it's a rainy thursday and i don't want
to lesson plan.what do i do?
take a tour around tours.
enjoy.
more photos at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033348&l=b45d1&id=10400438
Thursday, December 6, 2007
so, this is where i live
it's a rainy thursday and i don't want
to lesson plan.what do i do?
take a tour around tours.
enjoy.
more photos at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033348&l=b45d1&id=10400438
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
it's december?
wow. where did the past two and a half months go?out the window!
i've been having the blues lately. largely because i've been itching to go home. this is because it is impossible for me to imagine not being in vermont for christmas. where is the snow? where is the
fireplace? where are the beautiful trees with lights and the big white farmhouses with a candle in every window?well. none of that's here. there is no snow. we have rain though!
there is no fireplace - well actually, our friend thomas has a fireplace. and i have been known to venture over there and take a few minutes in front of the fire and listen to it crackle and imagine the sn
ow coming down, and i can almost smell my dad's pipe smoke and see my mom's feet bouncing as she rocks in the rocking chair next to the chair that i'm sitting in as we watch a charlie brown christmas (which, i can't watch by the way - every time i try i get a minute into it and i want to cry), or football....the trees here are decorated, but i have to say i'm not the biggest fan of the decorating committee (see the little tree above). although the lights and all that look much prettier at night......
that last one is the christmas market. a cool place, a cool place.
but i'm feeling very homesick these days. although i had a teacher tell me that she would love to have me at her house any time i'm feeling as though i have the blues,
and i have another who wants to have me over for dinner, and one of my schools is taking me out for lunch along with the rest of the staff the tuesday before break starts.so really, it's not that bad.
although i'm learning that i really don't think i want to be a teacher. i love interacting with the kids every day, and i'm certain i will work with children. but i can pass on this whole being responsible for cramming information into their brains bit. i'd rather shape their moral values and behaviors than show them the difference between the questions 'how are you?' and 'how old are you?'
but it's all good.
if anybody knows of any quick ways to get from here to the states in little to no time, i would love to hear them.
mis you all.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
a few things...
first:
no, i was not concerned about my health when i got my lungs x-rayed. i had that done as a REQUIREMENT to work for the government of france in the school systems.
i went out last night with some friends of mine who are french, and who play rugby, and they informed me that my french is at such a level that they feel comfortable calling me bilingual. to quote them "you understand everything we say, when we're speaking we don't change what we say for you, and we understand what you say to us every time. so pretty much, you can speak french"
and i thought that was awesome.
this was after all of the assistants got together for thanksgiving dinner at our friend brittany's house. there were nine of us total, each bringing a dish. i brought mashed potatoes and wine, alyson brought green bean casserole, jen brough corn and wine, brittany was in charge of the turkey, joanna brought stuffing (actually, i did too), stephanie brought salad, the other stephanie brought veggies (including squash!), whitney MADE AN APPLE PIE and brought a couple others.
all in all it was quite the feast and it was quite a fun time. i think for all of us, it was exactly what we needed. a few americans, some great food, a few glasses of wine, and hours of conversation. although the night before i was close to tears after speaking with my family, this made me feel better about the night.
so after this, jen and i met up with the rugby friends, and this is where i found out my french is apparently awesome. so go me.
now alyson and i are awaiting the arrival of bryan to watch movies.
catch y'all on the flip side.
no, i was not concerned about my health when i got my lungs x-rayed. i had that done as a REQUIREMENT to work for the government of france in the school systems.
i went out last night with some friends of mine who are french, and who play rugby, and they informed me that my french is at such a level that they feel comfortable calling me bilingual. to quote them "you understand everything we say, when we're speaking we don't change what we say for you, and we understand what you say to us every time. so pretty much, you can speak french"
and i thought that was awesome.
this was after all of the assistants got together for thanksgiving dinner at our friend brittany's house. there were nine of us total, each bringing a dish. i brought mashed potatoes and wine, alyson brought green bean casserole, jen brough corn and wine, brittany was in charge of the turkey, joanna brought stuffing (actually, i did too), stephanie brought salad, the other stephanie brought veggies (including squash!), whitney MADE AN APPLE PIE and brought a couple others.
all in all it was quite the feast and it was quite a fun time. i think for all of us, it was exactly what we needed. a few americans, some great food, a few glasses of wine, and hours of conversation. although the night before i was close to tears after speaking with my family, this made me feel better about the night.
so after this, jen and i met up with the rugby friends, and this is where i found out my french is apparently awesome. so go me.
now alyson and i are awaiting the arrival of bryan to watch movies.
catch y'all on the flip side.
Monday, November 19, 2007
i almost forgot!
alyson and i made friends with a "little person" in france. his name is "little wolf" (petit loup) and he is probably my new favorite.
ben oui
so.
i know you were all curious as to whether or not i had TB. i don't, i got my lungs x-rayed today in orleans to make sure that i don't. and then, i got my titre de sejour. it's pretty much just a little card that says i'm a temporary citizen of these parts until july 15th of 2008. pretty sweet.
i had forgotten, being over here, that schools get time off for thanksgiving. when i found out friends of mine were going home, i asked "why?" and then felt like an idiot.
so, to make up for it, we're learning about thanksgiving in all of my classes this week. although i only have three classes total out of the eight, because i had to cancel all of mine today (although i was only going an hour away, there is a train strike so transportation is limited and i had to be there all day) and thursday i have an all day training in tours with the other elementary school people.
i've decided the title of assistant does not work for us, especially considering one of my teachers told me that the reason why i'm hired is because the school doesn't want to pay for a full time teacher - so i get the duties of a full time real teacher with only half the pay. super.
my bank stuff is finally straightened out. i have french checks, money in my french account, and my bank of america business has been handled. THANK GOD.
although i tried to overnight the affidavit concerning the fraudulent charges, and it got sent back to me since it was going to be mailed to a PO box, and that's not acceptable with chronopost. so i paid 50 euros to mail it from tours, to tours. i finally faxed it, paying four euros. super.
also - did we know the euro is almost a dollar fifty? yes. i think that's great. no, no i don't. dammit.
we're having thanksgiving dinner with the american assistants on friday, i'm responsible for mashed potatoes and wine. let's all note that i believe that in itself is an acceptable meal. so. i'm excited.
my classes are going well, although i have one level of CM1s (9 going on 10 years) that i CANNOT control. all those years of camp for the troubled kids and teaching dance class and learning psychology are of absolutely no help because i can't play my little games and manipulate them the way i want in my stupid second language.
although, i have been learning more french with my french friends, one of whom saw some of the material i had to work with in college and decided that my level of french is high enough that he will only speak to me in french. thanks, thomas. i've also become friends with the son of a friend of the host family with whom i stayed (yay six degrees of separation), who speaks english with a jamaican accent since he loves reggae. i met him right after arriving here, and he and i kept running into each other on our nights out. so we decided to bite the bullet and be friends and it's been working out nicely. first acceptable french man i've met under the age of 33. because the rest of them seem to have some serious social problems - they come on WAY TOO STRONG and are WAY TOO ENTHUSIASTIC and it's disturbing. but basil's a cool kid. other than that, i've been mingling with the friends of another american's boyfriend, and one of the american assistants is fluent in italian and lived in rome this summer - now his italian friends are here and we've only got french in common so that's the language we all speak when we're together. and yes, these are the crazies i have mentioned in past posts. they are the most fun, most amazing people i have EVER met. i love 'em.
as of right now, i am exhausted, after getting up at 545 to catch my train to make it to my appt on time this morning. i think i may be turning in soon, considering i have to get up and see some of my youngest students tomorrow morning at 830. yehaw!
