Wednesday night I went to the first jazz concert I've been to since Fine Arts Camp and Jazz Fest. Cecile, Celine and I drove out to a theatre/casino complex near town where the concert was taking place, and ended up an hour early, so we got a chance to check out the casino (I realized, surprisingly, I could totally blow all of my savings if I wanted to, you can gamble at 18 in France. Don't worry Mom and Dad, I didn't feel an insane need to. Celine, on the other hand, could have played all night long if someone gave her the chance. About half an hour before the show, we met friends who came to watch also, and went to the restaurant next to the casino to have drinks and kill some time. As we walked in and headed towards the bar, Cecile turned to me and said "Listen, Meghan, they're speaking English behind us! You'll have to tell us what they're saying." She was right - there was a table of middle-aged men speaking English with American accents right behind our seats at the bar, laughing loudly. I stopped listening after a little while, since I can't listen to English and speak French at the same time. Right after I sat down, however, someone spoke behind me.
"Excuse me, miss, your coat fell."
I turned around to see one of the American men standing a little awkwardly with my fleece coat in his hands, accepted it, and said, "Oh! Thank you!" In English back to him. He gave me a nod and a smile, and then I turned back to my family.
After talking a bit, I found out that the jazz we were going to listen to tonight was actually a really famous player - Monty Alexander! Pretty cool, he's been to Lionel Hampton (jazz festival Sitka bands go to) before (for those of you who've been), played with Frank Sinatra, Ray Brown, Dizzy Gillaspie, Clark Terry, Sonny Rollins, and Natalie Cole.
About 15 minutes before the concert, the group of Americans behind us got up to leave. Before walking out of the restaurant though, the man who picked up my jacket turned to me again. He bent over and said, "Hello, are you going to the concert tonight?"
- This is where suspicious who-are-you-and-why-are-you-talking-to-me-again-Meghan begins to wonder what exactly this guy wants. Why would a 40-year-old man want to know if I'm going to the concert? He can't be that desperate to speak English - he's got friends. While this analysis is running in my head, I decide it really won't hurt if I talk to the guy. It is a jazz concert and I'm with my family, after all.
"Yes, yes, I am." I say back to him.
He smiles at me again, and says "And what is your name?"
"Meghan." He sticks out his hand to shake it (which I've done probably a total of 3 times since I came to France - no one shakes hands here) and says with another smile, "Well, Meghan, I really hope you enjoy the concert tonight!"
"Thanks!" I say back, smiling, and then he walked away.
My family was staring at me.
"Don't ask me - I have no clue!" I said. They laughed, asked me what he said, and I translated it for them. They teased me a little, we finished our drinks (my mango juice was really good), and then headed into the concert. Our seats were in the 20th row in the auditorium (which was super classy, red velvet and all that) so we had a really good view of the stage - pretty close up. The stage hands set up, tweaked cords, etc, and then the drummer of the Monty Alexander trio walked out to put his sticks out.
I laughed when I saw him, suddenly understanding, and turned around to Celine and Cecile.
"That's him!" I said. "That's the guy who picked up my coat and was talking to me earlier!"
He set his sticks down, and then started to survey the crowd. Celine said to me, "Fais coucou! Fais coucou!" (Wave hi! Wave hi!). She picked up my hand and made me wave. He saw me, laughed and waved back.
The rest of the concert was amazing - everyone should definitely check out Monty Alexander if you haven't yet. He's an amazing pianist, and he played great music the whole night. It was a hommage to Bob Marley, and he had a Jamaican trio and his regular trio both on stage - playing at the same time, trading 4s, the music was fantastic. My attempts at explaining it are failing, I think, so go look him up on iTunes. That will work better.
All in all - good night!
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Postcards from Alaska
For a project in my 6th grade English class, I had the kids write postcards to their families while pretending they were in Alaska. They wrote about their stories from Alaska, and drew pictures of whales, boats, fish, etc. They were so cute and funny, I thought I'd post a couple.
"Hi, Yesterday, I went to the sea-side and I saw a whale; it was very big and fantastic. We went on a boat and I wore a lifejacket. I saw salmon and millions of crab. Here the weather is very cold can you send me gloves please?"
The picture was of an igloo in the snow with an American flag flying next to it, and the words "Alaska, USA, Obama, President!" written to the side.
"Dear mother,
I'm here in Alaska. I live in a little house alone in the forest. Everyday I get up and go hunt deer or other animals to eat. One day I saw a bear. He was big and he scared me a bit. Yesterday I bought a raincoat because it rains nearly everyday. Sometimes when I'm sick of going hunting, I go to the lake and try to fish for something. I come back to France next week, see you soon!"
"Hello, it is me!! I am writing a postcard for you. So I am having fun, I have met a bear!!! It was very big and scary so I ran away. I hope I won't meet any more in the forest. Did you know that bears are very big? It is very cold There is snow everywhere. See you all."
