tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3545709177081923292024-03-19T10:05:28.523+01:00My French LifeUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-354570917708192329.post-54122154149902321382012-04-01T12:12:00.001+02:002012-04-03T15:37:24.250+02:00The blog is back.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I've decided to make my official return to blogging. As mentioned in my last post (a shameful 6 months ago!), my colocs and I have a <a href="http://restoruechopin.posterous.com/" target="_blank">food blog--check it out!</a> and it's fun to look back at our dinners, so it would be cool to have a similar log of my life in France.<br />
<br />
Since my last post, obviously, a lot has happened. Chris went back to the States and Mark moved in in November...we miss Chris every day (and hope he'll be back in Stras next year), but we have a very happy colocation and I can't imagine anyone I'd rather live with than my 3 colocs. I went to Berlin with Mark and Krista over Toussaint, where I rediscovered how much I love Germany. We visited our friends Simon and Amy in Luxembourg for a weekend in December and had a great time. Christmas in Strasbourg was a little bit rough, but then I went to Portsmouth and London for New Year's and that made up for it! Anne and I realized we're too old to stay up all night waiting for trains. My former coloc and one of my favorite people, Chrissy, came to visit for a couple of weeks and it was wonderful to have her around...just like she never left! For our February vacation I went to Portugal and Spain with Anne. We visited Porto, Madrid, and our great friend Harris in Galicia. Beautiful cities, wonderful people, and FANTASTIC food...perfect vacation! Last weekend I went to Paris with Lily and Nadine to see Dispatch in concert. We did almost nothing touristy, and now I love Paris (I used to kind of hate it). In between all of that, I led a few hundred English workshops and cooked lots of dinners.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIOqwN1gojl7LPJQqZRpwX74ernZsvEVf7VlzKjRnEn6o72XFLxysXr-0dPuDt5do9eo95vquyvKMo1XyWc4_1POHEMpO9h_plpEs9qCwk3oS0R1Wu6zE9R0ELkUrnH9E5b0Xx7uZ5hFw/s1600/strasbourg+2012+107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIOqwN1gojl7LPJQqZRpwX74ernZsvEVf7VlzKjRnEn6o72XFLxysXr-0dPuDt5do9eo95vquyvKMo1XyWc4_1POHEMpO9h_plpEs9qCwk3oS0R1Wu6zE9R0ELkUrnH9E5b0Xx7uZ5hFw/s320/strasbourg+2012+107.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Miss you Chris!! xxx</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIGoj2u7bgXgl4LD1-MBZP9c-_68yMUK5zvYGje46jHuDf6dDArZDQSV4xOGZqBWE8pLZqRbTrQ9Fy1rrMmsy-lmZZHcOb1QDfQOXLtIpJDUy7e4IK599y-op1KlXj-lLeFWnIjxnAF4/s1600/England+2011+082.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQIGoj2u7bgXgl4LD1-MBZP9c-_68yMUK5zvYGje46jHuDf6dDArZDQSV4xOGZqBWE8pLZqRbTrQ9Fy1rrMmsy-lmZZHcOb1QDfQOXLtIpJDUy7e4IK599y-op1KlXj-lLeFWnIjxnAF4/s320/England+2011+082.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NYE in London</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEA2wEi3JY5lsK08j8yuzo2u4sEAokwrjCCH0w895KfRiyPg190g1Es902TrZ7iXFx5VXgoa9UvN6eWSxLrM5HgFtLw9P9eJG7T3vYZ7WCwiF0l_WoOQCerLq1nPZmeTs0UVIDFAMp34/s1600/portugal+and+spain+252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheEA2wEi3JY5lsK08j8yuzo2u4sEAokwrjCCH0w895KfRiyPg190g1Es902TrZ7iXFx5VXgoa9UvN6eWSxLrM5HgFtLw9P9eJG7T3vYZ7WCwiF0l_WoOQCerLq1nPZmeTs0UVIDFAMp34/s320/portugal+and+spain+252.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">with Anne in Madrid</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAJAlTxye7jpgoQqJfGu2aTNwYcPHbiV8G5fyrTnjibGmxu9IJ0sYIja0KysQqpKp4YIKogS7-Y2bS0ikun6Xyx0NSJQGDBxtTnc_-vCIsk4j1uPCLRlOVKKakYkqWReiuza2rQmE_cs/s1600/paris+march+2012+064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTAJAlTxye7jpgoQqJfGu2aTNwYcPHbiV8G5fyrTnjibGmxu9IJ0sYIja0KysQqpKp4YIKogS7-Y2bS0ikun6Xyx0NSJQGDBxtTnc_-vCIsk4j1uPCLRlOVKKakYkqWReiuza2rQmE_cs/s320/paris+march+2012+064.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lily and I on the Pont des Arts in Paris</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I also had somewhat of a quarter-life crisis. I found out in February that I had to reapply for my lectrice job (I thought it was automatically renewable). So I did, and also applied for other lectrice and maitre de langue jobs in Strasbourg. I was pretty sure I'd be heading back to the US permanently, so I started convincing myself that maybe I wanted this to happen. It wasn't too hard, considering the administrative hassle of living in France and the fact that I'm turning 26 in August, whereafter I won't be a "jeune" and life in Europe will suddenly get a bit more expensive. After a couple months of soul-searching, I realized I really do want to stay in Strasbourg for one more year. I really love the city, my job, and my friends here.<br />
<br />
Luckily I found out last week that I have been renewed for next year, along with my awesome fellow lectrice Alice.Wooo! I'm so happy and relieved. Even better, now I can start doing everything that I put on hold while I was waiting to hear about my job....buying a new (to me) bike, joining a gym, sorting out health insurance and housing aid, and planning my summer travels!<br />
