Don't be shocked, but this is a new blog post...

Ok, I think we can all acknowledge that this blog will only on the rarest of occasions be updated.  Teaching really takes it out of you.

Since Christmas, when I last saw most of you, many things have happened.  I managed to catch three extra days at home before coming back to France, I finished at one school and started at a new one, Meredith came to visit, and we started another break, which finds me traveling to England.

So let’s talk about that.

The trip to England itself has (naturally) not been without hitches. It seems that this time in France, I cannot seem to get on the right side of transportation. This time, I actually managed to do everything right and it was the train that messed up (usually it is me).  The basic plan was to take the train from Grenoble to Lyon, where I would switch to the TGV for a trip to Lille, where I would then take the Eurostar into London. Easy as pie, right?

Wrong. France is currently stuck in the same cold snap as the rest of Europe, although thankfully it’s much milder. Nonetheless, transportation is not at its finest, and when I got to the station at Lyon, I discovered that my train was delayed by an hour. This by itself is not so much a problem.

What is a problem is that Lyon’s train station has no real indoor space. The trains are on the upper platform, which is open to the staircase and escalators. The lower level has multiple automatic doors where everyone comes in. All told, it’s cold in there, with the open space and wind blowing.

Finally, thankfully, the train shows up. And now we’re an hour and 15 minutes behind schedule. I might still make my Eurostar, but it will be quite the squeeze, since I had an hour and a half between the two.

But while I wait to find out if I’ll make my train, I can tell all of you about what I’ve been doing recently. The biggest change is changing schools. When I first started this school year, I was assigned two schools, one in a suburb of Grenoble and one in a completely different town.  What was finally decided was to split the year between the two, so that in January it was time to change schools. The new one is in a town called Vizille, which is a completely separate entity from Grenoble, and as such, the public buses don’t run all the way out. So to get there requires a special coach, which takes up a good 45 minutes of travel time each way.

I will not lie. This is not ideal. It requires a new transportation pass in addition to the one I already have, and adds half an hour to my commute each morning. Not to mention I have to climb a hill to get to the school. Given the recent cold snap and the lingering snow from a week ago, this has resulted in quite a bit of muttering during the climbs each morning. One bright side, however, is that the coaches only sometimes have working card readers. Which means that on those lucky rides, I pay nothing at all for the 45-minute trip. This is very nice, as I have to pay for each individual trip, and getting almost every other one free is a very nice perk.

The school itself – it’s actually not so bad. The teachers are very welcoming. I even had one invite me to her house for dinner over the break if I’m around.  They also give me just enough guidelines to work with so that I feel like I’m actually contributing something to the students instead of merely speaking English at them for an hour.

The students themselves aren’t half bad either. I think my favorite classes are still the 5iemes (7^th graders). They’ve had enough English to understand most of what I say, but haven’t hit puberty yet (for the most part), and as such, are still willing to make idiots of themselves/play along with what I have planned.

Riding on the TGV

*preface* I wrote this post a couple of weeks ago, whilst on the TGV. Yes, I am that slow in posting. Bear with me, please.

ACTUAL POST

This was supposed to be a post about coming back to Versailles and visiting Paris.

Instead, I’m going to tell you how much I love the TGV.

I mean, really. It’s amazing. I came over to France two weeks ago on a cramped and uncomfortable plane. Tiny seat, tiny window, terrible food, recycled air. We all know how it works.

Well, the TGV is a different story entirely. I needed to take a train to get to Paris so I could visit my study abroad family, who had kindly invited me to stay with them. I ended up with a ticket for the TGV, the first benefit of which is that I get from Grenoble to Paris in 3 hours flat, with no stops – what should take about 8 hours by car.

Then I get on the train. I am happily surprised by how big the seats are. Plenty of legroom, even enough so that I can recline if I am so inclined. (ha!). Not only that, but for these trips at least, the trains have been at most half occupancy. Which means two seats for the price of one and extra room for my stuff instead of cramming it under my feet. Add in the fact that you can bring your own food and drink and you don’t have to be there 2 hours ahead to go through security, and TGV has won my loyalty. Shoot, they even have bigger bathrooms that don’t leave me feeling dirtier after I leave. It’s a winning situation. Plus the views are amazing, and it is so quiet.

