Southampton Uni chat thread

Well in June I'm going to work in Disneyland Paris, and then in September I'll be starting as lecteur in a University in Rennes in Brittany, which will take me through until July 2013, at which point I'll hopefully look to going to Latin America for some time. Just trying to get some life + language experience before doing a Master's in Interpreting...in theory.

But for the time being, Year Abroad Mark II

What did you decide to do in Germany in the end, btw?

Oh wow that's pretty cool. What will you be lecturing in?

My friend in 2nd year also applied to work at Disneyland Paris this summer, last time I asked she hadn't heard back from her interview, will ask her again tomorrow.

I eventually decided to be a language assistant and will hopefully be going to Saarbrucken or the surrounding area, cannot wait. Will hopefully be able to keep my French up then as well

Oh cool! Hang on, I think I might have already known that...because I have a friend who went there on her year abroad (I have a vague recollection of telling you that in real life...)

The Disneyland thing I'm sure your friend will get it; I interviewed in October, and they said they'd have loads of vacancies because it's the 20th anniversary of the park this year.

The position isn't 'lecturing' as such, it's a language assistantship, but in a university. Just like the French assistants at the uni who give oral classes...who do you have these days? Stage 6 just has Juliet and Adrian, but in previous years it's been lecteurs/lectrices from specific French universities with which Soton has an Erasmus link. Anyway, I'm doing that, but in reverse - so I'll be language-tutoring French versions of you and me learning English.

what's all the tension with your hm about? spill all

Lovely morning battling with the bailiffs and the council, attempting to take our stuff in lieu of council tax owed by someone else on the house for years. We think they've got the message they can't take our stuff now but all the same someone has to stay inside all day and open the door on the latch in case they try and come in.

Wow, how weird. Did you not hand in your council tax exemption forms?

Yeah that's a point I think I did tell you that already, it was a (probably the same) 4th year who influenced my decision to apply there

I hope she does get it, it sounds like a cool place to work. I considered it this summer but I feel like having more of a travelling adventure than contracted work, so I've put it off til the summer after Germany.

Ah yeah, this year's French assistant is not great, she talks so ridiculously fast that the whole class sits there in dumb silence trying to figure out what on earth she just said from the few words they recognised while she was speaking. And she sets some irrelevant topics for presentations :/

Anyway, that sounds really good, was it hard to get the place?

It's a long story... I'll try and give a summary
1) Housemate when Sober- nice enough a bit annoying, but manageable
2) When he drinks he becomes very clingy/extremely irritating or angry/violent
3) In November we got out of a cab after he spent the entire journey ranting at my other housemate before proceeding to have a pop at me. I say, "why are you bringing me into this?", he turns around, charges towards me shoves me few times, then sees policemen and runs into the house. In the house he tries to attack my other housemate.
4) We no longer go out with him and dislike him immensely and he probably heard us making fun of him behind his back
5) This all boils over on the last night of term where he drunk a bit and for some reason singled me out as the one he hated most as apparently I'm the only one who makes fun of him and the other 2 just laugh (which is untrue, we all hate him and poke fun at him). After verbally abusing and threatening me repeatedly he left to go out. He came back at half 2 drunk and started verbally abusing me again. Then I just locked my door (he was in the hallway). He then tried about 3-4 times to kick down my door before finally giving up and going to bed.

So yeah that's why I hate him

Drama! That's annoying...I empathise with the being singled out bit though; we all fell out with a girl in our house in January of 2nd year and she singled me out as being 'the worst', even though it wasn't the case. Some people you're just better off without in your life! Hope things get better with you...at least your other housemates are on your side!

My housemate has taken another overdose this morning, I have a mammogram booked this afternoon and the stupid ****ing language department still won't let me have a day extension for two essays I have on Thursday. I truly give up.

My housemate has taken another overdose this morning, I have a mammogram booked this afternoon and the stupid ****ing language department still won't let me have a day extension for two essays I have on Thursday. I truly give up.

Lovely morning battling with the bailiffs and the council, attempting to take our stuff in lieu of council tax owed by someone else on the house for years. We think they've got the message they can't take our stuff now but all the same someone has to stay inside all day and open the door on the latch in case they try and come in.

You clearly know not to let them in which is good. If you're not in and they've not been allowed in before they can't break in so you can go out. Once someone lets them in the first time, they are allowed to break in next time they come so make SURE no-one opens the door to them.