Thursday Racletting (before Italy!)

I took Victor down the street to see the castle in Saint-Priest before stopping at my bank and hopping on the tram. The tram has definitely become my least favorite way to travel unless I'm going up 2 stops to get to school, but I thought he'd like to experience the sleek and quiet mode of public transport. It always seems so claustrophobic to me now.... and slow compared to the bus or metro. But- anyway, we made our way up to Vieux Lyon. It was a much sunnier day than yesterday, although still chilly. We're hoping the weather channel comes through for us with the upper 50's temps they show for Italy this week.

On our way towards the restaurant, we walked around the back of St. Jean... which I always forget about being something to see. There's an archeological dig with an old stand-alone arch that used to be attached to a building. I read the sign for the first time while Victor took a walk around. The area used to be the site of a baptistery and another cathedral built around the same time as St. Jean (so beginning in the 12th century). It said that the buildings were destroyed and rebuilt a time or two, with the last destruction happening during the French Revolution... We took a few pictures and goggled at an elderly woman feeding a flock of pigeons before moving on to the wooden raclette restaurant (the same one I took Amy to). Instead of raclette, not being quite as big on cheese as I am, Victor actually ordered a grillade... or meat to grill on your own at the table. Our little table for two was quite full of cooking apparatuses.... a hot stone grill for him and a raclette hot plate for my cheese. It was pretty delicious as usual, although Victor thinks he'd rather have to do less work for his food:) Oddly enough, we were the only ones eating at the restaurant... so it didn't take long at all for us to get in and out (once we got our little guy's attention.... no 2 hour lunch for us today sir!).

After lunch, we took a walk through Vieux Lyon and through another traboule. Victor is amazed by these little blasts into the middle ages! They are pretty cool, so I'm glad I've been able to find a few! They are those secret passageways that link buildings/streets/inner courtyards together. These inner courtyards have some beautiful architecture... and of course lots of old wooden doors/cellars for Victor to investigate. After a few more pics, we walked past the cathedral and down towards Bellecour before getting onto the metro. We ran to catch our bus and are now home to rest/pack up before our trip to Italy!

We leave from Lyon at 8:30pm tonight, headed towards Dijon where we switch trains to our overnight sleeper train to Venice. We arrive into Venice around 9am tomorrow morning. Hopefully, after a night on the train, we will have enough energy to tour some of Venice before checking into our hotel in the afternoon (I'd love to see St. Mark's and the Doge's Palace!). We'll stay in Venice one night, getting up to catch our next train to Florence on Saturday morning. We spend one night in Florence, and take our next train to Siena on Sunday afternoon. Monday we have our guided day trip in Tuscany and Tuesday we train back to Florence. We'll have enough time to revisit our favorite spots or do a little last minute shopping in Florence before catching one more overnight train back to Lyon, arriving home Wednesday morning!

I'm not bringing my laptop (just one less thing to carry), but we both have our ipods and chargers. We'll hopefully have wifi in at least one of our hotels, but if not, we'll try to find an internet cafe to check in with you all sometime! We'll take lots and lots of pictures to post when we get back!!!

Reste cool and wish us luck!!!

Lindsay and Victor Hit Lyon!!!!

Bonsoir from France! (Victor's new favorite French word)

Victor and I had a nice easy-going day. I made my first ever real French quiche for lunch.... which turned out pretty good if I do say so myself. We eventually made our way to the bus and metro to go into Lyon. We walked from Bellecour down Rue République to do a little window-shopping and people watching. We took a left at the Opèra to my favorite part of Lyon, Place Terreaux with the horse fountain and Musée des Beaux-Arts sculpture garden. We saw some French police in the gardens, which Victor was very excited about... and somehow I got him to pose along with a Rodin sculpture (pictured above... he thinks he can do better, so we may be going back). We had a quick drink at a café across the street (I had a yummy chocolat viennois and he had a Leffe demi blonde).

We walked across my favorite red suspension bridge over the Saone River towards Vieux Lyon. We stepped inside St. Jean to see the horlage clock and took a walk through a Traboule (secret passageway). Victor has decided he would like to live in something with stone cellars, spiral staircases, and giant wooden doors. I took him to my favorite little crêperie, where we had delicious dessert crêpes (can you tell- today was a day of me showing him my favorite stops....).

We're back home after an eventful metro to bus ride home. There was a belligerent drunk man on the metro who challenged another guy to a duel. On the bus, we had a wholesome group of guys in the back who thought it would be nice to light up and smoke. At least they opened a window :/

Home again home again jiggity jig! On the agenda tomorrow is having raclette and getting ready for our Italy trip!!!!

Reste cool! And keep your tireZ inflatedz. (Tirez in French means to pull, however, every time Victor saw tirez on a door he giggled and said tirezzzz!. In French it is pronounced teeray.)

Pérouges (Pay-rouujjj)

Hello! And let me take you on a virtual tour of the Medieval town of Pérouges, France!

