Frère Jacqué

You see this book? It may not look special to you, but it's a source of misery and torment for about 100 students as I write this. 759 pages of painstakingly detailed information about every nook and cranny of EU institutional law. And it needs to somehow be transmitted into our brains in less than a week. Can it be done? It better be! But then if I spend time surfing the net and writing my blog, it's not looking promising...

I was walking down the street yesterday and about 30 six-year-olds singing Frère Jacques (NOT to be confused with Jacqué), walking along in crocodile formation. I stopped and stared. They were soooo adorable (there is nothing cuter than little kids speaking French - and happy singing ones is even better).

The ice rink and Christmas market is finally open in the middle of the market square - Bruges is looking amazing at the moment. I'm looking forward to making a fool of myself on ice skates very soon. The whole place smells of Glühwein and waffles and all of the lights on the buildings look amazing.

I had the oral exam of my TCF (Test de Connaissance de Français) today. I don't know what I got yet, but I saw the woman write 92 on a piece of paper - I'm hoping that's my percentage! I hadn't thought it went that well, but the woman said at the end "Vous parlez fortement bien français pour un anglais" (You speak really good French for an Englishman) - I didn't know whether to take it as a compliment or an insult!

This weekend has been a time for seeing old friends - Swiss John was here in Bruges with his girlfriend today and we went for lunch and STT Fran is coming tomorrow for lunch - I feel very popular all of a sudden!

Oh, and here is a gimpy photo of me with my new glasses on.

Right - back to the books! Only another month (eek) to go.