Il Faut Qu'on Fasse des Efforts!

By clicking on the title of this post, you will be taken to a blog on which is posted a video in which I am featured!

I’m going to warn you that I am LE TIRED, so if this blog at certain points makes no sense, please post your complaints in the comment box below. Your comment will be treated with strenuous care and great attention!

TODAY! Today was the day for me to start the big ole’ job in Evry, France! Every year, for as long as I have been alive, I have had a new adventure upon which to embark. Be it my first day of preschool, promotion Sunday at church, or simply the transition from my sophomore year at Baylor to my junior year at Baylor, each new adventure has had one common ingredient: the diarrhea! If you will walk with me a bit; I’m in the process of descending into the Métro at 7h00 when all of the sudden, WHAT!?!? This can’t be happening! I’m truly going to have to go home and miss my first day of work because of a sleepless night, too much anticipation, and (of course!) too much Nutella™! IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING TO ME? Thank goodness for me, but sad for those of you who find pleasure in reading about the painful suffering of others, today was NOT a runny day! Oops! I meant to say RAINY day! That’s it! Today was NOT a rainy day!

Contrary to the past, as I left Laruiane’s apartment this morning, I felt nothing. No fear, no anticipation, no reason for descending the train at Gare du Nord in order to pay 1€ to use the “clean” potty taunted me as I opened the gate of the apartment complex and looked for the shadow of the Eiffel Tower that had been unlit for over six hours. I tried to make myself realize that I was about to start the first day of the rest of my life, but the only thought that came to me was, “How am I going to manage to purchase a baguette this morning and still make it to Evry on time?” The question of being on time was certainly on the mind, but not a concern. I knew that if I ran into any problems in the Métro or couldn’t find the location of our meeting, I would manage and the French wouldn’t be surprised by my late arrival (considering the fact that even if late, I run the risk of being at least an hour early). I did have a little trouble finding the exact train because I had never made the trip to Evry from Laruiane’s apartment, but I did arrive with time to spare (9h05, 5 minutes after the meeting was scheduled to start, and still had to wait to begin for at least 30 minutes). As I sat and listened to the other assistants talk amongst themselves, I made began to make snide remarks under my breath about the fact that they were all speaking English in various international accents. I even texted Rachel to ask her to kill me.

If you read my blog while I lived in Caen, you remember that it itched me som’in ferce (bothered me) when the Anglophones insisted on speaking English and not taking advantage of the fact that they lived in France. Needless to say, this morning brought back many memories of my days in Cow Town, France (Caen). Nonetheless, I tried to seem as if I were a loner so that nobody would speak to me. Unfortunately/fortunately, the sweetest American girl from Rhode Island took her place to my left (the place to my right was occupied by my fancy new Baylor satchel). She didn’t say much except for a few French words here there. I thought that I might fool her into thinking that I was a language assistant from another country who didn’t know how to speak English by hiding everything with me that might suggest that I am American. Obviously, this didn’t work. She eventually discovered the truth and my cover was blown; thus began the English! And oh how magnificently and beautifully did it flow from the lips of my mouth! It was like Cactus juice in the Mojave Desert.

Disappointed in myself for having spoken English when I should have insisted that one practice French, I soon was dealt a blow!

As I spoke with this kind hearted American who calls herself Martha, I was quickly taken back to my first three weeks in Caen. If you have been a long time follower of cole-en-france, you know that the beginning was far from easy and rarely conducted in French! Martha, bless her little heart, spoke to me in French, discovered I was American, held a conversation with me in English, but quickly reverted back to French! I felt like a yoyo being thrown to the ground, only to be returned to the right hand. This young lady had been in France once before in a similar program as I, but unfortunately was not as successful with her friends in convincing them that French should be spoken as much as possible. Needless to say, she was a bit disconcerted and felt the need to return to France for a second round. I explained to her that I had been in the same situation, but discovered that in order to learn, you must make as many efforts as possible until successful. I didn’t tell her that I managed to piss off several people in the mean time, but simply tried to encourage her to expect the best from herself.

After having signed several documents and listening to some “very interesting” people give us some “very interesting details”, we were released for lunch. Naturally, I ate with Martha and spoke French all through lunch. She explained to me how she felt weird because she is all alone in France and still looking for an apartment and friends at the same time. I wanted to hug her and let her know that she would overcome and CONQUER la France, but I figured that might be awkward after only having met someone three hours before. She even mentioned that she had assisted one of these sappy reunions that the other assistants had planned in order that we might all come in contact and, OH MY GOD! SHARE OUR AMAZING WONDERFUL LIVES IN PARIS TOGETHER! As soon as she said that, I almost cried! Let me explain to you why:

First of all, all summer I had ignored every email arriving from any other English assistant. I knew that once I began relationships with these people that they would never go away. They would be to me the English speaking leaches thriving off of my freshly bathed skin. Therefore, I leaned heavily upon my contacts in France and landed on my feet with Francophones lined up to kiss my cheeks (face cheeks). Martha; however, has no such contacts in France and had to stoop so low as to going out with the other assistants! Ok, let’s stop here for a moment. Please note that I am fully aware of the amount of snobbery flowing from this post thus far! Also note that I am fully convicted of this snobbery! Shall we continue? I wanted to cry because all at once, I realized that I was looking at myself (only in the form of a girl from Rhode Island). There she was trying to make the necessary effort and taking anything she could just as I did one year ago. (flashback) Click on the following link: Il Faut Faire un Effort!

