Getting cozy

11/21/09
I’m finally starting to feel at home here.
I’ve been spending the last few days relaxing (no class this past Friday), walking to the library, listening to Ella Fitzgerald and Michael Bublé, and reading some French comic books. Their world is really something different here, not like a typical Marvel comic book back home. These stories are lifelike, the artists using lifelike situations and with real emotion. They’re a pleasure to read (especially “Les Profs”, a lighter-spirited series compared to those I’ve been reading, but all the same they shine a lot of light on the life of a professor in France). The two I’ve just finished are Le Combat Ordinaire and La Memoire Dans Les Poches- both stories that delve into the personal lives of the main characters, in one case an old man who begins caring for an orphan Moroccan infant, and the other a young adult without a job who meets a veterinarian and begins sharing his life with her. They’re touching stories (especially Memoire) and I’ll be heading back to the library for sure to rent the next chapter as soon as the library opens.

I went to Nérac last weekend to visit my friend David, another American assistant. It’s hard for the assistants there to get around (yep, harder than here in Aiguillon) because they stopped having trains run through, and started using a private bus system instead that goes from Agen to Nérac. It’s about 45 minutes one way, and 6 Euro 10. Much more expensive than hopping on the train, but David’s seemed to become used to it already. He’s been to La Reole several times (his friend Regina is the english assistant there) and Bordeaux as well. It is a bit ironic though, that he got placed at the school with the Theatre BAC (which isn’t at every lycée) and that there is no such specialization for the students at my school. I told him it’s too bad we couldn’t have switched, because they seem to have more going on in that realm in Nérac in general. When I visited, we saw a modernized Romeo & Juliet. Later in the week, he saw a second show (can’t remember what it was). But his students seem to adore him (one of his english prof colleagues told him that they’re going to miss him next year! Already!) So he is pretty happy there, but as far as transportation goes he’d prefer otherwise. The city of Nérac is pretty and charming- we went for a long walk through the historic park which had several fountain/monuments, including one dedicated to the lover of King Henry IV, Fleurette (which is where the word flirt came from, thanks for that bit of wisdom David!) The park is lined by the river Garonne (which, on that day, was a bit brown due to several days of rain preceding our walk). David says it’s normally pretty clean-looking, so I suppose I just came on the day Nérac was grève-ing (on strike) and just decided not to charm its visitors for once. If that was the case, the grève was pointless because I enjoyed the city nonetheless, with its beautiful churches and castle (which we didn’t go in due to the small fee we didn’t feel like paying at the time). I am planning on going back to see the castle and probably show Amy around (she was out of town that day).


Still no LiveBox (modem) or home phone yet. I’ve been patiently twiddling my thumbs and checking my casier every day, expecting to see the package there waiting for me....but alas, nothing. I’ve checked on Orange’s website (the company with which I ordered the service) and according to them, everything is installed and working. If I don’t get this package Monday, I’m going to call them and ask what’s up. The only thing that keeps me from calling is how expensive it tends to be when calling from your cell phone- minutes are eaten up like *that* and it’s hard to get quick customer service over the phone...therein lies my problem. If I had my fixed line by now, it’d have been a free phone call....but I wouldn’t need to call if I had my phone in the first place! (augh)



Still working on those grad school applications. There are a few schools I’m looking at that require the GRE, which means if I want to have my application in by the deadline for Fall 2010, I’ll be taking the GRE here in France. The closest test area is Toulouse (about an hour from Aiguillon on the train) so it can be done. I’m a little bothered about having to take the test because I’m not the best test-taker, and I don’t think my test scores reflect the way I learn material. When I’m timed, I’m always under stress, which always seems to affect my performance. But- hopefully, hopefully the grad schools will look at my transcripts from undergrad and high school and see my past work, and my letters of recommendation and such which will balance it all out. In any case, here are the schools I am planning on forwarding my GRE results to:
1) Emerson College- Boston, MA
2) Boston University, MA
3) University of Northern Colorado
4) DePaul University, Chigago IL

There were a few on the bottom of my list in Canada, but a few things are deterring me from applying there (namely, the weather and the whole not-being-a-Canadian-citizen thing). But, I’ve secretly always wanted to own a cozy log cabin somewhere way up north where I can escape when need be, and go skiing and ice fishing when the mood strikes. I don’t think I could live in a wintry place like that year-round, but a once-in-a-while escape sounds quite right.

As far as work goes for the moment, I plan on doing a Thanksgiving lesson with each of my classes this coming week, as the holiday falls this Thursday. The school is going to be serving turkey for dinner, and some of Adeline’s (english prof) students are going to be making posters about Thanksgiving to hang up in the cafeteria to go with the themed dinner. This will be one of those exceptional days where I’ll be eating in the cantine instead of chez moi- they tell me it’s cheaper to eat there but I like cooking for myself, and they don’t always serve food “qui me plait”. So, I’ll be having turkey on Thanksgiving, à la française, and although it won’t be quite like turkey back home with the family, I’ll be with friends and colleagues all the same. And that’s alright with me.