Leah en France Part Trois

Meli-Melo of Ideas

2009-11-11T15:09:00.004+01:00

I'm still vivante! I thought I might throw that out there to distract you from my absence, helas, I doubt it worked. I do have to say I definitely thought I would be blogging at least once a week for Pete's Sake, not once every 7 weeks!(It's been literally 7 weeks, I just went back and looked!) During vaca, for example, I was sick for part of it, but otherwise I had plenty of time on my hands that I clearly prefered to spend watching True Blood and going on FarmVille. I know part of the reason why I've been unmotivated to blog, but I can't blog about it here so then we start going around in circles. Yes, I realize that makes no sense to 99.9% of you(with me being the 0.1%.) Unfortunately, that's how it will have to stay for a while because this isn't a private blog and I don't really want to have to make it one either. Anyways, enough of me saying things that make no sense, what CAN I tell you? Well, to continue from my last post, I had my medical visit(no TB, woohoo!) and I went straight to the Dreaded Prefecture afterwards and got my recepisse with no probs(with the exception of thinking I didn't have to pay for the 70 euro timbres until I got my actual carte...oh well.) I can also tell you that as of 2 weeks ago, I am now the proud owner of a carte de sejour salariee...youpiiiii! So, I am now proof that it IS possible to work in France legally and not be a student, assistant, pacsee, married or go through a program that sponsors you...yay!

Next stop on the France train: citizenship! Ok, so I mayyy be getting a little ahead of myself here, but it's something I've been thinking about as the years roll on by. I am guaranteed a job at my skool until the end of the 2010-2011 school year which is also about when I would be eligible for citizenship, so we will have to see what happens with my job. So far, the two previous people before me have worked exactly 3 years which will be the case for me at the end of 2011, but I think the only 3 years thing was due to the fact that the job is not a CDI for now plus one girl went back to the states and the other passed her CAFEP-CAPES so she moved up to the college/lycee level. On verra, maybe I'll be working more in the International program next year than this year? I will very likely have 2 extra hours to fill again like this year and I won't necessarily be doing 8th grade grammar, plus the program is constantly changing and having more and more hours open up, so it really is a big ol' point d'interrogation. I wonder, though, if it really is necessary to have a CDI to get citizenship or if anyone has ever done it with a CDD. Like I said, I really am getting ahead of myself.

For now I need to focus on the present which is easier said than done because the future sounds far more exciting. Christmas with my fam, New Years with my university friends that I haven't seen in ages and are the funniest group of nutters I know, a weekend trip to Nantes in Jan or Feb with my former roomie to visit our other former roomie who is such a positive, funny dude, the K&K infamous Episode 333!!!, a reunion in the south of France in May with my friends from Rennes 04-05 who are some of my very favorite people and then possibly this summer my lovely English friend from Rennes who has sinced moved back home coming to visit in the states. I just reread that and got re-excited! My current life of couilles-less kittens, colds that won't quit and online TV just somehow doesn't inspire me as much, ha! Not really, I mean, I have managed to do some intersting and fun stuff like meet a bunch of new people, make French people celebrate Halloween, see a Flashmob MJ tribute and sing 3 songs at Karaoke(whilst sick, I must add!), host a couchsurfer for a few days during vaca, go to the Salon des gourmets to taste and drink some yummy bits and host my own mini Diner Presque Parfait. I think my prob is that I just need some sort of creative outlet, like singing, dancing or cooking classes. These are all things I love and I like to do them on my own time, but it would be nice to go to an actual class rather than me singing and busting a move as I prepare my own dinner in my kitchen that equals not the same thing. Plus, I'm a creature of habit and I like having regular weekly/bi-weekly or monthly plans. I'm not making cards regularly either anymore(only when I go home and go to classes) and I just don't find it as enjoyable by myself. While we're throwing things out there, I should get back into running too...yikes, one thing at a time, of course. Now that I've thrown my year plans out there for you all, I'll let you contemplate what your own plans are and enjoy a kitten video aka a kitteo if you prefer. A la prochaine!(hopefully less than 7 weeks this time!!)

Tarte de Mesjours Update

2009-09-23T14:06:00.005+02:00

As I mentioned last time, I was eagerly awaiting notification of my visite medicale and worried that, because this is CDS season, it could take a long, long while. Well, I got a letter at New School just this past Monday from the OFII/ANAEM/OMI/Please stop changing your name why don't you? in my casier. I quickly tore it open only to see a letter about the timbres I would have to pay for plus a map. That's great you're telling me the money I have to pay plus where you're located, but how about what day and time I'm supposed to be at your office? Duh. So, I called that same day, but it was clearly the old number that had since changed and so then I sent an email which bounced back. When Tuesday morning rolled around and I got a break from teaching, I sent off another email and later that morning when I went to go back to the site to call them as well, their "handy dandy" France map with all the contact info wasn't working on not one, but two comps at the school because they didn't have some plugin that I didn't have the right to download and there was nowhere else on the site itself or the internet to find the contact info, believe me I tried! You're thinking I should have written down the number when I got the email except that I didn't have a pen handy because I forgot my trousse down at the primary school and was at the college and was about to have class. Fin bref, I managed to FINALLY have a look at lunch at a comp that had the plugin and wrote down the number and called that afternoon.

Good thing I did call! Turns out they forgot to put in the convocation telling me when my med. visit was. Yeah, that's right, forgot! Oh, France. So, the lady was very nice and said that was definitely not supposed to happen and told me I have my visite this Thurs(as in tomorrow) at 9 AM. So I luckily had the time to notify my teachers I won't be there Thurs morn. I don't know how long my visite will take, but in any case, afterwards I'm headed straight to the Dreaded Prefecture to give them the OFII form so I can get my recepisse because my carte expires tomorrow!! Talk about pile freakin poil! It's that time of the year again, folks, so please croisez those doigts for me that everything goes ok!

Kitty Wranglin etc.

2009-09-17T21:19:00.003+02:00

So it's been 2 weeks since I posted. Whoops-a-daisy! Whoops-a-daisy? Did I really just write that? Does that make anyone else think of that scene from Notting Hill? Anyways, I just wanted to FINALLY post the video(s) of my appart that I've been meaning to film/post since foreeeeever. I 've been in this apt since Feb, that's 8 whole months! Time really does fly. I still am so glad I left the colocdom when I did even if it means I've had to dip(or in the case of this month: plunge) into my decouvert pool several of those 8 months...sidenote, is it the end of October yet? Money issues aside, getting back into the swing of things here in Rennes and at school hasn't been too much of a challenge so far. My scheduling was annoying, yes, but I knew it would be like that, so at least it wasn't a surprise like last year. It was actually even more complicated this year as I have more hours at New School than last year which meant that I was only able to work a couple hours at Old School(ie just with the CPs, not the GS.) This is because the extra time I had to fulfill was filled by teaching 2 hours of grammar to bilingual 8th graders. Let me just say, gramer sux. That being said, I'm doing what I can and will get what needs to be done done, but I'm hoping next year to have any extra hours used teaching bilingual 2.5-11 year olds aka not college kids! On verra. At least my group is small(11 kids), motivated and generally nice and I can't say it's not interesting to hear their life stories about how they came to be bilingual, trilingual, etc. Ca donne envie, quoi!

In about 2 or 3 weeks, I'll start with my classes with the university students on Wednesdays which will be good for the bank account, but I will miss my free Wednesdays. Quoique I haven't been really even able to sleep in (kitten's fault) and I've oftentimes had errands to do and by errands, I clearly mean crops to grow on farmville, so it's not thaaaat big of a deal to go back to work there afteral, I suppose. Speaking of work, I have yet to receive my carte de sejour "salarie" because I haven't had a convocation for my visite medicale yet! My current CDS expires...next week! Yikers! I guess this means another trip to the dreaded Prefecture to try and get a recepisse whilst I await the visite. I was hoping to not have everything be so last minute, but I am not in the least bit surprised. Lets just hope the OFII hasn't lost my dossier and by lost, I clearly mean jete-d in the poubelle! This is not the ideal time either with all the new assistants coming, fin bref, whatev.

Besides school and the usual paperwork shuffle, I've been spending a lot of time kitty wrangling. Owen is a bully and Sienna has had it jusque la and is fighting back and it's getting old. I never expected them to be snuggle buddies or anything, but a bit of tolerance would be nice. I'm hoping it will change as he grows up and maybe after he gets his, cough, man parts removed? Only time will tell. For now I'm running around the appart like a crazy woman trying to get him out of everything he's getting into. Let me just say it is hard for such an organized person as myself to deal with a kitten causing a mess in every.single.room. Yes, he finds a way! He is sleeping in the kitchen on work nights, but I might do a test next week to see if I sleep through the night ok with him roaming free. Cats are hard work sometimes! I think that's it from me, folks, but I wish you a happy Friday and a tres soon!

