Check out my sister's blog!

Credit where credit is due!

Head on over to Mary's blog to read other amusing tidbits about France (oh yes, she's funnier than I am)

I've put the link >>>>>>>>>>on the side so you can find it easily :)  And yes, she's had the blog for a very long while, and being the nice sister I am, I only remembered to post a link a few days ago...oops!

Still, now you have it!

Cheers!
~Laura

BTW, check out this new song by Celine Dion (ok, well it's not new, but I keep forgetting to post it--I heard it on a bus in Luxembourg)

I'm back!

Christmas was absolutely wonderful!  The group was comprised of some of the nicest guys and gals on the planet--we took this Christmas at neck-breaking speed, but I couldn't have had a better Christmas abroad :)

I can't go into details quite yet--still catching up on sleep from spending the night in Sacre Coeur!

Highlights that you will hear about:

--the ins and outs of visiting Domremy-la-Pucelle and St. Joan of Arc's house
--magnificent little restaurants in Paris :)  Though I can't take credit for this one; Jonathan was the expert
--WWI battlefields, destroyed villages, trenches
--how I got invited to a French family's house for a Christmas apperitif, which was more like a meal...
--my tour, interview, and feature article all about me and Mary and our visit to a lycée professionnel

Gotta run! Until later!

~L

Christmas preparations!

No time for pictures--they're still on my camera--but I wanted to quickly update about what we've been doing for Christmas here abroad!

Christmas in Verdun!  That's about the best way to describe it.  Not quite like home, but super fun and exciting and different.

On Friday I went with Mary to teach a few classes--first at the collège and then running really quickly up to the lycée to play some Christmas vocab games (so much fun! They're a lively bunch).  Then we had a tour of they lycée with the group of kids who write the journal--I imagine headlines reading something like: American Twins Visit Lycée.  We were like superstars--they took bunches of photos and we learned all kinds of French anatomy vocab from the medical assistants class.  Then they interviewed us about gun control in the US--snickering all the while at our grammar.  Whatevs.

Lesson learned: We went out to dinner with Jonathan at a restaurant that opens at 7pm.  Because we were starving, we went at 7:15pm--had the place to ourselves...until all the French people arrived at 8:30pm.  Never be early--for anything!  It was super amazing food, though!

Saturday we went to Mass with the guys--all the old people wanted to talk to us and find out where we were from and told us how much they hoped to see us at Christmas eve midnight Mass.  Very sweet.

My computer is running out of battery, so you will have to wait until later to read how we braved the rain to visit Domremy la Pucelle, ate at a restaurant that was locked and saw a church that was closed for Christmas!

Cheers!
~Laura

Christmas is almost here!

...and I'm super excited to be spending it with some of the coolest people on the planet!

So, what have I been doing this week?

--staring at skype for 45 minutes waiting for technological problems to cease so I could just talk to my kids :(  I don't know if I've mentioned my visioconferences that I do with rural schools...it's not worth mentioning, something always goes wrong somewhere.
--rejoicing that one of my visios was cancelled!  And, I get to go visit the school in January with another assistant--so I'm super excited!
--listening to my visios singing to me over skype "Santa claus is coming to town."  Super cute! (except for the fact that I couldn't hear the music very well and started clapping before it was over...whatevs, they forgave me.
--Ugly sweater party with the assistants....nuff said!  Another party tomorrow! woohoo!
--I have finally acquired a fountain pen. Joy abounds. Now I understand the French addiction...
--Didn't mean for this to be so far down on the list, I saw Le Hobbit: Un Voyage Inattendu :P  Luckily it was in English with subtitles (the translations were sometimes amusing!)  Sometimes we were the only ones laughing in the theater...awkward.  Some English humor is simply lost on the French :)
--Saw a French Christian music artist in concert--Julien Carton.  Check him out, he's pretty cool.  I saw another group too, but I can't remember what they were called :(
--Favorite part of the concert experience: When we got there, I couldn't hear everything the lady said--it was about a toy drive that they were doing--so I asked her to repeat and that I was American.  Then they all started practicing their English--slow French would have been better :)  It was cute.  The guys selling cds must have heard because when we went to go look at the cds, this one kid started explaining everything in English (bien effort!) and then said there wasn't anything in English...I reminded him that we spoke French--then he reexplained everything again in French.  It was fun and amusing!
--Met a young adult group at the Cathedral--and they're super awesome! And super international!  Not only did we have every continent covered (thanks to me being the North American!) we also had a bunch of Africans, and many different countries from Europe.  We had an intense discussion of Corinthians--which, let me tell you, is hard to do in French!  Then we had some potato pie thing made by the Spanish guys--it was really good, I only wish I could remember the name!

