France is amazing!

First of all, it's snowed the last two nights. So cool! This is the first time in, literally, years that I've seen snowfall around Christmas time.

Second, Seamus, Caitlin and her cousin and I all took an unplanned trip to Paris on Saturday. The city at Christmas? Simply amazing! But the highlight, by far and away was this:

Ice skating in front of the Eiffel Tower.

So awesome I can't even describe it.

Someone’s excited for Christmas!

This cat is in love with the tree.  He literally spends hours each day just staring at it.  It’s like his new best friend.  I might not ever take it down - I think he’d be too depressed!

Welcome to Chez-moi!

Well after many promises - I’ve finally taken pictures of my lovely apartment! I was going to include some pictures of my street and the street side view of my building, but for safety reasons I’ve decided against it (you never know who’s reading!)

But just imagine a really cute French street with cute buildings all different colors (in the beige family), now imagine you’ve reaching a nice, 3 story brown building -- that’s me!

So after you send me a text (my buzzer thing doesn’t work) I’d come down the crazy stairs open the door:

(Question: take a good look at this picture - how many hands do you think you’d need to open this door? Answer: a minimum of two.)

I’d meet you at the door, lead you down a hallway that always smells chemically, into a courtyard. Now look up, that top window belongs to me!

(No, I don’t have a ghost, that’s just Seamus looking out the window)

Next we’d go through this crazy door:

(no, I don't live in the tool shed)

And up these stairs:

(these are the nice stairs)

And then after we’d climbed the second set of stairs you would look down and see this:

(oh yes, everyday is an adventure)

This is my front door, all decorated with my amazing peacock feather wreath (thank you 2 euro store!):

Opening the door, this is my apartment!

Here’s my bed:

(complete with cat)

Bookcase:

View into the kitchen:

Stove, sink and window/skylight thing:

(During the day, it’s a lovely view of the back of a church.)

Kitchen table + oven:

Bathroom, well all you can see from a single angle -- you can kinda see the (rather small) hot water heater that makes it impossible to see a better view of the rest of the bathroom:

View looking out of the kitchen back into the main room:


Not pictured - toilet room (because, well, it’s the size of a closet and only has a toilet in it ... so you can just imagine that one).

And that’s it! I love this place!

The last ten days...

... have been insanely busy and yet, not a whole lot has really happened. I got applications off to University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Michigan State University (both of which required a lot of paperwork to be sent in ... so they involved a lot of running around and time spent in the post office.

[Random tangent: when I went to the post office last Monday to send these things it took me 40 minutes! I went to a totally empty post office and asked a very nice man for help, was handed 2 envelopes and 4 packing slips along with 2 other forms, and by the time I had filled everything out there was literally a line out the door. Why did all of Orléans feel the need to mail something at 3 in the afternoon on Monday? Who knows. But I had to wait in the damn line too ... grrr.]

I still have two more to complete - but they are almost done and all online (yay!).

Two Sundays ago we had a lovely, large, Thanksgiving celebration. A lot of people came to celebrate and brought all kinds of food! A lot of it was the traditional American fare, but the two Spaniards made a Spanish omelet (which is a very delicious potato, ham and cheese thing), and the Germans brought a very delicious cheese dip and there were all kinds of amazing treats! The food was delicious, the company was amazing and it was an all around good time! I got there at 4:45 and finally left at 9 - it was really fun to see everyone and share a great meal together. For most of the people there it was their first Thanksgiving - so it was really cool to watch so many first timers stuff themselves silly! What an awesome tradition.

On Tuesday the Marche de Nöel (Christmas market) opened - and it’s amazing! We’ve been watching this thing being built for the last month - so to see everything finally open and lit up was awesome! In the middle is a big ice skating rink set up around my favorite monument - the Joan of Ark statue and all around it is little wooden booths filled with stuff! Some booths sell food (i.e. a lot of sausages, churros and vin chaud (essentially mulled wine)). Some booths sell little nativity figurines while others sell sweaters and jewelry. It’s pretty amazing. I was expecting a lot more traditional or craft products, but it’s still cool. Next week an artisanal market opens up (which I think will be a lot of craft products - I hope there are ornaments!) and after that a fair trade market opens up. There’s also a little Santa’s village - which Caitlin, Seamus and I were really excited to see ... but Santa is a creeper! He looks like the scariest, most uninviting guy ever! Needless to say, we did not sit on Santa’s lap.

Wednesday I woke up feeling pretty awful. I had noticed a sore throat creeping up and my voice was a bit shaky on Tuesday, but I thought it would be fine. Well, surprise, surprise, it turned into a pretty nasty cold. Wednesday I only teach two classes - one that I love and one that feels like torture. My first group is the painful one - they are terminals (high school seniors) and they could care less. There are several students who are great, but there are 3 boys who really throw off the dynamic. Well, my teacher death stare has been improving as of late - and they got the full works last Wednesday. I had to threaten to throw two of them out - but they did finally settle down. The second group is just adorable. I look forward to this class every week. They are an age that I just click with (secondes). I get them - they get me. And we have a lot of fun. Wednesday afternoon my friend Jenny came over to make her delicious pumpkin bread/cake in my oven and we spent a lovely afternoon hanging out.

Thursday I woke up and felt really awful - so I stayed home from work. I hate doing it, but with Christmas coming up and my parents visit (so excited!) I just can’t afford to get worse. So I stayed in bed all day, made chicken soup and went to the doctor (turns out I had a cold and mild bronchitis). Friday I felt worse - so I stayed home again. The medicine from the doctor really helped AND I got a box from my parents! I got a pair of my own shoes, as well as some Christmas socks and a favorite sweater I didn’t have room for! Along with all that I got some adorable ornaments, a book and DVD and so many American goodies! Ah, even in the land of amazing food - I still really miss Trader Joe’s. So it was so nice to see those labels and some of my favorite goodies - I do really love those peanut butter granola bars. Something that always amazes me, is how much you miss food that you rarely ate at home. My mom threw in some spice packets - seasoning for tacos, enchiladas, chili and SLOPPY JOES! I never thought I’d miss them - but oh my goodness! They are so good!

Saturday I stayed home again - I had made plans to go on an adventure for the day, but I just didn’t feel up to it. I did manage, however, to get a subscription at the library (which is awesome!) so I now have access to a ton of books and CDs and DVDs. And I did laundry - which may not seem like a major accomplishment, but it takes forever in France! Things just take so damn long to dry and I just don’t have a place in my apartment to line dry much. So, essentially, 3 loads took me 5 hours. Awesome.

Sunday I finally felt a lot better - I suppose that crazy French medicine finally started working (they gave me one thing, a nasal spray, that literally smells like a combination of glue and B.O., which I have to squirt up my nose 3 times a day). I cleaned my apartment and, as usual, had a really nice Sunday dinner with Caitlin and Seamus. We had enchiladas and a southwestern salad and then watched Life of Brian.

Today I’m feeling pretty normal, but I taking it easy. I’ll have my weekly meeting with one of my students - we do a language exchange (she talks in English and I talk in French) but that’s about it.

Sometime this week I’m going ice skating and having a little Christmas party and finishing my grad school apps. Should be another strangely busy and mostly unproductive week in France!

good morning!

