An End In Sight

So, after various misadventures of varying kinds, the procedure for the autorisation de séjour temporaire to go to Luxembourg is finally almost finished! I just got word from the Luxembourgish Embassy in D.C. that they sent my application to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for final approval and that, if all goes as expected, I should be in Luxembourg as early as the 10th of October. Granted, it's a little later than I originally hoped (I was originally hoping for September), but a lot earlier than my new adviser feared would be the case.

I also have another trip being planned that's coming together rather nicely: in December, I'll be going to India for a friend's wedding. It'll be a three-part excursion, with part one being frolicking in northern India (Delhi, Jaipur, and Agra) before travelling south for part two in Pune (the actual wedding) and finishing up in Mumbai and other parts of the state of Maharashtra for part three. There'll be five of us travelling up north before the wedding, including one of my friends from here in Kent, so that'll be a great time. Definitely am looking forward to that trip. I just sent in for the visa (India requires almost everyone to have a visa in advance), so hopefully that won't take long.

More to come, but things are looking quite promising. I excited.

Anticipation and Preparation

Moving to a foreign country invariably involves an innumerable amount of paperwork, and preparing to go off on my next adventure is no exception. What I wasn't expecting, though, was how much more paperwork is necessary for Luxembourg compared to the amount I needed to go to France and Germany.

To elaborate:
· Germany doesn't require an advance visa for US citizens, but an Aufenthaltstitel (residence permit) has to be secured within 90 days of entering the country.
Back in 2011, the permit required my passport, a passport photograph, the application form, a confirmation of my internship from BASF, proof of lodging, and €50 in cash. Fairly straightforward, though it had to all be done in German, which was a bit daunting. Took about three weeks.

· France requires Americans to have a visa issued in advance by a French consulate to stay for more than 90 days. Then, within 90 days of the first entry to France, you have to get an extra sticker that "transforms" the visa into a residence permit for the duration of its validity.
Because I was going under a language assistant temporary work visa and was applying in Frankfurt, though, all this required was my passport and a photocopy of the data page and my German residence permit, a photograph, my fingerprints, and my work contract and arrêté de nomination (an official ministerial decree declaring that I was appointed a language assistant to specific schools). I did have to personally go to the consulate. No charge due to it being an exchange program visa, and I was able to pick the visa up the following day. The validation sticker required a medical exam along with a copy of my passport data page, French visa, and German entry stamp and proof of accommodation.

· Luxembourg doesn't require a visa for US citizens, per se, but an autorisation de séjour temporaire (authorization for temporary residence) has to be obtained before entering Luxembourg. This acts as a visa substitute that has to be used within 90 days to get a Luxembourg residence permit.
However, the paperwork necessary consists of:
- Certified copy of my birth certificate;
- Copy of every single page of my passport, used or otherwise;
- Background check clearance letter;
- Copy of a current CV;
- Copy of my most recent degree certificate;
- Enrollment letter from the university;
- Work contract from Luxembourg.
All of it has to be mailed to the Luxembourg Embassy in DC, and it can take up to 3 months. Not as fun, especially when I'm waiting on documents from Luxembourg to arrive. And, with it being summertime, that makes things quite a bit slower. That said, I have everything except the stuff from Luxembourg in my possession, so, once I get the contract and enrollment letter in my hands, it'll be mailing time.

Still looking at getting out of here hopefully around the middle to end of September at the latest: I think I can probably get on the plane over there, at the latest, about two weeks after I get the AST, though it won't be cheap to get the ticket and getting the housing arranged might be tricky. It's still all very exciting, though, and I can't wait to both start the new project and get over there.

So, yeah, more to come soon. Possibly.

Thawing Glaciers, Thawing Blogs

After two years of no posting (yeah, I haven't gotten a lot of travelling in... yay school) and around four years after having started this blog, I am happy to announce that I just got word that I will be receiving funding from the National Research Foundation of Luxembourg to go to Luxembourg to finish my Ph.D. I'm quite excited.

Only problem is that I don't know yet when I'll get to go over there, so more info to come, but... yeah, this is really exciting.

Variety: The Spice of Life

Before coming to Korea, I didn't really have much in the way of experiences with Korean food. Part of the reason being that my mother really doesn't make it due to a bad experience with it in the past and because Korean restaurants aren't that common in the US; sure, there are some here and there, especially near military installations and where there are a lot of them, but, regardless, they are few and far between. So my stay in Korea definitely has been a bit of an adventure on the food front.

A nice thing, though, is that the cafeteria/canteen in the building in which I work serves a very cheap, often filling lunch (3500 won, equivalent to US$3.20 or so). So, while the quality may not be the best, it's a good introduction to decent Korean cuisine for not very much.

Pretty much, here's a rundown of some of the Korean food I've encountered:
kimchi: Fermented cabbage, radish, or cucumber, usually covered in red chilis. In some form or another, expect it to appear at every meal.
rice (bap): Appears also in many different forms, whether white or black (and the black rice is very good).
gochujang: Red pepper paste made from slightly fermented red chilis. Common to top rice. Good gochujang is really nice and not overly spicy, but the most common one they serve tends to be just hot.
naengmyeon: Cold noodle soup, featuring cooked noodles and a frequently spicy broth. Normally also served with vegetables and/or egg.
bibimbap: A mixed rice dish where rice is combined with vegetables and (sometimes) meat or another protein, sometimes topped with egg, and served with gochujang. Comes in lots of different kinds, with a classic one being dolsot bibimbap (where the meal comes in a hot ceramic bown and, if topped with an egg, the egg cooks in front of your eyes).
Korean barbecue: Thinly-sliced meats, like pork rashers and/or beef, and chopped vegetables grilled at your table. By your own hands. Normally served with a sweeter sauce, salt, and lots of soju.
soju: Korean distilled rice liquor, very similar to vodka but with half the alcoholic content. Plentiful and cheap here, so it's the go-to booze when people want to get totally smashed.

