Only Lyon promotional video

Playing on the LY in LYon, here is a new promotional video for this great city! I actually feel sad that most tourists will never visit it. Of course it's not Paris and it's not quite as beautiful but it's just as vibrant and interesting with plenty of beautiful sites to see (especially from the top of the hill), culture, and great food! Check it out.

All about the Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF)

So, about a year or so ago I did the TEF (Test d'Evaluation de Français) which is an exam that evaluates your level of proficiency in French. I wanted to do it again but it wasn't offered when and where I wanted it so I opted to take the Test de Connaissance du Français (TCF) instead. They are both pretty similar.

I decided to take it at the Alliance Française closest to me, which was in Lyon. So that's why I went to Lyon at the end of May.


Prior to the exam 

..I didn't really have much time to study or prepare in between travelling, moving to Geneva and starting my new job. And then when I went to Payot Librairie wanting to buy a textbook to help me study for it, there weren't any! I couldn't believe it! They seemed to have every single French language learning textbook that ever existed except the one I wanted. Of course they could order it in for me but it would be too late. pfft... I should also mention that compared to the price in Euro in France (printed near the barcode) they were also way more expensive (as is always the case in Switzerland!)

So I used what I could online including the very excellent online simulated TCF test.

Much like the TEF, the sections are the same:

• Obligatoires (Compulsory)
  • Compréhension orale (oral comprehension)
  • Maîtrise des structures de la langue (language structure)
  • Compréhension écrite (written comprehension)
• Facultatives (Optional)
• Expression orale (oral expression)
• Expression écrite (written expression)

However unlike the TEF, you don't get points taken off for incorrect answers. I contacted the AF in Lyon prior to the exam but noone could answer my question and finally I found the answer I wanted somewhere online!


The day and location of the exam

When I got there I was filled with a mix of emotions. The day started off not so great for me because I had to get up at some ungodly hour to get there on time and it was cold. Much colder than I was prepared for, windy and raining. Not a great start at all.

However I quickly popped into a boulangerie for a cheap and delicious strawberry croissant for breakfast which instantly made me feel much better and made me so happy to be back in Lyon again.

However, when I found the building and arrived (way ahead of schedule!) all these emotions flooded out. I loved my time at the Alliance Française in Sydney so so much and seeing a (not 'the' because she is in Paris!) mothership in France was a dream come true.

There was a big board with everyone's name, date of birth, nationality, test name and room number on it. I quickly scanned it to find myself and also to scope out everyone's age (most were younger than me) and nationality (varied but mostly from Asia).

We all waited in the lobby and it when it was time to go we were ushered upstairs. As is often the case in Europe there was a lift but we weren't allowed to use it so we had to walk up 3 or 4 big flights of stairs in this rather old looking building.

There were a lot of people doing the exam and we were separated into 4 classrooms. The classrooms had names of countries and there was an "Australia" classroom! Woohoo! However, I wasn't put in that one. Bummer.


The exam

My group got this old guy as the exam supervisor who seemed to mumble. I barely understood him and he wasn't friendly at all. It all kind of went downhill from then on...

He didn't even explain to us (another exam supervisor who came in did) that if you changed your mind with an answer (4 options, all multiple choice questions) you could put a big cross through it and circle the correct answer (your new answer).

The exam had literally just started (question 1 or 2) when someone came in late and it really really distracted me. I mean seriously... if everyone else could get there on time, why couldn't you?

Then, when we got up to question 9 (I think it was) the CD or CD player went all funny and everyone started protesting. The exam supervisor said to just don't worry and leave it out and we'll come back to it in the end however it kept happening. The CD was skipping a lot and it really was soooo damn frustrating and annoying. How can we answer the question when we can't hear the question?

IF ANYONE WHO HAPPENS TO WORK AT THE AF OR ANY OTHER EXAM CENTRE IS READING THIS: PLEASE CHECK THE ENTIRE FREAKING CD ACTUALLY PLAYS  PROPERLY BEFORE THE EXAM, PLEASE!!! OMG.

At least there was a second CD we could use but from that point on after repeated interruptions and disruptions (not to mention we could hear the CD playing next door as well which was at a different spot to ours) I was going insane. Especially then later when another exam coordinator came in and started chatting rather loudly to ours right next to my table!! I blocked my ears to give them a hint and OMFG I just wanted to scream. I can't concentrate in conditions like that!! That was the THIRD interruption for me.

So by the time the first part (the oral part) of the exam finished we were soooo behind the other 3 groups.

Luckily sections 2 and 3 didn't require use of the CD and we could go at our own paces. I distinctly remember last year when I did the TEF exam not having enough time for the written comprehension section (which I found rather difficult) but this time I am happy to say that I answered every single question in the exam, in all 3 sections. I just had enough time for the written comprehension section. I was reading as fast as I could and trying to choose the correct answer...

