So since we last spoke I've moved flats, countries and universities (I now live just outside Paris). And the world has got in many ways much much darker (Trump.).
I've been settling into my first month in Paris, and after living here for just under two weeks I had my purse stolen on the metro. Any pretence that I'm a cool cosmopolitan gal who can just hop about from city to city, place to place on the metro kind of came crumbling down as I realised I was frankly just a naive tourist bumbling about blindly. I didn't watch my bag, I didn't know how to react when I realised my purse was gone and I was probably a bit melodramatic about the whole thing. If my friends hadn't of been with me I don't know how I would have handled the situation. But this isn't about a spoilt girl losing a material possession, it's about seeing the good in a situation and realising how good people are. My wonderful friends helped me cancel cards, they calmed me down, they made me food, they gave me whatever money they had so I had enough to get by, they spent their last morning in Paris sat in a dingy police station in the 18th arrondissement of Paris whilst I tried my hardest to file a complaint in broken french. We met our other friends for drinks the evening my purse was taken and they offered to lend me money and help me however they could, without hesitation. My friend in Brussels offered me money and immediately asked if I was ok, again without hesitation. My old boss from Brussels has agreed to meet me and give me as much money as I need until I get my replacement cards. And my parents, as always, went above and beyond what they needed to do to help me out and make sure I felt supported and safe. I am so incredibly lucky to be surrounded by people who are selfless, caring and generally just wonderful.
It occurred to me as I was thinking about this, that it's easy to start thinking that the world is full of horrible Trump supporters, people who turn their back on world issues, and scumbags who pickpocket but this all happened on the weekend of Trump's inauguration, where the world was full of signs of love and solidarity instead of fear and anger. People protested on bridges with the motif 'Bridges not Walls' for issues such as Black Lives Matter, LGBQT rights and global warming. The streets of the world were swarming on Saturday with people protesting the toxic mindset that Trump and his new government represent. There was something so so incredible about the world coming together to stand up to arguably the most powerful position in the world, stating that this isn't normal and we will not accept it.
Whilst it may seem melodramatic to compare losing a purse and a bit of cash to massive global crises- sometimes you just need something to bring you back to earth and make you stop and think. As I continue through this year which I'm sure will be full of challenges, both in terms of personally trying to navigate through life in France and globally as we address the repercussions of Trump, Brexit and the migrant crisis, I want to remember this weekend. I want to remember my friends' willingness to help. I want to remember the solidarity shown across the world. I want to remember that love and compassion are far far more powerful than any other force that threatens to take over our world.
This blogpost is a massive thank you to my friends for being absolute angels, and is for Becky, who asked me to start writing again.
Monday, 23 January 2017
Wednesday, 5 October 2016
Europe.
Yesterday I had my first politics class here in Brussels. I'm taking a module which explains the origins and role of the European Union, it seemed daft for me to live in what is often called 'the capital of Europe' and not at least try to educate myself further on the EU.
I sat in the lecture theatre surrounded by students from across the world, many from countries I've never set foot in, listening to our lecturer explain to us the origins of the EU and how it was created to symbolise and maintain peace and stability across our continent. We discussed how it helped European citizens economically and socially and how European involvement has improved lives and helped to rebuild Eastern Europe after the fall of the iron curtain. Every single student in that room had travelled to Brussels as part of a study abroad programme, most of us were there with Erasmus funding and support. We all spoke French, because we had all taken the time to study a different language and culture, I can almost guarantee that every student in that room also spoke English. Next week we're visiting the European Parliament to see the EU in action. In the coming weeks, rather than learning about what the EU can do for us and what it's achieved, we're learning about Brexit. About how Britain thought it was too good for the EU, how we thought we did not need to be part of one of the largest and most successful peacekeeping organisations. How, even though European history is British history and even though the most commonly spoken language in Europe is (allegedly) English- spoken between non-native speakers, we thought the best thing to do in 2016 was turn our backs on our neighbours, shun foreigners and become an insular little island.
