Joyeux Noël

Tonight the Holzhausens depart from Atlanta on that midnight plane to Paris! I'll be meeting them at the airport in the morning and we'll spend a few days in Paris soaking up all of the Christmas festivities the city of lights has to offer. Then on Tuesday it's off to London via the Chunnel for post-Christmas goodness and New Year's Eve festivities. But in the meantime, I should recap the past week.

Last Saturday I set off for Bruges, Belgium, which is known not just for the movie "In Bruges," but for being one of the best-preserved medieval cities in all of Europe. It definitely lived up to that reputation, my friends. The whole place does not even look real. It's like stepping back in time. If you ever have the chance, heed the advice of the movie and get to Bruges.

And then I made it back to Tours earlier this week where I have mostly spent too much time sleeping since most people went home for the holidays last weekend, and a little bit of time finishing up last minute Christmas shopping.

In other news, my grad school applications are nearly all done! Which begs the question, where in the world will I be this time next year? As always I'm incapable of planning more than 6 months in advance so I have resigned myself to not only apply to grad schools all over America, but also to re-apply for this assistantship next year even though a major part of why I'm having such a good time over here are the other assistants who will all be gone next year. And, as much as I like Tours, the weather is killing me slowly and painfully. To the nice old man in the Belgian train station who told me he hoped it would be warmer & drier when I got back to Tours after maybe a half-hour of drizzle in Bruges, you've obviously never been here before. A small, naive part of me thought that once I got over here I would magically figure out what I want to do for the rest of my life. Well let me tell you, my friends, that has not happened. In fact, I think I'm more confused than ever. Uggggghhhh. All I want for Christmas is for someone to figure my life out for me. K thanks.

Joyeux Noël and à bientôt, mes amis!

In Bruges

Hello world,

Spent the weekend in Bordeaux a couple of weekends ago with Adrienne, Carys, and Lucy. Forgot how much I love the south of France. We managed to have a good time despite the fact that it rained the entire time. Which, unfortunately, is not unlike Tours. I'm just now realizing that I've been spoiled my whole life with Atlanta weather and have never had to really deal with gray, rainy winters until now. I can't handle it, I need sunlight. I'm like a plant. So, this weekend I am getting the heck out of Dodge!

Vacation starts tomorrow and I'm taking advantage of the time off and traveling a bit before my parents get here. First stop: Belgium. I'll be going to Bruges and Brussels for the Christmas markets in addition to waffles, chocolate, and beer, of course. I'll also spend a couple of days in Köln, Germany, which apparently has the best Christmas markets in all of Europe! Also excited to get back to my roots because, you know, I'm German. I'm ready to get my mulled wine on (again). Then it's off to Paris with my parents for Christmas and London for New Years, bringing it to a grand total of 4 countries in two weeks. Bring it on, Europe!

Les vacances commencent ENFIN!

For your viewing pleasure: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoE9edjEDCI

Let's get rich and buy our parents homes in the south of France.

Bonjour tout le monde!

A few new exciting things have happened lately. For one I had my medical visit last week for immigration (more than 2 months after my arrival, so on the off-chance that I did have some terrible, havoc-wreaking disease that we Americans are known to carry I surely would've spread it by now!) and my visa is OFFICIALLY validated meaning I'm here legally and therefore I can travel outside of France without being deported! They really do chest x-rays to check Americans for tuberculosis and they really do let you keep it. And I really did hang it up on my bedroom wall. It was too blank! Now my skype calls are exponentially more interesting.

Last week was a little weird for me as it was my first time ever not being with my parents on the holidays. But I think the thing that was the weirdest about it was the fact that it was just like any other ordinary day in France. It probably would've been a lot harder had I been somewhere where they actually do celebrate Thanksgiving and unable to be with my family. It didn't really feel like I missed it, more like I just skipped over it. Bizarre. But, some of the assistants and I had our very own Thanksgiving dinner Saturday since we all had to work Thursday. It was très delicious and felt just like home! Merci millefois à Meg for hosting us! A few of us also got creative with our homesickness remedies and watched last year's Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. Not quite the same, but a close second!

Christmas lights have officially been strung all over Tours and it is looking very festive! The Christmas markets started this weekend and they even play Christmas music on the main shopping street, which is charming when you're wandering around but probably really annoying if you work anywhere in the vicinity. I promise I'll take pictures of Tours/my apartment soon!

