Starting work and adventures

Monday 19 October 2015

            So I haven’t been keeping a written record (oops!) and I’ve got a lot of time to kill right now so I’ll try to catch up. I’m currently on a Megabus heading north to Paris and I’m on break for Toussaint aka All Saint’s Day, which in France is a two-week break. I’ve been CRAZY busy, which is why I haven’t been keeping up with this blog.

The day after I posted last was my first day working at the school. I was nervous because I had no idea what to expect but I had been told I would be “introducing” myself at some point in English so luckily I had a PowerPoint prepared. I honestly assumed my first day I would just be observing since I had not really been told what I’d be doing and I didn’t have a schedule unlike two of my colleagues, but I was told to introduce myself right away! It went over pretty well and I got a better feel for what language level to expect, although to be honest it varied widely. That day I worked all day, bouncing between teachers until evening when the school had an apéritif (snacks and drinks) in the cafeteria with all the teachers to greet us. It was a nice welcome but I was EXHAUSTED so eventually we all went back up to our apartment.

That weekend we decided to see Bourg-en-Bresse, which is the town I keep mentioning as where I always have layovers to get to Lyon. It’s about an hour away from Oyonnax and there are a ton of assistants there. We tried to meet up with them but it didn’t work out. But it’s pretty and that day there was a huge once-a-year market selling everything from mattresses to pots and pans and clothes and makeup and food and posters. There’s also a really pretty monastery with an interesting roof that I’ll post pictures of someday. I didn’t go inside yet (saving that for when it’s cold outside) but it was a nice sunny day and we sat outside in the garden and I read my book and the others made fun of me and took a picture that someday I will add to this blog when I get real Internet. It was really fun, even considering that I lost my chapstick and was forced to buy some at the train station because the prospect of 2 hours without chapstick was horrifying. And which the other assistants found hilarious.

Monday I worked again haphazardly from teacher to teacher in the same way as Thursday. And Tuesday we had our “formation” (orientation) which I was SO EXCITED about because I would finally figure out what my job was! Although I am in the Lyon school district, I am actually in a different region than Lyon (even though it’s only an hour or so away by car). I live in the Ain département and I believe Lyon is in the Rhône-Alpes or something. I’d look it up but HA no Internet and anyway it doesn’t matter, Google it if you’re curious. So anyway, although there are a bunch of people on the Lyon TAPIF Facebook page, most of them are in a different département and attended a different formation. The only assitants in the Ain are: a few people teaching in cities bordering Lyon but on the Ain side of the divide, a ton of assistants in Bourg-en-Bresse, we the 5 Oyonnaxiens (the other American at the other schools in Oyonnax and Bellignat, me, and my 3 roommates), and one girl in Bellegarde (I think that’s what it’s called – it’s further east and even closer to the Swiss border). We had to get up early to get there because it was in Bourg-en-Bresse and of course the train was running slow because it was broken or something (none of us caught the French exactly) so it was running at reduced speed. But luckily we were on time anyway. My main contact teacher was actually one of the presenters which was fun and he mentioned me and my fabulous presentation PowerPoint in front of everyone. I found out some useful stuff but didn’t learn as much as I thought I would. After the formation we all went out for food and we got to know some of the other assistants in the Ain and wandered around Bourg-en-Bresse a bit more.

I want to pause here and say I’m still on the Megabus in real time passing a château on a hill next to a river and it’s taking my breath away right now. I have no idea where I am right now but it’s sunny and beautiful and there are white cows dotting the landscape and the leaves are starting to turn yellowish green and rusty red and there’s a field of flowers to my right with a tractor running through it. And a tiny, cramped cemetery clinging to a hill.

Anyway, the next day was Wednesday, which was a BIG DAY. French school, for those who don’t know, doesn’t meet on Wednesday afternoons (although sometimes it meets on Saturday mornings and it goes much later than American school – until 6 PM). So now that we assistants had the necessary paperwork, we had an appointment at the bank!! I was SO excited to get a bank account because you have to have a bank account to get an Internet subscription. And also because my American credit card is a pain and only works half the time and I really wanted a Carte Bancaire (CB) that would work in machines and stuff. The good news is I got the account but the bad news is I am still waiting on the card and the Internet. I went from the appointment to SFR immediately to sign up for Internet and we got “the box” two days later on Friday but we’re STILL waiting for it to be turned on. Which is a pain because we’re actually moving November 1^st and we’ll have to let the company know and wait for them to turn it on at the new place anyway. UGH.

