We work hard, here in France

After ten days of vacation (because, of course, All Saints Day is a big holiday here), I put in a long day of work yesterday. Now, once again, I have a three day weekend. This is the life, huh? I went to Redon last Friday and had dinner with Heidy and the other assistants there, Emily, Federico, Libby (and her sister), and Emanuela. It was a wonderful meal with good wine and great people, and I was, naturally, thrilled to be out of Allaire. Heidy left the next day, so I stayed with Emily and experienced the market and carnival going on in Redon that weekend in honor of chestnuts (I'm not kidding. October is the "Mois du marron," ie, the "Month of Chestnuts"). The two of us walked back to Allaire the next day, which took a mere 2 1/2 hours. This is why I need a car.

I spent the beginning of the week in Allaire so that I could go to the Halloween party in the "rec center" of Allaire with Nathalie, Samantha, and Jean-Phillipe. Emily and Federico decided to come too, and, by some random coincidence, Federico's band was the one playing at the party that night. We felt pretty cool because, well, that meant that we were "with the band."

I went to Rennes for the rest of the week, which is always a good time... and now I have 6 weeks until my next vacation...

Visiting this week

So, it's a little lonely in Allaire, but I've been able to see some friends this week. Juan came by this weekend, and then Leanne (English girl who I stayed with in Vannes during my orientation) and Nick (English boy who is an assistant with her in Guer) came for dinner on Sunday. It was really nice to have some company, especially since it's hard for me to get out of Allaire without a car. I finally saw Heidy in Redon, and for all concerned, she's doing well. I think I'll go to Redon and hang out with her and her friends on Friday night, so I'm glad to have something planned.

I've been in Vannes, staying with Rachel and Shelby, who I also met at my orientation, and we met some other friends for dinner last night and for lunch today (Samantha). I got my carte de sejour (ie: residency card), so things are getting going, and I'm spending time with friends. All happy things :-) This is the firts time since I've been here since I've been able to hook my computer up to the internet, so yay! But I'm with friends now, so I'm just checking in. Until next time...

In case anyone was wondering, I'm alive and well, with very limited internet access. I started working yesterday, so I can use the internet at the school, which I'm doing now.

I moved into my apartment on Friday. It is wonderful - it's a perfect size for me, perfect location, and I love the furniture. I'm starting to feel at home. This weekend was pretty boring for the most part - it seems like no one really lives in Allaire. One of my friends came to visit on Sunday, so I got a little break from the overwhelming tranquility. Otherwise, it is close to the tiniest place on earth... at least that's how I feel. I've actually started running (believe it or not), but everytime I think, "Ok, I'm going to run around half of the town," I'm home within 20 minutes. There's just nowhere to go. Supposedly, there are a couple of very pretty ponds in the village, but they're hidden in some forest and I haven't found them yet. I think I'll try to run by there today and see what I find.

The kids are really cute, and they're happy to learn English. I never realized how difficult it is to say "My name is..." We're taking baby steps. For the most part they have been very nice. One boy asked me how to say "zizi" in English.... I'll let you guess what that means. But otherwise, they're fine.

The teachers are nice, but I'm a little lonely during lunch because, naturally, they talk about things that concern them, so I don't really have much to contribute. Every once in awhile the conversation turns to "Oh my! What is a young girl like you from New York going to do in Allaire?" Needless to say, I've had many offers to be driven to the closest city.

Anyway, I hope all is well. I have an address and phone # now, so I guess I'll post those. Until next time...

Oh la vache! ( = Holy Cow...more or less)

As I rode the train from Rennes to Redon yesterday, I realized that I have never seen so many cows in my life as I did on the way there. Allaire cannot be reached by public transportation, so I had to pay 15€ for a taxi from Redon. The driver dropped me off just past town hall, and I proceeded to look for the local bike salesman, who would be showing me some apartments. The town center is really one street lined with stores, so it didn't take long to find Monsieur Lucas. I'm taking the first apartment he showed me, and I'm really excited about it. It's not big, but there is a bedroom, a room that counts as a living room, dining room, and kitchenette, and a bathroom. It's also brand new, and at most a 2 minute walk from school.

My landlord might just be the nicest man in the world. Once he showed me the apartment, he made a bunch of administrative phone calls for me to try to figure out what I could do about getting housing aid and a residency card. Those of you who know anything about French bureaucracy will realize the magnitude of this gesture. He even took me to the CAF so that he could explain that I needed aid and figure out how to get it, and drove me back to the train station in Redon so that I didn't have to pay for a taxi. Talk about the kindness of strangers. I'm really looking forward to living there, starting in October.

For now, I'm enjoying my time in Rennes. I'm staying with Nina, which is a lot of fun, and I've seen Greg and Claire a bit, too. My internet access is pretty limited, so I may not post for awhile. I'm borrowing Nina's login info at one of the schools, so I'm going to get going. A bientôt!

Leaving Ireland Already

We've been able to see a bit of Ireland in the short time that we've been here. On Friday, Aunt Eileen and Colm took us to Powerscourt, where there are beautiful waterfalls. It was like being in a storybook, and Liz put it best when she said that she felt like we were getting to The Valley in The Land Before Time. We also went to Glendalough, which was also beautiful. We met a man from Bally James Duff who has a sister who lives on 49th Street in Astoria - small world. On Friday night, Liz and I tried our first Irish Guinness.

Saturday was our day in Dublin. We took a tour bus around the city and then actually spent most of the day in the Guinness factory (which sounds a lot worse than it is, I promise). Today we headed into Dublin to watch the final match of Gaelic football, between Cork and Kerry ("mortal enemies," according to a man we met on a bus). Much to Colm's dismay, Kerry won.

Liz and I are parting ways tomorrow - she'll head off to LSE and I'll stay with my friend Nina until I find a place of my own. For now, I'll take in all of the English that I can!

It Starts

After much anticipation, Liz and I finally left the U.S. and we've made it to Ireland (safe, sound, and exhausted). We spent the morning sleeping in the Stillorgan hotel lobby while Aunt Eileen went to an American Women's Club meeting, had a quick lunch, and a much needed nap. After dinner, the three of us and Uncle Colm went on a beautiful walk along "the Promenade" on the coast in Bray. We're sitting and drinking some wine now, drugged up on Tylenol PM and ready to go to bed and get into the swing of European life.

Aunt Eileen and Colm have a nice, cozy cottage, just a 10 minute walk from the shore. Bray is a lot more "happening" than we expected, so we're really looking forward to the next few days. As long as we get to the Guinness factory and some big soccer match in Dublin, I'm sure we'll find plenty of other things to keep us occupied, and we are lucky to have very gracious hosts.

I'm really excited to be in Ireland - it's a heritage trip for me. I hope that sometime this year I'll be able to head up to Bally James Duff and see where my family came from.

Keep in touch, everyone! This is just beginning!