Gaelle, me, Stephanie and Coco at my "going away" party, where I was just an excuse to dance :) 

Which one is Gillian? 

Gillian and me in front of Blarney Castle 

Lectoure, part one

Since I’ve already described my trip to England, I’ll just elaborate on my trips to the South and to Ireland, trying not to be too impatient to give good details!
While French TGVs are well-known for speed, punctuality, and comfort, they don’t go to the southwestern part of France, so after 7 hours in the train Sophie and I met her mother in Agen, or “Again” in a thick southern accent. We went to her house near Lectoure, a village of about 3000 people that’s popular with rich and famous Parisians, including the main TV anchorman on TF1, and apparently with Monica Belluci as well. It’s also the site where they shot a lot of “Pacte de loups,” which I think made it to the states but I don’t remember under which name. And it is easy to see why: Lectoure is a beautiful old city made of crumbling limestone, and perched on a hilltop overlooking rolling green hills capped with smaller but similarly white medieval villages. Sophie and I visited several of these villages in the next few days, including the deserted Terraube and La Romieu, which is dotted with cat statues because of a legend that dates from the Middle Ages.
Well, I am almost out of power for now, so I’ll get back to this another day.

MiniTravelogue

Finally my big ol’ vacation has ended, so I’m back in Rennes for my mini-vacation here, packing, tossing things, saying goodbye to people, etc. As I’ve probably said a million times, I head home May 24 so I am trying to get my butt in gear…I know the time will fly in so I’m trying to take care of all the details and avert any last-minute panic.
I’ll try to give a shorter summary of my travels and then a longer one, so you can choose your format. Here is the pocket-sized version:
April 12-16 England
I went to Essex County with a group of 20 girls and 10 boys from my lycée, aged from 16-18. We stayed in a country manor and did theater activities to prepare them for a play they are to perform soon. On the way back to Rennes, we stopped in Camden Market, in London, which was sooo cool. Then we hopped on the ferry back to St Malo.
April 19-27 Southwestern France
I went with my flatmate Sophie to her parent’s house near Lectoure, in le Gers, and we spent a night at her friend’s place in Toulouse. Le Gers was rural and beautiful, rolling hills dotted with medieval limestone villages. Then I went to visit a friend (Jean-Luc, the native speaker when I was in the French house at Whitman) in Pau. He took me to visit Lourdes, where I drank holy water and touched the grotto, and on a hike in the Pyrenees!
April 28-May 10 Dublin
I visited my friend Gillian in Dublin where we ate and drank, and then, er, drank and ate. We spent a night in a castle/youth hostel near Kilkenny for someone’s birthday and two nights in Cork City and County visiting her friends. I kissed the Blarney Stone as the big American tourist that I am.

PS

For all you French-speaking Whitties out there, I am also visiting Jean-Luc at the end of my visit with Sophie! I am heading to Pau from Toulouse Monday and coming back to Rennes Wednesday.

