Tea at 'Le Comptoir Senlisien'

Hello et Salut :)

I am sure that I will (at some point....) blog in French:D But for now, English is just fine <3
Even though I just posted yesterday, I thought: why not make another post and talk about my experience at the Salon de thé 'Le Comptoir Senlisien'

Going to coffee or tea places is something I try to do whenever I travel. My favorite is (so far) Ladurée (Covent Garden, London) which might seem cliché but I totally love it. I went there with my friend Sue and we shared an amazing afternoon tea :)
I used to have a favorite blogger (Suki-Pooki) who blogged about her coffee/tea experiences in different countries. Unfortunately, her blog doesn't exist anymore. :(

The Comptoir Senlisien is not that big and the light was quite dim, which created a nice and cosy atmosphere. I had the thé de la lune (moon tea) and a piece of rose cake. Both were soo tasty :))
They also gave me a tiny rose-shaped piece of meringue!
This place is located in the city centre and it's just super lovely. I went there after school and...I went there completely by myself! In fact, it was a really weird experience to go to a café/tea place without a friend :D And to just sit there and, well, not talk to anyone.



Instead, I read a book – or more likely, I tried to read it. It's a theatre play called Le Cid and as I am also visiting French classes (in this case a 4ième and they are currently talking about it in class) here in France, the teacher suggested I might as well read it. It's really hard for me to understand though :D She, however, is such a brilliant teacher. When I visited her class last Tuesday, I felt as if I was a student again, but in a good way! I really learned a lot about this play and I will continue visiting her 4ième :)

Do you read French classics? If so, are there any you would recommend? 
I worked on Gaston Leroux' Le Fantôme de l'Opéra for my undergraduate dissertation at university back in Germany (yes, the novel, not the musical). I don't think it counts as a classic (or maybe it does? I don't know) but I liked it a lot. The poetry of Baudelaire also fascinates me. Again, super difficult to understand and to make sense of for a non-native speaker (if you can make sense of it at all!)...

Bisous!
Kerstin

Bonjour France

Hey everyone, it's about time to finally update this blog, especially since I have exciting news: I will be staying in France until mid June :)

This is a dream-come-true and I want to share my impressions on this blog and keep it as a diary <3

How & why: I am doing an internship as a language assistant for German and English at a local school and I live in a (really lovely) host family. Before leaving Germany, I had handed in my dissertation and I had finished all my Bachelor's courses at university. In Germany,  if you want to become a teacher for German and English, you usually have to do a 3-year undergraduate degree, but I kind of pushed myself to do it in 2,5 in order to be able to go to France. In October, I will be doing my Master's degree, just like any other student in my year, which is then to be followed by specific training for teachers. Yay. Long way to go!

As going to France is obviously not obligatory when you study English and German, everyone at university was actually kinda like: 'wtf, like, why are you going to France?' :D – You can't even study French in my home town.
Two years before, one of my friends (hi Stefania <3) went to Italy for half a year. She also did her undergraduate degree in 2,5 years. I felt inspired (haha) and I always wanted to improve my French :)) Plus what's better than living in a host family and getting insights into French culture that you wouldn't get as a tourist? Bonus points for my town's proximity to Paris and the fact that I can improve my teaching skills au collège hehe. The mean reason, however, is that I just looooove the language itself <3

Enough blabla, here are my first impressions <3

My town is called Senlis and it's very small compared to Hanover. In fact, this really collides with my shopping obsession, but Paris is not far away.
So far, I spent a nice weekend with my host family and we went to church on Sunday. On Monday, I went to school and the teachers and my tutor decided that I am basically following about 4-5 teachers around. I won't only see German and English classes but also French and History. Every Thursday, starting next week, I will have my own classes (and also on other days, but that's not decided yet).

lovely weather <3

we are tasty and omg check out those big macarons in the top right corner

the room is actually so pretty <3 the house is from 1900 :)

I am looking forward to spending some amazing months in France <3
P.S.: This little baby here is called 'Canelé', according to wikipedia a pastry, originally from Bordeaux, with "a soft and tender custard center and a dark, thick caramelized crust." It is flavoured with rum and vanilla :)

mhh I am so yummy the picture doesn't do me justice