Well, today has been a very slow day. It has been the first day in weeks that I had nothing planned for the day. It was really quite nice to stay at home. I was able to read, and to finish editing my Colmar pictures. They are now up on my site.
Sarah, Mandy and I also finalized our plans for this weekend. We are going to Freiburg, Germany. It is really not far from here. Maybe an hour and a half by car, but we have to change trains twice to get there so the ride is about three hours by train. We are leaving early Saturday morning, and coming back Sunday night.
I am really excited to go to Germany because I haven't been there before, and their Christmas markets are suppose to be the best. Also Freiburg is right next to the Black Forest, so we are hoping to go over and see that area as well. It should be another fun filled weekend. I am so excited. Now I just have to get through the next two days of work!
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Colmar and Other Happenings
It has been another very busy and fun filled weekend for me. Yesterday I had a meeting with the other language teachers. We have them once a month, and I am not quite sure why we do. I think it is suppose to be for us to check in and bring up any questions we have, but it always ends up just being a social time. At least it was only for a few hours in the morning. After our meeting we went to lunch, and then we went o see a movie. We saw “Fast Food Nation,” and it was a little disturbing to say the least.
Then today we went to Colmar. It is another little town in the Alsace region. It is about an hour by train. It was very cute, and it had the classic Alsatian look. When we first got there we got lost in a residential area for a little while, but it wasn’t bad because we got to see a lot of amazing houses. They were all really large and beautiful, and trees lined all the streets.
We finally found the main part of town, about an hour later. They had alight all along the streets and ornaments hanging form the trees for Christmas, so it was beautiful. They definitely really get into Christmas around here.
In Colmar there is a section known as “Little Venice.” All the multicolored houses are built on the edge of the river, and there are a bunch of cafes that look out on the river. I also heard that they even have little gondolas on the water when the weather is nice. It is probably one of the prettiest places I have been since I have been here.
They also had their Christmas market going on. They had stuff set up in three different areas of the town, but it was still really crowded. The area was a lot smaller than the one in Mulhouse, so it kind of felt like you were just part of the heard moving along. Even though there were a lot of people it was still fun. They just have so many things on display at the markets.
We stayed until about 7 pm, so I got to see everything all lit up again. I will edit my pictures soon. I think I am too tired to do them tonight. Plus I have to finish preparing my lessons because my supervisor is coming to observe me in class tomorrow. I hope it goes well. Keep you fingers crossed for me!
Then today we went to Colmar. It is another little town in the Alsace region. It is about an hour by train. It was very cute, and it had the classic Alsatian look. When we first got there we got lost in a residential area for a little while, but it wasn’t bad because we got to see a lot of amazing houses. They were all really large and beautiful, and trees lined all the streets.
We finally found the main part of town, about an hour later. They had alight all along the streets and ornaments hanging form the trees for Christmas, so it was beautiful. They definitely really get into Christmas around here.
In Colmar there is a section known as “Little Venice.” All the multicolored houses are built on the edge of the river, and there are a bunch of cafes that look out on the river. I also heard that they even have little gondolas on the water when the weather is nice. It is probably one of the prettiest places I have been since I have been here.
They also had their Christmas market going on. They had stuff set up in three different areas of the town, but it was still really crowded. The area was a lot smaller than the one in Mulhouse, so it kind of felt like you were just part of the heard moving along. Even though there were a lot of people it was still fun. They just have so many things on display at the markets.
We stayed until about 7 pm, so I got to see everything all lit up again. I will edit my pictures soon. I think I am too tired to do them tonight. Plus I have to finish preparing my lessons because my supervisor is coming to observe me in class tomorrow. I hope it goes well. Keep you fingers crossed for me!
Thursday, November 23, 2006
My Thanksgiving in France
I had a great surprise when I got home today. Sarah had decorated the living room for Thanksgiving. When I can in there was a large banner that said “Happy Thanksgiving.” There were also balloons, and she was playing the “Star-Spangled Banner” on her computer. She said she wanted to do something for Thanksgiving, but had no idea what people did for it in the US. It ended up looking a lot like a birthday party, but I didn’t care. It was so nice of her to do something! It made my day!
Here is a picture of our apartment decorated for Thanksgiving. Just imagine the National Anthem playing in the background!
Here is a picture of our apartment decorated for Thanksgiving. Just imagine the National Anthem playing in the background!
