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.
PHOTOS!
Check out all the photos I've taken so far!
http://s575.photobucket.com/albums/ss191/natalieinfrance_photos/
http://s575.photobucket.com/albums/ss191/natalieinfrance_photos/
Friday, October 2, 2009
22/09/09
This morning I got up quite early, had breakfast, and checked out of my hotel. My luggage was a bit cumbersome to walk with, but I ended up pushing the little red carry-on suitcase in front of me, while wearing my backpack, and dragging my Blue Whale of a suitcase behind me. The train ride was quite agreeable and not nearly as long as I expected it to be. Robert D’Ambrosios (the director of the English Department at the high school in Fumel) met me at the train station and drove me into Fumel. We went straight to the school and ate lunch in the cafeteria (or “canteen” as it is referred to here). After eating and then being introduced to a few key individuals at the school, I was shown the apartment where I will be living. To say that is simple, is to give it high praise. I can’t complain though really, since it will afford me so much more money to do extra things on the weekends than if I were to rent a place in town….*sigh*
None of the other English instructors were at the school this afternoon, but I was able to observe two of Mr. D’Ambrosios’ classes. It was fascinating to be put back in an environment just like my high school French classes, except backwards….french teenagers bashfully trying to pronounce English words and put together phrases instead of Americans murdering the French language. I circulated through the room while they were doing excersizes and tried to help with little hints and suggestions. I hope that as they become more accustomed to me, they will be more apt to participate. Honestly it was like pulling teeth to get answers out of them….but I guess that’s how most classes are.
I learned this evening that I may be moving to a different apartment. There are usually two assistants working at the highschool and middle school, one English and one Spanish, but appartently there are three assistants this year. One English (me), and two Spanish (one from Guatemala and one from Spain). The school would prefer that we were all living together, so they want to find an apartment with three rooms, instead of two. The other apartment would be over in the college (middle school), whereas right now I’m in an apartment in the lycée (high school). We’ll see what happens with that. Unfortunately though since I may be moving again, I can’t unpack my things quite yet. Living out of a suitcase is quite a nuisance and I’m anxious to put a rest the constant zipping and unzipping of my bags.
23/09/09
The windows in my room have these metal shutters that keep out not only the heat, but also the light, of the sun. I’ve never lived with room-darkening blinds, so I tend to be awake when it is light outside and asleep when it is dark. So, long story short, I didn’t wake up until around noon! Since nearly everything in France is closed between 12h and 14h, I decided to walk into town and get my bearings. Fumel is quite tiny with just a few shops and stores, a church, and a Chateau (which I have yet to explore). I ended up having some lunch at what seemed to be the only hotel in the downtown area. The woman at the front desk was very friendly and very enthused about meeting me. Looking back, it’s funny that we were speaking in French since she told me she was Irish. It probably would have been easier to break into English, but it never even occurred to me until just now. Hmmmm. The downtown area is a good ten minute walk from the school. Oh, and the school sits on a hill, so no matter where you go it’s always easy to get there and hell to get back!
I returned to the school and went looking for the lady who had given me my key to the apartment in order to inquire about moving to the other apartment. She wasn’t there but I spoke to another woman who told me that indeed I would be moving. Apparently the water has been turned off in the apartment though due to some plumbing problems. Once that gets fixed, I’ll be moving over there. It may be a little nicer than where I am right now too…we’ll see.
Later this afternoon I decided it was time to buy some food. Walking in the opposite direction of the town (and down the steeper side of the hill) for maybe 20-30 minutes, I ended up at Casino, the closest super market. I couldn’t buy a lot of food since I had to carry it all back in my backpack. I ended up with a very quintessentially French spread…two baguettes, cheeses, and a bottle of wine. (I also got some tic tacs, a towel, iced tea, and lemonade.) I was in sticker shock at the supermarket. Even if the euro were equal to the dollar (and not approximately currently worth a dollar and a half), the prices would’ve been nothing special. I needed to buy a set of bath towels but only ended up buying one since they were so expensive. The one that I did buy is between a hand and bath size and was 10 euros! That’s like 15 bucks for one small towel! Everything here is really expensive though. I think that’s the real reason that French people are so skinny. The food is so expensive that they can’t afford to buy more than they absolutely need!
The walk back to the school was quite arduous. The hot afternoon sun was beating down on me and by the time I got back, I was drenched in sweat. One thing is for sure though, I’m going to have the most gorgeous legs by the time I come back to the US. I’m sure all the walking will only do me good.
Tomorrow I will be sitting in on some more classes and hopefully meeting the rest of the English Department. Also, I have some forms to fill out at the school so I will be meeting with the headmaster’s secretary.
24/09/09
This morning I went over to the Headmaster’s secretary’s office to sign a million forms (and each form in triplicate, quadruplicate, or quintuplicate…wow, that’s a great word). My next task was to go into town in order to open a bank account and get some papers from the town hall. So off I went, hoping to get to both locations before noon when EVERYTHING closes in France.
So, you know how in the US if you go to a bank and say that you want to open a new account, they get all excited and take care of you right away? Yea…not in France. I walked into the Banque Populaire and was told that the earliest appointment to meet with a banker would be next Tuesday! I said that that wasn’t going to work so the receptionist dained to ask a banker if they could see me today. After a bit of finagling, I got an appointment at 5pm. I went to the Town Hall and the receptionist there didn’t know what forms needed to be exchanged between us and asked me to come back in the afternoon. So, back up the hill I trudged, feeling the acid burn of my shins traveling up into my quads as I switched gears from walking downhill to walking uphill.
