October 10, 2009
I know it’s been awhile since my last post but due to my lack of Internet keeping people posted/updated has proven to be difficult. I’ve been to numerous Internet cafes only to find the Internet to be slow as molasses or I have to adapt to using the horrid French keyboard :( and that is an experience I rather not detail. Anyway, let me start off by saying I’ve seen my metamorphosis from young adult to “real” adult happen almost overnight. The truth is SO much has happened since my last post and let me tell you making the adjustment from Paris to Bollene was quite interesting but in a good way :) I’m happy to report that Bollene has exceeded my expectations tenfold. I guess I was expecting just fields, a gas station, and an outhouse (perhaps I watch too much T.V.) It’s a very small town but the people here are very hospitable. Strangely there seems to be an abundance of middle-aged men. I’m wondering where the females are hiding in town. Sooner or later I will find out about their secret meetings and get initiated like the sorority experience I never had… I’ll tell you how that goes.
Bollene does have some drawbacks, one of which is the infrequent bus line and the distance from the center of town to the train station. This has made going to and fro Bollene extremely difficult. However it does have all the essentials: a post office, a bank, 2 supermarkets, places of worship and an office of tourism. The last of which was essential in securing my very first apartment :-) and let me tell you it’s beautiful but don’t take my word for it, take a look:
I know for millions of young adults getting your first apartment usually happens in your early 20’s but I guess I do everything in my own time. I think that’s why this experience is so special to me because its all so new. Finally having a home that isn’t a cardboard box, has put me right at ease. I also have a very cool roommate named Cara. She’s also an assistant but her French is 30 times better than mine. Which is a good and bad thing. Good because she gets me out of trouble when I get exactly say what I want to say and bad because I may rely on her a little too much…. But hopefully that will get better.
I could go on and on and turn this post into a short novel but I think what I will do instead is give you a few quick recaps on my experience so far:
1.) French Bureaucracy: I’m starting to believe that along with cheese and the Eiffel tower France is known to be an oasis of paperwork. I’m constantly swimming in photocopies and documents just to get the simplest things done. What’s worse is you think you have all the documents you need and when you get up to the counter they tell you that you need additional documents that they never even mention. I’m wondering if I should start carrying vials of blood in case they need that too……. Needless to say I miss the organization of America.
2.) Orientation: I was fortunate enough to get to attend the Orientation for the assistants in Marseille. Marseille can be summed up in one word: GORGEOUS. It’s a city with its own port and the water is clear blue. I didn’t want to leave and I think it was the prefect venue for orientation. (pic below) 
Orientation itself was such a great experience, mainly because I finally was able to meet everyone that I had been corresponding with on Facebook over the past few months. I really hit it off with several of them and we formed a nice group. Shout out to TEAM CADEUX ;) I also got to meet assistants from England, Italy and Spain. We exchanged numbers and had an awesome dinner with the American Consul hosted at her lovely home overlooking the ocean. She told us a little about her job and where we need to go as Americans to get help in France. She seriously gave me new prospective on Foreign Service; I really may end up taking the exam once I return…. But that’s to be determined :-)
3.) Visiting my school for the fist time: remember what I said a few posts back about Halima never having a “normal” experience, well that day was no exception. It starts out with me taking the 30 min (yes you read right) trek to my school. Due to the aforementioned infrequent bus line, walking is the only option. Not that I mind much, I needed to calm my nerves and losing a few pounds walking is added motivation. As I approach my school I can’t help but think that it resembles a prison…. one housing juvenile delinquents. Believe me I’m not being harsh the school literally looks like a prison, it is absolutely one of the most hideous structures I’ve ever seen but I push all these thoughts aside and I try to get the nerve to enter the school. But I don’t…. Instead I’m getting the feeling that my feet are super glued to the pavement. Because I am now noticing the clusters of students, already separated into cliques and I’m getting transported back to high school. You know, that awkward period where I was insecure, pissed at the world, and sure I knew everything about anything. At the moment all I could think was “how can I teach these kids?” I was positive that they could smell the fear that was consuming me. Luckily a force within pushed me forward and I turned up the volume to Michael Jackson’s “Rock My World” and I was ready to proceed to the gates. However as soon as I pass I noticed hoards of students from a couple directions streaming to the basketball courts. That’s when I see a woman motioning towards the courts and calling for me to move to the “sportif” area. I quickly remove my headphones and notice the siren sounds moving through the school. I let the woman know that I am not a student but in fact the new language assistant. She let me know that they were in the middle of a fire drill. Yay…. Fun times. So I stand awkwardly with (but not really a part of) the faculty, while the students don’t make any formations whatsoever matter of fact some are smoking… yes, smoking during the fire drill. Others are outside the “sportif” area and I can hear a teacher yelling at them. So after 20 mins of standing and talking the fire drill was over. Thankfully it was shortly after the fire drill that I was introduced to the English teachers that I would be working closely with. They were all super nice and helpful. They showed me where I would be turning in my administrative papers and whom I would need to talk to if I ever had a problem. They gave me a locker, keys to a classroom, and access code to utilize the faculty’s computers. Last but certainly not least I was given a card in which I would be able to purchase the school’s lunch and eat at the “canteen”. The funny thing about this is that all the teachers were telling me how disappointed I’d be and to not judge French food by the food I was being served but clearly these people had never had lunch at an American high school because the food was great! I had fresh fish, green beans, grapes, packaged chocolate mousse, and tuna salad all for 2.52 Euros :) What is more mind-blowing than the lunch is the fact that I’m sitting in the faculty section talking with the teachers while sort of having some semblance of authority. HA! I must be in a parallel universe. I should also mention that later on that day a student decided to pull the fire alarm and we had yet another awkward fire drill in the “Sportif” area…. Ah C’est la vie en France.
More to report later…. And hopefully I’ll have Internet in about two weeks :-)
Bisous,
Halima
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