My first two weeks in France

Day 1: Monday, September 26, 2011

Third time’s a charm! After trying three different days I finally made it to Paris! I have so much luggage. At the airport in Pittsburgh I met a nice older couple that was going to visit friends in France. It turns out that they are actually just north of La Rochelle where I will be living.
On the plane I watched Bridesmaids and had dinner. I tried to sleep some but coach is miserable on international flights. I maybe got two or three hours’ sleep. We had breakfast before landing but it wasn’t excellent.
When we finally landed in Paris there wasn’t a gate for us to park at so we parked someplace way out of the way. We were met with buses to take us to the terminal but there were only two because the bus drivers were on strike! Ca c’est la France! It was a good thing that we got to customs when we did because after us the line was out the door.
I remembered customs being a more difficult the last time I was here but it was very simple. I chatted with my friends from Pittsburgh as we waited in the customs line. Then we all went to get our bags. They had a train to catch that took them directly to La Rochelle. We walked to the train station together then said goodbye. I wish I remembered their names now.
I took the RER B train from the airport to central Paris. It is the simplest and most direct route but it’s challenging with 100+ pounds of luggage. But once I was on the train I didn’t have to worry about switching. I got off at St. Michel-Notre Dame but came out of the train station on the wrong side of the street and right in front of Notre Dame. I dragged my bags across the street and got a cab to take me to my hotel. I was convinced that I could walk there with all my bags but I was so exhausted that I gave in. Once I told the cab driver where I was going he seemed hesitant to take me because I was so close. It turns out that I could have walked two blocks and I would have been there. Oh well! The cab ride was worth it.
I finally got to the hotel where Melissa, Meghan and Kristina had been waiting for me since last Saturday. I had to make three trips from the lobby to get all my bags up the old and winding staircase. Thankfully, our room was on the first floor. When I got there they were still in bed!
After they all got ready we decided that today would be our day to run errands. First, we went to the Gare Montparnasse to buy our train tickets and carte 12-25 (this is a discount card for people ages 12-25. It allows you 50% off the regular train fare for a one-time fee of 49E.) On our way to the train station we walked through Les Jardins du Luxembourg. They were really nice and this was something that none of us had ever done before in Paris. Then we all went to buy cell phones. We decided to get prepaid ones because that’s what we had last time we were in France. We each got a different phone at Phone House.
We are all English teaching assistants but we are all placed in different parts of France. I’m in La Rochelle, three hours southwest of Paris on the Atlantic Coast. Melissa is in Istres, about 45 minutes west of Marseille in the south of France on the Mediterranean. Meghan is in a small town outside of Dijon east of Paris. Kristina is also in a small town outside of Strasbourg also east of Paris and close to the German border.
Once we had our train tickets, carte 12-25 and new cell phones we decided to head back to the hotel to drop everything off. On our walk back we came across St. Sulpice. It has one of the largest organs in Europe.
Finally back at the hotel, it turned out that this would be when I crashed. I had been doing so well all day but once we were back in our room, I gave in and took a power nap. I have been awake for almost 36 hours besides the little sleep I had on the plane.
After my nap we went to dinner. On the way back we stopped at a student bar for a drink but I was so tired at this point that I just wanted to go back to the hotel and sleep for what would be 12 hours.


Day 2: Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Today we decided that we were going to do some touristy stuff in Paris. After showering and having breakfast at the hotel (coffee and bread) we walked to the Catacombs. When we got there the line was around the block! It turned out that we would wait an hour and a half. But once inside it was well worth it. The Catacombs are an underground burial ground in Paris. At the beginning of the 1800s Paris cemeteries were at capacity and there was more demand for burial space after a widespread flu killed more people. So the mayor of Paris decided to empty Paris’s cemeteries and move the remains to an old quarry in the south part of the city. They would be nearly organized and arranged and new markers would be installed to tell visitors which cemeteries the remains had come from. Then the entire place was covered over and now has an eerie cave-like feel. There are so many remains down there it is incredible.
After the Catacombs we were going to go to the Montparnasse Cemetery but we forgot because we were hungry. We decided to take the train to the Eiffel Tower and get lunch somewhere around there. But once we got off the train Meghan was so starving that she headed straight for the Eiffel Tower and got lunch at one of the touristiest places. There are good deals to be found if you can hold off hunger just a little bit longer.
We all got lunch and ate on the Champs de Mars, the huge park in the Eiffel Tower’s shadow. We sat in the grass and relaxed for about an hour before heading to Place de Torcadaro across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. We took pictures and then walked to the Arc de Triomphe. We sat for a while and just watched the cars entering and exiting the roundabout. It is Paris’s busiest with eight streets converging at one point.
Then we got on the train and headed back in the direction of the hotel. We went back and showered and changed then went to dinner. Tuesdays are student nights at bars in Paris and we decided to try a few suggested in my guidebook. When we went to the first one we were the only ones there! We decided to stay for one drink then try another place. Apparently either the book was wrong about the bars or we were too early in the night.