Also notable are the numerous written and unwritten conventions when one goes out for food and drinking. For one, unlike in France or Germany where a person going out to eat alone isn't really looked at funnily, eating in Korea is very much a social activity: in most Korean-style restaurants, individual plates aren't prepared for each person. Instead, while each person normally gets their own bowl of rice or noodles, the dishes are set down to be consumed communally; using your chopsticks, you pull bits off the communal plate to your own plate before consuming it. And the normal method of serving seems to be many small dishes in sequence rather than all the dishes for the appetizer, main course, dessert, or whatever coming out simultaneously. So the effect appears as if it's a lot of small, quick courses. For example, when I went to a restaurant with a lot of the people from my lab this past Friday, there was so much food and in so many courses; soups, salads, vegetables of all kinds, meats, fish dishes, and so forth. It's a very different style of eating, one that I'm not completely used to, but it's sorta growing on me. A bit.

Using chopsticks has also turned out to be a bit of an adventure here in Korea. Most meals have two utensils involved: a set of metal chopsticks and a matching metal spoon. Unlike in China and Japan, the spoon is used actually for eating rice, but also used for soups and messy things. Chopsticks are used for most other applications. And living in Korea is the first time I've really had to use chopsticks, so... it's been a learning experience. That said, the border between "chopstick dish" and "spoon dish" is a bit blurry sometimes, so you just look around at what the other Koreans are doing, smile, and continue on with what you were doing. Normally, offense isn't taken if you make a good-faith effort to not be offensive... I think. And the normal things with chopsticks apply here: never leave chopsticks standing upright in a bowl of rice, never position them in a certain way...

Otherwise, things here in Korea seem to be going rather slowly. Might be because of the weather and the humidity: arriving during the monsoon season wasn't, in retrospect, the best idea. But things here are just so different from other places I've lived, both with the sights, sounds, and sensory overload with all the flashing lights. This place really does feel like a melding pot of traditions and cultures; people seem to want to hold on tightly to the traditions like the hierarchy, food, dress (in some cases), and ceremony while wanting to modernize and become powerful and prosperous. Whether or not both can be accomplished at the same time... I dunno.

So, yeah, that's it from here. There may be some pics coming soon, especially with more exploration on the horizon. And, with that, have a good rest of your week.

The Land of the Morning Something

Note: For one of the first times since I turned 18, I'm actually travelling with someone else on this trip. This is why I use "we" and "our" a lot.

Well, I'm now in South Korea. And it was quite an interesting experience getting here. And getting over jet-lag has been... interesting. As have been a lot of other things, so here are some bits from the past five days of our adventure here.

Anyways, the original plan was to leave from Cleveland-Hopkins Airport early (at around 8) on the morning of the 11th, have a reasonable 3-hour layover in Detroit, and then take a thirteen-hour flight from there into Seoul-Incheon, arriving at a reasonable hour on the 12th. We did arrive at a reasonable hour on the 12th, but...

The initial CLE-DTW flight got cancelled. Not cool. And it automatically rebooked us on a flight that would leave from Cleveland at 6 in the evening and put us into Seoul at 4 in the morning on the 13th. Even less cool. After talking with the Delta agent, what we were able to get was a flight that left from Cleveland an hour later than the original flight and went into LaGuardia Airport in New York and, from there, we'd need to take a taxi from LaGuardia to JFK Airport for a flight that would leave for Seoul about 3 hours later. Long story short, the traffic in NYC was reasonably painless and we made it to JFK with plenty of time to spare, got checked in rather quickly, and were through security and waiting on our flight in no time.

The flight was, in fact, long. Thirteen hours on Korean Air. The service seemed somewhat disturbingly attentive, though: two meal services, two snack services, beverage services throughout the flight, and several duty-free carts coming and going through the plane. So we were at least sorta taken care of for when we landed at a very foggy Incheon Airport. Immigration was painless (though it involved being fingerprinted and photographed) and Customs was likewise straightforward and, two hours later, we were at our destination and checked in to the place we'll be staying for the month. It's a very small accommodation: the shower, toilet, and sink are all together in one "cabinet", and there's not much space at all. But it'll work.

Saturday and Sunday were designated for exploring, getting acclimated to Suwon (the city in which we're staying), and popping into Seoul, including a trip to the Money Museum at the Bank of Korea. Now that the week's started as normal, we're starting some of the science; in particular, we're getting to know the people we're working with (all very nice) and the equipment. So hopefully there'll be some good results to be brought back to the US with us.

As for the food... well, I'm quickly learning how to use chopsticks, and that's an adventure... especially since the Koreans like using flat metal chopsticks that are sorta kinda hard to grab things with. At least rice is customarily consumed with a spoon, so that's not too hard. And Koreans love red chilis: practically every main dish is flavored with them in varying quantities. Getting used to that level of spiciness is taking a bit, but it's coming along.

So, yeah, more to come soon. With that, have a good rest of your weeks.

Thawing Out

This blog in meant to be a blog of my experiences in travelling abroad and the such; I started it back in May of 2011 before I went to Germany and France. Once I returned to the US, though, I stopped blogging because it didn't seem "necessary" anymore. But I always thought that, were I to go out of the country, the blog would be revived on that occasion.

And... that occasion has come. In about one month's time, I will be going to the Republic of Korea for a month-long scientific project in collaboration with some people there, the topic being electrospinning. I don't know too much about it, but I'm sure I'll get an earful/eyeful very soon. Not to mention it'll be a potentially interesting destination: I've never been to Asia. The furthest east I've been is Romania, so this'll be a very different experience altogether.

So, yeah. That's about it for now. More info to come.

Back Stateside Again

This post is coming a bit late, but, after 10½ months in Europe, all things had to come to an end and, a week ago, I left France and came back to the US.

However, I didn't go quietly; since I had to go to Lyon to go to the airport, I decided to make a nice trip out of it. So I spent four days in Lyon combined with a daytrip to Geneva, Switzerland. Lyon is quite pretty and easy to get around; probably as much to see as in Paris, but without the size of the French capital. And a lot of the good things in Lyon are free, so there was no need to hemorrhage money left and right. Definitely a plus.
Geneva was cute and adorable... and very expensive. I went there with the express purpose of spending money and sightseeing (I had a large number of Swiss Francs I wanted to get rid of), and both missions were accomplished, but it's amazing how much prices jump once you enter the tiny little country. Still, though, the added benefit of Switzerland is that the product selection is very different compared to that in France... seems more like a hybrid of what you'd find in Germany and what you'd find in France, all squished into a single package. In any event, I got lotsa good pictures and had a very good time before...

