The month of November...

I cannot believe how much time has past! I have had a rather busy month working, traveling, and arranging my "French life". First: I have found an apartment! I haven't moved in yet, since we are only getting the electricity (and thus, heat) turned on today, and I still need to buy bedding. There is an IKEA about an hour away, so I'll be heading there this week. I do wish that the apartment were a bit closer to downtown and a bit more French, but it is completely new (converted from an old hotel) and furnished! It's also a little weird leaving all of the other assistants who live with me here in the basement. It will definitely be a new start, but I hope we will be able to see each other as often as we do now. Although I will be living with another American assistant, Brady, and he seems to have a million friends, so that's good.

Before I forget, some guy Ryan from Ottawa commented on my last post, requesting my mailing address. So now I actually have one to give you: 24 rue du General Hulot, 54000 Nancy, France. Of course, the entrance with the mailboxes isn't finished yet... but I should still be able to get mail! I will have to post pictures up on Shutterfly once our lights are on.

So, secondly, I am terribly sorry to be sooooo bad at staying updated on this thing. Although I have had a busy month, that is no excuse! Thanks to those of you who harassed me for an update, it really does help snap me back into reality. So I guess we left off before I went to London at the end of October, wow! The trip was great; hopefully you all saw the pictures already anyway. I spent the weekend in Paris on the way, so I finally got to see all the big landmarks. I have to say that before Paris, it still hadn't sunk in that I was in France at all. But as soon as I came up from the metro near the Champs Elysées, I could immediately see Place de la Concord, with the Eiffel Tower way off in the distance. It was really overwhelming, it just hit me right in the face that I was in PARIS! It was pretty cool, but then also strange to wrap my head around.

So I spent the weekend walking on air around Paris— I started by the Louvre and the gardens near it, and saw the Egyptian obelisk at Place de la Concorde, at the other end of the gardens. Then I stupidly attempted to walk to the Arc de Triomphe, and it was WAY farther than it looked on the map, so I took the metro, and then walked to the Eiffel Tower from there. Then I collapsed at the hostel. It wasn't the best place ever, but I shared my room with some French man and his two adorable French children. They were really friendly and asked me all kinds of questions (just like my students!). I also got to see the underground catacombs (creepy as hell by yourself), Montmartre, Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame... but I didn't really go into anything except the cathedrals, and the Musée de l'Homme (Museum of Man). I will have to go back for the many incredible museums, and the other parts of the city that there just wasn't time for.

England was also pretty amazing! I spent most of the week in Brighton, where my friend
Mike lives. They have a million little independent shops and restaurants everywhere, so it had a really hip atmosphere. And it was so nice to be near water again! I don't know why it matters, but I like knowing it's there. Then London was an hour train ride each way, so I only went one day alone, and one day with Mike. But I got to walk around the West End and Soho where all the theatres are, and see all the ones I studied in theatre history classes. Then there's an area east of that called Covent Gardens, which is exactly like Fanueil Hall and Quincy Market, only bigger. I also went by Big Ben, the Parliament Buildings, and Westminster Abbey. Then Mike came with me to the Tower of London where they imprisoned a great many people (and where they keep the crown jewels!), and the Tower Bridge with its huge engine room, and finally the reconstruction of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, which was completely amazing. Mike and I also took a day-trip out to Dover, where they have famous white cliffs that we couldn't really see, but there is also an incredible military fort/castle that we explored for a few hours. So it was a great trip, and great to catch up with Mike and meet all his roommates!

Since then I have mostly been working a lot on lesson plans, and trying to get students to listen to me. Some classes I just stay in the room with the teacher, but some I take half the class by myself. It is very difficult to figure out how much to bring to fill exactly 50 minutes! And it seems like each class is working on a different lesson, or each teacher wants to present the lesson differently, so I always have to create completely new worksheets. Last week I made a crossword of crime-related vocabulary, which I was pretty proud of! They were so quiet, it was great. Mostly though, it is just finding a picture or cartoon online, and making them describe it, and then having a discussion. But it does not always go as smoothly as planned... no major behavior problems though, so I can't really complain. And some of them are so smart they surprise me, and some are just so sweet. I want to bring them all home! (And some days I want to run away, haha!)

