c'est ainsi.

a very lazy day

2004-12-22T22:55:00.000+01:00

i think if somebody let me i would sleep forever. i love to sleep. when i am sleeping there is nothing that can wake me up. our family used to live in a small town in new jersey with a volunteer fire department. i would invariably sleep through the loud whistles that were meant to awake the volunteers from their beds. i'm sure i would have also slept through the northridge quake of 1994 had i not been already awake, on my way to go skiing. remember when you were little and whoever fell asleep first at a slumber party got their underwear frozen? 11 year old girls are so weird.

so the sunset was the highlight of my day. the rest of it was spent in blissful vacation mode (read: in my pajamas) it is nice to have lazy days sometimes.

well back to story time (for me, not you, sorry) reading the life of pi right now, an excellent book, one i'll be sad to see end but at the same time...i am ready for him to get rescued already...i hope the ending does not disappoint, i hate becoming really engrossed in a book only to meet with an uber lame ending...we'll see, i guess. richard parker, i love you.

2004-12-22T22:54:00.000+01:00

the sunset at another moment in time.

2004-12-22T22:53:00.000+01:00

this evening's gorgeous sunset.

mount baldy

2004-12-20T17:02:00.000+01:00

so as you can see mike decided to shave his head. interesting to note that it was all done with a women's disposable razor and skintimate shaving gel. boy did his head smell good.

that was our evening's excitement last night. that and the yummy curried lentil soup i made. and to think it is only day one of vacation!

this evening we are going to meet up with another assistant who is visiting from toulouse. or somewhere around toulouse, i'm not sure where.

catsitting is going well. nuit the psycho cat was surprisingly friendly. i read on the couch with him for a couple of hours this morning. he didn't read but opted to crochet a potholder instead.

2004-12-20T14:03:00.000+01:00

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN???

proof i actually have a home as well

2004-12-19T16:01:00.001+01:00

so i finally have gotten around to posting some more pictures on my blog. for those of you who wanted to see our apartment, hopefully these will fill in some of the gaps in your mind (for some of you however i fear the gaps might be too large).

enjoy. i think i have this photo posting thing down pat now so there will be more to come, i promise!

happy sunday!

2004-12-19T16:01:00.000+01:00

another view from the balcony.

2004-12-19T15:58:00.000+01:00

ernesto's first meeting with his new girlfriend, lola.

2004-12-19T15:57:00.000+01:00

a view of the city from the peyrou, a garden/esplanade type thing on the edge of the old part of town.

2004-12-19T15:55:00.000+01:00

mike took this one (actually he takes most of the photos, who am i kidding) this was taken in the old part of town at night.

2004-12-19T15:52:00.000+01:00

last month the city held a free wine tasting event and concert on our street. we watched from the balcony for awhile, then i decided to go down and check it out myself. these are the very nice men i met who told me that california wine was crappy, then asked if i wanted to go home with them and smoke some hash. hmmm no thank you.

2004-12-19T15:49:00.000+01:00

we live across the street from a butcher and on the outside of the building above his shop are several different animal heads. yum.

2004-12-19T15:48:00.000+01:00

this photo was taken during our thanksgiving dinner...an ok view of the living room and part of the kitchen

2004-12-19T15:44:00.000+01:00

this is the view from our balcony. note the palm trees, it's a regular tropical paradise.

2004-12-17T17:14:00.000+01:00

blake 1and blake 2 (i had them all choose english names and they all thought blake was black, like men in black) they are always confused when i call them blake.

2004-12-17T17:12:00.000+01:00

some more kids from the cm1 class from hell. they sure are cute though

2004-12-17T17:11:00.000+01:00

the teacher of my other ce2 class, her name is bea, she is super nice and has a son that lives in hawaii, lucky bastard

2004-12-17T17:10:00.000+01:00

some more kids who aren't in any of my classes but they wanted to have their picture taken anyway (no wait, the second one from the left is named...lexi...yeah)

2004-12-17T17:09:00.000+01:00

ok i feel really bad because i don't remember this kid's name. i'm not even sure if he's in my class. is that bad?

