Return from oblithion

As usually happens to travelers trying to maintain a blog, I have strayed in my dedication durning tha past few weeks. I will try to come back to faithful updates of Franceland!

Things have been going well, lots of things to do with students and teachers around the holiday season. My schedule is going to change a little bit and I'm going to miss my students! I guess that's what every teacher goes through every semester/year, so I should just suck it up. One of my classes were so cute, they said they would miss me and they sulked all the way back to their classroom (these are adults). Origionally I had a difficult time with because they didn't understand a word I said. But over the semester they got used to my accent and I settled into a level of English expression more suitable to their comprehension so it got to be rather fun. And the class that likes to take me bowling are no longer my students either. I'm going to miss them, too!

On Wednesday I have my official medical exam in Bordeaux which will mark the last piece of documentation I need before I can get my finalized Carte de Sejour. Whew!!! I am very happy about that. From Bordeaux, I will go to Paris until the 24th with a young teacher and her husband. I will spend Christmas with assistants in Bordeaux, New Years with former students in Bayonne (a coastal town) and possibly Spain (yay for knowing real French people with cars), and then I might finish up my vacation in Pau with other assistants and possibly meet back up with Marion, the teacher I'm going to Paris with. Just in case you were wondering!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, JOYEUX NOËL! I miss all of you and I can wait until I can see you again!!!

Do you like fish?

Last night was great! I was minding my own business in my room when I got a knock on my door. I love it when that happens and it is not accomanied by giggling and scurrying feet. It was a neighbor (Benoît) from across the hall over to chat. Always lovely! Later, I got yet another knock on the door and it was the two other girls who live in the dorm. They invited me to dinner, and I succeeded at existing in French for about 6 hours! Whew! It was very nice to have contact with people other than squirrely boys for a change!

Also, I have been working on my Christmas list. I didn't realize how much I missed the highly processed American junk food until I watched an episode of Heros that had boxed macaroni and cheese, cup cakes with frosting, and microwave popcorn, and mini marshmallows in it! yummmmm! If anyone would like to send me any of these delicacies for Christmas, please feel free!

Simmered

Fortuneately, things have simmered down since my last post. They gave me a 3 month extension on my visa! yay! More later when I've got more time....

B is for Beauracracy

I've been having some administrative problems lately, and I'm really looking forward to the day when I am no longer sitting on hold with various offices and traveling across the department to do in person what the office was incapable of doing by mail three months ago. And now my visa is about to expire while the people in said offices have done nothing with my file. And, in Bordeaux the medical office has yet to schedule me an appointment so I can get my Titre de Sejour (which is to replace my visa by Dec 16th). ARG! And, I'm glad that my return ticket has been uncancelled afterall (thanks British Airways, you suck). And, I'm a little angry with the exchange rate because after you convert my salary into dollars, the loan people thing I'm making enough money, even though all of my expenses are in EUROS.

On the bright side, the Department of Transportation people were very accomodating in getting an extension on my drivers license renewal (which would have expired on my birthday two weeks ago). Who would have thought the drivers license people would be the easiest to work with?

Today I'm off to the prefecture to try to get a little assistance with my housing with a file full of things I sent them a long time ago. They asked me if I had a particular document to bring, but I only have a copy because THEY have for the ORIGIONAL from first time I sent this in. ARGH!!

Thanksgiving

Yesterday, I went from thinking I was going to have a Thanksgiving dinner in Pau with other assistants to thinking I was not going to Pau at all, to going to Pau with French people in a matter of a few short hours. I got news that the assistants changed the night of the meal to tonight, and I couldn't find a ride back to Aire in time for my class this morning. So, I cancelled my ride to Pau. Then I got invited to a party here, so I accepted. But then, I ran into one of the students from the same class I went bowling with about a month ago who was going to Pau and coming back the same night, so then I cancelled my other invitation and went! Whew!

We ate at a flippin' expensive Chinese buffet- 15€! It included frog legs- it it always interesting to see how the cuisine of the host country influences the visiting cuisine! We went and played pool at the bowling alley, and then we went and found one of the American assistants. One of them is going to teach me how to drive a stick....super excited about that. It's something I have been passively pursuing for quite a few years now. As of next Thursday, I should have my first manual driving experience!

THANKSGIVING

Last night I made 6 dozen knock-off chocolate chip cookies. Whew! What work!

Bordeaux Pics

These are pictures of us playing twister/falling over after losing at twister/being at the establishment we visited after twister!