On the 1st of May, however, it was time to return to the US. Leaving on the first, however, was a mistake logistically... because, in France, 1 May is la fête du travail, or Labor Day. For most French public holidays, things, like public transport, still run; I arrived back in France after winter break on 1 January, and that wasn't a problem. However, Labor Day in France is special and, as a result, the Lyon public transport network was completely non-operational that day.

Fortunately, what wasn't offline was the express tram from Lyon to the airport. So, I took a taxi from my hostel to the train station and the tram from the Lyon Part-Dieu station to the Lyon St-Exupéry Airport. And, with it being a holiday (perhaps), the airport was practically deserted. Definitely a plus.

Getting checked in and through security in Lyon was fairly straightforward and painless, and the airport seemed to operate a lot like a US airport in layout. Not much airside, but still a decent amount. The flight from there to Paris was short (1 hour), so it wasn't bad at all.

Connecting in Paris, however, was... fun. I was in one terminal and had to go to another. Fortunately, there was a pedestrian route, so I started following that. First, there was exit control; guy took my passport, turned to a blank page, and stamped it in a matter-of-fact manner. I then thought, cool, the gate shouldn't be far away. That was a misjudgment... it took about 20 minutes to walk to another surprise security control. And after that was the gate.

Airside was, fortunately, a bit less deserted than the first time I went through de Gaulle airport, but still overpriced and with not a good selection. Fortunately, I didn't have too long until I got to board the plane. This plane was the largest I had been on... an Airbus 380. A fully double-decked plane... I was on the lower level, but it was still awesome. The flight was long, the food wasn't too bad, and the seat neighbors weren't too horrible... just like usual.

When we landed at JFK airport, it felt a bit like Heathrow all over again... a bit of a walk to Immigration, and the line I didn't go to was jam-packed with people waiting. Getting through immigration and customs was fast and painless (and, fortunately, not very unfriendly) and the terminal I arrived at and the one I needed to go to weren't separated by much, so it was a short walk. And more waiting once through security. The flight from JFK back into Charlotte arrived... early. By about an hour. So I needed to wait around a bit for my father to arrive and, after he got me, we made the three-hour drive back to Stedman.

It fortunately hasn't been too hard to adjust to being back in the US. I do miss France (a lot), but being nice and relaxed and having time to relax has really been good. Only really strange thing is that, now, I'm running errands on my own (driving!) and that my brother isn't yet here. In a week, though, that'll be changed. I have a few more things coming up soon, like a trip to Wisconsin and one to Colorado; I might fit a Canada trip in somewhere this summer; and... I might be headed back to France this fall. Turns out that my paperwork for the renewal wasn't rejected after all! Unfortunately, the number of posts for assistants was reduced by 20%, but there's still that glimmer of hope that I'll get to return. For that would be awesome.

So, with that, this blog shall probably lie dormant for a while until more fun adventures occur. While I didn't post as regularly as I would've liked to, I thank anyone who read this for... reading this (yeah) and, additionally, all the people in Germany and France for making my stay awesome and wonderful. It's always funny to see how things differed from what I anticipated, and it's almost always been different for the better.

Bis bald / À plus,

Larry

Tying Up the Loose Ends

These past two days have been a bit sad, in a way; they're the last days that I've worked at the lycée.

Originally, when I came to France, I was expecting a rather usual experience: most of the teaching assistants, for example, work with high school students. Instead, I got something very different, mostly with students about my age. At first, it was daunting in a way... but things got easier and, in a way, being with older students allowed me to talk more about things that they would have first-hand experience with (such as politics, cars, travel, work, etc.). So, in a way, it was a bit more rewarding and easier to relate to the students. This doesn't mean that I didn't have a good time with the seconde classes, though; I also found energetic students who were more than happy to learn and practice English, some of whom I would want to see more of if I had the chance to stick around.

I still have one day of work left at the collège before I shove off for Lyon. That, too, was great. It was disheartening to hear that previous assistants didn't like working there, and I found it hard to understand why they hated it so much: the teachers there are friendly and the students, while younger, generally less shy and less loath to speaking English and making mistakes. But maybe that's just an aspect of me being a bit of a positive person; always looking for the plus in a situation and not being discouraged by the fact that some of my students spoke not a word of English.

The hardest part of it all, though, it imagining how quickly this year's gone by. It doesn't seem like too long ago that I was getting ready for graduation from Ripon College, having my rear end handed to me by Chemical Instrumentation, and preparing to go to Germany for my BASF internship. Now, I'm looking at heading back to the US and starting graduate school in the fall. And I really wish I could get the contract renewal and spend more time here in France; with each passing day, receiving the contract renewal seems less and less likely. But the fingers are still crossed.

With regards to the election, though... some of the results were quite shocking. The second round will take place after I've returned to the US, and that also looks to be interesting. Not as interesting as 2002 was, mind you, but still a potential adventure.

Four Countries, Four Very Different Experiences

France is the fourth different country that I've lived in. Living in a place, naturally, gives you a very different view and experience compared to visiting as a tourist, and thinking about how that experience differs from those in your home country or other places you've lived can be, at minimum, somewhat different.

Not to mention that, since I don't have much longer in France, I wanted to review some of the pluses from each country that I lived in on this stay in Europe.

Germany

• Germany's public transport system is peerless in many regards: it runs on time and has very, very good coverage. Not to mention that long-distance express trains are fairly reasonably priced.
• If you don't understand something, many Germans seem more than willing to help you to understand. Or speak in English if possible. Speaking of that...
• Germans, in general, have a fairly decent level of English. It's not like in Denmark or Sweden where everybody speaks it, but finding an English speaker isn't too daunting or impossible of a task.
• Shops are generally open continuously until 8 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays. Granted, they are almost all closed on Sundays, but that's workable. In comparison, shops in France normally close at 7 and sometimes close on other days, like Mondays (or Monday mornings).
• German bakeries are excellent. As are German meats. And candies. And food in general, truth be told.
• Food in Germany, generally, is quite a bit cheaper in comparison with France. Especially if you eat out. The fact that both France and Germany use the same currency make this even more visible.
• German bureaucracy, while it can be tiresome at times, generally runs efficiently and, in addition, assures that you will have an answer if you have a question. And that said answer will be correct. And it's easier to navigate than the French.