Day 3: Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Today we headed out to walk around in the Marais district. We took the metro to Place de la Bastille where Parisians stormed the prison at the start of the French Revolution. Melissa found a vintage store in one of my guidebooks so we decided to check it out. It was cool but everything there was so expensive. They had a ton of Burberry trench coats but as I brought my Christian Dior one I didn’t think I needed to splurge on another. After looking around the store for a while, no one bought anything and we headed for Place des Voges. I always love going to Place des Voges. It’s a square and all the buildings are exactly alike and everything is symmetrical right down to the size of the windows and the pitch of the roofs. We sat in the grass and watched all the little French kids play in the park.
We decided that we wanted to take a boat tour of Paris at night so we went back to the Eiffel Tower where most of the boats leave from. We ate dinner at a nice café on Rue Cler then headed back to the Champs de Mars to sit in the grass under the Eiffel Tower at sunset and wait for our boat. People sell all kinds of things to tourists under the Eiffel Tower and we decided to buy a bottle of Champagne. A guy approached us and asked if we wanted to buy it. We asked how much and he said 20E! We told him he was crazy and to forget it. But he was persistent and so was I. we finally got the bottle for 5E!
And so we drank our Champagne under the Eiffel Tower and waited for our boat. It was at 9pm so we had about an hour to kill. We were the first people in line to board the boat because we wanted seats in the front where it was open.
The boat tour was excellent! I would definitely recommend this to anyone visiting Paris but be sure to go at night when all the buildings are illuminated.


Day 4: Thursday, September 29, 2011

Today everyone is leaving Paris to go to their new towns. I’m staying until Saturday. We got up and had breakfast at the hotel and paid our bills. It turned out to be cheaper than we had originally expected because I let them know that I would not be there for two nights and despite the fact that we still had a room for four people they only charged us for two the first night and three the second.
We all packed and Kristina was the first to leave. She took a cab to Gare de l’Est. Meghan and Melissa helped me take my bags to my new hotel just down the street. It is very simple but I will only be here two nights so it is fine. It is the Hotel Stella and Ernest Hemingway once stayed here. But there is no wifi or breakfast nor are there bath towels.
After I dropped all my stuff in my room the three of us went to lunch nearby at Place St. Michel. Then we walked back to the hotel and they got a cab for Gare de Lyon. I was finally on my own in Paris.
I decided to go to St. Chapelle church where they claim to have some remains of Christ. But the line was way too long. I almost went to the nearby Conciergerie – where famous people like Marie Antoinette stayed until being executed – but it didn’t interest me presently.
Finally I decided to go to the Musée Carnavalet, the Paris history museum. I had wanted to go the last time I was in Paris but it was closed. It turned out to be free and I wandered through time and its excellent collection.
Tyler Walton, a guy who is also teaching English in La Rochelle, texted me to meet up for dinner. I was to meet up with his friend who would then bring me to him – very strange way of doing introductions. And so I met his friend Aaron, who had also been an assistant and is now living in Paris, and we walked to meet Tyler at the Eiffel Tower where he was also meeting another friend. The three of them went to Baylor University in Waco, Texas. We decided to get gyros from the Latin Quarter and eat at Notre Dame.
After we ate I went back to my hotel and read more of my book. It is a women’s diary and explains her involvement in the French Resistance during World War II. It turns out that others in her group lived on the same street where I was now staying. When I asked the owner of the hotel if she knew this woman’s story she said no but that her parents had hidden Jewish children in the basement of the hotel during the war.


Day 5: Friday, September 30, 2011

Today I started by going to the Musée d’Orsay. It’s another art museum in Paris but is often overlooked for the much busier Louvre. The building used to be a train station but now houses some excellent pieces of art. It was massive; I did my best to see almost everything in the time that I had allotted myself.
After the museum I had lunch in the Tuileries gardens across the Seine. I had a sandwich and relaxed in the sun. The weather this week has been excellent! Although it has been hot some days – 85 at the end of September in Paris – it could have been much worse.
At the Musée d’Orsay I decided to buy two museum tickets for the price of one. It was 13E to visit the Musée d’Orsay and the Orangerie where Monet’s paintings are exhibited. The Orangerie was excellent was well! The colors in Monet’s paintings are awesome.
After going to two art museums I decided that that was enough for me for one day. I like art but museums can be tiring. I walked back to my hotel to grab my book and then went to the Jardins du Luxembourg to read more.
For dinner, I met Tyler and Aaron again and we bought food at a grocery store and ate on the Pont des Arts. I walked back to my hotel and read more before going to bed.


Day 6: Saturday, October 1, 2011

Today I’m going to La Rochelle! I checked out of my hotel and left my bags in the lobby. I have about two hours of so before I need to be at the train station. I had breakfast at a café just opposite the Jardins du Luxembourg. There wasn’t much I could do in that time before leaving so after I ate I went to the park to read some more.
When it was time for me to head back to the hotel, I first stopped at the hotel where my parents and brother and I will be staying for Christmas. It seems very nice and well kept up.
Back at the Hotel Stella I got my bags and asked them to call a taxi for me. It came and took me to Gare Montparnasse for my train to La Rochelle. I was pretty early so I sat on my bags and finished my book.
Once I was finally on the train with all my bags I was able to relax. I got out my Kindle and started reading another book – Nellie Bly’s Ten Days in a Mad House. The train takes three hours to reach La Rochelle and passes through the Loire Valley on the way. There were four stops on the route.
Tyler and I arrived at the train station in La Rochelle and waited for my contact person to pick us up. He had asked that I let him know what time our train would be arriving and he would take us to the hostel. He had booked the hostel for all of us until we found housing so we could decide ourselves how long we wanted to stay. I decided on three nights.
After getting our bags to the room Tyler and I decided to walk into town for dinner. We ate at a good restaurant in the Vieux Port – three courses for 13E. It’s also nice to be at the hostel now because they have internet! After a few days of being disconnected I finally called my parents.
Day 7: Sunday, October 2, 2011

