Rain Rain Go Away

So I can officially say that Lyon has won first place in the Windy Cities of the World Competition.  It easily beat Chicago. Furthermore, the "vente du sud" definitely sounds like a Category Four Hurricane when it blows against my window panes. Now after the wind, comes the rain and raining is what the sky has been doing since Friday. But don't feel too bad for me; this weather has allowed me to catch up on the sleep I skipped Thursday night/Friday morning when I went out to an international student club.

Luckily living in a city such as Lyon I have plenty of rainy day options. Last Sunday was Chokogou and today was the lovely wine festival. Living a block away, you would have thought I'd be participating all four days, but no! I had other things to do/see (to be explained plus tard). Gaeten (another awesome teacher I work with) took me to taste what France has to offer. He was quite surprised to find that I could handle (and thoroughly enjoyed) the strong red wines. I was quite impressed by myself for having figured out some of the fruits in the wines. Despite the cracher (spit out) aspect of wine tasting, I'm feeling quite happy right now, so let's go ahead and ignore any spelling/grammar mistakes in this post. Unfortunately for you all, I was way to excited to taste all the yummy wine that my camera never made it out of my purse..but alas, there's always tomorrow :)

Going back in time, yesterday I went to Beatrice's house again. She took me around Vienne, another Gallo-Roman town. She told me how most French people don't ever visit the ruins, let alone know the name. This made the rainy visit even more magical for me, considering we were the only ones out sightseeing. The temple is one of two remaining in Europe; only the high priests were allowed to enter back in the Roman era. Bea also told me that there is a huge jazz festival here in June, so I hope to return in a few months. Again, sorry, forgot my camera, but here are someone else's memories.

After a quick tour in the rain, we returned to her house where we ate some delicious pastries. The shop we went to is opening a sister store in the USA, hence why they were so excited to take me there. For the remainder of the afternoon, we discussed a variety of subjects and played with her two year old son (my new best friend), Robinson. He is by far the cutest, messiest little French boy I have ever met. At one point he tried to show off the chocolate pastry in his mouth. I probably shouldn't have provoked the act, but I couldn't help it. As a result, the pastry and resulting chocolate drool dripped all down his shirt and pants. Sugar levels high, le petit garcon proceeded to find his Asterix outfit and run around in circles until he fell over. Not sure what was more funny at the time, an Asterix helmet and sword or a little boy telling me to stay seated so he can show off his running in circle skills.

I also was able to taste another French favorite: la raclette. It goes something like this: You boil the potatoes, you cut the cheese (literally not figuratively), and you choose your saucisson/jambon/ bacon. You put the cheese in the triangular shovel looking thing and let it sizzle. Meanwhile, you place the meat on the top layer of the cooking device. Once the cheese is melted, you place it on top of the potatoes and layer it with the meat.  It sounds like a very basic, unusual combination but OH MY GOD how good it is!

Tuesday I'm hosting my housewarming party for all the teachers. Here's hoping I don't burn anything!

And of course, HAPPY HALLOWEEN TO YOU ALL! Eat some Reese's and 3 Musketeers for me!
Bises!

"What's The Word For This Gesture?"

So, I'm going to go ahead and admit that my English vocabulary bank is slowly shrinking....and shrink was the word Matt and I could not remember tonight. Not sure if my French vocabulary bank is expanding in exchange, but let's just go ahead and pretend to make me feel good about myself.

For dinner tonight, we attempted to make what we were craving from the States...some good ole Mexican. Unfortunately, the French think that Mexican is BBQ. Interestingly enough, the Fajita package we bought was Old El Paso....I can only imagine when I have sushi cravings.

I can't really sum up the last two days quickly so here goes the long story you all are so used to hearing(..you know the ones without any punchline). Today, Matt and I battled the greve. After researching quaint towns in the nearby Rhone-Alps area, we decided to visit Perouges. A small medieval town built from stones, it sounded like the perfect place to live up to my dream as Xena the Warrior Princess. Yet, I have no pictures to show off my muscles and badass fighting skills...because as you can probably guess, we never made it out there. We searched for a bus number, we asked fellow passengers, as well as the bus drivers, yet no one seemed to know A) where the buses were going B) what bus they were looking for C) if the buses were even going to come or not. After waiting around in the frigid cold for 45 minutes, we left and moved onto bigger things. I still feel like I have been stood up, despite the cheap ticket. Actually, I have (and by a very beautiful town no less).

So, off we went to Vieux Lyon to see the giant cathedrals, cobblestone, and most breathtaking view of the city. Last time I went to this side of town I had a snotty nose, was still suffering from jet lag, and didn't get to go enjoy the artwork because of that thing called Mass. This time I walked around the cathedral three times. As I left, I felt that I still didn't get to take in every inch of amazing artwork that lined the inside. The pictures below do not do any justice to what you see in person. Your emotions overwhelm you while you stare at the phenomenal work that still stands after hundreds and hundreds of years.

 

(on the way up the huge hill)

 (yes that is the floor of the cathedral- mosaic tile)

 (Place Bellecour from the top of the hill- aka wear all the rioting was the past week)

 (and the rain clouds arrive...cathedral on the left, "eiffel" tower in the center, parliament on the right)

As for yesterday, let's just say: Wow. When you have a rainy day in Lyon (which happens more often than the sunny ones), what else would be better than to attend the Chocolate Festival: Chokogou. Sure, I'll pay seven euros to stand in a room with some of the best chocolatiers in the country. Not only did they have chocolate to sell, but chocolate make-up, chocolate hand soap, and chocolate massage oil. I stuck to the the plain edible chocolate and boy did I spend my moolah. Getting it home to share with the family should be the hardest goal I have to fulfill in this country (well besides shaving my armpits).

