When I thought that being in France this year would be easier than last year, I made a miscalculation....I am in a new city, albeit one only slightly south of the one I was in last year. I made sure I had all of the documents that I could possibly need--including the x-ray of my lungs that I had to get last year before getting my carte de sejour--and went to the Prefecture. I went to the secretary, explained my situation, took a number and then went to the waiting room. When my number was called, the lady behind the desk said that I shouldn't have come to see her, that I needed to return to the first woman and make an appointment. Went back to the first lady who said that I needed to go back to the woman behind the desk and ask her what kind of carte de sejour I need. I went back to her, and she said, "Do you have number?" And well, no I didn't because the woman who'd told me to talk to her (this is the woman who distributes the numbers) hadn't given me one. "No, I don't have a number, but I just have a quick question...." "You have to take a number. I already buzzed someone else to come to the desk" I waited several minutes, and no one came--apparently there was no one waiting. I had a stare-down with her, but she refused to talk to me with out a number, so I went back to the first one woman and got a number to ask my 10 second questionI . Then the number lady gave me an appointment to come back and depose all of my documents--in November! In Metz, the prefecture took my documents on my first visit. So the process to get my carte de sejour won't start till November, and there go my hopes for getting CAF (housing subsidy) money before the spring. \
My friend Andromeda (also assistant last year, lectrice this year) had an interesting reaction to stress of French bureaucracy--she said that she has become very relaxed because she realizes that all of this stuff is completely out of her control, and you can never count on anything to be correct or on time, but c'est la vie. I (obviously you know if you have been reading my blog at all) have had quite the opposite reaction, and I am in a state of constant stress about whether the recalcitrant French functionaries will help me or whether someone will lose my dossier or someone will do something else that will make my life more complicated. I am trying to adopt her point of view. It's a good thing she's developed some patience because she's in love with a French guy and it sounds like she'll be in France dealing with all of this stuff much longer than I will.
This statement might give you the false impression that I know what I want to do with my life or where I want to go, and this is not true. I am just crossing France off the list. It's not that I don't love this country. I wouldn't be here right now if I didn't love it (well at least the camembert), but my list of complaints is getting long, and I know that I could not stay here for the long haul. I was reading a really interesting link to a CNN article about peoplle's attitudes towards France (link!). There are so many Americans who love France (especially Paris) so much), but to really understand the country,, you have to leave here an experience all of the frustrations related with that. One woman described the situation here very welll, and I will sum it up.
1. The French dont' like rules. This fact is reinforced by the fact that there is barely any physical presence of the law enforcement so no one obeys laws. No one picks up after their dogs; people park everywhere, and on the less serious but equally annoying level, people cut in line in stores a lot.
2. French people think they have the "right and privelege" to everything. They always want the government to give them more than they already have, and this explains why they have gov't subsidies for housing, free time, and vacations. Everyone has the right to enjoyable free time and fabulous vacations,r ight? And when they feel like one of the rights or priiveleges may be taken away , they strike.
One thing I've learned about why French functionaries are so horrible is because they have such tremendous job security. It takes an act of God to get them fired so they don't care how many months (centuriies) it takes me to get my carte de sejour.
Another thing it takes an act of God to do around here is for me to make a single copy. Some of the other lecteurs have it easier because they work within specific departments , and they get copy cards for the printers. I, on the other hand, work with a department which works with almost all of the departments. This means that on a regular day I am running around the city trying to get to different campuses for my different classes. It also means that if I need copies, I have to find the copy-maker for that department, and make a formal request, which might be refused simply because the copy maker does not feel like making copies that day, as I learned the hard way.
Yeah, so the university is a little bit ghetto. Professors have to share (tiny) offices along with their computers, and there have been some classes cancelled simply because there were not enough classrooms available. I know this is because the universities get their money from the government and don't have the tuition and donor resources that American universities do, but even the high school I was in last year in Metz was better equipped.
Anyway, it was not my intention for this entry to complain about the French so much--I just wanted to do a little cultural comparison .
