May 31

Thursday, May 31, 2007

Today was kinda cool too…they are all pretty good though!! I went to school this morning and at first it wasn’t too great because I did an hour and a half of photocopying…but then a couple of teachers wanted me to come into their classes after the break, and that turned out to be great.
In the first class the teacher had prepared a sheet for the kids to fill out as I talked (at an insanely slow speed) in English. It was really the first time I’ve spoken in English since I left home and it was weird to hear myself speak! There were a couple kids that totally filled out all the questions (my name, nationality, job, time in France, etc) and others that just sat there at stared at me with blank faces the entire time.
The second class was basically a conversation with the teacher and then the teacher asked the kids what (if anything) they understood. It wasn’t as great as the first class, but whatever. I got to do stuff, so I was happy. And the kids were pretty excited to talk to someone from Canada! Go figure!
Then I spent an hour in the Social Studies (Histoire-Geographie) class. I talked (in French) about Canada and what were the differences in the climate and the school differences between here and there. It was basically like an OSEF meeting all over again, to be honest. The teacher was super nice but really kept on stressing the fact that we were just a different location of the US – and that really bugs me. I don’t care that we have fast food and our only neighbours are the US, we are still different and it bugs me a lot when people don’t let me explain that. But I wasn’t about to argue with the teacher – that is really not done in France. I know better than that!
There were a couple girls in that class that were super cool and wanted my e-mail at the end so they could write to me and practice English and stuff…so we’ll see if they actually e-mail me or not. I’d be really happy if they did!
After lunch I walked downtown Mer, which is a town of about 10 people (not actually, but in comparison to the other cities I’ve been in, pretty much!) I lucked out though because the market is Thursday afternoon and so I looked around for a bit. I also wandered into the grocery store and found a chocolate moose for 15 cents!! So I bought that and went and sat in the park and read my book for an hour or so before I walked back to the school.
I look at all the real estate listings as I walk by because there are offices on every corner and everything is in the windows…and since I am an addict, that is what I do! Anyway…I found a castle that is for sale! 900 000 Euros! 20 bedrooms, a pool, a forest, stables…I was pretty excited!! I want a castle! J
And that was about the extent of the excitement for the day. Tomorrow Lise and I are going to go swimming and shopping, so that should be exciting enough…I doubt I’ll actually buy anything, but it’ll be fun anyway. Pretty much my last day with someone my age, so I’ll benefit!!

Night

-Allison

May 30

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

I can’t believe Wednesday is already over – this week has been going by so quickly! I guess it is because this family is so awesome…it makes a huge difference! I only have three more days here before I change houses again!!
This morning was really great…I slept in until 9am…and then I sat in bed and watched a movie on my laptop! How is that so not like me or what?! It was gross and rainy out and I had the house to myself until noon when Rémi came home from school. I had so much fun too…I watched “Pretty Woman” with Julia Roberts and it is such a great movie! I have never seen it before, but it is awesome and is the best movie I’ve seen in a long time. Yep, pretty good morning!!
And then, once I’d finished laughing and crying I got all dressed up for the rain and went out back and picked a bucket full of cherries. It was pretty funny because I had huge issues picking them with the stems on them – so I ended up eating a lot in the process (when the stems stay attached, they last longer in the house). Then I went to go unload the dishwasher and I managed to take one of the cupboard doors off its hinges…and couldn’t get it back on either. But apparently it happens all the time, so I shouldn’t have worried!
Remi and I watched an hour of The Simpsons while eating chicken wings and rice for lunch! I don’t think I’ve watched quite so much TV in one day since I got my Wisdom teeth out. It was fun though.
When Marie-Paul got home around two we went to Blois and Remi and I went and visited the city a bit along with the Castle. The castle was built in different eras and has visible differences in its construction. One wing is Gothic and was the medieval fortress that was built in the 13th century. Another part is the Louis XII wing and is built in the Flamboyant style between 1498-1503. One side of the square was built by François I and was the prettiest with a very cool outside spiral staircase (it was the Renaissance style). That is about it for my architecture lesson!!
Inside each section were different displays and museums. We were only permitted into two of the exhibits with our Castle ticket, but that was fine by me! And Remi was running through them so fast, I got pretty good at speed reading as it was! The coolest part was the apartments of the kings though. There were secret doors and secret cupboards built into the panels. One of the Queens of someone hid her poisons in these secret cupboards. I think we both thought that was the coolest part!
We left the Castle right at 4pm and across the yard there was a house with these huge, gold dragons coming out of the windows! It was pretty cool – it is the Magic house. Lise and I may go and visit it on Friday when she gets back. We shall see…
And then it started to rain and rain and rain – again! We ran from store to store to keep semi-dry. I wanted to visit a couple of the churches and Remi thought that was pretty weird! He didn’t even know they were open to the public! I made him only visit one – and his reaction was pretty funny…he didn’t really know what to do with himself when we got inside! These guys are about as religious as I am (as in not at all) but I guess by being a tourist the churches are just that much more interesting to me!
These guys are selling their house, so as people were looking at it I went for a run and Remi biked. It was good…I attempted to do some intervals and I guess there is a difference in the speeds I go because Remi could tell the difference between my “fast” and “slow” – so that is good news, I guess!
And now my legs hurt!! That is a good thing!!!
Night -AJ

May 29

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

I had a really fun day today (at school). I went to the college where we had our OSEF meeting this past Sunday because that is where Marie-Paul is the principal. As we talked to all the people that were waiting to ask her questions on the way into the office we ran into Claire, one of the teachers that also teaches at elementary. They were going to Chambord to have a nature day in the forest there! And I got to go with them…
We took a very nice bus for the 15 minute ride to the castle forest (no such thing as school buses here!) but we didn’t even see the castle. And the kids didn’t even care! I was happy that I saw it yesterday because I would have been frustrated to see the forest and not the castle. The forest there is so huge though that they actually still use the horses and dogs to go hunting…I know I mentioned that yesterday, but it is just so Marry Poppins that it blows my mind!
So in the morning the 6 and 7 year olds along with a couple parents, the nature guide and me walked around in the forest to try and find animal tracks. We had a few lessons on what animals we find in the forest and things like that – and I sure learned a lot! In grade 9, when we did all the forest-type animals I was pretty good with the names in French, but not any more! I knew no animals (except deer)…so that made things a lot more confusing for me! I think I learned the difference between two different type of 4-legged deer-type tracks today…but I can’t honestly tell you what!
As we were walking we saw a wild boar! I was pretty excited. They are huge and black…and I really don’t think we have them at home? I think I may have seen one at Heritage Park, but I am sure they don’t exist in the wild at home. And I also heard a real live Cuckoo bird! (I heard one for the first time in Grenoble, but I think I forgot to mention it) I had no idea that they were real…I thought the Swiss just made them up to make a clock out of it! I was jumping around like, well, one of the 7-year olds!
We got to this clearing in the middle of nowhere and there were animal prints everywhere! It was so much fun. I found three really good prints – and was a nice and responsible adult – and gave them to the kids. I got a crappy little print for myself, but it is still pretty cool! Made me happy!!
Then, after lunch, and a game of “Simon Says” (which is actually called “Jacadi a dit” in French) we did a nice little walk in the forest for a couple of hours. It was great! It didn’t get above 10ºC all day long, but it was windy and sunny, so that was a huge bonus! Doing all that with little kids in the rain would have been awful.
Back at the school I had a nice nap in the hallway outside of Marie-Paul’s office as I waited for her to finish her meetings for the day…I am totally capable of sleeping anywhere and at any time!
And then I went for a great run down by the river again. When I run down there I run by at least three different castles! Is that not the coolest thing ever?! All three of them are privately owned too. I have such a hard time wrapping my head around that idea. So amazingly cool.
And for now it is bed time. Tomorrow morning I am on cherry picking duty!! This time I am going to wear shorts, even if it is cold, because getting the cherry marks out of my pants last time wasn’t really all that fun.