Previously on Leah en France Part Trois...

2009-08-30T16:00:00.010+02:00

Not to waste any time explaining why I was gone, here's what you missed:

February

I moved in here.

March

I have no idea what happened in March. There aren't any holidays, this month blows, nuff said. Haha!

April

My parents came here. We also went there and there.

May

I had my Cremaillere and dressed up as her. Also, I worked maybe 2 days because of all of the jours feries.

June

I got very anxious to be done teaching these guys.

July

When in France, I went here, here and there. Then, once back in the US in early July, I went here to visit with family and friends after a 13 year lapse!

August

I got one of these. His name is Owen. Stay tuned to see what happens with these two.

In other news, I missed my freakin blogiversary! It's been 3 years, can you believe it? Apparently I've posted just 165 times, so that's an average of 55 times per year. However, we all know I've sucked at posting these past 7.5 months and then the first year I wasn't thaaaat post-y, so I highly doubt the average is so perfectly spread out. Anyhoo, no excuses, I'm the only one to blame for not keeping a written record of my vie. That being said, I really don't know how posting is going to go this year. I really would like to get back into it, but I might be just as busy as last year socially and workwise. I've been given 2 more hours at New School so that they can sponsor my CDS(long story, but it needed to be done because of regulations), but as of yet, I'm not sure what I will be doing for those 2 extra hours since all the teaching time has been filled up. I might have to surveille the kids or some shiz like that which is all fine and dandy, but I had worked it out so that I could have one afternoon off, so I'm hoping whatever the directrice has me doing will be either before or after school or during lunch hours. On verra. I also have yet to hear from the directeur of Old School which is sort of my fault because I kind of partir-ed like a voleur this summer, but to my credit, I did call his portable last week and have yet to hear from him. I'll have to call again this week at the school itself and see what the dilly is. If they don't need me, it could mean 2 afternoons off and also, one less job to have to lesson plan for and worry about, but it's also less money(well, the same amount as last year, but I was going to make more with those 2 extra hrs.) So, I'm sort of torn. Basically, if they still need me, I'll do it and if they don't, I don't plan on getting something to take its place.

The rentree is tomorrow...ahhhh! It's kind of scary to think about working with all those little ankle biters again. It'll be easier than last year just due to having last year's experience, but there are always things that will change and new kids and teachers. We actually have a lot of new people coming in! There's a new lady in maternelle to replace the collegue who retired last year. There's also a new stagiaire working with one of the CE2 teachers, but I probably won't see her very much unless I have that class the day she teaches. Then, there are 2 new people taking over another CE2 class and a new CM1 prof. This is all because we had a split level CE2/CM1 class last year because there weren't enough kids to have a full class of each level. Well, the person who taught that was just a sub essentially. Then, this year since we had enough kids to separate that split level CE2/CM1 into 2 different classes, we had to get 2 new teachers or in our case, 3 new teachers. So, that's already 5 new people. Plus, we need a new aid to work with one of the kids in maternelle who needs to have their own personal helper. And, we also have 2 new teachers in the International Program for the bilingual and high level English students. So, 8 newbies all together once everything takes shape! It'll be interesting. Tomorrow, almost all of those peepz should be there minus the International profs who will prob be at the College/Lycee meetings. I have to be completely honest and say that I am kind of dreading all those meetings because a)I really don't like small talk and I still kind of feel like the new girl b)so much of the info at the meetings is not for me since I don't really collab with any of the profs, more like work alongside them if that makes sense and 3)I could be sleeping. Tear.

In reality, all I need to do is set up my classroom with new material, decorate the door, update some of the posters and set up my schedule. Last year, I spent the first 2 days of school setting up my schedule and it was a lot of waiting and then running around like a crazy monkey from classroom to classroom and during recess trying to track down teachers and get them to choose a time slot. Some were easy, but most were a pain in the A. There were some that were difficult just to juggle all the things their class had going on (recess, gym, choir, catechese, International English class, wine tasting, cheese sniffing, etc) and then there were those that really weren't willing to compromise for no good reason. Although, while I'd love to get the scheduling done before the kids come back (ie Thursday), in a way it does make sense to have one full week with the kids so I can have all of the classes in one go rather than miss out on Mon and Tues classes this week. I guess I'll find out tomorrow or Tues or Thurs or Fri for that matter! I just want to get the beginning over with and ease right back on in to teaching, this before stuff is no fun. I also am looking forward to the next vaca, not gonna lie.

In terms of the future, the plan is set for a couple more years in France. The school is sponsoring my CDS and all that is left to do is have my visite medicale and then pop on over to the Prefecture(I say that dripping with sarcasm, has anyone in history ever popped on over to the Prefecture?) The whole process has gone relatively smoothly(so far) except for the little blip with the hours which cost us some time, however it was probably for the better because had we known this earlier and had the Labor Dept given the OK, I would've probably been gone when my medical visit was scheduled which I'm sure would be fun to reschedule....NOT. So as it stands, I'm waiting to get a med visit scheduled sometime soon(as my CDS expires at the end of Sept), then go to the Pref for my CDS(well, my recepisse, but whatev) and I will have a CDD for 2 years(summer pay, woohoo!) and a CDI at the University where I teach 3 hrs per week. But, I am waiting for something to go wrong, so I will be holding my breath until I get that laminated carte in my mains! I think that is it from me, I'd better be off, I've got some kitties to wrangle!

Bisous,

Crazy Cat Lady aka Leah en France

Strength

2007-06-08T17:01:00.001+02:00

Well, after battling it out with the Rectorat and then after not hearing from them and receiving an email from the CIEP saying they had bien recu'd my dossier, I started to feel a teense better that I did still have the option of being an assistant if ever anything turned up. Well, being experienced with one person saying something and then another person saying something COMPLETELY different, I thought it best to email the CIEP and just confirm everything was fine. Well, at first they did, then I got this second email...

Après vérification, il apparaît que vous avez déjà travaillé deux fois en tant qu’assistante de langue, il ne vous est donc plus possible de postuler à nouveau. Merci de prendre bonne note de ce message.

Ok, well, since my contract isn't up yet, I assumed she was referring to 2004-2005 when I was an assistant and 2005-2006 when I renewed but didn't accept and according to them, quit. So, I wrote her back a nice, but firm email indicating that this year is my second time as an assistant and next year would be my third. The rules-as I knew them from the responsable for the primaire assistant ie someone WHO SHOULD KNOW-were that you can be an assistant three times total, with a max of two years in a row. Well, he told me the WRONG INFO which I found out in this next email...

Je pensais avoir été suffisamment précise, vous ne pouvez PAS renouveler votre contrat, la limite étant de deux années.

Wow and I thought that someone in an important role would not be so bitchy and also not use bubbly font that is inappropriately large and childish for even a 7th grader. Oh, I'm sorry, was that rude? So, this was my response because I couldn't let her get away with that, but I also wanted to be the bigger and better person...

Bonjour Mme Snarky,
Non, ce n'était pas clair, je pensais quand vous avez dit que j'ai déjà travaillé deux fois en tant qu'assistante que vous ne parliez pas de cette année comme ce n'est pas encore terminé. Donc, Monsieur Frenchy McFrencherson ne m'a pas indiquée la bonne information quand il a dit que j'avais le droit d'etre assistante une troisième fois. Merci quand-meme pour votre réponse et bonne journée.

I'm sorry, but telling someone something when you don't know that it is 100% correct and then leading someone to believe for three months(and what would have been longer had you not contacted them!) that their dossier was fine and dandy, is JUST SIMPLY WRONG. I'm pissed off because now that is one more possibility that is in the gutter. I don't know what I will do next year and I know if I have to go back, I will be ok. But, for now, I want to stay and I'm soooooo unbelievably annoyed at how impossible it is all seeming. I will do my best to keep positive and I can be an m'effer when I'm motivated, but Dieu give me strength! Wish me luck:/

PS-The red and all caps are supposed to represent my ANGER. Umm, in case you didn't get that already...

PPS-You might be wondering why there is a picture of a teeny bopper hunk. Well, when I did a search for Strong in google images this is what came up and I thought it was too funny and I needed to lighten the mood. Almost all my posts are me venting(sorry bout that.) Plus, who didn't love Boy Meets World? Haha!

