Get mistaken for a real German when people see my last name
Go see cathedrals
Visit museums
Celebrate my German heritage with German beer, chocolate, & sauerkraut
I think that about covers it. In case you missed it, I'm going back to the Mutterland (motherland) this week!! Adrienne and I will be going to Cologne, Germany (yes, that's Cologne like... cologne. Köln in German) for 5 days starting this weekend and I for one could not be more excited! I am starting to think though that I have a propensity for going to cities with odd names. For one, I live in Tours, which is just bizarre. And getting non-French speaking English speakers to not pronounce the s is near impossible. It led to a lot of confustion when I told people I was going to Tours (literally pronounced like tour in English). And now I'm going to the city that has men's body spray named after it. How bizarre. But, it's supposed to be a really cool town! It's the fourth-largest city in Germany and is known for its cathedral which took over 500 years to complete! Wowza. A lot of the city was destroyed during WWII. And it's known for its museums. That's pretty much all I know, not gonna lie! But alas, though I really wanted to go to Berlin or Munich, Cologne was the cheapest city that we could get to at €68 (or around $100 roundtrip) tickets from Paris. Oh, the advantages of living in Europe! Eastern and southern Germany will just have to go on the back burner for now. But hey, I definitely can't complain! I'm pretty excited to be going to Germany at all. And I finally get to bust out that whopping one semester of college German that I took!
In other news, I apologize to my oh-so devoted fans for neglecting my blog as of late. I have to say though the reason is - and I really do mean this in the least spoiled way possible - my life here has become very, very ordinary and I feel like I've run out of interesting things to write about. While I will always enjoy exploring new places and Paris will never, ever get old, when I'm just in Tours my life is quite run of the mill. Don't get me wrong - I'm having a great time, but after living here for nearly 6 months I've sort of gotten into an everyday routine not so different from any routine I've been in in America. I know it sounds really glamorous to live in France, but the truth is that while it is a great place, when you're living here as opposed to just traveling or studying abroad, it becomes just like anywhere else you've ever lived. You get your routine and everyday life is pretty much the same. This isn't to say that I'm not having a great time, but I can guarantee you that every minute is definitely not a new exciting, adventure.
However, since the French are incapable of going more than 7-8 weeks without vacation, I'm on break again which is why you probably all figured I'm going to Germany. We've got two weeks off effective this weekend until March 11. While the six weeks paid vacation I've gotten since I started in October might sound like a dream, it has brought me to the recent realization that in life you pretty much always either have time or money, very rarely both, and occasionally neither. I've definitely got more time than I do money right now, but like I said, I really can't complain! If there's one thing I've learned though, it's that an excess of spare time doesn't do you a whole lot of good if you don't have any money to spend occupying said time. Life lesson.
Well, I guess that's all, folks. Wish me bon voyage (or whatever it is the Germans say) and I will update you all with my new exciting German adventures very soon!
Once upon a Thursday night, I was sitting in the laundromat around 9 o'clock minding my own business, folding my laundry when something at the window caught my attention. Let me rewind and say that there had been a couple of other people in there with me but they left no more than 5 minutes before the incident, and as I had become accustomed to doing my laundry after dark because of my work schedule, I wasn't worried that I was completely alone. After all, it was only 9 pm and what can go wrong that early, right? Also, I should say that this is the type of building that has an entirely glass front and therefore you can see everything that was going on inside but since it faces out onto a poorly lit courtyard, I could see almost nothing outside. Now I know what a goldfish feels like.
Anyway, I'm folding my laundry and something catches my attention and I turn towards the window. There is a man standing at the window dressed in all black with a scarf covering the bottom half of his face. I notice he has green eyes. Then I notice something else. This man is staring at me, jacking off. Yes, that is correct. Jacking. Off.
I bet that's not where you thought I was going with that, right? My immediate thought is "LOOK AWAY, LOOK AWAY!" My first reaction was to just start folding my laundry faster because in some twisted logic I thought that if I did that it would make him go away. Next thought: "MAKE IT STOP!" Finally, logic hit and I decided to grab my phone and fake-call the police. Why didn't I actually call, you ask? Simple answer: I don't know what it's called in French! Thankfully, the fake phone call scared him enough and he ran off. The whole incident couldn't have lasted more than 30 seconds but just like a car wreck or a really embarrassing incident, it happened in slow motion.
