Living in the South of France

The End

2006-06-20T20:21:00.000+02:00

I finished the journey home and it's all over. It was so so long but uneventful. Excellent turn of events: I flew home with Zoom, a new discount airline between Canada and England and Paris. I had decided to bump my ticket up to a premium one (sort of like business class) for an extra 80 euros to get 10 kilos more in luggage allowance and more leg room. Such a good decision!! I still had ended up being about 15 kilos over the premium weight allowance of 30 kgs but they didn't make me pay any overages fees. It usually costs 8 euros per kilo so it really could have been expensive for me but I guess since I was 'premium' they didn't charge me. So good. :) It's great to be home...I love Victoria. It's strange being gone from Narbonne too. I miss my friends from France already. The weather seems so chilly here too; altough it is sunny it's clearly a long way from swimming weather. Narbonne was averaging late 20s celius before I left. Thanks for reading along with me...It was fun having my place in this online community. Maybe I'll start another blog sometime soon, who can say. If you'd like to reach me at all, just email me and if you don't have my email, drop a comment here and we'll get in touch. Lots of love, jessica

Stress, Stress, Stress

2006-06-12T11:47:00.000+02:00

I hate this time of an overseas stay, the end. There's so much going on...Last minute bills, finishing things at work (you never complete everything you wanted to do), packing!, organizing what's being left behind, preparing for my return to Victoria, saying goodbye to friends in Narbonne. There are so many emotions and thoughts constantly going through my head and never enough time...even though I've known I'd be leaving all along. One of my adult students, Morgane, invited Steph and I for a hike in the Pyrenee Mountains this weekend. It was SO long....6 hours. But it was great to spend the time together and see something new of France. Compared to when I lived in France as a nanny at 18, I've seen a much more beautiful side of France this year. There are truly some gorgeous natural areas in the south.

I loved France's Basque Country

2006-06-06T15:19:00.000+02:00

at St Jean de Luz
Cheese!!

le Pays Basque is an unique part of France and Spain along the Southern Atlantic coastline joining the 2 countries. While Spain's Basque country is quite political, and desirous of independance, the French side of the border focusses on on its great cultural heritage. We saw great traditional costumes and dancing in a parade and festival, ate delicious chocolate (a regional speciality) and enjoyed some serious beach time. More photos to follow once Allison and I exchange photos.

France in a nutshell

2006-06-05T20:47:00.000+02:00

This weekend was a long weekend for us in France so Allison and I decided to make the most of it and go to Basque Country on the Southern Atlantic coast of France. I have some really nice pictures I'll put up soon. We had a blast and were on the return journey from Bayonne to Narbonne. It's necessary to change trains in Toulouse so we ended up with a one hour stop over in the Toulouse train station around lunch time. The dining options aren't inspired (actually maybe not too bad for a train station) and although we both never eat fast food (me for vegetarian and health reasons; Allison prefers not to mess with happy food memories of how it tastes in the States), we decided to eat at Quick, the French version of MacDonalds.

We had to pay for ketchup for the french fries which was definitely a French oddity but that wasn't the astounding thing. We decided to have a caramel sundae afterwards, with nuts. Now, I did pay extra for the topping on the sundae, fine, no problem. The problem was we wanted small sundaes...the large were twice as big, too much to eat. Apparently nuts are only served on large size sundaes. I explained I was more than willing to pay for the nuts on the small sundaes. So, my server consulted her co-worker and manager. Absolutely not. scandalous idea. The rule is pecans on LARGE sundaes. Logic and reason be damned. How perverted to wanted pecans on a small sized sundae. So....no nuts for us.

Ardeche pictures

2006-05-31T13:52:00.000+02:00

Pont d'Arc, a natural bridge created by an ancient terrible flood. Notice all the people swimming; the water was great!
Watching the kayakers crash and burn through some rapids
Allison, Steph, Her friends Dave and Sally
The birthday girl at the top of a viewpoint
A view down after hiking part way up the gorge.
We actually started down at the river and climbed all the way up the gorge in the boiling heat
Me at the top; I made it!

Camping in the Ardeche

2006-05-28T18:49:00.000+02:00

Hey, sorry for the little absence. I was camping in the Ardeche region of France all weekend. The weather has officially exploded over here. It feels like August. It was 31 to 34 degrees all weekend. We got so much sun. Steph got to reunite with her people, ie, the uber-fit and outdoorsy, as we visited a children's summer camp where she used to work and still has friends, so that was good. This was a special birthday celebration weekend as Steph's turned 29. They had to calm down the original planned wilderness trek for Allison and I but we still hiked for hours along the river gorge of the Ardeche river and camped Saturday night. We sweated buckets and stopped several times to swim in the river which was gorgeous. I'll post some pictures soon. I think Steph had a good birthday (best weather she's ever had for it apparently) and it was really cool seeing a new region of France. In the other fabulous news category, Aston has found us the most wonderful apartment ever to live in once I'm back.. 3 weeks til I'll be home in Victoria.

Beach Day

2006-05-22T13:46:00.000+02:00

Beautiful Cruzy Countryside

2006-05-18T14:05:00.000+02:00

I went with Steph to Cruzy yesterday to go for a wander while she gave an English lesson to her old neighbour. (Remember she lived in Cruzy the first few months she was in France).
View of sky and top of Cruzy's old church

Country lane in Cruzy

Wild field, actually a rarity as it's mostly vinyards as far as the eye can see

Mom, remember these wild poppies growing everywhere? Finally got a pic of them.

This huge tree was in blossom and alive with probably tens of thousands of bees. I slowly walked by, snapped a photo and kept going.

Here's some of those vinyards

I went inside the church...probably the mustiest old church I've been in, and trust me, I've seen a lot of them over here.

5 weeks to go...

2006-05-15T16:00:00.000+02:00

I have 5 weeks remaining in France til I take the plane back to BC. It's tough concentrating on my work now. I'm trying not to want to return so badly. I know I should enjoy every minute of my time left, but I'm kind of gone already in my head...

Things I've loved living about living in Narbonne:

-the olympic sized heated outdoor pool, open year round

-sitting outdoors at the Place de l'hotel de ville drinking a coffee

-one hour bike ride to the beach

-(not actually in Narbonne but...) Gruissan village and beach

-my great roommates and other assistant friends

-Cheap and delicious cheeses and wine

-easy access to travel in Europe

-walks/ bike rides along the canal

-truly appreciating my home back in Canada.

There's also tons of things I didn't like but I'll try to focus on the positives today...

all in all...

2006-05-13T10:49:00.000+02:00

It was good. Nice lunch, Allison and I hung out in the afternoon. Stephanie and Otalia came home in the evening and we all had pizza and wine then went to pick up a friend of Rahel's at the train station at 11:30pm. She's a Mexican girl, Spanish assistant, who needed a place to stay for the night as she was placed in a little village and no trains ran there at night. She had been visiting Rahel in Switzerland. Soon she'll return back home to Mexico like the rest of us.
Allison and Alina at the Bar a thym
Will and I
Allison made me a beautifully artistic gift. Comic
Card and gift
My beautiful flowers from Aston. Thanks also to Mom for my wonderful trip to Italy and some lingerie, and Dad for a gift certificate for a spa massage back home. Steph also gave me some very pretty earrings and there was some delicious chocolate from Alina. Otalia treated us all to the pizza.

It's my birthday and I just want to stay in bed...

2006-05-12T09:24:00.000+02:00

Well. I'm 27 years old today. I honestly am not that bothered by the number of years going up...I think I'm 'aging' ok. But it's hard being so far away from my loved ones. Way more than I expected. I definitely had days like this when I lived in Korea and of course the first time I was in France at 18. I'm homesick...I miss you all. I was so surprised this morning...not that it's surprising to miss family and friends but I was weepy, and I didn't pull it together for work. Hard to teach kids when you're on the point of crying so I talked with the principal and he sent me home. He's a sweet person for all his roaring in the classroom. Aston's sent me beautiful flowers...that helps. Stephanie and Otalia left me little notes (I'll see them tonight) and Louise has sent me a e-card. I always thought when I sent e-cards that they were lame and the person would not care for it. But it's not true; I was happy she thought of me. I'm meeting Allison, Will and Alina for lunch. That will be nice. They're great people. But...I miss the old ones. So drop me a line. I'd love to hear from you.

Recovery Mode

2006-05-07T13:38:00.000+02:00

Mom has gone home to Victoria. I'm back in Narbonne. That's the long story short. So many things happened, stuff I planned on blogging about but then time passed and I wasn't able to have access to internet etc. We arrived from Rome in Narbonne Thursday night after all day traveling in planes, trains etc. I got mom and I some cheap flights through easyjet instead of taking the night train again. That was clearly not an option. Friday we had a beautiful day at the beach in Gruissan. Steph kindly drove and Rahel came too so it was the four of us. Mom and Steph dipped briefly in the water but Rahel and I had a good swim in the sea. First swim of the season, yay! I tried out the bikini I bought back during the January sales and it's great, dried off in like 20 minutes. Then Friday night we had the going away party for Rahel, Louise and Wilson. I wonder if I'll ever see them again. I hope so. Anyway I drank too much and was truly ill the next morning to take mom to the airport in Toulouse. So classy, right? I ended up staying in Toulouse because I wasn't able to take the train so Mom actually got home before me, as Steph pointed out. Alls well that ends well I guess.