hope all is well in the states.
you have no idea how much i miss it - especially now that it's winter - the snow and the woodfires and the egg nog and the family and friends - we don't have all that here. we've got rain and nutella and some people we barely know but are clinging to because we've got nobody else to turn to.
it's been real.
catch y'all on the flip side.
i know you were all curious as to whether or not i had TB. i don't, i got my lungs x-rayed today in orleans to make sure that i don't. and then, i got my titre de sejour. it's pretty much just a little card that says i'm a temporary citizen of these parts until july 15th of 2008. pretty sweet.
i had forgotten, being over here, that schools get time off for thanksgiving. when i found out friends of mine were going home, i asked "why?" and then felt like an idiot.
so, to make up for it, we're learning about thanksgiving in all of my classes this week. although i only have three classes total out of the eight, because i had to cancel all of mine today (although i was only going an hour away, there is a train strike so transportation is limited and i had to be there all day) and thursday i have an all day training in tours with the other elementary school people.
i've decided the title of assistant does not work for us, especially considering one of my teachers told me that the reason why i'm hired is because the school doesn't want to pay for a full time teacher - so i get the duties of a full time real teacher with only half the pay. super.
my bank stuff is finally straightened out. i have french checks, money in my french account, and my bank of america business has been handled. THANK GOD.
although i tried to overnight the affidavit concerning the fraudulent charges, and it got sent back to me since it was going to be mailed to a PO box, and that's not acceptable with chronopost. so i paid 50 euros to mail it from tours, to tours. i finally faxed it, paying four euros. super.
also - did we know the euro is almost a dollar fifty? yes. i think that's great. no, no i don't. dammit.
we're having thanksgiving dinner with the american assistants on friday, i'm responsible for mashed potatoes and wine. let's all note that i believe that in itself is an acceptable meal. so. i'm excited.
my classes are going well, although i have one level of CM1s (9 going on 10 years) that i CANNOT control. all those years of camp for the troubled kids and teaching dance class and learning psychology are of absolutely no help because i can't play my little games and manipulate them the way i want in my stupid second language.
although, i have been learning more french with my french friends, one of whom saw some of the material i had to work with in college and decided that my level of french is high enough that he will only speak to me in french. thanks, thomas. i've also become friends with the son of a friend of the host family with whom i stayed (yay six degrees of separation), who speaks english with a jamaican accent since he loves reggae. i met him right after arriving here, and he and i kept running into each other on our nights out. so we decided to bite the bullet and be friends and it's been working out nicely. first acceptable french man i've met under the age of 33. because the rest of them seem to have some serious social problems - they come on WAY TOO STRONG and are WAY TOO ENTHUSIASTIC and it's disturbing. but basil's a cool kid. other than that, i've been mingling with the friends of another american's boyfriend, and one of the american assistants is fluent in italian and lived in rome this summer - now his italian friends are here and we've only got french in common so that's the language we all speak when we're together. and yes, these are the crazies i have mentioned in past posts. they are the most fun, most amazing people i have EVER met. i love 'em.
as of right now, i am exhausted, after getting up at 545 to catch my train to make it to my appt on time this morning. i think i may be turning in soon, considering i have to get up and see some of my youngest students tomorrow morning at 830. yehaw!
hope all is well in the states.
you have no idea how much i miss it - especially now that it's winter - the snow and the woodfires and the egg nog and the family and friends - we don't have all that here. we've got rain and nutella and some people we barely know but are clinging to because we've got nobody else to turn to.
it's been real.
catch y'all on the flip side.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
late night thoughts
so, i have been back and forth with my parents and bank of america because this whole banking situation seems to be impossible to handle overseas in one simple step. it's more like five thousand not simple at all steps. but as the french say "jamais simple"
my fingers are covered in marker because i've been making posters of the days of the week and of months and bingo charts so they can review numbers. although i think the marker's making my fingers itch a bit, but whatever.
i know i've spent a fair amount of time complaining, so i am going to make a list of all the things i love about being here:
meeting the frenchies who i've become friends with. they have taken us out and treated us so well, and they are so silly and also learning english (they are university students studying business, for the most part, some engineering) and we always wind up having a good time and partaking in silliness.
meeting new people all the time, and striking up conversations.
the dance clubs - and running into other assistants, and the crazy italians i met a while back. this past weekend was a blast - we saw them saturday night and they are loud, and wound up, and have no fear about leaving a bad impression anywhere. it was a great time. it's so fun here, much different than the states in that regard - everyone just starts dancing and lets go. although the italians started a mosh pit and i got sandwiched in between two very tall, very large men, bryan came to my rescue though since he's the one who knows them all.
learning french idioms for random things, and putting them to use.
the abundance of cheese. thank you, cheese gods.
walks around the city - if you avoid the unbelievable amounts of dog crap on the sidewalk, the weather is usually agreeable - the coldest temperature feels like a brisk new england fall day and i just love it.
the fountains in jean jaures, and the christmas lights they have started to put up.
getting accosted by my students when i walk into the school.
how inexpensive wine is.
castles are so inexpensive to get to, and the towns are so cute and quaint where the castles are located - it's quite unreal and unlike anything you will EVER encounter in the states.
adorable french old men who strike up conversation with you in cafes when you've stopped to have a coffee in the middle of the day.
chocolate is served with any coffee you get - anywhere.
how good the coffee is - everywhere
goat cheese here is inexpensive, and amazing.
window shopping takes on a whole new meaning - there is some crazy stuff here.
the foot bridge over the loire - it's so beautiful and calm to stand over this massive river and realize that i'm here in france, on that little spot on the map that i looked at for so long on the pages of an atlas from the US
getting to practice my french - non stop, and hearing people tell me i speak good french. also - teaching people english. other than my students, it's kind of fun.
getting packages and letters from home - best thing EVER.
becoming familiar with french music and french comedians. understanding them - that's soon to come. i swear.
online talks with the US friends that i miss so much.
alright. i should skip off to bed now.
catch you all on the flip side.
my fingers are covered in marker because i've been making posters of the days of the week and of months and bingo charts so they can review numbers. although i think the marker's making my fingers itch a bit, but whatever.
i know i've spent a fair amount of time complaining, so i am going to make a list of all the things i love about being here:
meeting the frenchies who i've become friends with. they have taken us out and treated us so well, and they are so silly and also learning english (they are university students studying business, for the most part, some engineering) and we always wind up having a good time and partaking in silliness.
meeting new people all the time, and striking up conversations.
the dance clubs - and running into other assistants, and the crazy italians i met a while back. this past weekend was a blast - we saw them saturday night and they are loud, and wound up, and have no fear about leaving a bad impression anywhere. it was a great time. it's so fun here, much different than the states in that regard - everyone just starts dancing and lets go. although the italians started a mosh pit and i got sandwiched in between two very tall, very large men, bryan came to my rescue though since he's the one who knows them all.
learning french idioms for random things, and putting them to use.
the abundance of cheese. thank you, cheese gods.
walks around the city - if you avoid the unbelievable amounts of dog crap on the sidewalk, the weather is usually agreeable - the coldest temperature feels like a brisk new england fall day and i just love it.
the fountains in jean jaures, and the christmas lights they have started to put up.
getting accosted by my students when i walk into the school.
how inexpensive wine is.
castles are so inexpensive to get to, and the towns are so cute and quaint where the castles are located - it's quite unreal and unlike anything you will EVER encounter in the states.
adorable french old men who strike up conversation with you in cafes when you've stopped to have a coffee in the middle of the day.
chocolate is served with any coffee you get - anywhere.
how good the coffee is - everywhere
goat cheese here is inexpensive, and amazing.
window shopping takes on a whole new meaning - there is some crazy stuff here.
the foot bridge over the loire - it's so beautiful and calm to stand over this massive river and realize that i'm here in france, on that little spot on the map that i looked at for so long on the pages of an atlas from the US
getting to practice my french - non stop, and hearing people tell me i speak good french. also - teaching people english. other than my students, it's kind of fun.
getting packages and letters from home - best thing EVER.
becoming familiar with french music and french comedians. understanding them - that's soon to come. i swear.
online talks with the US friends that i miss so much.
alright. i should skip off to bed now.
catch you all on the flip side.
