C'est moi....Jennifer

1er Mai

2008-05-01T16:47:00.002+02:00

So I'm not fantastique at updating blogs. I have always had the best intentions at heart though !!
Donc merci to those who have hung in there :)
Today is May 1st ... in the States celebrated by leaving baskets of candy and popcorn at friends' doorsteps to announce spring ... here it is celebrated by giving the flower Muguet, and demontrating. It is International Workers Day and the French take this day off and use it as an opportunity to make their voices heard to the administration. We passed a large march in centre ville here in Vesoul earlier.
Today was the first time I drove a car (well in town ... Claude has been trying to teach me how to drive a manuel in his parent's parking lot) ... Claude's parents went out of town with his van so now he is using their automatic Ssangyong (Korean). And I got to try !!! It was fun to drive again. I like driving.
Today has been sunny and partly cloudy ... it's great to see the sun again. January through well... just a couple weeks ago was pretty much grey and rainy every day. Misery. But I'm grateful that the sun should be showing up more frequently and staying longer and giving more heat.
Well I will try to recap some things that have happened the last few months in the following posts, update the photo albums, and add some other fun things. :)

Crêpes

2008-02-04T20:36:00.000+01:00

Mmmmmm!

Quel Couple !!!

2008-02-04T20:30:00.000+01:00

Congrats to the President de la Republique and his wife (former model, singer) Carla Bruni!

Les Grenouilles/ Frog Legs!

2008-02-04T20:13:00.000+01:00

The group that we go out with on a weekly basis from Claude's work decided to have a gourmet meal at Marie (his secretary) and Michel (her husband)'s home.
Michel is a chef for the French army. He proposed... frog legs!
It's been a joke for awhile that I would cook a fancy french meal for everyone...ha, ha.... and sure enough as soon as we walked in a chef hat was put on my head and his official white cooking shirt was on.

We had a great dinner and it was fun to help with the 'particular' meal.
I really enjoy Marie and Michel, they are a very kind couple and have taken me in as a sort of american adopted daughter. I'm glad to have another 'family' in france. I'm blessed.

Family Update

2008-02-04T20:11:00.000+01:00

I found out that my grandparents will be moving out of their home and into a retirement home at the end of the month.
It is such bittersweet news.
Grandma has been in and out of the hospital and rehabilitation centers pretty much since I left. It is always hard to get this news.
My heart aches for my family and grieves that I can't be there to help and encourage them. It is a helpless feeling.
I know it will be good and a wise and safer idea for them to move out, but it makes me terribly sad to think that I may not be in their home again. I guess this is part of life changes and how we define 'home'. I have thought about that, and 'place' since I've been able to make my apartment in Vesoul more of my 'home'. I will try to post some changes I've made here soon.
Anyhow please keep my family especially my mom and grandparents in your thoughts & prayers.
merci

Et oui

2008-02-04T20:08:00.000+01:00

Headed to Besancon for the mri... it was really nerve racking. I mean I know it's really NOT that big of a deal, but there's something about being injected with radioactive material, strapped into a gurney-like table and-- in stark white silence-- have this flat square come a hairline away from your face. And lie there for god knows how long.

Anyway besides the dramatics it was fine and I got to see Marshall Olds for lunch. I can't tell you how much the gesture meant-- M. Olds is a professor at UNL that I had for French while I was there. He is in Besac with the study abroad group from UNL. He helped me get the job here in Vesoul and his help and support has meant SO much to me. Seeing him again was so encouraging, especially on this particular day.

Je suis la plus chic

2008-02-04T19:57:00.000+01:00

here is my new fashion accessory by the way....

A Sunday Afternoon

2008-02-04T13:41:00.000+01:00

Claude and I hiked up to La Motte (the hill that Vesoul is built around-- there's a small chapel on top).
It was a lovely afternoon and it was a beautiful hike.

I AM THE QUEEN OF VESOUL!!!

2008-02-04T13:36:00.000+01:00

To celebrate the day when the 3 kings visited baby Jesus, the French eat these cakes called Galettes... ( I know right, any reason to eat more cake...). The trick is, whoever chomps down on the "feve" gets to wear a crown and is the King/Queen.

small note-- the "feve" is usually a porcelain figurine, kind of dangerous in my opinion.

In any case, I have won 4 out of 4 times. I know this isn't really a 'game' or 'contest' but I am VERY proud of my accomplishment. So I have hung my 4 crowns on top of my fridge in my apartment and pretty much keep talking about all of my victories.

The saga continues...

2008-02-04T13:30:00.000+01:00

I forgot to mention before I left for Paris the Doctor at the hospital who I had been seeing every month for more x-rays to see what was going on with my wrist pain said it was NOT broken, but I had developed DeQuervan's tendonitis. He gave me an injection of... something... but it didn't really help the pain. So he said the only thing he could do to help would be to operate on it.

I talked with my neighbor and he reccomended a doctor who specializes in sport medicine.
Now, to all those laughing right now, knowing how 'sportif' I am... this made a lot of sense to me since an injury to the wrist or scaphoid is common in " sport " activities. Like falling off a bike. :D

So I met with him right before I left and he wanted to see the xrays after the holiday.
I went in and he couldn't tell if it was broken, so he wanted me to go to Besancon to have a bone scan to see the bone activity and see if the bone had started to die (what he was calling 'worst case'). So guess I have to bus it down to Besac soon!

'Au Revoir'

2008-02-04T13:27:00.000+01:00

The train ride to Vesoul was terribly lonely.
Saying goodbye to my french family & friends in Paris was really sad.
Saying goodbye to Mimi was barely more than I could bear.
Au Revoir in French means literally, 'to the next sight' / 'til the next time we see each other :)
So that's what I said.
Voila.

Paris, I Louvre You!!!

2008-02-04T13:24:00.001+01:00

(winged victories ;) )

Mimi and I went to the Louvre on more than one occasion... and got asked to leave...
Here are some of our shenanigans at the Louvre.
(to see more, check out the photo album link on the right)

More Bestie Time...

2008-02-04T13:20:00.000+01:00

Mimi and I continued exploring Paris and probably had too much fun doing it.

Bonne Année!! 2008

2008-02-04T13:12:00.000+01:00

Mimi and I took the train to Fontainebleau where we met my French family to spend New Years with them and my friends. We scurried through the house in a flurry getting dressed up, then went to Marianne and Sebastian (some friends)'s home for La Raclette (potato and cheese fondue) dinner and party for New Years. We ate together (about 12 of us?), talked, listened to music, and celebrated 2008.
My friends welcomed Mimi and we had a lot of fun. Afterwards we returned home with my sisters and found my french parents and their friends dancing in the living room to BLARING french 70s music. It was possibly the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. So... naturally we joined in! It was another long, full night. It was glorious.

Mimi and I took the train to Fontainebleau where we met my French family to spend New Years with them and my friends. We scurried through the house in a flurry getting dressed up, then went to Marianne and Sebastian (some friends)'s home for La Raclette (potato and cheese fondue) dinner and party for New Years. We ate together (about 12 of us?), talked, listened to music, and celebrated 2008.
My friends welcomed Mimi and we had a lot of fun. Afterwards we returned home with my sisters and found my french parents and their friends dancing in the living room to BLARING french 70s music. It was possibly the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. So... naturally we joined in! It was another long, full night. It was glorious.

BIENVENUE 2008 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Here's to New Year! And another in France...!

"Internationally Cute"

2008-02-04T11:27:00.000+01:00

Mimi and I spent most of our days sleeping until noon, shopping, seeing sites/museums, visiting my friends (here or there), cooking dinner, watching french TV, talking walks, and staying up all night talking. It was so "normal".