On Friday my main contact teacher took me to the Middle School I’ll be teaching at for the first time. He took me there on his motorcycle because he doesn’t have a car, which was fine except that when I got on it the first time I knocked it over and almost killed him. This thing is HUGE; it’s not a Harley or anything but it’s very wide and very heavy. Somehow he managed to keep it from falling and got it upright. After the first time he taught me to mount it more slowly and keeping myself and my center of balance upright and I didn’t have any more problems. But that first time was terrifying! We met the principal, then went to lunch with 2 of the English teachers from the Middle School, and then I went and worked with one of the teachers at the Middle School for the rest of the day. She is insanely nice and even drove me home after bringing me to her house and letting me meet her kids and saying I could eat lunch with her on Fridays there if I want. The benefits of being in a small city like Oyonnax (although technically this was in neighboring Arbent) become more apparent every day. Everyone is extremely nice and welcoming and offers to help me immediately.

Friday night we decided to try to see if there was any nightlife to speak of. Not so much. But we went back to the Zola, the same restaurant we ate at with our teachers on our first night, and there were some people having drinks. We met a bunch of buzzed French dudes there. They flipped out when they heard I was from Cleveland. Apparently everyone in France knows about Lebron. And the birthday boy (it was a gathering for his birthday) had gotten a Tim Curry jersey as a present so they taunted me with that. When they heard I was American two of them decided to do to try out their English on me, which was definitely better than I expected but not so great except for one guy. But it was really fun and they were nice and I think there’s a possibility we’ll meet up with them again. My roommates went to a rugby game with them the following weekend but I had other plans.

On Saturday we assistants decided to go on a hike at some nearby lakes with some teachers. It was called the randonné des trois lacs (hike of the three lakes) and depending on the length you chose they had different starting places. We saw Nantua but drove to a different place to start the hike and walked to Lake Genin (near Oyonnax) and back. I have to say, I enjoyed it but also there were parts when I wondered why I’d come. It was beautiful and everyone was really nice and it reminded me of nature activities down in the valley back home, with volunteers bringing food and everyone chatting. BUT it was long. And hilly. I think it was 15 km and I’m sure you sporty people are laughing right now and thinking that’s nothing but I am soooo lazy and the first part was all uphill (it’s a mountainous region) and I was half delirious by the time we got to a plateau because my asthma was kicking in because of the altitude. But looking back I’m really glad I did it because it really was so beautiful and I made friends with one of the teachers. And because it gave me perspective. I think I’ve neglected to mention this but Oyonnax is known not only for its excellent rugby team but for its resistance movement during WWII. I guess it’s just mountain folk – there will always be resistance in the mountains. In fact, Oyonnax still commemorates a parade of resistance fighters that occurred during the occupation, and President François Hollande came on the anniversary one year (probably the 50^th but I’m not sure). One of the teachers also told me that when she was in school at the school I teach at (Lycée Painlevé), there were still craters in the courtyard from the bombs. So anyway, walking through those mountains all day reminded me of how insanely tough those resistance fighters must have been, hiding in the mountains during the war. I was talking to my teacher friend about it and talking about the fighters in Crete, who were also mountain folk. I felt like we had this weird moment of understanding: women who were too young to have been there but who grew up hearing the legends of their predecessors.

I worked the following week – this time with a schedule! – and it was my first week with my specific classes after my “observation” period that was really more of an introducing myself period. We finally have passwords to use the Internet at the school (not Wi-Fi but I can use the computer in the teacher’s lounge) and I looked for some activities to do. I had a bunch of different stuff planned for different levels and I kind of took the week to gauge the language level of each class. I’d say it was an overall success!