When I made it back to the school I was able to sit in on another one of Mr. D’Ambrosios’ English classes. The French school system is quite different from the American one. By the time the students reach what would be the equivalent of the American high school, they’ve already decided what subject area they will be pursuing in college and their careers. They get separated into groups such as “sciences”, “arts and literature”, “general studies”…etc. The class that I sat in on today was in the general studies category and honestly I couldn’t believe what I was seeing (and I don’t mean that in the good way). I always thought that the French school system was a lot more rigid, strict, and academically focused (even at the primary level), but this class was as undisciplined as they come. I almost couldn’t stop myself from screaming at them to stop talking to each other and start paying attention! It’s going to take a lot of effort for me to make myself have enough patience to deal with these kids. The other classes that I’ve observed were much more serious, but seeing as I will definitely be working with the class I met today, I will just have to come up with some way of making them more fascinated in what I’m saying than in stealing the pencil case of the girl in the front row….
I went back down into town and found out at when I went back to the Town Hall that I have to go to the Prefecture in Agen (the regional seat of government) to do my paperwork. Then I went back to bank and was there for over an hour and a half! Just to open one account! Crazy! (Plus, the conversion the Euro is worth 1.59 dollars right now so my American Money didn’t really add up to much in my account…)
One of the ladies who takes care of something having to do with the appartements (honestly, I just say Bonjour to everyone and hope they know who I am, because I can’t remember who they are! I think I’ve met at least thirty faculty and staff members and I maybe remember two names!)…anyways, she stopped by my apartment and said that some guys would be coming tomorrow afternoon/evening to move a bed, armoir, and desk from this apartment to the other one. I’ll be moving over there tomorrow then. Everyone that I talk to about moving says the other apartments are so much better. So hurray!
Also, instead of just one roommate, I’ll actually be living with two other people. They’re both Spanish language assistants. One, a girl from Guatemala I’ve already met via email; the other, a guy from Spain, I know nothing about. Maybe he’ll bring his car up here though and then I won’t have to think about leasing one of my own!
O, I forgot to mention that a lizard came to visit me today. I was sitting in my room eating lunch with the windows wide open when this cute little green lizard crawled down the outside wall and peeked in at me. I actually thought he was going to come inside but then someone pulled up in a car and scared him away! He was cute though and most likely well acquainted with the touch of the velvet hand like a lizard on the windowpane should be!
26/09/09
Uhoh, I guess I didn’t write yesterday. Now I get to play catch-up! Well, I moved into the new apartment and it’s SO much better! It has three bedrooms with a good size bathroom, a living room, kitchen (with a brand-new, just out of the box stove and oven) and foyer. The room I chose is a soothing pastel green and it faces out onto a hill with a few trees on it. The other assistants and I will have to work on getting some other furniture (like a couch for the living room and a dining room table).
This evening, Sophie, one of the English teachers, offered to drive me to the grocery store to buy bulk items that I couldn’t possible carry myself (like a case of water). We went to a German grocery chain somewhat akin to Aldi at home. In addition to some groceries, I was also able to pick up a bed comforter and pillows. I’m going to sleep so well tonight!
27/09/09
Wow, what a day! Robert invited me to come have lunch with him and his family at their house in the village in St. Sylvestre, a neighboring town to the larger village of Penne d’Agenais. I was to take a train leaving around 11:45 but since the train station is quite a walk (about 35-40 minutes) from the school, I decided to take a bus from downtown Fumel (only a 10 minute walk). Although I thought I had left early enough to reach the bus stop, I must hve been too late, since the bus was nowhere in sight. When inquired as to maybe getting a taxi, a native Fumeloisienne told me that taxis really don’t exist in Fumel but that the train station was only a kilometer up the road so should have to problem walking there. I was surprised by this, but I believed her and started walking. About a half hour later, I stopped in at a florist’s shop where I was told that the train station was about two kilometers up the road (that crazy Fumel girl lied to me!). So after about an hour and a quarter of walking (in non-walking shoes nonetheless) I finally found the train station. Needless to say, I have some wicked blisters!
Robert and his wife, Jane picked me up at the train station in Penne and together with their three children we had a very lovely lunch. The entertainment of the meal was most definitely the youngest boy’s endless chattering about snails and caterpillars. After lunch, Robert, Jane, Sean (the youngest boy), and I went for a walk to explore the village of Penne. First off was a climb to the very top of the city upon which rests the ruins of a Roman structure (we couldn’t decide if it had been a church or a fort). Then we visited the Basilica of Notre Dame just below. Entering the old city, remnants of which date from Medieval and Roman times, we wound our way up and down the tiny paths and streets, finding picturesque views around every corner.
We came upon the tourist office and I spied some lovely hand blown glass ware and pottery made by local artisans, so we went inside. As I was looking over the selection of items for sale, Robert started talking to the lady behind the desk. (On a side note, Robert knows EVERYONE he comes across. If he doesn’t know them, they must be a tourist!) I introduced myself to the lady, Madame Maria Garrouste, and as soon as she heard I was an American, she insisted that I accompany her to the local foie gras museum. Eventhough I despise the practice of over stuffing ducks so that their livers can be harvested, I accepted the offer. Foie Gras is a specialty of the region and it would’ve been wrong to not even learn about it. So Robert left me with Maria ad she and I drove out of town and into the country-side. The museum is part of a large duck farm which sells all kinds of duck products (and also some wine and cheeses). Maria informed me on the ride there that she is a member of the Conseil Regional (a political committee somewhat akin to a city council- except for a county, instead of a city). In addition to working at the tourist office, she also runs a bed and breakfast and gives tours of local sites to tourists. Her reason for going to the Foie Gras museum was in fact to meet up with a group of Americans and lead them to an Old Romanesque church. The Americans were a group of retirees touring Southern France. I watched the end of a duck video with the Americans and then toured the museum. From Egyptian times to today, ducks have been a pretty big deal apparently. I came out of the museum to find all the American marveling over a tray of sample pieces of what the shop-lady was calling “jambon du canard”. Now “jambon” is ham and “canard” is duck…so duck ham, right? I figured that since I technically do eat poultry and since the tray was being pushed in my face that I could probably swallow one piece without dying. WRONG. It was awful! Dry and salt and tough and fatty. Wow. So bad. I managed to choke it down and ask for a glass of water…..
