Money Well Spent

Writing these blogs brings me back to that place during college. Late at night in my room, staring at my blank word document, overcome with the thought of “where do I begin?” This is by far the strongest reason I have never liked writing papers. The idea of trying to organize all my thoughts across such a vast empty space overwhelms me to no end. The only difference here being, I have no one to answer to. These entries can be as long or short or jumbled and mumbled as I desire and who is going to tell me that I’m wrong or can do better? Just me. So here we go.

I’m currently exhausted. One would think that after a lovely week spent in Italy, I should be refreshed. Au contraire, my friend. My mind is exploding. I’m constantly irritated that I can’t eaves drop on the conversation between the two businessmen on the train or know what that teenage girl is obnoxiously laughing at on the other end of her iPhone. I have all of these ideas of how to improve my comprehension but truth be told, I haven’t even had time to make my apartment feel like home, let alone the town and people around me. My week away was supposed to be a mental vacation before having to rear up for the start of school; however, everywhere I turned, there was someone speaking French. You would think I would just ignore this. This I could not. It purely reminded me of how much further I have to progress.

Don’t get me wrong. I had a great time. So, what did I love best, you ask? Is David as handsome as in pictures? Was the gelato everything you’d hoped it would be? Well let me tell you.

• Day 1, Wednesday (21.09). Claire and I caught the train to Paris then took the bus out to Beauvais, the airport by which RyanAir operates. As we’re waiting in line to check in, I notice everyone around me has papers in their hands. I look down at my fingers and all I seem to be clutching is my hard covered, navy blue passport. Hmmm… After being called next to the desk, we inform the woman we don’t have any papers to which she replies, we must pay €40 each in order to print our boarding passes. No no, ma’am, we’ve already paid for our ticket. You must not have understood us. Non non she says. We are required to pay this additional fee. REALLY? On a ticket that only cost €28, I have to pay another 40?! That’s how they get ya’. Now little did we know what we were getting ourselves into when we chose this budget airline. The usual occurrences take place. The seating of the passengers (well actually, this wasn’t so typical - it’s a free for all - no assigned spots), the hellos from the staff, the putting away of the luggage in the overhead compartment. Naturally, the explanation of the seat belts and life vests comes next. This is where the fun began! Our lovely attendant, dressed in sunflower yellow and royal blue, with a strong Irish accent, buck teeth, and a left eyebrow that just wouldn’t go down, not only explains, but demonstrates. Through three languages of proper procedure in case of an emergency, she is wearing the life vest with a blank stare and that one eyebrow lifted. After removing this accessory, she comes back with a concession cart, wearing an apron! It seemed as though I was at a baseball game, hearing “Snickers? Coke? Sandwich?” as she reaches in her apron making change from her vending sales. Once the apron is gone, next comes the lottery tickets. On a plane?! Through yet another three languages, my favorite attendant is fanning around these cards with the hope that one lucky RyanAir passenger could win one million euros. This hour has flown by with one comedy act after another and as we land, we hear the tune of the champion horse race go off and the entire flight claps and cheers. A fantastic way to end my most entertaining flying experience to date. We leave the airport, smiles on our faces, and find our way through the water to our hostel in Venice. From our window we can see a gorgeous view of what tomorrow will bring us.
  
  
• Day 2, Thursday (22.09). Rick Steves is the man. Claire carries him with her wherever she travels which means I have had the privilege of meeting this wonder. In his book, The Best of Europe, he tells us of all the wonderful sites to see while in each of our cities. His advice for Venice: get lost. The only way to get around in this town is by water taxi and the rest by foot through small alleyways with no real rhyme or reason. We took these words of wisdom to heart. Claire and I took the taxi across the water the next morning and saw a glorious dome. We took off in its direction, certain it was the famous San Marco, but upon arriving after a long winded hour and a half through many unknown paths, and seeing no tourists around, we wondered where we had gone wrong. We had come all this way to find ourselves at a beautiful, yet unknown basilica. Turns out, we were right in front of San Marco Square that morning, but had been so focused on getting to the dome that we didn’t even take the time to look before us. We carried on with the typical tourist attractions (San Marco Basilica, San Marco Square - complete with pigeons – the Bell Tower, the Clock Tower, the Bridge of Sighs, the Doge Palace, and the Rialto Bridge), including gelato at 10:30 in the morning, again at noon, and another serving after our dinner looking out over the water. And of course, what would Venice be without a romantic gondola ride.
  
