October 5, 2005
Okay, where did I leave off. Today is Tuesday but this will be updated on wednesday, hence the date. Sunday night, I had a steak dinner. It was like Thanksgiving for me. I had steak, mashed potatos and green beans. Then I had a slice of lemon meringue pie for dessert with a cup of tea. It wasn't cheap but it was worth the amount that I paid for a hot meal. Karen called me during dinner, it was really good to hear her voice. I miss being able to pick up my cell phone and call anyone just to see how they are doing. I've also decided that the French don't tolerate fatty foods. Yes, they do have McDonalds (MacDo as they call it) and Nutella isn't the best of things for your heart, but I can not find anything blatantly fatty that would be a staple food in America. There are no bags of potato chips, I did buy a bag of apple chips today, but they're not as good as the ones at home. But anyway, everything sold in food stores has it's health benefits and nothing is sold in mass quantities. Most days, French people will visit a butcher, a baker, and a fruit and vegetable seller to buy fresh food for their dinner. Completely different from America. We buy in bulk, that way we don't have to go to the store everyday.
I got to school and I realized that they sent up a mailbox for me. All of the teachers seem really nice and will go out of their way to help me. One woman offered to drive me where ever I want and to help me figure out where everything is as long as I spoke English to her. Most teachers are more than willing to speak to me in English because they want the practice. I went into my first class on Monday. I stayed for about 15 minutes just to introduce myself. The students were shy, but overall a good crew.
I ended up going to the same place for dinner as I did the night before, but instead of steak, I bought pasta for 10 euros less. It was a good quick dinner and I didn't have to worry about buying a pot to cook anything. I walked around trying to find a store that sold plates and bowls because I've been really wanting to eat my cereal out of a bowl and stop eating it off of a piece of paper. I've been doing well just making by with that. I found a store in town that sold plates, but it was a like a Pier One, everything was decorative and expensive, and not something you'ld use everyday. So I walked buy the food store and I picked up somethings to snack on - cookies, cheese, and for whenever I found a cookingware store, I bought pumpkin soup. I figured I like pumpkin bread and pumpkin pie - the soup can't be much different. I'll let you know when I try it.
It's starting to get cold around here, so I did what I do best... I made myself a scarf. It reminds me of Harry Potter - I could be in Hufflepuff or something - it's blue and gray and it's good to keep warm with. You can see it kind of in this picture of me on my bed. Phil wanted pictures of me in France. I don't really trust people enough to give them my camera, so I've been using the timer option and the self portrait option a lot.
In order to obtain a green card from the French government, I must get a list of various things. It's like a scavenger hunt, but the prize is not being deported. It's fun.... Anyway, I have to present: my passport, my visa, my translated birth certificate (I have to translate it somehow), a letter from my landlord saying that I'm housed, my teaching contract, 4 black and white id photos, a medical certificate, and a stamped envelope. I have a good about of that, but I have to wait until the medical offices contact me to when I'll have my physical, which includes an x-ray of my chest to ensure no infectious diseases or anything. I would think they would want to x-ray me soon, but I guess it's a few weeks before they'll look at me. I think that defeats the purpose, but I'll do what it takes not to get deported.
The weather has been really dreary. It's been cold and overcast for days. Sometimes there are light rain showers, but nothing requiring an umbrella, which is good because I don't remember to bring it with me when I leave my room in the morning. Mom asked to see the outside of my building, so here it is.
Tuesday, hmm, I'm trying to remember everything, but it seems like the days last forever. Okay, I woke up, went to the bank, and finished my paperwork there. Wednesday, I get to pick up my bank card. :) I went and ate a sandwich in the park and I had a bottle of water and some cheese for lunch.
While sitting in the park eating my lunch, I saw this sign which really amused me.
It basically says: If you fall off of this wall, it's not the town's fault. Now you have to understand, the wall is about 18 inches high on the side that the sign is posted, which means anyone, especially the clumsy people, like me, can easily fall over the wall. I decided to stay far away because I knew something like this could potential cause a problem. I walked down the nearest stairwell to see the height of the other side of the wall. In America, there would be a large fence to prevent anyone from falling, but no, not in France, that would obstruct the view. The fall would be 25 feet, and here's the kicker - into bustling traffic. The main road in town is just a hop skip and a jump away from this 18 inch wall. I decided that I will stay as far away from that wall as possible, because you know me, I trip over flat ground, I don't need an 18 inch wall to fall over.
I went to school after lunch and I had two classes, one had very active students willing to talk in English, and the other one, not so much. Phil called me inbetween classes while I was having a cup of tea. I love hearing from him. It cheers me up so much. I can't wait to be back in the states with him. I just want a big hug most of the time. After school was done, I went back home for a few minutes and then I hopped a bus to the local mall. I was so excited to find a mall, even though it's not like most malls in the US. There is a big supermarket there and a bunch of small stores around it. Think a SuperWalmart surrounded by American Eagle and Claires Accessories and that's all the mall consisted of. So I bought a bowl for cereal, a mug for tea (my facet water gets hot enough to brew tea), a pillow :), hangers for my clothes, an extension cord for my one plug in my room. Now I can have my fridge and my laptop on at the same time :) and I bought silverware. The mall stays open until 10 pm, which is not like most of the stores that close by 7:15 pm. The last bus from the mall back to my town is at 7:45. I made it to the second to last bus and made it back to my room around 8:15. I had bought chinese food for dinner, but alas I had nothing to heat it with. I went to get my mail from the office and I started talking to some people who live in the building. The admin guy said he had extra stuff and he'd give me a pot, which is now sitting in my room. :) I met a Swedish girl and a Belgium girl who also live in my building and they told me about all the activities that happen around here. On Wednesday nights, they go to a gym to play intramural sports, on Thursdays, there are acting classes, and twice a month on Saturday there are games and free food. It's like living in a dorm, but no classes.
As for my french, I understand all that people are saying to me, I've been having problems responding to them. I could translate perfectly fine into English, but when I'm having 4 teachers talk to me at once, my head starts to spin. I know I'll get used to it, but I've started having headaches because my brain is thinking so much all of the time. My one supervisor says that it's completely normal and not to worry, my french will be significantly improved in one month.
I guess that's all for now. I know my entries have been getting longer. I've been trying to put as much detail in as possible in order to properly describe what I'm experiencing. I really miss everyone. I miss speaking english all the time. I think I miss the conviences that I had at home, like cooking supplies and the internet. It's not fun walking outside to weather that's 20 degrees F less than the day before. I know I'll get used to it, but it's going to take time. I know that I'm adapting better than most of the assistants that I was at the conference with. They seem to be panicing from their e-mails. I just know that whenever something frustrates me I need to take a deep breath and realize that I won't be here for long. These next couple of months are going to fly by and I'll never experience anything to this degree again (at this point, I don't know if I'll want to put this much stress on my brain again), but who knows. A year ago, I wouldn't have known I was going to do this. I coudn't tell you where I was going, or what I was going to do there. It's pretty much the same sentiment now, I have to start taking time to figure out what I want to do with my life. I have a feeling that I'm going to end up like that Baz Lurhman Graduation song (Wear Sunscreen?) where he says, don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 years I know still don't.