More...um...adventures?

Calling these adventures is, well, a bit of a stretch. Maybe if I lump them all together, you won't notice how, well, boring I've been lately. I've always felt rather independent, but it's really not as much fun wandering around my cold town all alone. I can't wait until you all start to visit me!

But at least I do have friends around, even if they aren't close. Soon after I got my hair cut, my friend Anna came to visit. I love having Anna here, as we always end up laughing and having a great time, even if we're just hanging out in my apartment watching movies and eating Nutella.

Anna also had her first French eclair the other weekend. These things are really good. Like, really, really good. 

We also made crepes. (You have to put the Nutella on something, and people judge when you eat it on a spoon. Not that that stops me.)

Later that week, I got the chance to really go to Dieppe. (See here for my first, not-so-exciting experience in Dieppe.)

This time my friend Amélie invited me to have lunch at her grandmother's house. She lives in the countryside near Dieppe, so after lunch Amélie and I decided to head to the coast.

I got to touch the ocean!  It was cold and windy, so we just had to stop, take advantage of les soldes, and buy new hats.

Trés chic, non? Amélie is so French in her beret!

We also had a beautiful, spring-like day on Friday the 11th. I'm talking 55 F and sunny. Sunny. I broke out my sunglasses and went for a walk down by the Seine.

Look how happy my Toms are to be out by the Seine!

I discovered a fun mural on a local building. I have no idea what this building is, but isn't the art fun? 

I also made some new friends while I took these photos. Tourists don't really come to Elbeuf, despite our fabulous museum, so taking pictures tends to get me noticed. These guys somehow automatically guessed I spoke English (I hate when that happens. How do they know?), and we had a conversation about why I was in Elbeuf, despite it being merde. 

I love random encounters.

The circus was in town again this weekend...

and my friend Charlotte had a book signing at a local bookstore. 

I got a little lost trying to get here, because when Charlotte said the book signing was at la librarie, the English speaking part of my brain pictured my local library. But librarie in French means bookstore, so I ended up confusing myself and some librarians before I figured out my mistake. Oops.

I also got the chance to introduce Anna and Kirsty to the Elbeuf Museum. It's one of the few things going on in my town, so I talk about it a lot. Plus it's free! The only thing I don't love about it is the lighting. It's dim and it creates a really nice atmosphere and really bad photos. 

See? And these are enhanced. The bad lighting is the museum's doing, but the silliness...that's all us!

We also went in search of coffee and discovered a local bar celebrating the Simpsons. French people love this show; I'm just sad that this is their window into American culture.

And to finish up this epic-ly long post, my valentine's day in France:

I went into town to shop for boots (I bought some, but they've got to go back; they're too small). Then I bought myself a fancy eclair. Yum. It was a lovely day, despite my lack of an amoureuse. 

Hope your Valentine's Day was wonderful too!  I'll be back soon with Fun French Friday.

Back to School

My vacation is over. It was relaxing, but now I'm ready to get back to school. My days need a little purpose, a little work. (Although, if anyone is interested in funding a year or two of my life in a foreign country just writing, sightseeing, photographing, eating and crafting...I wouldn't say no.)

The most exciting part of my vacation was a day in Paris. It was marvelously, deliciously sunny...the kind that made me want to sing about sunbeams turning to lemon drops.

We found ourselves on the Champs-Élysées.

We oogled a few windows. In French, this is called “faire du lèche-vitrines,” or “Window Licking.” This is something I'm much more likely to actually do at a patisserie. I dare you to look at this and not salivate a little.

{flaky, sugary, custardy deliciousness} 

We also made our way to the Eiffel Tower and up to Montmarte to see Sacré Coeur.

Other vacation highlights included two visits to a French version of Goodwill, spending time with friends, receiving my first paycheck and my debit card, and going on photo explorations of Elbeuf. Watch for those photos soon.

But now it's back to school. That is actually why I came to France.

That and the bread...oh the bread...

Where was I?

Ah yes. School.

I'm assisting in three French schools--Monod and Camus (which are actually one building but different schools) and Jules Verne.

I'm incredibly excited. And unsure.

I'm finally figuring out what my actual role will be in my classes. In some, it seems like I will just be a talking head, serving as a live example of good pronunciation for whatever lesson is being taught. But in others I'm going to get to plan lessons.

In most cases, I seem to be somewhat superfluous. Most of the teachers know English well enough to teach it, and I sometimes feel like I'm just getting in their way; I hope this feeling will subside as my schedule gets organized.

Either way, I'm exited about working with the primary students. They're about the same as 1st through 5th graders in the United States, and they seem great. I'm somewhat of a novelty right now, so they all want to play soccer and marbles with me (that's right, French kids play marbles) and try to speak English.

However, most of them just know, "What is your name?" "Vat iz yur nam?" Very cute.

There were some other great moments when I introduced myself to the classes:

Everyone seemed to know about Las Vegas, even the first graders.

A second grader asked if I knew Marilyn Monroe.

Other good questions:

"Is everyone in the United States rich? Everyone has big houses and big cars, yes?"

"Do lots of people live in the United States?"