So, last night I decided to be brave (yes, sometimes it's a decision you have to make). I walked down the hall and I asked one of the girls if she knew the password for the wifi. She knew immediately that I'm the English assistant. Either because she saw me come from my little assistant hallway or because I am so American that not even my best French skills can hide it. Anyway, I got the password and was able to connect to the (incredibly weak) wireless...at least for a little while. Then I had that limited connectivity thing going on and it's been that way since. Which is why I'm back at, you guessed it, McDonald's. I wanted to check on a map where the bank I have to go to tomorrow is located. The director of the English department was nice enough to set up an appointment for me to open a compte courant. And when I showed up at the English teachers' lounge today around 11AM, one of the teachers asked if I could come to her class and introduce myself. I helped her prepare an English lesson for later in the day and then went with her to class. This particular group was incredibly small, consisting of five 15 year old boys. She told them to find out as much information about me as they could. "Whut eez your nayme?", " 'ow old ah yoo?", "What ah your 'obbeez?". Adorable! She had to prod them to talk and I had to jump in and ask them questions. Then the prof (Isabelle) asked them to give me suggestions about things to do and see in Alsace, which finally got them talking (castles, castles, and more castles! Also, laser tag.) They promised to celebrate Saint Nicolas with me and I in turn promised to bring them brand new episodes of CSI. I'd say that's a good trade. Anyway, I was feeling pretty blah this morning, but actually getting to do something like that brought back my enthusiasm. And Isabelle already asked me to work with her class every Tuesday for at least this trimester. As for the rest of my schedule? It will probably be relatively empty until after la Toussaint. But (did I mention this already?), there will be a schedule in my mailbox and the English professors can just fill in where and when they want me to assist. I have to start coming up with games/activities. Definitely some Jeopardy! and Guess Who. I'd like to use movies and music too. So hopefully I'll be able to incorporate all of that.

I met up with Mary and the rest of the Mulhouse assistants today at the Gare centrale. We bought our tickets and got the Carte 12-25, which, once paid for, basically let's you take the train anywhere in France for half price. I guess I should probably figure out what I want to do for la Toussaint, since I have a ridiculous amount of days off (Oct. 24-Nov.5). I know Mary already has plans to visit her old host family, but maybe another assistant will want to travel with me. Anyway, after the tickets, Mary and I grabbed lunch at this place that serves pasta in what look like Chinese food take-out containers. I had ravioli with spinach. V. good. Then we used the free Subway wifi for a bit. Then we hit Monoprix for a few things.

Found out that there might be another assistant living with me, well in one of the rooms in my little hallway anyway. I like being alone and I don't. Which is probably how it is for most people. It's nice to have everything to yourself, but it can get lonely. However it works out, though, I'll make the most of it. I guess I'm going to finish my mozzarella salad + Coca light and then head back to my room. I have episodes of House and Dollhouse to watch. If you loved me, you'd send me a TV.

Stephanie (:

Trees change color here.

Meet my good friend Tram-y

Yesterday I walked a zillion miles to the city center. And by a zillion, I mean 3. I went into the shopping center and picked up some things at Monoprix. Then took the tram back. I was out from about 12 to 4, but nothing very exciting happened. I went back to my room, took a shower, took a nap, and then came back to good ol' MacDo. I was talking to another assistant on g-chat when we realized that we were sitting two tables away from each other! So we ended up chatting for a bit and made plans to hang out.

Today we met at a tram stop and headed back to the center. Most things are closed on Sundays, but we were able to wander around le musée des beaux arts and look at des oeuvres alsaciennes. Had a drink at a cafe. Stopped for sandwiches at a patisserie. Sat for a while in the park. Headed back towards MacDo, but not before stopping at le parc des sports to watch some older gentlemen play a game of boules (French bocce ball, basically). Very fun to see how heated it gets between them. Now we're at MacDo again. I swear I'll do something more French once I have internet in my room. It's just very hard to feel cut off and that's how I feel if I don't at least check my mail.

Tomorrow I have to do important things like get a justificatif de domicile so I can open a bank account so I can get paid at some point. I also have to sign papers at the school and send some stuff to the immigration office. All very annoying, but I don't really have a choice. Tuesday, I'll go with a couple of assistants to buy train tickets for Friday. Apparently our orientation is pretty short, so we can wander around Strasbourg for a while afterward and have plenty of time to get back.

So, I woke up super sore this morning. Probably since I've been walking all over the place here after months and months of slothdom at home. Hopefully I can get myself used to exercise again before I have to go run around on a mountain with the English professors next weekend. My sleeping schedule is still a little off, but hopefully it will balance itself out soon enough.

I suppose that's all I have to report for now.

Stephanie (:

Oh hey. I'm in France. And of all places, I'm sitting at McDonald's because they happen to have free wi-fi and the internet in my room is not currently working. I'm talking to my sister on skype, which is quite nice. I don't think I have enough euros to take the tram back to my school and I can't seem to find an ATM, but whatever. I'm not that far away and it's worth it to be able to chat. I'm trying to download the latest episode of Glee so I'll have something to watch later in my room...it's taking forever. So! My trip!