This morning I woke up to see cute little Razu all cuddled up on the floor pillows that I bought:

But the noise of the camera woke him up - so then I got to listen to the meows of a hungry cat for a bit.

On my way to feed him I noticed that the views out of my kitchen window/skylight (it's shaped like a skylight, but it's only about 6 feet up and it opens - so I don't really know what it is ... ah the joys of living in the top apartment) were really amazing this morning. The light was very orange and there were zero grey clouds and no fog:


This is a better view of the church behind me. It was taken from my bathroom window/skylight:


I love living in France and I love my apartment oh, so much!

p.s. real pictures of the apartment coming as soon as I clean ...

Being a scab and Thanksgiving lessons

So today is a national strike for teachers (except no one told me, so I came to work all happy as usual). As I was walking toward the front door of my school, one of my students stops me and says, "Madame? La Grève?" Translation, "Madame? The strike?" My response: "comment, uh, what?" So apparently there is a stike, but it's optional. Some teachers are here, but most aren't - and all the kids have to come to class. So it's not really very exciting - but I do kinda feel like a scab. Technically I could strike if I wanted to, but I really have no idea what it's about and I really don't think that I should be getting involved in national politics (god knows, my own country's politics are exciting enough). So the thanksgiving lesson went on...

My first class - who are chatterboxes - didn't seem very interested ... but they got to hear me talk about thanksgiving anyways. I explained the holiday and then asked them what kinds of foods they would bring if there was a French Thanksgiving (oh yes, I am secretly doing research). The answer? Chocolate cake and foie gras. Yeah... So then I asked them to think of something they were thankful for. I explained how at thanksgiving people usually say something nice - I gave the example of "this year, I'm thankful for all the nice French people I've met and my great students." What did I get in return? "I'm thankful for my friends," times 14. Cool. So then I asked them what they usually do for a holiday meal (I try to avoid referencing religion in any way) and I got into a nice conversation with two students about how they think France is too materialistic and how holidays should be about family etc etc. It was such a thoughtful sentiment and really nice to hear about what they really think. I let the group go a few minutes early - it's a strike and Thanksgiving, really why keep them? - and then started prepping for my afternoon groups.

The groups that I have on Tuesday afternoons are some of my favorite - they can be a bit wild, but they interact, they like to have fun, and they really make an effort to speak -- you can't ask for more! I downloaded a nice worksheet where they change the verbs in a thanksgiving story from present to past tense and a nice short story of thanksgiving with a recipe for pumpkin pie at the bottom - thanks to former Assistant Jennie for both! Then I went and bought a bag of candy - it's thanksgiving! The lesson went really well - we talked about thanksgiving, did the work sheet and I gave out candy for each right answer. Then we talked about a French Thanksgiving - they would've had foie gras, roast beef, oysters, escargots, baguettes, cake and lots of wine (I'm going to that Thanksgiving!) and what they were thankful for - friends, faily, pets, health. And one students said he was thankful for me because I made English class really fun and that everyone likes me (brown nosing? totally. did I eat it up completely? totally.) After that we played Thanksgiving themed hangman (a good chance for them to practice the words they just learned) and I let them leave early. All in all, an amazing lesson!

I love Thanksgiving!

So, Happy Thanksgiving to everyone at home! I hope the Turkey is crispy and moist, the potatoes are lump free and that the stuffing is beautiful (which it always is) and that the pumpkin pie is perfection! I'm celebrating the occasion with a meal out and a big Thanksgiving day celebration Sunday with all the assistants and friends - I'm bringing Rice Balls.

Real posts are coming - I promise

Ok, I promise that a real post will happen soon. As soon as these grad school applications are out the door and I can breathe again I will update on my life in France.

It's Friday!

And I have a nice new picture on my blog. As much as I loved the old picture - and I did - this picture is actually of Orléans! It's a view of the Cathedral from across the river - which is a view I get to see everyday when I take the bus home from school!

Speaking of school ...It always feels like a major accomplishment when I finish a week of teaching and still have all my limbs and my sanity. I may be tired as hell, and super ready for the weekend - but it feels so good to know that I managed to teach 12 classes - all at different levels with different lessons without anything tragic happening. This weekend I'm planning on camping out in front of my computer and writing my essays for graduate school - we'll see if this actually happens. I've noticed a phenomenon lately - every day I make a list (sometimes written, usually in my head) of things that I want to accomplish during the day. The list usually has 4-7 items. I usually accomplish 1. I'm not sure if it's because things take so long to do here in France, or if this is just the plight of the 'real world'. For example, yesterday I wanted to:
switch the electricity bill into my name
get internet set up
officially change my address with the post office
go to Casa and buy some things for my apartment
send e-mails to the people I want to write my letters of recommendation
So my day looked like this: teach from 8:15 to 1:15 with a 2 hour break in the middle (usually it's only 1 hour, but one of my classes was cancelled), go home and eat lunch, run errands, meet a friend for coffee at 4, meet another friend at 6:30 for shopping and then make diner and go to bed. Who wants to guess how many things I actually got done off my originial list? If you guessed 2 then you're 'right on the money'. Yesterday I sent e-mails and bought things for my apartment.
Today my list looks like this:
print more RIBs from my bank and order checks
change my address with the post office
plan a thanksgiving lesson for next week
switch the electricity bill into my name
go to Conforama (again) and buy the metal frame for my bed
get internet set up
get a new cell phone plan

How many will I actually get done? Probably 3 - if I stop procrastinating and get moving...

Also, I just re-read this post and couldn't believe how teacher-y I sound. I actually used the phrase, for example. And wrote things in a list and put coloquial phrases in quote marks to differentiate. I'm surprised I didn't add in a 'do you understand?' My goodness, what is happening to me?

November 11 - Another day off ... so an update!

Beginning on Saturday I’ve had an absolutely wonderful week. Last Tuesday I moved into my beautiful new apartment - and after an hour of signing papers and having a million things explained to me (most of which I understood-ish) I was handed the keys. My amazing friends helped me move all my stuff (it only took 3 people 1 bus trip). Razu survived the bus ride - he didn’t even get that upset. I think he’s adapting just fine to traveling - I also realized that this was our 5th move in 11 months. I think we’re getting quite good at - if I do say so myself. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to move any of the big stuff - so I slept on the floor for the night. Wednesday my responsable helped me move the big stuff and I was all settled in. I cooked a little thank you dinner of Fajitas for my amazing friends - I couldn’t have done it without them. We all enjoyed it immensely (many thanks to Seamus for bringing the cooking sauce from Ireland and to Troy and Mom and Dad for the mexican seasonings) the dinner was almost as good as home. Thursday was back to school and my classes were mostly tortuous - a week off definitely didn’t do much for their English. Although, I did have my first one-on-ones with my BTS students- and I was both horrified and amazed. I had one student who literally had no idea what the article was about or anything that I was saying. After 10 minutes of drawing pictures and acting things out she finally said she understood and was able to say a few fitting words, but not much. However, both of my other students did phenomenal -- I had picked a really hard article, and they both did a great job interpreting it. Thursday afternoon didn’t go so well however. My old apartment belonged to the school - and I had mistakenly assumed that I could borrow the mattress that I was loaned and had moved it to my new place. Well, I got a nasty, screaming phone call from the director accusing me of all kinds of nasty things. To make things worse I had some drama with my old roommate. I promised that I would return the mattress Friday - but I didn't really have any idea how I would pull if off. Friday I was feeling a bit tense, however my classes really cheered me up. I had one of my favorite groups as well as a new group who were all very sweet. Friday afternoon / evening was a mess - but I did manage to return the mattress along with an apology letter. After all the drama I was so ready for the weekend.