This small village is located north-east of Lyon, just 30 minutes by train. The tiny and currently under-construction train station is about a 15-20 minute walk away from the little Medieval village perched on a hill (or 25-45 minute walk- depending on if you take a slight detour like us, and how in-shape you are to make it up the steep gravel mount). There are sheep grazing the hills as you climb up to this blast-from-the-past village (and I do mean... passst). The town was home to farmers, ploughmen, weavers, butchers, and ironworkers.... these craftsmen enjoyed communal freedom as early as 1236 (according to the visitor's website).

The town's name is tied to another city of the same name in Italy (also known as Perogia). A Gallic colony is said to have migrated from Pérouges, Italy to this area of France. The Romans built a look-out tower in this village to defend their prize Lugdunum territory, or Lyon. The first historical date I can find for Pérouges is 1167.... something about some guy taking refuge in the walled-in-city to get away from the troops of the Archbishop of Lyon. So- let's just say- it's purty old:)

You can enter the city through either the Porte d'en Haut or the Porte d'en Bas (high door or low door). We entered through the "low door" arch where you can find an inscription that reads when translated: Perouges of the Perougians, impregnable town, the Dauphiné scoundrels tried to take her but could not do so. However, they took the doors,the hinges and the locks and fell with them. Let the Devil take them! (How dramatic! Perfect for the set of the 3 Musketeer's!) Through this entrance, you continue onto the Rue des Rondes, or what I liked to call it: "the round road"... because it goes around the entire village. Once we had seen all that we could see, we made the loop a second time just for kicks.

When we first arrived, we were pretty hungry from the adventure of getting side-tracked and climbing the baby mountain hill, so we went straight for one of 3 open restaurants in the village- L'Auberge du Coq (or the Rooster's Tavern...?). Their specialties included farm raised roast chicken, the famous Perougian galette au sucre, and grenouilles... Yes- frog legs. And well- when in Pérouges, I say taste the frog legs. For an apéritif, I had a delicious kir... so I was ready for my froggies when they brought them out in the old frying pan and hot plate apparatus. The woman scooped a hearty portion onto my plate... I guess to show me I shouldn't eat them from the pan, and gave me a wet-nap. They are deep-fried in a garlic batter... so as you can imagine, they didn't taste half bad. I had to get used to how many bones were in each little portion... so that got annoying after the first few (I'm not big on having to work too hard for my food lol). Thankfully, they also brought out a huge casserole dish full of the regional favorite gratin dauphinois (or very creamy scalloped potatoes). The bland, but super creamy potatoes balanced out the greasy froggies (with meat that tasted somewhere in between chicken and fish). I can only call them froggies now because it's been a few days since I ate them. I had to try very hard not to think of the frogs-in-wheelchairs scenario when eating them or later that evening. They weren't bad, but I don't think I'll be eating them again...

For dessert, I tried the Pérouges famous galette au sucre. A galette is technically translated as a flat cake made of puff pastry, but the one I had in Pérouges tasted more like a pizza crust covered in sugar. It was nice, but I think I'd rather a nice mousse au chocolat or tarte aux pralines:)

After our lengthy French lunch, we headed back out onto the round street. The streets are very narrow and cobbled. If you ever find yourself in this little town, make sure you have on sneakers. (I can't imagine trying to walk around in high heels!) We were surprised to see cars driving on the narrow streets amongst the modest grey stone houses.... can't imagine that's good for your tires...

Anyway, on our walk, we passed the village's one and only boulangerie, a few gift shops (I bet this place is pretty crowded in the summer), the 15th century fortress church, a 33 meter deep well, la Place du Tilleul (sort of town square), a 13th century Ostellerie, 2 sun dials, and beautiful old houses with wide first-floor windows where merchants displayed goods long ago. The fortress church was built before the siege of 1468, but destroyed by the townspeople themselves to keep it safe. It was rebuilt in the following years, keeping this Medieval church in remarkable condition. It was a cool church (and I do mean cool as in cold too... very drafty!)... with circular windows and wooden statues from the middle ages.

Although the town started to feel a little grey and dim after a while on a chilly February day, it is easy to see why this cité has been voted as one of France's most beautiful villages. I'd like to come back in the spring time when there is a bit more color though! Even still... it's both so rich in history and charm... that the Pérouges visitor's website boasts of a recent visit from former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hil;)

Hope you enjoyed your visit!

Reste cool:)

Pérouges Picture Post

Coucou!

Well- I'm very sleepy after a late night and a big day.... so here are some pictures from our little adventure to Pérouges. I'm going to post about my fun night out with les filles and write a more detailed Pérouges post for you tomorrow:)

A plus!

fog or smog?

