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A Day in the Life of... Creil
(a.k.a. Boules part 2)
People have been asking about my typical day - I have not really sufficiently established a routine to have a "typical day", but I will tell you some of the day-to-day events that occur here in Creil.
For a start, although Creil is not exactly a hole, the best thing anyone seems to say about it is that it's close to Paris, so that gives you some idea of the town I am living in. This means that there is not really anything interesting to do here (we don't even really have a cinema), so as yet I have spent lots of time wandering around.
Among my wanderings I have discovered a new route home (not as nice but more direct) which takes me through the carpark with the boules ground (Mum, thanks for your warning about strange men but I think it's ok... really). I have now officially made friends with the boules players - they call me "la petite Australienne" and the other day they let me play! I didn't win (of course), but I managed to score 9 points (the winner gets 13), which I thought was respectable. The guys were very impressed!
Another common activity is the baguette purchase. Usually this comes at the end of the day, right before I go home, so I eat most of it on the way. But for 49 euro cents, how can you go wrong?? I try not to buy a baguette every day as I have only discovered the white ones, which, though yummy, are not really nutritious. Really must look for a brown/grain alternative.
So, I leave the house in the morning (usually about 1 hour before my classes start), walk to school (this takes about 15-20 mins; in the afternoon it's uphill so it takes longer), have a class, use the internet, eat lunch in the cafeteria (ugh, cattle-herding style; apparently staff cuts have created the long lines and long wait for food. At least I get to push in because I am a teacher), use the internet, hang out with Eufemia, use the internet, walk home (via the boules game), hang out with the Guillaumes (if they're around), eat dinner, etc.
The weekends I always try to get out of Creil as there is nothing to do here (especially on Sunday - EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays in France - unlike us heathens in Australia, they all shut up shop on Sundays). So far I have visited Chantilly (will tell all about this later), Senlis (very pretty), and Clermont - these are all local places to visit, and all much nicer than Creil!
Hopefully I will be taking more trips into Paris soon, as everyone says it's not far, so be prepared for more updates from the capital.
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