Well - on Saturday Seamus, Caitlin and two of her friends who were visiting from Canada and I went to Paris! It felt so amazing to be back in the city of light. I had forgotten just how much I love that city - the buildings, the streets the feeling. I’ve always thought that Paris feels really alive - like when you walk you walk with the beat of the city - and I was so happy to discover that it still feels that way. We had such an amazing day - I was the only person to have visited Paris in the group, so I got to act as tour guide. It was such a wonderful feeling to be able to give them a great taste of Paris and witness their reactions to the beautiful city (thanks Paris summer study abroad). There were so many things that we didn’t get to do - but we did see most of the big stuff along with some of my favorite parts of the city. We started off at Notre Dame and even climbed the tower (which I had never done) and it was so cool!

I absolutely love cathedrals and the views of the city from the top are absolutely phenomenal!

It was so much fun to see all the big monuments of the city as well as the cathedral up close - the grotesques were so amazing to see up close and personal.

After we descended Notre Dame (and all felt a bit dizzy) we headed over to the Deportation Memorial - but missed seeing it by 10 seconds - it had just closed for lunch (2 minutes early) but we did get to see the outside and talk about Paris during WWII. after that we walked along the Quai for a bit - took a photo of the best view of Notre Dame - and then visited Shakespeare and Co. (which they all loved!).

After that we headed up toward the Sorbonne through the Latin Quarter, had a look at the outside of the Pantheon and searched in vain for my favorite restaurant - La Geuze. I knew I was in the right area, but we were all too hungry to keep looking on every corner. We walked through an outdoor market (so cool!) and stopped in at a Brasserie for a quick lunch. I had French Onion Soup and we all shared a pichet of the wine of the month (which was soooo good). Afterwards we hopped on the metro and headed for the Eiffel Tower. The reaction was so wonderful - Caitlin literally squealed and I was grinning from ear to ear.

Seeing the Eiffel Tower always makes you feel like you are really in Paris - so cool. After gawking for a bit (we decided not to go up because it was raining and quite windy) we headed for the Louvre. Our two guests didn’t want to go in (it wasn’t on their must see list) so we looked at the outside and the I.M. Pei pyramid and then walked through the Tuileries and up the Champs Elysées to the Arc de Triumph.

After a few photos we hopped on the Metro again and headed toward Place du Republic to find a specific store for the Canadians.

After some shopping success we popped into a Café for some coffee/tea/hot chocolate. I had a café viennoise (amazing!). We had originally planned to go to Montmartre, but we were all exhausted and had a train to catch in 2 hours. So we decided to go back the Eiffel Tower to see it twinkle (which is worth it!). On the way we walked down the Rue Cler and admired the adorable street and its shops. We waited for a few minutes and then watched the tower burst into a thousand little twinkling lights.


Such a wonderful day - and so wonderful to be back in Paris. I can’t wait to go back and see all the things that I missed - the art in the Louvre, the Orsay, the Picasso museum, the Chagal ceiling in Opéra, a reminiscing trip around the Bastille not to mention actually finding and eating at La Geuze as well as gelato at the place where it’s shaped like a rose (yogurt flavor here I come). I really wanted to shop on the Rue Cler and picnic under the Eiffel Tower as well - but there’s always next time.

Sunday was a mellow day (nothing’s open on Sunday’s - so its always a nice day to just relax and rest). Monday I went shopping for furniture (sleeping on the floor was getting really old) and had quite the adventure. I wanted to get a mattress, bed frame, bedside table and desk - as well as some pillows and an oven. After a 45 minute bus trip I found myself at Conforama - essentially the smaller version of Ikea. I had to wait for about 30 minutes for the store to reopen (ah, the French lunch break) and then spent about an hour shopping. I finally decided on what to get and went up to the little desk to make my purchase. I had originally planned to rely on delivery, however I was informed that the next delivery would be on Saturday (I simply couldn’t sleep on the floor for that long) so I protested a bit and the sales girl finally suggested that I could rent one of their trucks and drive all my stuff home for a fraction of the cost of delivery (awesome!). So I paid for all my stuff and headed to the back to rent my truck and pick up my stuff. At this point I was absolutely terrified - not only is driving in France completely different than driving in the States, I really can’t drive a standard and almost all cars here are standards. But what was I going to do? I just planned on going for it and stalling out a lot. Well, I didn’t really have to worry because they refused to rent the truck to me because I didn’t have a French driver’s license. All I could think was SHIT! So after waiting for a while, I decided to ask my a friend of mine who has a car to come to my rescue. He, being the amazingly nice guy that he is, said of course and showed up an hour and some later. However, it was really obvious that all the stuff wouldn’t fit in his car. So he started talking with the guy, and he finally said that my friend could drive the truck and that he would give it to us for free since I had received conflicting information and since I had been waiting so long. This absolutely blew my mind, because it was SO un-French, but I couldn’t have been happier. Well - what a ridiculous trip. The truck was huge - kinda like driving a semi. He and I laughed and laughed - it was just so funny to be driving this giant thing on the tiny French streets. I was really relieved that I didn’t end up having to drive the thing - I couldn’t imagine that I could have gotten it to shift or anything (he was convinced that they didn’t rent it to me because I’m so tiny - I think it was because I’m not French -- and besides, I would have totally driven that thing if given the chance). I finally arrived home with all my stuff 6 hours after leaving home - what a trip! Seamus came over and helped me to build stuff - but we didn’t have the right tools, so we couldn’t really do anything. At least I had a mattress though. That night I was talking to my friend Caitlin and discovered that I had received a box from my aunts and grandma! So nice! They sent me a nice little halloween box full of my favorite candies - taffy, jelly belly’s, dots and M&Ms! And a beautiful handmade scarf! Also a little bag full of treats for Razzy - which he loves. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so excited about breakfast - this morning he almost killed me when he tripped me so he could get to his dish.