2004-12-17T17:08:00.000+01:00

one of my ce2 classes (3rd grade) and cathi, their teacher (nice peace signs)

2004-12-17T17:06:00.000+01:00

my cm1 class (4th grade) singing christmas carols at the maison de retraite

proof i actually do have a job

2004-12-17T16:56:00.000+01:00

so here are some photos i took today of some of my classes. they are all very cute. this morning i played the loto with one of my schools. it was explained to me as such: "the big kids help the little kids look for numbers in the classrooms." i was imagining a cross between an easter egg hunt and...math class? but no, turns out the loto is...bingo. oh well, so much for new and interesting cultural experiences. i got to call out the numbers in english, they all thought that was pretty nifty. i felt like a dumbass. oh well.

so here they are.

if you're happy and you know it...

2004-11-29T18:08:00.000+01:00

the problem with teaching elementary school is that while "if you're happy and you know it, clap your hands" is a great song, there are only so many times (about 2) you can sing it without wanting to kill yourself. it is now circulating throughout my head incessantly. somebody make it stop.

our thanksgiving feast turned out fabulously. we had about 12 people over representing about 6 different nationalities. the leftovers are almost gone which is probably a good thing because they are beginning to be a little bit like the song for me. you know which one.

i can't believe it's almost december. if anything it's getting warmer here which is strange. it hasn't rained in about a month with no complaints from me! i can't wait until it starts warming up and i can go to the beach. with 4 days off during the week i should have a pretty nice tan by the time i get back to the states.

mike and i have been discussing what to do next year. so far we have not come to any sort of real conclusion. i am trying not to worry about it and just focusing on what's happening now. i will definitely be sad to leave this place though if that's what ends up happening. only time will tel, i guess.

oops

2004-11-17T22:54:00.000+01:00

guess it's been awhile since i've updated. on a side note, i have another blog (written with my roommmate sarah, she is the one with the red hair in the milk picture) which i update more frequently: www.stinkyfrenchcheese.blogspot.com for those of you who know me - i am sincerely devoted to le cheese - so this is only a natural step for me.

what have i been up to lately? well, mike and i go to the library a lot, i spend 12 hours a week with 9 year olds who alternately are little angels and pains in my ass, i eat a lot of stinky cheese, and i walk around town - things that do not cost much money as i am still waiting for my "welfare" to kick in. yes everyone, mike and i are going to be on welfare. i think it's awesome.

ernesto is getting bigger every day. he is the cutest when he's sleeping, which fortunately is a lot of the time. when he's awake he is a little terror and tries to kill you. but, no worries, i'm sure it's just a phase. his girlfriend lola (our friend debi's cat) is coming over this weekend while debi is in london so at least he'll have someone else to harass.

ok my time here is almost up so bye!

2004-10-25T22:30:00.000+02:00

this is la place de la comédie. it is a very famous landmark in montpellier. as you can see there is a fountain with three women dancing in it. if you ever come to visit me in montpellier and you don't know where anything is i will meet you here. (they are the three graces by the way. aren't they graceful?) ok, i would post more photos, but i cannot wait for these sloooow computers anymore. cyberland will be upgrading soon, or so they tell me...bye bye!

2004-10-25T22:16:00.000+02:00

these are my roommates sarah and erin. we all like to drink milk.

2004-10-25T22:09:00.000+02:00

ERNESTO!!! light of my life, love of my heart...

no photographs, please

2004-10-24T20:38:00.000+02:00

so i thought i finally had my shit together and was going to *finally* post some photos on this thing...but alas, i forgot my camera connecter dowonloading thingy at home and i don't feel like going back to get it. oh well, tomorrow is another day. another day that i am on VACATION! only in france does one work for one week and then get 2 weeks off. i love it.

today mike and i went on a long walk. we went to the park and to a cemetery...ooh, scary. but that is not the exciting part. the exciting part about the past few days does not involve walking anywhere. it involves the fact that we got a KITTEN! his name is ERNESTO! he is a gold tabby with blue-green eyes and he pretty much fits in the palm of your hand. quite possibly the cutest thing i have seen in a very long time. everyone in the apartment is doting over him, i feel that he is going to be one spoiled little kitty...

ok, so photos tomorrow, i promise!

the wrong side

2004-10-11T11:41:00.000+02:00

this morning i fell out of bed. no joke. i reached for the alarm and i must have been a little too close to the edge because the next thing i knew i was on the floor. and i hit it hard, too. cold, hard tile at 9 am. fun.

today i go observe an actual english class at the primary level, hopefully it will be helpful. i think i might check out some dance studio's schedules as well.

it is cold and rainy today, kind of reminds me of bordeaux. this sort of weather is ok for short periods of time but after awhile i know it will start to drain on my system. what happened to the sunny montpellier i had come to know and love????

