So...as you can see...It has been quite sometime since I have posted anything. Last time, I found myself struggling through my first session of grad school at Middlebury. I am proud to say that after completing my summer of candidacy, I received a letter asking me to return as an official graduate student.
I am now back in Riverside for the year. I have this year off since I did not want to choose the accelerated track for my MA. I could have been in Florence this year, but I decided to postpone it until next year. I want to spend this time in Riverside to think about what I want to do once (and if) I complete my MA. I also want to spend time with my family and friends. My family has suffered some losses and the problems seem to be endless. But, I still love everyone nevertheless.
Let me know what you all think. Should I continue to post on this blog - even though I am no longer in France? I was thinking of just keeping it like a journal for whenever I need to vent...but maybe use it to post and comment on articles I read in French and Italian...
Im open to suggestions.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
Back to Reality - Traveling is on hold.
...So I realize that I never finished writing about my travels through Europe.
Basically, to sum it up:
It was awesome. I want to do it again.
If that doesn't answer your question (if your question is: "How was it?") and you would like more details, then just ask me. I'll be happy to fill in the blanks.
BUT, ITS OVER.
Im back in the States, in Vermont, at a school whose campus is probably bigger than the village/town that it's in, at a "French School" where we do nothing but all things French (i.e. speak, eat, read, write, analyze, research, even celebrate Bastille Day![we did nothing for the 4th of July]).
Realization of the Day:
I just got out of my first exam in grad school - epic fail. :/
I thought I was ready and then after I read the questions - game over. But, I figure we learn from out mistakes (sometimes), so I guess I'll study harder next time.
...
I'm exhausted. I ask myself: "What am I doing here?" almost everyday. But, at the same time, I'm enjoying it.
I'm going crazy.
Basically, to sum it up:
It was awesome. I want to do it again.
If that doesn't answer your question (if your question is: "How was it?") and you would like more details, then just ask me. I'll be happy to fill in the blanks.
BUT, ITS OVER.
Im back in the States, in Vermont, at a school whose campus is probably bigger than the village/town that it's in, at a "French School" where we do nothing but all things French (i.e. speak, eat, read, write, analyze, research, even celebrate Bastille Day![we did nothing for the 4th of July]).
Realization of the Day:
I just got out of my first exam in grad school - epic fail. :/
I thought I was ready and then after I read the questions - game over. But, I figure we learn from out mistakes (sometimes), so I guess I'll study harder next time.
...
I'm exhausted. I ask myself: "What am I doing here?" almost everyday. But, at the same time, I'm enjoying it.
I'm going crazy.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Back in California - Recap
So, almost a month and half after my last blog entry - here I am - back at home in California. Its crazy to think that 2 weeks ago I was still exploring Nice - laying out on the rock covered beach and working on getting rid of my crazy tan.
During the month of May, Emily and I traveled all over Europe - well not really. I left Villefranche and head to Brescia, Italy (where Emily was living) via train to Lyon and then overnight bus. on the morning of May 1st, I was picked up by Emily and Marina, her host "mom", and taken to the farm - what would be my temporary home base. That same day, we were dropped off at the train station to take an overnight train to Croatia - destination Zagreb. We spent about 5 days in Zagreb - which was more than enough time. We pretty much saw the city in a day and a half, but had enough time to visit Varazjdin - Croatia's former capital and Plitvice National Park - a park full of paths made of wooden planks that run over and along waterfalls - you can walk on water!
From Croatia, after sampling the famous plum burgundy - rijeka - and drinking cheap Croatian beer, we trained it back to Venice where we had only about 30 minutes to get from the station to the airport to catch our flight to Naples. Luckily, the Marchetto's - an Italian family Emily knows well and that I met in February - had a worker drive us in a company car from the station to the airport for free - talk about private service!
Once we got to Naples, we set off to explore Southern Italy. It was a first for both Emily and I. We had heard Naples was a very dirty city and full of crime. It is dirty, but it wasn't as dangerous as people had described to us. We had a great time. We were able to visit all the amazing churches and historical buildings as well as take some day trips to Capri, Amalfi, Positano, and Pompeii. Not only did we do sight seeing, but we also enjoyed eating the Neapolitan specialty - Pizza.
After Naples, we spent 2 days in Brescia before leaving once again. We gave ourselves just enough time to wash our clothes and pack them up again. We left from Milan on a direct train to Paris. Emily had never been to Paris and there was no way I was going to let her visit France without visiting. Fortunately, we were able to save some money - my friend Thibault, who I met in Bordeaux in 2008, was living in Montmartre and offered to host us during our stay. Montmartre is my favorite place in Paris - and its an ideal location to get from one place to the next - so I think. After seeing the sights for 4 days, we went to Bordeaux - the first city of France I lived in.
It was nice to go back and see how much Bordeaux changed within the last 2 years. Plus, it also helped that my host parents, Daniel and Claire, offered us a place to stay. Emily and I were welcomed and fed delicious food for the weekend. Sarah, a friend I made in Bordeaux from UC Davis, was also there - she is now living in Bordeaux with her boyfriend. She helped me give Emily a tour and had a party where we were able to talk to the UC students that were there for the year/semester. It was cool to be back and say - I remember this...I remember that...
To be continued...
During the month of May, Emily and I traveled all over Europe - well not really. I left Villefranche and head to Brescia, Italy (where Emily was living) via train to Lyon and then overnight bus. on the morning of May 1st, I was picked up by Emily and Marina, her host "mom", and taken to the farm - what would be my temporary home base. That same day, we were dropped off at the train station to take an overnight train to Croatia - destination Zagreb. We spent about 5 days in Zagreb - which was more than enough time. We pretty much saw the city in a day and a half, but had enough time to visit Varazjdin - Croatia's former capital and Plitvice National Park - a park full of paths made of wooden planks that run over and along waterfalls - you can walk on water!
From Croatia, after sampling the famous plum burgundy - rijeka - and drinking cheap Croatian beer, we trained it back to Venice where we had only about 30 minutes to get from the station to the airport to catch our flight to Naples. Luckily, the Marchetto's - an Italian family Emily knows well and that I met in February - had a worker drive us in a company car from the station to the airport for free - talk about private service!
Once we got to Naples, we set off to explore Southern Italy. It was a first for both Emily and I. We had heard Naples was a very dirty city and full of crime. It is dirty, but it wasn't as dangerous as people had described to us. We had a great time. We were able to visit all the amazing churches and historical buildings as well as take some day trips to Capri, Amalfi, Positano, and Pompeii. Not only did we do sight seeing, but we also enjoyed eating the Neapolitan specialty - Pizza.
After Naples, we spent 2 days in Brescia before leaving once again. We gave ourselves just enough time to wash our clothes and pack them up again. We left from Milan on a direct train to Paris. Emily had never been to Paris and there was no way I was going to let her visit France without visiting. Fortunately, we were able to save some money - my friend Thibault, who I met in Bordeaux in 2008, was living in Montmartre and offered to host us during our stay. Montmartre is my favorite place in Paris - and its an ideal location to get from one place to the next - so I think. After seeing the sights for 4 days, we went to Bordeaux - the first city of France I lived in.
It was nice to go back and see how much Bordeaux changed within the last 2 years. Plus, it also helped that my host parents, Daniel and Claire, offered us a place to stay. Emily and I were welcomed and fed delicious food for the weekend. Sarah, a friend I made in Bordeaux from UC Davis, was also there - she is now living in Bordeaux with her boyfriend. She helped me give Emily a tour and had a party where we were able to talk to the UC students that were there for the year/semester. It was cool to be back and say - I remember this...I remember that...
To be continued...
Saturday, April 24, 2010
What's Next?
So, here I am – once again in the same state of mind I was in 2 years ago when I was getting ready to go home after my semesters abroad. I feel like I just got settled in and can handle staying longer, but I have no choice but to leave.
In all honesty, I am afraid to go back home. Nothing is guaranteed. I have no idea if I have been accepted into grad school. If I don’t get in, then I plan on just looking for job and make some money while I work on applying to other programs. Also, when I say I am going home, I actually mean home home. I will be living with my parents again. I love my parents, don’t get me wrong, but I will have to put up with curfews, demands, and explanations. Plus, not to mention the pressure – What did you do while you were there? Didn’t you make a ton of money? – Not that these will be the questions they will ask, but will probably be asked in a different way.
I also know that everyone at home has continued to live his or her lives. I am always afraid of going home to things being completely different. But I guess that is life – nothing remains constant. I have to accept the fact that just like I did, people have also moved on in their lives and have done so without me being around. But, I guess this just helps with the whole, ‘find out who your true friends’ are. I’m sure I have nothing to worry about since I have great friends, but I still worry.
Anyways, my contract will end April 30th. I still cannot even believe that the 7 months I was given to work is over. The first few weeks made me think that I would be here forever. But, everything slowly started to pick up the pace. Before I knew it, it was Christmas, New Year’s and then, Easter.
Overall, this job has been a great experience. First of all, it was nothing like I expected it to be. I had no idea that this “job” would be the longest, paid vacation of my life. Never in my life will I find a job like this. So, I can’t complain. I was supposed to work 12 hours a week, but since the break in December, I had one hour taken away – and never replaced. At first, I worried that I would get into trouble with the administration for not working – but, I realized that the administration doesn’t even know when and how often I am supposed to work. I met the principal of the school once – on my first day when I was presented to him and had to sign my contract.
Also, I consider myself to be hardworking – so whenever I missed an hour or a teacher would cancel my hour, I would ask if they wanted me to make it up by doing some extra work or rescheduling but, none of the teachers cared. So, why insist?
