Aujourd'hui etait formidable

I figured if I'm not going to be keeping a separate French blog anymore, I might as well integrate more French into my English blog... This entry's title means "Today was great!"

Here are three reasons why:

1. I got to see the two schools where I will be teaching.
2. I had a really decadent (well, by my recent standards) lunch.
3. I found a barn / equestrian center where I will be able to ride!

So here are the details:

This morning I met with Fabienne, my liaison and she drove me to Planoise to introduce me to the principals at the two schools where I will be an assistant. We also met up with Nicola and Kirstie, two other assistants who will also be teaching in elementary schools in Planoise. They're both from England and as of this morning were both without housing.

When I arrived about a week and a half ago, it seemed a little silly to have gotten here so early. But now I am incredibly glad that I did. I ended up finding housing very quickly, but everyone else I have talked to has had a lot more trouble; either the housing they had arranged didn't turn out to be what they planned, or they didn't make any arrangements at all and now can't find anything. I feel both very lucky, and very glad that I got here early.

Anyway, the three of us plus Fabienne went on a little mini tour of Planoise, which is a fairly large neighborhood. It is full of high-rise apartment buildings, "slum" is way too harsh to describe the area, but "low-income housing" definitely fits. The streets are very confusing and I was having a hard time maintaining a sense of direction with the tall buildings. But Fabienne showed us exactly which bus stops we could use and how to get to each of our schools. Mine (Ecole Bourgogne and Ecole Champagne) are a 5-minute walk from each other. I'm going to take the bus there tomorrow morning to get an idea of how long it will take when I start on Monday. The principals at my two schools were very different: one was very friendly and organized, the other seemed a little disinterested. But the disinterested one works at a school where I was introduced to a very warm and friendly teacher who happens to speak very good English, so she can be my go-to person if I have a problem.

After Fabienne dropped us off in the c-v, I made a quick stop home to get some papers (this was in preparation for going to the phone store so I could start the monthly plan in October, but it turns out they need another form from the bank which will take a week -- I'm discovering it's always a week with the bank). It was on the walk home that I succumbed to temptation, in pastry form.

So far I have been very economical and very healthy -- I think the only meal I've had "out" was a salad I ate in a cafe my second full day here (plus the Indian food Steph and Charly treated me to last week). I haven't *gasp* had a single French pastry yet. So, I ducked into a patisserie on my way home and picked up a tartlette saumon et epinard (small quiche with salmon and spinach) and a chocolate eclair. Here's the photo:

Pretty yummy looking, huh? The best part of the day was yet to come though. After lunch I did a little research and figured out which bus line to take to get to the nearest centre equestre I found on the city website. It turns out that the barn itself is a bit of a walk from the bus stop (15-20 minutes), but I got there just fine. It's called Les Ecuries de Chateau Galland and they have quite an extensive facility. When I first walked up the main barn area and office was totally empty. The horses all looked healthy and well-kept, and I wandered a little bit trying to find someone who could give me more information. I made it all the way out to the area, where there were 5-6 people riding. There was a woman in the far paddock bringing in 3 horses, and when she approached I ascertained that she was the director.

After she explained all about the operation to me in her office, she showed me around and introduced me to some of the cavaliers (riders) and the horses. She was very friendly and down-to-earth and seemed willing to accomodate my particular situation (arriving a little after the "season" had started and leaving early). She said that the she has had other foreign riders before, and that in her experience the most difficult part for the Americans especially, is the difference in the style of riding, not in the lack of vocabulary. This could be problematic because I found myself a bit overwhelmed at how few horse-related words I knew in French. These words would come as easily as breathing in English, but I was totally nonplussed when Marie, the director, presented me with an item of tack or started elaborating on the lessons. She showed me a "Learn About Horses" book for young children which I might borrow -- it has all of the basic vocabulary that I'm seriously lacking.

So it looks like I'm going to be able to take lessons once per week for the rest of the time I'm here (except vacations)!! I'm going to ask my family to ship over my riding things so I can get started right away. The barn is sort of far away (25 minute bus ride + 15-20 minute walk), but Marie assured me that some of the others who ride during the Friday 3pm lesson slot live near the c-v and could give me a ride. She actually asked one of the cavaliers who was on their way out to give me a ride today, so I wouldn't have to walk/wait for the bus. Natalie, the woman who dropped me off near the gare, told me that she started riding at Chateau Galland when her daughter was taking lessons there. She said that Marie runs the barn very well and that she has always been pleased with it. I think riding there will be a great opportunity! Not just to ride, which of course would be enough, but Marie mentioned how the same riders come at the same time each week, and so they get to know each other well. I hadn't thought of this as a way to make French friends, but it might just work out that way!