Later in the day yesterday I spent time with my new Finnish friend, who speaks near perfect English and French. She's introduced me to her Ukrainian-born Czech friend and we've had pre-drinks with her German friend. I then came home to my 'kot' (student housing here in Brussels) for an evening of drinks and socialising with my flatmates and their friends who were from: France, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Portgual and America. We're truly an international bunch and guess what, every singly person in that room spoke to each other in near perfect English. I had such a fun evening, playing drinking games and dancing with my new friends as we laughed and fumbled our way through dodgy Spanish to English to French translations.
So today, to wake up to the news that the Tory Party want British businesses to publish their number of foreign staff, to see that (despite the high rate of employment) the Tories are still blaming foreign workers for unemployment in Britain, to see Theresa May imply that foreign NHS workers- those who have held up the NHS amid Tory cuts and austerity- are only here temporarily; is nothing short of heartbreaking.
Being in the capital of Europe surrounded by such interesting, diverse people and seeing my own country turn its back on multiculturalism is simply crushing.
I sat in the lecture theatre surrounded by students from across the world, many from countries I've never set foot in, listening to our lecturer explain to us the origins of the EU and how it was created to symbolise and maintain peace and stability across our continent. We discussed how it helped European citizens economically and socially and how European involvement has improved lives and helped to rebuild Eastern Europe after the fall of the iron curtain. Every single student in that room had travelled to Brussels as part of a study abroad programme, most of us were there with Erasmus funding and support. We all spoke French, because we had all taken the time to study a different language and culture, I can almost guarantee that every student in that room also spoke English. Next week we're visiting the European Parliament to see the EU in action. In the coming weeks, rather than learning about what the EU can do for us and what it's achieved, we're learning about Brexit. About how Britain thought it was too good for the EU, how we thought we did not need to be part of one of the largest and most successful peacekeeping organisations. How, even though European history is British history and even though the most commonly spoken language in Europe is (allegedly) English- spoken between non-native speakers, we thought the best thing to do in 2016 was turn our backs on our neighbours, shun foreigners and become an insular little island.
Later in the day yesterday I spent time with my new Finnish friend, who speaks near perfect English and French. She's introduced me to her Ukrainian-born Czech friend and we've had pre-drinks with her German friend. I then came home to my 'kot' (student housing here in Brussels) for an evening of drinks and socialising with my flatmates and their friends who were from: France, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Portgual and America. We're truly an international bunch and guess what, every singly person in that room spoke to each other in near perfect English. I had such a fun evening, playing drinking games and dancing with my new friends as we laughed and fumbled our way through dodgy Spanish to English to French translations.
So today, to wake up to the news that the Tory Party want British businesses to publish their number of foreign staff, to see that (despite the high rate of employment) the Tories are still blaming foreign workers for unemployment in Britain, to see Theresa May imply that foreign NHS workers- those who have held up the NHS amid Tory cuts and austerity- are only here temporarily; is nothing short of heartbreaking.
Being in the capital of Europe surrounded by such interesting, diverse people and seeing my own country turn its back on multiculturalism is simply crushing.
Friday, 30 September 2016
REDISCOVERING MUSIC
I've always absolutely loved music, I rarely leave the house without my very old and very full iPod touch and since moving Brussels and living by myself there is hardly a second of my time alone when music isn't playing. However, it occurred to me today that my attitude to music has changed a lot as I've grown up and I've only recently really rediscovered my love of music.
But before we get to the rediscovery, let's lay some ground works. My Dad is a music fanatic, our house is stacked full of records and CDs. He's had iPod classics and full iTunes libraries for as long as they've been around, and some of my strongest memories are linked to him and his music. Whether it was listening to Somebody Told Me and laughing at the lyrics which were so ridiculous to my 8 year old mind, or filling the long four hour drives to visit family by taking it in turn to chose music. There was nothing I loved more than getting playlists or album recommendations from him, or spending hours scrolling through his iTunes and copying all the music over to my own personal collection (which is mainly just stolen from him). He's a big fan of your classic Dad indie music, New Order, Elbow, Nick Cave etc. Before this, much to his disdain I lived for my Auntie's mixtapes which included anything from Kylie to SClub to Lion King, any classic cheesy pop and she was all over it- including buying me Girls Aloud and Sugababe's greatest hits and fueling my love of pop music. Dispersed throughout this was my childhood best friend's influence, she was so cool to me as she was the youngest of 4 kids and taught me my first swear words along with introducing me to Usher and Alicia Keys. Suffice to say, my musical tastes before the age of about 14 lacked direction and were fairly eclectic as I just absorbed whatever was given to me. The only real album I can remember discovering (around age 11) and adoring was Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, which remains one of my favourite album to this day.
