La deuxième semaine

I'm at the end of my second week (which went just as quickly as the first) and thus dipped just a bit farther into the French lifestyle here.  

I've experienced some of my first classes alone with the students, most of which went fairly well.... On Monday I had a class with 12 or so 20 year old boys, all of whom have a fairly strong level of English.  Since they're a more technical-oriented group, I decided to give them an article on green jobs, which  I also wrote about here.  I've now realized that I'll most likely be spending the remainder of the semester (to keep their attention) talking about sports, sports, and more sports.  Maybe I'll try to explain baseball to them... 

On Thursday I had a couple new classes, which were for the most part in the same style as all the other introductory classes.  At 8 am, bright and early, before the sun had even come over the horizon, I acquainted myself with a groggy bunch of French teens.  Not groggy enough, however, to forget to ask me if I was a Democrat or Republican, what I thought about the war in Iraq, and if I would go to Las Vegas with one of them.  Oh là là.  

I had two wonderful days off in the middle of this week, and spent them exploring the town a little more.  I set out yesterday afternoon (at about 1:45, to ensure that I wouldn't get to the centre ville before 2 o' clock when everyone returns from lunch of course...), umbrella in hand, and it's a good thing!  I was absolutely drenched on the way back.  I usually take the exact same path every time I go into town, but I decided to explore a little yesterday, and turned down streets I'd never been down before.  And I was rewarded with some wonderful little gems of Sens, which I'm sure many people don't realize are there.  As I got farther away from my original route, the streets got narrower, and  the roofs closer together.  One thing that always makes me smile about the French is their tendency to paint their doors bright colors, and yesterday, I was not disappointed.  Lining the streets were green, red, and dark blue wooden doors, paint flaking off, with large brass or gold doorknobs.  I came to a cross street and looked up at a magnificent house that must have been there since the beginning of the 1900s- it was a white creamish color with strong dark wooden beams going every which way- it reminded me a lot of the Strasbourg/Alsace architecture style.  I entertained myself imagining the inside, a bustling wooden stove in the center of a family room with worn couches, colorful red curtains, and perhaps an old man sitting on a stool making a pair of shoes.  It was probably exactly the opposite, a student residence with wifi and ikea furniture, but that's the wonderful thing about daydreams, reality doesn't really matter!

Another thing I love about France, the papeteries.  This is a wonderful invention by the French, something that Americans should really seize and expand on.  Imagine things you could find everyday at OfficeMax, but better, smaller, and more fun to get lost in.  Every kind of notebook you could ever want, blank paper, lined paper, boxed paper, spiral bound, loose leaf, folded and connected pages, post its, every size ruler you could imagine, envelopes, folders, binders, pens (don't get me started on the pens- felt tip, ball point, fountain).  I spent a considerable time in a great papeterie I found yesterday, picking up each notebook and flipping through it, only to emerge with a folder, one little block of post its, and two pens.  But it was well worth it!

And the other wonderful thing I got to experience this week was the typical French dinner.  And you know it's typical when you get to the restaurant at 7:15 and don't leave until 11:30.  Or when you eat more courses than the number of hours you stay there.  Or when a whole three tiered rolling tray comes out in between courses, containing ONLY cheese (with more selection than the dessert tray, although i guess that's to be expected in this country).  I was nearly full after the appetizer, a tomato and olive salad with a little filet of tuna and some tiny sprigs of lettuce.  By on came the main course, 'poulet en surprise' cleverly named because it was a filet of chicken wrapped in a little chimichanga-style case, with a creamy mushroom sauce.  And, because there's obviously never an excuse good enough to turn down cheese in France, the waiter sliced three types of cheese onto my plate for me to try.  All smelly, all unfamiliar, all delicious.  And as if that weren't enough, dessert was next.  I thought I was going to burst, but everyone at the table was insistent that I try the 'moelleux au chocolat avec la crème anglaise'.  In other words, a cake better than any brownie you've ever tasted, smothered in vanilla sauce better than you've ever tried.  And with that, I think I won't have to eat for the next couple days... whew.  I'm full just writing about it. 

Even though we just started, our first vacation is already on the horizon, starting next Friday.  Plans are still in the preliminary stages, but together with a couple other students from Sens, and one lovely Lindsay Poulin working in Nevers, we're going to take Burgundy by storm!  Ok, by car, not by storm.  We thought the best way to start our stay in France would be to experience what our wonderful region has to offer- quaint towns, towering cathedrals, rolling vineyards, brightly colored antique houses.  And for the second week, I'll be getting my first taste of Germany, flying up to Berlin to explore and visit some friends from Redlands.  

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend!  I'll be in Dijon, going through my medical appointment for my residency card, 'carte de sejour'.  This will probably be the only part of the French system I won't complain about, since I get to spend the weekend with friends in the city of mustard :)  

Bon weekend à tous!!