26/10/09 – 2/11/09
VACATION! I love that in the French school system you get four 2-week breaks per year. There’s one at the end of October, one for Christmas, one at the end of February, and one in the middle of April (which will mark the end of my contract at the school). For this vacation Rosa, Anna, and I decided to take a trip to the Basque coast. We started in Bordeaux then headed south to Dax, Biarritz, Bayonne, and St. Jean de Luz.
Bordeaux -
The three of us arrived in Bordeaux at around 6pm and were picked up at the station by Elise (a French teacher at the lycée in Fumel who has an apartment in Bordeaux) and her mother. Since it was dark out, the city was all lighted up. Along the quai there were rose-colored lanterns which seemed to pay homage to the fuschia-lit fountain of La Place de la Borse. Everything was pink to celebrate cancer awareness. Even the water of the fountain had been dyed pink and the figures of the fountain sported pink sashes. The city was even more alive thanks to a grand carnival taking place in the Esplandes des Quinconces. The Esplanade is a football-sized open area flanked by two colonnades of birch trees and two statues of French Revolution figures. The open promande is capped by a grand fountain featuring Poseidon creatures (ie: water nymphs, horses with webbed hooves, sea monsters). The contrast between the grand architecture and art of the statues and fountains made for a very delightful contrast with the carnival lights and attractions.
Elise, her mom, Rosa, Anna, and I walked down the grandly lit Rus de Sainte Catherine to a nice little restaurant with an odd name (Socosses or something like that). Most of the time it’s the best value to order off of the fixed price menu at restaurants. For only 14 euro at this restaurant I was treated to a chicken and mushroom quiche/tarte as an appetizer, a filet of fish with a thyme and red pepper chutney for the main course, and a white chocolate mousse with figs for dessert. With a lovely Bordeaux wine and lots of yummy bread, the meal was quite a success. After dinner we walked back to Elise’s car and she drove us to her apartment, which was only about ten minutes (by car) south-east of the downtown area. Fortunately for us, there was a bus stop right in front of Elise’s building from which we could easily get back into the city.
We woke up at a lazy hour the next morning, had some brunch with Elise and then set off to do some sightseeing in town. We walked down the quai and visited the same sites we had seen the night before, but this time in the daylight. Bypassing some of the more obvious historical attractions, we steered ourselves towards the marvelous Rue St. Catherine (shopping central!)- H&M, Etam, Xanaka…etc. I managed to find a couple nice items. We saw this hilariously incredible shag fur dress and after I promised to buy Anna a drink if she tried it on, we had a fashion show in the H&M dressing room! If you’re starting to worry about me forsaking real culture to embrace capitalist consumerism, I’d like to reassure you that we also visited the Cathedrale St. Andre and the Hotel de Ville.
Also in Bordeaux, we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to tour a vineyard. The vineyard, called Chateau Pape Clement, was actually in Payssac (a south-western suburb of Bordeaux). We caught the bus from Elise’s apartment to the vineyard and we planned to take a bus back into the center of Bordeaux in the evening. Unfortunately, we misjudged the location of the vineyard and ended up walking quite a ways from the bus stop to get there. Even though all the grapes had already been harvested, the fall colors of the grape vines made for a beautiful scene. Wine production at the vineyard started way back in the 14th century, but a Victorian Chateau has served as the main-house of the vineyard since the 1700s. (Unfortunately, my architectural knowledge-base is pretty pathetic, so please forgive any anachronisms). After touring the production rooms and aging cellars of the vineyard, we were treated to a “dégustation” (wine tasting) where we got to try a classically “Bordeaux” wine. Steeped in leather and earth scents, the wine opened up to have a black currant fruitiness balanced with the remaining flavor of the grape vine itself. I felt so happy to be finally indulging myself at a vineyard. haha
After our tour of the vineyard, we were supposed to meet with some friends of Anna’s in Bordeaux centre. We walked from the vineyard to a bus stop and waited for the bus. Then, we waited some more. Then some French girls told us that the buses may not be running and that there was a another bus stop around the corner at which we should try waiting. So we walked there and waited…and waited. Finally a bus arrived which was going in the opposite direction of the center of town. We figured we could at least get to a different bus station on that bus to get back into town. We jumped on the bus and drove for maybe a half of a kilometer before coming to a dead stop. Traffic. Horrid traffic. So we waited. Nearly 45 minutes later we got of the bus at the very last stop on the tramways path. We were in downtown Mérignac (by the airport!) We rode the tram for 16 stops and finally reached the center of Bordeaux. We met up with the friends of Anna (two brit girls also from Oxford) and after downing one pricey margarita, tried to decide what to do for dinner. We decided that while we had Elise’s full kitchen at our disposal, we should try to eat in and save our money for future dinners.