Appart Hunting 101...Agence Style

2009-01-17T16:17:00.005+01:00

So, I know a few of you specifically are interested to know more about apt hunting en France. As someone who is currently going through this, I deem myself capable of informing the masses(and by masses I mean the 2 or 3 of you reading this.) So, here she goes:

I was looking for a T1 bis or a T2. T1 bis can have an alcove so that you could put a curtain or divider up and separate your chambre. T2 has a chambre separee. Lesson 1 of apt hunting: The proprio can call an apt a T1 bis a partir du moment ou la cuisine est separee, so be careful, T1 bis doesn't always mean it has a renforcement for your lit! I technically started my search three months before I wanted to move. I signed up with Seloger, Logic Immo, My local newspaper, Leboncoin, Vivastreet and Pap to get email notifications of available apts and then checked the sites occasionally on my own as well. However, there was little to nothing available at that time, so I didn't actually head to the agencies until 2 months before I wanted to move. I went to 3 agencies at that point and it was pretty evident that there was very little available because 2 months ahead of time was "too early." I think it's definitely worth it, though, to go to several places and see if there even is anything available. I found that online, it sometimes says the date that apparts are dispos, but not all that often, so it's always good to go into the actual agencies. Lesson 2: If you see something online that interests you, go to the agency in person and ask about it. I did that for one place I thought looked great and it wasn't available, but I ended up having 4 visits with that agency qd-mm, so you never know.

Due to Xmas vacation, I didn't get to head out to more agencies until early January. At that point aka 2 weeks ago, I went to 2 agencies that had nothing and then the third had something that was maybe interesting, so I arranged a visit for that same week on Wednesday. Then, I went to an agency that a friend had used and I scheduled 2 more appts for that Wednesday. I also arranged for 3 visits with another agency(where I liked the apt, but it wasn't available anymore) for that following Thursday and I brought along a friend. Lesson 3: Always try to have at least a second opinion! Well, that ended up only being 2 visits because the 3rd apt's proprio decided to sell. So, that first week, I had 5 visits total and only 1 apt that interested me out of all of them. The next week, I arranged for 2 visits on the Tuesday and again had that same friend come(that was the apt in the quartier des putes!) On Wednesday, I had previously arranged for a revisit(you can do that!) of the apt I liked from the prior week, but I got a call on Tuesday night saying the agency had to cancel the revisit because the apt had been rented that day. Lesson 4: If you like something, do NOT hesitate. This apt did have a few questionable factors such as only containing a kitchen sink, but I later learned not to be surprised by a cuisine non-equipee. Tant pis, someone else got a reasonably-priced apt in the quartier I wanted, I knew it just meant something better would come along.

Though disappointed by the loss of the apt I liked so much, I continued on and scheduled 3 more appts for the following Thurs and 3 for the following Fri, these both ended up being only 2 visits each because those 2 apts had current locataires in them, so the agency didn't have the keys and had to get their approval, but of course, they didn't call the agency back. Oh well. So, the apts on Thursday, I had that same friend come again(this means she did 6 visits out of a total of 11 and I'm really glad for it.) The apts on Thursday were nice enough and located in the centre historique, but one was cher and the other was on the 5th(!!) floor with no elevator. Which brings me to Lesson 5: Know what your criteres de recherche are. If you know(like me) you're lazy, don't even waste time seeing something that's up 5 flights with no elevator. I should have listened to myself and not bothered, I can't imagine moving in and carrying furniture and boxes up 5 flights or even carrying my heavy weekly groceries or my heavy school bag. Although, Lesson 6: Don't rule an apt out just for one small thing. Know your deal breakers of course, but see things even if the photos look ugly for example(case in point: the first apt I liked looked very moche sur les photos, but ended up a lot better in person.)

Which brings me to Fridays visits. I saw one apt in the quartier I wanted, but there wasn't a separate bedroom or a way to separate the living room to make a bedroom and this was one of my deal breakers. I gave it a chance even though I saw it said T1 and usually that just means the piece de vie is one big room, but it just didn't do it for me. Then, the other apt I saw, I was wary of the quartier, but though it's not located exactly where I'd want, it at least had more of a neighborhood than the one in the quartier des putes aka Ho Hood. It met all my criteres plus more and was really nice. And, my big news, I've dropped off a dossier for this apt and as soon as I can get 3 quittances de loyer from my proprio this week as well as a garant all I'll need to do is wait. I even got the proprio to baisse the prix by 2o euros. Lesson 7: Don't rule out an apt that's at the maximum of your price range or slightly over it. As you can tell from my experience, negociating can be had. If you find it expensive, let peepz know! Lesson 8: If you notice an apt you like that could do with a paint job or new tapisserie, ask the agency if it's already set to happen and if not, if they could ask the proprio to do so. It maybe won't happen, but it's always worth a try.

For my dossier, I needed:*

1 copy of my CDS

3 last quittances de loyer

3 last bulletins de salaire

2 last avis d'imposition**

1 RIB

1 garant and all their papiers

1 attestation d'assurance multirisques habitation (in order to get the cles)

*They also asked for a livret de famille, but I explained how I was 'mercan and they didn't have a problem. Btw, they could also ask for your contrat de travail, this agency just happened not to.

**I'm sure if you only have 0 or 1 of these, you could also explain the situation and they would be understanding.

So, now it's a waiting game, on verra if my dossier will be accepted, but the apt is pretty sweet, so I hope so. I'll fill you in on it more once I know if it's a yay or nay!

Grippe-ness

2009-01-13T16:14:00.004+01:00

So, I am home with the grippe. It started yesterday before work, but at that point, I thought it was just a mix of lack of sleep, a stuffy bus ride and cigarette smoke at 8 AM. I knew I wasn't doing too well when, at the end of the afternoon, I absolutely had to give my whole class sitting down because standing up was too uncomfortable. I told my kids I was sick so they had to be quiet-this is one of the few times that they will (for once) voluntarily behave. I went home after school and laid around until bedtime when no sleeping was to be had. I was shivering cold, so I put on 4 layers of tops, 2 pairs of socks, slippers and at one point also had my jacket wrapped around me. I knew I would just get hot during the night, but I couldn't do otherwise. Well, I just couldn't get comfortable, I was cold, had a headache, had courbatures, was overall not doing well. However, I went to school anyways because I thought I would try to just get through the day and make it to tomorrow when I only have to work 2 hours. I guess I forgot how if in the states you come in when you're sick, you're a trooper, but in France, you're an evil, germ-spreader infecting everyone else around you. Once the teachers found out I was sick with a grippe, they said I really should head home. Obviously so I get better, but also so I don't infect them or the kids! In the end, they were right that it wasn't that smart to be there when I was in that state, so I talked to the directrice and she gave me the green light to go home.

When I got home this morning, I took my flu meds and went right to bed and that's pretty much where I've been since. It has done me worlds of good and though I am still sick, I do feel better. I think I'm actually going to go to the apt visits I had scheduled for tonight because I don't know when I'll be able to reschedule otherwise and I really need to make a decision by the end of this week. The only apt I've liked so far will be my apt of choice when I resee it tomorrow if neither of these that I'm seeing tonight are goodies. But, I'd still like to feel like I've explored my options as much as possible in 2 weeks' time. So, seeing these apts today will mean I'll have seen 7 apts total which I think is a fair number, although it doesn't exactly feel as such when 3 of the 5 I've seen so far have been immediate no, no, nos. Oh well. Hopefully 1 of the 2 today will be a yes, yes, yes. Although, a couple copines told me that the apt building(the 2 apts are in the same building) is in the quartier des putes. Umm, Rennes even has a quartier des putes? That's news to me! I knew there was an area where the drag queens hang, but I didn't know there was a whole quartier for the prostitues! On that note, I'm off!

Warning: blog post is longer than it appears

2009-01-08T23:13:00.011+01:00

So, I've gotten a few requests(hi Crystal and Emma!) for a blog post and hordes(over statement of 2009) of people asking me where the F I've been. Umm, doing stuff? Duh. I can't really say what I've been doing, I barely remember what I did yesterday! That's not true. I checked and my last post was from Dec 1st. Wowza. I know I had soirees up the wazoo all through December, went to the K&K 200th episode bash in Paris, had tons of lesson planning to do, then was sick, then got ready to go home for xmas break, then was home and was busy watching Food Network all the live long day, then I got back on NYE, got thrown into a soiree hosted at my apt but thrown by my amis because I didn't get back til 17h, then I slept a lot because I was all jet lagged-ed and then again with the tons of lesson planning and adding in test correcting, then this week has been apt hunting and that little(understatement of 2009) summary should bring you up to speed! To tell you the truth, I didn't really think that much about blogging or when I did, I just didn't have anything that great to share. And we allll know how well-written I like to keep my posts...or not.

What you should know:

-It was great fun at K&K's 200 episode and I am now officially "Intern Leah." I think that just means I'm supposed to do stuff for them and get paid in M&Ms. I'll gladly take it...as long as by M&Ms, they clearly mean mojitos and margaritas! Je deconne. Yeah, twas fun, met some bloggas(hi Andromeda and ASL!), stayed with my fave Canadian bloguesse(is there a word to distinguish female bloggers because I feel like there should be), saw the ksam and the kkarina and had some rhum-rhums finally. Yay!