<br />
I recently bought a ticket home to visit for the summer, from May 24-July 7. I'm excited about this for many reasons....first, I'm flying Air Canada, which is my current favorite airline. I also have an overnight stopover in Montreal, which is exciting because I've never been to Canada and I'm hoping to see a good friend from high school who lives in Montreal. The next day I'll go to Colorado to see my dog and my family! I plan to spend a week or two in Texas, but I'll be in the Boulder area with my mom for about a month. I can't wait to go hiking and see my friends and family and drink margaritas and go SHOPPING. I am so sick of all of my clothes, and it's so expensive to shop in France that I pretty much don't bother. Also planning on loading up on green chiles, jalapenos, masa harina, black beans, and all of the other Tex Mex staples France is lacking to bring back to Strasbourg. When I get back to France I might go to a music festival in Bilbao, then go Interrailing....any suggestions of places to travel?<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-354570917708192329.post-8285202514187396362012-04-01T11:07:00.000+02:002012-04-01T11:07:06.513+02:00I suck at blogging!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I am the worst blogger ever, clearly. I really want to be better about this....I want to keep track of my life in France!! New goal: blog once a month at least. That's manageable I think. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-354570917708192329.post-88596103787650563232011-10-07T11:04:00.000+02:002011-10-07T11:04:52.183+02:00Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Two weekends ago I went back to Stuttgart for the beerfest for the 4th time in a year. It was epic, as usual. Plenty of photos and color commentary on Facebook if you're interested. We got back from the Fest on a Sunday afternoon and I started my job on Monday morning...needless to say, I was a little bit tired for my first day of work.<br />
<br />
I started working two weeks ago but it already feels like it's been much longer than that....perhaps because I've already led 40ish ateliers. My job as a lectrice is pretty unique...I teach English conversation ateliers for a max of 6 students at a time (in theory). The students are all studying sciences, from medicine and geophysics to psychology and sports science. They have to take a competency test in English conversation, so my job is basically to get them to practice speaking English and to help them feel comfortable doing so. I LOVE my job so far. I meet lots of interesting students from all over the world, the atmosphere is very relaxed, and most of the kids are pretty good English speakers. The work schedule is a lot more taxing than I'm used to (16ish hours a week, omg), but I like feeling productive and the time I spend at work is generally a lot of fun.<br />
<br />
My colocs and I (plus Mark, our honorary 5th coloc) have started a project the boys named Resto Rue Chopin. Chris even made a blog restoruechopin.tumblr.com or something like that. We each chose a night of the week to cook (Monday through Friday) and we're not allowed to repeat meals. That means we get to eat well every night and only have to shop/cook once a week--perfect! It's a lot of fun and now that I work til 7 some nights, it's nice to come home and have dinner on the table : )<br />
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</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-354570917708192329.post-49016686040110889102011-09-21T14:47:00.001+02:002011-09-21T14:50:11.934+02:00I'm baaaaack!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I've been back in Strasbourg for a week or so and I couldn't be happier! As expected I am loving my colocation. We got a sweet deal for the year...an English professor from the university and her family are spending a year in the US and wanted to keep their apartment in Stras, so they're renting it out to us. We are four total....three americans et un francais. We're having a lot of fun, speaking a lot of French, and eating a LOT of cheese.<br />
<br />
I start work at the university on Monday. It sounds like my job is going to be awesome. I'll be working more than I did last year (20ish hours a week, quelle horreur!) but my job consists of leading English ateliers of 6 students each focused on conversation. We are encouraged to do debates, games, culture discussions, etc. Basically like being an assistant but with less supervision and university students....sounds perfect to me! Also my job seems kind of organized, which is shocking for a French uni.<br />
<br />
In other news, I've started running. We live very close to a beautiful park, so it only makes sense. The best part of my runs are the end, when I go through the zoo. We'll see how this running thing progresses since right now I kind of hate it and it's going to be cold soon.<br />
<br />