  
• Day 3, Friday (23.09). On to Florence! We arrived by train that evening and took in the free sights. As we were crossing the bridge to our hostel, we noticed many locals sitting on the dam in the middle of the Arno River. This struck curiosity in me and I became determined to find the path out to join them. With wine in hand, Claire and I successfully made it to the middle of the river and shared our bottle under a wide open sky and clear air, doing as the locals do.
  
  
• Day 4, Saturday (24.09). I came to Florence in search of one thing: my dream man. That is to say, Michelangelo’s David and boy did we find him. Standing in line. Sitting in line. Leaning on the wall in line. This is how we spent our hour waiting to see this work of art. When we finally entered the building, we put our purses through the scanner, walked through the metal detector, and through the curtain. Right there in front of us was what I had come seeking. Wait. That seemed too easy. Weren’t we supposed to pay? Thank you for Cultural Weekend in Florence :)
  
  
• Days 5-7, Sunday-Tuesday (25-27.09). On the road again. This time, the lesser seen Cinque Terre. The colorful and fresh Italian Riviera was only a 10€ train ride away. It was breath taking. Claire and I spent three nights here, relaxing on the beaches, hiking the trails, hopping between the five towns, and doing what we do best: eating pizza margherita and filling up on gelato. Did I mention how great of planners Claire and I are? We couldn’t have done a better job choosing the days to visit each city. On Sunday and Monday, most museums are closed. We just so happened to be in an area with no sightseeing to do on those days. Someone is watching out for us.
  
  
• Day 8, Wednesday (28.09). Goodbye Italy, but not before a stop at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Being that our flight was taking off from this city, we decided to check out of our hostel a little early that morning and snap some shots of this sight before heading back to France. Literally. We got off the train, had no map, no idea of where to go. We followed the crowd and before we knew it, there was the tower. We took pictures, bought postcards, ate some grapes, smashed some grapes (we were in Tuscany after all), and found the right bus back to the airport. All in a day’s work for these expert travelers.

Thoughts:

• David was honestly an amazing sight to see. It’s sad, though, that his beauty has been sequestered by his penis. Everywhere you turn, there are postcards with close-ups of his junk.
  
• On one of the nights, Claire and I met a group of girls from Germany. Although I don’t know German or Spanish all that well, I’m sure Sidney, the half Peruvian, half German mix, could speak both beautifully, because her English and French were flawless. Really?! Grr. I’m trying to master only my second language and here she is, spitting off four.
  
• It’s quite the thing, how Europeans are so open with their bodies. Women of all ages, shapes, and sizes flaunt around the beach wearing bikinis. Instead of looking for a place to change, everyone just wraps a towel around their waist and does the deed right there. And when it comes time to shower off under one of those beach faucets, be prepared to see it all. I really don’t mind it, but it doesn’t mean I have to participate.
  
• With Italy being only an hour flight from France, it's marveling to see how with such close quarters, each country maintains its own culture. Over this past week, all I wanted was a cheap baguette, but instead found myself munching pizza for lunch. The U.S. seems like one big hodgepodge of people clashed. But somehow, Europe has managed to keep its identities separate.
• Did you know that the Mediterranean Sea is salty?! I wish I would’ve been warned before diving right in.
  
• I’m constantly being asked what’s next in my future. What do I want to do, where do I want to go. I honestly don’t know, but after a week of watching all those tourist groups, perhaps tour guide is my calling.
  
• Coming to France with that huge backpack behind me was not the most pleasant of experiences. Seeing all those travelers doing that for a month seems like an even worse idea. If I were to backpack for an extensive period of time, I would bring a pair of jeans, shorts, a skirt, a dress, four short sleeved tops, one long, a sweater, a swimsuit, tennis shoes, sandals, and a towel. Really. I’ve decided that’s all I’d need. And when it gets a bit too grimy, I’d rather spend 6€ at the Laundromat and save my back the pain.
  