-Home was awesome. I was so happy to see my family and be back home. And it snowed! The morning after I got back. I freaking love waking up to a beautiful, white, untouched layer of snow on the ground. It continued to snow throughout the day as well. I heart snow. I have a pic above that I took at like 7 AM or whatever heinous hour the jet-lagged me got up at. Oh and for the first time in a long time, I gave into jetlag and ended up going to bed super early and rising with the roosters(if we lived on a farm which we don't so don't ask why I said that) which was one of the worst ideas EVER because it threw me off schedule for the first 5 days or so.

Xmas eve was at my house and my mom and I made some delish wassail, olive garlic cheese dip(recipe below if I remember), Kariner-beaner's stuffing, roasted chicken with a white wine sauce and veg, eclair cake, apple crumble and other delices. It was so good, but we were SO fullll by the end. Don't worry, I still managed to shove my face with eclair cake at the end. Don't get me started on that...I might still be full from everything I ate over the Christmas hols. I don't believe in resolutions, but I do plan on getting back into faire-ing some sport in the near future which is much needed! Anyway, all in all a good time and I didn't feel ready to leave at all after just 12 days. I think I was spoiled by spending 6 weeks over the summer, those 12 days just flew by! Luckily, I was sent out in style by landing a spot in business class because I arrived so late at the airport due to traffic and there were no more economy seats. I got a seat that reclined, tons of legroom, real silverware and plates, a comfy blanket and the best part!!, a privacy screen so I could pretend the person next to me didn't exist. That was sa-weet. I actually got to sleep more than my usual little snippets of 5 mins at a time before my head jerks up because I'm so effing uncomfortable. I know this because I missed breakfast! I was a little bitter about it at the time, but it turned out ok because I got a bit of food on my London-Paris flight. Yes, I had a connection. I miss Air India's direct flights, but I actually got to sleep for once, so it didn't seem too long. Then later, per usual, I slept like a bebe on the train...that thing rocks me to sleep, I swear!

-I'm on the apt hunt. I've had 5 visits in the past 2 days with 3 different agences and I do have one candidate that is good placement-wise(a bit closer to centreville), c correct au niveau du prix, it's lumineux and has an American salle de bains!!! The major downside is that the kitchen is pas du tout equipee and literally just has the kitchen sink. Isn't there an expression with something about everything but the kitchen sink...this is the opposite, nothing except the kitchen sink. Oh wait, isn't it something about taking everything but the kitchen sink? Then, n-mind, this would be the same. I'm tired. So yeah, that is a big downside because it means money, money, money, money, mo-ney, MO-NEY! But, it might well be worth it. I think I'm going to schedule a revisit tomorrow and hope no one has snatched it up! I have 3 more visits planned for Monday, have emailed a few particuliers and then was thinking of going to another big agence in town tomorrow. I want to be all set by the end of next week. I'm going to be moving in before I know it and I have trop hate, I really do. Thank goodness I'll be moving on a weekend and thank goodness for friends that can borrow their rents' big cars! Also, I'll be on vacation the weekend after, so that should give me plenty of time to get stuff done that I won't have time to do during the week. Yay! Ok, y'all, I's reals tireds, donc I'm gonna go couche myself, but bonne nuit to you all and if I don't blog again soon, just know I really am trying to keep up with your blogs(although jeez you guys write a lot more than me...I had over 2oo posts to read on bloglines after I got back from xmas!) Toodles!

Recipe for delish dip:

1 cup green olives(with pimiento)

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 cup cream cheese

1 garlic clove

Mix olives and cheeses in a food processor until a little bit chunky but not completely smooth. Grate in garlic. Eat copious amounts!

Quadrice Turkey Days

2008-12-01T23:48:00.006+01:00

No, I still have no clue what comes after thrice, but then again, I didn't actually try to look it up either. Ah well, quadrice(or fleetine!) works just fine for me! So, last week was the week of Thanksgivings. I have never eaten more than one Thanksgiving meal ever before in America. Ok, that's not entirely true, I guess you could say two meals actually if you count the leftovers the next day! I had one T-giving in the afternoon on Thurs which was arranged by my school. Pretty sweet. A few of my coworkers actually brought in some decorations and made little quizzes for people to answer about the history of Turkey Day that were placed on each table. It made me very thankful to be a part of a pretty awesome program and team. The Frenchies seemed to be willing(except for that guy that got fries) to try the meal(they had an alternative option) and everyone said how much they enjoyed it. An added bonus was discovering I'm now getting even more of a discount than before on my lunches at the school(thank goodness considering I eat there M, T, R&F and it's not cher, but it can add up!)

Thurs night which is the scene of the pics above was a minigiving/thanksmini at Yuri's place. It was nice to do an actual meal on the day of and in someone's home and Yuri had the wonderful idea, so how could we not take her up on it? It was a smaller scale thing because we all were going to another big T-giving the next night...so I bought some English cranberry sauce, made my cornbread mix and made garlic bread. We had escalopes of dinde, mashed potaters, gravy, corn and a broccoli casserole. For dessert, we had brownies and those patisseries you see above. We were only 5.5 people(1 came later hence the half) so, needless to say, not all of those puppies got eaten. No they weren't actual dogs, excuse the dad language! It was a nice, relaxing meal entre amis.

Fri night was a big shindig with about 25 people that was fun, but not really Thanksgiving-y. Plus, I made stuffing, but didn't have time to cook it beforehand and on top of everything, I ended up being extremely late, so the stuffing didn't get cooked enough and wasn't all croustillant like it should be. Tant pis. On Sat, I headed to Fougeres to a T-giving hosted by a coworker and her pacse. I was glad to be invited(we were 15!) and everyone there was very nice, although I realized at one point that though there were two other girls by themselves it was only because their counterparts stayed home and that meant I was the only single person there. Kind of blechy. But, I didn't have time to focus on that because, as you can see...food galore! Real turkey, real cranberries(and even the fake kind with the can rings...love it!), mashed potaters, green bean casserole, 3 kinds of stuffing(I made a second batch of mine and it was properly cooked this time and delish, thanks to Karina for the recipe I've used 2 yrs now!), sweet potaters, green bean casserole, cornbread(with cranberries!) and even biscuits! For dessert, apple pie and yummy pumpkin pah as well! Many laughs were had and games were played. Turned out to be quite a good night! So, voila, there is my "remember the time I had 4 Thanksgivings in 3 days" story. Hope your T-givings were as bons as mine!

Top ten...

2008-11-24T23:35:00.007+01:00

Reasons why I CANNOT wait to move...

~Fishy smelling kitchen because the oven fan isn't put on.

~Roomate being in the salle de bains at the EXACT moment every morning that I need to be in there...I know he knows...grr.

~Cleaning&organization all according to me...mwahaha!

~Decorating!!

~Exciting plans!!!

~Kitty can have free reign of the apt and not be enfermee in my chambre when the others are here.

~Having a place for my parents to stay when they visit me in the spring!!

~No more dishes piled up...and if they are, it'll be all MY fault!

~Singing out loud to my heart's content!!

~Wearing pyjamas on the weekend for hours on end and not having to feel like a lazy bum!!!

Things I'm thankful for this holiday season...

~Moving(sorry, couldn't resist!)

~Rennes' current development(the big new movie theater, all of the construction of apt buildings, the renovation of facades as well as many other changes.) Rennes is a happening spot!

~Celebrating Thanksgiving not once, not twice, not thrice, but FOUR TIMES!!

~The fact that it's almost Thanksgiving and we all know after T-giving, Xmas celebrations begin!

~Xmas decorations in my room and classroom(ok, so I started a bit early!)

~Sending out my homemade Xmas cards!

~Xmas lights up and soon to be lit around the city!!

~The American goodies waiting to be brought back in my bedoroom at home that I couldn't fit into my suitcase(s)!

~My job(s)!!

~My family, friends(espec my new enlargened group of anglo buddies in Rennes) and kitty!!!!!!

Could she be cuter...

2008-11-23T12:50:00.002+01:00

...I don't think so!

Random comme d'hab

2008-11-17T20:28:00.006+01:00

I think I'm supposed to be eating dinner with my colocs ce soir which is about as tempting as punching myself in the face, so instead I choose to blog. I know I'm still almost as absent as ever, but for good reasons. What with teaching, preparing for teaching and lotsa socializing(note vid above of the third of three Soiree Raclettes in the past 2 weeks), I really just haven't had the motivation/inspiration to sit down and blog. My brain is constantly thinking of about a bajillion things at once and blogging is usually not one of them. High on the list is moving plans and thinking about allllll of the things I will have to purchase when I move. I mean, I have the bare minimum furniture-wise(a couch, 4 chairs and a bed!), but if I were to make the list of everything else I'm missing, it'd be pretty dern long! Though I did more than double my salary from last year(which was pretty meager to begin with, so I'm definitely not rolling in the dough by any means), I've had a lot of stuff to pay off. 140 for a mattress+sommier, 110 for surcharges of our EDF/GDF, 130 in Taxe d'habitation, 500 for a plane ticket home...that's 900 easy euros gone right there. Thank goodness for the bank loan I got because there's no way I would have been able to get by otherwise. And by no way I mean no way besides asking the rents, but I want to avoid that if I can because I am a quasi-grownup afterall.

