Working on Turkey Day...WeIrD!

Hey everyone!

I'm sorry I haven't been blogging more often like I said I would. I'll try to get better about that.

The Thursday after my last blog we had the day off due to a national holiday, so I took a trip with a couple of friends of mine to Tours, where my friend Stevy lives. My friends spent the day with Stevy and me before heading back to Orleans, but I stayed at Stevy's for the next couple of days. Tours is a great city! From what I saw of it, it seems a bit busier than Orleans, and definitely with more to do! It was really nice to get to ride around in a car, too. Actually, as Stevy and I were driving around I felt like I was back in Madison, which was really nice, since I've been really, really homesick lately. I dunno what it is exactly, but I've never felt this homesick in my life! I've actually never really had problems with homesickness, that I can remember. Naturally there have been times where I've missed my family and friends when I'm away, but never in a way that aches like this and makes me wish time were going faster. I really, really hope this feeling goes away soon, because I still have 6 months here...and I'd rather enjoy my time in France and appreciate how lucky I am to have this opportunity.

The Friday that I spent with Stevy was particularly cool, as we got to see Amel Bent in concert...for free! Stevy is a gospel singer, you see, and the bass player that plays with them also plays with Amel, so he got us free tickets and backstage passes...I'd never had a backstage pass before in my life, so that was really neat! lol Unfortunately Amel was in the shower when we were back there, so we didn't get to meet her. We did, though, get to talk to Stevy's bassist (super cool guy!) and the backup singers and the other musicians. It was really neat!

Then this past weekend I got to go to Madrid to visit my friends Noelia and Pilar, which was great! I flew out of Paris on Thursday night and stayed at Noelia's apartment. On Friday I did a bit of exploring on my own while Noelia and Pilar were at work, and then the three of us met up and went to lunch, and then they showed me a bunch of the city. Harry Potter opened in Spain that night, so Pilar went to that and Noelia and I hung out just the two of us. I can't wait to see Harry Potter, but it's not playing in English in Orleans, so some friends and I are going to wait to see it in Paris, assuming we can find a place in Paris that's playing the English version. I almost went to see it tonight in French, but after watching the trailer I just thought it'd be too odd seeing it dubbed before seeing the original version. I'm not a big fan of dubbed films. Subtitles are a much better option, as it gives those who understand the original language the option of listening to the dialogue in it's original tongue and those who don't the chance to read the dialogue, but I digress...hardcore. ;)

Saturday we got to go to yet ANOTHER free concert, and this time of one of my favorite Latina artists, Julieta Venegas! I couldn't believe it when Noelia's roommate told us that she would be playing for FREE in one of the city plazas! What a great birthday present! It also happened to be the first concert she had given after giving birth, which is pretty cool. The reason she was in Madrid was because there was a Mexican Revolution Anniversary celebration going on in the plaza, in fact we had walked through it the night before and heard a mariachi group playing! At the sides of the stage were food stands serving traditional Mexican foods, too. After the concert we waited in line 45 minutes at least to get some food...it was worth it, though. Unfortunately I got a fever about 2 hours after the concert and was unable to enjoy doing anything else the rest of the weekend...which meant I spent my birthday (Sunday) doing little to nothing (we went to a market in the morning and then to lunch, but I just felt like crap and ended up sleeping the rest of the day pretty much). Sick or not, it was nice to spend my birthday weekend with good friends and in such a beautiful city! I'd love to go back to Madrid!


By Monday afternoon I was back in Orleans and planning lessons. That night I went to a gathering of Foreigners in Orleans (namely university students and language assistants), but didn't end up meeting anyone new, as it was a pretty cliquey night. Then on Tuesday I finally started taking a French class! (In fact, I have a bit of homework to do tonight before going to bed...once I'm done preparing my classes for tomorrow that is...though all I have to do in that regard is color/cut/paste some flashcards and draw a handprint turkey, lol) It was a great class. I learned a lot in just the 2 hours that we were there, and it was nice to be in an academic sort of environment again, even if it is just a community class. Plus it only costs 15 euros for a class that meets two hours a session, two sessions a week until June! Good deal!

So, tomorrow is Thanksgiving...and another reason for homesickness. I'm teaching my kids a little bit about the holiday...but not going into any "Pilgrims and Indians...nice, friendly dinner" crap. Just keeping it simple and traditional. Then at night I have the French class, where we'll actually be having a "Thanksgiving" party-type deal (just bringing in treats and dressing up as either a celebrity or a stereotype from our countries). Friday the other American assistants and myself will be doing a Thanksgiving dinner as close to American as we can get it. Since only a few assistants have ovens handy, we'll be spread out around the city trying to cook for it, but everyone is bringing a dish, and mine is greenbean casserole...if I can find the ingredients. I'm pretty excited for that, but I miss my family (though my family's all spread out at the moment, it's not just me who isn't home).

Anywho, a very Happy Thanksgiving to everyone! I hope you are all well and that you enjoy your national holiday tomorrow...while I'm at work ;)