Last night a layer of fog blanketed Saint-Priest and I assume, subsequently, Lyon. It was so thick this morning when I woke up that I literally couldn't see anything but little balls of light coming from street lamps and cars. I thought.... shouldn't work and school be canceled for today? How is anyone going to be able to see to get to work! But.... the bus was there when I got to my bus stop, so I guess life doesn't stop for fog ;)

When I got to school, I commented on the brouillard, and Murielle's replacement said, "Well you know it's partly due to pollution and all the radio/tv stations told people to drive more slowly to decrease emissions on their way to work." I thought.... well that's strange. I guess it could be fog/smog, so I looked it up when I got home. Apparently Lyon is in fact a part of a "chemical corridor" and is at a higher risk for pollution. This is a statement I found on the official Lyon website: The metropolitan area's geographic situation makes Lyon a sensitive city in terms of air quality. The presence of the Rhone and Saône rivers in a rugged landscape including the Croix-Rousse, Fourvière and Sainte-Foy hills has generated a distinctive topography with a marked influence on the way pollutants disperse. South of Lyon lies the "chemical corridor", and the prevailing local winds are north-south and south-north. In climatic terms, winter in Lyon is often marked by temperature inversions resulting in higher temperatures at altitude than in the lowlands. Since 1959, air pollution has been a core concern for the City of Lyon, whose range of clean-air measures was implemented many years ago. In 1961, the City of Lyon Hygiene Bureau and the APPA (Association for the Prevention of Air Pollution) set up a manual air quality surveillance network. Another network monitoring the Loire/Rhône thermal power station was created by Electricité de France in 1963 and the ALPOLAIR network was set up by manufacturers to monitor the industrial zone south of Lyon in 1975. COPARLY was founded in 1979 and in 1993 the four networks were combined into one entity. So... I guess that's good to know that they make monitoring the pollution a priority.... even though it kinda stinks that they have the weird "geography=higher risk for pollution" problem in the first place. Hrmm.

In any event, I had a nice long school day (and by the late morning the fog/smog was clear!).... I did my emotion+color activity with 2 classes in the morning, did a short recap lesson on family vocab with the CP class, and helped a few students with their classroom work before it was time for lunch (the students I helped are ones who get in trouble often.... but in reality I think they act out because they need more support with the exercises they're doing.... it made me feel good that I could help them succeed with their work, even in French!). In the afternoon I gave 2 CM1 classes a lesson on Valentine's Day.... explaining the tradition of having parties at school and giving out Valentines. This is very foreign to them.... France just doesn't celebrate the holiday like we do! These lessons went well, although the first class was very chatty and I had to get a little bit stern.... which always makes me uncomfortable while I'm in another teacher's classroom. I hate to feel like I'm over stepping my boundary with behavior management, but it was getting ridiculous! The other afternoon class has a wonderful teacher who's very on top of things... it's always interesting to see how teaching the same lesson can go so differently with different groups of kids with a different classroom teacher!

After school, I went to the grocery store to pick up a few things. I spoke with a teacher about a recipe for "jam hearts" and I thought I'd try it out! You cut out ready-made puff pastry in the shape of a heart, put strawberry jam in the middle of 2, and then sprinkle with sugar. You take a fork and press down around the edges of the little jam pockets.... and bake at 375 for about 15 minutes! They are incredibly easy to make and extremely cute. I haven't tried one yet, but I'll let you know how they are:)

I'm exhausted after my big day.... so I should get to bed early before having another long day tomorrow. I'm soooooo glad tomorrow is my last in-service. But thankfully, since I missed 12 hours of work when I was sick, these hours count towards making up sick leave. Shew.

Almost Friday! Can you make it?

Reste cool:)

ps- Shout out to Judi- Thanks so much for my get well card! I am fortunately back to la joie de vivre:) Let's hope it stays that way!!!

shop til you drop and valentine's day goodies

Yesterday after school I went to the mall at Part-Dieu. You may have heard me talk about Part-Dieu's train station which is the one that I can get to fairly easily on the bus. There is a huge mall/movie theater across the street from this train station. This area of Lyon is not one I've taken many pictures of because it's got fairly new buildings and architecture, as opposed to the more interesting roman empire/middle ages/renaissance/17th-19th century architecture of the other areas of town. The mall is 4 floors of every store one can think of; I know I only came close to getting through half of it. I was on a shoe/clothes-for-my-trip-to-Italy shopping mission... and 3 hours later, I semi-successfully came out with a dress and 2 shirts... no shoes:(

I had a fun school day... In Corinne's class, I continued teaching animal names. I've decided that if I put out books and flashcards on a table, they're more likely to talk about the subject naturally as opposed to me making them sit through a story or play a little game. They would pick up a card and talk about the animal in French and I'd sort of mention the English word and they'd turn to their friend and say what I just said. It was pretty cute. And although I think I've only successfully taught them the word for dog.... and maybe sheep, I feel like that's a pretty good start for 4 and 5 year olds who are still learning French, their first (or even second) language at school.

In my CP classes I got to work with half of the group which was awesome. It made me realize how far I've come in my French language skills because I'm able to do a lesson and behavior management successfully... at least with 6 year olds:) In my CE1 classes, I did a neat lesson with colors and emotions and the kids got to act out certain things like jealousy and anger.

