I Swear I Haven't Forgotten...

You I swear I haven't forgotten about the blog! I had an excuse back in December (laptop graphics card caused crash issues), but not lately. Chalk it up to just continually putting it to the side and procrastinating. SORRY!

So, I'll try to catch everyone up without making this post drag on for eternity. *Breathe* Okaaaaaaay...

Since I last posted, there haven't really been any major updates. I managed to get a ticket to the last performance of LEJ's tour in Rennes. I had an absolute blast! I was on the floor, maybe thirty or so feet from the stage. I hung around after the concert and was able to get a poster signed by the group and got my photo with them. Totally worth the early morning train back to work the next morning and being wiped the whole day. Hands down, I'd do it again.

I had a wonderful Christmas and New Year's down in Sucé-sur-Erdre with my friend Jérôme and his family. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I can never thank the Henrys for their continued hospitality. I was able to travel east and visit Strasbourg and the oldest Christmas market in Europe prior to that, which was incredible. If you ever get the chance to visit the market, take it. It was a great experience, and Strasbourg itself is a wonderful city. The astronomical clock in the cathedral is a sight to see, too!

From December to February, it rained...a lot. There wasn't a lot to do, so that period was mainly just working and occasionally getting together with my friends and fellow assistants for drinks. We did travel out to Rennes for a day trip once. It was a lovely day, right up until the late afternoon when it suddenly started POURING. Luckily, we found a nearby pub to dry off in.

The February break was fantastic, though, because one of my best friends, Sam, flew out from L.A. and spent most of the break with me! We did just about any tourist thing in Paris you can think of, hung around Laval for a few days, and then made the trek up to Caen to visit Omaha Beach. Aside from a minor mishap on my part (Note: the buses do NOT run on Sundays, and if you can't drive, you will be forced to hire a taxi at 11:30PM the night before you planned on going to Omaha), we had a blast, and we got to learn a lot about occupied Normandy, the French Resistance, and D-Day. I hated to say goodbye, but I know it's just temporary.

Hall of Mirrors, Versailles

Eiffel Tower at sunrise

Sacré Cœur at night

Château of Caen

Omaha Beach Memorial

We were thinking about what to think about...

Nobody was home...

Until next time, Sam!

So, it's now the middle of March. My employment and my time in France is quickly drawing to an end. I'm already looking for jobs for when I'm home, and I have actually applied for the DrinkIt Internship with World of Beer, which if I get that, the blog posts will definitely increase, and a lot more traveling will be in my future. Fingers crossed, and if there are any major developments, I will definitely be making a post of some kind.

It's sad to think about how little time I have left here because I've made some good friends, and I love this place, but I am looking forward to getting home; I'm looking forward to seeing my family and friends, returning to familiar places, and getting back into the performance and production circuits. I've tried to use some of my time here to reflect upon a lot of the creative basics I learned in college (amazing how much easier it is to understand Stanislavski when there isn't a grade), and I've recently finished writing a short film draft that I hope to shoot here in the next few weeks.

So, again, I'm sorry for the huge gap between posts. I'll try to be more proactive with them. Hopefully I'll have some new short film production blogs (and maybe vlogs?) coming within the next few weeks. Until next time: sit down, strap in, and get ready for take off.

Vacation 1/4...Yep, You Read That Right

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.

One of the first things I see everyday

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.

The outside of my building; I enter through that little blue door on the right

Bienvenue à chez-moi

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.

Some of us with some of our local friends 

The booth in the back right? All cheese

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.

The library is the former bishop's apartment

One of my lunches: Steak and pasta with grapes, and a crêpe for dessert

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.

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!