Arriving in Grenoble

I landed at Paris CDG in the morning. The immigration stamp line is way too long. Make sure you rush to it so that you have to wait for an hour at max. Just follow people from your flight. They will first go to a small train which takes you to the immigration line. There get your passport stamped with the date of arrival. Then claim your baggage. 

 

I was allowed 30kgs of baggage along with 7kgs cabin and laptop bag. If you have change of flights make sure the first airport gives you a sticker of the same weight to be carried or at the second airport they might tell you their baggage limit and you will be screwed. Now after I was done with taking my baggage I had to take a bus to Paris Orly since my second flight was from there. If you are not speaking French or speaking little French just to travel desk and ask them stuff you need. Asking people was futile for me. While some were quite unaware of things; including the airline staff. So make sure you ask the people behind counters. Of course not to mention you always start the conversation with Bonjour!. I hadn’t said Namaste so many times in my entire life that I said Bonjour in one day. I feel I have mastered Bonjour for now. :) :)

Try and get the city maps at tourist desks, they are free. Next I will skip you out of the horror how I got to Lyon by flight-bus combo because I am sure no one would do that. Since most of you will go to Lyon I will start with what to do with the Lyon thing. And yes don’t buy bags with 4 wheels. Buy the ones with 2 wheels as they are more mobile. And yes if you are thinking of getting more than 1 checked-in luggage be ready to face it. It’s difficult to move with it. At Lyon the trolleys were paid so you will have to get one. I didn’t take them so not sure how much. I don’t think much. Then at Lyon, go to first floor, Terminal 1, Stop 2. There is where you will get a direct bus to Grenoble station. The timetable is attached. The college is behind the Grenoble station. My landlord was kind enough to give me a lift to the rented apartment. But you will need to think about getting to your place from Grenoble station (Either via trams or buses). If you are living in student residences, try to come on weekdays. Their offices are closed on weekends and after 6pm in the evening. You will have to take their appointment for key in advance. Some of them even demand housing insurance before you arrive so make sure you check all these conditions with them. In any case, if you are arriving late see if anyone can keep your room key. Inquire in the school(GGSB), they do offer rides. The weather is like India for now so you won’t need any snow jackets for now (till November) . You might need a light blanket at night. It’s 20 deg Celsius. 

Make sure you get some food for first few days (List of items blog is on the way) . I would like to give myself three cheers for the list I had previously shared with you. It will be helpful to get all that stuff. Big markets are bit far off and closer ones are costly. Actually you will just need sometime to figure out where to find the shops, that's all. After coming to Biot I feel Grenoble has shops everywhere. Most of the shops close at 7.30pm or 8pm. Since this is also the holiday season most of the shops are closed (July to August end). There are lots of trams and buses (Getting around blog is on the way) .Make sure you get everything you need so that you need not buy stuff as soon as you reach. They have all yellow bulbs( I don't get it! I hate it) , wooden floorings and thin walls. So it will be a new experience.You will love Grenoble for its chic roads, lush greenery, vehicles that actually follow traffic rules and the mighty Alps.

Make sure you buy a Lyca sim card after you arrive in Grenoble. Wait! The sim card is free! (Another blog on calling is on the way)  Its cheaper to call in India and within France.  Its just to make sure you tell your family you are safe and contact people as you land.I didn't have to use its mobile internet since all airports have free wifi. Make sure you enjoy it ! :P Even train stations has free internet.

And yes...its starting getting dark around 8pm in Grenoble if you come after August end. Before that there is sunlight till 9.30pm.

The time table is 1 year back. I hope its still valid:

Cracking the IELTS

Hello, I am going to share my IELTS experience with IDP. Considering you are already acquainted with the format I will give you the general tips.

I scored 8.0 overall.

Listening: 9.0

Reading: 8.5

Writing: 7.0

Speaking: 7.5

 Material and Useful links:

Cambridge IELTS Tests (I downloaded all 8 versions and gave all the tests in it. Total : 32 tests)

Give all listening and reading tests within time limit.

Note down all the writing essays. Most of the essays or speaking tests are loosely connected.

