.64) cost of the social security. In the end, I paid 13.71€ (£11.99) for a three-year degree.

From the French point of view, pursuing a degree in England may seem unreasonable. However, this year represents my last chance to study the course I want in this country before the massive rise for the tuition fees. In September 2012, UCF will charge £9000 a year to students entering university for the first time.

Most universities in England (and Wales) have set their fees to this maximum due to teaching grants being cut by 80%. The increase was voted in by the parliament in December 2010 after a review of higher education funding in the The Browne report. Measures will be implemented to help poorer students in universities where fees are above £6000. What about the ones from the middle class ?

According to an article from the BBC, students who undertake a three-year degree at £9000 a year, plus full maintenance loans face a £43, 000 debt. What a terrifying prospect. No wonder why there are more English students applying to overseas universities.

Raïssa ?

English people don’t always understand when I try to speak their language. To be fair, sometimes they don’t even get my name. This is usually how it goes when I introduce myself :

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