Yesterday was my first day of the week (I never have class Monday) and I had a great day. My kids were in such a good mood and really on the ball. I had students create advertisements for specific prompts that I gave them - and some of them were phenomenal (one was particularly awful - a group drew a naked lady to sell a laptop -- they were supposed to create an ad for a desktop, and, you know, keep it classroom appropriate). I had one group that was so funny, that I actually laughed til I cried - as did some of the students. For my afternoon classes I asked them to create a tall tale. I told them the story of Paul Bunyan and how he created the Grand Canyon and asked them to make up their own tall tale for a geographical feature in France. They were amazing! One group did the Eiffel Tower (which they said was originally a bridge so that the two sides of France could visit each other), one group did Mont St. Michel (which was a giant’s home) and one did the Massif Central mountains (which they said were sleeping hermit giants). It absolutely blew my mind! I have some amazing students and I just love getting to work with them! I also taught my students Eenie Meenie Miney Moe - they thought it was hillarious! One kid laughed so hard he cried - and then after I asked them to repeat it, I laughed so hard I almost cried. To hear 8 french kids saying Eenie Meenie Miney Moe over and over - it was so cute! They kept saying it over and over just grinning. I even heard one kid saying it as he walked down the hall. I also practiced some tongue twisters with them, and they really got into it. After a few in English, one student asked if he could write a french one on the board for me to try. I said, 'of course!' (you take enthusiasm whereever you find it) and the kids had a good laugh at my accent. Even though it wasn't English - I was glad that they could see that it's ok to try to speak, even if you don't sound perfect. Afterward we tried Peter Piper - but it was way too long and the bell saved them from having to try. I think I'll do some more tongue twisters, it's a really good way to work on the accent - and fun too. Last night my friends and I went out for dinner so I could thank them for all the help they've given me. After wandering around forever, we finally settled on Don Camillo - an upscale pizza place that makes very French pizzas (as in creme frache and potatoes with bacon) it was delicious and nice to have a night out with great company.

Today was a day off for us all - it’s Veteran’s Day and the whole country is on break. So Caitlin, Jennifer and Seamus came over and helped me to build all my stuff - I was really getting tired of boxes all over the floor. After 4 hours we had built a bed frame, desk and bedside table. The bed frame took the longest - and as soon as we were done we discovered that I need to buy a little metal box spring thing - because my mattress sags to the floor! I really wish I had known that when I still had the truck to get everything home... But the good news is that my apartment now looks like a real place! I have a desk and a bed and I finally was able to unpack my suitcase! Amazing!!! And! I got paid! Now I have actual euros to my name and can stop eating pasta every night!!!!

All in all, an amazing week. I absolutely love my apartment and my friends and feel completely content. This whole experience has taught me a lot about myself - it turns out I have a backbone and I’m a lot more resilient than I think. I love it here - I love that I live here - I love being a teacher and I love my new French life. I can’t imagine a better place to start my life in the ‘real world’. Oh France, je t’aime.

Oh and by the way...

I am officially freezing!

The weather here has been random, sporatic even, for the last 6 weeks (we had summer like temperatures for a few days last week). But as of today, it is officially freezing (and raining too). I always knew that the weather would be a big challenge for me - according to weather.com it'll be 89 F in Mesa today, while it was a raining 9 C in Orléans - but if I'm already cold when it's 48 F outside, how in the world will I survive?!?

Over the weekend a French man told me he felt bad for me since it'll get down to -10 C in February. Oh joy.

November 2 - some things I've learned while in France

First, let me apologize for the long delay between posts. All I can say is that it has been a week. I decided a while ago that my current apartment, while nice and spacious, simply wasn't cutting the mustard. It was just way too far away and seriously imparing my connection to the city and my friends (buses in Orléans stop running at 8:30). So for the past week or so I've been engaged in a fun little game called "Find an apartment in a foreign country". Turns out, the game isn't as fun as I'd hoped. I found an amazing place, filled out all the forms and then waited for over a week while the agency gave me conflicting answers (there were a few days where I was told yes in the morning, and then in the afternoon told probably not). Finally, after a few tears (or a lot) I decided to abandon my dreams of floor to ceiling windows and start looking again. 7 phone calls later I had an appointment. And, to make a long story short - I've found a place! I haven't signed the lease yet, but I have paid my deposit and have an appointment tomorrow morning to finalize all the paperwork! I'm trying to not get too excited - I've learned my lesson about that - but I think I'm golden.

So, in light of my past week, I thought I would write a few things that I've learned about France and life in general.

1st: don't put all your eggs in one basket (as in, even if someone says yes, don't stop looking for new places)
2nd: don't count your chickens before they hatch (as in, a yes is not a yes until the keys are in your hand)
3rd: you may win more flies with honey than with shit, but in France you're better off giving them shit (as in, don't be so nice all the damn time and learn how to assert yourself)
4th: be patient, but persistent (waiting around is nice and all, but you're aren't going to get anywhere unless you bother the hell out of people)
5th: being foreign is fun until someone calls you a foreigner (seriously, it's a bit painful - we're people too!)
6th: having an amazing group of friends is all you need in life (Caitlin, here's looking at you for helping me SO much, Seamus for the long distance support and all you amazing assistants for listening and offering kind words - I am the luckiest person!)
7th: phone calls home at 2 am are always welcome (especially when you have amazing parents!)
8th: When life hand you lemons, it's best to turn them into lemonade (lemonade tastes way sweeter when you've been stuck with lemons for a while)

And that's all for now! Everyone keep your fingers crossed that the lease signing goes well, if it does I'm off to Paris for the day on Wednesday and then back to work Thursday. Ah, France.

October 23 - It’s Friday and I’m in love

...with the two boxes full of American goodies that I just got! You have never seen someone so happy to get a can of black beans and green chilies! Yesterday, I received a little note in my boite de lettres that I had received two boxes - except to retrieve them I would have to go to some obscure post office branch nowhere near me (which is very unusual, because the last time I wasn’t home to sign for something they left it at the nearest post office - there are some mysteries about this country that I will never understand). OR I could just wait until tomorrow between 8 am and 1 pm for the postman to show up - which, obviously, was the better option. So after I finished my only class of the day at 9:15 am (the scheduling gods thought it was a great idea to give me only 1 class on Fridays at the lovely time of 8:15am) I went running out of the building, caught the next bus and sat patiently in my apartment for the next two hours. There was no way that I was going to miss these boxes! Well, at 11:30 the interphone (aka intercom) rings and I go running down the stairs, passport in hand, to meet the mailman. I was so excited that I actually almost knocked him over and forgot every word I’ve ever known in French, including bonjour. Packages signed for, I went running back up the stairs and started sawing them open.

Up first - a box from Troy containing hot sauce, adobo peppers in chipotle sauce, jalapenos, chili powder and several cans of green chilies. I was literally so happy to see green chilies that I hugged the can. You can take the girl out of the southwest, but you can NEVER take the southwest out of the girl. Best birthday gift ever!

Up next - a box from my parents. I’ve yet to feel homesick, but I did try to smell the inside of the box to see if it smelled like home -- it smelled like cardboard (damn). Contents - nearly all the food items I miss from home (you just can’t ship one of my dad’s roast chickens or my mom’s spaghetti sauce or a batch of homemade enchiladas). I now have real spices and bouillon cubes and more chilies AND Trader Joes mac and cheese (gluten free style!), not to mention a can of TJs organic black beans! The minute I saw that purple label I literally jumped for joy - this can also got a great big hug. I also got one of my favorite treats - a tin of kippered herring (but no dad to split the can with). I also got a handful of halloween goodies including a really cool new shirt and some stickers! New pajama pants (which are so cute!), some new family portraits some great books to show my kids and a taco making kit! I cannot wait to have a little dinner party with my taco kit. Razu also got 4 new toys - which he has been chasing around the house since!

During the whole experience of opening these boxes I was actually crying tears of joy while laughing, jumping up and down and hugging objects - it must have been quite the scene.

