My first job in a silicon factory In 2006, after I graduated from my school of Engineering, I found a job as a production Engineer in a chemical plant site which produces silicon mainly for the car industry. Roughly, my job consisted of supervising the production of silicon in terms of quantity but also in quality. I had to manage directly 2 foremen and indirectly 6 teams of 8 operators working in shifts. My daily task was to check the quantity and quality of silicon produced and make the necessary chemical adjustments according to the results of the previous day. Sometimes I also had to face some technical difficulties such as incidents caused by mechanical failures (or breakdowns ?), human accidents, strikes, staff or raw material shortages, and so on.. It was tough work but it was fun. I used to spend long days and nights in the plant making sure that everything was going as smoothly as possible. I used to get on well with the staff especially the operators. Their task was difficult as they were working with high temperatures, dust, noise, molten metal… I will talk about how a silicon furnace works later. Thanks in advance for taking the time to correct my mistakes.

A few words about my life near Paris Tonight I wanted to talk about where I live and how I feel about my city. I live in a city 20 km away from Paris, in the suburbs. With the public transportation system you can reach the centre of Paris in less than 30 minutes which is very convenient when you work there or when you just want to go to hang out. But the thing is that I don’t like the town where I live. It’s way too busy, people are always moody, there are huge traffic jams and the air is polluted. There are few parks and playgrounds and there is concrete everywhere. It’s more and more difficult to feel happy in such environment. Especially with kids. I want to give them the best I can and this place is certainly not the best place to live as a kid. I grew up in a much nicer environment (in the south of France) and I am therefore a bit ashamed not to be able to give them what I used to have when I was a kid. But hopefully everything will change soon. I am applying for a job very far from the Paris region and in the event that I pass the tests, everything will change in our life. We will be in another country with a different language, in a multi-cultural environment and in a very big city. But for now, let’s cross our fingers! Thank you for taking the time to correct my entry!

Talking about my business trip As I said last night, I am currently away from the office, on a business trip. I took the train this afternoon from Paris to Nantes. It was a nearly 3 hour train ride. When we got to Nantes, we picked up a rental car and drove to a hotel in a village nearby where we had booked a room. Since we arrived very early, we took the opportunity to walk and see the ocean which was near the hotel. It was a nice walk even though the wind was blowing very hard and I got some sand in the face which was a bit unpleasant. Then we went back to the hotel and had some dinner. I had some fish for starter, then some meat with green beans and mashed potatoes, some typical French cheeses and a white cheese with strawberry jam for dessert. That was excellent and a very good value for money. Tonight I am working in my room as preparation for tomorrow’s business meeting.

Rain and Bicycle I just wanted to share with you the fact that yesterday I said that I was keen on cycling especially when it comes to commuting and regardless of the weather. Well I think that I shouldn't have said that! Today, my trip back from work was terrible! It was raining cats and dogs! I got soaked by the time I was home! But it was funny (or “fun” ?) anyway as there were some traffic jams that cheered me up a little during my ride under the rain. Anyway, I am not going to commute by bicycle tomorrow. I have to go on a mission and I won’t go home until Wednesday night. I will tell you more about that later on. Thank you to take the time to correct my text !

Back to work tomorrow ! It was a long and nice vacation. But now it’s over and I must confess that I’m HAPPY to go back to work tomorrow even though I have to wake up early ! Indeed, I really like my job and I also like the time I spend on commuting. The thing is that I am lucky enough to have the chance to ride my bike everyday for nearly 2 hours ! It usually takes me 1 hour in the morning to ride to work and another hour in the evening to come home. I really enjoy riding my bicycle ! It’s something that makes you feel free especially when the traffic is congested. I admit that sometimes especially when it rains, it may be a bit difficult to ride for almost 15 km. But I’m lucky enough to have the possibility to take a shower at work ! That way I am always fresh when I start working (or “to work” ? what would be the difference here ?) ! Therefore, today, I spent some time tinkering my bicycle such as adjusting the brakes. Then I noticed that I had a flat tire on my rear wheel ! After removing the wheel from the bike and removing the tire from the wheel I noticed that the puncture was due to a piece a glass ! Consequently I changed the inner tube. Thanks in advance for the kind people who will take the time to correct my text ! Do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything French language related !