This is already turning into a novel (as always) but I should also mention that I went to Brussels this past weekend with Pamela! We were there less than 48 hours, since it was a nice four-hour train ride each way, but it was still fun. We walked around on Saturday and saw a bunch of beautiful buildings and skylines, and ummm, drank a whole bunch. The next day rained all day, which I guess is common for Belgium, so we went to the Atomium, which is basically a gigantic model atom. I thought it would be all about science, but it was actually about life in the 1950s, since it was built for an exhibition in 1958. That was really all we had time for, but we got a little taste, anyway! I have decided that I need to learn more about architecture styles before I continue touring Europe though. I have seen sooo many beautiful buildings, which are all so detailed and ornate, but after a while they are all blurring together in my mind.

Anyways, I'm going to stop myself here! That was a huge pain to write, that'll teach me to wait so long to update. Hope everyone's Thanksgiving went well, and the Christmas shopping is coming along. I am missing everyone a bunch, I keep thinking that I see some of you on the street, but then I realize that I'm clearly hallucinating or something (I think I need visitors!) Have a good week, everyone!

How 'bout them Red Sox?

Bonjour! Again, sorry for the delay, but I think I've talked to a good many people individually since the last update, and it's getting easier now that most of the background info has been covered. So, today started off fairly well when I checked the score this morning and saw that the Red Sox killed in game 1! It's awful because the games start at 2 am in France, so I have to agonize over it all night, and then read about all the plays the next morning. And it's not descriptive enough... if someone flies out, it could have been a routine catch or an amazing dive into a wall, you know? (I've been watching the Rugby World Cup as a substitute, but it ended with South Africa winning last weekend. France was in the top four, but lost to England so everyone here was depressed.) Anyways, ESPN now lets you download individual games afterwards for $2, so let me know which ones were incredible to watch. 13-1? They are out of control... hell yeah!

I also woke up today to a sore throat, so that was less exciting! I have not been able to shake a stuffy nose for a week and a half either, because I'm not really resting enough. I'm working on it! But they have this amazing numbing throat spray here, I have three boxes of tea, and no classes today. I have a full day tomorrow, but then we have a vacation! I finally bought all my train tickets and coordinated everything. I will be leaving Saturday night for Paris on the TGV, and staying in the 13th arrondissement near the Latin Quarter, Place d'Italie, and Chinatown for a few days. Then Tuesday morning I get to ride the very expensive Eurostar to London to visit my friend Mike! He is living and working in Brighton for the next few years, so I will be staying with him until the following Tuesday. Then I start working again on Thursday Nov. 8. I've only worked 4 weeks, and I get a 12 day vacation! France is awesome...

Yet I am missing quite a bit from home, too. It goes without saying that I miss my family and all my friends; it's hard to go from talking almost daily to very rarely. But I did thankfully get in touch with a lot of people these last two weeks! Thank you to everyone who emailed and sent pictures. It's great to hear about little things from home, and to see cute babies, the dog, or Kyle with a gun (oh my god!). It's too bad you can't send food through email— it's delicious here, but I miss Kowloon and pizza without goat cheese, ha ha. I am also really missing your yoga class, Mary! I did find a class at a YMCA type-place, so I will be trying it out after vacation. I haven't seen any yoga mats yet, and you can't really do it on a linoleum floor... though I did try! I also would kill for a dryer right now, no one really uses them here. It's not so bad (it is very good for the environment!) except that my jeans are now all stretched out, and my clothes don't have that dryer-sheet smell. Sigh...

I may also be moving into an apartment downtown, but like everything else, it's up in the air. I've requested to see it today, but have been waiting for the agency to contact the proprietor and get back to me. I would be living with Pamela and Brady (see my last post), and a French guy named Pierre who is studying in Nancy. The apartment is for November 1st, though, when we're on break, so I'm not sure how it will go down.