France

• Contrary to the stereotypes, the French (I've dealt with) are friendly and polite. Not rude. And they're delighted to hear a foreigner speaking French.
• There's a lot more of a regional identity in France: especially in Auvergne, where I currently live, people are proud to be Auvergnat and promote local products and culture to a very great degree.
• Public transit may not be as good between cities or once you get outside the city center, but it's workable and generally cheaper within the cities. (ex. €2.40 for a single ticket in Frankfurt am Main compared to €1.70 for one in Paris and €1.60-ish in Lyon). In any event, it's still much cheaper than Copenhagen.
• France has excellent bakeries and lots of delicious things.
• By and large, the French seem to prefer smaller shops a lot more to the larger ones. It's much easier to find farmers' markets here and, really, they're held with a lot more frequency.
• Where I live, temperatures are quite moderate and rarely ever horribly cold. Granted, it's not very warm right now, but that's minor.
• Local trains are nice and spacious... a bit more pleasant than the ones in Germany.

I mean, though, the experiences I've had are quite different from a social aspect: as my French is much better than my German, I'm able to (and willing to) communicate a lot more without needing to ask "Sprechen Sie Englisch?" (or "Parlez-vous anglais?") all the time. And I hate having to ask others to speak English, so it's a great asset to be able to communicate more easily here.

But, all in all, it's hard to say what I like more. I grew up in Germany, yeah, but I'm living on my own here in France and doing a job that I really love. So is the experience better here in France? In a way, probably. And yet asking me to choose which I like better is like asking if I like cake or pie more. I like them each in their own way, but I can't say I like one more than the other.

Ah, whatever. Anyways, I'm off to do a bit more exploring and wandering; without much time left before the 1st of May, I've quite a bit more I want to do. And that's part of why I want to return next year... really, why I'd prefer to do that rather than immediately heading off to grad school.

Coming soon (maybe): French election stuff! Yes, it's going on right now, and comparing it to the US Election allows for interesting comparisons to be made. It's great to discuss it with my students.

French Schools and French Students

Wow, it's been a long time since my last post. In fact, I completely forgot to post about my UK trip. So maybe I'll just add some pictures instead and let them describe the trip. In short, it was exactly what I needed; it gave me a chance to relax, recharge my batteries, and get lots and lots of stuff food-wise.

London and the Tower Bridge

The Palace of Westminster, where Parliament assembles

The Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen's official residence in Scotland

Edinburgh Castle

Cardiff Castle

Anyways, with the end of the most recent trimester (French schools operate on a trimester system, interestingly enough), I got to attend a conseil de classe for each of the seconde (10th grade) classes I work with. The conseil de classe isn't something that exists in the US system, though: as the students are generally sorted into groups and stick together in said groups for all their classes throughout their stay at a collège or lycée, they have a common group of teachers in a year. For example, at my collège, there are six groups of quatrième (eighth grade); each group remains together and has the same weekly schedule. The only time they might be split up for classes is with the second foreign language, where some will take Portuguese and others might choose German or Spanish, but, otherwise, they're stuck with each other. At the end of the marking period, all of the teachers for the group meet with an administrator, either the head of the institution or one of the assistants; two representatives of the parents; and two representatives of the students to discuss the performance of the class over the past marking period and, in the case of the seconde classes, to discuss the placement of the students for the following year. This is because, in France, after seconde, one is sorted into either a baccalauréat for university track or one for technical fields. (Vocational and professional schools are a different subject altogether.)

One of the striking things I noted, though, is the difference in behavioral expectations. The belief in France is that a student should be sage: that is, seen and not heard. They should remain quiet, take notes, and not ask questions or otherwise speak in class. And, in a way, that's an obstacle to my job as a teaching assistant and trying to get the students to speak.

Now, let's be honest: a well-behaved class, one which isn't violent and which listens, is always a plus (and an expectation on both sides of the pond). But the difference I notice largely comes in the participation expectations: in the US, most of the classes I was in expected students to contribute and participate actively to discussions, and I really don't see that here in France. In fact, a good number of the students that have the really good marks in my classes (or overall, for that matter) are students who don't speak at all! This is due to the fact that, in France, the written aspects are more emphasized than the spoken; while this should change in a few years, from what I hear about some of the changes being made to the baccalauréat, the emphasis will still likely remain on the pen and paper rather than opening the students' mouths and getting them to talk. There is some overlap between good marks and participatory students, but there isn't really much. One student in particular worries me a bit: he's brilliant at English and other languages, but his marks in other areas are likely to put him in a technical track. And the problem with technical tracks here in France is that the language aspect isn't emphasized. I've seen one of the LV Techno classes, a class which tries to teach a foreign language for the purposes of use in technical fields, and I really fear that, if said student is put on a technical track, he won't get the support that he should get with respect to languages and the such.

Among other reasons, this stay in France is definitely rewarding and proving to be very beneficial. I've gotten to experience a completely different education system and learn more about the inner workings of this country. Is it better than the US? Maybe, maybe not. I like to see the positive in most things, so there are definitely pluses on both ends (and, of course, drawbacks as well, like the formidable French bureaucracy). And I hope to come back next year.

But, on the other hand, regarding my job, it's a bit disheartening sometimes to see the students who want to learn being overshadowed or pushed aside by either the administration or the students who really don't care and want to be disruptive. I have a good number of really good students who I want to see more of and who I want the best for in terms of languages and the such: after all, having a second language under my belt is how I was able to come to France. In the end, though, languages aren't seen as important here, so... just like in the US with the subjects seen as less important, they're bound to suffer.

Écosse, Alba, Scotland...