à plus tard les enfants...

sunday dinner

2004-10-10T15:42:00.000+02:00

since everything in france is closed on sunday i thought i would dedicate the day to the culinary arts. tonight we are having debi over for some lamb stew and apple pie, yum! it started pouring rain today at around noon and about halfway through the downpour our doorbell rang and there was debi, sopping wet, having dropped her keys down the grate in front of her apartment door (it is a very strange setup) and therefore locked out of her apartment. poor thing.

another random visit...our landlord is such a funny guy, at around 11 am the doorbell rang (we normally aren't this popular) and there he was with a brand new table and 4 chairs. i guess he thinks we need all this furniture because we came from the u.s. and didn't bring anything with us??? a very sweet guy indeed...much nicer than any landlord i've ever had, anyway. he's a short, balding 85-year-old man with bright blue eyes and so far is the only french person that i've had a real conversation with. luckily he likes to talk - a lot - and has a lot of interesting things to say (his southern french twang is a bit thick at times, but i get the gist of most of what he says). some of his favorite subjects include entymology, archaeology, meteorology, and judo. c'est de n'importe quoi, là.

bon dimanche à tous et à toutes.

bureaucratic hell

2004-10-05T22:28:00.000+02:00

i love this country most of the time, but today was one of those times where...well, where i do not love this country. it started out at 9 am at the prefecture, which for those of you who don't know is the place where you go to...actually, i'm not really sure myself, but for my purposes, it is where i go to legally extend my stay in france. the document is called a carte de séjour and requires much paperwork and patience with very bitchy women. since i finally am in possession of all the necessary documents, i went this morning at 9 am with erin, one of my new roommates, to try and sort everything out. however, we wait in some line only to find out that we were supposed to arrive at 7 am that morning to receive our number (you know, like at the dmv, or the deli) of which there are only 150 per day and when they're gone (which apparently is very quickly) they're gone. not since i tried to get on the price is right have i experienced anything quite like that. maybe a mervyn's sale? (just kidding, no really...) so we basically got screamed at (and i do mean screamed) by the woman at the counter who thought that we were trying to cut in line. (i found out later that we actually don't have to wait in line at all because that's just the way france is, where someone tells you no, you just have to dig around a little harder until someone tells you yes. but this first story creates the tone for my next one which is my bank expedition!)

ok, i'll stop here a moment and talk about something positive. hmmmm....today i got a library card and ate some great cheese for dinner! époisses de bourgogne, yum...made me forget all about my bank troubles...eh, it's not that interesting anyway, so i leave you instead with the taste of stinky cheese in your mouth! (or as my cheese bible says, a "healthy barnyardy odor...") take your pick.

afternoon snack

2004-09-30T14:25:00.000+02:00

a friend of mine sent me this yesterday...it is actually a pretty accurate description of my life here in montpellier (or at least my eating habits) so i thought i would post it...here goes:

I have a request: when you go by your baguette at the pane factore, make sure you pierce a hole in the armoire of the french baguette at the point of contact with the armpit (please observe not to put any talc that day). Take a brisk walk back home of at least 10-15 minutes. Allow the perspiration to infuse the hole on the baguette. Upon arrival at the Montpellier apto, fill the hole with brie frommage, oui si oui, jemappellechefbacelar, oui, cut sandwich size the baguette around the pierced -now marinated- incision, half the bread increment and spread BBQ Rub Chocatal from Jeremiah's Pick (at will). Place in the oven for 10 minutes and VOILA"

My recipe for an afternoon snack to the one and only mdslle. Lelletti!

Of course, it must be served with a good Burgundy.

of course! thank you chef bacelar!

the next installment has finally arrived!