Home, temporarily

Hi everyone!
My trip to England was a lot cooler than I hoped or expected.
First of all, I managed to avoid any real seasickness on the ferry there or back (each about 8 hour trips), on our trip over because the sea was relatively calm, on the way back because I had a couple of beers and danced around with the group in the bar so the relatively strong rocking felt like the effects of alcohol.
Secondly, the people I traveled with were awesome. The students I didn’t know previously but turned out to be very sweet and fun and generally responsibly, so it made my job a lot easier, their professor, Philippe aka Bill, is definitely a sparky guy, full of energy and fun, and Camille, the other chaperone and a student trying to get her teacher certification and a sort of disciplinary person at the Lycée, was really sweet and fun as well.
Once we arrived in Portsmouth we took a bus about an hour to Wicken, a tiny village with about ten houses and a pub. Our accommodation, meals, and drama classes (the group was preparing a play based on the book ‘The Wave’) all took place in a 19th century manor called Wicken House, and they were all very satisfactory, as the drama leader was a woman named Natalie who managed to juggle the language gap, the adolescent fear of being made fun of, and the group’s relative lack of cohesion extremely well. In the evenings we had free time after dinner, so we had from about 7 til 11 at night to relax. The kids took advantage of the pool and ping-pong tables, foosball, computer, and videogames, I read or watched movies, and a few times we went to the pub nearby.
On Saturday afternoon we headed to Cambridge, which just seemed kind of yuppy and touristy to me…not that I can judge anyone because I was a tourist too, but all of the historical things cost a lot to see and otherwise there were just a lot of fairly upscale shops to look at. That said, it was extremely beautiful. I had fun watching people punting while I drank a coffee with Camille and Philippe…one man lost his pole on a bridge!
Sunday we left in the morning for Camden Lock Market, a big market with everything from a large store called ‘Cyberdog’ (filled with techno-y clothing and salespeople with crazy get-ups and really large platform shoes, so I actually felt like a really normal height J ) to tiny shops selling 2 pound belts and cheesy rip-off handbags and food stands selling every kind of food for cheap, at least by English standards. I had yummy Japanese curry beef and noodles with Camille and Philippe right on the canal. Boats were going up and down through the locks, which were manually ran, and the sun was shining on the willow trees. I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted to just up and move somewhere in my life, it was so beautiful and lively and really filled with every kind of person imaginable, from Cyberdog employees to women in birkas (burkas??) to lil’ ol’ me, an American flanked by French people. It was kind of sad to come back to quiet Rennes, especially because all of the students are on vacation, including my friends. We took the boat back at 8 at night and watched another boat dock in before we could leave, which was amazing because of the size of the things…I really think I’m going to become a big boat fanatic now...as in a fanatic for big boats. We all slept in a big room with reclining chairs, and saw a band and a musician in the bar before heading off to sleep.
I need to go get ready for my trip tomorrow to Toulouse and le Gers (Sophie’s home turf). I hope you are all doing well! Bisous

The last week

has been a lot of nothing...
Maybe that sounds really pessimistic, but as much as I enjoy being relatively free this year, last week we had Monday off for Easter, and then I had Tuesday off because of the strike...which left my usual hour of class on Wednesday before my usual day off on Thursday. All in all, not a lot of work. Thus, I slept til 3:30 on Thursday after seeing a French production of the Vagina Monologues Wednesday night, and stayed out late on Thursday night despite early Friday classes since I decided with 13 hours of sleep the night before it would be okay to sleep less than usual.
Friday I said goodbye to a lot of my kids during my last classes with them, several of the groups I will really miss. The weekend was quiet, I went to a housewarming, an out of control birthday party, and watched the Ring without completely freaking out :)
Oh, and during my free time I bought tickets to Dublin, so my schedule for the next month will be: April 12-18--North Hampton, England with a group from the high school; April 19-26--Toulouse with Sophie (and maybe Pau with Jean-Luc! Former native speaker at Whitman who just gave me a call!); April 28-May 10--Dublin with Gillian.

Definitely tired just thinking of it.

In general I am getting ready to head home, arranging tickets and thinking of what I will and won't take home, how I'll arrange things. But I feel so NOT ready to leave in many ways. Here are some of the things I will miss: pastries, including pain au chocolat aux amandes and the amazing but simple pain au choc. from the bakery near my place that are flaky but buttery and soft inside; the cobblestone streets and mix of buildings, half-timbered fronts from the Renaissance or the 18th century cathedral or the strangely shaped modern apartment buildings; people--Sophie, Cai, Anais, students, teachers, Lindsay, Jonathan, the guy who sells me phone cards and always recognizes me; galettes; cheap wine not meaning crappy wine; people being curious where I'm from; speaking in French; reading French; the cool blue street signs that explain street names (ie: rue le Bastard, Maire de Rennes 1875-1886); the little Irish Pub right outside my door; French news; etc etc etc...

Things I am looking forward to seeing in the US: friends (Shay, Becca, Helen, ODFBJDP, Elena, Mary Beth, Amber, Robin, Emily, everyone!!!); family; Mexican food; English slang and cheesy pop culture; thinking about my future (grad school!); getting my photos developed from my trips for a quarter of the price in Europe!; cookies; PBR; cheap, greasy Chinese food; being home; the landscapes; people being open and talking to each other in the street; idealism, even misguided idealism; etc etc etc...

Both lists could go on forever!