Because spending time in France for vacation, while potentially fun, can be rather tiring after a while, I am presently in Scotland. 'Twas a long, long day of travel with about 11 hours in all on trains (including a late train into Paris and the RER D not properly functioning!), but I was surprised with much warmer temperatures here than in France. And, despite the delays, everything went surprisingly well coming here (very fast and painless passage through Immigration, very friendly staff otherwise), so that puts me in an even better mood. Joy.

In all, I'll be in Edinburgh for four nights, after which point I'll head southward to Cardiff, Wales, for a few days... then London... then back to France. In all, I'm looking forward to this being a nice, relaxing vacation with lots of pictures taken and the ability to get lots of stuff for sending to the US and for sharing with people I like in Clermont-Ferrand. Like food.

Anyways, more will come later, but I just felt like making a quick update. With that, have a good week.

The Snow in France Falls Mainly... Somewhere

While, indeed, it is winter here in Auvergne, we haven't had any snow. That is, until this week.

On Monday, while there was a rather light dusting, it wasn't anything major; it seemed a lot like what one would have in North Carolina, if anything. Tuesday, however, brought with it a significantly greater amount: approximately 10 centimetres (4 inches). And it's still continued through today. In fact, as I type this post, snow is still coming down; not a deluge, fortunately, but still in a significant quantity. Yes, it does disrupt some things, like public transport (thus meaning students don't come to school), but, at the very least, the scenery can be very pretty.

Also, in strange things today, due to absences of many of the teachers I work with at my collège, I didn't end up working there today. Which made me sad; I really do like working there. In exchange, though, I got to meet with another group of BTS/sandwich course students who made me wish I could see them on a regular basis instead of the one class who doesn't like to open their mouths. Yeah, their level of English wasn't the best, but they tried! And that's the most important thing: being willing to try, and being open to taking chances. In fact, three of the students decided that they wanted to go to the UK for the Easter Vacation, and I'm rather happy. I'm not British, but I just love hearing about people travelling and people willing to get out and see the world, even if it is just a few hundred kilometres away from home. (Then again, here in France, a few hundred kilometres can easily put you in another country.)

The planning for the big trip to the UK is going well; I'm still trying to figure out what to do for the Wales legs, but I do have the train tickets and passes. This is a very good thing, so now I don't have to pay an arm and a leg for travelling within the UK. I certainly won't be driving, and buying the train tickets on the day of travel is really, really expensive there (unlike Germany, where, even on the day of travel, the ticket prices still don't go up too much, save for the express trains).

In between continuing the grad school applications and other fun things, I might get another post in soon on more of the behaviors of the wild Frenchmen. Though, on a positive note, I did submit my paperwork for my contract renewal, so, now, I just need to wait for the evaluation to be done and, after that, wait to hear back from them. Hopefully, I'll get a response from someone, school or CIEP, soon, because I really want to know what I'll be up to next year. I did get something from another school wanting me to apply to them, and we'll see how that works out as well.

So, with that, have a good rest of your week.

Let the Fun Continue...

The program I'm on in France allows U.S. citizens to participate twice, either in two consecutive years in the same Académie or two nonconsecutive years in either the same or different regions. Of course, for the second consecutive year, one normally gets placed towards the bottom of the queue for receiving an assignment (as the intention is to first give an opportunity to the people who applied for a first year over the people who are applying for a renewal), so it's not guaranteed. Which is why I'm applying to graduate schools (admittedly, though, not very hard... Minnesota and Florida State are the big ones for now) as a back-up plan.

However, I am applying for a second year in France. I know, I'm crazy, but there are several reasons:
1.) I like my job and I like where I'm at here in France. If I like the situation I'm in, why change it?
2.) Giving myself an extra year will allow me a bit more time to earn some cash and also to get some more experience working abroad, plus it'll also give me the chance to get the other test that many graduate schools in Physics want or require. It's a test that's only offered thrice a year, and, to be honest, it was impossible to get it done last year.
3.) Another year in France will give me more of a chance to improve my French, which desperately needs improvement.

But I'm not going to do the Germany-France two-step that I did last year. Simply put, the issue with the visas and residence permits arises again: I'd have to get an entry visa for Germany due to my stay in France, and that's a fun adventure requiring a trip to Paris or Atlanta (depending on where I'd be at the time). As much as I love Germany, it's probably not a good idea. Not to mention my passport is almost full, and I intend to do at least a bit of travelling this summer.

Speaking of this summer, I'm thinking of giving myself a self-birthday present with a trip out of the US. I'm thinking Canada, Mexico, or someplace in the Western Hemisphere this time, but definitely out of the US. But we'll see.

There and Back Again

It's been a long time since the last post, and a lot has happened in that timespan. Namely, I went to Paris, then back to the United States, and I finally came back to France ov
er the course of two weeks. And now it's back to work.

As most of you know, I went back to the US for the vacances de Noël (winter/Christmas vacation) because of the fun with my airplane ticket: it was cheaper to purchase a round-trip ticket to Germany and back from France back in May than it was to buy

a single one-way ticket. Accordingly, I decided that a quick return to the US wasn't a bad idea: I'd be able to drop some things off, grab any of the varying things I had forgotten in the US and realized would make my stay in France better. So, in all, it'd be a win-win.

So, on 16 December, I went up to Paris. After all, since I had to go to Charles de Gaulle Airport on the 19th and be there at an ungodly hour, why not arrive a few days in advance to do the sightseeing thing? And the stay in Paris was well worth it... I did most of the usual tourist activities, such as visiting Notre Dame, Sacré-Coeur, the Musée du Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, the Musée de Quai Branly, the Tour Eiffel, the Arc de Triomphe, La Défense... as expected, it was a lot of moving around, but it was also a lot of fun. The thing that made it even more fun was that most of the monuments offered free/reduced admission charges to young EU residents (of which I am one, and have been since July), the exception being the Louvre, and the cheap day-ticket available for under-25's on the weekends.

And, as they say, don't try to see all of the Louvre in one day: it won't end well. But don'

t just go straight for the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory: there are a lot of other things to see. But I still preferred the Musée d'Orsay due to it having more of the things I really liked and despite its "no photography" rule that seems to be a recent innovation (it wasn't there the last time I went to said museum...

