G.D.B.O

What does G.D.B.O means when used by a Cambridge University student ? 

God Damn Bloody Oxford.

Why ?
Because Oxford beat Cambridge on Saturday in the 157th edition of the traditional race of oar between the two famous English universities. The eight of Oxford won the Boat race for the 76th time, against 80 victories for Cambridge (who stays leader yeyeyee).

What is this race ? 
The Boat Race is the name of a famous of oar which runs every year in spring between the universities of Cambridge and Oxford on the Thames in London. This event is very popular for students of these universities but also for the lovers of oar as well as the general public. The number of spectators on the banks of the Thames is estimated approximately as 250 000. In 2004, the broadcast was followed by a little more than 500 million televiewers. This makes one of the sports events the most followed in the world. The first race raises in 1829 and runs every year since 1856 (except during both world wars).
The members of both teams are traditionally nicknamed blues and each of the boats is called Blue Boat, Cambridge University Boat Club having for colors the light blue and Oxford the dark blue.

Want more ? 

Please visit the official website : http://www.theboatrace.org/ to find all the details about the race. 

Kate Middleton & William

Be prepared, the next month will be just about Kate & William. The wedding will officially take place on Friday, April 29th, 2011 into the prestigious Westminster Abbay. The entire country is really going to follow this event. Since I have been here, I've always been shocked about the real love of British in regards to the Prince and Kate. Any person is now aware of this wedding, even if you don't read the gossips, because in every shops you'll find tea cup with the faces of the two lovers, towels, curtains, plates, lighters...

Their fame is justified because the United Kingdom is a royalty so every person has to love his Queen and the Royal family. The death of Princess Diana destroyed the entire country, for example. And it is true : when the Queen will die, some people say that they are ready to make suicide... I am not sure a lot of people will make suicide if M. Sarkozy die... Harry and William have been followed since their youth by medias, and for that reason, everybody knows their life and follow it.

Many websites are on-line to give people the last news concerning the wedding : http://www.williamkate.com/ & http://www.theroyalweddingwilliamkate.com/ & also http://www.officialroyalwedding2011.org/

Being a student in Cambridge

From the University Library where I am today studying my french make-up exams, I had the idea to tell you more about how it is to be a student here, in Anglia Ruskin, and in Cambridge.

Firstly, we are thursday, and it is my last day of teaching of the week, and by teaching, please understand that I just have two hours from 5pm to 7pm of English. We only have 8 hours of classes per week (4 lectures and the 4 seminars attached). At the departure of this semester, we thought it was like holidays, and it is for most part of the semester, but we have to study big essays of 3000 words with references (and obviously the need of reading a lot of books). This differentiate a lot the two systems of teaching (France & UK) because the English are working a lot by their own, they read a lot and study early their assignments. In France, we prefer to have a lot of lessons but less personal work. I think I would say now that I prefer the English system, but maybe because I don't know it well. You work a lot by your own, and so that, you have to learn and be interested in the subject you study.

Helmore Building - ARU Main entrance

A bit more about student life in general, the Student Union of the University tries to organize a lot of events and travels around the country to make us discover. I didn't participate to the travels but I participated to the parties organized into the University. It is a way to meet a lot of people and mostly international students because the British are going out together (as we do in France). It is a lot of fun, most times! Night life in Cambridge is pretty fun for the most reason that the city is composed of 99% of students! Everyday, a lot of students are going out in the city center. We experienced every nightclubs and we were surprised most time by the fact that from monday to sunday : they are full ! To enter a place, you don't need your ID but your Student Card! yeee

            

Everyday life as a student in Cambridge is also very easy. We live in the city center, 5 minutes walk from University and 6 minutes walk from Tesco (the big shop where we can buy our food). It is open 7 days out of 7 and from 8am to 10pm ! Concerning the restaurants and bars, they are a lot of students prices and offers!

Finally, about sports in Cambridge, Anglia Ruskin University offers sports activities. Because everybody just have 8 hours lessons a week, there is a lot of time to do sports. It  is essential for students here to do sports and in the great University of Cambridge, the sportsmen have also the best marks. For example, the boys and girls who are doing the Oxford - Cambridge oar race are always the firsts of promotion.

The online daily newspaper special Cambridge : http://cambridgetab.co.uk/ just about student life.

How to find a job in the UK ?

A person told me before leaving that find a job in UK is as hard as understand their love for Pudding. I think now that it is very true, not because I hate pudding, but because I started to look for a job the 19th of January and I still have nothing. The main challenge concerning finding a job is to passed the trial. A trial is used by restaurants and bars to see if you have aptitudes and real experience. It lasts 2 / 3 hours maximum and is unpaid, obviously. 

We started firstly to give our CV and cover letter to every shops in the city center and near our home. Because I was with Axelle, we were giving CV each on a side of the road. The first day, I get a trial in a restaurant called Zizzi, italian restaurant very noisy but nice, where I went the next day to train. This experience was quite hard because there were no clients so I wasn't able to show my aptitudes... Nobody cares to me so I really didn't know what to do. I spent 2h30 there, and the boss finally told me to go home because there were not enough clients. He NEVER called me back, even to say that I wasn't the type of person they are looking for, even if I tried during my trial do to stuff to show them I can be very implicated in my job ! My first experience was based on a failure but I get another trial in a different restaurant two weeks ago. It is a Steakhouse (the boss is Greek) and I thought I passed to trial very well. I served japanese clients, they leave me tips (so I thought I was quite good waitress!!). So do him because the next day he told me I was hired but never called me back to come to work, even if I tried to called him. Yesterday, he TEXT ME to tell me how much he was sorry but his boss hired an experienced woman to work. What a deception ! 

