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.

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.