Then fourteen year old was was obsessed with appearing as indie as possible and along with some questionnable fashion decisions came a love of (mainly mainstream) indie music, I'm talking The Smiths, Arctic Monkeys, Foals, etc etc. I went to gigs all the time, plastered my room in cutouts and posters from NME and listened religiously to Nick Grimshaw on the radio. I fell into a bit of an indie cliche as most of the music stemmed from the 500 Days of Summer soundtrack. The artists I fell in love with around this age have still stuck with me to this day, I've seen Foals and the Arctic Monkeys live 3 times now and loved it every single time. I'm still so excited for everything Foals put out, having followed them from their first album (I liked them before they were cool). Then from about 16 or 17 I just slowly stopped listening to new music, it didn't really interest me, NME seemed (as still does seem) pretentious and try hard and I was just kind of done. I still listened to music, and I still followed my favourite artists but just any interest slowly died away.
And then I went to uni. It was my second year that my eyes were really opened to the world of music again, this was really helped by the fact that three of my best friends wrote for and now run the uni music magazine. So through them I fell back in love with music. I now had friends who liked the same music as I liked, I had friends I could talk in depth with about music, we went to gigs together. I didn't just look forward to new, indie, undiscovered music but I went back, I looked to the 60s and the 80s and everything in between. I fell in love with Otis Reading (my housemates can attest to the fact that I listened to nothing but him for about a year), I rediscovered my younger love of Dolly Parton and Dusty Springfield. I listened to whole albums from artists, such as Paul Simon, I'd otherwise just known the standout singles from. I started making monthly roundups of new music I'd discovered. I now spend more time finding new music, rediscovering old favourites and I'm looking further back into what came before. I'm now excited to listen to music, and I love it again.
Some of my all-time faves: Laura Marling Amy Winehouse, Foals, Joni Mitchell, Beyonce.
Currently listening to a lot of: Bon Iver, Slaves, Jonny Flynn.
But before we get to the rediscovery, let's lay some ground works. My Dad is a music fanatic, our house is stacked full of records and CDs. He's had iPod classics and full iTunes libraries for as long as they've been around, and some of my strongest memories are linked to him and his music. Whether it was listening to Somebody Told Me and laughing at the lyrics which were so ridiculous to my 8 year old mind, or filling the long four hour drives to visit family by taking it in turn to chose music. There was nothing I loved more than getting playlists or album recommendations from him, or spending hours scrolling through his iTunes and copying all the music over to my own personal collection (which is mainly just stolen from him). He's a big fan of your classic Dad indie music, New Order, Elbow, Nick Cave etc. Before this, much to his disdain I lived for my Auntie's mixtapes which included anything from Kylie to SClub to Lion King, any classic cheesy pop and she was all over it- including buying me Girls Aloud and Sugababe's greatest hits and fueling my love of pop music. Dispersed throughout this was my childhood best friend's influence, she was so cool to me as she was the youngest of 4 kids and taught me my first swear words along with introducing me to Usher and Alicia Keys. Suffice to say, my musical tastes before the age of about 14 lacked direction and were fairly eclectic as I just absorbed whatever was given to me. The only real album I can remember discovering (around age 11) and adoring was Amy Winehouse's Back to Black, which remains one of my favourite album to this day.