Anywayyyys so far this year is fairly different than last year, but it's great. It's nice to feel at home in Strasbourg. I'm meeting lots of new and interesting people and loving being around my close friends again. My French is WAY better than it was when I first arrived in France last year (exactly one year today!). I miss my family and my dog sometimes, but life in Strasbourg is just as good as I remember. I'm excited to meet the new assistants, and I'm even more excited because we're going to BEERFEST in Stuttgart this weekend!!!!!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-354570917708192329.post-54539688333702561902011-08-24T04:23:00.000+02:002011-08-24T04:23:53.864+02:00J'arrive, la France.....eventually<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">So, it's been five months since my last blog post. I went to springfest in Stuttgart (another beer fest!) twice, then hung out in the Bavarian Alps for a few days. Then I said "a bientot" to Strasbourg. Iceland, then Boston, then I came home to Texas. Then my mom and stepdad decided it's about time to move to Colorado. Sounds great to me, so I spent my summer selling stuff and cleaning out stuff and packing to move. I also went to North Carolina for a week to reunite with some of my Strasbourg BFFs. Then about three weeks ago I moved with my mom to Denver, where my parents are renting an apartment while they sell the Dallas house and build the new house near Boulder.<br />
<br />
....and while all of this has been going on, I have been waiting on my visa to go back to France. In my last post I mentioned that I was offered a job in Strasbourg. It sounds pretty perfect for me so I accepted it in March. Then I was told I would hear from HR in April. I didn't, so I emailed my boss in May. Finally, after bothering lots of different people lots of times, the day before I left Strasbourg, I went in to fill out the necessary paperwork. I made sure everything was set and figured out exactly what the process would be.<br />
<br />
And then I waited.<br />
<br />
June passed. No worries, French bureaucracy takes time. Received another lecteur job offer in Strasbourg and turned it down.<br />
<br />
July passed. I emailed all of my contacts at the university, and they said I should hear from the consulate soon, telling me to come apply for my visa. NOPE. nothing.<br />
<br />
August came. Originally I was hoping to be back in France by my birthday (Aug 19) because our lease on our apartment started August 15th. After tons of calls and emails to the university and the OFII and the consulate, I determined that my paperwork is still somewhere at the University of Strasbourg. SERIOUSLY, FRANCE?!?!<br />
<br />
But it's okay....I have decided to be French about this little snag in my life plan. SO j'attends (I wait). et j'attends. and hopefully pretty soon, I will be back in Strasbourg. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-354570917708192329.post-81711577117913620192011-03-19T12:08:00.003+01:002011-05-16T11:05:28.607+02:00Expatriatism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Last week I found out I'm coming back to Strasbourg next year. I couldn't possibly be any happier about it. The thought of going back to Texas indefinitely was depressing, but now I'm excited to go home for the summer. I miss my family, my dogs, my car, my friends, my bed, my gym, and (of course) Tex-Mex.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>I think most people in my life don't understand the appeal of living abroad. This became clear to me when a friend from the States visited this past week. </div><div>I don't even really know what it is about France that I love so much...it's not like my life here is particularly exciting. I go to work, I hang out with my friends, I plan lessons, I waste hours on facebook. Occasionally I plan trips to Morocco or Iceland or Turkey, but I don't have the time or money to travel often. Life in Strasbourg is not always convenient or fun. I share a room and sleep on a rickety smaller-than-twin-sized bed. I'm poor. </div><div>But I love it!!. Every day is an adventure. I have wonderful friends, funny students, tons of free time, and I live in one of the most beautiful cities I've ever seen. I know a lot of people at home don't understand, but I don't care :)</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-354570917708192329.post-16913254441253151262011-03-05T13:18:00.001+01:002011-03-19T12:10:39.427+01:00Contemplating my future, etc.<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">In my Christmas post I said I was going to blog more often....oops! I guess not. I love reading other peoples' blogs, especially other English assistants, but I never make time to update my own.<br />
<div><br />
</div><div>Last night I got back from Morocco. I visited Casablanca, Fes, and Marrakech with my pals. It was crazy, chaotic, interesting, beautiful, relaxing, and a LOT of fun. I want to go back. </div><div><br />
</div><div>Now we have six more weeks of work and that's ALL...crazy! I'm going to miss my Lycee Couffignal boys a little bit. I booked a flight to leave France on May 21. That would be super sad, but it will actually be fun because 3(at least) of my friends and I are going together! We're flying IcelandAir and stopping over in Reykjavik for a few days, then flying to Boston and staying with my brother, then plans are a little fuzzy, but eventually I'll be back in Dallas.</div><div><br />