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
My First Christmas Market
Today, I went to Mulhouse with Sarah, Mandy and another language assistant Andrea. She is from Germany, and she teaches German in the high schools here in Belfort. We went today for the first day of their Christmas Market. They are a really big deal here in this region of France and especially in Germany. We had a great time. Everything looked so great! We are going to try to hit up as many markets as we can before Christmas. Almost all of middle or big cities have one around here.
We left this morning. On the train Mulhouse is only about 25 minutes from here. The sun was out today, but it was so cold. We were all really bundled up! Yesterday it rained all day, so at least it was dry today. We walked around and went to a small art museum. It had some neat paintings from local artists. Then when it started to get dark we went to the Christmas market. There were a lot of different booths. They had candles, candy, woodwork, and leather gifts amoung other things. There was a lot to see. I also had hot chestnuts for the first time. They were really good. I have seen them all over, but I had never tried them before. Plus they kept my hands warm.
Last night I was invited to a concert at the town hall by one of the teachers because one of my classes was singing. They sang songs with an orchestra. They looked so cute, and I think I had one of those “proud parent” moments. The only bad thing was I had to walk there in a huge storm. It was hailing so hard! At least I got a ride home from the principal.
I tried to find something to put together a Thanksgiving dinner here for the roomies tomorrow, but I couldn’t find much that would resemble a real Thanksgiving meal. They didn’t even have stuffing or gravy, so I thought I would at least go buy a nice desert. It may not be pumpkin pie, but France does have some nice deserts!
I have put up my pictures from Mulhouse, so check them out.
http://web.mac.com/downinga
Happy Thanksgiving!
We left this morning. On the train Mulhouse is only about 25 minutes from here. The sun was out today, but it was so cold. We were all really bundled up! Yesterday it rained all day, so at least it was dry today. We walked around and went to a small art museum. It had some neat paintings from local artists. Then when it started to get dark we went to the Christmas market. There were a lot of different booths. They had candles, candy, woodwork, and leather gifts amoung other things. There was a lot to see. I also had hot chestnuts for the first time. They were really good. I have seen them all over, but I had never tried them before. Plus they kept my hands warm.
Last night I was invited to a concert at the town hall by one of the teachers because one of my classes was singing. They sang songs with an orchestra. They looked so cute, and I think I had one of those “proud parent” moments. The only bad thing was I had to walk there in a huge storm. It was hailing so hard! At least I got a ride home from the principal.
I tried to find something to put together a Thanksgiving dinner here for the roomies tomorrow, but I couldn’t find much that would resemble a real Thanksgiving meal. They didn’t even have stuffing or gravy, so I thought I would at least go buy a nice desert. It may not be pumpkin pie, but France does have some nice deserts!
I have put up my pictures from Mulhouse, so check them out.
http://web.mac.com/downinga
Happy Thanksgiving!
Monday, November 20, 2006
More Pictures for Everyone
I have had a very busy day! Mondays are always bad for everyone, and I am no exception. I definitely stay busy the entire day. At least I can get my worst day out of the way early in the week.
I had some time this afternoon because I am finished with planning for the week, so I put my pictures of Besancon up on my site. If you have a chance you should go check them out.
http://web.mac.com/downinga
I had some time this afternoon because I am finished with planning for the week, so I put my pictures of Besancon up on my site. If you have a chance you should go check them out.
http://web.mac.com/downinga
Sunday, November 19, 2006
Besançon, France
We had a great time in Besançon. We left Saturday morning, and took the train down there. It was just over an hour, so when we got there we went to a park and ate out sack lunches. The weather was good. It was cloudy, and a little cool but still nice. Then we dropped our stuff off at the hotel. In was right in the middle of town, and it was 57 euros total. It was a really good deal.
After that we went to check out the citadel. We had to climb up this huge hill to get to it, but of course it was worth it because the views were once again incredible. Besançon sits on the Doubs River and mountains surround it. From the top of the citadel you could see everything. I was also surprised to see that all the trees were still changing colors. I remember by this time in Colorado all the tree were bare, but there are still lots of colors here. We walked all along the walls of the citadel. Then we went to check out all the other stuff they have within it. They have a couple of museums, a zoo and an aquarium. The zoo was small, but it was really cute. They had monkeys, lions, tigers, goats and even a couple of donkeys. We actually got to see all of this for free because we all had coupons for free entry into the citadel. That made it even better.