On Friday night one of my teachers was nice enough to invite me out with her and her boyfriend to a local pub. This was where I was during the rugby game, and in fact I caught the end of it on TV in the pub. Rugby is huge in Oyonnax since their team is so good, so everyone watches. I got to meet some local personalities and had a really good time despite the fact that I was the youngest person in there. I think the next youngest was my teacher and she’s about 10 years older than me. The rest were much older. My teacher’s boyfriend is a driving instructor and told me I could use him as a taxi service if I ever need it. The bartender apparently said to my teacher “l’américaine, elle est jolie” (the American girl is pretty) and kissed my hand. Which was embarrassing but funny. I was definitely getting the novel foreigner treatment but I’m used to it and enjoy it at this point.

That’s basically all I can think of for now, but I wanted to add for everyone’s amusement that even in France I can’t escape being called Danielle! My homestay family last year called me Danielle initially and a lot of the teachers keep accidentally calling me Danielle. People claim it’s because my last name starts with Da but I don’t think that’s true whether they believe it or not because I know other Nicoles who get called Danielle and vice versa. It’s such a bizarre phenomenon.

Anyway, sending love back home and hopefully I’ll have Internet after break and will post more often and actually because to communicate regularly and even Skype! That’s the dream, anyway.

First post but many days - I found momentary Wi-Fi!

Saturday 26 September 2015

I promised I’d keep a blog, so here it is! It’s been a whirlwind to say the least, especially my first few days in Paris. First of all, Casey if you’re reading this I love you and you’re the best. My friend from school is going to culinary school in Paris and put me up (and put up with my crazy schedule while going to school). I was so glad to have her there. I can’t express how nice it was to have a friendly face and a home-y place to stay when I got there. I happened to see that another friend of mine (from Lakewood) was in Paris thanks to Facebook and we met up that evening. Shout out to Carter, that was awesome. The next day I met up with Corentin, who stayed with us for a few weeks last summer to improve his English. I met his family for the first time and it was lovely. I’m so happy to have finally met them and will definitely be back to see them next time I’m in Paris. The next day I met up with my homestay family from when I studied abroad, met the new exchange student (also from American University!) and went out with another friend from American and the new exchange student. It was really nice and I got to show them one of my favorite neighborhoods. Unfortunately we missed the last metro home and went on a whirlwind adventure involving maps and night busses and walking over half of Paris. The next morning I met my homestay sister for brunch and got to hear her newly impeccable English! All of that is to say I’m so grateful to have so many friends all over the world. From brunch I went to the train station to take me to Oyonnax.

Did I mention I am EXTREMELY jetlagged through all of this and haven’t really been able to sleep at night and I’m so sleep deprived that everything is kind of a dreamlike blur?

I got on the train and wanted to watch the countryside go by, but I was so exhausted that I was almost immediately asleep. My journey was actually a 2-part journey, so I got off the train at Bourg-en-Bresse (a larger city than mine about an hour away) and waited for my next train only to discover it was a bus! I waited in line to get on the bus and when I finally got to the front, I was told there was no more room and I’d have to wait an hour for the next one. I’m so tired and nervous at this point that I just want to cry, but French Face™ saved me again. I call my blank, nothing face my French Face™ because it’s the face people make in Paris when they’re walking down the street. There are so many things I’ve learned to love about French culture, and one is this sort of policy of polite distance. Not personal space (in fact, Parisian personal space bubbles are a bit smaller than ours), but a policy of not bothering strangers unless necessary. This also means that on the street your face is not open for anyone to begin engaging with. It’s a closed, neutral face that can seem rude to Americans. One of the interesting things about this new stay in France is that I’ll actually be able to start differentiating between French and Parisian culture, which for the moment I am obviously unable to do because I haven’t lived anywhere else in France. Anyway, I tapped into that energy and dejectedly resigned myself to the wait, which actually ended up being fine because I had a chair and Wi-Fi.