Mom makes it to the Mediterranean! First time, before we went away to Italy.

Italians are nicer than the French

2006-04-30T20:47:00.000+02:00

I know, isn't that a terrible generalization? Shame on me.....But, we really have run into some truly friendly and helpful people in Rome and Florence. They cheerfully put up with our lack of Italian and help us find what we are looking for. Waiters are joky, shopkeepers smile: it's a whole new experience. This, of course, has one very major caveat; they (just those quick pickpockets) also want to steal all your money and documents. Ah well, can't have it all. I, bien sur, have met some friendly French people too.
We are now safely arrived in Florence. Much less painful than the arrival in Rome. Florence seems like a city I could live in. It seems relaxed and fun compared to the very intense Rome. It was tough visiting Rome because it's such a huge city, all the sites are completely "must-see" and they're spread out all over the place. It's hard to avoid walking long hours every day (difficult when one has bad knees like mom) and you feel there's surely something you're missing and you must be a totally ignorant fool to miss it. I feel like I keep saying, "I've never seen anything like this before!" but that said, all these Roman ruins and medivael churches are starting to blend into each other.
This picture is actually from Nice. It was so hot and summery there but the weather in Rome was rainy and overcast although not cold or uncomfortable. Tomorrow is May 1st, labour day so we have no idea what we'll do...depends what will be open. ciao, jessica

Night Train Robbers

2006-04-28T17:14:00.000+02:00

Let me preface this by saying I rode 2nd class sleeper trains throughout Thailand with no problems, in relative comfort. They were never more than 2 bunks tall, with the bunks running lengthways along the train and a wide sort of aisle down the middle and privacy curtains for every bunk. Although there was no a/c in 2nd class there were fans and good air circulation so it was never too hot.
What a nightmare the Italian/French night train was. We were stacked in teency compartments, 3 bunks tall, 6 bunks per compartment. Crowded doesn't begin to describe it. Once we were all bedded down, it was insufferably hot. There was supposed to be air conditioning but it wasn't working. However, it was understood we mustn't open the compartment door but leave it locked, as unsavoury sorts of people got on the train and robbed open compartments between stops. It wasn't understood by everyone in our compartment though, as in the middle of the night while everyone else slept, one man decided he just couldn't sleep in this heat and opened the door. Sure enough, mom's purse containing her passport, credit card, pda etc was quietly taken, not waking anyone. That was it, we figured, end of vacation. What an idiot this man was, we all thought... We explained the situation to the highly indifferent police who were passing by, and then to a female train agent, who luckily spoke French. Much more luck with her and we were told to wait in our compartment while they searched for it. Amazingly, about an hour later, this agent knocked on our door holding up the bag, grinning happily. They had actually caught the thief redhanded. Although there had been stops,he had felt confident enough to stay on the train. Nothing (!) was missing except 20 CAD my mom realized later. So, so lucky. No one could believe the luck.
So we are surviving Rome. We visited so much today I won't describe it now. Italy seems to be a vegetarian's heaven compared to France, so many veggie dishes. Not just steak-frites! Keep fingers crossed for us, and I'll keep you posted on the continuation later. ciao, jess

Night Train to Rome

2006-04-26T10:58:00.000+02:00

Mom and I are currently in Nice in the Cote D'azur. The weather is beautiful and everyone speaks English! That makes for quite the change from Narbonne...I'm glad it's not like that there or I'd never practice. Everyone seems very chic too, which is also a big change from Narbonne. Narbonne's a pretty casual laid back little town. Today we'll visit a little in Nice but mostly we're just gearing up for the long trip to Rome. At nine tonight we'll board the train and sleep in couchettes (like bunks)to arrive about quarter to seven the next morning in Rome. Neither of us has ever been before so everything will be new and exciting and neither of us speaks Italian either, adding to the fun. I imagine they are well used to such tourists and we'll manage fine. Anyone who's visited me or been to the apartment in Narbonne knows about our funny plumbing, so it's such a thrill to have a nice bath here. Here's hoping we get a bathtub in Rome too, although I'll be fine regardless. The last weekend in Arles we saw so much it was great but stressful too. We're trying to remember to do lots of relaxing with the sightseeing but there will be so much to see... It's all about the mid afternoon siesta. Hopefully I'll be able to check in from Rome and if not it will be from Florence after that. Wish us luck!! :)

Off to Arles

2006-04-21T12:46:00.000+02:00

Sorry I've slowed down; I have a good excuse. Mom arrived on Monday in Toulouse and we've been very busy since. Well, I've kept up working the whole time which is probably why I've felt busy while Mom's been taking it easy I think. We rented a car yesterday, so cool! We had a picnic dinner on the beach which is something I've never been able to do before since there's no bus service out there in the evenings and the bike paths aren't lit. In any case, we are going away for a car trip this weekend to Arles and the Camargue. Should be really fun and I have some good pictures of cafe time with Mom that I'll put up later. Have lovely weekends, all! :) jess

Final Assistants Potluck- Pictures :)

2006-04-15T13:37:00.000+02:00

Last night we had a final potluck with all the assistants. By next weekend, some will have already left. In some ways it seems amazing that 7 months will have passed. Have I done that much for seven months? Good thing people come to visit and we go on trips, otherwise I wouldn't feel like I had done enough.
Caro digs in while Louise and Steph smile for the camera
Alina serves Francis, Caro's roommate and boyfriend
Crooked shoot of living room action
Doesn't Kate look cute?
Me and Louise (my mini-me?)
Enjoying cuisine from around the world
Otalia and Allison chat up a storm in the kitchen
Wilson brought his whole family who were visiting from Spain...cute little nephew with Steph

Jazz Hands World

2006-04-12T21:18:00.000+02:00

Go Fug Yourself: "Later, however, I saw photos of her wearing this outfit down a runway, which leads me to believe that somebody professional designed this... this... wow, I don't know what to call it, because I think a dress should by definition hang more than an inch below your lady folds..."

2006-04-12T20:50:00.000+02:00

It's Wednesday night, which means the midweek weekend is now over. (I stop work at 11:30am on Tuesdays and don't work til Thursdays since in France, elementary school children don't go to school on Wednesdays.) Back to the grind tomorrow....not really of course as my job is only 12 hours of class time a week. But anyway.... it's the end of an era in Narbonne soon. This Friday we're having a big party because all those lucky enough to have a 7 month contract are leaving in 1 to 2 weeks, which means everyone. Just Stephanie, Allison and I will be left for English assistants living in Narbonne. Allison said she was happy Steph would still be here as she didn't think she could fulfill my social needs alone. That girl would quite happily live life as a hermit watching Tarzan movies all day.
I went swimming in Narbonne's olympic outdoor pool today. It was so beautiful; I think I'm getting a tan. Of course, now it's old hat to see topless ladies swimming in the outdoor pool. There was another one today. The first time quite shocked me though. This lady calmly got in, removed her top and left it on the pool deck to begin her lane swimming. Those carefree French, I tell ya.

They love English!

2006-04-07T23:48:00.000+02:00

Tonight was a special dinner out with my adults beginner class from the local community centre. Steph came too, which was good, so they could hear her 'real' English accent...they're always complaining about my Canadian accent.
Here is Martine, wife of Patrick
Monique and Victorine
Steph
Patrick, Ny Ampela (our upstairs neighbour and the youngest in the class) and I
Jeannine, a total newbie to English, who told me tonight, that because of me, she loves the English language. so sweet!

Gruissan invaded by pirates

2006-04-06T15:18:00.000+02:00

Allison and I took the bus to Gruissan yesterday. We visited the ruins of a tower on a hill in the centre of the old town. I believe it was built in the 12th century and it was used as a hideout for the villagers when pirates attacked the village. So cool.

Here is the view from the hill, looking over the village.

Here is Allison on the walk up the hill.

Me, next to the tower, with my skirt blowing up in the air. Luckily there was only one other guy there, and he was looking the other way (I hope!). Lots of gusting winds, very bad news for skirts.

Protests v/s Riots

2006-04-05T22:18:00.000+02:00

So lately some people have been asking me how's the rioting in France...I don't really like to talk about current events stuff because I'm not a journalist and I think there are other better informed sources. However, I've read in Canadian and American news sources that there are no riots in France right now; this just isn't true. What is happening is a lot of protests and strikes. I think it's a big difference between the two. Riots are motivated by rage and chaos. Protests are organized and part of the democratic process. No one is burning down the neighbourhood community centre; they are, however, blocking roundabouts to hand out information pamphlets on the CPE. I just wanted to clear that up....no, I'm not in any danger.

My fav song of the moment

2006-04-01T16:14:00.003+02:00

Lately I'm loving "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz. (Song link leads to a live performance of song! The website is in French, but just press play;) I found this song through Wong Fu Productions which seems just to be a group of southern Califorian college kids who make quite funny music videos of popular songs and did a video for "I'm Yours" as a present for friends getting married. It's a really catchy tune.
Just went for a beer in the hot sunshine in the the main town plaza, Place de la maire. I was with Kate, Louise and Allison. We're all so fair; we were passing around the sunscreen and I'm happy to report Louise is actually paler than me! Hope yet....
Tonight is Caroline's 22nd (I believe!) birthday party. We're having a pizza party and will probably go out afterwards but of course the birthday girl will decide. Maybe I'll bring my camera for some fun shots for you all.