Seeing the sites (new and old) were fun, especially since I had never been in Paris during the winter, but the best memories I'll have from our holiday together were our talks and jokes and just being together again. Claude came from Vesoul for a couple days and we had a lovely dinner with some of his friends in Paris and all went together to the Louvre and a nice restaurant.

Coco and Alexandre and other friends I made the summer I lived in Paris came up and it was so strange to 'mix' worlds... my french friends and Mimi. It was kind of exhausting for me to translate... luckily Coco and Alex spoke some English but my family and Claude don't so my mind was on overload a little. I laughed so much and freely again with her. Not only her as being my best friend, but someone that KNOWS me, someone who speaks my language... it was wild to be so at ease. Although I have some close friends here in France, having that 'ease' is not normal for me. I have two lives now, and now Mimi has seen and shared both with me.
It made my heart so happy.

------ an insert, while we were waiting for Claude to arrive at the train station in Paris, some 20something guys all Euro-clad walked by and smiled and nodded, gave us the 'eyes' if you will... Mimi and I kept walking, looked at each other, rolled our eyes and burst out laughing. I said, "Well, I guess we're internationally cute..." This became our motto during our Paris time :) -----

Arrival of Bestie

2008-02-04T11:11:00.000+01:00

After Christmas I headed back to Paris to pick up my closest friend in the whole wide world, my sister of souls, my universal other half, my bestie... Mimi!!!!!!!!
I made a little sign and rushed to Charles de Gaulle airport early morning on the 27th to see her again.
Mimi and have been able to keep contact pretty much every day since I moved but it's still not the same. Being able to see her and talk freely and share my life in France with her meant more than I can ever describe.
Waiting for the passengers to come out was sooooo nerve racking! I drank coffee and ate some pain au chocolat and watched as others greeted loved ones and we all were on hyper edgy-ness together waiting and waiting... and there she was!!!!
I ducked under the rope that separated the passengers from the 'waiters' and we screamed and jumped and cried and yelled, repeat, repeat until I realized we should probably not block other people from coming out. It was so surreal to see her and talk face to face again. There was so much to say and show.

Joyeux Noël

2008-02-04T11:04:00.001+01:00

I woke up only a few hours after we went to bed and crept downstairs and met Maman at the kitchen table. She made some coffee for me and we snacked on some bread and pastries. She started the fireplace and we cuddled on the sofa under big blankets as we quietly waited for the others to wake up. Sitting with her all warm and smelling like Christmas (the tree, the fireplace, brisk cold air outside, the sweet bread and pastries...) and talking quietly about my life in Vesoul and relationships and 'home' and moving to a foreign country (Maman is Portuguese and immigrated to France when she was 17 or 18, met Papa, and got married and stayed! )... it was a very sweet time that I shared with her. Those are the moments that make things "home". It's not the same, but still very comforting to my soul.

Slowly everyone else sleepily came
down the stairs and we got ready and went to Valerie and Renaud's home for Christmas day dinner. We ate another 4 hour long meal and all were sooo tired. The sisters and I fell asleep on their daughter's bed after we snuck away from the adults for a nap. Eventally when the sun was setting (we all lost track of time from staying awake and eating for so long the last couple of days) we went home, got into pajamas and snuggled as sisters next to the fire drinking tea and watching old movies on tv. It was a marvelous Christmas.

Home- Le Réveillon (Christmas Eve)

2008-01-31T12:52:00.000+01:00

Coming back home to Fontainebleau with my French family was more than marvelous. When Maman and Papa picked me up at the train station, Maman and I both cried and she sat in the backseat with me and held my hand all the way home. I feel as though my family in Nebraska somehow send their spirits here in France through my French family. The love and encouragement they give me I feel is also from my family at home. It was great to be there with them again. The house was so cozy and decorated for christmas. Everyone was bustling around and nagging and teasing and laughing, just like I was a part of the family.

Christmas eve we went 'last minute shopping' (some things just don't change cross culture..;) ), and then we all got dressed up and went to Mami and Papi's home (the parents of Papa). They are like seriously French Bourgeoisie and we had a huge looooong meal. Appetizers, foie gras, salmon, some ice cream/sherbert stuff, turkey, mashed macrons, salad, cheese & bread, a traditional holiday cake with ice cream in the middle, fruit, then chocolate dipped oranges.

It lasted until about 2:30 am. We were stuffed but still had the 'christmas magic energy' so we left and stopped by Maman and Papa's best friends' home (Valerie and Renaud). They had just finished their Christmas meal with friends and family, so we sat down, ate more dessert and drank more coffee. We finally got back to my family's home around 3:30 and opened gifts. They were so generous and I got a lot of gifts-- very fun (jewelry, a sweater) and practical (of course my french Maman would get me a bra and socks... ha! :) ).
Christmas Eve is my real Mom's birthday at home, and my family let me call them after we finished opening the gifts. It was really hard to be away from home while everyone was together celebrating. It was great to talk to them for a few minutes and share the happiness I had from being with my French family and how generous they were. I got off the phone and Maman and my sisters held me and we all cried a little. Both for good and sad reasons. We all bundled up and headed to bed.

Plant Update

2008-01-16T13:17:00.001+01:00

Benchmark (1)

2008-01-13T17:52:00.000+01:00

I told myself that if I could just make it to Christmas...
And voila! I did it! Holidays always warm the spirit although it was definitely not the same being away from my family.
The ending of the trimester at school was a little nuts but it was great to be around children during this happy time of year. I got a lot of chocolate and cards from my kids which was great.

I packed my bags and headed to Paris the day after school ended and it felt great to breathe in the polluted bustling city air of Paris again.
I met up right away with my dear friend Rhose and it was great to catch up with him again. I got settled into the apartment I was staying in during holidays, thanks to Nneka. I have the greatest friends here in France that provide me with great connections and generosity. (Thanks, Ayo) I can't repeat how great it was to be in Paris again. My lively spirit came alive again immediately and it felt wonderful.

Carte de Sejour!!!!!

2007-12-26T11:33:00.000+01:00

This is my ticket to stay in France for a year! Yayyyyy

Joyeux 1er Décembre

2007-12-26T11:17:00.001+01:00

My friend Fabien came from Paris for a weekend to check out the Christmas markets. We went to Montbeliard and Belfort. I was quite impressed! People dressed up in traditional costume and the sights and smells completely captured Christmas. There were homemade goods and food and hot cider everywhere. It was a dreary rainy day but it as also quite cozy in the middle of the Christmas markets! We went to Belfort after to check out the Christmas lights. It was fun to go to a bigger city again. I miss the “hustle and bustle”. I’m excited to see what Christmas is like here in France!!

Sainte Catherine!

2007-11-26T22:53:00.000+01:00

I bundled up and with the help of my dear friend Claude and the rest of the gang... I got to experience
SAINTE CATHERINE!

November 25 each year in Vesoul is the biggest event of the year.
St Catherine-- when the town of 18,000 turns into 50,000 crammed into the small Centre Ville (downtown).
It is a huge market with animals, clothes, jewelry, grandfather clocks (??), furniture, food, food food, and more.
We got to taste the traditional cider and watch as they turned the Christmas lights on-- something I've been waiting WEEKS for.
It was marvelous.

Bronchitis & Sinus Infection...

2007-11-26T22:47:00.000+01:00

My body is shutting down.
I need to take care of my heart and my physical well being.
It's important to listen to the body.
Now it's got my attention...

