Home!

I made it home!  The Lyon airport was closed all weekend. The strike is still going on, but I think they are planning on letting 70 percent of the flights leave today?

Anyway, I ran into two friends who were also trying to fly to London.  BA put us all on a bus to Geneva. Then we flew from Geneva to London.  I was supposed to have been rebooked on a plane leaving Sunday morning- so spending the night in London - but on the plane to London on Saturday, the flight attendant came up and said they had been able to rebook me on a plane for that night after all! So despite three days of Lyon airport being closed, I still made it home in one day!  Wee!

Closed until further notice?

The Lyon airport was closed today by noon.  Cross your fingers, wish good thoughts, etc that somehow they decide to let some flights (including mine) leave tomorrow - or that they can reroute me through Geneva.

Off to bed - I leave the house at 5h10 tomorrow - touche du bois - unless i wake up to the news the airport is closed.  Technically I could take the next train, but I want to be super early with all these strikes.  Which means even if all goes well, by the time I get home, I will have been traveling for almost 20 hours. I really really hope it's only 20 hours....

But, then again, I'm super super lucky. Most American assistants won't be going home for Christmas.

Going home Saturday (knock on wood)

I'm supposed to go home Saturday! Quelle chance!

However, one or two people are on strike...

1) The TER Rhone-Alpes (aka the regional transport for the region I live in, hence the train I need to get to Lyon) is on strike.  I am hoping enough trains will be running I will still be able to get there. They've been on strike for weeks.

2) The security people at Lyon airport (who take care of security for passengers and bags) will also be on strike starting Friday.  It is suggested I arrive extra early... hopefully that will be enough.

My roommates have very nicely borrowed a car for Saturday morning, and one of them will drive me to Lyon if the trains aren't running at all.  However, not much they can do about the security strike... Wish me luck that all goes well, the strikes are minimal, and no further strikes are added.

six-pack

You know how in the US, if you have well-defined abdominal muscles it's called a six-pack?  In France, it's called "tablettes de chocolat"  - chocolate bars!

http://media.paperblog.fr/i/75/751783/abdos-chocolat-L-1.jpeg

International Cookie Party

Yes, you read that right. Tonight we are having an international cookie party. Everyone has been cooking different little cakes and cookies that are traditional for their region for the winter holidays. Not entirely sure who is coming, so not sure which regions. Germany, Spain and Switzerland are all definite. I am buying gingerbread in the market because I don't have an oven.  Did I mention I love having such an international group of friends?  I will let you know what we eat, hopefully with pictures!

And tomorrow I finally get to skype with my brother. Woot!

Oh health

I swear, I am totally loving France. Even if I haven't been posting much... whoops!

That being said, my health has been acting up, which means more time being a bum. (Hey, sleeping a bit more, drinking tea with friends, and watching movies really isn't that bad. And I haven't missed work - so I'm only being a slacker in my own time.)

It looks like I've had an inner ear infection for a couple weeks. (Hopefully that is why my migraines are also so silly right now. ) I went to the doctor today and he gave me prednisolone, antibiotics and nasal spray. So hopefully things will be good soon! Because a) I am tired of being sick and b) I get to go home for Christmas in less than two weeks (!!!) and I don't want to travel with an ear infection.  Planes and ear infections seem like a bad combo.

Also, Aunt R (granny) sent me a letter!  Wooo! So so incredibly excited!  Yayayayay!   So if anyone talks to her, thank her for me? I am putting her letter in the mail tomorrow.

Love to my family and friends!

Don't Ask, Don't Tell on a Friday afternoon

So my death penalty debate went over pretty well. So last week, I figured a good idea would be reading about Don't Ask, Don't Tell, answering questions (comprehension, vocab, and opinion questions) and getting a bit of a debate going.

The only problem....  although France is usually more conservative in terms of homosexuality than the US, and StÉ is definitely more conservative than boston and NYC (in the area of gays at least)... Well it turns out gays in the military isn't actually in issue in France. In fact, has NEVER been an issue in France.

My students all just looked at me stunned when I asked them, like "Why wouldn't we let gays in?"

  All 45 or so of my students (three different classes) were in total agreement that gays should be allowed in the military and didn't think it was an issue. In fact, when I asked them why some people thought gays shouldn't be in the military, they had no idea.  They said, "Because they are scared of people who are different." "Perhaps they are very conservative." Bahah, even with me pushing, they really had no idea how to answer.

Although, when we talked about different types of discrimination, my students did say that there is definitely discrimination against gays and lesbians in France, but that that attitude is changing. I love how open young people often are. I love getting to see generations and our world changing for the better.

