finally busy.

i've been really terrible about writing lately, and i guess i can attribute that to being busier than normal? hopefully? anyway... i'll try to fill y'all in with what's been up here lately.

so the two weeks following x-mas break, i worked a total of four hours, due to les greves, tests that were scheduled & re-scheduled because of les greves, and god-knows-what-else. i took the opportunity to explore a little bit of the area, an afternoon in paimpol (because the weather wasn't too terrible & it was somewhere the bus goes that i have not already been), and nicolas took us up to plougrescant. paimpol was kinda like charlevoix, small & quiet, a port, tourist shops, restaurants, and pretty much a ghost town this time of year. i still clicked a few photos & it was good to get a little fresh air... the next day (or maybe two days after, i don't remember now), nicolas proposed that we (jacqueline, saskia, & myself) take a trip with him up to plougrescant (where he was going to go footing), a natural protected coastal site where there's a bunch of trails and rocks to climb on. while it's only 30 minutes or so away from here by car, the terrain is completely different... and i seriously thought we set foot on mars. crazy jagged craggy rocks & boulders & cliffs. pretty sweet. we also stopped at the cathedral in treguier on the way back. took a bunch more pictures, you know how it goes.


port a paimpol.


castel meur a plougrescant.


le gouffre, plougrescant.

then, diana, the assistant in loudeac, came to visit us for the weekend, and we went to les valseuses, the bar we like to go to that's right around the corner, wandered around lannion & checked out our local templar church, went to a fest-noz in ploubezre on saturday with saskia & jo (after realizing that it's impossible to get a cab around here... i called for one, and he was obviously at some sort of fete, and most likely inebriated), some shenanigans with breton dancing & beer & 20-year-old boys, virgine, our new french friend, stopped by to say 'salut', what else (not to be confused with the george clooney nespresso ads)... basically bummed around on sunday... when i bumped into jo at the laundromat on the way back from dropping off diana at the train station. we starved ourselves until our favorite creperie opened, dragged male & catherine along after a petite cafe mexicaine, and went all out (menu express a 8 euros!... which includes a savory galette complete and a sweet crepe). yum.

last week was fairly uneventful, though i started my new schedule, so i'm working a little more often... and i no longer have mondays & wednesdays off, but i'm done at 9am on friday... give & take, people. anywho... basically did rien du tout other than laundry & grocery shopping, in preparation for chris's visit (a friend of a co-worker from last summer) & watched the inauguration on msnbc.com (yeah, live streaming!)... it was kinda sad not to be celebrating with everyone at home, or better yet, in d.c., but at least i got to watch american coverage. it was the topic of conversation for all my new students... first question (before my name, mind you) is always, "how old are you?"... fair enough. second question: "did you vote for obama?" they're nuts about him over here... it's really kinda crazy.


arc-en-ciel, landrellec.

chris came on thursday, i made a delicious dinner of two different quiches: tomato & zucchini and traditional lorraine. we went to check out a bar called havana, where they had live music... ran into lizzy, the american girl who i randomly bump into at times, had a faxe or two... i worked bright & early the next day, but we took advantage of the nice weather & headed up to tregastel. i would've liked to stay longer, but i guess not everyone likes to hike around as much as i do. i showed him the monolithic sites at kerguntuil & we wandered to a beach called landrellec. gorgeous. the weather cooperated just enough, as i was sure it was going to downpour on us. just as we arrived at the beach, a huge rainbow shone right over the water... it was pretty incredible. that was friday, so saskia had her german class over for dinner, i mooched leftovers in the kitchen (knödel, anyone?), and she won the prize in the fete des rois cake (epiphany to us), a petite vache, or cow. she lost it almost immediately after she pranced around with it, and then exclaimed "adrienne, you ate my f*cking cow!", accusing me of scarfing down the porcelain miniature along with the rest of my meal. pretty funny, but maybe you just had to be there. we had some cidre before going out to havana again, this time for salsa dancing. not much dancing happened, but before i knew it, we had a designated ride, via catherine's salsa friend to another salsa bar, and then the discotheque, putting our arrival back to the apartment at almost 5am. you just have to be open to the possibilities of just about anything when you live around here. anyway... i danced like a crazy person... and it was good to get rid of some pent-up energy.