Ian, the teacher from Scotland, invited the whole English department for dinner last night. There were 10 of us altogether, and sooo much food. We had olives, bread with tapenade (and cheese?), and some kind of flaky pastry tart for appetizers while we chatted and played with his two adorable little sons. Dinner was Indian inspired, with some super-spicy pork dish I avoided, rice, korma, a cashew dish, a tomato chutney, stuffed eggplant, lentils, bread.... and I was sadly mistaken for thinking that was it. Then we had salad and a selection of cheeses, and then dessert with a chocolate mousse, an apple tart, and coffee. Everyone also insisted I try the champagne, white wine, AND red wine, then accused me of coming to France for their alcohol, and threatened to tell my parents! They are all really sweet, I am so glad that I am working with such great people. And then, with stomachs full of wine and great food, everyone started singing traditional English and Scottish songs, and asked me what we sang at dinner at home. Ha! So to throw in something American for me, they sang Yankee Doodle. Hmmm... we are actually starting up a choir at the school, so hopefully I can redeem myself with some better American songs for Christmas!

Well, it's noon so I should probably shower. I slept so late because the teachers kept me out until 1 am! This afternoon I have to run more errands downtown, and get organized for my trip. Tonight I am going to see a circus with some of the other assistants! I've never been to one, I'm a bit skeptical, but it should be fun. I will be sure to post pictures of it, and my trip to Paris and London! I will now be putting all my photos on sizzicupo.shutterfly.com, so it's a lot easier and more organized. I will be taking my laptop on vacation, too, so feel free to send me your thoughts whenever! Stay well, everyone!

More craziness

Hello everyone! A bit overdue for an update, I know, I hope people weren't too worried or desperate for reading material. I have plenty of stories, though! First off, they found my backpack! I couldn't believe it, but it was eleven days without clothes! But at least it is here. Coincidentally, they found it right when Janet called and harassed them, but supposedly they had already found it in Boston underneath one of the belts. Hmmm.

This week I started observing classes, although I still had to introduce myself and answer all sorts of questions. "Do you have a husband?" "Do you have a boyfriend?" "Do you have children?" (and in that order, too!) They also asked me if I liked President Bush, what I thought about Sarkozy's election, and whether I liked French men. They are quite the inquisitive group of kids! I got my tentative schedule, which has two alternating weeks. One week I will have Tuesday and Thursday off, the other week I get to go in much later on Friday. It's not really balanced at all, and I have a single one-hour class every Wednesday, essentially ruining an extra long break every second week, but I like everyone I am working with. I am working primarily with students in their last two years of high school, and just a few who are sophomore age, and one class of post-grad business students. It should be interesting!

I also met many more language assistants this week. There is a guy Brady who is from Arizona, who I had talked online about the trip before I even left. He and I went out with a few of the girls I live with, and he has introduced us to other people in the program too. After dinner together that first night, the other girls went home very early, so Brady and I grabbed a drink at an Irish bar. This girl overheard us talking English in the bar, and it turns out that she was also an English assistant in Nancy! (This has happened to us so many times, because people get very excited to hear English in a sea of French.) Her name was Pamela, and she kept saying that I looked familiar, but I get that a lot, and she's from Ohio so it seemed unlikely. The very next day, we had another English assistant move in... and it was her! So we were telling everyone about our coincidental meeting, but the story actually got even better.

We were talking for a while about our colleges, and what study abroad programs we had done, and we realized we both had done the Quebec summer program at Laval. So I showed her some pictures on my computer, and the very first one I pull up, she is IN IT. We were in the same exact class!!! Only she had long hair two years ago, and now it is very short, so I didn't recognize her. Yeah, we spent five weeks in Canada in the same classroom together. How crazy is that?! So now people have heard us tell the story to everyone we meet, and they keep rolling their eyes at us.