Before leaving the den of duck disgustingness Maria told me that the American’s tour director had a “proposition” to make to me. He came over and told me that tomorrow the group would be taking a day trip to the Dordogne valley and that I was welcome to come with them! Imagine that, a free luxury bus coach tour into one of France’s most gorgeous regions! I was thrilled and accepted immediately. Maria even offered to come pick me up in Fumel to drive me to their hotel in the morning to meet the bus. I was completely overwhelmed by their kindness.
We continued on deeper into the countryside to get to the Romanesque church. No longer used for services but having undergone some very recent renovations, the 13th century church was in very good condition. In the chapel, the walls were covered with 15th century paintings illustrating the crucifixion and ressurection. Maria explained all the paintings and the history of the church and then treated us to a performance of an old latin processional song. The church had amazing acoutistics so it was impossible for me to resist singing a few choruses of Donna Nobis Pacem :) Maria and I drove back to Penne where Robert picked me up and, after having a quick dinner, drove me back to Fumel.
The night still wasn’t over though. Sophie had arranged for me to go to a show at the local performing arts center. It was a celebration of 20th century French Poet, Boris __________. As a school outing, most of the attendees were students, but there were at least twenty school faculty members there as well. The performance was quite free-form and very well done. Three incredible performers used the poetry as lyrics for all types of musical compositions. Although it was all in colloquial French and preformed at quite a rapid speed, I was able to catch enough of the lyrics to understand the jist of each piece. After the performance all of the faculty and staff stood around socializing and had plans to go out to the bar. Unfortunately by the time we got out of the show and waited for all the students to be picked up by their parents, it was after 11pm. Fumel has almost no night-life to speak of, so looking for a bar or restaurant open after 11 is pretty much a wild goose chase. Being that I have to be ready to leave by 8am tomorrow, it’s probably best that the night ended so that I can get some sleep.
27/09/09
My goodness, another great day! If my weekends keep being so incredibly active, I don’t know if there will be any part of France that will have been unseen by me! Maria dropped me off at a hotel in Montflancan (a town near Penne) just in time to have a qick coffee with the bus driver and the tour director, Jean-Bernard (or “JB” as the Americans called him). As soon as Michel, the tour guide for the region, arrived, we set off into the Dordogne. Our first stop was quick visit to Villeréal to see an old Medieval covered market. We then drove to Rouffignac to take a tour of caves in which there were prehistoric drawings and etchings. Dordogne is home to the famous Lascaux caves, but since those have been closed to the public for preservation purposes, our tour guide decided to take us to the Rouffignac caves instead (which are actually older by several thousand years.) On a little train, we all traveled about a kilometer inside the cave to get to the area which had been visited by the prehistoric artists. We saw etchings of mammoths and drawings of horses, ibixes (sp? They were prehistoric goats, basically), and more mammoths. One of my objectives on this soujourn in France was in fact to visit some prehistoric caves, so I was very happy that we started the morning off in that way. Although it was a chilly 40 degrees in the cave, once we exited, the sun was out in all its glory and was more than happy to thaw my frozen nose and ears.
We made a few stops in small villages before making our lunch stop in the picturesque village of Sarlat. We had three hours to find something to eat and then get lost in the beauty of the city. Jean Bernard, the bus driver and myself found a quiet little creperie and had a great lunch topped off with giant pieces of Gateau Noir (a walnut cake topped with dark chocolate!…..walnuts are another specialty of the Dordogne). After lunch, we walked around the city. To say that it was beautiful seems a bit redundant. Each village is gorgeous, but each in a different way. Penne was beautiful because of the jumbled, crisscrossing streets that climb and descend down the steep hill of the village, but Sarlat was much more open. Still ruled by medieval city planning, Sarlat seemed more like a cross between a city and a village, than just a village like Penne. It’s hard to categorize the differences between all the cities, but I know that I really loved Sarlat.
In the afternoon we made a few more stops in other villages. Some, like Les Eyzies and Roque ______ have houses that are actually built right into the cliff face. It’s pretty crazy to see a house just melt into a wall of solid rock but you have to admit that it’s incredibley smart to use the solid cliff wall as the anchor of a house. We also got to see some lovely views of the Dordogne. The river was so clean and clear, just gorgeous.
That pretty much completes the story of my amazing weekend. I can only hope that more amazing weekends lay ahead of me!
28/09/09
Back to reality. Well, I’m still in France, so it’s not really a bad reality at all. I really do think that once I get into the swing of things here, I will love it. The only thing that I’m struggling with right now is getting a phone and getting some kind of reasonable internet connection. The story is too long and too boring to explain all the details of why the phone and internet connection are delayed if not entirely impossible.
I have finally met all of the high school English teachers. One was a bit hard to track down, but now I think that my schedule should be finalized within the next couple days. I still have to track down someone in the college (middle school) to see for what classes they want me to be assisting.
Tonight I went with Sophie to a gym class at the school gym. Basically a bunch of French women (and then me) being shown how to work our glutes by a sculpted French guy….pretty crazy, but fun nonetheless.
One of the other assistants was supposed to show up today, but I’ve had no news of him/her, so I guess I‘ll just keep waiting.
29/09/09
Everything in France is SO expensive. I’m kind of losing my tolerance for the prices here. The cheapest pay-as-you-go cellphone that I saw at a store today was 42 euros plus you have to buy a 14euro card each month. So right off the bat I would have to spend 46 euros…that’s like 70 bucks! Also, I wanted to buy a thumb drive (I know, I should’ve brought one from home…) so that I could transfer these blogs from my laptop to one of the school computers in order to upload them onto the blog page. There were no thumb drives under like 17 euros though! Holy crap! At home I could get a 10gb one for like 4 dollars!