After the fun in Paris, it was time to brave Charles de Gaulle Airport, the bane of many

travellers. Naturally, it's not in the city of Paris, but getting there involves either an expensive train ticket or a long bus ride. I chose the bus ride because the bus went right to the terminal I left from; surprisingly, though, the whole process of getting through the airport was straightforward with few long lines. Granted, the passport control officer gave me an entry stamp instead of an exit stamp, but it wasn't too grave at that point. However, the terminal in question (Terminal 1) seemed rather barren; not a lot of shops or cafés available, especially once one made it through security.

Then came the nine hour plane flight. Yes, nine hours... it was long, and me sleeping on planes is a rare feat. We finally arrived at Charlotte-Douglas Airport and, unlike my experiences clearing Customs in Toronto, the officers were actually rather friendly and polite even after getting randomly selected for extra screening (though, fortunately, no unpacking and repacking my luggage was involved). Definitely a plus. After the fun of that, rechecking my bag, and going back through security, it was time to get on airplane number 2 to Raleigh. Fortunately, the second flight was a bit shorter: 50 minutes rather than several hours. Once I got on the ground, I went out, found my father, grabbed my bags, and then we got in the car for the hour-and-a-half car ride back to Stedman.

Break was, unsurprisingly, rather calm and relaxing. I got my driver's license practically as soon as I got back, so I'm now able to torment the roads both in the US and in France (with a translation of my license, of course). But, otherwise, not much happened... lots of eating, video games, spending time with family, playing Magic the Gathering with my brother and my mother's friend, taking pictures, and working on graduate school applications. With only 12 days on the ground in the States, though, the time went by very quickly and, before we all knew it, it was time to go back to France.

So, on New Year's Eve, with my father and my evil brother, we took the three-hour trip to Charlotte again. This time, my flight plan was an hour-long flight to Atlanta, a five-hour layover, and then eight hours to Paris. This was a rather uneventful trip, if not particularly boring... the Atlanta airport at least had reasonably inexpensive places to eat, but not many. We got into Paris a bit ahead of schedule, but finding the RER station was rather confusing due to the fastest route there being blocked off for some unknown reason (while the RER to the city is expensive, quite frankly, I was tired and didn't want to have to deal with the bus again). From there, I then took the RER and Métro to the train station and, after even more waiting round, got on the train to Clermont-Ferrand, arriving there late on the first and deciding to crash pretty much immediately.

In all, the trip back to the States was a good idea despite not having much time on the ground there. I did get a lot of stuff to give out to my students and the teachers I work with, not to also mention some more stuff for show-and-tell (like a North Carolina flag). And now it's time to start planning the next trip... I'm thinking the UK. Or Turkey.

Head Wrapping

No, I did not get injured recently. But, as the year progresses, I like to report on the habits and behaviors of the (wild) Frenchman or others I notice around me, plus other stuff going on. This is one of those posts.

Let's Get Physical!

Okay, not the song, but it seems Europeans, especially the people here in France, are quite comfortable/less uncomfortable with less personal space than people in the US are. Actually, it seems like a trend in Europe in general: most people don't seem to need as much personal space. Part of it could be public transport where, a lot of times, there isn't a lot of space... sometimes, you can be crammed like a sardine (like the one time on the Metro/U-Bahn in Bonn). It's a bit hard to get used to, but I think I've gotten a lot better with it over the past 6 months. Going back to the States, though, will take some getting used to.

Frenchmen, of course, also seem rather physical and public with displays of affection. Or at least the younger ones... moreso than most of the Americans I know.

To Thou or To You, That Is the Question

In French, there are two words for you: vous, which is normally used in formal contexts and as a plural, and tu, used towards children and friends. At least it isn't like German which has three different forms (du, Sie, ihr/Ihr) or Spanish with four or five (tu, vós, Usted, Ustedes, vosotros), but, being the native speaker of a language which has all but eliminated the distinction between formal and informal you, the distinction is a bit difficult.

I work at a school. Or, rather, several schools. So I work with teachers. The normal rule with dealing with teachers, at least as a student, is that one always uses vous and polite language. I'm still younger than all the teachers here, so, when I originally came here, I just used the default vous. One teacher, however, insists that I use the tu form of address with her and said that, indeed, one can tutoie (use tu to refer to a person) the teachers here... simply put, it feels strange. Yeah, I'm not a student anymore, I'm a teacher of sorts, but I'm still so much younger than practically everyone else here, so it doesn't feel right to. In any event, it's just one of the interesting things that arise from using a language other than my own native language. Maybe I'll be more comfortable with using tu as the year progresses.

Rolling Out, Shipping Off

Tomorrow, I leave for Paris and, a few days after that, I'll be off to the US. It's going to be an interesting time, to say the least: I've not been to Paris in about 9 years (okay, I passed through earlier this year, but just for an hour) and never at Christmastime. Clermont-Ferrand is certainly pretty at this time of year, and I definitely don't expect any less from the "City of Lights".

I'm not sure where exactly I want to go while I'm there. Probably a few museums, lots of wandering and roaming around... maybe not up the Eiffel Tower, but, hey, that could change. Plus, pretty pictures are important.

As for the US, I'll be there 12 days. It'll be a good chance to buy stuff, recharge, get a lot of rest, maybe a driver's license, and pick up things that I should have originally brought with me (flags, money, literature, etc.). Since I'm a native from an Anglophone country, it's somewhat expected that I bring some of that country with me to my lessons, but I also like talking about other countries and places I've visited. To me, it's just surprising to see/hear how little people travel outside France and to other countries in Europe... then again, they live here and I'm only here for a very limited time, so I feel a bit more pressed.

French Sports: Manifestations and Grèves

Unlike in the US, the French are used to having a lot of benefits with work. One of the things about working here is, generally speaking, job security. One is entitled to a lot as a worker: at minimum, four weeks of vacation, general protection from termination at will, pay increases and promotions for good work, and the such. Naturally, if something threatens this security, one is very vocal. And that's where the strikes (grèves) come into play. Today, for example, there's a grève des professeurs where a lot of teachers decided to go on strike. Apparently, this happens several times a year. And it's a part of being in France... and I should expect more as the elections approach. Fortunately, the grèves are rather peaceful and don't involve too much violence, but they're certainly inconvenient. Especially for public transport!