Heya

Last Friday, in true France style, I went to work only to find my students blocking the entrance to the high school. Also in French style, the proviseure-adjointe, aka vice principal, told me I needed to see the day through in school like the rest of the other staff…meaning spend my already dragging Fridays, 4 hours of class spread from 8:30 to 4:45, doing LITERALLY nothing instead of nothing in a hyperbolic sense. So, I left the school after the second class failed to show up, flexing my own French-y muscles and disregarding the rules. This left me more time to hang out before getting my hair cut, splurging on yuuuuummy Korean food and getting ready for my trip to Morlaix.
Saturday I headed out in the morning with Lindsay to Morlaix. We met Sophie’s friend Elias, a Spanish assistant there, and a young teacher he works with, and walked around Morlaix, went to the coast just a few kilometers away, made a big dinner, and went to see a Michael Jackson impersonator! Very fun.
The next day bright and early, er, 2 pm, we headed out to the Côte du Granit Rose and walked from Perros-Guirec to Ploumanac’h (sp?). There were beautiful pink rock formations and a cute light house, and at the end of our trip we stopped for galette saucisse, the traditional Breton meal of a sausage wrapped in a buckwheat crepe. When back in Morlaix we watched Elias’s award-winning short film of a guy killing a fly… ‘Smoking kills’!
Today was a late morning followed by a quick Easter candy hunt in a square, interrupted by an enormous downpour and Sophie’s train. Then Linds, Elias and I had a sandwich at his Lycee before we headed back to Rennes.
Oh, otherwise I just saw Ray and Million Dollar Baby at the cinema…both I really enjoyed! And it was interesting to analyze the messages Clint Eastwood is trying to promote…
Anyways, I hope you are all well…maybe I’ll see some of you after my trip back to the states, May 24.
Bisous!

Heya

Last Friday, in true France style, I went to work only to find my students blocking the entrance to the high school. Also in French style, the proviseure-adjointe, aka vice principal, told me I needed to see the day through in school like the rest of the other staff…meaning spend my already dragging Fridays, 4 hours of class spread from 8:30 to 4:45, doing LITERALLY nothing instead of nothing in a hyperbolic sense. So, I left the school after the second class failed to show up, flexing my own French-y muscles and disregarding the rules. This left me more time to hang out before getting my hair cut, splurging on yuuuuummy Korean food and getting ready for my trip to Morlaix.
Saturday I headed out in the morning with Lindsay to Morlaix. We met Sophie’s friend Elias, a Spanish assistant there, and a young teacher he works with, and walked around Morlaix, went to the coast just a few kilometers away, made a big dinner, and went to see a Michael Jackson impersonator! Very fun.
The next day bright and early, er, 2 pm, we headed out to the Côte du Granit Rose and walked from Perros-Guirec to Ploumanac’h (sp?). There were beautiful pink rock formations and a cute light house, and at the end of our trip we stopped for galette saucisse, the traditional Breton meal of a sausage wrapped in a buckwheat crepe. When back in Morlaix we watched Elias’s award-winning short film of a guy killing a fly… ‘Smoking kills’!
Today was a late morning followed by a quick Easter candy hunt in a square, interrupted by an enormous downpour and Sophie’s train. Then Linds, Elias and I had a sandwich at his Lycee before we headed back to Rennes.
Oh, otherwise I just saw Ray and Million Dollar Baby at the cinema…both I really enjoyed! And it was interesting to analyze the messages Clint Eastwood is trying to promote…
Anyways, I hope you are all well…maybe I’ll see some of you after my trip back to the states, May 24.
Bisous!

Heya

Last Friday, in true France style, I went to work only to find my students blocking the entrance to the high school. Also in French style, the proviseure-adjointe, aka vice principal, told me I needed to see the day through in school like the rest of the other staff…meaning spend my already dragging Fridays, 4 hours of class spread from 8:30 to 4:45, doing LITERALLY nothing instead of nothing in a hyperbolic sense. So, I left the school after the second class failed to show up, flexing my own French-y muscles and disregarding the rules. This left me more time to hang out before getting my hair cut, splurging on yuuuuummy Korean food and getting ready for my trip to Morlaix.
Saturday I headed out in the morning with Lindsay to Morlaix. We met Sophie’s friend Elias, a Spanish assistant there, and a young teacher he works with, and walked around Morlaix, went to the coast just a few kilometers away, made a big dinner, and went to see a Michael Jackson impersonator! Very fun.
The next day bright and early, er, 2 pm, we headed out to the Côte du Granit Rose and walked from Perros-Guirec to Ploumanac’h (sp?). There were beautiful pink rock formations and a cute light house, and at the end of our trip we stopped for galette saucisse, the traditional Breton meal of a sausage wrapped in a buckwheat crepe. When back in Morlaix we watched Elias’s award-winning short film of a guy killing a fly… ‘Smoking kills’!
Today was a late morning followed by a quick Easter candy hunt in a square, interrupted by an enormous downpour and Sophie’s train. Then Linds, Elias and I had a sandwich at his Lycee before we headed back to Rennes.
Oh, otherwise I just saw Ray and Million Dollar Baby at the cinema…both I really enjoyed! And it was interesting to analyze the messages Clint Eastwood is trying to promote…
Anyways, I hope you are all well…maybe I’ll see some of you after my trip back to the states, May 24.
Bisous!