I was lucky to have been placed at this school. Granted, the students are not the best (I once went into the teachers’ lounge and found several teachers trying to cheer up a history teacher who had just been insulted by a student) and I can say that this school would be considered a ghetto school in the States (in comparison to the other high school in Villefranche and the school I worked at for a week in Lyon). But, the English staff are really nice – Since day one, they have always been made sure that everything is going well for me. For example, Denise, an English teacher who has worked at this school for years (one of old students is actually a teacher now at the school too), took me to a furniture store to buy some things that I needed for my apartment. She even lent me some money while I waited for my first paycheck. Gilles, the only other male English speaker, took me on a wine tasting tour around the Beaujolais area. Maryse, who I can say is like a buddy, is always making me laugh and warning me about the teaching profession. She was also nice enough to pay for my dinner when we went out with the other English teachers and even gave me a gift card for the FNAC at Christmas. Estelle, who has got to the be sweetest person I have ever met, never gave me any trouble the times that I would ask her if it was ok that I didn’t show up for class – I work with her on Thursday afternoons and that is usually when I would leave on trips since it was the cheapest time to do so – but like I said, she didn’t care and would even let me know well in advance when I would not be needed in class.
I could have extended an additional month, but I will be traveling with Emily for a month – during the month of May. We are going to Zagreb, Croatia for a few days, heading to Italy, Southern Italy to be exact, and then going around the good ol’ Hexagon a.k.a. France. She recently came to visit for Easter and I think she enjoyed her time in France – it was her first time. I was able to show her everything in Lyon, got to visit my little town of Villefranche, checked out Annecy together, and spent an afternoon in Geneva, Switzerland. She hasn’t been to Paris, so we will be doing Paris, Bordeaux, Carcassonne and Nice, before heading back to Milan and flying home.
That month of constant moving will be a real test. I have never done anything like it for that long, so we’ll see how much my traveling expertise takes me. I know that it will definitely be a learning experience too.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Marseille – The French Version of California
Yes, I know…I just got back from spending a week in Italy and I left again! Only this time, I stayed in France and went South – to Marseille.
It was my first time going to the Southern Coast of France. And, I’m glad I made the last minute decision. I didn’t have anything planned for the trip, but Rania, the German assistant, told me that she was going to go alone. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she wanted to do some more traveling since her time is almost up. She is leaving on April 10th, so she wants to make sure she does enough traveling to make her stay in France worthwhile.
I didn’t have much money, so that was the only thing holding me back. But, after talking to Rania, I decided to go. I only have about 2 months left in France and since I am already here, why not take advantage of the already being in Europe. I mean, I don’t know if I’ll have the same opportunity ever again. I have plenty of time to plan trips, so there should be nothing holding me back.
So, after getting our train tickets and packing, we woke up early on Wednesday morning to start our journey to Marseille. We had to take the 6:27am train to Lyon and then wait about 30 minutes to catch the TGV to Marseille. Thanks goodness for the high speed trains – we made it at 9:30 am. But, on Friday, to come back “home” we started our journey back at 3:35 pm and made it back to Villefranche at 10 pm.
Anyways, once we got to Marseille, we walked to the Tourism Office, got our maps and information and made our way to Mazargues – a neighborhood in Marseille. Once we made it there and left our stuff, we made our way back into the city center. We started at the Vieux Port and then made our way up to the Basilique de la Garde – its up on a hill and can be seen from the city. But, as we made our way up to the basilica, it started to get windier and eventually started raining. A storm came in and made it difficult for us to enjoy the view from the top. Once were finished there, we took a bus to the Abbaye de St. Victor – an eerie abbey located near the Vieux Port. When we walked out of there, we were ready to call out tourist plan quits – we couldn’t walk in the rain…
But, once we got back to the port and stepped off the bus, the sun was out and shining! So, we continued to the Hotel de Ville and started out walk around the Panier – the oldest neighborhood in Marseille. It was nice to walk through the small streets and look at the old fisherman houses. The best part was turning the corner and seeing the Cathedrale de la Major – a beautiful multicolored church. We also discovered the Chartite – a old hospice that housed people with difficulties. Walking through the halls felt like we were somewhere in Greece – the stone used to build it and the weather made us feel like we were no longer in France.
We then took bus number 83 along the coast and walked back to the city center along the beach. Seeing this made me feel like I was back in California. The weather is what I imagine it’s like back home right now at this time of year. Plus, it was good to see the ocean again. I’ve gotten used to seeing nothing but mountains around me, and having to deal with cold weather. The only thing that helped me snap back into reality was the fact that I had to speak French.
Since we were short on time, we just walked around the port and walked to some beaches and were even able to do a little hike along the Presqu’ile – the peninsula. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.
My time is almost up.
It was my first time going to the Southern Coast of France. And, I’m glad I made the last minute decision. I didn’t have anything planned for the trip, but Rania, the German assistant, told me that she was going to go alone. She didn’t know what she was going to do, but she wanted to do some more traveling since her time is almost up. She is leaving on April 10th, so she wants to make sure she does enough traveling to make her stay in France worthwhile.
I didn’t have much money, so that was the only thing holding me back. But, after talking to Rania, I decided to go. I only have about 2 months left in France and since I am already here, why not take advantage of the already being in Europe. I mean, I don’t know if I’ll have the same opportunity ever again. I have plenty of time to plan trips, so there should be nothing holding me back.
So, after getting our train tickets and packing, we woke up early on Wednesday morning to start our journey to Marseille. We had to take the 6:27am train to Lyon and then wait about 30 minutes to catch the TGV to Marseille. Thanks goodness for the high speed trains – we made it at 9:30 am. But, on Friday, to come back “home” we started our journey back at 3:35 pm and made it back to Villefranche at 10 pm.
Anyways, once we got to Marseille, we walked to the Tourism Office, got our maps and information and made our way to Mazargues – a neighborhood in Marseille. Once we made it there and left our stuff, we made our way back into the city center. We started at the Vieux Port and then made our way up to the Basilique de la Garde – its up on a hill and can be seen from the city. But, as we made our way up to the basilica, it started to get windier and eventually started raining. A storm came in and made it difficult for us to enjoy the view from the top. Once were finished there, we took a bus to the Abbaye de St. Victor – an eerie abbey located near the Vieux Port. When we walked out of there, we were ready to call out tourist plan quits – we couldn’t walk in the rain…
But, once we got back to the port and stepped off the bus, the sun was out and shining! So, we continued to the Hotel de Ville and started out walk around the Panier – the oldest neighborhood in Marseille. It was nice to walk through the small streets and look at the old fisherman houses. The best part was turning the corner and seeing the Cathedrale de la Major – a beautiful multicolored church. We also discovered the Chartite – a old hospice that housed people with difficulties. Walking through the halls felt like we were somewhere in Greece – the stone used to build it and the weather made us feel like we were no longer in France.
We then took bus number 83 along the coast and walked back to the city center along the beach. Seeing this made me feel like I was back in California. The weather is what I imagine it’s like back home right now at this time of year. Plus, it was good to see the ocean again. I’ve gotten used to seeing nothing but mountains around me, and having to deal with cold weather. The only thing that helped me snap back into reality was the fact that I had to speak French.
The following day, we left the city and went hiking in the Calanques – a set of mountains and cliffs that are along the coast of Marseille. These mountains were amazing. They were white and speckled with green plants and trees. The best part about them was the views that we would find after hiking up and down along the path. These drained us completely, but once we made it back to the bus stop, we headed for l’Estaque – another quarter in Marseille known for being the place of inspiration for artists such as Cezanne. We did the Chemin des Peintres – the Painters’ Trail to see the views. It was a bit gloomy when we were there, so it wasn’t as great as it could have been. But, it was still good. With the little bit of energy we had left, we went to the train station to try and change our tickets so we could be back home earlier – but it was good that we didn’t do it because we would have not gone to Cassis – my favorite port town.
Cassis is known by many for being a gem along the coast. And, I can’t say that they are wrong. After checking out from the hostel, we took a bus to Cassis and as soon as we got there, we knew we had made a good choice. For the first time since we got there, the sun was out and shining with no clouds in the sky.
Since we were short on time, we just walked around the port and walked to some beaches and were even able to do a little hike along the Presqu’ile – the peninsula. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.Since the train station in Cassis was far from the city, we had to leave at 3:35 to get to the train station in time to catch a train at 4:03 back to Marseille. We then had to wait about 20 minutes before we were able to get on the train going to Lyon Part Dieu. That train took about 3 hours – once we got to Lyon we waited for about another 30 minutes and ran into Leigh – the other English Assistant. All 3 of us then got on the train and made it back to Villefranche – to get ready for the last weekend off and get ready for the last 6 weeks of work.
My time is almost up.
Una settimana in Italia
It’s hard to believe that it is already February. I feel like I have finally settled in and now I have to start thinking about what I’ll do when I go back home. But, since I have this awesome job, I also had another 2 weeks off – my 3rd paid vacation.
Originally, Guillaume and I had wanted to go to Amsterdam for a few days. But, the bus and train tickets were way too expensive. We probably would have had better luck if we had planned it a little earlier.
Fortunately, I was able to find roundtrip tickets from Lyon to Milan for 54 euros with Eurolines – the European equivalent to Greyhound (But, don’t worry – Greyhound is still way more ghetto in comparison to Eurolines). I didn’t mind taking an overnight bus and jumped on the deal.
