France has trucks too- kind of...

 This didn't post when I tried yesterday morning, so I'm copy/pasting and trying again!  There's not a ton to report, since the last several days haven’t been too terribly eventful.  On Wednesday, Joelle and Steve were heading into Carpentras to do something for Amaury and they dropped me off in town.  I bought Marie Claire in French (reading the magazines helps me learn “useful” French phrases, not just the stuff in textbooks) and several pelotes of yarn to knit some mittens when the knitting bug hits me in a few more weeks.  I ate dinner with the family- and learned that Cedric loves pommes de terre aka potatoes (literally “apples of the earth,” an expression I really enjoy) and Joelle made a delicious cherry crumble for dessert.  Wednesday was also the first day that I was able to go out and start running again.  I picked a road that I knew and just ran out and back, but I’ll probably look for some different routes, since there are quite a few cars and the shoulder isn’t too big so there’s not much between me and them. 

On Thursday, I thought I’d head out for a run bright and early but then thought well… maybe I should look at the documents that I have to fill out for tomorrow.  Unfortunately between having to look up info and find papers and figure out what the heck they were asking me, I spent several hours working on the paperwork and alors… pas de run.  After finishing all of that nasty paperwork, I decided to read Sherlock Holmes: le chien des Baskerville and headed outside.  It was gorgeous, so I put on my suit and Steve opened the piscine (pool) for me.  The water felt so good!  I miss swimming and will definitely have to spend more time in the pool J  I made some tasty Farfalle Rapido (or that’s what I’m going to call it anyway- mom makes Fettucine Rapido but I didn’t have fettucine…) with chili peppers and garlic for dinner- mmm! 

Friday was my first “official” day at Lycée Fabre, so I head there bright and early at 9am like it said on my emploi du temps (schedule) to meet with the man who was going to verify my paperwork.  But… when I got there, he was in another meeting, so I sat and waited patiently.  I met two of the high school boys, who were waiting to talk with another one of the directors about a soiree they were planning for next week.  It was reassuring that I was able to have a conversation with the two of them and understand what they were saying for the most part (I did have to tell one of them, “sorry- I don’t understand your question!” once, and then he explained it so I knew what he meant) and they said I spoke French very well, which I think was a good compliment, because I feel like teenage boys wouldn’t necessarily just think to say that.  I feel like I’ve talked about people who say that I speak French well multiple times, which is not at all because I think I’m some sort of amazing, but more so that I’m really relieved that they actually know what I’m saying!  J  Anyway, I left for a little bit and met with the English professor who’s ‘supervising’ me since I knew he was done with class at 10, and he sent me back to the office to finish the paperwork and said we could go check out the market when I finished.  Luckily for me, the man I was waiting for (his name is Alain) was in his office when I went back and he was able to run through and help me with the questions that I had.  When I returned to see Alain (the prof- there are two Alains, and I know it’s confusing!), he said that he didn’t have enough time to head to the market but pointed me in the right direction.  He also showed me the door that I have an e-key for… it makes me feel like a secret agent or something to have this special secret back way in ;) haha  I explored downtown a little bit, and found the market, which happens every Friday in Carpentras.  It’s hard to miss!  It literally takes over part of the city, which is pretty sweet.  I bought a new watch, which I thought might be useful!  When I got back home, I accidentally ended up taking a nap because I feel asleep while reading a book.  I hadn’t slept very well the night before (Kaits, I dreamed that you got hit by lightning and died- so please stay away from tall buildings!) so I guess it was understandable.  I was able to find a less-busy (but not in a creepy, someone could get me way) running route, and I think there are several options to branch off from there, so I’ll have plenty of options! 

Marianne cranking open her window :)

On Saturday, I met with two of the other assistants in Carpentras, both of whom are working at the other lycee in town, Victor Hugo.  Marianne’s an English assistant like me (and comes from the ‘other’ UW, the University of Washington) and Maria is a Spanish assistant from Spain.  We met for petit dejeuner (breakfast) in downtown Carpentras and just sat and talked for awhile before going on a little promenade around the city.  They showed me their studios, which are right next to where they’ll be teaching- it’s a short commute!  It’s nice to know that there are other people in the same situation in the same city, and I hope that we’ll be able to get together on a regular basis J  I stopped by the supermarket on my way home to pick up a few things, and ran into Steve and Joelle!  It was a nice surprise and since they drove me home, it meant that I could buy some more milk instead of just the one container I was planning to get.  It doesn’t expire til December… we’ll see how that goes.  I also bought two new shampoos- those of you who know me well will know that more shampoo makes me very happy!  When we got home, I finished Sherlock Holmes and caught up on the latest Grey’s and Private Practice episodes.  Saturday is Renaud’s day to make dinner and last week I had let him know that I’d help him if he wanted.  He decided to make couscous, so I had the chance to spend several hours with Renaud and Joelle, making dinner for the whole crew.  I don’t think I was all that much help (although I did chop up some navés?, which are some sort of French vegetable, and tomatoes) but I really enjoyed just having the chance to hang out and chat.  We jammed out to some excellent tunes, ranging from French singers that I don’t know to the Beach Boys and Lady Gaga.  Joelle had bought some really delicious pastries for dessert, and Cedric told me that none of them had sugar added to them, but they were sweet from honey and coconut and other sweet ingredients.  Yum!  I followed the Badgers/MSU gamecast, and that’s all I have to say about that. 

Rart of the car show- probably the biggest vehicle ever in France

Yesterday (Sunday), I ran early and then spent time outside (eating lunch, reading a magazine, emailing my momma) enjoying the beautiful day.  In the early afternoon, Joelle and Steve brought me to an American vehicles display in a nearby town.  Renaud followed on his motorcycle, and we met Cedric and a friend there.  The boys are crazy about motorcycles, and there were tons of them there- it was fun to see how excited they were.  There were also cars, and it was funny because some were classic cars like I’d see at a car show in the states, but some were just big trucks like I’d see in the RLHS parking lot J  I think they were there because they’re so rare in France.  The streets are narrow and they wouldn’t fit very well in a lot of places! 

I’m heading to Avignon tomorrow for a get-together with other assistants in the area and then will be taking the train down to Marseille to see Miss Hannah Bailey (!!) and do some more meet-and-greet and logistical things required of me.  We have meetings and whatnot til Wednesday, and I’ll return Thursday home here.  Don’t worry if you don’t hear from me in the meantime! 

Me and Maria, the Spanish assistant

Wishing you all the best J  <3 Allison