My family took me to the airport a few hours before my 7:55 PM flight. We ate dinner and I bought a book of a crosswords and a Swatch watch. Around 6, I said good-bye and headed through security. I cried when I hugged my mom and dad and sister. And as I waited in line, I had to bite my lip to hold back more tears. I'm cry easily anyway so I expected it. When I got through and to my gate I didn't have much time before boarding the plane. Which was good, since I despise waiting. The flight was long. 9 hours. And it's hard for me to sit still. But I had my own personal video screen on which I watched The Hangover and part of the Hannah Montana Movie. I arrived in Frankfurt around 11AM and had to catch a 12:40 flight to Basel/Mulhouse. I went into the tiniest waiting area and had to take a bus to the plane, walking up narrow stairs to board. I passed out before take-off even and woke up when we had landed about 50 minutes later. I wearily followed the other passengers off the plane and to the baggage claim area. I picked up my big red suitcases and somehow was able to pull them while holding my carry-on bag and purse. After a bit of looking around I found Karine, an English teacher from my high school who came to pick me up. She helped me with my bags and we headed for the school (a 30-minute drive). She asked me questions and we ended up talking about cinema! :D

When we got the school (Lycee Louis Armand), Karine called Eric (who I think is a sort of properties manager) who opened the gate and show us my room in the internat (boarding house), as well as the kitchen, and like 37 million different keys I have to use for each door. I feel like I'm in Nicole Kidman in The Others, locking each door behind me before opening another one (so as not to expose the children to light!). Then we went next door to the actual school and saw the classrooms, teachers' lounges, offices, etc. I met a bunch of the English teachers, who are all incredibly nice. Like INCREDIBLY. I actually kind of feel like I've known them before. In another life maybe? And they all tell me I speak French really well! Sans accent! I'm sure they're exaggerating, but it's still nice to hear. And it's nice to know that I'll be speaking plenty of French while I'm hear and hopefully improving more and more. As she was showing me around, Karine was speaking to me in French, but anytime we passed by students, she immediately switched to English because they don't want students to know I speak French so that they'll only speak English in class. Jennifer (from Ireland originally), told me that her class has prepared questions for me already! And Isabelle asked me to prepare a lesson on Halloween for her students. I don't even know when I'll start working, but I'm glad that they seem happy to have me here and that I might actually be genuinely useful.

Yesterday around 5:30 PM I intended to take a nap but ended up sleeping until after midnight. (Thank goodness Karine had thought to bring me some groceries, otherwise I would have been starving and dying of thirst!) I stayed up for a little bit and went back to sleep, not waking up until 10AM. I got myself together quickly and went over to the English teachers' lounge to meet them for their 10:05 break. I hung out for a bit then went back to my room to eat something. I intended to go back pretty quickly but fell asleep reading. I honestly didn't realize how tired I was. But I have the weekend to recuperate. I will hopefully be meeting up with some other Mulhouse assistants tomorrow so we can explore a bit. We have our orientation in Strasbourg on October 2nd. October 3rd and 4th, I'm going to stay at a chalet in Les Vosges with the English teachers. Then on the 6th, they are having a welcome dinner for me at a new restaurant. No idea when I'll start working, though. I still need to set up a bank account and some other boring administrative things. But I think it will all have to wait for Monday.

I basically feel like I'm in a dream...or more like a movie, actually. Yes. That's how it feels. Well, I guess I had better head back before it gets dark. My next post will hopefully include something interesting, some pictures, and something in French (uniquement pour toi, Will!)

A+,

Stephanie (:

Today I go down the rabbit-hole...

I can see this unraveling

Conrad Hotel, Miami.

Familiar blues...

Woodstock, NY.

into the light of the dark black night

For months, this whole thing has seemed like some distant dream. It was always there, getting closer and closer, but it's like there was a fun house mirror in front of me, distorting time and space and distracting me from a crucial fact...I'm going to France for 7 months. And it all finally hits me. Tomorrow evening I will be on a plane, speeding away from everything I know. Adventure, like some dark bird, clutches my heart in its talons.

Don't forget me, OK?

it's too quiet in here/make it all disappear

House of Blues. 16 September

Do you want to know a secret? (Ooh wah ooh) I love the color green. Anyway, I met Sharon at Downtown Disney today for lunch and walking around and yakkety yakking. Melissa actually came with me, which I didn't think she would do. We met in front of the House of Blues and I bought my dad a Blues Brothers T-Shirt from their store since that movie is one of his many obsessions and I couldn't resist. It's pretty bitchin'.

