Anna in la Belle France

Playing catch up

2010-06-05T14:37:00.001-07:00

The last week in Orléans was busy and stressful, so the blog was put on hold. Since being home, I've had time to finish my post about Ireland and the South of France as well as posting my thoughts on leaving and my joy of the French seasons. There are 3 new posts below and I'm currently working on one about being "on the other side".

I want to thank everyone who supported me during my time abroad - I can't say how much it meant to me to know that there were people rooting for me and sending their love. So thank you to everyone for all those good wishes and thanks to all who read!

Thoughts on leaving

2010-06-05T14:36:00.001-07:00

It’s very hard to believe that in one week I’ll be on a plane, Razu by my feet, going home. It’s an odd feeling. On the one hand, I’m so very excited to see everyone that I’ve missed, on the other hand I know that what I’m leaving, I can’t come back to. It’s not that I can’t come back to France - it’s that if I do, it won’t be the same. The people that I’ve shared these 7-8 months with are some of the most incredible people and, of course, they won’t be here. But beyond that, after 8 months, I do finally feel like I live here. And that feeling of comfort (most likely shaped enormously by the good weather) makes it hard to go elsewhere. I felt the same way leaving home in the first place - I was leaving something really comfortable and moving into the unknown. This time, I’m leaving a place of comfort and going back to my previous comfort space - but will it be the same? Will I feel the same? It’s a big question.

Some of the Seasons

2010-06-05T14:32:00.000-07:00

One thing that was always a surprise in France was how different each season looked.

From my window/skylight a view of each season:

Late fall/early winter

Winter

Spring

Ireland and the South of France

2010-06-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

Volcano be damned, Seamus and I did make it to Ireland. There were some looming ash cloud problems the two days before Seamus and I traveled - affecting only Ireland, Scotland and parts of England. Go figure. But on our scheduled day of travel the skies were clear - which was good.

Our morning started off with a final climbing of the Joan statue with Caitlin. We had to sneak around a very lazy security guard to sit on our favorite monument, but it was no problem and a nice, bittersweet goodbye to Joan from the three of us. Afterward we confirmed that we were good to travel and said an incredibly sad goodbye. It was like losing a piece of my heart saying goodbye to Caitlin - but I know that we will meet up again.

We had an uneventful trip to Ireland and spent most of the time with Seamus’ family - which was absolutely lovely. We went on a beautiful hike up to see a Cairn built by travelers leaving Ireland, which gave us a really nice view of the area:

We also went on a day trip to Donegal - which is gorgeous! Seamus’ parents did all the driving and we even took a ferry across:

looking at Donegal

We did a very cute hike to see a waterfall:

And then visited some gorgeous beaches. Who knew that Ireland had such nice beaches?

Seamus and I visited Belfast for a day and spent most of the time trying to stay out of the cold. We also did a fair bit of shopping. But mostly, we just hung around chez - Seamus and enjoyed his family. There was a wii tournament and actual bowling along with a lot of wonderful meals.

After 6 nice, lazy days we left for Nice - which was very nice, but not lazy at all! We got into our hostel at about 10 - only to find out that they were overbooked. They asked, very nicely, if they could put us in the ‘overflow’ room under the very noisy bar, in exchange for a ‘private’ room the next night. I asked if we really had a choice, and was told no. So off to the incredibly noisy overflow room we went. Not only was the bar noise bad, but some of the people in our room were worse! One guy didn’t seem to understand the concept of shutting the door (at 3 am) so that was fun.

The next day we hauled our very tired selves off the Chagall museum - which was incredible! I do believe that Chagall is my favorite painter (or one of them) so it was really wonderful to see some of his earlier works as well as some more obscure paintings. We had lunch at their very cute cafe and then headed down toward the beach. And what a beach!

Afternoon sunshine

Beautiful sunset

It was a beautiful morning/ early afternoon so we drank in some sunshine and people watched at a cafe. Seamus really wanted to visit Cannes (the film festival was on), so after getting turned around and drenched by the sudden rain we finally managed to get to the train station and to Cannes. Which was something of a let down. What did we see? About 1000+ irritating tourists looking for famous people, the building where the festival was held and the train station. So, unless you like looking for famous people along with 1000+ tourists, there isn’t much to see. Seamus was really disappointed. We hopped on the next train and fled. Safe and sound back in Nice, we finished off our evening with drinks and dinner and then dragged ourselves back to the hostel. We were indeed given a private room, but I spent the entire night convinced that my bunk had bed bugs ... which it didn’t. I think I was just too tired.

The next day we were up bright and early and off to Marseilles! I had literally no expectations for the city - and was pleasantly rewarded! We spent what was left of the morning (after a surprisingly long train ride) wandering aimlessly, bumped into an incredible church:

and had a less than satisfying lunch. I am always baffled by how many non-tourists (better known as locals) will eat at a crappy restaurant ... why do they go back if it isn’t very good?

After lunch we wandered toward the cool old part of the city (but got lost first) and learned that the very famous Chateau d’If is just off the coast of Marseilles! Seamus was incredibly excited and persuaded me to get on the boat (“remember sailing in Italy?” “Yeah, but this boat will go faster, it’ll be ok”). Our boating excursion wasn’t for 45 minutes, so we parked ourselves at a cafe, had a beer and people watched. It was lovely.

I’m happy to report that Seamus was indeed right, and I didn’t get sea sick on the way over. Also, the Chateau d’If and its little island are incredible!

The prison

We spent a good hour wandering around and reading the 5 million signs inside the old prison (most of them about the various movies that have been filmed there and what Dumas based his characters on) while enjoying the incredible views:

A view of Marseilles

The island / ocean

Before leaving Marseilles, we headed over to an ancient church that has been around since roman times (it was a necropolis back in the day). I have to admit, I really don’t like cemeteries or other things having to do with, or related to, dead people. But I couldn’t resist the lure of this church. And so, after paying 2 euro to see the crypt, I decidedly creeped myself out and spent most of the time not actually looking at anything other than basic structural objects. There are no pictures of anything in the church because I was much too creeped out. (even the relics were creepy - one had a whole skull in it ... shudder).

That evening we made our way to Arles in Provence (which took some luck since the trains were being a bit erratic, and ours ended up leaving 30 minutes later than it was supposed to). We got into the ancient roman town around 9 pm, and tummies rumbling immediately headed off in search of dinner. I have long been intrigued by provençal cuisine and was delighted to discover that most restaurants had something traditional on the menu. We settled for a place right next to the roman arena and I tucked into a plate of aioli. Aioli usually refers to a garlic mayonnaise sauce, but in Provence it is a complete dish of boiled vegetables (mine had carrots, green beans and cauliflower), a baked potato (which can also be boiled), boiled fish (typically cod) and a hard boiled egg all served the aioli sauce. Wikipedia tells me that this is correctly called Le Grand Aïoli. All I have to say is, it re-inspired me to continue traveling, gave me faith in french food once again and made me ecstatically happy. The fish was tender, flaky and moist. The green beans were fresh, slightly salty and well buttered. The cauliflower, which typically is not a favorite of mine, disappeared. And the aioli. What can I even say? It was, simply, divine. It was tangy and smooth, the garlic was a clean taste and it perfectly went with every item on the plate (even the hard boiled egg). It was perfection. Even Seamus loved it and he hates fish, cauliflower and eggs (the sauce was that good).

The next morning I planned to venture to the large outdoor market, but thanks to a combination of severe allergies (thank you winds) and sleep deprivation, I simply didn’t make it. Instead I settled for a trip to a boulangerie across town (about a 5 minute walk) and phoning in a reservation for L'Atelier de Jean-Luc Rabanel. I can honestly say that I have no idea what we did for lunch, but sometime in the early afternoon we headed to Avignon in an attempt to go see the Pont de Gard. Now, my allergies were so awful for the duration of my time in Provence that a lot of my memory is fuzzy - Provence suffers from extreme winds called the mistral. Let’s just say that they weren’t much fun at all and we spent a lot of time with sand in our eyes and me attempting to scratch my own face off. SO, we had planned to catch a bus in Avignon that would take us to the famous roman aquaduct so that we could canoe down the river that flows underneath it. Upon our arrival in Avignon we discovered that there was only 1 bus to the Pont de Gard on weekends - at 4:30. So, we had a good three hours to see beautiful Avignon. We decided to spend it by exploring the Palace des Papes (Pope’s Palace) which was a massive building sparsely filled. After about an hour we decided that we had seen enough stone walls and large ceilings and decided to call it a day. But, lo and behold, on our way out we entered a delicious smelling room ... of wine! Apparently the palace isn’t famous for just being papal, but also for having an excellent cellar. Not being one to pass on a wine tasting, we settled in for a beginners foray into exceptional Côtes du Rhone wines. The highlight was by far and away the 2005 Châteauneuf du Pape. Just as we were starting to realize the effects of a good bit of wine on an empty stomach (oh, that’s right! We didn’t have lunch, which is why I couldn’t remember it!) I made the mistake of looking at my watch and discovering that we had 40 minutes before our bus left. Two bottles of wine in hand we misguidely perused the gift shop and then ran as fast as possible to the bus station getting hopelessly lost along the way. After asking directions from a bar owner and two policemen we finally made it to the bus station ... 2 minutes after the bus had departed (the only time a bus in France has ever been on time ... sigh). Disappointed, we purchased train tickets back to Arles and spent our waiting time in a cafe (drinking coffee). Safe and sound back in Arles we headed off for dinner where we an absolutely incredible woman from Maine. She was dining alone, and having traveled alone before, my heart went out to her, and after giving her a smile over a raised glass of wine she struck up a conversation with us. We talked for well over an hour on all kinds of subjects and thoroughly enjoyed every minute. At the end of it all she insisted on paying for our dinner and then disappeared. It was like meeting an angel. I really cannot say just how profoundly she affected me.

The following day was the big day - the day where I got to realize all my french food eating hopes and dreams -- it was our Sunday lunch at L'Atelier de Jean-Luc Rabanel. This restaurant was the whole reason for visiting Arles and something I had been looking forward to for, literally, months. We arrived woefully underdressed but were treated with utmost respect. After settling in we were given the choice of a 7 or 13 course lunch. Knowing the limits of our stomachs (and wallets) we chose the 7 course option. Now, this lunch wasn’t cheap, but we both had been saving up for the experience and it was, not only a treat after finishing our work contract, but our last big meal in France. Also, as a dedicated foodie, it was something that I needed to experience.

Now, to save you from literal pages of my meal being describes, I’m just going to talk about some of the highlights:

- When presented with the overwhelming wine list and the option to choose a course by course wine pairing, I put my monetary concerns aside and opted for a small glass of wine paired by a sommelier with each course. Seamus opted for water. After noticing me giving a taste of champagne to Seamus, the waiters offered to split my wine evenly with him for the same cost. We both got to share the wine for just one price! How awesome is that!

- The artichoke course which consisted of an artichoke and dumpling soup and one of the most interesting and best white wines I’ve ever had. The sommelier described it as an atypical wine with hints of artichoke. And it was indeed an atypical wine - it was minerally, light and had a very faint taste of artichoke. Which is incredible! Artichokes are a real problem for wines - they usually make most wines taste overly sweet - this wine however was absolutely made to go with artichokes and even complemented their taste! Perfection!

- A fried piece of licorice that perfectly matched its dish. I would’ve never thought of a piece of candy matching a savory dish, but it did!

- The meat course which not only had a ridiculously rich, falling apart, tender piece of beef, but tiny new potatoes, fresh peas and a rich yet subtle sauce. The potatoes put all other potatoes I’ve eaten to shame. They were tender, their skin was blistered and crunchy and they yielded just slightly to the bite and then melted with buttery perfection.

- Receiving lovely complements on our french speaking abilities.

- Discovering that tapioca can indeed be tasty.

- Rosemary macaroons served with coffee. Savory and sweet, they matched the end of meal exhaustion and didn’t leave a sickly sweet taste in the mouth.

- Realizing, upon leaving, that lunch had lasted close to 4 hours. Also realizing that we had no idea we’d spent so much time on a such a wonderful meal.

- Not needing to eat again until breakfast the next day.

It was the meal of a lifetime and something I’m so glad I got to experience. If I’m ever given the chance to eat there again I will have no doubts and saunter in (better dressed this time) for yet another 7 course food and wine pairing.

The late afternoon consisted of napping, reading and playing cards. That evening we decided to go out for a drink (food really was not even necessary) and met up with our new friend - the wonderful woman from Maine. We bought her a drink and listened to her adventures and spent about 2 hours soaking up her wonderful company. Before her arrival, Seamus and I had been talking about how funny it felt to be going home 10 days - and the uncertainties that accompany such a change. Would people be the same? Would our friends still be our friends? Could we handle a long distance relationship? I had been feeling especially worried about Americans in general after our experiences in Nice and Cannes (the worst examples of tourism and individuals from any country) and wondered if I had changed so that I no longer fit in with my own countrymen? But our wonderful friend not only dissolved all my worries, but made me proud of all the wonderful characteristics that make up Americans. In so many ways I had forgotten about not generalizing and opening myself up to meeting people. She really was my angel.

On our last day of vacation and last day in Arles we took some time to see the big sites - the Roman arena and theater. They were very cool but thanks to my horrific allergies, I wasn’t really able to enjoy them much.

The Roman Theater

A view of Arles

The roman arena

Our train left Arles around 3:30 - and we had a very interesting ride. We had a transfer in Lyon and then another transfer in Paris - so we needed for things to be on time. Well ... they weren’t. Our first train spent 30 minutes in a random train station because, “A staff member was missing.” What does that mean? Either, a) the staff member was on an extended smoke break, b) the staff member was late to work, or c) they were making a random excuse for some other problem. Thanks to the “missing staff member” we missed our train to Paris by 3 minutes and had to wait an hour for the next one. By the time we got back to Orléans (at close to 1 am) we’d been traveling for over 10 hours.

sorry for the delay

2010-05-21T12:11:00.000-07:00

So, a very short post to say that the vacation was amazing! Now, I'm back in reality and dealing with closing out bank accounts (or not), and the CAF and all the other things that I signed up for.... It's going surprisingly easy, but there is a ton to do.

So, I'll do my vest best to finish the blog entry I started about my travels, but don't hold your breath!

Oh, and I come home in 6 days ... wow...

And in the end...

2010-05-02T06:58:00.000-07:00

As of last Friday I am officially unemployed. It's hard to believe my time teaching is over, and it's a very bittersweet feeling.

My last week of classes was shortened by a day thanks to a SEMTAO strike. No public transportation for a whole day? Yeah, not going to walk 1.5 hours round trip for a 50 minute class.