True Roommately Love

2006-03-29T21:52:00.000+02:00

Well! It's been a while since I posted. This past Saturday the sun was shining; it was warm and there wasn't even any wind (well, just a breeze) so Steph and I decided we must take the bikes to Gruissan again. It was so fabulous. We went past Gruissan village all the way to the Mediterranean.

Then we stopped on the way back in Gruissan for a coffee.

It was great. We were almost home and I was fussing with a shirt tied around my waist while I was still riding the bike. Until I crashed onto the gravel path. My skin skidded on the path and the bike landed hard on top of me. Needless to say I was full of gravelly scrapes and cuts and bruises. Thank goodness for Steph though, once we got home (still had to ride the rest of the way home like that) she picked the gravel out of my wounds and bandaged me up. So now I'm recovering. It's been a while since I hurt myself so badly (oh wait- I guess since I broke my toe in November ?!). What's up with me and France and hurting myself. no love....
Anyhow, hopefully we'll do the trip again soon because it is beautiful regardless of my clumsy injuries.

What a handsome guy!

2006-03-23T15:02:00.000+01:00

Here is Dad on a bus tour of Valencia. We had a fab time in Valencia. It's a really beautiful vibrant city. The only difficulty we had was finding veggie food. The beach was beautiful too, but it was quite windy and cold the day we went. That didn't stop dad from putting his feet in the water, though!
Recently it's been all about exercise for me. Fitness classes, swimming and biking. Last weekend Steph and I went on a grueling bike ride to Gruissan, a small town near the Mediterranean. It was 28 km and the wind was against us nearly the whole way. I'm feeling much better health-wise though, as you could probably guess.

Holiday photos of London and Berlin now up

2006-03-20T11:31:00.000+01:00

Aston has nicely organized (and culled) our pictures from London and Berlin. They're now on his flickr site. Sneak preview:
Beyonce and I gettin' down. ;)

Neat Berlin Aquarium pics

2006-03-16T21:23:00.000+01:00

It was a sunny day when we went to the Berlin Zoo. It also was just about -8 degrees out. So as you can imagine, the humid warmth of the aquarium afterwards was so welcome. I love pictures of fish. :)

Marking...is there anything more dreaded by teachers?

2006-03-14T13:28:00.000+01:00

It's so sunny today and Steph and I are stuck indoors trying to finish our marking. I made a classic beginner's mistake of testing before the holidays. Plus, I did testing in all my classes which means 230+ tests to mark. Never again! Then I was gone the entire vacation so although all the students figured I ought to have it all finished, I haven't had hardly any time at all. yuck. anyways, here is a view of Berlin.
And here Aston is taking my picture in a fancy restaurant our last night in Berlin. It was so cold...please note my assorted shirts (trying to keep warm).

Update: I know my good friend Stace feels my pain....her msn message: "grading is for suckers! everyone gets a B"

Caught on camera!

2006-03-09T11:43:00.000+01:00

Aston claims to be jealous, but look what I caught him doing:

I do believe that is J. Lo's butt he's grabbing! Then, later, arguing with Jerry Springer: "She's the one who went for dinner with Clooney!"
Whereas Steven Spielberg and I had a lovely chat about my future as a movie star:

In case you didn't figure it out yet, Aston and I had a blast visiting Madame Tussaud's wax museum in London. Word to the wise, buy your tickets online; it's way, way cheaper! We got ours from the London Eye website.

When George Clooney asks you for dinner, you don't say no

2006-03-08T22:18:00.000+01:00

In front of Trafalgar Square

2006-03-07T23:43:00.000+01:00

Aston and I have tons of photos from our trip to London and Berlin. I've also got pictures from Valencia with Dad. I think Aston is trying to organize our photos a bit now and as soon as he posts them to his flickr site, I'll let you know. I'm trying to get back to life as normal in Narbonne. It's tough. I have tons of marking to do that I'm avoiding. It must be done by Thursday though. Dad came to my advanced adults class last night and we had a great conversation about families which was really neat.
Tomorrow one of my teachers who is also a big runner is taking Dad out for a run in La Clape and Steph took him running today so I'm making sure he gets to see what France is like for running too.
I miss home. I can't seem to help it. I just wish Narbonne would start to be warm and 'south of France'-like. Then I could feel happier about being here. When it's just windy and cold I wonder what I'm doing here. At the same time, I'm totally determined to see out my contract, at least to June.

I believe we're just in front of Buckingham Palace here

2006-03-06T22:07:00.000+01:00

Ghandi and I

2006-03-06T21:39:00.000+01:00

¡hola!

2006-03-02T18:57:00.000+01:00

I love Valencia. It´s warm. It´s sunny. It´s bright. We haven´t done much yet, just got in this afternoon. I had another traveling nightmare yesterday. It seems to be my special gift. Tube cancellations= missed train to airport= missed flight= missed train in France etc, etc. Anyway!! I eventually made it to the Toulouse airport and met dad. We are both doing good, despite jetlag (dad) and a cold (me). More news and pictures once I return to Narbonne, after this weekend.

Guten Morgen!

2006-02-25T12:07:00.000+01:00

Aston and I are having tons of fun so far. We saw lots of great stuff in London although it was FREEZING cold. Especially after it was really getting warm in Narbonne. I have some super fun pictures I can't wait to post up but that will have to wait for now. We got up so early this morning to get our flight to Berlin that we hardly slept at all. Now we're just waiting for our room to be ready at the hotel (we saw it and it's so nice!) I don't feel super coherent (so tired) so I'll leave it at that. The weather in Berlin is colder than London (snowing a bit) but it doesn`t feel so bad I think because there's less wind. have lovely weekends! tschüs!!

Leaving for London

2006-02-20T12:16:00.000+01:00

Steph's driving me to the airport in Carcassonne in about 40 min then I'm off to London to meet Aston. Posting will be....unpredictable for about the next 2 weeks.
Feb. 20th arrive in London
Feb. 25th arrive in Berlin.
Feb. 28th back in London for one night
March 1st arrive in Carcassonne; meet Dad in Toulouse that night
March 2nd arrive in Valencia that afternoon.
March 5th arrive back in Narbonne that night.

Hiking in La Clape Part 2

2006-02-19T12:07:00.000+01:00

Steph and I had a really nice walk yesterday and it was actually warm enough to wear tank tops!

Otalia has gone to Toulouse for the weekend. It's Sunday morning and Steph and I have been hanging out in our pyjamas watching the olympics and drinking tea (v. nice). I should be frantically getting ready and I will be. Tomorrow night I'll meet Aston in London. I really hope our hotel is ok. We had a really tough time finding one that was sort of in our price range and not a crack den.

Did I mention that I seriously LOVE the O.C.?

2006-02-16T18:37:00.000+01:00

I just watched the last episode of the first season. So amazingly good. I cried through the whole ending. For all you non-believers, I was like you too. You just have to watch it from the beginning. It's not just a 90210; it makes fun of itself. It's actually really funny. Allison's parents sent her the whole first season set and Louise had the second season set so all us English assistants in Narbonne are going crazy watching it. And we're not alone.

BTW, survived the vine growers greve yesterday. I only saw one smashed van window. so, pretty calm apparently. Can't believe it's almost vacation time. yay!

France has a wine crisis

2006-02-15T11:06:00.000+01:00

I'm no Reuters news, so grain of salt and all, but according to conversations with my French friends, there's a serious wine crisis going on in France. The price of wine has gone down 33% in the past 2 years, according to Christophe, who works in the industry. New French wine comsumers just don't drink wine every day. They still might have a nice bottle of wine with a big Sunday lunch but nightly dinners are mostly wine-free.
Today there is a strike planned by vine growers to protest the current situation. In the south of France that can be quite dangerous apparently. All the teachers in my schools have advised me to avoid going out of my house during the 'procession' because people often break windows and get violent. I've noticed tons of shops and stores are closed in solidarity. Imagine that in Canada....the local beauty shop closed in solidarity for a strike?

I love you Aston

2006-02-14T11:58:00.000+01:00

Amy's birthday, where the sparks first flew

Camping, our first kiss

You visited me in Vancouver; I visited you in Victoria

We spent time together until I had to leave for France.

Surprising everyone including ourselves, we stayed together.

You came to France for the Christmas holidays.

We had an amazing time. I can't wait to see you in London in one week and I can't wait to come home to you at the end of my contract. Happy Valentine's Day!

Hiking in La Clape

2006-02-12T21:16:00.000+01:00

Allison, Steph and I went walking in the unfortunately named wilderness 'La Clape'. Allison took some pictures.

Then we went to Narbonne Beach. Isn't Allison a great photographer?

Nude woman spotted in local public swimming pool.

