And More Answers Are Revealed

Today was a good day. I was productive and my questions/issues are being answered/resolved one by one. This morning I went to the grocery store and bought some food and other necessities…I
feel like I have mostly everything I need to make me feel at home. Everything but WiFi that is…and that should change soon…hopefully. They told me ill be moving into my other room tomorrow (but I also heard it would be ready Wendesday, and Thursday), so I am taking that with a grain of salt.

I also met the German language assistant and she is really nice. She hasn’t decided if she is living here or in Limoges yet though, I am hoping here through just so that I can at least have one friend. She is 27, has already been a French teacher for a few years (and decided she needs more practice), and has a car. So there is nothing stopping her from living in Limoges (besides the cost of living and the gas she will be using every day). I don’t want to be selfish, but I really want her to stay here so we can be lonely together! And also, her French is better than mine…which makes me feel a little inferior/hesitant/inconfident with my level but whatever… I’m here to improve my French.
If I was an expert, I would have skipped these next 7 months and stay in my comfort zone in good old Sanborn, NY. I know these next few months are going to make me an even more independent and stronger woman than I already am. I have to remind myself that every day. 

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Oh and one more thing. I was looking on a door of a bed and breakfast today to see the prices and the owner came in and asked me if I was just looking and I told her about my mom and sister coming in February and she continued to show me the 4 rooms at the bed and breakfast that were all very
nice and homey with an excellent view! I then proceeded to ask her if she knew a place where I could buy a TV and she told me one store…and then said, “Oh, we actually just bought new TV’s and I
can sell you one of our old ones!” She showed me the TV and it comes with a built-in DVD player and a cable box for only €50. And that will help my boredom and help me
learn more French at the same time! I just have to make sure that there is a cable hook up in my new room and I can buy the TV from her! Go me for opening my fat mouth! 

On that note, I am getting ready for bed…goodnight!

Boring Day

Nothing important really happened today. I skyped with my mom, Jordan (for a long time and loved it!), Chelsea, and Michele (just through typing). The majority of my day was spent on the computer and I am ok with that.

At lunch, I officially decided that French people eat incredibly fast…and I eat fast so that is saying something. And they eat A TON at lunch! So much that I couldn’t finish it, and I skipped breakfast and let’s not forget that I love food! It was something along the lines of turkey pot pie over rice with a biscuit, a couple hard boiled eggs, a pear, and a piece of French bread. The food at the cafeteria is ok. I can’t complain… it’s cheap (€2.66 ) and there are quite a few options (at least in side dishes).

After speaking to the secretary of the school, I’ve come to the realization that I am at the same level of French/confidence at the end of my previous trip to France and I am now…which is good. Reminiscing about my last trip, I was so scared to talk to anyone in the beginning and would always plan out what I would say. Now, I went up to the secretary and was only mildly nervous! AND, I understood everything that she told me…another plus! So that’s good news to me and it shows me that my French has room to grow and complete fluency BETTER happen this trip!!!!
Lastly, I made it through another day without going crazy or having a meltdown…I am finally getting used to this France thing. I refuse to get used to not having any friends though, this has got to change! It would be really nice to have company to explore the village with me! The German language assistant should come soon and she is living here too…I will try and be her friend even if she’s weird. She’s all I got right now!

I was also given a new move-in date to my actual room (so I don’t have to live on the same floor as my students and so that I can actually start to unpack my suitcases)! The new tentative date is by Friday or later (I’ve already heard that it was going to be done by Wednesday night and then Thursday morning); thus, my hopes aren’t up to high! And FYI, moving into my own room means I will have WiFi in my room (I don’t get internet after 8PM because that is when the teacher’s lounge closes)! Meaning, I am bored stiff from 8 until I go to bed (explaining why I wrote such a long blog post when I didn’t actually accomplish anything today)!
That’s all for tonight. Bonne Nuit (Goodnight!)

A Successful Day of Exploration

Just a little update, I didn’t have a melt-down today and didn’t get discouraged at all (unlike yesterday). This morning I tried to sleep in (seeing as I didn’t have anything else to do) but that was quite unsuccessful because there were bells going off constantly in the morning starting at 6:45! 6:45 is the students’ breakfast time and then the bells ring both in the school and the dorms at the beginning and end of each class…so sleeping in didn’t exactly happen.

