food & wanderings

I have a tv in my room so from time to time, I’ll watch French tv instead of watching HIMYM again (I’m in the middle of season 4 and I started watching from the beginning ever since I moved into my studio). Some of the channels show American shows, like 7^th Heaven (7 à la maison), Smallville, How I Met Your Mother, Friends, Glee, and the Simpsons. It’s always interesting to watch them dubbed in French. The voices seem like they tried to make them very similar to the original voices. I watched a couple episodes of The Simpsons, but I just could not stand Marge Simpson’s voice. It’s way too rapsy and it just sounds kind of creepy. Also, I found it interesting that Glee is still in English. I suppose that they can’t really dub all of the songs, so that’s understandable. Also, when I was flipping through channels last weekend, I noticed that the movie Bad Boys was still in English.

Despite the colder weather (although it has been around the 60 F, so it’s not terribly cold), I don’t get the same feeling of fall like I would normally get in Virginia. Around here, I don’t see the leaves changing colors—no red, yellow, or orange leaves all over the place.

One thing that I’ve noticed around here is the big use of reusable bags. At the grocery store, after they scan it all, they just slide it down and you are the one that’s supposed to put in your bag. Also, if you don’t have your own bag, you have to ask for them and they cost 3 centimes. Also, at Auchan, the store comparable to a Wal-Mart, you have to put in one euro (coin) into this little device that’s attached to get a shopping cart. Once the euro is in, you can unlock it from the others and then you take your euro back when you return the cart. I don’t know if that description makes any sense at all, but I found it very weird.

On Thursday, we had another orientation in Lille with assistants in the region, but we were split up into lycée, college, and primaire again and we discussed things about our observations and teaching techniques, etc. We got a free lunch in the school’s cantine—mine consisted of an entrée (more like an appetizer) (salami and tomatoes), a juice box, a dessert (bananas with coconut and chocolate), a yogurt, bread, cheese, and then the plat principal—a hot dog sliced open, stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon, which is apparently a regional specialty, frites, and veggies. That just sounds sooo French, right?! The teachers were also very nice by providing us with coffee, tea, and cookies in the middle of the afternoon—it was definitely much needed.

After the orientation, I met up with the other Béthune assistants—our little “family” and we had dinner together. We felt bad for our waiter because he seemed to be the only one, but then we realized that it was probably normal since everybody’s not in a rush here. We actually had to leave in a rush because the last train to Béthune leaves at 8:42 pm (so early!) and so after inhaling my crème brulée (so good… wish I could’ve enjoyed it more), paying him and telling him that the change was his tip, we literally ran from the restaurant to the train station. I realized then that I am seriously out of shape and was afraid that my crème brulée would come back up, but we made it on the train with a few minutes to spare. I know we definitely looked like crazy Americans (and a Canadian) running through the square of Lille… and I’m pretty sure we were yelling at each other in English too, so of course we drew attention to ourselves. Oh well. 

crème brulée

The other day, I got mistaken for a student. The school system here is very different than in the US, and so some students leave earlier in the afternoon, depending on their schedule. I was leaving the school and there was a line of students getting their agendas checked at the gate. I was right behind the students, so I got asked what level I was in. I told the person checking the agendas that I’m actually the American assistant, and he responded with a quick “Excusez-moi” and let me through.

On afternoons where I don’t work late classes, I usually end up walking and wandering with one of the other assistants. On Friday, Melissa and I walked to the cemetery, which had a special section for soldiers of the war. Afterwards, we walked basically to the edge of town and then walked back (with all of this walking and uneven streets, I’m definitely going to wear out all of my shoes). 

Yesterday, Yvonne, Melissa, and I decided to check out the art exhibits of “Le Louvre à Béthune.” They were in two different places, one in Chapelle St. Pry (an old chapel which is often used now for art exhibits) and one in the old Banque (also now used for art exhbits and cultural events). They both were free and in Chapelle St. Pry, they had different works that were all about “Les Trois Grâces.” The exhibit in the old Banque was more contemporary. Afterwards, we wandered over to the Jardin Public (a public park) and played on whatever playground equipment we had there and then eventually made our way over to the Gare de l’Eau/Parc Fluvial, which is basically a park surrounding a body of water (Lake? Canal?). It seems like the type of park where everybody goes to run, ride their bikes, or even go fishing (although the water was super dirty…)

rainbow at the Jardin Public

Gare de l'eau/Parc Fluvial

I think I’m going to do more wandering next week, during our first break (Vacances de Toussaint—All Saints Day) and maybe take some day trips out to some other towns in the region. This coming weekend, I’m going to meet Aisa in Amsterdam, so I’m really excited for my first Euro trip and to see Face!