Night

-Allison

May 28

Monday, May 28, 2007

I did a really good job of relaxing today…you all would be proud of me! I managed to stay in bed until eight this morning – but even that was a good three hours before anyone else made it out of their rooms! It was raining and grey all morning, though, so I was happy to curl up on the bed and read – good relaxation!
We had duck for lunch! It is the first time (I am pretty sure) that I’ve ever had duck…I thought it was pretty good…but I have a feeling that it is really fattening. They told me it wasn’t – but I’m not really convinced. In any case, it was pretty good.
After lunch Nicolas, Lise and I headed out to visit two castles. We visited Château de Cheverny first and it was pretty awesome. It was built around 1630 and is the best decorated and furnished of all the castles because people still live there!! It is the castle where the Mona Lisa was hidden during WWII and is also the castle that inspired the author of TinTin…it is the castle that is in the books! What else??? In the dining room there were panels that illustrated events in Don Quixote – and thanks to mom going nutty over him when were in Spain, I actually knew who he was! It was pretty cool. And all over the place there were actual picture of the family that lives there today. Can you imagine growing up in a castle – especially one that is partially open to the public? I can’t even picture it!
We then drove to another castle called Château de Chambord – and it is basically the most spectacular castle from the outside. In fact, we didn’t bother going inside because it isn’t nearly as awesome as Cheverny. The only thing that would have been really cool to see is the double helix spiral staircase where (naturally) the two intertwining staircases never meet. But from the outside it was breathtaking. There must have been at least 200 chimneys and apparently this castle has the most windows out of all the castles in the area. The area is surrounded by a huge forest and is actually used as hunting grounds for the elite French. There is a huge dog kennel for the hunting dogs that are still used when they go hunting on horse back! I guess there are animals because I even saw a deer on the way into the grounds. It was an amazing castle!!
I had a nice nap once we got back and then did some abs with Rémi! It was really funny…he had fun doing abs with me though…so I guess it was a good thing! J It was way too gross out to go running, but as I sit here there is a beautiful pink sunset – so I hope it will be nice tomorrow. Of course, now that it is bedtime, the rain stops! At least school will be warmer tomorrow if it isn’t raining. That will be nice.
Night

-Allison

P.S. We bought these tick-tacks…they have these crazy flavours here! There is grapefruit, passion fruit, mango, lemon…very cool flavours! I was pretty excited!

May 27

Sunday, May 27, 2007

The meeting today was in Mer, so I got to “sleep in” until 7am this morning! It rained all day here though, so it made for a very cold meeting and a cold day, in general!
I don’t really know what to say in regards to the meeting because nothing out of the ordinary happened. The parents were really great…there wasn’t really anyone that caused any huge problems or anything. I think, for the most part, everyone was too cold to complain.
The lunch was amazing! It wasn’t really our standard cold plate canteen service, but rather an entire buffet with three courses. There were tablecloths and two glasses at every place with fresh flower petals sprinkled on the tables. It was really impressive. The food was good too…all cold…but I tried a lot of new stuff!!
It was still raining when we got back to the house around four o’clock so I think everyone (me included!) slept for a good hour or so! I love naps!! When it is raining like that there is really not much else to do besides sleep, I figure!
When I woke up at six though there was blue sky and sun so I went for a really long run (almost an hour…which is pretty good for me!!) on the paths that run along the Loire. It was absolutely gorgeous - the water and the little towns and all the forests here. It was great. It was raining again by the time I made it back to the house, but it was still a really good run!
Lise had made Canadian-type cookies and I was soooo excited!! I haven’t had cookies since way before I left home! It was really exciting…I think I ate about five before I decided that I really needed to stop! The problem is that they always put out food like that about an hour or so before dinner…and already that is way past my normal dinner time, so then I go nuts – although I attempt to contain myself so that I actually eat dinner! (which was really late tonight!)
Ohhh!!! Before dinner (and after the awesome cookies!) Lise and I went and picked cherries from their tree! They have this HUGE cherry tree in their back yard and the cherries are ripe now and they can’t eat them fast enough. We picked this huge bucket full and I basically ate those for dinner. So good. I’ve never picked cherries before! It was pretty awesome.
He he he….so one of the families that was at the meeting either yesterday or today called Mme Lenfant to complain about the dossier. Apparently there are no pictures included in it and the Cdn kid’s e-mail address is something like darksun_666@hotmail and so the family doesn’t want to accept the Cdn kid because they are worried that they may be gothic! Is that not the dumbest thing ever?! It is actually really interesting for me to see the cultural difference when it comes to accepting individual differences. Apparently us Canadians never reject the dossiers of the French students…but I have a feeling that it may happen a lot more often on this side of the ocean. Either way, it is a funny situation in my mind! So Mathieu was on the phone with Marcel – my connection in Edmonton – to work out the problem!! Yep…quite liked that!
Tomorrow is a holiday so Lise and Nicolas are going to take me to visit a couple castles!! I am excited! I really hope it stops raining! It’ll be a lot nicer if I am not cold! J

Later

-Allison

May 26

Saturday, May 26, 2007

Okey-dokey…so I got up at 5:31 this morning because we had a meeting in Alençon (sp???) at 9am and it was a two hour drive to get there. Mornings are so nice – especially when I don’t have to drive because then I get to sleep!! I’m sure I didn’t help the dad stay awake at all because I was sure not awake!
We ended up getting there quite early and had breakfast at the hotel with the Lenfant’s and Mathieu. Mathieu is this family’s eldest son and is the one with the Canadian girlfriend. We were at an ancient school (I think all the schools here are ancient and castle-like though, so I guess my opinion doesn’t really count in that regard!). There were only supposed to be 40ish students attending, so it was a rather small meeting…which makes everything go so much more smoothly!
There were two groups and as normal I stayed with the parents in the morning and did a little bit on education with the groups in the afternoon. This group of parents was great and because there wasn’t an excess of people sitting at the front with Mme Lenfant and me, I got to do a decent amount of talking – which I love!
There was one dad who was a pain (there is ALWAYS one parent who is a nuisance…) because his daughter is going to Kamloops and he thinks there is nothing in the West…and that all we do is fish. I really did my best to convince him that there is more than Indians and buffalo running wild in BC and Alberta but he didn’t really seem to care!! And I am perfectly well aware that Kamloops is not exactly the same size as Vancouver…but I sure wasn’t going to tell him that!
We made it back to the house around five and I decided to go for a run – it is so beautiful here…it may become my favorite region so far…we shall see! But it started to rain and rain and rain. I did this little loop that the family had suggested would take me about a half hour…but I was back at the house in less than 15 minutes…and I debated between stopping and continuing because at that point it wasn’t raining that hard. I am really glad that I decided to stop though because it poured and poured – thunder and lightening too!!
We all went out for dinner (with the Lenfants as well) at this really cool restaurant downtown Blois. (On Wednesday I get to go look around there, it should be good!) It was a really fun place – not the typical type of restaurant that we go to, and I appreciated the change! I can not eat the quantities of food that French eat, though. I honestly don’t understand why French (in general) aren’t larger people!! I eat probably less than half of my meal on a regular basis…and I am the only one that doesn’t finish their plate. I am glad this time that I have decided that I just don’t care if I don’t finish – that way my stomach doesn’t explode!!!
Ahhh…here’s the family lesson…So there is a mom and a dad (Marie-Paul and Christian (I think!)). Then there are three kids: Mathieu, Lise, and Remi – I don’t know how to spell that though! Mathieu, as I’ve already said, is working for Mme Lenfant at all the meetings and stuff and goes back and forth to Canada with all the French groups in the summer – and has a girlfriend (who is also part of OSEF) in Montréal. Lise did the exchange with OSEF 4 years ago to Winsor, Ontario. She is 20ish and is great! Her and I get along really well. She is studying biology and is going to California for the coming semester to continue there. (I think I am going to see if I can arrange to go to California on a long weekend to visit her) She is on holidays until her summer job starts at the end of May and is living here at home with her boyfriend (Nicolas, I think…) who is also super nice. Rémi is really little – I think he must be about 11 – but he is pretty fun too. When I go to Blois on Wednesday he is going to go with me! It’ll be cool!!
Sooo…a pretty cool family. They are (obviously) super involved in OSEF and are really nice…and “normal”. It’s great. I am glad that I am here until next Sunday!!
Later –Allison