Because of the kerfuffles at the beginning the exam supervisor kindly gave us an extra 10 minutes (which I think is totally fair) even though he said he'd give us 5.

When it finished I was a little sad to leave AF Lyon knowing I won't be back there again. If I lived in Lyon I would love to continue taking lessons there.


My results

And now, more than a month later I finally got my results. Despite the fact that I gave them a nice big A4 envelope with cardboard inside (to keep it flat) complete with more than 4 euros worth of stamps to send it to me in SWITZERLAND they sent it to my friend's address (that I used) in France! ARGH. So now I have to go through the hassle of picking it up from him. Not to mention all the effort I went to in the rain to go to the post office to make sure I had the right postage AND the fact that I did NOT want the certificate folded!

I'll repeat the table of results again here (info from this site)

Cadre commun de référence	TCF points	TEF points	CIEP / Ministère de l’Education Nationale	Nombre d’heures
A1 Utilisateur élémentaire	0-199	Level 0+ : 0-68 1:  69-203	DELF 1 A1	150h
A2 Survie	200-299	2:  204-360	DELF 1 A2	300h
B1 Utilisateur autonome	300-399	3:  361-540	DELF 1 A3 - A4	450h
B2 Autonomie	400-499	4:  541-698	DELF 2 A5 - A6	600h
C1 Utilisateur expérimenté	500-599	5:  699-833	DALF B1 - B2	750h
C2 Maîtrise	600-699	6:  834-900	DALF B3 - B4	900h

So, what result did I get? Based on practice exams and based on the fact that I got B2 last year I made an educated guess that I would most likely get C1 (and it's what I hoped to get). But... I still got B2!! I am somewhat disappointed. Especially since I missed out by ONE LOUSY POINT. OMG. Can you believe it? I scored 499! I swear if I wasn't distracted a billion times I would've easily gotten C1. Oh well. The surprising thing was that my BEST section was written comprehension! Given that I haven't been reading as much stuff in French as I was last year (example- reading lemonde.fr every single day) I am surprised.

Well if and when I decide to take another proficiency test I am aiming higher. I am aiming for C2 next time. For those who are wondering (as some friends have asked me) I am not taking the test for any particular purpose but merely for my own interest and because I like it. Yeah I like tests. Weird, huh? I love the studying beforehand and the adrenalin rush of doing the test against the clock and the anxious wait to find out the results.

I have to say that I much more preferred doing the test in the AF in Sydney. The room was nice and big and the feel was much more relaxed. And the person conducting the exam was nicer and more helpful!

My heart is in France

Lyon continued II

Something I didn't write about in my previous post about Lyon... When I first arrived it already felt strange and foreign and not at all familiar. I guess there has been a change inside me where deep down I realise that France is no longer my home. Before, when I travelled in France... after a while, everything felt really familiar and nothing felt strange anymore.

But yesterday, it DID feel strange. And I admit I felt sad. Maybe it was just the dreary weather. Maybe it was my stress. But part of me wished I'd chosen to go to Lyon instead of Geneva. It's not that I don't like Geneva (afterall what's not to like when it's the third 'best' city in the world to live in) but maybe that (already) I feel like it's just too small for me! There's a lot of things a city doesn't have when it's not big enough and I think that I'll always be a big city girl. Living in the 'burbs or in a small country town would bore me to tears.

Also in Lyon I had the strangely familiar occurence that everyone around me speaks French! If I ask a stranger to help me take a photo or for directions I don't have to guess whether they actually speak French or not.

What else? I could have CRIED at the low price of food compared to Switzerland. Plus the boulangeries are more plentiful and have a wider variety of products. I got a strawberry croissant!

Despite the horrible horrible weather I was actually still charmed by and still in love with Lyon. Perhaps also because it's rather arty and that part of it 'speaks' to me as I'm a creative sort of person. I don't know. It has so much character, and history, and culture, and art, and food and and and... it's not as beautiful as Paris of course (few cities are) but to me it's far more liveable.

I still feel that my heart is in France. Switzerland is a wonderful country but somewhat just too perfect and too pristine for me I think. When I lived in Shanghai I loved witnessing all the funny shenanigans that one normally never sees in a Western country and I can still see stuff like that in France but in Geneva it's extremely rare... Actually, to be honest, I think Geneva reminds me too much of Sydney and Australia. Namely the high price of food and housing, the modern buildings and roads, the longer working hours (compared to France), the way they do things (for example it's tax time now in France and in France it's not automatically deducted from your salary like in Australia and Switzerland).. it's all very similar to Australia. Not that they are bad things (or maybe they are :P ) , but I came to Europe (France) because I wanted a life that was DIFFERENT to the one I formerly had.