Dax
Today started with a rough morning…Even though we tried really hard to catch an early bus and make it to the train station in Bordeaux with enough time to get our tickets to Dax, we failed and ended up sitting in the train station for an hour and a half waiting for a later train. That’s how it goes though. We finally made it to Dax and were met by Marie-Laure, a Spanish Language teacher with whom Rosa works at the lycée. Dax is a humble little town that really only attracts visitors during the summer. Originally settled by the Romans, Dax boasts ancient ramparts and a tiny archeological museum (which was closed, of course.) The main tourist attraction is the city’s mineral baths, which are believed to cure rhumetoid arthritis and other joint problems. In the center of the town there is a Roman bath/fountain in which flows naturally hot mineral water. Although hot sulfur water is not very appealing to me, it was pretty cool to touch the hot water spring up from the ground. Marie-Laure then drove us out of town and to her farmhouse in the countryside where we spent the night.
Biarritz, St. Jean de Luz, and Bayonne
The rest of our trip was spent between three different cities which form a sort of touristic triangle. We decided that since we didn’t want to be tied down by train times and the distance from the gare to the center of each town, that we would rent a car for the weekend. It turned out to not be that expensive (80 euro for three days) so we picked up the car in Bayonne on Friday morning and told them we’d return it at the break of dawn on Monday. Being that we had to return the car early on Monday and our train was quite a bit later on Monday, we decided to leave most of Bayonne for the period of time when we no longer had our car.
We took off in our beloved car (which we named “Giselle” partially because of an amusing story about a chipmunk that Anna had told us and partially because when the cute car rental guy told us about the car I misheard the word “diesel” as “giselle”) and began our drive through a town called Anglet and towards Biarritz. Normally in French, one would pronouce a word spelled “Anglet” like “ong-lay.” If the word were to be pronounced with the T on the end, it should’ve been spelled “Anglette.” Apparently in the south-west of France though, they pronounce all the letters in words, so eventhough it felt wrong to say “on-glet” that is what we had to do. Our hotel for that night was in Anglet (right next to the airport infact) but we were too excited to stop our driving at the hotel. We continued to Biarritz (only about 15 min from Bayonne) and had our breaths taken away by a gorgeous seaside town on a gorgeously summery day! Rosa had the pleasure of driving around two screaming girls giddy from the warm air and by a lovely car ride. The second that we caught sight of the ocean, we knew we were in love with Biarritz. We hurredly parked the car and scrambled to the shore. We could not have asked for better weather. Eventhough it was the end of October, the temperature was a balmy 70 degrees and the sun was shining with all its might.
We walked out on a long stone pier topped by a Virgin Mother statute which overlooked the bay and joined the other tourists in shameless picture taking. We walked a bit on the quai along the beach and throughout the town. It was fabulous. Great weather, great little shops, a perfect little town… We went back to our hotel to drop off our bags and take a little rest before heading back to Biarritz for a night on the town. Unfortunately, Biarritz isn’t really a night-life kind of town. It has more activity than like Fumel, but compared to Bordeaux (or Bayonne, as we would later discover) it’s more of a daytime town. We had a few drinks at a brasserie and then ate something inconsequential. Our hotel for that night was quite disappointing. The bathroom looked like it belonged in an airplane and the room was fitted with bunk beds….yea. You take what you can get though. Haha
The next day, we took an excursion to the town of St. Jean de Luz. We weren’t sure what to expect but we quickly realized the St Jean is the shopping capitol of the Basque coast. SO many little boutiques (some of which were even affordable!) St. Jean also has a nice walkway along the shoreline. Although it’s not a white sandy beach like in Biarritz, the boulders and rocks being bathed by the water were very beautiful. We took in the sunset and then headed back to Biarritz to check into a different hotel for the last two nights of our vacation. Hotel Anjou, situated right at the end of the main strip in Biarritz was so cheap for what we got! Two nice big beds, a big bathroom, an entrance right inside the main door of the building (really the whole place was a large house that had been converted into a hotel.) If you ever go to Biarritz, you should definitely stay at Hotel Anjou.
We decided that for our evening festivities we would go to Bayonne for some light shopping and maybe a drink and then come back to Biarritz for dinner. Bayonne was quite busy when we got there (around 6). There was a rugby game that night so the bars were full of people watching the game. We did a quick little tour of the shops before they closed and then headed back to Biarritz.
We had found that it was always a better bargain to go with the fixed price menus at restaurants (ie: 16 euro gets you an appetizer, main dish, and dessert) so we went from restaurant to restaurant looking for a decent priced “Menu” and finally found a nice restaurant out by the sea. I had a nice seafood gratin, then salmon, and then delicious ice cream for dessert.
Our last full day in Biarritz started off with a trip to the Sea Museum. (I’d call it an Aquarium, but they had nautical displays not relating to animals in addition to fish tanks). Unfortunately I wasn’t feeling too well and so I had to take a break from the fishy smell and get some fresh air. We did get to watch the sea lions being fed. So that was fun. After the Sea Museum we went to a different museum…a Chocolate museum! We watched a little documentary on the history of the cacao trade and then walked through an area of historical chocolate paraphernalia.
