I made it safely to Lyon! Of course I had to go through a few dilemmas along the way but everything is fine and dandy now.
After I managed to get a new boarding pass, the loudspeaker announced that our plane was going to be a half hour late. That didn't really phase me, but what did was the boarding system. You scan your ticket, walk down 4 flights of steps, and then arrive at a bus. The bus then drives you around the airport to your plane. Now, I wasn't really scared then, but thinking back on it, if the bus were to have run out of gas, if it were night time, or maybe even if there was a terrorist who took over the bus, I would have absolutely no idea where the hell I was (let alone what anyone was saying). The cool thing about the plane ride was that you walk up the steps to get onto the plane as if you were a celebrity (among 40 others of course).
We take off (my ears already hurting from not being able to pop the first time despite my excessive usage of gum) and the Asian guy next to me immediately passes out...and before I turn my head back around, so do I. We landed and I didn't even wake up until the stewardess announced that we needed to keep our seat belts on until we had come to a complete stop. So, 5 hours out of 8 asleep= not bad, not bad at all.
I did not feel overly anxious, scared, or excited when I got off of the second plane. I go down to retrieve my luggage and wait and wait and wait. I look at the TV which tells me there "Attention. Strike in effect today." Ah, so that's why there is literally no one working in the airport. Then, what do I see? Oh you know my suitcase fully unzipped with my things halfway out of the suitcase. My response: Ah merde( oh shit). Damn security decided to check my things (which were so neatly packed to make the weight limit).
They unwrapped my gifts for the family. Boy was I pissed. I made them look beautiful with a bow and all. I wrapped it all up, cursed one last time under my breath, blew my snotty nose, and walked out into the the next room where I was greeted by 6 of the teachers at my school and the principal, all smiling and joking.
I instantly felt relieved. The one "enseignant" was holding a sign that read "Yes We Kate." I was quickly told that he is the jokester of the group. We went around giving the typical two cheek bisous (kiss) and exchanging names. From there we went to find Principal Marc's car. We wandered and wandered and almost got hit by a car, a bus, and a tramcar, because there were no sidewalks. And then of course, we all were preoccupied with one wing of the airport that looks like a) "un oiseau" = a bird b) star trek c) "zomething out ov men in black."
We finally get to his car, and voila, he forgot that one of the other teachers has the parking ticket. We call her, she runs over to our parking lot and we all laugh. Then of course, the principal tried to go out the entrance at which all of us laughed and joked. At that point I smiled to myself and thought this is going to be a fun year if this is my group of co-workers and they're already so much fun.
From there, we went to a local brewery, Ninkasi for drinks. They all immediately asked what my favorite sports were, what I listened to, etc and we started a conversation on Zumba (not my favorite sport but we talked about gyms and it came to that). One of the girls had gone before and was trying to explain what it was to the other two and I helped them decide to go the following week (or so I think).
After that, I went back to my temporary living quarters where I met the Principal's son (Baptiste) who is going back to school Monday, their dog (swan), and cat (I forget his name...oops). I was given the typical house tour and then left to email ma famille that I arrived safe and sound.
I also met the Principal's wife (who is a pediatrician) and who was quite charming too. She made saucisson and ended up burning it because I decided to give them their gifts at the same time. She asked if my mom was a good cook, to which I said yes a very good one. Her response, "Well I must change quickly, you see I'm no cook. I burn things."
They are all very welcoming and understanding and helpful. I'm very grateful and can't wait to see what happens next.
Bisous
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