saturday, was pretty much wasted, i think the weather was pretty much crap, and we slept in pretty late, as to be expected. i got ready for my first-ever west african dance class in lannion. long walk, but well worth it. of course, nothing like ryan & dori's classes back home in michigan, but it felt good to be back dancing again. i bummed a ride back into town with a fellow dancer, and it turns out she's a prof at a neighboring school & knows the assistants there (who are friends of mine). crazy how small this world is. well, then it was time for dinner & a phone call from mom & the americans-in-lannion party at au bureau. it was nice to talk with our fellow countrymen (well, mostly women), and the organizer was sporting her obama badge with pride. not too long after we arrived, virginie picked us up to take us to her place to celebrate her boyfriend's birthday. she prepared tartiflette (deliciious) for 17 people (!), and there were plenty of beverages. partying with 17-20 year old boys made things interesting, and i probably shouted "con" (a*sh*le) more than necessary at their childish behavior. we ended up staying out there at her place in plouaret, and i had very long conversations in front of a warm crackling fire, while i tried to fall asleep on the couch. the next day was for me more a highlight than all the partying the night before, we went to the boyfriend's (olivier's) family's farm next-door, and i got to play with the cows & love on the puppies or chiots. his family warmly invited these strangers out of the lazy drizzle & mud to a table of aparatifs of pastis & kirs (who said starting the day at noon was a bad thing?) & the most amazing homemade pate with crusty bread. those are the experiences that you can't plan... they just happen. that night, we went out for crepes at our favorite creperie (twice in one week, that's not become a habit, i hope), with male, jo, fleur, all the roommates, chris, & bruno. it was quite fun.

chris left on tuesday, i've been dropping into paint club on mondays & tuesdays, where we're painting a mural on the walls of the local hostel. i've met a few people through that, so that's been good. i've also become slightly involved with the social group that runs out of the hostel/foyer... a little tiny bit like r.h.a., so that's been pretty excellent. other than that, i've just been trying to shake this nasty cold i've picked up somewhere, teach a little bit (mostly just working with the students on how to introduce themselves... pretty boring on both our parts... if you have any ideas to make this more fun, fill me in!), more strikes (there was a nation-wide strike on just about everything yesterday... come on, it's thursday, folks!)... that's about it. been toying with the idea of maybe renewing my contract, can't get straight answers out of the people in charge, so i just have to complain louder, until i get my way (that's how things work around here... really). was planning quite the trip for february vacation, which starts in a week, but we hadn't gotten paid yet, and prices of tickets have gone up, so now, who knows what. i'm sure i'll figure something out. well, that's about it for now... pictures & more updates to come soon!

full-o-fun.

this weekend was full-o-fun, and now i'm getting back into the weekly grind. friday, i decided to visit a fellow assistant, diana, i had met at orientation back in october for a fête she was throwing in loudeac. now loudeac is not your average french town, rather, it's your average french village. no worries. after several trains & a bus (only buses go to & from the gare there), i arrived at the party safe & sound. not only did i get the chance to meet a bunch of her french friends, but it was great to mingle & drink & dance & just be merry in general. lots of red wine, lots of great conversation, lots of pasta, lots of dance music. it was a pretty fabulous night & great to get out of little ol' lannion for a bit.