And the most exciting thing to happen recently (and the inspiration for the title of my post) is a petit trip to Bordeaux this weekend with Lucy, Carys, and Adrienne! I've never been to Bordeaux before so I am thrilled to check it out and get back to the south of France for the first time since study abroad! I do wish I could go back to Montpellier though. That's definitely on the list of things to do before I leave in the spring! But, going back to the south is not the only reason to be excited about this weekend. Bordeaux is the wine capital of... wait for it... not just France, but the WHOLE, ENTIRE WORLD. I think we'll fit in just fine. Because we all know the one thing I need most in my life right now is more wine. Let's be real. Bordeaux is a major city and will be my first big trip since I got to Tours other than a couple of daytrips to Paris. There's lots to see/do there so it should be lots of fun!

School is going well, when I'm there, that is. I've avoided telling most of my friends back home that I only work 12 hours a week and actually do make a half-decent salary for fear that they would think I'm some sort of socialist or something, but that's actually not too far from the norm for the French work week. A lot of the "real" teachers at my school work the same number of hours I do and since I've been here I've learned that 22 hours per week is considered full-time and 35 is the limit. Did I mention 2-hour lunch breaks are practically enforced by law here? Like, businesses shut down and everything. Every. Day. And there's wine in my staff lunch room? And people drink it and then go teach? And everything shuts down on Sundays, and often Mondays as well, and sometimes even Wednesdays? And schools are  all closed Wednesday afternoons? And there's wine in my staff lunch room? And there's a train strike just about every other day? And there's wine in my staff lunch room?

You don't know the meaning of laid-back until you know the French.

But, the reason I bring it up is because I've been working even less than my normal work week the past two weeks. It's a fairly common occurrence for the teachers I work with to tell me they have something else planned on certain days and they don't need me to come in for their class, which was sweet until it started happening practically every week. And not to mention that for the past 3 weeks 7 hours of work have been cancelled due to teachers' illness. I guess they've never heard of subs here? This can be a fun surprise, except when you wake up at 6:00 and walk outside to catch the bus and you realize they still haven't turned off the Christmas lights from last night because it's still that dark and then get to school find out that your only two morning classes are cancelled and no one told you, which is exactly what happened today. Did I mention that my afternoon classes were cancelled as well? I didn't even have to come in at all. An hour and a half on the bus that I will never get back, my friends. Organization is not one of France's strengths. Next time I'm just going to randomly assign myself to a classroom and insist on teaching. I need something to doooo!!! But alas, it's Tuesday and I'm done with work for the week because I don't work Wednesdays or Fridays and this Thursday we have another all-day training day. At least I'll have somewhere to be! I've also been instructed to - verbatim - "plan something on America" for my lesson next week. Ugh. Specificity isn't one of their strengths either.

At the risk of sounding self-important talking about a haircut (but isn't that really what blogs are for, anyway? A blog is nothing if not a boost for your ego.) I've decided that I've FINALLY mustered up enough courage to do it tomorrow because after all, I'm long overdue. Hopefully they'll take pity on me and use simple vocab. Updates to follow!

That's all the ranting I can handle for now, but in other news, only 25 days until my parents arrive!

Here's to hoping you all have a more interesting work week than me!

Channelling Julia Child

Today I decided to get adventurous and do some real cooking for the first time since I got here because, let's be real, I'm sick of eating spaghetti! And after all, I am in France and what better place to learn to cook than France, really?

So, this morning I went to "Les Halles," an indoor market here in Tours with bakeries, produce stands, butchers, wine vendors and cheese counters galore. I even stumbled upon another outdoor market that I didn't know existed when I took a different way into town! That's the beauty of this town. Every time I go somewhere new I find something interesting. Upon my arrival at Les Halles I mustered up the confidence to ask for what I needed because in French markets you usually can't pick out what you want yourself, you have to tell the vendor what you want and how much... kind of intimidating when there's things you don't even know the name of in English! Not to mention everything's in metric here. Also I think I'm actually developing a phobia of the butcher due to the creepy things they have there including but not limited to rabbits fresh from the kill with fur and all, skinned pigs' heads, chickens with their feet and heads still intact, and COW TONGUE. Yes, that's right, actual tongue of cow. And they put it right by the register so you can't avoid it. It's kinda cruel. But thanks to my helpful French cookbook which only called for plain beef and none of these scary meats, I conquered my fears and got exactly what I needed!

"Cooking for Beginners" - quite possibly still too advanced for moi!

