21

Greetings from the light at the end of the tunnel! At precisely 4:15pm(ish) on the 23rd April, I put away my pen at the end of my final official exam at Paul-Valéry, and walked away from the last lecture theatre I will ever see at that institution.

I'M FFFRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

Of course my freedom won't be finally confirmed until all the results are in, but for now all I can do is sit, wait, and relax!

I didn't get to sit for long, because I was stopped at midnight on the 24th by a tri-lingual rendition of "Happy Birthday", and my first present of the day: a Natural Boys Alive fangirl pack! 

Courtesy of my lovely semi-celebrity boyfriend, I received an exclusive hand-designed t-shirt and bag, along with some decorative stickers and a CD including exclusive bonus sing-along track. Needless to say, the day started well.

Now I'm not usually one for melodramatics, but I can say with all sincerity that I think this was the best birthday I have ever had. After a lazy morning and a quick Skype with the parents, Alex and I went to tick off one of the tasks on my freedom to-do list: climbing Pic Saint Loup. This is a local peak, just under 700m high, which I've been eyeing up since my first week here. And it did not disappoint! The weather was glorious, a healthy 25 degrees and beautifully sunny and clear, which meant that the views at every point were breathtaking.

Once we'd climbed back down, we drove a little further to the River Hérault and did some climbing in its gorge.

After a quick rest on a nearby pebble beach overlooked by the Pont du Diable, we carried on our journey to the small town of Saint-Guilhelm-Le-Désert, which we briefly explored before heading home. Naturally we were both exhausted, and crashed out in bed as soon as we got back. And when I finally emerged a couple of hours later, I had the best birthday surprise I could ever have asked for: Helen and Chris had taken the train all the way from Manchester/Cambridge to greet me! There were stars, banners, balloons, party poppers, and a table covered with presents! Helen had collected all the presents from my family and friends at home brought them all with her, along with a card signed by all of my best friends from Manchester (I love you guys!). I was in shock and making a lot of very jumbled and incoherent noises for a while, and it was the most amazing feeling ever!

The next day it inevitably poured with rain, so Alex and I took our visitors to the Montpellier aquarium, another thing on the to-do list. 

We saw fishes of every shape, size and colour, and sat for a long time in front of the enormous tank watching the sharks swim. 

After a quick wander around Odysseum we went home for a meal and a copious amount of wine. The next day we attempted to drive to Gorges du Tarn, but got immensely lost and ended up at Navacelles!

We didn't mind, because Cirque de Navacelles is one of the most naturally beautiful places in France (according to the nice man we met at the top of the hill!).

After a very long day out, we crashed at the beach for a picnic and some pétanque, before heading back to the apartment for a movie night. Helen saw Frozen for the first time, and Alex was introduced to the 80s glory that is TopGun. 

It was a very sad and sleep-deprived goodbye at the station on Sunday, but they both made it home safely, which is the main thing. And Alex comforted me back at home with ice cream and Toy Story, which made the parting slightly easier.

I feel very lucky to have such amazing friends. I miss you guys!

Sarah 

xx

Retour à la Réalité

It seems very bizarre that I've only been back in Montpellier for a month. It feels like MUCH longer than that, mostly because when I arrived back I realised how soon all my exams were and how much work I had to do before they started! Oops.

But first, the fun stuff!

A week after I got back to Montpellier, it was Alex's birthday! To celebrate, I lured him away from the house, and we spent a gorgeous sunset on the Montpellier beach that I had missed so much.

Meanwhile Hugo made all the preparations necessary for one of the greatest presents ever eaten: super giant mega burgers!

The celebrations continued the following day, when I decided to ditch my workload and accompany Alex, Lukas and his visiting friend on a road trip to the nearby Gorges du Tarn.

It was absolutely stunning, and no one fell in the river, which was a miracle! Hopefully when exams are over we'll be able to go back and do some canoeing, because the views from the river were incredible.

The next day was yet more celebrating, as I finally got to give Alex his birthday present : a weekend in Sete! Sete is the little port town only an hour or so away from Montpellier, and we'd both been meaning to go all year. It was a pretty windy, but the town was more than pretty enough to make up for it.

We spent a couple of days relaxing, eating crepes and exploring, and managed to end the weekend with a trip round the "panoramies" at the top of the hill, which was my favourite part.

Sadly, aside from that all I've really had time for is work! (Aside from saying a very sad goodbye to Lukas, who has now left us and returned to Germany for the summer.) It's starting to feel like I'm the only Erasmus student in this university who actually has to pass my exams, which is a massive drag. On the up-side, in the last month I've managed to produce a 6500 word dossier (yes, in French), and choose a potential dissertation title for next year, for which I will only have to produce 6000 words! And after my two deadlines and three exams yesterday, plus another exam this morning, I am already half way through! Summer starts in just over a week and I can't wait :D 

Although it already feels like summer has started, seeing as it's been sunny and averaging above 24 degrees for nearly a week now. (Which I'm sure you're all delighted to hear ;) )

Erasmus really does have its benefits!

Sarah

xx