That's enough for now! Got a few more classes to teach about Christmas before I can go celebrate!

Cheers!
~Laura

To the guys shouting phone numbers...

...out of their car window last night--I can only say this: I don't do numbers that fast.  Lol, it might have been more flattering if it hadn't been so cold outside and the fact that Mary recognized the kids from her lycée!

I must be looking and acting more French these days--as we were walking past Notre Dame yesterday (yes, the one in Paris--more on this phenomenon later) a group of young adult tourists (probably from Britain) asked me to take their pictures.  The request was accompanied by all kinds of gestures and camera clicking noises--hysterical.  They didn't seem to catch on to verbal cues, such as "Sure" and "Are you ready?"  I finally broke down and told them I wasn't French (after they embarrassed themselves with awkward "merci"s).  Peals of laughter.

Apparently the current response for neglecting to speak French whilst in Paris is : I'm an American; I don't understand what you're saying--directly quoted from two dudes trying to avoid someone clipboarding.

Since I was visiting Mary this weekend, we took the opportunity to get up at 5am in order to see Paris for the day.  Here's what we did:

-Morning stroll along the Seine
-Seeing the Eiffel tower looking chipper in the mist
-Mass in Notre Dame on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception (now how cool is that?)
-Bulldozing our way through the massive line in order to get to aforesaid Mass
-Visiting with great friends in Paris (the fact that I can say that so flippantly makes me feel like one of the "in"crowd--just sayin')
-Stroll along the Champs Élysée Christmas Markets sipping Vin Chaud (blanc, always blanc)
-Sampling "Le Mont Blanc" dessert at Angelina (a famous salon de thé)
-Getting squashed in the metro (though this isn't new!)

All in all, not bad!  Though our train didn't get back until 10... but luckily we spent more hours in the city than on the train, so I'm still grateful.  Nice weekend, but now I have to finish the 2 or 3 remaining lessons that I neglected this week.  Only two more weeks left to teach and only one week left to plan before Christmas--and WHAT a Christmas we're planning!  Can't wait!

Cheers!
~Laura

Thanksgiving!

Because everyone worked on Thursday, all the assistants from Nancy and the surrounding towns got together yesterday to celebrate thanksgiving--and boy did we celebrate in style!  Take a look:

All 20 of us had a fabulous time--there were American assistants, of course, as well as the assistants from Australia, Jamaica, England, Scotland, Germany, Canada, and a Frenchman! It remained traditional with an international feel (those of you  who are sharp might have noticed the oodles of Haribo that the German assistants brought! Yum!)

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

Cheers!
~Laura

The Hitchhiker's Guide to...Lorraine!

I really must apologize for the lack of posting.  Internet here is terrible at night so blogger won't even load for me to write something.  Yeah, even Google won't load sometimes...

I should go into some recent facts/stories, but first, pictures from Dijon:

Bourgogne is all about wine and mustard--which my sister and I purchased in large quantities :)

Lessons that I have learned in the two months that I've been here:
Fact:
--When someone tells you that there is only one train per day, believe them.
Story:
--My friends and I missed the train from Verdun, and between making frantic phone calls to the German assistant's mother, attempting to hitchhike, and asking random people for help, we found ourselves in Bar-le-duc for the day.