Well, it became even more of a win today. Due to what can only be known as a freak coincidence, the 1^st class tickets back from Paris to Grenoble were actually 2€ cheaper than the second class ones. So what did I do?

That’s right. I bought the first class ticket, which is where I am sitting right now as I write this. Even better. Humongous seats comfortable enough to sleep in, sprawl out in, curl up in, whatever. Bigger windows with better views. An electric outlet so I can charge my computer as I go. And a bathroom that weirdly, has a zen garden-style background. No, I don’t know what the deal is with that.

All of that to say, first class is also a steal.

And the moral of this story? Ride the TGV. It’s cheap, comfortable, you can bring your own food, and the views are nothing to sneeze at. It is so relaxing compared to airline travel.

My réntrée in France

Well, it's been four days, and I'm pretty sure my mom thought I was dead until I called her, so now's as good a time as any to update all of you on what I've been doing the past four days.

In short, not much.

Really, though. My main focus has been trying to find an apartment, so I haven't been going out to explore all that much. I will, however, summarize what little has happened so far.

I left on Monday. This consisted of convincing my suitcases to close, then promptly reopening them at the airport because one was too heavy (but only by a pound!). After celebrating at the luggage scale because both were now significantly under the weight limit, it was time to eat my final American meal (Chick-Fil-A, for those who care) and then to board the plane.

The plane rides were...well, boring. On the flight to Geneva, I ended up watching Midnight to Paris about 4 different times (although I still cannot figure out how Owen Wilson time-traveled). The rest of my time was spent drifting off into a very uncomfortably cramped sleep somewhere over the Atlantic.

Landing in Geneva was a little disconcerting. Mainly because I now needed to speak French, haul my suitcases everywhere with me (even to the bathroom, yikes), and I had no Swiss francs, so no money for breakfast. Unfortunately, the bus I was taking wasn't leaving for three hours, so I pulled out my computer and watched a movie to pass the wait.

Finally, it was time to leave. I loaded my suitcases, and we set off on a coach bus that runs from Geneva to a town called Chambery, and then to Grenoble. This was my favorite part of the day -- the views were exceptional. Tiny rolling hills, looming humps of mountain, and giant craggy peaks with snow still on them -- all on both sides of the road for two straight hours. I tried my best to stay awake and watch, but jet lag got me for about an hour of the trip.

Once I got to Grenoble, I lugged my suitcases for what seemed like a ridiculous distance before I found a bus stop. Much easier. Then I managed to embarrass myself by not being able to validate a bus ticket -- I had to get a couple of teenage girls beside me to help. Finally, I got myself to the hostel where I was staying, and meandered off to the grocery store/boulangerie next door to find something to eat. I grabbed a baguette at the boulangerie and headed next door to grab something to go with it.

This was a mistake.

I made it to the meat section before the security guy chased me down, and explained in very mumbled French that it really wasn't done to carry around a baguette that was not from his store. What was I supposed to do with it, with no car or bag to put it in? Well, he suggested that he keep it at the security desk until I left.

No, I am not kidding. The security guard took my baguette until I left, then promptly handed it right back over to me. My BAGUETTE. Ridiculous. Thank goodness he didn't see the croissant in my purse.

That about sums up my first day.

Days 2, 3, and 4 were a little less exciting. Lots of searching for apartments (I have some good possibilities, Mom and Dad), hunting for food at the supermarket (whilst hiding from the security guard), and I even managed to meet one of the other assistants that will be in Grenoble this year. She had already studied here during college, so she showed me around some, we got some amazing ice cream and chatted with the proprietor for a bit, and then went back to her apartment for dinner. Lovely.

Today, I am off to Versailles to visit my study-abroad family and see Paris for a bit before I start teaching next week. So in the meantime, enjoy this picture of the view from my hostel:

See you in Paris!