FOR FRESHERS: STUFF TO BRING TO UNI.

I'm a few weeks away from starting my fourth year as a university student. I went off to uni fresh-faced, just-turned-eighteen, and fairly clueless. I am now twenty-one, and like, really wise. As a seasoned student I figured I'd give you freshers a list of things to buy for uni. I know it can get pretty overwhelming moving away from home for the first time and having to think about all of the things you might possibly need to do/bring/sort, so in order to try and help out, I've created a list of stuff you might need to bring with you/buy. A lot of it is fairly common sense, but some of the things you may not have thought of yourself, so let's HIT IT.

STUDY ABROAD TIPS AND RESOURCES.

I realise this is possibly a little bit late, as most people have either already started their time abroad or are just about to, but maybe you'll be able to get at least something from it. I recently returned from a year studying at Université Paris-Sorbonne IV, and I have some tips and resources that will hopefully make your time abroad a little bit easier, less stressful, and less expensive.

LOOKING BACK AT MY STUDY ABROAD BUCKET LIST.

Ah, Paris. The City of Love. During my ten months there I fell in love with the pastries, the crêpes, and temporarily (but on a thrice-daily basis, at minimum), the beautiful men on the Métro. I admit that falling deeply in this transient love with men using public transport is not specific to Paris for me, but I was definitely doing it with alarming frequency while I was there. I've left France now (currently in Geneva, almost back in London) and I have decided to go back to my initial "Year Abroad Bucket List" post and talk you through what I did and didn't do, and give some little anecdotes about the points. My original goal was to tick off at least 25 out of the 35 goals, so hopefully I succeeded. Allons-y!

I MOVED TO PARIS.

Hello! Just a quick update for you today. I've not had much time or head space to get around to writing a super wordy post this past week because...a few days ago I moved to Paris! I've decided to make this post really picture-heavy, because that's a little easier for me and maybe even nicer for you to not have to bother reading all my usual loquacious ramblings. I think I'm getting far too used to this moving-house malarkey. (Which would make sense actually, as this is the eighth property I've lived in since 2011, including both individual and family moves. WOW.) (On a side note, I don't think I've ever used the word 'malarkey' in writing before in my life, but I kind of dig it.) I haven't done much exploring of the city yet but I've got a whole ten months to get to know it so I don't feel like I'm missing out on much. Unfortunately I accidentally left my DSLR back in England (let's not talk about it) so the following pictures have only been taken on my iPhone. Alas, without further ado, allow me to give you a tour of my new bedroom in my little apartment in Montmartre.

YEAR ABROAD BUCKET LIST.

I'm about to up sticks and head to Paris for a year. Yep, Paris! Everyone around me seems more excited than I am, but then, that's understandable, because they are thinking of the good things, whereas I am going to be dealing with a whole bunch of potentially overwhelming and stressful stuff (think: setting up a bank account in French, trying to survive on the measly loan Student Finance gives me, attempting to not fail my classes, all of which are in French, et cetera). Don't get me wrong, I'm getting a little more excited each day (especially now I have an apartment sorted, which is a huge weight off my shoulders), but in order to keep this excitement brewing, I started to try and think of things to look forward to. Thence came the idea for my Year Abroad Bucket List. Some of the things on this list are Paris or France-specific, but others are just general things I'd like to accomplish/do during my year abroad.

RAMBLING AND A RECIPE.

Hello, I have returned, and only a week after my last post (which, in my history, really isn't so bad.)

I've been pretty busy this week; meeting one of my favourite musicians (check it out you guys), saying goodbye to my American friend who was visiting us (we miss you already Steph!), organising my wardrobe and shoe cupboard, and finally applying to French universities for Study Abroad in September (more on that to come).

Here's a photo of aforementioned shoes. Revel in the organisation.

However, I have finally sat down and decided to write a few little posts. First up: a recipe!