The Traveler's Curse

Fall is my favorite season. I love the bright, fiery red, orange, and yellow colors, the crisp, fresh smell of the falling leaves, and wearing cute sweaters and scarves. The arrival of fall also means we’re getting into the holiday season – and I LOVE the holidays. 

I enjoy a lot about the village of Mende – I am very grateful to be here and have the opportunity to better my French and appreciate French culture, but I really miss this time of year back home! The Mende mountains are high and gorgeous, but the colors of the leaves just aren’t as bright. I will be on vacation during Halloween (I know, sad thing to complain about, right?), Thanksgiving is strictly an American holiday, and the French don’t put out Christmas decorations until about a week before Christmas. 

Mende Mountains

Fall colors in my backyard in Arkansas

My sister was talking to me last week about “The Traveler’s Curse”… she explained it as the more places you travel to, the less you will be completely satisfied in a new places, because in each of the places you've been there will be at least one thing or person that you miss. The holiday season is something I definitely miss in the United States. Since I have travelled a lot, and lived in many different cities, I am always missing family and friends and cultural aspects of each city/country no matter where I am. 

Here are some things I miss from different places:

The United States (in general): having a washer/dryer in the house, holidays, family & friends, and being able to eat any type of food whenever you get the whim…craving sushi now!

Arkansas: my parents & my brother, friends, driving on the empty, open road, fall colors & nature…Being away from Arkansas has been particularly hard lately, since one of my best friends just got married and another best friend is due to have her first baby in just another week!

Friends & Family in Arkansas

Los Angeles: my aunt, uncle, & cousin, everything’s open late, knowing the ocean is close, the weather!! 

California family

 North Carolina: friends, the fall colors, the Halloween party my roommate & I had!

The food preparations for our Halloween party

Ireland: the greenery and the awesome castles, live music in the pubs, and renting bikes and riding around huge public parks.

Ireland - huge castle in the middle of a beautiful park

Spain: tapas!!!!! Going out with friends for beer/wine & snacks (tapas/pinchos) around 5pm, since dinner in Spain doesn’t start until around 10pm!

France: the Mediterranean Sea! Hopefully I will be going back in another week for the first week of Fall vacation! French food… everything is so fresh and local. We have NOTHING like the flavorful French cheeses and a crisp French baguette in the States. Use of pesticides and preservatives is limited here. The history and the language! I love, love, love the way your mind just opens up and has to work in a whole new way when you are immersed in a different language. This is what I miss the most when I return to the United States. 

Nice, at the Mediterranean Sea

Israel: my sister, the pita bread falafel sandwiches, floating in the Dead Sea, imagining what has passed on that land!

Israel landscape

Now, as far as curses go, The Traveler’s Curse is probably the best one to have! I am able to experience different cultures and go on adventures most people just dream about! However, the downside is that there’s always something and somebody I’m missing. I have a lot of homes and no home at the same time. It can be frustrating, but I wouldn’t exchange my experiences and memories for anything!

Home Sweet Home

I just got back from a mini-vacation in Montpellier. Even though Montpellier is a beautiful city, and I would totally live at the beach if I could, it’s always nice to return “home” after traveling. Right now, the cute village of Mende is my home. There are definite ups and downs to living in Mende compared to a bigger city such as Montpellier, which I will explain more at the end of this post. 

Wednesday, all the teaching assistants in the Montpellier region had a meeting in Montpellier. I left on Tuesday, and had to take 2 busses and a train to arrive…all of this took between 5-6 hours! By car, Montpellier is only about 2.5 hours away, but unfortunately the slow public transportation is a major downside of living in the most rural department of France (the Lozère). I had asked if any of the other assistants actually living in Montpellier could host me, and luckily Jennifer responded that she had plenty of room in her château. I assumed she meant that she had found a big apartment, but no – she actually has a flat in an old château!! Life in France… 

Jenny's Château

The meeting Wednesday was pretty boring, and we had already been given most of the information through emails and the online guidebook, but it was great to get to meet in person some of the assistants with whom I had talked on facebook. Thursday, Jennifer had to work, so I took off to the beach (about an hour from Montpellier using the bus & tram). It was a bit chilly when I first arrived, but it soon warmed up nicely. I had brought a book, and I stopped at a small grocery store to pick up picnic food, and headed out to bask in the sun! The beach was gorgeous, and I enjoyed myself immensely. Since Jenny didn’t have to work Friday, I convinced her to come back to the beach with me. We got picnic stuff, and this time I actually went in! The water was chilly, but not too bad, and I went for a nice swim in the Mediterranean.  It was so beautiful and peaceful, but the water is super salty! 

The seaside town of Palavas

Reading at the beach!

That night, Jenny and I went out to a French club. It was fun, but I realized that at the ripe age of 24, I am too old to enjoy clubs! My idea of a great night is relaxing at home with a glass of wine and a good book…and going to bed around 11! 

I had decided to return to Mende on Saturday, in order to have all day Sunday to have time to do some prep work for my classes this week. Luckily, I woke up pretty early on Saturday and decided to get to the train station early to get my ticket. The line was sooo long! Public transportation, although useful, is stressful! Thankfully, I did get my ticket in time, and returned home around 4:30 pm. Although I had a wonderful couple of days, I still let out a sigh of relief to return “home”. 