Today was a very relaxing day at the beach! I got up and had breakfast at the hostel. I had to be out of the room so that they could clean it so I figured I would go to the beach that is about a ten minute walk away.
I heard that everyone was getting together at a bar at 3pm so I went to the beach until then. It was excellent! I read for a while then took a nap. At 3pm I headed into town to go to the bar but when I got there no one was there. I waited for a while then ran into Justine and Shannon, two other American assistants. Justine is from South Carolina and just graduated from the College of Charleston. Shannon is from New Jersey and graduated from Clemson.
They said they were headed to the other beach that is closer to downtown so I decided to go hang out with them. Justine is living with Jo – another assistant from Syracuse. At the beach we met Catherine who is from New Zealand.
Tyler met up with us at the beach and around 6pm we walked back to the hostel. I wanted to shower then we ate there. We had duck confit for 6E. We used the internet then got ready for bed and our first day of work tomorrow. Tyler has to go to Poitiers for his orientation but mine is here in La Rochelle with all the rest of the primary assistants.


Day 8: Monday, October 3, 2011

Today we had our first orientation to the program and an even deeper look into the French system of bureaucracy. We first had to fill out our forms for social security. Since we are now government employees we must pay taxes and are entitled to French health care. Their coverage is nice – 70% of all doctors’ visits and prescriptions are paid for by the government. If we wanted we could enroll in supplemental coverage that would pay the other 30%. I decided I didn’t need that.
Then we had to enroll is life, liability and renter’s coverage which is mandatory. We then got our school schedule for the year. We get almost eight weeks of vacation! In the month of October we work for three weeks then get two weeks off. We get off on my birthday (Veterans’ Day)! Then we work three weeks in November and two weeks in December before getting two more weeks off for Christmas.
We broke for lunch and Shannon and I decided to try to find an apartment together. I had originally planned to live with Tyler and Garrett but they have already found places for themselves. Garrett is from Oregon and graduated from the University of Arizona. He is living with French roommates. Tyler is a secondary assistant and has been offered accommodations at his school for 200E a month. Everyone else now has their own place except for Shannon and me. Tonight is my last night at the hostel then Thiery, our program coordinator, is taking me to the school where Tyler is living. They have offered me a studio while I continue looking. Shannon is staying with Justin and Jo.
After our day of orientation Shannon and I went back to the hostel to get online and look for an apartment. It turns out that renting here is a lot harder than we had anticipated. Because we came so late in the year most all the apartments are already rented to university students. We are also limited in our options because we need something furnished.
A bit of good news – today we found out that we will actually be making more money than we had originally anticipated. They are taking less in taxes than we had been told.
After making a few calls for apartments we gave up the hunt for the day. We will do more later this week. Shannon left the hostel and I had dinner there again. There is a French guy who is staying in my room that is also looking for an apartment in La Rochelle. We thought about maybe trying all get a place together but finding three furnished rooms is harder than finding two. I watched a movie at the hostel then went to bed.


Day 9: Tuesday, October 4, 2011

I woke up, had breakfast and checked out of the hostel. Thiery said he would pick me up to take me to my new studio. When he got there he told me that he could take me to his office and let me use his computer to try to find an apartment with Shannon. She would meet us there. We tried for a long time. We made calls and left messages but lots of places are either already rented or not furnished.
Shannon and I went to lunch then everyone had to be back in the afternoon to schedule their school observation visits for Thursday and next Monday. On Thursday I will be going to my first school. I got lucky and all my schools are in La Rochelle. I’m in three schools total teaching three classes in each.
After scheduling our visits Thiery took me to the studio. I had to sign some forms to get the keys. I will also be paying 200E per month but I can only stay for two months. I hope I can find something this week! The studio is nice but very simple. There is a full bathroom, a bed, a desk and a type of closet/dresser to store my cloths. I have gradually unpacked but I don’t want to settle in too much then have to pack up again when I find my own place. There is also a shared kitchen space with a fridge, toaster oven and two hot plates.
One nice thing about the studio is that there is a supermarket right down the street. I went in and bought a ton of food for only 22E! I got five apples, five pears, five kiwis, green beans, granola bars, 16 yogurts, orange juice, pasta, sauce, toilet paper and soap. I went home and made pasta with meat sauce. I also finished reading Nellie Bly’s book. I’ve now read two books in a week! I’m going to start another tomorrow.


Day 10: Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Today I had a meeting at the bank to open my account with Sandrine; she is one of Thiery’s assistants. I was the last person to open an account. Everyone will be banking with CIC. It was really simple but for the fact that after September 23, 2011, no bank in France will accept traveler’s checks. I brought $1,000 in traveler’s checks to make my initial deposit so that I could have access to a security deposit and rent for my apartment. There was nothing they could do for me at the bank. I decided to keep the checks until my parents come in December and they can take them back to the States and cash them in there.
French banks also offer cell phone plans. I decided that even though I already had a phone I would sign up for the bank’s phone because it has unlimited text and web and one hour of calling a month for 28E. The phone itself is only 1E and it’s a smartphone. I decided to get the Samsung Wave which looks like the iPhone. The woman at the bank told me that they would text me when my new phone was able to be picked up this Friday.
After going to the bank I went back to the office with Sandrine and Shannon met me to look for apartments again. Still no luck. We had to leave at noon because everyone only works a half-day on Wednesday s. We went to the market and had lunch then met up with everyone else at Vieux Port for Sammy’s 21st birthday. She is from the Isle of Man. We had Champagne for her birthday and waited for everyone else. We walked to the park to sit outside until dinner. At about 6pm about six of us went to Fitzpatrick’s Pub for a beer before dinner.
For dinner we went to a great little restaurant inside the old part of the city. I had stake haché with frites. It was excellent and only about 8E! I walked Catherine home because my house is further than hers and it’s on my way. We all decided not to stay out because we have our first day in the classroom tomorrow. I’m observing classes with Elly; she’s from Suffolk in the U.K. I started a book by Wendy Kopp on my Kindle; it’s entitled One Day, All Children… and it’s about Teach For America.


