Of Grey Skies and Orange Umbrellas

A rainy afternoon in Rennes—the beginning of fall, I suppose. Unfortunately, I too am feeling under the weather with a poor sore throat :(

I braved the grey skies and wind earlier today to meet another assistant who arrived in town on Tuesday--Mark from New York--at Place de la République. We got to chat as we dodged the parade of people on strike downtown protesting the raising of the retirement age from 60 to 62. According to PA’s mom Claudine, France has the lowest retirement age besides Italy at 57! I was supposed to meet the teachers at my school this afternoon, but the meeting was cancelled because the teachers themselves were out protesting! I’m sure it won’t be my last brush with a grève (strike), but at least the metro here is automated, so I never have to worry about it shutting down ;)

Mark and I wandered up through the old city through some of the main squares and shopping streets. We ended up at Place Sainte-Anne where there is a small mall, tons of restaurants, and the famous Rue de la Soif (Street of Thirst) lined with tons of little bars. We grabbed tuna salad baguette sandwiches and sat on the church steps to chat. His girlfriend, Tara of New Jersey, joined us after she did a visit to an apartment, so we visited some more. They were both International Relations majors in college, and Mark is actually applying to some of the same grad school programs for next year that I am. They are both Jewish, so when they got to Rennes, they called up the synagogue and found local families that were willing to host them until they could get on their feet. How nice is that! I'm glad I had PA to do that for me too.

I left them around 3pm to head back to Villejean, do some grocery shopping, and get back to the apartment before it started to pour. I even bought myself a bright orange umbrella to represent the Volunteer state and shine a little color into this grey city. Pierre-Antoine was back from a long day of classes soon after and we both just relaxed in the living room. I was excited to be able to make some sweet potato fries for dinner because PA’s mom had a little, old oven that she let us bring to the apartment. A little taste of home can bring so much comfort.

The other two roomies are out at a party, so PA and I just ate our dinner and watched his favorite news program. Then there was a show on called “Tellement Vrai (So True)” with the subject “Cougars: Femmes mûres cherchent jeunes hommes (Cougars: Mature Women Looking for Young Men).” Documentary style, it showed us the lives of a few Frenchwomen in their 50s who were looking for guys in their 20s! It was kind of funny but also informative, I suppose. Goes to show that people are the same everywhere… looking for companionship.

Tomorrow I have another meeting with another recently arrived assistant in the morning, and then a dinner and drinks party with the six or seven assistants now in town. I’m so excited to meet everyone! And since I know by default that these people share my love of the French language and travel abroad, we already have a nice common ground on which to build. This year keeps getting more promising as I adjust to the lifestyle and make connections with more people here. Stay tuned!

Bisous!