Mende - the path along the Lot river

Positive aspects to living in Mende:  1. The teachers here are wonderful. They are friendly, kind, helpful, and giving. I had the chance to talk to other assistants about their experiences, and I’m pretty sure I got the luckiest co-worker-wise. 2. I get to live in the dorms. This in itself has a few negative aspects (kitchen use only during the weekend - but we get cheap, tasty meals in the cantine, and no wifi – but internet available just down the hallway), but in general is great for a few reasons: I did not have the same struggle and stress the first couple weeks like other assistants who had to find their own housing, it’s really cheap, I live two minutes from my classes, and there is a housekeeper who cleans my room and empties my trash about twice a week. 3. If a stranger strikes up a conversation with me, I know they’re being friendly and not starting in on some kind of scam. 4. Around the town itself, I don’t need to use public transportation; I can easily walk anywhere. 5. It’s beautiful.

Mende - the path along the Lot river

Negative aspects to living in Mende: 1. I haven’t met many other young professionals. It seems like most of the town consists of younger students, families, and older people. 2. It takes FOREVER to get to a big city by bus/train. Forever. Seriously. That makes traveling lengthier and also more expensive. 3. Today, I washed my clothes by hand in the sink. Soooo hard! And there’s no clothes dryer. I am told there’s a Laundromat about a 25 minute walk from the school, but about half of the students just do it in the sink. 4. No day trips to the beach. :(  This one’s probably the saddest for me.
 

There are ups and downs wherever you are in the world, but all-in-all I’m pretty happy with my placement. Of course, I’ve just discussed the ups and downs of Mende vs. Montpellier, but there are also ups and downs of France vs. the US. Although I recognize how very lucky I am to be here, every day is a bit of a struggle to be so far away from friends, family, and the familiar. Helping pull me through the homesickness is the knowledge that my friend Robby and I are meeting in less than a month to spend a week in Germany, and that my cousin, her friend, and I will be spending our Christmas break traveling around Europe, along with emails and facebook posts from friends and family at home!

Lyons, Tigers, and Students… Oh my!

Last weekend I went to Lyon and Annecy. I arrived in Lyon Thursday night, and experienced couchsurfing for the first time. I stayed with a woman named Laura, who was very nice. Friday I got up early and Laura pointed me in the direction of the Tourism Office, where I picked up a map of the city. I was feeling pretty energetic, so I decided to hike up to the Basilique Notre-Dame (instead of taking the funiculaire). On my way, I walked through an open-air market, where I bought some freshly picked strawberries. They were smaller and sweeter than the strawberries you buy in the grocery store!  I hiked up a kind of sketchy street and then through a pretty park to get to the Basilique. It was interesting, and there was an okay view of the city, but since it was still fairly cloudy early in the morning, the view wasn’t what I’m told it is when it’s clear. 

yummy strawberries!

By the time I’d finished my hike, I was getting pretty hungry. The school’s janitor had told me that I had to visit the Parc de la Tête d’Or, so I decided to pick up a baguette and some fromage and have a picnic in the park. Unfortunately, I got quite lost on my descent from the Basilique, but I eventually found my way down. I followed on with my picnic plans, and oh my goodness – the janitor was so right! The Park was spectacular. It is huge, with greenhouses, a lake, walking trails, beautiful flowers, and…a zoo! And it’s all free! I walked over to the lake to have my picnic and read awhile on my kindle; by then, it was warm and sunny outside. Perfect! After resting awhile, I explored the park. I saw lions, giraffes, an alligator, zebras, elephants and more! It was incredible that the park offered all this at no cost! I took a walk through the greenhouses as well before heading back towards Laura’s apartment. 

Entrance to the Parc de la Tête d'Or

The park was beautiful and incredible, but it also made me feel homesick. I wished I could share it with my friends and family. I decided to stop at the Galleries Lafayette, a huge mall, to cure my homesickness. Malls are pretty much the same no matter where you are, so it was just the cure!

That night, I went out dancing with Laura and two of her friends. It was fun! The next morning Laura and I walked back to the Park and had ice creams. I love, love, love French caramel ice cream! 

Zoo in the Park!

Later, I headed to Annecy with a friend of Laura’s. Annecy is a small old-fashioned village that neighbors Switzerland. First, we walked around the lake, and then around the old village. Next, we drove up to an amazing viewpoint. It was absolutely breathtaking. Probably the most beautiful sight I’ve had the privilege to view. After, we picked up salad, chicken, a baguette, and wine to feast in his Annecy apartment. That evening, we went with a couple of his friends to a nightclub in Geneva. It was fun, but clubs are clubs…it was pretty much the same as the clubs I’ve been to in L.A.

Annecy - kind of a mini Venice

Annecy -- see the mountains in the distance!

Look at that view!!!!