So, I won't be buying out any expensive furniture store anytime soon, but I will be hitting the Trocante, Ebay and a couple places I've heard of in Rennes where you can get new products with not-so-grave defauts(like dents, scratches, wrong colors) for way cheaper. Although I don't want to get too much before I move because that's just more stuff to have to move! I think I'll wait for a)the soldes which tombes bien because I'm moving end of Jan/debut fev, so I can hopefully grab some of the bigger, more expensive things then. But, I'm thinking even the little things I don't have are going to add up fast...vaccuum, broom, mop, toaster, microwave along with all the cleaning supplies I will have to buy as well. My detail-oriented personality(read:a touch of OCD) makes me want to do things like guesstimate prices of aluminum foil+mop rags+windex=?? I guess I shouldn't think about it too much in detail because it might, maybe just maybe, stress me out a bit. I think focusing on the caution, first month's rent and agency fees are quite enough, thank you very much. Plus, not all of what's on my lists(yes, you read that right, that's lists with an 's') is really priority. Take cheese grater for instance, I can live without it. Yes, my lists are specific. I should do that for a job except that I don't wish to organize other people's lives, just my own.

So yeah, I've got moving on the brain a bit. Plus, exciting plans for when I do actually move(Yur, you know what I'm talkin bout!), so I'm looking forward to actually getting stuff sorted. The sooner, the better. It's a maladie, I tell ya! Sur ce, here's a little meme that I've wanted to do for a while but for aforementioned reasons, I never got to. Taggees, find your names at the bottom.

Six things you probably don't know about me:

1) I only give myself 30 mins in the morning to get ready. I value sleep too much, so I take showers at evening or nighttime and I oftentimes wake up with yesterday's makeup(yes, I know this is bad.)

2) I am very sensitive to certain noises(what's interesting is that my sis is like that with smells and can't go near a perfume shop.) I was that girl that stood inside watching the fireworks from afar because the sudden BOOM! just didn't bode too well with me. I've gotten more used to it as I've gotten older, but it still bothers me a bit. It's now translated into standing far away from people opening bubbly wines or champagnes, although that might also have to do with my fear of things going into eyes.

3) I can tell when meeting someone for the first time if they are someone who I could be good friends with. I haven't been wrong yet. Bizarrely enough though, unless it's blatantly obvious like they are a jackface or a creepster, I have a hard time placing exactly what it is about people that just doesn't rub me the right way.

4) I have a strange fear of falling into open spaces. My mall back home has its' second floor overlooking the first and I avoid being near the railing like the plague. I constantly think about what if someone accidentally bumped into me or what if I was leaning on it and the glass broke. This goes for sewer grates, metro stations and any cavernous space of any sort pretty much.

5) I can never remember who I tell what to. For instance, now that I'm thinking about it, I might have mentioned my fear of falling into open spaces on here before, but I'm not sure. In some ways I have a really good memory(like useless random facts or memorizing things), but other times, I have a hard time remembering very specific details of a general thing if that makes sense. I did well in high school for instance because it was a lot of memorization(which is a big part of why languages came so easy to me), but college was more difficult because I am not so analytical and it takes time for me to organize my thoughts.

6)I am random. I start talking about one thing and then end up in a completely different place. Hence the blog. Oh and speaking about organization, I am so organized sometimes I forget how organized I am and try to do things like a normal person. Say I'm going to use the same photocopy for 2 different classes. Well, I will do something like make a photocopy and put it in the folder for each class, so that I can have the copy in the 2 places I need it instead of having to remember that I need to transfer it from one folder to the other after I'm done with the first class. Then I file the orignal away because I like to get $h!t done. Then, I proceed to forget that I have done so and spend time looking for the original(that I have already filed away) so I can make copies for the second class and then remember that I am so ridiculously organized that I already not only have filed away the original, but also have the copy that I need in the folder for that class. Yeah, so that probably only made sense to me. What was I saying about being random again, I forget if I mentioned that here or not. Cycle vicieux.

Je tagge: Fellow Canuck, Going to Episode 200!, hopefully also going to Ep. 200!!

Two outta three ain't bad!

2008-11-10T16:35:00.004+01:00

So, the apartment hunt has officially begun. While I've been checking out ads on the internet for a couple months now, I was waiting until I actually sent out my lettre recommandee with accuse de reception and got the confirmation that my proprio got it and then hurdled the task of telling my current roomies. Well, now that that's all said and done, it was time to tackle the beast of going to the agences to see what's available since not much is online for when I want to move. I headed out today not knowing how it was going to go since I've never been to the agencies before as I found my colocation on the internet. I decided to go to the three places near me figuring that a)since I want to stay in this hood, they might be the best bet for that and b)since they're close by, if I ever need to stop in for whatever reason, it would be very convenient.

First agence-I walk in and two younger girls are at the accueil. They both are very friendly and when I say that I know it might be a bit early(seeing as all the annonces they had outside were for at least a month before I want to move), one tells me it's never too early to search for an apartment. She takes down my info as well as my general preferences and says that the woman who takes care of this is busy today, but she'll give me a call once something comes up. I then proceed to the second agence.

Second agence-I walk in and the lady at the desk walks away, umm not really a good sign. Luckily, she redeems herself by calling out her colleague's name saying there is someone waiting to be helped. Phew. New lady gets down to business and takes down the details of what I'm looking for. She then tells me the person is out today who would be able to help me, but asks for my name and number so that she can contact me once she has done some recherches. She writes down Mlle Leah until I correct her and say Leah is my first name, umm duh. On to the third!

Third agence-I walk in and lady is on phone. I patiently wait for her to finish and remark on how freakin hot it is in the place. Me hates the heat. Strike one. The lady finally gets off the phone and I explain that I'm looking to rent an appart etc and she directs me to her collegue in the next room. Collegue says hi and then just sort of waits for me to talk. Awkward. Aren't real estate agents supposed to act like your new bff so they can get your money? She should learn a lesson from the bankers. Strike two. So, I am awkward and say c'est vous, Christine? The lady at the reception didn't tell me her last name, though! Oh well. I go on to say I'm looking for an apartment a louer in a little under 3 month's time. She looks at me like I have two heads and says and I quote " c'est beaucoup trop tot pour chercher" and then tells me she only has 1 appart that she knows of that is even dispo then and that I should come back at the earliest at the end of December. I say umm ok, I'll repasse a ce moment-la. Thanks for the help(or not.) Strike three.

I'm an organized person, I can't help it, I like to get $h!+ done. Coming from the two places where they didn't hesitate to take down my info and where one girl even said it was never to early to look for a place, I thought it was pretty lame for the lady(from a reputable company, btw, that exists in the US) to look at me like I was crazy for already getting started with my search, then tell me she did have a place(ok, just one, but still, it's not like there were none!) and then not even take my info. It doesn't really make me want to go back there and actually I was hoping to get this sorted before I go home for Xmas anyways. Is that like super crazy of me? Now, I'm just hoping to hear soon from the other ladies and if I don't hear from them within a week, I'm thinking I'll go elsewhere just to leave my options open. Wish me luck!

Nouvelles

2008-11-04T11:08:00.003+01:00

Well, after my bit of drama a la Gossip Girl, I'm ready to share some major news with you people that I'm very excited about. I'm mooooooving! That's right, after over 2 years in the same ol' apartment and 5 different roomies later, I'm ready to casse-myself. I've always told myself this would be my last coloc and that the next place I lived would be my own appart. I wasn't in a rush to get out before, though, I mean it is gonna take a decent amount of sous to do this afterall. However, I think that the fact that my newest roomies are not people I ever see myself being friends with has really given me the extra push I needed to see this thing through. I told them last night which was a huge relief because for whatever reason it was making me nervous. But, I'm giving them plenty of time plus I already know of someone who might be interested in taking my place which means they could be set pretty soon and without paying 1 centime on appartager or any other roommate sites.

I, on the otherhand, have to actually find this magical, new apartment. I've been looking for about a month online and have seen very few things open for when I want to move. So, I'm thinking I'll have to go to the agencies and see if they do actually have stuff dispo and they just haven't put it online(thinking it's too early) or what. I really would love to stay in the same quartier I live in now-close enough to walk to downtown, lots of buses if I need to take them, but at the same time pretty calm seeing as I can hear ducks coin-coining as I write this. The only other place I would live would be centreville, but that usually means an apt that's either super cher or the size of my pinky, so on verra. In any case, I'm very excited and can't wait to find my new place and get all the perks that go along with it. Plus, decorating, hello? What could be fun-ner? So yeah, that's my big news and I honestly CANNOT wait!