I missed a presentation Wednesday, and work Thursday & Friday.
Went to the Doctor Saturday... and well....9 boxes of medicine later...
Please send good vibes, thoughts & prayers....!
merci merci merci

Happy Thanksgiving/...Merci!

2007-11-26T22:24:00.000+01:00

L'arbre se sauve en laissant tomber ses feuilles.

The tree saves itself by letting its leaves fall.

(Pierre Jean JOUVE, Les Noces, Humilis)

And as my body reacts to my emotional heartbreak and distress, and begins to slow down and give way to sickness (again) , I am thankful for the opportunity to live here, to learn this beautiful language and more about myself. And to share these experiences with some kind hearted people I have been able to call friends.
I went to the butcher to get a turkey.
Happy Thanksgiving.

Plus, I feel it's only appropriate to follow the story... well...the story of how the immigrants were helped by the Natives and gave thanks together over the meal. It's me, the immigrant, thanking the locals. Voila. :)

Breathtaking

2007-11-26T22:15:00.000+01:00

Un rêve et un rêveur, voilà le terme de la nature et de la pensée.

A dream and a dreamer, those are the terms for nature and thought.

(André SUARÈS, Poète tragique)

These are my thoughts as I walk to my schools today (teachers are on strike) and come to a standstill in awe to admire the nature around me.
I'm so blessed.

2007-11-26T18:21:00.000+01:00

La vie ne dispense pas seulement de beaux et merveilleux souvenirs. Je la vois comme la surface de l'eau d'un fleuve qui monte et qui descend selon la marée, et qui change d'aspect suivant les intempéries. Life does not offer only beautiful and marvelous memories. To me, it's like a river: the surface of the water rises and falls with the tide and transforms in bad weather.
(Ly Thu HO, Printemps inachevé)

Lost my phone & internet for another week...
It's on again and everything is working!
E/mail me for my number if you'd like :)

Meanwhile...

After things getting settled here in Vesoul I am finding immense joy living here.
Although it's been some of the most difficult times I've ever experienced I am happy. My heart is at rest and the sweet moments are very sweet. This is good. I feel I have earned this and I am grateful for making it through so far.

C'y est!!!

2007-11-15T12:34:00.000+01:00

Do you see it?!?!?!? SNOW!!!
Woke up to a chilly morning, 25 degrees fahrenheit and snow/ice on the ground.
It was a cold but refreshing morning walk to the buses, then to work. Lovely.

Hazy Shade of Winter

2007-11-14T13:39:00.001+01:00

Disconnected again...
Had internet & phone troubles last week... spent most of the week at the phone company with little help. I can make calls again, but still can't receive. Ehh.
It's been in the 30s all week-- very grey and rainy. It has started to snow just 45 minutes north of here in Belfort... I'm hoping we can catch soon, it would make these dark cold days at least prettier.
The kids have been more wound up than usual lately, but we started the ABC's with my beginning levels and it's been TIRING but fun.
I'm getting to know my way around town pretty well and can even give directions to people coming over. I've stayed pretty busy with the volunteer job at the Marais and also getting back into the groove at work. I've met a couple new friends and been able to taste some regional fall/winter foods with good company. It's nice to feel more connected.
I went to the hospital today for the last x-ray and it's not broken! I've been in a lot of pain the last week especially, but it's just the sprain encore, maybe stronger because of the weather.
I'm so glad I don't have to wear a cast!!
Will write more soon. :)

HOORAY!

Meeting rock-stars and avoiding fires...

2007-11-05T01:15:00.000+01:00

(Farid & I at Le Marais)

Tonight is the night SIMEO is playing at Le Marais. I'm so excited! Siméo is a pretty up-and-coming musician who plays all the instruments and loops them on stage during his concerts. It is not only musically invigorating but also sort of theatrical. I've really gotten into his music the last couple of week since we started promoting the show. Farid was feeling ill so we couldn't go early and "hang" with Siméo and the group but we came just in time for the show. It was outstanding. Afterwards we went and hung out with him and his "people". They were laid back and interested in me, the American! It was cool and he signed my CD. I was so nervous! I haven't been "starstruck" since I was young. He signed :
Pour Jennifer
Thank you so much.
See you soon --
(I hope!!)
With Love,
Siméo

After the show I hung with Farid and some other friends and we spent the evening at a friend's home playing foosball and eating an early breakfast of fresh croissants from the bakery. It was nice to spend time talking and enjoying music with some nice and fun people. It felt a little like "normal" again.

This morning when I was being dropped off I saw that my street was barricaded off. I became nervous-- really fast. Then we realized that an old building a little over just a block down the street had burned down during the night.
People came in streams all day parking in front of my apt and walking to go see the building. Since I have nothing better to do, I decided to join in, bringing my camera.
I got the low-down from some of the locals that the building was an old Tobacco plant, then re-done after World War 2 as a gymnasium that joins some other buildings. It was too early to know what had happened but the roof was completely gone and everything inside. It was spooky-- ash was still falling down while I was there and some things would fall off the side of the roof and smoke still spewed out from some of the windows. I got out of there after I was satisfied with the photos. I can imagine that it is a big event for the town since it was a historic building and a community-involved disaster.
All in all it was an interesting weekend.

Cat Beauty Pageants

2007-11-05T00:56:00.000+01:00

La plus perdue de toutes les journées est celle où l'on n'a pas ri.
The most wasted of all days is the one during which you did not laugh.
(Sébastien Roch Nicolas, dit CHAMFORT, Maximes et pensées )

Rewind: town meeting

I forgot to add that I attended a town meeting on Vesoul with Attilio and his mom. His mom works for the Mayor and the meeting was on "Vesoul in 2020". It was interesting to hear the generations talk about the town. Attilio gave me the heads up on who "runs things" and what sort of topics always come up. One woman became pretty emotional about the idea that Vesoul needs to have a cat beauty pageant. That would be the trick. And people backed her up ...
Attilio and I almost got kicked out by his mom we were stifling laughter so hard. I was disappointed however because evidently one man gets up each town meeting and says that the solution is to bring old Japanese men from Japan to Vesoul because old Japanese men don't know how to spend their money.
I hope he comes to the next meeting
Not much was solved but a lot of heat was felt in the 2 hour long forum. I've never been a part of a small town community like this. It's an interesting experience.

Happy Halloween

2007-11-03T17:52:00.000+01:00

Today is Halloween...
I slept most of the day and set out a bowl of candy with a sign that said "Happy Halloween!"
Around dinner time there was a little knock on my door and my neighbor boy was dressed up as dracula and said,
"Merci pour les bons-bons, Madame!"
(thank you for the candy, miss!)
It was so cute. :)
Some friends are dropping by and taking me to a concert but I plan on being in early to try to sleep some more.

To Have Sleep...

2007-11-03T17:47:00.001+01:00

Tout est usé aujourd'hui, même le malheur.

Everything is worn out today, even unhappiness.
(François-René de CHATEAUBRIAND, Mémoires d'outre-tombe, livre XIV, chap. 2)

I am truly sick-- seeking sleep and kleenexs and ib profin, I am hoping it is just a nasty cold worsened by restless nights and not the flu. I am physically and emotionally worn down. I received some bad news from home-- my grandma (Mom's mom) was moved to critical care at the hospital and she has congestive heart failure.
I need to be home. I've tried my best to be positive and find joys throughout the day but I am broken down in all sense today and if I could go home-- I would.
Please send your thoughts, prayers, good vibes to my family.

The French know how to party.

