Time seems to be passing more and more quickly. This past week seems like a blur. Monday (18 Oct) I taught three classes at Montaigne and they all went relatively well; however, I did have one trouble-maker. I had all of the students make name cards to set on their desks and this student wrote down a fake name. When I asked him for his name, he told me yet another fake name. He mustn't have realized I had a list of students to refer to. In addition, every time I gave instructions for an activity he pretended not to understand me even though I gave directions in both English and French to be clear. He did not bring his workbook to class, and when I had him work on an exercise he wrote inappropriate non-sense. I finally collected his 'carnet', a correspondence book each student is obliged to carry at all times, which acts as communication between teachers and parents. It's also one of the only means to record disciplinary action. After class he seemed surprised I followed through and brought him to the main teacher. We discussed what happened and he apologized. I wasn't terribly upset because I think he was trying to be the cutesy class clown, but as this was my first problem I wanted to make sure I dealt with it so other students won't think they can take advantage of me.
Monday evening was another night spent at the Cafe des Langues for conversation in French and English. Tuesday (19 Oct) the strikes were continuing and I was feeling ill, so I got the okay to miss classes from my principal and co-teachers. Wednesday (20 Oct) morning I went to a viewing of Alfred Hitchcock's "North by Northwest" for middle school teachers. In November or December there's a day for middle school students to go to the cinema to see this film if their teachers wish for their class to participate. Peggy had planned to go and invited me to join her, however she couldn't make the movie because her daughter was home sick. In the afternoon she joined me for a 2.5hour lecture and discussion of the film led (in French) by a film professor. I really enjoyed the lecture and it made me aware of how much I miss certain aspects of university. I miss learning from professors in a classroom environment, the idea of absorbing the knowledge of someone who is devoutly passionate to their area of expertise. Sure, I can read books and watch documentaries to further my education and grow, but there's something about that personal interaction from a classroom. For this reason, among others, I can definitely see myself going back to university for graduate studies.
Wednesday evening my dad arrived in spite of the strikes which are making the train schedule erratic. We both felt a weight lifted off our shoulders upon his arrival, a great relief he made it to Tours from Germany. Thursday morning, before going to teach lessons at J.P. Rameau, we stopped at the post office and bank, where I finally received my debit card! (Now, only waiting to be paid...) Lessons didn't go exactly as well as I planned this time. One of the three in particular went by so slowly because I overestimated the classes' level of English. It was completely my fault that I prepared too difficult of a lesson, but I haven't spent much time at all with my students to get a good assessment of their abilities.
The most frustrating part about teaching, that I find so far, is how rarely I see my students. I teach up to 12 different classes per week, never seeing the same class twice. In addition, I only see half of the class each week, and the other half the following week. Consequently, of approximately 120 students, I see each student for 55 minutes of class every other week. This makes not only correctly gauging their abilities difficult, but also learning their names and learning about them as individuals. It seems quite the challenge to build steady relationships with my students.
Thursday (21 Oct) evening my dad and I went to a quiet Italian restaurant recommended by Christophe. Our pasta dishes were delicious, especially paired with my new favorite red wine, St. Nicholas de Borgeuil.
Friday (22 Oct) we hoped to go to the medieval chateau at Langeais, but due to the strikes it wasn't possible. Instead we stayed in Tours and went to St. Martin's Basilica and Museum and the regional wine museum. Even though we were unable to go to the chateau, we kept plenty busy. That evening we went out for dinner and prepared for our 5 day trip to Belgium and Luxembourg. Saturday morning we were both feeling a bit tired, but overall excited for our trip! Ghent and Brussels in Belgium, and Luxembourg City are on the itinerary.