Lyon Continued

Continued from my previous post

So I went to Lyon today. I had a 16 hour day and am just a little bit tired after getting less than 4 hours' sleep last night. All the muscles in my arms and back are killing me (pain continuing from overuse). I'd like to say I had a good time in Lyon but I had an awful time! Why? Because the weather was horrible. When I think about it, I think I've only ever seen Lyon ONCE when it was sunny and warm and that was the very first time I went when I first arrived in late Sept/early Oct.

I had no idea the usually warm and sunny weather of these past few days/weeks would turn SO COLD. Luckily I thought to bring my trenchcoat and umbrella or else I really would have frozen. The worst was that I was wearing sandals and it was raining so my toes were wet and frozen all day long.

The train ride back was horrible. 2 hours. It was so nice that it was strangely empty and quiet and I could sleep BUT then I could not because I was totally frozen. I tried to curl my legs underneath me and shove my hands in my pockets, etc. It felt like it was air-conditioned inside the train. I hated it. It was horrible. How I longed for those nice warm trains during winter...  I even went into the first class carriage just to check that it wasn't heated (it wasn't but it seemed a bit warmer only because the compartment is smaller on this TER train). When I finally arrived back (late) in Geneva I was actually shivering and my teeth were chattering. It's about 9 degrees now.

Well the good thing is I did achieve what I set out to achieve in Lyon today and the day (weather wise) actually started off OK. It was overcast but not that cold and not raining. And I did some shopping and bought some new clothes, a pair of shoes and stocked up on some random stuff from the pharmacy (the range and brands and prices are better than in Geneva). That's basically why my back was killing me carrying that around all day and trying to juggle my heavy handbag and umbrella as well.

I feel totally 'ripped off' that I was 'given' this horrible weather. Made me so sad. I didn't get a chance to go to Sève to get those macarons as walking around outside was awful with my umbrella being blown inside out, but I did walk around a bit in the city and over a bridge before I hightailed it to the Part Dieu indoor shopping mall!

I had so much time to spare which has never happened before as it's always a mad rush to get everything done before I need to catch my train back. It was good that I could take my time browsing everything slowly. The annoying thing about this shopping centre is that you have to pay to use the toilets! (0.50 euros) and there are so few for such a large shopping mall so it took me a while just to find it and use it and get back to the shops again.

I know, I'm sorry this is such a boring post...  I kind of wish I could just blog all day long but since I now work full time I have no energy or motivation to a big long post (with lots of photos and links) even though I know they are far more interesting to read :(

Only Lyon

Tomorrow I am going back to my beloved Lyon!!! How I love this city so. If I didn't end up in Geneva I would've really liked to move to and work and live in Lyon.

This will be my fifth time there (I think). Sounds like a lot but the last time was 4 months ago in the middle of winter. It'll be nice to see it in the (almost) summer for the first time. Every time I've been I've done something different, and seen a different part of the city. Tomorrow I'm off to do something a little boring but I'll have to keep it a secret until it gets 'resolved' and then I'll definitely report about it back here on my blog in a few weeks' time.

I'm not really sure what else I'm gonna do or check out tomorrow but I am DYING to go back to Sève chocolatier/pâtissier to get me some of those one-of-a-kind awesomely delicious macarons!

(image from here)

Lyon Fête des Lumières 2010

Right now I'm in Lyon enjoying the Fête des Lumières (Lights Festival). Don't ask me how I managed to wrangle 2 nights for free in an apartment in the heart of the city right during one of its busiest period for accommodation... it's my lucky day/week/month! However, it seems I won't be getting any sleep tonight... It's almost midnight and there is a big band playing downstairs on the street... Everybody is in such a festive mood!

Boy on boy was it cold. It was a pretty much cloudless day and those days are always colder than cloudy days. I am surprised I managed to stay out for over 4 hours in -2°C temperature ! Incredible. At times I didn't think I could last but everyone else did, even the little kids and old people so I pushed on although I did give up queuing up for the Jungle one. I might see it tomorrow... It looked good but I really did not want to stand for ages in a queue! (I hate queues).

I'd been looking forward to this even for a year (well since the last one) so I had very high expectations and I was a little disappointed. I'm not sure why exactly. Maybe the massive crowds has something to do with it. I enjoyed the lights festival in May/June in Sydney and it was hardly crowded at all! As well as that it went on for much longer than just 4 days. I guess the crowds and the mega cold was a dampener for me but there were some nice things to see.  My fave (of those that I saw) was the one in Place des Terreaux. The combination of the lights, the sound/music and the water was just amazing!

