breaking the silence…

well, I have obviously been investing myself in France, seeing as I haven’t written for two weeks now! I’ll try to be brief, but there is a lot to relate since everything is still new…

Tuesday, October 2 and Thurday, October 4 I had orientation – “learn how to teach in just 12 hours,” it was called. the first day of orientation was in Orléans. we met all 200 assistants in our area (eure & loir) – people from Spain, England, Italy, Scotland, Canada, Chile, Jamaica, United States, Mexico, Germany, Russia, etc. what a quality group of young people! I wish I could have talked to each and every one of them because there were some people with really neat stories in that room. the second day of orientation was in Chartres. this time I was with about 12 people – all of the high school English assistants in the region. we spent the day with two English teachers from Chartres, learning possible lessons to use with our students. in the afternoon I went to the prefecture with one of the teachers and tried to get my carte de sejour (required “visa” if you are staying for a long time) paperwork done.

carte de sejour paperwork AKA your worst nightmare. the best part was when I cried in front of everyone. basically, the information I had received wasn’t valid, so I didn’t have all of the paperwork I needed to process my carte de sejour. the big deal: without this stupid sticker I can’t leave the stupid country. and I have a brother’s wedding to attend at the end of the month. in Wisconsin. nice. well, my tears happened to loosen the rules, so they let me start the process after all. BUT I had to take pictures immediately in the photo booth ten feet to my right. I don’t think you will be surprised to know that my face was blotchy and pale and tired from crying. so… my official carte de sejour photograph, which will forever be in my passport, is TERRIBLE!! the stress continued until October 11 when I got an official letter asking me to come to Orléans for a medical visit – a prerequisite for the carte de sejour. they don’t want any unhealthy lungs staying in the country for a long period of time. I will go to the doctor October 15, return to the prefecture on October 17 with the lung x-ray, and get two very important-looking stickers. see you soon, Trav!

putting my stress at the back of my mind, I traveled to Paris October 6 and 7 with a group of new friends from orientation. if you don’t know (because I didn’t) the World Cup of Rugby is on, and is getting very heated. in the afternoon, we watched England v. Australia on the huge screen at the hotel de ville. for some reason, my roommates sat with different groups of friends during the game (one is from Australia, and the other is from England). England won. great?! in the interim a group of us ate a picnic lunch in a garden, saw Naomi Campbell walking out of a fashion show, visited the Champs Elysées, and caught a metro back to the hotel de ville for the second game – France v. New Zealand. if you know anything about rugby, you know that France was the big underdog in this match. before the game we marveled at thousands of French youth singing their national anthem (see below) and forcefully boo-ing at Sarkozy (he was in the stadium). we left after the first half because France was behind 3-13 and we knew what was going to happen. but alas, a few hours later, we were surprised to hear fans honking car horns, running through the streets singing and playing guitars, flying French flags, and generally being CRAZY! there was trash everywhere, people were drunk as ever, and no one questioned what had just happened. a true upset.

we spent the next few hours walking the streets, visiting different sites of the all-night festival called “la nuit blanche.” it was a series of expositions throughout the city – all with the common theme of light. for example, we saw a slideshow of human faces on the scaffolding of an old church, thousands and thousands of flower pots with fire coming out of them, a movie of digital a dancer which kept changing shape, and neon screens of changing light.

at the end of the weekend comes… the week. well, I finally got a schedule on monday morning. which changed twice before the end of the day. I had two classes cancelled and one class which just didn’t show up. then I had a class with 15 hearing students and 3 deaf students. no big deal, of course, but I would have prepared a more inclusive lesson if I would have known in advance. I finally met the last English teacher. I’ve only been here for three weeks, so… I guess…. all in all, it went well, but I have a better appreciation for both teachers in general and the organization of schools in the states now. I’m better prepared for my second week now. I’m ready to teach some well English to these kiddies.

this weekend was wonderful. it was exceptionally relaxing and rejuvenating. saturday I went to the local fruit/vegetable market, had a drink at a café, met my neighbors at the café since I was eavesdropping anyway, read a French newspaper, went for a swim, went to the cinema (saw ratatouille – so appropriate in French, right?!), ate a quick dinner with the family, and went to a bar to watch the semi-final rugby game – England v. France. in summary, the bar tender asked us to buy everyone a drink after England won. eeesh. sunday I went to church, took a 2.5 hour walk through the next town and around a lake, sat in the garden and wrote lesson plans for a few hours, and enjoyed another great dinner with the family.

highlights:
-our family has 200+ porcelain cicadas in the house. imagine.
-the lake I visited this weekend has wooden workout machines located around half of it – monkey bars, parallel bars, pull-up bars, ab crunch incline platform, balance beam, etc. a little bit funny.
-everyone here is sick. and I’m not. it is the first time in my life. I wanted to celebrate that fact!
-I haven’t written much poetry since high school, but I’m getting back into it. the garden behind the house is a very inspiring place (unless the roosters are cock-a-doodle-doo-ing). the mom offered the four-season porch at the back of the house when it gets too cold/rainy to sit outside.
-guillaume (the 4-year-old, not the dad) likes to play peek-a-boo with me using the laundry as a prop. too cute! the other day I told him I didn’t want to play on his slide and he asked me if I was shy. he’s bold!
-our neighbor was assassinated. in Africa. the details are ugly.
-the spanish assistant at the high school can speak in English with a French accent. and without. woah. I asked her if she would marry me. (just kidding, eric!)
-we had a very classic French meal last week – fondue!!
-I bought a membership at the pool and I am teaching myself to swim. quite a feat since I am afraid of water. I’m getting over it and I’m starting to make progress in my swimming skills! I consider myself “in training” for a triathlon. I am also running. which I also don’t like. but I am trying to enjoy new things while I am missing my bike.
-I am still trying to make friends. I can’t even meet people, so I don’t know how ‘no one’ is going to turn into a friend. any suggestions?


well, i can't seem to get the pictures to load, so there will be a lot (along with a video of the french national anthem) next time.

peace and bike grease,
molly