Bitchin' t-shirt

Sharon filled me in on everything that's going on in her life. I'm proud of her for making difficult decisions now for the sake of a happier future. She's strong. It was nice to talk about myself too and what it will be like teaching in France. Sometimes I don't realize how much I keep in my head until it floods out and I can feel it become real with the shape and the sound of the words. We also talked about Melissa's plan to study in Japan starting in January. I really hope it works out for her. That would such an amazing opportunity and I think she needs to get away from here for a while. This is a nowhere place.

Adorable cactus dogs (images from tokidoki)

Bought these little guys for Melissa and I, so we each have one while we're an ocean apart. I'm seriously going to miss my sister ): I hope she can afford to visit me during the holiday break. And my mom, too. I guess we'll see. I haven't even decided if I'm going to come home or not for those two weeks in December. It might not be worth it to spend the money and any home sickness it relieves will probably just end up worse than before. Plus, I hear Alsace is especially beautiful at Christmastime. Again, we'll see.

skeleton nerves

I woke up feeling like this:

"...I shake my wrist so that the skeletons on my charm bracelet do their bone jig...I know what Weetzie meant about her nerves and the skeletons."

-Francesca Lia Block, Missing Angel Juan

I finally made my packing list, but I still haven't even attempted to sort and/or pack things. I think I'll just wait for my mom to get home so she can help me and keep me from freaking out. I got in touch with the girl who was the English assistant last year at my French high school. She answered a lot of my questions and confirmed many of my suspicions. Mulhouse is not the most happening place, it seems, but I am quite good at finding my own fun, particularly because the things I find fun are not necessarily super exciting (taking pictures, reading, watching movies, doing crossword puzzles, etc.) She said if she had it to do over again, she might not have lived in the boarding quarters since the school is a 10-minute ride from the center of the city. But it's SO CHEAP I don't think I can pass it up. I'd rather have money for traveling and endless cups of coffee.
I'm meeting Sharon at Downtown Disney tomorrow for lunch and hanging out. I'm sad that things didn't work out the way she'd hoped, but at least we get a chance to chill one more time before I leave. I sincerely hope she finds her way.
Listening to the new A Fine Frenzy album (Bomb in a Birdcage). It's really excellent. I recommend it! Aside from that I'm pretty much obsessed with the new Broadway cast recording of Hair thanks to my dear cousin (Thanks, Pauly!).
I have Sunshine Cleaning from Netflix to watch. Yesterday I watched The Black Dahlia, which was preeeeetty awful. It sucks that I can't even use the Watch Instantly feature of Netflix while I'm in France. I guess I'll have to find another way!
I guess I'm gonna make something for lunch.

-S

I made a new header because generic things are suckish. Since I don't have Photoshop, I pulled out my MS PAINT skills! I used a photo I took in Paris like four years ago. Hopefully I'll be able to make a better one at some point...since this is not exactly the epitome of quality web graphics.

10

Walking in space

We find the purpose of peace
The beauty of life
You can no longer hide...

I just wanted to set this up and test it out. I hope I'll update it at least somewhat consistently while in France...I'll certainly have plenty of free time. I haven't been thinking too much about leaving, but making this blog actually sent the waves of worry crashing over me...I'm pretty nauseous right now. The thing is, I'm confident in my teaching skills and for the most part in my French and I know that only continued practice will improve either. I love to explore and see new things and I'm pretty independent most of the time, so I'm not really worried about being alone or being in a different place. I'm mostly just afraid of how much I'll miss my family. And of the possibility of being very lonely. I won't be able to get too lonely, though, since I'm sharing living space with at least one other assistant. I'll be living in the school's boarding quarters. I'm under the impression that I'll have my own bedroom but that I'll be sharing a kitchen and bathroom with the German assistant and possibly a Chinese assistant (who apparently won't even be teaching at my school). All I know is that it's SUPER CHEAP (80 euro/month) so that means I'll have more money for traveling and making my room look less prison-y (I can only assume it will be quite prison-y in appearance). Basically I want to improve my French conversational skills, see what it's like to live in another country, wander around, explore, and take pictures of everything. I'm excited that Mulhouse has a cool zoo (parc zoologique) with animals and gardens and other things that I like. I'm hoping I can walk most places and I'm dying to take trains and watch the world pass me by.
I'm leaving in 10 days. I have packed nothing! Thankfully the dress "code" at the school is super casual. So I can just wear my usual t-shirt and skirt combo and add on a cardigan if it's cold or if I'm feeling particularly fancy. I've got two pairs of boots to take also since winter will bring snow. Snow! O, how I've missed thee. I'm trying to figure out in my head how to pack as little as possible while still remaining prepared for anything. I'm optimistic about going and being and doing. I'm lucky that I'll be able to stay in touch via facebook and aim and skype and this dear little blog. It won't be the same as face-to-face. But this is life, it seems. Moving on and being brave.

From Episode 2, Season 4 of Gilmore Girls ("The Lorelais' First Day at Yale"):

Rory: Why don't I want you to go?! This is your fault! You made me such a momma's girl! Why don't I hate you! Say something to make me hate you!
Lorelai: Um, go Hitler?