I decided to go for a run (which turned into more of a walk) and find my way around Bellac, my new ‘home.’ I started on a path that was in a park behind my school but today the teachers were on strike so a lot of students were hanging out there because their teachers never came! Don’t ask me, I don’t get why they go on strike all the time, I don’t get it either…I don’t really think it changes anything but the French are famous for going on strike! Anyways, I didn’t like that they were watching me so I decided to go on the roads and eventually I found the middle school I will be working at for 4 hrs/week, a Laundromat, some hair dressers, a pizza shop, the office of tourism, and some other small stores (ex- A store where you can buy everything you need for a funeral…WEIRD). I picked up a map and a guide of things to do around Bellac as well. I then headed back to town and got ready for the day. A little later I faced my fears and ate lunch at school (I didn’t know how the system worked and didn’t want to eat by myself)! The food wasn’t bad, better than cafeteria food in America…but wasn’t exactly delicious either. After lunch I went on a tour of town with one of the teachers I will be working with named Evelynne. She showed me Bellac’s small river (more like a large creek), a church, the post office, a bakery, and some other stores. The best part though is that we went to a bank to at least learn about setting up an account. I need to get a proof of housing and salary and then I can set my account up so I can get paid! Woohoo! Other great news is that I got a comforter today from the school and now I don’t have to use the ratty wool-like blankets they gave me with a piece of hair and grass on it! I know, this doesn’t seem exciting to you but it was quite exciting to me. Otherwise a new one would have cost me 70 Euros…AKA $100 or so!!!!

And then my day got better because I was able to Skype with Jordan for quite a while…and that always makes me happy. Even more so today because I was in a good mood and wasn’t freaking out unlike the day before! I guess that’s all for now. ‘À demain’ meaning see you tomorrow!

Now I am finally caught up to today. Finally! I just wrote all of this for about an hour straight (4 pages single spaced)! Today I met a bunch of the teachers here at the high school. They were all very nice to me. I also am moved into my temporary room until my room is ready. Right now I am in a student room on the all girls floor at the internat –or in English boarding school. They gave me some blankets (that feel like itchy wool), they will not last for long, they are gross. I will be either borrowing or buying a comforter soon. I also saw the room where I will be staying which seems nice, it’s not done yet though. There will be a sink in my room and a shower and a bathroom in the hallway that I will share with the German language assistant when she gets here. I also saw the cafeteria where I can eat and had someone set up my wireless. Besides that , I pretty much chilled out in the teacher’s lounge and wrote some post cards and searched the web. AKA I was bored and had too much time to think.

I then gave myself a short walking tour of the city and found 2 grocery stores…one similar to a smaller scale Walmart (but still very large!!!) and an Aldi’s-like store. I also walked into a shoe store and a clothing store that seemed ok. And lastly, I found a park where I can run when I feel motivated!

When I came back, I had a mini-breakdown, I’m not going to lie, because I was lonely (I don’t know a single soul here besides the teachers and most of them don’t even live in Bellac!) and freaking out about everything in general. Luckily my awesome boyfriend calmed me down and reassured me that I am a strong woman (even though I felt super weak and vulnerable) and everything is going to be ok. I know I just need time to settle in and meet people and everything will be ok. I will try not to have any more melt downs…tomorrow is another day and I will try and make the best of it. It is now 11:15 and I am getting sleepy, my hands hurt from typing, and I don’t have much else to say. So goodnight world and I am will try and do better to keep up on my blog both so you’re not bored and so that I never have to write this much again!

Day 4-Travel Day

Kaitie and I took the metro to the train station and a 3 hr train to get to our town. Actually she had another hour after I got off to get to her town. Travelling with luggage was difficult once again buy we figured it out! And it was better just because we were together!

Marie-Cécile picked me up from the train station (she found me easily) and headed to her house in the country side. The country side was absolutely stunning and a huge change from the fast life of Paris. I enjoyed the change. Marie-Cécile and her husband were extremely hospitable and gracious and put me up for the night. We had a great lunch and dinner and I did some relaxing. I slept in a nice queen size bed and woke up in the morning to head to me small small town of Bellac where my high school and my room I will be living in for the next 7 months are located!

