Overdue

I've been meaning to post for at least a week now, though I struggled to find something interesting enough to merit a few paragraphs. I started exploring the coutryside, and saw a family of muscrats paddling around after a storm. The weather's been rainy, mild, and cold in the that order. We've finally had a few frosts that remind me that it's winter and not a bizarre combination of autumn and spring.

Honestly, for awhile I didn't have much more to write about other than the weather. My fortune has changed in the last few days, however and I have a few new sources of excitement. I now have a roommate for half of every week. She's from Columbia and does the exact same work I do, except with Spanish students. She spends the rest of her week in a nearby and livelier city. I think I can get along with almost any assigned roommate, but I already feel lucky to have Kelly as my chance companion. When I met her, it wasn't five minutes before she invited me to stay with her this weekend and attend an international comic/graphic novel festival.

So, I spent the weekend in Angouleme, looking at expositions and visiting with other language assistants. It was a welcome break from the tranquilty and solitude of my own apartment. Not only was I able to meet and converse with lots of different people from all over the world, but I was able to do it in French (since that is the only common language for all the assistants). By the end of the weekend I was thinking almost exclusively in French. I was happy to get back to my own bed, and off the floor last night, but it was great to spend a weekend socializing and digging into a new aspect of French culture.

In other news, I have found supplemental employment in a small restauraunt waitressing for a retired British couple. I'm happy to have the experience, a little pocket money, and the acquaintance of a halarious set of people. I was deemed the "colonial" when I introduced myself and listened as politetly as possible to complaints about pensions in England. My new employers were fun to sit and talk with, hopefully they'll be that nice when they boss me around.

All in all, my life seems to have taken a turn down a more interesting road, and I'm happy to have people to talk to and things to do beyond my apartment and this small village.

I am Legend, or Not

I made my first trip to a French movie theatre yesterday to see Je suis une légende, a French dubbed version of the new Will Smith movie. It was a good transition into French media, because there wasn't much dialogue. There were however, a lot of zombie-like creatures, and I was not expecting this to be a scary movie. I spent a portion of the movie crouched in my chair peeking through my sweater.

Despite my anxiety during the film, I did find myself identifying with the main character. He lives a solitary life with no one to talk to but his dog. I live a solitary life with no one to talk to in English. He likes Bob Marley. I like Bob Marley. He's trying to save the world from a deadly/zombifying virus from which he happens to have immuniy. And, I guess that's where our similarities end. None the less, I felt a connection.

I'm noticing a trend from my limited human to human intereaction. I've begun relating to the media in my life much more. The last few nights I've had dreams inspired by The Simpson's (it was a cartoon dream, I kid you not) and the so-bad-it's-good dance movie, Center Stage. I just started reading Jane Austin's Mansfield Park, and I can already relate to the heroine's shyness and feelings of displacement.

I also felt a bond with Greg Mortenson, a hero of a man who builds schools in Pakistan. I finally finished the book about his work, Three Cups of Tea, and felt both inspired and consoled. He spends months out of every year doing amazing work on the other side of the world, away from his American family and friends. I'm not building schools, or saving the human race. And let's be honest, I am not Legend, but I guess if all these real and fake heros and heroines can make it, I shouldn't have any problem comforting myself in French movie theatres.

Welcome (Back) to France

Traveling all day is inevitably taxing, but changing time zone takes the disorientation to a new level. I left the States yesterday, and while France is buzzing along at it's usual midday pace, my body's clock is aligned with the midwest. And it's very early there.

My intercontinental travels have lead me to sleeping pills which help aid the transitions and minimise my jet lag. For this trip, I don't think they helped do anything but further disorient me. I squirmed in my seat for what felt like hours until I finally pqssed out like a light. When I did wake up, I had only twenty minutes to prepare for landing (which meant rapidly getting ready to re-enter a foreign country and operate entirely in French.)

When I landed, I was not surprised and not happy to find my phone totally drained of battery. That being the case, I had no way getting in touch with my friend/hostess. At least though, I knew where I needed to go from the airport. So I wandered with 70 lbs of luggage to the metro and headed towards Celine's neighborhood. I must have been a sight with my huge backpack, a duffle, a shoulder bag, and a mandolin. I know I looked as dazed as I felt, but since I knew where I was going I could move quickly.

Moving quickly didn't last long, as it soon lead to a blister on my foot (it's quite a hike from the metro stop to the apartment). Navigating Parisian sidewalks also involves much sidesteping to avoid constant piles of dog shit. So after an hour train ride and a half hour walk with all my heavy belongings, I was overjoyed to see my car -- sans parking ticket.