Luckily, Emily is working in Brescia, Italy – an hour away from Milan. We had been emailing each other to plan our trip in May, but after I found the tickets, I asked her what she had planned. She had about a week off so it all worked out. I would leave on Wednesday night of the 10th and get to Milan on Thursday morning. I would then spend the day in Milan and then head to Padova the next day. Emily would get on the same train and then, we would leave our bags in Padova and go to Venice on Friday afternoon. We would then come back to Padova and stay the night at Emily’s friend’s house and then head to Florence the next day. We would spend about a day and a half in Florence with Emily’s friend, Cat, and then spend 2 days in Siena before ending back in Milan.
For the most part, that was exactly how the trip went. Except, Guillaume joined us and accompanied Emily and I around Italy. I told him about what I had planned and asked him if he wanted to come along. Fortunately, it wasn’t too last minute and we were able to find accommodation for all 3 of us – THANKS TO EMILY AND HER AWESOME FRIENDS!!!
So the trip went like this:
Wednesday, the 10th – I went to work only to find out that I would only have one class since the teacher for my first two classes was sick. After work, I went over to the other language assistants’ apartment and had brunch with Sara (Spanish) and Rania (German). After eating, we played card games for about 4 hours before I realized that I should probably go home and finish packing.
Once I was finished, I went to the train station and took the train to Guillaume’s apartment. Luckily, there is a train stop/station right around the corner from his place. I went there since the bus wasn’t scheduled to leave until midnight. While he packed, I skyped Emily and talked about the final details of the trip. Around 11pm, we left his apartment and took the tram over to Perrache, checked in with the driver and got on the bus to Milan.
Thursday, the 11th – Felt like the longest day ever! I mean, besides not having slept very much on the bus, I was able to see all the snow that was falling on the way. The bus made several stops. We stopped in Grenoble, Parma, Torino and finally, in Milan.
We got to Milan around 8am and set off to find the hostel in Milan. We got to the hostel and left our bags since we could not check in until 2pm. We stopped at a small café called The Hemingway and had our first Italian caffe lattes of the trip. This place would be our favorite since we came back to this café 3 times in 24 hours.
The weather in Milan wasn’t that great. It was raining and snowing at the same time. Everything was wet and the day was gloomy. It reminded me of the first time I went to Milan – same kind of weather. I guess maybe it’s just a curse. At least this time, the Duomo wasn’t under renovation. I was able to take a picture and see what it really looks like. Guillaume and I went inside and admired the art and architecture. The Duomo in Milan is very dark and gothic but beautiful nonetheless. After going around and taking pictures (which we thought was not allowed), we walked out and went through the covered hallways of the Galleria – a shopping area next to the Duomo. While we walked through we noticed that there was something being filmed because there were huge cameras right in front of us – then we realized that the women in walking in front of us was the subject of whatever they were shooting. Maybe we will be in an Italian commercial!
From the Galleria, we found ourselves right next to the Teatro della Scala – the world famous opera theater. We made our way through the pink snails that were around the square (they were huge plastic, bright pink snails) and went into the Museo della Scala – but, we didn’t get to see the stage lit up since they were testing the lights for a performance. I snuck a picture and then we finished going through the museum. Once we left the museum, we walked around the curving streets and tried to make our way to the Castello Sforzesco.
Once we got to the Castello Sforzesco, we paid 1.50 euros and had access to 5 museums. Walking around the old fortress was great. We got to see the old halls and even got to see a frescoed ceiling painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. Once we went around, we decided to head over to Chiesa Santa Maria delle Grazie to check out The Last Supper, Da Vinci’s famous fresco.
After taking pictures of the church, we walk in, only to find out that we need reservations in order to go in and see it. I go up to the front desk and ask if we can make a reservation at that time but was quickly given a slip of paper with a phone number and website that we had to call in order to make a reservation. The fact that there is a reception area is pointless!
Once the small annoying incident passed, we took a tram back to the Duomo and saw Chiesa di San Satiro hidden among the buildings surrounding it. We walked back to the Duomo and had a sandwich at a small café right off the Piazza.
After lunch, we went to the Duomo and climbed to the top of the roof. We were up there for a while and soaked up the views of the city. Guillaume and I were also very surprised that there were soo many statues on every single spire that stuck out from the Duomo. Once we were back onto solid ground, we headed over to San Ambroggio – a very old church made of brick. Once we walked out, it was already getting dark, so we decided to go back to the hostel, check in, and hang out there for a while before going back to the city center to see what it looked like at night.
Once we were in the hostel, Guillaume and I realized that we were doing the same thing – we were both listening to out IPods and writing down what we had done. After doing that for about an hour, we checked the time, and were shocked to find out that it was only 6pm!
We left the hostel around 7pm and went back to the Duomo to see it at night. I expected it to be a little more exciting, but it wasn’t as great as I thought. We then made out way back to the hostel and had dinner at The Hemingway – a small pizza and a beer for 6 euros. It was a great deal!
After dinner, we went back to the hostel and got ready for bed. Guillaume and I talked to our roommate and found out that he was from Finland and was traveling for a few weeks before his classes started in Basel, Switzerland. He spoke English really well – he studied in Indianapolis for a year and had done quite a bit of traveling in the States. Just when we were ready to go to sleep, an older Italian guy came in and took the last bed in the room – lucky for us, he got ready for bed and instead of falling asleep right away, he turned on the radio and listened to the same song several times before starting to snore and keeping us up. It was great!
Friday, the 12th – we woke up at 9am and got ready to leave. We had bought out tickets to Padova before we went to the hostel the day before and knew where we had to catch our train. Once we checked out, we went to The Hemingway and had our last latte before getting on the train.
After about an hour, we got to Brescia and I got off the train to find Emily. We quickly got on the train and found Guillaume and our seats. Once we got to Padova, we left our bags at the station (we had to leave our bags overnight since they closed at 6pm – I carried my toothbrush around all day), and decided to go into the city to get some gelato before the next train to Venice (which was in 30 minutes).
As we walked to a gelato place, I was able to recognize some of the things I had seen when I first went to Venice. After waiting for Guillaume to get some cash and eating our gelato, Emily pointed out that we only had 5 minutes before the train left so I’m sure that we burned the gelato off since we had to run from the center to the train.
Once we got back to Padova, Carlo picked us up from the station. We stayed the night with the Marchetto’s – a family Emily met through the EAP program. When Emily studied in Padova, she was put in contact with Gabriele, Carlo’s son, who was going to study at UC Riverside. Emily’s family also spent Easter with the Marchetto’s. Needless to say, they go way back.
It was about 10:30 or 11 pm but, Bruna, Carlo’s wife insisted that we have dinner. It was great to be welcomed by this family. We truly got to experience the Italian hospitality. Not to mention I was able to practice a little Italian (I really need to do some review).
Saturday, the 13th - After sleeping for almost 12 hours, Guillaume and I woke up and got ready to head to Florence. We showered, got dressed, and had an amazing lunch prepared by our Italian mom (she adopted us and told us that we were welcome to visit anytime).
With only 15 minutes before the train left, Emily ran to buy the tickets, while Guillaume and I got the bags from the luggage storage. We did everything pretty quickly and were able to relax for a little before getting on the train. We took a FrecciaRossa – a new high-speed train in Italy – we got to Florence from Padova in an hour and a half!
Once in Florence, Emily’s friend, Cat, an NYU Grad Student studying in Florence, met us at Santa Maria Novella and took us to her apartment. We left our bags and went into the city center to see the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza della Signoria, and the Uffizi. Once it got dark, we went to a small little bar and had some spritz before meeting Katie, Cat’s roommate, at a small restaurant nearby. For roughly about 12 euros each, we each got a pizza, water, some prosecco, a misto toscano (a platter of traditional, regional meats) and some grappa to digest the meal.
Once we got back to the apartment, we all went to sleep – after some endless laughing at random stuff.
Sunday, the 14th – Once we all got ready to go, we went to the Accademia – the home of the famous statue of David. Once we were able to check him out and the other works of art in the museum, we went to the Duomo and climbed up the Campanile – the bell tower next to the Duomo. We had a great view of the city and of the Duomo. Once we climbed down, we went in the direction of Piazza Michelangelo. On the way, we ate in a small sandwich shop were I was able to savor porchetta once again. It has got to be the best thing to eat in a sandwich. Imagine – slices of roasted pork seasoned with salt and rosemary and put on foccacia bread = amazing.
Once we finished chatting with a woman who had sold everything to live in Italy and witnessing Guillaume break the Duralex (French ‘unbreakable’ brand) glass, we continued towards Piazza Michelangelo. Once we got to the top, we took in the view of the city and then went to the Monastery at the very top. Since there was a bus strike, we decided to go down the hill by foot and start heading back to Cat’s apartment. We made a pick stop at the statue of the boar and then went back to Cat’s, where we ordered Chinese food and had dinner together.
Monday, the 15th – after leaving Cat’s apartment, we took the bus to the train station and found out what times the buses left for Siena. Once we had the schedule, we went to look for the bus stop of the #12 bus to get to Piazza Michelangelo one more time. Thanks to our good fortune, the bus stop changed the day before. So, we deciced, heck, let’s just go to the next stop. We would have gone back to the train station if we had known that we would never find the next stop. After about 20 minutes of wandering and tempers starting to meet their limits, we got on a bus and got to our destination. After snapping some pictures under the sun at the Piazza, we went to the cemetery next to the Monastery to look for the tomb of the author of Pinocchio. Although we didn’t find it, it was cool to walk around the cemetery. Who knew walking around a place where dead people are buried could be pretty? - it was a bit strange though.