Spain, Sweden, England, Belgium, and Scotland in an hour

Last weekend I went with Lindsay to Sweden, England, Belgium, and Scotland, as indicated in the title all in an hour. What that actually means is that we were bored enough to go to all the bus stops and streets in the southern part of Rennes that are named for European countries! The weekend before we went to Yugoslavia, Poland, Holland, and Bulgaria.
Yes, it has been quiet since the end of vacation.
However, there have been some interesting events:
--a snow day the Wednesday after break...we had school but the snow stuck around till lunch!
--a viewing of Sideways which was soooo good
and events stemming from the International day of the woman:
--a free historical tour of women in Rennes, including Mme de Sevigne, Anne de Bretagne, and Mme Elie (?), who was a part of the Resistance
--a debate and workshop with the members of a Muslim women's group, followed by a documentary on the law against the veil...suuuper interesting, including highschool-aged girls speaking more concisely than most adults I know
--a conference on feminism and nazism and a classic from the 70s called "Qu'est-ce qu'elles veulent?", or "What do women want?"
--etc. etc. etc.

I have also started with some new kiddos, most of whom are great, and am doing well with the old students too.
Anyhoo, otherwise I've been doing whatever I can to do new things...like going to random supermarkets or trying different foods, and have been gearing up to head back to the States, tentatively mid-to-late May...I need to change my ticket. Before that, I am expecting to visit Toulouse, Dublin, and some mystery spot...Greece? Croatia? Finland?

Nice!

I once again am having blogwriters block, so I'll just jot down some things quickly...post-Nantes I went to Nice to visit Agnieszka, another Whittie friend. After the 8 and a half hour train ride, we hit the town with Niesz's flatmate Amy, who is Irish, and their friend Emma, who is English. Our destination was the Scandinavian bar Thor, for the all you can drink for 3 euro Ladies night.
The next day Agnieszka and I hung out and went up to Emma's place, which has a beautiful view over Nice, and then went to sleep so she could get up bright and early for work the next morning. While Niesz was slaving away I went to Eze-sur-Mer by train and gasped my way up to Eze-le-Village on the Sentier Nietszche, which is basically like doing intense StairMaster for an hour and a half through ritzy houses and the remnants of the snow from the day before. At the top I was met with some much-needed candied almonds, a beautiful medieval village and a perfume factory.
The next day Agnieszka and I went to St Jean Cap Ferrat, one of the cute little towns near Nice, on a peninsula, and walked to Beaulieu-sur-Mer to catch the beautiful view. Then on to Menton for the overpriced gardens of their Fete du Citron, where they had cheesy statues made of lemons and oranges, all for eight euros. After we went through the little shops near by, bought some scarves, then paid a visit to Agnieszka's crazy older Polish friend, actually a friend of her mom's, who fed us yummy fish and veggie salad. We ran, literally, to the train to catch what I think is called "White Rabbit" in English, a film about Aboriginie girls taken from their homes who walk 800 miles to get back, starring Kenneth Brannagh. Then on to a hookah bar and Quick.
Next day was mostly walking around Nice, to H&M and the library...a dinner party at night, and then some packing for my departure the next day. Luckily on the way back my trip was split up by two hours in Marseille, which I used to walk up to the church that is apparently the symbol of Marseille and the name of which I can't remember right now but which has a beautiful view--I really did not want to leave the sunny port and the image of the waves out on the ocean. Alas, the last six hours of the ride called to me and I hit the road back to Rennes.
Since then I've gotten back into the swing of things, with new groups and old ones too, and a new schedule: no classes Thursday, which due to finishing at 10.30 on Wednesday means almost no class for two days, but class from 8.30 til 4.45 on Friday...which is why I'm writing this blog entry now! I have a lot of open spots during the day, so it's kind of annoying to be here all day. Hopefully I'm going to the Opera tonight! Okay, I'm spacing out so I'm going to call it a day for this blog.