Welcome to Orion - Добро Пожаловать в Орион

Hello!

Before coming to Russia I found it hard to describe to friends and family exactly where I was going and what I would be doing in Orion, and now that I'm here it is maybe even harder to do so because this place really is somewhere that you have to experience to truly understand - but nevertheless I will try my best to give you a taste of my life here in this amazing community.  

looking happy despite having to take the compost down to the chickens

an evening game of football (it doesn't get dark until about 11pm here!)

Orion is the 'sister community' of Kitezh which was founded in 1992 during Peresroika. Slightly smaller than Kitezh, Orion is 2 and a half hours by car from Moscow in the rural Kaluga region and will be celebrating its 10th anniversary this June. Both communities are best described on the Ecologia.org.uk website, "Kitezh and Orion are non-profit communities of foster families whose aim is simple: to give abandoned or orphaned children a real chance in life" and as well as theraputic education, a sustainable and environmentaly friendly lifestyle is also key to each community. The video below is a sped up walking tour of Orion that I filmed on my second day which despite its bad quality should still give you an idea of what it's like, although the weather on that day was awful compared to the 30ºC days we've been having recently!

a handy map of Orion taken from the website, I'm currently living in 'The White House'

The 10 or so houses here in Orion are home to foster families who live and study here permanently, however during the summer months it's the school holidays and Orion becomes a unique summer camp for local children who come to stay. Currently we are in the middle of one of these camps, referred to here as a 'game', which lasts 12 days. The theme for the first game this summer is 'Film Film Film!' 

I may do a later blog post explaining the intricacies of the 'game' but to briefly explain, Orion has been turned into a film studio called 'КинОрион' (KinOrion) that is under threat of closure by an evil American film tycoon who wants to buy the whole film studio and knock it down. All of the children have been set tasks over the 12 days, culminating in a film festival where they willl show the films they have made with the hope of persuading the evil tycoon to leave them alone and realise that money isn't the most important thing. The effort and detail that has gone into the organisation of this game is incredible and there have also been professional script writers, actors and musicians leading masterclasses for the kids. I feel so priveliged to see this game in action and take part and although it has at times been very hectic in the kitchen (especially for Olga the chef) it has been great to have so many children around in the first couple of weeks.

lizzie painting the КинОрион sign

in character with the film tycoon, planning our destruction of  КинОрион

showing that bribing children with (fake) money is not the answer

My role here as a volunteer is pretty diverse. Currently there are 4 other volunteers from the UK and also some Russian volunteers and as a group we have jobs such as washing up and cleaning to do on a regular rota, but our other jobs can be anything from chopping down birch trees to gardening or drawing with children to playing characters in live action performances of the backstory of the evil tycoon in 'Film Film Film!' (the start of this live performance can be seen below). 

taking part in an acting masterclass with the kids

After only a few days here I felt like I was at home and myself and the other volunteers couldn't believe that we had really only just arrived. My language is still feeling very rusty and I'm often finding myself trying to speak French instead of Russian, however I can see that I have already improved in my two weeks here and so hopefully I will just continute getting more confident and learing more useful vocabulary such as "I'm allergic to mosquito bites" and "bleach for tie-dye tshirts".

'che guevara' an his army ready to play capture the flag

action shots

Also, apart from a couple of rainy days, the weather here has been amazing and we have been able to spend a few afternoons down at the 'beach' (a local river) sunbathing and swimming with a bunch of local Russians often giving us funny looks for being so obviously 'not from around here', and also probably because last time we were there we filmed an underwater drowning scene for a film project we have been given...

the river

chopping down birth trees in the sun

Today we are doing some more filming / gardening / cleaning and so I should probably stop writing now. This has taken ages to do because the slow internet isn't great for uploading photos and unfortunately this also means I won't be able to upload any YouTube videos whilst I'm here. However, I'm filming loads of stuff and I'll probably upload it all when I'm back in the UK! I hope to write some more specific blog posts soon on things such as the food and maybe a day trip to Moscow, but for now I will leave you with some of the cutest kittens you will ever see...

до свидания!

PS. all of the great professional looking photos are taken from the Orion vkontakte page (https://vk.com/album-38007057_196112412) thanks to Sergei! And here is the official Orion website if you fancy a look http://www.orionfuture.org/engabout.php

The Best and Worst Things about my French Year Abroad

Here is my final video blog from France!