</div><div>I've been thinking a lot about next year. When I applied to the TAPIF program, my plan was to use the year to have fun, travel, and improve my French before coming home and becoming a serious adult.</div><div><br />
</div><div>However...</div><div>Texas schools have no money. No one is getting hired. Especially French teachers. </div><div>-and-</div><div>I love Strasbourg. I love my friends here (and some of my favorites are staying next year!). I love working part-time. I love traveling. </div><div><br />
</div><div>So...</div><div>I'm in the process of applying for university teaching jobs in Strasbourg for next year. It's a long shot, but I would really love to stay in Alsace for another year. I know some people think it's irresponsible and that I'm "delaying real life", but I would be gaining valuable experience in my field AND having fun. I'm excited to go back to Texas for the summer, but the idea of leaving and not coming back is a little bit depressing. </div><div><br />
</div><div>In the meantime, I am determined to make the most of the time I have left! Next weekend a friend is coming to visit...can't wait! : )</div><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-354570917708192329.post-87742108680130731902010-12-25T03:10:00.000+01:002010-12-25T03:10:12.214+01:00Fat and happy in the Christmas capitalI really suck at this whole blogging thing, but one of my New Year's resolutions is going to be to update more often. Life is still good in Strasbourg....I have GREAT friends, funny students, and I eat a lot of delicious food. :)<div><br />
</div><div>For this blog post I'm trying out a new thing...a TOPIC. I usually just give a rundown of recent events. Today's topic is FOOD, because it's the best thing ever and because many of the good times I have here are related somehow to food. Basically I'm attempting to disguise my rundown of recent events by naming something I ate at each said event. I'm going to use photos stolen from my friends because I have no camera at the moment (cry) and they take better photos anyway.</div><div><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1119.snc4/148135_463511882638_511692638_5791049_401702_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1119.snc4/148135_463511882638_511692638_5791049_401702_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">this picture isn't of food, but there was lots...I promise!<br />
Photo c/o JACY, who is amazing btw.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div><br />
</div><div>There is no better way to start out this topic than with the most foodtastic of holidays, Turkey Day! I taught my students about Thanksgiving, focusing more on turkey, football, and Black Friday than Pilgrims and Indians. Most of my students are 16-22 year old boys, so I try to appeal to their interests. Since the other assistants and I obviously couldn't be home for the holiday, we celebrated Assistant Thanksgiving chez Harris and his French roommates. Everyone brought a different dish (I roasted a ton of vegetables--boring I know) and it was fun to share an American holiday with our British/Australian/French/German/Mexican/etc friends. We ate a ton, drank just as much, played catchphrase, and sang and danced along to American music. While I missed my family in the US on Thanksgiving, I had a great time with my big, happy, dysfunctional assistant "family". In fact, I'd say this was my best Thanksgiving ever!!</div><div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1177.snc4/154951_532309830028_35700137_31274052_4096102_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="284" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1177.snc4/154951_532309830028_35700137_31274052_4096102_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eating crepes with Anne! From whom I stole this picture.<br />
She is fantastic and Australian.<br />
Everything I know about budgy smugglers I learned from her ;)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div>The beginning of December marked the beginning of the Christmas markets in Strasbourg, which is called the Christmas Capital of Europe. Impressive, non? I visited the Christmas markets several times throughout the month, but never really to shop. If you're into Christmas tchotchkes or stork hats, you should def shop there. I'm not, so mostly just go to the Christmas market to eat! I had: baguette flambee (both gratinee (with cheese) and chevre (with goat cheese)), a cheese crepe, a salted butter caramel crepe, a chocolate puff thing with cream inside, and endless cups of vin chaud. (Note: I did not eat all of that on the same day. But I probably could have). Oh, also TONS of free cookie samples at the Bredele tent. </div><div><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1384.snc4/163614_611632698056_204504236_37123055_292453_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1384.snc4/163614_611632698056_204504236_37123055_292453_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">with the remains of our fish on a stick!<br />