Oh, and one more positive: I had yet another pleasant evening with Steph and Charly. It wasn't anything earth-shattering; we watched the news and a couple of other TV shows together, but we had fun laughing at the spoofs and they explained the linguistic jokes and puns which were a bit beyond my reach. My interaction with them has been very positive so far, and I hope it continues that way!

I hope your day was just as good! A bientôt! (until sometime soon)

Lots of Meandering and A Cool Clock

Hello all! So I didn't quite get to everything today... There were some organizational difficulties getting everyone to not Carrefour, but Casino Géant (which materially is the same thing, sort of the difference between Wal-mart and Meijer). Group shopping is never efficient, and with some people still uncertain about their living situation, decisiveness was not running high. But I did get the things I needed: a few toiletries, toilet paper (we're not out, but I wanted to demonstrate that I'll be providing my half of the communal supplies), and, most importantly, a pillow -- see pictures below. 

From this angle, the pillow enclosed in a purple case (the new one, plus new case) certainly looks brighter:

But it's really only from this angle that you get a full understanding of how excited I am to sleep on my new pillow tonight:

It seems comical now, but originally I was totally prepared to tough it out with the doubled-over psuedo-pillow. But after bringing home my new one, I'm convinced I made the right choice. 

In the afternoon we (a few other assistants and I) had planned to go to the citadel. Unfortunately, the logistics of everyone returning home with their shopping and meeting up again meant we would only have a few hours, which, from what I've heard, would not be enough time. So I offered to show them St. Jean's Cathedral. 

Luck was on our side here, because we arrived just in time to get a tour/explanation of the famous astrological clock located in the cathedral. Here are some of the pictures:

The clock dates from 1860 and has a fantastical number of complications. You can see from these pictures below how the figures (representing hope, faith and charity) were moving as the clock struck 3pm.

Compare these two pictures. Note that before 3pm, the Jesus figure in the top center is standing up with his arms outstretched. As part of the clock's movement at 3pm, the Jesus figure "descends to the grave," and two guards appear on either side (you can sort of see them coming forward in the pic on the right). Then at midnight he will "rise" again.

 

This is one of the many miniature clocks which line each side of the face; they record the time in various cities around the world. This one was labeled "Mexico/Amerique." The numbers in blue on the bottom indicate night-time.

This face records the date of Easter for this calendar year (obviously the year labels have been updated since 1860, but the mechanism itself has not).

These pictures (4 on each side of the clock, I believe) are bordered by dials which offer the time of the tides in the various cities. The really cool part is that the picture moves just like a storybook!

The back of the clock. Surprisingly not as complicated as I expected for something so enormous!

Our group wandering the streets behind the cathedral (Laurie, Candice, Gemma, and Sean). This was before we ran into two other assistants, Kirstie and Nicola, totally by coincidence.

We hiked part of the way up to the Citadel and I got to take some cool shots:

Graffiti is everywhere, unfortunately. It's such a shame to see such beautiful old structures marred by such thoughtless behavior.

This bee has bright blue wings! I thought it was unusual...

The view from my kitchen window. It's not terribly obvious, but you can see the WWII memorial in front of the gare in the middle of the picture, toward the back.

Tomorrow I'm meeting with my liaison to see the schools where I will be teaching. Wish me luck!

PS I have officially abandoned my attempt to keep up a translation of my blog in French. It was a worthy endeavor, but between this blog and my personal journal (which I am writing in French), I need to make sure I'm spending more time living here than recording my life here. Thanks to those of you who humored me for those few brief entries!

New Friends and a Walk in the Countryside

Today was another productive and enjoyable day, but my "run" this morning certainly wasn't the productive part. After the Ultimate practice last night my legs were pretty shot, there was a significant amount of walking during the 35 minutes I was gone this morning...

At 11am I met up with my liaison for the schools where I will be teaching (not to be confused with the advisor from the CIEP (Centre international d'etudes pedagogiques)). The liaison is responsible for the langues vivantes (modern languages) program at a number of schools in the city. The advisor is in charge of the logistics for the assistants (making sure we have places to stay, helping us figure out how to get around the city, etc). All of this is to say that this morning I got to find out more about my schedule and the kids I will be teaching from the woman who knows these things:

#1: No class on Wednesdays or Friday afternoons. Wednesdays because in France younger kids don't go to school on Wednesdays, and Friday afternoons because my liaison wanted me to have the option to take an earlier train if I was going somewhere for the weekend (very considerate).

#2 : Definitely will be teaching kids ages 6-10 years old, in two different schools. I'll be helping in 7 different classrooms, each two times per week, and two other classrooms each once per week. Each class lasts for 45 minutes.