• People always ask how much money I spent when I studied abroad and in all honesty, I have no idea. Money was flying left and right out of my hands. This time around, I’m keeping a consistent record of all my expenses. So for those curious ones, here’s the breakdown of my eight days spent traveling Europe: 
• Airline: €46
• Ground Transportation: €189,90
• Hostels: €195
• Food: €222,85
• Sightseeing: €13
• Souvenirs: €30,2
• Miscellaneous (gondola, internet/printer, RyanAir fee): €90,65

For a grand total of €787,60 averaging €98,45 per day.

So when you ask is it expensive, yeah it is. Should I have spared a few bucks by cutting back from gelato twice a day to once? Never. Would I have opted out of the €50 gondola ride to keep the bank from breaking? Absolutely not. At the end of the day, I wouldn’t have done anything differently. (Except maybe bring a towel!)

My French Life

Finally, the internet. Aside from the 10 minutes I was given on the ancient school computers to send an email back home saying I was safe, this is my first time with my hands on Wi-Fi.

Where to begin? I’ve decided to divide this post into two parts: facts and feelings.

On y va!

Facts:

• Day 1, Wednesday. Claire and I arrived safe and sound Wednesday at 13:00 at the Charles de Gaulle in Paris. Everything went incredibly well. Unbelievably, in fact. We kept thinking, when is something going to go wrong? All flights were on time. Our hour in Iceland flew by. We navigated the Paris metro no problem. Found our train station. Bought our tickets and carte 12-25. Boarded the train to Nancy with all bags. Got off, waited twenty minutes, got on the next, arrived at the station as expected at 18:36. Rolled our luggage to the front and there was… NATHALIE! Soon after came Francoise (Franne). We “bised” them both as the French do then Claire packed her bags in Nathalie’s van, mine went with Franne and off we went. We found ourselves next at my apartment, a glorious sight. Based on Alice’s photos (the previous assistant), I thought this was going to be a small place, mais non, an image to behold! I have a grand hallway, a nice bathroom, a wonderful kitchen, a living room with a couch, a bedroom with two twin beds, and endless closet space, but my most wonderful possession… a TV! I have all I could ever ask for. After my last journey in France, I thought time and time again how much it would have helped my comprehension to have been able to watch TV. It would be casual and on my own time, not having to think about the conversation I was involved in. My wish was their command. Thank you Lycee Henri Vogt! After setting down our luggage in the middle of the room and taking a quick tour, it was time to load up again and head to dinner. My first meal in Commercy took place at a little creperie. We were the only group there which consisted of me, Claire, Nathalie, Franne, Franne’s her boyfriend, and Anne (another English teacher). We started with an aperitif- crackers and rose cider (so French!), ate our main course of galettes, and of course finished with crepes for dessert. So much was going on, my brain was fried, they were talking quickly, that I mostly sat and smiled. But it was delicious nonetheless. Afterwards, we were off to bed. Bonne nuit!

• Day 2, Thursday. We awoke at 14:00, just in time for our rendez-vous with Nathalie at 15:00. This meeting consisted of using the internet, meeting the principal (as well as many other staff members), and being introduced to my first class of students! It went so well. After all this, Nathalie dropped Claire and me off in the centre where we bought our cell phones, anther wonderful feat. At this point, I could no longer produce French words, so Claire took over (merci ma fille!). The man asked if I wanted a tactile phone and not knowing what this meant and with the only word coming out of my mouth being oui, I am now the proud owner of a mobile tactile- touch screen. Haha. On our walk home (about a 15 minute trek), we saw the super marché. We stocked up on ground beef, pasta, pasta sauce, a block of Brie cheese (2,50€!), bread, three bottles of wine (2€ each!), two bottles of water, paper towels, and a variety of other necessities. My total came to a mere 40€. SO impressive. We hiked back to my gate which I must enter in order to reach my apartment. Well lo’ and behold, neither my key nor my card worked! So here we are, loaded down with bags of groceries and no way to get in. I turn to my left and there I see a box with buttons and names. I push the first labeled loge and a woman speaks to me from the other end. I tell her I am the assistant and my keys ne marchent pas. Our conversation lasts a minute then she is gone. I’m not quite sure how it ended, but I just pray that she soon arrives. Five minutes go by… no one. Another minute… still alone. Finally a car opens the gate and we enter. The woman (not the one from the box) speaks to us about the key and tells us to go to the office the next day. Regardless, we made it in and I whipped Claire and myself up a nice spaghetti dinner. We went to bed, set our alarms, and were up again the next morning at 8:30, for our next adventure: Amneville. 