For whatever reason, I STILL, nearly two weeks later, have not been able to get through this story yet without laughing. I guess laughter always has been my coping mechanism for awkward situations. Alas, I made it home unscathed that night, but it's safe to say that I will be looking for a different laundromat and will only be doing my laundry between the hours of 9 am and noon from now on. Only in France, eh? If I had been able to think straight, I might've thought to make fun of how miniscule it was, but unfortunately I didn't think that quickly. Maybe next time (God forbid). After discussing this with several friends I have been told a few times now that my story "takes the cake," but I can assure you all, this is NOT the cake I want to take!
In other news, you all probably know that a major cold front has been sweeping across Europe and the weather here in Tours has been exceptionally cold for the past week or so. It's been subzero (celsius) for nearly a week now and isn't supposed to be above freezing before Friday. It snowed last Monday and though we only got about an inch or so, people freaked out just like they would've in Georgia. One difference though is that here they only cancel school if it's really, really bad. Otherwise, you go in if you can and if you can't, you can't. No punishment. But, since the buses pretty much completely stopped running at the first prediction of snow, that means empty classes since the students can't get to school and neither can many of the assistants (such as moi), school is basically cancelled. Last night it snowed another good 3 inches or so, which is just enough to make it look really pretty and cancel buses, but not so much that it's no longer fun. The perfect amount! Today Adrienne and I baked nutella cookies and I took advantage of the snow day and admired it from the comfort of my apartment, having her come to me. Maybe I'll get more adventurous tomorrow since it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. The low tonight is in the single digits Fahrenheit, so that's about -13 Celsius. Brr! Atlanta has not prepared me for weather like this! My jealousy for those of you in t-shirts and shorts back home knows no end. Though I now know that teachers look forward to snow days just as much as students do!
View out of my bedroom window this morning. Such a lovely view to wake up to!
The park from my window
Something that you've probably learned about the French from reading my blog is that they take a lot of vacations. I haven't gone more than 7 weeks here without at least a 10-day break. So, alas, though I've only been back from Christmas break for a month, we have another vacation starting in three weeks! This time, I'm getting a little more adventurous with my travel plans and going somewhere people can correctly pronounce my name. You guessed it - Germany! Adrienne and I will be going to Köln, the 4th-largest city in Germany, and possibly making day trips to Dusseldorf and Bonn. I am SO excited as I've always wanted to go back to the motherland. I bet they'll think I'm actually German. Boy, will they be surprised if they try to speak German to me! All I recall from German class is "Guten Tag" and "Danke Schoen." Should be interesting! Unfortunately, it definitely won't be any warmer in Germany, but it's going to be so worth it!
I've also made travel plans to visit Lucy in her hometown of Edinburgh at the end of my contract and I literally cannot wait! I've always wanted to see Scotland and can't think of a better tour guide & friend to go with!! After spending a few days there in the beginning of May it'll be back to the good 'ole US of A for me! I truly cannot believe how fast my time in France has gone. I've been living here for nearly 5 months now! I have less than 3 months left in my teaching contract, and before I know it I'll be going back home. I can't lie though, as much as I am enjoying my time and everyone I've met here, it really has made me appreciate my friends and family so much more. I love it here (despite the laundromat incident) and am so pleased with all the friends I've made, but I really think life is just too short to spend it away from the ones you love. Don't get me wrong, I'm having the time of my life, but I will be ready to come home in three months and see some old friendly faces. I had always looked at this job as my ticket out of Georgia, but the longer I'm here the more I miss it. I'm just going to make the most of the rest of my time here because, really, when am I ever going to live in Europe again? But I definitely look forward to being back in America.
In case you missed out on 1993 and didn't get the blog title:
This was my first week back at school after Christmas break. Though I have to say, I feel like my year abroad is turning into being more about what I do outside of school than what I do there, but c'est la vie! I mean, I don't hate it. In fact, I think that's really all I have to say about school this week. It happened. It was alright. Moving on.
This week (Wednesday to be exact) the SOLDES started. The soldes are a cultural experience, y'all. It's a month-long sale that only happens twice a year, once in July and once in January and I am here to experience it again! These are the only times sales happen in France and it is absolutely insane. Think black Friday crowds. Unfortunately, my bank account didn't like the soldes as much as my brain did, but it was still fun to (mostly) just window shop.