Then fourteen year old was was obsessed with appearing as indie as possible and along with some questionnable fashion decisions came a love of (mainly mainstream) indie music, I'm talking The Smiths, Arctic Monkeys, Foals, etc etc. I went to gigs all the time, plastered my room in cutouts and posters from NME and listened religiously to Nick Grimshaw on the radio. I fell into a bit of an indie cliche as most of the music stemmed from the 500 Days of Summer soundtrack. The artists I fell in love with around this age have still stuck with me to this day, I've seen Foals and the Arctic Monkeys live 3 times now and loved it every single time. I'm still so excited for everything Foals put out, having followed them from their first album (I liked them before they were cool). Then from about 16 or 17 I just slowly stopped listening to new music, it didn't really interest me, NME seemed (as still does seem) pretentious and try hard and I was just kind of done. I still listened to music, and I still followed my favourite artists but just any interest slowly died away.
And then I went to uni. It was my second year that my eyes were really opened to the world of music again, this was really helped by the fact that three of my best friends wrote for and now run the uni music magazine. So through them I fell back in love with music. I now had friends who liked the same music as I liked, I had friends I could talk in depth with about music, we went to gigs together. I didn't just look forward to new, indie, undiscovered music but I went back, I looked to the 60s and the 80s and everything in between. I fell in love with Otis Reading (my housemates can attest to the fact that I listened to nothing but him for about a year), I rediscovered my younger love of Dolly Parton and Dusty Springfield. I listened to whole albums from artists, such as Paul Simon, I'd otherwise just known the standout singles from. I started making monthly roundups of new music I'd discovered. I now spend more time finding new music, rediscovering old favourites and I'm looking further back into what came before. I'm now excited to listen to music, and I love it again.
Some of my all-time faves: Laura Marling Amy Winehouse, Foals, Joni Mitchell, Beyonce.
Currently listening to a lot of: Bon Iver, Slaves, Jonny Flynn.
Friday, 2 September 2016
hello, again
So it's September, oops. Where did the last 4 months go? Let's briefly play catch up.
My last post was about a lovely day in Liverpool in April, since then I've been to Iceland, Dublin and America. I've sat (and passed!) all my exams, I've moved out of my uni house, worked abroad for 7 weeks and am now preparing to move abroad a bit more permanently.
Next week I'm off to Brussels for 3 days with Liverpool Young Labour to see the European Parliament, then I'm back for a week for my brother's 18th and then I'm moving to Brussels to study until the end of January. It seems I'm hardly ever at home these days, so I'm enjoying my time here for the time being. I'm squeezing in boring things like eye-tests and dentist appointments but also making the most of seeing home friends before we all go separate ways to start either our years abroad or final years of uni- when did we all get quite so grown up?!
I'm doing that thing all year abroad students do, I've decided to start blogging about my experiences, because of course you absoultely need another slightly pretentious languages student telling you how life-changing and eye-opening getting drunk in a dodgy european bar is. I do have slightly romantic (read: naive) ideas about how fabulous the year of my life is going to be, which are based largely on many films watched during my a-levels. But before we get to that I need to tackle the minor issue of finding somewhere to live. Stay tuned to see if I end up homeless for the next 5 months...
My last post was about a lovely day in Liverpool in April, since then I've been to Iceland, Dublin and America. I've sat (and passed!) all my exams, I've moved out of my uni house, worked abroad for 7 weeks and am now preparing to move abroad a bit more permanently.
Next week I'm off to Brussels for 3 days with Liverpool Young Labour to see the European Parliament, then I'm back for a week for my brother's 18th and then I'm moving to Brussels to study until the end of January. It seems I'm hardly ever at home these days, so I'm enjoying my time here for the time being. I'm squeezing in boring things like eye-tests and dentist appointments but also making the most of seeing home friends before we all go separate ways to start either our years abroad or final years of uni- when did we all get quite so grown up?!
I'm doing that thing all year abroad students do, I've decided to start blogging about my experiences, because of course you absoultely need another slightly pretentious languages student telling you how life-changing and eye-opening getting drunk in a dodgy european bar is. I do have slightly romantic (read: naive) ideas about how fabulous the year of my life is going to be, which are based largely on many films watched during my a-levels. But before we get to that I need to tackle the minor issue of finding somewhere to live. Stay tuned to see if I end up homeless for the next 5 months...
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