TAPiF Episode 2: We Will Be Experiencing Some Slight Turbulence

Let's start off with some vocab, shall we?

To make things easier on everyone (and by that I mean, to allow me to be a lazier typist), I'm giving a heads-up on some terms I'll probably be throwing around a lot in the future.

CHF= Swiss Francs. The exchange rate between CHF and USD is about even, but with a slight advantage going to Switzerland.

EUR= Euros, which France has been using for the past decade-ish. Last year during my study abroad, the exchange rate was roughly 1 USD  to 60 cents EUR. Now it's closer to 1/0.80.

S-J-en-G= My personal abbreviation for Saint-Julien-en-Genevois, the town where I have my teaching assignment, and where I'll actually be living for the rest of my stay in Europe

Collège Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Collège Arthur Rimbaud= The two middle schools I'll be working at this school year. "Collège" is the French word for middle school- College over here is simply known as "université"

TAPIF Episode 2: We Will Be Experiencing Some Slight Turbulence

There's a lot of territory to cover in this one. I wrote the last blog entry from the living room of my parents' house in good ol' Port Angeles. I've since been on two continents, in three countries, passed through four airports, and more time zones than my body wants to admit.

Part 1: In Transit

Today was my fourth day in Europe (third, if we're counting whole days), but it's been hard to keep track, thanks to the mind-altering powers of jet lag. Out of the 30+ hours I spend in transit from Seattle to Geneva, I probably slept no more than 5 or 6. Airplane seating isn't especially comfortable, and while I did manage to find some good benches on my 12 1/2-hour layover in Atlanta, it was only ever a matter of an hour or so before I had to surrender my staked claim to a passenger waiting to board their flight, and then it was on to find the next row of seating long enough to accommodate a quick nap. At least there were benches, though. The two other airports I've slept in- Torino and Charles de Gaulle, only had separated chairs, which meant it was the floor for this sleepy girl.

Something else that helped me out in Atlanta was the quest for food. I had some snacks handy, and my ever-generous grandparents slipped me some cash so I could buy myself a hot airport meal. And let me tell you, with how tired and cranky and eager I was to just be there already, nothing in the world sounded so perfect as a bowl of soup. Oddly enough, it's surprisingly hard to find one in an airport. I grabbed some cheesy fries and a Coke (I figured I couldn't be in Georgia and not drink a Coke!), and it wasn't until I made my way to the international terminal a few hours before my flight that I enjoyed a bowl of one of the best tomato soups I've ever had. It was so comforting and wonderful that I took about twenty minutes to finish it. That soup alone did more to make traveling bearable than almost anything else.

The flight to France was uneventful, and though I did eventually fall asleep, I only stayed asleep for about an hour or so, and so in order to keep myself occupied I watched three movies. Thank goodness for my own personal screen! First up was Moonrise Kingdom, which I couldn't resist seeing for a second time. Round two was even funnier, and I did a good job of keeping my laughter internal so as not to wake up my sleeping neighbors. Next was The Five-Year Engagement, which thankfully was edited for language, because there seemed to have been a lot of it. It was good for a few laughs- the best part was actually indulging my sexy-older-man-crush I currently have on Rhys Ifans (judge away). Last up was Brave, which I found to be rather unremarkable and underwhelming, although it was kind of fun being so hypnotized by the animation of Merida's hair. I'd heard it wasn't amazing, but I felt like I had to give it a go, just to know for myself.

So, there was Seattle-Atlanta, then Atlanta-Paris, and after some more airport sitting, I flew into Geneva. Now, I'm making progress with my airplane issues. When I flew to San Francisco and back to apply for my visa, I don't think I outright panicked once. I was a cool cucumber for the first leg of my most recent journey, and the second leg was alright, but I got a bit anxious from being in air for so darn long! But the last leg was awful. My least favorite part, take-off, was a wobbly affair, and I don't remember the last time I flew through so much turbulence. Flying low over the lake gave me a great view, though, and I couldn't believe how massive it actually is. I was thankful to be alive and unshaken when we landed.

Part 2: Getting Started

Finally, I was on solid ground, with nowhere left to go, but to sleep. I couldn't wait to get my luggage from baggage claim and scurry on out of the airport. Unfortunately, I had to wait, because my luggage never showed up. I filed a claim with in the baggage office, but I've never had a problem like this before, so I really wasn't sure what to expect. I'm really glad I always keep my more expensive items, like my laptop, in my carry-on so they can't get lost.

When I got word that the people at Rimbaud had an apartment for me, I thought I'd be moving in right away. It turns out, there's a bit of a process that includes me getting a bank account and buying renter's insurance before I can claim the space. So with about three days' notice, I emailed church members in Geneva with my last-minute plea for a bed to sleep on for a few nights before I get settled. Thankfully, one family in particular has extra space where their now-grown kids used to sleep, and so I was given a room in the DeGuzman house for a few days and nights. My first order of business when I got there was to sleep for about 10 hours straight, which would've been even better if I hadn't arrived at 2:30pm.

