Link to some pictures

http://www.rhone.fr/education_culture_loisirs/evenements/fete_des_lumieres/fete_des_lumieres_2009

So since I won't have time to post some pictures of the fete now, check these out - they are from a professional photographer...I think.

Quick Update

As I had mentioned before, I try to keep this thing updated as much as I can. But, with not having internet all the time, its a little hard to do...Actually, to tell you all the truth, its probably due to the fact that I do not want to spend my time in front of a computer when I can be walking around Villefranche trying to talk to people or sipping on a café au lait or chocolat chaud on the Rue Nationale.

December has been pretty hectic. With the holiday season approaching, there has been a lot to see and do here. It is good, however, that I have been busy because it has helped me ignore the fact that my grandma passed away. My family had just started to accept that fact that my grandpa was gone but now we have to start all over again. Its a terrible feeling to not be told what is going on and finding out. The distance didn't help either. It wasn't until last night that I was able to hear the full story. My mom was in Mexico for 2 weeks so I wasn't able to talk to her about it. Turns out that it wasn't a surprise to her because she knew something was wrong, but didn't think I had to worry about it. Still it hurt to find out that my grandma had a brain tumor. Yet; we're all happy that she didnt have to suffer for very long.

On a happier note, I was able to witness my first French soccer game (St: Etienne v. Sochaux) and the Fête des Lumières. The game was just as I had imagined - fanatic people and endless chants. It was pretty cool.

The Fete des Lumières was definitely something else. I had only heard of it from people. They described it as the one weekend when there are light shows around Lyon - woohoo.

But, in reality, it has got to be one of the most amazing things I have ever seen! There were light shows, yes, but they were projected on the buildings and churches...simply amazing. I will post pictures soon.

Christmas in France has been really enjoyable so far. I can't wait to celebrate it the French way with Guillaume's family.

But before then, I need to host some friends from Mexico for 4 days. I love guests!

Happy Holidays!

Finally Legal

I went to the mandatory medical visit this morning in Lyon. It was actually a very short process, but everything that went on during that hour and a half served as another reminder that I will never understand how the French way of doing things works.

I was able to find the office easily. I got off the train at Perrache and walked to the office in 5 minutes. I walk in and I'm directed to go to the 1st floor (2nd in the US). I get there and see some of the other assistants waiting in the lobby. I give my passport and paperwork to the lady at the desk and I take a seat. Its after I sat that I noticed that there was no electricity in the building. All the lights were off. How I didn't notice before, I dont know, but when I did, I was shocked. How is it possible that of all places, a medical center does not have a back up generator or something... I will probably never understand the logic behind that.

So, the secretary did a good job collecting the paperwork and making us wait in the lobby, worrying that we were not going to get our titre de sejour ( she told me that I was missing a document and therefore I wouldn't be able to get my titre de sejour - LIAR!), before we got called in. I got there at about 9:10 am and even though my appointment wasn't until 9:30am, I was back in the lobby again at 9:25am after being asked if I had ever had surgery, had been vaccinated for Hep B, Tetanus, and yellow fever, and if there were any health problems in the family.

According to the visit, I am 1m 71 cm tall and I wiegh 96 kgs (FUCK!). The nurse was very nice and told me that being overwieght was bad and that I should work on losing wieght. It was actually kinda funny to see her look at the scale not once, but twice, and then look at my feet to see if maybe my shoes were too heavy or something. She then proceeded by pricking my finger and checking my blood sugar since I said that my mom is diabetic. Blood sugar was normal (Thank God!).

So as I and all the other assistants sat in the lobby, we all laughed at the situation around us. The only reason we could not continue to the next step was because we needed to have an Xray taken before we could meet with the lady downstairs. Then, all the lights come on and they start calling out our names in order. They would take us to the back to at a time, put each person in a separate room, tell us to take our sweaters and shirts off (quickly, mind you), and then they would open the door at the other end of the room to take us into the xray room. The nurse taking the Xray was not nice at all! She told me to put my chest against the scanner and then told me how to position my arms, but as I was positioning them how she told me, she just grabs them and says "laissez-moi le faire, c'est plus vite comme ça" = Let me do it, its faster that way.

She then told me to take a deep breath, hold it in, and as soon as the xray was taken, told me to get dressed and go wait outside...without a please or thank you.