I started classes today. First I had my sociology students, but then I wasn't teaching alone--I was giving them diagnostic English test (it's not looking promising!) with the real teacher. Second was the class that is already planned out-(this class is called S5)-and the topic this time was speeddating, which I thought was kind of dumb, and I consequently rushed through the lesson, and ended up finishing early. Lastly was my phonetics class, and I had some kind of basic activities planned for the class, but I got there, and a problem. The problem was staring at me from the front row--a 60 year old woman. Myactivities were kind of fun, silly things--just like the teacher of the class told me to do, but I almost couldn't do it with her there so serious, pen ready and poised to learn from me. But I got through albeit 15 minutes early.
One thing to know about to understand my classes is that one of four things happens:
1. I take half of the class while the normal teacher takes the other half, and this allows for me to focus on oral expression and allows the students more individual attention. (sociology, business finance, law)
2. As in the S5, I am the primary teacher of the class, but the materials are already pllanned out.
3. For one law class, I am the primary teacher, and I have to plan the lessons and all, but my boss is keeping a sharp eye on my lesson plans. I am hoping to milk the American elections in this class as much as possible.
4. For phonetics, the teacher gives a lecture for two hours weekly to about a zillion students, and then these students have one hour a week with a lecteur(or lectrice-this word varies based on gender) of practical work in which they practice the skills learned in the big lecture class.
Anyway, it doesn't sound too bad, but for the classes that I split with the teachers, some of them are giving me ABSOLUTELY no idea of what to do with the students (especially my class focused on business finance--where I need the most help!) so it's still a little stressful. Plus with the S5, when I don't like the activities (i.e. speeddating), it's pretty obvious to the sttudents . But well, it's sort of a relief to have started classes. Being a lectrice is like being an assistant in that I am younger and "hipper" and more able to relate with the students, and they like that.
Carlos is glad to know that I talked to one of my colleagues about auditing a Spanish class (she's really sweet about it) so hopefully I will be more prepared to talk to his friends and family than I was during my last trip to Spain. He told his little sister that I would be coming, and asked her if she was excited, and she wasn't! She said, "She's coming in a month? That's a long time away! She should be coming sooner than that!" �
mercredi 24 septembre 2008
lundi 22 septembre 2008
The Hibernating Bear Returns
Okay, well I have had more meetings with many more little trombones, and I am getting a better feel for my job. I ended up with another class because one of the lecteurs quit. This one is in the English department, and it is a phonetics class. I don't mind taking on another class because that means overtime pay, but it is funny because...
1. I am supposed to teach the English phonetics alphabet, which I don't know.
2. I am supposed to teach it with British accent/intonation.
One of the other American lecteurs teaching the same class thought about faking a British accent,which I think is hilarious. Not exactly how I am going to manage that class...II am trying to channel all of the nights I spent last year with my British friends while they talked about bahsil oreGAHno instead of baysil and orEgeno. I am trying to learn the English phonetic alphabet, which is pretty weird, although I am familiar with the French one.
I am also concerned about my sociology students, because the first thing the main teacher told me when we sat down to talk about the class is that many of the students will resist learning English because they think it is the language of the cultural and political imperialists. Apparently the sociology students are the real hippies--and the organizers of most of the university strikes. This will be fun...?
Otherwise, I have master's students, a lot in law and business. I am supposed to lead classes related to their subjects. "You don't have to be an expert in the subjet," people keep telling me, but then the descriptions of the classes I am teaching seem to prove the contrary. I am leading one class related to the financial state of companies, and the role of lawyers in companies. Is it possible to know negative amounts about something? I think I know negative amounts about business finance and business lawyers. Classes start next week, and I am a little nervous, but I am excited to start getting a feel for the classes so that I have a better understanding of what I should for them. Until then I will be reading scholarly sociology papers and trying to understand finance stuff...
I guess part of my problem is that I don't have internet. Normally, when faced with such situations where I felt at a loss for information, I would just sit down with the internet and research research research. But there's no internet at home...it only works sometimes at the university, and well honestly I find myself at McDo more often than I would like just to connect. And when I do connect, I have emails to catch up on and have been preoccupied with the search for a plane ticket to Spain for my first vacation (end of October-beginning of November--Carlos and I will be together for our first anniversary :-) ). I am not afraid to admit it--I am a slave to technology. I feel very lost without the internet. It's worse in another country when it's my sole method of communication with almost everyone I know. I'll be getting it soon, though. Bérengère went to the place yesterday, and soon we will have internet, phone and television (well more than the two unclear channels we have now). The telephone will actually give me unlimited calls to landlines in the United States (I think).