2007-11-03T17:35:00.000+01:00

It's break-- many people I usually hang out with left for vacation... and I found out my telephone can make calls, but not receive them. This poses a problem since I handed out my number but didn't receive some numbers. Aie!
My friend Attilio, Farid, and Luci went to a concert at Le Marais, which was fun. We ended up talking until late into the night and it was a nice evening.
The next day I started feeling sick, but I tried to sleep and push through it.
Attilio's mother and step-father got married Saturday, and had a huge dinner/party continuation Sunday. Farid picked me up and we got to go! It was a grand feast and the rest of the day was simply talking, eating, drinking, repeat. We ended up staying in their home and had a lovely breakfast and coffee the next morning. I got up early and chatted with Attilio's grandmother while the sun started to rise and shine across the Saone river outside their beautiful home. It was a lovely time.
Here is my friend Attilio and I the day before the wedding.
I found out this weekend that my grandma was taken to the hospital and I am sad and scared.
I'm glad it's break because I have spent a couple restless nights my thoughts elsewhere. I am grateful I can at least sleep during the day since I am not very good at doing it at night right now. I hope things will improve with all my heart.

American Witch

2007-11-03T17:18:00.001+01:00

It is the last day before the 10 day holiday for All Saint's Day (keep in mind-- 10 days...all saint's DAY....God Bless the French and their holidays) and I am throwing a Halloween party with my kids.

They don't really celebrate Halloween here-- some kids will dress up but it's not nearly the spectacle it is in the U.S.
I spent the whole day before shopping for decorations and candy and now it's all set to go! The kids dressed up in costumes, and for those who didn't have costumes I face-painted. We talked about Halloween in the U.S. and learned some expressions for moods (Happy!--everyone grins. Sad! -- everyone pouts...etc) and drew them on "Jack-o-Lanterns" I hung around the room.
It was a great day-- but tiring for the American Witch Maitresse. :)

HALLELUJAH !!!

2007-11-03T17:12:00.000+01:00

I have the phone working! And the internet!
OUAAIISS!

je suis célèbre!

2007-11-03T17:10:00.001+01:00

I just want everyone to know that it PAYS to loiter. :)
So once again I found myself hanging out at the Youth Center using their internet, and notice this man with a large camera come in and talk to Farid. Farid introduces me quickly to the man and says he is a photojournalist with L'Est Republicain, a nationally recognized newspaper that serves the eastern part of France. Evidently they were doing an article about the Youth Center and wanted some patrons in the photograph. So...I got pushed right on in and it ran the next day!!!
After all the hub-bub was finshed, Farid started telling the man that I am a great photographer (I'm quoting people, I'm quoting) and I worked for a newspaper at home when I was in college, etc. The man was nice and said that we should get together with him and the editor here in Vesoul to talk about an internship.
OH MY GOSH!
I was on cloud nine.
Later that week Farid took me to the local office and we hung out there, talking to the Editor and other important people and they were really interested in helping me get a gig there. The problem is I don't have a car-- if their regular staff can't work they call an agency through the paper that is based out of Besancon. They said they would be happy to send my info and a letter to them to hire me as "back up" but that would be I would be potentially working anywhere in the region. Since I don't have a car, this poses a problem. However they said they would keep thinking about other opportunities for me to work there, and at least I can "hang out" and observe or help. They were really nice and I really felt "at home" in the office. It was just like the DN...just a little more mature...and a little...more french. It was fun though and I'm grateful for this contact. It never ceases to amaze me how things just fall onto my path...

Best Volunteer Gig Ever

2007-11-03T16:04:00.000+01:00

Mieux vaut faire, et se repentir,
Que se repentir, et rien faire.

It's better to do something, and regret it,
Than to regret, and do nothing.
(Mellin de SAINT-GELAIS, Quatrains, LXXVIII)

It is hard to meet people here in Vesoul. All the young people leave after high school to go to college to Besancon, or other cities near by. I try to hang out at the Youth Center and use their internet, and I've gotten to be good buddies with a guy who works there, Farid. Farid is all over town, all the time. He and I talk a lot about music stuff because he is a producer/manager. His best friend Jean-Michel works with Beyonce and Jay Z, and Lucky Peterson in NYC. He really digs Dave's music (shameless publicity: RCDub.com) and we've talked about a lot of bands and things like that. Anyway he has a lot of connections and I've been thinking of what else I can be doing and contributing to in this town. I'd like to start tutoring once I get a working phone (Only God knows when that will be...) but there's got to be another thing I can be involved in-- even just volunteering.
So I decided to ask Farid if there were any volunteer opportunities for me while I was here. He said-- well, yeah! You can help me with concerts!
Sweeeeet.
So now I'm Farid's right hand gal and we mostly work with a venue/cafe/bar called Le Marais (The swamp-- haha it used to be a swamp there) where many concerts are held. It's a really nice place just outside of Vesoul-- in Montingy-les-Vesoul. Steffan, the owner, meets with us usually once or twice a week to talk about upcoming bands or singers, listen to CDs he gets from artists, and help design and make posters. Then Farid and I put them up around town.
Although I don't get paid for this-- I get free admission to all shows or events, free food/drinks, I can invite a few people for free, and SOMETHING TO DO!
Not to mention VIP with the bands coming in.
I'm excited for what this job will hold...so far it's been fun. I started a list of "Concerts" you can see on the right. You can research the artists usually on MySpace, YouTube, or even Google.

C'est mon truc!

2007-11-03T15:48:00.000+01:00

So...my job title is very misleading.
I am not an "Assistant" in any shape or form. Well-- I suppose in the pay I am...
I am completely responsible for shaping these young minds in the English way. I have my own classroom-- completely by myself with the students, responsible for discipline, planning, evaluating, preparing, finding resources, everything.
Thank God I have a background in this! Whew!
I can't imagine how the other assistants are coping. Talk about being thrown into deep water. Luckily-- this is my forte. I started writing my own stories to use in class for vocabulary/verb lessons and creating my own curriculum. It's a little tricky because the schools take lots of day trips which often interferes with my scheduled English class. So because of several of these trips each group I have are on completely different lessons-- not to mention I have 3 levels. But it's good. I am very happy at my job so far. The students are very curious-- asking me questions about what I eat at home, if I live here in the classroom, or do I go home on the weekends to the U.S.? Their concept of Americans and the U.S. is completely shaped by 1. Their parents, and 2. TV & movies. That means, Desperate Housewives, CSI Miami, and Hollywood and touchy political sentiments. Kind of scary, huh? I think so.
I have found that not terribly much is expected of us as "Assistants". There is hardly anything to use as a foundation as far as evaluation or standards. The ones they gave us are
Level 1 : 'My Name is..."
Level 2: "My Name is..." and "I am..."
Level 3: "My Name is.." and "I am..." "I am from ..."

Yikes. So, I'm definitely experiencing real teaching at its best. But I am happy to do it. I feel refreshed already being around the students and it's just another affirmation that this is what I am suppose to do with my life. A lot of what I've been doing with the kids in the beginning is just talking in French. Not the whole class period but I think it's just as valuable for the students to ask questions and get some stereotypes changed while speaking in French as it is to learn that "dog" is the word for "chien", etc. One of my goals is that from having an American come and teach them they can gain a new perspective as their little minds form as to what a "foreigner" is like-- particularly an Anglophone and an American.The kids call me "Miss Jennifer"--
and sometimes "Maitresse!" which is like, "Teacher!" (for Primary schools)

Le Mal

2007-11-02T23:50:00.000+01:00

L'enfer, c'est les autres.
Hell is other people.