After we left the citadel we had a look around the city. It is a really pretty city, and it has lots of museums and shops. After that we had a really nice dinner. It was a place that had seafood, pasta and all that. We also realized that we are starting to eat dinner more like the French now. They don’t eat until like 7:30 or 8 and their meals usually take about two to three hours. We were at the restaurant for about two and a half hours last night, and it didn’t seem that weird to me. It was crazy.
We were going to look around the city some more this morning, but almost everything was closed including restaurants. Besançon is bigger than Belfort, but it is still very much the same when it comes to business hours. It was also raining pretty hard, so we decided we would come back early. We were back home by 1:30 pm. Even though we came home early, I still had a really nice time. I will be putting more pictures on my site, so I will let you know when they are up.
This afternoon we watched “Napoleon Dynamite.” Mandy and Sarah had never seen it, so I had my mom send it to me. I don’t think they thought it was as funny as I did. I guess it is because they are used to dry British humor.
I guess I will get back to planning my Thanksgiving Day lesson. I am excited to present this holiday to the kids. I can bring a little of home to France!
After that we went to check out the citadel. We had to climb up this huge hill to get to it, but of course it was worth it because the views were once again incredible. Besançon sits on the Doubs River and mountains surround it. From the top of the citadel you could see everything. I was also surprised to see that all the trees were still changing colors. I remember by this time in Colorado all the tree were bare, but there are still lots of colors here. We walked all along the walls of the citadel. Then we went to check out all the other stuff they have within it. They have a couple of museums, a zoo and an aquarium. The zoo was small, but it was really cute. They had monkeys, lions, tigers, goats and even a couple of donkeys. We actually got to see all of this for free because we all had coupons for free entry into the citadel. That made it even better.
After we left the citadel we had a look around the city. It is a really pretty city, and it has lots of museums and shops. After that we had a really nice dinner. It was a place that had seafood, pasta and all that. We also realized that we are starting to eat dinner more like the French now. They don’t eat until like 7:30 or 8 and their meals usually take about two to three hours. We were at the restaurant for about two and a half hours last night, and it didn’t seem that weird to me. It was crazy.
We were going to look around the city some more this morning, but almost everything was closed including restaurants. Besançon is bigger than Belfort, but it is still very much the same when it comes to business hours. It was also raining pretty hard, so we decided we would come back early. We were back home by 1:30 pm. Even though we came home early, I still had a really nice time. I will be putting more pictures on my site, so I will let you know when they are up.
This afternoon we watched “Napoleon Dynamite.” Mandy and Sarah had never seen it, so I had my mom send it to me. I don’t think they thought it was as funny as I did. I guess it is because they are used to dry British humor.
I guess I will get back to planning my Thanksgiving Day lesson. I am excited to present this holiday to the kids. I can bring a little of home to France!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
The End of Another Week...Almost
The Internet has been working really well. I can tell because I have not read too much in my book this week, but at least I am more in touch with everyone. I still don't have wireless, so I had to by a long Ethernet cord so I can go on the internet in my room instead of Sarah's. I had to stick the cord to the wall in the hallway with blue tack, so it looks really bad and it falls down sometimes but at least I can be in my own room now!!! Plus not too many people are going to be looking around the hallway in our apartment.
Yesterday we went to see "Babel" at the movie theater. It was another really good movie. I recommend it to everyone. It was in English, but they speak so many different languages in the movie that I had to read the French subtitles a lot. One of the teachers told us that it is good practice to watch movies, so we decided that we are going to try to see one every week. Although we haven't quite figured out how to tell if it will be in French or in English with subtitles until it starts. Even with the subtitles I am learning a lot.
I have also started tutoring a lady once a week on Mondays. Her name is Cathy, and she already speaks English really well. She wants to practice because her husband works for a car company, and it is likely that they will be moving to America within the next year or two. She is really nice, and it is nice to have an extra 15 euros every week...to pay for the laundry.
The roomies and I are going to visit Besancon this weekend. It was really pretty last week when I went there for my medical visit, but I didn't get to see much. They have a huge citadel, zoo and of course a cathedral. We are going to leave Saturday morning and then come back Sunday afternoon. It should be a good weekend. I just hope it doesn't rain too much.
Well, I guess I am off to fix some dinner.