This weekend was the usual sortir-ing (going out) with les autres assistants, but this time for a petit joint birthday celebration! Next weekend is the grand celebration in Paris! This will my total Paris count to a total of 7, but let's be honest - Paris never gets old!
In other news, I thought it might be entertaining to list some of the funny things that the French have said since I got here. I realize I should've been keeping track of this since day one, but here are some highlights.
By Pascale Catoire, the leader of all the English assistants in our Académie on our very first orientation day on our very first week in France: "If you go home, you will regret coming back" in reference to assistants going home for the Christmas holidays. She meant to say going back, as in going back home.
On a bag of pretzels: "Bretzels"
A student trying to say/spell hamburger: "Humberger" (what's scary is it's spelled the exact same way in French)
On a storefront in Tours: "Jean's" and "Boot's"
This one wasn't mine, but it's too good to pass up, one of Adrienne's students: "We eat a lot of coq in France." Was trying to say rooster.
When I wished my students happy holidays before the Christmas break one replied: "I am good, thank you."
When a student asked me what "grand" was in English and I replied "in what sense?" the student took "in what sense" as my answer.
Not really a translation thing, but funny nonetheless. While wearing a Michigan sweatshirt in a restaurant in Tours, the waitress asked me if that was where I was from and then said she had been somewhere in Michigan but couldn't remember the name of the city. After thinking for a few minutes she replied with great enthusiasm, "Milwauke!"
When one of my students asked what Georgia was and I told them it was a state, "What is a state?" You know, like the United STATES of America. Ugh.
In one of my classes a student was trying to say that she likes to FEED babies. Instead, she said, and this is a direct quote, "I like eating babies."
Discussing the difference in pronunciation between "beaches" and "bitches" about half the class said they couldn't hear a difference. Ooooh, you're going to have problems if you ever go to an English-speaking country, kid!
But, to make this entirely fair, I should point out some of the stupid things I've said in French.
"Une tasse de vin, s'il vous plaît." A cup of wine, please. On my first night out on study abroad. Surprised France didn't kick me out for this crime against wine.
That's all I can think of for now (though I've definitely said more silly things than that but surely I've just subconsciously blocked them out of my memory). Updates to follow!
Spent a wonderful two weeks with my parents for the holidays. We met up in Paris on Christmas eve, spent a few days there, headed to London where we spent New Year's Eve, and then came back to Tours so I could give them a little taste of la vie touraine.
Tomorrow it's back to school for me. I would complain, but let's be real - we don't really have to work that hard!
In other news, I'm nearly halfway through my teaching contract. I can hardly believe that I've already been here for 4 months! It seems like just yesterday that I arrived fresh-faced and ready to take on la France. My contract runs out at the end of April, and though I had originally planned to do some hardcore traveling at the end, the recent realization that I have absolutely no money has hit hard. But, of course I will travel for as long as I can possibly afford to, which at this rate should be about a week or two. So that means that in about 4 months I'll be home in Georgia, or as one of my students so affectionately called it, the "bitch" state. She meant to say peach. I don't even know anymore. Grad school apps are in and I should find out about it around the time I go back home! While I am excited to go back, my feelings are a little mixed. Of course it will be good to see everyone again, but in a way I sort of feel like by going back to Georgia I'm resigning myself to never get out. I just dunno. But then again, I guess I've already broken the whole never getting out thing, because here I am, right? Though I did know going into this job that I was on a temporary contract. And while I originally thought that maybe I could eventually find a full-time real teaching (not teaching assistant) job here, the recent realization that you have to be a French citizen to teach here has that shattered. But, we'll see. My plan is to just play things by ear comme toujours (like always)!
Some photos from the holidays...
Christmas display at the Galleries Lafayette in Paris. Think Harrod's or a really, really swanky Macy's.
Hmm, at second glance it sort of looks photoshopped, but I swear it's not! Paris (obvs) with my parents on Christmas eve.
Mom & Dad crossing Abbey Road.
Mom & I at the Tower of London.
Mom & Dad at the Château de Chenonceau near Tours. It's actually built directly on the river. Definitely the coolest château that I've ever been to!
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.
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!
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!