Tuesday I had 4 parties thrown for me, which were absolutely adorable. I brought some Big Red gum to share (that had been sitting in a cupboard for 7 months... it was still good) which was the cutest thing ever. French people, in general, don't like spicy food. Big Red gum? Turned their faces red and encouraged a lot of coughing. Too cute. I had a bag of candy to calm their delicate palates, which was much appreciated. My second group of students brought a ton of sweets, gave me a handmade card and a bar of chocolate and gave me 1 million complements. Here's a picture of me with the class:

Such amazing people

After saying some very sad goodbyes, I met with my next class (who I wasn't supposed to see, but took on an extra hour just to say goodbye). When they all came in, I noticed right away that 3 girls were missing. I asked another student where they were and she told me that she couldn't tell me, but please don't mark them late. At this point I had to laugh, first of all, I don't know how to mark students late (in 7 months no one was late to my class...) second of all, it wasn't a very good cover. About 5 minutes later the girls returned, cake in hand! So sweet!

As I was going to leave for lunch, several students came back in and took a lot of pictures and gave me a lot of compliments. As I was walking out, two girls stayed and chatted with me and told me that I was a great teacher (which made me feel very good). I will miss that class - they are all just awesome.

After lunch I had two groups of secondes (my youngest age group) and the teacher had arranged for them to bring food and drinks and she brought a ton of candy as well. One girl brought a homemade pear and strawberry tart! Another brought what I can only describe as French brownies - both were incredible! We talked and enjoyed the sweets and I was talked into trying a dozen different types of candy - if I politely declined the response was always, "But Madame, it is my favorite you must try!" I had a 3 hour sugar high following those two groups!

The next day I taught a regular class (they were being punished, apparently, for bad behavior) and then had another party in my honor by another group of secondes. They also brought a ton of candy and brownies and gave me a very nice card. It was really very sweet. They were such a good group of kids!

Thursday ended up being very anti-climatic. I turned in my keys and copy card and that was it. No big goodbyes, nothing dramatic. My teachers will be taking me out for a drink or dinner sometime after I get back from my upcoming vacation.

Being done with teaching is bit surprising. I'm surprised how fast it went - although memory is fuzzy - there were days that went on forever and weeks where I dragged myself to work. I do feel that my stint as a teacher was successful - once I realized that I couldn't really teach much in terms of english (seeing students one hour every other week isn't good for learning) and decided to focus on just making them feel loved and respected and trying to improve their confidence things went much easier for me. And based on the conversations I had this past week, I seemed to have succeed in that respect. More than one student told me that I was like no other teacher in France and that they really felt loved. So, I'm glad that I could do that successfully.

There are so many things and emotions going on this week - amazing people are leaving and I don't know when/ if I'll ever get to see them again. Re-entry has become a surprising thing to think about. My emotions are so very mixed - I can't wait to go home, but I also feel like I'm leaving one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It's so funny, I want to go home and I don't, I want to stay with all these people but I can't. It's a funny thing.

Thursday I'm off to Ireland to visit Seamus' family and see some Irish countryside and then I'm off to Nice and Provence for 5 days of sun and fun before returning to Orléans with 10 days remaining to sort out bills and accounts and packing before I come home May 27th. I can't believe the end is here, it seems like yesterday that I got here and at the same time a million years since I left home.

So much to say

2010-05-02T06:16:00.000-07:00

First of all, I did make it home from Italy in one piece. It took 10 hours on a train, 7 hours in Milan, a 16 hour bus, a metro ride and finally an hour train to get from Bari, Italy to Orléans. It was not an easy trip, nor a free one, but I do have some great stories to tell.

But before I talk about Italy I have to cover the first part of my spring vacation. I think if I were going to give this vacation a label, it would be transportation hell -- it’s very fitting. First of all, Seamus, Caitlin and I had planned to visit Chenonceau, which is a really awesome chateau that I saw with my parents over Christmas (and 4 years ago). Unfortunately, SNCF was on strike during the first week of vacation from Tuesday to Thursday. So, Friday morning we went to the train station all set to buy tickets - except... the strike wasn’t over. I had previously thought that strikes could only happen on the days that were specified, but turns out I was wrong! We were at the train station at 9 am, with a picnic packed and found out that we could indeed get to Chenonceau.... at 6 pm. So instead we went to Parc Floral in Orléans, which is an amazing place. We brought our picnic, enjoyed it on the lawn and played frisbee for a good while. We spent 6 or 7 hours wandering around and had a blast.

Seamus discovers a far off land

We found a random, blue, styrofoam egg in the park and decided to write a note and hide it there.

The note reads, "Dear friends, HELLO! From Outer Space! We have captured your grandmother, she is very happy to be with us! By the time you read this note, we will have returned to our planet, Kablorkabork. Sincerely, Thomba, Noomba and Dork"

The beautiful chateau we attempted to draw

The next day we headed off to Paris to visit Adam, a friend of Seamus’. We had a really lovely time. We went to the Luxembourg gardens and sat on the grass (which, it turns out, is forbidden). The very best part of sitting on the grass at the Luxembourg Gardens? Everybody else copies you and then gets in trouble! Ha! That evening Seamus and Adam went to a play while Caitlin and I drank wine in a cafe with a view of Notre Dame, the Eiffel Tower and the Seine. I think we might have gotten the better deal. That night we partied it up at Adam’s school apartment - which was actually in the school. We slept in the next day and then wandered around Paris. Drank some wine in front of the Eiffel Tower and spent the time trying to find a cheap way to get out of the sudden, surprising cold/rain.

During the second week of our vacation, a trip to Italy was planned. On Wednesday 6 of us headed off for Italy, Caitlin, Seamus, Samantha, Jenny, Catherine and myself. I swear, this trip was a marvel in public transportation, we took a tram to a train to a metro to a bus to a plane. We got into Bari in the evening and were met by friends of Samantha who were amazingly nice. Due to space concerns, Seamus and I had to stay in a B&B while the four girls stayed with the family. We stayed in a really beautiful little town, Polignano a Mare in the world’s cutest B&B ever. Polignano a Mare is right on the Adriatic and an adorable little place. We had a decent dinner for super cheap and the next day headed on a a little trip to visit a huge cave and an adorable little town, Alberobello. The caves were really, really amazing. We ended up getting a personal tour guide, due to some confusion over what to do with 6 english speakers, and even though it was all in Italian, Catherine was able to translate amazingly. I think it might have been the best tour I’ve ever gone on. The guide was really nice and even let us sneak pictures:

The cave opening

The big room

That afternoon we headed to Alberobello, which is a cute little town made up of Trulli, traditional round houses. The town is very touristy, but the houses were adorable! We did some tourist shopping and picture taking and then headed back.

Alberobello

Trulli houses

That night Seamus and I had dinner at a sandwich place where the waitress was, essentially, ecstatic to meet us! It was such a change from France!

Friday we had planned to go Leece, but ended up exploring Bari and Ostuni instead. Bari is a harbor town and a bit rough around the edges, but the historical center is gorgeous! In the afternoon we got an adorable tour of Ostuni, the white city, by Antonio (Samantha’s friend’s boyfriend’s father) who besides his gorgeous house in Torre a Mare has a little place is Ostuni. The town is built (carved?) all out of white stone on a hilltop and is composed of tiny, winding streets. It was adorable.

Ostuni

That night, the girls, and Sammie’s friend and her boyfriend (Natalia and Valerio) came to Polignano to have dinner with Seamus and I. We ended up eating at a lovely pizza place. Friday, of course, was the day that we realized there were significant problems with the whole Volcano issue. At this point our flight was still on, and we felt fairly confident it would end up being ok (how wrong we were...)

The Polignano a Mare beach

Saturday, which was supposed to be our last full day, we went sailing! Antonio and Anna-Maria have an 8 person boat and offered to take us out on the Adriatic! It was an absolutely incredible experience and, even though I got sea sick 10 minutes in, I loved every minute. On the boat we learned that our flight had been canceled - which seemed perfectly fine with all of us. The weather had finally gotten nice and we all thought, hey, extra vacation days! In the afternoon we sent e-mails to teachers and parents and decided to wait and see where the adventure took us. That evening Natalia and Valerio had a Salsa competition in... wait for it... Monopoli! We decided to go and ended up watching Salsa dancing for 6 hours. I have to say, I had no idea how exhausting the whole experience could be. After 6 hours I think I was more tired than most of the dancers (who had the whole adrenaline rush advantage). At 2 am we all headed back to Antonio and Anna-Maria’s (where there was magically space for Seamus and I). Our original flight, but now canceled flight was at 9 am on Sunday. We planned to go the airport the next morning to sort out the whole flight problem (on 4 hours sleep), figuring that you never know what’ll happen.

So stuff in hand we left for the airport at 8 or so, hoping to find a solution to our flight problem. Caitlin, Seamus and I were in a car with Valerio heading toward the airport when we got pulled over by the Carabinari, the nasty Italian military police. I thought that maybe we had been speeding, but it was much more exciting than that! First, I should say that my seat belt didn’t work (and in fact was stuck behind my seat). So when we got pulled over, I didn’t want Valerio to get in trouble for a lack of seat belt, and so, with the advice of Seamus, decided to very quickly fall asleep (yes, I know there are many things wrong with the ideas presented in the last two sentences, but I also know that I had 4 hours sleep). So there I am, pretending to snooze away while 2 very large and angry looking carabinari are circling the car. Valerio is in conversation with one of them, when all of a sudden the other one knocks really loudly on my window and yells something at me in Italian. So, since I don’t speak Italian, I have nothing to say in response. Literally, all I can do is sit there looking scared saying, “I don’t speak Italian.” Awesome. Apparently, he was satisfied with my frightened look and so moved on to Seamus (who was in the front seat) and starts yelling at him. But, again, we have the same problem. Seamus doesn’t speak Italian. So this guy keeps yelling and all Seamus can do is sit and look scared and say, “I don’t speak Italian.” He realizes that Carabinari man just wants him to roll down the window, which he does, which then prompts the lovely police man to keep trying to talk to Seamus. Now, at this point you would think it would be obvious that, besides the driver, none of us speak Italian and therefore have NO idea what these people are saying to us. Valerio says to carabinari man, these people don’t speak Italian - does that stop them? Nope. Angry police officer #1 comes round to where Caitlin is sitting, jerks open the door and proceeds to look us up and down as if we were the most suspicious people on the planet. Then the guy looks at me, really intensely, and says ... something in Italian. He quickly translates to, “NAME!” So I say my name. Then he yells, “NAME!” So I say my name again. Then he gives up and yells something in Italian and then, “PASSPORTS, DOCUMENTS!” At which point we all had to give them our passports. While they were investigating our documents in their nice car, Valerio explains that they think he’s an illegal taxi and wanted him to prove that we were his friends. Now, I have to admit, I wasn’t sure how he would prove this. Caitlin is from Canada, Seamus, Ireland and I’m from the States. We couldn’t even prove that we were friends if we had to! Fortunately, Caitlin and I both have french visas and OFII forms, so I’m guessing they must have realized that we lived in France. After about a minute they yell for Valerio to come out of the car where they proceed to ask him, apparently 4 times, if he was an illegal taxi. Then they asked if he had a problem with justice. He somehow passed their ridiculous test because nothing happened. Our passports were returned and Valerio didn’t get in any trouble. The best part? After we’re all free to go, Carabinari man comes to my window and yells, “GOOD MORNING!” To which all three of us say, “Good morning.” To which he yells, “GOOD MORNING!” So we again say, “Good morning.” And then he yells ... “GOOD MORNING,” and walked back to his car. I think it might have been the only English phrase he knew - but he certainly knew it well!

We finally get to the airport, only to find out that everything we need to do to change our flights was online. But we do learn that there’s space on a flight leaving Wednesday at 6 am out of Milan (which is a good 9 hour train ride away, but you gotta do what you gotta do...). So we head back to the house and start exploring our options. Except, we can’t change our flight online (RyanAir, I hate you). Meanwhile, the family made a really lovely lunch for us - including a new favorite of mine: artichoke heart, tomato and pickle salad with a vinaigrette dressing. We also got to sample some homemade lemoncello made with lemons from their tree in the backyard! Now I really wish I had a lemon tree at home!

Entertainment during a transportation crisis? Learning two new card games, Yaniv and Scopa

From here on out, my memory gets a little fuzzy about what happened when, but it involved another trip to the airport to book our flight for Wednesday, a trip to the train station to buy train tickets to Milan, the discovery that our Wednesday flight was canceled too. A night of panic where we tried to figure out any way to get out of Italy - and finally decided that a bus was our best option. We decided to go from Milan to Paris since we already had train tickets. Another trip to the train station to change our train tickets to go at a later time and a lot of bus rides in between. We had some amazing meals - one cooked by Valerio, a lunch by Antonio and a nice pizza place that we took the family to as a thank you for their generosity.

We spent our last day enjoying Torre a Mare - which is an adorable little town. It’s right on the ocean and as cute as can be. The climate is a lot like Arizona, including orange trees in bloom, cactus and nice dry air but with an ocean right there! Talk about a dream location!

Adorable street with Ocean view

The Adriatic

Torre a Mare, Adriatic and wildflowers

Wednesday night we heading to the train station for our midnight sleeper train. The train pulls in, we hop on and figure we are finally good to go ... or not. The 6 of us were in 4 different cabins and we all made a horrifying discovery at the same time - our tickets were for the day before. When we changed them, the man gave us a lot of hassle but finally changed them for us. When he handed over the tickets, Catherine (who had been doing all the talking, and a great job of it) put them in her purse and none of us ever gave it a second thought. We were so tired, frustrated and disoriented that Caitlin and I actually believed it was the 20th and tried to argue the date with the conductor. By the time we realize our error the train is moving and we’re in a pickle. One conductor (who must have been in charge) tells us it’s ok, there’s space on the train we just need to follow him and sort it out. So the 6 of us follow him to the end of the train and after 2 hours of phone calls and sitting on the floor of the train we were finally allowed to pay for a new ticket and stay on the train. At 2 am we finally went to sleep.

The next day we spent an hour in the customer complaint office filling out forms for a refund that we may or may not get in 4 to 5 months. Which honestly, all I could do was laugh. I’m chalking that up to an expensive lesson.

Since we had about 6 hours before our bus, we wearily decided to go and see the Duomo - which was really cool.

The Milan Duomo

We slept our way through lunch and a metro ride to the bus station, and then all hell broke loose. We had purchased tickets online, but had to go through a ridiculous check in process that was incredibly poorly managed. Having a ticket isn’t good enough for EuroLines, you have to be on some magic list. Which Seamus, Jenny and I were on, but the other girls weren’t. Which meant that they wouldn’t let them on the bus. So after 10 minutes of Seamus, Jenny and I arguing in 2 different languages we finally broke down and started yelling (I even had to scream) and then, they magically put them on a different bus! They weren’t ever on the list, but they got to go home. The bus trip, well, I don’t really want to talk about it. First of all, 16 hours on a bus is never fun. Second, 16 hours on a bus with asshole, incompetent drivers is even less fun. And I’m going to leave it at that.

We finally made it home to Orléans after 36 hours of traveling. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see a train station.

All in all, it was an amazing trip and an insane adventure. Someday I might even get a refund from RyanAir and TrenItalia. I’m not holding my breath though.