I wish I was made of money :/
30/09/09
The other assistants have arrived! At about 9 this morning, Caesar came to the appartment and after having settled in a bit, I took him on a little tour of the school. We ate lunch in the canteen and then decided to head back to the apartment to wait for Rosa, the other Spanish assistant. She was supposed to arrive around 1pm but as 2pm came around and she had still not arrived, we decided to go out without her. Caesar drove us in the center of town (yes…he brought his car!!!!) and we walked around for a bit. Then we drove about ten kilometers to the north of Fumel to visit the Chateau de Bonaguil, which is a 13th century castle in surprisingly good condition. The self guided tour of the chateau took about an hour to complete. The chateau is complete with four towers, lots of open areas for promenading, and uneven cobblestones floors and stairs. Really, it’s a very nice visit, more interesting than some other chateaux in which you just go in and take one look and then walk out. After visiting the chateau, we went to the supermarket. The professors at the school are having a picnic tomorrow and we needed something to take to it.
Rosa had apparently arrived shortly after we had left the apartment (of course). I think the group will get on very well together after we all get used to eachother and become comfortable living together.
Time to make dinner! We bought some chicken breasts at the market so I think we’ll serve those up with some salad or something.
1/10/09
Today is the first official day of my employment, but really I won’t start teaching until after an orientation on the 6th in Agen. So, business as usual for me. I sat in on two classes today, both of which were very inquisitive and talkative (I like “talkative” when it’s in English to me, just not when its in French between the students).
The society of professors at the lycee had a picnic during the lunch period. Everyone brought a dish to pass and stood around just socializing for two hours. It was pretty fun. For some reason I’m in no mood to write right now, so that why I’m explaining everything so dryly. Sorry.
Rosa and Caesar signed all their papers today. There’s a lot o boring secretarial stuff to get out of the way.
This evening I went to the gym with Sophie again. The Monday and Thursday classes basically follow the same ciriculum, but the groups are different. There are very few people who go to both. Sophie goes to both, so so do I. Rosa was going to join me, but she’s still pretty jet-lagged and decided to stay home and rest this evening. Caesar goes running a lot but since I’m not much of a runner, I can’t really join him (especially because he runs for like an hour!). I prefer short bursts of cardio punctuated by floor-work (which is what the gym class with Sophie is).
This morning I got up quite early, had breakfast, and checked out of my hotel. My luggage was a bit cumbersome to walk with, but I ended up pushing the little red carry-on suitcase in front of me, while wearing my backpack, and dragging my Blue Whale of a suitcase behind me. The train ride was quite agreeable and not nearly as long as I expected it to be. Robert D’Ambrosios (the director of the English Department at the high school in Fumel) met me at the train station and drove me into Fumel. We went straight to the school and ate lunch in the cafeteria (or “canteen” as it is referred to here). After eating and then being introduced to a few key individuals at the school, I was shown the apartment where I will be living. To say that is simple, is to give it high praise. I can’t complain though really, since it will afford me so much more money to do extra things on the weekends than if I were to rent a place in town….*sigh*
None of the other English instructors were at the school this afternoon, but I was able to observe two of Mr. D’Ambrosios’ classes. It was fascinating to be put back in an environment just like my high school French classes, except backwards….french teenagers bashfully trying to pronounce English words and put together phrases instead of Americans murdering the French language. I circulated through the room while they were doing excersizes and tried to help with little hints and suggestions. I hope that as they become more accustomed to me, they will be more apt to participate. Honestly it was like pulling teeth to get answers out of them….but I guess that’s how most classes are.
I learned this evening that I may be moving to a different apartment. There are usually two assistants working at the highschool and middle school, one English and one Spanish, but appartently there are three assistants this year. One English (me), and two Spanish (one from Guatemala and one from Spain). The school would prefer that we were all living together, so they want to find an apartment with three rooms, instead of two. The other apartment would be over in the college (middle school), whereas right now I’m in an apartment in the lycée (high school). We’ll see what happens with that. Unfortunately though since I may be moving again, I can’t unpack my things quite yet. Living out of a suitcase is quite a nuisance and I’m anxious to put a rest the constant zipping and unzipping of my bags.
23/09/09
The windows in my room have these metal shutters that keep out not only the heat, but also the light, of the sun. I’ve never lived with room-darkening blinds, so I tend to be awake when it is light outside and asleep when it is dark. So, long story short, I didn’t wake up until around noon! Since nearly everything in France is closed between 12h and 14h, I decided to walk into town and get my bearings. Fumel is quite tiny with just a few shops and stores, a church, and a Chateau (which I have yet to explore). I ended up having some lunch at what seemed to be the only hotel in the downtown area. The woman at the front desk was very friendly and very enthused about meeting me. Looking back, it’s funny that we were speaking in French since she told me she was Irish. It probably would have been easier to break into English, but it never even occurred to me until just now. Hmmmm. The downtown area is a good ten minute walk from the school. Oh, and the school sits on a hill, so no matter where you go it’s always easy to get there and hell to get back!
I returned to the school and went looking for the lady who had given me my key to the apartment in order to inquire about moving to the other apartment. She wasn’t there but I spoke to another woman who told me that indeed I would be moving. Apparently the water has been turned off in the apartment though due to some plumbing problems. Once that gets fixed, I’ll be moving over there. It may be a little nicer than where I am right now too…we’ll see.
Later this afternoon I decided it was time to buy some food. Walking in the opposite direction of the town (and down the steeper side of the hill) for maybe 20-30 minutes, I ended up at Casino, the closest super market. I couldn’t buy a lot of food since I had to carry it all back in my backpack. I ended up with a very quintessentially French spread…two baguettes, cheeses, and a bottle of wine. (I also got some tic tacs, a towel, iced tea, and lemonade.) I was in sticker shock at the supermarket. Even if the euro were equal to the dollar (and not approximately currently worth a dollar and a half), the prices would’ve been nothing special. I needed to buy a set of bath towels but only ended up buying one since they were so expensive. The one that I did buy is between a hand and bath size and was 10 euros! That’s like 15 bucks for one small towel! Everything here is really expensive though. I think that’s the real reason that French people are so skinny. The food is so expensive that they can’t afford to buy more than they absolutely need!