"Thanks for the life jacket! Dear Saskia, I'm going to tell you a strange story. I was in a lovely boat to see whales, salmon and halibut. Suddenly, the captain screamed, "Jump! Jump!' I answered, "Are you crazy? There are sharks!" "JUUUUUMMMMP!" And I jumped. My life jacket saved me. I caught a crab who brought me to the beach! I called it "Jack the Crab!" It's a real story! Kiss from Alaska!"
This picture was also great - a girl swimming with her life jacket on, with a large red crab next to her. In the background, there is a large sinking boat labelled "Titanic 2" and people falling off of the boat, crying and screaming. There are several large cloads in the sky with mean faces spitting lightning. I love it.
And, my favorite:
"Hi mum...
I'm sorry to say it to you, but by the time you receive this post card, I might be dead...I fell down from a boat and broke my back. A shark ate my arm (the left one) and half my right leg, which means that even if I survive, I won't walk ever again. Oh no, my hart is stopping now. Good-bye...aaaaaaaargh aie help! aaaaaah...."
And the picture...A boy on a gurney, with one leg and a bloody stump, of course. His arm has also been bitten, but the bone is visible, and he is hooked up to some sort of IV machine with a red bag labelled "blood". His T-shirt has "In Peace" written on it.
Lol...well, I couldn't stop laughing. Gotta love the imagination! I think I'll have them write more postcards, just in case I ever need a pick-me-up. This has definitely been my favorite project so far. :)
"Hi, Yesterday, I went to the sea-side and I saw a whale; it was very big and fantastic. We went on a boat and I wore a lifejacket. I saw salmon and millions of crab. Here the weather is very cold can you send me gloves please?"
The picture was of an igloo in the snow with an American flag flying next to it, and the words "Alaska, USA, Obama, President!" written to the side.
"Dear mother,
I'm here in Alaska. I live in a little house alone in the forest. Everyday I get up and go hunt deer or other animals to eat. One day I saw a bear. He was big and he scared me a bit. Yesterday I bought a raincoat because it rains nearly everyday. Sometimes when I'm sick of going hunting, I go to the lake and try to fish for something. I come back to France next week, see you soon!"
"Hello, it is me!! I am writing a postcard for you. So I am having fun, I have met a bear!!! It was very big and scary so I ran away. I hope I won't meet any more in the forest. Did you know that bears are very big? It is very cold There is snow everywhere. See you all."
"Thanks for the life jacket! Dear Saskia, I'm going to tell you a strange story. I was in a lovely boat to see whales, salmon and halibut. Suddenly, the captain screamed, "Jump! Jump!' I answered, "Are you crazy? There are sharks!" "JUUUUUMMMMP!" And I jumped. My life jacket saved me. I caught a crab who brought me to the beach! I called it "Jack the Crab!" It's a real story! Kiss from Alaska!"
This picture was also great - a girl swimming with her life jacket on, with a large red crab next to her. In the background, there is a large sinking boat labelled "Titanic 2" and people falling off of the boat, crying and screaming. There are several large cloads in the sky with mean faces spitting lightning. I love it.
And, my favorite:
"Hi mum...
I'm sorry to say it to you, but by the time you receive this post card, I might be dead...I fell down from a boat and broke my back. A shark ate my arm (the left one) and half my right leg, which means that even if I survive, I won't walk ever again. Oh no, my hart is stopping now. Good-bye...aaaaaaaargh aie help! aaaaaah...."
And the picture...A boy on a gurney, with one leg and a bloody stump, of course. His arm has also been bitten, but the bone is visible, and he is hooked up to some sort of IV machine with a red bag labelled "blood". His T-shirt has "In Peace" written on it.
Lol...well, I couldn't stop laughing. Gotta love the imagination! I think I'll have them write more postcards, just in case I ever need a pick-me-up. This has definitely been my favorite project so far. :)
Hey guys, here are the promised pumpkin pictures! Sorry it took me so long - totally spaced it. We couldn't actually find any pumpkins to carve, so we went with the biggest squash/pumpkin-looking things we could find.
This month I'm planning to do some Thanksgiving-related things, and maybe we can do a dinner at home. I may be gone over Thanksgiving, however, as I will be travelling to Andorra (a small country between Spain and France) and possibly London!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Well, I'm on vacation, folks!
I mean, I'm always on vacation, since I'm not really a full-time anything, but school's out for Le Caousou for 10 days! Whoohoo!
It has been very relaxing, actually. I sleep until 8:00 or later, I actually have a chance to read, mail my post cards, go to the movies, etc. I've been reading in English and French (or at least trying), which works out pretty well. Camille and I are reading the same series (it's originally English, translated into French) so I read in French and ask her questions, and she reads in English and asks me questions. It's easier than having to look up every other word in the dictionary. I've also been watching more movies in French, and I made it through my first French film, no subtitles, (French or English) and totally understood what was going on! Score for Meghan! There is hope for me yet. It was a really cute story called "Faubourg 36" - I recommend it if it makes it to the states. It's about a 30s era theatre in Paris.