stolen from the lovely AMY!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div>On the last weekend before our sad separation (for Christmas vacation), a big group of us traveled to Stuttgart to check out the Christmas markets there and have a big ol' sleepover at Chrissy's house. It was adorable. We also visited the medieval market in the nearby town of Esslingen. I feel very disloyal admitting it, but I thought the German markets were MUCH better than ours in Strasbourg. The food was amazing, the junk in the booths was WAY cooler, and the medieval market had performers in costumes. In Germany, I tried: currywurst, potato pancakes with applesauce, chocolate-dipped fruit on a stick, roasted pig and sauerkraut, donuts with apple filling, roasted nuts, and steckerlfish on a stick. And tons of gluhwein, some of which was flavored with amaretto or eggnog-like with whipped cream. After all of that, we came home and ate amazing black bean soup that Chrissy's mom made....which was probably the best thing we ate all weekend. We also introduced the Brits and Anne the Australian to Apples to Apples and MASH. A very successful weekend thanks to Chrissy and her family!!</div><div><br />
</div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1379.snc4/163145_10150100157789919_574004918_7337168_5014553_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs1379.snc4/163145_10150100157789919_574004918_7337168_5014553_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We love balls!! Photo stolen from Anne again, who<br />
is a card-carrying member of the IKEA Family :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div><br />
</div><div>And to top off my food-related experiences, it's about time I mentioned our weekly pilgrimmages to IKEA. Yes, I eat dinner at IKEA every Tuesday night. Half-price meatball night has become a ritual...we meet at the same time, same place every week and ride the free IKEA navette to our blue-and-gold Swedish second home. We go so consistently that the employees recognize us, and I'm pretty sure they make extra boulettes for us. I always split with my friend Leah, and we have our routine down to a science. For less than 3 euros I get a good meal with even better company! Plus, I can knock out any home-goods shopping I need to do while I'm there :)</div><div><br />
</div><div>It's probably pathetically obvious, but I am currently in Strasbourg (nearly) alone and missing my friends like crazy!!! My mom just left after being here with me for a week. I loved showing her around my beautiful city. Now it's CHRISTMAS and I'm more than ready for everyone to be back. I'm spending the day hanging out (and eating and drinking, I'm sure) with my friend and fellow assistant Jennifer, enjoying a white Christmas!! JOYEUX NOEL TOUT LE MONDE!! </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-354570917708192329.post-52713551568482237852010-11-14T16:34:00.000+01:002010-11-14T16:34:49.069+01:00Coloc change + Toussaint!It's been another month and, despite occasionally thinking of it, I haven't updated the old blog. Better late than never!!<br />
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About a month ago a major change occured in our little French colocation...we got a new roommate! I used to share a bedroom (yes, I'm 24 and I share a bedroom) with another assistant named Sarah, but she very suddenly decided to move from Strasbourg to a tiny remote village 2 hours away. Everything worked out perfectly because Ashley, another American assistant, moved in, as did her DOG. Lucy only weighs three pounds, so she's not really big enough to actually be called a dog, but she makes a delightful fourth roommate. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRzlAl5Qp3EQtSWmtcx9kHbT0I0AQWYFwBZcNSYaEmjMgMliRo_GQW7hC7XBp74Wq5Qc22AUNOr3lpOGZSVhjEKJrciqHErKm7r3B-WthxGXyMNbG0YlVUM0IrnL4u6h9WV7vcE31f-Y/s1600/75192_487056899918_574004918_6960785_693701_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTRzlAl5Qp3EQtSWmtcx9kHbT0I0AQWYFwBZcNSYaEmjMgMliRo_GQW7hC7XBp74Wq5Qc22AUNOr3lpOGZSVhjEKJrciqHErKm7r3B-WthxGXyMNbG0YlVUM0IrnL4u6h9WV7vcE31f-Y/s320/75192_487056899918_574004918_6960785_693701_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Now we have a very happy colocation!! I love my roommates and our apartment, and I can't imagine things being any better.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2NBE8D2FXRn8ygUX-0YvUZaNhrgGA50NHO4MpoVSaLxkH1cGKM4_HQJ8g7dqjTkTS4LmHwuqzuj-IiUCUZ_ugqoMvHH1DTagITsZqlLTxD-PsWuFlBIvdRLSVfQ9ri7X5yKPL7U3OdMY/s1600/67410_607293139566_204503878_36999157_1946140_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2NBE8D2FXRn8ygUX-0YvUZaNhrgGA50NHO4MpoVSaLxkH1cGKM4_HQJ8g7dqjTkTS4LmHwuqzuj-IiUCUZ_ugqoMvHH1DTagITsZqlLTxD-PsWuFlBIvdRLSVfQ9ri7X5yKPL7U3OdMY/s320/67410_607293139566_204503878_36999157_1946140_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Roomies! Ashley, me, and Chrissy. This picture and the last stolen from Anne <3</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> The other big event in the past month was our epic adventure through Eastern Europe over Toussaint. I went with 5 other assistants, which should have been a complete disaster. Fortunately it was awesome. We all got along great, and I love them more now than ever.<br />