#3 : I will never be the only teacher in the room. But I may be the only teacher in the room who knows any English, and therefore, I'll be responsible for most of the teaching. YIKES! I was very much excited about the "assistant" part, but being the primary teacher intimidates me quite a bit. Luckily the first two weeks are solely observation, and hopefully between that and leaning heavily on my education-major friends, I'll be ready to go once called upon for active duty.

The liaison is also going to take me to the schools on Thursday to show me around and introduce me to the director of each school and the teachers, so I know where to go on my first day (this coming Monday).

After that meeting I hiked up to the gare to catch my train to Liesle (pronounced, wait for it, "Lee-el," trust me, of all of the pronunciations I attempted, none of them was that). A quick 20 minutes later I descended from the train and met Susan, who was waiting with her Cairn terrier Sparky. We walked down to her house, only a few minutes from the train stop. It's a beautiful home -- exactly what I would picture if someone told me they lived in French countryside. She, her husband and I ate lunch on their back patio (surrounded by tressles covered in grape vines). First we started with homemade apple juice (more on that later) and pistachios and then dined on a quintessentially French meal: a salad of fresh greens, potatoes, pieces of chicken, lardons (they sound funny, but they're sort of cross between ham and bacon), tomatoes and cucumber, plus homemade bread and three kinds of cheese. For dessert Susan made an apple and raspberry tarte. Yum!! It was all delicious. Susan and Emmanuel met while they were both at UPenn -- he's French and they moved here after living in Algeria for two years where he was teaching as part of what was then required military service.

Now he works as a consultant for the development of national parks (turning them into visitor-friendly spaces while respecting the environment) and she is a counselor at a private middle school. The original plan was to go for a walk in the forest very near their house -- one of the largest complete forests in France. But Emmanuel had to scout out a site in Mouthe in order to turn in a proposal in less than 48 hours, and he invited us to join him. So we all piled in the car (Sparky included) and drove about an hour to this national park. The map below gives you an idea of how close we were to the border (Mouthe is circled at the bottom left, the part labeled CH = Switzerland):

Even if we had just driven there and driven back, it would have been worth it for the view. But fortunately, we were able to get out and hike around. Emmanuel took pictures of the three buildings on the site (hopefully he'll be able to turn one into a nature center). The landscape was very hilly and exceptionally green. There were lots of coniferous trees, with some deciduous ones sprinkled in too. The elevation was nearly 4,000 ft, so this area gets lots of snow in the winter. For now, there were cows grazing and the tinkle of their bells sounded like wind chimes. Susan told me that the different tones come from differently-sized bells, and the cows are assigned the bells based on the relative rank in the herd (the top dog gets the lowest-toned bell). There were also some horses in a pasture connected to one of the barns: three mares and their foals -- it looked like they were all born this past spring. It was cute how exactly the babies matched their mothers' coloring. We hiked in a big loop for about an hour, then drove back. It was really neat to see so much of the countryside -- the leaves haven't started to change yet, but the autumn sunlight cast a magnificent golden hue over everything.

So, I mentioned homemade apple juice earlier. Apparently every year the Coudels have an day-long apple festival which involves picking bushels of apples from a nearby orchard and using a masher/press/pasteurizer to make over 500 bottles of apple juice and apple cider. This family event has come to include friends too, and they invited me to come to this year's incarnation, which is taking place on Saturday. It's going to be great! And I promise to take my camera this time.

I hope you all are doing well! Tomorrow's plan is to make a quick trip to Carrefour (the French equivalent of Wal-mart, but don't tell them I said that) and then off to explore the citadel and some museums with other assistants.

A demain! (Until tomorrow!)

Flea Markets and Frisbee

Hello all! The past two days have been great -- I've met lots of new people and seen/done a few new things. First, for Sunday:

On Saturday afternoon Charly asked if I would be interested in accompanying him to the vide-greniers (collective garage sale/flea market) the following morning. He and Steph had already mentioned that they frequently go to the ones which are held on Sundays in and around Besançon to look for video games and books, respectively. I obviously have nothing to offer in the video games-advice department, but I thought it might be an interesting experience, so I agreed to tag along. I actually ended up buying a book, Le Premier Jour by Marc Levy. I also bought a set of Allemand pour les Nuls (German for Dummies) CDs. The set was new (still in the wrapping) and I thought it might be a neat way to complete my "learn a third language in a second language" goal. Obviously this one is a bit humbler than my original, world-famous-language-institute plan, but at 2 euros, you really can't beat the price!