On Monday I went with some family friends to south central France, to a town named Millau. We stopped on the way there to go to an insect museum called "Micropolis," which was wonderful, I absolutely LOVE museums! And then we went to the main attraction - le Viaduc de Millau, the highest bridge in the world. It was designed by a British architect and mad by a French engineer, and its highest point is 343 metres (1,125 ft) and 2,460 metres long (1.5 miles). I'll try to attach some pictures, but I'm not sure if they turned out very well.
This Saturday, we're having a family halloween get-together. Halloween isn't very big in France, and that's putting it lightly. No one really knows when it is, and no one carves pumpkins. If kids try to dress-up and trick-or-treat, they are usually shouted at (plus some profanity about not being in "beep"-ing America) and the door is slammed in their face.
So. Things have definitely got to change here. I asked my family if we could carve pumpkins, and the official jour de decouper les citrouilles (pumpking carving day) is Saturday. We're also going to have pumpking soup, pumpkin tart, and pumpkin something-else. I'm very exctited! I decided trick-or-treating may not be the best idea. One, because we live in the country and do not have very many neighbors, and two, because there is only so much one girl can change at one time. After all, I would hate to be cause of a world-wide candy shortage because all of a sudden the French are eating the most candy in the world on Halloween. Catastrophic, it would be, as yoda says.
I'll post our pumpkin pics as soon as they're carved!
Ciao!
Meghan.
I mean, I'm always on vacation, since I'm not really a full-time anything, but school's out for Le Caousou for 10 days! Whoohoo!
It has been very relaxing, actually. I sleep until 8:00 or later, I actually have a chance to read, mail my post cards, go to the movies, etc. I've been reading in English and French (or at least trying), which works out pretty well. Camille and I are reading the same series (it's originally English, translated into French) so I read in French and ask her questions, and she reads in English and asks me questions. It's easier than having to look up every other word in the dictionary. I've also been watching more movies in French, and I made it through my first French film, no subtitles, (French or English) and totally understood what was going on! Score for Meghan! There is hope for me yet. It was a really cute story called "Faubourg 36" - I recommend it if it makes it to the states. It's about a 30s era theatre in Paris.
On Monday I went with some family friends to south central France, to a town named Millau. We stopped on the way there to go to an insect museum called "Micropolis," which was wonderful, I absolutely LOVE museums! And then we went to the main attraction - le Viaduc de Millau, the highest bridge in the world. It was designed by a British architect and mad by a French engineer, and its highest point is 343 metres (1,125 ft) and 2,460 metres long (1.5 miles). I'll try to attach some pictures, but I'm not sure if they turned out very well.
This Saturday, we're having a family halloween get-together. Halloween isn't very big in France, and that's putting it lightly. No one really knows when it is, and no one carves pumpkins. If kids try to dress-up and trick-or-treat, they are usually shouted at (plus some profanity about not being in "beep"-ing America) and the door is slammed in their face.
So. Things have definitely got to change here. I asked my family if we could carve pumpkins, and the official jour de decouper les citrouilles (pumpking carving day) is Saturday. We're also going to have pumpking soup, pumpkin tart, and pumpkin something-else. I'm very exctited! I decided trick-or-treating may not be the best idea. One, because we live in the country and do not have very many neighbors, and two, because there is only so much one girl can change at one time. After all, I would hate to be cause of a world-wide candy shortage because all of a sudden the French are eating the most candy in the world on Halloween. Catastrophic, it would be, as yoda says.
I'll post our pumpkin pics as soon as they're carved!
Ciao!
Meghan.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Picture-perfect weekend.
It's sunday night and I thought I'd share some of my lazy weekend with you. Nothing too exciting, but definitely relaxing. Friday night was spent playing a trivia game with the family and friends...it was like a toned-down version of Trivial Pursuit, but in French. Fun! Saturday I spent trying to fix my computer internet connection, and finally Thierry was able to help that night to get it working again - all it took was to turn off my computer and re-start it. Brilliant. Saturday during the day I got Camille to take me out and we went bike-riding to a lake near Montpitol, stopping on the way to see her old elementary school and eat fresh figs right off of the tree. Fresh fruit is amazing, and I'd never had figs before. Then we walked to the lake, where there were several people kite-surfing. Sunday was also laid-back, did some homework and class prep in the morning, helped make a "tarte aux pommes," like an apple pie (by the way Dad, the Jarlauds were impressed when I told them about your apple-pie making skills), then watched a Woody Allen film in the theatre - "Vicky Christina Barcelona," in VO (Version Originale - so it was in English with French subtitles...first time I'd heard the actors actual voices, not dubbed over French voices, which are very entertaining, because they're usually higher than the actor's voice). And now it's off to bed before school tomorrow. Enjoy the pics from this weekend!
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Another week of teaching down...and it gets easier all the time. I begin to notice differences in education systems, and one of the biggest (for me, at least), is having time to ask teachers questions. At Sitka High it was always easy for me to go in during the school day (lunch, lab, or office hours) and say "hey, so, calculus basically hates me, and I have no clue what to do" or "Physics...so, what exactly is gravity?" That time with the teacher, doing homework, trying to figure out how the world works and why preceding direct objects have to agree with past participles in French, was basically what kept my afloat in high school.