British Council  IELTS Test Pack

A bit costly but its a nice practice and easy to use. They might even correct your essays if you have a center in your city. They have useful videos providing tips on all sections. They are available even on youtube if you wish to save the bucks.

https://www.youtube.com/user/BCIELTS

 On Test Day:

Carry original passport.

Carry stationery: pens, pencils(important) , erasers, pencil sharpners(They do provide you with stationery. But I still preferred to carry mine)

 Printout of the appointment letter. This is important.

Carry a spare passport size photograph in case they ask you.

A photocopy of passport is needed if your address has changed.

A cool head.

Be in time.

 Its a long test so have enough food and a bit less fluids. :)

Arrive early.

Listening:

Gave all listening tests from Cambridge and British council.

 Saw a couple of good English movies and serials. Watch classy British sitcoms. They use very classy phrases and words. This might even help you in speaking section.

 Read all the questions when you have time. Underline the key words in the questions which instantly give you a gist of that question.

 Listen very carefully. Remember you have to understand the conversation because questions might contain synonyms.

The language is quite basic and simple. Very few complicated words will be used.

Calm yourself before the test. Its the most scoring section and even the easiest one if you have practiced all tests.

Reading:

Reading passages appear in increasing complexity.

You should finish the first one in 10min. Second one in 15min and so on.

Keep half an hour at hand to go through each question again and copy it to your answer sheets.

Unlike listening, you don't get any extra time for copying them onto the answer sheets.

 The questions mostly appear in the sequence it appear in the paragraph. So make sure you read first few questions, spot them in the first few paragraph, answer them and repeat. Do not read the entire passage and go on to questions.

The first line of every paragraph and its last line are very important. They will contain the overall gist what the paragraph is about. This will help you in questions which ask you to give title to the paragraphs.

True/ false and answer yes/no/not given are quite tricky. But sometimes you might find they are just rephrasing lines from paragraph. If this rephrasing is done without altering or modifying the meaning go with the true. If you find slightest anomaly wait before you mark it false, it could also be not give.

E.g

Passage says: Rahul is a very benevolent fellow.

Sentence one: Rahul is very helpful and kind: Yes

Sentence two: Rahul talks very politely: Not Given

Sentence three: Rahul might not help strangers. : No??...Nope...Its Not Given.

Also note every alternative will appear at least once in the questions. Dirty trick. But the solution to the section can never be Yes Yes No No Yes. If you get this , must have assumed a wrong answer for one of the questions and there has to be a not given. It works on all the tests and cases I saw. I guess the answers are quite balanced that way :P

Writing:

Write a lot.Most of us have lost that knack in writing after school or college. We need to brush up our writing skills. Read blogs written by good writers. (Definitely not me ! :P) Read newspaper articles. They make you think and expand your thinking horizon.

Have a topic sentence for every paragraph. Never fall short of words , they will slaughter your marks. You do get a supplement so don't worry if you are out of paper.

I prefer writing with pencil though you can use a pen.Its easy to erase.

Be very specific. Do not repeat words. Use synonyms.

Have an introductory paragraph + 2/3 body paragraphs + 1 conclusion paragraph.

I ran out of time during my exam but survived with the last minute scribbling. So please practice writing with a stop watch.

Ask an IELTS expert to rate your essays.

I used http://www.testbig.com/ free subscription. They accept one essay/per day. They give descriptive analysis and grades. It also provides you with improvement tips.

Lastly, write in legible handwriting.

Speaking:
Speaking appointment is different from actual IELTS paper. So make sure you receive both the timetables. The venue and time might also be different. It takes place 1 week before/after your actual test.

It starts at sharp. So make sure you are in time. At least 15 mins early.

Examiners are friendly. They might cut you in between. Don't worry about it.

Do not be stressed. Talk as if you are talking to a friend. Sound excited, happy and interesting.

The 2 minutes speech section hardly gives you any time to think. It happened with me. But don't get upset. Try to build a story on a go. I would ask you watch a bit of documentaries, movies and read books if you want to win this one.

Talk in English with every other friend. Mostly those friends who have better English than you or you will end up spoiling yours.


Get a skype partner. I never did that. But they say it helps if you have no one to practice with.

That's all

If you need any help on anything. Material, links or have any FAQ's, grade your essays you can put your comments and send me a mail.  I would love to help. I am a bit busy so might respond late. Please bear with me.