A frivolous weekend

Friday was my last workday with only two classes where I taught kids the Cupid Shuffle, fed them jelly beans, and played Pictionary. Super fun, and my last students asked to be facebook friends with me^^ I was pumped, obviously, so I went on a nice evening run in the park.

[Author's Note: Europeans use A LOT of emoticons online, a habit which I seem to have picked up. I apologize to any offended parties.]

That night I celebrated the end of work by going out. Some assistant girls came over for hookah and chatting and we headed to Pym's around 12h30 for dancing! The music was great in 2/3 of the rooms, but we mostly stuck to the rap/R&B/salsa floor :) They wanted to leave by 2:20 because of tiredness, so I had to go home still bursting with dance energy! Oh well, I'll party in Paris soon!

Saturday was the greatest day! Katherine came at 9am, and we spent the day: marketing for mini-muffins, eating galette saucisse for breakfast, sitting outside at Haricot Rouge for an almond latte, shopping (black strappy heels! and cute mugs withcartoon kittens that say, "Je retombe amoureuse tous les matins [I fall in love again every morning]"!), and eating bread/cheese/fig jam/saucisse sèche/strawberries for lunch :) It was 79 F out!!! I think every human being in Rennes was outside on the streets shopping and/or eating today.

Cutest purchase EVER!

Katherine wanted cute French placemats to take home, so we checked all the kitchen stores in town and got adorable ones. Back at my apartment, we had quiet time for reading/napping. Afterwards, we rivived ourselves with an evening coffee and snacking on baguettes while listening to the guitar guy outside playing songs like "Umbrella," "Wonderwall," and "Take Me Home Coutry Roads" in a slight French accent. It's so warm here, and I have no air conditioning so the windows are constantly open to the breeze.

And what I am assuming is the last big assistants party took place Saturday night chez Tara of New Jersey. I went over around 9:30 and was home around midnight. There was a mix of English, French, and Spanish conversations going on with some assistants I hadn't seen in months and some I had never met at all! Unfortunately, my night was dampened by a drunk man passed out in my building's hallway... He was gone in the morning, but I was still creeped out :/

On Eater Sunday, Katherine came back over for a food marathon. We started the day with a brunch of scrambled eggs with lardons, onions and cheese, and mimosas, serenaded by Michael Buble. We had also bought festive chocolates in bunny and bell forms because in France, it is flying bells that deliver the candy to kids--delicious and purchased 2 for 1 ;)

Easter brunch :)

Easter chocolates! Miam!

After coffee, we went for a stroll in the park in sundresses and our new heels^^, and I took tons of artsy flower phots (see my Rennes Spring 2011 album!). We spent the late afternoon watching 10 Things I Hate About You (the movie) online and dozing until dinner. For the grande finale of Easter, we went to an Indian restaurant and ordered lamb dishes, miam miam! We were stuffed full and ended up in pjs to watch Disney's Beauty and the Beast. It was a lovely, relaxing day :)

Graduation Goggles

How apt that this week's How I Met Your Mother was about "graduation goggles," describing how we become nostalgic about things when we are about to leave them forever. Now, France has not been a cakewalk for me this year, and I really want to go home, but maybe some of the tough times are already getting blurred by the beginning of final goodbyes... And lately, I have been often surrounded by assistants wanting a few last hurrahs before we all scatter, so the champagne cocktails and snacks and dance music all around us is a nice cushion from the dull realities of these seven months of an assistant's life.

So on Tuesday, Katherine and Caitlin came into Rennes for one last dinner out at Casa Pépé, just the three of us. It was DELICIOUS as usual! We also watched a movie and just chatted, as classic slumber parties require. Then today, Amanda and David came over from Fougères for lunch. Sadly, it was too chilly for picnicking, but we ate yummy burgers at Snack My Dwitch Up and hung out, with a late afternoon stop at Le Haricot Rouge for their spring chocolate flavors menu! Mmm, coconut! Hooray for other humans!

But now, again, my apartment is empty and the sky is grey (as it is 90% of the time here...), and the graduation goggles are thrown aside yet again. *sigh*

Luckily, I have a cocktail party on Saturday and an assistants' dinner next Tuesday. But by next Friday, pretty much everyone will have left. The family then shows up May 4th! Ack!

Everybody's working for the weekend!

Nothing much happens around here except for the weekends, and this one was rather exciting! Friday I tidied up the apartment and made rum punch and jello shots with PA for a party at my place. Had a mix of Americans, French, Germans, a Brit, and an Australian. We hung out, danced, played the Apples to Apples game that PA translated into French. It was so chill and fun!