Day 3 in Paris

Today was our last day in Paris and we took it semi-easy. We were tired from the day before and didn’t want to be tired for our travel day the following day. We decided to go to Opéra Garnier, that Toni, my cooperating teacher that I student taught for, recommended. The outside was awesome…and unfortunately that’s all we were able to see because they had a performance that afternoon and it was closed. After this we went into Gallerie Lafayette, the largest department store in Paris (possibly in the world...see pictures)! It was so BIG and had so many expensive stores ex. Marc Jacobs and Louis Vaton, and probably others that are important but I didn’t remember because I never heard of them! It was 4 or 5 storied tall with a ceiling that you would find in a cathedral! And of course most things were out of my price range, but I didn’t need to shop anyways, I could barely manage my bags as it was! I did get one thing, a macaroon (not like a coconut macaroon)…oh my, it was SO GOOD!!!! Everyone needs to have at least one in their life. We then did a tour of the Paris sewer system. Now you ask why? Yah, I ask myself the same thing! I knew it was cleaned out, but they did not tell me it was still going to smell like SHIT. I gagged at least three times and almost puked once. Don’t get me wrong, it was very interesting and I learned some cool stuff…but I will never do that again…it was so stinky. After the tour we walked around les Champs d’Elysée where all the other expensive stores are (ya know, the stores that make Paris known as the fashion capital of the world) we went back to the hostel, grabbed some dinner and ate in the room.

At this point, my feet were tired and I had enough of the big city. I was ready to go meet the teachers I would be working with for the following 7 months and get settled in.

Day 2 in Paris

As recommended by my friend Chelsea Gifford, we decided to do two bike tours- a day and a night tour. They both did different routes. This was my most favorite thing I did in Paris! We had two totally awesome tour guides and learned a lot about the city. The day tour was awesome because we learned a lot of history about Paris and its sights and our tour guide was hilarious. He was from Portugal and had a corky humor. Ex- he told us we needed to dominate the roads and had us making Spartan warrior/pirate/any intimidating sound that you wanted. Ex 2- We learned that some important guy (I forgot his name) hated the Eiffel Tower so much that he ate lunch of it every day…when asked why he ate there id he hated it, he said that it was the only place in the city where he didn’t have to look at the huge hunk of metal! We also learned about the French Revolution and saw the place where the peasants stormed and where they used the guillotine to kill people! Pretty interesting huh? Or not, and maybe I just like this stuff. That tour lasted about 4 hours (6.5 km), don’t worry though it was a lot of talking and not that much riding.
The night tour was cool though too for different reasons though. During this tour we rode in the Paris streets at dusk and got honked at a lot (our tour guide reassured us that it was fine)! The highlights were that we stopped at the best ice cream stand in Paris (there weren’t any preservatives in the ice cream) and rode on a boat called a ‘Baton Mouche’ on the Seine River!

While on the boat, the Eiffel Tower sparkled…literally. Between 9 and 1 the tower sparkles on the hour. And let me tell you, it was spectacular. And I am NOT using that word lightly. I took a video of it but it just doesn’t do it justice. It was so beautiful it almost brought tears to my eyes. I think it means so much to me because the Eiffel Tower or le tour Eiffel en Français, is the one symbol that represents my passion for the French language and culture (even though the culture pisses me off at times). And to make the boat ride even better, we were given wine…disgusting dry wine, but wine none the less.

And I almost forgot, the tour guide was handsome and about our age and had an awesome French accent the few times we heard him speak French. His American mother was also on the tour and we were talking to her about how awesome his French was and she told us he had been teaching English for the last year. Come to find out, he did the same program that I am doing now and he reassured Kaitie and I that it will be awesome. And he gave us some tips too! It was awesome. By the time we got back to the hostel (30-40 minutes of travelling), it was 1 in the morning and so worth it!

I am honestly so happy I did this tour. Mom and Danielle- we will be doing this tour! Sorry if I ruined it for you!

