Dear friends,
I’ve had quite a great week since my last post – lots to talk about! To start with, I mentioned in my last post that a couple other assistants and I were going to take a walk to the Panorama du Bec d’Allier, the place where the Loire and Allier rivers meet, a little ways out of Nevers. We set off last Sunday afternoon for our weekly walk, knowing that this one would be a little longer than normal. When we left, the sky was blue and the weather was nice, just a little bit windy… After walking for about an hour and a half, we finally reached the Bec d’Allier, and I think we were all slightly underwhelmed, although we were glad it was another thing we could check off the list. About 5 minutes after we turned around to start back to Nevers, we started feeling light raindrops. We were all wearing scarves, so we wrapped them around our heads and continued walking – not too big of a deal yet! Over the next 45 minutes, however, the light rain turned into an icy, apocalyptic, torrential downpour that resulted in all 4 of us getting absolutely soaked to the bone and freezing. We were finally so miserable that we actually stopped at a random house (out in the middle of nowhere, of course) to ask them if we could come in and use their phone to call a taxi – mostly just because we wanted to get out of the rain! Of course, as soon as we stepped inside, the rain stopped and a double rainbow appeared – great. It ended up being an older couple living there, and the husband ended up driving us the rest of the way back to Nevers; it was so nice!! From the comfort of my warm and dry living room, our Bec d’Allier promenade was a hilarious adventure, but at the time it was pretty awful!
It turned out that my other Tuesday school wasn’t striking, so I still had to work, but at least I got an extra-long lunch break! On Tuesday night I went to Never’s Maison de la Culture with Lizzi and Tish, 2 other English assistants, to see Cendrillon (Cinderella). It was being performed by the Geneva Ballet, and I think it was the most interesting interpretation of Cinderella I’ve ever seen! Cinderella was an Asian woman, and instead of a Fairy Godmother she had 5 men wearing nothing but tighty-whities (with wings sequined across the butt), fluffy white socks, and glitter all over their chests…. It also ended with Cinderella topless on stage and the Prince wearing only a jock strap. Like I said, it was interesting! It was a much more modern interpretation than I was expecting, but I still really enjoyed it – and will be laughing about it for a long time!
I didn’t really do anything on Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving, but we did have a big Thanksgiving dinner at my apartment on Friday night for 11 people – all the Nevers assistants (as well as some out-of-town friends) – it was a smashing success! As I believe I mentioned in my last post, we had ordered a turkey from a butcher shop in town. I called them on Thursday afternoon to confirm that we still had a turkey and that we could pick it up on Friday morning. The man told me that yes, it would be ready for pickup on Friday morning, but that maybe it was a little bit bigger than what I had requested (I’d ordered one between 5 and 6 kilos, or about 12-13 pounds). Exactly how big was it, I asked. He told me they only had one turkey, but that it was 9 kilograms – almost 20 pounds!! (It was also going to cost €90 – that’s like a $130 turkey, as a reference point) Because we neither needed a turkey that enormous nor had €90 to spend on one, we decided to scrap the “turkey-as-the-main-dish” idea and get a chicken instead. We still had turkey – 2 turkey tenderloins – and all was well! We also had sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, green salad, green beans, pumpkin pie, apple pie, and brownies. Everything was delicious, and it was really fun to share such a quintessential American holiday with our English, German, and Costa Rican friends.
Right now I’m looking forward to the next few weekends, as we have lots of fun things planned. Next weekend a few of us are off to Lyon for the weekend for the Fête des Lumières, then the Saturday after that we’re going to Orléans for the day, and then the next weekend our Christmas break starts! I’ll be spending Christmas with an aunt, uncle, and 2 cousins in Bedford, about an hour outside of London.
That’s really all the news I have for now, hope all is well avec vous!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Medical visits, strikes, and turkeys
Bonjour mes amis,
Since my last post I’ve officially been medically cleared to stay in France for the entire duration of my visa, I’ve paid my first bills here, and helped cook an English Sunday roast with nothing more than one electric burner, two toaster ovens, and a microwave.
