and the beat goes on...

so many of you might not actually know that my contract has been renewed for the upcoming school year, and therefore, i will be continuing to document my adventures, though hopefully more diligenly this time, through this blog.

this summer has been a whirlwind, all with work & adjusting to my life back home as well as getting ready for another year abroad. mid-june i received an e-mail, informing me of my renewal for '09-'10. it was at this time that i learned my poste was in another town, only about 40 minutes train-ride away from where i was living last year, most importantly, still on the magnificent breton coastline.

saint-brieuc, they call it, and i already know the city a little from trips to the prefecture to sort out some carte de sejour troubles last year. though not as quaint as lannion, it is the capital of the cotes-d'armor region of bretagne, and has a population of about 46,000 habitants. while by no means, 'bustling,' it will bouge a little bit more than my town of 20,000 (and my hometown of 3,000, for that matter). it's a little closer to paris, a little more centrally located. there's also a whole slew of assistants there next year. bonus.

shortly after receiving that e-mail, i created a fb group to help assistants become acquainted & to answer any questions they might have. it's been fun watching it grow, and will be a good start for planning events & outings & sharing teaching ideas. not bad, not bad.

i spent the following few weeks diligently checking the mailbox for any sign of my arrete, and by the end of july, i had received a contract i could hold in my hand as well as the rest of the "useful" materials given to assistants. i celebrated with a friend & a sail out into the lake & a picnic of pb&js. it was a great day.

so as i prepare to move back to france-land, into the unknown (okay, well, maybe not so much), i look forward with great enthusaism upon the adventure that awaits. and i look forward to sharing it, too. so... stay tuned!