Octobre

Week 1: Missed connections, missing bags, and all, I arrived in Loches, that's whats important. I survived the trip, though if it'd been my first I think I would have turned around. Jeanne and Judith (the Spanish assistant from Palencia) picked me up at the train station and we made our way home. I rested, though didn't quite adapt to the time change until the weekend. Judith and I went to Orleans for an Orientation. We spent the night with Matt (an assistant and friend from Tours 2006 who is back as well, but in Orleans). He showed us around, let us crash at his nice apartment and introduced us to some other Orleans assistants. Among the things I learned that day - 1. The French are still angry at the English over Joan of Arc and 2. There are over 5000 assistants from over 50 countries in France this year.






Week 2: No classes yet, but lots of paperwork. Luckily I know the drill. AnneMarie and Dino (friends from Bham, who spent August biking in N. Italy and September living in Florence) came to visit. We saw Loches (bien sur), Tours, Vouvray (interesting wine tour through the tunnels and caves, some delicious white wine, and great photo opportunities), and Chenonceau (cool castle that is built over a river + pretty gardens + beautiful day + other English assistants from Tours = best day so far).
















Week 3: We started this week with a very spontaneous trip to a Pumpkin Festival in Tranzault (tiny village 1.5 hour drive away). I went with Jeanne, Judith, another Spanish assistant Elena, and Sylvie and Manuel, a Spanish teacher and her husband. It was very "sauvage" as Jeanne said, or to put it nicely, rural. It was interesting, but by the end of the day I was exhausted. The week was pretty relaxed. I started my classes, they went well. Most of the kids participated without force and it looks like I'll have smaller groups, which is nice. Our internet was down this week, which was a crisis for Judith and me. Haha, not really, but it definitely made us discuss our dependency. Luckily, Vincent (the professor/friend from last time) lives right across the street. It was a good excuse to go see him and his beautiful family. His daughter Tahina is almost 3 and we've been bonding, she's been helping my withdrawal from Kincade and Elliot. Over the weekend I went into Tours to spend some time with my English speaking friends. We went out to an "American" bar and had giant cocktails. They were good, but nothing compared to Poppe's, my favorite place back in Bellingham. We stayed up late discussing social issues... ah to be young and motivated.










Week 4: This week is a short one because I'm leaving for Senegal on Friday! I took some photos of Loches on a walk on Sunday. We've had nice weather, so I've been trying to take advantage. I'm sure when I get back it'll really be winter. :( I spoken a lot with family this week, and I've gotten to talk to both the boys (very fun!). It has been a relaxing week in anticipation of the adventures ahead.