Life here so far..

Wow, it's been ages since I actually got my act together and actually wrote about what I was planning to write about! (What a mouthful!) Well, I'm back and still surviving in Marseille!

My days are filled with experiences and constant realisations of French peculiarities. Some of which I find fantastic, and some I just cannot manage to understand the logic of. Well, I guess it's all part and parcel of moving to a different country and culture. Living the Japan was similar, but that was completely foreign.

My French is improving in leaps and bounds and, 2 nights ago, it happened. Yes, I dreamt my first dream in French. I am struggling to remember what I actually dreamt of, but all I can remember is "passé-composé this" and "passé-composé that".

It's amazing experiencing a whole new language so close to my mother tongue, and oh so different. It has the complexity of German and the simplicity of neurosurgery. A hell of a challenge. Nevertheless, boy does it feel good when I can actually express myself!! (People have a tendency to take you seriously when you actually pronounce things properly and your grammar is relatively correct).

If you can't distinguish between "there, their and they're" in English. Give up on learning another language! Trust me, any other language is more complex than English. Verb conjugation (technical term for changing verbs into their various tenses) is a headache in French, but it has certainly got me thinking! This however is a whole new subject and something that I'll elaborate in a later post.

Weatherwise, it's been quite cool this last few days. Not icy-cold, but certainly cold enough! A thing that still confuses me about the Provençal is that they love complaining about the weather. There is a wind that hurtles through the region on most days, known as the Mistral. The Provençal are often complaining about the coldness of the wind in winter and how annoyingly strong it is, however I struggle to comprehend why on earth they don't wear windproof clothing?!

The mind boggles. An interesting bunch, the Provençal.

A new life in Provence

No, I am not a rich, retired Englishman who has moved from England to some posh countryside town in Provence.

I arrived in Marseille, from Australia, in July and have decided to write about my experiences of life in Provence. I have been inspired by the weather, food, people and love. I came to France with virtually no knowledge of the French language and each day, yes, is a challenge for me. It's certainly exciting learning a new language, and will no doubt bring about many amusing anecdotes!

From time to time, I will write about the various experiences I have here, and the occasional recipe, of course!

Well, time to get off the balcony, out of the sun and cook dinner! Well, it's been raining all afternoon, so perhaps not such a stereotypically Provençal start to my adventures!