Joyeux Toussaint!

Hello everyone! While most people in the U.S. are saying "Happy Halloween," the French are all geared for Toussaint (All Saints Day). For those of you who are unfamiliar with this traditionally Catholic holiday, it's a day to celebrate and remember all those who have left our presence and are now with God. I went with Catherine and her friend Francoise yesterday to clean and decorate the tomb of their late friend Martine. The cemetery was absolutely beautiful - the tombs were decorated with all kinds of flowers, and there were so many people there visiting the grave sites of their family members. It was such an interesting thing to see; we don't really have a holiday when we remember those who have died.

The city of Angers is decorated in flowers too for the holiday. The fences surrounding the various parks and gardens are covered in flowers. It's nice to see all that color in the dreary, cloudy fall weather we've had.

I had a week off of teaching classes this week in honor of Toussaint, so I had a nice little vacation! While I didn't travel anywhere outside of Angers, I took the time to visit with my friends here. Catherine and I went to go see a movie on Monday. It's a German film titled "The White Ribbon," and it was playing at one of the "independent" theaters - not one of the main theaters that play American films. The theater is named "Les 400 Coups" after a movie by the famous French director Francois Truffaut. It receives money from the government to show films that are produced in Europe; the intention is to support the art of European cinema. The movie itself was strange; it was about a town where crimes were happening, and nobody knew who was committing them. The ending didn't give you a resolution - it left you with two possibilities of who could have been the criminal. Overall, though, it was a quality film.

That night, I went out with the exchange students that are staying in Catherine's house (Trevor and Hitomi). We went to a little restaurant downtown since the one we initially wanted to go to was closed on Sundays and Mondays! It's funny to see the cultural differences here; you would never see a restaurant closed during the week in the U.S. (unless, of course, you're Chick-fil-a!). After dinner, we went out for a drink, and then called it a night.

The rest of my week was pretty relaxed. I am taking a French business class at the university that was still meeting this week, so I went the to the university Tuesday through Thursday. I went over to Catherine's on Tuesday night for dinner, and then Wednesday night, one of my neighbor's cooked dinner for me! His name is Anziz, and he's from Gabon, Africa. French is his native language, so he does a great job with teaching me new vocabulary - especially in the kitchen. He made a great fish-pasta dish for me and Thedi, a Bulgarian girl who also lives in the residence.

Friday, I went to lunch with one of my French business classmates. Her name is Nadia, and she's from Mexico. She lives here with her husband in Angers, and she's hoping to pass the national French business exam after this class so she can work in an office setting. For lunch, we got some Chinese take-out and went back to her apartment to eat it. I got to meet her husband, Johnathan, who works for a French communications business. They were so funny, and I really hope that I will get to see them regularly.

Today has been a little less pleasant of a day, unfortunately. I woke up with a headache (I think it's due to the weather and pressure changes), so I didn't go to the market and canceled my plans with Catherine. I've been resting and feel much better; I'll probably go to Mass tonight and then take it easy - watch a movie or something.

Tomorrow should be a big day though! Catherine is throwing a party for Hitomi's birthday; she'll be 21! She's inviting about 10 people over (which is quite a group in her little apartment!) and cooking a feast. I had intended to go help her prepare for it tonight, but she told me to stay home and rest. I'll give you more details on how that goes in the next post.

Thank you all for your emails and thoughts and prayers! I hope you all are doing well, and I miss you! A la prochaine, mes amis!

Getting into the swing of things

Hello again everyone! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post again. I was really busy this week trying to get into the swing of things.

Last weekend I spent the whole weekend with Catherine Marc. Catherine was my host mother the first time I came to Angers. She now has two students living with her, a Japanese girl named Hitomi and an American from Michigan named Trevor. They are both very nice, and they have welcomed me in to their little international family. Below is a picture of Catherine.



Saturday morning, I went to the market with Catherine. Each trip I take to the market is so exciting. I jump on the opportunity to learn new vocabulary by reading food labels on the stands and through eavesdropping on conversations. I love the sights, sounds, and smells that flood my senses, plus I always walk away with quality food for the week ahead!