Yesterday, Sunday, I returned to Lyon by train. I have to admit that every time I take a train, a part of me wishes I were headed to Hogwarts! Then I rode home with Odile, the English teacher who had brought me to Lyon. My co-workers here have been really, really great. I feel very blessed to be in such a welcoming school. 

Today I had my first real classes, where I wasn’t just introducing myself, but actually working with the students on their English. Monday is my long day, but the classes went pretty well. For some of them, I took half the class and had them do a two-minute monologue about their idea of the “American dream”. For other classes, I took only two students at a time, and they had to talk (as a team) about a radio emission they had listened to in class. In general, the students seem nice and fairly respectful and try hard, although there is one high school class composed mainly of boys that is very noisy! 

 

After class, I went over to Odile’s house and had a cup of tea with her. I have adopted the habit of having tea every day. Another English teacher, Anne-Claire, gave me an electric kettle so that I can also make tea in my dorm room. :) When I returned to the school, Anja, the German assistant, and I went to dinner in the cantine together. Tomorrow, she and I head to Montpellier for a meeting/training day for all the foreign assistants. All in all, things are going great! I am, however, beginning to really miss the folks at home! So write to me!!!

Whirlwind of Adventures

Hello, everyone! I departed Paris on Wednesday and arrived safely in Mende that evening! I took a 3.5 hour train from Paris-Bercy and arrived at the Clermont-Ferrand station, where I had to take a 3 hour bus to Mende. The train was quite nice, going through French countryside. It was a bit complicated to find where the bus going to Mende was at the station, but I made my bus with two minutes to spare! The bus ride was quite a treat for me because we went through a lot of quaint little French towns. However – here is a warning to Americans traveling in France by bus – there were no toilets on the bus and it lasted 3 hours! Make sure you don’t take in any liquids a couple hours before traveling! 

I saw a rainbow on my bus ride...has to be a good sign!!!

One of the English teachers, Odile, met me at the bus stop in Mende. First we went to the school, where we luckily ran into some very nice BTS students who helped us carry my bags up to my room on the 4^th floor, and then Odile took me to her house for dinner.  It was delicious! First course was soup, then for the main course we had a type of cold vegetable salad with green beans and tomatoes from her garden, with a delicious type of cheese mixed in it. Next came the cheese plate (French bread and wine were present throughout the meal), and for dessert we had raspberries from the farmer’s market with a dollop of rich vanilla ice cream. After, we had tea.  Odile was so nice and friendly! We talked for the first half in French, then switched to English as I got pretty tired.  She drove me back to the school and I slept well.

Beautiful French countryside

The next day, the English teachers at the school had a type of pot-luck for lunch to welcome me. There were fresh baked breads (including a delicious type of chocolate-chip muffin!), lentils, cheese, and tomatoes from various teachers’ gardens.  Everyone is very nice and welcoming! After lunch, I went with Odile to choir practice. It is led by a British man! Even though I’m a pretty bad singer, I really enjoyed it.  That evening, the BTS students invited me to go with them to the Irish Pub in town. It was great, because it gave me the chance to talk to them in a social setting. Everyone, students and teachers, are very welcoming here. 

Friday I sat in on a few classes (although I didn’t officially start until Monday). I had lunch in the cantine with some of the BTS students, then I decided to go for a jog along the Lot (the river that runs through Mende). It had been cold that morning, but it warmed up nicely and the sun was shining on my jog. As I jogged along the river, I was in awe at the beauty of the town. I love seeing the old, medieval houses and buildings that are left. There’s nothing comparable to this in Arkansas, or anywhere I’d been in the States. Angele, another English teacher, had invited me to come home with her for the weekend. She lives in Chanac, a medieval village about 20 minutes from Mende, with her husband and 3 children.  I spent the weekend with her and her lively family in a village I can’t begin to describe. Pictures do not do it justice! Almost all the houses are left from medieval days and it is like stepping back in history (if you ignore the cars parked in front of the houses!). 

Chanac town center

Chanac tower

Chanac village and surrounding mountains

On Sunday we walked to a castle a little bit out of Chanac. On our way, we came along some blackberry bushes so we had a snack of fresh-picked blackberries! Angele told me that the castle is owned by an older woman who lives there in the summers (winter it is too hard to heat the castle). She said that one day a year people are invited to see the gardens. Somehow we got realllly lucky and the gatekeeper happened to be around and see us and actually invited us in to show us the castle!!! It was amazing! That evening, I went with Angele’s husband, Oliver, and their son to a birthday party in the Gorges du Tran. My eyes certainly had a wonderful feast this weekend!

The castle

Yesterday was my first day of work…kind of. This first week I am basically observing and introducing myself. I received my schedule for the year as well. This first semester I have an awesome schedule – no class Thursday or Friday! Next semester I only have Wednesdays off.  I also met the German assistant today. She is really nice, and I am happy to have someone in the same boat as me! She speaks English very well, but we are both trying to speak mostly in French to improve it. I think we have close to the same level in French.

Want to snail mail me???? My address here is:
Amy Mahanay, Assistante d'Anglais
Lycée Chaptal
Avenue Paulin Daudé
48000 Mende
France

More pictures to come soon!! I haven't taken my camera around Mende yet, but I will soon!