the next day, since one of diana's friends lives in plouaret, they offered to give me a ride back to lannion, and despite not being in the best of forme the next day, we ended up having a croque monsieur lunch after virginie showed us around her place. tired, but still standing, i came back to the apartment, where it already smelled deliciously of saskia's birthday dinner, and attempted to discreetly make a birthday cake (and buttercream frosting, without a mixer, mind you), throw up some balloons, make myself presentable, & take a quick cat nap before the next party started. guests arrived as i was coming out of my hangover-&-lack-of-sleep induced coma, and we sat down for a lovely meal prepared by the birthday girl. a hearty potato & leek with meat soup with baguette & fresh tomatoes with olive oil & oregano, mousse au chocolat, & "bowle", a traditional german punch made with slightly sparkling white wine & peaches that you could stab with tiny forks. yum. last, was my pink angelfood cake (who wants white cake when they can have pink cake? i only tried to liven it up a little) with the pale yellow buttercream. the verdict? not half bad, despite the fact that we're seriously lacking in the kitchen appliances & appropriate pans department. the night continued with drinking & game playing & present opening & the like.


the fête d'anniversaire.

jacqueline had a friend visit for the weekend, claire, so she was there, nicolas, fleur, jo & her boyfriend joe, and all of the roommates (catherine, jac, & the birthday girl saskia) were in attendance. we ended up playing a couple rounds of guess-the-person-who's-on-the-stickynote-on-your-forehead game, which i'm sure has a proper name that i just don't know. this ended up being a pretty fun time for most, a few frustrations, but well received overall. a round or two of l.c.r. (left right center, a dice game, for those of you who don't know), and the usual busting-out to the b.s.b., and our night was complete.


virginie, catherine, diana, & saskia at the coast.

yesterday, virginie was taking diana to see the coast & offered to take me along (and some roommates too!) the weather was decently warm, though windy, and the girls' company was good (since usually, i go by myself). virginie shared the legend of saint guirec, where if a girl puts a needle in the statue's nose & it sticks, she'll be married within a year, with the others who hadn't yet heard it.


diana, looking for a needle in her pocket to stick in saint guirec's nose. just kidding.

she pointed out some more of the figures in the rocks, some of which i hadn't yet picked out, so that was pretty fun too. i explained that i swear that every time i go back to ploumanac'h, i see new things in the rocks, and that it's probably just the breton air making me crazy, petit à petit. we shared a pretty interesting vocabulary lesson in the car on the ride home, and i said farewell with a biz. à la prochaine!

strikes... again.

so not only did i walk to school twice today, but i somehow managed to delete my epic blog entry as well. needless to say, after a nap & some chocolate, i'm feeling much better. i'll attempt to recount what was exactly in my deleted blog...

so i'm currently writing this from the school, which i had to sneak into not once, but two times this morning. while i was legitimately warned yesterday about the possibility of not having school, i was really hoping to get through a lesson plan & get back into the swing of things (since i'm bored out of my skull from not having class thus far this week). i shouldn't have given my hopes up though, as upon my arrival (at quarter to eight, mind you), the students were blockading the door, letting no one pass. see, everyone strikes in this country. everyone. i figured i was tricky enough, and i headed around towards the back gate. no one would be there... no one's ever there. blocked. so i wandered around back to the front, my patience waning, and after a few minutes, decided to go hang out with the teachers to see if there was any reason to stay & not go back to bed. i noticed that they were allowing the b.t.s. (upper-level) students to pass through the gate, and as the next hoard of them shuffled inside, i made a break for it, simply hid myself in the crowd, pretended i was a b.t.s. student, & got in. success. take that, french kids!

inside, the teachers were idly standing around, and i said "bonjour" in a sarcastic tone to nicolas (who was present for my rant yesterday concerning the school system and the ability to strike whenever there's urge to do so). he said that he was impressed with the fact that i got into school... like i'm telling him my secret. no, i explained that i probably just look enough like a b.t.s. student & snuck in. fair enough. as class wasn't taking place, i decided to make some photocopies, only to discover that my white folder (a.k.a. my bible, because it contains everything i need to survive at le dantec, including lesson plans & class lists) was missing from my bag. okay, everyone already knows how i'm the one who can't remember where she put her keys five minutes ago. couple that with not being a morning person, and the fact that i woke up at the equivalent 1:00 a.m. michigan-time (jet-lag's a bitch), and it's understandable that i'd have some problems. a teacher told me that i'd have enough time to run back home & class would most likely eventually commence at nine. likely story.