As I believe I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I had to go to Dijon on Monday for my visite medicale, a pretty important part of the process that allowed me to get my titre de séjour, a yellow sticker with my numéro étranger (basically like a resident alien number) that’s now stuck inside my passport. The OFII (l’Office Française de l’Immigration et Intégration), which handles the legal aspects of immigration into France, had set aside two days for all of the language assistants in the Académie de Dijon to have their medical visits and to get their titres de séjour, so half of the assistants went when I did, while the other half went the week before. I got the day off work because the visit is mandatory, so I took a morning train to Dijon, arriving there around noon for my 1:30 appointment. Once I got called in, the visit just consisted of a chest and lung xray (which had to be done torse nu, or topless), an eye exam, and then checking blood pressure and breathing. It was easier than I was expecting it to be, and I now have my very own xray of my chest and lungs, which is pretty cool!
On Wednesday night I ventured back to the Foyer Les Loges, where I lived for my first month and a half in Nevers, for a Repas Anglais. The Foyer organizes activities for its residents, and once a month they do a big group meal – each month is a different type of cuisine, and an individual resident organizes the menus for these meals. I have a English friend still living in the Foyer (her schools are only five minutes à pied from there, lucky thing!), and she somehow got roped into organizing an English meal for 20 people. Although I had hoped to never need to return to the Foyer again, I went with 5 other assistants, both as a sign of solidarity and to help with the preparation for the meal. As Lizzi, Mari, and I were waiting at the train station to meet another assistant to walk to the Foyer together, we received a phone call from Tish (the English girl organizing the meal), who shared the news that the oven and four burners weren’t working on the gas stove and that we would have to cook for 20 people using only two toaster ovens and one electric hot plate. While it took 3.5 hours to prepare the meal, it went better than I was expecting, and it ended up being pretty tasty as well!
My students still constantly amuse me with the hilarious things children say and do, and I laugh every time I swap stories with my fellow assistants about things that have happened in their classes. On Friday morning, for example, I was working on animals with my CM2 class (they’re about 10 years old). We were working on spelling English words, so I would say an animal and then they would have to write it on their little whiteboard and then hold it up for me to check. The first few went fine and most of the students got them right, but then we came to ‘polar bear.’ Out of about 24 students, no one got it right, but I was trying VERY hard to keep from cracking up – one kid had written ‘polar beer,’ but my favorite was the boy who wrote ‘paul webber.’ Close, kid.
The weather has been oddly and surprisingly nice here for the past few days, so this afternoon we’ve planned a walk along the path beside the Loire River, which, if you follow it for long enough, leads to the meeting point of the Loire and Allier rivers – it’s supposed to be very pretty.
I might get to become officially French on Tuesday! There’s a strike scheduled, and I already know that one of my schools will be closed because the teachers there will be en grève (on strike). Tuesdays are my long days, and I’m really hoping that my other Tuesday school, where I have 3 classes, will also be en grève.
As I’m sure you can imagine, France does not celebrate Thanksgiving, so all the American assistants are a little bit sad that we have to work on Thanksgiving, for the first time in our lives! We’re planning a big meal though, and will be introducing the holiday to our English, German, and Costa Rican friends. They don’t sell frozen turkeys in the stores here, and the French really only eat turkey at Christmas, so even the first butcher shop I visited told me it would be impossible to get one for November 27. Luckily we found another, more accommodating butcher shop, and have ordered a turkey. I’m a little nervous, however, that we might just get a turkey with its head, feet, and feathers still on – I hope it’s at least beheaded and plucked!
That’s really all my news for now, j’espère que tout va bien avec vous!
Since my last post I’ve officially been medically cleared to stay in France for the entire duration of my visa, I’ve paid my first bills here, and helped cook an English Sunday roast with nothing more than one electric burner, two toaster ovens, and a microwave.