2004-09-29T15:17:00.000+02:00

i figure since this is after all tracyinfrance.com, i might as well start posting from here...however i am currently paying for internet by the hour, so it may be brief.

the past 2 weeks have been crazy. we arrived in montpellier the evening of the 13th and the next day commenced our what turned out to be incredibly frustrating apartment hunt. i will spare you all the gory details, since most of you already know, but suffice it to say that there are about 80 million (ok, that's an exaggeration; more like 70 million) students in montpellier looking for the exact same thing we were: a reasonably priced studio or one bedroom relatively close to the town center. we finally found a nice 3 bedroom which we will share with 2 other english assistants. we found the apartment about 2 weeks ago, but since it was not going to be ready until october 1, we relied on the kindness of strangers (you know who you are!) to help us through. tonight and tomorrow night is the last stage of our suitcase life, very luxurious digs at the hotel de nice (the name is the nicest thing about it, ha ha!) looking very much forward to move in day.

other than that whole saga - oh yeah, my visa and passport came back just fine, obviously - i think i am a bit paranoid! i have just been enjoying montpellier. the city is relatively small, with a historic town center that is very charming and medieval and, well, french. there seems to be a lot to do here; it's a very young town with a good lie music scene, lots of bars and cafes, and parks to chill in. plus the beach is only a 20 minute bus ride away - it's gotten a bit chilly lately, but the first few weeks here were sooooo nice and warm.

i am looking forward to finally having a purpose again; all of the aimless wandering i have been doing of late is nice, but i am gearing up for teaching, or whatever it is i'll be doing....more on that later...

oh, and i apologize for the randomly placed semicolons - i still am not quite used to these damned french keyboards.

;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;!!

Horror Stories

2004-09-01T19:39:00.000+02:00

I really hate feeling like things are out of my control, especially when I have worked so hard to keep everything in line. Not that I'm a control freak, necessarily, but for important issues, I like to keep tabs on everything. Case in point: my visa application is lost as of right now. Neither the consulate nor the post office can find it. Since I most certainly do not have it, this does not bode well for my imminent departure. My visa application also includes my passport. Have you ever looked into getting a passport made in less than a week? It's not cheap.

I know there are more important things in life to worry about, but right now I can't think of much else. I'm sure that everything will work itself out. It's just that when you plan so long for something, thinking you have every detail worked out, and a wrench gets thrown in there somewhere...well, it just sucks.

In other news, Mike gets here tomorrow, which will be very exciting. I think it will really hit me that we're doing this once he does. Right now my outlook on everything is sort of cloudy. We might go camping with Katie and B.J. for labor day, although at this point if I have to end up driving to SF to get my visa done in person that may not happen. Only time will tell.

Insomnia

2004-08-22T08:53:00.000+02:00

Why is it that not half an hour ago, I was lying in bed, unable to sleep with thoughts racing like greyhounds through my brain, yet when I try and hash some of it out on my infant "blog", I come up empty-handed? I guess I'm not accustomed to putting my thoughts out for the entire world to see (although I'm sure people aren't breaking down the proverbial doors to read this thing).

I feel like I'm marking time right now. I'm not bored (time is passing surprisingly quickly, as a matter of fact) but I get the feeling that everything I'm doing now is in preparation for something else. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, as my uber-prepared-for-anything-and-everything mother would most likely tell me, but I feel like I'm only 50 percent present most of the time. The other 50 percent of my mind is occupied with the racing thoughts (see above). Luckily most are excited thoughts (as in, "I'll be in France in less than a month!") but tonight they were of a more anxious variety (as in, "I'll be in France in less than a month!"). I guess I should just live in the moment and not worry so much.

In other news...I figured out how to add links to my "blog" (can that word be any uglier?) which I am way too excited about...especially since I know absolutely nothing about web design or html. There's only one so far, a link to a webring for other assistants in France, which you should check out because we are the coolest!

Oh, the excitement!

2004-08-19T09:09:00.000+02:00

Well, I guess I better post something, now that I have created this monster.

As you can tell, things are pretty bare-boned right now, but hopefully once I figure out how to use this damn thing it will look a little nicer. I'm not too crazy about the black-and-white dealio, but it was the best option available. (No purple templates, in case you were wondering. Although for those of you who know me, you probably weren't).

It is midnight in Eugene, Oregon right now. I just got back from the Lane County Fair where none other than THE DOOBIE BROTHERS performed LIVE and in concert. (This was my parent's idea). Although I must say I was pleasantly surprised. I never realized I knew so many DB songs. Kind of like when I saw a free Bryan Adams concert and knew the words to practically every song...it was a little scary, actually.

All right, back to trying to figure out how to make things prettier...not that anyone is breaking down my door to read my blog (blog, snog, hog) but anyway...

Good night, all.