Go MICHIGAN!!!
Yesterday we went to see "Babel" at the movie theater. It was another really good movie. I recommend it to everyone. It was in English, but they speak so many different languages in the movie that I had to read the French subtitles a lot. One of the teachers told us that it is good practice to watch movies, so we decided that we are going to try to see one every week. Although we haven't quite figured out how to tell if it will be in French or in English with subtitles until it starts. Even with the subtitles I am learning a lot.
I have also started tutoring a lady once a week on Mondays. Her name is Cathy, and she already speaks English really well. She wants to practice because her husband works for a car company, and it is likely that they will be moving to America within the next year or two. She is really nice, and it is nice to have an extra 15 euros every week...to pay for the laundry.
The roomies and I are going to visit Besancon this weekend. It was really pretty last week when I went there for my medical visit, but I didn't get to see much. They have a huge citadel, zoo and of course a cathedral. We are going to leave Saturday morning and then come back Sunday afternoon. It should be a good weekend. I just hope it doesn't rain too much.
Well, I guess I am off to fix some dinner.
Go MICHIGAN!!!
Monday, November 13, 2006
I Am Connected!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well...it is true. I am finally connected to the Internet. The guy came today to look at the connection. Then he said that it would work in 10 minutes, but when he called back it still wasn't working. He then said that we had to exchange the box at the store. Mandy and I then went and waited in line for about 40 minutes to get a new box. Then when I got home it was working...YEA!!
I can connect my computer through the Ethernet wire, but I am still working on the whole wireless thing. The CD that came with the box does not work on Mac computers, so I need to do some research. I am just so excited that I don't have pay every time I want to get on the Internet. Now I just have to get used to using an English keyboard again!
I know everyone has been waiting for pictures, so I loaded all my pictures on to my Web site. Here is the address to check them out.
http://web.mac.com/downinga
I can connect my computer through the Ethernet wire, but I am still working on the whole wireless thing. The CD that came with the box does not work on Mac computers, so I need to do some research. I am just so excited that I don't have pay every time I want to get on the Internet. Now I just have to get used to using an English keyboard again!
I know everyone has been waiting for pictures, so I loaded all my pictures on to my Web site. Here is the address to check them out.
http://web.mac.com/downinga
Friday, November 10, 2006
Medical Visit
I had a very interesting day yesterday. I had to go into Besançon for the medical visit of my Carte de Séjour, which is what I need to stay in France with health insurance. I had to miss my afternoon classes and take the train. It is about an hour and 15 minutes away. Then I got the doctor’s office and the doctor poked and prodded me then he took an x-ray of my chest and I was told to wait outside. Then a few minutes later the nurse handed me a sheet and the x-ray of my chest and told me I could go. It was all really kind of strange.
So I had to walk all the way back through town to the train station holding my very own x-ray of my chest. I have no idea why they would even give that to us…what are we going to do with it? Sarah said that I should try to sell it on eBay. I wonder what I could get for it.
In the end I had to miss two classes, spend 14 euros to ride the train for almost 3 hours, and I was in and out in less than 15 minutes. At least now I think I can finally check the Carte de Séjour off my list of things to do!
The movies we saw on Wednesday were really good. We went to a French comedy about a guy who had five sisters and a mother who all wanted him to get married, so he hired a woman to act as his girlfriend and they end up falling for each other. It was predictable but still entertaining. Then we went to see "Scoop" the new Woody Allen film, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that it was in English with French subtitles. I really like this movie, but it was weird to see how so many of the jokes weren’t translated well in the subtitles. A lot of it just didn’t make sense. That may have been why there were only about 6 other people in the theater.
I am still working on the whole Internet thing. On Wednesday I went into France Telecom to ask them what I should do because it has been more than two weeks since they came to install it. They told me that the Internet was hooked up, and it should be working. If it wasn’t then I had to call their helpline. This morning I called the helpline, which is not toll free and cost me about 20 euros on my cell phone because they still put you on hold! After I was disconnected once I called back and did my best to understand what he was trying to tell me to do. It was very difficult! The guy ran a few tests then he said that it was not working properly (surprise, surprise), so someone is going to come out on Monday to look at it again. At least now we know it is not something we are doing wrong.