And I mean really - you don't realize how much the teachers at Sitka High were there for you until you enter a whole new way of learning. So thanks, Sitka High!
At Le Caousou, it is (of course) different. There is no lab. No office hours. You go to school when your classes start, and you leave when the day is done. Wednesday is activity day - badminton, tennis, swimming etc. But if you don't get it, well - "tempis." Too bad. Pay attention in class next time, pal.
It's hard to tell if this is a setback for a lot of students. Also, because it is a private school, there isn't a lot of variation in the social class, and the teachers always comment (in relieved voices) that there are no discipline problems.
Life goes on though - the students are quick and this IS the their learning style. It's how school is. They laugh and joke around just as much as Sitka High kids do. In fact, teaching class sometimes feels like student council all over again "Quiet! Quiet please! HEY! I SAID QUIET!"
And then I threaten to take away the Pictionary opportunity next week...silence ensues. Mwahahaha.
And I mean really - you don't realize how much the teachers at Sitka High were there for you until you enter a whole new way of learning. So thanks, Sitka High!
At Le Caousou, it is (of course) different. There is no lab. No office hours. You go to school when your classes start, and you leave when the day is done. Wednesday is activity day - badminton, tennis, swimming etc. But if you don't get it, well - "tempis." Too bad. Pay attention in class next time, pal.
It's hard to tell if this is a setback for a lot of students. Also, because it is a private school, there isn't a lot of variation in the social class, and the teachers always comment (in relieved voices) that there are no discipline problems.
Life goes on though - the students are quick and this IS the their learning style. It's how school is. They laugh and joke around just as much as Sitka High kids do. In fact, teaching class sometimes feels like student council all over again "Quiet! Quiet please! HEY! I SAID QUIET!"
And then I threaten to take away the Pictionary opportunity next week...silence ensues. Mwahahaha.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Denali Moment.
After working in the tourist industry all summer long, I was chalk-full of hilarious and utterly ignorant tourist questions (one of the most popular being "what is the elevation here?"). One story a river guide told us while we were rafting the Tatshenshini this summer, was about a group of guided tourists also floating down the river, who kept asking their guide "when is the Denali moment? When is the Denali moment?!"
They expected their trip to be exactly like all the beautiful pictures they'd seen - but of course, you can never count on Alaska, can you? Gorgeous and sunny one moment, hailing the next.
I came to France hoping that at some point I would experience the French version of "the Denali moment," but after living in AK, you learn to just take it as it comes.
I got it this morning.
I don't have classes until 4:30 this afternoon, so I got to sleep in (although I can't sleep any later than 8:30) so at 9:00 I had on my running shoes and was headed down the road in front of my house. With a lime-green-neon windbreaker on because 1)it is a windstopper (Cecile told me) and 2) French drivers are crazy. She was definitely right about the crazy part. I jumped a couple times when the cars zoomed past me at 120-130 km/hr (75-80 mph).
The sun was just rising, the sky was blue, and I ran to a pink brick church in Montpitol, past several large green fields. All right - some of them were brown fields, because it's not sunflower season anymore, but I still thought it was gorgeous. So without writing anymore boring details, I'll just say I stopped running, and appreciated what I was running in. And thought "dannit (word attributed to Julia Bovee, who cannot say "dangit" so it comes out as dannit instead) I should have brought the camera." Then I realized that sometimes, my memory is just good enough. I'll run again, and take a picture, but the first time (sorry guys) is all mine.
And then there are the other AK moments -
Like the one where I sent the whole house (included some very good friends) into uproarious laughter after revealing my extremely white legs. Perfect. Last night Camille assured me that they will bring me to the beach this summer.
It sounded more like a science project than anything else.
Oh well. I guess I can live with that. : )
They expected their trip to be exactly like all the beautiful pictures they'd seen - but of course, you can never count on Alaska, can you? Gorgeous and sunny one moment, hailing the next.
I came to France hoping that at some point I would experience the French version of "the Denali moment," but after living in AK, you learn to just take it as it comes.
I got it this morning.
I don't have classes until 4:30 this afternoon, so I got to sleep in (although I can't sleep any later than 8:30) so at 9:00 I had on my running shoes and was headed down the road in front of my house. With a lime-green-neon windbreaker on because 1)it is a windstopper (Cecile told me) and 2) French drivers are crazy. She was definitely right about the crazy part. I jumped a couple times when the cars zoomed past me at 120-130 km/hr (75-80 mph).
The sun was just rising, the sky was blue, and I ran to a pink brick church in Montpitol, past several large green fields. All right - some of them were brown fields, because it's not sunflower season anymore, but I still thought it was gorgeous. So without writing anymore boring details, I'll just say I stopped running, and appreciated what I was running in. And thought "dannit (word attributed to Julia Bovee, who cannot say "dangit" so it comes out as dannit instead) I should have brought the camera." Then I realized that sometimes, my memory is just good enough. I'll run again, and take a picture, but the first time (sorry guys) is all mine.