I had brought in a little plate of brownies and other Valentine's Day candy goodies from my package. I figured I should share so that I don't force myself to eat it all before Valentine's day;) (Wouldn't have to force much hehe). So during the break, my favorite teachers hung out with me in the lounge and all had a little tasting of reese's peanut butter hearts, red hots, and brownies. They looooved it all. They were shocked at how moist the brownies were, intrigued by the cinnamon tasting candies, and amazingly pleased with the peanut butter candy (as the French usually scoff at the mention of peanut butter). They don't celebrate Valentine's day at school like we do, so it's been fun to talk about with them!

Today I went down the street to do my laundry and cleaned up my apartment. I'm about to make heart cookies to share with teachers at school tomorrow. I know I could have gone downtown and done something cultural today- that would have probably been more interesting for you to read.... but sometimes I just need moments of normalcy. I don't want to go a whole 7 months without doing things that I would normally like to do (like baking Valentine's Day cookies), just because I'm in France. And to be honest, sharing American goodies with my French friends is a very cultural experience... I always think back to one of my earlier blog posts about why I'm here... I'm hear to exchange cultures and to create relationships with people from a different culture. And the museums will still be there in March and April. I'm not done here yet! So if I want to spend extra time creating thorough lessons and making cookies to share, I should!

Anywho- hope you're all having a nice week!

Reste cool:)

sun, shopping, and stuttering kings

I tried blogging this morning after sleeping in and cleaning my apartment.... but it was just too beautiful outside to sit inside! I left around 1:30 to go into Lyon to meet up with Hannah and her friend Mia. They were going to see the King's Speech at 4:20, so I had some time to kill. I decided I'd take another look at some shops while the sales were still going on...try to find some birthday presents or something. It took me over an hour to get into Lyon.... the tram was packed with lots of families with kids and bikes.... so I guess it just took longer with so many people getting on and off at each stop.

Once I got off and walked through Rue de Victor Hugo... I thought my goodness! I guess I wasn't the only one who felt cooped up this week. There were loads of people out! I went into a few stores, but it was just too packed to really look. I eventually met up with Hannah and Mia and we got our seats early for the movie (which was a good thing as it was packed too!). The movie was sooo good.... very interesting, funny at times, but also heart warming and uplifting. I highly recommend it! (It's about George VI, Queen Elizabeth's father, who had a stutter, but lead England throughout WWII). After the movie, we went to the crêperie I went to with Lindsey and Amy back in November. I had the crêpe tatin (warm caramelized apples with whipped cream, yumz). I took a picture to show you! (It's been so long since I posted a picture!!!)

Anywayz- reste cool. Going to go chat with me mum now. I'm tutoring tomorrow... but not doing much else accept readying for the week ahead!

J'adore la famille de Corinne

This morning after I wrote, Laurence called to say she was just around the corner, coming to drop off my laundry. I ran down to meet her and she asked if I'd be going out and about today because it was so beautiful. There wasn't a cloud in the sky! I told her in fact, yes I would after tutoring:)

I actually walked to Corinne's house... and not getting lost this time it only took 15 minutes! Julien and I worked on more irregular verbs, including shake, wear, stick, and throw. For shake, all I could think of as an example was, "shaken, not stirred," and milkshake. When I explained what a milkshake was, he laughed because evidently kids his age say "shake the milkshake" for no apparent reason. When I asked, he said it just sounds funny because it rhymes.... but now it seems ridiculous because he knows what a milkshake is. For wear, he laughed uncontrollably because the word itself sounded so silly to him. I had to finally say, Julien, get a hold of yourself! It's a verb! For stick, he kept saying steak... I'd say, you have to say stiiiick. So he'd repeat and then after a second he'd say oh, steak. Haha. It was very funny... it was like he just heard a different sound. And throw- quelle horreur! We had both the "th" issue combined with the English "r." Let's just say we're working on it.

After our lesson, Corinne, Luc, Emilie, Lucie, and I went for a walk. We drove a few minutes to a path, parked, and walked around looking for rabbits. I actually asked if they eat rabbit, and they said yes, but they aren't the same as the rabbits you have at your house! They're different! (Rabbit fillets are found right next to chicken in the supermarket. Weird.) Besides rabbits, we talked about lots of different things... les soldes, when they lived in Marseille, places in Lyon (we're kind of both new to the area since they moved here just a year and half ago), etc. We went to a duck/swan pond, not far from the Porte des Alpes mall.

On our way back, I thought they'd just drop me off, but they asked if I wanted to come back for some tea and a snack. I said, why not? We talked a little more.... I'm going to babysit for them on the 28th. I met Julien's friend... who happens to be a girl. She isn't technically his girlfriend, but they hang out often. They were working on a project while we had our snack. They'd come and get cookies occasionally, but as soon as they'd leave, the parents would sort of roll their eyes with an "oh goodness what are we going to do with them" kind of expression. And then, they asked if I saw the most recent Grey's Anatomy... and I said, well no, I don't have a tv. They were in shock! But- I was in luck, they had a tv upstairs that they never used!