 Despite my best efforts at adjusting my body to this new time zone, I woke up, fully rested, at an awkward time in the morning. A little bit of snooping, and I found a 500-piece puzzle of a girl and what looks like a hula hoop, standing in front of some flowers. Good enough. I set it down on the desk in my room and got started. a while in, I hear a loud noise, and I felt a sharp pain in my toe. A wooden board had fallen over and hit my foot! I shrugged it off and kept going with the puzzle. As I fidgeted with my feet, I noticed that the floor felt particularly smooth and slick. I didn't think much of it, until I looked down and realized it was all from the blood gushing out of my right big toe! I cleaned everything up, and it really wasn't as bad as it looked, but I was surprised to find myself sliced up like that. At this point I began to wonder if Geneva had something against me, and was out to get me. After all, the last time I was here last summer, the bus ride home gave me an awful case of motion sickness, which I almost never have problems with. I'd have to proceed with caution from then on.

Wednesday I made my way into S-J-en-G to meet with Elodie, one of the English teachers at Rimbaud, who is responsible for me over there. We sat down in a cafe and got to know each other a bit, and she gave me better ideas of what to expect from my job and from S-J-en-G. She's young and bright, and does a really wonderful job of looking out for me. I feel like I can ask her anything, and she's always willing to help me out if she can. I walked around town for a bit, and found that it really is pretty miniscule. The town center has a post office, bank, grocery store, movie theater, and pharmacy, as well as an old church that comes up in Google search results for the place, probably because there isn't much else. There's also a public library a few blocks away, and Geneva is, of course, just a bus ride away.

Thursday I headed back into S-J (with a new change of clothes, thanks to the late arrival of my luggage. So good to feel fresh and clean after wearing the same clothes for days!) to meet up with Elodie at the school, and hopefully get a look at my apartment. Rimbaud is really easy to find, and I stopped by a bakery on the way and had my first baguette back in France. I've had such a hard time in the States finding the perfect French bread- hard and crackly on the outside, but soft and fluffy on the inside, with just a slight taste of sourdough. It was a real treat. There are so many foods I've missed, but I decided that I'm going to treat myself to one thing a day, so that I can enjoy it more, and so I won't overdo it by eating everything good in one go. I found two or three places to get a kebab in S-J, so I'll have to eat at each restaurant and find a favorite. I've been craving a kebab-frites with samurai sauce since coming back to the USA last summer.

Anyway, I got a tour of the school, and throughout the afternoon I met most of the English staff. Most of the staff of the school is pretty young, and they were all really warm and welcoming. Elodie posted a list of items I need for the apartment on the white board, asking for anyone who's willing to donate or lend some household items to the cause. The apartment owner wasn't ready that day, so we set up another meeting time for Friday. Elodie treated me to lunch on her meal card, and it's probably no surprise that it was quite good. As we took our seats around one of the faculty tables, all the teachers seemed eager to get my reaction to French cafeteria food. I can't complain about a salad not composed entirely of iceberg lettuce, a grapefruit half, warm bread, and melt-in-your-mouth beef and potatoes with a gravy-like sauce. No wonder kids in France all eat the school-offered lunches. The USA could definitely learn something here.

After lunch I headed over to the church to meet up with Halla, the English assistant assigned to the high school. She was there with her dad and one of the high school staff, who, like the teachers at Rimbaud, noticed that I still have to become re-accustomed to la bise, the way people in France kiss on both cheeks as part of a greeting. I have a feeling that when I return to the States, it'll be instinct, and I'll have to re-adjust to not kissing everybody on the face. People don't respond too well to that in the USA. Halla, her dad, and I all sat down and chatted for a while. They're from Wales, which I knew mostly as the place Christian Bale is from. She's the youngest of the three of us. Jooyeon, who happened to walk by and say hi on her way to a meeting, and I have both graduated college, while Halla still has another year. We talked about going to Grenoble for our orientation on Monday, what we think of the town, where to get the best deals on phone service, transportation, etc. It made me feel more confident about my life here, and I realized that I've been incredibly blessed to have an affordable apartment lined up for myself, even if I'm impatient to move in. I felt even more blessed to treat myself to some French Coke and some Petit Ecolier cookies.

 Friday I woke up, feeling a bit down. As generous as the DeGuzmans have been, I just want to be on my own, and every doubt I've ever had about my experience here seemed to come at me all at once. I once more took the bus ride from Geneva to S-J-en-G to look at the apartment. Now, everybody says that living spaces in France are miniscule compared to what's normal in the USA, and so I was expecting zero room whatsoever. The owner works at Rimbaud, so I met him there and we walked across the street to the apartment building. Two flights of stairs later, and we were at my place. For a one-person studio, it actually feels pretty spacious. It's nice and open, and the previous assistant left behind the queen-sized bed she bought. There are some tables, a desk, shelves in the closet (happy thought, indeed!), a TV that I will probably never use, and a very big bathroom, complete with one of the only bathtubs I've ever seen in France. I am very lucky to have it available to me at reduced rent. That being said, there's no fridge or cooking surface, so I'm going to have to either see if anyone has a spare (a stretch, but worth a shot), or try to find something second-hand. I should be able to move in next wed/thurs, or whenever I get renter's insurance. Elodie wants to go with me to do all that kind of stuff, so it'll be after orientation in Grenoble. 