As I believe I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I had to go to Dijon on Monday for my visite medicale, a pretty important part of the process that allowed me to get my titre de séjour, a yellow sticker with my numéro étranger (basically like a resident alien number) that’s now stuck inside my passport. The OFII (l’Office Française de l’Immigration et Intégration), which handles the legal aspects of immigration into France, had set aside two days for all of the language assistants in the Académie de Dijon to have their medical visits and to get their titres de séjour, so half of the assistants went when I did, while the other half went the week before. I got the day off work because the visit is mandatory, so I took a morning train to Dijon, arriving there around noon for my 1:30 appointment. Once I got called in, the visit just consisted of a chest and lung xray (which had to be done torse nu, or topless), an eye exam, and then checking blood pressure and breathing. It was easier than I was expecting it to be, and I now have my very own xray of my chest and lungs, which is pretty cool!
On Wednesday night I ventured back to the Foyer Les Loges, where I lived for my first month and a half in Nevers, for a Repas Anglais. The Foyer organizes activities for its residents, and once a month they do a big group meal – each month is a different type of cuisine, and an individual resident organizes the menus for these meals. I have a English friend still living in the Foyer (her schools are only five minutes à pied from there, lucky thing!), and she somehow got roped into organizing an English meal for 20 people. Although I had hoped to never need to return to the Foyer again, I went with 5 other assistants, both as a sign of solidarity and to help with the preparation for the meal. As Lizzi, Mari, and I were waiting at the train station to meet another assistant to walk to the Foyer together, we received a phone call from Tish (the English girl organizing the meal), who shared the news that the oven and four burners weren’t working on the gas stove and that we would have to cook for 20 people using only two toaster ovens and one electric hot plate. While it took 3.5 hours to prepare the meal, it went better than I was expecting, and it ended up being pretty tasty as well!
My students still constantly amuse me with the hilarious things children say and do, and I laugh every time I swap stories with my fellow assistants about things that have happened in their classes. On Friday morning, for example, I was working on animals with my CM2 class (they’re about 10 years old). We were working on spelling English words, so I would say an animal and then they would have to write it on their little whiteboard and then hold it up for me to check. The first few went fine and most of the students got them right, but then we came to ‘polar bear.’ Out of about 24 students, no one got it right, but I was trying VERY hard to keep from cracking up – one kid had written ‘polar beer,’ but my favorite was the boy who wrote ‘paul webber.’ Close, kid.
The weather has been oddly and surprisingly nice here for the past few days, so this afternoon we’ve planned a walk along the path beside the Loire River, which, if you follow it for long enough, leads to the meeting point of the Loire and Allier rivers – it’s supposed to be very pretty.
I might get to become officially French on Tuesday! There’s a strike scheduled, and I already know that one of my schools will be closed because the teachers there will be en grève (on strike). Tuesdays are my long days, and I’m really hoping that my other Tuesday school, where I have 3 classes, will also be en grève.
As I’m sure you can imagine, France does not celebrate Thanksgiving, so all the American assistants are a little bit sad that we have to work on Thanksgiving, for the first time in our lives! We’re planning a big meal though, and will be introducing the holiday to our English, German, and Costa Rican friends. They don’t sell frozen turkeys in the stores here, and the French really only eat turkey at Christmas, so even the first butcher shop I visited told me it would be impossible to get one for November 27. Luckily we found another, more accommodating butcher shop, and have ordered a turkey. I’m a little nervous, however, that we might just get a turkey with its head, feet, and feathers still on – I hope it’s at least beheaded and plucked!