After the market, Catherine cooked lunch. We had boudin blanc - a specialty of the region. It looks like a sausage, but it's made with milk, bread, and some other ingredients. It's quite tasty with some cooked apples! After lunch, I went out downtown with the her students. I took the opportunity to visit the SNCF store (the train system in France is called the SNCF, which stands for la Societe Nationale de Chemins de Fer Francais/the National Society for French Railways)to buy tickets for Christmas for Peter and myself. He's coming over to France and we're traveling around Europe - more details to come! I am so thankful that I bought the Eurorail pass for that time as each train ticket now only costs me a mere 3 euros. Definitely worth it!

After going downtown, we returned for dinner that night. I didn't get back to my room at the student residence until about 10:30.

The next morning, I went to Mass at St. Joseph, the same church I attended my first time in Angers. It is a beautiful stone church with religious statues depicting our Lord, the Blessed Virgin, and several saints. There is an organ, and the entire service echoes the majesty of God. Ironically enough, though, I feel quite at home since the priest uses a PowerPoint presentation during his homily. In the U.S., I go to Ascension Catholic Church, where they have a continual PowerPoint of images going through the Mass. The similarities are very comforting. :)

I went to Catherine's again after Mass. She fed me lunch, and then we left to go bottle wine in her friend's basement! I had the opportunity to bottle wine my first time in Angers, so I was an old hat at it on Sunday. Here's a picture of me corking a bottle!



It's really interesting how they do it. Nellie, the woman who hosted us in her basement, buys wine in big plastic barrels and then bottles them herself at home. She puts the wine in bottles that she has saved throughout the year and corks it with her own corking machine (which I am using in the picture above!). The corks have to soak in water to fit in the bottle easily, and the labels are dipped in milk and dry on the bottle. The milk allows the label to stay on the bottle, but it's much easier to get off than glue. It only costs Nellie about 1.35 euros per bottle - a very good price for wine from Bourgogne!

After we finished, we ate dinner at Catherine's appartment, and then I went back to my room. I needed to get a good night's sleep to start off the new week!

This past week was my second full week at the Catho (the Catho is short for L'Universite Catholique de l'Ouest - where I am teaching this year). Overall, the classes are great. I was a little worried about one rather large class of 28 students who kept whispering in French, but I think I got a handle on it; this week I heard them whispering in English instead!

Today is Friday, and I have the day off. That's one really nice thing about this job; I only have classes Monday through Thursday. It is a beautiful day outside, and I took advantage of it this morning! I walked about 20 minutes to a larger grocery store to buy some things that I can't get at the market. I also stopped by the post office to send some documents needed to obtain the second half of my long-stay visa. I also went downtown to walk around and look at the shops with Christmas gifts in mind. Now, I know you might be thinking that it's a little early to do Christmas shopping, but I want to make sure I can get the gifts to my family in the mail before the Christmas rush!

One thing that really surprises me on Friday is how tired I am. I was talking to my mom about this earlier, trying to figure out why I feel so exhausted and, even though it's a nice evening, why I'd rather just sit around in my room. I think that teaching 14 hours of classes in four days has something to do with it, but I also think that having to constantly think and speak in a foreign language - no matter how comfortable you may be with it - is tiring.

I do have some loose plans for the weekend. I am going to the market with Catherine in the morning and then staying over for lunch. I am meeting up with Elena, the Spanish lectrice, to get some travel information and do some more window shopping downtown. Tomorrow evening, we are going to Mass at the St. Maurice, the cathedral of Angers. They are supposed to have an impressive organ player. Afterwards, she is coming over and we're making dinner together. Sunday, I will probably go to Catherine's for lunch, and then who knows what!