GHENT, BELGIUM
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| Ghent, Belgium: Gravensteen, Castle of the Counts |
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| Ghent, Belgium: Gravensteen, Castle of the Counts |
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| Ghent, Belgium |
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| Ghent, Belgium |
We arrived in Ghent around 5:45pm (Saturday 23 Oct) and took a taxi from the train station to our hotel. Our hotel was right in the heart of the historical center, across the street from St. Bavo's Cathedral. Ghent is such a picturesque and seemingly ancient city. Walking through the streets I could feel the history of the town seeping into my skin. Perhaps I was so absorbed and compelled knowing it was the major medieval city of Flanders, a rival of Paris in the Dark Ages. We walked down by the river which delicately carves through the old city buildings. The winding, uneven cobblestone streets reflected the night lights in a drizzle. We wandered until we found a Belgian restaurant with plenty of background noise and a cozy atmosphere as it was filled with many people my age enjoying drinks with friends. I was able to try some traditional Belgian food/drink: Geuze (type of Lambic Belgian beer), Waterzooi (Chicken vegetable stew), and Belgian waffles (with a Belgian Chocolate sauce for drizzling over the top). Delicious!
Sunday (24 Oct) We took our time getting up even though I was restless after 6:30am, ready to see more of the city. We headed straight for Gravensteen, the Castle of the Counts, constructed in the 12th century. This imposing and impressively well-conserved chateau rests in the middle of the old city center and is home to a great variety of medieval artifacts including weaponry (executioners' swords, daggers, flails, axes, crossbows), armor (chain-mail and full plate), and a whole section dedicated to medieval torture instruments and methods (gruesome and morbid, but fascinating to me all the same!) After Gravensteen, we went to some of the main cathedrals in Ghent, St. Bavo's and St. Nicholas'. Determined to see another of the 4 main churches we ventured further away from our hotel and the city center. Just as we arrived at St. James' Church only to discover locked doors, we got caught in a downpour and hail storm! We waited under the archway of the church entrance for at least 15 minutes, waiting for the rain to let up. I stood with my face down and umbrella blocking the sideways rain while my dad (who luckily wore his rain jacket) huddled in the opposite corner holding on to his hood. When the rain finally turned to a drizzle we went back to the hotel to dry off, warm up, and rest up. On our way out for dinner we came across a small pub packed with soccer fans, just our type of place! We caught the tail end of a Manchester City v. Arsenal game and enjoyed some Belgian beer before continuing on. For dinner we tried another traditional dish, stoverji, a beef stew.
Monday (25 Oct) we left Ghent and arrived in Brussels after a short 40-minute train ride.
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
The train ride from Brussels to Luxembourg was beautiful rolling hill after hill, and dense forests of yellowing trees. Autumn is finally arriving to western Europe, and in great style at that.
We didn't arrive in Luxembourg until mid-day on Tuesday (26 Oct). Again, for convenience, we took a taxi from the train station to our hotel so we could ditch our heavy backpacks. We took our maps to the lunch restaurant with us to figure what we would be doing for the afternoon. As I've gotten older, I've also gotten more adventurous in trying new things. I ordered something on the menu which I had no idea what it was. Instead of asking, I figured I could handle a surprise (hey, up to this point I'd been well rewarded at meal-time by my lack of fear). BUT, this was the end of my good luck. It was raw fish: skin, fins, and tail attached. The only thing good about it was that the head had been cut off, thankfully. At first I was really disappointed, probably from a long morning of traveling, but was able to laugh about it later in the afternoon. I tried a couple of bites, but couldn't force any more down.
After lunch we went to a city's history museum. It was really interesting for the both of us because neither my dad nor I knew much about the city's history. After the museum, we walked more around the city which had plenty of traces of old medieval ruins. Luxembourg city had a valley cutting through it's center. Streets and walkways carve back and forth along the banks of the valley, giving it several levels from top to bottom. These banks were covered in trees with yellow and orange autumn shades and exposed the walls and towers of old fortress ruins. Along the valley we were surrounded by panoramic view after view of this gem of a city in Europe. Although it was a calmer, more reserved city, Luxembourg was definitely worth the trip as it's quite unique.
Wednesday (27 Oct, my dad and brother's birthday!) we made our way back to Tours. I hadn't spent my dad's birthday with him in 4 years, and this was the 5th year I haven't been with my brother on his actual birthday because I'd been in Colorado the past few years. What a lovely way to spend my dad's birthday with him, a great finish to our trip! Sometimes being away from Rockford gets to me at times like these: family birthdays and minor holidays. This will be the first year I will not be coming home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. And although I feel so far removed from my family sometimes, I would not change my decisions to go to Colorado for school or come to France. I've had this feeling for a few years now, so I felt very appreciative to be with my dad on his birthday. Even though it was his day, it was really special for me too.