The walk back to the school was quite arduous. The hot afternoon sun was beating down on me and by the time I got back, I was drenched in sweat. One thing is for sure though, I’m going to have the most gorgeous legs by the time I come back to the US. I’m sure all the walking will only do me good.
Tomorrow I will be sitting in on some more classes and hopefully meeting the rest of the English Department. Also, I have some forms to fill out at the school so I will be meeting with the headmaster’s secretary.
24/09/09
This morning I went over to the Headmaster’s secretary’s office to sign a million forms (and each form in triplicate, quadruplicate, or quintuplicate…wow, that’s a great word). My next task was to go into town in order to open a bank account and get some papers from the town hall. So off I went, hoping to get to both locations before noon when EVERYTHING closes in France.
So, you know how in the US if you go to a bank and say that you want to open a new account, they get all excited and take care of you right away? Yea…not in France. I walked into the Banque Populaire and was told that the earliest appointment to meet with a banker would be next Tuesday! I said that that wasn’t going to work so the receptionist dained to ask a banker if they could see me today. After a bit of finagling, I got an appointment at 5pm. I went to the Town Hall and the receptionist there didn’t know what forms needed to be exchanged between us and asked me to come back in the afternoon. So, back up the hill I trudged, feeling the acid burn of my shins traveling up into my quads as I switched gears from walking downhill to walking uphill.
When I made it back to the school I was able to sit in on another one of Mr. D’Ambrosios’ English classes. The French school system is quite different from the American one. By the time the students reach what would be the equivalent of the American high school, they’ve already decided what subject area they will be pursuing in college and their careers. They get separated into groups such as “sciences”, “arts and literature”, “general studies”…etc. The class that I sat in on today was in the general studies category and honestly I couldn’t believe what I was seeing (and I don’t mean that in the good way). I always thought that the French school system was a lot more rigid, strict, and academically focused (even at the primary level), but this class was as undisciplined as they come. I almost couldn’t stop myself from screaming at them to stop talking to each other and start paying attention! It’s going to take a lot of effort for me to make myself have enough patience to deal with these kids. The other classes that I’ve observed were much more serious, but seeing as I will definitely be working with the class I met today, I will just have to come up with some way of making them more fascinated in what I’m saying than in stealing the pencil case of the girl in the front row….
I went back down into town and found out at when I went back to the Town Hall that I have to go to the Prefecture in Agen (the regional seat of government) to do my paperwork. Then I went back to bank and was there for over an hour and a half! Just to open one account! Crazy! (Plus, the conversion the Euro is worth 1.59 dollars right now so my American Money didn’t really add up to much in my account…)
One of the ladies who takes care of something having to do with the appartements (honestly, I just say Bonjour to everyone and hope they know who I am, because I can’t remember who they are! I think I’ve met at least thirty faculty and staff members and I maybe remember two names!)…anyways, she stopped by my apartment and said that some guys would be coming tomorrow afternoon/evening to move a bed, armoir, and desk from this apartment to the other one. I’ll be moving over there tomorrow then. Everyone that I talk to about moving says the other apartments are so much better. So hurray!
Also, instead of just one roommate, I’ll actually be living with two other people. They’re both Spanish language assistants. One, a girl from Guatemala I’ve already met via email; the other, a guy from Spain, I know nothing about. Maybe he’ll bring his car up here though and then I won’t have to think about leasing one of my own!
O, I forgot to mention that a lizard came to visit me today. I was sitting in my room eating lunch with the windows wide open when this cute little green lizard crawled down the outside wall and peeked in at me. I actually thought he was going to come inside but then someone pulled up in a car and scared him away! He was cute though and most likely well acquainted with the touch of the velvet hand like a lizard on the windowpane should be!
26/09/09
Uhoh, I guess I didn’t write yesterday. Now I get to play catch-up! Well, I moved into the new apartment and it’s SO much better! It has three bedrooms with a good size bathroom, a living room, kitchen (with a brand-new, just out of the box stove and oven) and foyer. The room I chose is a soothing pastel green and it faces out onto a hill with a few trees on it. The other assistants and I will have to work on getting some other furniture (like a couch for the living room and a dining room table).
This evening, Sophie, one of the English teachers, offered to drive me to the grocery store to buy bulk items that I couldn’t possible carry myself (like a case of water). We went to a German grocery chain somewhat akin to Aldi at home. In addition to some groceries, I was also able to pick up a bed comforter and pillows. I’m going to sleep so well tonight!
27/09/09
Wow, what a day! Robert invited me to come have lunch with him and his family at their house in the village in St. Sylvestre, a neighboring town to the larger village of Penne d’Agenais. I was to take a train leaving around 11:45 but since the train station is quite a walk (about 35-40 minutes) from the school, I decided to take a bus from downtown Fumel (only a 10 minute walk). Although I thought I had left early enough to reach the bus stop, I must hve been too late, since the bus was nowhere in sight. When inquired as to maybe getting a taxi, a native Fumeloisienne told me that taxis really don’t exist in Fumel but that the train station was only a kilometer up the road so should have to problem walking there. I was surprised by this, but I believed her and started walking. About a half hour later, I stopped in at a florist’s shop where I was told that the train station was about two kilometers up the road (that crazy Fumel girl lied to me!). So after about an hour and a quarter of walking (in non-walking shoes nonetheless) I finally found the train station. Needless to say, I have some wicked blisters!
Robert and his wife, Jane picked me up at the train station in Penne and together with their three children we had a very lovely lunch. The entertainment of the meal was most definitely the youngest boy’s endless chattering about snails and caterpillars. After lunch, Robert, Jane, Sean (the youngest boy), and I went for a walk to explore the village of Penne. First off was a climb to the very top of the city upon which rests the ruins of a Roman structure (we couldn’t decide if it had been a church or a fort). Then we visited the Basilica of Notre Dame just below. Entering the old city, remnants of which date from Medieval and Roman times, we wound our way up and down the tiny paths and streets, finding picturesque views around every corner.
