Picture Links

One more thing...I added an area to the right called "Photo Albums".  If you click on any of the links, you should be directed to my Picasa albums, where I will keep posting all of my pictures.

Vacances already?!

I am now officially on "Vacances"...I've told some of you how my schedule works here, but for those of you who haven't heard, here it is: I began working on October 1st, and it is now October 24th and I have about a week and a half of vacation. I will then work until December 19th and have vacation until January 4th. Between January and the end of April, I have two other 2-week breaks and a few 4-day weekends. Not bad at all.

I have been through each of my classes at the 3 establishments where I work once now; So, I have seen about 48 different classes of students, each of which I will only see 6 or 7 times before I leave. It's kind of unfortunate in that way, because I really don't feel like I'll be able to see much progress with individual students. But, it's also nice because I won't get bored with the same students...it's always something different! This week was the first week I taught at the collège, which is the French equivalent to middle school. It was definitely an interesting experience, and I now have even more respect for middle school teachers than I did before. The ages (13-15) are hard to work with, especially in terms of keeping them interested and on-task. But, they're fun at the same time, especially the youngest of them. I anticipate that they will provide the best storytelling material going forward!

I've gotten comfortable (and a little antsy) in Romans...it's definitely a small town, and there are very few young people to socialize with. On the weekends, the city is pretty much dead. There is one bar open called "La Charrette" which I have been to a couple of times with the other Assistants; it's very "French" in ambiance and character. However, it's not an exciting enough place to keep us interested for 7 months, so we have started to venture out and go to the larger cities around here (so far, Valence has been our destination of choice). I think that as we go forward we will spend more time in Grenoble and Lyon, which are both conveniently close and really great cities full of college students. I have also met a couple of French friends, and they are great...I can tell that my French is improving each time I'm with them.

If there's one thing I can credit Romans with, however, it's tradition. They have a lot of pride surrounding their gastronomy and commerce. The two regional dishes here are ravioles (never say "ravioli"...that's Italian, and the Romanais ravioles are smaller and filled with cheese instead of meat...they're very protective of this) and Pogne, a breakfast pastry (I'm still trying to figure out why it's special...it just tastes like semi-sweet bread to me). They even have a museum for Pogne, and almost every pizzeria you pass features Raviole pizza. Additionally, you can tell that the economic history of the town is based on shoe production...there are shoes everywhere; in fact, I have to wonder how so many shoe stores are kept in business by such a small population. But, the town has always been known for its shoes and is keeping the tradition alive. It's kind of difficult to walk down the streets without giving into the constant temptation of shoe shopping, but I've restrained myself so far. Maybe I'll give in after I receive my first paycheck.

In other news, I spent Wednesday this week in a nearby town called Tain l'Hermitage (I had Wednesday off...yeah, I know). It is a town surrounded by vineyards, and wine is definitely the raison d'être for this town. I went to a "cave" to taste some wines, which were incredible. I got to learn a little bit about the wines of the region, and tasted about 8 wines ranging from 7 to 150 euros/bottle. Although I still prefer reds, I had a couple of great white wines as well. I walked out with two bottles of red, one of which may just have to make it home to Colorado for Christmas.

For Vacances, I will be starting by spending this weekend in Romans, going to the Sunday morning market (my favorite thing about the town) and preparing some post-vacation courses. On Monday, I will be heading to Lyon to meet up with Grace, a friend I met at Orientation, and Sarah Nickel, a good friend from college. We'll spend Monday and Tuesday in Lyon before I head back to Romans on Wednesday and catch my bus to Prague. I'll be in Prague for about 4 days with Bryan, another assistant who was on my flight to France last month. I'm incredibly excited to see Prague...I've had the urge to see Eastern Europe, and especially Prague, for a really long time. Plus, it will be great to spend some time in large cities at a slightly faster pace than everyday life in Romans.

Hope you all have a Happy Halloween!

School Days

I'm beginning to feel like I actually live here now! I began teaching last week, and it has proven to be interesting. Basically, I have students with a range of ages and abilities, so I go into each class slightly unprepared for what will happen. Some classes have an impressive amount of participation, and some just sit there and stare at me as if they don't understand a word I'm saying (which, they probably don't). So, I've done a couple of unplanned lectures since students weren't asking questions or participating; I just started talking about American politics, culture and economics for a long time...I'm sure they were all fascinated. It should get better, though -- I only see most of my classes once a month, so for now I have a lot of introductory sessions where I introduce myself, we discuss common French and American stereotypes (pretty predictable - "Americans are fat," "All Americans carry guns"), and I try to clear up some common misunderstandings. They always find it entertaining when I tell them the stereotypes we have about French people, especially that they don't shower or shave (they can't believe that there are Americans who believe that). Most of them agree with the stereotype that the French are lazy, though... they also admit to the fact that they complain all the time.

The teachers at the schools have been incredible and very welcoming - I think they will be fun to work with this year. There is one who frustrates me because she basically supports all of the negative ideas that the French have toward Americans in front of the class, which makes it a little hard for me to openly state my opinion. But, I guess there's always got to be one.

Other than that, I'm really starting to like the town I'm living in. I found a great running course, which I define as "great" because it avoids all large gatherings of people in the town. People don't really run in France, so when you do, they look at you like your ridiculous. I got sick of these looks right away, so I did what I could to find a path avoiding them.

I ventured to Valence the other day, which is a larger city about 20 minutes away from Romans by train. There is a university there, so I might try to find a class schedule and listen in on some classes. If I do, I will also put up a flyer to advertise for tutoring so that I can fill my schedule a little. On that note, I also bought a cheap guitar so that I can continue practicing :).

Last weekend, Annie and Régis took the Mexican assistant, Carlos, and me to their home in Seyne-sur-Mer near Toulon. We spent the weekend seeing the city, walking around on the beach, and hiking (well, I don't know if it can actually be called "hiking"...more like walking uphill) to some great viewpoints. For my birthday, their neighbors joined us for dinner at a Crêperie - it was delicious! After, we went back to their house and had a bottle of champagne. They really treated me well; it was so nice of them to take me under their wings once again.

Anyway, I better get going and try to get some things done with what's left of my day. It's really rainy out today, so the town isn't very lively. I will probably cook some dinner in my apartment and watch yesterday's debate, which I'm currently downloading. It's amazing how interested the French are in the election - most of the questions I get everyday in class revolve around either it or subprimes (yeah, that's easy to talk about in very basic English). Although they do know a decent amount about the election, most of their knowledge has a strong leftward slant and, with the way they talk about Obama, one would think he was God's gift to Earth. So, I try to teach them a thing or two about both sides. And, anytime they ask me who I'm voting for, I say I haven't decided yet.

Oh, for the record, I've heard a real French person say "Zut alors" three times.

I miss you all and will talk to you soon!