Monday, November 5, 2007
just a follow up
talked to both banks:
bank of america account should be active and going tomorrow and i should be able to use my card that i have now and everything.
BNP paribas informed me that it takes a month for checks to clear the first time you write yourself an international one - it took me three trips talking to older women who didn't seem to want to help to wind up with a younger male assistant who was very willing to help the poor american girl. he called up paris and took care of it for me, and told me to tell my friends if they're in the same situation. oh boy.
things are looking up.
i start work again on thursday. dammmmmit.
bank of america account should be active and going tomorrow and i should be able to use my card that i have now and everything.
BNP paribas informed me that it takes a month for checks to clear the first time you write yourself an international one - it took me three trips talking to older women who didn't seem to want to help to wind up with a younger male assistant who was very willing to help the poor american girl. he called up paris and took care of it for me, and told me to tell my friends if they're in the same situation. oh boy.
things are looking up.
i start work again on thursday. dammmmmit.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
WHERE DO I BEGIN???
last update was october 14th, i'll try to remember everything in order. but here is a basic update:
the negative:
i wrote myself a very large check from my american account to my french account which was received on the 15th of october in the paris center of my bank. on the 19th of october, the money was withdrawn from my US account. fun story, the money is STILL not in my french account. when i spoke with my bank about it, they seemed a little shocked that a) the check went to the pairs center, not orleans, and b) that my money still isn't here. so they said beginning of the upcoming week it should be here. since i am now broke because i've had to pay for EVERYTHING (internet, phone, and rent) from my french account (which was not the original plan for these first few months) i am walking in there on monday and letting them know that hey-o, i need my effing money. now.
also, someone by the name of troy jones got a hold of my routing number and checking account number and was using my US account to pay his t-mobile phone bills. thanks, troy. now i have to close my account from overseas. it is difficult enough to do banking over the phone nonetheless try to do it over the atlantic with a time difference of 6 hours. although, they did put me on the phone with one of the head service people of bank of america because i was like you don't understand. i want my account canceled and a new one opened within the next week because i don't live in the us and i need to know that my money is safe while it is there. so yeah. now we're waiting on that, and i will probably have to call them on monday too. greaaaaat.
i think that's the main negative. well also the work life is a bit stressful because i have my bosses from the education department and the teachers of my students all telling me different stories, and i'm not sure what to do. in addition, the progressions that my bosses sent me are all conflicting. the ones online do not match the ones given to us in person, so i have not done the work they said should be done online, only the stuff in paper.
all in all i'm learning that the organization of this country is quite different from my motherland, and it's taking some serious adjusting to get used to it all.
BUT THE POSITIVE!
alyson and i have been taking trips to castles, foot tours around the cities, and trying to make the most of our vacations and our time here, even if we are broke at the moment. i'll insert a link for my albums on facebook for the castles and whatnot at the end of this post.
my students are all great, enthusiastic, and ready to learn, most of the time. these are all good things.
i have yet to meet another person like the london girl who i so badly wanted to strangle. i've actually started making some very good friends, and reconnected with a friend my host family introduced me to who has been showing me how fun and accepting the city really is once you move away from the pretentious people and towards the good ones. so that's all been really nice.
christine came to visit for the week, which was wonderful because i hadn't seen a close friend like that in a very long time. it was nice to share stories with someone who had been there and laugh at inside jokes. i had forgotten how much i missed that.
although this time of year is making me miss home quite a bit, it's one of my favorite times to be in new england. october-january, when the leaves change and fall to the ground and the air is crisp and biting and you get those first few snowfalls that are practically magical. there isn't much snow here according to the locals, i don't think the ground stays frozen so all the snow just melts. very sad.
i think that's about all i have for now.
here are some links to pictures:
http://mtholyoke.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031501&l=88506&id=10400438 is the link to blois, with me, alyson, whitney, roman and philipp. the last two are a russian and a german, the first three of us are american girls.
http://mtholyoke.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031953&l=73e03&id=10400438 is the link to amboise, it was a gorgeous day and all in all a wonderful time.
more to be posted later.
i almost forgot!
SEND ME CARE PACKAGES!!!
Hilary Park
55 Boulevard Heurteloup
Tours, 37000, France.
:)
the negative:
i wrote myself a very large check from my american account to my french account which was received on the 15th of october in the paris center of my bank. on the 19th of october, the money was withdrawn from my US account. fun story, the money is STILL not in my french account. when i spoke with my bank about it, they seemed a little shocked that a) the check went to the pairs center, not orleans, and b) that my money still isn't here. so they said beginning of the upcoming week it should be here. since i am now broke because i've had to pay for EVERYTHING (internet, phone, and rent) from my french account (which was not the original plan for these first few months) i am walking in there on monday and letting them know that hey-o, i need my effing money. now.
also, someone by the name of troy jones got a hold of my routing number and checking account number and was using my US account to pay his t-mobile phone bills. thanks, troy. now i have to close my account from overseas. it is difficult enough to do banking over the phone nonetheless try to do it over the atlantic with a time difference of 6 hours. although, they did put me on the phone with one of the head service people of bank of america because i was like you don't understand. i want my account canceled and a new one opened within the next week because i don't live in the us and i need to know that my money is safe while it is there. so yeah. now we're waiting on that, and i will probably have to call them on monday too. greaaaaat.
i think that's the main negative. well also the work life is a bit stressful because i have my bosses from the education department and the teachers of my students all telling me different stories, and i'm not sure what to do. in addition, the progressions that my bosses sent me are all conflicting. the ones online do not match the ones given to us in person, so i have not done the work they said should be done online, only the stuff in paper.
all in all i'm learning that the organization of this country is quite different from my motherland, and it's taking some serious adjusting to get used to it all.
BUT THE POSITIVE!
alyson and i have been taking trips to castles, foot tours around the cities, and trying to make the most of our vacations and our time here, even if we are broke at the moment. i'll insert a link for my albums on facebook for the castles and whatnot at the end of this post.
my students are all great, enthusiastic, and ready to learn, most of the time. these are all good things.
i have yet to meet another person like the london girl who i so badly wanted to strangle. i've actually started making some very good friends, and reconnected with a friend my host family introduced me to who has been showing me how fun and accepting the city really is once you move away from the pretentious people and towards the good ones. so that's all been really nice.
christine came to visit for the week, which was wonderful because i hadn't seen a close friend like that in a very long time. it was nice to share stories with someone who had been there and laugh at inside jokes. i had forgotten how much i missed that.
although this time of year is making me miss home quite a bit, it's one of my favorite times to be in new england. october-january, when the leaves change and fall to the ground and the air is crisp and biting and you get those first few snowfalls that are practically magical. there isn't much snow here according to the locals, i don't think the ground stays frozen so all the snow just melts. very sad.
i think that's about all i have for now.
here are some links to pictures:
http://mtholyoke.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031501&l=88506&id=10400438 is the link to blois, with me, alyson, whitney, roman and philipp. the last two are a russian and a german, the first three of us are american girls.
http://mtholyoke.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2031953&l=73e03&id=10400438 is the link to amboise, it was a gorgeous day and all in all a wonderful time.
more to be posted later.
i almost forgot!