Please pray for me this upcoming week. Next week is the Toussaint (All Saints' Day) break, and it is quite lonely already around the residence hall. A lot of people went home or are traveling during the week. Due to my lack of money, I was not able to travel to Italy to visit my college roommate, Bekah, as I originally planned, so I am going to try to keep things exciting in Angers this week. Please pray that I continue to focus on the blessings I have here and not get caught up on the fact that I am away from my family and friends. I will keep you all up-to-date on the happenings of this upcoming week! Don't forget to visit my photo website for my latest pictures!

Gros, gros bisous!!

Pictures are up!

Hello again! If you'd like to see my pictures, bookmark this website:

http://community.webshots.com/user/drakecas

You'll see pictures posted from my first trip to Angers and my new albums here. Happy browsing!

My (second) first impressions

I've had my first weekend in Angers! It started very nicely. Friday night, I went to my former host-mother's (Catherine's) apartment and had dinner. I got to meet the students that are staying with her now and see her and her good friend Jacotte again. When I walked into the apartment, it was like I was entering my second home. I have some wonderful memories from my first visit to Angers there, and it was really comforting to enter a familiar atmosphere. Of course, the dinner was delectable, and we did some catching up. It was such a lovely evening.

I started the weekend in a very French way - I went shopping at the Saturday market! You can get fresh produce, meats, breads, etc on Saturday morning. My intention was to help Catherine carry her groceries, but it turned out that she helped me pick out mine! I bought some zucchini, potatoes, apples, pears, eggs, and an onion. The vendors are so nice, and it challenges me linguistically because I hear so many different French accents at the market. I'm looking forward to going back next weekend.

Sunday I went on a trip with other students who live in the same student residence that I do to Brittany. An Italian student reserved a private bus to travel to Mont St. Michel and St. Malo - two cities in the Brittany region. We were able to fill it up with about 50 students, so the cost only came to be about 16 euros a piece. It was a very cost effective way of traveling! I had had the opportunity to travel to the two cities my last trip in France, and I found them to be just as charming the second time as I did the first time.

I really appreciated the trip because it allowed me to meet other students living in my residence. I'm surprised at how many international students are living in my building - we have Italians, Americans, Spaniards, Germans, Bulgarians, Belgians, and the list continues! The students I met are very friendly, and it's nice to have the faces in the building be familiar now!

The weekend came to an end quickly, and my classes started on Monday. I had 5 hours of classes, seeing 5 different groups each for one hour. I was so tired by the end of the day; I realized that I have to work up my teaching endurance again! The classes overall went well. There was one class of 27 students that was a little overwhelming; this group of students are in their first year here at the IPLV, so their language skills in English are not as strong. With a group so big, it was hard to give them the individual attention that they needed, which resulted in lots of whispering in French among the students. I've talked to the supervisor, and we've come up with a solution of how to decrease the class size - we're splitting the group in half and I'm meeting each group every other week. I think the conversations will be more fruitful that way.

It's funny to see the differences between the American school administration and the French administration. I am so used to having everything organized in advance. The schedule for universities in the U.S. seem to be set by the time students arrive. Here, they are still working on a schedule even after several weeks of the students being here. Sometimes it frustrates me, but then I remind myself that I am in a different country and that it's an experience for me work under a different kind of system. It's definitely teaching me flexibility and patience.

I also have the pleasure of taking a French class here through the CIDEF (the French language program for foreigners here at the Catho where I studied before). I am taking business French, a class that I have wanted to take since my first trip to Angers. I am learning a lot about the formalities and the basic functioning of French business. I think this new information will be very helpful for my future students.

Tomorrow, I get to have lunch with a Meredith alumna named Debra. She was one of the first lectrices here in Angers from Meredith. She met a British man during her stay here, whom she married, and now teaches English at the IPLV. I'm looking forward to chatting about the lectrice position, how it's changed over the years, and reminiscing about Meredith. I'll be sure to give you an update on that later this week.

Hope all is well with you in the U.S.! A bientot.

I've arrived!

