Joneses on Tour!

So I've realised quite a few of my latest posts have been somewhat downhearted, alors time for some bon news from the sunny Caribbean!

At the end of October I was graced with the presence of the rest of the Jones Crew for a couple of weeks during their half term holiday. It was so great to have them out here and show them around Martinique (and of course they could bring out all the stuff I'd forgotten as well as some additional supplies of Pimms)!

We stayed in Trois Ilets, about 40 minutes away from my university or half an hour boat ride from the capital, and one of the tourist hotspots in Martinique with some fantastic views of Anse Mitan. It also meant we weren't far from the Creole Village, a mock-traditional village full of shops, restaurants and bars - what's not to love!?

Thankfully Papa Jones had hired a car which meant we were able to visit just about the whole island, including:

Saint-Pierre, the former capital totally destroyed by the volcano you can see in the background (Mount Pelée) in 1902. 

The North Atlantic Coast, with it's plages dangereuse (dangerous beaches).

Marked on the map as 'dangerous' with good reason, if you'd seen the size of the waves you wouldn't want to swim in there either. We visited the inappropriately named Grand Riviere, a small fishing town with the 'grandest' feature being it's beautiful Church.

It was a bizzare place with only the one, very winding road in and out, which included crossing over a very rickety metal bridge in the middle of the rainforest.

The beautiful beaches in the south of the island, including Les Salines, famous for it's long white sandy beach. 

                    

Possibly our favourite beach :)  

And of course Heff came to catch some rays as well!

We also visited a pottery village with some crazy sculptures!

The boys favourite: quad-biking!

Kind of miffed they managed to leave with a better tan than the one I've been working on for the past seven weeks, but it was still amazing to see them :)

Cheers to that!
EmJ x

Sun, sea, sand and a whole lot of French admin

Martinique is beautiful. There is no denying that there is something special about waking up and seeing palm trees from your balcony. The beaches are incredible (apart from when you're catching worms), the views breathtaking and the weather something we could only dream about back in the UK. Which is perfect if you're on holiday...

...if you're here with something to do though, it's a nightmare.

Take 6,000+ students, some bad French administration (notoriously shocking), add some Caribbean laid back attitude, plenty of heat to increase the irritability of all involved and you get a good picture of what life is like here at l'université des Antillies et de la Guyane.

Just over six weeks after my arrival, I finally have a timetable sorted. Although I'm concerned that the administration staff here only know two phrases; 'revenir demain' (come back tomorrow) and 'je ne sais pas, ça n'a rien à voir avec moi' (I don't know, it's got nothing to do with me) as I've rarely heard them say anything else. Unless of course you're waiting in their office whilst they finish their important phone conversation, because of course their friend should wear the matching necklace, earring and bracelet set with that dress for her hot date tonight. You think because French isn't my native language I couldn't understand what you were chatting about whilst I stood around waiting like piffy on a rock-bun?
Fool, think again.

This is of course, failing to mention the Martinique Shrug. The number one thing to really get on my wick. After queuing up for a reasonable length of time at the admin office, flashing the best smile you can muster and using your politest form of French to ask for help/advice/a form signed, you are simply greeted with a shrug and then a turning of the head whilst the member of staff in question continues to staple forms, make paper chains, bracelets out of interconnecting paper-clips, whatever they do in the office all day (sorry all morning, they're not open afternoons) indicating that they are going to do nothing more to help you and that is all the information you're going to get. It's often followed by a sigh to show just how much effort they had to put in to that shrug. 

We even had someone explain to us in class that the people here can't work too hard because it's too hot. Excuse me? You work in an air conditioned office?

But alas, it's done. Beach for me after class tomorrow it is then (yes, we have class Saturday morning, what jokes) before heading to the airport to meet my folks coming over for their belated summer holiday :)

Let the fun begin!
EmJx

This 'stuff' is bananas, B.A.N.A.N.A.S

It appears Banana Museums do exist. And over 1000 types of banana! Who would have thought it it? 

As today was our day off, three other Erasmus students and myself rented a suitably coloured, bright yellow car and headed to the other side of the island to visit La Musee de la Banane near St Marie.

Even though it drizzled from time to time it was great to get out and explore some more of the island as well as sample some of the banana cocktails, crisps, jam and cake at the end of the tour!

We then drove around the island for a bit, listening to Sean Paul and Disney music full blast (such tourists!) before heading to the south of the island for dinner outside as the sun went down = paradise! 

I guess I could get used to this lifestyle... Shame we have an obligatory 'Sports Day' tomorrow at the university. I wonder how I can get out of this one... where's my doctors note?!
EmJx

Ladies who lunch

This Saturday we finally felt it was time to check out some of the local cuisine after eating multiple variations on traditional student food thanks to the university's shocking excuse for a kitchen and the price of peas. After a quick recovery from our 7h30 lecture (classes this early on a Saturday are just pure torture) we headed down to the beach at Schoelcher where there's a cute snack bar/restaurant for a late lunch.

I decided to go for the local Creole salad, made with Accras de Morue (the only possible way of explaining it is like mixing cod with a savoury doughnut. It's not as bad as it sounds, I promise!), black pudding and dressed crab who even came in a little shell with peppery hair :) It might seem quite shocking that so many of us ordered a salad when there's so many steaks, burgers etc. on the menu but as it's about 6€ for a small bag of salad in the supermarkets it was quite nice to have something healthy for a change (until we got totally stuck in on the salad dressing of course)!  

All washed down with a chilled glass of planters punch, a local cocktail made with rhum (obviously), fruit juice and grenadine with various spices.   

And with the restaurant leading directly on to our local beach with views like this it would of course be rude not to stay for a few hours, or maybe until the sun sets...

Got to make the most of it whilst the sun is shining after all!

Surf's up, Emma's down!

I admit that in life there's going to be things I am not good at, a list which is continually growing. Unfortunately, surfing is most definitely being added to it.

Despite not harbouring any hidden talents in the water-sport department, I had a fantastic afternoon with a Canadian couple and my fellow Yorkshire homies, attempting to look cool and catch some waves on the east-side of the island. Although when your arms aren't even long enough to carry the board properly and you keep downing phenomenal amounts of sea-water this can be quite tricky! Despite a shaky beginning (it's never a good start when you can't even lay on the board without rolling off in to the sea) I managed to half get up on to the board and glide along on my knees. After all, you weren't expecting me to to stop doing things by halves just because I left the country did you?!

We then stopped off in a lovely little Boulangerie for cakes and ice-cream before heading home for an early night. Because before you start thinking my year abroad is all play and no work, we were actually in uni for 7h30 for a painfully long, four hour lecture and seminar on 'Francophone Caribbean Literature.' Although I do have the full day off tomorrow... :)

Until next time,
EmJ x