GOT OFFERED A JOB!!!!!

SOSOSO excited!! Just got off the phone with one of the Connecticut schools I interviewed with in September, and to my TOTAL surprise....


THEY OFFERED ME A JOB!!! I won't put out the name of the school right now because I haven't officially accepted - but the school is awesome, as is the program and i am SO HAPPY. Such a relief to have a job lined up for next year, and an amazing job! I barely let myself get excited about the prospect of working at these schools because I didn't want to get my hopes up if I didn't get an offer. But now I can be incredibly excited!!!!!

A new adventure

a new region of the states

a new job

close to old friends

new friends

&

a seriously awesome, important step for my teaching career

Best.Birthday.Present.Ever.

(I'll update everyone on this past weekend soon, just wanted to post this exciting news ASAP!)

lovelovelove

it's hard to beat packing for another adventure!

and i'm off!

it's been a relaxing long weekend, but i'm itching for a new adventure.

nice isn't exactly unknown territory for me, as i went there while studying abroad, but...

it's with different people i'm more excited to travel with

we're there for carnaval de nice (http://www.nicecarnaval.com/carnaval/presentation/theme.php)

i'm couchsurfing so i've already got more of an inside on the city

i know more french

mk is coming to meet me for the weekend

and

IT'S MA BIRTHDAYYY!!!!

we're planning on going to monaco for my birthday, as a daytrip

two countries in one day?

sun?

beaches?

picnics?

all for a birthday?

this is looking to be my best birthday yet

catch ya on the flip side

bisous :)

happiness

sometimes it's easy to forget...

la st valentin!

happy valentine's day!

here in france only the TRUE lovers celebrate (engaged couples, married couples, serious couples) so there's a lot less commercialism surrounding the holiday as there is in the states. it was a nice break from the craziness that i'm sure is ensuing back home, that's for sure. 

& i got to have a wonderful, relaxing, full-of-love valentine's day with my bfff (bestfrancefriendforever) asia, in montpellier. & we made toast with egg hearts  for breakfast - tros mignon 

here are pictures from our day! lots of love to all my friends & family all over the world

xoxoxo

cute is an understatement

lone egg

baby heart

je t'aime

L-O-V-E

giving you a bisous

"i <3 you" candy

kiss

KKG :)

love?

happy valentine's day!!!

ramblings from a stalled train

Here I am, on a train to Montpellier to spend a few days hanging out with Asia. A stopped train, due to an injured person. I think the train chatter is that it was a suicide, but can’t be sure. It’s sad, as this seems to happen far too often in France. It’s also a bit of a pain since we’ll be sitting here for an hour and a half before moving again. I almost didn’t eat before getting on the train, but now I’m wishing I had snacks. LOTS of snacks. France lesson: from now on bring food & water on every train trip. I do have water, and my laptop, Kindle, iPod & phone. Decked out on the technology, lacking on sustenance. So I’m taking this “opportunity” to write this post. Hmmm there’s not any big news from over here so I’ll do this post in little blurbs!

* Disclaimer: this post is really long…as I had an hour to kill (*edit: 2.5 hours total...and when we finally got moving we saw the body of the person on the side of the tracks. tragic). But props to those who actually read this whole thing!

~ I’m sticking with my May 15^th return date to the States. For awhile I was hoping I would be able to extend my trip, maybe even staying the summer. But I’ve decided that it’s important I get back to Chicago & get a job for the summer. The exciting part of this is…I’ll be back in the States in about 3 months! Well, bittersweet really. More bitter than sweet at the moment. But to improve my trip back & make it a little more adventurous I’m planning on swinging by D.C. to visit cousins & friends :) Possibly a mini-Kappa reunion? Plus, the whole “first stop back in the states = our capital”…pretty great way to arrive back in the country.

~ A May 15^th return means that I’ve got 2 weeks between the end of work & my departure – what to do & where to go?!? As of right now, leaning towards Scotland for the first week & ending my year (appropriately) in France. Based in Paris, I’d like to see Mont St. Michel, the Loire Valley chateaux, and the D-Day beaches. Besides Paris I haven’t seen any of northern France & those locations have been on my “to-see” list for years. Does anyone know people in this area? I’ll probably try to couchsurf – as I’ve said before, it’s one of the best things I’ve discovered this year!

~ Still waiting on word from CT for next academic year, I’ll update as soon as I hear back but that won’t be until March/April/May. I did apply for a second year here, but am absolutely not banking on it. It’s really, really hard to get accepted for a second year.

~ Summer plans? CHICAGO! I had an amazing time last year, as summer in the Chi is unbeatable. Starting to work on job stuff…which is definitely beatable. 