I was perhaps a little overly ambitious and decided my first attempt would be boeuf bourguignon due in part to my obsession with the movie "Julie & Julia." So I made my way around the market and collected my mushrooms, carrots, onions, and of course, beef all the while telling the vendors how many grams I needed. Oy. I'm still think in pounds/ounces, fahrenheit, and non-military time. My American-ness doesn't seem to be wearing off anytime soon.

The recipe called for red wine but not just any red wine, wine from the Bourgogne region, which I found quite entertaining. I guess wine from the good ol' Centre region just wouldn't suffice? But it does go with their culture that they would be so particular because we all know that if there's anything at all that the French take seriously it's their food and their wine and when the two are combined (which is almost always) - watch out! 

I trekked back to chez moi and prepared the dessert - fondant au chocolat - for all-day refrigeration. Fondant au chocolat (or at least the recipe in my book) consists of nothing more than mass quantities of milk chocolate, heavy cream, and crushed "sable" cookies, which are basically like French sugar cookies, but better. All you have to do is boil the cream and mix in the chocolate and whip it into submission and then pour it onto a bed of crushed cookies and it's supposed to look just like the picture.

Finished product:

Hmm, OK, so it doesn't look exactly like the picture, but it still tastes really good! I promise. It's hard to screw up chocolate.

While the dessert was chilling in the fridge I got going on the boeuf bourguignon because that, too, is quite a long process. About four hours from the time I started chopping veggies until it was finally done cooking.

A little intimidating, non?

Cooking in red wine, olive oil, and spices for two and half hours. Literally. But worth every minute. Everything was really flavorful because you cook it at a low heat and the meat and vegetables absorb the taste of the wine. Marination is the keyword. To. die. for.

 Tell me I could be more French right now. Really.

 Finished product. I failed to photograph where the mushrooms came in, but they were cooked (more like drowned) in a mixture of butter and the same sauce the meat was cooked in. Hands down the freshest mushrooms I've ever had in my life. Thanks, French market!

The specialty cheese of the region - Sainte Maure de Touraine. It's a type of goat cheese and it looks disgusting but tastes really, really good!

I don't think they'll be calling me to write my own cookbook anytime soon, but the experience was overall a success and I now have enough food for the rest of the week, so let's hope I don't get sick of it!

In other news, the final step to my visa validation is finally happening Tuesday! Being from America and not the E.U. I can apparently carry all sorts of bizarre diseases such as tuberculosis, so we Americans/Canadians have to get checked out in Orléans. On the plus side, I heard they let you keep the chest x-ray. Wall decoration? But in all serious this actually is exciting because once my visa is validated I can leave France and not worry about being deported upon my return to the country, which is key for Christmas break.

À la prochaine, mes amis!

Sunday Skypeday

School is back in full-swing until Christmas break. And by full swing, I of course mean my 12-hour work week. La vie est dure, n'est-ce pas? Though it will be odd to work on Thanksgiving day. =( But we Americans are celebrating in a couple of weeks even though we can't do it on the actual day.

Took the GRE last week, and am now applying to grad schools for next year! Très last minute, so typical Anne fashion as always! I'm having a great time here and I'm really glad I'm doing this program, but I think a year might just be enough. I've met lots and lots of great people and I'm having a really good experience, but I think it's just too far and life is too short. But I've still got a while to make up my mind, so we'll see!

Went back to Amboise last weekend with Suzie and Lucy, two assistant friends, last weekend to see the chateau and Leonardo da Vinci's house. He was actually buried there, which I was completely unaware of until we found his tomb in the cathedral! Pictures on Facebook. 

This weekend consisted of really, really good Morroccan food, a second trip to the botannical gardens/zoo here in Tours, and going out with les autres assistantes. While sortir-ing last night we found a bar that had the Georgia-Auburn game live. I never thought I'd see the day! I was even able to share my excitement with a fellow SEC-er! How bout them Dawgs. Not gonna lie, seeing this did provoke a little bit of homesickness, though I have managed to stave it off for the most part up until now. Hard to believe I've been here for nearly two months now! I'm currently counting down the days until my parents get here for Christmas - 40!