May 25

Friday, May 25, 2007

It really was an entire day on the train!! The mom (I still don’t know her name…I guess I’ll never know, now!!) drove me to the train station at Isle sur la Sorgue for 8:30, where I just caught the bus – and didn’t have to pay, yet again! Weird…but I was happy to save another 3 Euros.
I made it to the central Gare in no time at all because the bus was a direct one instead of the round about bus that I took the other day when I went into Avignon. I took a shuttle bus to the other side of the city (it was a good 20min ride…I was surprised!) to get to the TGV train station…where I waited for a good three hours. Because there are not many trains (busses) that leave Isle sur la Sorgue, I didn’t really have another option. I did some good people watching in the train station, though. And it was nice and air-conditioned and everything too, so no problem!!
I still love trains! Soooo awesome. Because I got a cheap ticket I didn’t get that great of a seat (one of the four seats that face each other instead of the single two seats), but it turned out to be great because I had some really interesting people that came and went from the other three seats. People are so interesting to watch!
Due to my rearranging and organizing of train tickets I didn’t have to change train stations in Paris, which was really nice…My “carry on” bag is actually quite heavy! I haven’t bought anything though, so I don’t really know how it has gotten so heavy!! I guess the accumulation of papers and maps from each place I visit has an impact after a while. (I have been really good at getting rid of papers though…I only keep one from each place I visit – that is pretty good for me!!)
Anyway, I changed trains in a city close to Tours, and then got back on a normal train to make it to Mer. The family lives between Blois and Mer in a town called St Denis sur la Loire and Mer was closer for picking me up from the train station.
So the dad (I think his name is Christian) picked me up from the train station in Mer (which is the tiniest little thing ever….so cute!) and we drove by lots and lots and lots of castle walls to get to their house. This is the region with the most castles in France because the climate is good because of la Loire (the biggest fleuve in France…or Europe?). I am quite excited to go visit castles!!
The mom’s name is Marie-Paul and she is a principle in the collège in Mer and she had meetings (on a Friday!) until 8pm!!! We waited until she got back until we ate dinner (salmon…it was sooo good!!)…
I’ll explain more about the family and house and stuff tomorrow.

Night

-Allison

May 24

Thursday, May 24, 2007

Victoire came and woke me up nice and early today…she forgot her curling iron in my room! It was actually a good thing though because that way I got started biking earlier – while the temperature was still tolerable!!
I biked to another town on the other side of Isle sur la Sorgue (but now that I am writing this a couple of days later, I can’t remember what it is called!!). It was a nice ride there, past lots of fields full of poppies and cows!!
The town was cute, like they all are, and I really like exploring them on the bike because it makes life just that much more simple…and faster way to see lots too! I biked around until I found the tourist office and I got a walking map only to find that I’d really biked the entire route already! I went and had another look at the church and bridge to see if I’d missed anything, but I’d pretty much done the entire tour…
On my way out of the town on the way to another (I’d planned out an entire circuit of little villages for the day) I rode past a bike shop that had used bikes for sale!! I got really excited and had a nice long conversation with the owner, who was great. There was one bike that was really good and a great price (Cheaper than renting for 2 weeks, that’s for sure!) that I really debated buying, but ended up not buying because of the trains and various families and everything…I was kinda sad in the end – but I’m sure I’ll survive!!
I did something to my knee biking yesterday – probably because the bike that I borrowed was really too big for me!! I attempted to ignore the pain, but after attempting to bike up the hill to get to the next town, I kind of realized that I was not going to make it and I’d best be getting home before I did more damage…so I was smart, and I biked (very slowly because I actually hurt!!) back to the house. It was fine by me because it was already noon and I did a nice 30Km in the morning along with a nice, calm village visit!!
Buying my train ticket for Friday was an entire afternoon affaire! I thought I’d be helpful and it ended up being counterproductive and frustrating for me and for Mathieu – one of the OSEF guys (the one that has a Canadian girlfriend) who was organizing my train trips for me. I felt really bad by the end of the day, but I actually saved them/me a good 30 Euros!! (All of mom’s changing hotels and flights for good prices is genetic too, apparently!)
I pretty much napped and packed for the rest of the afternoon…I should have gone to the pharmacy to get more drugs for cat reactions, but I’ve pretty much been to the pharmacy enough already, I think!! J
Dinner was…late…but it was good. We had some good conversations about the US vs France and a bit of politics – I could name StePHen Harper without a problem, I’ll have you all know! It was a good last night, I dare say.
An entire day of train tomorrow!!!

Night

-Allison

May 23

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

I am tired – and it is only 3pm…such a good thing!! I went biking or cycling or faire du vélo or du cylisme or whatever you would like to call it. Take your pick! And I went up and down way too many mountains (more like hills in our world, but they were plenty big enough for me, thank you very much!!)…but I think it is pretty much the heat that did me in more than anything!
Okay…so I borrowed the bike of Michel’s son downstairs. A nice little bike, like the one I have at home (except this one was not outside in the snow for 8 months, so the chain didn’t inhibit the bike from moving. A nice bonus!). It was a little big for me length ways, so for the first while it felt like I was really stretching out to reach the handlebars, but I got used to it and it ended up being quite a decent bike for the day!! So because I had missed those things at Fontaine de Vaucluse on Monday, I decided to head off in that direction. It didn’t take any time at all to get there on the bike and it was only about 9:30 by the time I got there. It was great because there were a lot less tourists and with the water surrounding the town it was all nice and fresh feeling. I didn’t go far enough upstream last time, so I didn’t see the beginning of the river…and apparently that was not to be missed, so I walked up the path for a bit until I got to a cave with water in it. In the winter the water is a lot higher and it flows on top of the rocks and boulders that are in the riverbed and is supposed to be pretty great. Today though the cave was all there was to see. I guess coming from Alberta, I am kinda spoiled because although I love water and think rivers are totally awesome, I was just not that amazed to see a cave with water in it!! It is kind of cool to think that the water is just coming from “nowhere” though, to start the river there…it is so cool to think that the river just disappears into the mountains. I like that.
Then, I decided I’d continue biking in that direction – there wasn’t much point in turning around towards Isle sur la Sorgue. So I biked up and up and up (I really don’t like hills, you know!) until I was on top of the “mountain”. There were some huge and beautiful mansions up there…and then I had no choice but to go down the other side of the mountain!! I don’t mind going down…it is just disappointing to know that if I go down, that means I’ll have to go back up again at some point!
On the way down, there was a little town called Cabrières d’Avignon where I bought a bottle of water that I strapped on to the rat trap on my bike using the lock. It was cute, but very small. I was excited because there was a sign pointing the way to the castle. The only problem was that the castle was completely renovated and people were living in it, so I couldn’t even visit! So I continued on my way down the mountain. At the bottom I passed another town called Les Imberts…it was so small that I am pretty sure I saw the whole thing just by going through the one street!
I had it in my head before I’d left that I would go to a town called Gordes – if I could make it there. I’d just looked at the map that I had from the tourist office, and that one seemed like an okay distance… Well, now that I was at the bottom of the valley, of course I had to bike back up another mountain to get to this town! It was a good 8km up hill…I hate hills, okay?! But I made it…and I wasn’t even that much slower than those super-duper dudes in spandex with their feet attached either! J It was a long ride up though…and by this time the sun was nice and high and that fresh morning feeling was definitely not there – definitely not…I don’t really remember the last time I sweated this much!
So I made it to Gordes…and decided I needed to keep going (UP) to the “Abbaye de Sénanque”. It was another 2Km ish up…and then, much to my dismay…back down the other side – a good 5km. I didn’t go down the other side! I just couldn’t see myself making back up the stupid hill again! If I had a better map (I have one now, I got it from the tourist office in Gordes when I went back) I would have gone down and not gone back up…have taken other roads to get back to Isle sur la Sorgue. But, I asked someone if it was worth going down, and they said it really wasn’t. And at the tourist office at Gordes she said it cost 10E to visit it and that it wasn’t that great! So I am happy with my decision… J
I went back down the roads I’d just come up so I could go visit Gordes. It is supposed to be one of the most beautiful towns in France – I totally lucked out by randomly choosing it! It is up on a hill and is on a bunch of levels and all in stone. There is a castle right in the centre, at the top of the mountain, too…so it pretty much is one of my favourites because there is a castle!
I locked up my bike and wandered around for a bit…there wasn’t much wandering to be done, however, because it was so small! And the insane number of tourists that were running around gets old really fast (Yah, I know I can’t really talk, but I didn’t arrive in a greyhound bus along with 100 other foreigners). The nice bakery lady filled up my waterbottle for me when I bought a bread thing for lunch…made me happy! And then I was pretty much done in Gordes.
It was too hot to keep going – I would have liked to, but the idea of it being any hotter when I had to go up those hills I’d come down (of which there were less to go up going back because there were more ups going to Gordes…) kind of put a negative spin on that idea!
Going home didn’t even kill me! Nope, I’m still in one piece! I went down and then up and then down to Fontaine de Vaucluse. I stopped there to have an ice cream cone – at the same place where I’d had one on Monday…and the guy probably thinks I’m totally nutty…it is the cheapest place I’ve found though, so it makes sense to me. It was very good lemon sherbet!!
There is no school on Wednesday afternoons, so I don’t have internet access again today. It is getting tight for my train tickets! Mathew (part of the OSEF crew) said I should buy my ticket for Saturday, but these guys are leaving on Friday…so I need to talk to Mathew to see if it works to take the train on Friday instead…we shall see…
And now I am thinking about a nap. It is only 4pm though…

