October 19, 2005
I’d rather not have one really long entry, so I spilt this one up into two, like they normally are divided time-wise.
Sunday morning I had realized that I have a two-week vacation, not one week like I have been thinking ever since I got here. I started planning out a vacation. Originally I was going to do this one.
But after thinking about it, I’d rather go thru Switzerland with someone. It’s a beautiful country and I’ve already been there. Plus, I don’t have a guide to Switzerland in which I can look up hotels to stay at and what to stay away from. On Tuesday of next week, I have to go to the town of Lyon to get a physical in order to finish my paperwork for my green card. So from Lyon, I was going to plan a trip. After thinking about it for a little bit, this is what I came up with:
Day One: Valence to Lyon to Beaune to Dijon
Day Two: Dijon to Besancon to Strasbourg to Haguenau (it was in Band of Brothers and 10 minutes away from Strasbourg) back to Strasbourg
Day Three: Strasbourg to Nancy to Paris
Day Four: Paris
Day Five: Paris to Orleans (touring castles)
Day Six: Orleans to Clemont-Ferrand, the town of Michelin tires and other things, back to Valence
So that’s that trip. This weekend on Saturday, I plan on doing this trip with a friend who lives in Montelimar.
So from Valence to Arles to Avignon to Montelimar back to Valence in one day. It’s nice being an hour and a half away from the Mediterranean Sea by train. I’m buying a train pass for people who are 12-25 that gives me 50% off of my tickets so it’s not as expensive as I thought it was going to be.
On Monday, I received my care package from my mom, so needless to say I was jumping around like a little kid when I was opening it. I also received a card from my mom with pictures of my no-so-little because they are all taller than me sisters which was really good to see too. I went to school and had two classes to teach instead of three because one had a test to take. My first class was good; we were covering animals. My second class only consisted of 6 students and they were not enthusiastic at all. I had to rush through the grammar lesson because they all looked like they were going to die. We moved onto music and movies. I’ve learned that French kids like 50 Cent and Johnny Depp. I wasted most of class getting them to talk about movies, which always gets students talking. At the end of class, I had them tell me their name, age, what movie they like and what subject they liked best. Although that seems like an easy thing to do, when you are 14 years old trying to say it in your third language, it’s very hard.
Monday night, I picked up a baguette on my way home in order to make French bread pizza again. I made my dinner, ate it in my room and went back to the kitchen to make baked apples for dessert. When I went back, there were two people cooking in there but it was no big deal. They seemed nice so I stayed and cooked. After talking for about 2 hours, I learned that the younger one (maybe 20 years old) was studying to become a nurse in the local university, and the other guy (I think he was in his early 40’s) is a chef. He ended up giving me dishes, utensils, wine glasses, a glass for juice, and a plate of dinner (homemade pasta and sauce). He told me that I have to start eating like a French person and not a college student. I kind of laughed because I don’t mind what I eat, but I guess my pasta-veggie mess story had been told to a few people a few days. Anyway, it was nice meeting good people for a change. On my way back to my room, I met my next-door neighbor who just moved in the same day. Giles was his name. I didn’t really understand anything else that he said. He spoke too fast. The only other thing I understood that was he wanted to borrow a water bottle. I gave him one and went to my room to watch a movie and go to sleep.
Tuesday, I went to school for class at 9 and there was a fire drill at 9:30, so nothing was really accomplished in class. My second class for the day was canceled so I asked another teaching if I could sit in to make sure that I have 12 hours of work this week. The only problem was I had to sit around the school for about 4 hours of doing basically nothing while I waited for my last class to happen. I ended up getting a classroom key, so now I feel like an official teacher. I no longer have to ask teachers to open my classroom in order for me to start class. I had time to check my e-mail, which I haven’t done in a while. McHugh had e-mailed me saying that Coheed will be in Paris on Dec. 15, which I’m happy about because that’s my last night in France for the year. I’m going to try to get a ticket and some place to sleep for that night in Paris. I somehow got onto a mailing list for good job offers in the Washington/Baltimore area. There are a lot of promising jobs, but I’m not going to apply for anything yet. I think most of the offers to apply are for immediate hire.
I got e-mail from Melissa Wickert. I know I have to get back to a lot of people, including Mrs. Urciuoli, I’m really sorry for taking so long. I have to sit down and make a list of things I have to do on the internet because I always forget once I get to the internet café. After work, I came home and heated up some pasta and the chef was in the kitchen once again, but making potatoes and mushrooms. I talked to him for a little bit and more and more people came into the kitchen. He piled on potatoes and mushrooms on my plate and went back to his room. I saw the Belgian girl in the kitchen too. She said that she tried to invite me to a beer tasting last Thursday but I wasn’t in my room. She invited me to salsa lessons every Thursday at a nearby bar. I’m happy she speaks English because my French is still so-so.
Wednesday, I plan on waking up, taking a shower and doing a load of laundry. I found my missing sock so I’m happy. I’m going to try to go to a different internet café because the one I’m going to is just too expensive. A new one opened up by the train station and I figure I’ll go there after lunch. I don’t think there’s anything new. While babysitting this weekend, I weighed myself – 56 kg – that means I’ve lost 5 lbs. I’m excited about vacation coming up this Friday. I’m going to update with pictures on Sunday of my trip on Saturday. Oh yeah, the Democratic Party president for my town called my house because I showed interest in running for town council. It seems like I’m going to get the party nod. :) Since I’m going to be traveling next week, I won’t be answering my room phone after Tuesday morning until I’m back. Don’t know when that is, if I find an interesting place to stay on my trip, I’m going to keep an open schedule for exploration. Also, before my parents or Phil panic, my cell phone may or may not have reception in the northern border of France near Germany. The French countryside is also an iffy area when it comes to cell phone reception. Don’t worry, I’ll check in every once and a while. :) Time is starting to fly, probably because I have plans for vacation. Oh yeah, I was just told the week I come back from vacation, there will be no school that Friday to have another vacation. The French know how to live, always going on vacation; the only thing that would make it better for me would be if my family and friends were with me here. That would be the life. Oh well, I’ll be home before I know it and it will good to see my family, the puppies, my friends, and last but most definitely not least, Phil. I miss everyone so much, but I got to keep optimistic with only have 58 days till Christmas vacation. :)