SEND ME CARE PACKAGES!!!
Hilary Park
55 Boulevard Heurteloup
Tours, 37000, France.
:)
Sunday, October 14, 2007
a moment:
although i've been singing praises about this place, i had an interaction with someone last night that made me want to turn around and come back to the US.
i'll begin here:
i don't know if anybody in the states keeps track of rugby, but if you don't, here's the lowdown:
in the quarter finals, france beat new zealand. HUGE DEAL. new zealand was the best team in the world. so last night, france was playing against england in the semi finals. france last. HUGE DEAL. everybody got depressed. also, in a bar, someone heard my friend as me a question in english, and someone said "ils sont les anglais" (they're english) and at 11:30 (the bars stay open til 2am here, clubs until 5am) the bartender informed me he was closed.
thank you, england. i'm glad i claimed my independence from you over 200 years ago.
but that's not the point.
there was an english girl, who was with a large group of italians that i met through another assistant who is part italian. she was (pardon my french, and for those with sensitive eyes, i will censor) a big b****. she started her conversation telling me that she doesn't like americans, because of an experience she had with a group of stoners who wanted to go to bob marley's house on a tour a couple years ago. she also openly said "i'm making generalizations here, but the cowboy image.... the politics.... the president... americans are all dumb and shallow" in so many words.
here's what's wrong with that statement.
I am not dumb and shallow, you cow.
i am not the one making sweeping generalizations about a nation, and openly admitting it. that makes you dumb. and what makes you shallow, is you judged me without even knowing me. because you think my president is an idiot, you think i'm an idiot. you didn't even ask me about my opinions, or my thoughts on politics. because you think the kids you met a few years ago weren't interested in you, you weren't interested in me. every time i spoke and said "well there is that image, but really if you were to talk to half the country, or the kids on this trip, or if you were to talk to someone else, you'll discover that there's .... whatever" you would respond with "i'm making a generalization here". AND I'M DUMB?? no darling, you are. one of the first things you learn in school is that generalizations don't work.
finally, by the end of the conversation, she said "well i guess there are two types of americans, ones who are mean and don't care about the world, and others who are really friendly" and i said "well i think it's sad that it seems like so much of my country is so egotistcal and self-centered. really i don't think it speaks of the people but of the education of those people. i wouldn't blame the actual citizens, but the politics. and the small children who are 8, and taught in school that the US is the best, don't have control over that do they?" and she shut up.
fact of the matter is, there are a lot of people here who i have met who seem to think that (especially american girls) are all dumb, and self-centered, and close-minded. they judge me before they know me. and it drives me up a wall. i think last night, i made progress with the italians and a french guy who i had met a week ago and wound up seeing, because i finally said (in french) "leave me alone. you're judging me all the time. i feel like i can't do anything right, and all i want to do is get to know you people." and they did. they left me alone and treated me like a person. FINALLY. we talked, we hung out. it was nice.
i expected for there to be some friction because i'm american. but i wasn't prepared for it.
i'll begin here:
i don't know if anybody in the states keeps track of rugby, but if you don't, here's the lowdown:
in the quarter finals, france beat new zealand. HUGE DEAL. new zealand was the best team in the world. so last night, france was playing against england in the semi finals. france last. HUGE DEAL. everybody got depressed. also, in a bar, someone heard my friend as me a question in english, and someone said "ils sont les anglais" (they're english) and at 11:30 (the bars stay open til 2am here, clubs until 5am) the bartender informed me he was closed.
thank you, england. i'm glad i claimed my independence from you over 200 years ago.
but that's not the point.
there was an english girl, who was with a large group of italians that i met through another assistant who is part italian. she was (pardon my french, and for those with sensitive eyes, i will censor) a big b****. she started her conversation telling me that she doesn't like americans, because of an experience she had with a group of stoners who wanted to go to bob marley's house on a tour a couple years ago. she also openly said "i'm making generalizations here, but the cowboy image.... the politics.... the president... americans are all dumb and shallow" in so many words.
here's what's wrong with that statement.
I am not dumb and shallow, you cow.
i am not the one making sweeping generalizations about a nation, and openly admitting it. that makes you dumb. and what makes you shallow, is you judged me without even knowing me. because you think my president is an idiot, you think i'm an idiot. you didn't even ask me about my opinions, or my thoughts on politics. because you think the kids you met a few years ago weren't interested in you, you weren't interested in me. every time i spoke and said "well there is that image, but really if you were to talk to half the country, or the kids on this trip, or if you were to talk to someone else, you'll discover that there's .... whatever" you would respond with "i'm making a generalization here". AND I'M DUMB?? no darling, you are. one of the first things you learn in school is that generalizations don't work.
finally, by the end of the conversation, she said "well i guess there are two types of americans, ones who are mean and don't care about the world, and others who are really friendly" and i said "well i think it's sad that it seems like so much of my country is so egotistcal and self-centered. really i don't think it speaks of the people but of the education of those people. i wouldn't blame the actual citizens, but the politics. and the small children who are 8, and taught in school that the US is the best, don't have control over that do they?" and she shut up.
fact of the matter is, there are a lot of people here who i have met who seem to think that (especially american girls) are all dumb, and self-centered, and close-minded. they judge me before they know me. and it drives me up a wall. i think last night, i made progress with the italians and a french guy who i had met a week ago and wound up seeing, because i finally said (in french) "leave me alone. you're judging me all the time. i feel like i can't do anything right, and all i want to do is get to know you people." and they did. they left me alone and treated me like a person. FINALLY. we talked, we hung out. it was nice.
i expected for there to be some friction because i'm american. but i wasn't prepared for it.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
also:
the stereotypes these young ones have, and what they know of the U.S. (just for fun)
"do all of the Americans eat hamburgers? because I was eating one once, and my mom told me that i shouldn't eat a lot because I'll get fat like the Americans."
"the white house!"
various animals, colors, and days of the week, although the order I was given was: "Wednesday, Friday, Saturday"
"statue of liberty"
"world trade center"
"empire state building"
various greetings, and ways to say good-bye
"do you all eat pancakes?" - to which I said 'YES, AND WITH TONS OF MAPLE SYRUP, MY FAMILY MAKES OUR OWN!' "what's maple syrup" (my heart broke, they probably don't know cheddar cheese either)
"do you like France or the US better?
"Is it easy to learn all of those French words in three weeks?"
"So do you live in Tours or do you travel here from home every day?"
"Which state is Canada?"
"Does the Czech Republic border your state?"
"Does your family speak English"
"Is England the capital of the US?"
And many others
it was cute.
"do all of the Americans eat hamburgers? because I was eating one once, and my mom told me that i shouldn't eat a lot because I'll get fat like the Americans."
"the white house!"
various animals, colors, and days of the week, although the order I was given was: "Wednesday, Friday, Saturday"
"statue of liberty"
"world trade center"
"empire state building"
various greetings, and ways to say good-bye
"do you all eat pancakes?" - to which I said 'YES, AND WITH TONS OF MAPLE SYRUP, MY FAMILY MAKES OUR OWN!' "what's maple syrup" (my heart broke, they probably don't know cheddar cheese either)
"do you like France or the US better?
"Is it easy to learn all of those French words in three weeks?"
"So do you live in Tours or do you travel here from home every day?"
"Which state is Canada?"
"Does the Czech Republic border your state?"
"Does your family speak English"
"Is England the capital of the US?"