The next day we rose very early and drove to Bayonne to return the car. The weather was quite dreary but we managed to find a few interesting sites to see. Most notably was the cathedral and adjoining monastery. The sky cleared up just in time for us to snap a few pics of the colonnade in the monastery. Our train back to Agen via Bordeaux left around 1pm so after grabbing a bite to eat we boarded the train and bid the Basque coast a fond farewell.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Good Ole' Down-Home Country
20/10/09
So I’ve been going to gym class twice a week, but this week the instructor is out of town so tonight Sophie and I went to check out this country-dancing thing just down the street from my apartment. I had no idea what I was in for, but it was better than just sitting at home. We entered a large dance hall that was decked out in American flags, cactus murals, and Native American dream catchers. Every inch of the room was covered in decoration including a wooden stage at the front of the room on which the dance instructor stood. Talk about a culture shock. This instructor runs all levels of square dancing classes that have about 50-70 people in them. The best students even put on performances for the community sometimes. I was very impressed at their level of skill. I mean, I’ve been trying (and failing) to learn “The Hustle” since I was a kid, but these French people have got down intensely intricate dance sequences. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many fancy cowboy boots and hats outside of country-infused areas of the US. It was incredible and so very odd. They fact that the dance directions were being called in French did little to convince me that I was indeed still in rural south-western France, for all intents and purposes I had teleported to a mecca of country music, dance, and culture.
So I’ve been going to gym class twice a week, but this week the instructor is out of town so tonight Sophie and I went to check out this country-dancing thing just down the street from my apartment. I had no idea what I was in for, but it was better than just sitting at home. We entered a large dance hall that was decked out in American flags, cactus murals, and Native American dream catchers. Every inch of the room was covered in decoration including a wooden stage at the front of the room on which the dance instructor stood. Talk about a culture shock. This instructor runs all levels of square dancing classes that have about 50-70 people in them. The best students even put on performances for the community sometimes. I was very impressed at their level of skill. I mean, I’ve been trying (and failing) to learn “The Hustle” since I was a kid, but these French people have got down intensely intricate dance sequences. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many fancy cowboy boots and hats outside of country-infused areas of the US. It was incredible and so very odd. They fact that the dance directions were being called in French did little to convince me that I was indeed still in rural south-western France, for all intents and purposes I had teleported to a mecca of country music, dance, and culture.
16-19/10/09- A Weekend in Toulouse
This weekend Rosa and I took our first expedition outside the Lot-et-Garonne region. On Friday evening we took a train from Monsempron-Libos to Agen then the TGV from there to Toulouse. Anna was catching a ride with a Spanish teacher who works in Villeneuve (where Anna is stationed) who was going to Toulouse to see some kind of show. Rosa and I got to Toulouse first and made our way to the hotel. It was a bit farther outside of downtown than I thought it would be but it turned out to be a very generous room with a nice kitchenette and a separate bedroom. Anna called us when she arrived and we decided to meet her in Capitole (the grand square of Toulouse where the town hall is and around which most of the main attractions of the city lie). There was a student festival of some sort going on all weekend and on Friday night the Capitole Square was packed with people. We decided to grab some dinner and then head back to the hotel. The main façade of the square directly opposite the Capitole building has a long logia boasting all kinds of restaurants. We found one that wasn’t insanely priced and sat down for a very nice meal. Rosa and Anna had pizzas and I had a very respectable mushroom risotto (it still didn’t match up to the incredible risotto I had in London a long time ago but it was very respectable indeed). Even though it was freezing cold, we decided we needed ice cream. Here’s a funny thing about France though, you have to pay extra at places if you want to sit down to eat whatever you buy. I, for one, think that that’s ridiculous, so even if it’s freezing cold I will insist on not paying extra to sit inside a place to eat my ice cream. So there we stood, three girls huddled together like penguins conserving heat radiating from an underground vent….quite the scene….
The next morning we decided to take in the tourist sites of Toulouse. There are at least six churches in the downtown area, some of which are wedged so tightly between other buildings that you don’t know you’ve reached them until you’re right at the front door. My favorite church of the day was the Eglise St. Pierre des Chartreux. It’s an absolutely stunning early 17th century church with a glorious central altar. The entire church was done in a silvery grey stone with detailed carvings in the central dome. The walls of the organ and choir stall area were covered in gorgeous paintings. To make it all the more magical, we happened to arrive at the church just in time to catch the end of a pianist’s performance. The entire choir area was packed with people listening to her. It was quite the spectacle.
After St. Pierre’s we ventured back towards Capitole and wandered around the open-air market. We explored some other churches, including the Basilique Saint-Sernin, which boasts an altar akin to the one by Bernini in St. Peter’s Basilica. It had tall marble columns topped by golden angles and putti (little cherub figures). The Basilica’s crypt and apse were also open for viewing. Personally, I’m a big fan of crypts since that’s usually where the “jewels” of the church are preserved. The crypt at the Basilica was definitely full of “jewels”. Unfortunately none of them were labeled so it was difficult to determine what tiny piece of relic each ornate container contained. It was nonetheless impressive.