Fact:
--When you drag a suitcase all around town with you, someone is bound to think you're foreign.  And when they find out you are, everyone else in town knows.
Story:
--Everyone in Bar-le-duc knew that we were the three foreigners wandering around town (they must have!)  Everyone was talking to us...especially the guy who owned the couscous shop where we said we'd come back for lunch, but didn't, and whom we randomly ran into in another cafe..after we had already eaten lunch.  In typical French style, we were all offered language lessons by the gentlemen in the cafe--the attitude must be learned too, because my students are just starting to try it out on me...cheeky!

Cheers for now!  Don't forget your towel!

Toussaint!

Time has been flying by!

These past couple of weeks were vacation (I keep having bad dreams about having to go back and teach sooner--I've never had a break that was this long before!).  Toussaint means All Saints--so when people talk about France being secular, they still, in fact, keep certain religious holidays.  For example, on Toussaint, I wanted (actually needed) to buy food.  Couldn't.  Nothing was open--zero, nada.  It's the same policy on Sundays--everyone likes to be with their family, so shops close up.  Weird, but super cool!

Anyway, I spend a week in Luxembourg and a few days in Dijon.  Here are some photos, and maybe I'll post some stories about adventures later (remember, I'm on vacation!)

Luxembourg:

Royal Wedding!

Today I saw the royal families and heads of state from Denmark, Norway, Jordan, Luxembourg, and Belgium because I visited Luxembourg today--which was the wedding day of Prince Guillaume of Luxembourg to Countess Stephanie of Belgium (now Princess Stephanie)!

This was my first time seeing royalty--and it was quite the experience!  We waited outside the Cathedral for a while, waiting for the ceremony to end--the civil ceremony was yesterday, and because the Grand Ducal family of Luxembourg is Catholic, they had a religious ceremony today.

I wasn't in a good place for getting pictures (I did get a picture of the bride, but from far away with a car door across her face) so here are some from the internet:

(Can you believe I was just across the street?)

I did, however, get some pictures of the other royal guests, as well as a ton from the army as they paraded past--quite impressive!

Here are some photos of the beautiful little country of Luxembourg--I shall definitely be coming back!!

 Every little shop and restaurant had a picture of the newlyweds with flowers and congratulations!  It was so charming!  Everyone seemed genuinely happy--without all the media hype!  Apparently the Grand Duke takes walks around town and talks to his subjects--I'm so glad to have been a part of this glorious day!

Teaching!

Bonjour!

Yes, I know it's been far too long, my friends!  I've been so busy this week, I hardly had time to breathe--ok, maybe not, but you get the idea :)

I have 14 classes each week, which means a lot of preparation, and a lot of energy.  Did I mention it's thoroughly rewarding?  The kids love me--before school starts, I hang out in the school yard and usually a group forms around where I'm standing, and they all begin to pester me with questions and correct my grammar :)

Today I taught "les petits"--a group of the youngest (probably 1st grade by American comparison).  I gave them American flags to color and they kept asking me what color stripe came next, red or white, or if they could color the stars green and yellow.  They didn't know much about geography or even about France--but at least they knew that les Etats-Unis is really far away :)

As much as I love working with kids, the one drawback is that they are always sick.  Now, me too.  I think I've been staying up too late doing lesson plans...and whatever...I knew I was going to get sick.  It's inevitable.  One lesson I learned from Study Abroad is that everyone gets sick--better get it over with quickly before it mutates into the Black Death.  I don't begrudge the kids though--it's kinda cute to see about half the class get up every five minutes for a tissue at one end of the room and clamber over backpacks to throw it in the trash at the other side of the room until la maîtresse starts yelling at them--yep, they yell over here.  At first I was surprised, but the kids don't seem to mind--so I guess they've become used to it.