• Days 3-4, Friday & Saturday. I had to turn in a few papers at the school and get my keys fixed, but afterwards Claire and I were off on the 20 minute walk to the train station, ready for the first train to her city, Amneville. Her Nathalie (because both of our contact teachers have the same name!) met us at the station, we had a tour of her school, met the principal and a few other important staff members, took a short walk around her centre, then met with the real estate agent to view what will be Claire’s home for the next 8 months. After deciding on taking the flat, Nathalie brought us to the happenin’ part of Amneville. There is a casino, spa, amusement park, 3-D cinema, and many diverse restaurants and shops. We had a tango (blond beer with flavored syrup), while Claire filled out her abundant paperwork to accept her apartment as well as apply for French welfare. Afterwards we headed back to the station and boarded our train back to Commercy… Or so we thought. As the time passed, our cellphones started sending us messages saying we could still call France even though we were out of our tower ranges. Silly French phones. But as the train came to a halt, I looked out my window and announced “Claire, we’re in Luxembourg”. With a look of unbelief, we hopped off and discovered that we had crossed country lines. In a fury of confusion, we boarded the train back to France, but after a brief line of “well I always wanted to see Luxembourg”, Claire and I made a quick decision to stay the night in this new country. And it was beautiful and wonderful and so worth taking the wrong train. We explored it all on our own, and thanks to the dirty map I found on the ground, we easily navigated ourselves to the best of the city. We had diner, gelato, then decided it was time to find the party. As we wandered the city, we heard loud music coming from down the street. We followed our senses, and indeed we found the party. There were young people filling a parking lot, all holding their beer in a plastic cup, chatting loudly with enthusiastic conversation. Intimidated by such a sight, Claire and I hid around the corner to discuss what should happen next. As much as the party scared us, we knew we would regret not going. We took a lap around the block then entered from the other side, pushing our way inside Roca’s. Surprisingly, there were less people in than out, and we made our way to the bar. To face my fears, I ordered our drinks (with success!). We went outside as the others were doing and stood awkwardly, trying to look engaged. After some time, we took a seat on the edge of the party until we finally decided to look for another place to waste our time. And that proved to be McDo. We bought a little snack, used the restroom and sat until 1:30. We closed the place down and proceeded back to the station. We had three hours until the 5:00 train, so we scoped out a place to curl up and take a nap. Only one creepy man approached us (don’t tell Grandma!), speaking French, and after he left, all I could think was “at least we understood him!” We got to Nancy and had three hours to kill. Finally we made it back to my place at 11:35 and headed straight to bed. After a night with nearly no sleep, Claire and I literally slept the day away until noon today, with only a four hour break between 22:00 to 2:00.

• Day 5, Sunday. After waking at 11:00, I took a relaxing bath, read a book, and took on the task of fixing my broken TV. Nathalie said that Alice went without TV all last year because of this. Well thanks to the television problems I encountered with Grandma this summer, I was easily able to figure out that all that needed to be done was have it do a program search and TA-DA! So now I REALLY have French TV. And a radio too, p.s. After such excitement, Claire and I gathered our computers and went on a search for internet. We knew this was a long shot being that nearly everything is closed on Sundays in France. But I do emphasize the nearly because we found the one café open… with Wi-Fi gratuit illimite! (unlimited free Wi-Fi!). HOWEVER, their internet was down, but we met a nice little French girl whose mother asked us to watch her while she went and smoked (HAHA!!). On our way home, we stopped at a boulangerie where I bought my first baguette. SO soft and SO cheap! (.85€ for a grande one!) The rest of the evening was calm. I took in two episodes of House (en francais of course) and read some more of my book. It’s nice to have time for me.