(Jean-Paul SARTRE, Huis Clos)

My French is still improving. It is decent, but improving.
However it is capable. By all means.
It has been nearly a month since the phone company took my money and 2 weeks since someone finally came to install the phone line, and still nothing is working. I finally asked Farid-- a friend I met who works at the Youth Center-- what he thought about it and he looked at the contract I signed and went with me to discuss it further with the company. No one could give us a straight answer and Farid became livid. Basically they ripped me off and there's some hold up in the system with my account. I have to keep waiting. I told Farid how one of them made fun of me and was rude and he called the company higher up and I am getting a discount for the first 3 months.
It's discouraging though. It makes me sad. These things are complicated enough in the States in English! It's not fair that people would take advantage of others. I am learning lessons.

2007-11-02T23:39:00.000+01:00

L'obstacle nous fait grands [...]
Obstacles make us great....

André CHÉNIER, Le Jeu de Paume, XV

....right?

This particular morning I woke up and couldn't stand up. I had the worst vertigo I've ever had and ended up passing out twice, once on the bathroom floor. I couldn't sit up and crawled to the couch and stayed there all day. I couldn't do anything. I'd start to pass out again if I even sat up for more than a couple minutes. There was no way I could go to work to get organized like I was suppose to. My phone was still not working. So I just stayed here hoping I'd feel better. I kept trying to sip water and stay conscious. One time in the bathroom I grabbed the box for the pain killers they had given me... and it said that it may cause vertigo and nauseau.
I think it had settled in my system and was way way too strong for me.

I stumbled out and laid on the couch for awhile and realized Sebastian would be at the Globe (a cafe) down the street around 3:30 for his daily coffee break. I tried to go to the neighbors to ask to use their phone to see if anyone could call for help, or a friend to come and help me but no one was home. So I got dressed realizing I had to go look for help myself, and stumbled down the street and sure enough Sebastian was there. He basically caught me as I stumbled in and helped me sit down at a booth and got me some juice. I just cried and cried and tried to tell him how awful I felt and there was something wrong with me. I gave him the medicine warnings/instructions in the box and he thought it had to be the problem. So he sat with me as I calmed down then took me to the pharmacy to get something less strong for the pain and he got me a sandwhich to eat since I hadn't been able to eat. He had to go back to work so I came back and slept and slept.
I started to feel alive again, but Sebastian came back to check on me after work and took me out for some fresh air and to McDonalds to send an e/mail home and eat a sundae. It tasted great. I am glad he was at the Globe and these things will pass.... ha. get it?

Let's Eat!

2007-11-02T23:29:00.000+01:00

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.

J. R. R. Tolkien (1892 - 1973)

As my friends & family know, I LOVE TO THROW DINNER PARITES.
I had my first one in France... with Luci, Sebastian, and Akim.
I made chicken, pasta, and fresh tomato marinara sauce. I also made my famous Autumn (apples) Cheesecake.
It was a hit!

FYI

2007-11-02T22:29:00.000+01:00

Some of the pressing news...

Sarko is getting a divorce.
He is the first President to get a divorce while serving the Republic. Mind you-- the Emperor Napolean divorced Josephine while serving, but he wasn't really a President. Hm.
This is all controversial because it is currently overshadowing the Transit strikes in the news.
Everything in public transit was literally shut down in Paris-- and throughout France for a whole day, then severely slowed and lacking for about a week.
My friend Ayo who lives in Paris said, "Paris is crippled".
The strikes were about retirement changes the President had approved.
France won 4th place in the Rugby World Cup.
Voila.

I have found great comfort in the evening news. Particularly the regular anchor at 8h00, Patrick Poivre d'Arvot.

La Honte (The Shame)

2007-11-02T22:13:00.001+01:00

Je me presse de rire de tout, de peur d'être obligé d'en pleurer.

I push myself to laugh about everything for fear of having to cry about it.

(Pierre Augustin Caron de BEAUMARCHAIS, Le Barbier de Séville, acte I, scène 2)

Did I say I got a bicycle? I did.
I was riding home from Repes and there was a group of rif-raf hanging out on a bridge on the bike path. They wouldn't move as I was rolling down so I had to get off my bike and walk through them. They still wouldn't move. I said "Excusez-moi" with no avail. I couldn't believe it! Was I invisible? Just earlier that day some old lady cut me in line. What's the deal? Anyway, I rammed the bike tire into one of the guys trying to make my point and I continued up the bike path that started to mount on a hill. I jumped back on my bike and it slipped from under me-- catching the gravel that was underneath. I was face first in the gravel, bike on top, feeling immense pain and hearing laughter. I just laid there for a minute. Thinking-- can I get up? Can I strangle those punks? Yes, and No. So I tried to jump up quickly just to get out of there as fast as I could ...then it hit me and I had to stop because I really had fallen hard. My pride was the least of my pain at this point...
I got home and checked out the damage, my knee was scraped and already turning blue and my hand hurt really bad. I tried to brush it off and go deal with the phone company that was taking forever to get everything I had ordered installed, and just try to preoccupy myself from what had just happened. I walked downtown and AGAIN as I stood in line a man literally stepped in front of me and brushed me aside. I was dumbfounded. Finally I was helped but the man working at the store was so rude to me. He mocked me when I finally gave up and left and said in a dumb voice, "bye-byeeee!" I walked out in tears and was met by a boy representing a nonprofit organization talking about their cause. He approached me and said "hello" and proceeded with his speech. I was trying to keep from crying and he finally stopped and realized I hadn't followed some of what he said and asked me where I was from, what I was doing there, etc. We ended up chatting for awhile and I told him Thank You, that he was the first person to actually notice me and give me some dignity that day. I told him about my day and as I did, I realized how meaningful a simple "hello" or "how are you"-- or even smile can really truly be.

So I went to the pharmacy and they were concerned at the rate my wrist/hand was swelling and the amount of pain I was in and said if it weren't better in the morning I must go get it checked out.
I met up with Luci and my two new friends Sebastian and Akim and they said they could help me in the morning if I still had pain.
Didn't sleep much-- pain was worse.
All the Doctor offices were closed so Sebastian took me to the hospital Saturday morning. The hospital workers were on strike (of course they were...) but there were posters all over the Emergency room office saying they were on strike-- but they would still help. Whatever that meant.
Well, it was time I started taking advantage of the free health care I was earning here in France. Yippee.
The Doctor was nice and I had some x-rays done and they said nothing was broken as far as they could tell but they wanted me to wear a brace because the scaphoid could be undetected, but broken as of then. They also prescribed some pain killers and set up a check-up appointment in a couple weeks.
Sebastian took me to the pharmacy to fill the prescription, then to the grocery store to help me get groceries. I was so thankful to have someone who had a car and who could help me. It meant a lot.
So, now I have a sweet brace. And very pathetic moments trying to wash dishes and take a shower.
Someday, this WILL be funny. Heh...hm.

Getting Prepped.

2007-11-02T21:35:00.000+01:00

[...] pour que l'évenement le plus banal devienne une aventure, il faut et il suffit qu'on se mette à le raconter.