On the bus journey I saw a man hitchhiking holding a sign that said “Genève” (Geneva), a reminder of how close we are to Switzerland. I also saw a sign for a restaurant that said “Tacos köfta” which made me laugh for some reason. Probably sleep deprivation. The route showed me the region: beautiful and hilly. It’s a bit rocky with tons of pine trees. I really couldn’t get any pictures and couldn’t upload them anyway. It also reminded me of how confused I am about the French countryside. When an American imagines the countryside, we think of wide dirt roads, trucks, large barns and big houses. In France, the roads are still fairly narrow and the cars are still small. There are apartments in “country” towns. It’s pretty similar to a city but just smaller populations and smaller square areas.

Oyonnax, as I heard before I got there, used to be huge in plastics manufacturing. This is the reason it has a high Turkish and Arabic population. Supposedly the parents/grandparents of the current young people of the town came to Oyonnax for the opportunity to work in plastics. It is also known for a Division 1 rugby team. When I came in on the bus, it was actually larger than I had thought it would be. There were all the stores you would probably need (although some of them are in neighboring Arbent). The problem is that unlike in the city there isn’t a ton of public transportation. We’re lucky enough to have a train/bus station right in town and there are local buses. But it’s less convenient to use and doesn’t come as often as it would in the city. I think I’ll be doing a lot of walking here, which is unfortunate for me because it’s very hilly and things aren’t as close together and I thought. Right now I’m living in the high school which is near the center of the town, but they’re going to be doing work on it so we’re moving in November to the middle school, which is further away from the center of town. I think most people here have cars, but obviously I won’t have one. So it’s not really set up for situations like ours.

My professor met me at the train station and brought me to my new apartment. One language assistant was already there and I basically unpacked and took stock of everything. Later in the evening the other assistants arrived. I’m living with 3 other language assistants. There is an Italian assistant (from Italy), a German assistant (from Germany) and a Spanish assistant (from Spain). So I’m the only one not from Europe! Which so far has been a little annoying as far as using credit cards for instance, because mine don’t work. Yay. The apartment is fine but THERE IS NO WI-FI and I’m dying. In fact, as I’m writing this on a Saturday night, I have no idea when I’ll be able to post this. Occasionally I’m able to check messages on my phone but it’s expensive so I don’t that often. I had bought some for my French pay-as-you-go phone but it doesn’t work and I don’t know why or how to fix it. Ugh.

Luckily, the professors are really nice and took us out to dinner that night. I’m not even sure how long we were there because I was at the point of sleep deprivation that time was an endless vacuum at that point. But I’d guess a few hours. The German assistant and her teacher was late because she got stuck in traffic, but the 3 Italian teachers, my English teacher, his daughter, and the other assistants and I were there the entire time. It was really nice to be welcomed like that because I was tired and nervous and there was no food in the apartment. By the end of the evening I was definitely exhausted and half-asleep but I was also reassured and felt I was already among friends.

At one point I called the one Italian teacher (who is not too much older than us, maybe late 20s) vous, which is both the plural and the formal form of you reserved for strangers and people superior to you and/or older than you, and he said “vous qui?” which means “you who?” thinking that I was referring to multiple people and I realized I should have called him tu, which is the informal form of you between equals, and they all laughed. I am getting used to the idea that although I am not myself a teacher, I am indeed an adult and part of the staff. How strange.

The aforementioned Italian teacher took us shopping the next morning. It took probably half his day because he drove us around and showed us around the city and stopped at his house to briefly use Wi-Fi to top up my phone and then took us to a lake where we got out and walked around. Someday when I have good Wi-Fi I’ll upload pictures from there. I feel a lot more secure now about supplies and I hope that we’ll continue to see that teacher and meet more people. He’s kind of my idol because he’s pretty much who I want to be. He’s from Sicily but has lived in California and speaks perfect English with an American accent as well as perfect French. He lives and works in France. I just think it’s super brave and interesting and I’d love to live a life that is so multicultural and has connections all over the world like that. I have already been shamed for only speaking 2 languages (I’m the only assistant who does because everyone else speaks French, English, and their native language minimum).

Also, I apologize if I accidentally call one of the teachers “professor.” Don’t be confused. In French teachers and professors are both called “professeur.” Everyone I’m talking about are teachers.