Stuck on vacation

2010-04-17T09:09:00.000-07:00

Due to the very exciting volcanic eruption in Iceland I am currently stuck in the south of Italy! First of all, it's been an absolutely amazing vacation. I've been loving being in Italy and had an amazing time. However, my flight home tomorrow? Cancelled. In fact, according to the website of RyanAir, I'm stuck here until Monday afternoon at least. Chances are good that it'll be a while before I go home. I have to say though, there are worse places to be stuck!

Amazing, brilliant, awesome!

2010-04-06T05:10:00.000-07:00

Turns out that I use these words to excess. Some of my more attentive students often give me a little ribbing when I use them ... but the thing is, so many things are either a) amazing, b) brilliant or c) awesome. So here are some little tales of France that are either a) amazing, b) brilliant or c) awesome:

The amazing trip to the doctor / pharmacy:

So, many thanks to my last cold I acquired a sinus infection. The thing is, I really hate going to the doctor and dislike the pharmacy equally. Which means that I usually procrastinate going as long as possible - and if I can avoid going at all, I absolutely will. But by Thursday I knew that I couldn’t put off a visit to the médecin any longer. I called for an appointment around 1 pm, and got one at 4:40 pm. I arrived at the doctor exactly on time - it’s a 2 minute walk down the street - had barely sat down in the small waiting area (no check in, no nurses, just the doctor) when the doctor appears. I explain that I have a sinus infection, list the symptoms, get a quick check up (ears, breathing deeply, blood pressure), then receive a list of prescriptions, each of which is explained in detail and after paying 22 euro, 14 of which will be reimbursed I’m on my way. The appointment took 10 minutes! I head toward the closest pharmacy, hand over my list of prescriptions, everything is filled and I pay ... 0.14 cents! Thanks to French socialized healthcare and my supplemental coverage all I had to pay was 0.14 cents for 5 different medications! I couldn’t believe it! After 20 minutes and 8.14 euro I was on my way to recovery! Probably the easiest thing I’ve done in France! (Grocery shopping is more complicated!)

The amazing student / the wonderful compliment:

Two Thursdays ago I met with 3 students for a BAC preparation class (I give them an unknown document and they prepare their presentation for 10 minutes and then they are expected to speak about the document for 10 minutes). This group tends to have a very low level and there are a couple of students who are repeating their final year because they failed the BAC exam. So I don’t usually expect a whole lot, but instead focus on simple things that can help them to improve. The class was going well, the three students were very quiet but as sweet as could be and really made a good effort. The last student, however, was really special. During her presentation she did a great job, but noticeably lacked confidence - often pausing to make sure the word was correct or looking at me for approval on most sentences. The thing was - she really didn’t need to worry. And after her presentation I told her as much, encouraging her to trust herself and believe in her ability. It was clear she was incredibly smart, and very sweet but lacking in confidence - which in the French system is a fatal error. I went home really thinking about her and hoping that she would trust herself - she really struck me as someone very special and I hoped that she found her voice. I was also hoping that my words had gotten through, but I knew that I would never be able to find out - since I usually see each student only once.

Imagine my surprise when she walked back into my classroom this past Thursday! I was so happy to see her! Once again she went last, and I gave her a pretty tough document to work with, but I knew she could do it and told her so. I have to say, I was blown away by her presentation. She presented the document perfectly, made very few grammar/vocabulary errors and spoke for 9 minutes (most students in her class speak for between 2-5 on a document). Needless to say, I was overjoyed! I was so proud of her! Her score improved by 5 points just because she trusted herself! Not only was I thrilled for her, but if was nice for me to know that I am helping to make a difference. To make things even more sweet, as she was leaving, she stuck her head back in the door and said, “I am really happy I met you.” I think it’s one of the sweetest things I’ve ever had said to me. So amazing.

The brilliant french concert:

I spent most of Saturday running errands and feeling overwhelmed by the ridiculous crowds everywhere - French shoppers have a big tendency to buy things last minute (whether they like the freshness or are just procrastinators I have yet to figure out) so grocery shopping was an absolute nightmare. I think all of Orléans was in Carrefour at once. But Saturday night was really special. A French friend, who I didn’t know was a musician until 2 weeks ago, had a concert as the Maison des Arts so a handful of us went to support him. Such a great experience! The opening act was a poet who absolutely stunned me. Now, I didn’t understand everything - I missed the whole first poem and half of the second before the French speaking part of my brain decided to participate in the evening - but it didn’t matter. He had such a sense of rhythm and storytelling - he incorporated a lot of music and he voice was so powerful and beautiful. What I did understand was just phenomenal. It’s not often that a poem can carry you away - but this guy really had be in the moment. Seamus and I agreed - he belonged on a much bigger stage than the Maison des Arts of Orléans. The music was really excellent as well. Turns out my friend is an incredibly talented musician and has a great stage presence! His songs were really well done and it was so fun to have a cultural night out! Icing on the cake - I realized that when I have finally reached the point where French stays French in my brain! I don’t need to translate to myself anymore! And my vocabulary has improved a lot!

The awesome Easter brunch and basket exchange:

I decided a while ago that Easter wasn’t Easter without a big meal and Easter baskets. So I decided to make it happen! I invited over 7 friends and made everyone swap names and make a 10 euro Easter basket for someone else! We decided to go for brunch due to various plans and started bright and early at 10 am. We had quite a feast - ham, potato salad, deviled eggs (all of which I made), pancakes, brioche and nutella, yogurt and granola, fruit salad, regular salad, fresh baguettes, and mimosas (alcoholic and non). It was super good! One of those meals where everyone ate in silence and went back for seconds. I really love these parties where everyone brings something and it’s all good. After we ate we searched for baskets - which took all of 2 minutes in my very small apartment. It was so fun! There was lots of chocolate and various goodies. Such a nice Easter.

The amazing Boulangerie:

There’s a really incredibly boulangerie down the street from me. It’s so good that it’s won the best croissant prize for both 2008 and 2009 in the Loiret. It’s so good that every Sunday the line is out the door. It’s so good that I’ve witnessed people stopping in for just baguettes and croissants and then going elsewhere for chocolate items (even though the other places have baguettes and croissants). But the very best part about this boulangerie is the fact that when I stopped in on Saturday the owner looks at me and says, “Une baguette et un pain au chocolat?” to which I said a very astonished, “Oui!” Turns out, they know me. And it just so happened that I had superior timing - the baguettes were still hot. Which, in all honesty, warm baguette might just be the best thing on earth as well as the most irresistible, because by the time I got home my baguette was half eaten.

The most amazing part of this upcoming week? I’m on vacation! For 2 weeks! Trips to Paris, Chenonceau and southern Italy are planned. It’s going to be awesome!

why playing M.A.S.H. is the best thing ever

2010-04-01T00:45:00.000-07:00

ok, so after my next two lessons it's vacation time! And after two weeks off I teach for two more weeks and then that's it! The lessons for the last two weeks look like this: candy+movie+party+nice speech about class+happy dance. Which is all fine and good, but I have NO ideas left for lessons. So this week I planned two lessons and then adapted them to an appropriate level and used them for every group. The older students got to find out if they would be a democrat or republican (and I gave a talk on the political system in the States) and then they played M.A.S.H.. The younger kids played M.A.S.H. and then wrote a story about their future selves.

For those of you who don't know or remember this is how the game goes:

M(ansion) A(partment) S(hack) H(ouse)

_ _ _ _ <-------- put numbers here

Spouse <------ write people you would like to marry here (famous or otherwise)

City <------------ places you want to live go here

-
-

Job <----------------- jobs you want to have go here

Car <------------------ cars you want to drive here

Salary <----------------- the amount of money you want to make

Wedding Dress/Tuxedo <------------- write colors here

Except I play my version a bit meanly. See, I let each person fill out two blanks in each heading, then I make them trade their papers with someone else and I encourage them to write terrible things. Like garbage collector and a salary of $1 with a bright pink wedding dress. Etc. And then, once it's all filled in one person makes tally marks until the other says stop. Then using that number you count the topics, starting with the M., once you reach your number, you cross off that item. And you keep counting until you have only 1 thing left in each category. And that's your future! I've had kids marrying George W. Bush employeed as cleaning ladies, making 1,000,000 a year while driving roller blades and living in apartments. And kids marrying Julia Roberts, having 70 children, living in a shack, working as designers making $1 and driving a Porshe. It's pretty awesome.

The best thing is, it's one of those lessons where they can't wait to read me their stories and tell about their "future" - which of course means a quick review of using "will" with verbs. Pretty awesome. But today had to be the best -students stayed after to finish their sheets and then in the hallway were explaining it to their friends and saying how much fun it was! Makes you feel pretty good about yourself. And to think - they were practicing using the future tense, saying numbers, learning about different jobs all while having a great time. M.A.S.H. is awesome!

(also, I keep getting new futures every class. Today I married Johnny Depp, had 12 kids, made 1,000,000 a year, drove a Tank, lived in a mansion, wore a red wedding dress and lived in Hawaii where I worked part time as a writer. Best future ever! except for the 12 kids part)

Some pictures

2010-03-31T06:24:00.000-07:00

Spring!

put in context

Hello!

Razu's view of the "park". Credit- Seamus, who calls it "Cat's Eye View"

He's free! (ish)

A little Easter treat

dressed as the 80s for the decade dance. Yeah.

The cathedral at night - St. Patrick's Day

Toasting Joan in awesome hats!

Revelations

2010-03-31T06:17:00.000-07:00

It’s hard to believe that there’s only 3 weeks of work left. And that in 5 weeks the contract is over and people will start going home. It’s very weird, because for most of these people I know that I probably won’t see them ever again. Which is so hard to believe! This weekend is the last weekend for most of the german assistants - their university semester starts in April, so they’re skipping the last month of work and going home (so really, they’re only missing 2 weeks of work). There are two german assistants who I’m especially close to - Matthias and Fabian - and they both leave next Friday. They are some of the nicest people I know -they are so very sincere and a lot of fun to be around - and after next Friday I probably won’t see them ...ever.

And that’s the thing. In the next 5 weeks I’ll have to say goodbye to a lot of amazing people. The very best part about this time abroad has been the people - I have friends from all over the world now and I’ve had some absolutely amazing times with them. The good news is, if I ever want to visit Canada, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Spain, Germany, Scotland, Ireland, England, Wales, France, Madagascar, India, Réunion, or Mexico - I’m covered! It’s going to be sad to have conversations where you don’t have to go back and forth between a couple of languages and their multiple variations. It’s started to have quite an effect on me - I usually say holiday instead of vacation, you go round to see people (not visit), sometimes the trash can is a bin, wee is used just as often as little and I know what kitchen roll, toilet roll, capsicum, tea (Irish for dinner/supper) and liming mean. I’ll miss it all, so much. Without all these amazing people I’ve had the chance to get to know this experience would have been a lot less fun and, in all honesty, probably miserable.

Being here with all these amazing people is incredible - but the thing is, everyone knows it’s temporary. Which in some ways makes it an interesting dynamic - you hang out with the people you want to be with, don’t have to worry about offending someone and being stuck with them for the next 10 years and most importantly, you do a lot more stuff. When you have limited time with people, you just want to see them as much as possible when you have the chance to do so. It’s an experience I wouldn’t trade for the world -- I’m so glad I got the chance to be friends with so many amazing people. I’ve also learned a lot - both about the world and myself.

In this last week I’ve come to terms with the fact that ... I really do like Phoenix *gasp*! And that, as lovely as France is, it will remain a great place to visit but not somewhere I’d like to live. There’s this idea when you’re in college that, somehow, it isn’t acceptable to like where you grew up. Like you’re supposed to outgrow it, move on and never look back. And that was me. I didn’t like Phoenix, it was boring and uncool and the politics were awful. And here I am across an ocean thinking that Phoenix is pretty awesome. Because, at the end of the day, that’s home. I had always thought that it was people that I was attached to - I never pegged myself as a person who would get attached to a place (especially somewhere as uncool as where I grew up). But I really miss the sunshine, the heat, the cactus, the orange trees and the sense of knowing a place. And sure - I’m missing home and the grass is always greener - but I don’t think that this is a homesickness thing. Phoenix has warts - lots of them - but I like those warts better than the warts I get in France. And, I miss more than my family and friends (who I miss terribly), I actually miss Phoenix. So there it is. I guess I’m not a person who feels a need to live somewhere else. I’m pretty confident that I could stay there a long time and be very comfortable. Maybe when I get home I’ll feel different, but I don’t think so. At the end of the day, I’m a homebody who likes adventures - and genuinely, I’m ok with this. Phoenix may not be the most exciting place, but it’s home and it’s where some of my most favorite people in the world live ... and that’s where I want to be. I’m going to Michigan State University starting next year - and I don’t know how long I’ll be there for, but I do know that Phoenix is a lot closer to East Lansing than Orléans, France. And chances are good that when I’m done with that program I’ll most likely go back to Phoenix.

Except, there’s just one problem. And it’s a big one. And it has a name ... which is ... Seamus. Who is Irish. And who I’m very much attached to. This problem, of course, is not one that can be solved overnight. So, thank goodness for airplanes. Which is really all I can say about that.

sometimes I'm amazed I actually get paid for this job...

2010-03-23T06:53:00.000-07:00

...thanks to a week of trips for students, I only have to teach 5 of my 12 hours this week. I just found out that the two classes I was supposed to have this afternoon won't take place because the teacher is on strike. So, I'm working 3 hours this week. It's like a mini vacation!

In other good news, daffodils have sprung up everywhere! Razu, Caitlin, Seamus and I are going to investigate. I'm sure there will be pictures!

Good news!

2010-03-19T08:04:00.000-07:00

The government agency that helps pay your rent (CAF) has finally decided to help me! This is pretty amazing, considering that it only took them 1 month after my file was complete to make a decision! (never mind that I’ve been working on that file for 3 months.) This is actually a very quick turn around considering that others have been working on their files for 6 months and still don’t have a response! I ended up getting 129 euros a month for 2009! Pretty awesome!

Also, the weather is officially gorgeous - and appears to be here to stay! There are flowers popping up everywhere, birds singing and lots of sunshine!

I’ve been wearing my light jacket, and there are moments during the day when I don’t even need it! In two days I haven’t needed the radiators and have been keeping the place warm by just propping the windows open! Razu is beyond excited (end even got to go to the park on Monday - and will probably get to go again this weekend) and has spent his morning running around the house desperately trying to get outside. Unlucky for him, I’ve figured out a way to prop the main window only slightly open - about 2 inches too small for him to get out of. At least he’s getting some nice, fresh air!

Here’s some photos of the little guy during his outdoor adventure. Check out that stylish leash/harness combo!

Razu meets the flowers

stealth mode across the grass

that tree will never be the same

escape mode ... my arms will never be the same

angrily going home

In other not so happy news, my body appears to be the perfect candidate for every cold that France has to offer. Apparently, the exposure to a high school full of students combined with a new climate, stress and 12 bus rides a week equals 6 colds in 6 months. Bummer.

It's finally spring!

2010-03-17T06:23:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it, but it's finally happened... I don't have to wear my winter coat anymore. WOOOHOOO!!!!!!

Written on Sunday - Spring?