I am still looking for a job but I have to remind you some facts that doesn't help us to find :

- People in Cambridge are looking for long term job (until september) because most students are leaving for the summer. Most shops are hiring now because they want the person to spend the summer with them, and this way, they won't have to fight to find someone. 

- Because the city is full of students and because every english students have only 8 hours class a week, there are not a lot of free jobs and it is very competitive ! 

- Most restaurants and bars wants experience... and I don't have any !

Instead all my efforts, I am now looking for an internship !

Musichall in London : Mama Mia

I spent the last week-end in London with my family. We had the chance to do lots of visits of the city, from Westminster to the famous Camden market. I really enjoy this place, as weird and original as it is. 
But what I enjoyed most in this great week end was the music hall where we went on Saturday night. The last night, we were walking around Picadilly Circus, in the theatres area and we found the last tickets for Mama Mia. The four sits were situated in the loge, which looks like such a good place but in reality, there are not the best seats to watch such a show because you can't see the whole scene. 
Saturday night, we were there to assist to this amazing show.



Let me remind you the synopsis : Set on a colorful Greek island, the plot serves as a background for a wealth of ABBA songs. A young woman about to be married discovers that any one of three men could be her father. She invites all three to the wedding without telling her mother, Donna, who was once the lead singer of Donna and the Dynamos. In the meantime, Donna has invited her backup singers, Rosie and Tanya. 


This night was crazy : I really enjoy the music (because I am old fan of ABBA because of my dearest mother) and the actors. I have to say that I didn't understand everything because the actors were sometimes speaking in english "of everyday" and I don't know a lot this type of language. What is sure is that after the show, I wanted to dance everywhere, to fall in love and to travel to Greece! I really advice you to see this show if you have the opportunity !

Churchill College Springball

How can it be possible for me not to speak about this crazy night last friday ?

Every year, Churchill College organize, as the 20 others, a ball de celebrate the "end" of the year. This week is very known as the "Mayweek" because it always take place in may, after Cambridge University finals. Because Churchill is the youngest college, they chose to organize this party in February. We had the opportunity to take part of it because of a friend of friend. 

I've never seen it before, and none of the party I've ever done was looking as this one. All the college is transformed in a giant party, with 3 concerts, a casino room, a massage room, a silent disco room (like a club but you listen music in headphones, very funny!), stupids attractions (inflatable caste and slide) and food/alcohol everywhere. Everyone is dressed up as a classical bal, very very good looking.

It is a real experience because it is a part of Cambridge life, every student take part of this event and for some colleges, St John's especially, the tickets are booked in 1 hour maximum. St John's mayball is considered as the third most beautiful party of the world, even the Queen is participating! (The rumour tells that only St John's students and the Queen have the right to eat swan, a very royal meal !!! CRAZY).

... But such a party as a cost, 75£ (about 100E) for Churchill College Springball (which is very expensive, to my mind) and about 300£ for King's or St John's Mayballs. 

Day trip to London

Saturday January 19th, we decided with Louise to go visit London, which is only 50 minutes from Cambridge by train. 

From this day, we will remind 3 things in particular : London's Subway, Oxford Circus & Abercrombie and a few touristic visits.

London's subway

We started our day by fighting against the London Underground. In fact, there were problems on the main lines of the center (1st zone) which was not helping us to succeed. The hardest thing to be realized was the purchase of the tickets, especially when machines don't accept french bank cards. ( It necessary to underline, by the way, in which English do not like french people and often try not to facilitate them the spot !! ).

When we finally manage to have tickets and correct route, we went on the platform, the Underground arrived, extremely fast and without any precaution. We stand, squeezed against pressing londoners and, obviously, the subway remained blocked between two stations! We finally arrived in Paddington, one hour after leaving King's Cross : What a success !

I really think that Lyon's subway is the best ever, even the Parisian one appears more pleasant than the Londoner !

 Oxford Circus Underground Station

 Louise !

Oxford Circus and Abercrombie&Fitch

As a real girl, my day trip in London started with a shopping session in Oxford Street. Even if I don't like the Underground, I can say that London is a very interesting city for shopping (yes, yes : interesting). My hour spend in Abercrombie&Fitch looks like a case study. The 30 minutes of queue behind the shop appears really as a trap. Once inside the store, you will find like 50 rooms, 3 flours and people everywhere with music roaring and light sinking. Marketing objective ? I am here pretty sure of that : this allows people to do their shopping quickly and to leave quickly. 

The best memory of this A&F session is for sure the caricatural picture taken with the men with ultra developed muscles in front of the shop.

Abercrombie&Fitch

Oxford Street

Small tourism

A single day is really to short to visit a city as London but I tried to do my best (including my shopping session). We had lunch in Paddington area, not far from the city center, which is a very nice area. I spent the afternoon in Oxford Circus (and its shops), and Piccadilly circus, a veryyyy touristic place pretty impresive! After that, we went to Soho, the gay district, because we knew that the atmosphere was fun. 

I had diner in Notting Hill, the rich district of London. I was a bit disapointed because I expected such a beautiful place as Bel-Air in LA... 

Finally we went back to Kings Cross (St. Pancras station) and went back home. 

To hold of this day :

I hate the Underground

I hate A&F

I love Oxford Street and Soho

British architecture is impressive