Grown Unknown and Wild

Nine months later and my life is starting to feel normal; I don't feel like a long-term tourist anymore.

While daily life seems like a mundane subject to write about, there are quite a lot of little things that make each day worth living. Like being asked if I know Buffy the Vampire Slayer and then getting this letter as a result.

Katie, I don't know how to thank you if you bring Buffy to France. Thank you?

Or being told (by a very serious, proud CE1 boy) that "mouche" is fly in English after teaching animals to his class.

Or getting coffee with local Couchsurfers to practice my French and correct their English.

Or starting my own little rose garden on our balcony.

Or walking from one end of the Rhône to the other on a sunny day, knowing that it used to be a huge parking lot but now is a magnificent bike path full of playgrounds, lounge chairs, and cafes.

Or performing in a dance recital for the first time in over 10 years, belly out and all.

Or going to the Musée D'art Contemporain for the first time on a rainy day and being blown away by  Indian artwork. (I highly recommend Indian Highway IV for all you in town!).

Mumbai: a mixture of the rich, the poor, and the religious

A lot of artwork had to do with the skeletal aspect of things in India; when the chaos is stripped away.

Incense

My favorite piece by N.S. Harsha

A five panel piece exploring the wonders of the internet and how it connects people around the world (and throughout decades; we found Shakespeare and Gandhi in there!)

Amazing depiction of time in cities around the world.

 Or cooking three new recipes and recreating an old one (Nawel's tajine) on my own.

My first try at curry :)

Moroccan vegetable soup

Mexican pineapple and pork dish

Last night's dinner :)

Of course, with the good comes the bad. Last Tuesday we held a strike against the ever growing student population in our classrooms (2011-2012 will start with at least 28 students in each classroom, with the possibility of new students as late as March or April). Since the Education Department is cutting jobs, this poses a huge threat to the efficiency of schools, especially ours. Unlike the USA, we don't have specific programs for different children. The disabled are in the same class as everyone else, which may help them feel more integrated, but at the same time, this causes a lot of interruptions. For example, there is one particularly smart little boy who has a bad case of ADD. He screams when he can't leave the classroom when he wants to and has tried to escape multiple times from the school. To say the least, classes become chaotic when you have to deal with this every day. Interestingly enough, I heard a commercial the other day on the radio asking for people to sign up to be teachers.

Furthermore, there have been continuous gray clouds looming above our heads here in Lyon. As a result of the rain, the English Field Day I planned was pushed back a few weeks and I can't seem to get rid of this ridiculous ballet flat tan line from April.

My final current frustration is my ongoing, tedious job search that never seems to move along despite hours spent searching, writing, and applying to company after company. I have to wait until possibly September to know if this job is renewed and every other response thus far has been thanks but no thanks.

But if I've learned anything from the French lifestyle, it's to make relaxation a priority in life (and of course I add in the American smile for kicks). I look at the little things and stay happy. Even if they're gone in one bite.

Strawberry macaroon and raspberry tart, oh my!

The best moments last week occurred when one of my most difficult CM2 classes let go of their pre-adolescent attitude and danced and sang along with me to this goofy song. I also did the Hokey Pokey with a 2nd grade class; absolutely hilarious. I will definitely miss the little monsters. A few of my CM2 kids came up to me proudly proclaiming that they bought English-French dictionaries. It's something so simple, but it really makes me think that yes I am making a difference and yes I love each and very one of the little snotty nosed kids who fight over whether my name is really Kate, Katie, or Katy (said Kah-teeeee).

Tomorrow I will be even more ancient than they imagine. It's funny to think about time when you're younger. It seems to pass by so slowly; you want to rush through everything and grow up. You ask anyone over 18 if they're married and have kids. You don't reflect back and hope you did more, you just look forward to what you want to do. So here's to the future, wherever it may take me.