Our first stop was <b>Munich</b> for two hours on the way to Vienna. We watched the Glockenspiel and ate kebab. Also it snowed a little!? The highlight of our stop? Probably watching Jacy eat a raw green pepper for lunch.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/5150866142_1645b32f16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/5150866142_1645b32f16.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">people watching the Glockenspiel...way more interesting than the Glockenspiel itself! </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">photo c/o Chrissy, who is an amazing photographer</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>We arrived in <b>Vienna</b> and went to our hostel, which was actually pretty nice. We ate spaghetti and some kind of Austrian pancakes and met a Swede. Vienna was a very pretty town, but not my favorite. I think it would be cool to go back with LOTS of money. Vienna highlights included:<br />
-eating Sacher torte (cake) at Hotel Sacher. We had to check our coats...posh!<br />
-watching tons of guys dressed up as Mozart trying to sell tickets to a concert.<br />
-finding the ONLY grocery store open in Vienna on a Sunday, and shopping there along with every resident of the city.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-eating goulash and drinking beer at a restaurant where no one spoke any English at all.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">-eating cheap, delicious falafel at a really cool market</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM7ZlCdJy_EhXNQxiSijYW2rHBilKsUZLmuceAgbp0gCAUXa61ErT5hd0kGSr1Ml3Uzetm-4_e4xIFUE4pFi8Nde8iXGR_XiCM0eLwkG7mnm6cRkKvsIFlPgjrT4OFUOjc3uB03mhlQvs/s1600/69321_450112317638_511692638_5615097_5414269_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM7ZlCdJy_EhXNQxiSijYW2rHBilKsUZLmuceAgbp0gCAUXa61ErT5hd0kGSr1Ml3Uzetm-4_e4xIFUE4pFi8Nde8iXGR_XiCM0eLwkG7mnm6cRkKvsIFlPgjrT4OFUOjc3uB03mhlQvs/s320/69321_450112317638_511692638_5615097_5414269_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Harris, me, Leah, and the original Sacher Torte! Beware of fakes.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table> Obviously I really like eating. Luckily all of my travel buddies do too, so we spent a lot of time planning our meals, visiting markets and grocery stores, cooking, and eating during our trip. Midafternoon coffee and pastry breaks contributed significantly to the happiness and harmony of our vacation.<br />
After a couple of days in Vienna we were ready to go, so we took a short bus ride to Bratislava because....WHY NOT?<br />
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In case you aren't familiar, <b>Bratislava</b> is the capital of Slovakia. We went in with pretty low expectations and ended up LOVING Bratislava. Highlights?<br />
-beautiful people. Slovaks are seriously good-looking.<br />
-CHEAP everything. Food, beer, hostel, etc was all really cheap and great.<br />
-cute town! The centreville of Bratislava is surprisingly well-kept and charming.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3bBm687ppxCeuqlg_NWNU4EQFUFQDj6g2FotA7QYVrBbAsY5HESTOd7CAs1maxVWYhJOd3uiXVsuCQBYHllW9CHjqTeIa5LLdpuTrS6VXH85RtPeJIaFUfHXvJ_qjSMsxgPEJLstgVFo/s1600/75184_450113267638_511692638_5615136_2390257_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3bBm687ppxCeuqlg_NWNU4EQFUFQDj6g2FotA7QYVrBbAsY5HESTOd7CAs1maxVWYhJOd3uiXVsuCQBYHllW9CHjqTeIa5LLdpuTrS6VXH85RtPeJIaFUfHXvJ_qjSMsxgPEJLstgVFo/s400/75184_450113267638_511692638_5615136_2390257_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Eating a mystery pastry in Bratislava...apparently I missed the instruction to look grossed out.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> After a night in Bratislava we took a 5-euro bus ride to Budapest. We had low expectations for the bus, too, but it was great...comfy assigned seats, free drinks, movies and Friends episodes, AND it arrived an hour early! <a href="http://www.studentagencybus.com/">Student Agency</a> is the name of the company if you ever find yourself traveling in E. Europe...I highly recommend it! <br />
<b>Budapest</b> was a really cool city. It reminded me of Paris a bit in that the city is huge and bustling, but there is a beautiful building around every corner. The most memorable parts of this leg were:<br />
-the labyrinth under Buda Castle....one of the weirdest things EVER. I can't even describe it.<br />
-Fisherman's Bastion, where there is a gorgeous view of Parliament and the entire city.<br />
-eating this awesome cake called Somloi or something...basically they put a layer of chocolate in a cup, pile on some cake chunks, and cover the whole thing in whipped cream....yum!<br />
-the bar with swings instead of barstools---best idea ever.<br />
-hanging out at a park on a sunny day watching dogs.<br />