We came upon the tourist office and I spied some lovely hand blown glass ware and pottery made by local artisans, so we went inside. As I was looking over the selection of items for sale, Robert started talking to the lady behind the desk. (On a side note, Robert knows EVERYONE he comes across. If he doesn’t know them, they must be a tourist!) I introduced myself to the lady, Madame Maria Garrouste, and as soon as she heard I was an American, she insisted that I accompany her to the local foie gras museum. Eventhough I despise the practice of over stuffing ducks so that their livers can be harvested, I accepted the offer. Foie Gras is a specialty of the region and it would’ve been wrong to not even learn about it. So Robert left me with Maria ad she and I drove out of town and into the country-side. The museum is part of a large duck farm which sells all kinds of duck products (and also some wine and cheeses). Maria informed me on the ride there that she is a member of the Conseil Regional (a political committee somewhat akin to a city council- except for a county, instead of a city). In addition to working at the tourist office, she also runs a bed and breakfast and gives tours of local sites to tourists. Her reason for going to the Foie Gras museum was in fact to meet up with a group of Americans and lead them to an Old Romanesque church. The Americans were a group of retirees touring Southern France. I watched the end of a duck video with the Americans and then toured the museum. From Egyptian times to today, ducks have been a pretty big deal apparently. I came out of the museum to find all the American marveling over a tray of sample pieces of what the shop-lady was calling “jambon du canard”. Now “jambon” is ham and “canard” is duck…so duck ham, right? I figured that since I technically do eat poultry and since the tray was being pushed in my face that I could probably swallow one piece without dying. WRONG. It was awful! Dry and salt and tough and fatty. Wow. So bad. I managed to choke it down and ask for a glass of water…..
Before leaving the den of duck disgustingness Maria told me that the American’s tour director had a “proposition” to make to me. He came over and told me that tomorrow the group would be taking a day trip to the Dordogne valley and that I was welcome to come with them! Imagine that, a free luxury bus coach tour into one of France’s most gorgeous regions! I was thrilled and accepted immediately. Maria even offered to come pick me up in Fumel to drive me to their hotel in the morning to meet the bus. I was completely overwhelmed by their kindness.
We continued on deeper into the countryside to get to the Romanesque church. No longer used for services but having undergone some very recent renovations, the 13th century church was in very good condition. In the chapel, the walls were covered with 15th century paintings illustrating the crucifixion and ressurection. Maria explained all the paintings and the history of the church and then treated us to a performance of an old latin processional song. The church had amazing acoutistics so it was impossible for me to resist singing a few choruses of Donna Nobis Pacem :) Maria and I drove back to Penne where Robert picked me up and, after having a quick dinner, drove me back to Fumel.
The night still wasn’t over though. Sophie had arranged for me to go to a show at the local performing arts center. It was a celebration of 20th century French Poet, Boris __________. As a school outing, most of the attendees were students, but there were at least twenty school faculty members there as well. The performance was quite free-form and very well done. Three incredible performers used the poetry as lyrics for all types of musical compositions. Although it was all in colloquial French and preformed at quite a rapid speed, I was able to catch enough of the lyrics to understand the jist of each piece. After the performance all of the faculty and staff stood around socializing and had plans to go out to the bar. Unfortunately by the time we got out of the show and waited for all the students to be picked up by their parents, it was after 11pm. Fumel has almost no night-life to speak of, so looking for a bar or restaurant open after 11 is pretty much a wild goose chase. Being that I have to be ready to leave by 8am tomorrow, it’s probably best that the night ended so that I can get some sleep.
27/09/09
My goodness, another great day! If my weekends keep being so incredibly active, I don’t know if there will be any part of France that will have been unseen by me! Maria dropped me off at a hotel in Montflancan (a town near Penne) just in time to have a qick coffee with the bus driver and the tour director, Jean-Bernard (or “JB” as the Americans called him). As soon as Michel, the tour guide for the region, arrived, we set off into the Dordogne. Our first stop was quick visit to Villeréal to see an old Medieval covered market. We then drove to Rouffignac to take a tour of caves in which there were prehistoric drawings and etchings. Dordogne is home to the famous Lascaux caves, but since those have been closed to the public for preservation purposes, our tour guide decided to take us to the Rouffignac caves instead (which are actually older by several thousand years.) On a little train, we all traveled about a kilometer inside the cave to get to the area which had been visited by the prehistoric artists. We saw etchings of mammoths and drawings of horses, ibixes (sp? They were prehistoric goats, basically), and more mammoths. One of my objectives on this soujourn in France was in fact to visit some prehistoric caves, so I was very happy that we started the morning off in that way. Although it was a chilly 40 degrees in the cave, once we exited, the sun was out in all its glory and was more than happy to thaw my frozen nose and ears.
We made a few stops in small villages before making our lunch stop in the picturesque village of Sarlat. We had three hours to find something to eat and then get lost in the beauty of the city. Jean Bernard, the bus driver and myself found a quiet little creperie and had a great lunch topped off with giant pieces of Gateau Noir (a walnut cake topped with dark chocolate!…..walnuts are another specialty of the Dordogne). After lunch, we walked around the city. To say that it was beautiful seems a bit redundant. Each village is gorgeous, but each in a different way. Penne was beautiful because of the jumbled, crisscrossing streets that climb and descend down the steep hill of the village, but Sarlat was much more open. Still ruled by medieval city planning, Sarlat seemed more like a cross between a city and a village, than just a village like Penne. It’s hard to categorize the differences between all the cities, but I know that I really loved Sarlat.
In the afternoon we made a few more stops in other villages. Some, like Les Eyzies and Roque ______ have houses that are actually built right into the cliff face. It’s pretty crazy to see a house just melt into a wall of solid rock but you have to admit that it’s incredibley smart to use the solid cliff wall as the anchor of a house. We also got to see some lovely views of the Dordogne. The river was so clean and clear, just gorgeous.