I get my xray 5 minutes later and then go downstairs where I reunited with the other assistants. As we waited downstairs, we laughed at the fact that there was only 1 lady who was seeing us individually when there were 4 other people with the same job sitting in one office, drinking coffee. WTF?!

But, c'est la France! We all laughed out loud when the man came out of the office with an empty coffee pot, refilled it with water, and made some more coffee.

I finally went in and walked out with my titre de sejour.

Next step in the process is sending a photo copy to the social security office so that I can get my French healthcare card.

What a day...

SUNDAY

Slept in this morning, despite going to bed around 10pm last night and feeling great. The only thing I need to take care of today is lesson planning for this week. The weeks go by faster and faster!

The tour with Gilles, Maggie and Megan was even better than I had expected. I still have no idea how to thank Gilles for taking the day to drive us around and stopping along the way to do some wine tasting. We left at about 9am and went to St. Gengoux le National, a small town in the Burgundy region of France. We walked along the streets of the medieval quarter and then went to the cave (winery). We did some wine tasting before deciding on which wine to buy. We must have tried at least 6 different wines and it wasn’t even 11 yet!

After buying a few bottles, we went to Cluny and saw what was left of the Abbey. According to Gilles, the abbey used to be the biggest building in France until it was torn down during the French Revolution to use the stone to build the house. Now, all you can see are the foundations and what is left of the pillars.

 

We had lunch in Cluny and then went to a Chateau. It was closed, unfortunately, but it was still nice to see it from the outside and look out at the bare vineyards that surrounded the castle. From there, we stopped at the Roche du Solutré – a prehistoric site that many prehistory buffs like to visit. Archeologists are still able to find the bones of horses and other animals that primitive humans used to chase up to the cliff and over the edge to kill them. We could have gone to the top, but is was very windy and making the temperature feel colder than it really was.

We then started to head back to the Beaujolais area. I didn’t know that the Beaujolais region was divided into several different types of Beaujolais. Each section produces a different variety of Beaujolais wine – each with its own unique taste and composition. We stopped in Fleurie, Morgon, and St. Etienne d’Oul…something to try to the different Beaujolais. I had never done so much wine tasting in a day! At one point I thought that I wouldn’t be able to taste the difference anymore since we had already tried so many. But, I was able to taste the slight differences between one wine and another without any problems.

 

We then started to head back to the Beaujolais area. I didn’t know that the Beaujolais region was divided into several different types of Beaujolais. Each section produces a different variety of Beaujolais wine – each with its own unique taste and composition. We stopped in Fleurie, Morgon, and St. Etienne d’Oul…something to try to the different Beaujolais. I had never done so much wine tasting in a day! At one point I thought that I wouldn’t be able to taste the difference anymore since we had already tried so many. But, I was able to taste the slight differences between one wine and another without any problems.

 

"Wine is the most beautiful gift that God made for man." - Platon

 

We got back to Villefranche around 5pm. Gilles spent his entire Saturday taking us around. Maggie and Megan had a great time too. Had it not been for Gilles, I don’t think that it would have been possible to take a tour like the one he gave us.

We got dropped off at my apartment and I was able to show Maggie and Megan my new pad. (lol) We then walked along the Rue Nationale and then made our way to the train station. They went back to Lyon and I came back to my apartment, watched a movie, and then went to bed.

Now, I’m going to do some cleaning and then get started on lesson plans. Another week, and yet another month, is about to being.

The countdown to Christmas and New Year’s will start soon.

The Thanksgiving Aftermath

It’s Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and I am still recovering from all the food I ate yesterday. It’s almost 4 pm and I still feel full. I’m taking a little break from cooking – I invited the other assistants to my apartment tonight to celebrate my birthday and also to have a little housewarming for the studio. I’m preparing some Mexican food and hoping that everything will work out since I’m using the ingredients I could find. For example, I decided to make a salsa fresca instead of guacamole because there was no way I was going to pay almost $7 dollars for 3 avocados! But, I bought a Turkish pepper to substitute the jalapeno. I’m scared that it’ll be either too spicy or not spicy at all.

The Thanksgiving dinner was awesome. It made me feel like I was back at home! The turkey was great despite the fact that we all had to pitch in 5 euros each because it ended up costing 99 euro – almost $150!!!!

All the other dishes were great too! And all made with French ingredients. I expected them to taste different, but the traditional flavor was still there. Erin went all out and decorated the apartment for the event – she even made place cards!

