France, October 2008 - #2 & 3

Je commence à m'installer

Salut tout le monde! I have been here for about two and half weeks, and it is still wonderful!! It has begun to get a little chillier, and the wind started to blow this morning when I woke up. But Avignon is still bustling with festivals and students and lots of fun things. I was walking around about a week ago when I happened upon a bike race set up in the middle of town. When I walked by, the adults were finished and the races were between children of different ages. Everywhere I looked there were teams of kids dressed in matching biking uniforms and little bikes all over the sidewalks! There was a group of kids racing, and they were just as concentrated and intense as the bikers in the tour de france. The difference was, when I walked by, I thought I heard the announcer say, "For number XX it will be very admirable if he crosses the finish line as it is his first race!" So cute! There were parents all over, yelling, "Ride! Ride!" from the sidelines, just like the moms and dads in the US on the edge of the soccer field. It was absolutely adorable. There were kids as young as 5 or 6 all the way up to teenagers, or les ados. The race was on the main street in town, and they had to do laps back and forth several times before it was over. I was very impressed with the tenacity and focus of all those kids on bikes!

Later in the week, Avignon had a food fair. It was to celebrate l'ecole d'hotelerie, or the restaurant/chef school that's here. There were four different stands set up at different points in Avignon and all representing a different kind of food. You got a card, and circled around to each stand, tasting the different foods. There was a mousse stand that had all different kinds of mousse (my favorite), like one that was meat based, and asparagus mouse, and others. There was an Italian stand with cheese, pizza, and sardines, and yummy cookies with chocolate in the middle. There was a Spanish stand, but all they had left was this delicious smoked (I think) ham that they were slicing right off the bone. And the last stand was Provence, with lots of delicious pates and combinations of veggies and cheese. Carly (another Assistant from the States, who is actually Leora's friend from high school) and I went to all the stands, and filled out the little questionaire on the back of our cards to enter the contest to win a dinner or other little food-related prizes. It was really fun to walk around Avignon tasting little samples of wonderful food! Then, at the end, there was a contest for carrying trays laden with cups and bowl full of water (to signify food/wine) around the center square. The first was for kids, so they lined up all these little kids who signed up, gave them trays with plastic cups full of water, and told them to run around the carousel without spilling. The smallest group of course all spilled their cups and bowls everywhere, and at the end it was three boys running with all their might carrying three empty trays. It was really cute. Then the older group did much better carrying their trays, and in fact, Carly's host family won several of the races, in both the young and old age group! Afterward, there was a race for "professionals" but I didn't stay to watch that one. The kids were so excited to do it, and the announcer kept saying, "They have a future in the restaurant business" which made them very proud.

Other than finding myself in the middle of little Avignon town activities, I have been hanging out a lot with my housemates and other people I've met here. I joined an African dance class which is once a week, and I love it. It is really fun, and I've met a few girls that I really like. It's such a work out, and I always feel so happy after throwing my arms in the air and jumping around for an hour and half! I also had the beginning of orientation, where the American assistants were wined and dined by the Consul General of the US. She has a stunning house with a beautiful view in Marseille, and they made us quite a spread of provincial food to literally give us a "taste" of the region. It was fun to meet the other Americans in my department. A lot of them had studied abroad in Senegal, which was really cool because I got to reminisce and immediately had something to talk about with lots of them! The next day, we met all of the assistants in our region, which was close to 300. There were 25 different nationalities, which was really cool, and I met lots of people from all over. My favorite part was talking to people with different English accents- oooh I just couldn't get enough! There was a whole group of cute British boys and a Scottish guy who is actually working in Avignon. It was really fun! But in the end, the actual meetings were not that helpful, and as I have come to find out is common of government and official business, not very well organized. The second half of our orientation was cancelled and we got to go home early, which was nice but also confusing as the only told about 40 people and the rest had to hear by word of mouth. But we got home safe and sound, and last night I had a delicious dinner with my housemate and her French friend who brought over duck and made the most wonderful dinner! This morning I spent hours watching youtube with my housemate, making fun of both American and Polish politicians. It turns out they're just as idiotic in Poland as in the US!

I begin teaching in a week and have lots to do to get ready. I'll keep you posted, and keep me posted too!

Bisous!

Some pictures

Cooking onions for the soirée des crepes that we had at my house with some friends. We made dinner crepes, and then lots and lots of desert crepes! My favorite was Nutella and banana. Mmmmm.
I bought these flowers to brighten the house, and Myrto bought a pineapple.
Before going out to a restaurant/bar called Fenouil au Vapeur, which is a coop restaurant that serves food two nights a week and has different local bands play. In the picture is me, a friend of Kasia - Fannie, and another assistant who just arrived, Zandra.
Kasia and me on her birthday. We had a little cake and a delicious salad for lunch before I went off to Marseille for orientation.
In the process of re-potting the plants. So far, my plant in my room (the big one) is doing very well. The thyme seems to be doing ok, but the basil is...well...completely dead. But for me, 2 out of 3 ain't bad.