I also met a crazy drunk woman from Ohio, and her friend Cesar, when we were talking English at another restaurant. She seemed cool, but then she was wasted an hour later, and was being the stereotypical obnoxious American in Europe. She kept saying "good evening" to our waitress over and over, and the woman had no idea what to do. Then the other night, we bumped into a bunch of guys from England who are here working for a few months. When we walked by, they actually said "Bonjour, Madame" to each of us, which was strange because everyone in France has been calling us Mademoiselle. So I thought that some French guy thought I looked like an older married woman. Turns out, they were just British and spoke literally no French. So we hung out with them since no French people will talk with us (I can't imagine why), and we all decided to meet the next day. For whatever reason, everyone kept backing out one by one, so it ended up that it was just me and Charlie, one of the British guys. Some of the other assistants stayed with me for a little bit in case he suddenly seemed dangerous or something, but then he and I walked around to find someplace for dinner. We ended up at some Italian place, and it was really weird because it felt so much like a date, even though it wasn't supposed to be a date. It was a little awkward, but he is super nice and super British. Today, we bumped into them in another Irish restaurant, while trying to meet up with yet another assistant. Either there are a lot of English people here, or Nancy is a really small city.

Well, that's not even the half of it really, but I will have to give more specific stories about the students and the other assistants and teachers later. I'm still alive though, and promise I'll be better at updating. Also! I won't be putting any more pictures on this site because it is too annoying. I have been using Shutterfly, but I can't figure out how other people look at it yet. I will post the link with my next update. Have a good couple of days everyone!

Some quick photos...

These are just a few pictures to start out with... I posted a some slightly different ones on my French blog, so if you click "view my complete profile" you can link right over to it. I'm going to have to use a different site altogether for pictures, though, I think. This was incredibly annoying. Anyways, enjoy these for now!


Nancy from afar, which is the view about thirty seconds from the school!



City Hall at night in the middle of Place Stanislas, down-town Nancy.





A fountain with a gilded gate in a corner of place Stanislas.




Some gorgeous images from "Son et lumière" projected onto the front of City Hall.













You have to expand this to see where the keys are, it's ridiculous. You have to shift to put in a period!

My crazy first week!

Bonjour!

I can't believe I've been in France for nearly a week already. And what a busy and frustrating week it has been! To start, the plane rides weren't terrible, and the airport in Iceland was gorgeous. It's all hardwood floors and lots of windows and glass everywhere. And everything was in English, including the music. A weird song by The Cure was playing as I was buying a snack! On the way to Paris, I was next to a French guy named Johann who was 27, and does something with computers where he travels a lot. He decided he was my personal airport guide, and helped me find my way to the right terminals in Paris to find my baggage..... and then to the lost baggage office when one of my bags didn't show. The airline lost my huge backpack with ALL of my clothes in it, except pajamas, one outfit, and what I was wearing on the plane. As of right now, they still haven't located it so I'm getting nervous!

Most of my week has been spent walking everywhere in search of clothing. I haven't bought too much because if my backpack is located, I will have too many clothes and too little money. But the way it's looking.... I probably should start buying more. My feet and calves are very weary, though! Aside from that, it's been a great experience so far. Every weekday at 10 am, all the teachers have a short break, so I've been hanging out there to meet everyone. I've gotten to know a few of the English teachers, most of whom are not natively from France. Jonathan is from England, and is incredibly friendly and generous, and VERY British! He hasn't said "cheerio!" or anything, but he basically has that type of cheerfulness and energy at all times. There are two women named Aurelie, who are first year teachers, and Ian who is from Scotland (I think!) and also has a very refined-sounding accent. There are also two Cecile's, and Simone who is the head of the English department. Everyone has been very sweet, welcoming, and sympathetic.