And if my lesson had to flop, this was a pretty awesome reason for my lesson to flop. Great way to end the week

So glad I decided to teach slang

My students walked out of class today at 6pm on a friday speaking English. I don't care if all I heard was, "Hey guys." "What's up?" "Not much" and "Have a good weekend." They left school - in the dark at an hour they usually resent being there -  laughing and speaking English

Are you a high school student?

Yesterday, as I was leaving school, a woman outside the school gates gave me a flyer for a salon d'étudiants.  I looked at it, handed it back, and politely informed her that I am not actually a student.  She looked so incredibly mortified to have mistaken someone on staff for a high school student - her expression and hurried apology were really quite humorous. I just tried to hide my laughter (unsuccessfully) and hoped none of my students saw. Although I supposed they don't need anyone to tell them I look young - I'm sure they've noticed.

Interview

Apparently I am getting interviewed for the school paper this week. I didn't even know they had a school paper.  Commence freaking out about being interviewed in French and then my words being printed for all of the school to read.  Oh well. At least they can't print my accent/pronunciation.

Off to café des langues again! I love monday nights; even when I feel too tired to go, it's always worth it. And then skyping with M, my awesome, awesome cousin! It should be a good night, and then sleeeeep!

Oops! I have a blog?

So here's the thing... i'm doing even worse at blogging this year then I did last year! What a feat! Sorry everyone! (So badly I haven't even told people I have a blog, so I think everyone is about three people...)

Thanks K for reminding me I'm supposed to be writing in this thing.

France is a bit like a roller coaster, but a really awesome roller coaster!  Especially in the beginning when everything was still so new, I was overwhelmed all the time!  Such highs, but also definitely some lows where everything seemed so overwhelming and I wondered who I thought I was that I could move to another country for seven plus months and teach English and speak a foreign language.

But I am just ending my first (10 day) vacation and, although I am not fully done with the overwhelmed bit, I am super happy here.  I am making friends, including spending a lot of time surrounded by German speakers (I am going to try to learn some German - but right now the only thing I can actually say is kanst du beatboxen - which means can you beatbox?; clearly I have a lot to learn).

Break was wonderful! I went to lyon for two day trips!  Went café hopping.  Went to Grenoble for another day trip - and took the tram up to the top of a mountain and got my first real view of the Alps!  Hung out with a German assistant, her family and a Swiss German assistant in the Parc de Pilats for a day (a natural park near here!) where we went for a hike, drank some café, had a picnic and walked around an old monastery!  But see the whole "I should learn German thing"?  As much as it's funny to have the four of them speak German for a while, and then I interject at the end with a big grin and nods and "ja ja ja ja!," I would rather use this as an excuse to pick up a bit of German.  Although they were also awesome about speaking French and English with me - super nice of them :)

It was nice to relax, get to know people, explore the area and see some beautiful and interesting man made and natural things around here.  I had planned to get ahead on lesson planning as well but... oops!  C'est la vie.

People keep saying Saint-É's not that pretty, but....

P.S. I wasn't joking about the begging for recipes bit. Though the turkey escalope i marinated in tomato sauce, olive oil and sugar wasn't half bad.

Part of my exploring today

La Vie Saint-É

So I have arrived in Saint-Étienne!

First of all, I am writing this as I wait for dinner to cook.  Which reminds me that I can cook about three things, and have an enormous fear of giving myself food poisoning by not cooking my meat well enough.  So I would love recipes? Please?

Life is good so far, although overwhelming (I still need to open a bank account, get my birth certificate translated, get a social security card/health insurance, start teaching english, etc.)

I got in on the 21st and was very kindly welcome by Laure, Laurent and their kids!! It was so so so much fun!  (Here's a picture of the water feature we built in the backyard, for example. Not sure this wins me years best baby sitter award though... oops)  I am so lucky to already have such a wonderful family as friends.

The next day I went to Saint-Étienne, where I was welcomed by my wonderful flat mates (S and G).  S is a primary school teacher and principal and his boyfriend (fiancé?) is G, who is a private consultant. (I will find out more when my french is improved.)  They are so lovely and welcoming and kind and easy to get along with/live with.  Also, they like Buffy  -- apparently we are going to watch the buffy musical episode in French, because it's hilarious.  Apparently when Tara (who is supposed to be about 21, for those poor souls who have never watched Buffy) sings "Under Your Spell," the singer they got to do the voice over sounds about 50 and like she is taking homones -- I think this is the main reason to watch it in French.  It's horrible, they said, we should watch it.

Their 110 pound newfoundland is adorable! I find pretty much everything he does funny, considering I think he looks more the size of a bear than a dog. I am not allowed to walk him because he is bigger than me and although he is super gentle and seems to mostly just lay about, if he was stubborn for a minute (which he does) or something happened, I wouldn't win that battle.

Ok, time to eat my over-cooked hamburger (did i mention I would love recipes?). à bientôt