Happy Halloween!

After the English lesson, we got into our costumes and went to a Halloween party at the house of Dionne’s friend Christophe. It was like a dorm attached to their school, and it had a strangely strong resemblance to Hogwarts! They were having a huge feast with long tables in a big hall with stone pillars and medieval decorations. Christophe and some of his friends were dressed as girls, and there were a lot of other funny costumes too…I know I saw a few monks…and I saw someone that looked like Snape, confirming my suspicion that we had landed at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
It was the first really cold, crisp night we’d had this fall, and the leaves were all orange and half of them had fallen on the ground. Through the fog, we saw the castle and an old church on the way. It was a little eerie, and even though the streets were deserted, whereas we are used to seeing trick-or-treaters everywhere, it felt very much like Halloween.

Marché de Samedi

Saturday mornings I like to follow all the old ladies with their bags on wheels to the market, where you can get fresh vegetables, fruit, nuts, meat, bread, seafood, and tons of other tasty treats. You can also buy clothes, shoes, accessories, antiques, and collectors’ items.

There were a few coin collectors and I thought of Dad. This is one of my favorite things to do in Angers. The earlier you go the better!




The other two English speakers at the foyer (Jessie and Dionne) and I have been recruited to teach English lessons. The first one was fun because it was on Halloween. The best part was the Charades at the end.

Joyeux Anniversaire à Paris

This weekend I joined Gail, Hannah, Naomi, and Hannah’s friend Tristan in Paris to celebrate Hannah’s 18th birthday. We saw so much in 2 days! On Saturday morning, we met at the Eiffel Tower (Naomi flew a paper airplane off the top!), had lunch at a café, then took the metro to l’Arc de Triomphe, and did some shopping on the Champs-Elysées, where we ate a wonderful Italian dinner. Then Hannah and Tristan and I went out for drinks at a place near the hotel. The next day, we spent the morning at the Louvre, had paninis at a sandwich shop, then made our way to Notre Dame. The girls did some souvenir shopping, but we couldn’t do much other shopping because it was a Sunday and nothing is open in France on Sundays! At dinner, I did my best to translate the menu for everyone, but somehow Gail ended up with a slab of uncooked ground beef and an uncooked egg! I explained to the waiter that she wanted something else and it was all good, but I’ll never forget the look on Gail’s face when the waiter brought that out! We toasted to Hannah with glasses of champagne, a wonderful end to the weekend. We stopped to get some gelato for dessert and took the metro back to the hotel just as it started to rain. I’m so thankful to have had this opportunity to see Paris with my family! Now I don’t feel quite so far from home. Thanks for a great weekend Aunt Gail and the girls!

Dégustation

Last night we had a tasting party at the foyer. Everyone took over the kitchens on every floor to cook their favorite dish. My favorite was the bananas with rum, but there were a lot of different things, like Belgian “gauffres” (waffles), apple crumble, Scottish shortbread, marmalade, yogurt cake, and someone even brought a coconut and broke it open. Wendy, Jessie and I made chocolate chip cookies. It was kind of a disaster, but they were edible. Later on when we have one big communal kitchen, we'll have a more complete themed dinner of a certain nationality or region.

First Weekend Back in Nantes

Elisabeth and Brice invited me to stay with them for the weekend. When I arrived on Friday, some friends came over and we made burgers and played poker. On Saturday night, the engineering school that Brice and our other friends go to put on a “gala”. It was a huge themed party with several rooms, each with different features like food, massage tables, DJs, and bands. One of our friends played in a band, and another was a DJ. That lasted until 5am, so needless to say we slept in a bit on Sunday. After that, since it was a really nice day, we walked around a two of Nantes’ most beautiful parks. Sunday night, I had a wonderful visit with the de l’Espinay family, catching up on the family news and remembering what all happened during the year I stayed with them. I met Emma, their new American who goes to Whitman. I’m planning on visiting them again for the Toussaint vacation which is coming up in a week.

Fête Gemmoise

Today Jocelyne took Dionne and I to this festival in a village just outside Angers called Saint Gemme. It was a celebration of the harvest, with flowers, fruits, vegetables, and tons of local products and antiques. We saw a man making “sucettes” (lollipops) out of what started as a big blob of sticky sugar. I bought a framboise and citron flavored ones for my roommates. There was a man playing an old instrument that uses cards with holes punched in it. He pulled me out from the crowd to turn the wheel. I did a pretty crappy job, but it was a good laugh. Jocelyne bought us a cidre at the buvette, the stand that served as a sort of temporary bar. It was a gorgeous afternoon. I couldn’t have dreamed up a better day for the celebration. The weather here is bazaar. I’m in a café the morning after listening to the rain pound on the street. It has been on and off the entire time I’ve been here, which is in a weird way soothing because it makes me think of Seattle. Jocelyne told us that there is a vine that is very specific to the Anjou area which is unique because it stays so warm until late October. She also brought us to the Point, where the river Maine flows into the Loire. Most of the inhabitants of the town live on the upper floors because it floods so often. About every 5 years or so there is a big flood and you have to enter the buildings from behind, where the land is higher, and some islands are completely isolated and have to traverse the river by boat. Many have to repair their houses after the floods, but they don’t mind because it is their way of living with the river. The Loire is the only river that is still “living” in France. All the others have been made into a sort of canal because of the buildings constructed on the shores, but the Loire has been left alone for the most part so far. There are many locals who are very insistent on keeping it that way, as well as preserving the wildlife such as birds and even different varieties of apples. It is so impressive to see how passionate people are about their land and its fruits.

Theatrical Tour of Le Grand Théatre d'Angers

It’s been just over two weeks since I arrived in Angers, and tonight is a full moon. There’s a Friday the 13th coming up this month! Today as part of my two weeks of observation at Lycée Chevrollier I sat in on three classes: Mechanics, German, and English. In most of the classes (I’ve also gotten to see Theater, Spanish, French, English, and Business classes) I am really impressed with how motivated and well-behaved French high school kids are. It might have to do with the fact that they choose their specialty so much sooner. That way they aren’t always taking things they have to take, but are taking things they are interested in or at least suited for. Although it has been great to get to know the school and I am seeing more and more familiar faces every day, I am anxious to get started teaching. Right now I still feel like a student, going from class to class, but in a week I’ll have to switch gears completely. What’s hilarious is that I have one and a half weeks of actual work and then I have my first vacation from October 26th to November 5th. C’est pour ça que j’aime la France!

This morning we went to a theatrical guided tour of the big theater in Angers. It was a wonderful behind the scenes look and I'd love to see an opera there sometime. Tonight we are going to see "Indigènes" with Sebastien, who lives at the foyer. Its about the forgoten soldiers of WWII recruited from Africa and its supposed to be really good. Sunday, one of the professors at Chevrollier is taking me and Dionne, the Scottish assistant to the "fete Gemmoise" just outside of Angers.