Later

-Allison

P.S. So you don’t think I am totally wimpy…I went about 45km today…that isn’t that bad!!! And all the hills… ;)

May 22

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

It is 6pm and is 35ºC…I am pretty much dieing! Heat and I definitely are not great friends…and to think that this time last week I was complaining because it was only +3ºC in Dijon! I know, I know…I have a very narrow temperature range – sorry!! I personally think it has to do with the fact that I just don’t do change.
I went to Avignon today…not much has changed in six years!! I totally knew more or less where I was going because of that visit with the Schigand’s. Although, I did walk past the bridge entrance three times before I found it!!
Okay….so Michel dropped me off at the train station this morning (I’ll attempt to give you a family lesson later on here…) at 8:30 ish because my train was at quarter to, and I hadn’t bought my ticket yet. As I was walking through the doors to buy my ticket, one of the ticket ladies was on her way out the door to meet a greyhound-type bus that had just arrived. Apparently, there was no train arriving, and the bus was here to replace it. She said I didn’t have time to buy a ticket and said I should just get on the bus. I actually asked if I had her permission to get on without paying…guilty conscience flash…and she laughed and just told me to get on the bus!! So I got the scenic route to Avignon for free (It saved me 3E…not that big of a deal…I would have rather paid so I didn’t have a panic attack for the hour it took the bus to get there!!).
I made my way to the tourist info place that was located practically next to the train station and got a great map of the city…there were four different coloured walking trails mapped out and corresponding coloured arrows on the sidewalks around the city (although not quite as clearly as the paths in Dijon). I ended up doing (more or less) three of the four trails today…so I figure that was pretty good!! And everything was open today…so that added a different perspective to what I had seen before!
I walked through the marked streets until I got to “Le Palais des Papes” where nine popes…ruled? What do popes actually do?? Anyway…nine popes lived here during years where Italy was not safe. Two of the popes built the palace in less than 20 years, and it is the biggest gothic palace in the world. I just cheated and looked at my pamphlet – It was the “seat of the Christian world in the 14th century” and is recognized as a World Heritage Site. There is my trivia for the day! The entire visit was on audioguide and it was pretty much the most audioguide(ed) visit I’ve ever done. There was speech after speech after explanation after explanation for the 25 rooms that are open to the public. I followed along faithfully numbers 1-20 and decided to walk through the remainder as well as the hundreds of “If you would like more information on….push…to continue” options! As it was the tour took up a good part of 2 hours. It was pretty cool though – I am glad I went in and saw it.
Afterwards, I walked through the gardens. That’s the place I remember the most from before – and I still liked them today too…although there were many more people at this time of the day!
I walked down the opposite side so I could go across the bridge and walked and walked around and around – no, I wasn’t lost…I just couldn’t seem to get onto the other side of the walled city in order to get up to the bridge! It was kind of funny by the end. I’d bought a dual pass for the palace and the bridge so I got my audioguide for the bridge as well…I wasn’t nearly as faithful to listening and learning as I had been in the palace! I think I may have listened to 4 of the 9 stops. All I wanted to do was dance on the bridge and sing the song!! I was a happy girl…but I couldn’t dance as much as I wanted to because there were only grown-ups on the bridge and I had to pretend I was all grown-up too. But I did a nice little dance in my head and I sure sang the song a lot!
Let’s see…what trivia can I give you?? The bridge is actually called “Le Pont Saint-Bénezet” because there was a guy looking after his sheep in the 14th Century who heard God telling him that he needed to build a bridge in Avignon. So, the guy went to the church service that was being held outside in Avignon somewhere and in the middle of whatever the pope was saying the guy stood up and said that he has been told to build this bridge. The pope didn’t know what to say, but the equivalent of the mayor was there and he laughed (as did all the other townspeople) and challenged the guy to move this huge boulder over to where he envisioned the bridge to be built if he was for real. And he did – the Devine powers helped him to move the rock – supposedly. And so thereafter he was declared the Saint of construction (or of buildings or something) and is/was buried in a tomb that is on the bridge. (And that, my friends is fresh from my head – as I have no cheat sheet for info on the bridge!!) And I have more…but its not all that exciting!!
So I walked around some more until I decided I should find some food for lunch. I had this amazing sandwich – three cheese - that was all heated up and grilled…pretty good! I ate it sitting in the fancy square “La place de l’Horloge” and watched the other people go and eat at all the fancy-dancy restaurants…I really liked my sandwich!!
By the time the temperature got up to about 30º I decided it was time to go back to Isle sur la Sorgue. I love trains…It took me 30 minutes on the TGV and cost 3 E. How totally cool, is that?! And then I hung out on the internet at the school for a bit before I made my way back up to the house in the heat.
It was a pretty good day…I hope tomorrow is nice ‘cause I do want to go biking a bit, but I wouldn’t complain at all if it was a good 10º colder!!!

Later

-Allison

Family lesson…I forgot!
So there is a mom (don’t know her name) who lives upstairs with her daughter, Victoire and Victoire’s boyfriend/fiancé named Céderique. Downstairs, there is a man named Michel and his son (name??) and his fiancé (name??). That is all simple except for the fact that Victoire calls Michel Dad…but I know the mom isn’t married (she got divorced a long time ago)…and apparently she isn’t really with the guy that lives downstairs…because, well, he lives downstairs. And the mom has bought another house in the middle of town that her, Victoire and Céderique are moving to in the summer. So…I don’t really know about the family connections at all here. I do know, however, that 18 is really young to be engaged.