2010-03-17T06:21:00.000-07:00

Last week, on the bus home from school I saw something truly amazing. Something that actually made me do a very small version of a happy dance in my seat. FLOWERS!!!!! Tulips, to be exact. Lots of them - in every color - growing all akimbo on a grassy spot outside the little park near my school. Oh, flowers, how good it is to see you.

But, despite the appearance of the tulips it has remained either gray or sunny & windy - but consistently chilly (cold even). I had to abandon my spring scarf - the very pretty light blue H&M purchase - and go back to the red fleece one with cat paw prints on it (which is equally cute and very warm). In a side tangent - I’ve never warn so many scarves in my life! I wore the handmade purple one all through fall, the red fleece one all through winter, and now (hopefully) the light blue one. Except - I own several more. And I wear them, but it seems like I always grab the exact same one when heading out the door (probably because I’m usually running and just grab whatever’s on top). However - there has been some more good news on the weather front. First of all, I saw a tree with little buds on it, second, there are birds that sing every morning and third, the weather report says it’ll be 14 C on Wednesday! Holy spring, batman!

In other exciting news I got a really fantastic Easter box from my parents - which had all the cute papery easter basket stuff (no cellophane - cats like to eat it and it really doesn’t agree with them). And lots of Americana candy. And a really adorable new spring scarf! Which I can, hopefully, wear as soon as Wednesday! I also got more black beans and green chilies, as well as the Sunday comics and a Vogue. Woohoo!

Razu says, "Thanks for the box!"

Also, I’ve made a decision about what to do with my next year(s). I’ll be going to Michigan State University to study anthropology under a really awesome professor! Pretty exciting! She’s involved in some really amazing projects concerning the role agricultural activities can play in bring together community members as well as creating a sense of place based identity. Which is exactly what I want to study. The only downside? It’s cold in Michigan. Although my Dad informed me that it’s been warmer there this past week than it was here - so maybe not so bad. But, I just have to note, that even though my Dad is a very passionate alumni of MSU (at least during football and basketball season) I will always be a Sundevil - no matter how cool the Spartan guy is, Sparky is infinitely cooler. 3----- (<-- that’s a pitchfork)

And, in more exciting news, Seamus and I booked a vacation for May, first we’re going to Ireland for a handful of days and then to Nice! The only pseudo downside of this is that we just realized that we’re going to be there for the Cannes film festival - which is a double edged sword: yay celebrities and such, boo sky high prices and low hotel availability. Seriously though, as long as we find a place to stay - how awesome is that?!?! Maybe I’ll meet someone famous! Maybe it’ll be Johnny Depp!!!! THAT, would be amazing!

And finally, I’ve started reading Roald Dahl books in French. It’s absolutely perfect for me - I know the stories, I can read a handful of pages at a time without having to consult a dictionary and I’m learning French words for marshmallows, gumdrops, factory workers and Oompa-,.//Loompas (which is the exact same). So far, I’m halfway through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, or Charlie et la Chocolaterie and it’s awesome. The only weird thing is that the book says that all the Oompa-Loompas speak English, even though every one else speaks French (they seem to understand all of Mr. Wonka’s instructions just fine though...) and that the Oompa-Loompas were pygmy Africans who lived in trees and were unable to feed themselves and were therefore “rescued” by Mr. Wonka and forced to work in his factory for chocolate (who knew that Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was so racist and promoted such awful things?).

An update...

2010-03-05T08:40:00.000-08:00

February was a month of rain, a spring like week, homesickness, some frustration, a finally complete file with the CAF office and a lot of thinking. I have to say, I’m happy it’s March.

I’ve come to some realizations recently - which are making me rethink a lot of things, which hasn’t been very easy. I do think, however, that in the long run I’d like to be a travel food writer, whether from a research standpoint or a freelance point of view (i.e. the female Michael Pollan or a writer for Saveur). I’m not sure what that means for the next handful of years, but I do think it involves some time at culinary school (which has been my backup plan for quite a while now) and maybe some education in journalism. There’s a game I play with my classes called Hot Air Balloon where I challenge each student to think of their ideal job and, once they’ve chosen, tell them there has been an apocalypse and we’re the only survivors. But (and here’s the twist) there isn’t enough room in the balloon and we have to kick off some people. They then have to convince their fellow classmates that they should get to stay in the balloon. When I give an example, I always say that my ideal job would be a chef. Maybe it’s time I take that idea more seriously.

Other than that, I’ve been having a lot of very French experiences lately. And these aren’t the sipping wine under the Eiffel Tower after a picnic kind of experiences (unfortunately). Last Tuesday and yesterday I had, what I’ve recently termed, French Days - where I get to experience things that are very normal in French culture and not very normal in Anglophone culture. My day on Tuesday started with some fun on the bus. Now, I should explain quickly, that there aren’t school buses in Orléans so students take the city bus - which means that I see a lot of my students on the bus. So, Tuesday morning I get on the bus, find a seat and starting daydreaming. Three stops later the worst children in the world get on the bus. I see them twice a week, every week and dread it. They are three boys from ages 4 to 7 + one very overwhelmed Dad. They throw tantrums if they don’t get the seat they want, the cry, they kick the seats they scream. It’s great! Well, the worst one, Steve, (I know his name because his Dad is always yelling it) takes a seat right behind me. But apparently it wasn’t the seat he wanted because he starts crying and throwing punches - which barely missed my head. Then he starts kicking the seat with such force that I actually have a bruise on my back. Oh, Steve, how I loathe you. Then, at the next stop a student of mine gets on - scans the bus, makes eye contact with me and then proceeds to make a very distinct kissy face - at me. *shudder* At school, during my one hour break I managed to get stuck in a conversation with Mr. I’m Still Bitter You Don’t Have My Class Anymore. Where he implied that I don’t work enough, that my classes are rowdy, that I may or may not be a good teacher and that I’m working too much and should rest more. *sigh* worst 10 minutes ever. I think I prefer Steve. Then I run into Alain who proceeds to comment - for the third time - about a little scar that I developed on my nose from my really bad cold in January. Because nothing is more fun that being reminded you have a new scar in the middle of your face! I teach another class - which goes ok - and then I try to sneak back into the break room to get my coat and escape before any other teachers decide to have a conversation with me. But I run into Alain again - who wants to know what I’m having for lunch. It goes like this:

“Quiche.”

“Oh, with a mixed salad?”

“Uh, no, just the quiche.”

“Oh, but it isn’t quiche without a mixed salad!”

“Yeah, well, I don’t really have time to mix up a salad during my break.” *smile*

“Ah, Americans, they never have the time.”

*here I just look blankly in his direction*

“Is it homemade or from the store?”

“Homemade, it’s leftover from dinner last night.”

“Ah, leftovers? You don’t like having a fresh lunch?”

“Oh, I do, but I also love cold quiche.” *smile*

“Cold quiche? Oh no, must be warm.”

“mmm....well I better get going. Have a nice afternoon!”

I did not have quiche for lunch. Instead I had spicy black beans with cheese, sour cream and salsa... because it was the least French thing I could think of. And then I got stood up by my 1 o’clock class. Awesome!

Yesterday was much more exciting, however. I arrived at school at 8:10am only to discover an especially large number of students standing outside and 6 cop cars parked in front. When I finally made it to the front gates I discovered that they were barricaded shut - with fencing, trash cans, chairs, and a lot of students linking arms. And the sign - On Veut le Bac Blanc - we want the mock Bac test. Yes, that’s right, students had barred the school shut because they wanted to take a mock test. Only in France. I was finally shown, by a teacher, how to get in - which meant going around to another entrance and arguing with students to let me in. They didn’t believe me that I was a teacher - until one kid finally recognized me (he’s been in a class of mine that I’ve had for the whole year - I wonder how much he’s been paying attention...). I get inside, only to discover that the teachers are very agitated and giving a lot of dirty looks to each other. Alain finally catches me up. Apparently a lot of teachers decided to protest giving the mock test because it’s too much work and they don’t have enough staff. And the students got pissed (if you don’t pass the Bac you can’t leave high school - it’s a big deal) and the parents got pissed and then the headmaster sided with the students. Which made the teachers really mad. Hence, the students decided to shut the school to make their point (and I say, good for them). I also learned that around 7:30am the cops tried to pull the barricade down - through a human chain - and some kids got a little roughed up. After being filled in on the situation, I wandered around and talked to a handful of teachers and got a lot of different opinions on the subject. At 10am the teachers finally became agitated enough to call an emergency meeting. The German assistant and I decided to sit in - because how often do you get to witness something this exciting? Despite our best intentions, we somehow ended up right in the middle of the room and pretty much got a front seat to the debate (or bickering as I saw it). Now, I won’t lie - I didn’t understand a lot. People were yelling, talking fast and using a lot of words I didn’t know - not to mention I really had no idea what the hell was going on. But, basically, they argued for a long time about what they should do and at one point suggested firing the headmaster as a solution. I did learn that the students had threatened to go to the rectorat (which is like the state board) and complain - and that the teachers were pretty worried about that. There was a lot of talking over each other and yelling “let me finish” and people getting mad and name calling. One guy kept getting the room all worked up and even insulted the headmaster - pretty brutally. And then, after 45 minutes, the German assistant and I left. On the way out he stopped to ask a teacher a question and some other teacher hit me on the arm and told me to be quiet because she couldn’t hear. I responded, “C’est pas moi qui parle! - It’s not me who’s talking!” gave her a dirty look and walked out. Apparently, this was just a big excuse to be mean to each other and complain. As we were leaving the school, we ran into a couple of students we teach - who are both just lovely and as sweet as can be - and they asked us what was going on. The German assistant understood a lot more than I did, so we told her that no decision had been made and that they were having a big debate. We asked them what their plan was, and learned that they were delegates for the class and wanted to go to the rectorat with the teachers to find a solution that made everyone happy. So there you have it - students acting like responsible adults and teachers acting like 10 year olds on the playground. I don’t know what more took place in the meeting, but I heard that the teachers decided to stick with their boycott and not give a bac blanc. I wonder what’s going on today at the school...

Besides all this excitement, the weather has improved slightly, except for last weekend where France was hit by a very storm storm. Which in Orléans, in all honesty, was exactly like a monsoon storm but without the lightening. Apparently, though, the coastal areas were hit very hard and 41 people died. This week though has seen a lot of blue skies, but colder temps.

The sunshine though has all the assistants crawling out from hiding, and I’ve been doing a lot of socializing lately. A dinner party last Sunday, a birthday party last night, long talks with people and a handful of fun weekend plans. I do feel extremely lucky to have such an amazing group of people to share this experience with. I think I really lucked out in my placement - because there are so many people here who are super nice and very caring and have their hearts in the right place.

This weekend an Irish assistant who lives in Blois is coming to visit, so today is a day of cleaning and resting. Then this afternoon Seamus and I are meeting up with Caitlin, Jenny and Sam to plan for the next vacation in April. It looks like a trip to the south of France is shaping up! So excited!

The Christmas and NYE Adventure!

2010-03-03T01:25:00.000-08:00

Ok - so I have essentially written a novel about the adventure. There are a lot of pictures. And...here we go (in as much detail as I remember).

The adventure started off with me meeting my parents at Charles de Gaulle airport around 6:30 pm or so. I had the relative ease of taking a train (standing room only), a metro (standing room only) and the RER B (with plenty of space and two accordion players). My parents had all the fun of two flights and some missing baggage. Fortunately their bags had made it onto the next flight and we only had to wait two hours. So we drank some wine and ate some of the quiche I had made and carried with me. It was so good to see them - and like no time had even passed. We acquired our rental car and started the drive to Reims - only getting lost 1.5 times (I say 1.5 because the second time we were only slightly turned around in a city full of one-way streets). We started the next day with a lovely walk through Reims - which was full of snow - and eventually found the cathedral. Reims is a lot like Orléans, except the cathedral is way cooler.

Apparently, this was the cathedral used for a great majority of royal coronations - and it’s pretty nice. But the very best part about this place is the stained glass windows. I’m a big fan of stained glass, but this cathedral has extra special stained glass - it’s made by Marc Chagal! Who might just be my favorite painter/stained glass maker! The windows are that very special Marc Chagal blue and just amazing. Photo’s can’t do it justice, but here’s one anyway:

That afternoon we had a really amazing lunch (hot tartiflette for Mom and boeuf bourgignon for Dad and I) and a champagne tour/tasting. We lucked out and ended up with a private tour - which was really cool and very informative. On our tour we got to check out the really cool chalk mines that used to be where champagne was made and stored and taste 3 (or 4?) really lovely champagnes. In summary: Reims is amazing!

That afternoon we headed to our next destination, Strasbourg and Colmar. We were staying in the very cute town of Colmar in order to check out the internationally famous Strasbourg christmas market. On our drive we almost went to Germany (the autoroute is very confusing) and drove through some very interesting weather. We finally arrived to an adorable and snowy town where we did the tourist thing and tried to drive in a pedestrian only zone (quite exciting!). We did finally manage to find a place to park the car and after a low key dinner called it a day. The next morning we headed for the Christmas market by train - driving in France is really a headache - and were really surprised to discover that a) Strasbourg is HUGE and b) it’s not just one Christmas market, but 12 different markets spread all over the city. We were in for a day of grazing, browsing, feeling overwhelmed, some pushing and shoving and some very cute but a lot of generic Christmas gifts. We did a lot of shopping and had a very fun, but very exhausting time. Here are a few of the pictures:

Dad and me at the giant Christmas tree of peace

Really cool building all decked out for Christmas

The beautiful Strasbourg cathedral

My failed attempt to photograph the christmas market sign - there were just too many people!

We all enjoyed the market and found some great gifts there, but it was quite an exhausting day! There were A LOT of people, most of whom seemed to be in that moment of Christmas shopping panic - and who hasn’t been there? I had been hoping to discover a lot of really unique handmade gifts - and we did find a few - but the market reminded me a lot of the Orléans one - some local food products and a lot of commercial items. Fortunately, unlike the Orléans market, there was a very cool Russian market and some really neat Alsace themed items. All in all, a lot of fun, but very exhausting.

We took a late afternoon/early evening train back to Colmar and were delighted to discover that the Colmar market was just as adorable as the Strasbourg one, but much smaller. It was especially cute because night had fallen and everything was all lit up.

In an unbelievable feat of resilience we did even more shopping! I also finally found a hot food stand selling Alsatian Choucroute - which I had been intrigued about since writing my thesis - here’s the quote from Jack Kerouac’s Satori in Paris:

“I ask my counterman what’s real good and he says Alsatian Choucroute

which he brings - It’s just hotdogs as chew like butter and have a flavor

delicate as the scent of wine, butter and garlic all cooking together and

floating out a cafe kitchen door - The sauerkraut no better’n Pennsylvania,

potatos we got from Maine to San Jose, but O yes I forgot: - with it all, on

top, is a weird soft strip of bacon which is really like ham and is the best

bite of all.”