Its so funny, because I really haven’t felt homesick - I really miss my favorite people, but I’ve yet to miss the ‘place’ of home. I think it helps that I have a set schedule and a place to call home that’s not a hotel. I have moments where I really start to miss things like palm trees and orange sunsets and walking outside to see sunshine and feel warm air -- but for the most part these moments are few and far between. But getting these boxes with things from MY home - it brought tears to my eyes. I think that, more than the items themselves, its knowing that I have people who are thinking of me and remembering all the little things that bring me joy at home. Its that feeling of love that is so overwhelming - and being able to hold these same items that were carefully chosen and held by the people I love, well, its just like getting to see them in person and giving them a great big hug.

In other very exciting news - I have a French social security number which means that I’m now officially enrolled in French health insurance! Yay!

Also, in even more good news I’m officially on vacation until November 4 (or 3 or 5 - I’ll definitely find out before the day creeps up on me). I’m actually really looking forward to this little break. I know that I’ve only been working for a month, but my brain already feels pretty mushy. This whole experience is quite the learning curve - on top of adapting to a new culture and filling in endless forms, I’m learning a new job IN a new culture. I’ve never received training to be a teacher, and am therefore only imitating the great teachers I’ve had the past. Thus, there are lots of moments of confusion, not only because I’m a new teacher, but also because the French school system is SO different than the US’s. For example: if you want to discipline a kid in class who’s chatting too much do you say (a) please stop talking or (b) shut up. In the US you would pick option a - in France you would pick option b. I have yet to tell a student to shut up, nor do I ever want to, but when you say the polite American things they don’t take you seriously! I’ve had to resort to the idea of calling students out almost to the point of embarrassment to get their attention - and even then it doesn’t always work! Amazing! Also, I don’t think French students get to play a lot of games in class - I can’t tell you the level of confusion I’ve caused when I’ve asked them to pair up or get in teams. Apparently students don’t move around in the classroom. If you ask them to get in teams, they just stay where they are! I never thought that I would have to explain the concept of working in teams - but I’ve done so twice now. I play a game with my students where I put them into 2 teams and let each team choose a picture. I then draw two boxes on the white board and ask them to describe the picture to me while I try to draw it - I give each team 3 minutes. I award points based on which drawing turns out better, plus points for strong details and good vocab words or phrases. However, I subtract points for each student on the team who doesn’t speak. I thought that this was pretty straight forward, however yesterday when I was totaling up the points I asked if every student had said at least one sentence. It turns out that one student didn’t speak, so the team lost 1 point. Then (and this blew my mind) a student on that teams says, “but madame, it isn’t fair to lose a point. He has really bad english and this is not our fault.” I probably looked stunned. I simply couldn’t imagine calling out a fellow student like that, just in the name of winning! The most amazing part was that the student with the supposedly bad english didn’t seem to care - and lest you think he didn’t understand, think again - someone translated the phrase for him into French -- and he still didn’t care! Wow! Then we had a little chat on team work and why it’s important to help others... hopefully they understood me (literally, they understand me for the most part, but I can’t imagine that I was speaking as slowly as I should have due to my surprise at the situation) ...

And... I think that’s all. Quite the rambling post, but quite the exciting day!

Protests, Paintings and Markets

Friday was a day like none other. It was actually kinda like 5 days in one. I had a class at 8:15am and almost froze in attempting to get there. The sign at the pharmacy said 6.9 degrees celsius - but I swear it was lying. The class was good, except for the part where I didn't know that I had to teach the group (I still don't know why teachers think it's ok to not tell you their plans for the first class...). The students in this class are really talented. They range between 17 and 21 years old, and are very well spoken and very interested in teaching. I didn't even need to do a lesson because they had so many questions for me and general interest in the difference between France and the US. I'm really excited to work with this group - also, they are specializing in design and architecture, so will get to talk to them mostly about art and architecture (love it!).

After class I finished up my social security paperwork and job paperwork - so now I officially have health insurance and might actually get paid by the end of October! The excitement of being done with forms put a spring in my step, so as I left work I couldn't have been in a better mood. I caught my first bus, had a nice ride and then waited for my second bus. And waited and waited and waited ... The 5 was not coming. Another young guy was waiting with me and we started talking about the situation (and he understood me!). A different bus pulls up and tells us that the 5 isn't coming because of an agricultural protest blocking transportation in the city center... well crap. Where I live is a bit too far to walk (and I was wearing high heels since I had just come from work) so I decided to do what any logical would do - go and see the protest!

As I was walking toward the city center I was stopped by a man who handed me a sack with an apple, an onion and a whole bunch of wheat grains. Then he asked me to sign some form - I said I was American and he said no big deal - so I signed it mostly so that they would leave me alone. What I signed? I have no idea. So then as I'm walking along I pass a truck that's hurling 5 kilo sacks of potatoes onto the streets.

A group of people eventually gather around the truck asking the man to throw them more gently because they want to eat them - so pretty soon I find myself in the crowd being handed a huge sack of potatoes. So there I am, in heels and work wear with a sack of apples and onions AND a 5 k sack of potatoes. I sat down for a while to watch the action - there had to have been at least a couple hundred people marching and yelling being followed by several farm trucks (one of which almost ran me over). I was content to just sit and watch until they started firing guns into the air - then I decided to leave. I started walking toward Caitlin's place (hoping to unload the potatoes) and meet a woman in the street who kinda follows me around for a bit asking about the potatoes - I eventually give her 1/4 of the sack worth of potatoes (I tried to unload the whole thing on her, but she said it was too heavy to carry). I finally make it to Caitlin's place - and decided to meet up with Seamus for lunch. On the way out I run into an English teacher who wanted to come to see the protest. So back out we went.

Most of the action was over by the time we got there, but we did discover the streets to be covered in rotting food and regular food as well as a pile of tires on fire in the middle of the road along with a pile of manure on fire. We also found out why the busses had stopped running - the farmers had created a blockade with a huge amount of tires which was blocking off the main road for transportation. Along with all the food in the streets were a handful of French people rooting through it attempting to find anything edible (and therefore free). In the end I had 1 head of lettuce, 1 sack of onions, 1 sack of potatoes and a handful of beets (I ate the apple for lunch).

In the end, it felt a lot like being in the French revolution. Things burning in the street, rotten food everywhere, people rifling through to find a free meal and exchanging their finds to end up with some of everything. Here's some pictures:

Crushed onions

rotting food in the streets

manure + protest sign

potatoes + tires in the fountain (and people trying to salvage the good ones)

harvesting potatoes and beets in the streets

barricading the streets

The amazing thing? The streets were clean by 5pm and by the next morning it looked like nothing had happened. Amazing.

After all of this we had a very lovely lunch following by a really fun evening.

Yesterday Caitlin, Seamus and I decided that it would be lots of fun to make paintings of the Joan of Ark statue - best experience ever! The three of us perched ourselves on a little window ledge, busted out our 7 tempra paints meant for children and went to work. Everyone walking by looked very entertained - some even stopped and chatted with us. The three paintings turned out pretty amazing - but you wouldn't know that we were all painting the same thing! Best souvenir ever! Here's what the square looks like, sadly I don't yet have pictures of the three paintings:


This morning I ventured to an outdoor stuff market (like a flea market, except very french). I ended up with an amazing copper pot for my mom and a great postcard from the 1900s! I love France!