I am not quite sure what we will be doing this weekend because tomorrow is a national holiday. I think they call it Remembrance Day here, which is our Veteran’s Day. Nothing will be open. It will be like a weekend of two Sundays, and Belfort looks like a ghost town on Sundays! O-well maybe next week I will have the Internet to keep me company! I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
So I had to walk all the way back through town to the train station holding my very own x-ray of my chest. I have no idea why they would even give that to us…what are we going to do with it? Sarah said that I should try to sell it on eBay. I wonder what I could get for it.
In the end I had to miss two classes, spend 14 euros to ride the train for almost 3 hours, and I was in and out in less than 15 minutes. At least now I think I can finally check the Carte de Séjour off my list of things to do!
The movies we saw on Wednesday were really good. We went to a French comedy about a guy who had five sisters and a mother who all wanted him to get married, so he hired a woman to act as his girlfriend and they end up falling for each other. It was predictable but still entertaining. Then we went to see "Scoop" the new Woody Allen film, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that it was in English with French subtitles. I really like this movie, but it was weird to see how so many of the jokes weren’t translated well in the subtitles. A lot of it just didn’t make sense. That may have been why there were only about 6 other people in the theater.
I am still working on the whole Internet thing. On Wednesday I went into France Telecom to ask them what I should do because it has been more than two weeks since they came to install it. They told me that the Internet was hooked up, and it should be working. If it wasn’t then I had to call their helpline. This morning I called the helpline, which is not toll free and cost me about 20 euros on my cell phone because they still put you on hold! After I was disconnected once I called back and did my best to understand what he was trying to tell me to do. It was very difficult! The guy ran a few tests then he said that it was not working properly (surprise, surprise), so someone is going to come out on Monday to look at it again. At least now we know it is not something we are doing wrong.
I am not quite sure what we will be doing this weekend because tomorrow is a national holiday. I think they call it Remembrance Day here, which is our Veteran’s Day. Nothing will be open. It will be like a weekend of two Sundays, and Belfort looks like a ghost town on Sundays! O-well maybe next week I will have the Internet to keep me company! I’ll keep my fingers crossed!
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Happy Tuesday!
Another day is finished, and I am half finished with my week!
The kids have been crazy these last two days after coming back from break. I had my really bad class today "Les Misérables," as we refer to them. They were exceptionally bad today, but the principal who was teaching next door heard, so he pulled out the four worst kids. They had a good talking to by the teacher, and he told them that if there were any more problems their parents will be called. I really hope this changes things now!
Although the day started off bad it ended well. I was doing colors with the youngest groups today. We read Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See by Eric Carle, and they loved it. They did really well and learned 10 new colors today. Although they could not understand that orange is one syllable in English. They kept saying it the French way. I guess we will have to keep working on that.
Tomorrow I don't have class, so I think the roomies and I are going to see a couple of movies. November 8 is National Cinema Day in France, so everyone under 25 gets to see movies for cheep. We can see two movies for 3 euros each. I am really excited.
Sarah and I saw Flags of Our Fathers on Saturday night. We thought we read that is was going to be in English with French subtitles, but we were wrong and it was in French. We were both really surprised how much we understood though. I guess my French has improved in the last two months...YEAH!
Well it is getting dark, so I guess I am off to rest up for my busy day of watching movies...it's a hard life!
The kids have been crazy these last two days after coming back from break. I had my really bad class today "Les Misérables," as we refer to them. They were exceptionally bad today, but the principal who was teaching next door heard, so he pulled out the four worst kids. They had a good talking to by the teacher, and he told them that if there were any more problems their parents will be called. I really hope this changes things now!
Although the day started off bad it ended well. I was doing colors with the youngest groups today. We read Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See by Eric Carle, and they loved it. They did really well and learned 10 new colors today. Although they could not understand that orange is one syllable in English. They kept saying it the French way. I guess we will have to keep working on that.
Tomorrow I don't have class, so I think the roomies and I are going to see a couple of movies. November 8 is National Cinema Day in France, so everyone under 25 gets to see movies for cheep. We can see two movies for 3 euros each. I am really excited.
Sarah and I saw Flags of Our Fathers on Saturday night. We thought we read that is was going to be in English with French subtitles, but we were wrong and it was in French. We were both really surprised how much we understood though. I guess my French has improved in the last two months...YEAH!
Well it is getting dark, so I guess I am off to rest up for my busy day of watching movies...it's a hard life!
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