On Friday I went out for drinks with the lecteurs. I actually like the girl that stole my apartment alot, haha. We are supposed to host one night a week or so where our students can come join us for drinks and practice their English. That'll be interesting.
Carlos gave me a nickname last year in Metz--the Hibernating Bear--because well, the colder got, the earlier I wanted to go sleep every night. Basically, I was ready to go to bed just about when the sun was setting--I guess this is just one way my body deals with the cold. Well, it's already chilly here so the Hibernating Bear is back--hitting the hay by 9 o'clock most nights. The problem is remembering to set my alarm before falling asleep--cause if not, I might not wake up until springtime....�
1. I am supposed to teach the English phonetics alphabet, which I don't know.
2. I am supposed to teach it with British accent/intonation.
One of the other American lecteurs teaching the same class thought about faking a British accent,which I think is hilarious. Not exactly how I am going to manage that class...II am trying to channel all of the nights I spent last year with my British friends while they talked about bahsil oreGAHno instead of baysil and orEgeno. I am trying to learn the English phonetic alphabet, which is pretty weird, although I am familiar with the French one.
I am also concerned about my sociology students, because the first thing the main teacher told me when we sat down to talk about the class is that many of the students will resist learning English because they think it is the language of the cultural and political imperialists. Apparently the sociology students are the real hippies--and the organizers of most of the university strikes. This will be fun...?
Otherwise, I have master's students, a lot in law and business. I am supposed to lead classes related to their subjects. "You don't have to be an expert in the subjet," people keep telling me, but then the descriptions of the classes I am teaching seem to prove the contrary. I am leading one class related to the financial state of companies, and the role of lawyers in companies. Is it possible to know negative amounts about something? I think I know negative amounts about business finance and business lawyers. Classes start next week, and I am a little nervous, but I am excited to start getting a feel for the classes so that I have a better understanding of what I should for them. Until then I will be reading scholarly sociology papers and trying to understand finance stuff...
I guess part of my problem is that I don't have internet. Normally, when faced with such situations where I felt at a loss for information, I would just sit down with the internet and research research research. But there's no internet at home...it only works sometimes at the university, and well honestly I find myself at McDo more often than I would like just to connect. And when I do connect, I have emails to catch up on and have been preoccupied with the search for a plane ticket to Spain for my first vacation (end of October-beginning of November--Carlos and I will be together for our first anniversary :-) ). I am not afraid to admit it--I am a slave to technology. I feel very lost without the internet. It's worse in another country when it's my sole method of communication with almost everyone I know. I'll be getting it soon, though. Bérengère went to the place yesterday, and soon we will have internet, phone and television (well more than the two unclear channels we have now). The telephone will actually give me unlimited calls to landlines in the United States (I think).
On Friday I went out for drinks with the lecteurs. I actually like the girl that stole my apartment alot, haha. We are supposed to host one night a week or so where our students can come join us for drinks and practice their English. That'll be interesting.
Carlos gave me a nickname last year in Metz--the Hibernating Bear--because well, the colder got, the earlier I wanted to go sleep every night. Basically, I was ready to go to bed just about when the sun was setting--I guess this is just one way my body deals with the cold. Well, it's already chilly here so the Hibernating Bear is back--hitting the hay by 9 o'clock most nights. The problem is remembering to set my alarm before falling asleep--cause if not, I might not wake up until springtime....�
mercredi 17 septembre 2008
Little trombones
"Could you pass me some little trombones?" said one of the teachers in a meeting on Monday. It took me a minute to realize that "trombone" also means paperclip in French (I guess it makes sense if you think about it....). Well, I have needed a lot of "little trombones" for all of the papers I have been receiving for my classes. At this meeting on Monday, I was with 6 other teachers, and we are all teaching the same class. It's weird because the class is already designed, and all of the materials for the classes are already determined. It's strange for me to teach a class with so little freedom, but kind of nice not to have to do much planning. I am planning to go to the class of another teacher who teaches it the day before mine every week so I can see how to manage the class. I've definitely got a lot more responsibility this year than last year...it seems a little bit strange that people who don't even know me are just handing me these big responsibilities.