October 15 - Culturally sensitive topics and representing America

So today was quite the day in teacher / American ambassador land. My first class of the day which is usually at 8:15am was canceled, so I got to sleep in til 8:30 (holy crap, what is happening to me? since when is sleeping til 8:30 sleeping in?!?). My next class, which is a double period of English with the same teacher as my double period on Tuesday turned into quite the adventure. I had never met this class, so I thought that we’d just be doing introductions (which had been implied yesterday when I saw her) - but lo and behold - we get into the class and the teacher turns to me and says, “ok, here’s your group, I’ll send you the rest next period. Have a nice lesson!” SHIT! Essentially, my worst nightmare! Fortunately, I had been thinking about what do to for my next lesson for a similar group, so I just got to test it out early! The students didn’t seem to notice, and they seemed to have a good time. My premature plans only got me through 45 minutes though, so I’m so glad that I’ve memorized about 10 different games for the different levels, so I was able to play an easy game to fill the time. I hope that never happens again!

After this impromptu 2 hours of teaching I went to meet my first class of BTS students - I’ve been told that some of the students in this grade could be my same age, so I really wasn’t sure what to expect. Well, as with all of my older students they were silent. It’s like pulling teeth to get them to say anything. The teacher - who is a very nice guy - is really interested in American politics, so he starts asking various questions about political issues in the States. It starts off innocent enough - how do I feel about school uniforms? Which, fundamentally, I am against, however I do feel that there are certain situations where they do serve a purpose. So I express my view and ask the students their feelings, which for the most part echoed mine. Then a student asks if school uniforms has impacted the prevalence of guns in schools. UHHHHH. Not exactly what I want to talk about! So I say that I really don’t know (which is the truth). Then we get on the topic of guns and gun control in general. Once again, not exactly the image of the US I want to project - so I do my best to put the issue in as positive of a context as possible. But they of course know quite a bit about the issue, so I finally had to resort to the idea that the US is a safe place, and that as long as you avoid bad neighborhoods you are very safe. (I definitely did not bring up the fact that guns are now allowed in bars in Arizona!) Then a student asks me if young children really accidentally kill each other with their parent’s guns! All I can say is wow. Just then the teacher pipes up, and says, “let’s change the subject.” In my mind: “Oh thank goodness!” But he continues with, “Do you know what the plans are for ground zero? Is it still just a big hole in the ground, or is there some building going on?” ... I’m sure I looked like someone who had just seen a ghost! Of course, I don’t really know (since I avoid most things September 11th related). But then we discussed 9/11 for what felt like an eternity. Some students asked questions about the twin towers and all that (they are all in training to be architects or interior designers - so these are pertinent questions) and then the teacher starts talking about a TV special he had seen with footage of the towers and people’s reactions and how it was really the best documentary about 9/11 that he’d seen yet. He then asks, “do you plan to see it?” All I could think was, “no I don’t plan to see it. Since I have the image of the towers’ collapse forever imprinted in my mind, I really don’t need to see it ever again!” but instead I politely said that it’s still much too painful to see things related to that day and then did everything I possibly could to not well up with tears. I then immediately changed the subject to positive things about America - like California and NYC and national parks and the Grand Canyon! The students got really excited when I told them that I lived in the same state as the Grand Canyon and that I’ve seen it. I also brought up Obama - which usually results in a positive conversation, since most of the French love Obama - except it didn’t work this time! I asked, “what do you guys think about Obama?” Crickets chirp. “What did you think about George Bush?” Heads shake in disgust. “So you like Obama then?” Teacher: “well, he hasn’t really done anything yet - how can we know if we like him?” Ummm. He has done quite a few things, like, you know, improving international relations. So then a student asks what I think about the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to him. I respond that I think it’s more of a comment on the past presidential policy, but that I’m happy that Obama’s peace initiatives and goals of improving international relations are being recognized in a positive light. It seems a bit odd, but overall I’m happy with the idea. Silence. Apparently the French think it’s silly and premature. Yeah... So, all in all, a successful class.

The really frustrating thing about all this? I’ll only have these students one on one, so I really won’t get a chance to correct their image of my home! Sometimes I forget that it’s so easy to get down on your own country - especially when there are so many things that happen that you don’t really agree with. But the thing is, no matter how frustrated I may get over gun control or other political issues, I have to remember that at the end of the day I am an ambassador for my country. In so many ways it’s my job to create a positive image of the US. I really wish that I could have avoided those subjects all together - but I guess I was able to answer some burning questions? I suppose that it’s necessary to talk about the tough subjects, but I was hoping to be able to avoid it until I could at least create a positive image first. Oh well, C’est la vie.

On a much more positive note, the teacher has invited me for dinner sometime! He has a daughter who is 23 and lives in Paris (and really likes to speak English) - and he thinks that “if you two get along, it might be nice for you if you want to visit Paris sometime.” So nice! And this is the French in a nutshell. Tough talk and then a dinner invitation. And I thought I was blunt!

But even all of these political conversations couldn’t get me down - as I walked out the door to catch the bus, I looked around. And do you know what? I live in France and I love it here!

October 14 - The true joy of France and the surprising joy of teaching

So - I have a cold. A rather mild one, but the kind that makes you lose your voice if you talk too much. And since I’m a teacher now - surprise surprise - I have no voice. Well, I’m not a real teacher, but I do have 12 different classes to keep track of (all at different levels, might I add) and they all call me “Madame” which just makes it all the more official. Although, they only use Madame when they want something or when they think they might be in trouble. My favorite thing that they say is, “euh, Madame, may I go to zee, euh, toilettes? euh, please?” I don’t know why, but I just love this phrase! Especially because they always say toilettes the french way (like, twa-let). The other thing that I just love about teaching is that the kids crack me up! They say the funniest things! For example: Today I met a new class for the first time, I think they were Terminal - which equals our high school seniors, and I got asked on a date by 4 guys at once! HA! This is the first time that this has happened (believe it or not!). So they are all asking me questions ... well, a better way to put it would be that the extreme silence was occasionally punctuated with a half mumbled question ... anyway, so one guy asks me, “did you go to the Paris?” which translates to, “have you ever been to Paris?” Which I answer, “I visited Paris 4 years ago, but I have not been since being here.” Immediately 4 guys go, “euh, would you go le weekend?” translation, “um, would you like to come with me this weekend?” It was SO SMOOTH! I tried my best to stifle a laugh, but I failed. So funny! They are harmless, of course, I just thought it was so brave to ask a new teacher on a date! Oh the French.