And then there are the other AK moments -
Like the one where I sent the whole house (included some very good friends) into uproarious laughter after revealing my extremely white legs. Perfect. Last night Camille assured me that they will bring me to the beach this summer.
It sounded more like a science project than anything else.
Oh well. I guess I can live with that. : )
Sunday, October 5, 2008
hello, class.
I have survived my first week of teaching!
Survived might be a bit of a strong word...since it was most definitely not a life or death situation. The students are great - very smart, happy to reply, and impress me with their English. What I did not expect, however, was how quickly I was put into their classrooms!
I did not know what to expect about working at Le Caousou...I knew I would be with English classes and teachers, and I was willing to do anything. What I did guess would happen though, is the standard American definition of "teacher's assistant" -- I would be in the classroom, with the prof, walking around, helping students, presenting about Alaska every now and then, doing pronunciation excercises, etc.
When I arrived at Le Caousou last Tuesday for my first class (7th graders), I found the room I was supposed to be in, introduced myself to the class, and then turned to the prof, to see what she would like me to do. "Well, you're free to do whatever you want - the room next door is open, and you can take half the class for half an hour. We'll rotate for 2 hours, so you'll actually have 4 classes. Ok?"
2 minustes later and the scene is set: 20 7th graders, my own class room, and no lesson plan! AH! So, I employed some old SHS skills: I improved. Luckily, I had some ideas with me I had been thinking about all week, and I had brought photos. Tuesday was "informal Alaska day" and I answered questions about Alaska for two hours. Half an hour for each class, in fact, turned out to be not very much time. Here are some choice quotes:
"How cold is Alaska? Do you have igloos?" (Meghan tries to convert Fahrenheit and Celsius in her head...).
"Do you see penguins?!" (Explains that penguins, in fact, like to stick to the bottom of the earth).
(After learning that polar bears only live in Barrow) "How many times have you been to Barrow?!" (My disapointing response..."I have never been to Barrow, but when I do I will send you a picture of a polar bear!").
"Do you have a dog? What is it's name?" (Oh no...how do you explain what a Barnacle is to French 7th graders who have never even seen one? The closest I got was "escargot").
"Woah! That's a big fish! Did YOU catch that?" (Victory! I am now cool because I have gone halibut fishing).
I'm sure there will be more.
The rest of the week went a little more smoothly...I came with lesson plans, and am starting to see how each prof's teaching style is different. Most of the time I do have my own classroom and give my own lessons! I even assigned homework (I am so horrible...). I do try to keep things fun though, and have a bunch of good games to play (while speaking English of course).
I have to go eat an apple now. And make some more lesson plans. : )
Ciao!
Meghan
Survived might be a bit of a strong word...since it was most definitely not a life or death situation. The students are great - very smart, happy to reply, and impress me with their English. What I did not expect, however, was how quickly I was put into their classrooms!
I did not know what to expect about working at Le Caousou...I knew I would be with English classes and teachers, and I was willing to do anything. What I did guess would happen though, is the standard American definition of "teacher's assistant" -- I would be in the classroom, with the prof, walking around, helping students, presenting about Alaska every now and then, doing pronunciation excercises, etc.
When I arrived at Le Caousou last Tuesday for my first class (7th graders), I found the room I was supposed to be in, introduced myself to the class, and then turned to the prof, to see what she would like me to do. "Well, you're free to do whatever you want - the room next door is open, and you can take half the class for half an hour. We'll rotate for 2 hours, so you'll actually have 4 classes. Ok?"
2 minustes later and the scene is set: 20 7th graders, my own class room, and no lesson plan! AH! So, I employed some old SHS skills: I improved. Luckily, I had some ideas with me I had been thinking about all week, and I had brought photos. Tuesday was "informal Alaska day" and I answered questions about Alaska for two hours. Half an hour for each class, in fact, turned out to be not very much time. Here are some choice quotes:
"How cold is Alaska? Do you have igloos?" (Meghan tries to convert Fahrenheit and Celsius in her head...).
"Do you see penguins?!" (Explains that penguins, in fact, like to stick to the bottom of the earth).
(After learning that polar bears only live in Barrow) "How many times have you been to Barrow?!" (My disapointing response..."I have never been to Barrow, but when I do I will send you a picture of a polar bear!").
"Do you have a dog? What is it's name?" (Oh no...how do you explain what a Barnacle is to French 7th graders who have never even seen one? The closest I got was "escargot").
"Woah! That's a big fish! Did YOU catch that?" (Victory! I am now cool because I have gone halibut fishing).
I'm sure there will be more.
The rest of the week went a little more smoothly...I came with lesson plans, and am starting to see how each prof's teaching style is different. Most of the time I do have my own classroom and give my own lessons! I even assigned homework (I am so horrible...). I do try to keep things fun though, and have a bunch of good games to play (while speaking English of course).