2006-02-08T23:48:00.000+01:00

Sorry no pictures. ;) Stephanie and I have got into the habit of going swimming at the year-round outdoor pool here in Narbonne. It's heated and quite enjoyable on a sunny day, which is most days. Walking in one's swim suit out to the pool is torture though, so we try to jump in quickly. This Tuesday we were there and about to descend the ladder into to the pool but something was stopping us. That was a young woman hanging on to the ladder who had pulled her red one piece down to about her waist, presumably wanting a little soliel on her bosoms. (!) Stephanie solved the problem by just jumping in the side of the pool and I followed her. The woman looked like she was getting out like that but perhaps the surprised looks on our faces changed her mind and she pulled up her suit before returning back inside. Now, I know topless suntanning is the norm on French beaches, but public pools ?! Another oddity: the changing rooms and showers aren't divided into ladies and men's. Just one mass area with lots of little booths to actually change in and people (I believe!) just shower in their swim suit. The showers are sort of divided into men's and ladies but they are open rooms that you can completely see into. What an experience going to the local public swimming pool in France!

You've Got to Hide Your Danny Glover Away

2006-02-05T22:49:00.000+01:00

Why is this so funny?
I know, I'm just goofy.

Tonight Steph will sleep in an igloo (actually Sat. night)

2006-02-05T22:44:00.000+01:00

Prev. post which Aston sent to me so I could post it again:

It's Saturday morning; it's a beautiful sunny day. Last night we had a big assistants' dinner at Rahel's apartment. There was tons of yummy food and afterwards those so inclined went out clubbing, which didn't include me or Stephanie, who is off for a mountaineering weekend of igloo building and snowshoeing. It's with a walking club she belongs to. Otalia has a male friend visiting her, so maybe this weekend I'll finally be productive and get things done. It's all about the trip planning right now. Aston arrives in 2 weeks. We were going to go to London then Dublin, but as it turns out there is a massive international rugby tournament the weekend we planned on going to Dublin and all the hotels are either a) fully booked or b)charging 3x their usual rate. So, we're thinking we'll try and change our flight. It's actually cheaper than staying in Dublin, besides neither of us has a strong interest in rugby. Then on March 1st Dad arrives. I still need to do more trip planning for our trip too. I'm so happy to have Aston and my Dad coming to visit. I haven't seen my Dad since September....My mom will be coming to visit for the next vacation time I have after this which is 2 weeks at the end of April, beginning of May. We're going to Italy. Don't I have a ridiculous amount of vacation time? Ahh the life of a teacher in France. Too bad I have zero desire to stay and live here.

This is a test

2006-02-05T13:26:00.000+01:00

I wrote a post yesterday and it seems to have disappeared. WTF Blogger!!! Aston saw it on his RSS feed so I know it did exist. Let's see if this posts.

Things that are new & fabulous

2006-02-01T11:20:00.000+01:00

My new coat...that's a start....

YAY! our new roomie, Stephanie.

Otalia is still here, of course, but our apartment is ridiculously huge (we had 2 spare rooms) and Steph got sick of living in the boonies so she's decided to live here in the metropolis that is Narbonne til she goes back to England. Welcome Steph!!!
In other news....3 weeks til vacation time. Aston is coming back. (yay!) We're going to London and Dublin. I haven't been to London since I was 17 and I've never been to Dublin so v. v. exciting. Then if that wasn't enough fun traveling and visiting, my dad is also coming for 2 weeks after that. Originally the big plan was for my dad to come and visit during my 2 weeks vacation time. Then, due to scheduling concerns, he couldn't come until near the end of my holidays. No problem, we decided; we could still have lots of fun during the 4 vacation days and anyways, I only work 15 hours a week, so still lots of visiting time while I'm back at work. Dad and I will hightail it down to Spain as soon as he gets here (March 1st) and spend time in Barcelona. So, 3 countries in one holiday, I will be busy!

what it usually looks like out of my window....

2006-01-29T17:53:00.000+01:00

what it looked like yesterday morning:

and by the end of the day in Narbonne:

Stephanie and her friend John were in town and we had previously decided to go to Montpellier on Saturday, the snowy day in question. So, did we cancel all our plans because of this terrible weather for the south of France? Of course not, we're stoic anglo-saxons! We went anyways, quite a silly decision knowing it would be freezing in Montpellier too (it was)and the trains were in uproar. Anyways, I got a travel book and recuperated some pyjamas I had left at a friend's house and we ate lunch at a lovely veggie restaurant, so not a totally wasted day.

I (L) Soldes

2006-01-24T23:41:00.000+01:00

It's soldes time in France right now...that means sales! In France, there aren't sales all year round, every store having a sale whenever that store owner decides, any old time. Oh no, the French must be different. So, twice a year (I believe) it's sales time and every store (from pharmacies to bookstores to clothing and shoe stores) all over France has a sale, for about 3 weeks. I bought a coat on the first day which I quite love. It's Mexx, and I saved about $150 CAD by buying here in France, during the sales time. Today I bought a black string bikini (yay summer!) at Decathlon that was only 5 euros per piece! Allison had me over for dinner tonight in her v. cute and teensy apartment and this is what the table looked like:

Hotaru no haka

2006-01-22T19:47:00.000+01:00

I was channel surfing tonight and I happened upon this film: Hotaru no haka or Grave of the Fireflies, 1989, by Isao Takahata. I can honestly say it's probably the most heart wrenching film I have ever seen. I missed the beginning...maybe as a whole film it's not so horrifying. It's a Japanese animated film about a 14 year old boy and his 4 year old sister in 1945 war torn Kobe. Their parents die and they must try to survive on their own. It did win awards and it was a beautiful and touching movie but if you watch it, be prepared to cry your eyes out. Apparently when it was first released in Japan, it was as a double feature with Tonari no Totoro,"because it was thought that this film was so depressing that a cheerful companion film was needed to lift the audience's spirits"

It's just too funny

2006-01-22T01:08:00.000+01:00

Ok, found this through Darren Barefoot's site. He brought up the Slanket and it just makes me laugh so much I had to share this pic from their website. My question is, why is this man sporting an afro??

Girls Night In (& Out)

2006-01-17T13:51:00.000+01:00

It started off calmly enough...and went crazy from there. Yes, those are the chocolate Christmas decorations we are wearing as jewelry.

In Cruzy

2006-01-14T15:11:00.000+01:00

Last night was huge fun. There were 7 of us for dinner, all girls, and after dinner we broke out the whisky. So, about 3 bottles of wine, a nice dinner, a delicious chocolate cake, and the bottle of whisky later we headed out to Cote pub. Definitely 'happy' at that point, lots of laughing and singing along with the music. Met up with Louise and a friend of hers visiting but soon left there to go to a dancing place. It's not officially a nightclub but the closest thing we have to that in Narbonne within walking distance. Lots of dancing and silliness. Allison and I wanted to leave first around 2am and Stephanie had to come with me of course, since she was staying over. I have no idea how late the others stayed until. Aston got a nice drunken phone call, of course, then I ate a peanut butter sandwich and fell asleep. I wasn't too hungover this morning, just so tired. I made us all a nice brunch (the one meal we do better than the French, I was trying to convince Otalia- I think she almost agrees). Then Stephanie and I decided it would be fun to go for a hike together as she has a car and there are some nice trails near the countryside where she lives. So, I'm in Cruzy, the little village where she lives, about a half hour from Narbonne. I swiped the pictures from a real estate website. It actually looks a little less cheerful, being winter and all. No flowers. You can only take a car to get here so it was easier if I came back with her, then she only needs to drive me home tomorrow. She lives alone in a gigantic old house, housesitting for relatives dreaming to retire in the south of France. It's badly needing renovations and is absolutely HUGE. The place stunned me; it has amazing potential but half of the rooms are under construction. But, she's used to it now so it works for her. I have some funny pictures from dinner I will definitely post but not from Cruzy as I'm on Steph's computer and I haven't downloaded them off the camera yet. I hope everyone is having fun weekends. Love, Jessica

It's Friday night...;)

2006-01-13T16:02:00.000+01:00

Yay! It's the weekend. I'm having people over for dinner tonight and Stephanie has promised to make a cake, v. exciting. Afterwards, we'll go to the Cote Pub, one of the few bars in Narbonne. I actually went to an internet cafe and printed out an application to UBC (aren't you thrilled, Mom?) and finally got up the guts to ask one of my teachers to write me a letter of reference. He agreed. So, things are coming along for my applications. I still feel like I don't have too much of a chance since I haven't got any volunteer experience in the BC school system and I'm missing one English class (I'll make it up this summer) but we'll see how it goes. If I take a year off to work, that wouldn't be the end of the world. I'll take some pictures tonight so you have some new ones to look at but in the meanwhile here is Huong, Melissa and I belting out some tune back in Van for my birthday last year. Melissa emailed me and told me she's planning on heading back there this weekend for her birthday party. Have fun, Melis! You know I care about your entertainment when I post embarrassing pictures of myself! PS-check out my long Magic Straight (all Korea friends understand) hair!

