I tried to keep myself busy and around other humans this weekend! Friday I met up with Katherine and Anna, a visiting assistant from Normandy. We wandered a bit, then we met Julia for some aperatifs and a crêperie dinner. Half the group went to a feminist club lecture, and Katherine and I just went up to my apartment to chill and watch How I Met Your Mother online.
Saturday, Katherine and I met up with a big group to visit the market. We wandered off into the crowd ourselves and left with a whole roasted chicken and potatos for lunch--SOOOOOO DELICIOUS! The potatos are cooked right under the roasting meat, so they have yummy grease all over them :) Again, a few hours of relaxing and people watching from my window...
Sunday afternoon was spent in Vitré at Caitlin's for an eggplant parmesan and cookie making/eating extravaganza! Unfortunately, the 6:30 train back to Rennes was horribly crowded, and I was in a bad mood from it.
PA and I spent the evening watching the Bears v. Packers game online, and it was way too sad... That was the only football game I've watched this season! How strange...
Only one class today... Now I have some time to prepare my American High Schools lesson to educate these children! And I just want to spend some time reading too... People are fun to hang out with, but I need to study and grow some more wrinkles on my brain.
Fun French fact: "To go window shopping" is "faire du lèche vitrines," which translates literally to "do window licking." HAHAHAHAHA!!! xD
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label friends. Show all posts
Monday, January 24, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Sick again... ugh!
Bonjour tout le monde ! Hello everyone!
I ended up with a sore throat and earache again this weekend, so I had to trek back to the doctor on Monday morning, missing three hours of class. Apparently, the antibiotic I got in December doesn't treat ear infections, so it has been lingering!!! Ugh! I don't trust French docs!!!
Another weird thing about French medicine is that they sell all the drugs in their original boxes with the pills in foil. So if I need 24 pills, I could end up with three boxes of ten and just have extra pills lying around... It seems like a waste to me.
Anyway, I spent Monday and Tuesday resting in my apartment, sleeping a ton. I felt much better by this morning, so I went to Vitré with Katherine to make funfetti cupcakes at Caitlin's apartment. First, we had a fishsticks and french fries meal as though we were toddlers again. We also took a walk to the castle because the weather has been rather springlike and clear lately! The cupcakes were made and eaten while listening to Glee music and chatting. It was a pleasant afternoon with friends :)
After a five-day hiatus, I have two long workdays ahead of me! Tennessee music, here we come!
I ended up with a sore throat and earache again this weekend, so I had to trek back to the doctor on Monday morning, missing three hours of class. Apparently, the antibiotic I got in December doesn't treat ear infections, so it has been lingering!!! Ugh! I don't trust French docs!!!
Another weird thing about French medicine is that they sell all the drugs in their original boxes with the pills in foil. So if I need 24 pills, I could end up with three boxes of ten and just have extra pills lying around... It seems like a waste to me.
Anyway, I spent Monday and Tuesday resting in my apartment, sleeping a ton. I felt much better by this morning, so I went to Vitré with Katherine to make funfetti cupcakes at Caitlin's apartment. First, we had a fishsticks and french fries meal as though we were toddlers again. We also took a walk to the castle because the weather has been rather springlike and clear lately! The cupcakes were made and eaten while listening to Glee music and chatting. It was a pleasant afternoon with friends :)
After a five-day hiatus, I have two long workdays ahead of me! Tennessee music, here we come!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Weekend of friends!!!
Well, I just had one of the most fun girls weekends in France! Friday night, Katherine, Caitlin, Kelsey, and I went out to dinner. We tried Adonis, a Lebanese place that PA recommended to me. You order a menu, so we got the mid-price one with seven cold dishes and seven warm dishes for 14 euros a person--so good! There was hummus, stuffed grape leaves, chicken wings, beef and chicken skewers, falafel, shrimp, and so much else to try. We also had a nice aperatif kir and chatted for a long time.
Afterwards, Katherine, Caitlin and I hung out at my place until K's bus at 11. It was like a slumber party with gossip and music and silliness. Very fun! Then, Caitlin and I watched Les femmes de l'ombre (Women of the Shadow) about women spies during World War II. It was kind of intense so we had to watch some funny stuff before going to bed.