It was a physical and mental relief to unload my bags and lock them in the car. It was another blessing that my car started on the first try. Hooray. After that bout of relief, my good luck ran out.

I had no way to reach Celine and no way for her to reach me. I think it was to much to hope that she'd be home when I knocked, especially since my flight arrived late. I went to move the car closer to her house to stake out the door in case anyone came home, only to realise my joy about the car was premature.

Sometime in the last few weeks, someone hit the front of my car knocking off the grill and busting the brights. She was already in bad shape and the lights were already weak. Now Anita's even losing the dignity of her good looks. Before vacation, I bent and chipped the side trying to get out of a narrow garage. After this recent hit-and-run she looks gap toothed, and the former highbeams flop around like googly eyes.

I think I'm going to adopt a new mantra for my daily life that sounds something like, "Things are bound to go awry, right?" I started thinking that while traveling around Haiti, since transit is so unreliable there. It has continued to help alleviate any surprise or frustration I have when my flights are all delayed, or my car is busted, or I look and act like a zombie for lack of sleep, or there seems to be even more piles of shit in my way than usual. I think things will look up after I get some rest, and if nothing else, my zombie atributes will be reduced.

Experiencing Paris

Throughout our time in Europe this fall we visited Paris three times. It wasn't until our last visit that we really experienced the city. We visited the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and Montmartre with the Sacre Coeur within two days. Maybe it's because we've been living in France, but I wasn't especially enchanted by the city. It was chilly and gray outside, and even in the off season, the attractions seemed crowded.

The Mona Lisa is probably the most famous painting in the Louvre, and the room of people pressing towards it seemed to prove it's popularity. She has her own guard, a railing, and a few layers of glass for protection. With so much traffic and cameras flashing, it's easy to forget how neat it is to see the original painting.

I was even more impressed with a few larger paintings by the French artists Ingres and Delacroix. These two artists created works that I studied last year. It was incredible to see the larger-than-life originals of images I'd only seen on a computer screen. It has been amazing to experience French/ Francophone art, literature, and history in their true context. The Eiffel Tour is really big and interesting, but I am most excited by the art I've studied.

A Mild Christmas

The temperature this week has been hovering above freezing, and that is the coldest weather I've felt since we were in Germany. Before I moved here I was really excited to learn that the temperature in this region doesn't wander much below 32°F or above 75°F. Now, however, it's hard to get into the Christmas spirit without even a chance of snow.

To celebrate the season every city in France adorns the streets with lights. There are Chirstmas markets everywhere and the malls have wierd displays with arctic animals (i.e. walrus and penguins). Speaking of animals, the city has built stables along the walls of a Notre Dame church by my house. Starting last week, we have a regular petting zoo on the square, complete with donkeys, sheep, goats, OXEN, roosters, a PIG, etc, znd all in one pen! There is also a separate enclosure with stout little ponies.

Last Christmas when I came home I happened across a camel and a donkey outside a big church. I guess it's more ridiculous to see those animals in suburban middle America than to see farm animals in rural-ish France. I still think it's strange. It appears that people like live nativity scenes all over the world.

That said, the animals don't really do it for me. And while the Christmas music piped through the streets and the lights ornamenting inside and out are charming and festive, I am looking forward to some chilly weather. My parents fire place and heat that I don't pay for will make the cold bearable and the house cozy like I like it.

The Way to Their Hearts

I think I've found the way to my students' hearts, or at least their attention spans. Last time I tried to play music for class, my choices were too wrapped up in American hippy history and politics, and the tunes weren't catchy enough. Lately I've been playing and discussing two Beatles songs and two Green Day songs with much success.

Playing Green Day has allowed me to avoid giving in to requests for Fall Out Boy. That's a "pop-punk" group who's not-so-great music is reaching out to teenagers everywhere. There is a feature story on NPR about the group head man and his daring "guyliner." The article has some winning quotes, though I don't think I can make fun of them in class.

I'll just stick with "Yellow Submarine," because it's cute when they sing along (which many of them do).

Miracle of Miracles

We have the internet in the apartment. After signing my contract in October for our internet service, paying for a phone line installation, waiting, waiting, and calling technical assistance, we still had no internet, no dial tone, nothing. Last week I sent a letter of resignation to the company asking to cancel my contract, because I was dissatisfied with their technical and customer service. A week later, they sent a technician to the apartment, unannounced, who fiddled with the wires and established our connection.

Now we have the internet, unlimited calls in France and to the States, and cable TV (though no television set). I suppose it could cut off at any minute, so we've been downloading and emailing and calling furiously to get the most out of our precious time on the internet. I've paid for months of the service and we can only use it for two weeks. Figures.