Saturday was busy again. Caitlin, Katherine, and I joined the visiting assistants from Fougères, Amanda and David, for lunch at a vegetarian restaurant. It was DELICIOUS! Tons of unidentified veggies and tofu with yummy flavors! They even gave us a free dessert :)

From there, we went directly to Le Haricot Rouge for lattes, hot chocolate, and cookies. We played War and talked American politics, which was so fun. We got to wandering the streets in the unusual sun after that, stopping in the 2euro store (I guess a bit classier than a $1 store at home). I discovered a scalp massager that looks like a whisk whose loops got cut at the ends—it feels soooo good!

Scalp massager!

We split up around four. Caitlin and Katherine hung out at my place for awhile, but Caitlin had to catch a train back to Vitré to get laundry done. Katherine stuck around to go out for Indian food, which was AMAZING! Lamb buryani with actual spiciness! And samosas! I was in heaven ;)

So I spent tons of money on food Saturday, but the flavors and conversations that accompanied it were priceless!

Last night, there was a party in the apartment above me, so I managed to sleep from 11pm-3:30am and then again 5am-noon! I've got to plan some lessons and clean from the party, *sigh*

Other recent photos that I've just uploaded:

Katherine and my rotisserie chicken lunch!

Part of Vitré's castle!

Holidays! Starting in St Malo!

Wow, a week to catch up on now! My last classes this term went well--we played a taboo-esque game that the kids enjoyed. It was kind of sad since I won't be working with these classes anymore--I have a whole new schedule for January and February. I just hope I did some good!

Then Friday was a bit of an adventure. I had to go to the immigration office for a medical exam so I could get my official residence permit. I ended up seeing five other assistants there at the same time! The process was very quick, one of the most efficient things I've seen in France or elsewhere: chest xray, immunization record, eye exam, height/weight, brief medical history, listen to lungs, check xray, blood pressure. All of this in three rooms in a hallway in under an hour! Bravo! I got my OFII sticker in my passport and immediately had a copy sent to the office for my housing assistance money. All paperwork taken care of, I'm legal!

So Katherine joined up with my afterwards and we headed to the train station to pick up Herbert, an assistant in Quimper who was coming in for an afternoon immigration appointment. He is from Louisianna, and I had talked to him on facebook before, so he asked me to be his Rennes tour guide for the day. For the morning, we walked all around the center city, ate tartines for lunch, and let him buy a jar of Mississippi Belle peanut butter at my grocery store--apparently, I'm lucky they stock it!

He headed off to his appointment, and I saw PA for a bit. When Herbert was done, it was snowing like crazy, so I took him to Le Haricot Rouge for hot chocolate and a few hours of warm, cozy conversation. They were even playing a Black Eyed Peas album, so we rocked out to that. The crowning moment of the day was the lights show at the mairie; Rennes literally projects lights onto the mayor's building in an awesome Disney-esque animation show! I'll film it sometime soon because it is every night until Janurary 2. Then poor Herbert had a 40 minute train delay! Still, he picked a good day to visit Rennes!

Saturday was a real French adventure! Katherine and I took the train to St. Malo, a walled coastal city. Even though we had slush under our feet and rain coming down on our heads, we trekked into the old city and took tons of pictures of the buildings, walls, beaches, sea! At one point, we realized that music was coming from speakers on every street corner--from Christmas carols to Rhianna! Cute or creepy? The jury is still out on that one...

Marina at the approach to the city gates.

Islands and swimming area off of St. Malo.

We had a delicious three course lunch of warm goat cheese salad, lamb and mashed potatos, and chocolate crepes. In the afternoon, the weather turned around and we had blue skies and beautiful light. We returned to the walls and walked around half the city on them, admiring the adorableness of it all. We also did a fair bit of shopping at the Christmas market (where I spent about 50 euros...) and in all the shops and enjoyed some warm, spiced wine.

Drinking warm wine!

St. Malo Christmas Market.

After a coffee and warmth break at a bar/cafe, we hit the streets again and saw a ton more people out! This led us to believe that the people of St Malo are vampires... ;) So more shopping, seeing the house of the Duchess of Anne, trying the Breton specialty butter cake, and walking the other half of the walls was on the late afternoon agenda. The lighting at the snowy beach was incredible! Just admire these photos below (and all of the ones in my Rennes Winter album) to get an idea.

We had a last cup of tea/chocolate in a classy salon du thé facing the cathedral before we had to trek back to the train station through the ice. It was a gorgeous day in a cute city full of lots of good food! A nice way to start off a holiday break.

Today I'm in the apartment resting, nursing my cold, maybe even cleaning a bit! Everyone is scattering for break, so I'll be entertaining myself for the most part. Skype me!

A cute festive touch at the St Malo market^^

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!