Bonjour to everyone from Angers! I am finally here after an eventful 24 hours of travelling. My mom, dad, Julia (youngest sister), and Peter (boyfriend) all came to the airport to see me off. As expected, I cried at hugging and kissing everyone goodbye. This trip to Angers will be the longest period of time that I have gone without seeing my parents. It gives me a whole new respect for students from foreign countries who come and study in the United States; they have so much courage to leave their homeland and family for four years.

My original itinerary was to fly from Norfolk to Washington D.C., then to Charles de Gaulle, Paris. However, as my luck would have it, the plane to Norfolk was delayed for two hours, making me miss my connecting flight to Paris. Fortunately, the gentleman working at the desk was able to get me on a flight to Frankfurt from Washington, and then I would take a flight to Paris from Germany. While it sounds more complicated, it worked out for the best because the flight to Frankfurt fell over my normal sleeping hours, and I was able to get about 6 hours of sleep on the plane.

When I arrived in Paris, I was pleased to see that both of my bags made it over safely despite my change of itinerary. I muscled my way to the train station where I found that the train leaving directly from the airport would put me in Angers after 9pm, which I thought was too late. I decided to take the bus from the airport to Montparnasse, a train station in the southern end of Paris. However, due to an accident and afternoon traffic, the bus got me to Montparnasse about 30 minutes after my train departed. Fortunately, for only 13 euros more, I was able to get the next train out and arrived in Angers at 8:22pm. I met a nice gentleman on the bus who helped me with my luggage. It’s so comforting to see that people are willing to lend a hand to a perfect stranger; that’s why I jumped on the opportunity to return to Angers.

One of the professors of English at the IPLV (where I will be working in the university) named Brigitte LeBillon picked me up from the train station. She was so kind with her warm smile and open arms, and she had thought to buy me breakfast for the next morning! When she discovered that I had not yet eaten dinner, she took me to a little supermarket where I bought Taboule and yogurt for dinner. It was the perfect end to a long day of travelling.

She dropped me off at the student residence where I am staying during my time here. I am on the 5th floor, and seeing as there is no elevator in the building, going up the stairs with my suitcases was an adventure in and of itself. I eventually made it up, and was very pleased with my room. It is small, but very space efficient. I have a desk, bed, two bookshelfs, a closet, and some cabinets. The bathroom is so small. The toilet, sink, and shower all on connected; only a shower curtain devides the sink and toilet from the shower. It’s interesting to see where cultural priorities lay in the construction of buildings. I’m not complaining though. It’s the perfect size for me, and at only 5 minutes from the university, I couldn’t have asked for a better situation.

Today was my first day at the university. I finally met Mr. Atkinson, the gentleman with whom I was corresponding before my arrival. Much to my surprise, I found him to be a very cordial man! He had lunch with me in the self-serve dining facility for faculty – which is where I will be having my lunches during the week. He then took me around to meet important people with whom I will be working. I was surprised to see how unorganized the programs seemed to be; they were working out the schedules on paper between each visit to get an idea of what my schedule would be like. I was expecting to arrive and have a set agenda ready for me. Maybe that’s typical of university classes; I guess it all depends on what the students want.

I begin my teaching tomorrow. I have two upper level classes tomorrow that are going to be graded courses. The idea of grading the students intimidates me a little bit since I will be using the French system. For those of you who are unfamiliar with it, the grades are out of 20, but instead of using percentages as we do in the U.S., a 14/20 is considered to be a good grade – a very strange concept to American students. The other classes I will either be assisting a professor or leading conversations that are not graded. Overall, I will be teaching about 12 hours a week. I am also happy to say that my weekend starts on Thursday afternoon, leaving me Friday through Sunday to travel if I so desire.

I have yet to see my French host mother from my last stay in Angers. I have called her three times but have missed her each time. I did receive an email from her friend asking if I arrived safely. I responded to that and hope to get a reply soon that will result in a rendez-vous. We shall see.

I hope you all are doing well. Thank you again for your prayers! They are certainly working. :) I intend to have a picture website up soon so that you can see some of the places that I am talking about. I’ll give you an update on that asap. A bientot, mes amis!