So I ordered the medium and very happily and hungrily devoured a lot of sauerkraut with bits of sausage and hot dog strewn about. Very good! Afterward we had another really lovely dinner - I remember having just a chevre chaud salad - which is a regular salad with mild goat cheese melted on slices of toast and this one included a little drizzle of honey -- which is super good. My Dad had some kind of wild game - boar? - and I can’t remember what my Mom ate. I’m sure it was good, whatever it was.

Here’s a picture of adorable Colmar from our hotel room window:

The next morning we left the beautiful Alsace region (Before going though, mom and dad made a quick visit to a butcher shop to get the meat for Christmas dinner and managed to find the best on in town and got some phenomenal meat - sometimes France is the luckiest place in the world) for the tiny town of Beaune in the Burgundy region - which is very well known for its wine and cuisine. We had planned, in essence, to simply enjoy both. We arrived in the afternoon and after quickly checking into the hotel headed straight for a wine tasting. And what an experience! Now, as you may or may not know, as a family we really do love wine. We’ve taking something of a liking to going tasting (we like the wine, not necessarily the culture). We’ve visited, a couple of times, the wine regions in southern Arizona, as well as a tasting or two in northern Arizona. Last Christmas we squeezed in a tasting in Napa valley (which was excellent) and I’ve made a personal point to taste the wine of every place I visit (as long as they produce it). So, needless to say, visiting Burgundy was a big deal. We had signed up for the 5 senses tour at Bouchard Aine et Fils - which we quickly learned is one of the best wine houses in Beaune (propaganda or no, we didn’t disagree). We got to taste a couple of different bottles while seeing the cellar and learning about how all 5 senses play into wine tasting. We smelled jars of things (like cassis, leather, and some dirt that was supposed to represent smoke), felt different textures to simulate the feel of wine in the mouth, learned about the different colors of wine in relation to age as well as learning about the distinctions given to wines according to quality in France and, most of all, had a great time. We got to taste different years and blendings and finished with an absolutely amazing taste from a Grand Cru (the best) as well as some local cassis. Our tasting price included a free bottle each and we added two bottles of cassis (which is a liquor local to the region made from red currants - something I had only read about before coming to France). All in all, a wonderful experience. And here’s Dad with the spoils:

After our amazing experience we headed into the main part of town to aimlessly wander and take a look at the Beaune hospice. We were rather hungry and ducked into a cheese shop - which happened to be the most amazing one in town - and I kindly asked for a mild and hard cheese as well as a mild goat cheese (for Dad). The woman behind the counter was so sweet, recommended some great cheeses and gave me small amounts of each - paired with some fresh bread it was a picnic fit for kings. I’m still kicking myself that I don’t remember the name of the cheese - because it was outstanding. After eating we managed to find the hospice. What a cool building (and history!):

It was created to give the sick and dying a place to live and housed everyone from the very poor to the wealthy. Each patient had a bed and was looked after - for a long time! If I’m not mistaken I believe it closed it’s doors in the 1980s! It kinda gave me the creeps, but it was really cool to see. Dad especially loved all the wooden furniture.

Afterward we took short naps and headed to dinner. What an amazing experience! Burgundian cuisine is one of the big ones in France and widely loved all over. We weren’t disappointed. Well, I did have some serious food envy. As an appetizer my mom managed to pick the single best dish ever. Eggs poached in red wine served over beautifully browned toast in a pool of wine based gravy. Absolutely unbelievable. Being the amazingly generous person she is, she kindly shared with us - which might be the very most selfless thing one could do. I don’t think I would’ve been so kind. The main dishes were also great, and dad had a dessert that actually made him cry - pears poached in red wine. We also had a bottle of great wine and some lovely aperitifs - including a true kir (Burgundy white wine layered over cassis - amazing). It was a meal to write home about - and one that I wish I could repeat every day.

The next day was Christmas eve and after some food shopping (for Christmas dinner) we headed toward Orléans. After some exciting in city navigation (I never realized how many streets in this city are one way - when you walk everywhere you don’t have to think about it!) we arrived chez moi and had a good laugh about just how ridiculous my stairs really are. We spent the evening relaxing - and mom and I bought a nice warm baguette and did some wandering while dad napped (or, as he claimed, read). We had a phenomenal Christmas eve dinner of filet mignon and headed to bed.

For Christmas day we had invited assistants who couldn’t go home to join us for a dinner, so after opening presents we started in on the cooking. Now, I don’t have the world’s biggest apartment - and only the essential cooking tools - so it was quite an adventure in cooking everything. But we got it all done and had a really wonderful meal with great company. We took a walk that evening and I got to show off little Orléans - we saw the Cathedral and the Loire as well as my favorite gal, Joan of Ark.

The next morning dad did laundry, while mom and I went shopping for some apartment items (a dresser and a thing to put my oven on - it’s no longer on the table!) which they very generously paid for. I have to say, I don’t actually know what I did before I had that oven stand - it’s really much nicer and less crowded now. In the afternoon we took a drive to Chenounceau and got an unintentional tour of the countryside (once again, the autoroute is really confusing). We had an hour to see the giant chateau - so we did the high speed version of the tour and then spent some time enjoying the incredible sunset:

Afterward we assembled some furniture and prepared for the long drive to Mont St. Michel the next day. I was asleep for a lot of the drive, so unfortunately I don’t have many details to report. We did however take a very lovely scenic route (intentionally) and reached Mont St. Michel an hour before the abbey closed - so we did another speedy tour and then took our time exploring the rest of the island. We took a really cool back route on the way down and even explored some of the areas which must have been used for defense (i.e. regularly spaced small holes in the rock/stone wall). It was really cool and my dad took a lot of great photos:

That night we had a sad dinner (the island is pretty much a tourist thing, so great food - sadly - really doesn’t exist) complete with a handful of faux-pas: walking in through the back door, making a bit of unintentional noise, me ordering an after dinner liquor for an aperitif by accident, later adding an aperitif when I realized my mistake as well as adding on oysters - which is possibly the hardest word to pronounce in French - after we had ordered all our food. So we were definitely tourists - oh well, at least we left a tip (also can be read as a faux-pas) and had a good laugh about it.

The next morning we took off for Paris - which was more of a driving adventure than we anticipated. We had rented the car from the Charles de Gaulle airport and we planned to return it there and then take a taxi into the city (too much luggage to take the metro, and not worth the effort). So we get to the airport after only a little excitement and then ask about the price of a taxi into the city. The rental car people - who were very nice - told us that we could just take the car into the city and drop it off there. Which didn’t sound like too bad a deal - except for the fact that we’d have to drive in Paris. Now, Phoenix has some crazy traffic, but it’s pretty much a walk in the park compared to the City of Lights. But my mother being the brave soul she is said that she could do it. And so that’s exactly what we did. From the airport we had to take the ring road that goes all around Paris. Imagine the worst freeway you can think of, add a stick shift, road signs in a language you don’t speak, traffic rules that may or may not exist, a map that is too general to be helpful and the worst traffic jam you’ve ever seen... now make it twice as bad. This is what my mom drove through. And she did it marvelously! When we finally made our way to our exit, we had the added excitement of having to go a bit of a ways into Paris. Now this may not seem like much to you, but it was horrifying (at least from the back seat). We were driving on one of the major boulevards - which looks like it should hold 3 lanes of traffic and instead holds somewhere between 5 and 6. Also, I feel I should explain that the French driver in Paris sees other cars as a form of competition. The closer they can get to you and the quicker they can cut you off the happier they are. Pedestrians think they are better than cars and are liable to hop into the street whenever they want. Taxi’s are probably trying to run you over (both as a pedestrian and in a car), the horn is your best friend. If you show any sign of weakness your probably going to be taken advantage of. Amazingly we got through all this, only made one wrong turn (which wasn’t a catastrophe, and happened because we were suddenly in a turn lane) and managed to find a parking space about 100 yards from our hotel. It was, single handedly the most amazing piece of driving I’ve ever seen! But the fun wasn’t over yet. We still had to return the car. There was a return place about 1/2 mile away by the gare montparnasse. We had an hour to bring the car back on time - it should have been a walk in the park. Well, the car return place didn’t have a sign - all I had was an address (which kinda didn’t make sense) and we didn’t expect to find a ton of traffic both human and otherwise as well as an amazingly complex bit of road. I’m going to make a long story short and say that we managed to get the car back with 5 minutes to spare. We finally found the return place tucked inside a parking garage on the -2 level. Impressive team work indeed and a very impressive display of driving+navigating skills - I think we only broke one traffic law and I think we might have returned the car through the service entrance (we also parked it in a small alcove thing because we couldn’t figure out how to find a parking space but the car made it back on time. It was a good car, but we didn’t miss it.

Exhausted and hungry (and therefore slightly grumpy on my part) we ended up in a French chain restaurant specializing in mussels - and it was really good.

The next day we had a little day trip of going to Chartres cathedral, located just a bit outside Paris. Chartres is a phenomenal cathedral - and I think my very favorite - more for sentimental reasons than anything else. Four years ago when I first visited France one of the very first things we did was visit the Chartres cathedral - and it was a moment of pure bliss for me. I had learned about the cathedral in a fabulous art history class and couldn’t wait to see it. As a group we had an amazing tour and then, just before noon on a Saturday we made the climb up the bell tower, arriving on the landing just as the bells for Saturday mass started ringing. It was a windy but warm day and the bells were going and going and we could see for miles and in that moment I fell in love with France. So, a return trip was greatly anticipated. It was rainy and cold, but I was still happy as a clam to see it.

The interior, was, as always phenomenal. The cloudy skies actually allow you to better see the colors of the stained glass, but you miss out on the affect of the dancing light.

The very most exciting part of the visit was discovering that they are really, super cleaning the inside and outside of the cathedral. Most cathedrals start off white in color and then slowly turn gray (thanks to pollution etc.) so as amazing as they are today, imagine them in glowing white! Here’s an example of the glowing white inside:

And of old and clean:

Cool right?!?

Oh yes, I was overjoyed. I really do LOVE cathedrals, especially those constructed in France during the gothic period (both high and low). I probably should just give up everything and spend my life giving tours of French gothic cathedrals. Wouldn’t be such a bad way to make a living... (just a bit cold in the winter)

After our wandering we had a nice little lunch at a nearby brasserie and then after a look in the stained glass museum we took the train back to Paris. I can’t remember what we did in the afternoon, but that evening we had an incredible dinner. If I remember correctly, Dad and I shared some escargot for an appetizer and mom had a soup or something eaten with a spoon? All I remember is that it was delicious. The main course was equally impressive. Mom had a spanish inspired pork dish and I had some kind of a stew with prunes and wild mushrooms. My memory is failing me here, but all I know is it was a phenomenal meal (contrary to my lacking description) and that I ate until I felt I might explode. Dad ate even more.

The next day we went to Versailles - which was an experience and a half. First of all, I think the whole world was there to visit it. We had purchased museum passes - which we were told by the Rick Steves would let us skip right to the front of the line - but it turns out that there was a separate, ridiculous line for “bag check”. It only took an hour of standing in line, which you would never believe when looking at the size of it:

When we finally got inside it was, of course, amazing - but so full of people that you couldn’t hardly see anything. It became something of a game of people dodging, but nonetheless it was amazing. Here’s some pictures:

Check out that crowd!

When you see just how opulent the place is, you understand why the French people wanted a revolution - considering that most of the people were living with very little, having to struggle to eat. While Versailles is really amazing to see, in some ways it makes you feel a little sick - it is overwhelmingly lavish. It really is an example of how power can really go to your head.

We decided against touring the grounds of Versailles - they’re massive - and instead took a quick look at the gardens and enjoyed our very hilarious lunch:

You can’t really appreciate how squashed that sandwich is until you see this:

MMMMM....flat sandwich....

That afternoon we went to the Cluny Museum - which is a medieval museum and super awesome. Our museum passes worked wonders and we got to jump the whole line and go right in. The very best part of the museum - in my biased opinion - was the stained glass exhibit. They had panels from Saint Chapelle and you could see them up close and personal. I really had never noticed the incredible detail put into each image. Since the normal method of stained glass viewing is from far away (i.e. you’re on the ground and they’re high up in the air) you really don’t get to appreciate the incredible details. Check it out:

Cool right? That’s just one panel! So think about it in this context:

That’s the alter of St. Chapelle - not even the side panels. That’s amazing!

That evening Seamus got back from Ireland and met up with us to celebrate New Year’s. That night we went to a very famous restaurant with amazing place mats that were images of celebrity’s signatures, a sarcastic waiter and adequate food. Nothing to write home about - except the place mats which we saved.

The following day was New Year’s Eve and we started the day with a trip to the Louvre. Apparently, NYE is the day to visit - but our museum passes saved the day once again and we got to go to the front of the line. Seamus, being an EU citizen under 25 got to get in for free - and since he was with us, to jump the line too. Here’s the photo story:

being goofy in front of some awesome art!

Seamus + code of Hammurabi

Seamus and I met up with Christina (haha)

We had a brasserie lunch and then we all went back to the insanity until closing time. We went back to the hotel, had a nap and then started in on our NYE adventure. We wanted to eat before getting there, but after waiting to be seated for 30 minutes decided we didn’t have time and jumped on the metro. By the time we reached the Eiffel Tower we were in a sea of humanity. The big show started at 11pm, so we made our way toward the tower and popped some Champagne from Reims. The show was really cool - it was the same one to celebrate the anniversary of the Tower that had been up since October, but none of us had seen it, so it was really cool. There was music and lights and lots of very happy people. So here’s some of the best pictures:

It was, honestly, the best New Year’s Eve ever. What an incredible experience! To be at the Eiffel Tower with god knows how many people all celebrating, so amazing. It really felt like a great beginning to the new year. Afterward we hurried away from the Tower - we had been warned about people getting violent after the celebration and didn’t want to stick around to find out. We walked for a while until finally finding a restaurant to eat at. We had more champagne, foie gras (what the French usually eat on NYE) and then some food that I don’t remember. It was really very fun. Afterward we ran to catch the metro, but it only took us about halfway before closing for the night. So then we walked. We saw a man propose - which was amazing and adorable - and made it home at something like 3 am. So incredible!

The last 3 days of the trip are a bit blurry - we were all exhausted and had no major plans (and took no pictures). I remember wandering by the Seine and buying some prints, visiting a cemetery with Seamus and eating lunch in Montmartre. My parents visited the Quai Branley museum which they said was absolutely incredible. And I got a late Christmas present of a new purse from my parents! Seamus and I returned to Orléans the night of the third, and my parents flew home the morning of the 4th. And we all were so tired that it took me something like a month to finally feel rested. Ha!

All in all, an epic (and exhausting) trip. I think next year we’re ready for an easy Christmas though!

