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