Feelings:

• PAIN. As much as I knew carrying 100lbs of luggage would not be pleasant, it didn’t translate to how much it would hurt my body. I’m still covered in battle wounds (bruises up and down my arms and legs) and have aching shoulders. I’m thankful for all the ibuprofen I brought.

• SURPRISE. Every time I speak French and someone understands me, it is the most wonderful surprise. The first day we arrived, I had four encounters in French. 1) The man at the airport in Paris whom I asked for directions. 2) The man I bought my phone card from and later went back to tell him it wasn’t working. 3) The woman from whom I bought my sandwich. 4) The man that I bought my ticket from and my carte 12-25 (discount train card for those under 25). Now not only did they all understand my French, but not one tried to speak English with me! Even the man at the SNCF (train station), whose counter was marked as international. I remember in Caen, it seemed as though every time I opened my mouth to speak French, my accent alone would cause someone to switch to English. And I was in Paris, the largest touristic city in France! This was surprise and joy.

• COMFORTABLE. I already feel like my apartment is my own and I’m feeling at home with my town. I am so grateful to have this little town. Nathalie said a few years ago an assistant left early because she didn’t like Commercy at all. I’m already in love.

• THANKFUL. Wow. I love Commercy. Nathalie is so wonderful as are all the other teachers. It’s been very nice to have Claire with me to help navigate and speak when I just can’t seem to get the words out. I’m thankful for all the prayers. Honestly, I know things wouldn’t be going this smoothly without them. I’m also grateful that I am more advanced in my French now than from when I first arrived in Caen. This means I will only progress even further, especially since I have more time.

• SCARED, but trying to face my fears. It’s funny because when we first arrived in Paris, I just knew that I needed to go up and ask questions and speak French. Now, I’m finding myself shying away. I have to keep telling myself to just face my fears and speak French. I’m not going to get better if I don’t. Just like in Lux, we went to the bar and I ordered the beers. I was scared to go and scared to speak, but it all turned out for the best.

• EXCITED. For all the new that is to come. Between now and my first day of class, I have my whirlwind tour of Italy and an orientation with all the other assistants in the Lorraine. Every day truly brings to me the unknown. And I’m learning to embrace it.

• PATIENCE. Have I mentioned how many hours I’ve already spent in the train stations? This year is bound to teach me patience. I'm also awaiting the day I get Wi-Fi in my apartment. I'm told they are working on it, which makes me a bit apprehensive. I'd rather just get it myself on my own time, but again... I'll try to wait it out.

I’m already learning a lot about myself in these few (long) days. One is that I’m quite observant. Claire loves words so she’s always teaching me something new and I’m always letting her in on what I see.

Observations:

• The people in my town aren’t very “French”. They aren’t up to date on the latest fashions and they are seen around town without makeup. I’ve decided this is because we aren’t a university town. As soon as I was in Nancy, the bar was set high again.
• In Lux, they kissed each other on the cheek three times as opposed to two in Commercy. However (as Claire saw), at the café here, some women kissed four times and the girls kissed the boys just twice. Hmmmmm. Interesting.
• The titles on the binding of books read in the opposite direction of English books! I thought my French books needed to be flipped around, but nope, that’s just how they are.
• At my first dinner at the creperie, everyone seemed to eat very quickly, and I couldn’t keep up! This wasn’t how it was when I was in Caen. Also, one person would switch hands with their fork, so not like the others. And another held their fork with a fist. It was just very curious watching them all with their silverware!
• And this is just funny, but I am having a hard time finding not only my French words, but also my English!! I just can’t keep any language straight at the moment. Even in this post, I used the incorrect form of “their and too” and do you know that apartment is appartement in French. How am I to remember who has one p and who has two?!