So Luc and Emilie drove me home, with the tv. He hooked it all up (after jokingly saying that had he known I lived on the top floor he would have thought twice about agreeing to this... haha) and now I have tv!!! I've been watching Desperate Housewives reruns (in French) ever since. I can't believe I've gone this long without one (a tv)! What a great language experience.... and more:) I can actually watch something and be on my computer at the same time!!!!

Welp- back to school tomorrow! I've had a great weekend! Enjoy your Monday off!

Lyon Resistance Museum

This afternoon I took the tram to 14 avenue Berthelot. This was the site of the Gestapo headquarters from 1942-1944, led by Klaus Barbie. Today, part of the site is dedicated to the French Resistance movement, for which Lyon played a central role, in a museum called the Centre d'histoire de la Résistance et de la Déportation.

This is what I learned today.

Lyon was a part of the "free zone" from 1940-1942. Very near Lyon, to the southeast, Italy occupied an area of France. At this time, about three-fifths of France was occupied, leaving the rest as "libre." Something I didn't realize was that the Vichy government (led by Maréchal Pétain) didn't just rule over the "free zone," or what I thought was the "Vichy zone." The Vichy government ruled over all of occupied France, but in occupied areas, like Paris, German laws trumped the French laws. Pétain's rule was, therefore, most powerful in the southern "free zone."

Pétain collaborated with the Germans, and his French police and milice, or militia, carried out raids on Jews, Resistance fighters, and other "undesirables." From the beginning of this collaboration period, summer of 1940, many French citizens joined the resistance movement. Charles de Gaulle, who fled to Great Britain, gave a radio address calling for the French to resist Nazi Germany. However, as the French were still in shock of the invasion and the changes happening around them, many remained apathetic until 1942, when German forces occupied the remaining part of France, renaming the "free zone," the "south zone."

As you can imagine, France experienced food shortages, fuel shortages, disorganization in transportation, labor shortages (due to high numbers of French prisoners sent to Germany to work as free labor), raids and roundups of Jews, and more while paying host to the German army.... all of which played a part in waking up apathetic French citizens. Although not everyone took part in active resistance, most resisted passively by reading the different publications (newspapers, pamphlets, etc.) or by listening to the radio. I read an interesting "rule book" for the occupied citizens of France. One of the suggested rules was to pretend not to know or to forget any German that you knew when addressed by a German officer. Another rule was to keep only one copy of this document with you (allowing friends to make a copy if need be).

Active resistance members (for which 10-15% were woman, maybe more as many wives helped their husbands or sons) sabotaged transportation and electrical plants, burned bridges, or even participated in guerrilla warfare. There were underground paramilitary groups, called the Maquis, who received weapons, explosives, and ammunition from nighttime parachute landings. They also provided intelligence to Allied forces and carried out rescue missions. The resistance was made up of people from all different social classes, communists, anarchists, Jews, and many foreigners. The Jewish population only accounted for about 1% of the French population as a whole, but in the resistance, they accounted for about 25% of the resistance fighters.... and many Jewish or other persecuted people fleeing from other countries aided in the organized French resistance.

About 76,000 Jews were sent to the concentration camps from France, 13,000 of which were rounded up and arrested in 2 days in Paris (Vel d'Hiv). Of these 76,000, only 2,500 survived. At the time, there was an estimated 350,000 Jews residing in France, many of them were not French, but German refugees. And although France saw a lot of hate, apathy, and collaboration among its clergy, including, for example, a high ranking priest in Lyon, its officials, and its citizens, France is ranked third in the Righteous Among the Nations for the most non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews during the Holocaust.

The museum had row after row of documents, pictures, and articles written by, for, or about the French resistance and resistance fighters. Countless personal stories were told; a French school teacher hiding Jewish children and teaching them in her house so that they could continue schooling when the war was over, neighbors taking in families or children, resistance leaders imprisoned but rescued by their wives, and on and on. There were also many Lyon related stories... resistance fighters using the famous Traboule passageways in Vieux Lyon to dupe the Gestapo... pictures of floods of people celebrating in Place des Terreaux and Rue de la République after the war was over.... the destruction of the building at 14 avenue Berthelot, after the bombardment of Allied forces in 1944 (targeting train stations and the Gestapo headquarters)... bridges on both sides of Presqu'ile destroyed by bombings or resistance fighters...

The museum is a lot of reading- timelines and quotes every few feet, with the occasional side area to view videos that I couldn't stomach. I left feeling a little sickened, as one usually does after reading or seeing pictures describing genocide. But, one of the last quotes written on the wall went something along the lines of, "What we don't remember about the past, will surely happen again." And so.... I'm very proud that the city of Lyon has this museum to document an important part of its history, in the building that was once the cause of such despicable acts, in hopes that that kind of history will stop repeating itself.

I'm glad that I went. I walk around Lyon and see the Renaissance buildings of old Lyon or the Roman Ruins of Fourvière... but rarely do I picture the Lyon of the 1940's. It's amazing that it all took place here less than 80 years ago...

Lunch with the Girls and End of the Lights!