Thursday we were both exhausted from traveling, but managed to spend some time shopping in Tours and walking around. Not only were we tired from traveling, but my dad had been gone for almost 2 weeks now and was feeling ready to return home and I was fighting the sadness of him leaving against the excitement of seeing my new friends again. Friday morning we woke up at 5am as his train left at 6:20am. Although I was sleepy-eyed and groggy for his departure, it was impossible for me to go back to sleep. I moped around my apartment all morning until the fatigue caught up with me mid afternoon. I then ruined my chance to return to a normal sleep pattern by taking a 6 hour afternoon nap...
Saturday (30 Oct) I went grocery shopping and picked up a few things for my Halloween costume. Although most French don't dress up really for the holiday, my anglophone friends and I were determined to celebrate. Caroline had invited us over for a Halloween party. I got dressed in my sailor costume at Jenny's and Miriam's apartment where Emma, Devlin, and Alex joined us. We had such a fun time getting ready together and painting faces. When we went out for a bit, we only saw a handful of others in Halloween costumes. What a striking difference from the U.S. where Halloween is one of the biggest excuses to party for a college kid and eat junk food for children! We did make lots of people laugh or smile, and had many ask us about our costumes. Not a typical Halloween, but definitely a fun, memorable one!
The school holiday continues through Wednesday, so I have plans to clean my apartment and maybe visit a chateau before classes recommence!
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| Brussels, Belgium: Grand Place |
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| Brussels, Belgium: Royal Palace |
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| Brussels, Belgium: Belgium Brewer's Museum |
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| Brussels, Belgium: Grand Place |
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| Brussels, Belgium |
We dropped off our backpacks at the Hotel de l'Opera in the center of old Brussels, acquired city maps, and planned out our afternoon. Our agenda: the Grand Place, Belgian Brewer's Museum, the famous Mannekin Pis fountain, the Eglise de Notre Dame, the Royal Palace, Cathedral St. Michel, the Galleries St. Hubert, Belgian Chocolate shop, a pub for more Belgian beer and dinner, and end the perfect day in Brussels with Belgian waffles. While we made lots of stops in just one afternoon, it was pretty perfect. We had a lovely walk through of Brussels and managed to see so many of the main attractions, while also wandering through the smaller streets of the old center. The Grand Place is a huge, busy square lined intricate, massive buildings. It reminded a bit of St. Mark's square in Venice, Italy.
The Belgian Brewer's museum had one room preserved in the style of an old brewery and one representing a modern brewery. It was a small museum, but we watched a really interesting film about Belgian beer and it's other specialties (Geuze, Lambic, Kriek). After the film we enjoyed a beer in the little pub of the museum where we chatted a bit with the bar man who kindly took our picture.
The Mannekin Pis, which supposedly captures the humor of Brussels, was a bit of a let down for me. A small fountain of a child/cherub where the water comes out as if it were peeing.
We stopped in two more cathedrals, Eglise de Notre Dame and Cathedral St. Michel. I love going inside all of the Gothic cathedrals in Europe, but after so many, they all blur together. When I'm inside any of them, I absolutely appreciate their grandeur and ability to amaze me. Imagining the task of constructing, designing, and decorating these cathedrals perplexes and intrigues me. When I walk inside a one of these enormous cathedrals, every time, I look straight up and gaze down the perfectly aligned and decorated columns until I reach the center altar and bring my eyes back down. Although they all seem similar after a while, I can never allow myself to skip going inside them when I have the opportunity. I'm never disappointed.
We walked outside of the Royal Palace and saw a quick change of the guard, walked through the Galleries St. Hubert- a beautiful (& expensive!) indoor mall, and then headed for a chocolate shop. How could we not buy any infamous Belgian chocolate! After some dinner and more Belgian beer (yes, by this point on our trip we had tried many varieties...but I swear we weren't drunk from all our beer tasting, just enjoying the quality!) we had some waffles we ate as we wandered the streets back to our hotel. I believe we were both very satisfied with our short time in Brussels. It was a beautiful and captivating city, and there positively was much more to see. But we were ready for our last stop, to which I think my father was most looking forward, Luxembourg. Why? Because, who goes to Luxembourg!? It turned out, the peculiar choice on my dad's part was well worth it!