While I'm not one for striking, though, it is something one can appreciate: the fact that the people here are very vocal and committed to preserving their quality of life and jobs or fighting for what they believe. I've seen several demonstrations outside the Préfecture for a wide variety of topics and, really, it's that, along with other cultural bits, which make this stay in France completely unlike my other stays in foreign countries.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

The month of December has arrived, and with it come all the fun things that Christmas in France entails. All throughout Clermont-Ferrand, once can see workers busily setting up lights galore, a pretty Christmas tree, a Ferris Wheel, a Christmas Market near the Place de la Victoire... the season officially starts on 3 December, so there'll probably be some pictures then. Also, over in Lyon, the Fête des Lumières will be next weekend (note to self: avoid Lyon on those days. Go earlier in the week, maybe next Wednesday, or right before I head up to Paris). Students are getting eager and anxious to go on vacation.

And I'm getting ready to head back to the US for the break... which means I have a few more things to do. Like book my return ticket to France... oh, wait, I have! I fly back to France on the 31st of December and back to North Carolina on the 1st of May, but plans are subject to change. At the very least, though, my stay in the US has the added benefit of allowing me to go on a bit of a shopping spree and acquire some things both the teachers and the students might like. So that's definitely a bonus.

However, today also marks the day when I'm now a French resident! Or at least until 1 May. After 56 days of headaches, waiting around, teeth gnashing, and lots of phone calls, I was able to run to the OFII (Office Français de l'Intégration et de l'Immigration) here in Clermont-Ferrand, give them my medical certificate and a few other papers, and walk out of the préfecture building with a nice, shiny sticker to validate my visa and allow me to stay in France until the 1st of May. I might be able to get permission to stay a bit longer, but, right now, that's the date I'm working with.

In all, work is generally going very well here. Other than the one class I have who doesn't seem to talk, either out of fear, volition, or a dislike for the assistant (hopefully not the last of them), all of my classes are great. Of course, there are always the students who don't seem to want to talk, but one group seems to be opening up a lot more and I'm now getting everyone to talk, whether it be in French mixed with English, English mixed with French, or English outright. That makes me really happy. And, of course, the teachers are also great, especially the ones at the collège: there are fewer of them, but they're almost all very friendly and very willing to put up with me butchering the French language.

So, with that, have a good rest of your week and a good start to your Christmas/holiday season.

Moving House

So, I'm taking a break from moving all of my stuff into my new apartment. It's not that I have a lot of stuff (I moved it all in one day from Germany to France), but my transportation options to get the stuff to the new place are a smidge limited. Namely, I have to use the tram, and the people here give you unhappy looks if you use up too much space on the public transport. So it's a load here, a load there, and everything should be so that I'm completely cleared out of the place at the high school by Wednesday at the latest.

I know, I was staying at the lycée for free, but I really prefer having my own space with implements for cooking, I'll be a bit closer to the collège (so no more hour-long trips!), and I'm right near the city center. Plus, if there happens to be a grève (strike), then the train station isn't too far away for me to be able to catch a train to either school.

Also, with Christmas fast approaching, things are now being decked out in colors and lights, shopping hours are being extended, and stuff is now going on sale. Plus I leave for the US in... a month. Whee. I still have a few things to plan for Paris, namely a place to stay and what all I want to visit... I mean, since I'm flying from Charles de Gaulle Airport, I might as well take the chance to visit Paris and do the sightseeing thing. I've never been to Paris in the winter, though, so it'll be a bit of a treat. I'll see about hopping over to Lyon as well before I return to NC. And I do need to buy my return plane ticket... but I'm still waiting on the visa validation, and I don't want to buy the ticket until I know when I need to return to France. And when I need to leave as well. (sigh)

But things are generally well here, and more updates will be to come. Soon-ish.

Look and Move Along

Like Germans, Frenchmen have their own quirks regarding clothes, fashion, and the such as well as stores, where things are sold, opening hours, and the such. And it's always fun to make all sorts of observations about their habits.

• I'm sleeping, you're eating: Here in France, dinner/supper time is much, much later than I'm used to, but lunches are, likewise, normally longer. Lunch here in France is often from 12-ish to 1:30 or 2 in the afternoon. Accordingly, many restaurants close by three and don't re-open normally until 7. This is in contrast to most other countries I've visited in recent memory, but a part of it also arises from lunch being a much larger meal here than dinner. In any event, if I want to go out to a non-fast food place to eat, my options are a bit limited unless I wait until late in the evening, the time when I'm normally in using my computer, playing video games, or otherwise. It's not like Spain, though, where dinner usually starts at 9 in the evening... so that's a plus.
• Metal galore: While some Germans, it seemed, had an affinity for piercings galore, the French also do, though it seems like more French men have piercings than German men. The ears and eyebrows seem rather popular. But I don't think I've seen anyone here with particularly wild hairstyles... seems a bit like the French prefer to blend in a bit more.
• Clothing makes the Frenchman: The sense of style here in France (and also in Germany) is quite a bit different from in the US. Trousers/pants, for example, rarely ride low, scarves are very popular accessories, and darker colors seem to be the norm, particularly with jackets. Also, I've very rarely, at least in France, seen any of the rather... daring things many younger women in the US seem to be fond of as of late. While clothing, in general, seems to be a bit slimmer and closer-fitting, it's very rarely revealing.
• Sorry, no smokes here: In Germany, cigarettes were available everywhere- vending machines, convenience stores, grocery stores, and the such. In France, however, that's not the case! You can only purchase cigarettes and tobacco products at a tobacconist (tabac). Tobacconists are very much like newsstands in Germany, as they often sell things such as lottery tickets, post cards, magazines, candies, newspapers, and important things called timbres fiscaux, stamps which are used to pay taxes, fines, fees for French bureaucracy, and the such. But that still doesn't seem to stop people here from smoking (a lot), even though cigarettes are about 50% more expensive than in Germany... (must avoid rant)

So, yeah, that's about it for the "observations of France" part of this post.