Winter Break - Ireland + Poland

2010-02-17T06:32:00.000-08:00

**it's a long post - but there are lots of pictures!**

First of all, I have to say - what a great trip! Caitlin, Seamus and I planned it while sitting in a McDonald’s (for the internet, not the food) on a Wednesday evening sometime in early January. The original plan was to go anywhere where we could stay for free - so Ireland was #1 on the list, then we added Austria because I have a family friend there. As we were researching flights we realized that Austria was going to be too expensive to get to - but instead of ruling it out completely we just started adding destinations according to cheap flight prices. At one point we were going to Ireland, Austria (both Vienna and Salzburg), Berlin, Nice and then a train to Paris just to get back to Orléans. We had covered 3 napkins with plans and prices. And then we realized that if we embarked on that trip we would just end up wanting to kill each other - so we wisely decided to go to Ireland and only 1 other place. And the cheapest place to get to in Europe from Paris? Krakow, Poland. So without a second thought we booked it! Don’t forget, we went through a little phase where we traveled just by taking the next train - we almost went to Lille once, but decided it was too expensive.

Our journey started off with the always fun adventure of reaching Charles de Gaulle airport - this is a minimum 2 hour trek that involves 3 different types of trains. Fortunately our trip was effortless - we made each train/metro exactly as it arrived and got the airport in an easy 2 hours. We wasted the 2.5 hours before our flight with some wine and cards - it was lovely. Got to Belfast around 9pm and were met by Seamus’ parents and brother Niall. They were so nice! We drove to their house and didn’t hardly have time to breath because we were heading off to see Duke Special play at a pretty small but awesome bar (pub?). Duke Special is a pretty well known Northern Irish musician who plays pop-ish music and is really fun. Unfortunately, he was really drunk and forgot most of the words to is own music - but it was lots of fun none the less. When he remembered it was great, and when he didn’t the audience just filled it in for him. We went back to Seamus’ house and stayed up 'til 4am talking to his siblings and drinking tea+eating toast (toast is pretty nonexistent in France - so it was a treat).

The next “morning” we had an Irish fry - which has got to be the world’s best tasting and worst for your health meal. We devoured it. Then the family took us to the Giant’s Causeway - which was amazing! Here’s some pictures:

at a old castle just before the Giant's Causeway

so amazing

just look at that green!

the Causeway - it looks like something out of this world

up close

the boys at the top

Caitlin and I by the breaking waves

Seamus and I by the organ pipes

so beautiful!

That night we went to Belfast - and here’s 1 of 3 pictures I took there:

We didn’t have much time in Belfast - but we did have a very fun night out!

The next day we caught a train to Dublin - which really is a beautiful ride. In Dublin we got a very fast walking tour and saw a very funny Irish comedian - Dara O’Briain. I was worried initially because the first 10 minutes of jokes referenced both the Irish language and Irish things - that I didn’t understand. But after that he started on other stuff and at one point I was laughing so hard that I was crying - all in all an awesome experience. The next day we went on a hop on hop off bus tour (which I’m usually against, but we didn’t have much time and wanted to see as much of the city as possible). We got to see the Dublin castle,

GPO, some beautiful churches, the outside of the Guinness factory (we were just too cheap to see a bunch of beer tanks and not get to drink any)

as well as the Kilmainham Gaol (the British rule prison where they kept and executed many of the Irish independence leaders). We decided to take a tour - and it was awesome! The prison is very well preserved and they have a great museum bit that fills you in on a lot of Irish history and the history behind the prison. The tour caught me up on a lot that I didn’t know about Ireland, which was nice and helped to make sense of some of the sights we saw in Dublin. That afternoon we headed back to Belfast, caught a bus and went back to Seamus’ family. We had a lovely dinner together and then went and met more of his family - which was so sweet. It was really nice to be back in a real home with a family - it’s something that you really miss living in a studio far away from home!

oh and p.s. Guinness is best on tap - sooooo good.

Tuesday we flew to Krakow - which is a beautiful city. We had a nice cheap dinner - I believe it ended up at 3 euro each, which is absolutely nuts. Wednesday, Caitlin and I wandered around the city while Seamus caught up on some rest. Here's some pictures of Krakow:

a really cool tower in the main square

the big cathedral in the square

Krakow is full of churches and cathedrals

making new friends

Caitlin and I had both been complaining about our desperate need for haircuts - they aren’t terribly expensive in France, but they aren’t of the greatest quality. I had one in December and within 3 weeks felt like I needed another - so not so great. So we did the adventurous thing and got haircuts in Poland! We found a little salon down the street from our guesthouse and decided it looked good enough. It was a little place with only one woman working - so we shyly asked if she spoke any english, to which she responded no! And then, in an amazing piece of friendliness the woman who was in the middle of a haircut says, “I speak english!” So then she did some translation for us and we were both in line for cuts! So sweet! I was feeling particularly adventurous - and decided to go for a medium-short cut! I haven’t had short hair since I was 12, but I’ve been feeling frustrated with having a lot of unruly hair - so I decided on a whim to get rid of it! And... it looks great! It was a great haircut and I’m really happy with it! Here’s a mostly unflattering picture of both Caitlin and I - but it does show off (kinda) our cute new styles!

Wednesday afternoon we went to the salt mines, which are just outside the city. What a cool experience! The mines are 700 years old and right from the beginning the workers started carving sculptures in the salt! So there are several chapels and different sculptures of famous Polish figures as well as gnomes and all kinds of things. Our guide was pretty funny and kept us chuckling - he told us that in Polish ‘salty’ means expensive so that in a restaurant your soup can be salty as well as your check (chuckle chuckle). I have only one picture from the mines - because you had to pay 3 euro to take photos and because of the salt crystals they don’t really turn out - so in essence I stole one picture. It’s hard to see - but there’s a little gnome there!

That night we had a great dinner. I had 3 courses and paid 12 euro - amazing!

Thursday we ventured to Auschwitz - which was a full day trip and a really emotional one as well. I didn’t take any pictures there - mostly because it didn’t seem right to act as a tourist in a place where so many suffered and died. We decided to take the 3.5 hour tour, and I’m really glad we did. I remember learning about the Holocaust, but there is so much that isn’t taught (understandably) and it really helped me to understand the horrors that were committed on innocent people. On the tour you see not only the grounds, but also inside the barracks, punishment cells, gas chambers and toilet facilities. It spanned two camps - Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II Birkenau - you also start with a short film that was taken in the days after the Red Army liberated the camps. I have to say - I had no idea. You really can’t understand what happened until you see what remains. I spent much of the day wavering between anger, sadness and shock. I think for me, the gravity of it all hit home when you see the human hair, shoes and suitcases that were found. The nazi’s didn’t waste anything - and some of what they took from people (both dead and alive) is on display. When you see the enormity of what remains (and realize that it’s a very small fraction) you just can’t help but cry. Each set of shoes was a person - and they lay there in an enormous pile. It’s just so much. One thing I knew, but didn’t know the extent of is the experimentation that Nazi doctors did on those held at Auschwitz - it’s just horrifying. I’m not going to repeat it here - but know that’s it’s much worse than you ever thought. The conditions of the camp were just appalling - and visiting in winter really allowed me to understand the coldness (it was a ‘warm’ day of -5 C) and the emptiness of the grounds - and it’s almost impossible to believe that people were forced to live it such a place. The most powerful and saddening experience is when you walk through the gas chamber. One of the chambers - the first one used - is still in tact at Auschwitz I and visitors are able to walk through it. I have to say - it was awful. For that place to be your last sight on earth - it just doesn’t seem just (and it wasn’t). But I have to admit, I don’t know which is worse - to see people dying all around you when you expect a shower or to suffer in the conditions of the camp -- I genuinely can’t imagine either, but it does cross your mind that giving up might have been the less painful option. For those who stayed strong and continued with hope - well you must be an amazingly strong person. Seeing it really changes a little something in you - but it’s just so hard to process everything that you see. I really do think though that everyone should be made to see it - as someone said ‘ those who forget their own history are doomed to repeat it.’

Friday we took it easy - we slept in and then ventured to Wawel Hill which is a castle and cathedral in a walled area. It was really cool!

The really cool entry gate

The snow covered dragon

Wawel Hill

There had been a lot of snow - so we had a big snowball fight.

It starts innocently with Seamus 'dusting' us

Continues with Seamus chasing Caitlin and I around and covering us with snow (not pictured - us covered in snow)

At one point Seamus tossed a literal block of ice - fortunately it missed

We explored the inside of the Cathedral and the grounds, but didn’t go in the castle - Rick Steves said it wasn’t worth it, so we took his word for it. It was really beautiful and lots of fun. We also visited the cathedral where Pope John Paul II was archbishop. So pretty! While wandering around the cathedral we found a pew with a sign indicating his favorite spot to pray - pretty amazing to stand in the same spot as the Pope!

Afterward we wandered around some more, had some coffee and then ventured to an awesome beer hall where we passed a couple of hours enjoying Poland’s finest. I got to sample 4 different brands of Polish beer - and they were all great! I think I liked Tyskie the best, but they were all very enjoyable. Seamus even drank a .3 liter glass (which was amazing because he hates beer and never drinks it) and he didn’t hate it!

Saturday we had a nice big breakfast and then flew home. Took our 3 different trains and got into Orléans around 8 or so.

The sign says - 1350 km to Orléans

It was an amazing trip full of so many things I will never forget! What an amazing adventure!

crawling toward the holidays - 1 lesson at a time

2010-02-02T06:43:00.000-08:00

My next vacation starts on Friday. It's Tuesday ... and it seems 1 million miles away. France really spoils you, I've been working for 4 weeks, 12 hours a week, and all I can do is think about when I get to relax. It's not like the job is super stressful, most of the time it's a blast (sometimes it's so torturous that I want to shoot my own foot, but mostly it's good) but I've reached that point where little things are irritating me. Yes, I'm a cultural ambassador and yes, I'm very nice (sometimes to a fault) but I'm getting a bit tired of playing the smile and nod game when I really just want to say something snarky. I think it's the middle of winter phenomenon - we all miss the sunshine (me especially).

Yesterday I had a semi philisophical conversation with a teacher about why smiling makes you feel better. This is the fellow who is clearly bitter that I no longer work with his class - and he takes every opportunity to make it clear to me (I liked his class - the change was out of my control). So, yesterday morning he comes up to me and says, "How are your students?" I smile and say,"They're great, thanks!" And start to hedge toward the door,because I know what's coming next. "It's so brave of you to keep smiling and being positive when faced with such terrible students who just don't care." Now, tell me, WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO SAY?!? I like these students, they aren't terrible and they are very bright. Sure, their english isn't perfection, but they try and they smile and they really make an attempt. So I respond, "oh, thanks. But I really enjoy teaching all my students." Response, in a dry sarcastic tone: "I think you are really courageous." At this point I'm sick of it - I'm sick of the way French students are classified, I'm sick of people mocking me for being upbeat and I'm sick of people putting everyone else down just because they are what they are. So I said, "well, you know, I just start with a smile and if they smile then we go from there. All I can ask is that my students try.'" The conversation then proceeds to, in essence, comment on my amazing ability to hide my feelings and force myself to smile, which, apparently, is a difficult task. Le sigh. Sometimes, I just don't get it.

Also, I have a cold that won't quit. Which has been providing ample opportunity to receive every form of advice known to mankind. Apparently, I should sleep with my socks on, chew hard candy, drink more tea, wear a scarf all the time, rest more, cover my mouth when outside, take cough syrup, don't take cough syrup and most importantly keep coming to work and take a week off to rest up (and go to the doctor to get the note to allow me to do this). Mostly though, I think the teachers would like for me to stop coughing in the staff room - today 4 different teachers commented on it (not sympathetically either). Ah, being sick, such a joy.

In better, non-bitchy news: My friend Christina is amazing! She's into the next round of the Fulbright competition and a member of Eye Lounge gallery in Phoenix. I am so proud of her! You go girl!

It's January...

2010-01-20T01:34:00.000-08:00

... and I have a serious case of the blahs. The snow has stopped, it's a little warmer (outside at least, but I'll get to that in a minute) but the rain and the general apathy is just really putting a damper on my post Christmas and NYE high.

In the last week I've had to fight an epic battle with my stupid electricity company, EDF, that I lost. Had a few great classes and a handful of boring ones and, somehow along the way, lost my faith in trusting people. Oh, and I acquired a tutoring job at a whopping €15 an hour (for one hour a week)! (except this week I got paid €13 plus a Turkish coin which looks exactly like a €2 coin - the good news: it's my first piece of Turkish money!)

The heating saga: I was promised a flat rate of €50 a month, effective immediately. I was told that in January they would take €150 out of my account to pay for November, December and January. So you can imagine the surprise I felt when I discovered a €225 bill for just November and December! I immediately headed down to EDF's office thinking that there had been a mistake only to discover that there wasn't any mistake and that I had been blatently lied to - the lady who set up my account said one thing, wrote another and hid it in the pack of papers I was given. On top of that I got a really lovely lecture from the jerk at the desk who told me that I should wear a sweater at home. Then he proceeded to tell me that the only way to fix this problem was to move and that it's foolish to move somewhere without examining the electricity bill first (because when you have to move in a hurry, the first thing you think about is electricity and not, you know, having a roof over you head ...). So then, after some research (thanks Dad!) and some great advice (thanks again Dad!) I was all set to go back and fight my battle. Except I had to work. So I sent Seamus instead (apparently they really don't care who you are, as long as you are going to pay the bill) and he worked it out - I still have to pay the bill and there's nothing that can be done to change anything, but at least now I know that my bill is consistent with the past tenants and that there wasn't a mistake - except for the part where they lied to me. So now I live in a pretty cold apartment - with heating only when needed i.e. if I'm standing next to a heater and feeling a bit cold. So it's pretty cold in the mornings - and pretty much whenever I'm not under the very warm covers my parents bought for me.

On top of this, I have to battle with the stupid housing aid agency - who are bastards, but that story is for another day. To make things more exciting, I was just informed that at the moment my legal status is a bit in limbo because my visa hasn't been validated yet. Which is not my fault and not really true, either. I am here legally, but my visa hasn't been validated yet - but it will be in a 8 days. This of course is all because of the fact that the OFII office is 6 weeks backlogged and only now is finally get around to validating my visa (1 month, 5 days after the deadline). But this of course means that until this thing is validated, I don't have the rights to housing help. Brilliant.

And now for some good news: I had the most hillarious class ever yesterday and I'm going to Ireland and Poland for the next vacation! So excited!

About my class, for those who are interested:
The class I have yesterday mornings has pretty good English, which means that I get to do a lot of fun things with them. Yesterday, I borrowed Caitlin's idea and created a speed dating exercise! I wrote out 14 bizarre personalities or famous characters (like Miss America, Captain Jack Sparrow, someone afraid of chairs, a window salesman a matador, etc) and made them not only speed date, but also try to guess the personality. It was the funniest thing ever. I had to speed date too because there was an odd number. I haven't laughed this hard in a long time - I was actually crying, multiple times, at how funny everything was. My most enthusiastic student got the card of Miss America (he's a guy). He got so into it, that he stuffed his shirt with a jacket and everytime he had to change chairs, he really strutted and did the Miss America wave! And he kept telling everyone that all he wanted was world peace and that they "definitely aren't good enough for me". He even had a whole bit about how real his boobs were and how they were so great that he couldn't see his feet. The other standout student got the Captain Jack Sparrow card - and she was great at it! At the end, I asked if anyone had found true love - and she goes (in a very manly voice), "I did!" So I said, "who?" and she replies, "Well, I only have 1 true love, and that's the sea - no human could ever be enough for me!" I laughed so hard that I kept on crying. I had to go home at lunch and fix my mascara.

