my holidays... come visit!

I seriously want people to come visit me!!! I will go ANYWHERE with ANYONE who wants to visit. Here are my vacation dates in the Spring, since I will be home for Christmas and the fall break is next week and I already have plans for it.

Vacances d'Hiver: February 14 - 28 (two weeks)
Vacances de Printemps: April 11 - 25 (two weeks)

I hope to hear from someone!!

she DOESN'T think your tractor's sexy..

Until Friday, whenever the I heard the word STRIKE! or PROTEST/MANIFESTATION! in conjunction with France, I giggled. I've always marveled at how the French will strike/protest/whatever at the drop of a hat and at the great lengths that they will go to do this strike or protest. (just fyi, in French, the word for protest is 'manifestation'). In fact, strikes (grèves) and manifestations happen so frequently that most French people don't really even notice, and go about their lives as normally as possible. The authorities are always notified when one will occur and are therefore able to take measures to allow life to go on as normally as possible. So, I've always wondered, if manifestations are as common as they are and are not particularly noted by French citizens, then how can they be effective and why do these people even bother with them? This question was answered for me on Friday.

I had no classes on Friday, so I went into town at about 1:30 to study LSAT and run a few errands. I was planning on spending the night with a friend in a nearby town Friday night, so I planned to be back in my room by 4 so that I could go to the grocery before I left and so that I'd be able to be at the train station in time to catch the 5:44 train. I finished studying at about 3:30 and decided that I'd walk back to the train station and catch my bus from there. On my way to the train station, I was halted from crossing a street by a bunch loud commotion that turned out to be a large number of French farmers in their tractors driving through the middle of town (actually the same street that I saw Sarkozy on the day before). They were honking their horns and had signs against Sarkozy and an agriculture policy on the several of the tractors. I had seen these Tractor protesters on the news, apparently they've been holding up traffic all over France for the past few weeks. This should have been a sign, but instead I was completely unfazed and took a few pictures and crossed when two tractors stopped to let me cross (all the while catcalling - real classy). But when I got to my bus stop at the train station, I found a sign which read that because of the manifestation all buses would be stopped from 2pm till it was finished. Great. So I started walking. Keep in mind that this is 3:30. And that I live about 20 mins by bus from the city center. The tractors also kept going along my walk, which would normally be my bus route. After about 20 mins of walking, I realized that the tractors were probably going to go most of the way to where I live, and that there were going to be no buses at all whatsoever. I shed both coats that I had on because I got pretty warm (even though it was pretty cold outside). About 2 hours and thousands of honks and catcalls later (i won't lie, it did boost my ego a bit) at 5:20, I FINALLY arrived at my room, only to very hurriedly pack a bag and then have to take a 16 euro taxi BACK to the train station, because the tractors were still protesting. I wonder if I can contact the farmer's union to reimburse me...?

So, before Friday, I thought the French protests were kind of a joke. I thought that no one took them seriously because they didn't really affect them. I was wrong. WRONG. There were French people walking everywhere, and none seemed too bothered. I guess I wouldn't have been had I not had somewhere to be. So, to all the striking, protesting French farmers out there: I appreciate that you feel passionate enough about things to do something about them, but I am an American living temporarily in France. Therefore, 1. I rely heavily on public transportation and 2. I can do NOTHING to help you in your plight. So please don't mess up my afternoon again -- maybe it would get you farther if you parked your tractors on Sarkozy's front lawn...

I SAW SARKOZY TODAY (well kind of)

So I was walking around in the Metz city center late this afternoon, exploring a part that I had not yet visited, and all of a sudden these policemen appeared out of nowhere and told us to stop (i was about to cross the street) for a few seconds. Then, all of a sudden a huge barricade drove through, with about 6 police on motorcycles and about 10 cars and vans all with lights flashing. I thought to myself, hmm what if that was Sarkozy?

Fast forward a few hours and I'm back in my room eating dinner and watching the news. They start talking about Sarkozy's surprise visit to Hagondange (a smaller town near Metz) and Metz to check something out there. So it was Sarkozy!! And the only thing that separated him from me was a bullet-proof glass car door! I've never been that close to a US president!

Just thought I'd share...

P.S. I discovered that there is a Fauchon in Metz.

christmastime!!!!! NOT

It's cold. No, let me emphasize: it's COLD. FRIGID. ICE. on cars. And what is today's date? October 15. I was sitting here studying some LSAT between classes and listening to my "study" playlist, and when a few songs from the Nutcracker soundtrack came on I got really excited because in my head cold = Christmas. Then I had to remind myself that it's only October. Ahhhhh I'm probably going to die of cold - weather.com said today's high is 49 degrees F but it will feel like 35. Great. And to make it worse, all the students/teachers/French people in general are wearing light jackets. And laughing at me because those who know I come from Mississippi know that I'm not used to this weather, and therefore I look like an eskimo with gloves, boots, and a heavy coat while they are prancing around in jackets. However, I think it's a bit of a mind game: maybe if I tell myself 35 degrees F is not that cold, and that only a light jacket is necessary because it's only going to get much colder then I will not be so cold? Ha. We'll see. Other than the cold, things are going well, I met up with a nice British girl named Joanna and we are hopefully going to Nancy (the other big city in the region) for the day Saturday with another girl. That is if I don't turn into an ice cube. I also bought a French version of the George Foreman grill, which has upped my quality of life here in this little room because I'm eating some real food. Last night, I made bleu cheese hamburgers with ground beef, greens, and Rocquefort cheese that I bought at the market. And I had 5 patties left over that I stuck in the freezer for later meals. So, no more sandwiches and soup for every meal for me!! I also bought tickets to London to see Ruth Mauldin and Lee Taylor during the Toussaint Holiday, which lasts for a week and a half. I'm with Lee first, and we are going to visit Oxford or Cambridge as well as Norwich, her town of residence. Then, I will be in London with Ruth for the remaining few days. And the cheapest, easiest option was to take the Eurostar (which is a train that goes under the English Channel). So I'm excited to see these girls and to see some more of England, which I have only been to once 4 years ago. If anyone has suggestions I'd love to hear them! À bientot!