And many others
it was cute.
ohhhhhhh children
Again updating in chunks... this is Wednesday....So. Here we are. The day before I start my first day of work. I have a lesson plan, but I’m lacking in supplies, because it’s impossible to get things here. I think I may need to do some talking with the teachers, although some of my schools don’t have a whole lot of "affiches" on the wall. I figure I’ll hit up an art supply store on Friday afternoon when I’m done with work.
All in all I’m pretty nervous about the whole thing. It’d be nice if we had some more information, or if this information had been given to us a little bit earlier. Because this is so close to when we start. Maybe, a week or so before the first day, not two days. But what do I know. Besides, two of my schools are in a dispute over which days they have me, and I’m just going to tell them to call each other and sort it out. Because I’m sick of trying to be the middle man for principals and having to do mediation in my second language. Although one of the directors of the conseills pedagogique helped me out a lot, because she’s really sweet. So that’s good.
I had a ridiculously homesick night on Wednesday. I think it’s because I was home alone, making lesson plans, listening to music, and watching the slideshow go on my computer. Songs and pictures that make me think of home kept popping up. So I got a little sad.
But Cody came over, another assistant from the Texas-land, and he’s a good friend and a sweetheart, so that seemed to work out for the best.
And now it's Thursday. The first day down, two schools and three levels per school, which means six classes and SOOO MANY students. I forgot how tiring it is trying to speak to small children, especially the smallest level that doesn't speak English or really communicate at all. Although we had fun playing the what words do you know, what facts do you know, what questions do you have for me, and for me, trying to see what they know. It's amazing that "How are you?" and "How old are you?" get so mixed up, with being only one word apart. They get "How old are you?" better than "How are you?", and it's impossible to stop one another from translating for each other. I had to keep repeating that this was not a translation class, and that I didn't want to hear French. But it was good, and I spoke in French from time to time, and the last teacher I was with in my last class of the day said: "I hope to speak English as well as Hilary speaks French" and that made me feel really great. Also, all of my teachers seemed to have a positive response to me, and I think the kids liked me for the most part. I think some of them got bored in the combined classes, because the younger kids were confused and I had to slow down a bit from time to time. I guess the intelligent thing is to speed up so the older ones don't get bored, but I don't want to lose the younger ones completely.
So after a long day working with my six classes, Aly called and she and I found our good Scottish friend (also an assistant) and spoke with him for a while, then Jen called, and the four of us went for coffee because we were all exhausted and feeling the stress of a full work week for the first time since arriving three weeks ago. Grahame left to go home, Aly and Jen and I decided to find cheap chinese food rather than cook. It was amazing, and cheap, and fantastic. Note - Aly and I need to find a cheap microwave. Our kitchen is only two burners and a sink, and it's hard to reheat leftovers.... oh well.
Tomorrow afternoon after I finish up at school, I'm going to call our landlady to try and see about activating the phone line so we can get our high speed internet, and run some errands to get cardboard and posterboard and make photocopies and be a teacher. Oh snap.
So tomorrow is my first day of teaching at my last school. So far, the directors (principals) and other teachers have been fantastic, and so supportive, and so encouraging, it's really quite fantastic.
Oh - Aly and I have house insurance and liability insurance, in case we accidentally push someone over and they break a hip. Thank god. We all know that the two of us have wild, violent tendencies.
Stimmer (or Christine) is coming to visit over my long break of Toussaint. It's a week long, and it's long long long overdue.
Salut mes amis,
Je vous aime....
vous me manquez beaucoup.
-hilary
All in all I’m pretty nervous about the whole thing. It’d be nice if we had some more information, or if this information had been given to us a little bit earlier. Because this is so close to when we start. Maybe, a week or so before the first day, not two days. But what do I know. Besides, two of my schools are in a dispute over which days they have me, and I’m just going to tell them to call each other and sort it out. Because I’m sick of trying to be the middle man for principals and having to do mediation in my second language. Although one of the directors of the conseills pedagogique helped me out a lot, because she’s really sweet. So that’s good.
I had a ridiculously homesick night on Wednesday. I think it’s because I was home alone, making lesson plans, listening to music, and watching the slideshow go on my computer. Songs and pictures that make me think of home kept popping up. So I got a little sad.
But Cody came over, another assistant from the Texas-land, and he’s a good friend and a sweetheart, so that seemed to work out for the best.
And now it's Thursday. The first day down, two schools and three levels per school, which means six classes and SOOO MANY students. I forgot how tiring it is trying to speak to small children, especially the smallest level that doesn't speak English or really communicate at all. Although we had fun playing the what words do you know, what facts do you know, what questions do you have for me, and for me, trying to see what they know. It's amazing that "How are you?" and "How old are you?" get so mixed up, with being only one word apart. They get "How old are you?" better than "How are you?", and it's impossible to stop one another from translating for each other. I had to keep repeating that this was not a translation class, and that I didn't want to hear French. But it was good, and I spoke in French from time to time, and the last teacher I was with in my last class of the day said: "I hope to speak English as well as Hilary speaks French" and that made me feel really great. Also, all of my teachers seemed to have a positive response to me, and I think the kids liked me for the most part. I think some of them got bored in the combined classes, because the younger kids were confused and I had to slow down a bit from time to time. I guess the intelligent thing is to speed up so the older ones don't get bored, but I don't want to lose the younger ones completely.
So after a long day working with my six classes, Aly called and she and I found our good Scottish friend (also an assistant) and spoke with him for a while, then Jen called, and the four of us went for coffee because we were all exhausted and feeling the stress of a full work week for the first time since arriving three weeks ago. Grahame left to go home, Aly and Jen and I decided to find cheap chinese food rather than cook. It was amazing, and cheap, and fantastic. Note - Aly and I need to find a cheap microwave. Our kitchen is only two burners and a sink, and it's hard to reheat leftovers.... oh well.
Tomorrow afternoon after I finish up at school, I'm going to call our landlady to try and see about activating the phone line so we can get our high speed internet, and run some errands to get cardboard and posterboard and make photocopies and be a teacher. Oh snap.
So tomorrow is my first day of teaching at my last school. So far, the directors (principals) and other teachers have been fantastic, and so supportive, and so encouraging, it's really quite fantastic.
Oh - Aly and I have house insurance and liability insurance, in case we accidentally push someone over and they break a hip. Thank god. We all know that the two of us have wild, violent tendencies.
Stimmer (or Christine) is coming to visit over my long break of Toussaint. It's a week long, and it's long long long overdue.
Salut mes amis,
Je vous aime....
vous me manquez beaucoup.
-hilary
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
its been a long time comin
Seeing as the internet situation here is a bit limited, I figured I’d update in word and paste myself a long blog when I have the chance.
It is now Monday, September 24, 2007. I have yet to have a house, although Katie’s host family has been and is being very generous by letting me crash here and stay here until I do find housing. I owe them. Big time.
But the trip started, with a 6pm flight out of Boston, landing me at London Heathrow at about 5:15 in the morning their time. Which was about 12:15 am on the east coast of the U.S.A. After that, a brief plane ride where I passed out against the window pane to CDG airport in Paris, finding my bags, getting a phone card, and getting a cab. Where I spoke with the cab driver, in French, because he didn’t speak much English. He told me that my French skills were pretty good, especially considering how few people know French these days. So I had myself a nice cab ride where I was shown the stadium where they play all their sports, and the big one right now is Rugby. Go figure. He then brought me through the heart of Paris, where we discussed how the Eiffel Tower is the romantic dreamer’s symbol of the city. I saw the Assemblé Nationale, and then was driven to the 6th arrondissement to meet none other than Katie Banaszak. I got there a little before here, and my cab driver told me that had it not been Ramadan, he would have invited me to have a coffee while I wait. But, no worries. She was there within 5 minutes.