[I]n order for the dullest event to become an adventure, all you have to do is start talking about it.
Jean-Paul SARTRE, La Nausée, 1938

Well.. I wouldn't necessarily say that things are "dull". But they're going...
We started training for work, which is good because now there are things to do, and to get done.
We got together with the other assistants in the primary schools here in the department. I am counting my blessings that I am in Vesoul, because the other girls are in even smaller towns. There is one Indian girl, 2 British, and 1 Austrian (she's teaching German), then 4 Americans.
Our first meeting was only paperwork. Wow, they LOVE paperwork. It was good to get all done together with someone guiding us, because it was confusing stuff.
We were suppose to start observing then at our schools.
I am assigned to teach 3 levels,
CE2 (3rd grade)
CM1 (4th grade)
CM2 (5th grade)
I started at Noidans, where I am for 9 of the 12 hours per week. The school is in a small village that touches Vesoul. It is a tight-knit group of teachers and a smaller community of students. I teach 3 different levels of English there, with 6 groups. In some ways I found the schools to be much more strict, and in other ways much more lenient. Their scheduling is a lot more laidback and not as structured. However the students in some classes must keep their hands on the desk, and even get smacked on the back of the head. Everything was negative reinforcement, which I'm not used to being trained in the U.S. The students at Noidans really seem to respect and get along though with the teachers. It is a nice school.
My other school, Repes, is a lot different. It is in the "rougher" neighborhood. It is labelled as a "high risk" school and gets benefits from the government to help promote technology and other resources (Now- this is OPPOSITE from No Child Left Behind, where schools get funds taken away if they are "high risk"--fyi). The teachers work part time at Repes and part time at the IUFM-- (where I lived) Teacher's college. So there are 2 teachers to a classroom who rotate throughout the week. This school reminded me a little of Elliott, with a decent number of immigrants and also gypsy children. Again, discipline was handled the same at this school as the other, as I observed. The community of teachers is different-- they are a lot more distant and kind of do their own thing. Each time I go there are different people there too, so I don't feel as part of the school as I do at Noidans. I am with one class, that is half CM1 and half CM2. The kids were a little more squirrly here but seemed to like the attention they were getting from their new American teacher ;) .
After a week of observations we had another meeting to discuss pedagogy.
Pretty much everything I learned in 4 years at the University was briefly covered in a day. It was exactly the same ideas and concepts that I learned in Teacher's college here regarding teaching a foreign language. Everything made sense to me-- but I can't imagine not having a background in it and doing the job. I am the only one in the department here that has a background in Education. It was interesting that the ideas were so similar, which aren't necessarily considered "traditional" in the U.S. I'm glad that I had this background already!
I'm excited to start.

New Plant: Charles de Gaulle

2007-10-10T17:51:00.001+02:00

Settling in Vesoul

2007-10-03T17:46:00.000+02:00

30/09/2007 ----- What a difference a day can make.

Today the sun came out. I slept a decent night. Luci and I had a nice breakfast, finishing up our groceries here at the IUFM where we've been staying in Vesoul. We took long hot showers, I climbed an apple tree and we ate fresh apples, and headed into town to explore and meet a man who had an apartment for renting. This was my call, so a prospect for me.
The man was young and picked us up with his live-in girlfriend and took us just outside downtown to an older house with refurnished apartments inside. It was cute, and inside held a beautiful COMPLETELY furnished big apartment. I said yes. I signed the contract. I have the keys. My aura is back in sync with my body and things have finally turned around.

As you've noticed I haven't been online, nor updated my blog for awhile. It's been hard to write as nights have been long, sleepless, and cold. The few phone calls I've been able to make the last week have been full of tears and loneliness. This last week has been one of the hardest I've had in a long time but things have turned around at last. How long a week can seem.

Rewind: The time in Paris finished nicely but a bit crazy. After the surprise party my French friends threw me, I headed back into Paris and spent a few days more with my sisters going to Art expositions at George Pompideau and another smaller modern art museum. A big perk for living with an artist "sister"-- the scoops on the new art expositions in PARIS ! It was a lot of fun to go with her and see some "interesting" and very cool artwork. I also got to know the neighborhood better with her even more spots than I discovered on my own last year. We got to use Antoine's croque-monsieur maker and make croque monsieurs and saw a French movie. It was a lot of fun. Then on Thursday morning Luci arrived. Luci is the older sister of a friend of mine from college. She ended up getting the assistant job also-- in Vesoul! What are the odds? My friend Jimmy and I went to the airport to pick her up and she and I had a picnic near the Eiffel Tower to "initate" her into Paris then we hung out with Angelique at the apartment. We spent the next two nights at Versailles, outside of Paris at my friend Rhose's apartment with his girlfriend Temi. It was fun to spend time with them, both English. Luci and I chilled out in Versailles for day checking out the chateau and gardens which were BEAUTIFUL this time of year. We also spent an evening at an event at UNESCO for a Nigerian music group. There are a lot of Nigerians working in Paris and I know all of them from the Church in Paris. It was great to see some old friends at the event and participate in an international concert like that. Saturday Luci and I took the train into Mélun where some of my French friends live. Alexandre had a party and so we spent the evening there hanging out with my friends again. It was great to chill out and relax and speak French with them. Sunday we returned to Paris and hung out around the St. Michael neighborhood, where Notre Dame is. There was an outdoor art gallery behind Notre Dame which we checked out and saw a little jazz group playing music with a piano on the sidewalk! We then met up with Rhosair, Temi, GP, and some other friends from church at an English Pub where we watched a UK soccer game. We left with GP, another Nigerian Parisian worker, to La Défense (the northeastern business district), to their hotel living residence. They had a spare room with their company renting out part of the hotel for their employees so we stayed there for the night. We got to eat some authentic Nigerian food and talked a lot of about international travelling, working, and politics. His roommate Ayo was as equally interesting and it was a nice warm evening before our big move to Vesoul. Monday morning we got up very early and caught the métro into central Paris and picked up our luggage, caught a taxi to the train station, and boarded the train to Vesoul.

Everything went smoothly on the train-- people exited quickly as it stopped along the way and I found myself on an empty car until it arrived to Vesoul. My ears popped a few times as we entered the hilly countryside. It's pretty. As we arrived I felt as though I'd almost throw up. I was so nervous and scared. This is it.

I jumped off with my bags quickly as to not leave something behind as the trains only stop for a few short minutes. Luci jumped off her car a few ahead of mine and we dragged our luggage along the side of the train to get a better view of what was ahead. The drag to the station with our luggage was so long and heavy and miserable-- and it was only a few minutes. Our bags were SO heavy and awkward to drag along the gravel and concrete. We began crossing the tracks, barely holding on as we hear, "Les pauvres!( The poor girls!)" and see a woman running toward us with a tall mustached french man shortly behind. The woman was Suzy Antoine, our contact through the program. She borrowed her daughter's car (roomier) to help us with our luggage.
It was a relief to have them help us get picked up at the station and get our luggage to her car. They were very nice and briefly introduced us to the town as we drove north to where we were residing, the IUFM.

------------------ EXPLANATIONS:
Just to clarify some things. France was traditionally divided into "regions". There are 22 provinces/regions in France, and you probably know some of them already...Normandie (Normandy), Bretagne (Brittany), Bourgone (Burgandy), etc. They are not officially divided, but traditionally still held today. 1790, after the revolution, France decided to further divide these regions to create more of a FRENCH identity and unity. Instead of considering themselves as "Normans" in Normandie, they were now FRENCH. So, now there are 96 departments, kind of like counties in the U.S.

Now... The school system in France is a little confusing. The primary school level (ages 6-11) is organized through academies, under the national level. There are 30 academies in France, typically named after the major city in the region. The college/lycée (junior high/high school) level is done nationally. They handle things different, and that's all I know.

So, I was hired by the Rectorat of the Academie of Besançon. This is the leader of the primary school levels in this academy. I was placed then in the department Haute Saone (# 70 on the liscence plates, FYI). Haute Saone is traditionally in the region of Franche Comté. Haute Saone as a department has 4 cities...including Vesoul.

Have you followed? Universe-- Europe--France--Academie of Besancon-- Franche Comté-- Haute Saone--Vesoul--me Voila.