For now I'm just going to lay low, get better, and starting thinking about what I'm teaching next week.  I'm hoping I'll start a rhythm and a pattern for re-using some of the materials (did I neglect to mention that each class is DIFFERENT?)  So far, so good.

By the way, I saw a film recently: Asterix et Obélix--a traditional French comic turned into a live-action film.  Totally hilarious and I was able to understand big chunks of it (not perfectly, by any means). 

Ok, back to my tea!

Cheers!

What a week!

Bonjour!

This past week was orientation (as you can probably tell from my last post!)

Wednesdays, for some reason, no one has school--I'm beginning to think that's going to be my laundry day :)

Thursday, I visited my schools (in all four different locations!)  In the last school, I was standing in the office as all the kids were coming in from recess.  One of the little girls crept up to the door, peered in and said "Bonjour?" so I said a bonjour back.  She scuttled back to her line crying "Elle est là! Elle est là!" (she is there!) Super cute--I'm a celebrity, I guess.  A teacher promptly came over and closed the door.

Friday was more orientation stuff and we had several presentations on how to do "visioconferences" via skype--it's a program for rural schools that don't have reliable public transportation for the assistants to visit them in person.  I've got three schools.

All in all, I think I'll be working with about 12 different teachers... who all use different methods...

Then, after orientation was over, I ran over to the train station to go to Verdun to visit Mary!  It rained all day Saturday, so we sat around playing cards, watching movies, talking, and playing darts.  But here's a couple of cool pictures:

Just another day in Nancy...

I applaud people who can cook on a hot plate.  It's definitely not easy if you want to do something other than boil water.  I tried doing a variation on fried rice--sounds easy right?  Not when you can't control the temperature.  Still, it tastes great.

This week began orientation for the assistants--I finally got to meet all of the primary assistants around Nancy (quite an awesome group, if I do say so myself!)  Long story short, I'm getting one of the German assistants as my flatmate--the only language we speak in common is French, though she's excited to learn a bit more English, and I might pick up some German :)

Mary's visit was fun and interesting--we explored a bunch of parks around Nancy.  One of them actually had a free zoo in it.  Orientation yesterday took us all over the city, and at the end, Mme bought us all some croissants--because she thought we all looked nervous.  Seriously, the administrative people are super nice!

Notes of Interest:
--I've stocked some Mirabelle jam...will let you know the details when I try it :)
--Internet here is a battle all it's own...for now, I'm winning...
--The pile of paperwork is slowly becoming manageable with the magnificent help of the administrative people around here (everyone has a title, and if I could remember them all, I'd tell you)
--I received a fountain pen as a gift, minus the ink, of course (as well as a ruler with only centimeters on one side...though it wouldn't have killed them to also print inches...)
--I also received a note pad--a map of France covering every single page...not quite sure if it was vanity or not...major cities and rivers are marked.
--Trying to branch out and explore more cheeses...I'll let you know how that goes...
--If I didn't tell you before, baguettes are AMAZING

Cheers!
~Laura

Mon Appartement--c'est orange!

Nancy!

I've been disconnected for a while--I didn't get internet in my apartment until yesterday evening.

But, I'm back now!!

So far, it's been raining on and off for three days--which significantly lowers my motivation to go exploring.  Today I finally ventured out again for some groceries.  I have to say, Carrefour is absolutely AMAZING!  Those people have everything--and super cheap!  So now I'm happily munching on some super cheap, but super delicious french bread--America seriously have to get its act together about bread and cheese.  This baguette is slightly crisp on the outside, delectably soft on the inside, slightly chewy and bursting with flavor--and the SMELL...ahh...it fills my apartment up with goodness :)

My landlady is super nice--at first when I got to my residence, there wasn't anything much in it (which I wondered about, seeing as how the internet described the kitchen as fully equipped).  After I signed the contract and everything, she took me over to a cabinet that was loaded with pots, pans, cups, glasses--all sorts of good stuff--and she asked me what I wanted.  Do I make crêpes? Here, have a crêpe pan--seriously, that's how good it was.  I think I'll be sharing all the stuff with my flatmate (when she gets here)--but there's probably enough service for four people: coffee mugs, tea cups and saucers, bowls, plats, smaller plats, serving bowls, 4 pots, 2 pans, tons of cutlery, a grater, bottle opener, 4 wine glasses, 2 regular glasses...starting to get the picture?