Also, this just in - the local supermarket is now open on Sunday mornings! If you've ever spent time in France, you probably know that life literally shuts down on Sundays, so it has been my designated Skype/nap day pretty much since I got here. EVERY business including but not limited to tabacs (odd little general-store like things that sell everything from cigarettes, newspapers, bus passes, and pay-as-you-go phone recharge cards - if your phone runs out of credit on a Sunday you're S.O.L.), many restaurants & bars, and even pharmacies are closed ALL day. Don't get sick on a Sunday in France! One of the few things that might be open in the morning if you're lucky is the local bakery because let's be real, in France bread is clearly more important than health. And with the exception of a couple of supermarkets/épiceries that may or may not be on the sketchier side, you can't even go grocery shopping. But alas, the local Monoprix (think French Target) has decided to open their doors to the public (until 12h 50) every Sunday! So it looks like I won't starve anymore if I forget to do the grocery shopping on Saturday! This is huge.

Also have decided that it's almost time for French haircut numéro deux (the first one being on study abroad) and I know exactly what I want for once in my life! The problem is I lack the vocabulary to ask for layers or long bangs, so, my plan is to point to this photo of Marion Cotillard and say, "comme ça." We'll see how this goes! It worked out well once before, at least.

Bonne soirée et bonne nuit, tout le monde!

Immigrant Song

Hello world,

Vacation ends tomorrow (sorta, I go back for 2 hours and then have a 3-day weekend as per usual. Did I mention I only work 12 hours a week?) and I never thought I'd say this, but I think I'll be kinda glad to go back. I need something to do! What's that saying about idle minds? If my mind weren't so idle right now I might be able to remember. But despite our limited funds (assistants in my region haven't been paid still. Oy vey), I have to say I did pretty well with this break! In addition to the places I mentioned last week I went to:

• Langeais - they still raise and lower that drawbridge every day by the way.

• Villandry - lots and lots of gardens

• Paris again to meet up with Seth, a friend from UGA study abroad who's also an assistant and Debbie, our study abroad director who was in Paris working on making it a semester-long program, buy books at the best bookstore known to mankind - Gibert Joseph, wander parks, and of course, it's never too cold for Berthillon ice cream. Though I failed to take pictures of anything but landmarks. Oops!

More pins to put in my France map when I get back to the states! I'm enjoying our proximity to Paris, it's only 16 euros for the slower train that takes about 2.5 hours, or for a little more it's only an hour away with the TGV - really easy and cheap to take daytrips there so you don't have to pay for a hostel! It's hard for me to even fathom that I can get to Paris in half the time it took me to get to my parent's house in Kennesaw from Athens. I'm going back to Paris next week to take the GRE... dun dun dun. It's only dawning on me since this vacation that as much as I love it here, I don't think I'll be able to live here for the rest of my life. The bottom line is that over 4,000 miles is really just too far from home, and unless someone invents that teleportation device reeeeally fast, I think I may be coming back to the states for good next summer. But alas, we all know how indecisive I am. We'll see.

For now though, I have my parents' Christmastime visit to look forward to! They're going to stay for a couple of weeks and see a little bit of a day in the life of a Tourangelle teaching assistant, explore Paris, and hopefully Germany/some of the U.K. weather permitting. There's a little town in Germany called Holzhausen, so of course I want my picture next to the sign. Lifelong dream. Should be a fun trip because they've never been to Europe, and I really haven't seen anything apart from France and London for a short weekend trip. This will also be my first time "hosting" Christmas chez moi. I don't know when I grew up, but apparently it's happened! Could be interesting due to the fact that my kitchenette consists of two hot plates, a microwave, and soon a mini-oven. I never have been much of a cook, so we'll see how that goes! But in all seriousness, all I really care about is being with my family on Christmas. We've never been apart for the holidays and I couldn't imagine it without them. I even considered coming back to Atlanta for a couple of weeks, but alas, I'm not a millionaire and flights across the Atlantic are not cheap, especially at the holidays. Better that they come here! Though I certainly wouldn't have minded seeing my dogs. I keep fantasizing about the day I come home and Grady tackles me. It's gonna be great. Hoping they still remember me after my 8-9-month absence though!

But in the meantime I'm having a fantastic time! There are roughly 30ish other English assistants in my town I believe, not to mention the Italian, Spanish, and German ones, so I'm in quite good company! Meeting people from all over (though I probably haven't been making as many French friends as I should).

And I'm still in the immigration process. I'm an immigrant! Well, at least I'm on file with the office of immigration. Never thought that'd happen! We're supposed to have a medical visit to "validate" our visas if you're not from the E.U., so that should be coming up soon, but in typical French style, they haven't told me anything yet. Hopefully they don't assign me for the day I'm supposed to take the GRE. It could happen. The lady in charge of assistants in our region told us you get two shots to go to your medical visit and then... well I don't know what. Deportation? Kidding of course, I'm sure it won't come to that.