Tomorrow, I’ll be going to Bourgogne (Burgundy), the neighboring region with Gilles, an English teacher at the lycée. He offered to take me to Cluny, a small town known for its abbey (or what’s left of it) and wine. He also mentioned that on the way back home, we would stop by several caves (wineries) and taste some of the wine. I’m really excited for this trip! I invited Maggie and Megan to come with me. They are coming to Villefranche tomorrow morning. We’re meeting up with Gilles at the gare (train station) and then we’ll spend the day visiting the Beaujolais region.

It’s going to be a good weekend.

Only the 4th time my birthday and Thanksgiving are on the same day!

Today is my 22nd birthday…DAMN.

I woke up this morning to a phone call from my mom and dad. They were getting ready to go to bed and I was getting ready to start my day. They usually call me at night, so I was expecting them to call me later on during the day. But, I didn’t mind that they woke me up to say happy birthday. I miss them a lot and hearing them on my birthday made me feel a little better.

It’s a strange feeling waking up on your birthday and being alone. I’m used to being at home, in my warm, comfortable bed and having my mom walk in to wake me with a hug and a kiss. This year, I woke up to the phone ringing, a little cold, and all alone in my studio in France. I know that I never imagined I would be in France for my 22nd.

But, it’s not the first time that I am not and home and missing both my birthday with family and Thanksgiving. The last birthday I spent in Europe was in 2007 – when I turned 20. I was studying in Siena, Italy. I celebrated my birthday there and then spent Thanksgiving in Amsterdam. What a trip! No pun intended ;)

22. I still can’t get over the fact that I am that old. I don’t feel any different from the way I did a few years ago and sometimes I wonder if I should start paying attention to more things. I mean, I’m 22 and still have no idea what I want to do in life. I have some ideas, but I can’t make up my mind. Right now, I’m just living day to day, enjoying my time in France, and trying to make the most of my experience. But, I know that once this is over I have to get going! I have the option of staying another year, but I don’t know how good of a decision that would be.

Anyways, on a less depressing note, Thanksgiving is today too! The last time that this happened was 11 years ago! I was a little bored and excited that my birthday was on the same day as Thanksgiving that I looked at the dates from previous years to see what the pattern was. Turns out that my birthday will be on Thanksgiving every 6-5-6-11 years! Meaning, in 1987, I was born on Thanksgiving and the 2nd time my birthday was on that same day was in 1992 (5 years later). The 3rd time happened in 1998 (6 years later), and then for the 4th time this year – 11 years later! Thanksgiving will fall on my birthday again in 6 years – 2015. Crazy!…and now, I feel a little pathetic.

I don’t have any big plans to celebrate. I’m going to start mashing some potatoes that I boiled for tonight. Erin, an assistant from Boston, invited me and some other assistants to go to her apartment to have a Thanksgiving dinner. We are all pitching in for the turkey, which she was able to order from a butcher, and we all signed up to bring something to eat. I figured that there was no way I could mess up mashed potatoes. I just hope that I didn’t jinx myself.

It’s strange that I have to go to work on Thanksgiving, but it’s only for 2 hours. After class, I just have to come back home and pick up the mashed potatoes and then head over to the train station to get to Lyon. Guillaume is letting me stay at his place tonight so that I don’t have to worry about catching the last train back to Villefranche.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Volleyball 11/25/09

Tonight was fun and interesting. I went to the Centre Sportif St. Exupery with the other assistants to play volleyball. I don’t usually play volleyball, but when I did with my fraternity team, I wasn’t good at all…I don’t even think that good would even come to mind if you had to describe it.


The girls told me about and invited me to go with them. I don’t have anything to do in the afternoons, so it wouldn’t hurt to play and do a little exercise. Plus, it’s just more French practice.

I showed up about 20 minutes late because I couldn’t find the building, but eventually, I found the group. There were about 12 people total – 10 French people, the Spanish assistant, the German assistant, the other English assistant and I.

We must have played about 5 or 6 games in about 2 hours. It was fun to play and I didn’t do as bad I thought. Plus, everyone there was playing for fun, although at times it felt like it was a competition.

I learned some of the French lingo for volleyball/sports:

Good game = Bien joué

Your turn = C’est à toi/vous

Last one (meaning, the last hit or chance to get it over the net) = Le dernier

Behind you (let it go to the person behind you) = Derriere-toi


Overall, I had a good time and I think I might be going every week. I’m happy that I am starting to find things to keep me busy.