Day 11: Thursday, October 6, 2011

Thiery picked me up first today to take us to our schools. He also picked up Garrett and Elly. Elly and I are teaching at Descartes. We met the teachers and observed about four classes. One teacher let us teach a little right away. We played Simon Says in English. They were also able to ask us questions about where we lived and if we flew to France or took a boat!
French primary classes are strange. Each class is either at two or three different levels and ages. So they could have six and seven year olds in a class with eight and nine year olds. It would be like having first and third graders in the same class in the States.
All the teachers seem really nice and we talked about our schedules. They would like us there on Thursdays and Friday s but we may try to move the Thursday classes to Friday because we still don’t have our schedules from the other schools. We are observing at the other schools on Monday then have one more orientation scheduled for next Thursday. Then we will have one week of teaching before having two weeks of vacation.
After our observations Elly and I walked downtown to get on the internet and meet up with her roommate Amy who is from Ireland. We thought we had found an internet café but it was closed. As we were window shopping I used my iPhone4 to get online at one of the hotels. I found an apartment that was perfect for us. It’s in Aytré, south of La Rochelle but at least three other assistants live there. I called the number and the woman that answered told me to call another number that was listed online. I also called Thiery and told him what I had found and asked him to call for me. He did and left a message. He told me to come to his office tomorrow at 9:30am and we could call again and keep looking if it didn’t work out.
I went home and ate dinner and Tyler cooked for some secondary assistants. They invited me to eat with them but I had already eaten when they asked. I had planned on going out for Sammy’s birthday but no one called me and I don’t have that many phone numbers so I just stayed home and read.


Day 12: Friday, October 7, 2011

Today I went to Thiery’s office to meet Shannon and continue our apartment hunt. You can’t say we’re not trying. We thought we found a few but it is difficult to understand everything on the phone when we call. We thought Thiery or Sandrine would call for us but they didn’t. Finally, we found an apartment in La Rochelle and set up a viewing for tomorrow at 11am. It is through an agency so if we sign for it we will have to pay their agency fees.
We decided to go the agency office and clarify our phone conversation and see what their fees would be. Once we got there we were told that the apartment was already in the process of being rented and it would not be available for us. This entire process is so frustrating! There is an excellent rental market here in La Rochelle and if anyone wanted to make some money here would be the place to invest. I can’t imagine Athens even being this difficult.
While we were apartment hunting I got online and read that Steve Jobs died. I felt so out of the loop! I can’t believe I wasn’t watching TV or online when I heard the news. This whole not having the internet thing is really starting to put a damper on my ability to keep up with current events.
Shannon and I stopped at a café and were going to go to the bank but it was closed for lunch. In France, almost every business closes for between an hour and two hours for lunch. I went with Shannon to Justine and Jo’s house and used the internet. Their house is really nice but it is kind of far from downtown. They both bought bikes and you can take the bus but it stops running really early at night and not at all on Sundays.
I went back to my studio to get ready for Garrett’s dinner party. Tyler and I took the bus to Place de Verdun then transferred to go to Aytré. All the primary assistants were there along with Garrett’s roommates, Elly and Amy’s French roommate and two girls that are couchsurfing at Garrett’s. One is from Canada and the other is from Belgium.


Day 13: Saturday, October 8, 2011

Today I didn’t do much. It was nice to relax and not stress about finding an apartment. Although maybe someone posted the one we are looking for. Shannon and I are hoping to wait until the new comprehensive list of available apartments comes out on Monday.
I ate dinner at my studio and met Tyler and another secondary assistant, Manuel. He is a Spanish assistant from Honduras. The Jazz Festival started today and we figured we could walk downtown and hang out but once we got down there we couldn’t find anyone. We knew it was going on earlier but maybe just not at night.
Once downtown I stopped to look in the windows of every real estate agency for something for Shannon and me. I didn’t have much luck.
Tyler and I walked home and I watched Saturday Night Live Best of ‘09/’10 Season that I brought before going to bed.


Day 14: Sunday, October 9, 2011

Today I didn’t do anything. I finished Wendy Kopp’s book on Kindle and went to Justine and Jo’s for dinner with them and Shannon. Maybe tomorrow we will get lucky and find an apartment! I’ve now read three books in two weeks! I don’t think I’ve ever read so much so fast before.

day 52-57

Day 52: Monday, May 11, 2009: Today, we spent the day in Nice again! We were pissed at Katy and Christophe for not answering their phones. After we got up, we walked to the train station to try to get our tickets changed and explain the problem. It was so difficult! No one wanted to help us! They acted as if it wasn’t their problem. I finally demanded to speak to a manager who finally resolved our problem and reissued us new tickets at no additional cost.
So then we walked back to the hotel to get our bags. We had an hour before we needed to be back at the train station so we sat on the beach! There was no way we were going to make our grammar class. We text Christophe and he still never responded. Thanks!
We arrived in Avignon and took a taxi to Melissa’s house because it split the difference between my house and Lance’s. I walked home and explained the situation to my host parents. Jacqueline was really mad and suggested that I write a letter to the TGV and demand 25E for the cost of my hotel room for the night.
After dinner, I wrote a paper for literature class and studied for the grammar test that I have tomorrow. Lance text me and said that the test was moved and that it wasn’t going to be tomorrow – Christophe didn’t let me know, Lance did. I’m really glad that I’m paying him to be here on vacation with his girlfriend and he can’t communicate with me at all. It’s excellent!