Reading a book called A Year in the Merde ("shit" for you anglo-saxons) about an Englishman who comes to live and work in France for a year. Highly recommended, especially for anyone who has spent time here.

Also just realized I haven't really taken any pictures of Tours, which is quite ironic and kind of a shame. I'll get on that for my next post. =) I'm thinking "a day in the life" theme.

À bientôt, mes amis!

Malade comme un chien

Add getting electricity switched to my name to the list of things I never thought I'd have to do in French. Oh la la. My French should be très bien by the time I leave this place!

I've started working with some of the classes on my own, which has been going quite well actually! They seem to respond better to me in smaller groups/without the teacher. I think this is where being so close to their age gives me an advantage.

But in other news, I am STILL sick. "Malade comme un chien" as the French would say. Most persistent cold ever. Who knew that wine doesn't help? But alas, I will survive. I would give just about anything for some Dayquil right now though. That French medicine just does noooot cut it.

But, I refuse to let being sick get in the way of seeing chateaus! I'm on break until next Thursday and so far have plans to explore the Loire Valley and go to Paris for a while. When you're so close and it's so cheap, how can you not?? We went to Amboise yesterday (Leonardo da Vinci lived there for a while) and are going to Langeais today (that chateau was the model for the Sleeping Beauty one!)

In other other news, I have not been homeless now for 10 days and it feels fantastic! I'm still in the process of making the apartment look cuter, but since I know you're all dying to see it, there are pictures on Facebook from my first day here. It looks a little better now!

Also, something that I did when I was on study abroad that I have failed to do so far is keep tally of all the cities I went to. So here goes. I haven't done a ton of exploring yet mostly due to the fact that Thursday will be my first payday, but alas, here's the list so far.

• Paris
• Orléans - Joan of Arc was from here. Saw her (rebuilt after being destroyed in WWII) house!
• Tours
• Amboise

As much fun as I'm having here, I've been forced to start thinking about what I want to do next year. I found out recently that first-time TAPIF applicants get priority over those who have done it before, so my odds of getting it are not so great since 2,100 people applied last year for the 1,450 slots. I think being here is really solidifying the fact that French is what I want to do for the rest of my life, but do I want to do it here or teach in the states? That is the question of the hour. I think I might take the GRE just for the hell of it so I can apply to grad school for next fall if I decide if I want to. But getting my master's in France sounds really appealing right now! Many of the teachers at my school started out as assistants, and I definitely feel like that's the path I'm headed down. One comforting conclusion that I have come to lately though is that I do not have to decide what I want to do for the rest of my life right this second. However, I probably do need to decide what I want to do a year from now! Oh la la la vie. On verra!

À la prochaine, mes amis!

This town is full of hairplanes and beautiful bitches.

Hello world, 
I apologize for my lack of blogging recently. I made a personal resolution not to blog until I was not homeless anymore which means... dun dun dun.... I found an apartment! I'll spare you all the minute details but it is not the one that I originally thought I'd end up with, it's better! It's quite large for a French apartment, 35 m² with a real bedroom and a living room all to myself and it's completely furnished - it even has a TV! It's in a residential area near the Jardin des Prébendes. It's all mine legally and I move in tomorrow morning!!! I am SO relieved to finally stop living out of my suitcases and be able to settle in a little bit because let's be real - I'm much cuter when I'm not homeless!


But for the past few days I have been staying with Madame Colette Vavasseur, a sweet little old French lady who hosts students/foreigners such as myself in her home. I found out about her through the awesome Canadian German assistant at Choiseul (my school). Unfortunately, she couldn't rent me a room for a long time because there's another student coming to take the one I've been staying in for the past few days, but it has been a great place to stay during my awkward transition phase! She's very sweet and when I told her what my name was she said "comme ma fille!" or "like my daughter" en anglais. Too sweet. And she is a fantastic cook. If you've ever had a French person cook you a meal, you know they are quite talented in the kitchen and if you do not completely clean your plate they ask you if you didn't like it. Really. And their portions can be quite generous! A couple nights ago it was omelettes with potatoes, bread (of course, c'est la France!), cheese, a crepe with honey, AND a pear. And when I said I'd eaten too much (you can't say literally "i'm full" or "je suis pleine" here because it means "i'm pregnant" - french lesson o'the day!) her response was "already?" Oh la la! They sure know how to eat over here! 


