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.