Day 53: Tuesday, May 12, 2009: Today was busy; I had three classes. John got back from Germany. Yesterday in grammar, they watched the movie for the book that we are reading so I missed that. I have to watch it tomorrow with Lance and Melissa.
I had dinner with Jacqueline, Bernard, and John and did some homework. It was a pretty average Tuesday in France.

Day 54: Wednesday, May 13, 2009: Even though there was no class today, I still did a lot of work. I went to the internet café with Melissa to print our papers for our writing class tomorrow. Then we met Shawna and John at the university to work on our oral presentation that is tomorrow in our oral grammar class; topic: the language of the youth. We have to record a conversation between students our age, transcribe it, translate the slang terms that they use and present it to the class.
Shawna recorded a conversation with some of her French friends talking about a handball game but it wasn’t what we needed. We needed slang terms. John talked to his correspondent and we all decided that we could meet up at the bar tonight to do this.
Then I went to Melissa’s to watch our movie. Lance came too. After the movie, we had to write a film critique comparing the book to the movie. I went back to the university library to write and email mine to Christophe.
After dinner, we went to Red Sky to do our project. John’s correspondent brought a bunch of friends and it was really cool to just hang out with them. We are all basically the same age; some of them don’t speak any English so I have to speak French which helps me out a lot. We recorded our conversation and decided that we would write the presentation during our four-hour break between classes tomorrow.

Day 55: Thursday, May 14, 2009: Today in writing class, we talked about our book that the class is making with all of our poems from class. Each person has a job; it’s like high school yearbook. I’m the editor-in-chief. Each person gets to choose four poems, a picture and biography for the book and at the final dinner, we get to read one in front of everyone.
After class, we worked on our oral presentation. We decided that it would be way too hard to transcribe the conversation so we just typed up a page with the slang terms that they used and the meanings in regular French. Some were a little dirty but that’s how kids my age talk to describe things.
Then we had class and we had to present our project. The four of us – Shawna, Melissa, John, and I each read a section. We printed our handout and the professor copied it for us. After dinner, I decided not to go out because I went out last night and it was raining. So I stayed in and did lots of homework for next week.

Day 56: Friday, May 15, 2009: Today we had two classes again. When I was leaving my house this morning, I ran into the postman and I got a letter from Mamaw! It had some money that she had not spent while she was here.
In history class, we watched a film on the French Revolution. It is a really interesting part of French history. I sat next to Shawna and explained, in English, the events for her because the professor is a little difficult to understand.
I ate lunch in the cafeteria, had my journal meeting with Jenny, and had literature class. He explained another project for next week. We have to choose a French author and a short excerpt and explain the meaning in a presentation to the class. Everyone explained that we were all going out of town for the next Friday and only four people would be in class.
On our original schedule for France, it says that we have Thursday and Friday off school next week but then Christophe decided that that was wrong on Monday (when I wasn’t in class) and told everyone that there would actually be classes. Everyone explained that they wouldn’t be attending because we’d already made reservations for a four-day weekend (we hadn’t exactly made reservations yet but it would happen soon).
After class, I went to Melissa’s with Lance, Nina, Zoe, and Meghan so we could decide what we wanted to do for the long weekend. We thought we found really good plane tickets to Brussels, Belgium, but then the price doubled with fees and taxes so we decided against that. Finally, after much research and debate, we decided to go to Lyon. It would be Melissa, Lance, Meghan and I for two nights; leaving Thursday morning and returning Saturday afternoon. We found a hotel and train tickets and made all the reservations online.
After dinner, I decided to join everyone else at the bar for a while but I didn’t stay out long because we have an excursion tomorrow.

Day 57: Saturday, May 16, 2009: Today was really fun! We had an excursion to the village of Uzes and we went canoeing to the Pont du Gard, a huge ancient Roman aqueduct. The day was really fun!

days 47 - 51

Day 47: Wednesday, May 6, 2009: Today was very simple and relaxed after a stressful day yesterday. I slept late and ate lunch with Jacqueline on the terrace. After that, I met Lance and we walked to the train station to buy tickets for the weekend. It was 40E roundtrip.
Then we had two classes: history and literature again. We normally don’t have classes on Wednesdays but since there is no school on Friday, we have to make them up today. The literature teacher was absent… so we watched a movie. Can you waste more of my time while I’m in France please?
After dinner and watching the news with Jacqueline and Bernard, I packed a bag for the weekend and did some homework.