In addition to the permanent culture fixtures of Toulouse, we were treated to the cultural site of the city being decked out for a “student’s weekend.” There were all kinds of tents set up with sponsors from international societies promoting student experiences abroad. There were also lots of street performers, including a marching band, taking advantage of the increased crowds.
In the mid afternoon we visited my favorite museum of the trip. Le Musée des Augustins was originally (as you may have guessed) an Augustinian monastery. It was opened to the public as a museum in 1795 (a very short time after the Louvre was opened). Aside from the varying types of collections on display at the museum, what I found to be truly refreshing was the set up of the museum itself. Rather than room after identical room of chronologically arranged paintings and sculptures, le Musée des Augustins constantly surprised me with new presentations of its pieces. Its ability to do this was most definitely given impetus by the museum’s setting in a monastery. The museum used its stonewalls and uneven floors rather than covering them up with drywall and laminate. The museum itself was art. As you can tell I was very taken with it.
On Sunday, since any sort of commercial entertainment was out of the question, we decided to take in another museum. This time we walked to the Natural History Museum, which is set among the Botanical Gardens. We took the scenic route down the Allée Forain François Verdier starting from a Triumphal Arch memorializing WWI soldiers and ending in a lovely sculpted garden. The Natural History Museum was hidden amongst other theatres and museums among the Jardin des Plantes. (By the way, naming a garden “The Garden of Plants” is just hilarious to me. What else would the garden contain? Jello-jigglers?) Our tour of the “Natural World” started with a discussion of tectonics and the earth as a living, dynamic creature. We then were guided through a “zoo of the dead.” There must have been at least 500-750 different taxidermied species in glass display cases. It was both incredible and creepy. Dinosaurs and a discussion of evolution were next on the agenda. Then, we were ushered into a room of prehistoric artifacts and African art. I know that being an art history lover, I should have an appreciation for all art but honestly, African art freaks the shit out of me! Especially the masks and the figures with nails sticking out of them. Eeeek. I can’t deal with that stuff. Anyways, we concluded our tour with a sobering look at what modern society is doing to the planet. I felt very guilty being an American standing in front of the chart saying that the US is responsible for 30% of all carbon emissions worldwide. (At least I recycle though!) In front of the museum was a spiral garden of exotic plants. It was such a gorgeous day outside that we couldn’t deny ourselves a nice long walk in consecutively diminutive circles.
Our last day (or half day) spent in Toulouse was filled with checking out of our hotel and donning our heavy backpacks, then having lunch with some of Anna and Rosa’s friends, then quickly exploring the Capitole building. The interior murals and decorations conjured up images of Versailles. I however, found one of the side halls, with pointillist paintings of Henri Martin, to be more interesting than the Grand Hall.
After concluding our tour of the building we took the metro to the train station and boarded a train back to our respective home bases.
The next morning we decided to take in the tourist sites of Toulouse. There are at least six churches in the downtown area, some of which are wedged so tightly between other buildings that you don’t know you’ve reached them until you’re right at the front door. My favorite church of the day was the Eglise St. Pierre des Chartreux. It’s an absolutely stunning early 17th century church with a glorious central altar. The entire church was done in a silvery grey stone with detailed carvings in the central dome. The walls of the organ and choir stall area were covered in gorgeous paintings. To make it all the more magical, we happened to arrive at the church just in time to catch the end of a pianist’s performance. The entire choir area was packed with people listening to her. It was quite the spectacle.
After St. Pierre’s we ventured back towards Capitole and wandered around the open-air market. We explored some other churches, including the Basilique Saint-Sernin, which boasts an altar akin to the one by Bernini in St. Peter’s Basilica. It had tall marble columns topped by golden angles and putti (little cherub figures). The Basilica’s crypt and apse were also open for viewing. Personally, I’m a big fan of crypts since that’s usually where the “jewels” of the church are preserved. The crypt at the Basilica was definitely full of “jewels”. Unfortunately none of them were labeled so it was difficult to determine what tiny piece of relic each ornate container contained. It was nonetheless impressive.
In addition to the permanent culture fixtures of Toulouse, we were treated to the cultural site of the city being decked out for a “student’s weekend.” There were all kinds of tents set up with sponsors from international societies promoting student experiences abroad. There were also lots of street performers, including a marching band, taking advantage of the increased crowds.
In the mid afternoon we visited my favorite museum of the trip. Le Musée des Augustins was originally (as you may have guessed) an Augustinian monastery. It was opened to the public as a museum in 1795 (a very short time after the Louvre was opened). Aside from the varying types of collections on display at the museum, what I found to be truly refreshing was the set up of the museum itself. Rather than room after identical room of chronologically arranged paintings and sculptures, le Musée des Augustins constantly surprised me with new presentations of its pieces. Its ability to do this was most definitely given impetus by the museum’s setting in a monastery. The museum used its stonewalls and uneven floors rather than covering them up with drywall and laminate. The museum itself was art. As you can tell I was very taken with it.