That’s really all my news for now, j’espère que tout va bien avec vous!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
A day in Beaune
Dear friends,
A group of 7 other assistants and I went to Beaune today, and it was amazing! 4 of us left Nevers at 7:23 this morning (it was a long day) and met the other 3 in Beaune. As I explained in my previous post, Beaune is already famous for wine, and every year it has a wine auction at the Hospices de Beaune, a really cool old building that was built in 1443 to serve as a hospital for soldiers wounded in the Hundred Years’ War. That wine auction is taking place this weekend, so tout le monde s’occupe du vin (everyone is all about wine)! We spent about an hour and a half exploring the quaint centre ville of Beaune before trekking 25 minutes through the rain to the Fete des Grands Vins de Bourgogne, a big wine exposition and tasting event (if that’s not dedication, I don’t know what is). For €24, we received a commemorative wine glass, a book with a list of all the wines to be found at the event, and unlimited tastings of any wine in the exposition – and there were over 3,000 different types of wine! It was in a big hall, and there were 14 different circular booths, each of which had many different wines, grouped by the communes in which the domaines (the wine houses, like the name on the label) are found. While I certainly didn’t love all the wines I tasted, I did find a few I really liked and would definitely consider buying at some point. We ended up staying for a few hours, and it was a wonderful way to pass a rainy Saturday afternoon!
In other news, Sarah and I had been having a lot of problems with our wifi in our apartment – it was going either really slowly or not at all, so I had to call the technical support line. I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with the technician, which was immensely more challenging en francais than it ever would have been in English! Luckily he was super-patient and even went through the process twice with us – once for my Mac, once for her PC. It all worked out well though, and now our wireless works perfectly! (Knock on wood for me, would you?!?)
I don’t have much other news à ce moment, I hope you all are well!
A group of 7 other assistants and I went to Beaune today, and it was amazing! 4 of us left Nevers at 7:23 this morning (it was a long day) and met the other 3 in Beaune. As I explained in my previous post, Beaune is already famous for wine, and every year it has a wine auction at the Hospices de Beaune, a really cool old building that was built in 1443 to serve as a hospital for soldiers wounded in the Hundred Years’ War. That wine auction is taking place this weekend, so tout le monde s’occupe du vin (everyone is all about wine)! We spent about an hour and a half exploring the quaint centre ville of Beaune before trekking 25 minutes through the rain to the Fete des Grands Vins de Bourgogne, a big wine exposition and tasting event (if that’s not dedication, I don’t know what is). For €24, we received a commemorative wine glass, a book with a list of all the wines to be found at the event, and unlimited tastings of any wine in the exposition – and there were over 3,000 different types of wine! It was in a big hall, and there were 14 different circular booths, each of which had many different wines, grouped by the communes in which the domaines (the wine houses, like the name on the label) are found. While I certainly didn’t love all the wines I tasted, I did find a few I really liked and would definitely consider buying at some point. We ended up staying for a few hours, and it was a wonderful way to pass a rainy Saturday afternoon!
In other news, Sarah and I had been having a lot of problems with our wifi in our apartment – it was going either really slowly or not at all, so I had to call the technical support line. I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with the technician, which was immensely more challenging en francais than it ever would have been in English! Luckily he was super-patient and even went through the process twice with us – once for my Mac, once for her PC. It all worked out well though, and now our wireless works perfectly! (Knock on wood for me, would you?!?)
I don’t have much other news à ce moment, I hope you all are well!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Armistice Day and 22 :)
Bonjour mes amis,
I have now been living in my wonderful 1970s apartment for over a full week, and I’m so happy to call it home! We’ve already taken advantage of the fully equipped kitchen to do some cooking and to host a dinner party, and we’re already planning our big Thanksgiving meal…
I haven’t done too terribly much since returning to Nevers from Liverpool; I’ve worked a few days, gone for a few runs, and turned 22! Two other assistants and I went to a Festival du Chocolat on Saturday afternoon (yes, it was as good as it sounds!), where we saw chocolatiers making chocolate and got to taste about 8 or 9 different chocolates… for free! There were also several chocolate sculptures, as well as a man who was painting white chocolate plates with different-colored chocolate “inks” – very neat. I also finally got around to watching Hiroshima Mon Amour this weekend – it’s a 1959 French film based on a novel of the same name by Marguerite Duras. It’s a rather bizarre film, but the main character in the movie is a French woman from Nevers (of all places!), so it was interesting to watch it and look for familiar places…
As you may have figured out from this blog, France is all about les jours fériés (national holidays, days when no one works and most things are closed)… Armistice Day (November 11) is a jour férié, so none of the assistants worked. This worked out rather well, as my 22nd birthday was on Tuesday, so we were able to have a big party in our apartment that night! We had a few assistant friends come from other towns and spend the night in Nevers, which wouldn’t have been possible if schools had been open as scheduled on Wednesday. It was a great birthday, and it was wonderful to get everyone together and celebrate.