~ Trains in France: The TGV is the fast one, Nîmes to Paris in 3 hours! Then there are the TER trains, which are regional. I am in love with the TGV. Fast, clean, quiet, organized & they even come with a drink/café car! Public transportation in France feels miles beyond what we have…and then I remember how freaking big the US is. But still – cross country train ride? Definitely on my USA to-do list now.

~ Wind in the South: The “mistral” blows away all sickness & is very cold (LIES I’ve had a cold since I got back from Paris) and incredibly strong. On several walks to the gym I’ve almost been blown over or blown into the side of a building. Honestly, it feels just as awful as the winds in Chicago. Also, there are two winds that come off the sea, and supposedly one will make you go crazy.

~Stir-crazy: Regardless of this train misfortune, I’m very happy to be leaving Nîmes. I was definitely starting to go stir-crazy. Nearly a month in a half in one place! & this doesn’t mean I feel the need to leave wherever I am every 2 months, just that while living in Europe I feel like I should be traveling, seeing as much as I can. But it’s been a good time to hang out, get stuff done…in another month the insanity begins & I won’t stop moving until I get back to Chicago.

~ Books: What I’ve read recently or am in the middle of reading… A Year in the Merde by Stephan Clarke; Second Glance by Jodi Picolt; An Introduction to the History of Western Europe by James Harvey Robinson; Talk to the Snail – Ten Commandments for Understanding the French by Stephan Clarke; History of France by Charlotte Mary Yonge.

~ Ok, I think I’m seriously running out of things to talk about…to finish up this fabulous travel experience I’ll put on a movie & end this with a quote:

“Life is truly a ride. We’re all strapped in and no one can stop it. When the doctor slaps your behind, he’s ripping your ticket and away you go. As you make each passage from youth to adulthood to maturity, sometimes you put your arms up and scream, sometimes you just hang onto that bar in front of you. But the ride is the thing. I think the most you can hope for at the end of life is that your hair is messed, you’re out of breath and you didn’t throw up.” – Unknown

bisous xx

RIP Whitney Houston (and my camera)

RIP Whitney Houston

some of my favorite songs...

Greatest Love of All

I Wanna Dance With Somebody

_____________________________________

Also - my camera died. Waterbottle leaked & killed my 2+ year old camera. At least for right now I can use some of Asia's pics for Montpellier this week, and then I'll steal some from Sarah & MK while we're in Nice...but not having a camera while living in Europe? FAIL. 

RIP

bagpipes, haggis & kilts - Oh my!

Burns Night!

I swear, in another life I was Scottish. Die-hard Scottish. Friday night was Burns Supper in Nîmes, with about 15 of the assistants & another 40 or so people (mostly over the age of 60). Expats, interested French, kilted women & men…the moment we walked in it promised to be an interesting night.

tartan that sarah's mom gave me as a parting gift :)

History: Celebrating the life of Scottish poet Robert Burns, Burns supper is generally at the end of January to coincide with his birthday on the 25^th. Takes place both in Scotland & wherever there are Scottish expats or clubs. Generally there are recited poems, bagpipes, speeches, & haggis.

One of his poems:

A Red, Red Rose

“O my Luve's like a red, red rose


That’s newly sprung in June;


O my Luve's like the melodie


That’s sweetly play'd in tune.



As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,


So deep in luve am I:


And I will luve thee still, my dear,


Till a’ the seas gang dry….”

Continuing on – first there were speeches, followed by a ceremony. Words do not do justice…bagpipes played while the log of haggis was brought out (by a man in a kilt, of course) & set down for all to see. After a lengthy poem about (I think) haggis, the man broke open the log in the middle and everyone cheered as the bagpipes started up again. Then came dinner, which was decent…definitely not even close to the food I had at the Philliben residence while in Scotland! Soup, potatoes & haggis & parsnips, dessert. But the best part of the night, the dancing! I’ve got no clue what these dances were called, but they were group/couple dances that I guess are similar to barn dances? That’s just what someone said, haha. Everyone had a blast trying to figure out the dances in a mix of English & French…our younger group was probably the worst but certainly the entertainment in the group. Lots of laughter, skipping, and a lovely old man that said it was destiny when I ended up dancing with him the 3^rd time in a huge circle group dance! Here are some quality photos of the night :)

SO COLD - anna & i waiting for the shuttle

pre-group dance - girls on one side & guys on the other!

nice

getting goofy

note the kilts....and strange flaming red hair

if i wasn't american...i'd choose to be scottish

sooo lucky to have such a great friend here!