On Sunday, since any sort of commercial entertainment was out of the question, we decided to take in another museum. This time we walked to the Natural History Museum, which is set among the Botanical Gardens. We took the scenic route down the Allée Forain François Verdier starting from a Triumphal Arch memorializing WWI soldiers and ending in a lovely sculpted garden. The Natural History Museum was hidden amongst other theatres and museums among the Jardin des Plantes. (By the way, naming a garden “The Garden of Plants” is just hilarious to me. What else would the garden contain? Jello-jigglers?) Our tour of the “Natural World” started with a discussion of tectonics and the earth as a living, dynamic creature. We then were guided through a “zoo of the dead.” There must have been at least 500-750 different taxidermied species in glass display cases. It was both incredible and creepy. Dinosaurs and a discussion of evolution were next on the agenda. Then, we were ushered into a room of prehistoric artifacts and African art. I know that being an art history lover, I should have an appreciation for all art but honestly, African art freaks the shit out of me! Especially the masks and the figures with nails sticking out of them. Eeeek. I can’t deal with that stuff. Anyways, we concluded our tour with a sobering look at what modern society is doing to the planet. I felt very guilty being an American standing in front of the chart saying that the US is responsible for 30% of all carbon emissions worldwide. (At least I recycle though!) In front of the museum was a spiral garden of exotic plants. It was such a gorgeous day outside that we couldn’t deny ourselves a nice long walk in consecutively diminutive circles.
Our last day (or half day) spent in Toulouse was filled with checking out of our hotel and donning our heavy backpacks, then having lunch with some of Anna and Rosa’s friends, then quickly exploring the Capitole building. The interior murals and decorations conjured up images of Versailles. I however, found one of the side halls, with pointillist paintings of Henri Martin, to be more interesting than the Grand Hall.
After concluding our tour of the building we took the metro to the train station and boarded a train back to our respective home bases.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
15/10/09
I took the students on my own for the first time today. The classroom I have to teach in is actually pretty nice. There are probably enough seats for maybe 20 students (although I’m never supposed to have more than about 12) and it gets good lighting from the three big picture windows on the far wall. My schedule at the lycée for Thursdays has me teaching five hours of classes which fall between 8am and 5pm. It’s kind of a pain to wake up for that 8am class, but at least I only have an 8am class once a week. I will also be working on Fridays at the lycée (4 hours of classes between 9 am and 4pm). Wednesday mornings will be spent teaching at the collège. Mondays and Tuesdays will be free :).
I think the classes went pretty well today. Some disciplinary rules had to be made clear so that the students would know that I’m still someone they have to respect even though I’m not their normal teacher. The students are mostly very nice, but it is still necessary to keep a handle on the discipline so that things still get done. The fact that I have recourse to report misbehavior to the teachers does hep to give me credit in the students eyes. Honestly, the only time I have to play the superiority card is when they misbehave, otherwise I like to keep things pretty casual in the class.
Tonight our neighbors, Elise and Marie-Lor (or Laure…honestly I’m not sure how it’s spelled) had a little party to celebrate Marie-Lor’s birthday. There were maybe 15 people there, all from the school. Both Elise and Marie-Lor are teachers at the lycée. In fact, Marie-Lor is a Spanish teacher so she is working with Rosa and Cesar. The party was quite fun. There were all kinds of yummy hors d’oeuvres and a nice selection of wine as well as some mojitos whipped up by the evening’s bartender, Cesar.
Unfortunately the cold night air coming in from the windows kicked my allergies into high-gear and I had to leave a bit early, but I still considered the night to have been fun. It was a bit insane to try to understand all of the mini conversations and French slang that was going around but I understood enough to keep up with the conversations. I don’t know, sometimes I feel like I do alright with the French and sometimes I feel like I’m barely treading water. I guess that’s how it is though. Practice, practice, that’s why I’m here.
I took the students on my own for the first time today. The classroom I have to teach in is actually pretty nice. There are probably enough seats for maybe 20 students (although I’m never supposed to have more than about 12) and it gets good lighting from the three big picture windows on the far wall. My schedule at the lycée for Thursdays has me teaching five hours of classes which fall between 8am and 5pm. It’s kind of a pain to wake up for that 8am class, but at least I only have an 8am class once a week. I will also be working on Fridays at the lycée (4 hours of classes between 9 am and 4pm). Wednesday mornings will be spent teaching at the collège. Mondays and Tuesdays will be free :).
I think the classes went pretty well today. Some disciplinary rules had to be made clear so that the students would know that I’m still someone they have to respect even though I’m not their normal teacher. The students are mostly very nice, but it is still necessary to keep a handle on the discipline so that things still get done. The fact that I have recourse to report misbehavior to the teachers does hep to give me credit in the students eyes. Honestly, the only time I have to play the superiority card is when they misbehave, otherwise I like to keep things pretty casual in the class.
Tonight our neighbors, Elise and Marie-Lor (or Laure…honestly I’m not sure how it’s spelled) had a little party to celebrate Marie-Lor’s birthday. There were maybe 15 people there, all from the school. Both Elise and Marie-Lor are teachers at the lycée. In fact, Marie-Lor is a Spanish teacher so she is working with Rosa and Cesar. The party was quite fun. There were all kinds of yummy hors d’oeuvres and a nice selection of wine as well as some mojitos whipped up by the evening’s bartender, Cesar.