LUXEMBOURG CITY
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| Luxembourg |
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| Luxembourg, Bock Promontory, old ruins |
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| Luxembourg, the Three Towers |
The train ride from Brussels to Luxembourg was beautiful rolling hill after hill, and dense forests of yellowing trees. Autumn is finally arriving to western Europe, and in great style at that.
We didn't arrive in Luxembourg until mid-day on Tuesday (26 Oct). Again, for convenience, we took a taxi from the train station to our hotel so we could ditch our heavy backpacks. We took our maps to the lunch restaurant with us to figure what we would be doing for the afternoon. As I've gotten older, I've also gotten more adventurous in trying new things. I ordered something on the menu which I had no idea what it was. Instead of asking, I figured I could handle a surprise (hey, up to this point I'd been well rewarded at meal-time by my lack of fear). BUT, this was the end of my good luck. It was raw fish: skin, fins, and tail attached. The only thing good about it was that the head had been cut off, thankfully. At first I was really disappointed, probably from a long morning of traveling, but was able to laugh about it later in the afternoon. I tried a couple of bites, but couldn't force any more down.
After lunch we went to a city's history museum. It was really interesting for the both of us because neither my dad nor I knew much about the city's history. After the museum, we walked more around the city which had plenty of traces of old medieval ruins. Luxembourg city had a valley cutting through it's center. Streets and walkways carve back and forth along the banks of the valley, giving it several levels from top to bottom. These banks were covered in trees with yellow and orange autumn shades and exposed the walls and towers of old fortress ruins. Along the valley we were surrounded by panoramic view after view of this gem of a city in Europe. Although it was a calmer, more reserved city, Luxembourg was definitely worth the trip as it's quite unique.
Wednesday (27 Oct, my dad and brother's birthday!) we made our way back to Tours. I hadn't spent my dad's birthday with him in 4 years, and this was the 5th year I haven't been with my brother on his actual birthday because I'd been in Colorado the past few years. What a lovely way to spend my dad's birthday with him, a great finish to our trip! Sometimes being away from Rockford gets to me at times like these: family birthdays and minor holidays. This will be the first year I will not be coming home for Thanksgiving or Christmas. And although I feel so far removed from my family sometimes, I would not change my decisions to go to Colorado for school or come to France. I've had this feeling for a few years now, so I felt very appreciative to be with my dad on his birthday. Even though it was his day, it was really special for me too.
Thursday we were both exhausted from traveling, but managed to spend some time shopping in Tours and walking around. Not only were we tired from traveling, but my dad had been gone for almost 2 weeks now and was feeling ready to return home and I was fighting the sadness of him leaving against the excitement of seeing my new friends again. Friday morning we woke up at 5am as his train left at 6:20am. Although I was sleepy-eyed and groggy for his departure, it was impossible for me to go back to sleep. I moped around my apartment all morning until the fatigue caught up with me mid afternoon. I then ruined my chance to return to a normal sleep pattern by taking a 6 hour afternoon nap...
Saturday (30 Oct) I went grocery shopping and picked up a few things for my Halloween costume. Although most French don't dress up really for the holiday, my anglophone friends and I were determined to celebrate. Caroline had invited us over for a Halloween party. I got dressed in my sailor costume at Jenny's and Miriam's apartment where Emma, Devlin, and Alex joined us. We had such a fun time getting ready together and painting faces. When we went out for a bit, we only saw a handful of others in Halloween costumes. What a striking difference from the U.S. where Halloween is one of the biggest excuses to party for a college kid and eat junk food for children! We did make lots of people laugh or smile, and had many ask us about our costumes. Not a typical Halloween, but definitely a fun, memorable one!
The school holiday continues through Wednesday, so I have plans to clean my apartment and maybe visit a chateau before classes recommence!
What a wonderful blog report. When you get back to Rockford, I have a Luxembourger friend to introduce you to!!! Love the Halloween picture. Bonne fête de la Toussaint!
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