The pistache is also delicious
Mes amis, do you know what is happening on Thursday? DO YOU KNOW? Well, do you? My friend Sandra (who has sometimes commented here), who I have known for nine years, is coming to visit. She’s studying in Metz for the year with the Georgia Tech Masters in Engineering program, and this visit is hopefully the first of many times we’ll see each other. Worlds will collide, friends from different times and groups will meet, and I will have an ally here who is my age and who I have known since high school. Hear that other friends? You too should come and visit! It would be fuuuu-uun! I’m even going to give them a tour of Lyon including new market features! And that, mes amis, is why you should come to Lyon. And stop having important life events, like weddings, without me! Why are you all getting married? STOP IT!!! At least come here!
I’ve been teaching English at the Ecole Chevreul for a week now and I must say, I love it. I’ve gotten over the fact that it’s a Catholic school (there’s not too much Jesus), especially since they don’t wear uniforms. I’m the English assistant (or the Assistante US, as they call me), so I work with all the English teachers and switch classes every hour. It’s a bit bizarre to not have already learned everyone’s names, but I’m still meeting students. I’ve listened to their skits about trying to get on Pop Idol (funny, since I taught my old class about Star Academy, the French version), been asked infinite questions, talked about New York City (thanks Myrna!), helped with presentations on advertisements, watched Finding Forrester, and today worked with my little favorites- one of the 6e classes (10 and 11 year-olds). It was my first time by myself with them, or at least half of them, and I didn’t just get to review, I got to teach them new things. Clothing! Can you say Prada little French children? No, really, it was great and I want to keep them all. Thursday and Friday I’m working with a class that’s been talking about music and movies. I promised to play some American music, then realized what I had done. What am I going to do? You know how I hate the radio! This is what I see happening- Ok kids, who’s heard of the Magnetic Fields? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Then no one will understand “The Luckiest Boy on the Lower-East Side” and I’ll be sad. Seriously though, what am I going to do? This is the time to introduce a new generation of well-dressed French children to cool indie-rock, though. Postal Service, here we come. And I liked them before everyone else did, so I’m NOT a follower. Next week I’ll start my Harry Potter lessons with another class. How fun is that? I’m also going to work with the director of the middle school part of the Ecole on his English. Add all of that to the wonderful English teachers and you have one heck of a job. Oh, and the excitement of signing a French work contract for the first time. I’m legal!
I’ve also decided that it’s time for me to make some new real-life French friends. I love spending time with the students (even when they call me with weird problems, well, sometimes), but they are mostly younger and it’s really time for me to have my own friends. I’m also beginning to seriously look into staying here for longer than a year, and if I have no friends I won’t be very happy. But even without real-life French friends (except for my lovely Marc, who makes fun of me like we were never separated for a year) I’ve been sortiring quite a bit. Actually, a lot. Everyone who ever told me I needed to get out more would be very proud. I. am. going. out. a. lot. To other people’s apartments, to Vieux Lyon, to Ninkasi (which is very like McMinnamin’s in Oregon and serves burgers and fries and really really good beer. Come to visit and I’ll take you there). I may have been to Ninkasi (at least it was more than one of the locations) three days in a row last week. And may have been out late the night before we left for Geneva and gotten about 4 hours of sleep (at 12:30 this scene happened- Gina: I have to leave now, I’m going to Switzerland in seven hours. Zach: You’re going where? What? Gina: I’m going to Switzerland for the day. That’s why I have to leave right now. Zach: What? Wait, Switzerland? Gina: Yes, I’m going to Switzerland. Zach: Oh, I thought you were talking about Sweden. This was especially funny because I kept checking the map to make sure that we had booked a day trip to Geneva, Switzerland and not, say, Lake Geneva Wisconsin. Because that would be one long-ass day trip). Then I may have been up late on Saturday night and out late on Sunday. Today I slept a lot in between work times and after work.
I know I’ve been très absente in the comments sections of everyone else’s blogs, and I’m très sorry. I only have internet at the Centre Oregon, and now I’m only there three times a week. Sometimes I write at home and then post at work (like I’m doing right now), but sometimes I forget. I’m working on being better, I swear. And on answering emails in a timely fashion. And on updating my links list (which right now is only April because I was testing the template. By the way, do you like le nouveau template? Besides the fact that the user picture has become screwed up and now is more of Jasmine than of me. Hmphh). This also why there has been a higher frequency of long entries as opposed to many shorter ones. We’ll see how this year plays out, and if I can get wireless at l’apart.
Hey, my Breton butter cookies (Galettes Bretonnes to all of you out there who have a Carrefour) have a triskel on them. That’s sweet. I am such a sucker for cookies. And yogurt. If you’ve never seen the yogurt aisle in a French supermarket then you are missing out. And yes, I mean aisle. Or two. I try a new kind almost every time. I’ve just started with the Mamie Nova brand, thanks to a recommendation from Molly at Orangette, and rejoiced this morning in my Miel d’Acacia et Sucre (Acacia honey and sugar) pot, surely to be equaled when I try the rhubarbe rose variety. The pistache is also delicious. If I didn’t walk EVERYWHERE I would weigh about ten zillion pounds because, mes amis, I eat a lot. And now my peach and currant tea is ready. See, this is another reason why people should come to visit. Even if we only lived on cookies and yogurt and tea it would be exciting. Oh, and chocolate. And cheese. And coffee. And maybe some wine? And baguettes from the boulangerie that are only 60 CENTS here. What is everyone waiting for? Oh fuck, I’ve just had tea, and it’s already getting late and I have to open the Centre Oregon tomorrow morning, because if it’s Wednesday, then it must be Gina-alone-at-the-Centre-Oregon day. Goodnight?