-<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%BAr%C3%B3_Rudi">Turo Rudi</a>, which is this weirdly delicious Hungarian candy bar that is basically chocolate-coated cottage cheese. Recommended to me in at the bus station by a Hungarian with jacked-up teeth and a skateboard.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhca_jb1asYmhFrYsKgh9-yfDq6eSW2v6m1oSxkajz75nrUFof4RkBLkgYKcGrY1wEoaUwDjk-e4bo7HfAioghT3HV_dOFT8d8N0uRB1JdEoUUIgK1pxBDhiLezuQIPBrxVG7jyEmd60Rs/s1600/72572_450113827638_511692638_5615157_8288793_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhca_jb1asYmhFrYsKgh9-yfDq6eSW2v6m1oSxkajz75nrUFof4RkBLkgYKcGrY1wEoaUwDjk-e4bo7HfAioghT3HV_dOFT8d8N0uRB1JdEoUUIgK1pxBDhiLezuQIPBrxVG7jyEmd60Rs/s320/72572_450113827638_511692638_5615157_8288793_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
After we spent our last forints on vending machine candy, we boarded our Eurolines bus (18E) from Budapest to Prague. It was the bus ride from hell. I sat next to a really rude guy who basically had all of his possessions in the seat with us. My roommate Chrissy sat next to a smelly white boy with dreadlocks. It sucked and I hardly slept at all, so arriving in Prague at 6 AM was a little rough. Oh well, it was worth it!<br />
<b>Prague</b> was my second-favorite city we visited (after Bratislava, bien sur). It is absolutely beautiful...unfortunately, the rest of the world thinks so too and we were there with wayyyy too many tourists. Highlights included:<br />
-Prague castle. We visited castles in every city, and Prague castle was by far the most interesting.<br />
-getting up at sunrise to take pictures at Charles Bridge. It was really foggy, which was appropriately eerie for Halloween.<br />
-our sketch hostel. All of the employees (except one) were really weird and creepy. Also my credit card number somehow made its way out into the world, so that was a small hassle. I guess it's all part of the experience.<br />
-our one big night out, on Halloween. After several hours of searching for the right bar, we found it. The evening was epic.<br />
-almost missing our train back to Kehl. Harris and I were waiting for the train with the bags while everyone else was getting coffee. The train arrived, the departure time got veryyyy near, and we started freaking out. Luckily everything turned out just fine and a minimal amount of coffee was spilled during the mad dash to the train. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1HUMWALnO9SxpXitUUZvpJp1t8Hf6bCjP1BJpi7-rK1_Yrtn-EwuSBsTIQumo2J1bzEkyFYIfFJLebNtERySGJwWewfmRsT1KlN-5uE12-RWTzvMGP3MZfduK3xso1n9RNB9LA-YjkoY/s1600/149247_450116842638_511692638_5615209_1701178_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1HUMWALnO9SxpXitUUZvpJp1t8Hf6bCjP1BJpi7-rK1_Yrtn-EwuSBsTIQumo2J1bzEkyFYIfFJLebNtERySGJwWewfmRsT1KlN-5uE12-RWTzvMGP3MZfduK3xso1n9RNB9LA-YjkoY/s320/149247_450116842638_511692638_5615209_1701178_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Jenelle, Leah, me, Harris, and Prague. photos stolen from Jacy :)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Overall it was an incredible trip, but I was very happy to be back in France. I was walking through Strasbourg the day after we got back and I realized that, as much as I liked the cities we visited, I like Strasbourg better! I feel so lucky to live here.<br />
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Since our trip, I've been working at my schools and hanging out with my friends...pretty normal! I wasn't expecting to go on so long about our trip, so I'll save the laborious details of my day-to-day life for the next post. Get excited :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-354570917708192329.post-51955097050764091312010-10-14T10:12:00.004+02:002010-10-20T00:23:41.959+02:00A lot has changed in a month!Wow. A lot has happened since my first post. I guess the best way to go about updating on my life is to make a brief timeline. <br />
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September 20- The day I had been waiting for for months. I left for France.<br />
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September 21- Arrived in Paris, took a train to Strasbourg. My roommate Sarah picked me up and we (along with all my luggage) took the tram to our apartment. She showed me around the apartment and our room and I freaked out. Why did I EVER think moving to France was a good idea?? Wanted to go home. Badly. Eventually met our other roommate Chrissy and went out and met some other assistants. Liked everyone a lot and had fun but was still miserable. Also jetlagged.<br />
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September 24-27- Both of my roommates went out of town for the weekend. I anticipated a miserable weekend at home, internet-less and friendless. Instead, I spent a lot of time with other assistants and was never home. Started to feel much better about moving to France.<br />
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September 30- took a day trip to the Black Forest in Germany with some other assistants. Had fun. Ate cake.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0N3MGXrHSejYYgyN6ryfFh3w2XLzVDS9-fXJojP55c3kPZaQ0YZUyGluLxgo0HbR__KcGyRmiuS8JBwk4VXLmVF_BkKnBiSGHxnAzNEhVn5oLYBReeXoK1BzK5bGm6C7kRylqnLIbOc/s1600/strasbourg+1+033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEio0N3MGXrHSejYYgyN6ryfFh3w2XLzVDS9-fXJojP55c3kPZaQ0YZUyGluLxgo0HbR__KcGyRmiuS8JBwk4VXLmVF_BkKnBiSGHxnAzNEhVn5oLYBReeXoK1BzK5bGm6C7kRylqnLIbOc/s320/strasbourg+1+033.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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October 1- first day of work at my lycee. It was fine...first of MANY sessions of "Ask the English assistant whatever you want". As expected (since it's a technical/professional school), almost all of the students are boys, which kind of changes the classroom dynamics. Overall, they seem like really good kids and I'm looking forward to working with them.<br />
