"Character-Forming" Experiences

I'm sure that other Year Abroad students both past and present were told pre-departure that the year abroad (wherever they would be going) would be 'character-forming', perhaps even that we would emerge from it as 'better people, better equipped to take on life's challenges and experiences'.

I am currently experiencing this period of 'adaptation' in which my new 'character' is formed. I imagine the process is about as painful as it is for a caterpillar to turn into a butterfly, but instead of a huge pair of wings erupting from my back, I am being made to jump through bureaucratic hoops.

Banks: any future year abroaders, take careful note of the following warning: under no circumstances try and open a French bank account without a French person (preferably from your school) present. Repercussions for not following this advice include: headaches (both physical and metaphorical), depression, stress, further requests for forms which no bank in your academie has EVER asked for in the history of Language Assistants, and potential hysterical crying in front of secretaries.

Paperwork: both British and French people here to whom I have bemoaned my bureaucratic botherances have agreed that it's a bloody nightmare. There's no way around it. Just suck it up and get on with signing your life away for the sake of not causing a fuss / if you want to get paid at any point in your seven months as a language assistant. Try and accept your many authorisations in the form of "Lu et Approuvé" as all good vocab practice and you know what they say: practice makes perfect...

Waiting: we Brits love a good wait. Be prepared, as an LA, to spend a lot of time waiting, watching, and then waiting again as your timetable is amended. Don't bother killing trees to print off your timetable til it has been in place for at least a month.

Working stuff out for yourself: this is perhaps the most useful 'character-forming experience' category in my opinion. This ranges from working out how to use a Youth Hostel laundry or internet system, to being understood when asking for directions or a pain au raisin, to taking the right number of items in a school canteen (many thanks to the understanding Dinner Ladies). Perks: immense satisfaction when you get it right and a smug, warm feeling inside.

Learning to map read like a boss: in order to avoid looking like a tourist, it is advisable not to wander around with a map in your hand all the time. I have finally learnt (despite two years of orienteering lessons with OTC) to memorise markers for key points of my journey, and a sense of direction!!!

Adapt and Overcome: yes it may be shit chat, but it's true. Every day I get slightly better at learning which way to look when crossing a road. Every time I go into a patisserie I pronounce 'pain au raisin' slightly better. Every time adversity threatens, my improving French shrug, mumbled 'bof', and slightly-more-relaxed-than-before attitude steer me away from stress and towards a solution (banking experiences excluded - I haven't yet adapted and overcome this particular difficulty but give me time...)

Putting together these accumulated skills of patience + self-reliance + resourcefulness = a character-forming experience, just as promised by our year abroad veterans. Who knows, I might well emerge as a better person at the end of it all...