So we left our house around 8am (Charly and I, Steph was at her family's house) and drove east for about 10 minutes. There were about 50 vendors set up selling all of the typical flea market items: clothes, books, jewelry, sundry electronics. There were also a few less-predictable items: a giant donkey statue, tires, headlights from a car (but not at the same table as the tires), board games, boat keychain fobs, and more. Charly suggested we go methodically down one side and return by the other. About halfway there was a food vendor's table set up and we each bought a piece of gâteau au ménage, which is apparently a regional pastry. It's a sweet bread, a cross between cake and bread, with a thin layer of sugary glaze on top. Very tasty! We continued, and eventually Charly found what for him constituted a jackpot: a Sega console and 10 games. He bought the console for 25 euros, pleased because he is planning to sell it online for 40.

We were at the first vide-grenier for about 45 minutes, and then drove to another on the other side of Besançon (but equidistant from our house, about 10 minutes). The vendors were much more concentrated here, but I didn't find anything and Charly bought only one game, a Lemmings game. We also ran into Charly's uncle, who lives near by and collects stamps. Sort of an interesting mix of people at the vide-grenier: lots of families, some older people, but mostly younger ones. Charly pointed out one professional vendor, but most of the people there appeared to be locals just trying to clean out their closets and basements.

Sunday afternoon I also got to meet up with some other assistants -- Gemma (from Southampton, England) and Sean (from Helena, Montana), who are both assistants at the same high school in Planoise. I had coffee with these two on Saturday. At that point they were the 4rd and 5th people I knew in Besançon, so I was pretty excited. And then Sunday we met up with Candice (from Michigan). It's sort of nice getting to know people as they trickle in, rather than all at once as we will at the stage d'accueil (orientation) next Tuesday.

And then Monday: I had hoped to check out the horseback riding opportunities today, since so many other things are closed, but alas, the centres équestres (stables) were closed as well. Zut! So, it was pretty much the standard: run in the morning, breakfast, errands, reading, etc. But then I got some good news: details of the practice times/locations for the local Ultimate team. They have practice on Monday and Friday evenings and both locations are sort of in the middle of nowhere, so I asked if someone could give me a ride. Gaëtan, the club president, volunteered to pick me up on his way, at 7:45pm outside the gare. It took about 15 minutes to get there, and the practice took place on what they call terrain stabilisé. I could in no way find a translation for this, and I'd never seen sports intentionally played on gravel before, but that's basically what it was like. Smaller than gravel though, and dustier.

The club is called UC-Vesontio and there were about 18 of us there tonight (including 3 other girls and me). Apparently the club is 5 years old, but most of the team members haven't been playing that long. Gaëtan told me on the way over that they recently lost a lot of veteran players and have acquired a bunch of rookies, so there's a pretty big disparity amongst different players in terms of knowledge of the game. The practice was similar to any I've ever done: warm-up, drills and then a scrimmage. 

Between the drills and the scrimmage though, the two captains called everyone over and began describing some of the basics. However, instead of using a dry-erase board, they used .... Lego men. Seriously! Someone set down cones in a not-at-all-to-scale representation of the field, they plopped down a Frisbee (with one of the handlers' tiny tiny hands touching it) and proceeded to explain a vertical stack, cutting, etc. I can't remember the last time I wanted my camera so badly... the two captains crouched around these little Lego men was hilarious! It was actually pretty effective though, or at least I thought the explanation was clear. 


So then we played!! It was a perfect evening -- in fact pretty much since last Monday, when it rained all day, the weather has been unbelievably great. It's cool, around 55 degrees in the morning, gets up to about 70 at noon, then slowly cools down again. The air is crisp with little humidity. So despite the less than desirable surface, the conditions were really great.


And the players were very friendly! When they heard I was from the US everyone assumed I was studying at the fac (short for faculté, meaning university). I know the 3 other girls are still in school, and I would guess lots of the other players are too. There was one older guy there, but the average age was probably early 20s. Overall, the evening was a huge success. It felt great to play again; although I was really tired by the end. We did drills, then 3v3, then a scrimmage for about an hour with 2 subs for each team, and I'm out of shape! I'm definitely going to go back for the indoor practice on Friday. 

I'm worried that I'm going to be awfully sore tomorrow. The only reason it might be unpleasant is that walking is actually one of my scheduled activities: around noon I'm taking a train to Leisle, a little town only about 20 minutes away. There I'm meeting up with the family of my high school physics teacher's sister (yes, a little tenuous, I know). She invited me over for lunch and a "walk in the forest." I'm very excited! Before that, I'm meeting with my liaison for the school where I'll be teaching, she's the woman who will introduce me to the proper people on Monday when I start. All this adds up to a busy day, so I'd better go to bed.

(PS I know I fudged a little on the word count, I hope you'll forgive me!)