I’ve started doing tutoring sessions with Guillaume, the 16-year old high school student whose mother teaches at one of my schools. It’s not too much work – he mostly wants to focus on improving his spoken English, so we just chat for an hour, which I enjoy.
A big group of assistants is going to Beaune, a town about 2 hours away from Nevers by train, on Saturday. The town is famous for wine and its annual wine auction, held in November at the Hospices de Beaune. Luckily for us, the auction this year is this coming weekend, and the town becomes all about wine for the weekend. We’re going to spend the morning exploring the centre ville before heading to an exposition du vin, which features tastings of more than 3,000 wines! Even though I’ve already been to Beaune twice before, I’m really looking forward to Saturday – it’s always fun to visit places when they’re doing what they do best, which, in the case of Beaune, is wine!
I have to go to Dijon on Monday for my mandatory medical exam, which all non-EU citizens must have in order to get our carte de séjour, which allows us to legally stay in France for periods longer than a few months. It’s rather inconvenient that we have to go all the way to Dijon (which is 2-3 hours away from Nevers, depending on which train you get) on our own dollar (or euro) WHILE missing work, but I guess it’s just what has to be done.
I hope you all are well, à bientôt!
I have now been living in my wonderful 1970s apartment for over a full week, and I’m so happy to call it home! We’ve already taken advantage of the fully equipped kitchen to do some cooking and to host a dinner party, and we’re already planning our big Thanksgiving meal…
I haven’t done too terribly much since returning to Nevers from Liverpool; I’ve worked a few days, gone for a few runs, and turned 22! Two other assistants and I went to a Festival du Chocolat on Saturday afternoon (yes, it was as good as it sounds!), where we saw chocolatiers making chocolate and got to taste about 8 or 9 different chocolates… for free! There were also several chocolate sculptures, as well as a man who was painting white chocolate plates with different-colored chocolate “inks” – very neat. I also finally got around to watching Hiroshima Mon Amour this weekend – it’s a 1959 French film based on a novel of the same name by Marguerite Duras. It’s a rather bizarre film, but the main character in the movie is a French woman from Nevers (of all places!), so it was interesting to watch it and look for familiar places…
As you may have figured out from this blog, France is all about les jours fériés (national holidays, days when no one works and most things are closed)… Armistice Day (November 11) is a jour férié, so none of the assistants worked. This worked out rather well, as my 22nd birthday was on Tuesday, so we were able to have a big party in our apartment that night! We had a few assistant friends come from other towns and spend the night in Nevers, which wouldn’t have been possible if schools had been open as scheduled on Wednesday. It was a great birthday, and it was wonderful to get everyone together and celebrate.
I’ve started doing tutoring sessions with Guillaume, the 16-year old high school student whose mother teaches at one of my schools. It’s not too much work – he mostly wants to focus on improving his spoken English, so we just chat for an hour, which I enjoy.
A big group of assistants is going to Beaune, a town about 2 hours away from Nevers by train, on Saturday. The town is famous for wine and its annual wine auction, held in November at the Hospices de Beaune. Luckily for us, the auction this year is this coming weekend, and the town becomes all about wine for the weekend. We’re going to spend the morning exploring the centre ville before heading to an exposition du vin, which features tastings of more than 3,000 wines! Even though I’ve already been to Beaune twice before, I’m really looking forward to Saturday – it’s always fun to visit places when they’re doing what they do best, which, in the case of Beaune, is wine!
