June

Do you know how they vote in France? They go to the mayor's office, and on the table are stacks of small flyers each one bearing the name and party of a candidate. It looks like a bar counter covered with rave and concert flyers. You walk in, choose the candidates you want, and place their flyer into a small brown envelope, which you then hand to a monsieur who puts it in a large transparent box with all the other small brown envelopes. There are a couple of voting booths if you want privacy, but seeing that you take the flyers from a very public and visible oak table in the middle of city hall, the idea of standing behind a curtain just to place the flyer into an envelope seems rather silly. But that's just me, and I'm not French.

I'm not even European, which has become increasingly evident as time goes by and I get closer to leaving France. As bilingual and Eurotrashed as I may be, I still require a visa to stay in the EU. So, the last couple of weeks have been spent in doing my French resume and sending out letters to schools and businesses all over the region. I don't want to bore you with the details of the work contract, visa, titre du sejour, CAF, MGEN, Prefecture, etc. etc. etc., but suffice it say that it is all linked in a vicious cycle with multiple steps and phases.

The other day, I walked over to ActiCity which is a youth organization that offers free guidance for kids like me seeking a job. I spoke with the woman there, who asked me when I was looking for a job and about my work experiences.

“Well,” I began, “I want to come back in the fall. In the US I was the Coordinator of a private school, and here in Carcassonne I teach English at the graduate school.”

“So, you want to come back in the fall?” She said, “Have you thought about working in the wine industry picking grapes?”

No, I hadn't thought of that.

It has been a busy few weeks. Lots of dinners out, weekend trips, friends, parties, and job searching.

After getting back from Spain, I threw myself into job searching and trying to not be too bored. Jana was in Carcassonne, so that was wonderful! We got to spend lots of time together. There were lots of parties in early June. My friend Susan who works at the pub had her last night there, so we had a huge party at the pub with music and sing-alongs and lots of entertainment. Now that the weather is nice, we've been spending time outdoors. We went up to the bar a vins in La Cite one Friday night, and it was packed with people (hooray! Something lively in Carca!), and then to the Bodega for a smoky shitty-music experience.

During the week, I see friends in the evening and Arnaud two or three times, and then on the weekends, Arnaud and I go visiting. We went to Le Cirque de Moreze (where I created an avalanche of stone and sand and fell flat on my back from a substantial height), St. Gilhem du Desert (one of the most beautiful villages of France, and a UNESCO site), fishing in Beziers, etc. etc.

I spent last weekend in Toulouse with Davy and Geraldine and their daughter Clara. We visited a few villages, an amazing prehistoric cave, and spent hours talking and catching up.

In the cave, I saw something I've never seen before and found truly miraculous. There was a trunk of a tree, completely intact but fossilized, growing out of the clay ground of the cave until the top of the rock roof, probably 20 feet above. You could see the entire root system. They think that the seed of the tree was brought in by the people making their home in the cave, and grew there. It was truly incredible.

Another highlight of my weekend there was a phone call from Shey!!!! I was SO happy to hear her voice and know that she's doing well, and taking on the enormous challenges with enthusiasm and strength. She is an amazing and inspiring person. I am very thankful for her.

I came back to Carcassonne on Sunday evening, and on Tuesday morning, Celia and I went to Pau, which is between Toulouse and the Atlantic coast. We spent the morning on the train, and arrived in Pau in time for lunch. We toured the chateau (where Henri IV was born), walked all around the city, saw the gardens and the amazing view of the Pyrenees, and just had fun goofing around. There is a university in Pau, so we went out that night for drinks and there were young people everywhere! This always excites us about visiting other towns, because there are no young people in Carcassonne. On Wednesday, we went shopping (or at least tried on a million things) and saw the rest of the city, and then took the train back that evening. Arnaud came to pick me up and we went to dinner.

And this weekend, Arnaud and I went to the Basque country. It was so beautiful, and so different from anywhere else. What struck me the most was the architecture. The houses and buildings were absolutely enormous, and had a particular style that I've never seen before. There were wooden houses painted white with brightly colored shutters and balconies, also half timbered houses, and then huge houses of stone. These were especially impressive because the style was almost Victorian, but made of stone, with balconies and porches, turrets and gables, all in gray stone blocks. They were so gorgeous. We visited St. Jean-de-Luz, a pretty little coastal town, and saw a game of la Pelote, the Basque sport that is like tennis, racket ball, and cricket all combined. We stayed in a little hotel we found right on the beach, and on Sunday we spent the day in Biarritz, which is wonderful. It was a lot of driving and a long way to go for a quick weekend, but well worth it (even Arnaud agrees, and he's the one who did all the driving!).

I got back Sunday night, ate dinner with Christelle and Celia, and then watched a movie with Aour. Today was hours spent at the cyber cafe, photocopy place, and post office looking for jobs, copying papers, and mailing resumes. Then up to La Cite to meet Celia, dinner with friends, and back home to type this up! Tomorrow we are going to the Moroccan style baths to celebrate Christelle's birthday, Thursday is la fete de musique (a musical festival that takes place on the solstice in every town in France), Saturday is a Fages family party (Arnaud's cousin is having a pre-wedding party), and Sunday Sarah Tumpane from my high school days is arriving for a couple of days!

In the meantime, I am packing my bags, clearing out drawers, and trying not to cry! I am getting excited about being home and seeing my friends and family, but it will be hard to leave, and I am trying to get as much in now as possible. I think I'm doing a pretty good job of that! I hope you are all doing well! I can't wait to see you!