Work never fails to amuse me.  One kid asked me what the word for "avion" was yesterday and when I replied "airplane" she repeated "hhhhairplane" without even flinching. Another one asked me to name some French movies for a skit they're doing. He asked me because he "only watches American movies." Kid is obsessed with Brooklyn. Probably thinks I'm a waste of an American since I've never been to New York! Spent an entire class period last week discussing the difference in pronunciation between "beaches" and "bitches" because really, if you go to a town and you tell the locals it's full of beautiful bitches, it's not quite the same as beautiful beaches. Only say it if you mean it!


France is starting to feel more and more like home every day. I have mastered the bus system and people have even asked me for directions lately! It's hard to believe I've already been here for almost 4 weeks. And I've only got one more week before I get a 2 week break for the Toussaint holiday! The French love to take breaks. I get six weeks paid vacation during the school year - not counting the summer. Vive la France. They also love to grève (strike for you Anglo-Saxons) just as much as their reputation leads one to believe. I've officially survived a bus strike and a school strike on the same day! Only in France. The school strike was actually quite impressive. The high schoolers must've stacked about 30 trash cans in front of the entrance. It looked a lot like this, only more impressive.  


In other news, I have come down with what appears to be a common cold, a very rare occurrence for me! The unfortunate part about this is that in France you have to go to the pharmacy to get any kind of medicine at all and you have to describe to the pharmacist exactly what is wrong with you, which is great practice for my French, but this is the time that I just want to curl up in bed the most, not practice describing my cough! And as per usual in la France, pharmacies are closed on Sundays so it looks like I'll be making a trip there tomorrow!


After tomorrow I'm probably not going to have internet for a while because I have to sign up for it which could take weeks because let's be real, this is France! So I might disappear from the blogosphere for a while. À bientôt, mes amis!

The one with the German last name, the French first and middle names, and the American passport.

Alors, I am STILL homeless in France. Turns out French bureaucracy really does live up to it's reputation. I'm still trying to get that apartment I found a week ago. There is a series of hoops to jump through first though. First, I had to open my French bank account which was not an issue except that I had to get a letter from the people I'm staying with, a bill in their name at their address, and a copy of their passport. Well, the bill was in the man's name but the copy of their passport was in Fred's name. Oh là là. French bureaucracy does not like this. So I was supposed to go back to the bank today to turn in the copy of the correct passport but I forgot one little detail - I started work officially yesterday! So while I was supposed to be at the Banque Populaire, French high school kids were asking me if I like beer. And alas, you have to make an appointment to go to the bank in France. And they're closed on Mondays. All. Day. Also, found out that Janet, the director of the English department at Lycée Choiseul (my school) is basically a saint and offered to sign as my guarantor without me even asking - so I went back to the rental agency yesterday thinking I had basically everything I needed. No no no no no. They ripped me a new one. I got a list with about ten items I needed from her including but not limited to everything I had to get from the couple I'm staying with, plus her work contract, her last 3 pay stubs, and her tax records from TWO YEARS AGO. Really, France, really? Apparently this is normal for here though! Also the kind couple who probably thought I'd be here for about 3 days has told me they need my room by Saturday since someone is coming into town, which is fine and completely understandable - I've been here a while now! But that poses a little bit of a problem because I have orientation in Orléans all day on Friday and I have to take a 7 a.m. train that day and won't be back until at least 9 p.m. probably, so really this means I need to be outta here Thursday, not Saturday! Did I mention the place I'm moving to isn't furnished? So that's a whole other obstacle because I obviously don't have a car here, and even if I did, French cars are usually no bigger than my Civic. Ikea delivery, anyone? But I don't have to work tomorrow, so hopefully I will have some keys by then, god willing.

But work is great! There really is wine in the teacher's lunch room - no joke. Vive la France. Kids seem to think I'm cool because I've been to California and like the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Of course one of the first questions every class asked me (I've been to 6 different ones and still haven't even seen all of them yet - never going to learn all their names!) is whether or not I speak French. They're not supposed to know I do. Oops! So I went with the "yes, I speak French, but not with you" tactic. The thing that's going to be tough I think (other than getting them used to my American accent since they're so used to hearing British English...) is being an authority figure and not their friend since I am so close to their age. Realized today I'm the baby of the staff. I think the next youngest person seven years older than me! It is kind of cliché though, isn't it? Twenty-two year old girl pursues lifelong dream of living in France. But I wouldn't have it any other way. I got placed at a fantastic school in a wonderful town and have made friends with lots of other assistants! Canadians, Brits, Scots, other Americans, Germans, Austrians, and of course, the French!