This week is my last of observations… and I only have a few more classes to see and I’m going to start planning my own lessons… after break I’ll have my own classes… eep! Also, I wonder if I should start “smizing” more. I had read somewhere that Europeans don’t smile as much and they might start to think you’re crazy if you smile all the time. I wonder if my constant smiling during my Q&A sessions in class weirded out any students. Plus, I’ve noticed that in the teacher’s area in school, we will always say bonjour or bonsoir in passing, but for the most part, it sounds more monotonous coming from the other teachers, especially if I don’t really know them. I also have to make note of the time of day, because others actually do say bonsoir after a certain time.

So now, I am seriously contemplating going back to the boulangerie/patisserie tomorrow since I’m almost finished with the loaf of bread that I bought yesterday. I can’t help it… the bread is just so good and I eat it all the time with Brie and strawberry jam. Plus, if you don’t it within a few days, it gets all hard and stale. Also, on a food related note, I have realized that I have eaten more frites here in the past 3 weeks that I would normally do back home in the US.

It’s weird to think that I’ve been here in France for only 3 weeks. Three weeks ago, I was in Paris. It honestly feels like I’ve been here forever. My French conversation skills still need work though…

À tout à l’heure! x

"Bull. Bull. Bull."

In one of the 2nde (equal to freshmen) classes yesterday, after the typical Q&A session, the teacher had me read words out loud for a phonetics lesson. Some words were cat, bull, bee, and hippopotamus. First of all, I felt a lot like Ted in the clip above. Each time I repeated a word (slowly and enunciating of course), it started sounding weird to me.  Secondly, it's pretty amusing to hear all the students try to pronounce hippopotamus with zee French accent.

Speaking of French accents, one time, a student asked me: "What do you hate?" But of course, with their accent, they didn't pronounce the 'h.' So I immediately responded with, "What did I eat?" The teacher then quickly corrected me and I felt stupid. I hope that the students didn't really catch on to what had just happened.... oops!

Le beffroi (belfry)

This weekend, there was a medieval fair in the centre-ville, complete with jousting and the smell of fresh horse poop. They had some animals-- lots of different birds, some sheep, goats, and donkeys. They also had various tents showing some artifacts from the medieval times. The best part, of course, was the jousting- with a good team and a bad team. Of course, we had to root for last year's champion who was apparently from Béthune. Of course all the fights were staged, but it was still pretty awesome to watch.

jousting!

I also discovered a bookstore that's right across the street from me. It's called Le furet du nord, and I think it's a chain because I remember seeing one in Lille. It's interesting because furet means ferret... so ferret of the north? Also, I'm pretty sure that jouer au furet means the same thing as playing monkey in the middle. I'll have to go there sometime soon to get a folder to fit all my papers, since all the paperwork I have is slightly too long for my UVA folder.

I finally went grocery shopping today after my last class (which is from 5-6 pm!) and finally stocked up on food and bought a bottle of wine (so cheap!). Also, at Carrefour market, they sell liquor too. So unlike in the US, you can buy liquor at your local grocery store... interesting. I'm excited to finally have some sort of real food to eat... I'm tired of eating yogurt and sandwiches all the time. I'm going to the bakery tomorrow to get some freshly baked bread! Every time I walk into the bakery, it's so hard to resist buying all the delicious looking sweets they have!

nomnoms!

I'm thinking about doing a lesson on American slang/more familiar phrases. Any suggestions of (appropriate) phrases I should teach them (ex: bromance)?

Thursday, October 6, 2011

So I have almost a week’s worth of events/not-really-that exciting events to blog about!

First off, I am writing my blog entries on Microsoft Word on my macbook at my studio so I won’t be sitting at the school’s computer all day long. It’s actually kinda difficult for me to type this since my fingers have gotten used to the French keyboards. On the French keyboards, the Q and A keys are switched, the M key is where the ; key is, and you have to press shift to type numbers and other simple things, like a period. Odd.

