Right you were...

Well, the past few weeks have yet again flown in, and it has been a long time since the last post. Needless to say it was taken up mostly by the Easter Break - I was very excited at the prospect of some travelling, but it ended up that everyone had their own plans or at the very least had no cash/time to come out. So, I decided after seeing mum and dad out here for the weekend that a few days at the flat on the beach would be lovely. So I set out for Malaga, got there and it was windy and cold... Eventually it brightened up, and I got too excited - ran outside without any lotion and got burnt. Nevertheless a nice relaxing few days.

So, I went back to the dear green place, rather reluctantly. I had wanted to travel, and knew I was coming home for good but the way things worked out that didn't come to pass. A few good nights came and went - we were also blessed with amazing weather for the first week. A great chance to enjoy Glasgow with people that had the time/money to come out. It seems that everyone is obsessing over this exam diet, and fair enough. A year without academia has been a welcome break, and I in no way envy those going into exams within the next few days.

So the days passed, and I had planned to go back to France on the Thursday, pick up a rental car and drive around for a while (alone or with whoever I could find...). Something got in the way. A massive cloud of apparently deadly volcanic ash sweeped over the UK, and the travel plans were scarpered. My gran had phoned, saying "I don't think you'll get away, there's been a volcano". We are starting to think she's going a a bit mad, so this suggestion was almost ignored. Right she was, the air was closed for business.

I used the extra days to do a bit more of what I wanted, and went to the Tramway to see some of the Glasgow International festival of Visual arts. This festival is getting better and better every 2 years, and the exhibits at the tramway this year were something else. Absolutely haunting, terrifying, immersive and challenging - few could see the Christoph Büchel work and not leave it having felt a great deal of emotion. I highly recommend it to you whether you are interested in art or not.

I re booked and re booked, and eventually thought it would go ahead on Wednesday. Got to the airport at 7AM to find that my flight to Paris was the only one cancelled. Never mind - a few more days could hardly hurt any more than it already had.

I had missed a whole week of classes, and more than that I had missed the last day with half of my classes. I was beginning to get anxious and annoyed, but finally got back to Limoges on Friday night, followed by a nice meal at la vache au plafond (curried mussels, slow cooked lamb and ice cream filled profiteroles, tasty) and drinks at le duc etienne. This morning, a few goods at the marché and now in the house, pottering and getting ready for my last week of lessons. It's almost over, and I will be very sad to leave Limoges and this life. It has changed from being a pleasure to a nightmare almost as often as the weather, but I have been extremely fortunate to meet the people I have, work with those I have and do what I have done. Early worries that my French wouldn't improve were ousted by encouragement from friends and teachers.

Before my year abroad, even before uni, I had a very romanticised vision of what this year would be like - I imagined a huge city, lots of French, my own apartment and a lot of other idealised images. Looking back I am almost glad I had little of that - I have been lucky enough to make a small group of very close friends and to live in a beautiful house with a great old chap who has shown me endless kindness. Limoges has also been a blessing in disguise - it's small enough to walk around, but big enough to find new things all the time. Despite near constant joking and moaning, overall I have loved this, and have once again struck it lucky on this adventure.

I'm very glad to check another item off my list of "stuff to do before you die".