Other funny questions the kids asked:

• Have you ever seen Barack Obama? (I actually went to one of his rallies in Atlanta in 2007 when he was campaigning, so that was pretty cool!)
• Is it really hard to get into aaaar-vaaaar (Harvard)?
• Do you like Irish pubs?
• Do you like swimming pools?
• What is prom like?
• Did your university have sororities? (these kids watch too many movies!)
• And my personal favorite: Do you like France?/Why did you come to France? To which I was like, why would I not come to France, the pay is just a bonus! Though I suppose if I'd had a French assistant in my high school I probably would've asked her why she came to America. Grass is always greener syndrome. 

Sidenote: Friends with Benefits is in theaters over here and its French title is "Sexe entre amis" - literally "sex with friends." I guess there's no translation for that.

Sidenote deux: Spelling my last name for French people is my new favorite thing. It usually results in laughter and a muffled "ooolz-auzen." Ouiiiii, c'est ça.

Je cherche un petit appartement français.

Things I've learned in the past two days:

• French apartment hunting is a LOT harder than I thought.
• My French is a little better than I thought!
• You have to have a French bank account to rent a French apartment through an agency.
• You can't have a French bank account until you have an address in France. Oh là là.
• People in France don't check their email.
• People in France just discovered lean cuisines.

Well, these past couple days have been interesting! I found the perfect little apartment in the perfect location and it's actually within my budget! It even has that thing where you have to buzz people in at the door, complete with a winding staircase (both secret requirements of mine)! BUT, it's for rent through an agency, which I didn't think would be a huge deal. Well, I was wrong. It is a huge issue because my parents cannot sign as my guarantors because they don't have a French bank account! So the only way that I've discovered so far to get an apartment through an agency here if you're not a French citizen is to prove that you have enough money in your FRENCH bank account (mine doesn't exist yet) to pay off the rent for the ENTIRE year, which is completely absurd. So I've got an appointment tomorrow to open my French account which I've heard is a royal pain - wish me luck, and then hopefully it might work. I'm using the address of the couple I'm staying with temporarily. Hopefully the people at the bank won't be mean to me! Also, literally no one on French craigslist - leboncoin.fr answers their emails/calls. I must've made at least 15 calls today and only got one response. So I have a real estate agency that I can't rent from and a web site where no one answers your inquiries! C'est difficile! But, it will all work out. Just stressful right now. I always joked that I would be homeless on the condition that I could do it in France. Well... be careful what you wish for??

Also, going to my school tomorrow to introduce myself! I'm a little bit nervous, but I'll just have to show those lycéens who's boss. Found out tonight I'm not supposed to speak any French with the students, so that'll be a nice break, but I'm getting so used to it now I'm afraid it'll just slip out! On verra.

Bonne nuit tout le monde!

Alors, on mange.

Bonjour tout le monde!

This has been a crazy week and I feel I've kind of neglected my blogging obligations, but alas, wifi is scarce in France and French keyboards are frustrating because the keys are all mixed up (using one right now, hopefully my patience lasts)!

Spent five days in Paris hanging with two other girls doing the assistantship in my region. We also met up with one of the girl's friends from New Jersey who now lives in Paris with her boyfriend. We went to the catacombs, Notre Dame, and my favorite place in Paris, Luxembourg Gardens. Pictures to follow when I have my own internet!

Friday I took the train from Paris to Tours with what really did end up being 150 lbs of luggage - I was exagerrating before when I said I thought it would weigh that much! Luckily people were really nice and helped me and I made it with all my things in tact. I must've looked pretty pitiful. I was greeted in Tours by two English teachers at my school - one whom I've been in contact with all summer, a very nice British lady named Janet, and the other lady who I've been staying with since I got to Tours - Frédérique, a French woman who speaks English with an impeccable British accent! She plays the steel drums and lives in a fantastic house with her cat and Jean-Marc, her partner. Très French.They are extremely nice and have been taking very good care of me since I got here. Jean-Marc reminds me a lot of my dad, so that should help when the homesickness kicks in! Even though Frédérique speaks English, we have been conversing in mostly French. Il faut pratiquer! They are very social and I've already gone to two parties with them, one in Amboise. One thing I've learned about French parties is that they eat and drink constantly: It's literally like an all-day feast! I've been brave thus far and even tried pâté and andouillette. If you don't know what it is, spare yourself and don't look it up! Did I mention I was the only non-French person at said parties? Oh la la. Talk about being the center of attention! Also I forgot you have to "faire la bise" with literally EVERYONE when you arrive and leave! It's kinda time consuming!