Day 48: Thursday, May 7, 2009: Today we went to Juan-les-Pins! We had our first class and we were told that our second class would be immediately following rather than four hours later. We were lied to yet again. Thus we had another four hour break. We bought train tickets planning on leaving right after class. Since the class was later, we decided to skip it because it was their fault for not giving us ample notice of the change. And we are allowed to miss one period of each class – no more. This was our first miss and we knew we would not skip again so we did it!
After the first class, I went to Casio with Lance and we bought stuff to make Skyline dip… or at least we tried to make it as best as we could with what we had. Note to the world: France is the capital of cheese yet cream cheese does not exist here. Cheddar cheese exists but you have to hunt it down. We got lazy and gave up on the cheddar. Also, Tostito’s scoops also are nonexistent or nearly impossible to find, thus we bought Doritos that served a similar purpose.
We went to Lance’s and tried our best to make authentic Skyline Chili Dip with his host mom: we basically failed. The chili was excellent but the cheeses did not do the job. After hanging out with her for a while, she offered to take us to the train station. I went home to get my bag and meet Melissa.
When my host parents’ son slept in my room the other night, he left the key in the door on the interior, thus when I tried to use my key it did not work. Jacqueline and Bernard were not home so I knocked on the neighbor’s door to see if maybe she had a key. Fail. Then I called Jacqueline. Fail. Then I called Bernard. He told me where Jacqueline was but I was confused. Finally, he just met me on the corner and gave me his keys.
So I finally had my bag and walked to meet Melissa. Then we walked back to Lance’s house. I did some homework on the train and we arrived in Juan-les-Pins at about 8 p.m. It was easy to find the hotel and the woman that worked there was very nice.
We put our stuff in the room then walked to the beach and saw the sunset. Then we walked around the town and found a restaurant for dinner. We decided not to go out; our friends couldn’t get on our train and are arriving tomorrow.

Day 49: Friday, May 8, 2009: Today was excellent! I went to Italy! We had heard about this huge outdoor market just across the French boarder on Fridays so we bought tickets and went. We took the TER and it took an hour and a half to get there.
When we were finally there, we found the market; it would have been hard to miss. There were tons of fake goods, sunglasses, belts, bags, whatever you wanted. But you could tell that it was fake. The only thing that I bought was a bottle of Dolce & Gabanna cologne for 6E50.
We walked around and found a restaurant for lunch. When in Italy, you have to have spaghetti. It was weird because we didn’t speak Italian but everyone thought we were French anyway. So at the restaurant, we got the French menu and ordered in French.
After lunch, we walked to the beach to see the sea in Italy; then we found our way back to the train station for the ride home. It was a fun day but we spent as much time in Italy as it took to get there and back. When we got back to Juan-les-Pins, our friends had arrived and we found them on the beach.
We had a light dinner and spent most of the night hanging out at the beach. Sparks flew between Lance and Melissa and I’m now in the middle of a honeymoon of sorts. Total third wheel over here… it is excellent to say the very least. (Sarcasm)

Day 50: Saturday, May 9, 2009: Day 50!? What!? Today was very relaxed and laid back. This is exactly why we came to Juan-les-Pins. It is like a resort vacation here. The sand is excellent and it was so sunny today. So sunny that wouldn’t you know it… I got an incredible sunburn.
After tanning all day, we took showers and got ready to go out. We had a big dinner together then visited a bar for a while before coming back to our room to hang out. I Skyped my family and friends in America. We ended up watching Aladdin on youtube before falling asleep. Yes, we are all actually six years old.

Day 51: Sunday, May 10, 2009: Today started off real well then went to hell real quick. Our friends checked out of the hotel and went to Nice for the day. Lance, Melissa, and I went to the beach again but thankfully, it was cloudy. I still was careful not to get more sun.
After the beach, we went back to the room to shower and change before going to the train station. I read online about the riots at OU’s Palmerfest! The nice woman at the hotel allowed us to stay in our room until 7 p.m. without paying more.
So we got to the train station on time and our train never came. It was cancelled without telling us. We missed our connection to Antibes and watched as our train to Avignon passed us. The woman at the counter was useless and told us that there was no way we were going back to Avignon tonight. Excellent and we have class tomorrow.
We called Christophe and Katy, our program director and his assistant and neither answered their phones. Excellent again! I’m so glad we’re paying you to be on vacation here for three months with your girlfriend and neither of you can answer your phones when your students are stuck somewhere.
We called Jenny, the grad student assistant and explained the situation. We decided to take the next TER train to Nice and try to exchange tickets. If we really couldn’t get home that night then we at least knew we had a place to stay at the hotel from the last weekend.
After failing to get new tickets, I called the nice old woman at the hotel and she said that she had a room for us. I recommend her hotel to anyone travelling to Nice, France! She is excellent!
So here we were back in Nice. But we love Nice! By this time, it was no earlier than 11 p.m. and we decided that we needed some of our favorite ice cream in Nice to make the day better. Then we went back to our room and we were beat. We went right to bed.

day 44, 45, 46

Day 44: Sunday, May 3, 2009: Today was really fun too! We went to Eze village just outside of Nice. We took the TER again and when we got off, we found the bus line that runs to the village. But since it is Sunday, the buses only run every hour. So we decided that we would take the trail and hike to the village. We all only had on sandals and it was a nice, sunny day.
So we start walking up the mountain and have no idea how far we are going. We stopped to talk to a couple of people along the way. It ended up being over a mile and a half and took almost two hours to accomplish. So finally in the old village of Eze atop a mountain in the south of France, we decided that we needed a snack to reward ourselves. We had crepes at a little restaurant just inside the town walls.
The village was excellent! I bought a new belt from a leather maker that was custom cut to fit me. He also shortened by old belt. I also got a leather bracelet. Then we found another store where my mom and aunt bought a pair of shoes each. The storekeeper couldn’t speak that much English so it was fun translating for my family. I also bought a Picasso wall covering for my room next year and a gift for my other grandma’s birthday.
We took some pictures and wandered back down to the bus stop only to find out that it was done for the day because it was Sunday; it was no later than 6:30 p.m. So then we waited around to catch a taxi. Finally, we got one and shared it with these two other American girls from Miami, Florida. One of the girls was studying in Paris for the year and her friend was visiting for a long weekend.
We paid the taxi fare and waited for the TER to take us back to Nice. My friends had left to go back to Avignon because we have a class tomorrow but I am allowed to miss it since my family is here. After freshening up, we had dinner at an Italian restaurant that was close to our hotel.

