The Montlucon routine

When you first arrive in a new city, nothing makes sense. Everything's unknown, virgin. After you've lived here, walked these streets, you'll know them inside out. You'll know these people. Once you've lived here, crossed this street 10, 20, 1000 times it'll belong to you because you've lived there. That was about to happen to me, but I didn't know it yet.
-Xavier, L'Auberge Espagnole

It feels really good to be settled into my apartment, teaching regularly, going to running club, and making friends. I can't imagine how comfortable this place is going to feel eight months from now and how hard it will be to leave.

Meredith and I spent a couple days before school restarted buying necessities for our apartment and arranging the furniture. There is a great secondhand store in town called Emmaus where we got eight plates, six bowls, a set of silverware, a spatula, six glasses, a pot, a pan, a colander, a phone, a flannel shirt to use for cleaning rags and a silver sequined skirt for just 12 euros.

Silver sequined skirt? I promise there was a good reason to spend a euro on that. Meredith's volleyball team held a cotume party Friday night and since I've met a few of the players I was invited to tag along. I was a little overwhelmed to be among so many French people for purely social reasons (rather than discussing my teaching objectives, for example, where there is a clear direction to the conversation) so I was glad to have met some of them previously.

Saturday evening we invited the other teaching assistants and some volleyball friends over to our apartment for what turned out to be a very successful evening of music, beer, and French conversation. It can be awkward to speak French when the majority of people are native English speakers, but the conversation flowed very smoothly, probably because Marie, Elodie and the others were really patient and interested in helping us.

After meeting so many friendly volleyball players I decided it might be fun to go play with them last night. I forgot why I don't usually like to play volleyball. I did have a good time meeting people and socializing but when I came home I had jammed a finger and it was still and swollen, and my wrists were bright pink and already beginning to turn black and blue. I am still in some pain today, and I must be a little crazy because I think I am going to return next week.

Of course my real sport is cross country and I am getting excited for my first race Friday! In order to compete in any sport in France, one needs a medical certificate. Since I hadn't received my social security card yet nor my invitation to see the doctor in Clermont for my carte de sejour the president of Montlucon Athletisme helped me out by contacting a doctor friend of his. I was able to call the doctor on Monday and get an appointment for today easily, and I am now approved to race!

The "cross" is Friday in a town called Arnay-le-Duc in the Bourgogne region. My race, the seniors femmes is 5.35k. There are three other senior women running, as well as some men and juniors. I am definitely excited to race, but I think the best part will be getting to know my new teammates. Tonight when I stopped by practice to drop off my certificat medical and the other paperwork I need for my club licence I stayed after a little while to talk with Guy (the president) and Christian (the distance coach), which was really fun.

And the real reason I am in France? To teach! If you've read this far, it's probably obvious that I am really happy here and my job is really contributing to that feeling. I don't have time to write in detail about it, nor do I want to make this entry ridiculously long, but I will say that my students are really fun, interesting, and enthusiastic. Of course there are some troublemakers, but it's nice to be the cool teacher who comes in for a fun 45 minute lesson and leaves the real discipline to their regular teacher! I get to talk, sing, and jump around the room. Meredith and I were amused to find out that on Monday both of us had jumped up on desks during class, although for different reasons!

So much is happening here and I feel like time is only going to pass by more quickly. One of my goals here is never to turn down the opportunity to do anything and I am so far successful in doing that.