This week has been my first official week of working as an American assistant. For now, I’m observing different English classes of all different levels. So far, I’ve observed 7 different classes, at least one of each level (seconde, première, terminale: seconde is the youngest and terminale is the oldest, the ones that will take the bac- a huge final exam).  So far, the classes have mostly consisted of a few minutes of doing a recap of the last lesson or correcting their homework and then there’s a Q&A session with me. Sometimes I’ll do a little introduction, other times I let them start asking the questions right away. Aside from the basics (name/age/where I’m from), the students have asked about my hobbies, traveling, my preferences in music,  TV, and movies, some differences and similarities between the US and France, what I think about France, and also my family. I had forgotten that it’s pretty normal here to ask others what their parents do. The first time I was asked that question, I was caught off guard, but then remembered that it wasn’t impolite.

Some other interesting questions that I’ve been asked are: “Do you like Justin Bieber?” “Do you like Gossip Girl?” “Are you married?” “Do you have children?” “What do you think of Obama?” “What do you think of DSK?” “Are schools/towns in the US the same as they are in the movies?” “Does everybody have a gun in the US?” “Are you single/do you have a boyfriend?” Funny thing is that mostly girls have asked the last question. In my first class, after the first guy asked me if I was single, another boy then asked, “Ah, he is good looking, no?” Of course, I laughed nervously and didn’t answer the question, haha. Also, in the class today, after I said that I don’t have a boyfriend, one guy shouted out, “Yes!” Once again, awkward, nervous laughter. At least the teachers warned me that I would hear that question very often.

Each class so far has a different dynamic. I’ve been in classes with tons of quiet students, others with a handful of students who will do all the talking, and then today’s class was a lot louder, but they asked a lot of different questions. They were terminale, so they were a bit older and advanced in English. The teacher asked me if high schools were often separated into groups. Automatically, I thought of Mean Girls and gave them a little lesson on cliques- with the nerds, jocks, artsy people, and band geeks. I had to explain to them what each one was and what a marching band was. I showed them a video of a marching band (I think it was USC?) and they were amazed at how they did all the different formations. They then asked to see my high school, but the computer started spazzing out when I tried to google it. I guess France doesn’t like Henrico, haha.

One girl in the same class basically offered to be my French friend. She asked me if I like to party and then asked me what I was doing tomorrow. I said that I might go to the circus with other assistants, but then she asked me what I was doing afterwards. I could tell what she was getting at… and then she asked me if I had any French friends and when I said no, she basically offered to be my friend. I thought it was funny and a cute gesture, but I am her teacher and that would be weird and most likely inappropriate to party with students. I just laughed at the whole situation.

Speaking of which, I feel like I’m in a somewhat weird position when I’m at the school… maybe it’s because I don’t really feel like a grown up yet. But when I walk around the school, I definitely feel older than everyone, but some of the students do tower over me, but I don’t quite feel like a teacher… or even an assistant teacher. I’m pretty sure that others can guess that I’m an assistant since I’m younger than the teachers but older than the students, and I try to dress appropriately for the job. The dress code is pretty casual… I mean I saw one teacher wearing a tracksuit today and another was wearing a t-shirt the other day. I do wear jeans or trousers, and a nice-ish top with a cardigan (or at least that has been my wardrobe this week).

Also, yesterday we had an orientation for all of the assistants in Lille. Let me tell you, it was long (especially the morning part) and all the administrative stuff just gave me a headache (especially since people kept asking the same question). I had already done all of my paperwork (I think!) and the whole thing just made me start worrying that I forgot something important. I’m seriously hoping and praying that everything is fine and it all works out and that I will get paid at the end of the month and that I can get my visa validated… blah! The French really do have a TON of paperwork.

In the afternoon, we were split up into those who teach école primaire (primary school), collège (middle school), and lycée (high school) to discuss more useful things about teaching, the school, and observations. I actually found out some interesting things about the school system in general. I knew from taking some classes in college that France is all about laïcité. Headgear of any sort is not allowed in the classroom and anything religious isn’t permitted. Basically, if the situation arises where a student is wearing a niqab (Is that’s the one that’s not a burka?) or a rosary or something of that sort, I would have to ask them to remove it or send them to the principal’s office or have the actual teacher take care of it. From what I’ve seen so far, the school I’m at isn’t very diverse, so hopefully I won’t have to deal with any uncomfortable situations of that sort.

