I've been meaning to post another blog for a while now. I'd like to say the delay is from an immense amount of work, but...I've mainly just been too lazy to type one out...*cue awkward shrug*
Well, since I'm on vacation (I'll get to that), let's try to bring everyone up to speed! I've settled in quite nicely to my new home in Laval. The town has a great blend of modern and ancient. There are clothing stores and restaurants that have a view of buildings that have been around since the 16th century, and the town's château rests high on a hill above it all. Day or night, there's always something new and beautiful to discover.
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| One of the first things I see everyday |
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| I love this city at night |
I forgot to mention that I do actually have my own apartment! It's just off the main shopping stretch in the city center, so I'm close to just about everything I need. The place is old, and it's a little small (I have to duck to get into my bathroom, and my head is almost always about two inches from the ceiling), but it's home.
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| The outside of my building; I enter through that little blue door on the right |
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| Bienvenue à chez-moi |
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| Yup, that's a staircase in my apartment; It's a split-level, or what the locals call a «duplex» |
I've made a lot of new friends since I've arrived. There are a surprising number of English language assistants here; There are at least 10 assistants, 9 of which are English assistants. We've already formed a pretty close group, and we meet up multiple times each week, normally at the (only) pub in town, O'Regan's...Yep, that's right: an Irish pub, owned and run by an Irish woman, in the heart of a French town. We're more than happy to meet up there, though! We do other things together though, like go to the weekly farmers' market near the château. Great local produce for a lot less than in the markets. We've also become friends with several locals, who - you guessed it - we hang out with at the pub.
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| Some of us with some of our local friends |
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| The booth in the back right? All cheese |
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| Seriously, this market is massive |
Not everything revolves around the pub, though. I do actually work. I work as the English language assistant at Lycée Ambroise Paré, a high school about half-a-mile from my apartment (and yes, I walk it everyday from my fourth-floor apartment, half of which is uphill...I'm actually getting use to it now). Much like Laval, the school blends the modern with the ancient; The school was once a convent, but now has more modern buildings attached to the 16th century ones that hold the school's roughly 1300 students. I work with six or seven of the school's nine English teachers four days a week, for a total of 12 hours (I legally cannot work more than that). By the way: the school lunches here are fantastic! 2 full hours for lunch, as much water as you want to drink, and full, well-rounded meals made fresh every day (no pre-packaged stuff or government meat like back home). It's an interesting job, and I enjoy it so far; I'm still flying by the seat of my pants a lot, but things are going fine right now. Hopefully, I'll have a more solid plan once I get back from vacation.
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| The library is the former bishop's apartment |
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| One of my lunches: Steak and pasta with grapes, and a crêpe for dessert |
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| The courtyard outside the administrative offices, including the teachers' lounge |
Oh, yeah! I'm on vacation, by the way. I know that sounds weird, but I arrived after the school year had already been going for about three-or-four weeks. The French school system runs more-or-less on the year-round schedule: six weeks on, two weeks off. I'll actually get three more two-week vacations while I'm here...Did I mention I get paid during those vacations? It's kind of awesome. Anyway, this vacation hasn't been filled with much, other than relaxing and hanging with my new friends and fellow assistants. The big event, though, is that I'm going to Paris with several of my friends for four days, ending with a Halloween boat party! I'm really looking forward to it, and it should be a great way to wrap up our first vacation.
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| Not everyone in this picture is going, but either way, Paris is about to be interesting! |
Again, I'm sorry for the delay in blog postings. I'll try to post a little more frequently; I should have more to talk about once vacation is over and I get back to work...and once I start on a couple of side projects that are in the works. I can't talk about them now, so just keep an eye out in my future posts. Until next time!