That pretty much completes the story of my amazing weekend. I can only hope that more amazing weekends lay ahead of me!
28/09/09
Back to reality. Well, I’m still in France, so it’s not really a bad reality at all. I really do think that once I get into the swing of things here, I will love it. The only thing that I’m struggling with right now is getting a phone and getting some kind of reasonable internet connection. The story is too long and too boring to explain all the details of why the phone and internet connection are delayed if not entirely impossible.
I have finally met all of the high school English teachers. One was a bit hard to track down, but now I think that my schedule should be finalized within the next couple days. I still have to track down someone in the college (middle school) to see for what classes they want me to be assisting.
Tonight I went with Sophie to a gym class at the school gym. Basically a bunch of French women (and then me) being shown how to work our glutes by a sculpted French guy….pretty crazy, but fun nonetheless.
One of the other assistants was supposed to show up today, but I’ve had no news of him/her, so I guess I‘ll just keep waiting.
29/09/09
Everything in France is SO expensive. I’m kind of losing my tolerance for the prices here. The cheapest pay-as-you-go cellphone that I saw at a store today was 42 euros plus you have to buy a 14euro card each month. So right off the bat I would have to spend 46 euros…that’s like 70 bucks! Also, I wanted to buy a thumb drive (I know, I should’ve brought one from home…) so that I could transfer these blogs from my laptop to one of the school computers in order to upload them onto the blog page. There were no thumb drives under like 17 euros though! Holy crap! At home I could get a 10gb one for like 4 dollars!
I wish I was made of money :/
30/09/09
The other assistants have arrived! At about 9 this morning, Caesar came to the appartment and after having settled in a bit, I took him on a little tour of the school. We ate lunch in the canteen and then decided to head back to the apartment to wait for Rosa, the other Spanish assistant. She was supposed to arrive around 1pm but as 2pm came around and she had still not arrived, we decided to go out without her. Caesar drove us in the center of town (yes…he brought his car!!!!) and we walked around for a bit. Then we drove about ten kilometers to the north of Fumel to visit the Chateau de Bonaguil, which is a 13th century castle in surprisingly good condition. The self guided tour of the chateau took about an hour to complete. The chateau is complete with four towers, lots of open areas for promenading, and uneven cobblestones floors and stairs. Really, it’s a very nice visit, more interesting than some other chateaux in which you just go in and take one look and then walk out. After visiting the chateau, we went to the supermarket. The professors at the school are having a picnic tomorrow and we needed something to take to it.
Rosa had apparently arrived shortly after we had left the apartment (of course). I think the group will get on very well together after we all get used to eachother and become comfortable living together.
Time to make dinner! We bought some chicken breasts at the market so I think we’ll serve those up with some salad or something.
1/10/09
Today is the first official day of my employment, but really I won’t start teaching until after an orientation on the 6th in Agen. So, business as usual for me. I sat in on two classes today, both of which were very inquisitive and talkative (I like “talkative” when it’s in English to me, just not when its in French between the students).
The society of professors at the lycee had a picnic during the lunch period. Everyone brought a dish to pass and stood around just socializing for two hours. It was pretty fun. For some reason I’m in no mood to write right now, so that why I’m explaining everything so dryly. Sorry.
Rosa and Caesar signed all their papers today. There’s a lot o boring secretarial stuff to get out of the way.
This evening I went to the gym with Sophie again. The Monday and Thursday classes basically follow the same ciriculum, but the groups are different. There are very few people who go to both. Sophie goes to both, so so do I. Rosa was going to join me, but she’s still pretty jet-lagged and decided to stay home and rest this evening. Caesar goes running a lot but since I’m not much of a runner, I can’t really join him (especially because he runs for like an hour!). I prefer short bursts of cardio punctuated by floor-work (which is what the gym class with Sophie is).
Monday, September 21, 2009
My Suitcase Has Arrived!
The internet connection here at the hotel in Bordeaux is slower than molasses in the dead of a Michigan winter! Hopefully once I get to Fumel I can get a connection that doesn't take seven minutes to upload one photo! O well, at least my suitcase has been found and has arrived here at the hotel. Honestly, there was a tiny part of me that wanted them to not be able to deliver it until I was already in Fumel. That way, I wouldn't have to try to transport it down the tiny sidewalk-lacking streets of Bordeaux to get to the train station.....Yes, I know it's my fault for packing 70lbs of luggage, but a girl just has to have her favorite things in order to survive!
Today was quite a nice day. I probably walked a least fifteen miles. Bordeaux doesn't have a metro, but it does have an easily navigable tramway. The trams themselves are very new, clean, and cheap (7 euro for a 5-travel card). Since my hotel is south of the city center, I decided to take the tram all the way to the northern end of town and walk my way back. So I wound my way through the streets of Bordeaux passing le Musée des Beaux Arts, La Cathédrale St André, La Palais Rohan (the town hall), L’Esplanade des Quinconces (a lovely open square flanked by birch trees and anchored by a huge fountain and the Garonne River), L’église St Pierre, and Le Miroir d’Eau (a large open fountain upon which (or in which) you can walk, reminiscent of Chicago’s Millenium Park or the fountains in front of the Detroit River by the Ren Cen).
Really my biggest adventure of the day was trying to find an adapter plug for my laptop charger. Since I had packed my power adapter in the suitcase, which I didn’t have until just now, I was running out of battery charge very quickly. After inquiring at several stores where I might find such a rare item as a power adapter, I found a hardware store! Unfortunately, the only USA to France adapter they had had a wall surrounding the area where one would plug in the American plug. If you’ve ever seen a Mac wall charger, you’ll understand why this is a problem. The giant “wall-wort” that is the the charger, simply won’t fit inside the walls of the plug adapter. SO. I decided to take matters into my own hands and remove the wall. The plastic was too thick to cut with scissors so, being at a hardware store, my mind went straight towards the idea of a saw. Long story short – I now have a working plug adapter for my laptop cord! Oh, and you know what else I found out? Noone bothers you when they see you walking down the street with a hacksaw! :)
By the way, I thoroughly enjoy how the French use any surface as a place to sit and relax. It wasn’t anything new to see people sitting on steps, but I saw a couple eating lunch while wedged into a window alcove. Also, there are these posts lining the streets to separate the sidewalks from the roadway and I saw several people sitting on a post with their legs up on another post! It seems that everything in France is public property, even the structures of the streets and the surfaces of buildings.