Since I had taken some French culture and immigration classes, this whole thing wasn’t completely new to me, but it’s still pretty surprising and very odd, especially in comparison to the US. In the US, there’s the whole freedom of speech concept and in the schools, you can see students wearing religious garb and it has never really been a problem, or at least as far as I know. The only problems that I’ve seen with clothes in the US is the basic dress code, where you’re not supposed to wear anything too revealing, no spaghetti straps, all skirts/shorts must be fingertip length, and clothes can’t have anything too offensive like curse words or anything inappropriate on them.

The most surprising thing that I learned yesterday is that it is not polite to drink water, particularly from water bottles, in class. This actually made think of one time in 9^th grade history class where Ms. Hannegan forbade Morgan to drink from her water bottle while she was have a coughing fit in class. Apparently it’s rude, but it’s the teacher’s discretion if it’s in a class after sports of something of the sort. Of course, you can drink it in the halls, between classes, or in the teacher’s lounge, but not during class.

The school system here is definitely different than in the US. It’ll be interesting to actually observe it myself and compare it to what I know. I haven’t quite figured out how the schedules work. The days are long, can start at 8 am and then can end at 5 or 6 pm. Twelve to one is set aside for lunch. And I only just realized why at certain times the teacher’s lounge is full. The 9 am class ends at 9:50 and then there’s a 10 minute break, where the students are just outside in the courtyard or halls, some of them smoking, and then teachers sit in the lounge and have a little coffee or tea before the bell rings at 10. I think the same thing happens at 2:50 pm. Also, the day I arrived in Béthune, the teachers were on strike (surprise, surprise, people in France are on strike…). The government is cutting teachers’ jobs and so classes are growing larger and larger. That night, the English teachers who I was having dinner with told me that it’d be better for me to be a teacher in the US than in France. I mean at this point, I can’t say if I’d prefer one place over the other, but I still find it interesting that they told me it’d be better in the US.

So yesterday in orientation, I found out that I won’t be able to travel to England for Vacances de Toussaint (All Saints Day vacation/fall break, since it’s a non-Schengen country. Apparently since my visa isn’t validated yet, I can only travel to Schengen countries within these first three months. I don’t really understand why I can’t though. I mean I am a US citizen with a US passport. I should still be able to travel just to visit, as a tourist… I’m still a tourist. I mean, I won’t be heartbroken if I don’t get to visit London in a couple of weeks, but I would like to, but it just doesn’t make sense. Also, I don’t want to risk leaving and then having problems coming back. I still want to be able to work! I’ve e-mailed a few people about it trying to figure it all out. Sighhh. Oh well. Either way, I’ve gotta come up with a backup plan. I can’t believe my first vacation is in 2 weeks. Oh well, that’s one perk of the French education system!

I have gotten used to living in France, in the sense that I’ve gotten used to hearing French everywhere all the time. The other assistants and I do still speak English to each other, but I think eventually we’re going to try to put some French in there… somewhere. I do want to improve my French… I don’t want to leave here with a decrease in my French speaking skills. Although, we did agree that it’s completely different trying to talk to each other in French when we all have different levels, and plus it’s better for us to speak in French to others around here, who do actually speak French. Ah, which reminds me, in class today, they asked me if I could introduce myself in French. Of course, I asked the teacher at first, because others want me to speak only in English to the students. So I introduced myself in French and the class clapped. Haha, it sounds kinda stupid, but it made me feel good about my skills.

I still have to get used to the speed when people talk. I have to really pay attention when people talk and it’s hard if I can’t hear them well. Like on trains, if I’m completely attentive, I don’t understand what he’s saying. It’s times like that when I feel absolutely clueless. I wonder why and how I’m even in France and why and how I even got a degree in French.I felt like that too in the grocery store and supermarket (there’s one that’s a bit further away called Auchan… it’s basically a Wal-Mart super store!). I don’t understand every single word and I have to try to remember what the translation is in English, especially when trying to figure out differences between certain things.