Then I was taken inside of the building for international students in France, part of some FAC but I forget which one. And up into the Sweet Briar part of the building, where Katie and I sat on a terrace and ate sandwiches and talked about going to Tours and where I would live and how all of that would work out. Despite being up for 29 hours straight, and only sleeping for two of them, I considered myself pretty high functioning. I was able to have conversations with her, and with the professors who insisted we speak in French. One commented that my accent was quite good considering how tired I must have been. The he told me to take a siesta on the terrace. I almost did. But then we went inside, and I saw another MoHo student pal of mine, who was also studying abroad. Then came the time for Katie to have class, and I killed some time by searching on the internet for housing and looking up phone numbers and all of that business. Where I again met a MoHo studying abroad. WE’RE EVERYWHERE!!!! Hooray Mount Holyoke.
After this, Katie and I had the joy of taking all of my luggage through the metro, getting on the train, and landing at the train station commonly known as Austerlitz, where we waited patiently for our train to take us to Tours…
Note – there is a 6-month-old kitten that seems baffled by my computer. She is staring at my hands while I type and she keeps standing on my knee trying to see what the deal is. I also don’t think her parents would like her being on the bed, but I’ll let that go.
… So we waited. Katie got a pain au chocolat that was delightful. I took a half hour nap on the train. When I woke up, I watched the countryside go by. In New England, when you ride the train through the country it’s really through the forest. Especially when you’re following the Connecticut river. Here, you follow the Loire, and you go through real countryside. And you see castles in the distance. And it is incredible. And so different. And pretty.
We arrive in Tours. We lug my luggage (oh alliteration) from the train station in Tours, in the center of the city, through fabulous side streets and down through a garden to Katie’s host family’s house. Which has three stories, a beautiful living room, and garden, classic heavy wooden French doors with the doorknobs in the middle of the door as part of the entryway, a two story studio for the artist/graphic designer father, and a sweet little kitten (see above note). I’ve been staying with these people for four days now, and they have fed me fantastically and treated me unbelievably well. I am going to bring them flowers when I finally get my own place.
The next day, Katie and I got up and started house hunting and apartment hunting. I saw one apartment that was at the opposite end of my city, by the other river, which was not what I wanted. I found another, which was actually a house with a spare room with a military productions manager, but it was in a different little village and was also incredible far away, and 500 euro a month. After this, we went to Place Plum (Place Plumerau) that has a fantastic amount of nightlife, and is terribly old French in terms of buildings and layout. This is contrasted with Place Jean Jaures, where all of the official looking buildings and touristy restaurants are.
Saturday, nothing here is open, except bakeries. Although I found one real estate agency, and this is where I learned that when you haven’t started working, getting a place through agencies is almost impossible. The family was at a wedding Saturday night, and Katie and I spent our night making pesto, and watching the little mermaid. The man in the store told us that we had Canadian accents, and that we were “formidables”.
Sunday, there isn’t too much open either. Except bakeries, again. So Katie and I took a walk around the city, up to the cathedral and the Musée des beaux-arts, and through to Place Plum, where we got ourselves some gelatos.
Monday, Katie leaves, and I think the frustration level kicked in. I got back to the Bordet’s house and my parents called and I just started crying. I just felt way too overwhelmed, and frustrated. I felt like nobody who was supposed was helping me. But, after speaking to the Bordet mother, I felt better, and then she fed me, and then both she and her husband are so awesome that I just had to stay here.
So Tuesday, I decide to get smart and head to my school. Here is when I realized that the girl who sent out information, although some was helpful, left out the fact that the people in charge of the language assistants in each district took care of each assistant personally. So I show up at my school, feeling all school-y and preppy, only to realize that I was given that school simply for administrative reasons, and because it’s an okay address on the paper. The two women at the center who I was supposed to see were so incredibly nice and sweet to me that I almost died. They told me how to get to their school, then one picked me up in her car when I was at the bus stop, and they very nicely explained that I should have contacted them first, because they had already made arrangements for me to go get my carte de sejour, and that I had to do NOTHING for them until the date of October 2nd. And even then, they are going to meet all of us at the train station and guide us through Orléans when we get there. So really, all I need to do right now is get a house and a bank account. And buy a train ticket. And the house thing is looking up. Vaget, in all her glory, has agreed to be my guaranty here, so I have a French person that I can say will vouch for me and support me even though I can support myself. That means I can get a house through an agency. FINALLY. Also, there is a guy who is renting out a room in his apartment that is near my schools, a little ways from the nightlife…. But the thing is, the city is so small, that it’s really not a big deal. I’ve been walking all over it. It’ll be about 10-15 minutes on a bus, and about a 20-30 minute walk, depending on where I want to go in the centre-ville of Tours. It only takes about 30 minutes to get from one end to the other on the bus. I had to do that Tuesday. And this guy is gone from Friday to Sunday, so I get an apartment to myself on those days. I have a good feeling about this guy.
I have better feelings about this place on Tuesday, and about my situation than I have in a while. I shouldn’t say this place. I like this place, a lot. And I’m learning how to navigate it pretty well. So that’s good.
Although I must say that I wouldn’t be able to do this without the support of the people around me. First off, my parents have been awesome, offering support and talking me through fits of crying and reminding me that I am a big girl who has made it here so far and that really, I can do anything. The Bordets have been incredible, especially during my mild state of depression, they offered their house to me and accepted me into their home and have fed me and been fantastic. So then I have to thank Katie, for meeting me here, bringing me to Tours, and introducing me to these people so that I would have a place to stay, and guiding me around Tours for the first few days I was here, and overall being an awesome buddy watching The Little Mermaid and eating two things of cheese and a baguette. Whatever, I’m in France. It was a huge help. And everyone else, you all have been incredible support and I smile when I think of you all, and I wish I could describe to you the city in the most perfect words, and explain throughout each moment what it’s like, but that’s all too hard. Although I will say this: I have seen more beautiful, thin, well dressed women here than I have ever seen in one place. It’s incredible. I also don’t know if this is a result of me being in France, but all of a sudden my tastes have soared from the reasonably priced to “oh my god that’s soooooo cute and expensive and FRENCH”. I really just don’t know.
Update:
met the other assistants in Tours. and they are AMAZING. Found a fantastic roommate and a fantastic apartment with a courtyard and fresh mint growing in the garden for my lovely little texan and i to share in the next few months. Alyson is awesome, cute, and has a sweet little accent. Jen is another assistant that lives above us, and there are several other scattered around the city. Since I've met all of these guys, the life has gotten better. Its amazing what having a social life can do. We've done a bunch of late dinners and explored the old parts of the city, which seem to have a great nightlife, and have all bonded over the ridiculousness of trying to get a house when working this job. (side note: you can buy beer in the mcdonald's here, and while i watch this guy drink his across the way, i'm using mcdonald's free wifi). We all had our first orientation today, and 7 of us along with 6 British english assistants went. It was all in all, an adventure.
So, now i'm slowing down and settling in and things are good.
I love and miss you all
I'll send a link for pictures when they're posted
It is now Monday, September 24, 2007. I have yet to have a house, although Katie’s host family has been and is being very generous by letting me crash here and stay here until I do find housing. I owe them. Big time.
