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!
Since we last met in Germany, the travels and adventures have continued. After spending four days in fascinating Berlin, I flew to London to see my friends Andrew and Alexis. I spent days walking around the city, and evenings drinking in pubs with them. The weather was beautiful, and I took advantage of the sun by just wandering around London and spending more time in the parks than in the museums. It was SO great to see Andrew and Alexis again, and to play in the sophisticated city. We rented a car to go up to the Lake District and my boyfriend Arnaud flew up from Carcassonne to see me and come with us.
We spent four very romantic days in the Lake District, staying in bed & breakfasts, and one night at Andrew's aunt's house. Arnaud was introduced to the fine cuisines and pastimes of England (scotch he enjoyed, “cured beef” not so much). We went back to London for one night, and Arnaud and I walked around the city til 4am looking for something to eat, see, or do. But there was NOTHING going on! We were shocked! London is Europe's biggest city, and nothing was open in the night. Arnaud left the next day, and I stayed in London for three more days, hanging out with my friends and having picnics.
After a few days in England, I flew to Dublin to meet my mom. We spent two nights in Dublin, during which we tried to see and do everything, but alas, we didn't make it to the Guinness Factory! So, who's going back with me? After a couple of days in Dublin, we rented a car and drove to Cork, in the SouthWest of Ireland. We stayed in that area for three nights, seeing the Ring of Kerry, the Dingle Peninsula, and lots of castles.
The experience was pretty amazing, not to mention stressful, with my mom driving on the opposite side of the road and me navigating our way through the most ridiculous tangle of streets and cities! We were both exhausted by the end of the trip, but we had a great time!
Mom and I flew then to Paris to meet her best friend Bev. We stayed for two nights in Paris, and went to Versailles, which was pretty incredible. I also took my mom to Giverny to see Monet's garden, and that was quite lovely! After Paris, all three of us took the train to Carcassonne, and here met my auntie and uncle. We spent the weekend together (ok, I ditched them a couple of times to see Arnaud, but for the most part we were all together), visiting Carcassonne. Then on Monday, Mom, Bev, and I rented a car and went to the Perigord for a week.
We stayed in Bergerac, Brantome, and Sarlat, and saw so many villages, castles, and gorgeous things that I can't even keep it straight now! At the end of the week, I was so tired. I had planned this whole trip, and was trying to take care of every detail since meeting my mom in Dublin. While we were in France, it was great because I knew our surroundings a bit, but very tiring because there I did everything from ordering dinner to translating entire tours and documents. It was a good experience, though, and made me start thinking a lot about what I want to do in the future.
We came back to Carcassonne, Bev left to go to Rome, and mom and I hung out for a couple of days. She met Arnaud, which went very well, and she met many of my friends, which made me happy! On Monday, we left to go to Barcelona. We spent two nights in Barcelona in a beautiful apartment/hotel that I found, and my mom finally saw things that she had always dreamed of, like the Sagrada Familia. We had so much fun together, but I was freaking out about my trip to Greece. It had been bothering me for several weeks, and the last few days before leaving, I was really stressing about it. I'd just had enough of traveling for the moment, and just wanted to be home. I know it's ridiculous, and just in my head, but it really made me panic.
In the end, I knew I couldn't go. I don't know why I freaked out so badly, but I did, and I had to call the girls that I would have been traveling with and tell them that I wasn't going. I am so nervous about what they think of me, and I hope that they are not too angry. I called Arnaud, I was nervous about that too because I didn't want him to think that I am as weak and ridiculous as I am, and told him that I was going to take the train and come home. He said that he would come pick me up in Barcelona, and we could spend the weekend there.
So, I took my mom to the airport and said goodbye to her. That was hard, especially since we'd spent the last three weeks together every day and night. Then I went back into town to wait for Arnaud. I spent all afternoon at the port in the sun, and got a nice sunburn on my legs! Arnaud came around 6pm, and we got a drink and looked for a hotel. There was absolutely NOTHING available because Friday was a holiday and everything was full. So, we decided to just party and stay up all night. We ate dinner around 11 and then found a bar. Around 3am we went to a nightclub, and hung out till 5, when we left and hung out with the other kids in the street. At seven, we were desperately seeking coffee, but finding nothing open, settled in for a quick nap on a park bench. Around 9, we found coffee and (finally) the car, which we had lost underground somewhere. We started the drive back home, which took longer than usual, and getting off the autoroute to eat, we had a small car accident. We were stopped in traffic, and a huge truck ran into the door. So, we had to deal with that, and Arnaud was stressed about it cause his car is actually a work car, and he'll have to tell his boss about it. We finally got back to Narbonne where Arnaud lives and slept for about 14 hours!
This morning, I woke up around 11am, and ate the croissant that Arnaud had brought for me from the boulangerie. Then we got ready to leave, and went to have lunch in town. After, he took me to Lagrasse to visit the abbey. We drove back to Carcassonne and went to la cite, and finally I went home and saw some friends.
Now I'm back in Carcassonne trying to figure the next steps (looking for jobs, making plans, etc.).
WHEW!! I think that very briefly catches up the last month! Hope you are all well!
