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!

Arrivée à Paris!

Wednesday, my adventure began. My parents drove me to the Springfield airport, I hopped on a plane to Dallas, and from there I flew to the Paris CDG airport! My flights were very nice, with no problems. I then lugged my two suitcases and large backpack onto the RER, then the metro, and then down the street to my host family's house in the Marais. Although it wasn't a pleasant experience, there weren't any bumps in the road.

It turns out that my host family thought I was arriving the following day, so although I arrived a little after noon on Thursday, no one was at the house to let me in until around 5pm. However, it was a nice day and I had a book to read, so I sat out on the staircase and enjoyed the sun and my book. Later, we all had a lovely dinner together and caught up. I brought my host family homemade chocolate chip cookies and a photo book full of pictures of us all from my previous visits. They really enjoyed my gifts!

The next day, Friday, I decided to walk to Bercy Parc/Bercy Village. I had a nice walk, but I got somewhat lost, and the area around Bercy isn't the safest, so I eventually gave in and got on a nearby metro to take it two stations to Bercy. It had begun to rain, so I looked around the Bercy Village shops, and then sat down at the Frog pub to have a beer and hopefully wait out the rain. The beer was good, but the rain didn't go away, so I was unable to enjoy the park.

On my way to Bercy -Lovely Autumn in Paris!

Bercy Village

Bercy Parc - you can see the raindrops on the water!

Luckily, the next day, Saturday, was gorgeous - perfect weather. My host sister, Constance, and I went to the Versailles gardens. We had a picnic of French bakery bread, Camembert cheese, and apples. It was delicious! American bread, cheese, and fruit come nowhere close to comparing with French food! We walked around a lot and just really enjoyed the amazing views and gardens. Versailles is my favorite place I've been, and Saturday was just the perfect day.

Versailles on a perfect day!

Baguette for our picnic - yummm

Me - in front of Versailles!

Today, Constance and I went to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Even though Constance is Parisian, she had never been up the Eiffel Tower! It was fun and we got some great pictures. It was cloudy, but a nice day.

Beneath the Eiffel Tower

 

 

View from the top of the Eiffel Tower

Happy on top of the Eiffel Tower!

Unfortunately, it is supposed to rain every day in the following 5-day weather forecast. Tomorrow I plan to spend most of the day exploring the Louvre - it is huge, so definitely a full-day adventure! Paris is great, and I love my French host family, but I am beginning to remember how fed up I get with big cities! I am glad I was placed in a medium-small sized town. I will probably leave for Mende either Wednesday or Thursday. My first day of work is October 1 - coming right up!

Déjà vu ?

Four years ago, I had just arrived in France for my first semester abroad. I was a junior in college, and this was my first time out of the US. I remember being nervous about meeting all new people, about living with a French host family, and especially about my shaky French skills. This time around, thankfully, I have a lot more confidence, I am not shy anymore (people who know me now would never guess how shy I used to be!), and although I do not have native fluency, I know that I have a good accent and that I can have a conversation about most anything with a French person. I am not at all nervous, just excited and thankful. 

The Seine River, Paris -- I get to see this in 12 days!

This time, I am prepared. Prepared to be super outgoing and meet people and join clubs. Prepared to not understand everything the French say, but to be able to get the gist of the conversation. And as prepared as I can be for the homesickness that I know will come no matter how much I love France. My time in France in 2008 was amazing, but I remember throughout it all, there was a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, longing for “home”.  I missed my family most of all – my parents and sister in Arkansas and my aunt, uncle & cousin in California, but I also missed some modern conveniences – bathrooms in the grocery store, stores open 24/7, airlines that weren’t ryanair (ughhhhh), even the freedom that driving gives you (although I hate driving in general). This time I'm older, wiser, and more independent.

Me, Older and Wiser in 2012! ;)

Three and a half years ago, I spent the 2^nd semester of my junior year in Salamanca, Spain…next year I hope to apply for the Teach in Spain program! One of the best things about the study abroad program (IES) was that we would take trips together. Hopefully I will make friends who want to travel during our breaks! 

Traveling with friends in Granada, Spain, 2009

My cousin is coming to visit during Christmas break, during which time we will visit Montpellier, Paris, Dublin, and London!!

Streets of Dublin, Ireland

 Another awesome aspect of studying abroad was the opportunity to live with a host family. I lucked out and got awesome families in both Paris and Salamanca. Although I won't be living with a host family, I will be living in the dorms of the school, and one of the English teachers at the school emailed me yesterday to say that the students who live in my hallway are super excited to have an American neighbor! Things are looking pretty amazing!

My Spanish host family on my host dad's birthday!