picnics in the jardin

sometimes we take advantage of the sun & weather here in the south of france ...

soaking up the january sun

chad & megan

palm trees

aftermath

coke, bread, hummus, red peppers, cheese (duh), tapenade....

bisous!

half of my teaching ;)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLuc6rtWkrM

still love teaching, of course :)

first awful class & other news

     Well I had my first class today that was absolutely awful. The teacher left for a bit & usually they’re fine when she’s gone but today was just ridiculous & they wouldn’t stop talking for the first 15 minutes of class. Sooo I wrote about sixteen words on the board for them to write 5x each. Oh my god absolutely raging. Ha, all the words had to do with the Super Bowl, American football, and then since they were still talking I added in the seven days of the week as well. Hopefully they won’t be misspelling the date anymore. And yes, I know the whole copying words down is an old punishment & rarely done & probably not encouraged…but I’ve never been in this situation before & it was the first thing I could think of that 1) they would hate and 2) would be slightly educational. Sucks for the few people in the class that weren’t being obnoxious, but honestly there were probably only like 3 people that were ok. Gah. I guess the first awful class had to come at some point. This class today made my normally bad class look pretty good. Hmm, for anyone reading this – any similar experiences? What kind of punishment (and I do hate using that word…) did you use? I rarely raise my voice while teaching (or in life), and it makes little difference with the kids especially with the language barrier. Usually I just get quiet & wait for them to stop talking & it works within a minute or less. Today I had waited for at least 10 minutes & then I just had enough. Anyways, on to more happy thoughts.

    It’s snowing today! Yay! It’s fun to see it snowing here, especially since it happens so rarely & all the kids are thrilled about it. I doubt it’ll stick, but watching it fall reminds me of home. I guess in the south of France winter doesn’t turn up until February! Oh & the mistral finally arrived as well – bitter cold wind. I don’t at all mind the snow & cold, but when you throw wind in there…yikes. We had about half an hour of snowfall two days ago, but today it’s been slowly coming down since morning! I do hope it sticks, but I also wouldn’t mind a return to the sunny and 50 degree weather we had last week.

     

     Other fun random news: Denison made it into the list of most fun-loving schools (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/the-19-most-fun-loving-co_n_1246597.html#s654607&title=Denison_University_), I may be getting a visit in mid-March from a DU&Kappa friend, filmed two groups of students doing the Little Red Riding Hood play we did last week, Allison will be coming to visit me at the beginning of April, 22 days until my 23^rd birthday, Bid Day back at Denison this past weekend went wonderfully & they (weird not saying “we”) now have a fabulous new pledge class of 30 women, Super Bowl Sunday abroad!, Burns Night is tomorrow (hooray for Scotland!), showed a couple of my classes the Chicago Bears fight song on youTube, and am currently obsessed with the show Downton Abbey. Makes me want to move back to England! Into a castle/mansion of course.

     Dinner & games tonight at Sarah’s, thank goodness. Time to unwind with friends & a glass of wine & greet the weekend with a much better mood than I was in after school. 

how sarah & i manage to make every trip take twice as long

     I finally submitted my CAF paperwork!! First, we had to wait for ages to get our paystub, then we were on holiday, and finally I had to get up the motivation to hike out to ville active. Well, not hike...take a bus. But taking a bus in Nîmes can sometimes feel like hiking, possibility of getting lost & the whole adventure bit...but the bus is often significantly more stressful & you can meet some veerrrryyy interesting people. Anyways, CAF is "caisse d’allocations familiales" - basically housing aid that the French government gives to those who need it. With the assistants salary we qualify for the CAF. Not sure how much I'll get, but anything helps!  


     Ok. Sarah & I have a rather amusing history of getting lost or missing the bus/train when we travel together. First there was Grau de Roi where we missed the train on the way there & then a strike gave us quite the adventure getting back. And then two times trying to get to Uzes for a market - bus failures. And that brings us to today. A "simple" bus ride to the CAF office, only about 20 minute ride....
- 35 minute walk to the train station to catch the bus - 20 minutes waiting outside for it - 20 minute bus ride to the end of the line, we finally asked the driver where our stop was & he didn't even know the stop we were talking about - 20 minutes at a café to recharge with lunch before restarting the search for the office & to get directions - 15 minute walk to the huge shopping mall where we thought we had seen a sign for it - fail at the mall, so we wander around for a bit - asked for directions in 3 different stores - about a 30 minute wander when we FINALLY found the office. Phew!! Then it was an hour or so of waiting & doing paperwork & HOORAY after such a debacle paperwork is all in.


Oh France!


bisous :)