May 21

Monday, May 21, 2007

I just walked more than a half marathon – actually!! And my feet and legs are pretty much tired…but they don’t “hurt” really – buying those Mirelle shoes I bought at Nordstrom’s was a great thing to do.
I was supposed to go to school today. I got up and was ready to go at 8:30 when we were supposed to leave…but we were late leaving because Victoire was still straightening her hair! I decided to grab an apple for the road (not really having plans, I have discovered it is always good to be prepared) and the mom basically called me fat! I was pretty much stunned and didn’t really say anything…the funny thing is that although I am not a stick, I don’t really consider myself exactly overweight, either – and her daughter is, well….about twice my size. So it was a pretty strange comment. Anyway…I think her worrying about me getting fatter is probably the least of her worries.
At the school, I was abandoned by Victoire as soon as she saw someone she knew. Thankfully I knew where I was going because of the meeting here on Saturday. I went and had my ‘meeting’ with Chantal and she sent me off to the student office thing where they tried to figure out what classes for me to attend. That was all fine and dandy until I got back from the library at ten O’clock to find that the classes that they’d planned for me to attend had been cancelled. So…I left the school.
I went to the train station to get the timetable for the trains going to Avignon and had the thing explained by the ticket guy who thought it was pretty much the funniest event of the day (it’s not like I read train tables on a regular basis!). I thought there may be a chance that my bike store would be open as well, but it wasn’t. And, I am not honestly sure if I am going to rent a bike from there anyway…last night at dinner I met the people who live downstairs and he said that he has a bike that I can borrow…so we shall see!!
I went to the post office to see how many stamps I would need to send mail to Canada, only to find out that the stamps that Mme Lenfant had kindly given to me were useless…I ended up giving them to the homeless guy that was opening the door to the post office in hopes of getting change. He seemed happy enough!!
Before I set out on my marathon I ate a little quiche thing from the bakery that I stumbled upon after leaving the post office. I sat in the same little place that I found yesterday and watched the ducks swim around. It was very pleasant!
So I walked to Fountain de Vaucluse today…It says on the road sign that it is only 6Km from that point leaving Isle sur la Sorgue…so from the school it was at least 8Km and going home it was at least 9Km as I walked back to the house. And then, walking all around the two towns…I figure I did around 25 Km walking today. It would have been nicer had it not been on a secondary highway…but that was really my only option to get there. At least that way I wasn’t worried about there being a lack of people at any time, so that was nice.
I walked for a good 45 minutes enjoying the birds and looking at the houses and farms and such until I saw a huge aqueduct. It is called “L’aqueduc de Galas” and is in perfect condition. I was excited to see that…I didn’t really realize there was any more to see, to be honest. I walked around the aquaduct and was about to turn around to go home when I realized I didn’t see the typical signage that indicated I was where I was trying to go –and they are always so good at indicating the town limits here, so I kept walking.
Not long after I was in the town, and I was really happy I found it!! It was really cute and had lots of interesting things there. I wandered around a bit until I found the tourist office and I got a nice little map, but really the town was small enough that I didn’t need the map. I visited a paper mill first of all and it was very cool – they actually still used the water wheel to generate the power for mashing the stuff that makes the paper. It made me happy to see it happening because I know how to “make paper” (starting off with blended paper scraps!!) and here it was happening on a rather large scale. It was all I could do to resist buying some random poem that had been printed on one of the pieces of paper – they were all sooo cool!!
Then I attempted to walk up to the castle that was in the middle of town…and it took me a good three tries before I actually found the right path – one that I had walked by three times before I actually took it!! It wasn’t a long walk up to the ruins, but I was a happy girl! I happen to absolutely love castles, or in this case, the remains of castles! It was a nice little climb. And I noticed a bunch of trails that continued up onto the cliffs that I would really like to climb up too…but today was not the day because I did not have time and because wearing a skirt is not exactly ideal for hiking (although that black skirt I bought in San Fran is pretty much amazing for everything!!)
After seeing that, I pretty much had run out of time because I needed to be home by about 5:30 and still had to walk there!!! I thought I had pretty much seen everything, but looking on the map now, I’ve noticed that I missed the other hikes and a graveyard…but for a day trip on foot, I think I did pretty well – and it was pretty cool!
Before I started on the road home though I bought a pistachio ice cream cone. My first ice cream since I’ve been here…and it was pretty darn good!!! And…I noticed a kayaking place on the way in and decided that it would be cool to kayak back to Isle sur la Sorgue…but when I stopped in on the road home I found out that they only leave once a day at 2pm…so I had pretty much missed it by 2 hours!! So I walked…but it was still a good thing to do!!
And now I am resting my tired feet!! Walking and running sure do use different parts of my legs…it is weird, actually!! Never really noticed that before…
So tomorrow is Avignon I think. Another day of walking, and touring, but it’ll be good! When the Schigand’s took me there when I was here six years ago, we’d driven from Metz all night long, and we arrived in Avignon at about 6:30 in the morning. Let’s just say we were really the only ones that were alive at that hour!! I may even pay the money and go dancing on the bridge!!! Exciting!!

Later

-Allison

P.S. Because I am always by myself, I am sure getting good at doing those pictures of myself by holding the camera away...kinda funny pictures in the end though!!

May 20

Sunday, May 20, 2007

I got up this morning at 7:30 to find that Juliette and Victoire were still watching movies. They are already getting on my nerves. There is obviously a big difference in maturity level between Grade 12 and 3rd year university. Go figure.
After sewing the stupid insole of my left runner into my shoe, I went for a run down to the school and back. I like those new runners that I got at Paul’s place, but I don’t understand why the insole keeps sliding out the back as I run! J And it is only the left one too!! I glued it in about a month before I left and that was working well until the runners got a little bit wet during my bike ride in the rain/hail last Sunday. Michelle gave me a little hotel sewing box because I had a hole on one of my hoodies and so I decided sewing that stupid insole into the shoe was the thing to do…it worked for one run at least! Hopefully it’ll last for a while because it was sure a pain sewing it in!! Running was not as great as normal because I really hadn’t eaten in a good 24 hours, I was kinda lacking energy, but at least I was happy by the time I got back to the house!!
I got all ready…showering was a challenge…gotta love those typical French showers – this is my first one of the trip, so I guess I should consider myself lucky!! Oh! And there is a window above the bathtub/shower and I can see the road…that means that people on the road can see me too!! And it is the only window in the entire house that doesn’t have shutters! Some things I will never understand.
It was market day today, and it was awesome. The entire ‘downtown’ that I’d more or less explored yesterday was full of vendors. Everything from clothes to fruit to chicken to herbs and soap. It was great. There were so many people (a good ¾ were tourists, I’d say). I love markets, but I was nice and tired after walking around there for about 3 hours. I bought mom the soap she likes – but choosing only 5 out of about 50 options was hard!! They are such a good price though… I bought a basket of cherries for 3E and walked around eating them (and spitting the pits back into the bag because I felt bad putting them on the road…).
In my wandering around I found the tourist info place and they gave me a nice little map and told me where I could find the bike rental place. Although they were closed today, I walked over there so I would know where they are located for Tuesday, when they open again! They are right next to the school though, so it’s not really difficult!!
On my way back to the house I stopped at a small super-market dealeo and found chocolate milk juice boxes!! Made me really happy. I stopped beside the river in the park and drank two of them and ate my cherries. It was quite nice.
Back at home they were just eating lunch, so I decided to stop being grumpy and went and talked with them for a while. Heaven forbid I should be civilized.
What is really bugging me now is that I have a wireless connection, but I don’t know how to use it! It is a “peer-to-peer” connection and I tried configuring and deconfiguring and whatever computer technology you want to use, but I can’t seem to actively access the internet. I can access web pages that I have previously visited, but because there is no actual, immediate, connection to the internet (even though I am connected) I can’t access things like web-mail! I am going nutty!!!
And it is now almost 6pm and I was thinking I’d go for another run, but my muscles don’t really feel like doing that, I don’t think! I can nicely feel my butt muscles and my calves at the moment – maybe they need a break!!

Later

-Allison

May 18

Friday, May 18, 2007

Oh, have I got stories today!!! Let me tell you…. J Just wait!