I have to go to Dijon on Monday for my mandatory medical exam, which all non-EU citizens must have in order to get our carte de séjour, which allows us to legally stay in France for periods longer than a few months. It’s rather inconvenient that we have to go all the way to Dijon (which is 2-3 hours away from Nevers, depending on which train you get) on our own dollar (or euro) WHILE missing work, but I guess it’s just what has to be done.
I hope you all are well, à bientôt!
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Liverpool and INTERNET!
Dear friends,
I’m back in Nevers after a great week in Liverpool, which I found to be a really fun city and really enjoyed. It’s a big city, but it has a very manageable city center and it’s a good place for wandering, something I always like. Because Kathryn (the cousin I visited there) had class during the day while I was there, I had plenty of time to see the sights, and I think I managed to get through quite a few – I saw the Albert Docks, the Tate Liverpool museum, The Beatles Story museum (The Beatles came from Liverpool!), the Victoria Gallery, the Walker Art Gallery, Lark Lane and Sefton Park, the Anglican Cathedral, the Catholic Cathedral, a really cute nearby town called Chester, the Merseyside Maritime Museum, and we also went to see a play (The Black Album) and a ballet (Giselle)! I managed to spend an entire week in England in which it only rained on my last night there, something I wasn’t sure was possible and which I think should count as a real achievement.
Liverpool is in the northwest of England, and it has historically been a big port city. It had lots of shipyards back in the day, and so lots of Irish people moved there to work on building the ships. The influence of this migration is still easily found today in the Liverpudlian accent, which I personally think should count as an entirely different language. Liverpudlians (or Scouses, as they’re also known) have a VERY strong accent, to the point that I often had trouble discerning if they were speaking English at all, much less understanding them! They seem to be generally friendly and laid-back though, although the 80s could learn a thing or two about how to tease hair from Scouse girls – I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much super-teased hair in one place in my whole life!
More seriously though, Liverpool is a lovely city with lots of pretty architecture, tons of free museums, and many different neighborhoods, all with their own personalities. I spent my first day exploring the area around the Albert Dock, a section of the Liverpool docks that’s been spruced up and now has all sorts of museums (like the Tate Liverpool, The Beatles Story, and the Merseyside Maritime Museum), restaurants, and shopping. It was really nice weather that day, so it was very pleasant to spend the afternoon down by the Mersey (that’s the river that goes through Liverpool, from which all the ships were launched).
Not only did I go to The Beatles Story museum at the Albert Dock, but I also got to see several true Beatles landmarks. While the real Cavern Club, where the Beatles played 294 shows, has been torn down, I walked past where the original entrance was and saw the bar they used to frequent before and after their shows there. I saw the hospital where John Lennon was born (it’s since been converted into a block of apartments), as well as the real Penny Lane! It’s really not a very exciting street at all, but the City of Liverpool has to specially bolt down (and replace!) the street signs there because Beatles fans steal them all the time! Kathryn and I also went for a drink in the Philharmonic Bar, a really cool old pub near the Philharmonic Hall – John Lennon used to go there as well.
Liverpool has two cathedrals, one Anglican and one Catholic, and they actually face each other – they’re at two ends of the same road – interesting, non? I visited both of them, and they’re like night and day. The Anglican Cathedral is absolutely massive (I think it’s one of the biggest Anglican cathedrals in Europe, if not the biggest) and really beautiful, both inside and out. It was designed by the same guy who designed the famous red phone boxes, and I think you can see the resemblance if you look closely enough at the two and think about it. The Catholic Cathedral, on the other hand, is very interesting. It was built in the 1960s, and it really shows. It’s circular and built of concrete, and it kind of looks like a spaceship or something out of Star Wars – you should Google it; it’s really hard to explain. It has a lot of stained glass though, which makes for some really cool light effects inside during the day.