Day 45: Monday, May 4, 2009: Today was the last day with my family so we went to Grasse, home of the finest perfumes in France! We took the TER train from Nice for the hour trip the small city. We met a couple from Connecticut that was on their honeymoon.
We started by going to the Perfumerie Fragonard. It was semi-interesting but my aunt and grandma were loving it. After that, we had paninis for lunch. After walking around the city for a while, we decided that we had seen enough and I needed to get back to catch my train for Avignon.
We got back to the hotel and I packed my stuff and gave some things to my mom to take home for me and then I was ready to leave for the train station. My mom walked there with me. She waited with me until the board posted my platform and then we said goodbye. I had an excellent long weekend with everyone! They are leaving France tomorrow.
On the train, I always have to sit by the screaming children that are never under control. Just my luck. I needed to read basically an entire book for the class that I was missing today too. It was a struggle but I did it.
Finally, I was back in Avignon at 12:30 a.m. I walked the 20 minutes to my house and my host dad was waiting up for me. I had to sleep in the salon because their son and his fiancée and their granddaughter were sleeping in my room. They are leaving to go back to Paris tomorrow.
In my room, I noticed that I had received a box in the mail! It was from Alexis Parker! What a surprise! It had a bunch of fun Cincinnati stuff in it: Busken’s cookies, Reds’ peanuts, Skyline Chili, water balloons, playing cards, etc. It was really nice of her!

Day 46: Tuesday, May 5, 2009: Today was really busy. I had an oral exam for my grammar class. My teacher said that he could tell that I had spoken English all weekend and that my progress had suffered. Well my family doesn’t speak French so was I not suppose to speak to them at all?! Maybe we could just look at each other all weekend and they could try to guess what I was trying to tell them. I wasn’t happy when he said that.
Then I had my two other classes: history and literature. After that, I needed to write a paper on the book I had just finished so I went to the internet café. After sending a less-than-par paper, I went to Melissa’s to decide on plans for the next long weekend coming up at the end of the week. May is filled with lots of holidays in France!
We decided to go to Juan-les-Pins on the ocean for a weekend of fun and sun. We booked a hotel 100 meters from the beach for three people for 20E/person/night. Juan-les-Pins is just outside of Antibes, France. My room is Lance, Melissa, and me; Nina, Caitlyn, and Kelby are also going and they have a room for three as well.
Also today, John left to spend the week in Germany visiting his girlfriend. He is missing a week of classes after missing one yesterday because he missed his bus home from Barcelona, Spain, this past weekend. After dinner, everyone went out to celebrate Cinco de Mayo even though we are in France…

day 42 & day 43

Day 42: Friday, May 1, 2009: Today was really fun! We all got to sleep late. My family was really tired after the time change. Today, we decided to stay in Nice and explore the old city. We started by walking to the top of the mountain where we could see the whole city. There used to be an old military fort there that protected the port but it was destroyed by Louis XVI. There is also an artificial waterfall.

Today, my friends arrived. They called and said that they were going to the beach. Even though the beach is rocky, there was excellent weather and they got to lie out. After we were done at the mountain, we walked down and met my friends on the beach so my family could meet them. I changed my clothes and stayed with them on the beach while my family found a grocery store; our hotel room has a kitchenette with a fridge, hotplates, and a sink.

After a couple of hours, we all went back to our rooms to change and get ready for dinner. We all ate together. It was really fun. I had a Nicoise Salad and it was excellent! After dinner, we ot the best ice cream known to Nice – Finacchio. After that, we went back to the hotel to enjoy some wine before my friends and I went out for another drink.



Day 43: Saturday, May 2, 2009: Today, we went to Monte-Carlo, Monaco! It was really excellent! We woke up and took the TER train to Monaco. We got there just in time to see the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace of Monaco. Monaco is a principality of France, meaning that the citizens have dual citizenship. Basically, they are French and have a Prince of Monaco and the President of France.

After we saw the changing of the guard, we were able to see the view of the port. There are so many huge yachts! Money is everything in Monte-Carlo; I loved it! We saw a huge yacht with a helicopter parked on the stern and a Rolls Royce parked right on the dock – this is the life!

So we walked to the harbor and took a ferryboat to the other side where we were able to walk up and see the famous Casino of Monte-Carlo. Naturally, when in Monte-Carlo, one has to gamble a little bit. And so I did. We all did except for my mom. Outside the Casino, there are so many nice Mercedes, Porches, BMWs, Bentleys, Mazaraettis, etc.

We had a light lunch and went looking in a few stores on our way back to the train station. We went in Zara, but I didn’t find anything that I had to have. We took the TER back to Nice and met up with my friends to go to dinner again. Afterwards, we had excellent ice cream again. It was a really fun day!

Day 41

Day 41: Thursday, April 30, 2009: Today was my first day in Nice, France, with my family! But first, I had class. We are scheduled to have two hours of class, then a four-hour break, then two more hours of class. So I bought a train ticket to leave during the break at 12:15 p.m. So then Christophe decided that we were just going to have one long four-hour class. Because everyone loves that!