Photos of Christmas holidays trip

2006-01-08T13:28:00.000+01:00

A view from the escalator of the Pompidou Centre at night

Aston has organized and posted the photos of our trip to Paris, Bordeaux, Narbonne, Carcassonne and Paris again on his flickr site. Check it out, he's even commented on lots of them.
Last day I had a good talk with my dad and he encouraged me to be present to where I am right now and to choose happiness. I actually woke up this morning feeling a lot more energetic and I'm feeling more optimistic I'll get back on track for the rest of my time here.

yay! yay! yay!

2006-01-06T13:49:00.000+01:00

I wish I was there. Canada's junior team has defeated everyone and won the World Juniors. It was in Vancouver and I would have loved to watch it. Sounds like it was a great game.

A bit of a rough start to the new year...

2006-01-05T13:03:00.000+01:00

It's been a bit tough settling back into the old routine after the Christmas holidays. I've been a little down...wishing my contract didn't go all the way til July. I've actually been thinking about leaving early. My classes have been going well though. We're learning the days of the week. I meant to do that ages ago, but I guess now is always a good time. The weather's the same as always..sunny but cold and windy. Yesterday was my brother's birthday. Happy Birthday Dylan!!! Have a great year and good luck at the new job. Anyway, I guess things will feel more normal again soon.

2006-01-01T21:17:00.000+01:00

Happy new year! I'm back in Narbonne. Aston and I went to Paris for the weekend, so we were there for new years but really we were there so he could get his plane home to Van. So he is somewhere in the air over the Atlantic as we speak and I'm freezing in my drafty old apartment. Our time together was so good though, and we'll keep on going til I return in 6 months time.
In my French accent improvement news, I was mistaken for French, then German today til I finally explained I was English Canadian. It's good to know I'm not wasting my time here. You have to add the English bit as the Quebec accent is so well known, people don't believe you're really Canadian when you speak French without having that accent.

How we spent Christmas & Boxing Day

2005-12-28T13:32:00.000+01:00

-in our pyjamas almost all day

-breakfast: homemade muffins and scrambled eggs with cheese.

-me: in bed all day reading my new novels (Christmas presents from home).

-Aston: playing on the computer and reorganizing all my music so I'll never have to use 'evil' Real Player again.

-Being so lazy and having such a good time.

-Otalia surprisingly stopped in between train transfers to Strasbourg and shared Christmas dinner with us: turkey breast (not for me obviously), mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce (miracle find at Carrefour), carrots and brussel sprouts (Aston actually likes brussel sprouts!), salad, and rice stuffing. For dessert there was chocolate mousse but we were too full already. And wine, bien sur, which with our new wine knowledge, we decided was crap.

Today is the 28th and we ventured out into the sun and freezing cold wind and visited some ancient Roman sites in Narbonne which was v. cool and I also shared with Aston my favorite tea room and little veggie cafe.

Aston and I in a Bordeaux cafe:

Aston's guest spot

2005-12-26T20:31:00.000+01:00

Jessica didn't mention how our little wine tasting lesson (what they called an "initiation") went. Well, as it turns out, the wine and cheese and choucrute (i.e. ham slices, or dead pig as I like to remind our vegetarian blogmistress) portion of the lesson was at none other than Baud & Millet, the restaurant at which we ate the night before. We had such a good experience there, though, that we didn't mind going back at all. This time around, we got to visit their underground lair where their lovely cheese buffet was kept. It was housed in a cold room, about 100 square feet, filled with 150 different types of cheeses... the smell is akin to feet, or, if you're Canadian, a hockey locker room.

=

Considering that they had 150 different types of cheese, you'd think they'd have an equally impressive selection of wine... alas, that was not the case. We were only offered a total of 3 different types of wine and were only offered one glass of each type, dashing my hopes of getting plastered that night. Still, I suppose the point of the initiation was to get a better understanding of wine, which we did... it was nice to be able to compare three distinctly unique types of wine to get a good feel for concepts such as cherry, blackcurrant, oak, tannins, and all that good pretentious stuff.

Here's a picture of me and Jess in the underground lair of Baud & Millet.

shhh...! It's still early

2005-12-25T08:15:00.000+01:00

Merry Christmas!!! It's Christmas morning and here I am, far away from my family in Narbonne, France. It's their Christmas Eve party right now back in Victoria, BC, and I can just imagine the fun. In our family, the main Christmas dinner happens on the evening on the 25th. In the morning, brunch is eaten and presents opened, then people hang out and do various activities (go for a run for a few hours- my dad;) til dinner. But the big party...that happens on the 24th. My mom invites lots of people over; she plays the piano, and everyone sings Christmas carols and drinks whatever holiday punch or beer or eggnog is going. This year, my sister-in-law's whole family came up to Canada to celebrate with us. There are even 2 little (well not so little anymore) babies there too.
To Lucas and Savannah and everyone else: I miss you, I love you, have fun, Merry Christmas!!!

Do you love cheese?

2005-12-22T14:16:00.000+01:00

If you do, you have to eat at Baud et Millet (website in french) in Bordeaux. Aston and I went there last night and it was amazing. The best meal we've eaten so far. It's a cheese and wine restaurant. Every dish on the menu features cheese, and for wine, you choose a bottle from the wall, where there's maybe a hundred on display. It was delicious although intensely cheesy and the service was really great, for a change. Paris certainly lives up to its rep for rudeness, and I speak French! We had a great last day in Paris. We went to Montmartre, and walked around, watching the artists work. Aston made a French friend on his plane over so we all met up and she drove us around Paris which was a great way to see some of the city. We went through a fancy part of town and saw the Ritz where Diana stayed and all the fancy stores, like Cartier, with a valet waiting to park your car. I really wanted to return to the Musée de l'Orangerie but it was closed for renovation. :(
In an hour, we are going for a 2 hour wine tasting lesson; they'll teach us how to properly taste wine and the lesson also includes cheese and choucroute (like ham slices- not for me of course). This morning we had breakfast in bed, so luxurious! This hotel is an older 3 star one, can't really recommend it as the bed is not very comfortable but lots of little extras make it nice. Tomorrow night is home to Narbonne....

Never enough time in Paris

2005-12-20T12:08:00.000+01:00

Just checking in to say I'm in Paris; I got here ok, and Aston too, no problem. Our hotel is very nice and clean although not too fancy. Yesterday we went to the Louvre, the Champs Elysées, Notre Dame and walked and ate in the Latin Quartier. It's so wonderful to be together. One more day in Paris then we're off to Bordeaux.

The highs and lows of teaching

2005-12-16T16:25:00.000+01:00

I know I don't have a lot of experience as a teacher. I'm the first to say it! Certainly no teaching diploma, just my degree and trial-by-fire training, in South Korea and little jobs in Canada. However, I've come to realize you can never go on cruise control as a teacher. Just when you think everything's pulled together, you have a really bad lesson. The discipline never stops....you're not their friend...you have to be in charge. On Thursday night, I was at one of my schools dropping off some grades for the teacher to put on their report cards, and I ran into two girls I teach and their mom. The mom stopped me and said, "You must be the English teacher, I've heard so much about you! We studied really hard on Jingle Bells. It was tricky but we had fun. The girls just love their English lessons!" It was so reassuring and nice to hear. Then, today, my last class before the holidays, a class that's usually very sweet was totally out of control. I had to give the whole class a punishment. A lame way to start off the holidays, but I don't read too much into it. They were overexcited from going ice skating in the morning. That's teaching...never a dull moment.

So, so windy

2005-12-14T23:24:00.000+01:00

We just don't get wind like this in Victoria. It was so windy today and I can still hear the wind howling around the house. I felt like I was riding a motorcycle but without the motorcycle to keep me moving forward. The up side is it was beautifully sunny. Tonight I had my last adult beginners' class until after the holidays. We had a party and everyone brought cake or crepes or champagne. It was so nice; what a great group. Lovely chat w/ Aston. 4 more sleeps til we'll be together in Paris.

Christmas in Narbonne Part 2

2005-12-12T16:26:00.000+01:00

Blogger didn't like to post all the pictures together so here is the second batch.

I believe that thing is for Santa to arrive in Narbonne, but really, I have no idea...

The big Christmas tree

I'm cold!
In the middle of the square, they set up a kid's train ride..v. cute.

The town hall, La maire.

It's me again. Otalia and I were having a tough time not taking blurry pictures. It was really windy, and I think all the flashing lights didn't help matters.

Boo! I have more but blogger says no more. Well, you get the idea in any case. Vacation starts in 4 days! yay!

Christmas in Narbonne!

2005-12-12T15:53:00.000+01:00

Remember how it's a Canadian Christmas festival?? Well, that pretty much just translated to Canadian flags...no maple syrup or...er..caribou to be seen anywhere.

Look, it's Santa and his reindeer!

Little booths where you can buy the same touristy stuff anywhere in the world.

Look at our beautiful Christmas tree! It's tough for decorating since I won't be staying, so I can't keep the decorations....I solved the problem by buying chocolate decorations! They're cheaper; they're pretty; they're edible!!! ;)

How could I not post this picture?? It's too good....

Just to show her usual prettiness...Otalia

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

2005-12-08T18:24:00.000+01:00

why?