I’ve been teaching English at the Ecole Chevreul for a week now and I must say, I love it. I’ve gotten over the fact that it’s a Catholic school (there’s not too much Jesus), especially since they don’t wear uniforms. I’m the English assistant (or the Assistante US, as they call me), so I work with all the English teachers and switch classes every hour. It’s a bit bizarre to not have already learned everyone’s names, but I’m still meeting students. I’ve listened to their skits about trying to get on Pop Idol (funny, since I taught my old class about Star Academy, the French version), been asked infinite questions, talked about New York City (thanks Myrna!), helped with presentations on advertisements, watched Finding Forrester, and today worked with my little favorites- one of the 6e classes (10 and 11 year-olds). It was my first time by myself with them, or at least half of them, and I didn’t just get to review, I got to teach them new things. Clothing! Can you say Prada little French children? No, really, it was great and I want to keep them all. Thursday and Friday I’m working with a class that’s been talking about music and movies. I promised to play some American music, then realized what I had done. What am I going to do? You know how I hate the radio! This is what I see happening- Ok kids, who’s heard of the Magnetic Fields? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Then no one will understand “The Luckiest Boy on the Lower-East Side” and I’ll be sad. Seriously though, what am I going to do? This is the time to introduce a new generation of well-dressed French children to cool indie-rock, though. Postal Service, here we come. And I liked them before everyone else did, so I’m NOT a follower. Next week I’ll start my Harry Potter lessons with another class. How fun is that? I’m also going to work with the director of the middle school part of the Ecole on his English. Add all of that to the wonderful English teachers and you have one heck of a job. Oh, and the excitement of signing a French work contract for the first time. I’m legal!
I’ve also decided that it’s time for me to make some new real-life French friends. I love spending time with the students (even when they call me with weird problems, well, sometimes), but they are mostly younger and it’s really time for me to have my own friends. I’m also beginning to seriously look into staying here for longer than a year, and if I have no friends I won’t be very happy. But even without real-life French friends (except for my lovely Marc, who makes fun of me like we were never separated for a year) I’ve been sortiring quite a bit. Actually, a lot. Everyone who ever told me I needed to get out more would be very proud. I. am. going. out. a. lot. To other people’s apartments, to Vieux Lyon, to Ninkasi (which is very like McMinnamin’s in Oregon and serves burgers and fries and really really good beer. Come to visit and I’ll take you there). I may have been to Ninkasi (at least it was more than one of the locations) three days in a row last week. And may have been out late the night before we left for Geneva and gotten about 4 hours of sleep (at 12:30 this scene happened- Gina: I have to leave now, I’m going to Switzerland in seven hours. Zach: You’re going where? What? Gina: I’m going to Switzerland for the day. That’s why I have to leave right now. Zach: What? Wait, Switzerland? Gina: Yes, I’m going to Switzerland. Zach: Oh, I thought you were talking about Sweden. This was especially funny because I kept checking the map to make sure that we had booked a day trip to Geneva, Switzerland and not, say, Lake Geneva Wisconsin. Because that would be one long-ass day trip). Then I may have been up late on Saturday night and out late on Sunday. Today I slept a lot in between work times and after work.
I know I’ve been très absente in the comments sections of everyone else’s blogs, and I’m très sorry. I only have internet at the Centre Oregon, and now I’m only there three times a week. Sometimes I write at home and then post at work (like I’m doing right now), but sometimes I forget. I’m working on being better, I swear. And on answering emails in a timely fashion. And on updating my links list (which right now is only April because I was testing the template. By the way, do you like le nouveau template? Besides the fact that the user picture has become screwed up and now is more of Jasmine than of me. Hmphh). This also why there has been a higher frequency of long entries as opposed to many shorter ones. We’ll see how this year plays out, and if I can get wireless at l’apart.
Hey, my Breton butter cookies (Galettes Bretonnes to all of you out there who have a Carrefour) have a triskel on them. That’s sweet. I am such a sucker for cookies. And yogurt. If you’ve never seen the yogurt aisle in a French supermarket then you are missing out. And yes, I mean aisle. Or two. I try a new kind almost every time. I’ve just started with the Mamie Nova brand, thanks to a recommendation from Molly at Orangette, and rejoiced this morning in my Miel d’Acacia et Sucre (Acacia honey and sugar) pot, surely to be equaled when I try the rhubarbe rose variety. The pistache is also delicious. If I didn’t walk EVERYWHERE I would weigh about ten zillion pounds because, mes amis, I eat a lot. And now my peach and currant tea is ready. See, this is another reason why people should come to visit. Even if we only lived on cookies and yogurt and tea it would be exciting. Oh, and chocolate. And cheese. And coffee. And maybe some wine? And baguettes from the boulangerie that are only 60 CENTS here. What is everyone waiting for? Oh fuck, I’ve just had tea, and it’s already getting late and I have to open the Centre Oregon tomorrow morning, because if it’s Wednesday, then it must be Gina-alone-at-the-Centre-Oregon day. Goodnight?
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