After our stroll among the dead, we started to head back to the sandwich shop from the day before only to remember that it was closed on Mondays. We made do with a shop that was just down the street from where we got off the bus. While we ate, we ran into some high school students from Newport Beach, who were on a school trip. We even saved one of them from losing his bag – he left it on the chair and forgot to grab it when they all left.
We then went to the bus station and took the bus to Siena. The whole way there, I felt like I was going ‘home’ – to the place where all my European adventures started.
After checking in to the hotel, we walked around the street of Siena and the Campo. We bought some wine and then went to Greg’s (one of my roommate’s when I studied in Siena) favorite osteria – it was just down the street from our hotel. We all ate awesome food – Guillaume had the carbonara, I had some ribollita (a Sienese dish), and Emily started with some pici (a thick Sienese pasta that looks like spaghetti) con sugo de chinghiale (wild boar sauce).
After dinner, we went to the Campo and drank some wine while we were surrounded by the famous Palio track. It was good to be back.
Tuesday, the 16th – After breakfast, we went around Siena and I showed Emily and Guillaume the statues and churches of the contrade. Around noon we met up with Sarah, an English assistant in Lyon from Canada, who came to Siena since she was staying close to Pisa for a week. Her boyfriend was at work, so she had nothing to do. Once we met up with her, we went to lunch at Nonna Gina’s, a place recommended by the guy who checked us into the hotel. This place was amazing! We ate stuffed gnocchi with a pistachio sauce and then I had some coniglio al limone and Emily’s leftovers.
After ordering some coffee and some digestivos, the owner gave us some suckers and even gave us a discount – we got 15 euros off the bill! That place is definitely worth checking out.
Sarah had to catch a train back to her boyfriend’s town so she wasn’t able to go to the Duomo with us. Guillaume, Emily and I bought our tickets and went inside the Museo dell’Opera and got to see the Campo from the arch. After leaving the museum, we went to the Crypt and Baptistry. We rushed through them since they closed at 5 and we started at 3:30pm. Luckily, we left the Duomo for last and were able to be in there with enough time to soak it all in.
Once we did the tourist thing, we went to Barone Rosso, the bar we would always go to to check the time it opened and then had some coffee and hot chocolate at what used to be the Walkabout Pub – a bar around the corner from my apartment in Siena. After going back to the hotel for a while, we went to dinner at the corner bar and then went out for some drinks at Barone. It wasn’t as crowded as it used to be with my group of Californians, but it was nice to go back and see that everything was pretty much the same
After a few rounds of shooters and watching the Olympics on the projection screen, we went back to the hotel to nap since we had to leave early the next morning to get to Milan.
Wednesday, the 17th – once we got to the bus stop outside of Porta Pispini in Siena, we got on the bus and head to Milan. I napped on the way there since we were going to be on the bus for 4 hours.
Once we got to Milan we went to Centrale, the main train station, to leave our bags at the luggage storage so that we wouldn’t have to carry them around with us all day. Once we did that, we went to the Duomo again. I went inside with Emily while Guillaume went to get some money. After eating a sandwich, Emily left for the train station and Guillaume and I went to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana.
We had all day, which was good since the Pinacoteca had almost 26 rooms to go through. We rented an audioguide and used it in every room despite its random commentary – nothing was in order, we typed in the room number only to tell us about certain paintings that were scattered all along the walls. But, I thought it was fun since I considered it a game – find the painting I’m talking about before I start with the next one (lol).
The best thing about the Pinacoteca was that we were able to see pages from Leonardo Da Vinci’s notebooks. Each page was under a protective glass, but we were able to use the audioguides to listen to more facts about the life and work of Da Vinci. Once we were done with the Pinacoteca, we tried to go to another place where we could use the tickets we paid for to get in for free.
While I was in the restroom, Guillaume heard someone say something about this place so he had me ask the lady at the reception. She was very nice and explained that the ticket was not valid unless we had paid for it at the beginning but since she knew we were students, she could call the other place and tell them that we were on our way and to let us in. After successfully having this conversation with her, we set off to find the place, only to get lost and decide to get a coffee somewhere. Once we drank our beer (changed our minds about the coffee) we went to Centrale, picked up our bags and head towards Lampugnano, the bus station to wait for our bus. We checked in, got our boarding passes and waited for 2 hours before we were back on a bus and on our way home.
Thursday, the 18th – Guillaume and I were surprised that we got back to Lyon an hour and a half early – so early that we couldn’t get into the bus station and take a tram back to his apartment. So, we walked back to his apartment, I got my keys and went back to Perrache to wait for the train to Villefranche. I took the 6:08am train back to Villefranche and was back in my studio at 7:05. I passed out and slept the entire day! I even took a nap after I had been awake for 2 hours.
Overall, this trip was long, fast, but well worth it! I miss traveling and I can’t wait to do it again!
Originally, Guillaume and I had wanted to go to Amsterdam for a few days. But, the bus and train tickets were way too expensive. We probably would have had better luck if we had planned it a little earlier.
Fortunately, I was able to find roundtrip tickets from Lyon to Milan for 54 euros with Eurolines – the European equivalent to Greyhound (But, don’t worry – Greyhound is still way more ghetto in comparison to Eurolines). I didn’t mind taking an overnight bus and jumped on the deal.
Luckily, Emily is working in Brescia, Italy – an hour away from Milan. We had been emailing each other to plan our trip in May, but after I found the tickets, I asked her what she had planned. She had about a week off so it all worked out. I would leave on Wednesday night of the 10th and get to Milan on Thursday morning. I would then spend the day in Milan and then head to Padova the next day. Emily would get on the same train and then, we would leave our bags in Padova and go to Venice on Friday afternoon. We would then come back to Padova and stay the night at Emily’s friend’s house and then head to Florence the next day. We would spend about a day and a half in Florence with Emily’s friend, Cat, and then spend 2 days in Siena before ending back in Milan.
For the most part, that was exactly how the trip went. Except, Guillaume joined us and accompanied Emily and I around Italy. I told him about what I had planned and asked him if he wanted to come along. Fortunately, it wasn’t too last minute and we were able to find accommodation for all 3 of us – THANKS TO EMILY AND HER AWESOME FRIENDS!!!
So the trip went like this:
Wednesday, the 10th – I went to work only to find out that I would only have one class since the teacher for my first two classes was sick. After work, I went over to the other language assistants’ apartment and had brunch with Sara (Spanish) and Rania (German). After eating, we played card games for about 4 hours before I realized that I should probably go home and finish packing.
Once I was finished, I went to the train station and took the train to Guillaume’s apartment. Luckily, there is a train stop/station right around the corner from his place. I went there since the bus wasn’t scheduled to leave until midnight. While he packed, I skyped Emily and talked about the final details of the trip. Around 11pm, we left his apartment and took the tram over to Perrache, checked in with the driver and got on the bus to Milan.
Thursday, the 11th – Felt like the longest day ever! I mean, besides not having slept very much on the bus, I was able to see all the snow that was falling on the way. The bus made several stops. We stopped in Grenoble, Parma, Torino and finally, in Milan.
We got to Milan around 8am and set off to find the hostel in Milan. We got to the hostel and left our bags since we could not check in until 2pm. We stopped at a small café called The Hemingway and had our first Italian caffe lattes of the trip. This place would be our favorite since we came back to this café 3 times in 24 hours.
From the Galleria, we found ourselves right next to the Teatro della Scala – the world famous opera theater. We made our way through the pink snails that were around the square (they were huge plastic, bright pink snails) and went into the Museo della Scala – but, we didn’t get to see the stage lit up since they were testing the lights for a performance. I snuck a picture and then we finished going through the museum. Once we left the museum, we walked around the curving streets and tried to make our way to the Castello Sforzesco.
Once we got to the Castello Sforzesco, we paid 1.50 euros and had access to 5 museums. Walking around the old fortress was great. We got to see the old halls and even got to see a frescoed ceiling painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. Once we went around, we decided to head over to Chiesa Santa Maria delle Grazie to check out The Last Supper, Da Vinci’s famous fresco.
After taking pictures of the church, we walk in, only to find out that we need reservations in order to go in and see it. I go up to the front desk and ask if we can make a reservation at that time but was quickly given a slip of paper with a phone number and website that we had to call in order to make a reservation. The fact that there is a reception area is pointless!
Once the small annoying incident passed, we took a tram back to the Duomo and saw Chiesa di San Satiro hidden among the buildings surrounding it. We walked back to the Duomo and had a sandwich at a small café right off the Piazza.
After lunch, we went to the Duomo and climbed to the top of the roof. We were up there for a while and soaked up the views of the city. Guillaume and I were also very surprised that there were soo many statues on every single spire that stuck out from the Duomo. Once we were back onto solid ground, we headed over to San Ambroggio – a very old church made of brick. Once we walked out, it was already getting dark, so we decided to go back to the hostel, check in, and hang out there for a while before going back to the city center to see what it looked like at night.
Once we were in the hostel, Guillaume and I realized that we were doing the same thing – we were both listening to out IPods and writing down what we had done. After doing that for about an hour, we checked the time, and were shocked to find out that it was only 6pm!
We left the hostel around 7pm and went back to the Duomo to see it at night. I expected it to be a little more exciting, but it wasn’t as great as I thought. We then made out way back to the hostel and had dinner at The Hemingway – a small pizza and a beer for 6 euros. It was a great deal! After dinner, we went back to the hostel and got ready for bed. Guillaume and I talked to our roommate and found out that he was from Finland and was traveling for a few weeks before his classes started in Basel, Switzerland. He spoke English really well – he studied in Indianapolis for a year and had done quite a bit of traveling in the States. Just when we were ready to go to sleep, an older Italian guy came in and took the last bed in the room – lucky for us, he got ready for bed and instead of falling asleep right away, he turned on the radio and listened to the same song several times before starting to snore and keeping us up. It was great!