Plus, she also gave me a whole box of books, workbooks, worksheets, flashcards, stickers, and other stuff that a previous assistant left behind.

I've been adjusting to living in the city--though it's so much better than Paris!  Not that Paris was bad, I just value quiet at night, seclusion, and peace--and a life away from drunk people!  The other young people seem really nice--people will say "bonjour!" to me as I cross the courtyard, even when I don't know them.  As I was dragging in my big suitcase (I live on the American 4th floor, no elevator) this guy met me on the stairs and helped me carry it up--all the way!  By then I was so tired from dragging my suitcases (and helping with my sister's) through taxis and trains and all the way from the train station (mind you, I had a good 90-100 pounds of stuff with me in two suitcases and a backpack).  I'm just so grateful!

Then there's the staff--super nice.  One of the ladies at the front desk is really nice--I think she might be of Spanish origin, because she rolls her "r"s--and she also speaks a little English.  So between her accent in French and English, and my inadequate mumblings, we somehow get through!  My landlady did compliment me on my French, saying that most Americans that she gets just give her a dumb stare when she asks them questions--I felt dumb for not understanding everything she said, but I got the majority, so hey, not doing too bad!

Phew! That was long! That's all for now!

God is good!!

Cheers!
~Laura

Paris!

So...what should I talk about first?  The phone fiasco, getting lost, or the catacombs?

Ok, I'll start with the phone.  First, I must say that I'm slightly proud of myself for buying a phone card in French without any major glitches, or the dude behind the counter looking at me like I'm a weirdo speaking a language from another planet.

That being said, I am not proud of myself for conducting the transaction with very few words and a lot of pointing :p  I did, in fact, comprehend most of what the guy said, even if all I could do in response was shrug, point, and nod.

Another disclaimer: it is very easy to get lost in Paris if you believe your destination is to the East of where you are, when it really lies to the West.  Lesson learned.  We went all the way around a bunch of streets and then wound up in the same place that we started.  Whatever.  In study abroad class in college, they told us to get lost.  Mission accomplished.

After getting lost a couple more times and remembering how to use the metro, we visited the Shrine of the Miraculous Medal and then headed South to the catacombs.  Coolest place everywhere (and maybe a little creepy).

What I gather, from reading the signs in French (I tried not to read the English ones), there were a bunch of quarries beneath Paris that began collapsing in the 1800s, so they started adding pillars and rocks for stability.  Later, to prevent the spread of disease, they removed bones from the cemeteries and brought them down to the catacombs (lining all the walls and pillars with bones).  I might put up some pictures later (for now, you can google it).  If you've ever seen the Fr. Brown movie, you'll know what I'm talking about.

Some interesting facts about the French (from observation):
-They LOVE parks and gardens.  Other than bars, parks are THE place to hang out, especially if you're a teen/young adult or toddler.  Imagine, you and your friends after school, sitting by a famous fountain smoking a hookah---not kidding, they were out there doing it today :)

-This one should have been number one: French children are ADORABLE.  They toddle around saying cute things that I can actually understand.  And they all have scooters.  Chasing pigeons is also a well-loved pasttime :)

-Apparently Frenchmen love to sing when they are drunk.  Mary and I heard them outside last night--and if we hear them again, I'm totally recording it (it's hysterically funny to hear them all burst into song for about two lines, and then stop, only to pick up where they left off five minutes later).