I also felt really stupid when I tried to buy my own sheets for my bed (which by the way clash horribly with my curtains… I wish I had found cuter cheap ones) but I got the cheapest ones that weren’t super girly or didn’t have “boyish” stuff on them. I thought that the pack had a pillowcase and a fitted sheet. When I got home, I found out that the fitted sheet was actually a duvet cover. I saw the word housse but didn’t see the couette (comforter) part. Feeling so stupid, I went over to the discount store across the street and bought a fitted sheet. I was so happy when it worked out, but then I tried to put the duvet cover on the blanket that was already here in the studio. It turns out that the blanket left here is way to small, so the actual blanket doesn’t cover all of me (I had borrowed using sheets and a blanket from a teacher until I was able to buy my own). So now, I have to go back to the store to get a blanket that will actually cover my whole body. Also, I find it interesting, because here, they don’t have twin, full, queen, and king sizes like in the US. The different sizes are either for one person or two people. They have the measurements listed, but it also says for one person or for two people. Also in Lille, they had unisex bathrooms… weird.

So this is about 4 pages on Word… sorry it’s so long. But yeah, basically there are times I feel clueless, but I’m glad to have other assistants who are going through the same thing. Also, I’ve realized that I need to refresh myself on some basic American history, especially since some classes are learning about them.

I finally got my carte bleue (credit card—but apparently they don’t have a debit card and a credit card like in the US) and my insurance card for the studio! Yayy… more official stuff coming in! And for this weekend… the circus is in town (Les pistes aux étoiles!)?! And maybe I’ll eventually see the art exposition in town called Le Louvre in Béthune. Béthune is the cultural center this year, so I’m really excited to be here… and see all the different things they have around here! 

À bientôt! x

written sunday, oct. 2

Dimanche 2 octobre 2011

So I have been getting too lazy to update my blog as often as I had hoped. Also, I don’t have Internet in my studio yet. :( So this will be a pictureless post since I’m doing this from a school computer. We should be getting Internet by January, but other assistants and I were thinking about buying une clé, which basically an Internet stick… you stick into your USB port to get Internet access. Unfortunately, we need a bankcard or a bank check. Since we all just opened our bank account, we should be getting all of that in a week.

With a lot of help with one of the teachers, I was able to finish all of the paperwork needed (I hope) and open a bank account on Thursday. I also got a cell phone yesterday (pay as you go, it’s a super outdated Nokia, but eh, it works haha).

I’ve been able to sleep a good amount and take naps. I don’t know if it’s because I’m still used to sleeping for 9-10 hours at home or I’m still catching up on sleep, but I think eventually I will become used to a schedule.

I ate dinner at the cantine for the first time the other night. I had my own pizza—it was a personal pizza, but not like the size of the personal pan from pizza, but close to a medium size. I ended up taking half of mine back with me to eat for my lunch today.

Yesterday, I went to the supermarché, which is about a 10-minute walk, and was able to get some things I needed and it’ll be useful to know for the future. Everything is pretty much within walking distance, so that’s good. Also, luckily, my foot has been fine… no real pain, even when getting out of bed, thank God! Melissa, another American assistant who is living in the same dormitory (but is teaching at les colleges, or middle schools), and I went across the street to the library to see if we could get Internet. Luckily, we were able to use their computers, although it seemed as if their Internet Explorer was really outdated. I wasn’t able to reply to any gchats I received! We plan on going back to get a library card (we need our proof of residence) so we can have a little more access to the computers.

Last night, the German and Mexican assistants in my building (both named Yvonne, spelled differently I think) and I met up with two other English assistants, Erin and Dharsh in the centre-ville. It got so frustrating, because at the first place we went to, it took us 20 minutes to even get a menu and they never came back to take our order, so we just left. The next place we went to seemed a bit understaffed for the amount of people there, so we waited another 20 minutes before leaving, to our last try before Subway (there’s a Subway, like the sandwich place, here and apparently they sell beer…). We were able to get drinks in 10 minutes and so we finally got relax and chat for a bit. I mean, maybe it’s the French culture to have to wait that long, but we were getting really impatient. Also, while sitting outside Beff (the last place we ended up), Erin and I were just observing all the other girls around and what they were wearing and how they were holding their bags. We were also wondering if our appearance had anything to do with our service, since we looked bummy in comparison to them, and not exactly European (even though we do have one German among us…) Anyways, that was fun being able to hang out with other assistants, especially since I feel somewhat lonely and bored in my studio for now. I am also really glad that my studio is a 2-minute walk from the centre-ville.

