2. Monatsrückblick

Schwubbdiwubb, October is already over. So I've been here for a little over 2 months now, or to be more precise, exactly 81 days today.

The sense of space and time regarding my stay is still totally distorted. I feel like I'm not that far away from home and at the same time it's like I'm in a completely different life. It feels like I arrived three weeks ago and at the same time it feels like I've been here for years - really strange.

A lot has happened this month and at the same time little has happened. I'm starting to have a weekly routine and a kind of everyday life. I made new friends and had almost no contact with others anymore. That's a good thing, because I noticed that some people here really weren't that good for me either. Now I have a colorful environment of nice people from many countries, which is wonderful.

Every Monday I now play the flute for one to two hours with the Czech Lucie, which gives me a lot of joy and is really nice. However, it is also a bit demanding, because the music offers a whole new vocabulary that you have to learn :D

I worked a lot in October for the Grand Raid. I met a lot of people there, both from the island and from other countries. It was really tiring, but it was worth it! However, that's also the reason why I wasn't able to do much this October - 1.5 weeks were completely taken up by work. And because I can't help but juggle more and more things at the same time (and because I like money), I've now taken on a job as an English teacher. It hasn't really started yet, but I'm looking forward to it!

Otherwise, I faced my fear of water twice by taking the diving course. So two panic attacks in the sea, a total of eight hours of unpleasant feelings and a lot of calming work from my dear diving instructor later, I can say: I'm still scared, but I'm confident that things can get better. However, now I have to think about whether I really want to spend money on suffering for four hours after the two free hours :D

The first exam phase took place at the university in October, which I actually got through quite well (13/10, 17.5/20, 18/20 and 18/20). Admittedly, the difficult tests are still to come, so I don't want to get excited too soon. In general, I find studying (as in Germany) relatively relaxed and not particularly stressful. As I said, I do next to nothing for the university, but as long as it continues to result in a 1.x average, I don't want to change that :P You have to work against the pressure to perform sometimes, right?

As a final point: I think my French has improved. It's really hard to estimate, but compared to when I arrived, I can now have a spontaneous conversation, even with people I don't or barely know. I now read a few pages from my French novel every day and try to consume a lot of French. Sometimes I have the feeling that nothing is improving here, but with some distance I can say: It will! And I still have almost 8 months left ;)

So, that was my incoherent thought rubbish for October (which, by the way, I wrote during my exercise at university, so much for my academic efforts).