After enjoying lunch with Martha, we met back up with the other assistants to walk to a nearby school to see how things are run. WHAT A DINGER! It just so happens that we went to the school in which I will be teaching where the woman had no clue what to do with me when I visited her a month ago. Upon entering, the head of the school recognized me and immediately asked me to leave my information with her. She had tried to obtain it from the lady in charge of my file, but apparently they couldn’t decipher my handwriting well enough to write me an email to the correct address. Oh well!

During the afternoon session, a lady named Nathalie gave us a mock lesson in Russian just to show us how our students might feel when we begin to teach them English. It was very interesting and informative! I can see Nathalie’s passion for the students and hope to obtain the same level of consideration when teaching my students! I noticed that while introducing ourselves earlier in the morning, when asked why we wanted to become assistants, not one of us mentioned the children. It was all about our needs and how we could improve our lives with this experience. When this thought came to mind, I immediately realized that making an effort is so much more than watching out for you!

After our afternoon session, I rejoined the lady in charge of my school (I still can’t remember her name) and gave her my information. I also spoke with a girl from Canada who is distraught over the fact that she is all alone in this country and still has no place to live. She is currently living in a youth hostel, as is Martha’s situation as well. I tried to encourage this young Canadian (whose name I never knew) that although things are difficult in France, it is necessary to make an effort in order to succeed. There is little help from our employers concerning our daily lives; therefore, knowing how to make the necessary first steps is crucial! I have been bless with people like Magali, Lauriane, Abel, Charlotte, Stéphane, Rachel, etc…, but this is most certainly not the case for these other assistants. I have a broken heart for them, but don’t know what I can truly do for them other than be encouraging. I could offer to be best friends with them, but at the end of the day, I would not be able to give them the cultural experience that they need and disserve while living in France. They have friends with whom they speak English in their home countries, but I know from personal experience that the best thing for them would be to submerge themselves in the French culture and meet as many French people as possible! This isn’t an easy task, but as is with all necessary tasks, IL FAUT FAIRE UN EFFORT! (YOU HAVE TO MAKE AN EFFORT!)

J'Aime Les Œufs Sur Le Plat!

And we’re back!

I do apologize for the recent interruption! The past few days have been full of adventures! Ok, so maybe spending all day Friday working on my budget isn’t much of adventure, but hey, you should see what I created! I have an excel spreadsheet to kill, complete with charts and all the necessary bells and whistles! I am SO cool! And when I get bored with that, I just turn the television on and watch the TF1 (French Television channel 1) special about the 60 year old naturist who lives in a minivan on the beach! FIND THE BROCHURES OF THAT HOT VACATION SPOT AND SIGN ME UP! (PUKE)

[interruption] I’m not kidding you, I just saw on TV the fattest French person I’ve ever seen! And no sir, she was NOT wearing clothing! I don’t know who makes the laws in the country, but he or she needs to quit striking and make some new rules concerning what can and cannot be seen on TF1!

This week I did have the opportunity to eat with Laruiane and Charlotte at Lauriane’s house. I was under the impression that Lauriane’s cousin would be there; however, I was the only one invited. The two girls made dinner just for me! How nice! We had the traditional long 5 course French meal and shared hours of conversation! Before leaving, we made plans to meet up for brunch on Sunday.

On Thursday I had the opportunity to meet up with another Baylor student who just arrived in Paris to do the same work as me. His name is Aaron Reynolds and he is stressfully in the process of searching for an apartment. He reserved a hotel room for 10 days while he waits to find something, but as of late, his hopes have been pretty low. I invited him over for dinner and later on we met up with Abel (one of my international roommates at Baylor this last year in the Global Community) and Stéphane (another international student who was at Baylor this last semester). Abel and Stéphane wanted to go out, but Aaron was too tired after only having arrived the day before; therefore, he went back to his hotel while I enjoyed the company of Abel and Stéphane. I also invited my current roommate Hara to go with us because I knew that she had been longing to spend some time with people outside of the apartment.