We’re back to Paris ! Here we are, back to Paris after a one week holiday in Brittany which was fun despite the pretty bad weather. The thing is that we expected the bad weather but we were hoping in secret for the same weather as last year which was just perfect all the week with a blue sky and warm temperatures. Anyway you can’t have everything! So now, it’s Saturday night, all the luggage has been unpacked (would “emptied” be correct?), the car emptied. My wife launched a laundry and I hung out the washing on the clothes rack. I also went to the grocery store to get something to eat for today’s dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast. My wife has gone back to work (she works at nights in shift in a maternity ward). So I took care of the kids and put them to bed which was very easy because they were dead tired certainly because of the long car journey. I am now getting back to the usual stuff that I do every night such as language learning, housework, playing the electric guitar (on headphones) … Thanks to anyone who will bother correcting my text!

The last day of my holiday Today was the last day of our trip to Brittany. The weather has been so-so since we arrived last Saturday and this last day in Brittany was no exception! The ski was grey and the weather was wet all day long. As usual since we arrived, we started the day with a swim at the indoor swimming pool of the resort which is heated. Then we went back to the cottage where we played a bunch of different games such as “memory”. This is a game where you have to find the pairs of cards that have been previously turned face down. The players play in turns which is fun because it happens that you reveal a card and luckily the next player knows where the other pair is hidden! After that, we had lunch and my son went to bed for a good nap that lasted not less than two and a half hours ! When he woke up and since it was already a bit late in the afternoon, we decided to go to the playground nearby. We also took my daughter’ scooter and my son’s bike so that they could ride around a little on the way over (or “to”?) the playground. Thanks in advance to those who will take the time to correct my text !!

A typical day of my holyday We are still on vacation in the city of St Pol de Leon, and we are having a good time here. This morning when we woke up, we could hear the rain on the windows. So we decided to cancel the trip to the isle of batz that we had planned today. We decided to go the swimming pool to have a quick bath and then head to Brest and visit the famous aquarium called Oceanopolis. So my wife and the kids went to the swimming pool while I went to store to do some grocery shopping (we were in particular out of milk). I bought some stuff such as bread, milk, can of tuna, and a pic-nic (sandwiches and crisps for the visit of the day). When I came back to the apartment, I went to the swimming pool and I picked up the kids, dressed them and we left to Brest. We drove around 60 km which takes us about 50 minutes. When we got there, the parking lot was nowhere near full, so that was easy to park the car very close to the site. We then spent the rest of the day visiting the aquarium and enjoying ourselves. My daughter liked watching the seals and the seahorses best whereas my wife and I preferred the sharks. Just when we were about to leave the park, we noticed a playground near the entrance and the kids went to it and played for a while with the different structures such as slides, swings and see-saws. Then we left the aquarium and drove back home. The kids were a bit tired and my son fell asleep during the return trip. On our way home we also stopped by a male to buy some groceries such as diapers and apple juice that I had forgotten to buy in the morning. I also took the opportunity to buy 2 books for my kids. They were happy and couldn’t wait to read it. When we got to the apartment, my kids were so excited that my wife had to tell them off and force them to calm down a little. Then she read them their new books while I prepared the dinner. They were still very excited all the way through the dinner which was a nightmare. Fortunately they calmed down afterwards and were put to bed easily. After that, my wife and I were able to do our own hobbies namely scrapbooking for my wife and language learning for me. It was a good day even though we were a bit exhausted at the end! Thanks in advance for those who will correct my text !

Differences between good and well Hi to everyone, I just wanted to know the main differences in terms of meaning of the two following sentences: I am not feeling good I am not feeling well Thanks in advance for those who will reply ! (and correct my faults as the case may be) ;-) William