So that's all from here for now - I'm having a little party this weekend and really looking forward to Ireland and Poland. Currently working for the weekend - but it'll get better soon.

p.s. the post about Christmas is coming, I promise!

My students are adorable

2010-01-05T06:30:00.000-08:00

So, it's been a while... but I have been so busy recently. My parents came for the Christmas vacation - and the trip was absolutely amazing! I plan to write a lot more about it, but there are so many great pictures that they have to be included - so that'll be for another day.

What I want to tell you today is about how much I adore my students. Monday was back to work, which meant a new schedule and some new classes. I have 4 brand new groups and 13 classes total (but I only see 12 per week). I had two of the new groups yesterday and they were great, very shy, but very nice and enthusiastic (which is all you can ever ask for).

Today I had four classes and I worked with all of them last semester. I adore all of these groups. Tuesday is my longest day, but by far my favorite, I have other groups that I adore (to be honest, I really only have one class that I don't like) but Tuesdays always go well.

So today, during my first class a student comes up to me and hands me a note - she is just the sweetest (when I first got here she gave me a great tour of the city) and the note just made me grin from ear to ear. I won't share it out of respect for her, but needless to say, it just made my day.

After that I had another class and the lesson went great, I finished 2 minutes early, and since it was right before lunch I told them they could go early. Usually when this happens students go running for the door (2 minutes of freedom is a lot when you only get 5 to change classes) and instead they all begged to stay with me! Talk about amazing! Then they told me that they are all working together to give me a late Christmas gift and asked what kind of chocolate I like most. So amazing. I just love these kids.

Then, for my third class of the day, I had a volunteer student! Before class a student comes up and asks if he can sit in on the class. I say of course (enthusiasm? sign me up!) and he participates all the way through, gets other kids talking - it was great! After class he asks if he can come every B week because he really loves learning english. My answer? "Absolutely!" So sweet!

I've got one more group to go, and they always make me smile. Let's hope this stays as the best Tuesday ever. I just love these kids and I feel very lucky to have such great students!

France is amazing!

2009-12-15T06:44:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-12-07T06:34:00.001-08:00

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!

2009-12-07T06:12:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-12-07T06:10:00.000-08:00

... 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!

2009-11-25T01:47:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-24T06:39:00.000-08:00

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

2009-11-23T05:39:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-13T00:29:00.000-08:00

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!

2009-11-12T00:27:00.000-08:00

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...

2009-11-02T08:59:00.001-08:00

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

2009-11-02T06:46:00.002-08:00

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

2009-11-02T06:46:00.001-08:00

...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

2009-10-18T10:33:00.002-07:00

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

2009-10-18T10:33:00.001-07:00

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

2009-10-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-10-13T03:54:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-10-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-09-30T11:25:00.001-07:00

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!

2009-09-30T11:24:00.001-07:00

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

2009-09-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

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

2009-09-30T11:22:00.000-07:00

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!

September 24th - The day from hell and why I’m eternally grateful to the French

2009-09-30T11:21:00.000-07:00

So it turns out that getting to Orléans - or just France in general - was not as easy as I’d hoped. This is a really long post - so be prepared!

My first flight of the day from Phoenix to Washington D.C. was just lovely. I somehow ended up in the “economy plus” section, even though I didn’t pay for it. Razu and I also had the whole row to ourselves - which was great because I could put him right next to me. He did really well on the first flight - only crying on take off and landing. I also learned that he liked the option of being able to see out of his crate - because he also cried when he couldn’t see what was going on. Once in DC we ducked into a family bathroom so he could stretch and go potty and eat a little. Well, he did stretch - but not anything else. After that I grabbed some lunch and headed to our gate - there I met four other girls who were also teaching assistants. One was renewing - so we got the chance to pick her brain about what the experience is like. I also met a really nice lady who lived in San Francisco and was a professional photographer. She was extremely nice and really helpful - she even got Razu a cup of water (which he didn’t drink - I did squirt 2ml in his mouth though).

All of this is pretty nice and normal - but the shit hit the fan once we took off for the next flight. The flight was completely full, with tiny seats (especially by international standards). I had the good fortune to be sitting right next to the group of assistants as well as every other young person on the plane (we all used the same flight booking agency). About 3 minutes into takeoff Razu started screaming - he was really upset. I thought it was a little unusual because he had only meowed quietly the last time - but I figured he was just mad that he had to go through this whole process again. Everyone around me understood - and then a few minutes later we started noticing little bits of white fluff in the air - it kinda looked like a pillow had exploded. And then our section of the plane got really hot. And then it was essentially snowing this white crap -- and then everyone started coughing. At this point the flight attendants realized that something was wrong - so they started passing out masks to our section of the plane and running around turning on the little air vents above us - which just made it hotter. At this point Razu was just about howling - and I realized that the hot air was coming from the large vents near the floor. So I put my hand on the floor - and it was also pretty warm. This was when I realized that Razu was getting way too hot (which explained the screaming). I took off his blanket covering and started fanning his cage - and when I saw the flight attendant I explained that he was going to get overheated and that I needed to hold onto him because the floor was too hot. She said that I wasn’t allowed to have him on my lap - and then I did something I never do. I said, very firmly, “My cat is not safe where he is - you need to do something for him.” So she offered to take the carrier to an unaffected section of the plane. I really didn’t want him away from me - but his health came first. So she takes the carrier - and he flips out, and then I cry. Which prompted all the assistants around me to say that it was ok - our flight would be fine. Sure we would - but would he be ok? At this point, I realized that the snow was insulation - and the captain announced that we would be fine, nothing to worry about. About 2 minutes later we learned that we had to turn around and go back to DC. So we made a big circle and landed 15 minutes later exactly where we started. And then had to wait 3 hours for a new plane. I later found out that an air conditioning duct had blown - which explains the heat and blowing insulation. I was also reassured that they can’t use any toxic materials on planes - so at least it wasn’t fiberglass! This whole experience was pretty traumatizing for both me and the cat. Once we were on the ground Razu and I found a quiet spot and I e-mailed my parents and Alain. Razu started feeling better - and I forced more water into him. Although, I now had to worry that Alain wouldn’t be able to come and get us since our flight was delayed 3 hours.

The next flight went fine, sleepless, but fine - Razu and I took several bathroom breaks where I would let him out of the cage. A couple of times during the middle of the night he would just sit quietly on my lap. He didn’t much care for the makeshift litter box I had made him - and he ended up having a little accident - but I just washed whatever I could in the airplane bathroom sink and hung it to dry over my armrest.

When we got into Paris I started worrying again. I got all my luggage - which was 80 pounds checked and another 16 for Razu + carrier and probably another 20 for my carry on bag. So - all told a bit heavier than me. As I walked out of customs I looked for Alain - but didn’t see him. All the other assistants had collected their luggage before me and were gone. And then it was just me and Razu and all my crap in the Paris airport - alone with no backup plan. I really didn’t want to go all the way to Orléans with all that stuff after everything we had been through -- so I called my parents on a pay phone (and had to use their credit card since the machine wouldn’t accept mine) to see if Alain had responded to my e-mail and get his cell phone number - which I had written down, but didn’t want to dig for in the middle of the airport. I called them back and learned that Alain wasn’t coming, but that I should get a hotel in Paris and go from there. I noticed that there were several hotel phones, and my mom and I agreed to use the Hilton since she has a lot of points there - so my plan was to call her back in 5 minutes and go from there. And then the phone stopped accepting my credit card - and there was no place to buy a phone card. So, once again I was alone with no help. I tried calling several hotels to get a price - but I simply couldn’t afford 300 euros a night (yes, that was the best I was quoted). So I sat down next to a young kid who asked if he could use my laptop. It turns out that he had been at the airport since 7am waiting for someone to pick him up (it was now noon). I told him that there was no wireless in the airport - so it was useless.

Well after a while his person came - turns out it was his girlfriend - and I started to freak out again. And then she offered that I could stay with them until I figured out what to do. I figured I would follow them to their hotel, rest for a bit and then either go down to Orléans or find a place in Paris to stay. I suggested that we take a taxi and that I would pay for it -- but she had already paid for their return RER so they were taking the RER B train no matter what (which is like a subway train). Since they were the only help I had I went along - So up and down 2 sets of steps I went with my 2 suitcases (which did not work together very well) and onto the train. We got off at Gare de Nord and then proceeded to wander aimlessly because neither of them had any sense of direction. Lucky for them, I know how to read metro signs. I got us to the right exit, and the guy and I sat down while the girl went to see how far away the hotel was. I bought the guy and I lunch - and we waited (I was so over hungry and stressed that I ate all of 2 bites). It turned out that the hotel was literally just down the block - so we walked there. They didn’t have any empty rooms - but I was able to sit on their room’s floor for a while. I borrowed her cell phone to call Alain - but he didn’t answer so I left a message. At this point they were in full on make out mode - so I just curled up the floor to sleep for a bit. Alain finally called back and told me that it would be best for me to take the metro to a different train station and then catch a train to Orléans. He said he would come get me at the station.

After a while I called a taxi - no way in hell was I going to take the metro with all that crap! 16 euros later I was at the station - with all my crap + one very upset cat. I went to buy a ticket - knowing that there are trains every hour to Orléans - and was told that there wasn’t a train to Orléans today (which I knew to be a lie). I asked - what do you mean - and the lady explained that there were only trains to the station outside Orléans and that I would have to take a tram to get into the city. Good enough. I bought the ticket and then learned that I had to wait 1.5 hours for my train. I found a little seat and Razu and I waited and waited. When it was finally time to go - I realized that there was no way I could get all my stuff into the train without the risk of having something stolen. Fortunately, a very nice French lady asked if I needed help (which I definitely did). She grabbed the smaller of my big bags and hoisted it on the train and a nice young man grabbed my giant bag and put in on the train - they even put it in the luggage racks for me. The minute I sat on the train I fell asleep. An hour later we arrived in Orléans - and I once again had to get all my stuff off the train. So I grabbed everything and tried to maneuver it - and once again a nice guy (who was boarding the train) helped me to get everything off. I walked to the exit (down a set of stairs - where two more French men took my giant suitcases down the stairs), bought a phone card and called Alain. “I’m at Fleurry les Aubrais.” He responded that he’d be there in half an hour. I called home only to learn that my mom had managed to book a room at the Hilton in Paris for me using points. They were even going to come and get me. Turns out that the credit card company put a hold on the card for suspected fraud - which explains why I couldn’t use the pay phones.

Alain came and got me - and bitched that my suitcases were really heavy (you think? yeah, try hauling them on two trains and through two train stations). He explained that, for some reason, he thought that my plane came in at night - so he was never able to come get me after all. He also said that he originally thought he could come into Paris and get me - but was glad that I was willing to do the trip on my own. He’s a very nice guy and his mother’s flat is really nice and very big too! He took me out to dinner last night with his two boys - and told me that since I was in France I should speak French now -- but I was much to tired to even think, let alone in French. So we talked in some English, some French.

So, once it was all said and done - it took me 25 hours to complete a 15 hour trip. I’m bruised and exhausted, but I’m in Orléans! Actually, I have no idea where I am. I know that I’m in a suburb of Orléans - but I don’t know which one. I have no idea if I’m north or south of the Loire or east or west of the city center. I went to the grocery store today with the intent of getting a cell phone, but they didn’t sell any. I bought Razu a litter box and some bowls for food and water as well as a few groceries for the week. I hope that I am able to get a cell phone tomorrow - Alain mentioned that I could probably find one in the city center - so as soon as I get my bearings that is where I’ll go. I don’t have a map or internet access and no way to call anyone - so I didn’t feel that it was the best idea to get completely turned around after what I went through yesterday.

I'm alive! But don't have an internet connection...

2009-09-30T11:19:00.000-07:00

So here are the backposts that I've been writing and saving. I'll put them up in chronological order!

why packing is like the hokey pokey

2009-09-21T14:43:00.000-07:00

so, it turns out that shoving 7 months of stuff into 2 suitcases isn't as easy as I'd hoped. When I've taken big trips in the past, I've done so with a backpack and the idea of laundromats. This time I need to bring both fall / spring clothes and winter clothes - and medicine, and for some reason a pillow and sheet set (that sheet set might have to go though - it was only 9 dollars, but it's kinda bulky). When I practiced this packing exercise on Friday I came pretty close to getting everything into 1 bag. Well, add in a Katchina and storyteller and 11 dream catchers, my pillow, a sheet set and a crap ton of survival food (I have a really bad habit of getting over hungry and then sick) and it now barely fits into 2 suitcases. Not to mention that I still haven't figured out a way to get my laptop and blanket into my carry on bag (technically Razu counts as my carry on, so it has to be a small bag). Oh and my purse - I have to pack my purse. And the items currently in the laundry -- can't not have jeans to wear ... AHHHHHHH!!!!!

So, here is why packing is like the hokey pokey:

You put all your stuff in

You take all your stuff out

You put all your stuff back in

And you smash it all about

You try to close the zippers

And pull it all back out

And that's what it's all about

Hey!

You put more stuff in

You take some stuff out

You put even more stuff back in

And then you swear and scream aloud

You try to close the zippers

And then abandon several items

And that's what it's all about

Hey!

That UPS flat rate box is looking more attractive every minute ...

22 hours to go ...

2009-09-21T09:41:00.000-07:00

Well, it's finally here - in 22 hours Razu and I will be on a plane to Washington D.C and then onto Paris. As of right now I feel nauseous ---- this is actually happening. I spent a lot of yesterday running my few remaining errands - today I have to pack, make photocopies of all my important stuff, take some pictures of my house and neighborhood and say goodbye to my closest friends. This is not going to be an easy day. I've really felt numb to the whole process for the last week or so - but today I feel painfully aware that I have just under one day left in my beautiful, sunny Arizona. I know that I should be feeling excited right now - I keep telling myself that - but there are so many things I will miss. This is a lot all at once - new job, first time away from home for longer than 3 months and my first time living more than a 10 minute drive from my parents - all in a new country! I know that it'll be fantastic though!

Last night my parents and I celebrated the upcoming journey with an absolutely fantastic dinner. I'd been saving a bottle of Veuve Cliquot champagne that I received as a gift for my graduation as well as a bottle from my favorite Arizona winery Callahan and we paired them with a French style roast chicken, baked sweet potatoes, beets, a very fresh salad and for dessert a layered peach and fresh mozzarella with balsamic vinegar. My dad made the chicken, salad and dessert -- and my mom and I both agreed that I'm leaving at the wrong time. Lately my dad has been cooking phenomenal meals, and we both think that they're only going to get better. Later my mom made a crack that they'd be missing out on some amazing food, but I have to disagree - my dad is in an absolutely amazing cooking phase. It was a great meal and a great sendoff. Tonight we're doing leftovers -- which sounds good to me!