PS-Go Obama!

Secrets, secrets are no fun

2008-11-02T23:06:00.005+01:00

So, I've always been one to believe in being honest with people. Honesty is the best policy, they say. It might sound a little Gertrude Goodie Two Shoes, but it's me. Yes, I've told some white lies in my time, but bold-faced lying just isn't my thing. I guess I can't say I've never done it before either, but it was when I was much younger and now I'm older and wiser. Or so I thought. Is it lying if you just purposely choose not to tell someone something? You know, just leaving something out. And is it good to tell the truth knowing it will make you feel much better(to have whatever it is off your chest), but make someone else feel much, much worse? How do you decide when someone needs to know something? Should you let time pass by and wait to say something? These are questions I find myself facing. I won't go into details, but help!

Vacation, all I ever wanted

2008-10-29T18:06:00.005+01:00

Hightlights of my holidays so far:

Watching ridiculous amounts of Gossip Girl

Running errands up the wazoo

Finalizing a very important decision that will mean a big change for this lady

Getting together my Halloween costume bits and pieces-just know that my costume involves a boa and a sparkly flower in my hair, details to follow later

Shopping for school supplies and magic pens!

Picking up my Tarte de Mes Jours!!!

And vacances aren't even over yet! I still have 4 more days plus a very exciting Halloweener party on Friday!

PS-Isn't that pic of the Go-Go's so deliciously 80s it hurts?

Long time, no blog!

2008-10-26T12:37:00.003+01:00

Howdy partners. It's been a while, eh? I've just been busy, busy with work life and social life and didn't get around to blogging. But I am now, very thankfully, en vacances so I figured this was the occas to get my bloggin on. I do have some exciting plans to share with you, but I will wait a bit until it is 100% set in stone. In other news, here are a few random tidbits of news and happenings from the past two weeks:

-Taught ex-Roomie#1 how to say "to drink one's face off" aka se bourrer la gueule, hilarity ensued when she could not remember the order and said things like "I'm going to drink off your face." Ouch, that sounds painful.

-I was wearing my normal comfy French shoes(the shoes all French people wear that aren't sneakers/tennis shoes, but just shoes) and one of my kiddies in a Moyenne-Grande class remarked "my brother has the same shoes, Leah!"...this encouraged the rest of the class to tell me that their brothers, fathers and uncles had the same shoes as well. Just because they're brown doesn't mean they're boys shoes, geez!

-Went to an anglophone party in a bar on Thurs night...one drink free and 2 drinks half-off, this meant I paid 4 euros for a demi, vodka orange and a pinte. I think I will be going back, umm, every Thursday. Especially because besides the cheap booze, it was so random, I couldn't help but heart it. A bar after my own heart.

-And probably one of the best bits of news of them all...I got my little slip of paper saying I could go to the dreaded Trefecture and pick up my Tarte de Mes Jours!!! Yessssss, victory is (almost) mine!

PS-Can YOU guess where I'll be on December 6th?

Sans voix

2008-10-13T23:24:00.006+02:00

Ok, this is going to probably be a lot of random ramblings aka a normal post from me...oh wait. So, I have officially lost my voice for the second consecutive October. And as we all know when something happens more than once, you can use the word usually. So, when I usually lose my voice(you know, every October and stuff), it really blows. Whisper-yelling just does not have the same effect on the chilluns when I'm trying to tell them to shut it. I seriously think it's because I go all summer being calm and not singing songs every 5 seconds and then the rentree comes and I jump back into being a source of enterntainment 5 days a week for approximately 5,000 hours. My voice just can't handle the strain and I lose it. I guess maybe the soiree from Friday night didn't help either...but, I know that's not the only reason. Since I've been back here for part trois of my life in France and I've been the main English teacher in my schools, I've also found my voice just gets worn out from time to time. I also feel like it's scratchier than it used to be, but that's probably just from all that lovely second hand smoke that has been poisoning my lungs since circa 2002.

Despite the whisper-yelling, being sans voix does have its' advantages. Par ex, I can get out of talking to people. Now, that might sound anti-social of me, but you're forgetting one thing, I am indeed anti-social. No, I'm clearly kidding...ish. But, there are some people that I just don't feel the need to waste my ever-so interesting conversations on. Oh, and that prof that was always closing the window that I had previously opened because I was 500 degrees from all the singing and bouge-ing actually opened the window for me today when she saw how overheated I was at trying to talk/sing despite my lack of voice. A lady after my own heart. Not for serious, but I definitely have grown to like her a lot more than I thought I originally would. It's funny because there was one teacher I was told to "be careful of" as she is a bit of a sheister and had taken one of the people who worked at NS before me "under her wing." Basically, she made her buy her groceries for class. She apparently looks down on teachers that don't have the official French teaching certification and comes off as really nice, but is secretly kind of evil. The funny part is that I confused two of the teachers' names and I was "being careful" of the wrong teacher for 3 or 4 weeks! Glad I cleared things up with a coworker! Their names are similar to be fair to me, I'm not a complete idiot afterall!

What else to update on? Well, the bilingual kiddies are still as adorable as ever. It's so weird for me to hear American kids in Rennes. It's such a shock to my ear and then it immediately reminds me of home and it turns into a comfort. Plus, how cool is it to be a truly bilingual child? I wish I had grown up speaking two different languages! My chilluns(if I have some) are definitely going to be bilingual, preferably in French. Maybe I'd better first get started working on a way to get those chilluns in the first place because I don't think the Immaculate Conception is going to happen to me any time soon. In other news, it's Yuri's bday this week. Yay! And I'm hosting her party at my apt. Double yay! And my roomies will be gone. Triple yay! To be honest, I've hesitated on having people over because my apt has kinda had the fun sucked right out of it since the new roomies moved in. No, that's not right, I shouldn't say that, what I meant to say is that my apt has DEFINITELY had the fun sucked right out of it since then. I do really miss my old roomies, it is true. Le sigh. Oh, and other funness is that my English friend, Jenni, is coming back to visit soon. She's been in Rennes as long as I have(aka when the dinosaurs roamed the earth) and was an assistant with me in 2004. She came back in 2006 and stayed until Aug 2008 when she went back to Engers to do her teacher training. I miss her tons and tons, so I'm wagging my tail in excitement at the thought of my lady back in town! On that note, I'd better be off to finish my lemon tea&honey and then straight to bed! Or, I'll be watching ANTM on youtube, you take your pick!!

Smarter than a first grader

2008-10-07T20:25:00.006+02:00

So, as I am now on Week 6 of the rentree at New School and Week 3 at OS, I have been reminded of some extremely important things all thanks to my lovely students:

Farts are funny. Admit it, you know you want to laugh. Also, making farting noises is almost just as good.

People dropping things(namely me) is also hilarious, it is funny to see your teacher look like a fool.

Sometimes you have boogers, often times you cannot be arsed to do anything about it.

When your teacher says the letter 'p', don't hesitate to repeat the word pipi over and over again. It is honestly one of the funniest things ever. Don't forget about "zee", what word would be funny to formulate using that letter? Oh, and don't you love how 'q' sounds like cul?? I know I do!

Also, tiger sounds like ta gueule and six sounds like...I'll leave you to figure that one out. It might be a toughie!

Yes, kids will be kids anywhere you go. I actually do have a bit of a difficult group in one of my first grade classes. They kind of donnent me envie to m'arracher les cheveux. I finally (along with their prof) had to lay down the law with them and make them realize that I mean business. They showed up the next class with drawings asking for my forgiveness for their rude and boisterous behavior. Whilst this was appreciated, I would just like you to NB some of the things they wrote...

pardon lia pour n'avoir pas ete sage

je m'aiscuse pour avoir rigole

lille morise(l'ile maurice)

...and that, mes amis, is why I'm smarter than a first grader!

A Tarte de MesJours Haiku

2008-10-01T18:43:00.005+02:00

Good surprise arrives

Wait of four hours, babies cry

Leave with blue in hand

Did you really think I could write just three lines? Of course not! So, I am happy to announce success is mine, mes amis! I was waiting for something in the mail which I luckily got this afternoon(after going back to give them a prioritaire SASE to replace the economique one I had given without thinking) and I rushed off to the dreaded Trefecture throwing all my official docs in my bag and leaving my wet laundry I had just taken out of the washer behind. On a whim, I grabbed the yearbook portraits I (for some reason unbeknownst to me) got from New School when I took my picture for my teacher card just in case my mugg shot-like photomaton pics didn't cut it. I got to the Tref at about 11:45 and my stomach did somersaults and had butterflies because I wasn't called until 16h(when it closes.) I luckily landed on the same lady who gave me my changement de statut carte last year who actually is capable of smiling and I showed her the list her coworker had given me 2 weeks prior of everything I needed and she seemed to think I had everything. She did take a second look at my mugg shot pics and said she didn't know if they would be ok for my actual carte because the top of my head was a tiny bit cut off. I handed over my yearbook pics and she said those would definitely be ok. Phew! I even made a joke about how I was better off with the yearbook ones anyways because the other ones were pas non plus tres jolies. She actually laughed and joked back which makes me think she might be human and not, in fact, a robot like the rest of them. I think the nice people at the Tref are starting to outnumber the meanies which makes me happy. Adios, droids! So, all that to say I have a brandy-new recepisse in my mains and all is bon for now!