Friday night, Jonathan invited me to see the choir he sings in. He drove me and and two of the women from the choir to an old church in a distant suburb. The concert was long (while sitting in a pew), and it was freezing, but it was really cool to be out in the French countryside listening to this gorgeous music. I even chatted in French with the older woman next to me, who was very sweet. From what I have seen outside of Nancy, it is mostly farmland, organized into tiny villages with probably less than thirty buildings each, which were all along this one road. We also passed a castle that I will try to get back to for pictures, but it was impressive just in passing, with a moat and everything! After that, I went to Jonathan's charming French house and met his wife and three children, and embarrassed myself when I tried to shake everyone's hand, instead of kissing their cheeks. The children were really polite though, but I personally think they got a kick out of it.

I called home and woke everyone up Saturday morning (how about that time difference!), and was happy to talk to Mom and Dad, but not so happy to receive the news that my grandmother, Oma, had passed away. For those who maybe don't know, my grandmother had Parkinson's disease, and was diagnosed before I was even born. So thankfully, we were somewhat prepared for this, and I got to spend time with her just before I left. As Dad said recently, she was "one tough old lady" (or something like that!). I'll miss her, but it is definitely better that she no longer has to struggle. It is difficult being here, but I know there is not much I can do, and I know my mom and aunt have plenty of people at home to support them in my absence.

Later that night, rather than stay alone in my room and be miserable, I took some of Jonathan's choir friends up on their invitation to see a variety show. They played a lot of traditional French songs, with piano, harmonica, and accordion. It was very appropriate as it reminded me quite a bit of the German music my grandmother used to play. I found it interesting that the harmonica player was the mayor of the village we had visited the night before. He performed both nights, actually, which was a bit awkward with the choir on Friday, but really amazing with the blues band on Saturday. It was just funny watching him, knowing that he was this important guy, but also because Jonathan kept calling the harmonica a "mouth organ". British English is awesome, by the way.

Sunday wasn't great because I tried to shop, forgetting that everything is basically shut down. The bar across the street doesn't serve food on the weekends, and I hadn't gone grocery shopping. But I found a gas station with a little store attached, and unlike at home, it's more like a mini-grocers with fresh fruit and bread. But without internet in my room yet, there wasn't much to do besides read and rest (I have slept sooo much this week, it is ridiculous.) I did get to see a "sound and light" show that night downtown, which was actually very elaborate. The very gorgeous, historic city hall building served as the "projection screen" for different animations, like fish swimming, constellations, moving people... it was impressive. (I have a lot of pictures I will put up later, I forgot to bring my camera to the computer lab.)

But everything is slowly settling into place, so I should have better access to the internet in a few days, and the other assistants will be arriving as well (just me so far!). The housing at the school leaves something to be desired, so I will start for an apartment this week, too. The room itself is very nice, although small, but it is in a bare hallway with shared bathrooms and showers. Both of those are very basic, worse than at any dorm I lived in. The kitchen has two burners which are integrated into the top of the microwave, and a mini-fridge for the floor to share. It might be hard, though, to find a furnished apartment with a well-equipped kitchen, on one of the four bus lines to my school, that is inexpensive and still decent. But we'll see...

Lastly, before I forget! I also did buy a cell phone this week, so if you need to call me at great personal expense, my direct number is: 06 59 25 96 51. From the U.S., though, you have to dial 011 33 before my number, and then leave off the initial zero. If you should be in France visiting a certain someone, you would just dial the number as is. Whew! I think that's all for now... I don't expect most of my posts to be such long day-to-day accounts, but I guess everything seems significant so far. I have found a lot of amusing differences in the culture and language already, but it is just too much to write for now. I will save some stories for later....

Please send me messages, I would love to hear what is going on in Boston (or California, NH, Canada, or wherever else) and in all of your lives. You can leave me messages here, or by email at mustardseed84@yahoo.com. I will be missing everyone! And thank you again for all of your parting gifts. I've been looking stylish with my new tote and watch, taking lots of pictures to fill the albums and notebooks, and I've been flashing my Red Sox pen everywhere! You are all in my thoughts...

A la prochaine,
Stephanie