1. Great classes today, singing Jingle Bells all day. The kids had so much fun and me too.

2. I actually got my work permit today. What a miracle! That only took 3 months.

3. I've finished my translation project and am turning it in tomorrow.

4. One more week til vacation.

5. I got highlights at the salon yesterday and I'm very happy with the result.

6. My toe is finally feeling well enough that I took my stretching class tonight.

7. I just feel good.

8. Otalia's friends are coming over tonight and we're eating cous cous.

9. Next Wednesday, in my adults beginners class we're having a Christmas party after the class.

10. The town is absolutely covered in Christmas decorations including Christmas trees everywhere and there is a Christmas in Canada festival starting on Saturday! (promise to post pictures soon)

yay! :)

So much fun in Montpellier

2005-12-05T11:21:00.000+01:00

This weekend I had tons of marking to do, as well as my ongoing translation project. It was easily enough work to last the whole weekend. So, what did I do? Said screw it and went to Montpellier. I went with Rahel and Wilson and some other Spanish assistant friends of his. Saturday Rahel and I shopped like demons. Narbonne is a very cute little town but not much in the way of shopping. I finally found some lovely boots, and a couple skirts, a sweater and some lingerie. French lingerie really is way better than Canadian, there's just no getting around it. We all went to a great restaurant called La Tomate; I attempted to eat the largest salad I've ever seen (not much success although it was really good) and then Rahel and I went to Mitzi's, a friend who let us stay the night. I'm afraid I coped out at that point and went to bed since I'm still quite sick and was also really tired but the others went out to the bar.
Sunday there was only one thing on our minds: go see Harry Potter, v.o. That means, version originale, in English with French subtitles. I liked it....it was funny and scary and sad too but I wished I had watched or read the preceding films/novels beforehand. Of course I have read all the books and seen the films but it's been a while. I felt like it would have been more engaging that way. Also, I think it must have been the theatre but the picture seemed too dark the whole time and the sound quality was pretty low. So in other words, I want to see it again, when I'm more prepared, with better quality... Probably won't get the chance in the theatre.
I'm happy because in less than 2 weeks now Aston will be here for Christmas. yay!

2005-12-02T16:14:00.000+01:00

Ok, I must leave the computer for a while. I decided (as much as I do love pink) I needed a change. Thus the new look..... I think it's better, no?
Meeting Stephanie and friends for a coffee at the Petit Moka, in the centre of downtown Narbonne, very small town chic.

2005-11-29T12:11:00.000+01:00

Did you notice I added a couple links? One is a comic strip created by Nicholas Gurewitch; it's a little twisted but I think it's funny. I never looked at anything besides the comics before, but today I watched some of his short films. One is called 'The Liars'. It's really good! So, I'm sharing it with you. The website is a little iffy but I watched the film with Quicktime and it worked, no problem. Here is the link. Enjoy!

2005-11-27T14:40:00.000+01:00

Some pictures from our Thanksgiving dinner/Dirty Dancing Extravaganza:

Rahel and I doing some last minute prep

Yay! good job.

While others chit chat and drink some wine

Help yourselves!

Wilson gives it the thumbs up; Will and Allison have deep talks

Time to sing along and ponder the translation of "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!"

2005-11-25T15:32:00.000+01:00

funny if you studied lit at uni, or if you know a horn honker. or if you are one.

2005-11-23T20:57:00.000+01:00

The past few days I've received many lovely emails and even a real letter from some of my dearest friends. This, of course, made me very happy. But then I became nostalgic for my friends and family, and I was quite homesick. I think I know a good cure though....I've invited all my Narbonne friends over tomorrow night for a big dinner. It's the American thanksgiving so seemed like a good day for it. I think Allison was missing Thanksgiving, being away from home and all, which encouraged me but the original reason was to have my girlfriends over to watch 'Dirty Dancing'. Yay we have cable TV now!!! Turns out Dirty Dancing is universal. Rahel loves it (Switzerland), Louise loves it (England), and Caro too (Quebec). What the 2 guys will think of it is another story but I didn't want to exclude them...Out of all the language assistants in Narbonne there is only one guy, Wilson, from Ecuador. The other guy, Will, from England, used to be a language assistant but is working at a private school now. So, usually when we go out, there'll be like 10 girls and 1 guy... It must be hard on them but they don't complain too much!

2005-11-20T15:11:00.000+01:00

The weather is getting wintery here. The trees have lost at least half of their leaves and the wind is cold enough to make my eyes water as I'm walking around downtown. Today is Sunday so of course the town is deserted but there's still a couple cafes open so Rahel and I met for a coffee. It's nice to sit and talk...she was telling me about her family. When her father was in his early twenties he did a trip around the world. All her childhood, he would talk and tell stories about his travels. So now her brother has done the same thing. He saved money for 3 years and took a two year trip around the world. He speaks German, French and English. Her family is Swiss-German. Isn't that great? She herself has lived in Costa Rica and Spain as well as France.
There are millions of little birds in Narbonne now. I think they are here for the season. In the sky they look absolutely incredible. It has to be one of the most magical sights I have ever seen. Once they land in the trees it's a different story though. Any idea how much crap millions of little birds produce??? It's like it's raining bird crap if you walk near the trees. The bad news is every time I walk to town I have to walk under the trees. They're lining the boulevard. The smell is absolutely vile as well. I never knew bird crap had a smell but it does. It smells BAD. It's hard to capture what it looks like when they're in the air but here's a
try:

I took a video clip and it's way cooler but I'm not sure if I can put a movie on blogger. Anyone know?

2005-11-18T21:01:00.000+01:00

Isn't she so adorable?

Huge congratulations to my good friend Master Choi!!! His lovely wife Dohwa just gave birth to their second daughter, Yooyeon. When I lived in South Korea I studied muay thai (thai kick boxing) at his gym for 5 months. It was a great experience and he and his wife became great friends of mine. I miss you guys!!!

Here we are in Seoul, after one of our guys became the muay thai national champion in his weight category.

Just before I left Sokcho, one last party. Don't worry, the bottle is empty; it's just a joke!

In Korea a website is a must and of course Master Choi has one for his muay thai gym. Unless you can read Korean, you won't understand much but if you do enter the site and click on history, you can listen to the traditional thai music that always plays during a fight. Even to train that music was played. I don't know if I could fight w/o it. ;)

2005-11-18T15:22:00.000+01:00

I am so happy. Why you ask? Because finally, I have internet at home. so I can show you this:
This was taken by Rahel just after the haircut in a square in Barcelona. We were having lunch.

This one was when I got home to Narbonne that night.

Although to tell the true it looks more much curly now. After the hairdresser cut my hair she straightened it, but I just haven't taken any photos of myself since then. It's kind of awkward to ask someone to take my picture just to put it on the blog.
It is a totally gorgeous day today. All the rainclouds seem to have blown away and there isn't even any wind! After teaching this morning, all the teachers (including me)from one of my schools went out for lunch. It was very nice. I had salad with eggplant and tomatoes and the main course was salmon. This weekend no major plans but I'm sure I'll meet up with some of my assistant friends at some point. Otalia is off to Paris for the weekend to visit her best friend as well as her amoureux! ;)

2005-11-16T20:24:00.000+01:00

Sunday night there was a terrible storm in Narbonne and most of the Mediterranean area of France. There was thunder and lightning and the rain sounded like nails shooting against the window. We don't get much thunder and lightning in the Victoria/Vancouver area so I'm really not used to it. Logically I do realize that the chance of any harm coming to me from a storm is exceedingly slim. But the thunder was booming outside my window like a bomb and each time the lightning flashed I jumped in my bed. I didn't sleep hardly at all that night. Monday morning it was still raining and I had a training day in Carcassonne so Allison, Alina and I took the train in that morning. Around 3:30 the other two girls got a train back to Narbonne. It was still raining a lot. I stayed behind because the train station is better in Carcassone and I wanted to get the train tickets for the Christmas holidays when Aston, my boyfriend, is coming to visit me. We're going to travel around France a bit while he's here. Anyway, I got all our tickets (they're by reservation and it books up during the holidays) and planned on taking the 4:30 train to Narbonne. Except, it never left. By that point the train tracks between Narbonne and Carcassone were totally flooded. I was stuck in Carcassonne. Luckily I knew some language assistants working there and a super nice English girl named Emma put me up for the night. Thanks Emma!!!! :) I was able to go home by noon the next day. Stephanie, an assistant in a nearby village told me she tried to come to Narbonne today and the roads are still flooded. Crazy weather. Let's all those vines are ok under the lakes of water covering them!! In other jessica news my broken toe is doing much better. One more week I'd say. I miss you all and hope every one is well. Please think of my Grandma as she's going in for surgery soon. Get well soon Grandma!!! Love you, jessica.

2005-11-09T20:36:00.000+01:00

salut tout le monde! Again a long weekend after tomorrow: life is so rough! ;) My toe is healing although it's quite sore. I stayed off it all day except to teach my class tonight. Tomorrow I teach all day in all my elementary schools. I will be sore, guaranteed. The whole right side of my foot is a lovely shade of purple now and many people have assured me I have green and yellow to look forward to. anyways...

Here's Rahel and Kate early morning on the train headed to Barcelona...

Some musicians were playing in a market; I quite like this photo.

The crowds of people were so unbelieveable. Thousands of people easily I would say. It was totally overwhelming.