I have to go eat an apple now. And make some more lesson plans. : )
Ciao!
Meghan
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Getting to know you...
I've been in Toulouse for a week now. I'm starting to see what Toulousians (I think I've made up that word - "Toulousians"...oh well) do, how they greet each other, what they do on the weekend, how they get around, and what life is like here!
Thursday and Friday I was with Cecile, running errands and seeing the town. We went shopping downtown - very different than the Sitka-style shopping I'm used to. We walked by Dolce and Gabanna, Yves Saint Laurent, and other french designer names I hadn't even heard of. They do have malls, too...the most prominent called "Lafayette" which is probably the equivalent of a Nordstrom's is the US. That's just clothes though.
As far as I can tell, grocery shopping isn't quite the same either. I haven't gone grocery shopping yet - but I know they don't get all their food in one place like we do. Bread is bought at a Boulangerie Patisserie, not the regular grocery store.
For fun, we play beach volleyball on the weekends, or last night, we went roller skating from 9:30 to 11:30.
It's called Rollers a la Rose (or something like that)...after Toulouse's "Ville Rose" nickname. At 9:30 everyone who wants to rollerskate congregates at Le Capitole (town square) and we skate around the city for about 2 hours...skating for 20 minutes, then stopping to wait cross the road, then skating. Their were several hundred people there, little with helmets, elbow pads, knee pads, and pads to protect your hands, to the "pros" - who skate backwards, sideways, jumping, in yoga positions, or in a ball.
Celine took 5 years of iceskating, and is a dancer. Camille, is good at anything, and loves to go fast. Thierry and Cecile have been doing it for a while.
I, of course, had never done it before.
And I don't think 3 or 4 days of skating on swan lake amount to much. However, they did help...I was a little wobbly at first. But it really is not that hard, and I got the hang of it after a while. Most of the time Camille grabbed my hand and pulled me alongside her so that I wouldn't be the snail at the end of the line, but I held my own, and I didn't fall down, hallelujah! Before we started, Thierry said "Now is the time to put your hands together and pray." I guess it worked, and I'm excited to go next Friday night. Maybe I won't need the elbow pads, kneepads, and hand protection again...
I'm going to try and post the pictures I've been promising. Hopefully I'm as lucky with them as I was with skating...
Ciao,
Meg
Cheese, please.
One thing I haven't mentioned yet, is how we all get through our day over on this side of the world....
I'm talking about food. Of course. Breakfast usually consists of a hot drink (coffee or hot chocolate), cereal if you want (usually also with chocolate in it), bread with butter and jam, and milk or orange juice. You pick and choose what combination you want. Lunch is a larger meal - more like dinner. I've had everything from chicken to pasta, to couscous and veggies. Dinner is smaller (most of the time) and served later...usually 7 or 8. Most of the time there are a 2 courses. The main dish (an omelet, veggie puree, chicken), and then the cheese...
Oh, the cheese. You really don't realize how insanely PLASTIC American cheese is until you come to the place where cheese was invented. All right, I don't know who invented cheese, but the French certainly do have the highest appreciation for it, I think. And it is strong. I liked strong cheeses back in the states too...but this is a totally different beast. Usually you tear off your hunk of bread, choose a cheese, slice off a slab (I take slivers, since I'm so "inexperienced"), and there it is. Camembert, fromage a chevre (goat cheese - the one I have the most trouble with), Parmesan...it's all there. My favorite so far is a piece of parmesan, and then you eat it with cherry jam. Bizarre, I know, but I love it! Foie gras is also a new experience. I try not to think about what it's made of...and just eat it. I've only been able to eat a little, it's one of those acquired tastes, I think. The acquired taste that ALL of France has!
I'm talking about food. Of course. Breakfast usually consists of a hot drink (coffee or hot chocolate), cereal if you want (usually also with chocolate in it), bread with butter and jam, and milk or orange juice. You pick and choose what combination you want. Lunch is a larger meal - more like dinner. I've had everything from chicken to pasta, to couscous and veggies. Dinner is smaller (most of the time) and served later...usually 7 or 8. Most of the time there are a 2 courses. The main dish (an omelet, veggie puree, chicken), and then the cheese...
Oh, the cheese. You really don't realize how insanely PLASTIC American cheese is until you come to the place where cheese was invented. All right, I don't know who invented cheese, but the French certainly do have the highest appreciation for it, I think. And it is strong. I liked strong cheeses back in the states too...but this is a totally different beast. Usually you tear off your hunk of bread, choose a cheese, slice off a slab (I take slivers, since I'm so "inexperienced"), and there it is. Camembert, fromage a chevre (goat cheese - the one I have the most trouble with), Parmesan...it's all there. My favorite so far is a piece of parmesan, and then you eat it with cherry jam. Bizarre, I know, but I love it! Foie gras is also a new experience. I try not to think about what it's made of...and just eat it. I've only been able to eat a little, it's one of those acquired tastes, I think. The acquired taste that ALL of France has!