So…this morning we all ate breakfast together and I packed up my stuff before I went for a great run. I went up to the Church in Talant this morning (as per the suggestion of Bernard) but people don’t really realize how long their suggestions actually take – So I made it up the hill (after a warm up bit too…look at me go!) in about 7 minutes. And then I must have had something hit me on the head because I decided to do hill, interval, disgusting things! I ran up the hill 5 times and I was nice and dead by the end, let me tell you! I don’t even like hills – I honestly don’t have any idea what happened…but it did!
I was totally ready at 10:30 when Fredo (I honestly have no idea how to spell that) and Laurant (Mme Lenfant’s brother…I think I’ve already explained all this) came and picked up the three of us in the van. It was a great ride down to Isle sur la Sorgue. We stopped about half way to have lunch – cheese and fruit saved me there! No complaints at all!!
We drove past Avignon and through a couple of little town dealeos to arrive in this very cute little town with little rivers running everywhere. It is obvious that we are in the south, though…Even I can tell the difference in people’s attitudes and comportment (do we use that word in English??). And the structures are very undecorated and, well, very southern! Guess that makes sense!!
The school is gated and very nice from the outside…I won’t actually see inside until tomorrow though. And this is where the stories start…Last week I attended school…this week I am living at the school! Yep…it sure is a boarding school and it is sure where I will be for the next 6 nights! Right now all the kids are gone home for the weekend, but come Sunday night there will sure be kiddies everywhere…and I will sure be in the same building (and I think even in the same room – although I really hope not (there has to be some boundaries to adventure, quand même!!))
When we got here it was pretty funny – the faces that Michelle and Bernard were making when looking at the rooms was great! Mme Lenfant had a total laughing fit because of the entire situation. No one had brought towels or sheets or anything (I am using mom’s magic blanket thing as my towel for the next week). There are not enough beds on each floor so we are separated out onto 3 different floors. There were no pillows or anything, either, not to mention the lack of toilet paper and soap in the shared bathrooms. I definitely had to take a breath and decide it was an adventure.
We got ahold of someone who got us all clean sheets to put on our tiny jail-cell type beds and Mme Lenfant bought towels for everyone else when we went walking around town before dinner. And now that I have learned to sleep on my back and my side, I needed a pillow like all other normal people – but I am sure not using the one they gave me!! I think I’ll stick to using my coat for this week, thanks!!
Tomorrow for both breakfast and lunch we are eating at the canteen…which is where I will be eating all my meals for the next week!! The only thing I can do is laugh because otherwise this would be a painful week!! The great bonus is that I will hopefully get to do some stuff with the students here so I am not totally alone all the time! And the other bonus is there is a running track out my back window – so I can go running whenever I want with no worries at all (boring, I know, but it’ll be a nice change from worrying about getting lost and being alone and such).
We walked down to the rivers to find a little place to eat dinner. It was great…and the shopping looks like it’ll be great!! It is super cute here and, again – a lot like I am in the South!! We had a great dinner at a place on the river and did a little exploring…It’ll be nice here for the week.
I had a nice chat with Mme Lenfant when we were on the road today. It was only the two of us in the back of the van and I was finally able to corner her to talk about when I could visit Sophie and actually get an explanation for my “programme” for the next couple of weeks.
Anyway, she basically confirmed what I thought about my being here. I am here so that I can understand the program better. That way, when I am back in Edmonton and Calgary or wherever in Canada I can help with OSEF on that end. There aren’t many young people involved with the organisation in Canada and so she is “using me” (she even said that…laughing, of course) for what I can do for the program on my end. This way, once I get how the entire thing works overall, I’ll better be able to explain it to do recruiting in the schools (with or without Marcel) on my end later on.
As well, she really does seem to appreciate what I bring to the meetings here…having a Canadian give an opinion on what the exchange was like means something to the parents. And she says I am a great speaker (so there!! ;) ). And, I do feel useful when I am at the meetings, so that is a good thing.
I think that in the future I will be able to definitely help out more on the Canadian end…give me a couple years and I’ll be able to help with the matching process of the Canadians and the French students as well as accompany them to France and from France. As well, Mme Lenfant said that when I am not in school, it is a good thing to have a Cdn at the office for the three months that the students are in France so that if there are problems a native Canadian and English speaker is there to help out.
And, finally, I am not the only one she has done this for! She often does these “special” programs for people on the Canadian end. Last year she had a girl working in the office to help out the Canadian students if they had problems during their three months. And right now there is a Canadian that is doing an entire year in France…four different families for three months each. So, it makes me happy to know that I am not the only one that has been receiving special treatment!!
Well…that is probably the end of my stories for the day!! Tomorrow morning I am going to go running on the track before my first breakfast in the canteen and then our meeting here. Yep…an adventure is a good way to put it.

Night

-Allison

May 17

Thursday, May 17, 2007

It rained AGAIN today!! But it ended up being okay because most things were closed anyway due to the holiday. In fact, I slept in until 8:15 this morning! I think that is the latest so far on this trip!!
We ate breakfast at 8:30 and I was there on time…seemed like a necessary thing to do!! It was a typical French breakfast, no worries. I actually stayed in my PJ’s until 11:30 because I wanted to go running and I was waiting for the least amount of rain before I went out. (I know…another very unusual thing for me!)
I actually went for a great run in the kind of rain. People always look at me like I am totally nutty, but whatever! Girls my age just don’t go running by themselves here (beats me if they go at all, to be honest, because its not like I’ve actually ever seen any other female runners at all!!). This is the perfect temperature for me to run – so now that my lungs are getting a little better, and breathing is coming a little easier, it was pretty good. I am in Talant now (I spelled it incorrectly last time I wrote about it) – well, until tomorrow – so I ran down to La Place Darcy and back. Yep, it was a nice little run in the rain.
We waited for Bernard to get back from Paris on the train in order to eat lunch. And then I called Sophie! It was great to hear her, but seeing her is going to be a lot more complicated. I am pretty much up North for the rest of the time that I am here (apart from this week) and I am busy on weekends. And Sophie is never free during the week and is free on the weekend! I really need to corner Mme Lenfant sometime this weekend so that I can go through my schedule with her because I have two different ones (one for all the meetings and my personal one) and I don’t know which is more correct or how visiting Sophie could work. I’m working on convincing her that she should just come to Canada at the end of the summer when she has her holidays…I doubt that will really work though!!
Bernard and I drove to Château du Clos de Vougeot, about 30 minutes outside of Dijon this afternoon. It is a castle surrounded by vineyards and, like all castles, is a gazillion years old! It is owned by the Confrérie des Chevaliers since just before WWII and famous people get to join!! (They celebrate good food and all the excellent wines…the people who belong to the group get these necklaces with a little silver cup thing for wine tasting attached – I forget the name, of course) Before that it was monks that built the buildings themselves as well as all of the huge grape presses and cellars for the wine storage. The roofs inside were beautiful with all the beams and supports despite it being pretty plain from the outside. It was a good thing to visit!!
Michelle and Bernard’s son is getting married at a nearby Château, all the guests from Paris and New York (the bride’s family is mostly from there) are booked into three hotels in the area, and they are having a dinner for 200 people at the Château du Clos de Vougeot that we visited. The dinner will cost ~160 E per person!!! Is that not incredible?! And that is just the food!! They are paying for three entire hotels for the guests, busses that will transport everyone from one Castle to another, a crazy amount of flowers….beats me what else! The entire concept left me completely speechless! ~200$ for each guest? That is totally nutty!! (Anyway because he is known at the castle we got in free…I should think so too if he is going to be spending that much at the place at the end of June!!)
We had pizza and salad for dinner…and I think it has finally stopped raining!! It’ll be nice tomorrow – because we are driving all day!!!

Night
-AJ

May 16 pictures

This very cool biker dude in the Musée that I visited yesterday...and considering were not allowed flashes in there, I think I did a pretty okay job!!









A pretty carousel in one of the squares...

May 16

Wednesday, May 16, 2007 It rained all day again today! It had better be nice in Avingon because the rain and grey skies are pretty much getting to be depressing at this point!! I still did stuff today though, despite the rain…it is just much easier playing tourist when it is not raining!! I “slept in” until 7am this morning because I did not go to school this morning. Instead, after breakfast I packed up my backpack and my bag so that I could change houses later today. I really did not even bother to unpack at this place because I was only here for three days, so it didn’t take much to pack, really. The Dr office wasn’t that far away (well, nothing here is too far away!!) so I biked there and back, and I didn’t even get lost at all! The Dr was super nice and great about taking me despite my lack of France health card and that whole bit. I got antibiotics, nose drop dealeos and some other thing. I feel like I am practically a pharmacy now – I have been there 3 times in the past week and have 5 different drugs! It doesn’t really seem like I am typically quite healthy. Ironic, I guess. Sylvie came back to get me on her break. After getting my drugs, we went back to St Joseph where I hung out in the library for an hour or so until I met Gerard for lunch. Lunch at the cafeterias here are pretty darn good. And, even if they aren’t, there is always cheese, bread, and fruit – so I’m fine! I borrowed and umbrella and walked downtown again this afternoon. Because tomorrow’s a holiday nothing is going to be open at all. I’m going to have to find something to do, I guess!! Anyway, this time I had a map and I made it downtown a lot faster than I did yesterday. It was funny walking down town from the school yesterday because I was simply following the road signs for the tourist info building, and the cars definitely go a nice round about route to get there! I visited La Musée des Beaux Arts for a good hour and a half. Pretty good for someone who lacks an appreciation for museums, if I do say so myself. It is located in Le Palais des Ducs (which is in la Place de la Libération and is supposed to be one of the most beautiful museums in France – every city has one museum that is supposed to be the most beautiful!! It is kinda funny.). Then, I made my way over to the Cathedral so I could see it again. I saw all these things yesterday on my “chouette” tour, but I didn’t really go inside anything. The Cathedral was nice…church-like and everything!! The rain was driving me totally nutty so I ended up walking around the mall-type arrangement of stores for a couple of hours. There was a really cool bead store where I spent a good chunk of time looking around as well as a supermarket. I always have fun looking around in those! I had a crêpe for a snack this afternoon around 4pm too… I made it back to the car at the lysée for 5:30 so that I could be dropped off at my new house. I was really sad to see Sylvie and Gerard go, especially because I knew what I was about to get myself into at Michelle and Bernard’s place from hearing the other OSEF people talk about them at dinner last week. The house was pretty much how I pictured it would be after meeting the two of them – about as sterile as a hospital. I would not have hesitated for one minute to eat dinner off the floor! It is kinda weird, to be honest. The bonus is that I am really only here for one day because we leave for Avignon early on Friday morning! And it is really an interesting study of people to be switching houses so often. I will definitely have a good “sample” of the “typical” French family after my two months here!! I just wish it would stop raining so that I could at least go exploring a bit without getting soaked!! It’ll be nice in Avignon. Night -Allison P.S. For those of you who keep telling me that our Prime Minister is Steven Harper...I actually do know that! As soon as I stopped trying to remember who it was I remembered!! I am not great at politics, I know, but I think I've got that one, quand même!! :)