A very pretty fountain on a busy roundabout

Some human statues on La Rambla, a main walking street. Barcelona is famous for this.

My name in Spanish....Note I'm turning a little Barcelonian.

Finally my big news: I cut my hair off!! I got my hair cut in a very trendy salon in Barcelona. It's quite short and it's gone totally curly now that my straight perm has been cut off. Unfortunately blogger doesn't seem to want to post any more pictures so I'll put one in next time. :) A bientot!!!

2005-11-07T20:12:00.000+01:00

Guess what? I broke my toe. It's quite silly; I was walking through my room without my glasses and my toe caught on the wheel of my suitcase and pulled backwards. However, it does hurt a fair bit and the effort of walking across town to the internet cafe and especially going up and down the 2 flights of winding stairs to my apartment is too much for me for the moment. The good news is I should have internet at home (isn't it a miracle?) in 5-7 days. Then I can post to my heart's content. I just taught my advanced ESL adults class at the community centre which happens to be right next to the internet cafe so that's why I'm here now. Come to think of it, I'll probably be able to come again after my beginners adults class Wednesday. I really want to put up the Barcelona pics etc. I've never broken a bone before and it's a little disconcerting. After taking the x-ray at the hospital I was left to wait for the doctor to return. I was in the room for about an hour, staring the x-ray of my broken toe(all lit up) in the face. ugh. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be all better soon and I'm just taking it easy for now. Did you have nice weekends?

2005-11-03T19:27:00.000+01:00

Barcelona, Barcelona!!! What a great city. I ended up going for a little 3 day trip with Rahel and Kate, another English assistant from New Zealand. This wasn't the first visit there for all of us so we didn't do as much cultural stuff although we did see the Sagrada Familia which is quite amazing. Equally amazing, may I say, was the incredible shopping!!!! So much cool stuff and lots of good deals. There are just so many people having so much fun all the time in that city I swear. I'll post some photos next time. I'm totally exhausted right now, in a good way b/c I finally worked all day today. I taught all periods (6 classes in 3 different schools) and then did 2 hours of fitness. Yay I feel healthy! ok enough gloating. To tide you over for the Barcelona pics, the Canal de la Robine in Narbonne at night:

Have great Fridays and talk to you soon~~ Jess

2005-10-30T16:10:00.000+01:00

Last night Allison and Rahel came over for dinner. It was very nice to just relax and enjoy some food and conversation, accompanied, of course, by good French wine! Today is Sunday, otherwise known as the day everything is closed and the buses don't run. So I finally cleaned the whole apartment which is lovely and timely as Otalia is coming home tomorrow. It's bizarre...I found it quite lonely at first when she left but now I've gotten a little used to having the whole place to myself. Overall, it will be great to have my roommate back though. However, I don't go back to work til Thursday, so my vacation continues. I mentioned going to the beach before and in fact, I went again, this time with some friends. It was so windy but super.

Here's a shot of the beach:

A closer look at the waves..

Rahel and I after playing in those waves!

2005-10-26T11:26:00.000+02:00

hey all,
Another sleep-in this morning (don't worry Doug--it was only 8am your time)and here I am at the good ol' internet cafe. I went to the beach on Monday and it was totally gorgeous. I'll post some photos soon. Yesterday was a bit of an exercise in frustration as I took the train to Carcassonne (that's where the prefecture is) to try and get my resident's card. Needless to say I waited 3 hours and despite my endless checking and re-checking I was missing documents I've never heard of. deep breath..... At least once I manage to gather said documents I'm allowed to submit them in Narbonne.
I'm feeling a little homesick today but nothing serious. When I woke up this morning I didn't know where I was for a moment. Dreaming of home, I think. Totally confusing hazard of traveling and moving around lots. My apartment is the 2nd floor of a building. There is a nice family above us and my landlady has the apartment below although she actually lives in Toulouse. Everyone is away right now except me which is a little bizarre. Anyway, enough feeling sorry for myself!! Have a great day everyone...I miss you all!

2005-10-22T17:14:00.000+02:00

Last night Allison (an assistant from Iowa City in the states) and I went out for a very fancy French dinner. I ate ravioli and I know what you're thinking: that's not very special. Even myself, it's not a dish I ever really enjoyed; I chose it mainly because it was a vegetarian dish on the menu. However, it was breathtakingly delicious. Even Allison agreed it was the absolute top for ravioli. We also drank a bottle of wine and had some dessert and felt quite nice but the time we met up with the others at a bar. We stayed there for a while and admired some v. talented salsa dancers then went to a nightclub (which I suspect is the only nightclub in Narbonne). There was a troupe of African drummers playing there and it was so fun!! And yes, by the end of the night Allison, Wilson (a spanish assistant from Ecuador) and I were up on the table dancing like crazy. The place was totally packed and we had tons of fun. Friday night in Narbonne....
In other news: my (French)bank issues appear to be finally resolved. I have received my bank card. They finally cancelled the first card that got mailed to some mysterious and unknown place and made a new one. The Canadian bank issues continue but I'm not too concerned about that. I'm on vacation now. yay! It' even longer than I thought, about a week and a half. I decided not to go to Barcelona this weekend afterall. Lots of time for that and I didn't feel like traveling. I'm still recuperating from all my luggage woes coming here I think. I do hope to do a bunch of daytrips though. There's lots of neat stuff to see in the surrounding region, I've heard. Bon weekend tout le monde!!!

2005-10-19T20:14:00.000+02:00

Check out that beautiful couch!!!! It folds out into a bed, visitors....

My lovely roomate, Otalia, having a tea while we were talking in my room.

So I just finished teaching my beginners adult class at the community centre. It went well though it's hard sometimes because there's such a difference in level in the class. I have a few true beginners and others who've been studying english for years but don't feel ready for the advanced course.
Tomorrow is my busiest day of work in the elementary schools. I'm in 3 different schools Thursdays, teaching from the equivalent of grade 4 to grade 7.
In the classroom students actually call the teacher, 'Master' or for me, 'Mistress'. It seems like one more thing that doesn't exist anymore in Canada. I think the French education system is quite good but some elements of it seem outdated compared to how we do things now in Canada. Not to say the Canadian system is flawless, far from!
This weekend is the start of a week of school vacation!! I have the time off which is quite nice although it seems strange since I just started working. I think I may be going to Barcelona for the weekend with a friend, Caroline. I feel like such a jet setter but not really since it's so close. The train trip usually takes 3 hours I believe. Anyways nothing decided yet but I'll keep you posted...

2005-10-15T18:12:00.000+02:00

I had a fabulous day so far. There is this special event going on at the market all week this week called the La Semaine du Gout. So here I was this morning thinking I was going to sleep in and I did really, but at 10am I woke up to the sound of a brass band playing 'Les Champs Elysées'. I was totally bewildered. But I realized it must be that event. So I called up my friend Allison and we spent the day pottering around shopping at the market and at Carrefour which is a big Superstore-like store. I bought some artisan honey and cheese and a little bedside table thingy which Allison put together for me after I fed her lunch. yay! Tonight all the assistants are meeting again to go for a drink in the bar. Here are some more pics:

This is the entry to my huge bedroom and part of my bathroom

My bed

My wardrobe

My desk and bookshelf

Our kitchen. Otalia decorated the whole apartment with cloths she brought with her from Gabon, Africa. It looks quite neat.

Apparently this is all the pictures Blogger feels like uploading in this post. I'll try again in a new post. much love, jess.

2005-10-14T11:32:00.000+02:00

Well here are some pictures! This first few I took in Montpellier. Did I mention I got married that weekend??? That's right, turn your head sideways...

It's called the Water Catherdral I think. It was sunny but so windy that day, so quite cold.

This next one proves people really do play accordions in France!

Here's me freezing in the wind.

This is actually in Carcassonne, the ancient walled city. It's pretty cool, I have tons of pics on my laptop that I'll show those interested.

Ok, next installment will be the apartment. I'm so tired of waiting to blogger to post them. It's not as user friendly as it looks!

2005-10-11T16:08:00.000+02:00

so sorry guys. I have photos all ready to go but blogger is not letting me post them. :(
I had some class visits today. The teachers are really friendly in the staff room but some are a little scary in the classroom. The discipline is like SHUT UP! FIGURE IT OUT YOURSELF! TURN AROUND OR YOU'LL REGRET IT!!! I felt intimidated, I don't know about the students. I don't know how they will feel comfortable to try out a new language when they're usually not encouraged to ever talk. yikes.
Hopefully you can see our new furniture and Otalia too soon. By the way, I'm totally loving my new bed. It's very comfortable if a little small.

2005-10-07T15:32:00.000+02:00

hey all!!!