Anyway, so I have a cold... and to make myself feel better I made homemade vegetable soup yesterday. There were a ton of leftovers, so on the way home tonight I stopped and bought a fresh baguette. All I can say is, wow! French bread, really and truly, is the very best thing. I was so hungry when I got home that I tore a piece off while waiting for the microwave - simply phenomenal. I don’t know what it is, but the bread here just tastes amazing! I had forgotten that. Danielle and I have been buying baguettes at the grocery store, and they’re good, but this one was just amazing. Needless to say, there’s less than a third of the loaf left. And I’m thinking of going and eating the rest before it gets cold... French bread, as of right now, officially rounds out my top 5 favorite foods. The list goes like this: 1. Roast Chicken; 2. Moules frittes; 3. Enchiladas; 4. Mom’s spaghetti; 5. Real, Fresh, French Bread

Also, more exciting news ... I successfully taught 4 classes on my own! The first class of the day was conducted in the hallway - apparently the key that I was given doesn’t work on the room I was assigned, but we made the best of it. I think the students thought I was crazy, but that’s just a bit of the American way for them - don’t waste time, make the best of the situation. After we finally were let in - by a janitor who lectured me on the not having a key (she ate her words though after I pulled out my key and demonstrated that it wasn’t my fault - then she simply told me to get a key before next time) - we had a lovely time with some very educational games. The next class was the same age and went much better (mostly because we didn’t have to sit in the hallway). I played a game where the kids had to describe a picture that I gave them while I tried to draw it on the board. Funniest thing! One group had a man sitting on a bed - so at first they told me that the man was on the bed - so I drew him standing up. Then they told me that I was wrong and that he was lying on the bed. But that was wrong too. Finally one student goes, he is half on the bed and half off the bed -- so my little stick figure got to be half on the bed and half off the bed. Then -- and this is the funniest -- a girl goes, “no madame, ees head is on the back of the bed” --- that poor man! (for those of you playing along at home: he was sitting on the bed, leaning against the headrest) My last two classes of the day were with my youngest group - their level of English is surprisingly good (though they are hesitant to speak, well, English at least- they say a whole lot in French) and they are really enthusiastic. We played a game kinda like musical chairs, except you have to make a statement describing people in the room and if they statement applies to you then you have to stand up and change chairs. The last person left standing has to make a new statement. For example, you could say, “I know someone who is wearing blue jeans,” and then 7/8th of the class gets up and scrambles for a new seat. This game was hilarious! One student, who was going for the same chair as me actually sat on me! And then she jumped up and goes, “désolee madame!” So cute! Another student shoved me and then promptly apologized and offered me her chair! I love it!

Tomorrow I get to meet 3 new classes, which is always exciting. Although, when I meet these groups they ask so many things. It’s exhausting to think so much about obscure things that I like. I have never answered so many random questions in my life as I have in the past two weeks! The things the kids ask me just crack me up --the younger ones especially, they will ask you anything! I’ve been asked about more movies, TV shows, bands and all around pop culture than you can shake a stick at! They are especially curious about what TV shows I like to watch. A lot of American shows are dubbed into French and broadcast about 3 years behind -- the most popular seem to be Desperate Housewives, Prison Break, Bones, NCIS and CSI. Unfortunately for the kids, I only watch CSI. They always look so sad when I tell them I don’t watch Prison Break (is it even on in the US anymore?) and “Desperate” as they call it. The answer I usually get is, “you not like Eva Longoria? She, euh, loves Tony Parker ... he ees French!” which means, “don’t you like Eva Longoria? She is married to Tony Parker who is French.” To which I always respond, “I like Eva, but I especially love the French!”

And, in case you were wondering: Yes. I am the most ridiculous teacher ever.

oh! and P.S. today while getting a hot chocolate and an apricot croissant I was complimented on my accent! Amazing! I may not be able to say much, but I least I sound good!

A big update

So I realized this morning that it’s been way too long since I’ve added to this blog! A lot has happened in this past week - I’ve started teaching, made some new friends, and I’ve been on a few adventures! I’ve both gained and lost confidence in my French speaking ability as well as acquired a cold (awesome!)

Teaching is quite the experience. So far I’ve been limited to introducing myself and answering and asking a lot of questions. Most of my students know my age, that I’m single and that I love food. They know that my favorite actor is Johnny Depp and that I don’t like professional wrestling. The questions they ask sometimes just blow my mind! Last week was a short week for me - I only worked for a few hours on Monday and then a full day on Tuesday. I was supposed to teach / observe on Wednesday but the teacher was giving a test that couldn’t be rescheduled. Thursday we had an assistants training and then on Friday I was told that I didn’t need to come in to work at all. So not much work for week 1! I have yet to meet all of my classes - but for the most part I feel comfortable in this job. I don’t get nervous in front of the students - and they seem to understand me very well. There is only one class where I’m a bit nervous - they’re my last class of the day on Tuesdays and they’re my youngest group (around 15 and 16). They are like wild animals, but on the positive side they talk a lot (just not always in English).

One of my students gave me a very nice tour of Orléans last week -- it was cool because it was more a tour of her life. She took me to her favorite sandwich place for Shwarma and showed me where all the kids go to make out (I’ll be sure to avoid that place!). She also showed me her old high school and where she used to live. It was really neat to see Orléans from a local’s perspective. I got to meet a lot of kids - all of whom were excited to meet a “real American.”

I’ve become very close with two assisants, Seamus from Northern Ireland and Caitlin from Canada. We are all very goofy and have lots of fun doing silly things (we seem to have a weekly tradition of sitting on the pedestal of the Joan of Ark statue). This past weekend we decided to do something fun - but we really couldn’t think of what to do. So Caitlin proposed the brilliant idea of meeting at the train station at 8:45 am and taking the next train. The rules were: the train ride had to be more than one hour and less than 2 hours; there had to be a return train available; and we had to make the absolute best of whereever we ended up. So Saturday morning rolls around and Danielle and I meet Seamus and Caitlin at the station and ended up in Bourges! It turned out to be a really lovely city and we visited their Cathedral and Palais Jacques Couer (the elaborate home of M. Couer who turned out to be the Finance minister of France in the 1440s). After we returned home we went grocery shopping so that we could have a picnic on the Loire - and while in the grocery store we discovered some AMAZING masks and ran into another American assistant - so we all picniced on the Loire with our masks.

As of today I have a rather unpleasant cold, but fortunately I never teach on Mondays - so I was able to rest and prepare my lessons for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be a very long day - however I think the lessons will be fun - hopefully my students agree with me!

October 3 - The skies may be grey, but all I see is blue!

Yesterday was an absolutely fantastic day.  We had our language assistants orientation which included all language assistants from all of the Orléans-Tours region.  The orientation itself wasn’t super useful - although we did get a nice presentation on our region (we make wine and cheese and grow a lot of wheat) but we did get a chance to meet all the other assistants.  We got a lovely tour of Orléans, which was in French (i.e. I learned a lot, but probably won’t be able to repeat it) in a group of about 10.  In my super cool group there were two N. Irishmen, a Canadian, 3 Americans and a handful of British people.  Well the Canadian is just the sweetest person in the world and the two Irishmen were absolutely hillarious.  After the orientation we went out to a bar in a group of about 20 or so.  I got to meet all kinds of people - several of whom live in Orléans itself!  We stayed out until about midnight and got to meet some German language assistants as well as some random French people.  I got to practice my French - and it’s improved!  I can now carry on a very broken, but understandable conversation!  AMAZING!  A man from Madagascar told Danielle and I about something going on in Paris tonight - people are going to stay up all night to look at contemporary art from around the world.  It sounds really interesting, but I think I’m going to pass because one of the assistants is throwing a party tonight in her flat.  I think it’s more important for me to meet the other people living in my town than go to a giant First Friday - but that’s just my opinion.  

