Tuesday 23 Septembre
Left Detroit at 7 am, arrived in NY at 9. Sprinted to AirTrain and went into NYC for the first time! Stood in long lines, waited forever, and finally got to the 86th floor of the Empire State Building. There was an amazing view but there were also TONS of people, I was worried about missing my flight, and being alone was not super fun. Plus, thanks to the impossible expectations set up for me in "Sleepless in Seattle," I was super disappointed knowing that it would be impossible to run up there just like Meg Ryan did and run into the arms of her one true love. Unless he was a security guard who let her past all of the lines. One cool thing, though, is I did buy a banana from a fruit vendor on the street for $0.35 and didn't really think about it until after I had eaten it. Luckily, I lived.
The flight to Lyon was AMAZING thanks to my uncle who got me into Business Elite!! I swear, talk about the haves & the have-nots. I felt almost ashamed as tons and tons of people walked by me, and I sat in my huge chair with my champagne and blanket and foot room. After a while, though, I felt a little less bad as I enjoyed the three-course meal and actually slept!! Ahh Business Elite! :)
Wednesday 24 Septembre
When I arrived in Lyon, it was 6h20 here, which felt like midnight to me. I had the good luck of meeting another Assistant "KD" on the plane (she was seated behind me, thanks to her dad the Pilot) and so we wandered the airport in search of train tickets, and another language Assistant. We didn't end up finding her in the airport but when I got on la navette she was right there! Quel chance! Two train rides and a few hours later, we were finally en ville! Le Puy is sort of different than I expected, I'm not sure why, but I'm kind of glad I don't live there. It's beautifully historic and has cobble-stone roads, and buildings like miniature giraffes. It's up in the mountains so from a distance, the whole region is like a living postcard. But it's the country side which surrounds the city which is really incredible. There are tons of tiny villages that you can literally pass through in less than a minute, with animals and trees and beautiful red-orange scalloped roofs. I don't really know what to compare it to.
Thursday 25 Septembre
"N" and I explored the city a little, after sleeping half the day away. Jet lag is killer. I don't really remember much else about that day, but "N" went off to Brioude, and I went to meet La famille L-Q with whom I live now! At that point, I was so tired I could barely understand anything that was being said, and basically just kept nodding and saying, "oui." All I know is there are three cows who live just around the corner from me (LITERALLY!!!) and the kids are convinced that my favorite animal in the world is a cow. I practically scream with joy everytime I see a cow. I have taken at least 30 pictures of them.
Friday 26 Septembre
I went to visit une ecole with another person from l'inspection academique. The way that French teacher education works is a little different from how it goes in the US (assuming I understood all of this right). After the students finish their basic degrees, they have to pass what's called a concours, which is a super hard test in all subjects. If they pass, they continue on to the equivalent of our College of Education. At some point, they do student teaching, and then they are PLACED in schools!!! (IMAGINE THAT!!!!) All teachers make the same money at the same level, and pay increases are all based on seniority. But after the students finish their College of Ed, they have to return for one week of further training. When I went to visit the school, there were probably 10 primary teachers there, who had all prepared a lesson & taught it to groups of students. Afterward, they had a group discussion about everything and surprisingly enough to me, it was EXACTLY like being in Ed classes (except I could only understand about 3/4 of what they were saying). I felt right at home!! :)
Afterward, I called the host family and accepted the job and went back to the house of M et Me and watched three hours of "NY District" and "NCIS" two shows that are supposedly American but I've never seen before. They LOVE them!
Saturday 27 Septembre
I came to the host family's house around noon. It was a whirlwind, since I started unpacking and the kids took practically EVERYTHING to show their mom! Haha I decided to show them some photos of friends & family, and E had almost immediately memorized my whole family tree. :) She practically knows my life better than I do.
After unpacking, I got a personal tour from T and E. We met these CRAZY neighborhood kids who were walking around with a roll of wallpaper, like a banner in a parade, and yelling things in French I didn't understand. They proceeded to climb a fence with little lightning bolts of doom on it, stepping carefully between the little blades, and I just watched in awe, unable to think of anything French to say.
We went afterward and bought a new shower & raspberry-colored sink that they're going to install in my room once they move the washing machine out. Other purchases included flippers for T's swimming class, and pinkish-purple boots for E. My life felt a little like a circus.
Sunday 28 Septembre
This was the day of the charity walk in the forest in the highest part of the departement. We walked 10 kilos (and everyone did it, including the 5 year old! I was amazed!) raising money for kids with some kind of respiratory problem (I think?) I'm still not quite sure. It was fun except for E spitting sunflower seeds at her brothers, and me trying to figure out how to stop her. (I was a broken record of, "Ce n'est pas gentil! Arrete!") I wish I knew French girlscout songs, so that I could have distracted them but alas. All I've got is the Alphabet song. And "Mon Ane."
Monday 29 Septembre
I went into town and met another Assistant, K. We went up to see the cathedrale and paid to go up into the statue (Rocher Corneille Statue de Notre Dame de France). It was really fun until we got to the tiny ancient stairs and I was sure I was going to die. I have no clue how high it was, but it felt like somehow that adventure wasn't very safe.
At the computer store, I fumbled to explain my computer problems that I don't even understand, and the man spit out rapid-fire French, from which I gathered he was saying I was a complete moron for not knowing that the wifi has to be in "association" mode, or else I was just typing in the code wrong. He was definitely wrong, and mean, but I figured it out myself last night and finally my Internet works!! Hooray! Hoorey! Hoorizzle!
K, the other assistant, seems really cool, and she speaks French like a pro. (I know this because she knows how to use the three key phrases I do not yet understand: n'importe quoi, beh oui! and en faite.) It is not just a simple matter of looking them up in the dictionary; rather, it is the exact timing and placement of these phrases that, in my eyes, separates the Frenchies from the French fries. Et moi, je suis, encore, le MacDo.