Happy Sunday to you all! Only 6 more days until I leave for Switzerland! Only 13 more days until Christmas!!! 14 days until I get to see my dad! 15 days until I get to see my friend Steph! So many things to look forward too.... but I'm sad the light festival is over.... and I'm fairly jealous of all my British friends leaving on Saturday to be home for Christmas....

Yesterday, I had all the girls, plus a few more, over for lunch before going back out for the last night of the fête des lumières. Hannah brought her friend Megan, who has a wicked cool Scousse (sp) accent, and Caroline brought her friend Lisa, who has been visiting for both Caroline's birthday and the lights. So... in total, we were 7, and 5 out of the 7, talked funny (jk of course, they just don't sound like us Amuricans hehe).

My apartment, after doing a serious clean up on Friday evening, turned out to look pretty good considering, and they all commented on what a nice "flat" I have. Lindsey brought a rotisserie chicken from the market downtown, which I pulled apart with my hands after realizing a fork and knife were going to take forever. Besides that little disgusting bit of preparation, it was a really great lunch. I made creamed corn casserole, mashed potatoes, salad, and brownies and Helen and Hannah brought wine, bread, and cheese. It was quite a yummy little feast.

After talking and eating for a while, we got ready to go downtown. We wanted to see the Parc de la Tête d'Or because it was supposed to have some really neat fire displays. "Really neat" is putting it lightly. The entire park seemed to be on fire. We had to wait in a huge crowd to get in through the big park gates.... but once we were through, it was so weird. There were flower pots of fire everywhere! There were big fire balls on the lake, fire in the trees, fire hanging in balls from trees, fire shooting off in these little fire canisters. It was very odd. And, even more odd, were these wife-beater type t-shirts hanging from the trees. They all had lights in them, and were hung on hangers hung on clothes lines. I'm not sure, but I think this may have some relation to the fact that people wear these when running in the park? Maybe? Otherwise, I don't get it...

Unfortunately, Hannah had to head home after the park to catch her early bus home, Megan left with her, and Caroline and Lisa went off for "tea," which I figured out actually meant dinner, and not just a cup of tea. So the three of us- Helen, Lindsey, and I, left the park, and walked down the Saone river to cross a bridge into Presqu'ile. It was a nice little walk away from the huge crowds and it was lined with more flower pots of fire.

Once we crossed the bridge, we were right next to the Opéra, which had a few smaller light displays we hadn't seen yet. We were getting hungry again (it was already about 8:30 by this point), so we stopped for nutella crêpes, yumz, and then went on our way to show Helen the horse fountain, St. Nizier, the Place des Jacobins fountain, and more lights down Rue de la République. We were beginning to feel like light festival pros.... not much was different from the other nights we went in, except for there being more people, and the eyes on the horses in Place des Terreaux were glowing a creepy green. Helen's reaction to most of the displays was.... "Well this is quite creepy." After looking up "creepy" in the French-English dictionary, I can't come up with a great translation....so I guess bizarre or étrange are the closest. Maybe the things we think are creepy, French people think are normal?

We walked through Bellecour and back around to Vieux Lyon. I got on the D line and headed home, getting back by about 10:30.... pooped out again!

This morning I got on my computer and tried to watch a video my parents sent me, and my computer went bazerk, sooooo I'm, again, worried that my computer isn't going to make it. Apparently I can't solve my own computer problems like I thought I could. For the time being, I'm only going to use my computer for blogging, emailing, and writing lessons. I don't think it can handle much more than that unfortunately.... And I think I've decided that I'm going to not bring my laptop with me to Switzerland. If my computer does this over there... and I can't use it, then there's no point in lugging it around all week. I'll bring my ipod though to write short updates.... I still have a few days to try to sort it out, so we'll see!

Enjoy the last of the lights and reste cool:)

More Lumières (and more apartment talk)

I’m sitting in the Saint-Priest Médiathèque (multimedia library) writing out this blog. I feel so displaced! But I’d rather be able to type in peace here than to type sitting on my bed with banging and weird paint smells.

As you can tell, last night I visited my favorite fountain in Place des Terreaux, the big egg thing and the green monsters are from Croix-Rousse, and we walked along the Saone river to get a few good shots of Fourvière and St. Jean together. We also saw 2 light shows; one was at St. Nizier where the lights made the cathedral look like it was crumbling and growing plants, the other was at the Place des Jacobins fountain where the top of the fountain was like a light house and the mermaids were fishing. It’s all very pretty, but I have to say, some of the displays are just plain strange. And they usually have an odd assortment of music playing. I would have thought they would have been playing holiday tunes… but I would qualify it more as creepy mood music for a museum.

Anyway, I got home and did a quick clean up of the apartment. I just can’t go to bed with certain things being disgusting. The spare bedroom and the living room are completely covered in plastic…. So hopefully I won’t have to do too much cleaning in those rooms (haha, maybe). I asked the painters yesterday if they’d be taking the plastic coverings off so that I can use my living room over the weekend and they said they would. If they forget, I’m just going to do it because I’m tired of living out of my bedroom. And hopefully the electrician will be finished with the kitchen so I can cook again. I ate out last night (crêpe stand and pineapple from McDonald’s…. I know weird dinner), I ate breakfast out this morning (pain au chocolat, coffee, and OJ from Flunch), and I just finished eating some sort of cheese covered baguette with a fruit tarte. I’m feeling low on fruits and veggies…. and although I know the pineapple from McDo last night and the tarte I just ate don’t really make up for it, they aren’t technically in the bread, cheese, or ham category, which is really all I’ve had to eat in 2 days.