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October 1-3- went to Stuttgart, Germany to celebrate the Volksfest, which is basically like Stuttgart's version of Oktoberfest. It was a LOT of fun. In addition to drinking 3 liters of beer and dancing and singing on tables, we visited an Army base and hung out with Chrissy's parents and aunt and uncle, who are awesome.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibM-Wt1rm182t_F6VT8CmLPiulPmxCq5GUsLgvOwuetVa4Qfrp8VWBQy1Ra_FK_CQ3tSfo6AF4up88R_ZWra3iju8DS-dB-K-xLZNEkvtDemDjYxBgtuTrjRg2S70D2xKFCMv4eg27XgY/s1600/strasbourg+1+037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibM-Wt1rm182t_F6VT8CmLPiulPmxCq5GUsLgvOwuetVa4Qfrp8VWBQy1Ra_FK_CQ3tSfo6AF4up88R_ZWra3iju8DS-dB-K-xLZNEkvtDemDjYxBgtuTrjRg2S70D2xKFCMv4eg27XgY/s320/strasbourg+1+037.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>October 4-present- Continued working at the lycee a little and hanging out with friends a lot. I love many of the other assistants already and I feel like I've known them for much longer than three weeks!! Worked on planning our epic Toussaint adventure to Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Prague.<br />
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So that's pretty much my life right now! In the three weeks I've been in France, I've fallen in love with a beautiful city, become friends with some awesome people, and started a new job. <br />
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I'll try to update more often...once a week hopefully. Tchao!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-354570917708192329.post-34131629122435563902010-09-14T06:10:00.004+02:002010-09-18T09:48:52.869+02:00So, I'm moving to France next week...!!!!! My departure date is drawing near, so I figured it's about time to start a blog.<br />
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Background, for those of you who don't know me:<br />
I'm from Dallas, TX and just turned 24. In college I majored in French and Psychology, and got my Master's in Teaching as well. While I was in college I spent a summer interning at a primary school in London and a semester "studying" abroad in Grenoble. Note the quotation marks...I didn't study much but traveled a ton and had the time of my life. I spent the 09-10 year teaching high school French in the Dallas area (shoutout to my IHS kids). I love my students and teaching, but I wasn't happy with other parts of my job and started feeling restless. On New Year's Day, out of nowhere I randomly decided to apply for the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Washington-DC/Teaching-Assistant-Program-in-France-USA/156934875058">TAPIF program</a>. I was accepted in early April, told my school and students I wasn't coming back the next year, and now here I am!<br />
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I was assigned to a lycee (high school) and a college (middle school) in Strasbourg, which was my first choice area. I haven't really heard anything negative about Strasbourg--it's beautiful, it's full of students, the EU Parliament is there, it has amazing Christmas markets....what's not to love? I'll put up pictures when I'm actually there, but you should google it right now...it's awesome. PLUS it's basically smack in the middle of Europe, so I'm looking forward to traveling all over during school breaks. My job seems pretty sweet too...I'll be an English teaching assistant, so not even a real teacher. That could get frustrating since I'm used to having my own classes, but it's okay since I'll only be working 12 hours a week (!!!) with 8 weeks or so of vacation in 7 months (!!!). I have been in contact with the former assistant at my schools and he had a not-so-great experience, but he has been awesome about answering all of my questions and helping with everything I need. The teachers I will be working with in France also seem really nice, so I hope the students will be cool, too. I am definitely a little nervous about teaching French kids.<br />
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So yeah, 1 week! I am so excited and happy to be going. I have been keeping busy shopping and packing and hanging out with the people (and dog) I love. I also spend wayyyy too much time on facebook and an online forum for assistants, in addition to lurking on other assistants' blogs :) I can't wait to move into my apartment and meet the other assistants from my town---everyone seems really cool and fun. I'll post again soon...feel free to leave comments (you don't have to be a member or anything) or follow me, or whatever you do with blogs. :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.com4