Well I'm back in London now. After a good week and a half in a 17th century French Chateau I was told that I wasn't suitable for a summer job and was sent back to London later that day, in very much a reality TV show kind of way....
The weeks leading up to going away were pretty busy and stressful. Trying to find somebody for my room as well as worrying about the financial aspect of having to pay for a deposit for the trip and get any gear that I needed to go away with. But in the end it all worked out well, and the 5 weeks since my last post went by pretty quickly.
The training trip was an interesting experience, and certainly a learning one. I was pleased that my first French trip was in the heart land of France, and was very authentic. Exactly the kind of place that I had dreamed of every time I was sitting in my college French class! It was just a shame it was winter.
A couple of times I went up to the local village that consisted of a church, school, bar and bakery/ small store. On one occasion I managed to get some cookies using my best French. However I found out when I got back to the chateau via the chateau groundsman that the bakery girl actually spoke English! But it was still a good experience to try to speak French. It was the same in Lyon, I managed to get by with asking if people if they spoke English and a lot of pointing. And as usual for some reason when my French lacked my default foreign language of Spanish came out....
As for the rest of the training trip, I felt pretty early on that I might not get a job. I was on the back foot to begin with not having worked for the company or done a tour prior. I tried my best to get to know people in other ways (outside of company experiences) but evidently that wasn't enough as I just didn't click with the group... Early on I was talking to one of the managers who advised me to just be myself. And I was, so love me or hate me at least I was true to myself. If I don't fit the company thats fine. I know I'm not doctor material either!! So while I didn't get the job, I'm not angry or upset. Disappointed for sure, but I totally respect their decision as they would have seen plenty of people with different personalities and would know the out comes. They told me that I would probably get bored after a few weeks. Maybe, maybe not. But either way it doesn't matter.
Sitting on the plane on the way back to London, after being ejected from the training. The thought of coming back to London just wasn't as attractive. Esp after the dream of working in Europe for the summer. So I've been trying to decide whether I want to stay in London or head home. The more I think about it the more I think I'm ready to go. But its still a hard call.
I think the main reason I want to stay is to travel, but to be fair no matter how much one see's there's always more to see. And I feel that now that I'm set up here, if I ever want to come back it is literally just a flight. Also if home isn't as good as I remember or if things are too different then I can always go to Australia for a few months, which I think I might have to do mid winter anyway just to get some sun!!!
So stay tuned for my next post, for the 10th time in 1 year I could be putting my life back in my travel bag and heading to another location!.....