Vesoul is a city with about 19,000 inhabitents within the city itself. Including the small villages surrounding-- Vesoul is considered about 25,000 people. The city seems to be a sort of "blue collar" city with a few factories nearby. They have to boast the first factory to start producing Peugeot cars-- a very popular and succesful car in Europe. The city is very ancient-- with a history of actually being in a swamp between 2 large hills. One hill holds a giant cliff, with a large rock in a shape of a clog, "La Sabot". The other is home to "La Motte", a chapel on top of a hill above a giant ancient wall used for defense way way back in the Middle Ages.
The "downtown" aka- Centre Ville has "Vieux Vesoul", an old church and old streets and buildings which are very neat to see. The Centre Ville then expands to newer sidewalks and buildings and boutiques. It's a small town. Everything shuts down by 6/6:30pm. Including the buses. Everything (also including buses) shut down between 12-2 everyday also. And don't even think about Sundays.
I'm not used to this-- but seeing as how there aren't any young people that I've seen around (besides at the l'IUFM-- more later), I guess that doesn't really matter. There aren't any big stores in town-- a "Super U"-- like a smaller Wal-Mart with groceries, a Monoprix (same sort of idea), and...that's all I've seen.
There are vibrant fall colors all over the city, plenty of trees and flowers and bridges over small rivers. I feel like I'm constantly in a postcard. Although it's quite small it is charming. There is one catholic church, one protestant church, and one mosque.
It also appears to me as though there are a lot of people here with mental health issues. I don't know if it reflects the whole French system as far as mental health-- I'm not as informed-- but Luci and I estimated that 1 in 10 are "off". That's my quick summary of Vesoul.
------------------

Rewind again to our arrival... Luci and I get picked up, and dropped off at the IUFM... L'IUFM--L'Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maitres --aka "Teacher's College". We were told we would be staying in a dorm-like setting with French student teachers, with free access to a computer lab, a cafeteria available, and rent was 110€/month. We knew it would be closed during school holidays, but with my friends/family in Paris I figured I could go "home" while it was closed, but stay there the rest of the year.

After driving through Vesoul and getting dropped off, I quickly realized that the IUFM wasn't in the ideal location despite the fact the city is small in itself. It is on the far north end-- with our schools being scattered in and out of the city. The building was what I expected-- small, compact. But we quickly realized that the size was the least of our worries. A nice woman took us to the cafeteria to feed us a snack and then she took us to our rooms and gave us our sheets. The building was cold and full of bad energy. I can't explain it but I just had a bad feeling. The walls were yellow, pink, and orange everywhere, which frankly creeped me out. There was a small shower room, bathroom, and kitchen that everyone shared on the floor. No one was around, so Luci and I showered and began unpacking our things to get ready for dinner with our contact Mme Suzy Antoine. The boyfriend of Mme Antoine (Jean Louis) picked us up and took us on a tour of the city. He took us to Suzy's house and we took the dog on a walk through the country. It was beautiful. There were cows, we saw a deer, and even a fox. We returned to the house and had a lovely dinner with Suzy and Jean Louis. They had a traditional seasonal dish-- la Raclotte, basically potatoes and cheese fondue. It was good and we were very full when we left.
They told us that it wasn't practical for us to stay at the IUFM and gave us the newspaper with ads for apartments. Luci and I were kind of surprised-- we didn't realize that we should leave right away. But then we couldn't wait to get out. That night at the IUFM I didn't sleep a wink. It was cold and I was not in a good place. Physically I was having issues-- in addition to lack of sleep. It was odd also, because the whole floor was silent all night. I was expecting to start meeting some of the college students but it was just silent.
The next day Luci and I met Jean Louis and he took us to Centre Ville to possible banks and the Tourism building, and other important things. Then we explored a little on our own and returned to the IUFM. We found out that there wasn't wireless internet, no phone, and the computer lab closes at 6pm and we needed a special code to use the computers from a man who wouldn't be in until Friday. We also realized that since it was a week before the first of October, we had to pay the IUFM by night-- which was about 10€/night. So.... for one week we payed 70€, where for one month it would have been 110€. Didn't make much sense to me.
That night at dinner we actually saw some of the students on our floor in the kitchen. We said hello and the first thing one girl said was, "Excuse me, could you be quieter? We are studying here. Thank you" Then she walked back to the eating area.
O...kay.
This was the general attitude by the students here. The only time we heard/saw them was around dinner when they came out to make food-- and they were not friendly. The second day we were there Luci and I discovered that our food had been thrown away by someone.
It was very discouraging. So, we started calling for apartments. Apartment hunting is difficult. ESPECIALLY in another language. Just like in English, advertisements in the newspaper are abbreviated with a whole other code. In English one might find this:

West end, lg 6 rm unfurn apt, crpt, fplc in lr. Nr to schls, shpng, trans. Ref req

Now, think of it in French. For example: RUE DU CHASNOT , studio, 25m2, kitch. et sdb équip., 260€ CC. Libre 01/10

We ran into a lot of ups and downs during the process. Do Luci & I live together? What's the word for "furnished"? Why won't anyone answer the phone? Is there anyway to get around having to use a telephone booth and going through 4 phone cards at about 8€ a piece? How many more times are we stuck downtown being stood up for an apt showing, or one going late and having to walk a half hour in the dark (sometimes rain) at night?
(Answer--4 times)
There were hardly any furnished apartments available, and zero for a room for more than one person. Luci and I decided to go separate ways and we kept searching. The week was hard. Spending more money that I had ever dreamed of-- much less preparing for a potential rent and deposit. And the money was going for transportation to get around and phone cards. There was also hardly anything useful to do between calling and waiting for potential meetings to view the apts, since we don't start working until the 15 of Oct. We tried to do a useful thing everyday to even out the long cold days. We got our bank accounts set up and the gentleman at the bank was very nice. We also made frequent trips to the Centre de jeunes-- Youth center downtown, where we could have limited but priceless access to the internet. We started grabbing coffees and Cokes at local pubs and bars to have some contact with people. The IUFM was more and more discouraging with the downright rudeness of a lot of the students.
The week was rainy, dark, and cold.
The heater wasn't working in my room and another week went by with hardly any hours of sleep. It was one of the hardest weeks in my life. The contact I did have to the outside world was filled with tears and so were most of the nights in my dorm room.
I really wanted to go home.
The weekend came finally-- and a friend saved me.
My dear friend Ellen from back home spent a semester in Besancon, near Vesoul. She had some of her friends from Besac visit her this last fall-- and I got to meet them. Severine and Geraud. They were so nice and we had a fun time together last year in Nebraska. After hearing I was nearby, Severine contacted me about coming to Besac for the weekend. Although money was tight, Luci and I decided we needed to get out for a day or two. So we took the bus to Besac and met up with Severine and Geraud. They took us to a fondue restaurant and we had some fancy authentic French food. It was warm and so good. They were so kind to us and took us around Besac as young people flooded the streets and cafes and pubs. We went to a discotheque and danced and then went to a pub and talked and hung out. It was great to be with young people again. We stayed with Severine who actually lives in Dole a half hour outside of Besac. We got to sleep in and slept in a warm bed. It was the best night of sleep I've had in awhile. Severine went to the boulangerie right outside her apt and got us some pain au chocolat and fresh baguette for breakfast. Then she took us on a walking tour of Dole, a city famous for being the birthplace of Pasteur-- the man who discovered pasturization. It was a lovely city and fun to get a local tour. Then we went to Besac again and walked around the downtown scene. It is such a lively city, I see why UNL students who study there love it. Luci and I returned to Vesoul and called it a night.