I met all of the other lecteurs at a meeting yesterday. They all seem nice, and our boss has sort of given us the responsibility of organizing some English activities for the students, which is tough because French students care so little about extra-curricular activities. I also learned some interesting things about the university--for example, the students went on strike last year for an entire month. Yes, of course French students strike a lot, but I know that there was no strike this bad in Metz, which makes me think that French students must be particularly...hmmm I don't know what to say here...particularly grieved? particularly pollitically active? particularly concerned about the proposed reforms to the university system? My boss was telling me that even if he had wanted to teach classes to the students who were still interested in going, it was forbidden by law because strikers must be allowed to make their points.
Ha, and more roommate drama...sort of. You have to understand howestressful finding an apartment was, and how much time I devoted to the search. At one point about a month ago, I talked to a girl who had an apartment who I sounded really interested, but then a few weeks passed, and she didn't email me back...I found out that what happened was one of the other lectrices got the address of the apartment from her, and without getting a real invitation from the girl to take the extra room, just showed up on the doorstep with all of her luggage and said, "I'm here to move in!" So it's her fault I didn't have housing when I arrived (you can see how cutthroat this apartment hunting business can be), but I am pretty sure that I am a lot happier with my apartment than the other lectrice is so it's kind of funny. My room is getting organized. At the flea market I bought a bunch of antique postcards to put in my little nook (surprise, I know...), and everything is startign to shape up. Now I've got to start working on planning my classes...my first one is Friday~'�
I met all of the other lecteurs at a meeting yesterday. They all seem nice, and our boss has sort of given us the responsibility of organizing some English activities for the students, which is tough because French students care so little about extra-curricular activities. I also learned some interesting things about the university--for example, the students went on strike last year for an entire month. Yes, of course French students strike a lot, but I know that there was no strike this bad in Metz, which makes me think that French students must be particularly...hmmm I don't know what to say here...particularly grieved? particularly pollitically active? particularly concerned about the proposed reforms to the university system? My boss was telling me that even if he had wanted to teach classes to the students who were still interested in going, it was forbidden by law because strikers must be allowed to make their points.
Ha, and more roommate drama...sort of. You have to understand howestressful finding an apartment was, and how much time I devoted to the search. At one point about a month ago, I talked to a girl who had an apartment who I sounded really interested, but then a few weeks passed, and she didn't email me back...I found out that what happened was one of the other lectrices got the address of the apartment from her, and without getting a real invitation from the girl to take the extra room, just showed up on the doorstep with all of her luggage and said, "I'm here to move in!" So it's her fault I didn't have housing when I arrived (you can see how cutthroat this apartment hunting business can be), but I am pretty sure that I am a lot happier with my apartment than the other lectrice is so it's kind of funny. My room is getting organized. At the flea market I bought a bunch of antique postcards to put in my little nook (surprise, I know...), and everything is startign to shape up. Now I've got to start working on planning my classes...my first one is Friday~'�
dimanche 14 septembre 2008
Well here I am in my new apartment in my new bed and I am having trouble sleeping. Excitement, I guess. The girl I had been in contact with before arriving and who wanted to meet me in person before deciding we should live together finally got back from Paris today, and I met her at the train station. I was sort of relieved to know I'd meet her before living with her after the whole debacle of being an au pair this summer, but this desire was starting to be surpassed by my desire to find a permanent place to lie my head as soon as possible. But, we hit it off an d I moved in an hour after we met.
Her name is Beéengère, and she is in her last year of speech therapy school. Just got back from teaching orphans in India, has a boyfriend who is studying acting and leads a reggae band in Paris. Best of all, she's a big music fan (and my constant listening to music is one of the biggest possible points of contention for roommates, but luckily we both like to listen to it all of the time so we take turns choosing). I am going to discover a lot of French music and well, music from a lot of other places since she seems to have eclectic music taste.