Over the weekend, Kathryn, her flatmate Nina, and I went to Chester, a nearby town, for the morning. It was a really darling little town – there was an open-air market when we went (honestly, it was kind of like being back in France), and we spent the morning wandering through the half-timbered town center and browsing through some of the stores there.
In addition to all the museums I visited, we added a bit of culture to my trip by going to both the theater and the ballet. We got free youth tickets to see a play called The Black Album, which was about an English Pakistani who goes off to university and gets caught up with a group of Islamic fundamentalists, who disapprove of the romantic affair he’s begun with one of his professors. I’m pretty sure I missed some things, but it was interesting, and I enjoyed it. We went to see the English National Ballet perform Giselle on Sunday afternoon – I’d never been to a ballet before, and it was beautiful – I loved it! It made me really excited for Cendrillon (Cinderella), performed by the Geneva Ballet, which a group of us are going to see here in Nevers in a few weeks.
I left Liverpool early Tuesday morning, spent a few hours in Paris, then got the train back to Nevers. Moritz, a friend and fellow language (German) assistant, was on the same train as me, so it was a nice surprise to have some company for the 2-hour trip.
Sarah and I moved into our new apartment on Tuesday afternoon as well, so it was a very busy afternoon, getting all my stuff from the Foyer to the new place. I wish I could describe my new apartment to you all and do it justice, but I think I’ll just have to wait until I get a camera so I can take some pictures – it’s actually like you step back in time about 35 years. Every room has different wallpaper, and calling it vintage is putting it nicely. It’s super funky, and I’m pretty sure the carpet is also original (needless to say, I won’t be going barefoot). I really do like it though – it’s totally furnished and tout équipé (completely fitted-out) with everything we’ll need for the 6 months we have left – an oven, a microwave, all kinds of kitchen utensils, a vacuum, an iron and ironing board, even a TV!
About 5 minutes before I posted this, Sarah and I finally got our internet sorted out - I'm honestly like a kid on Christmas morning, bouncing around and doing all sorts of internet-y things! At first we thought there was a problem with our phone line, then I realized that the neufbox (our wireless router) wasn't actually plugged into the phone jack.. Clearly we're very intelligent!
That’s all for now, sorry for the monster post – j’espère que tout va bien avec vous!
I’m back in Nevers after a great week in Liverpool, which I found to be a really fun city and really enjoyed. It’s a big city, but it has a very manageable city center and it’s a good place for wandering, something I always like. Because Kathryn (the cousin I visited there) had class during the day while I was there, I had plenty of time to see the sights, and I think I managed to get through quite a few – I saw the Albert Docks, the Tate Liverpool museum, The Beatles Story museum (The Beatles came from Liverpool!), the Victoria Gallery, the Walker Art Gallery, Lark Lane and Sefton Park, the Anglican Cathedral, the Catholic Cathedral, a really cute nearby town called Chester, the Merseyside Maritime Museum, and we also went to see a play (The Black Album) and a ballet (Giselle)! I managed to spend an entire week in England in which it only rained on my last night there, something I wasn’t sure was possible and which I think should count as a real achievement.
Liverpool is in the northwest of England, and it has historically been a big port city. It had lots of shipyards back in the day, and so lots of Irish people moved there to work on building the ships. The influence of this migration is still easily found today in the Liverpudlian accent, which I personally think should count as an entirely different language. Liverpudlians (or Scouses, as they’re also known) have a VERY strong accent, to the point that I often had trouble discerning if they were speaking English at all, much less understanding them! They seem to be generally friendly and laid-back though, although the 80s could learn a thing or two about how to tease hair from Scouse girls – I don’t think I’ve ever seen so much super-teased hair in one place in my whole life!