à bientôt (see you in Russia!)

Travelling

Whilst I still love teaching and living in France, I can’t deny that my small town life in Oyonnax is sometimes hard, and so when I've been given the opportunity to travel and explore other cities, I've definitely made the most of it. I have profitéd, as one would say in franglais. 

During the first two weeks of March it was the school holidays here in the Académie de Lyon, and so in this this post I’m going to briefly run through what I got up to.

Family weekend in Lyon

Although giving my parents the hour long walking tour of the beautiful concrete tower blocks of Oyonnax was tempting, we all decided that a weekend in Lyon would be slightly more interesting, and although I don’t live there I know it pretty well by now and so it was great to show the family around.

posing naturally on the vélo'v

family snap at the roman ampitheatre

Berlin

With Paula and I wanting to lose our German virginity (purely in the ‘first time visiting the country’ sense), Berlin seemed like a great choice for a city break – especially seeing as Erin speaks German and has been before, and my friend Lucy from university was living there for her year abroad. Apart from the 16 bed hostel room that smelt of feet, the trip was a success and we had a brilliant few days taking in all the history as well as the cheap cocktails and amazing chicken from Hühnerhaus. 

 

berlin zoo is amazing

being attacked by a cute goat in the petting zoo

lucy probably laughing at my terrible German

the amazing chicken

erin throwing some shapes at the brandenburg gate

east side gallery

The Netherlands

With Paula and Erin flying back to France to then go back to Scotland, I flew straight from Berlin to Amsterdam to stay with Bridie for the weekend and then I went to Utrecht for the week to stay with Henry. Both of them are studying in the Netherlands for a year, and since my visit the thought of going back there to study after Nottingham has definitely crossed my mind. I had already had a brilliant short trip to Amsterdam after exams last year, and so to continue exploring the city and it's amazing collection of vintage shops (this time with a bike and some local know-how from Bridie) was great, especially since my stay coincided with what seemed like the hottest week of the year so far. Before Henry told me that he was studying there, I had never heard of Utrecht, but it’s the 4^th largest city in the Netherlands and it’s only a 30 minute train ride from Amsterdam. Again I was lucky enough to have someone lend me their bike, and so whilst Henry and his friends had lectures and exams I went out to explore and shop. I did actually go along to a French lecture with some of Henry’s friends which was really interesting and also made me realise how much I had missed speaking in French!

bridie in vondelpark

henry in the monastery garden in utrecht

at the top of the tallest church tower in the netherlands

cycling around utrecht with henry and rachel

I'm now back in Oyonnax, trying to get myself back into the habit of teaching by day and planning lessons by night. Thank you again to Lucy, Bridie and Henry for their hospitality and for giving me an amazing taste of their own years abroad. They have also helped my 'countries been to on my year abroad' total hit 6 (France, Switzerland, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands) and it's not long to go now until that will be made up to 7 by Russia...

à bientôt

Everything is 'bon'...literally

Hello!

So yesterday as I was drinking a glass of mulled wine after an afternoon of cross-country skiing, I thought about how everything on my year abroad in 2014 has been pretty great so far, and also how in France it seems that the word 'bon' or 'bonne' can be put in front of almost anything. I will now try and sum up both of those thoughts...

A list of the uses of 'bon' and 'bonne'*

Bonjour - used as the common greeting until around 6pm or until it is dark, unless you are foreign and you were not born with the magic capability to somehow always know the perfect time to stop saying bonjour and change to bonsoir and therefore avoid the bemused or dirty looks that everyone will give you if you greet them in the wrong way

Bonsoir - used as the common greeting after around 6pm or when it is dark, unless you are foreign and you were not born with the magic capability to somehow always know the perfect time to stop saying bonjour and change to bonsoir and therefore avoid the bemused or dirty looks that everyone will give you if you greet them in the wrong way

Bon après-midi - not used as a greeting like in English, but as a goodbye wish to somebody in the afternoon. Again, the rules of when it is afternoon / evening are vague and it's easy to wish someone a good afternoon when in their mind it is clearly the evening and you should be saying bonne soirée