But the trip started, with a 6pm flight out of Boston, landing me at London Heathrow at about 5:15 in the morning their time. Which was about 12:15 am on the east coast of the U.S.A. After that, a brief plane ride where I passed out against the window pane to CDG airport in Paris, finding my bags, getting a phone card, and getting a cab. Where I spoke with the cab driver, in French, because he didn’t speak much English. He told me that my French skills were pretty good, especially considering how few people know French these days. So I had myself a nice cab ride where I was shown the stadium where they play all their sports, and the big one right now is Rugby. Go figure. He then brought me through the heart of Paris, where we discussed how the Eiffel Tower is the romantic dreamer’s symbol of the city. I saw the Assemblé Nationale, and then was driven to the 6th arrondissement to meet none other than Katie Banaszak. I got there a little before here, and my cab driver told me that had it not been Ramadan, he would have invited me to have a coffee while I wait. But, no worries. She was there within 5 minutes.
Then I was taken inside of the building for international students in France, part of some FAC but I forget which one. And up into the Sweet Briar part of the building, where Katie and I sat on a terrace and ate sandwiches and talked about going to Tours and where I would live and how all of that would work out. Despite being up for 29 hours straight, and only sleeping for two of them, I considered myself pretty high functioning. I was able to have conversations with her, and with the professors who insisted we speak in French. One commented that my accent was quite good considering how tired I must have been. The he told me to take a siesta on the terrace. I almost did. But then we went inside, and I saw another MoHo student pal of mine, who was also studying abroad. Then came the time for Katie to have class, and I killed some time by searching on the internet for housing and looking up phone numbers and all of that business. Where I again met a MoHo studying abroad. WE’RE EVERYWHERE!!!! Hooray Mount Holyoke.
After this, Katie and I had the joy of taking all of my luggage through the metro, getting on the train, and landing at the train station commonly known as Austerlitz, where we waited patiently for our train to take us to Tours…
Note – there is a 6-month-old kitten that seems baffled by my computer. She is staring at my hands while I type and she keeps standing on my knee trying to see what the deal is. I also don’t think her parents would like her being on the bed, but I’ll let that go.
… So we waited. Katie got a pain au chocolat that was delightful. I took a half hour nap on the train. When I woke up, I watched the countryside go by. In New England, when you ride the train through the country it’s really through the forest. Especially when you’re following the Connecticut river. Here, you follow the Loire, and you go through real countryside. And you see castles in the distance. And it is incredible. And so different. And pretty.
We arrive in Tours. We lug my luggage (oh alliteration) from the train station in Tours, in the center of the city, through fabulous side streets and down through a garden to Katie’s host family’s house. Which has three stories, a beautiful living room, and garden, classic heavy wooden French doors with the doorknobs in the middle of the door as part of the entryway, a two story studio for the artist/graphic designer father, and a sweet little kitten (see above note). I’ve been staying with these people for four days now, and they have fed me fantastically and treated me unbelievably well. I am going to bring them flowers when I finally get my own place.
The next day, Katie and I got up and started house hunting and apartment hunting. I saw one apartment that was at the opposite end of my city, by the other river, which was not what I wanted. I found another, which was actually a house with a spare room with a military productions manager, but it was in a different little village and was also incredible far away, and 500 euro a month. After this, we went to Place Plum (Place Plumerau) that has a fantastic amount of nightlife, and is terribly old French in terms of buildings and layout. This is contrasted with Place Jean Jaures, where all of the official looking buildings and touristy restaurants are.
Saturday, nothing here is open, except bakeries. Although I found one real estate agency, and this is where I learned that when you haven’t started working, getting a place through agencies is almost impossible. The family was at a wedding Saturday night, and Katie and I spent our night making pesto, and watching the little mermaid. The man in the store told us that we had Canadian accents, and that we were “formidables”.
Sunday, there isn’t too much open either. Except bakeries, again. So Katie and I took a walk around the city, up to the cathedral and the Musée des beaux-arts, and through to Place Plum, where we got ourselves some gelatos.
Monday, Katie leaves, and I think the frustration level kicked in. I got back to the Bordet’s house and my parents called and I just started crying. I just felt way too overwhelmed, and frustrated. I felt like nobody who was supposed was helping me. But, after speaking to the Bordet mother, I felt better, and then she fed me, and then both she and her husband are so awesome that I just had to stay here.
So Tuesday, I decide to get smart and head to my school. Here is when I realized that the girl who sent out information, although some was helpful, left out the fact that the people in charge of the language assistants in each district took care of each assistant personally. So I show up at my school, feeling all school-y and preppy, only to realize that I was given that school simply for administrative reasons, and because it’s an okay address on the paper. The two women at the center who I was supposed to see were so incredibly nice and sweet to me that I almost died. They told me how to get to their school, then one picked me up in her car when I was at the bus stop, and they very nicely explained that I should have contacted them first, because they had already made arrangements for me to go get my carte de sejour, and that I had to do NOTHING for them until the date of October 2nd. And even then, they are going to meet all of us at the train station and guide us through Orléans when we get there. So really, all I need to do right now is get a house and a bank account. And buy a train ticket. And the house thing is looking up. Vaget, in all her glory, has agreed to be my guaranty here, so I have a French person that I can say will vouch for me and support me even though I can support myself. That means I can get a house through an agency. FINALLY. Also, there is a guy who is renting out a room in his apartment that is near my schools, a little ways from the nightlife…. But the thing is, the city is so small, that it’s really not a big deal. I’ve been walking all over it. It’ll be about 10-15 minutes on a bus, and about a 20-30 minute walk, depending on where I want to go in the centre-ville of Tours. It only takes about 30 minutes to get from one end to the other on the bus. I had to do that Tuesday. And this guy is gone from Friday to Sunday, so I get an apartment to myself on those days. I have a good feeling about this guy.
I have better feelings about this place on Tuesday, and about my situation than I have in a while. I shouldn’t say this place. I like this place, a lot. And I’m learning how to navigate it pretty well. So that’s good.
Although I must say that I wouldn’t be able to do this without the support of the people around me. First off, my parents have been awesome, offering support and talking me through fits of crying and reminding me that I am a big girl who has made it here so far and that really, I can do anything. The Bordets have been incredible, especially during my mild state of depression, they offered their house to me and accepted me into their home and have fed me and been fantastic. So then I have to thank Katie, for meeting me here, bringing me to Tours, and introducing me to these people so that I would have a place to stay, and guiding me around Tours for the first few days I was here, and overall being an awesome buddy watching The Little Mermaid and eating two things of cheese and a baguette. Whatever, I’m in France. It was a huge help. And everyone else, you all have been incredible support and I smile when I think of you all, and I wish I could describe to you the city in the most perfect words, and explain throughout each moment what it’s like, but that’s all too hard. Although I will say this: I have seen more beautiful, thin, well dressed women here than I have ever seen in one place. It’s incredible. I also don’t know if this is a result of me being in France, but all of a sudden my tastes have soared from the reasonably priced to “oh my god that’s soooooo cute and expensive and FRENCH”. I really just don’t know.
Update:
met the other assistants in Tours. and they are AMAZING. Found a fantastic roommate and a fantastic apartment with a courtyard and fresh mint growing in the garden for my lovely little texan and i to share in the next few months. Alyson is awesome, cute, and has a sweet little accent. Jen is another assistant that lives above us, and there are several other scattered around the city. Since I've met all of these guys, the life has gotten better. Its amazing what having a social life can do. We've done a bunch of late dinners and explored the old parts of the city, which seem to have a great nightlife, and have all bonded over the ridiculousness of trying to get a house when working this job. (side note: you can buy beer in the mcdonald's here, and while i watch this guy drink his across the way, i'm using mcdonald's free wifi). We all had our first orientation today, and 7 of us along with 6 British english assistants went. It was all in all, an adventure.