Friday, the 12th – we woke up at 9am and got ready to leave. We had bought out tickets to Padova before we went to the hostel the day before and knew where we had to catch our train. Once we checked out, we went to The Hemingway and had our last latte before getting on the train.
After about an hour, we got to Brescia and I got off the train to find Emily. We quickly got on the train and found Guillaume and our seats. Once we got to Padova, we left our bags at the station (we had to leave our bags overnight since they closed at 6pm – I carried my toothbrush around all day), and decided to go into the city to get some gelato before the next train to Venice (which was in 30 minutes).
As we walked to a gelato place, I was able to recognize some of the things I had seen when I first went to Venice. After waiting for Guillaume to get some cash and eating our gelato, Emily pointed out that we only had 5 minutes before the train left so I’m sure that we burned the gelato off since we had to run from the center to the train.
Once we were on the train, we were off to Venice. It was a beautiful day. The sun was out and there was no rain at all. Once we got to Venice, we were able to walk around comfortably since there were not a lot of people. We walked along the canals and over bridges, ate some pizzete with some hot wine, and got to see some of the Carnevale festivities at Piazza San Marco. Overall, it was a great experience to see Venice again and during the pre-Lent festivities. We even bought some masks to fit in!
It was about 10:30 or 11 pm but, Bruna, Carlo’s wife insisted that we have dinner. It was great to be welcomed by this family. We truly got to experience the Italian hospitality. Not to mention I was able to practice a little Italian (I really need to do some review).
Saturday, the 13th - After sleeping for almost 12 hours, Guillaume and I woke up and got ready to head to Florence. We showered, got dressed, and had an amazing lunch prepared by our Italian mom (she adopted us and told us that we were welcome to visit anytime).
With only 15 minutes before the train left, Emily ran to buy the tickets, while Guillaume and I got the bags from the luggage storage. We did everything pretty quickly and were able to relax for a little before getting on the train. We took a FrecciaRossa – a new high-speed train in Italy – we got to Florence from Padova in an hour and a half!
Once in Florence, Emily’s friend, Cat, an NYU Grad Student studying in Florence, met us at Santa Maria Novella and took us to her apartment. We left our bags and went into the city center to see the Duomo, Ponte Vecchio, Piazza della Repubblica, Piazza della Signoria, and the Uffizi. Once it got dark, we went to a small little bar and had some spritz before meeting Katie, Cat’s roommate, at a small restaurant nearby. For roughly about 12 euros each, we each got a pizza, water, some prosecco, a misto toscano (a platter of traditional, regional meats) and some grappa to digest the meal.
Once we got back to the apartment, we all went to sleep – after some endless laughing at random stuff.
Once we finished chatting with a woman who had sold everything to live in Italy and witnessing Guillaume break the Duralex (French ‘unbreakable’ brand) glass, we continued towards Piazza Michelangelo. Once we got to the top, we took in the view of the city and then went to the Monastery at the very top. Since there was a bus strike, we decided to go down the hill by foot and start heading back to Cat’s apartment. We made a pick stop at the statue of the boar and then went back to Cat’s, where we ordered Chinese food and had dinner together.
Monday, the 15th – after leaving Cat’s apartment, we took the bus to the train station and found out what times the buses left for Siena. Once we had the schedule, we went to look for the bus stop of the #12 bus to get to Piazza Michelangelo one more time. Thanks to our good fortune, the bus stop changed the day before. So, we deciced, heck, let’s just go to the next stop. We would have gone back to the train station if we had known that we would never find the next stop. After about 20 minutes of wandering and tempers starting to meet their limits, we got on a bus and got to our destination. After snapping some pictures under the sun at the Piazza, we went to the cemetery next to the Monastery to look for the tomb of the author of Pinocchio. Although we didn’t find it, it was cool to walk around the cemetery. Who knew walking around a place where dead people are buried could be pretty? - it was a bit strange though.
After our stroll among the dead, we started to head back to the sandwich shop from the day before only to remember that it was closed on Mondays. We made do with a shop that was just down the street from where we got off the bus. While we ate, we ran into some high school students from Newport Beach, who were on a school trip. We even saved one of them from losing his bag – he left it on the chair and forgot to grab it when they all left.
We then went to the bus station and took the bus to Siena. The whole way there, I felt like I was going ‘home’ – to the place where all my European adventures started.
After dinner, we went to the Campo and drank some wine while we were surrounded by the famous Palio track. It was good to be back.
Tuesday, the 16th – After breakfast, we went around Siena and I showed Emily and Guillaume the statues and churches of the contrade. Around noon we met up with Sarah, an English assistant in Lyon from Canada, who came to Siena since she was staying close to Pisa for a week. Her boyfriend was at work, so she had nothing to do. Once we met up with her, we went to lunch at Nonna Gina’s, a place recommended by the guy who checked us into the hotel. This place was amazing! We ate stuffed gnocchi with a pistachio sauce and then I had some coniglio al limone and Emily’s leftovers.
After ordering some coffee and some digestivos, the owner gave us some suckers and even gave us a discount – we got 15 euros off the bill! That place is definitely worth checking out.
Once we did the tourist thing, we went to Barone Rosso, the bar we would always go to to check the time it opened and then had some coffee and hot chocolate at what used to be the Walkabout Pub – a bar around the corner from my apartment in Siena. After going back to the hotel for a while, we went to dinner at the corner bar and then went out for some drinks at Barone. It wasn’t as crowded as it used to be with my group of Californians, but it was nice to go back and see that everything was pretty much the same
After a few rounds of shooters and watching the Olympics on the projection screen, we went back to the hotel to nap since we had to leave early the next morning to get to Milan.
Wednesday, the 17th – once we got to the bus stop outside of Porta Pispini in Siena, we got on the bus and head to Milan. I napped on the way there since we were going to be on the bus for 4 hours.
Once we got to Milan we went to Centrale, the main train station, to leave our bags at the luggage storage so that we wouldn’t have to carry them around with us all day. Once we did that, we went to the Duomo again. I went inside with Emily while Guillaume went to get some money. After eating a sandwich, Emily left for the train station and Guillaume and I went to the Pinacoteca Ambrosiana.
We had all day, which was good since the Pinacoteca had almost 26 rooms to go through. We rented an audioguide and used it in every room despite its random commentary – nothing was in order, we typed in the room number only to tell us about certain paintings that were scattered all along the walls. But, I thought it was fun since I considered it a game – find the painting I’m talking about before I start with the next one (lol).
The best thing about the Pinacoteca was that we were able to see pages from Leonardo Da Vinci’s notebooks. Each page was under a protective glass, but we were able to use the audioguides to listen to more facts about the life and work of Da Vinci. Once we were done with the Pinacoteca, we tried to go to another place where we could use the tickets we paid for to get in for free.
While I was in the restroom, Guillaume heard someone say something about this place so he had me ask the lady at the reception. She was very nice and explained that the ticket was not valid unless we had paid for it at the beginning but since she knew we were students, she could call the other place and tell them that we were on our way and to let us in. After successfully having this conversation with her, we set off to find the place, only to get lost and decide to get a coffee somewhere. Once we drank our beer (changed our minds about the coffee) we went to Centrale, picked up our bags and head towards Lampugnano, the bus station to wait for our bus. We checked in, got our boarding passes and waited for 2 hours before we were back on a bus and on our way home.
Thursday, the 18th – Guillaume and I were surprised that we got back to Lyon an hour and a half early – so early that we couldn’t get into the bus station and take a tram back to his apartment. So, we walked back to his apartment, I got my keys and went back to Perrache to wait for the train to Villefranche. I took the 6:08am train back to Villefranche and was back in my studio at 7:05. I passed out and slept the entire day! I even took a nap after I had been awake for 2 hours.
Overall, this trip was long, fast, but well worth it! I miss traveling and I can’t wait to do it again!
Thursday, January 21, 2010
No More Monsieur Nice Guy
Every Monday afternoon, I have a class of students in 1ere SPE – spécialité anglais (meaning they should be at a higher level of English, although sometimes it’s hard to tell). They are the one and only group lucky enough to meet with me every week. All the other students have to wait 2 weeks, one month, or even 6 weeks!
So, with that said, you would think that this group would appreciate and respect me a little more, right? I mean, I don’t want them to bow down to me, but I am still a “teacher”. Well, this group is slowly getting used to this idea, but it has been tough. I think out of all my classes, this is the group that I have trouble with the most.
Since day one, I noticed that the behavior of high school students in France is nothing like that of students in the US. Yet, they give there is a different etiquette followed for the teacher-student relationship. For example, students always refer to their teachers as Madame or Monsieur. Depending on the teacher, the students sometimes have to wait in the hallway until the teacher tells them they can come in, or have to stay standing until they are told to sit down.
However, despite this etiquette, students will not hesitate to talk back to their teacher or attempt to annoy them before the lesson starts. Or, at least, that’s my impression.
Another thing that should be noted is that in high school, they are always with the same group of students. It’s not like in the US where you can have 6 different classes with 6 different sets of classmates. My students go to every single class with the same classmates, everyday, all year long. So, the friendships and hierarchy of the class (meaning, everyone knows who the class clown is, the smart one, the quiet one, the lazy one, etc.) only causes them to talk more than usual.