Unfortunately the cold night air coming in from the windows kicked my allergies into high-gear and I had to leave a bit early, but I still considered the night to have been fun. It was a bit insane to try to understand all of the mini conversations and French slang that was going around but I understood enough to keep up with the conversations. I don’t know, sometimes I feel like I do alright with the French and sometimes I feel like I’m barely treading water. I guess that’s how it is though. Practice, practice, that’s why I’m here.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
9/10/09
So today, Rosa and I went on an excursion to Villeneuve-sur-lot. Unfortunately, although Villeneuve has a “gare”, the French word for train station, it does not have a train line. The only way to get there is by car or bus. We hitched a ride with a professor from the school who lives there and thus avoided a much longer journey via Agen. If you don’t have a car, you have to take the train to Agen (40 min to the south) and from there take a bus to Villeneuve (30min northwest).
Although it was raining, we explored the outdoor market and the store-filled streets of Villeneuve. We also met up with two assistants (Anna – a brit - and Edvan – who is from Guatemala). We had lunch with them and then they showed us around the Lycee where they both work. Villeneuve was quite nice. Rather than a city, like Agen, Villeneuve is still a village. It has a good number of stores and commercial centers but retains the charm of a bastide-style village. Rosa and I were quite impressed. I think if we had a car, we would go back there every weekend. Haha. It’s definitely more alive than Fumel. We took the bus to Agen and then the train from there back to Fumel.
This evening we went with Sophie to a music event featuring a French trio and then a brazilian group. The French group was very down-home folksy. I loved it. All the songs they sang were French classics. The Brazilian band was great to dance to. There were a couple friends of the band that had traveled with them and they danced the entire time. Tiny little rapid leg movements….insane!
So today, Rosa and I went on an excursion to Villeneuve-sur-lot. Unfortunately, although Villeneuve has a “gare”, the French word for train station, it does not have a train line. The only way to get there is by car or bus. We hitched a ride with a professor from the school who lives there and thus avoided a much longer journey via Agen. If you don’t have a car, you have to take the train to Agen (40 min to the south) and from there take a bus to Villeneuve (30min northwest).
Although it was raining, we explored the outdoor market and the store-filled streets of Villeneuve. We also met up with two assistants (Anna – a brit - and Edvan – who is from Guatemala). We had lunch with them and then they showed us around the Lycee where they both work. Villeneuve was quite nice. Rather than a city, like Agen, Villeneuve is still a village. It has a good number of stores and commercial centers but retains the charm of a bastide-style village. Rosa and I were quite impressed. I think if we had a car, we would go back there every weekend. Haha. It’s definitely more alive than Fumel. We took the bus to Agen and then the train from there back to Fumel.
This evening we went with Sophie to a music event featuring a French trio and then a brazilian group. The French group was very down-home folksy. I loved it. All the songs they sang were French classics. The Brazilian band was great to dance to. There were a couple friends of the band that had traveled with them and they danced the entire time. Tiny little rapid leg movements….insane!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
I promise I will catch up on these blogs asap!
6/10/09
Today, all of the assistants in the Lot-et-Garonne region met in Agen for an orientation. There were probably 30 of us there- about 20 English, 9 or 10 Spanish, and 1 German. I was under the impression that every school in France was assigned an assistant, but apparently that is not the case. Honestly I don’t know how the beaurocracy manages to wake itself up in the morning and get to work without filing out a million papers in triplicate in order to decide to wake up in the first place, et alone decide which schools are given assistants and which are denied the opportunity! As for Fumel, the state has declared that since the village is of little to no commercial importance (There’s a large factory here that is running on a quarter staff since the economic downturn - honestly it’s a bit like Detroit - everyone has someone in their family or at least knows someone who works/worked at the factory), the thing that Fumel needs to focus its energies upon is its education. I forgot the term for the type of city that Fumel is now classified as, but in essence, the mainstay of the city is the “cite scolaire” which includes the Lycée Generale (at which I work), the Lycée Technicale, and the Collège (at which I also work). Anyways, Fumel has been allotted an English and a Spanish assistant for many years. This year, through some clerical error I’m sure, Fumel was assigned two Spanish assistants. Now, in France the students are required to have English as their second language, but they are then given the choice of third languages. Most schools offer Spanish and German as third language choices. Suffice to say, the Spanish department is much smaller than the English department at the lycée and the collège. There are twice as many Spanish assistants as English assistants though….go figure.
Anyways, all the assistants met in Agen where we were given information about the MGEN, which is a health insurer for those in the educational field. Social Security covers a percent of medical expenses in France, but the rest you either have to pay for out of pocket or you subscribe to a “mutuelle” which then pays the remainder. MGEN is a mutuelle. It is not necessary to subscribe to them but it is necessary to register. You cannot register though until you receive your SSN. So that’s where I am right now, waiting for my SSN. Once that come through I will also have to go to Bordeaux for a medical examination in order to determine my Social Security status. Blah blah blah. Beaurocracy!