 (deliciousness on a plate)

 (first prize for chocolate sculpture)

 (example of a display counter)

After getting our sugar rush in order, Matt and I headed over to the Musee de Beaux Arts. Since everything closes early on Sundays and Mondays, we only had an hour to kill.

Let's hope the predicted greve for tomorrow is a no go so we have more pictures to post! Time to snuggle in my bed as the wind howls against my window pane (at only 50 km/h~ 30 mph). I'm definitely glad I assumed it would be warmer in the mid-east region than the north of France.

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween a week early from France! As I mentioned earlier, they don't really do the big she-bang here like we do at home....depressing, I know. What made me really miss the Walmart displays I typically scorn at when they show up a month early, was the lack of any sort of Halloween display here. Elodie and I went pumpkin hunting for her class on Wednesday. We drove around only to find puny little gourds, or, even worse, already cut up pumpkin! The best we could find was this....

The bigger ones were wider, not taller. And as a result, we weren't really able to cut it, so we resorted to some Sharpie action....Voila.

Elle est belle, non?

So now that you've seen our pumpkin, I should also show you the decorations. The teachers were all very pleased, saying it was the first time they ever decorated for Halloween (let alone celebrated it USA style). The kids were so excited to decorate, even more so when Elodie found some old spiderweb decorations from her assistantship in England.

And now, a quick glance through the trou de serrure ( keyhole) of my life as an English assistant.

Finally, a little preview of the lovely little Frenchies I work with every week. About 40 percent of the kids dressed up on Friday. Not too much, but actually a lot more than I expected after seeing a Halloween display the size of my closet (at home) in Carrefour. They don't even have special Halloween candy here, just the typical Haribo candy ( So hint hint, send some Reese's this way). Not to mention that they don't understand that we can dress up in whatever we want for Halloween. They thought it was all about witches, skeletons, and ghosts. After explaining and showing pictures of my sister and I in our Halloween costumes circa the early '90's, they taught me about their big holiday, Carnival. In short, our Halloween costumes are equivalent to their costumes for Carnival (aka Mardi Gras for any N'awlins people).

La Grève

Apologies for the lack of posting this past week. It's been an interesting one with the grève here in France. I personally haven't been to the area where they are looting and trashing things (primarily Bellecour/Hotel de Ville), but I have experienced the lack of transportation. Otherwise, things have run smoothly for me....I've had school all week so you can't hate on me like many of the other assistants who now have 2 weeks of vacation.

In short, the past week has been full of fun and frustration. I helped cook a four course meal, danced the night and early morning away with my new roommates and friends Saturday, went to a crêpe party Sunday with a few teachers, and then dealt with the bank. Now, just opening a bank account is a process in itself...but dealing with the bologna to merely get your card is another story. Furthermore, when they sign you up for life insurance without your okay and you have to explain that France's social security system is a blessing itself for an American and want nothing to do with extra insurance. Talk about tricheurs!

This week I've been teaching about Halloween in the USA. It's been a blast and hopefully you will see some awesome pictures of what we've tried to put together this weekend. Until then, enjoy the pictures of the park Oonagh and I discovered yesterday in the freezing cold (after being locked up all week because of the rain/brutal wind/protests.)

 (actually that's the view from our little balcony)

 (where the two rivers meet)

You Know You've Turned French When....

You eat yogurt for dessert...and buy Camembert for yourself....and make the drastic change from putting lots of cream and sugar in your coffee to drinking dark, black coffee.

Anywhos, today was my second day of "stage" or teaching training as one would say in English. It was a lot more informative than the first meeting we had with the Academy. Yet, I have decided that some French people just don't know how to get to their points across quickly. All in all though....not so bad considering free coffee and pastries every break :)

Now, onto the good stuff! Pictures of the new apartment!

 My room( hopefully will get some cool things at the Carrefour tomorrow to decorate a bit).

 (And again)...

 Our make believe living room

 Entry with crazy door knob/locks.

 Toilette

 Salle de Bain with Douche that I can't figure out how to use without spraying water everywhere!

 (Encore)....

 Nice big sink :)

 Cuisine

 Large Frigo!

And of course my latest purchase...5 euro bottle of wine from the area (which I'm currently drinking so forgive me for the excessive French/bad English grammar).

I'm missing pictures of my Bulgarian (Tania) and English (Oonaugh) roommates' rooms, but they are studying. It's a pretty cute apartment for A) how cheap it is B) being meublee aka furnished C) no agency fees since I found it online.

Yesterday, I went grocery shopping which was pretty interesting. I have been warned multiple times to bring your own bags, but I have not been warned to avoid buying in bulk. Being the American consumer junky I am, I bought enough to get started for maybe the next two weeks or so....not realizing how heavy it would end up being on my 5 block walk home. Nor how confusing the milk and butter choices are here. Milk here is not the same as at home...it tastes different and it doesn't need to be refrigerated until opened...which freaks me out hence why it's already in the frigo. I honestly don't even know why I bought milk since I rarely drink it at home...I think it has to do with their whole breakfast choice here. Chocolate powder, milk, and cereal. I think I'll stick to the American pancakes, eggs, and bacon (hint hint send me some pancake mix...only if I trade you for a bottle of wine you say? Surely). 

I still am amazed at how France is one of the healthiest countries when A) A lot of the French I see on the street smoke cigarettes B) chocolate with cereal every day? C) Who can honestly just drink one glass of wine? I have yet to see that here. D) Sausage and fromage can't be all that good for your cholesterol. But hey, who said I was focusing on what I was eating? I surely did not ask the patisserie lady how many calories the delicious ham and cheese with tomato salad baguette sandwich was today.