My brain is very confused about the whole French thing. Luckily I had those few days in Paris to prepare me. I’ve been speaking mostly French so far and it’s much easier than last time honestly sometimes I’m not even positive what language I’m listening to and I’m not sure what language a conversation was in or whether it switched midway through and I am just ALL mixed up. I’m hoping it will be easier soon and that hopefully I will learn some Italian/Spanish/German while I’m here!

Sunday 27 September 2015

           

Today we went to Lyon! Pretty much everything is closed on Sunday so we decided to go somewhere touristy since we have nothing else we can do and no Internet. It was freezing in the morning and I didn’t check the weather (trying to conserve data on my phone to the point of stupidity) so I wore a sweater and boots with wool socks and brought a heavy coat and scarf. It was cool to warm in Lyon so I just lugged that heavy coat around while sweating. Apparently the sun comes out in Lyon!

To get to Lyon, we had to take the bus from the Oyonnax train station to Bourg-en-Bresse and then a train from there to Lyon. It was really foggy for the whole bus ride and about half the train ride. We met a REALLY nice French lady at the station who was going to see her daughter in Lyon and I chatted with her for a good part of our layover and the whole train ride. She told me my French was really good and I didn’t make a lot of mistakes and said my accent was definitely very American but pretty and I was so happy I could have died right there!

When we got there she and her grandson helped us with the metro, which was actually pretty easy to use. We saw lots of things and I’ll post pictures someday (maybe when I get back to the US hahaha) and it was lovely and I had a nice time with the other assistants. We saw some Roman amphitheaters, a cathedral, a basilica with a lovely view of the city, two public squares, the Saône River, Old Lyon, a weird but cool medieval gift shop, and some guys breakdancing and some kids skateboarding near the Hôtel de Ville. On the way home the Italian assistant managed to get us a direct bus back to Oyonnax which was nice and relaxing. We returned to the cold and I was okay with that because of how I was dressed but I think the others were despairing.

Altogether it wasn’t even that expensive, which was nice. With my youth discount for the train (50€ upfront but soo worth it in the long run) the way there only cost 10€ and the way back (during a rush hour) cost 15€. If you add a 5€ day pass for the public transportation in Lyon plus 5€ for lunch, altogether I had a successful day trip for a total of 35€. That’s obviously not something I can do all the time, but it’s good to know that I can go to the city without spending a huge amount of money.

I’m kind of jealous of the kids who are actually IN Lyon. I like Oyonnax so far and I think I’ll have a really cool experience, but I think this town is designed with car-owners in mind so once we move to the middle school on the edge of town it’s going to be difficult to go out or go shopping or anything. And all the other assistants apparently meet up and do things (according to the Facebook group) like picnics in the park and hikes that would be impossible for us to join because they’re on weekdays. The direct bus is great and only an hour and a half but it only runs 2 times per week. The trip this morning was longer. Depending on your layover, it’s about an hour bus trip to Bourg-en-Bresse and almost another hour on the train, so it’s 2 hours minimum and limited timetables so we couldn’t stay late into the evening. So I’m sure all of this will seem silly later when I’m loving what I’m doing (I can’t wait to meet my students!) but when all I can do is sit and fret it all seems to loom so large. In any case, I’m chomping at the bit to start my life here and I want to get out and meet people as soon as I can. I’ve got so many grand plans for trips around the area and around Europe, meeting up with old friends and hopefully travelling with new ones. So hopefully I don’t sound whiny and spoiled haha because I’m actually really excited and grateful to be here. I’m just trying to keep an accurate record so I can laugh at how silly I’m being later on.

Monday 28 September 2015

            Nothing much to report today. The Italian assistant and I went to be introduced to the professors today. Everyone was nice and we got to ask some questions. I got a card to photocopy stuff and a card for the cafeteria. One of the teachers thinks we might be able to get library cards. I also found out that there actually isn’t Wi-Fi at the high school like I had thought, but if I go another day I can get a log in and use the computer in the teacher’s lounge. So no idea when I’ll post this. Probably not until I get Wi-Fi in the new apartment in October/November or something. I had also planned to get a bus pass and work on opening my bank account, etc., but I realized I still need more paperwork for the bank account and I’m not really sure which bus lines I’ll want, if they’re by month, etc. and I’d have to walk all the way down the hill and back up again to ask. I know there is stuff planned for Thursday, which is my official start day, but I have no idea if we have anything tomorrow or Wednesday. So I may just be sitting around for another 2 days unless I make arrangements to visit the other English language assistant in the next town over or maybe even all the way in Bourg-en-Bresse. On Thursday morning we’re meeting with the secretary for paperwork and Thursday night all the teachers (plus assistants!) are having an apéritif. So things to look forward to! I just want to start and am very excited.