Chill and Chili

2008-09-27T10:34:00.004+02:00

I am sure you are on pins and needles(tenter hooks?) waiting to hear about how I used my paprika. My life is just seriously THAT interesting. Before I get to that, a little update on my CDS situation. Well, basically, it's looking more positive than negative. I have a RDV on Monday morning and by Wednesday, I should have what I need to go to the dreaded Trefecture and get a new CDS. Then, in theory, the school should be providing me with a new one in a couple months once all the paperwork has gone through at the Labor Dept which is what was supposed to have happened 2 months before I started working. I know this couldn't have gone any differently and I don't believe on dwelling on the past forever and ever because ca sert a rien, but I will say it sucks that I ended up getting a bit F'ed over having to do all the work and pay myself en plus. But, it makes me feel better that the school is still planning on getting me a new CDS for this year. I did say planning, so we'll see how that goes.

I will miss some classes because of these RDVs which sucks, but the school is on board seeing as none of us really have any other choice. I had a meeting on Friday and had to cancel my last class of the day with my CP2 class, but instead of just cancelling their 40 min class and doing an entire 40 min class with the CP1 class, I did 20 mins with each class during the time the CP1s have class. That way, they'll both have learned the same amount. Then, on Monday morning, I will be missing a class of PS and PS/MS, but I figure that since they have class every day, it's not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things and I can always just not teach anything new on Monday to the other PS class I will have. Unfortunately, I will also be missing a CE2 and CM1 class, so I need to figure out what to do about that. I think I'll make a pretty light lesson plan for the other 4 classes of CE2s and CM1s and then give the teachers of the 2 classes I'm missing the material to give to the students. More practice than learning, quoi. I know the CM1 teacher does English with her kids, so that shouldn't be a problem. The CE2 teacher doesn't(it's another CE2 teacher that teaches all the CE2 classes), but I know he does speak a little English and I will just make the lesson simple. Reviewing stuff can't hurt. I really can't have some classes ahead of the others, so I think that's what I'll do in the CE2 and CM1 levels. Et voila!

Wow, I'm sure that was as interesting for you as it was for me. Moving on to the paprikaness. Thank you again to all of you for your wonderful recipe ideas, I will have to try some of them out in the near future. If you haven't guessed it already, I decided to make chili of the vegetarian sort. The veg part was only because I prefer chili with ground turkey and not ground beef, but I might try chicken chili at some point. I can't even imagine how much chili I would have had had I added meat, though. As it was, the recipe made enough chili that I definitely could/should have froze it to eat later because I'm a bit chili-ed out by now! Anyhoo, here is the recipe that I came up with based on a fairly simple basic recipe that I added to. I love how making chili just means throwing things into a pot and crossing your fingers. Haha, no it was good, though! Enjoy!

Leah's Veggie Chili
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion
1 cup celery(I used 4 stalks)
1 small red pepper
1 tbsp garlic(I used 3 cloves)
2 cans(16 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can(8 oz.) sweet corn
1 can(16 oz.) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tbsp. sugar(or cinnamon!)
2. cups chicken stock(I used 2 bouillon cubes and some water)
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. each basil, oregano, thyme, paprika, cumin, chopped bay leaf

Add olive oil to skillet on medium high and saute onions, celery, red pepper and garlic until onions are translucent.* Add all other ingredients in order and stir well. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add some sour cream(creme fraiche), fresh chives and/or cheddar(emmental) to garnish. Mange it up!

*This is where you would add 1 lb. of ground turkey or beef if you're making a meaty chili.

Cooking Cuestion

2008-09-21T18:53:00.002+02:00

So, in my quest to be a real live grown-up, I have recently been adding to my spice collection. I kept it basic for a long time with just the herbs and spices that I used all the time. Whenever I needed something for a recipe, I would buy it, of course, but I didn't have things just hanging around au cas ou. One of my recent additions is none other than paprika. I decided to buy it because I thought, hey my mom has this, so it must be good for something. I clearly neglected to think about the fact that my mom has spices from circa 1970 that just sit there collecting dust. Ok, I miiiight be exaggerating a tad, but you get the picture. She's a great cook, but she def has some spices she uses more than others. So, I find myself asking the question, what DOES one do with paprika? I know I can look online, but I'd love to hear from you cordon bleus out there that already have experience using paprika and maybe even have recipes on hand that you'd like to share. So, bring on the paprikaness!

Que dire, que dire?

2008-09-19T20:31:00.003+02:00

Yeah, so I've been absent as I'd predicted, but it's been for good(and bad) reasons. One being I've been really taking the time to get used to New School, new kids and new curriculum. When I'm there, I feel like I'm constantly running up, down and across three floors with not enough time to do everything because I'm late or the class is late from recess or the kids are not getting something I thought they would(although only because I'm unfamiliar...they're English is incredible!) This being the first year and having now prepared classes for many different grades all at different levels, I'm not yet adjusted to what they know. Also, I'm trying to develop rituels with them of my own as well as use some(many) of the things they've learned over the past few years with the person I replaced. It's an adjustment for everyone, some of the kids still call me the other teacher's name(although some of them just were doing it because they thought it was HIlarious) and I have about 450 kids' names to memorize. Holy fa-reakin cow! That's just at NS, btw. At Old School, I believe I'll have about 100 more. The students at the Uni can just forget it, quite honestly. There'll probably be about 50 of them which adds up to a ridiculous total of 600 students. Kindly picture me punching myself in the face right about here. Although, thank goodness for etiquettes on their desks telling me their names, well minus my 7 maternelle classes, but whatev. You learn the bad, I mean, poorly behaved kids' names pretty fast.

I start at OS next week which I'm not too worried about because I can do what I want and a lot of what I did last year, I can reuse. I will just have to add on some more subjects because I started a few weeks later last year. Also, it was the first year that they started English in GS, so I ended up teaching the GS and CP classes the same vocab except the CPs had more words to learn as well as a few questions/answers. So, I will review with the CPs what they did the year before for a few weeks, but then I will have to do completely new things since they are the old GS kids and obviously they're not going to learn the same things over again...duh. But, I have the freedom to do what I want, it'll just be the issue of taking the time to prepare. Sunday is going to be my preparation day for all of my students. Well, every Sunday for NS and then every other Sunday for OS and Uni as I will plan out 2 weeks' worth of lessons for OS since I only see them once a week and then the Uni classes will all pretty much learn the same thing. I have what the person before me did with the Uni students, so that will help, but I think I'm the most nervous about teaching in front of them. I mean, I'm not used to teaching a group of students and they're franchement not gonna be that much younger than me. It's not like I can distract them by singing Old MacDonald and I somehow doubt we'll be playing Duck, Duck Goose. Oh well, maybe they'd go for London Bridge? It's a bit more sophisticated, IMHO. No, in all seriousness or something close to that, I will be scared about teaching them because I'm just not used to it and I can't predict how it will go. Also, I'm glad it's based on teaching them about CVs, interviews, etc in the anglophone world, but there will no doubt be some grammaire mixed in there which I do not personally enjoy or feel entirely capable of teaching. But, ca y ira. I'm glad, en tout cas, to have these two week breaks between everything starting up and then at the end of Oct, it's Toussaint, baby! Yes, I am already thinking about my vacances, can you really blame me?

Autrement, the vie has been se passe-ing bien. Repas, soirees, cremailleres, all sorts of fun stuff. Well, minus my current dilemma with my CDS. I don't want to delve into it toooo much, but let's just say things aren't going as planned and the original type of CDS I was supposed to get is not looking like it's gonna happen. Time was not on my side, unfortunately, and most of what's happening now couldn't have been prevented. However, I'm waiting to hear back and every day that gets closer to my CDS expiring, makes me want to gerbe. I will have to keep you posted because I really don't know what's going to happen and I'm not trying to be dramatic, but things could possibly go very awry. So, please croise your doigts and doigts de pied for me because I might soon find myself in lots and lots of merde. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, but it's true!