Dijon Pictures

Here are the little owl arrows that show you around the city!! I quite loved them...

















L'Eglise Notre Dame in Dijon
















Eglise St-Michel...one of the first churches under the gothic influence here.






Me! And a random café...I hardly have any pictures with me in them...so I took advantage of the passing tourists!!

May 15

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

I woke up this morning and decided it was not going to rain…and it didn’t (although it did a really good job of threatening it)!! It was really, really, abnormally cold though – I wore a good 4 layers all day long, actually. Kind of weird for this time of year.
I went to school with Sylvie again this morning, but I didn’t go to class at all because I went and explored Dijon instead. It was a good thing too, because I don’t really have that much longer here. Thursday is a holiday, so everything is closed and I leave for Avingon Friday morning. I really like the city overall. It has a totally different feel than Grenoble did. Here, there is a lot more gothic architecture and feels a lot more ‘classic’ – if you want to call it that. And, there are churches everywhere. I think there is one Cathedral too…which I should add to my total of Cathedral’s I’ve now seen in France, but I forget the other ones at the moment!
Sylvie has this book that was bought at the tourist info centre that takes you around the entire city and explains all the sites that are tourist-y and must-see things. And the cool part is the fact that they have put metal arrows all around the city to show the tourists where to go!! It was great…and on the arrows are little owls that represent good luck/happiness (there was one made of stone on the Eglise de Notre Dame here and people used to stop and wish on it). I felt a little goofy walking around on these arrows for a good two and a half hours, but I definitely saw all the must-see places in the city. I wish all the places I visited had that!!
So, I saw the following things;
-Jardin Darcy (a beautiful park with a funky fountain in the middle)
-Porte Guillaume (a mini Arc de Triomphe)
-Les Halles (amazing market…and because today was Tuesday – and actually market day- it was great…even the surrounding streets were full J)
-Some old houses made of wood and funky streets with cool-coloured roof tiles, etc
-Eglise, Eglise, Eglise!!!
-Place de la Libération (the Palace and tower with cool little cafés and water fountains around it)
-Palais de Justice (obviously…but it was a cool building from the outside!)

And that is pretty much it!!! I didn’t really go in anything. I only had 3 hours or so to kill before I had to be back at the school, so I didn’t want to get too distracted…and in any case, we all know how I love museums!! I went in a couple of the churches though, but when there are, ummmmm, about 15 in a city, a couple probably does the trick!!
I got lost on my way back to the school, but I asked some random and I found my way again. It ended up that I wasn’t actually that lost after all!! And I actually ended up getting back to the car before Sylvie – so I had a wonderful nap in the car until she got there.
We drove over to “La petite St Joseph” (the elementary school portion of St Joseph that is actually about a 10-15 minute walk away) and had lunch there. I really noticed how I don’t eat anything compared to these people….man alive they all eat a lot! It baffles me how they can all be so skinny…I just don’t quite understand it.
I spent the afternoon (well, 2 hours) in 2 different elementary classes. In the first one we did poetry and in the second geometry. They sure start learning stuff a lot sooner than we do. I think those 8 year old knew a lot more than I did when I was 8…and it is guaranteed that in Math they know more than I did! It was really fun to be there though. Little kids are so much nicer than big kids. More annoying sometimes, but a lot more accepting than people are as they get older. It is too bad that we can’t keep that “niceness” that little kids have as we get older.
When class finished at 3:30 I walked back to the Lysée so I could have Spanish class at 4:30-5:30. It still amazes me that classes in Junior High and High school can run so late. I would still die if I had to do those hours. In any case, Spanish was fine. I really don’t remember a lot. I am okay when I talk because that is basically all I did in Guatemala, but my verbs, especially written, definitely need work. It was an interesting comparison to school systems…the kids here were excellent with verbs and answered the questions without hesitation, but could not understand me when I talked (and the teacher could…so it’s not like I wasn’t making sense!!)…and they didn’t talk in Spanish at all during the class. We really do tend to focus a lot on talking and comprehension in language classes at home.
We (Sylvie came and picked me up) got home around 7:00!!! I decided I needed to pretend to go running, even though I can’t breathe. Let’s just say it made the work out a lot harder!! And my legs were happy to go. It is so beautiful here (the town is called Longvic) with all the canals and everything. I went running along the canals and it was perfect!! I so wish I was going to be here longer. I am really sad that tonight is my last night.
The three of us in the house (Charles, Sylvie, and I) were so hyper tonight. It was mostly the first two, but it was contagious and I ended up getting giddy and weird too…I mean, imagine a combo between Miss Dolph and Miss B!!! It pretty much sums up the energy level!! And Sylvie is always happy. It is so nice! I really, really, really like it here. I am so disappointed I can’t stay for longer.
I have an appointment chez the doctor tomorrow morning at nine. Then, I am going to pack and head on back downtown again for the afternoon. Since everything is closed on Thursday (and I am going to be at Bernard and Michelle’s house), tomorrow is really my last day to tour around Dijon. It’ll be nice out again though (I’ve decided), so there won’t be any problems!!
Night

-Allison

P.S. I went in ONE store today as I was walking around and I tried on lots of stuff…and I ended up buying one dress. I KNOW that I am défendu to buy any more dresses because I don’t really have anywhere to wear them at home. But, this one is like the one I bought in AZ at Christmas and it was only 9E90!! So, like not even 15$. So how could I NOT buy it????

P.P.S. I also found this totally amazing bakery that had these humongous cookies…and I bought a double chocolate one and it was basically the most amazing chocolate cookie I have ever eaten! (Except, of course, any of Mom’s home made ones J)