So, now i'm slowing down and settling in and things are good.
I love and miss you all
I'll send a link for pictures when they're posted
Thursday, September 13, 2007
LESS THAN ONE WEEK
oh boy.
things are moving along quite swimmingly. as of now, there are people looking for roommates who are considering me to take the spare room in their apartments and houses. oh, what kind souls they are. it's been difficult doing that from here, mainly because of the time difference. but, katie banaszak ( i love you katie) has offered to meet me in paris, take the train to tours where her host family lives, and the two of us will stay there for the weekend and hopefully i can get set up with a home shortly thereafter. it'd be nice, considering i need an address for a bank account and to get my carte de sejour and all of that nice stuff.
doreen 'if you don't bring your tap shoes with you i'll disown you' keith so nicely informed me that tap (les claquettes) is quite big in france. if i'm looking for extra money on the side, i should bring my claquettes and claquette my sweet self silly. so i have bought some new tapping shoes since the taps on the old ones were paper thin, and i'm ready for tap class. do i dare take a ballet class IN FRANCE???? dun dun dun.
it is a large university city. the population is 25% students, and the illustrious bill carter informed me that it's basically like living in french cambridge. sounds fantastic to me.
but i keep forgetting i'll have to work, and i keep forgetting this work will involve teaching small children english and practicing their english skills. so i also took some small child music from doreen (i never knew meryl flippin streep sang lullabye) and have a stock supply of children's music saved on my computer. including 'i must practice' maybe i'll have my claquette students do that at the end of every class. learn english and tap! oh boy!
lately it's been hard because i just want to go. this transition period is killing me. it also doesn't help that all of my friends are off having adventures... gavin got to see james carter AND matt lehet. lucky duck. stimmer came home from scotland for a bit, so we've been having phone conversations to pass the time, since we're both in the same boat. i'm packed and ready to go, and want to head off into this strange land called france.
i had contemplated taking the metro from de gaulle to the train station i need to hit to meet katie and head to my city. then i realized the last time i was on the paris metro i was 16 and being lead around by martha lorden. i've decided that a cab sounds much more inviting considering i will have luggage and be tired and jet lagged and missing home and my friends and family terribly. although i was given a "instead of thinking, 'oh, i'm in tours' you'll think 'OH I'M IN TOURS!'" gift. thank you, thank you.
for today i'm working at the dancing store to get in some quality time with the tutus and the glitter and the boas.
next time you hear from me, i'll be in the land of wine and cheese and castles and napoleon. ohhhhh fantastic
i love and miss you all.
i'll send a mailing address sooooon.
things are moving along quite swimmingly. as of now, there are people looking for roommates who are considering me to take the spare room in their apartments and houses. oh, what kind souls they are. it's been difficult doing that from here, mainly because of the time difference. but, katie banaszak ( i love you katie) has offered to meet me in paris, take the train to tours where her host family lives, and the two of us will stay there for the weekend and hopefully i can get set up with a home shortly thereafter. it'd be nice, considering i need an address for a bank account and to get my carte de sejour and all of that nice stuff.
doreen 'if you don't bring your tap shoes with you i'll disown you' keith so nicely informed me that tap (les claquettes) is quite big in france. if i'm looking for extra money on the side, i should bring my claquettes and claquette my sweet self silly. so i have bought some new tapping shoes since the taps on the old ones were paper thin, and i'm ready for tap class. do i dare take a ballet class IN FRANCE???? dun dun dun.
it is a large university city. the population is 25% students, and the illustrious bill carter informed me that it's basically like living in french cambridge. sounds fantastic to me.
but i keep forgetting i'll have to work, and i keep forgetting this work will involve teaching small children english and practicing their english skills. so i also took some small child music from doreen (i never knew meryl flippin streep sang lullabye) and have a stock supply of children's music saved on my computer. including 'i must practice' maybe i'll have my claquette students do that at the end of every class. learn english and tap! oh boy!
lately it's been hard because i just want to go. this transition period is killing me. it also doesn't help that all of my friends are off having adventures... gavin got to see james carter AND matt lehet. lucky duck. stimmer came home from scotland for a bit, so we've been having phone conversations to pass the time, since we're both in the same boat. i'm packed and ready to go, and want to head off into this strange land called france.
i had contemplated taking the metro from de gaulle to the train station i need to hit to meet katie and head to my city. then i realized the last time i was on the paris metro i was 16 and being lead around by martha lorden. i've decided that a cab sounds much more inviting considering i will have luggage and be tired and jet lagged and missing home and my friends and family terribly. although i was given a "instead of thinking, 'oh, i'm in tours' you'll think 'OH I'M IN TOURS!'" gift. thank you, thank you.
for today i'm working at the dancing store to get in some quality time with the tutus and the glitter and the boas.
next time you hear from me, i'll be in the land of wine and cheese and castles and napoleon. ohhhhh fantastic
i love and miss you all.
i'll send a mailing address sooooon.
Friday, August 24, 2007
moving right along
Still in the states, as I'm sure many of you are aware of. However, I do have:
all of my paperwork from the dept. of labor
a visa
a translation of my birth certificate
and funds.
all I need now is a place to live. Which seems ridiculous, because I have been focusing most of my time on finding a home. I've contacted several people looking for roommates, and had someone who agreed to send me pictures of the apartment, but has yet to do that. Quite frustrating. I have also contacted the heads of my department at the school for help, but since they are on holiday, they are not responding. Yehaw.
All in all, I'm excited. I have a list of the other assistants in the area, and some information on transportation. I figure worse comes to worse, I just live in a hostel for a bit.
all of my paperwork from the dept. of labor
a visa
a translation of my birth certificate
and funds.
all I need now is a place to live. Which seems ridiculous, because I have been focusing most of my time on finding a home. I've contacted several people looking for roommates, and had someone who agreed to send me pictures of the apartment, but has yet to do that. Quite frustrating. I have also contacted the heads of my department at the school for help, but since they are on holiday, they are not responding. Yehaw.
All in all, I'm excited. I have a list of the other assistants in the area, and some information on transportation. I figure worse comes to worse, I just live in a hostel for a bit.
Friday, June 29, 2007
still in the u.s.
and it begins. As of right now, I have an acceptance letter, a list of things I need to do, a confirmation from the directors of education for the Orleans - Tours academie, and a confirmation from them that I will be teaching in 3 different schools in the city of Tours. I've had everything sent to me in both English and French, and I'm learning that banking terminology, governmental lingo, and legal vocabulary are not part of my own vocabulary, so I'm already learning. As of right now, I need to get a visa, translation of my birth certificate (can I do that myself??? I don't know), money, tickets, and start eyeing places to live. This means a trip to the consulate in Boston. Yehaw. When I get there, I need to get my carte de sejour, open a bank account, and get some housing.
Everyone's been asking if I'm excited or not. I'd say I am excited, I'm nervous at the same time, and I'm trying to figure out how to stretch my dollar there... or Euro... whatever.
It's fun researching the city, and the weather, and the hot spots to hit up when I'm there. It's quite different than the camp leader/store clerk life I'm living at this moment... but hey, as a wise woman once said "It's always an adventure."
keep you all posted.
Everyone's been asking if I'm excited or not. I'd say I am excited, I'm nervous at the same time, and I'm trying to figure out how to stretch my dollar there... or Euro... whatever.
It's fun researching the city, and the weather, and the hot spots to hit up when I'm there. It's quite different than the camp leader/store clerk life I'm living at this moment... but hey, as a wise woman once said "It's always an adventure."
keep you all posted.
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