Tomorrow I’ll be taking the train from Bordeaux to Monsempron-Libos (the closest train station to the town of Fumel). I’m going to try to leave my hotel a bit early so I can deal with my luggage slowing me down to a crawl!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Day 1
Voilà. My first day In France has been quite the adventure. My flight from Detroit to Paris was relatively uneventful. The meal they served for dinner was quite good. Accompanied by a mini bottle of red wine and a few sleeping pills, it lulled me into a gentle sleep. I woke up about an hour and a half before landing...just enough time to let my eyes adjust to the light again and enjoy a decent breakfast. Paris’ Charles de Gaulle airport has never made the “best airport” list, and now I understand why. I probably walked at least two miles total from the gate at which my DTW to CDG plane docked to where my CDG to BOD was to take off. Also, the French don’t believe in air-conditioning (which I knew) but never was the fact made so apparent that a little airflow never hurt anyone as when I was dripping in sweat while dragging my carry-on suitcase and backpack while wearing a leather jacket! I finally made it through security after having a lovely Indian woman search my bags and ask me, upon finding a little incense burner featuring the god Ganesh buried in my case, if I was part Indian. I bashfully replied “No, I just like my room to smell like I am.”
The flight to Bordeaux was quite bumpy. I’m used to a little turbulence, but this seemed like the pilot was purposefully trying to make the flight attendants tumble down the aisle. I arrived in Bordeaux thinking to myself how well I was doing with the whole “getting there” part of my trip….and then it started to fall apart. Standing at the luggage conveyor belt until everyone except myself had picked up their bags and continued on their merry way, I started to feel a little worried. My GINORMOUS suitcase had some how gotten lost in transit! So after I filled out a bunch of paperwork in the AirFrance office and dealt with the fact that I don’t have a portable phone yet, so no, AirFrance cannot contact me directly…I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn’t going to see my suitcase for a few days.
So me, myself, my backpack, my carryon suitcase, and the cute little toiletries bag that AirFrance gave me as a consolation prize for being so lucky as to have lost my luggage, boarded a shuttle bus to the Bordeaux Train Station. Once at the Train Station, I got a map of the city and directions on how to get to the hotel I had booked for my two night stint in Bordeaux. Now keep in mind that I am usually an exceptional navigatrice. Really, I am, but heaven help me, Bordeaux is insane! (well at least the area surrounding the train station is) It seems like the entire city is under construction, so pedestrian walkways are nearly non-existent. I went backwards and forwards for probably a good half hour before I pointed myself in the right direction and headed towards my hotel. Arriving at the Teneo Suites around 17h00 I wasn’t even surprised to find that the reception desk was closed (it opened back up at 18h00). The automated 24hr check-in machine didn’t have any record of my having a reservation, so it wouldn’t issue me a key for a room…so I sat in the lobby until the reception desk opened. They also had no record of my reservation (damn expedia.com to hell) but gave me a room key with no further questions. Unfortunately, the key they gave me was to a room which had not been cleaned since its previous tenets had vacated it. With a giant sigh signifying that I was starting to loose faith in the world…I tramped back down to reception and got a key to a different room….I also bought a wi-fi access card so I could go on Skype and let my parents know that I was alive and so that I could post this blog entry.
I hadn’t eaten since the Flight from Paris so I thought I should go for a walk and try to find a restaurant. However, unless I wanted to spend upwards of 14 euro for some dinner, I was destined to starve. I finally saw one place called “El Bodegon: Rock Café” which looked to be moderately priced for “Formule.” (a fixed price several course French meal plan). I sat out on the terrace and looked at the lovely Place de la Victoire. Obelisk, arch, cobblestones…what more could you ask for? Well, food would’ve been nice. Unfortuantely after I ordered some kind of Blonde Ale the bar had on special, I discovered that they didn’t serve food after 15h00. So, my first meal in France was simply a liquid meal.
I decided that I could just pick up a baguette or croissant on the walk back to the hotel. So I started back down La Cours de la Marne towards my hotel when I accidentally smiled at the guy walking next to me…a real “mec” if you know what I mean. Now, in America we smile at anyone and everyone. It’s just polite. But in France, a girl smiling at a boy means something much more suggestive. So he starts talking to me as we’re walking. He was trying to butter me up while I kept reminding him that he knows nothing about me and that I’m not in the mood to party with champagne and dancing tonight. First off, I am actually pretty tired but also because I have enough common sense to not let a random guy off the street sweet talk his way into my hotel room…lol. Here we go…Natalie has hit the pavement with a running start.
Hopefully tomorrow will prove to be less eventful. I will be exploring the city center, probably walk along the river a bit, and hopefully get my suitcase back! If nothing else, I've gotten to speak quite a lot of french on my first day! I am reasonable satisfied with how well I've been able to communicate even on an informal level with the people around me....I was most definitely worried that I would come to France and not understand a single word that anyone said to me. It's all gonna be ok though. :)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
About to leave for the airport.
Here I go...By this time tomorrow I will most likely have just checked into my hotel in Bordeaux. I'll be staying there for two nights before continuing on to the town of Fumel. It'll be about a 2 1/2 hour train ride from Bordeaux to Fumel. Away from the hustle and bustle of the metropolitan city, I hope to experience the real French way of life in a quintessential village.
My first task will be to survive the plane ride....wish me luck!
My first task will be to survive the plane ride....wish me luck!
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