In interesting news, I think I may have found a more permanent place to live! It's not open until next week (the 6th), but I'll see if I can sign the rent agreement tomorrow or at some point this week. It's about average price-wise and more expensive (in all) than what I had in Germany, but the fact that it'd be my own place in the city center is all worth it. So, fingers are crossed...

Also, hopefully at the end of the break, I'll be able to get the paperwork for validating my visa going. Due to the schools being closed until the 2nd, I'm unable to check my mail, so I'm hoping that the OFII paperwork's waiting for me. As well as the last paperwork to close out my stay in Germany...

And, with that, have a good weekend.

The outsider looking in

Being taught in schools in one country definitely gives one an interesting framework through which one views the system in another country. And, having worked here for two weeks now, I've been paying a lot of attention to how the schools here work, some of the aspects of the system here in France stand out more prominently than others.

• Bell rings for a game of musical rooms- at least in the US, with most primary and secondary schools that I've seen, the usual is that the teacher remains in the same room while the students move from one room to another as needed. There are some teachers who were "nomadic", at least at my high school, who changed rooms, but those were infrequent and the rule was that teachers had their own rooms.
  Here, not so. None of the rooms are permanent, so it's a bit more like university in the US and UK: both the students and the teachers switch rooms frequently. Therefore, the "room" for the teachers is the salle des professeurs, analogous to the teacher's lounge in the US. And at both my collège and lycée, it's a rather nice little room: coffee/beverage vending machines, some snacks, computers, and the mailboxes. So, naturally, most of the teachers are in here when they don't otherwise have classes. (Or if they're not smoking a cigarette.)
• University-like scheduling- Unlike the standard in the US, where one meets for fixed periods at fixed times throughout the week, that's not what happens here. Most students will see a teacher for two to three hours per week for a total of about 30 hours of classes per week, and the teachers, accordingly, are assigned to work not the same hours. Not to mention there's a nice two-hour lunch break and several pauses de récréation throughout the day, so the students, unlike in US middle and high schools, aren't running from 8:30 to 3:30 with only a 30 minute break. In a way, it's also nice for the teachers.
• Wine for the teachers- How else would they get through the day? Okay, I know, not all of them drink it, but teachers can have wine with their meals here at the lycée. As I explained to one of the teachers I'm working with, that'd be a huge no-no in the States. Part of it, of course, comes in that most teachers drive to and from work, and the other part is that people in the US are very strict about enforcing the drinking age and prohibiting access to alcohol by people under 21, so it's slightly illegal (at least) to bring alcohol to a high school.
• Stuck together like glue- In the States, the same group of students doesn't take the same classes after elementary school: you pick your schedule and you move around. Here in France, though, it seems like the same groups of students, all chosen based on the classes they take and their degree program, move together throughout the school day for their classes.

As the year progresses, I'll have more observations to add. Probably.

What's great is that the teachers here are very friendly, and it makes me want to spend more time with them. Especially at the collège, since I'm only there for one day each week... and not at all this upcoming week, as it's vacation time! Oh, yeah, and the French are serious about vacations: the normal rhythm here is 6 weeks on and 2 weeks off, it feels, with two months instead for the vacances d'été. Next week are the vacances de Toussaint, and they last until the 3rd of November (well, in any event, I go back to work on the 4th).

So, yeah, have a good week/weekend, and more stuff will probably materialize over break.

Qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons!

I've been here in the beautiful Auvergne region for about two weeks now, and I must say that I'm impressed. It's been a bit of an adventure, especially with a public transportation strike the first few days I was here, but it's otherwise been great so far.

Part of why I waited a bit to write some more is because I wanted to actually work with my students for the first time and see what I was working with. As I mentioned before, I'm working at a collège in a suburb of Clermont-Ferrand for 3 hours per week and the remaining 9 hours are at a lycée in the southeastern part of the city. I did meet the teachers (or most of them, at least) and many of the students, and it's going to be fun. The teachers are all incredibly nice, always willing to help (it seems) and friendly in general. In all, I'm working with six different teachers and a total of twelve different classes, each class for one hour per week and generally up to about 15 people in a class (so the sometimes large classes are split up).

At the collège, I'm right now working with students in troisième (3e), so they're all from 13 to 16 years old and preparing for the brevet, an examination given at the end of the year that determines what school they're best suited for at the lycée level. As for the lycée, I'm working with both students in seconde (2e) and post-baccalauréat students who are completing a technical program before licensure rather than immediately going to university. The system here in France is, needless to say, a bit different than that in the US, and one of the lessons I do have planned is a discussion about the differences between the educational systems and, really, how the US high-school experience is different from that in France. And, as I'm working a lot with the speaking skills of the students, talking about more "interesting" topics should help with sparking their interests and, really, getting them to speak.

As for the speaking, well... most of the students are very timid, it seems. I hope to get them to speak more, and it'll hopefully get better as time passes.

So, that's it really in a nutshell. Now for some quick tidbits/observations:

• Beer is sold in fast food restaurants, like McDonald's. Conversely, it's sold very rarely at those in Germany, from what I remember.
• Prices here in France are hit-or-miss compared to Germany. Sometimes, they're quite a bit cheaper (especially for food), but most of the time it's roughly the same price or a bit more. What's interesting, though, is that more food is taxed at the lower VAT rate here in France than in Germany (so, here, soft drinks are taxed at 5.5% rather than 19.6%, whereas they're subject to the full 19% in Germany).
• Getting around Clermont-Ferrand is a bit different: it's mostly bus-based, but there is a tram line that, conveniently, is right near where I'm currently staying. And tickets are a bit cheaper here compared to in Germany (and the UK, for that matter).
• House hunting is... well, different. The terminology is rather different, rules for renting are stricter for both ends, and the prices may or may not have charges (utilities) included. So it's really a case of looking very carefully at the fine print.

So, yeah, it'll be a good seven months, I don't doubt. And, with that, have a good rest of your week.