Bonne soirée - not used as a greeting like in English, but as a goodbye wish to somebody in the evening. Again, the rules of when it is afternoon / evening are vague and it's easy to wish someone a good evening when in their mind it is clearly the afternoon and you should be saying Bon après-midi

Bonne nuit - used to wish someone 'goodnight' as you would in English 

Bon appétit -  used in restaurants when your food is served, as you would imagine, but also said amongst friends/family/colleagues as you sit down to eat. I have also found that this can be used as a general midday goodbye wish, even if you have no idea whether the person you are talking to has already eaten lunch or not

Bonne chance / Bon courage - both mean 'good luck', but in my experience people use bon courage more often than bonne chance and more often than in the UK

Bon anniversaire - happy birthday

Bonne année - happy new year, my first attempt of 'joyeux nouvel an' didn't go down too well

Bon voyage / Bon retour - have a good trip / a safe journey home

Bon match - this has been said to me as I've been walking into the stadium about to watch a football match

Bonne séance / Bon film - used by the man at the cinema box office as you pay for your tickets

Bonne balade - this has been said to me as a goodbye wish after chatting with fellow cross country skiiers

Bon - if you're in France and you don't know what to say, just say bon. Adding in an 'ah bah ouais' can also do no harm

Ben - when French people don't want to say bon, then say ben... of course

*this list is by no means extensive and is just what I've experienced. You can basically just put bon in front of anything and use it as a greeting / goodbye wish. Please comment if you've come across any more!

As for the first thought, this second term of my assistantship has been great because I've been taking advantage of every opportunity I've been given and I've also been spending a lot of time in Lyon thanks to the amazing hospitality of my friends who live there. Here are some photos of what I've been up to...

me and gonzalo at my first olympique lyonnais match

me and paula repping the tartan on burns night

the free haggis neeps and tatties

paula's first ever football match

my first time cross-country skiing

taking 'un selfie' with sophia and yvon

skiing through narnia

This weekend I'm off to Courchevel for a day of skiing on the saturday and then next week I have my first theatre class, where I'll be helping out with a class of 17 year olds at the other local lycée. In other exciting news, my family are coming out to visit in a month and then I'm jetting off to Berlin and Amsterdam for the two week school holiday!

à bientôt

Hit the Ground Running

Happy new year!

After a busy end of term and an amazing two weeks back in the UK, I've finally had the time to make a new video. I have been back in Oyonnax for just over a week and as the title suggests I definitely feel that I've hit the ground running. One of my new year's resolutions was simply to 'do more' here in France and look for even more opportunities and so far I have visited Geneva, been to Les Gets for an amazing day of skiing, potentially joined some sort of theatre club and tomorrow I'm going to Lyon to watch (apparently a very important) football match against Marseille.

The video shows my trip to Turin in December, as well as my two recent trips to Geneva and Les Gets. Being a language assistant and earning money is definitely the reason for all of the travelling I've been able to do, and so I still definitely think that I chose the right option.

For those who are interested, I am still really enjoying the work. I'm taking advantage of the fact that I work in a school so close the the French Alps, and so last week I prepared activities on ski safety and this week we're working on the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Sochi.

To finish on some funny classroom stories at the expense of my pupils, yesterday a boy in my class thought that the word for an 'avocado' was 'lawyer'. Although I found it hard not to laugh at the idea of making guacamole with a lawyer, it is actually an easy mistake to make seeing as the word 'avocat' in French means both 'avocado' and 'lawyer'. Finally, today a girl in my class didn't quite get the hang of the name game when you say your name and then something you like or don't like beginning with the same letter, eg. 'my name is Nick and I don't like nuts'. After everyone else had said their name and a corresponding noun she proudly announced, "my name is Gwendoline and I don't like tomatoes"... maybe it is one of those 'you had to be there' moments but it was definitely the most I have ever laughed in class, and luckily she saw the funny side too.

à bientôt!

A Week in the Life

Hello! For my third video blog I have made a 'Week in the Life' video diary, hoping to give you an insight into my life here in Oyonnax as an English language assistant.

à bientôt!

Paris, Granada and Monsieur le Président

Hello! I haven't written anything on here for a long time and I don't really have an excuse, but to make up for it here's a photo-heavy post about my holiday to Paris and Granada and a brief encounter with François Hollande . I've also started filming a 'week in the life' video so you've all got that to look forward to... lucky you!