Today, I got up for church, hoping that I would find some place since I had no idea where the church was that some lady had told me about. Luckily, there is one right on the other side of the beffroi and I found Melissa! After mass, I came back to the studio, had a lunch of baguette and Camembert cheese, watched some episodes of HIMYM and took a nap. Melissa and I then decided to stop at a hotel in the centre-ville because there was a sign for free wifi. We were able to get the password, but unfortunately it would only let one of us on at a time, me on my iPod and Melissa on her iPad. In the middle of checking my email, my parents called me on my cell phone! I was really happy to hear from them because I have been feeling a bit home sick. I’m not sure why it really kicked in now, but I think it’s because I don’t have internet/wifi where I can easily chat or video chat with them. I did feel better after talking to them. Afterwards, Melissa went back to the church, Saint Vaast, where there were having a free organ and choir concert (from Paris). The inside of the church is beautiful (pictures later) and it was a nice concert. It makes me wish that I had tried to cultivate my musical talent more when I was younger, but it’s ok. I still appreciate music like that.

So now, here I am. My dinner was one of those chicken and rice meals you have to microwave, not too exciting, and my dessert was a pain au chocolat (bread with chocolate inside). I have yet to go to one of the actual bakeries, but I did pass by one on the way back from church and it smells so good! I plan on going there after I finish this baguette.

My studio is a short walking distance from a lot of places, except apparently the store that can be compared to a Target or Wal-Mart. Less than 5 minutes to the beffroi (bell tower, kind of the landmark of Béthune) and centre-ville (with a bunch of stores and restaurants), and the church, Saint Vaast, and my lycée. About a 10-minute walk to the Carrefour Market (supermarket… basically like a Kroger), and a less than 10-minute walk to La Banque Postal (my bank and also a post office).

I officially start tomorrow! They told me that I’ll do about 3 weeks of observations (up until the Vacances de Toussaints – All Saints Day/fall vacation) and then afterwards, I’ll have my own groups to teach. Tomorrow, I observe 3 different classes, so I’m excited slash slightly scared. I’ll also have to introduce myself and they get to ask me questions… joy.

Crossing my fingers and praying for a good first week! I will hopefully get to update more after I (hopefully) get my own Internet. I figured that since I only have to pay utilities and am saving money with rent, I can shell out some money for Internet until we actually get it… crossing my fingers and praying for that as well!

Bises xx

pardon, pardon, pardon

Salut!

Ok I'm finally sitting down and writing a real post about my first adventures in France! I'm gonna try to not make it too long by saying EVERY single detail... so we'll see how this goes.

On Saturday, check-in and security went really smoothly. Even though I'm pretty sure all my bags (including my carry on) were somewhat overweight, I didn't have to pay anything extra and security was really quick. I met up with the group of the assistants at the gate. We chatted and it seems like I'm the only one who has never even been to Europe. I was pretty scared about all, but I was glad to know that they could all help me out with anything. The plane ride to Iceland was about 5 1/2 hours long and there was a lot of turbulence... not really comforting for flying for the first time in 11 years, right? I watched some movies and tv shows and tried to fall asleep, but I could sleep for about one hour before we landed. Our plane was delayed by an hour, but once we took off on our 3 hour flight for Paris, I finally fell asleep for the whole plane ride.

When I woke up, I looked out the window and couldn't believe that I was FINALLY in France. Two other girls, Kristin and Madeleine, and I were going to stay in the same hostel, so we stuck together since we didn't really know where we were going to go. Now, the trip from the airport to hostel was absolutely HORRIBLE. Again, not exactly a great experience for my first time in Paris. As for my luggage situation, I ended up bringing a large duffel and a huge suitcase. My plan was to just put the duffel on top of the suitcase and roll it around. It seemed simple enough because I thought that it'd be better if I had a free hand. Of course, I didn't think of how much arm muscle I didn't have and how heavy 100 lbs really is.

After the baggage claim, we had to take a train/shuttle to the Roissy train station that's part of the aiport. It wasn't too bad since it mostly empty, but it was hard enough trying to get all that on the esclator without it falling over on me and making me fall. We were a group of 7 girls, with at least 2 bags each, so we trying to help each other out. Then, we had to take the RER train into Paris. Once we got on (after struggling to lift all our bags since you have to step up onto the train), we figured it'd be ok since the cars were mostly empty. We clearly didn't think about how many stops the train would take between the airport and Gare du Nord (a train station in Paris, close to our hostel), so it got crowded and we were all worried that someone would end up taking our luggage. But honestly, who would have wanted to go through the trouble to lift them all? It was super crowded when we had to get off the train, but luckily nice French men who were waiting to get on helped us take our luggage off. We were so grateful because the platform was also just crowded in general. As we were trying to exit the station, we find out that the elevator is broken and that it's 4 (big) flights of stairs up to the street. As a group, we decide that one person needs to stay with all the luggage and we would take turns lifting one of suitcases at a time. Once again, some French men helped us carry all of them up the stairs.