            On a totally random note, I did some shopping at Monoprix today, which is kind of like French Target but a bit nicer, and the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air was playing in the store which made me laugh.

Later the same day: GOOD NEWS! A man came by to get our signatures on the lease and check that everything is going well. Not only did he turn on the heat (thank GOD) and tell us we could take all of the stuff in the apartment to with us to the new one (the old one is actually going to be completely gutted), but he told us it’s easy to get internet here because it’s already wired and it would be easy to take the box with us when we move so we’re going to go to the SFR boutique and ask about how to get internet TODAY! So excited I could die. Also the assistant from the town over is coming tonight to meet everyone and we’re all very excited to have a new friend!

A few minutes later: Still happy but we realized we can’t get internet until we have bank accounts and we can’t open a bank account without the paperwork we are going to get on Thursday. Grr. So it’ll still be like at least a week or so I’d say before we have Internet. Which is crushing my soul a little bit but at least hopefully I won’t have to wait until November. But it’s annoying that I feel like my hands are tied and I can’t accomplish anything until Thursday at least. It’s Monday!

Tuesday 29 September 2015

So first of all, don’t think my updates are going to be this frequent. But before I start work with nothing to do and no Internet I’m writing a lot. Anyway, we met the other American yesterday! It was nice. Apparently she lives all by herself in a dorm but hasn’t seen anyone living there. She teaches at a lot of the same schools as the other assistants (I think I am the only one who doesn’t have a school in common – obviously because we’re both English language assistants) but we’re housed by high school. So even though some of the others have the same high school she does, they also teach in the larger Lycée Paul Painlevé, which is my school as well, so we’re housed through them. She’s been so lonely! We’re going to ask if she can live with us but I doubt they’ll let us. The German assistant’s friend from Lyon was also here last night and it was nice to just all sit together and talk. Both friends stayed the night because we have a futon and the German assistant brought an air mattress so we all had a place to sleep.

The next day (today) we went to get the German assistant a phone at SFR and ask about getting Wi-Fi. We were correct that we need a bank account. I was inspired to try to get my French phone’s Internet to work and I’ve half succeeded because I seem to have received a few days’ worth of messages but I can’t search anything or open any apps or anything. So it’s not really working and I don’t get it but I’ve given up for now.

I tried to go find McDonald’s (apparently the only place in Oyonnax with free Wi-Fi) but went the wrong way and in frustration sat down in a park to use my American phone’s data plan to look up how to get my other phone’s data plan working. Those of you who know me well will know that A) I look very approachable and am therefore a creep magnet and B) I am oblivious to the fact that someone is creepy until it is too late. So of course a middle-aged man started talking to me and it took me about 10 seconds too long to figure it out and then I had to figure out how to extricate myself. For those of you who haven’t read my Paris blog, I learned that making eye contact with/smiling at/talking to people on the street is basically hitting on someone. So when a man walked by and said a polite “bonjour,” particularly because I wasn’t in Paris and was in a park in a small city, I didn’t have my guard up. He started taking me to the McDonald’s but sure enough stopped partway there to propose we get coffee. I managed to beg off and get away back to my apartment but I was so annoyed that I gave up and made myself some tea for my headache that mysteriously appeared after dealing with the creepy dude. I am now sitting in my apartment debating on whether I should nap or read or go on an adventure to find sea salt. I can’t wait to get Wi-Fi and start my job.

Wednesday 30 September 2015

            I found a grocery store with Wi-Fi a few kilometers away from my apartment and am posting from there. It turns out the Wi-Fi doesn't work in the McDonald's. Don’t know when I can post again.