After a lunch of green beans and bread (there was some kind of dead animal product being passed out, but I obviously said “no, thank you”) in the canteen, we split into groups according to language and teaching level. There were three groups. English assistants (and the German girl) teaching at the lycée and collège level; English assistants at the primary level; and Spanish assistants. We basically discussed the DOs and DON’Ts of being an assistant, nothing earth-shattering or revolutionary. “Maintain control of the classroom” “Don’t beat the children” “Don’t work overtime, even if asked” etc. etc. After the orientation was finished, Rosa and I walked around Agen with the Spanish and German assistant assigned to the city then we headed home to Fumel.
Today, all of the assistants in the Lot-et-Garonne region met in Agen for an orientation. There were probably 30 of us there- about 20 English, 9 or 10 Spanish, and 1 German. I was under the impression that every school in France was assigned an assistant, but apparently that is not the case. Honestly I don’t know how the beaurocracy manages to wake itself up in the morning and get to work without filing out a million papers in triplicate in order to decide to wake up in the first place, et alone decide which schools are given assistants and which are denied the opportunity! As for Fumel, the state has declared that since the village is of little to no commercial importance (There’s a large factory here that is running on a quarter staff since the economic downturn - honestly it’s a bit like Detroit - everyone has someone in their family or at least knows someone who works/worked at the factory), the thing that Fumel needs to focus its energies upon is its education. I forgot the term for the type of city that Fumel is now classified as, but in essence, the mainstay of the city is the “cite scolaire” which includes the Lycée Generale (at which I work), the Lycée Technicale, and the Collège (at which I also work). Anyways, Fumel has been allotted an English and a Spanish assistant for many years. This year, through some clerical error I’m sure, Fumel was assigned two Spanish assistants. Now, in France the students are required to have English as their second language, but they are then given the choice of third languages. Most schools offer Spanish and German as third language choices. Suffice to say, the Spanish department is much smaller than the English department at the lycée and the collège. There are twice as many Spanish assistants as English assistants though….go figure.
Anyways, all the assistants met in Agen where we were given information about the MGEN, which is a health insurer for those in the educational field. Social Security covers a percent of medical expenses in France, but the rest you either have to pay for out of pocket or you subscribe to a “mutuelle” which then pays the remainder. MGEN is a mutuelle. It is not necessary to subscribe to them but it is necessary to register. You cannot register though until you receive your SSN. So that’s where I am right now, waiting for my SSN. Once that come through I will also have to go to Bordeaux for a medical examination in order to determine my Social Security status. Blah blah blah. Beaurocracy!
After a lunch of green beans and bread (there was some kind of dead animal product being passed out, but I obviously said “no, thank you”) in the canteen, we split into groups according to language and teaching level. There were three groups. English assistants (and the German girl) teaching at the lycée and collège level; English assistants at the primary level; and Spanish assistants. We basically discussed the DOs and DON’Ts of being an assistant, nothing earth-shattering or revolutionary. “Maintain control of the classroom” “Don’t beat the children” “Don’t work overtime, even if asked” etc. etc. After the orientation was finished, Rosa and I walked around Agen with the Spanish and German assistant assigned to the city then we headed home to Fumel.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
4/10/09
The past couple of days have been pretty low-key around here. Yesterday, Rosa, Caesar, and I went to the city of Montflanquin which is about a half-hour’s drive from Fumel. If I have not mentioned this before, the region in which I’m living was for a period of time controlled by the English, who built many Bastide style cities…Montflanquin is one such city still very strongly tied to its medieval origins. Unfortunately, the activity of the Middle Ages did not stand the test of time as well as its buildings. The town was literally empty. We arrived at about 12:30, so of course everything was closed (keep in mind that all of France shuts down between 12 and 2). Being that it was impossible to get lost in a city as small as Montflanquin, we just wandered around for a while. We decided to kill some time on the terrace of a boulangerie where we made the unfortunate aquiantance of a very unsavory character. Now, I’ve been in France long enough to not adhere to generalized judgements about the French being a rude culture. In fact, I’ve found that by and large they are very accomodating as long as you express humility in being a foreigner who doesn’t speak the language perfectly. The man that we encountered on Saturday, however, had the gall to tell me that I spoke French like a pig and that I should just stop talking (this was after he tried to tell me, with horrendous grammar, that he spoke English). Once he found out that Rosa and Caesar spoke Spanish he started jabbering in Spanish. Meanwhile, I just sat there. I can pick up bits of Spanish but I have no desire to speak it, so I don’t try to learn it. I don’t like being the only person not in on the conversation though, so I found myself becoming more and more agitated. We were informed by the owner of the boulangerie that the man was squatting in the building next door and that he had become a neighborhood nuisance. We tried to make a very quick exit after the man invited Rosa and Caesar (at this point, I felt like a plate of chopped liver) to come to his house for the weekend. They declined, obviously, and we said we had a train to catch…. As we walked/ran away we heard the Boulanger, his wife, and the rude-ass man quarreling. Then CRASH - broken glass - - - we walked faster…..