The class was creative writing. We began at school and went on another walk of the city. We wrote down everything that we heard, saw, smelled, tasted, and felt. We were then going to use this and write a poem. We ended at the hill of the Palace of the Popes to write. I only had about 15 minutes to write before I had to leave to walk back to my house and get ready and go to the train station. Bernard drove me there after insisting that I eat a ham sandwich.

At the train station, I expected that he would just drop me off and go. I know how to take the train. He was really nice and carried one of my bags for me and waited on the voie until the train arrived. Then I found my seat and began working on the four-hour ride there. I did some grammar homework and read a little. I didn’t want to write in my journal because I would need the dictionary and then people would not think that I was French. I hate being pegged as an American anytime I go somewhere because people don’t understand that I am studying here, they just assume that I am a tourist.

So then I arrived in Nice. The views from the train along the ride were excellent! The sea is so blue! I love the Cote d’Azur! I waited at the train station for my Mom, aunt, and Mamaw because they were flying into Milan, Italy and taking the train to Nice. The train arriving from Milan was only half an hour after I arrived and I figured that they were on that so I waited. The train arrived an hour and fifteen minutes late without my family. So then I waited for the next trains from Italy; nothing. I waited for three hours before deciding that I was done and I walked to the hotel.

The hotel was recommended by the program director. It doesn’t have a website and people only know of it by word of mouth. I got a room for us four for 100E a night. It was across the street from the beach! That is an excellent for that type of location in Old Town Nice. If anyone ever goes there, let me know and I will pass along the hotel info. The hotel is more than 100 years old and the rooms could use a little TLC but it was excellent nonetheless.

Well the woman at the hotel didn’t even take my name of credit card info when I called to make my reservation. It is that laid back. I also reserved a room for three of my friends – Melissa, Lance, and Meghan – who were also going to Nice for the weekend. They are arriving tomorrow. Tomorrow is May Day so there are no classes!

So I finally get to the hotel and I tell the nice old woman owner that my family’s train was late and I wanted to wait for them here. She gave me the room without paying. I also explained that I was studying in Avignon and from that point on she spoke French with me and didn’t treat me like an American tourist. I unpacked a little and decided that I wasn’t going to sit in a hotel and wait for them to arrive since they hadn’t even called me. So I left and walked along the beach. I walked all the way to the point by the port and sat to watch the sunset. Just then, the woman at the hotel called and told me that my family had arrived!

So then I walked back and met them. It was really nice to see them after six weeks in France. They freshened up and then we found a place to eat since no one had yet. We had Italian. I had my Mom try Pastis with me. It was a good day besides that wait at the train station but what can you do.

Day 37, 38, 39, 40

Day 37: Sunday, April 26, 2009: Today was really fun, even though it rained a little. The Zemmits told John and me that we could invite friends to go to L’Isle Sur Sorges. I brought Lance; John didn’t bring anyone. The five of us drove in their car.

At L’Isle Sur Sorges, we went antiquing. It was really interesting. Lance and I found Picasso and Matisse drawings; if I wanted to spend 2000E, I could’ve owned a Picasso. Maybe next time. We must have seen two million euro-worth of antiques (probably like $3 million USD).

Then we ate at a patisserie where Jacqueline knows the owner. She cuts her hair. I had a pizza and tarte aux fruits. It was excellent. Since it was only like 1 p.m., we weren’t really ready to go home and Bernard asked us if we wanted to go to Fountain de Vaucluse so we went.

It was really cool. It’s a little town on this river. But the river has no source; divers descended 300 meters and still couldn’t find the source. It begins at the base of a mountain. The water is crystal clear and there are rapids as it flows through the town. Later, we saw the old paper mills in town. After that, we returned home. The Zemmits dropped Lance off at his street then we drove home. I took a quick nap before dinner. After dinner, we watched the news and I had homework to do. It was a really fun day.



Day 38: Monday, April 27, 2009: Today, I got to sleep late because it was Monday! I had class at 12:45 p.m. so I ate lunch in the sun on the terrace. In class, we got back our last grammar test; I was satisfied with my grade.

After class, I went to Casino with Melissa. I bought really thin sliced ham that I imagined was bacon because I miss bacon. We went to her house and made lunch. I grilled my ham/bacon and made a sandwich; it could have been a BLT but I forgot to buy LT… oh well. It was still good. After lunch, Lance met us and we all went shopping. Melissa wanted a new bathing suit for the weekend and Lance and I went to Zara. We both bought a shirt and jeans. I really like Zara and we need one in Ohio!

We waited for Melissa and saw some of our other friends. After that, I went home and had dinner. After dinner, we watched the news and I read Fanny by Marcel Pagnol for class.



Day 39: Tuesday, April 28, 2009: Nothing significant happened today that I can remember.



Day 40: Wednesday, April 29, 2009: Today was not fun. Apparently it is impossible for the program director to coordinate class times with the profs and the university. Thus, our classes we cut short because the building was closing. Before class, I went to the internet café with Melissa to print our papers for writing class tomorrow. After class, we had dinner and watched the news.

Then, I had to do some homework and pack for the weekend. I am leaving tomorrow for a long weekend with my Mom, Aunt Holly, and Mamaw in Nice, France! So I packed for the weekend then I packed a bag for my Mom to take back home of stuff that I no longer need – like my North Face jacket.

At about 11 p.m., Lance called me and asked if I wanted to play cards with him, Kelby, Meghan, and her roommate Erin. I went there and we played Hearts. I can’t remember ever playing before so it was new to me. Maybe I did okay?