Anywho, I had a hard time sleeping last night (I kept having horrible dreams about the walls crumbling and the air being really dusty….lol, can you tell I’m beginning to have major issues with the work on the apartment?) and I really, really just wanted to see what would happen if I didn’t let anyone in this morning. I am the bearer of the only building key, you know. But, alas, I didn’t want to keep them from getting their job, so in they came at 7:30. I was out the door by 8… with my bag packed with stuff to do all day. My plan is to try to stay out of the apartment until at least 2:30/3. I think I can do it. I’ve already crossed off the list: 1) paying my rent at the trésorerie (they changed locations…. So I walked around forever this morning, went to my bank to see if they could just pay it through my account, which they can’t, went to the town hall twice to ask for directions, got a ride from the information desk guy to the new location, we rode in a Saint-Priest van and he told me I could stop by the town hall information desk any time, whenever I needed anything or just wanted to hang out lol, and I was finally able to pay my rent), 2) hanging out at Porte des Alpes (I tried to see how much making a double of my key was and found out I can’t make one unless I have a little slip from the mairie saying I can get a copy made, so THERE, it can’t be done!), 3) bought a Christmas CD and warm socks for my trip to Switzerland, 4) tried to find a McDonald’s in Saint-Priest (I can’t find it), 5) bought food at a boulangerie, 6) stealthily ate my lunch at the library, where eating food is strictly forbidden, and 7) set myself up in the library for an afternoon of writing my blog, emails, and lessons.

This evening, I will be, you guessed it, cleaning to my little heart’s desire so that I can hopefully get to sleep without dreaming of the walls falling in on me. I’m also going to make a few things for the little get together I planned before I knew the painters would be taking over. It was Caroline’s birthday this past week and I invited the girls over for lunch before going into Lyon one last time for the fête des lumières tomorrow.

So…. Bon week end à tous et comme toujours- reste cool :)

last night fun, this morning not so much

After the electrician left yesterday, I went on a cleaning frenzy. I know my efforts are futile, but I just hate having crap everywhere. So needless to say, I was running a little short on time getting ready for the fête. I didn't make it over to the castle in Saint-Priest, but I did peer down the street and see that it was purple before I left. They also turned on all the lights that have been strung for about a month now. I guess they wait until the 8th, whereas, we Americans pretty much have all our lights on the weekend after Thanksgiving (or earlier).

I took the bus and the metro, both were free last night for everyone to easily get into Lyon. When I walked out of the metro station I kind of felt like that scene in the latest Harry Potter movie... when Harry, Hermione, and Ron land in the middle of London, with crowds of people going this way and that way, while they're in their wizarding wedding clothes and trying to escape the death eaters. Although I was not wearing wizarding wedding clothes or escaping from anything, there were masses of people and I didn't really know where to go. (I'm sure that reference made me sound like a huge nerd, but that's what it reminded me of.) I was meeting Lindsey at the metro stop, which wasn't really that easy to do with so many people. Thank goodness for phones and maps, we found each other and found where we wanted to go (Place Saint-Louis in the Saxe-Gambetta/Guillotière area).

According to the teachers I work with, the 8th is the day to go into one of the many neighborhoods in Lyon and see what kind of show they put on. That's exactly what we did, without really knowing it. For the fête des lumières, they put out a booklet of events. The event we went to was labeled as "musical magic," with over 60 musicians playing in a simultaneous light show. It was supposed to begin at 7:30, which gave us enough time to walk to the fireworks. It didn't really start until about 5 minutes till 8, with the fireworks starting at 8:15. Soooo we didn't stick around for the whole thing, so I can't say for sure if it was musical magic. But what was fun was seeing how the neighborhood got together and had their own little block party. They gave out free vin chaud (hot wine), free soup, and sold other food/drinks. They had an odd little magic show going on. They had the firehouse open to walk around and eat in. It was a unique experience. Then, before we left, a small band of musicians came around the corner and played for a minute. All of a sudden a bigger band came marching down a different street, where they collided in the middle. The first band acted confused and pissed off, but I assume it was all a part of the show. We left before it could get anymore magical, but it was pretty neat for what it was.

As we walked toward the Rhone river, we saw rows and rows of apartments with the Lyon bougies, or candles, lined up in the windows. This is one of the original traditions that happens on the 8th to give thanks to Marie, and I think it is so cool that they continue to do it. And it's quite pretty!

When we got closer to the river, we could see the Fourvière Basilique bright blue, changing to bright red, etc. Along the river, were life size teepees, that changed colors (from bright pink to green to orange to purple), that emitted puffs of smoke, and that played aboriginal music. I'm still not really sure why they had tepees. Surely it wouldn't be a reference to our Native Americans.... but I didn't know who else made them?