Monday, September 22, 2008
Le Caousou
Today was my first day at the school where I will be teaching. Le Caousou (prounounced ¨luh cow-zoo" - don't laugh at my wonderful phonetic spelling) was originally a large hospitol during World War II. The students range in age from 3 or 4 - elementary school, which is in another building down the street from the building I work in, to the equivqlent of a high school senior in my building. Camille, my older sister is a senior, or in french "terminale." Celine is the equivalent of an 8th grader, or in french "cinquieme" (which means 5th grade).
The building itself has an old kind of beauty - creaky floors, a brick exterior, but it seems to support many people fairly well. As far as I can tell, there are around 150 to 200 students in each grade, but it's difficult to say. I will love working here, although it is completely different than any other school I have visited. increase the number of people by 3 or 4 times, add a bit of a confusing floor plan ( although I'm always lost, even in Sitka), add another language that you haven't completely grasped and (pardon the pun) - voila! My first day at Le Caousou...I will get it soon though - Agnes showed me around today, all of the other teachers are extremely nice, and my schedule isn't too booked up. I work 7 hours a week in classes of differing ages, and I will be taking 2 university classes in the mornings Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thurs. The students are extremely nice and (I think) excited to learn more English. Or probably just hear the crazy Alaskan speak French! Many of them remember JR, and smile in recognition of his name, and declare that he was "trop sympa!" (so nice!). I have quite a name to live up to, but I'm very glad there was someone as nice as him last year also.
I better go start to look for my family. Most likely I will not find Celine's room on the first try...hooray for a non-existant internal compass!
Ciao!
The building itself has an old kind of beauty - creaky floors, a brick exterior, but it seems to support many people fairly well. As far as I can tell, there are around 150 to 200 students in each grade, but it's difficult to say. I will love working here, although it is completely different than any other school I have visited. increase the number of people by 3 or 4 times, add a bit of a confusing floor plan ( although I'm always lost, even in Sitka), add another language that you haven't completely grasped and (pardon the pun) - voila! My first day at Le Caousou...I will get it soon though - Agnes showed me around today, all of the other teachers are extremely nice, and my schedule isn't too booked up. I work 7 hours a week in classes of differing ages, and I will be taking 2 university classes in the mornings Mon, Tues, Wed, and Thurs. The students are extremely nice and (I think) excited to learn more English. Or probably just hear the crazy Alaskan speak French! Many of them remember JR, and smile in recognition of his name, and declare that he was "trop sympa!" (so nice!). I have quite a name to live up to, but I'm very glad there was someone as nice as him last year also.
I better go start to look for my family. Most likely I will not find Celine's room on the first try...hooray for a non-existant internal compass!
Ciao!
Saturday, September 20, 2008
"Thank you for flying with us today, and we hope the rest of your travels go smoothly."
I made it.
I am now officially in France!
I'm not really sure how long I have spent in those large containers of recycled air we like to call planes - but I'm home with the Jarlaud family and it's around 7 P.M. I believe.
The Sitka-Seattle flight was fairly normal...always see people you know. Like my dad - we flew to Juneau together, and Jackie and Jo DiGennaro were on the Seattle leg too. I was lucky enough to be stuck next to a very opinionated and grumpy elderly couple, who kept yelling at the waitress “I. Want. A. Doughnut! No, a doughnut! What, you don’t have doughnuts? A muffin then. Fine, we’ll take the goddamn snackpack… no ice in that orange juice!”
They were extremely sociable people, as you can see.
When I got into Seattle, the usual stuff ensued. Check-in, security, wait to board. My cross-atlantic flight was 10 hours long, and a bit cramped. The service was really good – I like flying Lufthansa, but I had a faulty tv screen in front of me, so I was only able to watch one in-flight movie. After that, I read, tried to stretch (with little success), and read some more. Every now and then I tried to sleep, and I think I got an hour or two in. The man sitting next to me was really nice – and turned out to be a fish biologist from Germany visiting a friend who works at the NOAA lab in Juneau. (Keith and JoJo, maybe you know her – she had a very German sounding name and was part of and education program, I think? I know she worked at Aukebay). We had a good time talking fish for a while after that, and then we landed in Frankfurt and I rediscovered my legs.
Frankfurt Airport is, essentially, a large shopping mall with airplanes parked outside the perimeter. And throw in some more security and passport checks. Looking for a Hermes scarf? LaCoste? Yves Saint Laurent? Go to Frankfurt. I spent the next 3 hours in a nice waiting lounge in front of my boarding gate, with a coffee shop right behind me playing Alicia Keys the whole time.
I read more.
Then I got on my last flight, to Toulouse - which thankfully, was only 1 hr. and 20 min long. I slept, then we touched down in Toulouse, and you wouldn't believe what I saw there
Blue sky. I know, right? And I had to take my fleece coat off too! The Jarlauds were waiting there for me - Thierry (dad), Cecile (mom), Camille (my age), and Celine (a little younger than Maggie). It was a happy reunion, and then miracle of miracles - BOTH of my bags made it - and in-tact too!