In some more happy news, there is a chance that the housing situation has been worked out - Danielle just informed that someone at one of her schools has offered us school housing! They have also offered to loan us some furniture! Apparently the apartment is usually for a school administrator - but it's not being occupied this year. They told Danielle that it would be fine for both of us to live there, so we're currently in the process of finding out how many bedrooms it has and if they'll accept the cat (and if they say no to the cat, we're thinking of taking the ask for forgiveness stance - if you know what I mean). The best part is that the rent is 500 euro including all the utilities - it just doesn't get much cheaper than that! I'm really hoping this place works out - the other apartment that I had an appointment to see is no longer on the market -- so here's hoping that school housing works out!

This is how I feel about my French speaking abilities:

2009-09-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

From the Flight of the Conchords:

Here are the lyrics spelled out:

: Je voudrais une croissant :: I would like a croissant
J: Je suis enchante :: It's very nice to meet you
J: Ou est le bibliotheque? :: Where is the library

J: Voila mon passport :: Here is my passport
J: Ah, Gerard Depardieu :: Oh, Gerard Depardieu
B + J:Un baguette, ah ha ha, oh oh oh oh :: A baguette
B: Ba Ba ba-ba Bow!
B: Foux da fa fa
Foux da fa fa fa fa
Foux da fa fa
Ah ee ah
B: Foux da fa fa
Foux da fa fa fa fa
Foux da fa fa
Ah ee ah
B: Et maintenant le voyage a la supermarche! :: And now a trip to the supermarket!
B: Le pamplemousse :: grapefruit
B: Ananas :: pineapple
B: Jus d'orange :: orange juice
B: Boeuf :: Beef
B: Soup du jour :: Soup of the day
B: Le camembert :: Camembert cheese
B: Jacque Cousteau :: Jacque Cousteau
B: Baguettte :: Baguette!
J: Mais oui :: But yes
J: Bon jour :: Hello
F: Bon jour :: Hello
J: Bon jour :: Hello
F: Bon jour, monsieur :: Hello, sir
J: Bonjour mon petit bureau de change :: Hello my little foreign exchange office
B: Ca va? :: How are you?
L: Ca va. :: fine

B: Ca va? :: how are you?
L: Ca va. :: fine
B: Voila -- le conversation a la parc. :: here is a conversation in the park
B: Ou est le livre? :: where is the book?
J: A la bibliotheque :: at the library
B: Et le musique dance? :: and the dance music?
J: Et le discotheque. :: at the night club
B: Et le discotheque :: and the night club?
J: C'est ci, baby! :: it's here, baby!
J: Un, deux, trois, quatre :: one, two, three, four
B: Ba ba ba-ba bow!
All: Foux da fa fa
Foux da fa fa fa fa
Foux da fa fa
Ah ee ah
Foux da fa fa
Foux da fa fa fa fa
Foux da fa fa
Ah ee ah
F: Ou est le piscine? :: where is the swimming pool?
J: Pardon moi? :: what?
F: Ou'est le piscine? :: where is the swimming pool?
J: ...Uh... :: um...

F: Splish splash
J: ...Uh...
F: Eh...
J: Je ne comprends pas. :: I don't understand
F: Parlez-vous le francais? :: do you speak French?
J: Eh? :: um?
F: Eh? Parlez-vous le francais? :: do you speak French?
J: Uh ....No. :: um ... no
F: Hmmm.
B: Foux da fa fa
Foux da fa fa fa fa
Foux da fa fa
Ah ee ah
Ba ba ba-ba bow!

4 days to go and feeling the love

2009-09-18T10:52:00.001-07:00

As my handy little countdown at the bottom of the page informs me - there are officially 4 days left before I hop across that big ole pond. My list of things to do is dwindling - and I'm starting the big goodbyes. Last night was my final night with Simply Servers - it was a bitch of an event (read: most of my muscles hurt like hell today) - but it was also my last! I really loved that job, and I will miss it - but I'm happy to be done.

Tonight my wonderful friends are gathering to give me a big sendoff of Americana. We are meeting at Heart Attack Grill and then heading to Christina's adorable cottage to drink cheap champagne. It was planned for me by my wonderful friends Paul and Troy and I couldn't be more excited! This is the first party I've ever had thrown in my honor. Before Paul informed me of the good news, I was worried that I wouldn't get to see everyone before I left - but my friends are such wonderful people and planned this for me. I'm definitely feeling the love on this one!

I've received so many supportive e-mails and notes - and it makes me feel so wonderful. My dad's sisters and mom will be keeping a candle burning for me for the duration of my trip - which is such a touching and thoughtful thing. I feel all the more connected to it because during my first trip to Europe I lit a candle for my Grandpa in every church - it is such a moving and powerful experience and I feel so loved and cared for knowing that I'll have one burning for me.

My mom's parents continue to send me funny jokes on a regular basis - and I know that they will worry about me continually.

One big thing - and one that gives me a lot of peace - is our family friend Silvia. Silvia lives in Austria and she, along with her husband Peter, met my parents randomly in an airport. They have stayed in contact ever since - exchanging gifts and e-mails. Well, Silvia has offered - no, insisted - that I come and stay with her. But in her last e-mail she also said, "Dear Marie, please tell Anna she should call us if she has any troubles! We will try EVERYTHING to help her!!!" It's nice to know that she is there for me. I've never met her, but she is just like family.

And, in a final bit of good news - I've been having some luck with my apartment search. I've been e-mailing various listings during this week and have an appointment set up to see an apartment on September 23rd at 5pm. The woman that I have been in contact with has been especially friendly and nice. She knows that I'm American, she's ok with the cat and she understands the situation -- and she still wants to rent to us! If the place is decent I'm taking it!

4 days to go!!! It's adventure time!

A weekend of joy

2009-09-13T23:15:00.000-07:00

This weekend has been absolutely fantastic. It started off with a lot of errands that resulted in a whole host of things for me to bring to France (all of them necessary).

For example:

- 15 new pairs of socks in 4 different styles and 6 different colors (gotta love the multi color packs)

- a jar of peanut butter (because when you can't eat anything, you can always eat peanut butter)

- big boxes of NyQuil and DayQuil (the French really don't do cold medicine, and since I'll be teaching I anticipate a handful of colds)

- pain reliever (the French have this, but stores have odd hours in France - and pain doesn't wait)

- the biggest container of Tums available (the French love cream, as do I, unfortunately my system does not)

- some magic tooth brush things that don't need water (because airplanes are not good for fresh breath)

- a new pair of sneakers to replace my 5 year old, very well loved pair (which I'll probably pack anyway)

- a new laptop battery (I've had my beloved laptop for 4 years and never replaced the battery - it was time)

Along with a new battery for my beloved iBook G4, I also had it checked for overall computer health. And it passed! There is not a single thing wrong with my lovely laptop - which makes me very happy. The nice people at the apple store also cleaned it - which was very necessary (no more black spots on my nice white computer!).

Saturday night my dad surprised my mom and I with a spinach, cheese and ham souffle and a berry and whipped cream parfait (and a clean kitchen too)! It was an amazing meal which was greatly enjoyed with my Mendocino county wine that I'd been saving since Christmas. I've been slowly drinking my wine collection, since none of them are meant for aging.

Today, we all piled in the car with Razu to have a test airport and car ride run. The best way for him to feel relaxed on the big day is for him to know that the airport isn't all bad and that he can survive the stressful experience. I'm happy to report that he did very well. He didn't cry too loudly in the car, and he was pretty quiet in the airport itself - since I'll have to hold him while I walk through security, I also practiced that. He hyperventilated a little, but all in all he did well. After 40 minutes in the airport we went for a drive to Saguaro lake. Razu sat right next to me the whole way and didn't say anything. He even cuddled on my lap! I think he's going to be fine! Next week we'll do a few more trips to the airport, just to further prepare him.

The trip to Saguaro lake was multipurposed: Take Razu on a car ride, get out of the house and take some pictures of the cacti and landscape to show my French students - so here are a few images:

just love those blue skies

giant cactus

up close and personal

looking up

Mountains, blue skies, saguaros and creosote - what's not to love?

Another great piece of news came when I learned that my health insurance company has decided to cover me until October 1st. Since my French job (and therefore health insurance) starts October 1 - there won't be a gap in coverage!

But the very best news of all came from Alain, my contact person. Whoever said that the French aren't nice, clearly has never met a Frenchmen. I received an e-mail this morning telling me that I can stay at his mother's flat (she will be visiting a friend). Not only that, but "you can stay there for a couple of weeks. There is a bus stop just around the corner, and the city center is 15 minutes by bus, a bit longer to go to the school. She was a bit worried about the cat, but I told her he knows where his box is and is an appartment cat, so there won't be any problem. Just don't use the phone to call your friends in Hawai! ;°) So don't worry, you'll have a shelter when you come. I'll buy some cat food and cat litter too."

Nicest man ever? I think so! Also, I really love that French smilies have noses - I'm using that version from now on! ;˚)

A little game

2009-09-12T11:22:00.001-07:00

Today I'm playing a game called, "This is why I love France".

I love France because:

the eiffel tower glows at night ...

and there are many cathedrals...

with stained glass windows.

I love France because walk signs look like this...

and bread looks like this.

Because when you are in France you want to run through fields chasing after ducks.

Because there are signs with no directions...

and you can drink in public.

There are subway stations that smell like pee ...

and there's a lot of amazing art.

But mostly because it's a place you never want to leave.

And because, as Hemingway once said, "If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast."

home again, home again - if only briefly

2009-09-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

It is T-11 days before I leave. And I don't have much left to do (except packing and finding all the last minute things that I'll need). While I was in California my visa arrived - and boy is it cool! My contact person is, quite possibly, the sweetest person ever. He thinks he'll be able to come and get me from the airport when I arrive (which will be such a big help!) and he is pretty confident that I'll have a place to stay (he has even offered to find and book a hotel for me if all else fails)! Today I double checked with the airline - and my travel plans are confirmed for me + cat. My money concerns have been eased thanks to some extremely generous birthday gifts. And I am home - if only for 11 more days.

Things are starting to feel bitter sweet. I spent a good deal of the last two weeks extremely anxious - afraid to leave home, scared and dealing with a whole host of emotions. Today, I feel better (a little excited, even). I know a lot of it is because I'm home, but a big part of it too is that I'm surrendering myself to the process. I am a person who likes to feel in control (not obsessively, but I don't like the feeling of being flung into space with no plans), there aren't many ways to feel in control in this process. But I'm realizing that it's ok. I'm cutting myself some slack. I try, often too hard, to put on a persona of being a-ok and strong and tough - but this isn't working. My mom very wisely said that I am entitled to feeling overwhelmed and upset and scared. So I am - and I feel 100% better for being honest with myself.

This past week in California brought a lot of revelations - and a lot of fun too. I was saying to my dear, dear friend Kimmie, how isolating it is to be a college grad. When you're in school it's easy to sum up your personhood by explaining that "I'm an ASU student". Creating a sense of identity is a lot harder when you don't have something to classify yourself with.

So here I stand - I'm a college grad who's leaving home for 7 months to pursue a dream. I don't know where it will take me, but I know that along the way I will figure it out. There will be high highs and low lows, but I am now a part of a process - and a damn exciting one at that. From now on, I'm adopting Obama's motto, but with a slight change - when he used it, I felt empowered for what our nation represents and could become. So now I'm using it, to feel empowered for who I am and what I will become: Yes I Can.

Procrastination Station (catchy, no?)

2009-09-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure if it's because it's hot outside, or if I'm still recovering from my week in the midwest + insane trip to LA, or if I'm too overwhelmed to do anything -- but these last two days / two weeks I feel like I've done nothing.

Remember that grand post about fixing my French? Yeah, that was on August 12. As of this moment I have 19 podcasts that haven't been listened to. So, basically, using my awesome math skills, (31 - 12 +3) - 19 = I am a bum!

I have been doing some things, for example: I downloaded about 25 lesson plans, and I bought some fake American money and a map of the US and some flash cards of the States (yay dollar bin at Target!), and Razu's paperwork is all ready (this cat is really expensive - $120 in vet bills, $75 for the carrier, $30 for the harness and leash, plus another $200 each way to fly him), I also called my health insurance and pharmacy (but lost both battles), and I looked up some more apartments and e-mailed my soon to be roommate and two grad school professors -- but each of these things took, like, 10 minutes. If you add those up it still equals me being a bum.

I had 4 things on my to do list today:

1. go to the bank

2. go to doctor's office to pick up prescription

3. e-mail Alain, my contact person

4. plan birthday

It's 1:50pm and I'm sitting unshowered, in my pajamas -- and no, I didn't go to the bank or the doctor looking like this. So have I accomplished anything, you might ask? Well, kinda. I did more or less plan my birthday (woot!). I also looked through my new textbook sized vogue, and made myself lunch, and poked around the internet (but I did not e-mail Alain). Productivity? Not so much.

So I'm going to click "Publish Post" and haul myself right into the shower ... (do you believe me?)

12 hours on the road for 15 minutes and a VISA!

2009-09-01T20:39:00.001-07:00

Today my mom and I drove to L.A. and back - which was rather torturous - but (!) my visa is being processed!!!!!!! I should receive it and my passport back within 7 - 10 days!

The appointment only took 15 minutes - 5 of which were spent at the counter. But it was worth it, everything was correct (except for my picture, which was a little too small - but Thierry behind the counter assured me he could "vork with it") and I'm all set. Once I get it back I'm good to go. We did sneak in 30 minutes at the beach and a quick lunch in Santa Monica, but it was really just 12 hours for one 15 minute appointment at the consulate.

Things are finally starting to fall in place. I feel like I've spent all summer preparing for these final weeks - and now I actually have to get everything done. Razu has his final vet appointment tomorrow - so all his paperwork will be done and he'll be ready to go. I received a certified copy of my birth certificate during the time I was in the midwest. I have to quick figure out my prescriptions and have a check up with the doctor before Friday (when my health insurance expires) as well as start gathering all the things I'll need.

I'm quickly running out of time, since I will spend a good part of next week in California visiting grad schools, seeing Kimmie and sneaking in some beach time (hopefully). I spent all of last week trekking around the midwest - which was an absolutely fabulous time, and I was so happy to see my family before I leave. (Although, those goodbyes were really a challenge - because it wasn't just a goodbye to the visit, but also the last time I'll see them before heading off to France.)

Tomorrow is going to be a full day of vet's appointments, calling doctors, writing to professors and quick planning a little something for my birthday on Friday.

For a summer of no work and no big travels, this sure has been a busy time!

It's finally here!! ... sorta

2009-08-20T12:26:00.001-07:00

I received some very good news today: My arrêté de nomination has been processed and is (supposedly) in the mail! But just in case, my very nice contact person at the embassy sent me a scanned copy! Yay! I have a piece of paper proving that I have a job in France! WOOHOO!

Also, I made an appointment to go to LA and visit the consulate for September 1 at 11:15am. Hopefully that leaves enough time for them to process the visa and mail it to me before my September 22nd departure date.

Things are starting to fall in place!