Coming back I almost started crying because I didn't want to return. Thus brings us to Sunday.
Sleeping in, picking apples, finding an apartment.
Thank you for your thoughts and prayers and good vibes this last week. I needed them. Things are looking up now. Here are PHOTOS:

ACHERES LA FORET/MELUN (Time with my French friends & family around Paris):

http://unl.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2118968&l=ec5be&id=17208072

PARIS:

http://unl.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2122120&l=399d0&id=17208072

VESOUL:

http://unl.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2121942&l=081e4&id=17208072

MY APT IN VESOUL:

http://unl.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2122126&l=e25d8&id=17208072

Les photos...

2007-09-17T18:26:00.001+02:00

To see photos from the surprise party--
http://unl.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2118968&l=ec5be&id=17208072

Quelle Surprise!

2007-09-16T18:02:00.000+02:00

I've spent the weekend at my family's home in Acheres la Foret, about a half hour outside of Paris. Friday evening was spent talking and talking and eating snacks and talking. It was great to be "home" again.
Saturday they let me sleep in and the whole day was a little rushed and stressful. We ate lunch together then went separate ways to run errands. Maman and I went to Carrefour (Wal-mart, but better-- with most of it a supermarket), which was combined into a mall. The clothes here are SO AWESOME. I'm seeing the biggest difference in fashion between us and them than I have before. It's cool. We met up with Dorothee after having an espresso break at the Brioche center, and continued to get some groceries. We rushed back home and I got thrown into Angelique's car to pick up Magali from the train station. She came back from Paris to enjoy a barbeque with the family that evening. I was excited to spend time with my family and have a nice barbeque meal with them. We got home and I walked inside and saw Maman ahead of me -- grinning. "SURPRISE JENNY!!!!" I realized above me were ALL of my friends from last summer. Filling the staircase and balcony above. I started crying-- I didn't know what to do! Coco, Marianne, Florianne, Sebastian, Alexandre, Sylvain-- and more they were all there! Maman had bought flowers earlier in the day and there were flowers and food filling the house. Maman and Papa left, leaving us youth to our party, and we barbequed food and enjoyed a beautiful evening outside. We ate and ate and they presented me with gifts. Everyone had signed a card and put together money to buy me a discount card for train tickets. It's a card for the youth that costs about 50 euros to get, but ends up saving money on tickets all across France. They said it's so I can come easier and more often back "home" to see them. I couldn't believe it. They also bought me beautiful nice dishes, mugs with saucers, glasses, drinking cups, nice silverware, kitchen towels, a coffee maker, and more. Everything I needed for my apartment. I couldn't believe it! We continued to eat together (there were about 20 or so there) and we bundled up and sat outside under the clear shining sky filled with stars (we're out in the country!) and Antoine and Coco played the guitar and we all sang songs together.
One girl who I didn't know quite as well, Julie, she made 2 cakes for me, both made with layers of crepe. One-- my favorite-- was filled with layers of nutella and sweet cream cheese. It was topped with more nutella and bananas. OHHHHHH la la!
They sang "Happy Birthday" to me in both French and English, and we ate some more.
I couldn't believe they did this for me, and it was so wonderful to be with them all again. I'm so blessed to have such great friends and high quality people in my life on two different continents.

Here is the invitation Angelique made and sent to my friends for the party.

First Day/ Le premier jour

2007-09-14T14:50:00.000+02:00

It was a long, hard airplane ride. Everything went smoothly but I was miserable watching Mimi, Dave, and my family driving along side of the plane and not being able to run back into their arms. I knew things would be okay, and great things were coming....but it was difficult to leave. An older gentleman sat next to me on the plane and was very nice. He kept asking me questions to calm me down :). He was a conductor and retired a few years ago, but kept doing his music and sat on boards across the country for things I didn't quite understand. It was nice to make a new friend at that time.
The ride to Paris went by quick, and I was able to sleep for a good chunk of it. I sat next to a terribly dull French man, but as I said, it went by quickly. I was shuffled into customs and shuffled into luggage pick-up and finally had everything together. The luggage took a long time and I was afraid as time passed, so had my friends who were suppose to pick me up. I finally got out of the luggage area and entered a large room FULL of people waiting for those who just arrived. I calmly pushed my luggage through the crowd, looking intently for Rhose. I saw Jimmy run by to the back and I yelled, "JIIIMMMMMY!!!" but he couldn't hear me. I went into "Street Jen" mode and said firmly, "PARDON. PARDON. EXCUSEZ-MOI", and pushed my cart into people's knees and moved through the crowd trying to catch up with Jimmy. Jimmy ran through the crowd to the back where Rhosair was. I started jumping up and down waving my arms trying to get him to see me across the room but they couldn't. I kept pushing and finally they saw me. I ran up the Rhose and hugged them and was so relieved. Rhosair and Jimmy were good friends I made last summer from the American Church of Paris. Rhose is from London and works for an online programming company called Blizzard (World War Craft, etc), and Jimmy is from Tanzania and works random jobs and goes to school. I truly knew at this moment, I would be fine.
The boys immediately took my bags from me and bought me a Coke and led my tired, deflated self through the airport to the train station. They bought my ticket to get back to Paris and we got on the train. How much easier it is with someone helping you with the luggage!! It's so overwhelming coming into Paris by yourself with your belongings and a vague memory of how to get around. I still can't believe I did it last year by myself. It was great to rest and enjoy my friends again. We got into Paris and took the metro to the church. We were walking up the stairs and I started running. Running with all the strength I had left-- I COULD FEEL AND SMELL AND TASTE THE FRENCH AIR! I got to the top and opened my arms, "I'M HERE!!"
It felt incredible.
Fall in Paris is beautiful and it's just the beginning! There are leaves on the streets and people are starting to wrap themselves in chic jackets and scarves. The air is so fresh. Then we walked to the church. I got to see the Youth Pastor Ginger again and we carried my bags downstairs and locked them in the office. Rhose and Jimmy and I walked around the neighborhood and I bought a calling card and some batteries for my camera. We walked around Paris, across the Seine, and took the metro to the St. Michael district, near the Latin Quarter. We bought some sandwiches and Cokes and walked to Notre Dame. We sat behind Notre Dame in a shady garden and ate and talked and relaxed. We spent most of the afternoon here, enjoying the warmth of the sun, and coolness of the shade. There were so many people out strolling around. Reading, kissing, playing with children. It was lovely. We then went to FNAC on Champs-Elysees, then walked back to the church. Parisians began bustling out of work and there were SO many people out! We picked up my bags and went to the apartment on Parmentier. It was so strange to walk down the same streets and be back where I was last year. I ran upstairs and Angelique heard us coming and opened the door and we started screaming and hugging and jumping around. The boys just stood and watched...haha. It was SO great to see her. I was so flustered, my french was choppy but we understood how we both were so happy to see each other again. The boys left and Angelique and I made dinner and sat around and talked and ate and showed each other pictures of our families and friends and loves. Magali came home from work and we caught up too. We sat outside for a cup of coffee as it cooled down quickly. Angelique has a little pumpkin on the patio and overflowing plants. It's beautiful. Magali had to work at McDonalds late last night so she left and Angel drew a bubble bath for me. It felt so wonderful. After my bath, I got onto my computer and got ready for bed. I slept so peacefully and hard. It felt great.
Today I'm going to go out on my own for awhile while the girls are at work, then Papa is picking us up in Paris to go to Acheres la Foret, where my family lives. We'll spend the weekend there. I miss everyone already. But I can feel the love from my family, close friends, and Dave through the beauty I see and feel here.

Check out photos from my first day here:
http://unl.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2118750&l=218c4&id=17208072

2007-09-13T19:04:00.000+02:00

J'arrive!!!!!!!!!