My 1ere SPE class is split into 2 groups when I meet with them. I see each group for only 30 minutes, which is not a lot of time to do a whole lesson, so I am always under pressure to complete a task. With the clock ticking, I try to get them into the classroom and focused as fast as I can. Lucky for me, I have to do this just after their 10-minute break. Yay.
In the first half, I have 9 students. Should be easy, right? Think again.
In this group of 9, there are 2 sets of girls who always sit next to each other and whisper to each other thinking that I can’t hear them. Then, there is a group of 3 girls who always sit in the front. I don’t have any issues with them because they make it easy for it. They are interested in what I have to say and want to practice their English. Then, there are 2 boys. One of which, since day one, has done nothing in my class exempt complain about how boring or easy my lessons are and how he thinks English isn’t important. During the first few sessions, I even asked him if he thought working with me was a waste of time – he simply replied yes.
I am a nice person. And, it takes a lot to get me to be tough. Being nice sometimes means that I get taken advantage of or walked over. This class did just that. They would be quite, but whenever someone didn’t understand something, they would just turn to someone and ask in French, “qu’est qu’il a dit?” as I am still explaining their task.
I would say nothing, but I would try to but into their conversations. But, of course, when I would ask, “Are there any questions?” = Cue for the crikets to start chirping.
After several frustrating sessions with them, I talked to the teacher, who then proceeded to scold them for disrespecting me, on 2 separate occasions. Had I known she was going to do that instead of give me some tips, then I would have kept my mouth shut. I knew the teacher wanted to help me, but she made me look weaker by intervening. And, the first group of students assumed I could not take control.
So on Monday, I passed out a poster I found that informed people of racial discrimination that exists in the South. In the center of the poster were pictures of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Charles Manson. Since it was MLK Day, I figured I would try to discuss what they thought about the poster and racism.
As I helped them read the writing on the poster and define some words, I noticed that the one set of girls was busy cleaning their hands with hand sanitizer and giving some to one of the boys. I glared over at them and gave them a silent warning. The girls understood.
As another student was talking, the boy who had already cleaned his hands leaned back in his chair and tried to start a conversation with the girls.
That was it.
“Go back to class!” – I interrupted the student who was speaking and told the boy to get his things and go back to class with his teacher.
At first, he thought I was joking because he was smiling. But, as I looked him in the eye, I repeated “Go back to class. No one is forcing you to be here”. His smile quickly melted away and he started to beg.
“Non, je vais arrêter(I’m going to stop). Désolé, Monsieur, excusez-moi”.
“I told you to go back to class, please. You are not participating and you are disrupting the class”.
“Are you sure, Monsieur?” – he asked, with a look of fear on his face. At first, I thought to myself, ‘you have got to be kidding me! Are you really asking me if I’m sure I want you out of the classroom?!’
“Yes, I’m sure. I’m not joking. Please, go back to class.”
The room was silent. As he was getting his bag, I lectured the class.
“I know I am not a teacher, but I am a teaching assistant. You will respect me like you respect your teacher. I try to plan fun things for you to do, but when you do not pay attention, I don’t think I should bother to plan anything “fun”. If you do not want to meet with me, then you can stay in class with your teacher. It’s an easy problem to fix”.
Everyone was quiet. I’m sure it was because they did not know what I said, but they knew that they could not get away with any more.
As the boy was opening the door, he turned and asked me again,
“Mais, Monsieur, je suis vraiment désolé. Je ne veux pas…”
“Please, go. I asked you to leave.”
He walked out and started walking down the hall. But, then he came back in and begged one more time. “Monsieur, si je rentre dans la salle, la prof va m’engueuler”, (Sir, if I go back to class, the teacher will yell at me) he said. By now, he was bright red, full of shame, and scared to death. It looked like he wanted to cry. I wanted to laugh.
I gave in. “Ok, but sit over there and be quiet. If I hear you talking to anyone, I will send you to the teacher and I will tell her that I do not want you in my class”. He sat down and the relief on his face was priceless.
After the 30-minute session, they all left the classroom with a very important lesson in mind.
They better not push my buttons next week or I will stop teaching their section. I have the right to decide that…and if I don’t, I’ll go on strike for it (the French approach to solving any problem).
So, with that said, you would think that this group would appreciate and respect me a little more, right? I mean, I don’t want them to bow down to me, but I am still a “teacher”. Well, this group is slowly getting used to this idea, but it has been tough. I think out of all my classes, this is the group that I have trouble with the most.
Since day one, I noticed that the behavior of high school students in France is nothing like that of students in the US. Yet, they give there is a different etiquette followed for the teacher-student relationship. For example, students always refer to their teachers as Madame or Monsieur. Depending on the teacher, the students sometimes have to wait in the hallway until the teacher tells them they can come in, or have to stay standing until they are told to sit down.
However, despite this etiquette, students will not hesitate to talk back to their teacher or attempt to annoy them before the lesson starts. Or, at least, that’s my impression.
Another thing that should be noted is that in high school, they are always with the same group of students. It’s not like in the US where you can have 6 different classes with 6 different sets of classmates. My students go to every single class with the same classmates, everyday, all year long. So, the friendships and hierarchy of the class (meaning, everyone knows who the class clown is, the smart one, the quiet one, the lazy one, etc.) only causes them to talk more than usual.
My 1ere SPE class is split into 2 groups when I meet with them. I see each group for only 30 minutes, which is not a lot of time to do a whole lesson, so I am always under pressure to complete a task. With the clock ticking, I try to get them into the classroom and focused as fast as I can. Lucky for me, I have to do this just after their 10-minute break. Yay.
In the first half, I have 9 students. Should be easy, right? Think again.
In this group of 9, there are 2 sets of girls who always sit next to each other and whisper to each other thinking that I can’t hear them. Then, there is a group of 3 girls who always sit in the front. I don’t have any issues with them because they make it easy for it. They are interested in what I have to say and want to practice their English. Then, there are 2 boys. One of which, since day one, has done nothing in my class exempt complain about how boring or easy my lessons are and how he thinks English isn’t important. During the first few sessions, I even asked him if he thought working with me was a waste of time – he simply replied yes.
I am a nice person. And, it takes a lot to get me to be tough. Being nice sometimes means that I get taken advantage of or walked over. This class did just that. They would be quite, but whenever someone didn’t understand something, they would just turn to someone and ask in French, “qu’est qu’il a dit?” as I am still explaining their task.
I would say nothing, but I would try to but into their conversations. But, of course, when I would ask, “Are there any questions?” = Cue for the crikets to start chirping.
After several frustrating sessions with them, I talked to the teacher, who then proceeded to scold them for disrespecting me, on 2 separate occasions. Had I known she was going to do that instead of give me some tips, then I would have kept my mouth shut. I knew the teacher wanted to help me, but she made me look weaker by intervening. And, the first group of students assumed I could not take control.
So on Monday, I passed out a poster I found that informed people of racial discrimination that exists in the South. In the center of the poster were pictures of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Charles Manson. Since it was MLK Day, I figured I would try to discuss what they thought about the poster and racism.
As I helped them read the writing on the poster and define some words, I noticed that the one set of girls was busy cleaning their hands with hand sanitizer and giving some to one of the boys. I glared over at them and gave them a silent warning. The girls understood.
As another student was talking, the boy who had already cleaned his hands leaned back in his chair and tried to start a conversation with the girls.
That was it.
“Go back to class!” – I interrupted the student who was speaking and told the boy to get his things and go back to class with his teacher.
At first, he thought I was joking because he was smiling. But, as I looked him in the eye, I repeated “Go back to class. No one is forcing you to be here”. His smile quickly melted away and he started to beg.
“Non, je vais arrêter(I’m going to stop). Désolé, Monsieur, excusez-moi”.
“I told you to go back to class, please. You are not participating and you are disrupting the class”.
“Are you sure, Monsieur?” – he asked, with a look of fear on his face. At first, I thought to myself, ‘you have got to be kidding me! Are you really asking me if I’m sure I want you out of the classroom?!’
“Yes, I’m sure. I’m not joking. Please, go back to class.”
The room was silent. As he was getting his bag, I lectured the class.
“I know I am not a teacher, but I am a teaching assistant. You will respect me like you respect your teacher. I try to plan fun things for you to do, but when you do not pay attention, I don’t think I should bother to plan anything “fun”. If you do not want to meet with me, then you can stay in class with your teacher. It’s an easy problem to fix”.
Everyone was quiet. I’m sure it was because they did not know what I said, but they knew that they could not get away with any more.
As the boy was opening the door, he turned and asked me again,
“Mais, Monsieur, je suis vraiment désolé. Je ne veux pas…”
“Please, go. I asked you to leave.”
He walked out and started walking down the hall. But, then he came back in and begged one more time. “Monsieur, si je rentre dans la salle, la prof va m’engueuler”, (Sir, if I go back to class, the teacher will yell at me) he said. By now, he was bright red, full of shame, and scared to death. It looked like he wanted to cry. I wanted to laugh.
I gave in. “Ok, but sit over there and be quiet. If I hear you talking to anyone, I will send you to the teacher and I will tell her that I do not want you in my class”. He sat down and the relief on his face was priceless.
After the 30-minute session, they all left the classroom with a very important lesson in mind.
NO MORE MONSIEUR NICE GUY.
They better not push my buttons next week or I will stop teaching their section. I have the right to decide that…and if I don’t, I’ll go on strike for it (the French approach to solving any problem).
Le Dimanche des Rois
Instead of sleeping in and doing nothing but watch music videos on TV all day (I only get 2 channels on my TV – a music channel and a channel dedicated to horses), I woke up early, did some cleaning in my studio and went to Lyon.
