First Post

Family and Friends!

Continuing in my tradition of exploration and "leaving home," I am moving to France tomorrow, September 20, 2007! I have been thinking about moving to France since I applied for the Language Assistant position in January but I can hardly believe September 20 is already here.

I leave Madison at 4:21pm, fly through Chicago O'Hare and arrive in Paris Friday morning at 9:30am. Then I'll take a shuttle to Paris Montparnasse train station where I will jump on a train for an hour-and-a-half ride Southwest to Nogent-le-Rotrou. Christine, one of the English teachers from the high school, will pick me up from the train station and take me to my new home, my host family's house. I am happier than words that I already have a place to stay. I didn't know how stressed I was about being homeless until I found a home a few weeks ago.

Let me tell you what I know so far: The mére is a stay-at-home mom with a 4-year-old boy, a 3-year-old boy and a 2-week-old boy. I hear they are both healthy, but I haven't been able to talk with them since she gave birth to her newest petit. The dad is a chef in a nearby town. The population of Nogent-le-Rotrou is about 13,000 people and the high school has about 1,000 students. I have already planned some lessons and printed out some materials. I am excited to get started! I am joining a teaching team of eight women, which sounds wonderful. And I already have the code to the copy machine, so I expect that I will be taken care of while I am there! There are two markets every Saturday, there is a small river that runs through the town, there are lots of sports clubs (biking, kayaking, rock climbing, swimming, fishing), there is one famous chateau, three old churches and an old abbey. i haven't located the nearest winery yet, but i will...

Thanks for visiting my blog. I will do my best to keep you updated, but I don't have any idea how often I will have internet access. I hope often enough to keep up with all of the comments and e-mails you are going to send!

A bientôt,
Molly



This is a view of the rooftops in Nogent-le Rotrou


I'm a glass case of emotion! High school, take I.


High school, take II.