I am just loving being here and meeting people.  I haven’t met many French people yet, but that will come.  I’m planning on joining some clubs and taking some cooking classes -- so maybe I’ll meet them there.  I also want to join an outdoor club, because they are always going on adventures and it’s a great way to meet the locals!

Orléans is just amazing!  I’m on a big adventure and I love it!

I live here!

Holy crap - I officially live in France!

I have an address, I have a bank account, I have a job!

I can't believe this is really happening!  And I love it here!

September 29th - An apartment!

As of this morning I have spent exactly 16 hours in my new home -- and I love it!  I live in a three bedroom, 1 bathroom (+ bidet!) apartment with a giant living room and a very incomplete kitchen.  So many teachers from Danielle’s school are loaning us items.  We have one bed frame, 2 mattresses, a lot of mismatched sheets, some chairs, a table - and so many plates that I don’t know what do with them all.

Today we’re running around to get more things - like a mirror and dressers and storage units. I love it!  So amazing!

September 27th - Festival du Loire and discovering Orléans

Yesterday I woke up, once again, at 5 am.  I didn’t feel very well - too many milk products the day before.  I ate some dry cereal and tried to go back to sleep - which I finally did around 9.  Today I needed to hang around the flat, because Alain’s mother was having a dishwasher delivered at 1.  I didn’t know what time she’d be here - and I didn’t want Razu to freak out and try to run away.  By 1:30 the whole operation was finished (and Razu was thoroughly freaked out and hiding under the bed) and Alain offered to take me to the school and then drive me to the city center (I wanted to go the Festival du Loire).  The school is really cool.  It’s a very modern looking building with a lot of glass and these very interesting shapes and structures inside.  I’m excited to get to work in such a cool building!

The festival du Loire was a lot of fun - there were all kinds of vendors and restaurants set up as well as live music and a ton of boats on the river.  I walked around for a while and then decided to go and find some water and more minutes for my cell phone.  Just at that moment my mom called and we talked for a long time.  I had been feeling a little overwhelmed and a bit lonely - but afterwards I felt 100 times better.  During our conversation she looked up some internet cafe’s for me - and found one located in a mexican restaurant - which I happened to be standing very near to.  So after our phone conversation I headed out to find it - turns out it’s on the coolest street in the city!  This little street was just full of cool restaurants, shops and bars.  There were all kinds of people out and about and I immediately felt the magic happen.  Before I didn’t know anything about this city - just the commercial areas and the suburbs -- I was starting to wonder if there was anywhere young people hung out -- but there it was!  An adorable little street that felt like France with all kinds of people happy to be alive!  

Afterwards, I went back to the Festival to get some dinner.  I had spied a place earlier that served moules frittes, but it was too late to get lunch.  They weren’t serving the food yet, so I walked around for a while and listened to some music.  I bought a CD for 4 euro - the guy told me that he had made too many and needed to get rid of them.  He even drew me a picture that says “Viva America!”  By the time I got back to the moules frittes place, I noticed that they had hung a sign that they were full for dinner - apparently you needed a reservation (who knew?  a reservation for a restaurant at a festival?).  I decided to settle for a crepe and catch the bus home.  While in line, I met a very nice lady.  She started talking to me after someone had tried to cut in line - except I couldn’t understand her at all (she talked too fast).  I told her that I was American and spoke a little bit of French - and we had a nice conversation in half english and half french.  She told me that she thought the Orléanais were a bit rough and much preferred Paris!  She understood my French and I understood her English, and I felt a lot better about my speaking skills.  When she left she wished me goodluck and her little daughter came and said - after much hesitation - “goodbye” with a very sweet smile.  

I’m liking Orléans more and more by the minute!

September 26th - Finding my bearings

Thanks to jet lag I woke up yesterday morning at 4:50am.  I was so hungry that I got up at 5:30am and ate some cereal before putting myself back to bed at 6.  I caught some sleep between 8 and 9 and then forced myself to get up.  My plan was to find a cell phone - I knew that I could find a prepaid version in either a grocery store, a FNAC (which is like a barnes and noble) or a cell phone provider store.  The problem being, of course, that I had no idea where this flat was located in the greater Orléans area.  Based on where Alain had driven when coming back from the train station, I guessed that I was south of the Loire and west of the city center -- how far, I had no idea.  As I was putting on my shoes I had a genius idea -- phone books usually list what town you’re in and have a map!  So I rummaged around and finally found two different phone books - neither of which listed the suburb I’m in.  One of them had a map that listed all the streets in each suburb - when I went to the grocery store the day before I had written down a few of the street names that I saw - so I started looking them up.  And found none of them to be listed.  Getting really discouraged, I figured I’d never find my way.  And then I had another brilliant idea - I found my receipt from the grocery store - which, lo and behold, listed the city!  Turns out I was north of the Loire and just west of the city center.  And by just west, I mean about 6 kilometers.  So I started walking.  I noticed several bus stops along the way that were going to the central train station - but taking one seemed really risky since I didn’t know the route.  So, an hour and a half later I finally found myself in the city center (with no map).  I was really hungry, but I needed to find a cell phone.  Along the way I had stopped in 3 grocery stores - all of which sold the top up cards, but not the phones.  I followed the flow of people, until I stumbled upon the Place Jeanne d’Arc - which is the main square.  And then!  I saw a FNAC - in I went and found the cell phone section ... only to realize that they only seemed to sell phones that were on a 2 year plan (which you need an address to sign up for).  I bought a large french to english dictionary and went back out.  And then!  I saw an Orange store (which sells phones!) - I went in and bumbled my way through the transaction and then, presto!  for 29 euro I had a phone!  

After this success - which almost made me cry I was so happy - I had lunch.  I really wanted to call my parents, but it was 3 in the morning, so I decided to wait until after lunch.  I stopped at a restaurant filled with locals and lots of outside seating.  I ordered a prix fixe menu which included a main course of either the plat du jour or steak hache, a dessert and a coffee.  The plat du jour was some kind of fish, so I ordered the steak hache - which it turns out is a hamburger patty.  It did come with a small salad, french fries and an amazing dipping sauce though!  For dessert I got a strawberry tarte.

After lunch I went to the tourist information office to get a map of the city and suburbs and a transportation map.  I had decided to take a bus home - so I started walking back the way I’d came.  I realized that I wasn’t sure if I needed to buy a ticket ahead of time, or if I could pay on board.  So I asked some local kids - who literally had no idea what the hell I was saying.  I’d been having pretty good luck with my crappy French for most of the day (and by pretty good, I mean that with a combination of my words and hand gestures I had managed to get what I needed) - so they weren’t any help.  I called Alain to see if he could answer my question, but his phone was off.  So then I called home.

As it turns out - you can either buy a ticket ahead of time, or pay on the bus. Last night Alain took me to his house so that I could use the internet and I learned that the school housing which was offered to Danielle has 3 bedrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a bathroom, that her people are loaning us as much furniture as they can and that they’ll take the cat!  I have a place to live!