May 14

Monday, May 14, 2007

It rained and rained and rained today. The storm from last night definitely did not go away! It just about stopped raining, but I don’t have high hopes for tomorrow…
I spent today at the Lysée St Joseph – and let’s just say school hasn’t really changed much here over the past six years…and my feelings towards school here haven’t really hanged much either. Last night as I was falling asleep I realized I was still scared to go to school here…totally forgetting the fact that I am at least 3 years older than all those kids!!! I must have been really “scarred” by my France experience before to still be worried about it now…
Anyway…as I was saying…things were pretty much the same. Sylvie (the ‘mom’) drove me and Charles (the son) to school for classes at 8:00. I had French class first (all with the ‘Terminal’ class = Grade 12) and it was pretty cool and I didn’t have any trouble understanding. We had to find words that corresponded with every letter of the alphabet for things that had to do with theatre. It was a really good way to work on my vocab!! (And I even answered for 2 letters…M = Molière and S = Shakespeare…I was quite proud!!)
Then, I was supposed to have another 2 hours of French, but the teacher cancelled the second class leaving me high and dry. That is pretty much where I felt a lot like I was back in grade 9 here again!! I couldn’t find anyone that would help me (they are really not great with that here at all…in fact, that is one of the things we talk to the parents about in the OSEF meetings) so I walked outside in the POURING rain. I had my raincoat, but it really did no good because it was raining so hard. Fortunately, Dijon is full of churches. They are on practically every corner. And the wonderful thing about churches in France is that they are practically never locked! So, I was walking around in the pouring rain at 9:15 on a Monday and I found a church…And I spent the next hour and a half reading my book (always prepared) in the church. It worked out quite well, actually.
Except for when I got lost on the way back to the school and was late for the next French class. By that point there was nothing dry on my entire body, so I wasn’t about to go walking about in the rain again – and there was no way that I was going to be walking into a class here late! I found the office and asked to find the library and went and wrote e-mails and read there until lunch.
Gerard (the ‘dad’) found me in the library for lunch with the profs in the cafeteria. The food was a lot better than the stuff they served us for the OSEF meeting yesterday, which was really nice. The teachers were great to talk to too…except that at the time I wasn’t able to remember who the Prime Minister of Canada was. Yep…went quite well. I know that Nicolas Sarkosy is the President of France though. That I do know.
For two hours after lunch I went and sat in on a philosophy class. It was more or less boring and the continual talking of the entire class while the prof was attempting to give his lecture was tiring…but it was good exposure to French in any case, so it was all beneficial! And now I know something about the philosophy of Liberty. Who knows where that may come in handy some day! J
I went home with Sylvie at about 4pm, because I really did not feel like staying at school until 6pm when “normal” people finish school here. Sylvie teaches German at all levels and has the ability to change her schedule around a bit, which is why she finishes at 4:30 instead. We stopped at the bakery and I got a petit pan and had it with hot chocolate – an ideal thing to have as an after-school snack when its been raining all day!!
-Allison

May 13

Sunday, May 13, 2007

I am in some serious need of sleep here…People think I am nuts with the amount of sleep I need…but I can not function on 6 hours of sleep plus thinking in French all day! It tends to wear a person out.
Before we ate breakfast this morning at the hotel, I went for a short run up to Talon (a small village on the outskirt of Dijon that has now become part of Dijon) and back. It was nice to do that, but my lungs still aren’t their 100%…I definitely got a nice and strong cold there! It felt good though.
We were on the road to the school by 8:00 after having (finally) a petit pain for breakfast! I was quite excited (and we all know how I love IBIS hotels too…although now, compared to that one on Friday night…the Holiday Inn Express…the beds weren’t at all comfortable!).
The Lysée where I spent the day today will be where I spend the next three days. I am going to school with the parents of this family where I am staying now. It is huge and bare, like all of them seem to be! It’ll be an interesting few days though…again, I don’t really have any idea of what I am actually going to be doing. I think I am mainly going to the school because, like last time, the family doesn’t actually live in Dijon, but in a small town about 10 minutes outside of Dijon and they feel bad just leaving me here where there is nothing to do. So, we shall see.
Today ran rather smoothly, apart from the obvious power struggles that exist between Mme Lenfant, who is very gracious and appreciative of everyone (and is the “chef”) and the regional director here. He seemed to think he was in charge of everything and that he knows everything. It should be interesting because I am going to live at their house (Bernard and his wife Michelle are retired English teachers and seem to be very particular about everything) for two nights this week. Anyway, Mme Lenfant was great about giving him the power he wanted, but that created a few snags in the set-up process. Other than that though, everything went as per the programme.
My “family” came to get me at the school and they seem really nice. As I said, both are teachers in the same school and their house is in a cute little village right beside a canal and a little river. They have one son left at home as well as two kids that are gone. And I can’t tell you their names…because I actually don’t know!! So far I really like them though because they are a nice break from my last “family”!!
I can complain a bit about my last house now that I am no longer there…Really the only thing that bugged me was their obsession with closing doors. I know that sounds really weird, so let me explain. We leave doors open…and I think most people do. The laundry room door isn’t always shut, and the bathroom door is open when there is no one in it, as well as all the bed rooms upstairs. These guys would close ALL the doors in their house ALL the time. I just didn’t understand! Even if I was in the room and wanted the door open (I like it that way when I am just reading or something…it is easier to feel part of the family and to know what is happening!) they would come and close it! What a weird thing to be annoyed by…and I guess I wasn’t really annoyed, more than it was a weird thing for me. I had fun leaving as many doors open as possible though…until I felt bad…and then I’d go close them all!!
Here…My bedroom door is open and I’ve been watching everyone going back and forth and it is quite nice. These people have a lot of energy and the mom really reminds me of Miss Dolph, actually…maybe a mixture of Miss Dolph and Miss B!! And despite their house not being my “typical French house” they have a very cool toilet seat that is all multi-coloured and cool!!
And that was today…
-Allison

May 12

Saturday, May 12, 2007

I woke up with the intention of going running this morning, but when I looked out the hotel window at quarter to six it was still dark, so I decided against that and went back to bed for another 45 minutes. It was a Holiday Inn Express and the beds were the most amazing thing ever!! And the duvets were do die for…so I really didn’t mind going back to bed.
Breakfast was great, as normal here too! Although my “family” for the past week was so healthy that I haven’t even had one petit pain au chocolat!! I had some cereal and yougart this morning – pretty normal, I guess!! And then we were off to a different village outside of Grenoble to set up for the reunion (I can’t make the accent stay because of that Word tool that thinks it knows everything about spelling…).
There are a lot of people involved in OSEF…I never realized quite the size of the organization before. Mme Lenfant started it 14 years ago when her son Fabrice went on a type of exchange that she organized for him and a few friends to the US or Canada (I’m not quite sure). And now, all these years later, OSEF is pretty much her entire life…never mind the life of her family and friends. Fabrice and another friend, also named Fabrice both work for Europ Assistance, which provides the health insurance for both the Canadians and the French. Then, the Hotel where I stayed the first night…they are the friends of Mme Lenfant and it is this hotel where both sides stay when coming and going out of Paris. And the connections keep going. Everyone who goes to these meetings to prep the kids that are leaving on the exchange are involved on various levels. There are some friends, other teachers, and relatives from all over the place. It is rather amazing, actually. I am beginning to realize the extent of it and the fact that Mme Lenfant still gets to know all 500 students (Times two for each country) and spends the time matching them with an appropriate dossier on the other side is pretty impressive. It is her entire life.
So for Grenoble, one of the largest regions, there are over 100 students participating in one of 4 or 5 different programs that OSEF now offers! There are “les écoles de langue” where the French student goes to Vancouver (normally) but it is not reciprocal. Then, there are 3 different lengths of exchanges – one-month during the summer and then a two-month and a three-month exchange during the school year.
We had 5 rooms where we divided the kids up into 4 groups and the parents into another. Before the students get there, we organize all the desks in a U-shape and put up an impressive amount of Canadian paraphernalia! I have never quite seen so many Canadian flags at once…
In the morning I sat up with Mme Lenfant and the regional coordinator as we went through the exchange process (everything from spending money, to laundry, to the actual flight, to Canadian food) with the Parents. The student groups were going through basically the same thing with one of the 12 regional directors, friends, family, etc.! It is a little strange to be talking about home like I did…but it is pretty fun too…once I talk slow enough that everyone can understand me!! I answered a few questions about Canada and things like bringing visas and kids buying cigarettes and lots of stuff about school. Mostly Mme Lenfant talks…but I get in here and there (I always try and make the parents laugh…that is pretty much my objective. And if I manage to do that, then I know they understand me…another objective J)
After lunch I went around to all the other student groups and talked about school and answered any questions that they had about anything. After comparing school so much, it really makes me realize how much I loved school and how much fun education is in Canada (especially compared to here!!)
We wrapped up at about 3pm and made it out of there pretty quickly. They have a van (it seats 9 people plus baggage!!) which is a good thing because of the number of people that are involved and the amount of paperwork, drinks, food, etc that goes everywhere! We drove for about 4 hours to get to Dijon and then had dinner and then, sleep…and the entire thing is a repeat event tomorrow!!


Night

-Allison

More Pictures!!!

A better look out my window in the morning than the other picture.







Me with the jet d'eau in Genève on Wednesday...










I was a tad obsessed with the swans there too...the one on my left was trying to eat me though!!



The cable car dealeo that takes people up to the bastille in Grenoble (I walked up!)



Out of the window at the UN in Geneva into the gardens.