Bonne année 2012 ?

The New Year is always supposed to start with a bang. First there is some sort of social obligation to have a big party on New Year’s Eve – which always ends up being a stressful, last minute get-together made of people who don’t want to spend The Evening on their own. It is generally the time when I go back home to England so I often manage to flee the issue, which for a long time consisted of an ongoing tug of war between boyfriend and (girl)friends. Thankfully, the boyfriend problem no longer stands, but now even friends start to act all divisive. Anyhow, I spent the afternoon having a massive text-row (the best there is) with my best male friend, and ended up having to split my evening between a really fun all-girl party to a maybe not-as-fun male Wii-playing and film-watching get-together. 2012 started with a personal sacrifice in the name of friendship. Sounds classy but was a bit of a bummer really.

Then begins the endless ring-roll of voeux pour la Nouvelle Année*. Teachers, one by one, wish us une année de réussite. Old relatives, when spontaneously producing étrennes** (not complaining there), wish us une bonne santé. And prépa comrades will write all over their Facebook wall ‘2012, année de la partouze***’. I have realized that the higher the level of education is, the sleaziest the jokes get. Take note, Education Nationale****.

Not to mention politicians. For Christmas, my mother got me an adorable vintage-style, Union Jack emblazoned radio. So now I feel very intello, listening to the news at breakfast time and with my afternoon cup of tea. The problem is that 2012 is the year of the French presidential elections, so that is all we ever hear about. And the voeux présidentiels sounded more like a declaration of war than an optimistic start of the year.

With recent articles proving that detoxes do not keep their promises – ironically, something untrue, in journalistic terms, is called intox in French – what are we supposed to do with ourselves in January? It is said to be the second most depressing month of the year, with November. It is probably the most boring, as nearly everyone I know – including myself – has decided to stop smoking and reduce alcohol consumption. At least, I have given myself a clear limit: until my birthday at the end of the month. If only the economic austerity and political turmoil could also have a clear, stated limit, maybe 2012 would not seem so bleak. 


* wishing people all the best for the New Year
** money that your family (usually the elder members) give you at the beginning of the year
*** when a group of people all have sex together (classy)
**** the institution in charge of education