When the tourist office opened at 2, we were given a walking tour map of the city. Although we had already walked the entire city, we walked it again….boredom is the mother of invention, folks. not necessity, boredom. We thought that the town shops would open at 2, but they remained closed so after walking around for another hour and seeing a dozen identical medieval roads and alleys, we cut our losses and left. Don’t get me wrong, Montflanquin was beautiful, but honestly, you can only see so many picturesque cobblestone streets before they lose their novelty. Maybe if there had be more people or at least more little shops open, it would’ve been different…who knows.
The lady in the tourist office had told us about a Chateau not far from Montflanquin called Gavandun. So we drove there. Guess what? It was closed. Defeated, we drove back to the apartment where I made Indian food for dinner. Lovely comforting dahl…nothing better!
Sophie had invited us to go to a Disco show at the Fumel performing arts center. The curtains opened to show a guy in skintight lyrca pants and a billowing red satin shirt holding a disco ball as smoke and lights went crazy around him. INCREDIBLE. The cast performed hits by Abba, the Village People (the costumes for which were incredible), Donna Summer, The Bee Gees, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Gloria Gaynor……o my goodness….I felt like I was in highschool watching a talent show, but the dancing, costumes, and music were just mind-blowing. Wow, blame it on the boogey! (Oh, did I mention that we all got to see the lead dancer strut his stuff in only gold lame boxer briefs and body glitter? O yea, baby.)
Sunday followed with nothing really happening. Nope, nothing to report. Tomorrow, Rosa and I (and maybe Caesar) are going to explore Agen.
The past couple of days have been pretty low-key around here. Yesterday, Rosa, Caesar, and I went to the city of Montflanquin which is about a half-hour’s drive from Fumel. If I have not mentioned this before, the region in which I’m living was for a period of time controlled by the English, who built many Bastide style cities…Montflanquin is one such city still very strongly tied to its medieval origins. Unfortunately, the activity of the Middle Ages did not stand the test of time as well as its buildings. The town was literally empty. We arrived at about 12:30, so of course everything was closed (keep in mind that all of France shuts down between 12 and 2). Being that it was impossible to get lost in a city as small as Montflanquin, we just wandered around for a while. We decided to kill some time on the terrace of a boulangerie where we made the unfortunate aquiantance of a very unsavory character. Now, I’ve been in France long enough to not adhere to generalized judgements about the French being a rude culture. In fact, I’ve found that by and large they are very accomodating as long as you express humility in being a foreigner who doesn’t speak the language perfectly. The man that we encountered on Saturday, however, had the gall to tell me that I spoke French like a pig and that I should just stop talking (this was after he tried to tell me, with horrendous grammar, that he spoke English). Once he found out that Rosa and Caesar spoke Spanish he started jabbering in Spanish. Meanwhile, I just sat there. I can pick up bits of Spanish but I have no desire to speak it, so I don’t try to learn it. I don’t like being the only person not in on the conversation though, so I found myself becoming more and more agitated. We were informed by the owner of the boulangerie that the man was squatting in the building next door and that he had become a neighborhood nuisance. We tried to make a very quick exit after the man invited Rosa and Caesar (at this point, I felt like a plate of chopped liver) to come to his house for the weekend. They declined, obviously, and we said we had a train to catch…. As we walked/ran away we heard the Boulanger, his wife, and the rude-ass man quarreling. Then CRASH - broken glass - - - we walked faster…..
When the tourist office opened at 2, we were given a walking tour map of the city. Although we had already walked the entire city, we walked it again….boredom is the mother of invention, folks. not necessity, boredom. We thought that the town shops would open at 2, but they remained closed so after walking around for another hour and seeing a dozen identical medieval roads and alleys, we cut our losses and left. Don’t get me wrong, Montflanquin was beautiful, but honestly, you can only see so many picturesque cobblestone streets before they lose their novelty. Maybe if there had be more people or at least more little shops open, it would’ve been different…who knows.
The lady in the tourist office had told us about a Chateau not far from Montflanquin called Gavandun. So we drove there. Guess what? It was closed. Defeated, we drove back to the apartment where I made Indian food for dinner. Lovely comforting dahl…nothing better!
Sophie had invited us to go to a Disco show at the Fumel performing arts center. The curtains opened to show a guy in skintight lyrca pants and a billowing red satin shirt holding a disco ball as smoke and lights went crazy around him. INCREDIBLE. The cast performed hits by Abba, the Village People (the costumes for which were incredible), Donna Summer, The Bee Gees, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Gloria Gaynor……o my goodness….I felt like I was in highschool watching a talent show, but the dancing, costumes, and music were just mind-blowing. Wow, blame it on the boogey! (Oh, did I mention that we all got to see the lead dancer strut his stuff in only gold lame boxer briefs and body glitter? O yea, baby.)
Sunday followed with nothing really happening. Nope, nothing to report. Tomorrow, Rosa and I (and maybe Caesar) are going to explore Agen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