LSAT with a view..

I have found a small piece of heaven in Metz. Every time I go into the city center I fall in love with it even more. Friday afternoon, I went into town with the goal of finding a quiet café at which I could study LSAT and have tea for a while. I got a bit distracted by the sight of another Sephora down a side street. (The first one is pretty good -- even has Bobbi Brown and Bare Minerals if I ever need refills) I will never understand how it is always possible to find at least 2 Sephoras in every small French city I visit. And how in Mississippi you have to go to at least Birmingham to find one! Anyways, after walking around the newfound Sephora, I came upon Galleries Lafayette. I had already been in there, with mom when she was here. And I must add that this is the second best Galleries Lafayette that I've ever been to aside from the one in Paris. It's HUGE! And they were in the middle of a government-sanctioned 3 day sale (something the French government does from time to time to boost the economy, otherwise it is illegal to have sales aside from those that happen in January and in June.) So everything was 30-50 percent off. Maybe I should have done some Christmas shopping.... Anyways, I walked around and realized that anything can be found in this store, even shampoo, deodorant, hair dye.. it was almost like being in Wal-Mart, minus rednecks. As I was walking out the door, I happened upon a sign advertising the Café Gourmand on the top floor. So, I promptly turned around and went on up to check it out. Basically, you can get Swiss ice cream or sorbet, gourmet lunch, tea, coffee, anything really, and either eat inside or take it to an outdoor terrace that overlooks Place de la Republique, the Templars Chapel, and Metz's 4 star hotel. I had pretty much just found heaven in Metz, and somewhere perfectly conducive to studying. I promptly ordered some Moroccan mint tea for only 2,40 euros and set up camp on the terrace and began to study LSAT, all the while feeling like I was in Paris on top of Printemps, minus all the tourists. The French sure do know how to take full advantage of space. And speaking of Printemps (another large French department store), there is one in Metz as well. I decided that if Galleries Lafayette had a café, that Printemps should have one as well, and so I walked over to check it out once I finished studying. I found a basement café called Chocolat Bar, which serves Mariages Frères tea along with 3 chocolates, also for only 2,40 euros. See the photo above. I will add one of the view from Galleries Lafayette later. So when I have to study LSAT, all I have to do is decide between a view or chocolates. Life is so hard sometimes. I think I'm feeling a good score coming on in December...

my room

Hello to all people out there who are awaiting news of my adventures so far in France! I finally got internet access in my room just yesterday afternoon. I have a very slow connection, but it's still a connection! And I can check my email without having to walk to the Holiday Inn across the street (!!) So here are some pictures of my room: It's small, but comfortable and IT HAS A BATHROOM!! My room seems to be slightly smaller than the room I shared with Lucy and Ash, and still has a tv and fridge, so as they both could attest it's like having my own palace!! So I'm happy enough and very glad to have my own space. I live next to a girl from Nuremberg, Germany named Leonie. She is very nice and we have had a lot of fun together.. however she's moving to another apartment closer to the other school where she teaches. So I will be here alooone, which will be interesting, to say the least.
Metz is a great town - I really like it. There is a lot to do here even though it's not very big. The cathedral is gorgeous, and is known throughout Europe as one of the tallest. There is also a really cool museum that is built in one of the oldest parts of Metz, over the remains of a real Roman bath. It is pretty big and has some really neat artifacts that have been found in the area. You see, Metz has been here for a VERY long time (pre-Roman). The taxi driver that drove mom and I to our hotel when we first arrived told me that every time any new building is built here there must first be an archaeological dig because there are ancient artifacts buried everywhere! So I love living in such an old place. The river that runs through the center is also beautiful, and a great place to walk. The water is very clean and there are swans! Here is a picture, and that's the PROTESTANT church in the background that I plan on attending while I'm here. Other than that, not too much to report. I'm going to post on the teaching when I have some more experience. This past weekend I was in Paris with Jessica Phillips Tyson, Emilie Dayan, Kimberly Shoff, Leah Tucker, Lee Taylor, and Ann Atkinson. We had so much fun eating and celebrating JP's birthday. And it was SO GOOD to see some familiar faces! I also met the other English assistants today at our orientation session. Most are British, surprisingly. There were also two from South Africa and one Australian. But everyone seemed nice and I think we were all glad to meet some other foreigners. I also realized how lucky I am to have a school and fellow teachers who seem to really have it together. Many of the other assistants have been basically on their own to figure things like a bank account and even furniture for apartments out. Luckily all has been taken care of for me by some very nice, helpful people. I will post more soon.. just thought I'd give a quick overview of my situation with some pictures.