More seriously though, Liverpool is a lovely city with lots of pretty architecture, tons of free museums, and many different neighborhoods, all with their own personalities. I spent my first day exploring the area around the Albert Dock, a section of the Liverpool docks that’s been spruced up and now has all sorts of museums (like the Tate Liverpool, The Beatles Story, and the Merseyside Maritime Museum), restaurants, and shopping. It was really nice weather that day, so it was very pleasant to spend the afternoon down by the Mersey (that’s the river that goes through Liverpool, from which all the ships were launched).
Not only did I go to The Beatles Story museum at the Albert Dock, but I also got to see several true Beatles landmarks. While the real Cavern Club, where the Beatles played 294 shows, has been torn down, I walked past where the original entrance was and saw the bar they used to frequent before and after their shows there. I saw the hospital where John Lennon was born (it’s since been converted into a block of apartments), as well as the real Penny Lane! It’s really not a very exciting street at all, but the City of Liverpool has to specially bolt down (and replace!) the street signs there because Beatles fans steal them all the time! Kathryn and I also went for a drink in the Philharmonic Bar, a really cool old pub near the Philharmonic Hall – John Lennon used to go there as well.
Liverpool has two cathedrals, one Anglican and one Catholic, and they actually face each other – they’re at two ends of the same road – interesting, non? I visited both of them, and they’re like night and day. The Anglican Cathedral is absolutely massive (I think it’s one of the biggest Anglican cathedrals in Europe, if not the biggest) and really beautiful, both inside and out. It was designed by the same guy who designed the famous red phone boxes, and I think you can see the resemblance if you look closely enough at the two and think about it. The Catholic Cathedral, on the other hand, is very interesting. It was built in the 1960s, and it really shows. It’s circular and built of concrete, and it kind of looks like a spaceship or something out of Star Wars – you should Google it; it’s really hard to explain. It has a lot of stained glass though, which makes for some really cool light effects inside during the day.
Over the weekend, Kathryn, her flatmate Nina, and I went to Chester, a nearby town, for the morning. It was a really darling little town – there was an open-air market when we went (honestly, it was kind of like being back in France), and we spent the morning wandering through the half-timbered town center and browsing through some of the stores there.
In addition to all the museums I visited, we added a bit of culture to my trip by going to both the theater and the ballet. We got free youth tickets to see a play called The Black Album, which was about an English Pakistani who goes off to university and gets caught up with a group of Islamic fundamentalists, who disapprove of the romantic affair he’s begun with one of his professors. I’m pretty sure I missed some things, but it was interesting, and I enjoyed it. We went to see the English National Ballet perform Giselle on Sunday afternoon – I’d never been to a ballet before, and it was beautiful – I loved it! It made me really excited for Cendrillon (Cinderella), performed by the Geneva Ballet, which a group of us are going to see here in Nevers in a few weeks.
I left Liverpool early Tuesday morning, spent a few hours in Paris, then got the train back to Nevers. Moritz, a friend and fellow language (German) assistant, was on the same train as me, so it was a nice surprise to have some company for the 2-hour trip.
Sarah and I moved into our new apartment on Tuesday afternoon as well, so it was a very busy afternoon, getting all my stuff from the Foyer to the new place. I wish I could describe my new apartment to you all and do it justice, but I think I’ll just have to wait until I get a camera so I can take some pictures – it’s actually like you step back in time about 35 years. Every room has different wallpaper, and calling it vintage is putting it nicely. It’s super funky, and I’m pretty sure the carpet is also original (needless to say, I won’t be going barefoot). I really do like it though – it’s totally furnished and tout équipé (completely fitted-out) with everything we’ll need for the 6 months we have left – an oven, a microwave, all kinds of kitchen utensils, a vacuum, an iron and ironing board, even a TV!
About 5 minutes before I posted this, Sarah and I finally got our internet sorted out - I'm honestly like a kid on Christmas morning, bouncing around and doing all sorts of internet-y things! At first we thought there was a problem with our phone line, then I realized that the neufbox (our wireless router) wasn't actually plugged into the phone jack.. Clearly we're very intelligent!
That’s all for now, sorry for the monster post – j’espère que tout va bien avec vous!
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