If you made it to the end of this, BRAVO! As I was writing this, I was dreading that my post would be so long, but then I told myself, you know what Bre, this blog isn’t just for them. It’s for you too and those that care will read it all. So to you, thank you for caring! It’s people like you that I feel love and support from and that make my adventures happen. And in return for this, I will try my best to update more often in shorter lengths (God-willing I can find the internet!).

Oh! And a word on the times. In Europe, they use the 24 hour clock. I’m quickly becoming accustomed to it and I hope you will too! In all honesty, it’s just much easier for me to use that format than to translate it. If you’re confused, just subtract 12 from any number over 12 and you’ve got it :)

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Third Time's a Charm

Before

Third time's a charm! The before picture posted doesn't even begin to describe the chaos I bestowed upon myself as I began to pack for 8 months in Europe. How do you choose what to bring and what to leave?! I thought after studying abroad, this would be old hat. Indeed, this was not the case. The before picture is actually my second, but not last, time packing and unpacking my bags. After this try, I weighed my bags, discovering the backpack was 35lbs and my suitcase was 70lbs.

Let's see: 35+75=110/2=55. Not great numbers when I'm allotted 50lbs each.

After

Now, my mother is somewhat of a saint when it comes to dealing with me when I am under stressful situations. I tend to "freak out" and let everyone know it. But after going through my bags endless times, I needed the help of someone who has gone through this before. Enter, Kelsey Baumann. After another hour of going through my already whittled down items yet again, I was able to remove three sweaters, two notebooks, and my coveted shampoo and conditioner (which was 7lbs alone!). 

At 12:25am, grandma, mom, and I headed off to the Amtrak station to start the first leg of my journey. The train was thankfully only 40 minutes late (a record) and what I was most nervous for, getting my heavy luggage on the train, was done with ease.

Kelsey: my free spirited, fun loving, do anything, best friend.

Saying goodbye to both my grandma and mom felt incomplete. My mom said as I was leaving that it still didn't feel real. And perhaps this is where I am at now. Maybe until I get to Commercy and begin this new saga, will it hit me. I'm currently sitting in Claire's dining room waiting until 5pm to head to the airport. We have a long 24 hours ahead of us and it might just be best for the time being for me to block out all emotional feelings until I arrive safe in my one bedroom apartment.

September 2011

September 2009

A comparison of luggage from my last time in France to this time. It may be hard to tell, but much more thought went in to those bags! Notice, I only have the hiking backpack and suitcase this time. None of that extra bag, blanket stuff. Hopefully, this will treat me well while maneuvering the metro in Paris! I just have to remind myself, I've done this before, I have less stuff, and I have a friend to do it with. Wish me luck!

Last goodbyes with Grandma Donna

A Tribute

This has been a week of goodbyes. My great friend Erin asked me how it was having to bid adieu to all these friendships I have invested in. I honestly haven't felt sad about it. And do you know why? Because I'm confident that the people I truly care about will remain in my heart. Here are some of the many people I love that I was able to spend time with before my great adventure.

My niece Skylar

Mickie: My Boss of Four Great Years!

Kristen: SBFFL (Second Best Friends for Life!)

The Always Thoughtful Tiffany

Brigitte and Whitney: Friendship Rekindled

Erin Barta: My favorite friend to do nothing with  :)

Finding Balance

This week I have just been all over the place emotionally. Today was especially unsettling. Next Monday night I will be hopping on the train to Minneapolis. As I reflect on this summer, I realize that I was given many new experiences, but have also discovered that I didn't keep the goals I had created at the beginning. This is a fear I have while in France. I have many intentions for this next year. Number one is to make time for myself. That's what I lost sight of during these past few months. I also want to really make Commercy my home. This includes making my apartment feel like mine, complete with decorations, and I really really really want to become involved in the community as much as possible. When I studied abroad, I got to know many other students, but found myself only spending time with them as opposed to natives of the area. This time around, I don't believe it's a priority of mine to make great friends with other assistants. I don't want to get too wrapped up in the night life. I want this to be a year of finding balance and satisfaction in my life. (All while perfecting my French!) Pray that I keep these goals in mind always.