The apartment is fabulous. It is in an old building, which is just what I wanted. I saw pictures of it before arriving, and from the angle of the picture, it looked a lot like my apartment from last year, and I started to worry that it was in the same residence, but it was just the same new wood floors. This apartment is in a very cool old building, and is equipped with everything since she lived here the year before too --furniture, pots and pans, television, you name it. Even my room is furnished, which let me tell you after all of my apartment research, is a rarity. It wasn't buying the furniture that would have been the problem really--it would have been finding some way to get it back to my apartment and up the four flights of stairs.
I'm feeling the need to get really organized and decorated and to have exactly everything I need in the apartment, really for the first time in my life. I guess I could best describe the feeling as "nesting." Seems to be something biological...I guess my body knows that it's the time for my life to be a little more established and less transitional.
My room has an alcove-y sort of thing in the middle of it--where a heater used to be . It's a really weird thing in the middle of the room--it seems like somewhere where there should be a shrine. Now I just have to figure out who or what to make my shrine to
Let's rewind a little bit to Thursday night because that's when I ended up sitting on the floor of the apartment of a bunch of guys from Chad partaking in a Ramadan feast. The roommate of the person I was staying with, invited us to the meal with her friends, and it sounded interesting. I got there and realized that I know shamefully little about Islam. During Ramadan, they don't eat all day and then at night they have a big feast. One of the guys asked me, "Do you even know where Darfur is?" This question sounds kind of patronizing, but you had to be there to hear the tone and to know that he was just wondering if Americans cared at all about what was going on in Africa. I did know where Darfur is (thanks to Shivers) but it was weird answering because I know that a lot of Americans don't know or care at all. He then went on to explain a lot of the crazy stuff going on in Chad and the Sudan.
Friday I had a second meeting with Marie-Paule in preparation for the only class that I will be teaching alone. This is a group of master's law students, and I am excited about the class for several reasons. 1. Attendance is voluntary. Students will only show up if they want to come and talk. 2. I get to talk about law-related things--which includes politics and a lot of the stuff that I am interested in and enjoy discussing. 3. While I was introducing myself to the law secretary at the university, I discovered that another class of law students who didn't have to option to take English are trying to get into the class. People are just dying to get into my class...can you blame them? Maybe the weirdest thing about the class is that I have to grade them...that's going to be interesting.
The weather here is already awful. I was thinking that I would catch some good weather by getting here earlier than last year, but there I was today in the same old situation dragging home lots of groceries in the freezing rain. Guess I should be used to it by now--anyway,, other than that, everything in Nancy is going pretty well thus far. Oh, and I was mad about being here so early but I had two meetings last week, and I have at least one every day next on top of the need to get to Metz to get the things that language exchange Carlos is keeping for me. There's also the flea market tomorrow (maybe I"ll find something for the shrine?) and plenty or other things to do. Now, if I could only get to sleep...�
Her name is Beéengère, and she is in her last year of speech therapy school. Just got back from teaching orphans in India, has a boyfriend who is studying acting and leads a reggae band in Paris. Best of all, she's a big music fan (and my constant listening to music is one of the biggest possible points of contention for roommates, but luckily we both like to listen to it all of the time so we take turns choosing). I am going to discover a lot of French music and well, music from a lot of other places since she seems to have eclectic music taste.
The apartment is fabulous. It is in an old building, which is just what I wanted. I saw pictures of it before arriving, and from the angle of the picture, it looked a lot like my apartment from last year, and I started to worry that it was in the same residence, but it was just the same new wood floors. This apartment is in a very cool old building, and is equipped with everything since she lived here the year before too --furniture, pots and pans, television, you name it. Even my room is furnished, which let me tell you after all of my apartment research, is a rarity. It wasn't buying the furniture that would have been the problem really--it would have been finding some way to get it back to my apartment and up the four flights of stairs.
I'm feeling the need to get really organized and decorated and to have exactly everything I need in the apartment, really for the first time in my life. I guess I could best describe the feeling as "nesting." Seems to be something biological...I guess my body knows that it's the time for my life to be a little more established and less transitional.