I spent the rest of the day (got home around 3:00 France time) relaxing in the house, unpacking, and eating French food...YUM. Keith, you will be proud, I refrained from seconds, but I tried one of everything. Foie gras is a taste that will take some getting used to...but the mousse au chocolat didn't need any getting used to at all.
Now I have some sleep to catch up on, and I don't think I'll have any trouble doing that.
Gros Bisous! (Fat kisses).
I am now officially in France!
I'm not really sure how long I have spent in those large containers of recycled air we like to call planes - but I'm home with the Jarlaud family and it's around 7 P.M. I believe.
The Sitka-Seattle flight was fairly normal...always see people you know. Like my dad - we flew to Juneau together, and Jackie and Jo DiGennaro were on the Seattle leg too. I was lucky enough to be stuck next to a very opinionated and grumpy elderly couple, who kept yelling at the waitress “I. Want. A. Doughnut! No, a doughnut! What, you don’t have doughnuts? A muffin then. Fine, we’ll take the goddamn snackpack… no ice in that orange juice!”
They were extremely sociable people, as you can see.
When I got into Seattle, the usual stuff ensued. Check-in, security, wait to board. My cross-atlantic flight was 10 hours long, and a bit cramped. The service was really good – I like flying Lufthansa, but I had a faulty tv screen in front of me, so I was only able to watch one in-flight movie. After that, I read, tried to stretch (with little success), and read some more. Every now and then I tried to sleep, and I think I got an hour or two in. The man sitting next to me was really nice – and turned out to be a fish biologist from Germany visiting a friend who works at the NOAA lab in Juneau. (Keith and JoJo, maybe you know her – she had a very German sounding name and was part of and education program, I think? I know she worked at Aukebay). We had a good time talking fish for a while after that, and then we landed in Frankfurt and I rediscovered my legs.
Frankfurt Airport is, essentially, a large shopping mall with airplanes parked outside the perimeter. And throw in some more security and passport checks. Looking for a Hermes scarf? LaCoste? Yves Saint Laurent? Go to Frankfurt. I spent the next 3 hours in a nice waiting lounge in front of my boarding gate, with a coffee shop right behind me playing Alicia Keys the whole time.
I read more.
Then I got on my last flight, to Toulouse - which thankfully, was only 1 hr. and 20 min long. I slept, then we touched down in Toulouse, and you wouldn't believe what I saw there
Blue sky. I know, right? And I had to take my fleece coat off too! The Jarlauds were waiting there for me - Thierry (dad), Cecile (mom), Camille (my age), and Celine (a little younger than Maggie). It was a happy reunion, and then miracle of miracles - BOTH of my bags made it - and in-tact too!
I spent the rest of the day (got home around 3:00 France time) relaxing in the house, unpacking, and eating French food...YUM. Keith, you will be proud, I refrained from seconds, but I tried one of everything. Foie gras is a taste that will take some getting used to...but the mousse au chocolat didn't need any getting used to at all.
Now I have some sleep to catch up on, and I don't think I'll have any trouble doing that.
Gros Bisous! (Fat kisses).
Thursday, September 18, 2008
24 hours to blast-off
Hi guys!
After some research, I decided to set up a blog and also post notes on facebook. So. Here is the beginning of the promised blog - let's hope I keep up with it! I'd love to hear back from you, so feel free to comment on any of my posts.
I leave for Toulouse tomorrow morning on the early flight out of Sitka. I will fly Sitka to Seattle, Seattle to Frankfurt on Lufthansa Airlines and Frankfurt to Toulouse. I've heard Lufthansa is a great airline, and my trip is pretty straight-forward. I'm hoping for a good ride.
Packing is almost finished. Surprisingly, it was easier than I imagined. My strategy was: "Take the clothes you wear. Put them in the bag. Don't forget toothpaste."
I'd reccomend it.
My luggage consists of a faithful L.L.Bean duffel bag (did I spell duffel right?), and a large hiking backpack. Hopefully they will get there in good condition.
I'll sign off now, and I look forward to writing more in the future.
Ciao!
After some research, I decided to set up a blog and also post notes on facebook. So. Here is the beginning of the promised blog - let's hope I keep up with it! I'd love to hear back from you, so feel free to comment on any of my posts.
I leave for Toulouse tomorrow morning on the early flight out of Sitka. I will fly Sitka to Seattle, Seattle to Frankfurt on Lufthansa Airlines and Frankfurt to Toulouse. I've heard Lufthansa is a great airline, and my trip is pretty straight-forward. I'm hoping for a good ride.
Packing is almost finished. Surprisingly, it was easier than I imagined. My strategy was: "Take the clothes you wear. Put them in the bag. Don't forget toothpaste."
I'd reccomend it.
My luggage consists of a faithful L.L.Bean duffel bag (did I spell duffel right?), and a large hiking backpack. Hopefully they will get there in good condition.
I'll sign off now, and I look forward to writing more in the future.
Ciao!
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