Paperwork... DONE!

I spent a nice Thursday evening out. I took Pierre-Antoine to the Japanese restaurant Fuji where we shared potstickers, sushi, and fried chicken bits. We were craving sweet afterwards, so we went to a place called Le Haricot Rouge (The Red Bean). They are famous for their hot chocolate with flavors added and their authentic XVIIth century chocolate. I took Le Spécial that had cinnamon, caramel, and pistachio added with whipped cream on top! PA had a delicious moeulleux de chocolat—a denser, darker brownie than in the US. And yes, we ate outside in the not-too-chilly evening.

We left there about 8:45 to meet our groups for the night. He was going to a party of classmates in his current American studies master, and I was meeting other English assistants at Melody Maker, a bar that plays cool rock music right around the corner from Sainte Anne. Caely and Emma were there when I arrived, and I had a Saint Benoît beer (light but hoppy) with them. Later came Marie and Berit. We compared school working environments and gave each other tips on the paperwork to be done in addition to just chatting. Reminding myself that others are having the same difficulties as me makes me feel so much better—that sounds weird, but I just feel less alone when I hear an assistant voice the same concerns and then listen to everyone’s ideas on how to solve the problem. I also learned about a bunch of group activities for the weekend, so I might be visiting the Saturday market, the art museum, and an assistant dinner at the crêperie under my apartment!

I have no work today, so I spent the morning taking care of social security and free transport. I got lost finding the Caisse première d’assurance maladie where I had to go for social security/basic health insurance. I just handed the woman all the papers I had, and she sorted through all of it to make my dossier. So now I get reimbursed for around 75% of medical expenses and medicines!

Then, I went to a community center to get free transport since I make less than €976 a month. The woman at the information desk kept saying that I couldn’t get it if I hadn’t lived in Rennes for a year already, but I told her that I knew another language assistant who just did it and insisted on talking to someone else. The next woman was much nicer; she took my work contract, passport, and address and charged my Carte Korrigo for six months of free metro and bus!

So the morning was a productive success! Even though I probably said very dumb things in French, everyone understood me enough to put everything together, and that is a very nice feeling.

Now that all my paperwork is done, I hardly know what to do with myself! Since PA has afternoon classes, maybe I’ll just go downtown with my FREE transport card and wander around :) Or maybe God will smile down on me some more, and I’ll get the phone call to pick up my apartment keys!

PA is going to Normandy for the weekend, escorting students to the Bayeux Tapestry and the World War II memorial in Caen. I have thus lined up some activities with the assistants. Should be busy... I hope!

Classes

At school on Wednesday, English prof Laetitia took me to the library (very small) and the graphic arts studios to see the graphic design labs full of fancy Macs and the huge printing presses. Very impressive. I then sat in on a class of secondes (sophomores) taught by the intern Julie. The kids are a bit high-strung but good-hearted. For a change, I just observed them working on a letter filling in the correct verb tenses.

I chatted with her for a bit after class—she worked in London and in Ireland, so she has a twinge of an Irish accent. She just moved so she has an extra bed oven she is giving me for free! So lucky! Catherine also got me two chairs so far, and PA’s mom has things in the basement I can take too!

Made delicious Altruda’s lemon chicken for dinner and spent the evening watching PA’s dvds of ER or Urgences as it was called in France. Apparently, it was super popular here! We switch between English and the French dubbing.

It’s a bit annoying to still live out in Villejean and not in the center. While the metro is fast, it makes one feel tired just to have to travel like that… at least I think so. I’ll get over it eventually, I suppose.

Today, I went to school at 10:30 and found the English professors in the teacher’s lounge (I get to hang out there and use the teacher’s bathrooms, lucky me!). Corrine took me to her 10:40 class where I did a bit of introduction and then listened to them do mock conversations—it was a very nice class of girls studying to be secretaries. I had a lunch break, so I walked back to the apartment (10-15 minutes) to eat with PA.

I had another class at 1:30 with Gael who told her students (also a class of just girls) to ask me questions all class. I sat in the front of the room and waited for them to formulate questions from “Where are you from?” to “What do you like about French culture?”—it was usually a team effort to piece together vocabulary and grammar correctly. One side of the room got rowdy, and the prof kicked one student out. Then, she asked me to leave because their behavior was deteriorating. That was kind of awkward, but they are very strict on discipline here. All the teachers have made it clear that I will not have to put up with misbehavior. I guess they are already weeding out which students won’t get to have time with me.

I grabbed a coffee from the teacher’s lounge machine to pass the time until my 2:30 class with Karen. It was the usual presentation and question session at the beginning. Then, the students got down to working on description words, doing book exercises for the most part. They too were a bit high-strung, so I felt bad for distracting them with my presence. Afterwards, I talked to all the profs, and they suggested that I not tell my age or that I speak French so that the students will respect me more. We shall see if that works… Either way, I am currently frustrated with not knowing what is going on. I can’t wait until I’m settled into a schedule and can plan my own lessons. I like being in control.

Today was actually a nice day in Rennes with no rain, some sun, and only a light jacket necessary. After work, I metro-ed downtown and waited in line at the transport office to get a Carte Korrigo that works unlimited on all the metro and buses of Rennes for a monthly fee. Tomorrow I will go to the Centre d’Action Sociale which will provide me with free transport on the card since I make less than 1,000 euros a month. I also have to go register for Social Security ASAP, but that office is literally next door to the CAS! Hopefully, I will work in a block in the morning or afternoon and so have time to get everything done before 5.

As for this evening, I have a rendez-vous with some assistants at a bar downtown, and PA has the same with some people in his classes. I can’t wait to go out and just chill.

Thanks to Ma and Aunt Cathy for the care package—very nice!

Much love,
L