My room has an alcove-y sort of thing in the middle of it--where a heater used to be . It's a really weird thing in the middle of the room--it seems like somewhere where there should be a shrine. Now I just have to figure out who or what to make my shrine to
Let's rewind a little bit to Thursday night because that's when I ended up sitting on the floor of the apartment of a bunch of guys from Chad partaking in a Ramadan feast. The roommate of the person I was staying with, invited us to the meal with her friends, and it sounded interesting. I got there and realized that I know shamefully little about Islam. During Ramadan, they don't eat all day and then at night they have a big feast. One of the guys asked me, "Do you even know where Darfur is?" This question sounds kind of patronizing, but you had to be there to hear the tone and to know that he was just wondering if Americans cared at all about what was going on in Africa. I did know where Darfur is (thanks to Shivers) but it was weird answering because I know that a lot of Americans don't know or care at all. He then went on to explain a lot of the crazy stuff going on in Chad and the Sudan.
Friday I had a second meeting with Marie-Paule in preparation for the only class that I will be teaching alone. This is a group of master's law students, and I am excited about the class for several reasons. 1. Attendance is voluntary. Students will only show up if they want to come and talk. 2. I get to talk about law-related things--which includes politics and a lot of the stuff that I am interested in and enjoy discussing. 3. While I was introducing myself to the law secretary at the university, I discovered that another class of law students who didn't have to option to take English are trying to get into the class. People are just dying to get into my class...can you blame them? Maybe the weirdest thing about the class is that I have to grade them...that's going to be interesting.
The weather here is already awful. I was thinking that I would catch some good weather by getting here earlier than last year, but there I was today in the same old situation dragging home lots of groceries in the freezing rain. Guess I should be used to it by now--anyway,, other than that, everything in Nancy is going pretty well thus far. Oh, and I was mad about being here so early but I had two meetings last week, and I have at least one every day next on top of the need to get to Metz to get the things that language exchange Carlos is keeping for me. There's also the flea market tomorrow (maybe I"ll find something for the shrine?) and plenty or other things to do. Now, if I could only get to sleep...�
jeudi 11 septembre 2008
Encore Lorraine
At three o'clock on Wednesday I was supposed to be in Nancy but for some reason I ended up in Disneyland instead.
On Tuesday I got to the Jackson airport only to discover that my flight was delayed, and my connection to my Paris flight was impossible. Freaked out but discovered in Dallas that my flight to Paris was delayed so I made it. We all got on the plane only to discover a technical problem that took 3 hours to fix. Everyone was kind of mad, but I was just so happy to have made the flight (the next one would have been the next day) that I didnt care. Got on a train in Paris that took me to the station right by Disneyland where I watched kids with Mickey balloons and ears until I caught my connection to the Lorraine station.
My trip here has been really similar to my one to Metz. Almost missed my connection that time too, took the same exact route to get there except that I took the shuttle from the Lorraine station to Nancy instead of Metz. And just like my trip to Metz, I was an hour late to work because of forces beyond my control (sort of). Google has a new walking directions, and when I looked up the address, it gave me directions to a house in a suburb of Nancy--which is where I ended up this morning. So like last year I had to get directions from the office of tourism.
I got to work (not late but later than I had intended) and met my boss. She is very nice, but I discovered some somewhat disturbing news. My classes don't start until the 21st. Why did I leave my friends and family and Carlos to hurry back to France when I didnt have work for another twelve days? I am disturbed by this fact. The other lecteur of English has already started because his departments start earlier. Granted, it will be nice to get established before starting classes...but I won't actually have an apartment until Saturday (hopefully I will get this one!<) . Until then I am staying with a sort of potential roommate. It is nice to have someone to show me around (we went to a really cool light show last night), but I wish I had my own place because I still feel so unsettled. I also just want to sleep all of the time, but that's not possible when staying with someone else.
Anyway that is all. I will post more (especially about my classes as soon as I know anything). And now I have to go for a stroll in the rain--how silly of me to leave the house anywhere in Lorraine without an umbrella. I guess I was away long enough to forget about that!