We were just in time for the fire works, or the feu d'artifice, that were going off over the river. Had we walked to where they were going off, I'm sure we would have seen a few firework cascades going into the river, but all in all they were really good. They lasted a good 30 minutes and they had cars driving around with big speakers playing the national anthem, the marseillaise. I tried taking pictures, but my camera's not very fast at night. Along with the tepees on this side of the river, they had colorful windmills.

We walked into the city center afterwards to take the metro, but caught a few more light displays (some flamingos hanging down Rue de la République and the Opèra all lit up) and a lot more people. To get onto the metro, you had to wait in line and the first time around, we didn't realize we were on the wrong side, so we went the wrong way. I got off to transfer lines at the Bellecour station, but they made me come out of the station and go back across the street to change directions. This was annoying, especially because I was getting really tired, but it did allow me to see the big ferris wheel all lit up.

I finally got home by 10 and went immediately to bed. This morning I got up and felt drugged because I was still super tired.... but I made myself get up to let the painters and the electrician in. The electrician kind of had an ear out for the what the painters were saying and made sure I knew what was going on. I did, but he explained in English anyway. Men, always trying to show one another up. Apparently the lady at the town hall told these guys that the electrician had the key to the building. HAHA. She is just giving everyone the run around. She gave him 2 identical keys, neither works for the building, just for my apartment. So no one has a building key, and the painters were freaking out because they like to go out for lunch.... and if I'm not here during the day, they can't get back in. Oh goodness, so they were like you have to make a double. I just nodded and was thinking, yeah yeah, I'll make a double if the lady at the town hall tells me to and pays for it. I emailed her this afternoon, so we'll see if she gets back to me before Monday, which is when I told them I'd have the key for them.

Anyway, so after the electrician asked if I wanted to borrow a working TV from his dad.... I was like umm maybe and left for work. (I think he's concerned I have no working TV, but a TV jack and I'm paying for cable... I don't really care, I've gone this long, but I won't say no to a free TV I guess). I can't be this overwhelmed at 7:30am.

I got to school and kids started running up to me.... pas d'école, pas d'école, which means, no school! Apparently Murielle is really sick now and is absent for another day and has canceled her class until a replacement can come. The other 2 teachers were still working, but the kids who could go home in Murielle's class left. The 3 kids in her class that couldn't stay at home had to sit in the back of Mr. Iken's class. It's so odd that they don't have regular substitutes.... but when I asked about it, they said they used to have a similar system to ours, but those sub jobs were cut a few years ago. They only have long-term substitute positions (a week or more).

I worked with the CP class first and then the CE class afterwards (they moved their schedules around for me so that I could go home early.... I thought, of all the days I get to go home early, great). I felt really bad after teaching the CP class. I was so out of it.... I was having a horrible time explaining my book in French, I felt like my jingle bells sounded horrible (I can usually at least carry the tune), and I ran out of things to do. Then, I went over to Mr.Iken's class, feeling fairly useless and had a great lesson on Rudolph (although I finished way early too). I was so frustrated when I left.... the CP teacher Anne-Laure probably thought... what a waste of time!

So I went to Laurence's office, to look for more stuff to bring next time... and for a reason to stay out of the apartment longer. I made copies of the Christmas Bingo and made an easy version for the little kids. Hopefully that will be a little more interactive, and a little more in English. They really like the books in English, but I feel bad that all I do is read in English, translate poorly in French, and they learn 2 or 3 words from the whole experience. I think the main problem is that I'm not coming in with an activity to do along with the book. I always have something extra, but it doesn't always relate directly with the book.... or at least this time around it didn't. Oh well, I'm being hard on myself, but I just feel like I can do better... usually I can think on my toes a little faster and come up with something, but I was just out of it today.

Laurence wasn't at her office, but I got to use her computer and talk to her colleagues. I also read a book (in English) about how to effectively use stories in English as a way to introduce English grammar structures, foreign language vocabulary, and how to extend the two with fun activities. I do a few of things they suggested already, but it gave me even more ideas:) How convenient that they had this particular book on the shelf!

I've decided I miss writing out lesson plans. Most teachers reading this are going to think I'm crazy, but I feel like I teach much better if I've got the objective and how it relates to the activity in mind. So... even though it's more work, I'm going to start doing that again. And with all of this work going on in my apartment, I think the extra work will give me something to do cooped up in my bedroom (the only room that isn't a complete disaster).

Anyway, the apartment, is gross. They took all the wallpaper off the walls, so it looks disgusting, but I know that will only last so long. They told me they'd be done by next week though, so that's good news. I was worried that it would be a disaster zone when I got back from Switzerland. I guess now it will just be a disaster zone when I leave. The electrician is working later today, which is annoying because I'd really like to move about freely.... and get the refrigerator out of my bedroom... although it was nice to be able to have something to drink when I got up from my nap;)

Reste cool and enjoy the light pictures. I'm going down town again tonight!