Day 1 in Paris

When I got to my hostel it was 11AM and I checked in and found the girl, Kaitie, who I was meeting up with. I got changed from my sweaty clothes and got ready for a day in Paris. We grabbed some lunch, ate in a park, and started on our adventure in the city. We didn’t do much the first day because I was jetlagged, my foot was bothering me (that’s a whole different story), and I wore the shoes that were digging into my heels. In all, we saw the Eiffel Tower (I will go on about that later), went in a museum where we saw Napoleon’s tomb, armor suit things that were used in the castles under different Kings, and a WWII museum. Napoleon, who is known to be a very short man, had an enormous tomb…legit enormous and unnecessary. The armor was cool looking and very intricate, unfortunately my brain didn’t feel like working so I didn’t read the majority of the captions because they were in French and I was being lazy. Same goes for the WWII museum. It was kind of boring mostly because I didn’t read the captions and didn’t know what they were trying to show me. When we left the museum, we went to the Eiffel Tower and took a break and talked. I was so happy that I toured Paris with Kaitie, she is an awesome girl, and we got along so well! And another bonus was that she was awesome at reading maps, already knew how the metro system worked, and was familiar with Paris! Definitely made a new friend this past weekend! She will be living about an hour or an hour and a half by train away from me! Anywho, we eventually headed back, grabbed some dinner from the supermarché (supermarket) and went back to the hostel. Which FYI, the hostel and its workers were awesome, full of young people, clean, had free breakfast, Wifi and a bar downstairs!

Travel Day!

So If I was smart, I would have blogged after the end of each day that I miss in Paris…but I didn’t so I guess I will go by memory.

My flight went well and I sat next to a nice lady from Philly to France and we talked for a little bit. The best part is that she was small unlike my last ride to France when I had a chubbier guy next to me and was sort of in my seat because he was bigger. So that was a good start. The main reason why the plane ride went well was because I slept the vast majority of the flight! It was great! My movie monitor didn’t work but that didn’t bother me one bit, I didn’t have time to get bored because I was sleeping.

So when I arrived in Paris I was a lot calmer than the previous time. I also realized that I STILL suck at reading French signs and following directions. There arrows confuse me…so in America if you want someone to go straight- you have an arrow. In France if you want someone to go straight- you have a down arrow. So, the dumb American who has been to France before goes down the escalator instead because I thought they wanted me to go down! After going up and down and finally turning on my brain and disregarding my blond hair, I figured that out…although the reading sign issue didn’t stop there. So next problem was that the last time I was in France other people were directing me because I was too concerned with my heavy luggage. SO, this time I was all by my lonesome and didn’t know where to go. Granted I had directions where I had to go, but I struggle with maps and following directions. After staring at a map of the airport for let’s say…10 minutes. I figured out where to go and my battle with signs/following directions continued. So I figured out I had to get on a shuttle (which obviously took the dumb-blondsky a while to do) and conquered that with no problems. So then I knew I had to get on some train called the RER so I waited in a 10 minute line to buy tickets at an automated machine. After the wait I realized that I only had euro cash (and not coins) and that the machine didn’t take my American credit card (it only takes European cards that have a chip in them). So, to get change I went into a small store and bought a water to get change. Then I stood in line again and got to the machine bought a booklet of tickets because I knew I would need them to navigate the French metro system. So I got the tickets and tried to go through the gates and it told me that it doesn’t accept those tickets. So, I am out of change again and went to the store and bought cookies to get change. Now I get back in line for the machines to buy a ticket and I finally gave in and decided to ask someone what ticket I needed to buy. Luckily, the man spoke English and told me what to buy and this time I didn’t have enough change. It cost 12 Euros and I only had 3 Euros in change. So he told me to go wait in this other line and I could buy tickets (from humans) there. After 20 minutes of waiting (that’s France for you) I had the ticket I needed. Now the battle with directions was over but then it became a battle against my luggage. I had one train ride and one metro (Paris underground train system). Let me tell you, getting on and off trains with heavy luggage is not easy. But with the help of 2 gracious men who saw me struggling at different times, I prevailed.  One guy carried my luggage up two flights of stairs when I got off the metro. Thank God for him. So by the time I was at my hostel, let’s just say that I was officially sweating!