You know the headache will be bad when the last drink you have is Pastis

I have really skipped a lot of my time, but in the mad rush to try an update a years worth of experience in just a few months, I hope the highlights so far have provided a little insight into my shannigans over this side of the planet...

My next notable mention was heading to the 'pink city', Toulouse. Not so much pink, more of an orange/red colour, it was alright all the same. With a seminar on, I didn't get to do much of the tourist thing - did get to have a walk around town and ended up in the square in the middle of town - this was beautiful....

At the seminar there was a delegate backlash to a session that I ran during the day. The session was supposed to teach them the value of coaching and different types of leadership in a team but instead the result was me being completely drunk and blindfolded after a serious drinking session that ended with Pastis...yuck!

I was also introduced to the French Kissing Competition. Now I don't know how else to go about describing this except to say that I was completely shocked...And attacked...Girls, Guys...they all jump you hoping to score points by planting there mouth anywhere within the vicinty of those elusive lips of yours and then FLASH - take a digital photo of it for evidence in the sessions the following day...

I nearly wet myself laughing when we realised that one drunker contender who had been madly kissing girls, guys, furniture etc had been using a 36 exposure film operated camera and did not even know the difference... "pics here"

: : Have you seen Brest lately? : :

"'Brest, city in northwestern France, in Finist?re Department, at the mouth of the Penfeld River, on the Bay of Brest (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean), in Brittany. Situated mainly on two hills on opposite sides of the Penfeld River, Brest is an important seaport with an excellent protected harbor. It is also one of two major French naval bases, Toulon being the other. Manufactures of Brest include ships, electronic equipment, chemicals, and processed food. A university is here. Brest became a possession of the duke of Brittany in 1240, belonged to England from 1342 to 1397, and passed, with Brittany, to the French crown in the 1490s. The city was first fortified, between 1680 and 1688, under the direction of Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban, the noted French military engineer.

Brest has frequently been subjected to attack by enemies of France. During World War I (1914-1918) the city served as a major debarkation point in France for United States troops. In 1940, during World War II, Brest was occupied by the Germans, who made it an important submarine base. The city subsequently was severely bombed by the Allies before being captured by U.S. troops in 1944. Population (1999) 149,634."

Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

If anyone should ask, "Hey does anyone want to go to Brest? Free trip?" The important part of the description above to note is: 'The city subsequently was severely bombed by the Allies'.

Don't get me wrong, I had a good time - the people are nice, but there is really not much to see. A port, some bad weather and that's about it. It was cool to meet another Australian who was working in the bar though....

: : Lille Nancy Naked Seminar : :

Lille is a beautiful town an hour north of Paris. It is a beautiful city - I could see myself living there if it wasn't so bloody cold!!!
Also, I love the aiesec crew from there. The Lille kids showed me the best parties my entire time in France....

Had some work to do, but it was only for about 6 hours...Spent the rest of the weekend going to an 'Oz Bar' where the only thing authentic were the Rugby jumpers bolted to the walls and the shared contempt for the Fosters on tap. Also had a 9.99? hot pot of mussels - the closest thing to seafood I had experienced since leaving home....

Went dancing in a cave nightclub - kinda cool except for the condensation that drips all over your clothes...ergh Had a pretty awesome houseparty to - except in France House means two bedroom apartment, and party means squeezing as many people as possible into that tiny little room....

Then there was the night we sat up making videos - the footage of me dancing is now legendary in aiesec France...The pic of Laurette in her pj's is just to tick her off...Oh yeah, I also found a French Cash Converters....I felt right back at home in Armadale....
pics online video online

Blinded

So after a team L&M session the delegates thought making me do the same excersizes while slaughtered drunk would be a good laugh - scratched the hell out of my digi cam when I fell backwards out of the swing set...