Then, Kristin, Madeleine and I ventured out to find our hostel. The directions on the hostel's website said it was a short walk from Gare du Nord, but I guess we didn't take our grandes valises into account when we decided to walk. We also got lost a couple of times. I seriously cannot describe how difficult it was to push (it was easier than pulling) 100 lbs. around the streets of Paris. People who walked by were probably thinking "Oh those poor American girls with their huge American-sized luggage..." According to Madeleine's phone, the walk was supposed to take 11 minutes. We took at least an hour. And we had to take a break to sit on the side of the streets and drink water. Enough said.

Finally, we got settled into the hostel, fixed ourselves up and ventured out into Montmartre. We weren't too far from Moulin Rouge and we ended up eating at Café de 2 Moulins (the one from Amélie) and headed over to the latin quarter and Notre Dame. Of course, we were too tired to do anything else, so we headed back to the hostel and decided to call it a night. I could not sleep at night. I kept tossing and turning and I just keep hearing noises on the street.

Me, Kristin, & Madeleine au Café des 2 Moulins

Notre Dame

On Monday, we had breakfast at the hostel and then ventured to the Champs Elysées. Of course, I was singing the song in my head. We walked around into some of the stores, discovered Monoprix (which will probably be my new Target, if I can find one in Béthune) and made it down to L'Arc de Triomphe.

 L'Arc de Triomphe

Champs Elysées 

After deciding that we wanted to see as much as possible, we walked over to La Tour Eiffel and ate a baguette (sandwich!) on the grass in front of it. Afterwards, we headed over the 5e arrondissement to try and visit Kristin's old host family. The dad was so nice and let us for a delicious tasse de café. We then headed over to Les Jardins des Luxembourg before heading back to the hostel to rest.

La Tour Eiffel

Jardins des Luxembourg

We then headed out into the neighborhood around hostel on a search for food (I had a crêpe du fromage), a suitcase for me, and a converter for Madeleine. In Monoprix, a suitcase was 60 euros, but I found one in a store on the street for 25. It was perfect because it was big enough and I definitely was not going to try to push 100 lbs. around AGAIN. Afterwards, we headed back to the Notre Dame area to just sit and chill and then decided to walk to Le Louvre. On the way there, we literally ran into one of Kristin's French friends that she knew in New York and his friends. We decided to walk to the Louvre together, chatting in French, with some English every now and then. By the time we decided to go back to the hostel, the metro was closed, so we had to catch a bus.

Point Zero in (center of the city) front of Notre Dame

Le Louvre

Tuesday morning, Kristin and I woke up super exhausted. I think our bodies were finally telling us that they couldn't handle this constant movement without enough sleep. After checking out, Kristin and I decided to take a taxi to Gare du Nord and wait around there until our trains arrived to take us to our respective towns.

I finally arrived in Béthune at 18h15 and was greeted by two teachers that I'll be working with. I'm staying with one of them right now in her house until I can move into my studio on Friday. They then took me to a restaurant in the centre-ville (dowtown) with other English teachers. They seriously do take a long time with meals here in France.. almost 3 hours! The teachers were talking about the grève (strike) of teachers that day and other things in general. I was able to understand a good amount, but I was just trying to keep in listening and understanding since they do talk significantly faster and I was just really tired.

Like I mentioned in my last post, I was really excited when the told me that my accent was pretty good and they were surprised at how much I could comprehend compared to past assistants when they first arrived.

So basically, I'm speaking French all the time now. In Paris, Kristin, Madeleine and I would speak in English to each other, but to others, French. The teachers only talk to me in French (with some English if they need to explain something I don't understand). So, I'm really hoping that my French will improve within the next 7 months. I wonder if I should record myself talking in French now and see how it improves....

Anyways, today is my resting day. I got a decent amount of sleep and I've showered and am now writing this SUPER LONG blog post. I will probably venture out soon into Béthune and see what's around (if I can find my way around). Tomorrow, I will go into the school to do some administrative things and hopefully open my bank account. Friday, I'll move into my studio and then Monday I'll officially start (with observations first)!

Bises!