Sinon, my new roomie moved in about 2 weeks ago now and things are going ok enough. I like her more than I thought I would, but she's just not gonna be my BFF or anything. I was hoping she would actually be around more to befriend Correcty(boy roomie), but such is not the case. Hopefully that changes soon because Correcty is still as lourd as ever. I also decided on top of being annoying, he's also not a very interesting person. Yes, I'm mean. No, he's not a bad person, but I just really miss my old roomies who may have gotten on my nerves with the boy's lack of doing dishes/cleaning and the girl's plan cul one room over, but we were good friends and had some pretty darn good times. Memoryyyy, all alone in the mooooonliiiiight, I can smile at the oooold days...ahem, no one else like a good "Cats" song? Ok, mes amis, I do believe it is time for me to be off...dinner and sleep are calling my name. But, as has now apparently become tradition(I say tradition because this is the second time I've done it...like how I say "usually" as long as something has happened twice), I will leave you with a list of some of the more "interesting" prenoms I've noticed at school and what I think of them. Many of them are the equivalent of say, Gertrude, Bea, Pearl, etc then there are the ones that sound like they should be preceded by "Count" and "Duchess" and, course, the ones that are a bit bizarre. Enjoy!

Capucine-reminds me of Capsicum aka the way to say bell pepper in Australian.

Gaspard-Gaston from Beauty&the Beast?

Marin-Aye, aye, sailor!

Bertille-Berthillon, the good ice cream place in Paris.

Hermine-Hermione

Ambroise-Haven't I been there before? Also, NB, this is a boy's name.

Louis-Alexandre-Wasn't he king or something?

Suzon-like Suzanne, but not

Aubert-Oh, Bert

Thelma-and Louise?

Salomon-umm?

Ombeline-this name is made up...take Ambre+Emeline and what do you get? Ombeline!

Theophile-Did you really have to add on the phile...Theo would have been just fine!

Philippine-Philippe, girl version

Auguste-does he know Napoleon?

Solange-My new computer's name...and also lots of mamies.

Hortense-Hortence...yikes.

Hippolyte-I don't even know what to say to this.

Foucauld-Last name as first name

Marceau-marteau

Prune-who names their children after fruit? Oh wait, forgot about Apple Paltrow...

Come-rhymes with home

Armand-Armani, Giorgio

Ethel-like Estelle, but new and improved with a lisp

Germain-German with an "i"

Flamine-Flamel, Nicolas from Harry Potter

Anzor-I don't know where they pulled this name out of...

Pia-rhymes with Leah and also, a fake name

Blanche-from the Golden Girls

Brune-what if she decides to go blonde?

Eugenie-Eugenia? Yeesh...poor kid!

Titouan-titeuf...those kids love that stuff

Dominitille-Domicile

Klervi-Claire vie

Louis-Rodolphe-A king and a reindeer all at the same time.

Astree-Ash tray

Sixtine-no, seventeen.

Anselme-similar to how a French person would pronounce handsome

V-Town and Blabberings

2008-09-14T12:18:00.005+02:00

It's been awhile, bloggy friends, n'est-ce pas? Unfortunately, I don't see that trend changing anytime soon. I've been busy, busy, busy preparing for 8 different levels at New School with class for different amounts of time and different number of classes per week. For example, my PS, MS&GS kids have class 4 times a week for 20 mins. My CP&CE1s have class 2 times a week for 40 mins. Last but not least, my CE2, CM1 and CM2s have class 1 time per week for 30 mins. You know, just to complicate things more. Though I do have the general curriculum and materials used in the past 3 years to follow, I do still find it difficult to know exactly what their levels are. I've been reviewing questions with the older kids and I had to look through what they did last year to see which questions they did. I guess I shouldn't say difficult, more like time-consuming and a little annoying as I'm used to being the one who knows where the kids are at and not following someone else's curriculum. I shouldn't complain because it's hard work coming up with what to teach from scratch and trying to make things progressive-that would have been a toooooon of work with all those levels of kids. It just will take time to get used to and I'm sure I'll get the swing of things soon. Like how exactly does one teach 2.5 yr olds who barely speak French? The youngest I've ever taught is 5 yrs old and I remember what a challenge I found that to be at the beginning. But, like I said, it just takes time. Now, 5 yr olds seem like a breeze to me. I'm sure I'll get used to what works and what doesn't for those little 2.5 yr olds. And, I think it will also get easier for them as well. Now, they're just starting school for the first time ever and they still have doudous, accidents and are missing maman, they will grow up a lot in front of my eyes, I'm sure. For now, I'm just chugging along and sweating through the entire morning because of a)nerves and b)the freakin stuffy school. I love when I crack the window open just the teeniest bit and the teacher closes it, courants d'air me arse! That is not how you attrape a cold. But, I digress...

So yeah, it's difficult, but it's definitely doable. I just need to get organized and either plan out the week's classes on Sunday(je me connais, quand-meme!) or plan out Mon/Tues on Sunday and Thurs/Fri on Wednesday. Thank goodness I didn't start everything at once, I would have gone folle for sure!! I start Old School in 2 weeks and then Uni in 4 weeks. My CDS expires in 2 weeks which makes me want to gerbe when I think about it, so my oh-so-intelligent solution is to try not to think about it. Genius! I signed a bunch of paperwork on Fri that first gets sent to the dreaded Trefecture and then the Labor Dept. But, I have a meeting anyways with the admin lady at the school because I'm not sure what I have to do on my end of things at the Trefecture. I think once the Labor Dept approves my stuff, I automatically will get convoque'd for a visite medicale and possibly an integration day, but I think that will take awhile and I will have to get my recepisse before that point. But, the lady at the Labor Dept told me some conflicting info which is why I need to talk to the admin lady at the school. I really, really need to get going on this soon!

Autrement, when I'm not busy working or preparing for school, I've had the chance to profite of the vie. Last weekend, I made an unexpected trip to V-Town, which is ksam's old stomping grounds. I never had made it out there before, so I said pourquoi pas and accompanied her for a tour around the town and took in all of its' cuteness. It did rain a bit, but it wasn't enough to ruin the day by any means. Later, I made my yummy poulet curry and we enjoyed some vin. A little too much vin, d'ailleurs, because I was out of commission all day Sunday. Remember how I was hoping beer was on tap last time I posted? Yeah, I got some of that too. We ended up going out on the town because, well, il faut profiter quoi and we spoke some German(not really) to a guy who believed us-proving that there was someone drunker than us afterall! We got back and instead of drinking water and popping some advil, I crashed right away which meant I paid the facture on Sunday. The artist even tried to help me toss my cookies by showing me Palin's speech...I came close, but no cigar. If anything will make you vomit, that's it! But, helas, I wasn't much more than a presence for poor ksam. I bid her adieu that evening and prayed to the gossip gods that she'd get some good dirt. Despite my useless lump-ness on Sunday, it was still good times, I think anyways. So, that's that from me, here are some more pics for you to enjoy below. I'm off to prepare for classes and by prepare for classes, I mean eat mac&cheese!

What's on tap for this week

2008-09-03T22:30:00.003+02:00

Does anyone else say that or is that just me slash my dad? Anyhoo, I usually hesitate to write updates until after I know the full story, but what the hay, I'll bore, I mean, inform you with what I know.

-I kinda forgot how worked up French people get over seemingly insignificant things and regardless of their importance, they tend to go on and on(and on)and on about them. Shut it, Frenchies. Seriously.

-I have once again encountered the joys of disorganization in France. While I normally am alllll for waiting til the last minute to know which classes I have, my schedule and my CDS status, I'm really not.

-I still do not know my schedule and I think I technically start on Monday, but one can't be sure.

-After I finish the schedule at New School, I have to schedule classes at Old School(hoping that they'll be free for the 2 end of afternoon times I have available on only 2 days.

-Yes, I'm teaching the college kids, oh wait I'm not, no wait I am, hold the phone, I'm not. That's how many times I've seen that change. That's been fun.

-The green card process has started on their end, I'm impatiently waiting for it to start on mine. I only have about 2.5 weeks before my old one expires. Yikes. I have to wait for everything to get approved by people outside of the school AND do a medical visit AND a journee d'integration AND go to the dreaded Trefecture AND get a recepisse. Yeesh and more yeesh.

-Note to self: stop saying yeesh.

-Yeesh

-Note to self: never listen to advice from self.

-I have 18 classes at NS(that's New School) and 4 classes at OS. That's 8 levels and 22 different classes. Oh, plus I have 3 classes at the university level, luckily they're doing pretty much the same thing as each other. But, that means in total I will have 9 levels and 25 different classes. Yikes and a half.

-I'm only going to do three of the five jobs in the end, I just don't have the time nor will I have the energy to do anything more.

-I did or didn't wear a small, plastic pink butterfly clip right smack dab at the top of my forehead that is owned by a 5 yr old whilst diagonally crossing the city of Rennes. Nor did or did not people on the street, on the bus, at the bank, at the grocery store and in my apartment building see me with said butterfly clip. I am the shame of Rennes.

-So, what's on tap for this week, you ask? Well, besides working out my schedule(s) and possibly green card stuff, I can only hope that beer is on tap...and lots and lots of it!