Do they work here?

So, get this: I have been back at work for 3 days since our 10-day vacance, and apparently tomorrow (Armistice Day) is another day off of work. For the school I'm working at this week, I don't have classes on Wednesdays...so, after today I'm looking at another 2-day break. In the words of one of my students this morning, "c'est la France."

This weekend was very relaxing with perfect Autumn weather. Saturday, I went to Valence to spend the afternoon with Molly and Patrick. We went to one of the coolest markets I have ever seen, which was in a lesser-known part of town with a mostly immigrant population. The people there were incredibly friendly, and the food was incredibly cheap. I didn't buy any (holding out for the Romans Sunday morning market), but I did enjoy a fantastic dinner cooked by Patrick and Molly with the ingredients they bought there. I'm way too spoiled when it comes to cheap, high-quality fruits and vegetables here...hopefully Pike Place market will live up to the expectations set by French markets when I move back!

Yesterday morning, I decided to go to church. I didn't know exactly where the Protestant church was and, after a little confusion, found myself wandering into a church that I figured was some sort of Protestant church (the sign said "Eglise something," and I didn't really have time to think about it before I was welcomed and shuffled in by a very nice older gentleman. About 30 minutes into the service, I realized what the sign outside said: "Eglise Pentecôt," as in Pentecostal Church. Only at that moment did I remember what I knew about Pentecostal churches, a realization that occured at approximately the same moment that people in the congregation were speaking in tongues, crying profusely, and calling out to Jesus their Savior. I became pretty anxious as I sat there, realizing that I was in for quite the church experience. After another hour and a half, during which people continued crying and babbling and the pastor jumped around while delivering his message, I decided I needed to leave (this is about 2 hours and 10 minutes into the service). I'm usually not one to be too judgmental on churches, but this was one of the most frightening experiences of my life and I had to get out of there. Unfortunately, I also drank the communion wine, and spent most of the service hoping it wasn't a "don't drink the kool aid" situation. I told the girl next to me that I had to leave and asked her if it is okay for me to just walk out. She said yes, but not before asking me to give her my phone number and e-mail address, which I actually gave her (I know...the phrase "what was I thinking" has entered my head many times since). In an attempt to be stealth, I snuck out while people were on their way up to the altar to be blessed. Fresh air has never felt so good.

After readjusting to the outside world, I met Marie, a German assistant from Valence, to walk through the market, have some coffee, and show her around Romans. It ended up being a pleasant Sunday (after I got over the church shock).

Tonight I'm going to Valence to have dinner with a bunch of assistants at Abi's apartment (an assistant from Seattle). Should be a fun way to celebrate not having classes tomorrow.

I'm having picture uploading issues, but I will get all of my Vacances pictures up as soon as possible. À bientôt!

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!