-Scarves and jackets are soo in right now!  For everyone. Guys back home don't really wear scarves, except in the winter, so seeing all these men in suits with scarves was a little shocking.  In general, guys seem more well-dressed over here--or I should say, more particular about their appearance.  You don't really see even teenagers walking around with tee-shirts and ripped jeans hanging too low.  The women, too, are also dressed up nicely with jackets and scarves, but hardly any jeans.  I'm just glad I fit those two other jackets and extra scarves into my suitcase!

Cheers!
~Laura

Bonjour France!

Yes!  I'm here!  I made it!

Can I speak French yet...no.  My brain absolutely refuses to wake up, even though I think I got around 3 hours of sleep on the plane.  I'm still not sure what to do about the food situation--the airline food was terrible (leaving me feeling terrible) and it's lunchtime here, but almost breakfast back home... so I know I should eat something, but I don't feel together enough to go searching for something.

Customs and all the airport stuff was a breeze, the people here at the hotel are really nice--but according to the lady at reception, we were waaay overcharged for our taxi (though according to Rick Steves, it was just about right).

I'm just glad we got here in one piece!

Next on the agenda: food, phone, money, sleep!!!

Cheers!
~Laura

Good-bye America!

Here I am, putting the last couple of things in my suitcases (which are, by now, stuffed to capacity).  Leaving this time is a little bit different than it was two years ago--I know I've procrastinated with the packing a bit more, and the process seems a little more hectic than it did the last time.

Fun story: I decided to sew a new dress to take with me.  I began on Monday.  Now, keep in mind that I had the entire summer to complete such a project, but I waited until the very last week to do it...not to mention that before I could sew this dress, I had to finish sewing another dress that I had started so I could change the thread in the serger :)

I finished the second dress yesterday (though not without some kind assistance from my mother!)  I never considered myself much of a seamstress, but I just made two dresses in the past seven days...not bad!

These past few weeks have brought me many things--long visits with friends, going away bonfires, and well wishes from complete strangers!

I'm almost reluctant to leave so many good people and wonderful friends, but I'm also terribly excited to be going to Europe again!  Mary and I have a ton of trips planned--so keep stopping by for some awesome stories and cool pictures!

Good-bye everyone!  The next time you hear from me, I'll be in la belle France!

Cheers!
~Laura

Visa!

...and no, I do not have a new credit card :)

My received my visa in the mail yesterday--it turned out better than I thought it would.  When you take a photo for the purpose of getting a passport (or a visa) it usually looks horrible...horrible beyond belief.  This one...eh...not so bad.

I'm just grateful to finally have my visa in my hand.  Departure is in about a month--so now I'm starting to get a little more motivated about packing.  Suitcase shopping is next on the list :)

Cheers!
~Laura

So it's been a while...

Almost a month since my last post!

Nothing much to report yet--I had my visa appointment (which was way easier than I thought it was going to be).

One thing I know I already dislike is bureaucracy--copy after copy of document upon document (plus translations)--however bureaucracy comes with dealing with any government agency (so I really shouldn't be surprised at all the paperwork).

While I'm waiting for several important emails to come back, I'm just trying to keep from packing! 

Excited? Very!

~Laura

The Château d'If exists...

...and I am totally planning a visit!  (you know, it's the prison from The Count of Monte Cristo!)

This, my friends, is Nancy

L'arrêté de nomination à Nancy!

Salut!

I wanted to make you all aware that I am now in possession of a mildly-confusing document which says that I can work in France!  I've been posted in Nancy (which totally brings back memories of reading Nancy Drew stories...)

Anyway, this is when the real fun begins--contacting schools, residences, visa appointments...

Just another day in the life of :)

Bienvenue!

I finally decided to create a single blog to document all of my experiences in France.  In 2010, my sister and I worked on a joint blog to document our study abroad experiences in Canterbury, UK, but we both decided that for this next adventure, we need to write on our own blogs.

I am still waiting on my arrêté de nomination from the French government--it's my work contract.  So until then, I don't even know which town I'm going to be in!

I look forward to sharing this adventure with you!  Stop by often!

Cheers!
~Laura