I walked to the train station and bought an SNCF 12-25 card, which gives me a guaranteed discount of 25-60% on train tickets in France by virtue of my being younger than 26. I also learned pretty quickly where the few public bathrooms in S-J-en-G are, and more importantly which one to avoid at all costs (the one that isn't much more than a hole in the ground- ick!) I wonder what French moms do when they have to run errands with their kids. Good thing Geneva has the cleanest free public bathrooms I've ever seen. I headed back to Geneva and took some time just walking around. It was the first day with no pouring rain, so I had a better opportunity to take in some sights. There are a lot of free things to do in Geneva- museums, sight-seeing, etc. which is good, because although CHF and USD are almost equal, the inflation rate in the city is ridiculous. Bus tickets can cost CHF 4.80 just for two hours of use, and retail pricing is about twice what you'd see in the USA. Since I know I'll be coming into Geneva at least once a week for church, and hopefully more, I bought myself a bus pass. It's only good for Geneva, because the one that covers multiple regions (aka, goes into France) is almost twice as much per month, and I live so close to the border that I can just walk and extra block, cross over into Switzerland, and go the rest of the way into town from there. It'll also be nice not to have to constantly buy tickets- I'll be able to just get on and off as I please, with no worry about time restrictions. I love European public transit. So easy.

Friday was a fantastic day. I ate some dinner by the Rive Gauche, where the famous Jet D'eau is located. I watched some little girls feed the ducks and swans, excited as if they'd waited their whole lives to throw bread at hungry birds. Cute. I took a couple bites of my daily treat- this time it was a bar of chocolate from Manor, which is the go-to-place for inexpensive Swiss chocolate in Geneva. Just like my ration on treats, I've decided to buy one bar of chocolate at a time, so I savor what I have and don't go overboard. My first selection was dark, with embedded pieces of orange zest. Fantastic! Next time I might go for the crunchy honey flakes. That one caught my eye, and looked pretty intriguing. I spent some time walking around and looking through windows to all of the luxurious items in store windows. I don't think I've ever been so close to so many diamonds! If you're rich and you want to make a fashion statement, shopping in Geneva seems like a good place to start. I also looked at what kind of movies they have- it's interesting that some of the American films keep their original titles, like The Dark Knight Rises, and others go through a translation- my favorite was Sexy Danse 4 (aka Step Up 4). There are a lot of theatres in Geneva, so I'm going to have to do some research and see what looks interesting, and hopefully I'll be able to take in a few good shows while I'm here.

Before my trip, I was a bit nervous about my French. I speak pretty fluently, but it's been a long time since I've had good practice, and I knew it wouldn't be what it used to, at least, not at first. Within a day of being in Geneva/France and talking to people on the street/ in stores (Elodie and the Rimbaud English staff speak to me mainly in English, because that's what I'm there for, and because the students can't catch on that I speak French- It'll force them to practice their language skills) I felt much better about my level of speaking and understanding. During my lunch time at the school, we spoke mostly in French, since not everybody knows English so well. Everybody was impressed, which made me feel really great. Even when I had some difficulties at the train station (for whatever reason, I seem to have difficulties speaking/understanding French almost exclusively when talking to men) the man there told me he was so glad to hear an American making such a good effort. The people here are just so nice! I hate it when Americans who don't actually know anything about France, or who have only been to Paris (where the people really can be quite rude), talk about how rude the French are. Sure, they can be a bit snobby, like with the school lunch comparison conversation we had, but in many cases, they are justified in their snobbishness, and it really doesn't bother me. They just love who they are, and they know they have some good things going for them. Everyone I've met has been so nice and helpful, because they know that I'm trying to get to know their culture and language. It's another great blessing to be around people so friendly.

I haven't met up with the staff at Rousseau yet, and I won't until after orientation. My contact professor over there sends me emails in French, rather than in English, and I wonder if my experiences at two schools, even though they're side-by-side, will be very different. I know that at Rimbaud, one of my six teaching hours every week will be a conversation class for students who volunteer to come practice their English. My other lessons will be short, and probably nothing too hard, but I'm excited for a low-key hour to take things in any direction the students and I want. I hope I can do something similar at Rousseau. Orientation in Grenoble is the next big thing (thanks, SNCF 12-25 card, for already proving your worth on this trip!) and then I'll be in my first week of classes, mostly just observing. There doesn't seem to be a lot of communication between the two schools, so I don't have a schedule just yet, but everything seems to work out just fine, so I'm sure I'll have a normal routine in no time.

If you've made it to the end of this marathon post, congratulations! Your patience has been rewarded by knowing that you've finally reached the last paragraph! I'll be sure to post pictures at some point, including one of my toe carnage. Until next time, bon weekend!