Fortunately, there is a bus that takes me from Villefranche to Lyon for only 2E. But, for 1.10E extra, I also get a ticket to use the metro, which is usually 1.60E. It doesn’t seem like a bargain, but considering that with the train I have to pay between 3.20E to 4.80E depending on the time and then have to pay 1.60E every time I use the public transportation in Lyon, the bus is a much cheaper option.
Anyways, I got to Lyon around noon and then went over to Maggie’s place. She invited me to go to a galette tasting party. Similar to what I do with my family, the French and Spanish eat traditional cakes on January 6th to celebrate the arrival of the 3 Kings to greet the baby Jesus. They usually look like this:
Geraldine, the Spanish teacher at the high school Maggie works at, invited her to come over and taste them. Maggie didn’t want to go alone, so she invited me to go with her. I was happy to have gone because I was able to learn a little more about the similarities and differences between cultures.
I recognized the cakes right away. But, I had no idea that the same idea behind them existed. For example, in the French tradition, the cakes were cut into slices. Then, since I was the youngest, I was able to say who got the first piece, second piece, etc. The idea is that I distribute the pieces randomly and hopefully, someone will find the little plastic figure inside their slice. This means that they then have to invite everyone over to their place for a meal on a specific day in late January or February. Maggie and Anne, Geraldine’s friend, were lucky and got the figurines in their slices. In France, whoever finds the figurines, gets to wear a gold paper crown.
In Mexico, or at least at my house, the tradition is to buy a Rosca de Reyes and everyone takes turn cutting a piece, instead of having someone distribute the pieces. Also, the figures tend to be plastic babies, while in France they can be babies, plastic cartoon vegetables, or one of the 3 kings. But, the same concept applies to those who find the baby in their slice – they’ll have to invite everyone over to their house.
All in all, Sunday was a day full of learning. I found out that the French also celebrate with Galette de Rois and also learned that it is okay in the South of Spain to drink white wine and Sprite mixed together to create a very refreshing, yet potentially dangerous, drink. But, I guess it makes sense since in Barcelona, Coke and red wine mixed together is a favorite.
Now, I have the prefect drinks for the warm summer months in California.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
What's Next?
So, its another Thursday at work. I don't have classes in the morning, but I still come early to read articles online, check my email, check my bank accounts, etc.
Despite the gloomy day, consisting of a mixture of slush and rain that I had to walk through to get to school, I had the feeling that today was "special".
After looking through my to do lists from the past year in my gmail account, I finally was able to put my finger on it.
A year ago today, I sent my application to the French Embassy in Washington, D.C. to see if I would be accepted.
And now, a year later, I am here and half way done with my contract. It's hard to believe that within the time that I submitted my application to today, there has been a lot that has changed my life. In a way, submitting that application was the first life-changing event.
I graduated from college, I worked for a tutoring company (not the usual employment for a college graduate), I left the country, I left my family, My dad lost his job, My grandparents passed away, and now, I'm having to think about what I am going to to do next.
I now have the option of applying to be an English Assistant in Spain or (crossing my fingers) get into the Master's program in Vermont that I have applied to. Both are only options and not guaranteed.
Despite the gloomy day, consisting of a mixture of slush and rain that I had to walk through to get to school, I had the feeling that today was "special".
After looking through my to do lists from the past year in my gmail account, I finally was able to put my finger on it.
A year ago today, I sent my application to the French Embassy in Washington, D.C. to see if I would be accepted.
And now, a year later, I am here and half way done with my contract. It's hard to believe that within the time that I submitted my application to today, there has been a lot that has changed my life. In a way, submitting that application was the first life-changing event.
I graduated from college, I worked for a tutoring company (not the usual employment for a college graduate), I left the country, I left my family, My dad lost his job, My grandparents passed away, and now, I'm having to think about what I am going to to do next.
I now have the option of applying to be an English Assistant in Spain or (crossing my fingers) get into the Master's program in Vermont that I have applied to. Both are only options and not guaranteed.
Only time will tell.
And, until it answers my questions, I'm hoping for the best.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Babel
The orientation on Friday was like the Tower of Babel. For the first time in the history of the Academy of Lyon, they made the English and Spanish assistants meet on the same day and at the same place. For the first half, we were all together in the same auditorium.
3 languages I understood – English, Spanish, and French, surrounded me. The people in charge of us, spoke French, the English assistants spoke English to each other, of course, and the Spanish assistants did the same amongst themselves too, speak Spanish.
During the 15-minute break they gave us, I caught up with the other English assistants, but many of the Spanish assistants came up to me to ask me why they had never seen me before. I explained to them that I was the English assistant and that I knew how to speak Spanish because my parents are from Mexico.
As I explained this to some of the Spanish assistants (who come from Bolivia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, and of course Spain), some of the English assistants who didn’t know I spoke Spanish, looked and stared at me in confusion. It was funny to look over at them and see how surprised they were.
As I mentioned before, all of the assistants in the debriefing group spoke French when it was their turn to talk about their experiences. I did the same and did a pretty good job. I admit that I did get a little nervous but I didn’t stop myself.
I guess this day just became another source of inspiration for myself. I was just as surprised as everyone else that I could easily communicate in all 3 languages. I was surprised that my brain didn’t explode. But, I will say that I felt pretty tired, more than usual, by the end of the day and took a nap on the train back to Villefranche.
Now, all I need to do is find someone who can speak Italian so that I can practice it.
3 languages I understood – English, Spanish, and French, surrounded me. The people in charge of us, spoke French, the English assistants spoke English to each other, of course, and the Spanish assistants did the same amongst themselves too, speak Spanish.
During the 15-minute break they gave us, I caught up with the other English assistants, but many of the Spanish assistants came up to me to ask me why they had never seen me before. I explained to them that I was the English assistant and that I knew how to speak Spanish because my parents are from Mexico.
As I explained this to some of the Spanish assistants (who come from Bolivia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Argentina, Chile, El Salvador, and of course Spain), some of the English assistants who didn’t know I spoke Spanish, looked and stared at me in confusion. It was funny to look over at them and see how surprised they were.
As I mentioned before, all of the assistants in the debriefing group spoke French when it was their turn to talk about their experiences. I did the same and did a pretty good job. I admit that I did get a little nervous but I didn’t stop myself.
I guess this day just became another source of inspiration for myself. I was just as surprised as everyone else that I could easily communicate in all 3 languages. I was surprised that my brain didn’t explode. But, I will say that I felt pretty tired, more than usual, by the end of the day and took a nap on the train back to Villefranche.
Now, all I need to do is find someone who can speak Italian so that I can practice it.
The End of the World!
This weekend went by pretty fast. And thankfully, I made it through the snowstorm that had everyone worried.
On Thursday afternoon as I was preparing some lesson plans in the staff computer room, Denise, an English teacher who was sitting next to me using another computer, starts speaking out loud announcing to everyone in the room that she had just received an email informing everyone that there would be no school buses in all of the Rhone department due to the expected snow fall. No one believed her at first, but then as everyone logged in to check and read their emails, they realized she was right.
Some students are not from Villefranche and live at the school in the “dorms”. Since there would be no buses on Friday, they would have to leave that day in order to be able to make it home.
The bell rang and I went to my first afternoon class. By the time I got there, all the students and the teachers who were in class had already heard the news. I could hear the students laughing, cheering, and thanking God for what was happening. All the teachers were a little frustrated and didn’t know what to do since apparently all of them had some assignment due or a test to give them that following day. They had no choice but to postpone the tests since they knew that maybe only half of the students would show on Friday.
After class was over, I made my way back to the staff lounge to check the weather forecast. I was a little worried and scared since I am not used to snow at all. After seeing the precautions that were being taken, I thought that I would impossible for me to know how to handle the situation. I was also scared because I had to go to the language assistant orientation the next day in Lyon.
I look up the weather and I see a map of France pop up – in bright yellow and orange. Yellow meant that there was a level 2 warning and orange was a level 3 (out of a 4 level scale). Guess what color covered the Rhone department? – Orange. It freaked me out a little, but I knew I would be ok.
The next day, Friday, I woke up at 6:30am and the first thing I did as I got out of bed was look out the window to see all the snow. I look outside and everything looks just like it did when I went to sleep. It did not snow at all.
I got to the train station and met up with the other assistants from Villefranche. We took the train to Lyon and then made out way to the Croix-Rousse district of Lyon for the orientation. After the first half of the orientation, which was useless, we were split up into the same groups from last time. We went to our assigned classroom, and I sat facing the window. We were all given a chance to speak of our experiences so far and what we would have liked to be different, which was nice to do. The program is good, but there are a lot of ups and downs. After giving my update and suggestions (which I did in French!!! I was proud of myself), I look out the window and see that there is snow falling all over. The blizzard had started.
I pointed it out to Maggie, another Californian, and we both gave each other the same scared/WTF?! look. Maggie and I became Megan’s laugh for the day. Megan is from Toronto, Canada, so she is used to snow. She made fun of us for the rest of the day.
After getting some Subway sandwiches and going to their apartment, I looked up the next train back home. I left their apartment and started the journey home. The snow was still falling. I get to the train station and notice right away that there is a screen announcing that the weather was starting to cause delays.
I get on the train to Villefranche, which was already 10 minutes late, only to hear an announcement telling everyone that they were not sure when they would be able to depart. This train was supposed to leave at 3:40pm. I knew there was another one at 4:10pm so I went to that train. I get on, get a seat, and then notice that everyone was following behind me. Turned out that they cancelled the 3:40pm train and everyone came to the next one.