On Tuesday I got to the Jackson airport only to discover that my flight was delayed, and my connection to my Paris flight was impossible. Freaked out but discovered in Dallas that my flight to Paris was delayed so I made it. We all got on the plane only to discover a technical problem that took 3 hours to fix. Everyone was kind of mad, but I was just so happy to have made the flight (the next one would have been the next day) that I didnt care. Got on a train in Paris that took me to the station right by Disneyland where I watched kids with Mickey balloons and ears until I caught my connection to the Lorraine station.
My trip here has been really similar to my one to Metz. Almost missed my connection that time too, took the same exact route to get there except that I took the shuttle from the Lorraine station to Nancy instead of Metz. And just like my trip to Metz, I was an hour late to work because of forces beyond my control (sort of). Google has a new walking directions, and when I looked up the address, it gave me directions to a house in a suburb of Nancy--which is where I ended up this morning. So like last year I had to get directions from the office of tourism.
I got to work (not late but later than I had intended) and met my boss. She is very nice, but I discovered some somewhat disturbing news. My classes don't start until the 21st. Why did I leave my friends and family and Carlos to hurry back to France when I didnt have work for another twelve days? I am disturbed by this fact. The other lecteur of English has already started because his departments start earlier. Granted, it will be nice to get established before starting classes...but I won't actually have an apartment until Saturday (hopefully I will get this one!<) . Until then I am staying with a sort of potential roommate. It is nice to have someone to show me around (we went to a really cool light show last night), but I wish I had my own place because I still feel so unsettled. I also just want to sleep all of the time, but that's not possible when staying with someone else.
Anyway that is all. I will post more (especially about my classes as soon as I know anything). And now I have to go for a stroll in the rain--how silly of me to leave the house anywhere in Lorraine without an umbrella. I guess I was away long enough to forget about that!
samedi 6 septembre 2008
Whoa
The people at the French consulate very rarely answer the phone. I can sort of understand this because the visa process is so confusing that if they did answer the phone, they would never actually get anything done. I tried calling them all day on Tuesday and didn't succeed in getting them until Tuesday evening. I asked if they had received my information faxed from the ANAEM office in France (which I knew the office had sent), and they said no. I immediately starting crying again, then waited until two in the morning here when I could call France and called my boss who called the office. The office had even received confirmation from the Atlanta office that they had received the papers, but I guess someone lost them or something. She asked them to fax the information again on Wednesday morning. All day Wednesday I tried to call the consulate again to see if they had received it, but no one answered. On Wednesday afternoon I drove to Birmingham because I had a visa appointment on Thursday. Without knowing whether they had my contract or whether I would be able to get my visa, I had to drive to Atlanta because the office wouldn't answer the phone. In my head, I started having to plan alternatives--what to do if I didn't get my visa--buy yet another plane ticket--or even get stuck in the United States this year.
I stayed with Brittani on Wednesday in Birmingham and Thursday morning drove to Atlanta. Carlos was a good navigator, and I made it to the office with no problem. By some miraculous...miracle they had my contract this time, and within 30 minutes I had my visa. After a little jump and a scream for joy, I decided to take Carlos around Atlanta as a sort of reward for being so patient and helpful through my crisis. We went to CNN headquarters and got the tour and bummed around Centennial park before heading back to Birmingham.
I hadn't made any plans with anyone in Birmingham on Friday because part of me was expecting to have to spend the night in Atlanta to take care of all of the visa stuff. But as it turned out, I had time to take Carlos around--to the botanical gardens, to BSC, and to the Summit. It was kind of surreal to be back at my old alma mater, but it was cool to see it again and to run into some of the people there. We also met up with Dr. Norrell and my cousin Jackie, and later that night Parks, Mattie, Deanna, Brittani, and Adrienne all met us for dinner. It was kind of strange because there's nothing like seeing your friends for a really short period of time that makes you remember why you like them so much and really miss them. Seeing everyone this weekend is making it even harder to go back to France. It is really hard to believe that I am leaving in a few short days. It feels like I just got back!
Inscription à :
Messages (Atom)
