Goodbye la France

I'm Francesca Tereshkova, a British girl who washed up on the shores of France aboard a Eurolines bus in 1998. I came to France the day after I finished my University finals. I'm now 32 with two children. I married my Russian boyfriend (now 'hubski') in 2003. And I've learned as much about France as I need to know. In August 2006, I brought my family back 'home' to the UK. We're still adjusting... This is my story.

Name:
Location: Formerly the Parisian suburbs, now the town of E., Darkest Oxfordshire, United Kingdom

I get perverse enjoyment from doing the opposite of what everyone else does. I wish I could stop but I can't. So when thousands of Frenchies were leaving France to find work and to make a better life in the UK, I chose to do exactly the opposite. That was in 1998. My French experience is unlike any I have read about in the vast Brit-in-France literary sub-genre. I have no French boyfriend or family, no country house. Dog poo has never inspired me to pick up a pen. I have recently given up on France ever changing, or me ever changing, and brought my family back to the strange new world that is England in 2006. This blog, part life-story, part diary, is my way of saying goodbye la France, and hello Angleterre (or in the Oxfordshire vernacular, 'Orwoight?').

Monday, July 17, 2006

The nine circles of homeworking

1. E-mail dring. Must disable that, is very distracting. But it might be something important. Must just look.

2. Dang! Which folder did I put the images of last year's holiday in to reply to friend's joke e-mail?

3. It's no good. The kitchen floor is a disgrace. In the next house I buy with all the money I am earning doing editing work at home, I will buy dingy ochre tiles for my kitchen floor. Why did I get a flat with white tiles on the kitchen floor?

4. Where can I get a replacement bladder? Must look into getting a catheter. It would increase my output and pay for itself within six months. I could also probably offset it against tax.

5. Now I'm standing up, I may as well put the kettle on. Very important to get as much fluid as possible during hot weather.

6. Run out of sugar cubes again. Must just fire off a quick shopping list.

7. How many times have I told hubski he has to scrub really hard to get the burn marks off the hob?

8. Quarter to the hour, must just get the headlines on BBC News 24. That way I'll be informed as to world events and will be able to fully devote myself to being a good wife and mother this evening when hubski and kids get back from the park where they have been sent while I finish this urgent assignment.

9. My blog! My blog! It's dying! Quick! Write a post!

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