Long story short, the only problem I had with the weather was getting home. What usually would have taken me 40 minutes took almost 2 hours.
But, as I am working on this in my apartment, there is a blizzard going on outside right now, so I have no idea how it will be tomorrow.
On Thursday afternoon as I was preparing some lesson plans in the staff computer room, Denise, an English teacher who was sitting next to me using another computer, starts speaking out loud announcing to everyone in the room that she had just received an email informing everyone that there would be no school buses in all of the Rhone department due to the expected snow fall. No one believed her at first, but then as everyone logged in to check and read their emails, they realized she was right.
Some students are not from Villefranche and live at the school in the “dorms”. Since there would be no buses on Friday, they would have to leave that day in order to be able to make it home.
The bell rang and I went to my first afternoon class. By the time I got there, all the students and the teachers who were in class had already heard the news. I could hear the students laughing, cheering, and thanking God for what was happening. All the teachers were a little frustrated and didn’t know what to do since apparently all of them had some assignment due or a test to give them that following day. They had no choice but to postpone the tests since they knew that maybe only half of the students would show on Friday.
After class was over, I made my way back to the staff lounge to check the weather forecast. I was a little worried and scared since I am not used to snow at all. After seeing the precautions that were being taken, I thought that I would impossible for me to know how to handle the situation. I was also scared because I had to go to the language assistant orientation the next day in Lyon.
I look up the weather and I see a map of France pop up – in bright yellow and orange. Yellow meant that there was a level 2 warning and orange was a level 3 (out of a 4 level scale). Guess what color covered the Rhone department? – Orange. It freaked me out a little, but I knew I would be ok.
The next day, Friday, I woke up at 6:30am and the first thing I did as I got out of bed was look out the window to see all the snow. I look outside and everything looks just like it did when I went to sleep. It did not snow at all.
I got to the train station and met up with the other assistants from Villefranche. We took the train to Lyon and then made out way to the Croix-Rousse district of Lyon for the orientation. After the first half of the orientation, which was useless, we were split up into the same groups from last time. We went to our assigned classroom, and I sat facing the window. We were all given a chance to speak of our experiences so far and what we would have liked to be different, which was nice to do. The program is good, but there are a lot of ups and downs. After giving my update and suggestions (which I did in French!!! I was proud of myself), I look out the window and see that there is snow falling all over. The blizzard had started.
I pointed it out to Maggie, another Californian, and we both gave each other the same scared/WTF?! look. Maggie and I became Megan’s laugh for the day. Megan is from Toronto, Canada, so she is used to snow. She made fun of us for the rest of the day.
After getting some Subway sandwiches and going to their apartment, I looked up the next train back home. I left their apartment and started the journey home. The snow was still falling. I get to the train station and notice right away that there is a screen announcing that the weather was starting to cause delays.
I get on the train to Villefranche, which was already 10 minutes late, only to hear an announcement telling everyone that they were not sure when they would be able to depart. This train was supposed to leave at 3:40pm. I knew there was another one at 4:10pm so I went to that train. I get on, get a seat, and then notice that everyone was following behind me. Turned out that they cancelled the 3:40pm train and everyone came to the next one.
Long story short, the only problem I had with the weather was getting home. What usually would have taken me 40 minutes took almost 2 hours.
But, as I am working on this in my apartment, there is a blizzard going on outside right now, so I have no idea how it will be tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
2010
Happy New Year!
I still can't believe that the double digits have started. Another year, and another year of opportunities, I hope.
I had a great time enjoying the cold weather, hosting some friends from Mexico, and spending the holidays the French way with my "adopted" French family - I hope I can call them that because they have done so much for me. I owe them a lot!!!!
As I mentioned before, I'm looking forward to this year being full of new changes. I am in the process of applying to what I think is the perfect graduate school program for me - I am applying to become a grad student and Middlebury College in Vermont and earn my MA in Mediterreanean Studies. With this program, I am required to take all of my courses in 2 languages (choices being: French, Spanish, or Italian) and also required to study a year abroad. So, if all goes well, I plan on continuing my studies in French and Italian and might be back in Europe again. I'm really hoping to get accepted!!!
I only have 4 months left in France and I am hoping that I will make the most of it. My French is still decent and probably not at the level it should be at. But, I've noticed that it depends on the situation that I find myself in. When I am at work for example, I make mistakes because I always second guess myself because of the fear that since the people I work with are teachers, they'll think I'm dumb. But, when I'm on my own with a stranger I feel no pressure and manage just fine. When I am around Guillaume and his friends, I am terrified to speak because I don't know any of the slang....but I manage even though I speak very proper.
Anyways, Chrismas was fun. We went to the Christmas Mass and then had dinner. We ate foie gras, salmon, and lots of chocolate. On Christmas Day, we went over to Guillaume's Aunt's house where we found the rest of the family - in total, there were 35 adults and children. I met just about everyone in the family (from Guillaume's Mom's side) . We got there at 1 pm and then started with the apero (aperitif). We all then sat down and started eating. We ate non stop for hours, taking breaks between one dish and the next. After eating, we continued to play board games, charades, bulotte, etc. Guillaume, his sisters, his 2 cousins, I did not leave the house until 3am the next morning! We were there for 12 hours! I had never celebrated christmas like that before.
New Year's - from what I remember, we went all the way to the Haute Loire, another region in France next to Rhone. Some of Guillaume's friends organised the event and managed to rent out a room in a club. For 20 euros, I had all you can eat and drink for the entire night. With that said, I drank. And Drank. And eventually put to sleep. I do remember going around and saying Happy New Year to everyone - which in France consists of kissing everyone on both cheeks and saying meilleurs voeux - although the countdown was non existant. I was expecting everyone to come together and countdown as usual but instead, someone just glanced at their cell phone and started the kiss.
We all slept at the club and ate the leftovers the next day. I woke up and was still drunk. We didnt leave until late in the afternoon only to stop at a Mcdonald's. We got back to Guillaume's house around 6pm and went to sleep at 8pm. I slept until 9 the next morning. The first days of the year where a blur.
Now, I'm back at work and already counting down the days until the next break. I have 2 weeks off in February. I am planning on maybe going to Amsterdam with Guillaume and maybe I will do some more traveling with Emily, an old co-worker from the EAP office that will soon be in Milan as a teaching assistant as well.
I will post pictures up for December soon. sorry for the lack of editing for this blog, but I write as I'm thinking. And, sorry if that bothers you.
Happy New Year and best wishes to you all.
I still can't believe that the double digits have started. Another year, and another year of opportunities, I hope.
I had a great time enjoying the cold weather, hosting some friends from Mexico, and spending the holidays the French way with my "adopted" French family - I hope I can call them that because they have done so much for me. I owe them a lot!!!!
As I mentioned before, I'm looking forward to this year being full of new changes. I am in the process of applying to what I think is the perfect graduate school program for me - I am applying to become a grad student and Middlebury College in Vermont and earn my MA in Mediterreanean Studies. With this program, I am required to take all of my courses in 2 languages (choices being: French, Spanish, or Italian) and also required to study a year abroad. So, if all goes well, I plan on continuing my studies in French and Italian and might be back in Europe again. I'm really hoping to get accepted!!!
I only have 4 months left in France and I am hoping that I will make the most of it. My French is still decent and probably not at the level it should be at. But, I've noticed that it depends on the situation that I find myself in. When I am at work for example, I make mistakes because I always second guess myself because of the fear that since the people I work with are teachers, they'll think I'm dumb. But, when I'm on my own with a stranger I feel no pressure and manage just fine. When I am around Guillaume and his friends, I am terrified to speak because I don't know any of the slang....but I manage even though I speak very proper.
Anyways, Chrismas was fun. We went to the Christmas Mass and then had dinner. We ate foie gras, salmon, and lots of chocolate. On Christmas Day, we went over to Guillaume's Aunt's house where we found the rest of the family - in total, there were 35 adults and children. I met just about everyone in the family (from Guillaume's Mom's side) . We got there at 1 pm and then started with the apero (aperitif). We all then sat down and started eating. We ate non stop for hours, taking breaks between one dish and the next. After eating, we continued to play board games, charades, bulotte, etc. Guillaume, his sisters, his 2 cousins, I did not leave the house until 3am the next morning! We were there for 12 hours! I had never celebrated christmas like that before.
New Year's - from what I remember, we went all the way to the Haute Loire, another region in France next to Rhone. Some of Guillaume's friends organised the event and managed to rent out a room in a club. For 20 euros, I had all you can eat and drink for the entire night. With that said, I drank. And Drank. And eventually put to sleep. I do remember going around and saying Happy New Year to everyone - which in France consists of kissing everyone on both cheeks and saying meilleurs voeux - although the countdown was non existant. I was expecting everyone to come together and countdown as usual but instead, someone just glanced at their cell phone and started the kiss.
We all slept at the club and ate the leftovers the next day. I woke up and was still drunk. We didnt leave until late in the afternoon only to stop at a Mcdonald's. We got back to Guillaume's house around 6pm and went to sleep at 8pm. I slept until 9 the next morning. The first days of the year where a blur.
Now, I'm back at work and already counting down the days until the next break. I have 2 weeks off in February. I am planning on maybe going to Amsterdam with Guillaume and maybe I will do some more traveling with Emily, an old co-worker from the EAP office that will soon be in Milan as a teaching assistant as well.
I will post pictures up for December soon. sorry for the lack of editing for this blog, but I write as I'm thinking. And, sorry if that bothers you.
Happy New Year and best wishes to you all.
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