Frédérique, or Fred as everyone calls her, showed me around the town yesterday morning to help me get situated. Tours is absolutely picturesque. It's in the Loire valley between the Loire (clearly) and the Cher rivers. Let's hope it doesn't flood though! I'm hoping to get an apartment in "le Vieux Tours" (the old Tours) where the buildings date back centuries. This is the liveliest part of town, the downtown area near the market (I'm obsessed with French markets) and also where everyone goes when they "go out." This brings me to my next challenge, apartment hunting. Tomorrow is my first real day of apartment hunting since I had quite a bit going on this weekend, so this should be interesting! I'm going at it solo since Fred's working tomorrow, and people here don't really speak English so this should be a serious test for my French. Wish me luck!

Things are kind of crazy right now, but I love it here so far and cannot wait to get settled in! Somedays I do wake up just wanting to speak English though. Oh well, c'est la vie!

Ma vie en France

Hello all,

Since I told many of you I would blog about my move to France, I am going to attempt to keep my word.

For those of you who don't know, I am moving to Tours, France for the upcoming school year to serve as an English teaching assistant in a local high school. The school is a "technical" high school (I'm thinking junior college-like) so instead of normal high school age, the kids are 15-20 years old. Yikes. I just turned 22 in July! Hopefully they won't eat me alive. I'm going with a program called TAPIF (Teaching Assistant Program in France) that takes about 1,500 Americans every year to do the exact same thing as me, so I definitely am not alone! My teaching contract ends April 30th and my visa expires on June 17, 2012, so even though I'll probably teach over there for two years (they kick you out of the program after that), I will definitely be home in Georgia for about 3-4 months next summer, but I'm not coming home for the holidays or anything before that, barring any major catastrophes.

I fly out of Atlanta this Saturday night at 8:35 (officially tomorrow since it's after midnight!!!) and will arrive in Paris around 11:35 am their time, 5:35 am Atlanta time. I am planning on spending 5 days hanging out & recovering from jet lag in Paris in a youth hostel called Young & Happy. Really. It's located in the Latin Quarter, so not far at all from Notre Dame - a fantastic area of Paris! I'm planning on meeting up with a few other TAPIF participants placed in my region when I get there, so it'll be nice to see some friendly faces! Getting around when I first get there should be really interesting because I'm taking two suitcases AND a carry-on. And I refuse to take a cab from the airport because it costs 50 euros. I am just crossing my fingers that I can somehow acquire superhuman strength before Saturday because it's probably going to end up being about 150 lbs of luggage. Ugh. Pray for escalators EVERYWHERE. But I'll manage and it will be so worth it!

After hanging out in Paris, I'm heading to Tours via train on Friday the 23rd. When I first get there I'll be staying with another English teacher at my school who is kind enough to keep me while I look for somewhere to live. I'm hoping to find an apartment downtown that will work with my modest salary, but September is supposedly the hardest month to find an apartment in France because that's when all the students go back to school, and they beat me to it. They've been back for about two weeks, but I'm sure I'll find something! And October 3rd is officially my first day of my teaching contract. As far as I understand, we have about a week of orientation and then we are thrown into the classroom. Luckily since I'm a teaching assistant, I'm not going to have as much responsibility as the actual teacher, which is good since I have no teaching experience. I'm usually going to be working with another teacher in the classroom, so I won't have to worry about discipline too much hopefully. My plan for the next nine months is to just have as much fun as possible while gaining some teaching experience and deciding whether or not it's something I want to pursue when I come back to the U.S. for good in a couple of years, which I hope it is, because there are not a ton of things I can do with my bachelor's in French, though I did love it. And of course, travel is of the utmost importance. A few countries on the list are Germany, Italy, Ireland, and Spain. I'm thinking celebrating my Bavarian heritage during Germany's Oktoberfest sounds like a fantastic idea. It's going to be a whirlwind adventure, for sure. I am starting to get really nervous, but I really cannot imagine myself doing anything different with this time after college and I can hardly wait to see what awaits me over the next year.

As far as staying in touch, my American cell phone won't work over there, so facebook or skype are really the best ways to go! No idea when I'll have internet access again, but hopefully à bientôt, mes amis!