We three had planned to meet up for the Satuday market at 11, but poor sleepy Caitlin was a little slow getting out of bed. Instead, in my apartment we had coffee, chatted and people watched from my window. We eventually decided to grab sandwiches and go to a movie, Sofia Coppola's Somewhere that was playing in English with French subtitles. A bit too slow and artsy for me, but it was nice to get out and just see a movie to do something different!
More exciting was the shop we stopped in on the walk back... We bought gorgeous little cakes! We had a bit more time of pretending my apartment was a cafe, perhaps Café Laurène on Place Sainte Anne ;)
But after the friends and fun are gone for the night... things get really quiet in my apartment. I get back to reflection on how my time is being spent here.
Sometimes it feels like my life has gone stagnant here--in a foreign country where daily life is not at all the same as being at home or at school, it is hard to see the big picture. How exactly does a year teaching English to kids in France help me in any of my long-term plans? I just try to remember that not everything in life has to be relevant to ultimate goals and that you have to put in time to get general life and language skills (though it may be slow and frustrating).
Though the professors at the school often say the kids like my lessons, I just don't feel very fulfilled by or interested in the work I do here. Many of the assistants I know have discovered a love for teaching in this program, while I have learned that I do not want to work with anyone under the age of 18 ever again. I guess that is something worth finding out before I tried to get a Masters of teaching or something...
I think I'm just not used to so much alone time now--home, school, dorms, roommates, lots of people have always just been around. Here, if I don't really make an effort, I can spend a whole day not talking to anyone else. I may be going insane in my isolation chamber! Or at least over-analyzing too much...
I can't wait to see my family and my home again!
Afterwards, Katherine, Caitlin and I hung out at my place until K's bus at 11. It was like a slumber party with gossip and music and silliness. Very fun! Then, Caitlin and I watched Les femmes de l'ombre (Women of the Shadow) about women spies during World War II. It was kind of intense so we had to watch some funny stuff before going to bed.
We three had planned to meet up for the Satuday market at 11, but poor sleepy Caitlin was a little slow getting out of bed. Instead, in my apartment we had coffee, chatted and people watched from my window. We eventually decided to grab sandwiches and go to a movie, Sofia Coppola's Somewhere that was playing in English with French subtitles. A bit too slow and artsy for me, but it was nice to get out and just see a movie to do something different!
More exciting was the shop we stopped in on the walk back... We bought gorgeous little cakes! We had a bit more time of pretending my apartment was a cafe, perhaps Café Laurène on Place Sainte Anne ;)
 |
| Little cakes... YUM! |
 |
| Hanging out at Cafe Laurène! ;) |
Sometimes it feels like my life has gone stagnant here--in a foreign country where daily life is not at all the same as being at home or at school, it is hard to see the big picture. How exactly does a year teaching English to kids in France help me in any of my long-term plans? I just try to remember that not everything in life has to be relevant to ultimate goals and that you have to put in time to get general life and language skills (though it may be slow and frustrating).
Though the professors at the school often say the kids like my lessons, I just don't feel very fulfilled by or interested in the work I do here. Many of the assistants I know have discovered a love for teaching in this program, while I have learned that I do not want to work with anyone under the age of 18 ever again. I guess that is something worth finding out before I tried to get a Masters of teaching or something...
I think I'm just not used to so much alone time now--home, school, dorms, roommates, lots of people have always just been around. Here, if I don't really make an effort, I can spend a whole day not talking to anyone else. I may be going insane in my isolation chamber! Or at least over-analyzing too much...
I can't wait to see my family and my home again!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Reflections
So I'm currently sick in bed (just sore throat and headache, nothing serious, Ma!), and thus I have been spending a lot of time thinking... Plus, the holidays are coming up, and this is the first year I'm not in Knoxville or Chicago with my family.
Copenhagen was a nice break from my life in France. It made me realize how settled I've become here in Rennes--the apartment is set up, I have people I like, my work schedule is normal, most of my bureaucratic duties are complete. From January until June, my life is going to be a breeze! Now I have to remind myself to make the most of it.
I really need to give kudos to EBrown, who is one of those people who can just make you think. We were talking about people who make you grow as a person, and that made me start mentally listing the family members, friends, aquaintances, professors, coworkers, etc. who have inspired and/or changed me in some way.