It's a beautiful sunny day in Narbonne. My battle with the french bureaucracy is really advancing! I think I completed about 5 multi-page forms yesterday at my training in Carcassonne. Unfortunately there was a set back in getting a phone though. I have to have a french credit card or cheques to order to get one (among other papers I have already, like my passport ???!!) and the fastest those will arrive apparently is 8 business days. So still no phone, sorry guys. However I'm feeling optimistic.....I shall prevail in the battle of the paperwork!!!
Tonight is party night for the assistants. One nice outcome of my training day for my assistant job was I got to meet the other assistants in Narbonne. We are all girls! There are 2 assistants for middle school and 3 for elementary school, from United States, New Zealand, Canada and Colombia (spanish assistant). So we're meeting for dinner (the other Canadian from Quebec is hosting us) then going for drinks. My predication: much wine consumed. ;)
Tomorrow Otalia and I are picking up our couch from the store! Instead of getting it delivered which costs like 50 bucks, we're borrowing a truck from the store (free, yay!!) and I may be driving it back to our apartment. I truly hope not though because automatic cars don't exist in France. That's way too wimpy for the French. They like to feel like race car drivers. I haven't driven a standard vehicle for years, especially not a big truck!!! So I have asked this English guy I know (thank you Will!!) to drive the truck for us and he has tentatively (although not very enthusiastically) agreed. I didn't mention helping us lug it up the 2 flights of windy stairs to our apartment but lucky for him, that's also included!! It actually requires some assembly so it shouldn't be too bad. All the furniture we bought, we bought quite cheap from this big Superstore-like store called Carrefour. It all needs assembly so that's how I'll spend tomorrow afternoon most likely. Then Saturday night I'm going to the movies with Otalia and her friends.
Monday I start my job, just observing the classes for the first week though. My classes are all huge, like 25 plus students. I'm getting excited about teaching kids again though. I really want to go to the beach Sunday. I don't know though. we'll see......talk to you soon! jessica

2005-10-04T10:52:00.000+02:00

It's raining today but I don't mind because today (oh happy day) is delivery day for my bed, bookshelf, desk and chair and TV!!!!! Otalia split the cost of some of that, don't worry. Finally my own bed. It's really fall here now. It's cold and windy and everything.
I went to Montpellier this weekend. I think it's most likely a very fun city but it sure made me glad I'm living in Narbonne. It's quite touristy and many of the assistants there just stick together and speak English all the time. Also the living conditions in the dorms where many are living don't even bear mentioning. v. dirty, v. cramped.
I have my training soon and I guess I'll hear a little more about my job. Oh! One more thing: I got a second job teaching adults English classes at the community centre. There are 2 classes, each once a week. I had the first one last night and was told to expect about 6 students. There were 24!!!!! yikes. We ran out of chairs in the room. But the class size will definitely go down because they are allowed to go to the first 2 classes for free to try it out. So there are probably some there who are just getting 2 free classes. I hope! If not I think I'll ask the centre to make another section since that's just too big. It will be fun though I think. I'll keep you posted on my bed!!!!!!

2005-09-30T12:02:00.000+02:00

Without further ado~~~~PICTURES!!!!! Here is where I've been spending a lot of time with you all

Doesn't that look inviting??

There are lots of little bars and restaurants like this one.

Famous Cathedral St. Just.

Another view of same.

Run doggie run!

Ancient walkway...

The main town square- Place de la Mairie, I believe.

Note the tunnel the boats pass under; there's actually people's homes/business above.

Boats.

This market is v. close to where I live.

Finally the canal. Now, if taking the time to post all these photos isn't evidence of my love and dedication of you all I don't know what is!

2005-09-29T19:07:00.000+02:00

hey guys,
you'll be glad to know I'm feeling better today. I actually managed to open a bank account today. Otalia came with me and it took all of my documents plus all of hers and it worked! I should have access to that account in a week or so. This means I can get paid, very important! Then I walked around and picked up the papers that explain in detail all the paperwork I'll need to submit in order to have my proper residents card etc. So that's papers to give papers to get papers; the french don't mess around when it comes to documentation! Tout comme it faut! I also went to a real chiropractor, trained in the States, spoke great english and he cracked my back good. It still feels a bit inflammed but I feel like I'll wake up tomorrow feeling relief. Yesterday I bought some towels and tommorrow will be the bed I think. wish me luck~~jess
P.S. I promise some pictures v. soon!!!! maybe tomorrow!

2005-09-28T10:55:00.000+02:00

v. good questions by mom. Actually I'm not posting in the middle of the night. couldn't if I wanted to... The internet cafe is only open from 10am to 11pm. So it kindof sucks for chatting! :( Sorry about that. I know you are all sleeping right now. It's 11am right now for me. I know, I know, you want pictures! I promise to figure that out very soon. I have so much crazy paper work to deal with. I haven't been making pictures a priority although I'm sure it's possible. I moved in last night although by moving in I mean moved my suitcases to Otalia's. We just shared her bed since I don't have one yet. We were both exhausted after carrying the suitcases across town and up two flights of stairs, especially Otalia since she did most of the work because of my back. My job doesn't sound like it will start for a couple weeks still! I haven't been assigned to the schools yet although my supervisor said they will all be within walking distance, no problem. They were all v. impressed I had already found a place to live. Next Thursday I'll have a training day in Carcassonne with all the assistants in the district. talk to you soon.... jess

2005-09-27T10:52:00.000+02:00

Did I mention that Narbonne is intensely picturesque??? It is such a pretty little town, all ancient cathedrals and cobblestone streets. I have more good news: They have found my suitcase and are delivering it today. Yay! Also, I have found a place to live. Yay again! It's with a girl from the Ivory Coast who also just arrived in Narbonne to study law. The apartment is really spacious, bigger than the place where Melis and I lived. We will have a guest room! It's not expensive either, althought the downside is that it's barely furnished. So, by going this route (sharing with a roommate) I don't have to pay a crazy 2 month deposit and rental agency fees but I'm going to have to spend a bit to furnish my room, etc. My roommate's name is Otalia, she's 20, very friendly and enthusiastic and a native french speaker. Obviously it's a tad on the young side of what I wanted but I'm sure it will be fine. I'm meeting today with my supervisor so I'll finally find out more what my job will be like, which is good..... Only bad news: I've done something crazy to my lower back. It kills. I made an appointment to see a chiropractor this afternoon. I can barely stand, walk, or sit, which doesn't leave me with a lot of options. miss you all like crazy, love jess.

2005-09-26T15:16:00.000+02:00

Yay! I'm in Narbonne. The keyboard is so weird though...totally different placement of letters. Guess what??? More fun for me: on my flight from London to Toulouse Easyjet lost my big suitcase, the one with all my clothes. It's like everything that could go wrong is going wrong. Did I mention just before boarding my flight from Vancouver, Royal Bank decided to cancel my debit card??? So I couldn't withdraw all the money I was planning to bring, exchanged in euros. I've done some creative financing and I'm ok short term but it is a huge pain that isn't resolved yet. I also had to pay some major penalties for my over-weight baggage which I know is my own fault but didn't make me feel too delighted. Then after paying for the extra weight they lost my suitcase! So, there I was last night about 9pm, at the lost luggage desk in the Toulouse airport. I was so tired, exhausted, and I still had no place to stay as the phone card I bought in Gatwick airport to try and book a room didn't work. I explained my situation to the guy working there and he decided he would help me although I never asked him. He closed up his office, grabbed his keys and we set off for his car. He drove me to a hotel nearby where I could stay. There was a room free so finally I could shower and rest. Such a nice guy!
I feel so much better today...managed to get to Narbonne without any difficulties and found a really cheap place to stay, like a youth hostel, very clean. There's still tons of difficulties to overcome, like no clean clothes or apartment, but I'm optimistic. It will all work out in the end.

2005-09-25T13:52:00.000+02:00

Stuck in Gatwick airport currently. I'll fly out this evening to Toulouse. Wish I had reassuring news for you all, but not yet.... This airport doesn't have any travel agency at all so I can't really book anywhere to stay tonight. I may try to book something over the phone, we'll see. The cigarette smoke everywhere is killing my eyes; I'm quite tired. It's going to be a big adjustment for me, living in Europe again! Maybe by this time tomorrow things will be more settled. Love you all and miss you already.

2005-09-16T06:32:00.000+02:00

I'm a new woman. an unemployed one. Today was my last day working selling software. I didn't feel any regrets at all until the last hour when I realized I won't be in that office space ever again and see my co-workers as my co-workers again. Really, I worked with a lot of sweet people, many of whom I will miss. Tomorrow I pack like a demon and Saturday mom and dad are coming over from the island with a moving truck to move me back to Victoria. Then one week til I leave Canada. again. It's still not real for me that I'm leaving so soon.
I mention I have red hair these days?? Here I am with the love of my life:

Isn't he growing so much?!

2005-09-09T19:56:00.000+02:00

Hey~~~ Welcome to my site. I hope to share photos w/ you all and if I do something interesting or fun that too. Here am I at work (in the middle) w/ some friends.

Soon I'll be on the plane to London and then to Toulouse and eventually I'll make it to Narbonne. That's where I'll stay over the next 9 months working as a English language assistant in French primary school. From what I understand I'm called an assistant but I will essentially be a teacher, with my own classes. I don't know where I'll be living yet but I'm looking into working as a nanny as well, maybe on a vineyard not far from town. Narbonne is a small town of about 60,000 people 13 km from the Mediterranean. It's famous for its Roman architecture and....that's about all I know about it now. I'm hoping to refresh my French skills and get more teaching experience. I'm excited to go. I'm also sad to leave and I know I'll miss lots of people. Please come and visit!!