So my two week school holiday actually started with three days of extra work at school. It was really well paid so I thought it would be a good way to earn my trip to Paris and Spain and I worked with the same group of 10 students for three hours each morning which was good fun and hopefully really useful for their English too.

On the Thursday I had a great journey to Paris on a snazzy double decker train and arrived in the afternoon with my hands thrust firmly in my pockets due to a severe case of pick-pocket paranoia that was largely brought on by the numerous warnings I had been given from teachers and friends here in Oyonnax. I had been to Paris once before on a school trip when I was 12 but I didn't remember much so I was looking forward to being a top tourist with Lizzie.

le louvre + baguette = earning some top tourist points 

art in le jardin des tuileries

eiffel tower

lizzie loving life as a parisienne

the best photo we've got from what was a very wet and windy evening at the top of l'arc de triomphe

traditional french indian cuisine

an amazing meal in for two

me, lizzie and lara - nottingham reunion at my first night out since being in france

squinting at la bastille looking happy about having my first crêpe

the view from the pompidou centre

looking cultured at a photography exhibition

continuing the cultured look at the pompidou centre

After a fantastic five days in Paris I had a rather long and hectic journey to Granada. After flying to Malaga, I had planned to take a late night bus into Granada, which I knew was always going to be a risk seeing as I didn't have much time to find the last bus of the day and I don't speak any Spanish. Our flight was late and I missed the bus, but I plucked up the courage to ask another passenger for help and ended up getting a free car ride all the way into Granada with the kindest couple ever and the lead violinist for the Granada orchestra. It was completely surreal and I had an hour and a half of talking in French about classical music and listening to lots of Spanish as well as getting regular updates from a live marriage proposal over the phone! Anyway... I made it, and I spent the next five days falling in love with Granada.

me and ro outside granada cathedral

cerveza, sangria and tapas

blinded by the spanish sun

some amazing tapas

guacamole tostada - best hangover food

late night view over Granada

me, nav and the alhambra

mango mojito - the most amazing cocktail

churros con chocolate

halloween

me and ro on halloween

My journey back from Granada was also a bit of a nightmare, but the worst bit of it all was that I went to the ladies' toilets in the airport and didn't realise until I walked out and got some pretty dirty looks. But I got on the plane on time and I spent another lovely night and morning in Paris before getting the train all the way back to Oyonnax. I want to say another massive thank you to Lizzie, Ro and Nav; getting a little taste of other people's years abroad is amazing and it doesn't make me want to change what I'm doing now, but it definitely makes me wish I had an infinite number of years abroad with a different experience each time!

Since being back in Oyonnax I've been working hard planning and teaching lessons, and I'm still really loving the work. I've also started at my second school and I'm getting to know all of the pupils better and discovering what does and doesn't work in class.

The most exciting thing that's happened since I've been back was on the 11th November when François Hollande, the president of France, came to visit Oyonnax. To cut a lot of history short, Oyonnax is famous for its part in the French resistance during WWII. On the 11th November 1943, when all commemoration services were banned in occupied France, a secretly planned march took place through the streets of Oyonnax and this act became one of the strongest symbols of the French resistance. This year was the 70th anniversary, and so to mark this historic event there was an amazing re-enactment of the march with around 700 actors, and the president made a speech and laid a wreath. I thought the whole event was brilliant and very moving and I was lucky to be standing right next to the choir as they sang a rousing rendition of the French national anthem. However, the atmosphere wasn't quite what you would expect as it seemed that most of the people were more concerned with complaining about Hollande and expressing their anger at him being here in Oyonnax. I have never seen such a strong and united dislike against one man and it seemed a shame that his incredible unpopularity overshadowed the event itself.

the sun was shining as everyone sat and waited

the re-enactment of the march was shown live on big screens

here he is, le grand fromage himself - i wasn't actually that far away from him but he was so surrounded that it was better to watch it on the screen

 A month today I'm flying home for Christmas and I can't wait, but although I really miss home, I'm still looking forward to the month ahead! As I said, I'm making my next video blog at the moment and I'll have it edited and uploaded as soon as possible so that you can see what a week as a language assistant in Oyonnax is really like!

also today I had my first full day of Snow in Oyonnax - I'm going to need to get used to it because apparently it will be like this until March...

à bientôt!