All the restaurants were open and many had little stands selling fast and cheap snack type food, and vin chaud ((hot) mulled wine). I didn't try any though because I wanted to bring the bare essentials so I didn't even bring my wallet or a handbag! I didn't want to get pickpocketed amongst the crowds. Although I shouldn't have worried because it felt really really safe. There were stacks of police everywhere and everyone was well behaved. I kept thinking to myself if this was in Australia and it was late at night and a Friday night at that and almost Christmas there would surely be many loud, annoying drunk people about but I didn't see any of these... just annoying smokers everywhere :P

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17 December: added photo

Long-term stay in France on a student visa

Isn't it funny how you find things when you're not looking for them? I always seem to find interesting or useful information on the internet when I'm not actually looking for it! After tearing my hair out trying to find how the student visa procedure worked, I've just found a page on the Alliance Française Lyon website.

It's all explained in plain English. The only thing it doesn't say (and I wished it did!) is how many hours per week you are studying and how many weeks in total the course takes.

First, you must pay 770 € to pre-register. That will get you your registration certificate document which you bring to the French embassy/consulate.

Once approved, you'll get a long stay visa (the site doesn't mention how long though, I'm guessing 6 months or 12 months. The course I imagine goes for at least 6 months)

Then you show the AF your passport (with visa stamp in it) and other documents, pay the balance of your school fees and away you go!

If you are at mid A2 level when you get there, you take the French Language and Culture Programme which takes 597 hours to complete and costs 3,582 € (woah!). It should take you up to C1 level (which sounds rather ambitious to me but I guess it's pretty heavy).

If you are at B2 level already, you can take the Upper French Studies Programme which is 453 hours and costs 2718 €. This course takes you right up to C2 level which means you are pretty much fluent!

Books about life in France part III

1. Buying a piece of Paris : finding a key to the city of love / Ellie Nielsen.
2. Culture wise France : the essential guide to culture, customs & business etiquet / Joe Laredo.
3. Extremely pale rosé : a very French adventure / Jamie Ivey.
4. Words in a French life : lessons in love and language from the south of France / Kristin Espinasse.
5. My French connection : coming to grips with the world's most beautiful but baffling country / Sheryle Bagwell.

So I borrowed these books and here are my thoughts:

1. Pretty fluffy. I enjoyed it but definitely wouldn't recommend it, unless you fit the genre of the audience which is middle-class bored dreamy housewives.
2. Really interesting and useful. It's more of a guidebook and has coloured photos. Easy to read, you can just read the bits or chapters you are interested in. Talks a lot about French culture and society from a French person's point of view and Joe doesn't hold back either! He's not afraid to 'bash' his country, people, government, etc.
3. Haven't started reading this but I flipped through it and don't think I'll read it because I'm not interested in wine at all and I feel like the book won't interest me that much after I quickly scanned some chapters.
4. I started it but don't think I'll read it through. I don't find it that interesting and it's pretty much just a book version of her blog anyway. (French word a day)

5. I finished this the other day, over 2 days/sittings. I really enjoyed this book, written by yet another female Australian (Sydneysider) journalist. It was published in 2006 so fairly recent, although the author first went to France (Paris) in 1988. There, she met her future (Canadian) husband and then they moved back to France and went to live in Lyon. Now they are both around or over 50 and don't have any children and I got the feeling through them that you could have a very fulfilling and happy life without kids so long as you had enough money to keep you going and enough hobbies and interests to keep you happy and occupied and social.

The book was a bit similar to Sarah Turnbull's "Almost French" but not nearly as personal and not really that funny. Sheryle writes a lot about the historical, political, economical, and social aspects of France and the French people, which was quite interesting. She was obviously well informed, well read, and made some interesting observations. But I admit that for someone who is not an academic, towards the end I was getting a bit tired of reading about all the current affairs (of that time/year) etc etc and I wanted more meaty juicy details of her personal life there, and her relationship with her husband etc etc.

One of my favourite chapters is where she talks about her trying to learn French and failing and then when she started to get the hang of it they moved out of the country... She and her husband, Michael, criss-crossed over the world, came back to Sydney, then lived/worked in London for a few years as well. In 2006 they came back to Sydney.

There's also an interesting and slightly amusing chapter on dogs in France and how they are revered and noone but the tourists care about the amounts of dog excrement seen on the footpaths... I must admit, in my 2 days there last time I went to Paris I honestly don't remember seeing any at all. I think it's one of those things where if you keep thinking about it you just end up seeing it more often!

I enjoyed reading about Lyon and how it's the gastronomic capital of France... Incidentally, I met a family the other day on the train who come from Lyon. It's not often that I hear people speaking French in Sydney (although Chinese, Hindi, Arabic, Korean, Greek, Italian are common) and my ears pricked up when I heard them speaking. At first I thought I was imagining it but then I realised I was right. It wasn't until we were both about to get off (at the same stop, coincidentally!) that I started talking to the lady (mother). In hindsight she was polite and friendly but she did feel a bit cold and aloof and not all that warm... then after that I had read in the book that people in Lyon are seen like that, even by most people within France due to their location, and history and their rivalry with Paris (they are the second largest city in France), etc.

(You can read an extract here)