On our way to find a place to eat, we were in the Métro when a hoodlum decided to spit by the door. Some girl saw him and gave him a dirty look. He was drunk, so as he exited the Métro, he also spat on her. She held her ground by simply yelling, “FILS D’UNE PUTE! FILS D’UNE PUTE!” I won’t translate that for you. We ate at a fastfood restaurant called Quick™ and then went to an Enlish pub. It was the 250 birthday of Guinness ™ (beer), so the bar passed around Guinness™ shot glasses filled with Guinness™. Hara recommended that we keep the shot glasses, so I helped her wrap them up and put them in her purse. We later on did shots of coffee at the apartment! After the pub we went to the Discotheque where Rachel and I had gone with Abel and some other students the first night that we arrived in Paris. Our friend Charles had given me several free passes, so it was FREE99! Stéphane was too tired to join us, so it was just Abel, Hara, and I. We danced until dancing was no longer an option because the club had gotten so stinking hot! At that point Hara and I separated with Abel and went back to the apartment.

On Saturday I woke up to a message from Aaron informing me that he was SO VERY stressed with having to find an apartment. I invited him to meet me for coffee and then we walked to Les Bois de Vincennes (a big park down the road). After walking around for a while, we decided to return back to my place, but got lost. I kept wanting to go in the opposite direction of my apartment for some reason, but luckily Aaron has a better since of European direction that I. It might have something to do with the fact that both of his parents are English. WHO KNOWS! When we finally got back to my place we had dinner and then I took him to the Champs Elysées so that he could see L’Arc de Triomphe. We decided that we wanted to go to Hillsong Paris for church in the morning, so we agreed to look at the time and address of the church on the internet when I got back to my apartment and he got back to his hotel then call each other on Skype™ to plan on a meeting place.

This morning I went to meet Aaron at the Métro Station Olypiades, but he had accidentally gone to Odéon. I called him and we straightened things out. We were a bit late to church, but honestly, not to disappointed. When we got there it was exactly as I had expected. Everyone spoke English and a translator was needed throughout the entire service for those three French people that were there. If you don’t already know this, Hillsong is a church based out of Australia but who has a church in London that operates a branch in Paris. That connection may not completely make sense, so let me put it this way: English – English – English – Frenglish. What’s worse than anything was the fact that the girl that spoke this morning was from Texas. I know that all you cowboys reading this now are hootin’ and hollerin’, but before you get too excited, know that she was a Tech graduate and tried to speak French with a HORRIBLE accent. She kept saying, “JUH TAM! JUH TAM!”, which I think is her version of the French phrase, “Je t’aime!” meaning I love you. At one point she tried to speak completely in French and the translator was translating her “sentences” into English. It was alright until she tried to explain that she went with her family to the top of the Tooer Ighfell (Eiffel Tower). What she was saying was so incomprehensible that the translator (unknowingly) translated her broken French into real French rather than into English. It was hysterical! She then introduced her mom and some other friends that were with her and had them stand up. I kid you not; these women looked like clowns they were wearing so much makeup! Their hair was all fake blond and frizzed from head to shoulders and the expressions on their faces made me want to roll on the ground laughing! I know that I’m not being very kind, especially considering the fact that I am talking about church, but if you were me and in another culture trying to fit in only to realize that your compatriots were making you look like a fool, you too would be ruthless! Unless you like overly made up women with fake hair, in which case you might feel at home. Needless to say, we weren’t too sad to leave!

This afternoon I invited Aaron to have brunch with Laruiane, Charlotte, and I. This time her cousin did come and so did her brother and her cousin’s friend. We ate at a Canadian restaurant where I had steak and eggs. We then walked in the Luxembourg Gardens and listened to a group of 50 – 60 elderly people play in a band under a gazebo. It was somewhat surreal as I began to understand that I was standing in the middle of Paris with French people enjoying a Sunday afternoon of music in the park! TROP COOL! The unfortunate side of things is the fact that I am currently sick with allergies. This happens EVERY time I move to a new place! C’est la vie! Needless to say, I went home for a Sunday nap (3 hours). I still have a terrible headache, so I’m going to the Pharmacy in the morning to get some decongestant. OH LA LA! I ALSO HAVE TO GO BUY A NEW CELL PHONE BECAUSE MINE JUST SHUT OFF AND WON’T COME BACK ON! ZUT!

On Wednesday I have to move out of this apartment, but I will be staying with Laruiane in her apartment for the time between then and the move in date of my new apartment. I’m also going to Lyon this weekend for the confirmation of Lauriane’s brother! I’ll be staying with Rachel and because of the numerous amount of family at Laruiane’s house, so will Lauriane! WE’RE GOING TO IKEA ON SATURDAY! DID YOU HEAR THAT JOHN AND AMBER! I’M GOING TO IKEA! WOO HOO! CINNAMON ROLL AND COFFEENESS!