Family can go without saying--almost--because those are the people who always have your back. My family has been so nice in sending me letters, skyping me, facebooking me, and sending me care packages (thanks again mom and dad!) while I've been away, and it keeps me from feeling forgotten or alone. Being truly apart from them for this long makes me realize how much I take for granted every crazy holiday I usually spend with them. I miss the silliness! I miss being around people who are truly interested, invested, and involved in my life.
It also makes me think of friends who are more like family because they've been in my life so long--Jean and Danielle, I miss you so much! Life is not the same without lunch/dinner dates and movie nights with lots of laughs. Also in Knoxville, Helen and Deepa, my sworn enemies, will have no movie room and interesting conversation to entertain them this holiday. How boring for us all!
And on to my college friends... I have Marguerite, who is both hilarious and intelligent--you can laugh and philosophize with her anytime. Many an afternoon at Furman was spent wandering around the lake working through my life plans with her. Why she was able to listen to me whine that much, I'll never know, but I am eternally grateful.
Then, of course, I have my Africa group of professors and students I love dearly. These people were challenging, inspiring, silly, and serious all together, and I certainly miss that constant excitement of being in a group of caring people. Dr. Ching and Dr. Maher opened my eyes to a lot of things, and the students I was with helped me talk them out and relate them to my own life. Seeing EBrown and Lily this weekend really refreshed these feelings in me.
And this post would be amiss if I didn't mention Pierre-Antoine, the best friend I've ever had. He makes me want to go out in the world and have fun, see new places, learn new things. He's my living French dictionary and we get to teach each other about our cultures everyday--from him making his favorite tartiflette dish to me making him watch Zoolander for the first time. Every day is some little adventure that keeps me from taking life too seriously. I don't know what I would do without him.
So thanks to all of you! And to all the people I couldn't mention because I really need to go to sleep now... It's just one of those "It's A Wonderful Life" moments when you see what effect one person can have on so many--and all of you have had such a powerful effect on me.
Je vous aime ! I love you!
Copenhagen was a nice break from my life in France. It made me realize how settled I've become here in Rennes--the apartment is set up, I have people I like, my work schedule is normal, most of my bureaucratic duties are complete. From January until June, my life is going to be a breeze! Now I have to remind myself to make the most of it.
I really need to give kudos to EBrown, who is one of those people who can just make you think. We were talking about people who make you grow as a person, and that made me start mentally listing the family members, friends, aquaintances, professors, coworkers, etc. who have inspired and/or changed me in some way.
Family can go without saying--almost--because those are the people who always have your back. My family has been so nice in sending me letters, skyping me, facebooking me, and sending me care packages (thanks again mom and dad!) while I've been away, and it keeps me from feeling forgotten or alone. Being truly apart from them for this long makes me realize how much I take for granted every crazy holiday I usually spend with them. I miss the silliness! I miss being around people who are truly interested, invested, and involved in my life.
It also makes me think of friends who are more like family because they've been in my life so long--Jean and Danielle, I miss you so much! Life is not the same without lunch/dinner dates and movie nights with lots of laughs. Also in Knoxville, Helen and Deepa, my sworn enemies, will have no movie room and interesting conversation to entertain them this holiday. How boring for us all!
And on to my college friends... I have Marguerite, who is both hilarious and intelligent--you can laugh and philosophize with her anytime. Many an afternoon at Furman was spent wandering around the lake working through my life plans with her. Why she was able to listen to me whine that much, I'll never know, but I am eternally grateful.
Then, of course, I have my Africa group of professors and students I love dearly. These people were challenging, inspiring, silly, and serious all together, and I certainly miss that constant excitement of being in a group of caring people. Dr. Ching and Dr. Maher opened my eyes to a lot of things, and the students I was with helped me talk them out and relate them to my own life. Seeing EBrown and Lily this weekend really refreshed these feelings in me.
And this post would be amiss if I didn't mention Pierre-Antoine, the best friend I've ever had. He makes me want to go out in the world and have fun, see new places, learn new things. He's my living French dictionary and we get to teach each other about our cultures everyday--from him making his favorite tartiflette dish to me making him watch Zoolander for the first time. Every day is some little adventure that keeps me from taking life too seriously. I don't know what I would do without him.
So thanks to all of you! And to all the people I couldn't mention because I really need to go to sleep now... It's just one of those "It's A Wonderful Life" moments when you see what effect one person can have on so many--and all of you have had such a powerful effect on me.
Je vous aime ! I love you!
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