sooo... i decided to go home to get my shit. escaping the "prison" was almost as much a fiasco as getting in in the first place, like i needed a reason to leave. i decided to go for the back gate, as there were fewer students (and less debris, a slab of concrete & a banner of protest) guarding that entryway. at the other gate, the students used whatever salvage they could... a tire, dumpster, and bent fender fashioned into a "lock"... how resourceful! one of the "guards" asked me if i wanted to leave, to which i rolled my eyes. i rhetorically exclaimed, "wouldn't you guys rather just sleep?" not expecting an answer, to which one of them said "yeah." my response: "me too." he grudgingly moved the piece of concrete he had wedged between the gate, acting as if i was causing this horrible inconvenience. a "bonne journee," accompanied by a terribly snotty & sarcastic smirk (hey, it's what i've gotta do to survive around here sometimes), and i was off. i made the trek half an hour back, uphill both ways (true story, folks), plodding away to the rhythm of the music coming from my ipod, and when i got back to the house i was, not surprisingly, not at all in a hurry to get back to things. i grabbed my stuff, had a drink of water, and incessantly checked my e-mail for already the hundredth time since waking up.

fast-forward fifty minutes later. i again, find the gate at the school blocked, only this time, there were no student manning their castle doors. instead, there was a man who i'd seen earlier in the parking lot, attempting to pry the door open. i helped him kick the tire that was wedged between the gate & the wall loose from its spot. we forced the gate open enough for us to slide through, then carefully moved it & the dumpster back in place to serve as the makeshift barrier. i made my way back into the salle des profs, where everyone was congregated in the main room, having a meeting of sorts. they were discussing a letter (i'm presuming one that the students wrote), and the possibility of continued strike tomorrow, as well as an explanation to tell the parents. one of my teachers came over to me, explained what i needed to know in english, and then told me that there wasn't any reason i needed to be there. brilliant. i walked to school twice, for nothing. super!

my frustrations as an educator are simple: if you don't show up to class, you can't learn. or even better, if you don't show up, you fail. see, this doesn't work here in france, land of the striking. i understand the importance of public demonstration and the need to make your voice heard. do it constructively. i refuse to believe that people don't have any power in this type of situation. make the students responsible for their actions, please. i'm still baffled how people can function here. another frustration: how i could've stayed home (or at least done something mildly entertaining instead of waiting around to find out that i don't have class), had i known. not only did i not miss anything by taking a week off before break (there were national student strikes then), but i could've taken a week off after break as well. oh well. here's to probably not having class again tomorrow! maybe i'll just have to start early on weekend festivities!

on a better note... nicolas took jacqueline & myself to pointe de bihit (i think), near trebeurden yesterday, on our roundabout way to the supermarket. we hiked along the cliffs, and it was nice to get some fresh sea air (and get out of the apartment for a bit). he kept telling us not to fall, as we stepped over the "interdit" sign, warning us not to pass because of the dangerous terrain. nice. at one point, you could see the sea to the left & the right, as we stepped out onto the little peninsula. i was sure i saw a group of seals, bobbing their heads in the waves, but my eyes were playing tricks on me, and they turned out to be nothing more than a couple of rocks. the shadows cast by the enormous boulders (or teeny tiny islands if you will), were made even more impressive as the sun was setting. no pictures from this one (who brings their camera to the "supermarche," but i'll be sure to go back & post some when i do.

back in france

so going through customs, i was asked if this was my first time in france by some sort of security personnel who couldn't have been much older than myself. my response was a light chuckle, and i explained that i currently live here. "and your husband's french?" ha. gotta love being harassed by overly-smiley authority figures. gotta love the francais.

this is especially funny since a week before i left for vacances, i was told i wouldn't be able to re-enter the country due to visa issues (which i sorted out before my departure, but still)... like i'd have any problems.