Toussaints holiday week.

Hello again. The most exciting news to start with I think. Yesterday I rang up the bus company all by myself to ask about the timetable in the school holidays. I asked a nice young woman if they had someone there who spoke English and she said that they did but what was it I wanted to know anyway? So I told her and we had a bit of a chat and I found out what I needed to know!!! Are you impressed or what? Actually, for me the best bit wasn’t the attempt at speaking French, because it was pretty ordinary really. What I was pleased about was that I had the confidence to ring at all. I seem to have turned a bit of a corner, or climbed over a hump, or something. Which I’m sure you are just as relieved about as I am. “Oh thank goodness. We might now be saved from her self obsessed ramblings!” However, I guess in a way that’s what blogs are – self obsessed ramblings! And of course I’m the sort of person who just talks though thoughts and feelings. At least you know I’m not hiding anything. I guess in a way it's like inviting you to share my labour pains and be there at the birth as well. And as that miracle aint gonna occur, this is as close as it gets! Lol. And that’s also not to say that I won’t have more bad days and feel miserable again. But at least I am feeling quite human again and able to go to the supermarket! And I might as well eat, because when I was feeling pretty down I didn’t eat much at all and I didn’t lose any weight!! Your emails are a great help, incidentally. Fank u!
The only thing that really keeps nagging at me is how much I already miss Sienna and Isla and how much they are going to change while I’m away. Hopefully I can get Skype up and running.
Anyway, it’s the holidays. Schools have two weeks but at uni (the fac, they say here) we just have one week and then next week we have exams. Which I have already mentioned. This afternoon I am going to Paris on the TGV. I then have to get the Metro, and change lines, in order to get to the hotel. I am very nervous about that, but at least I feel up to trying. I just hope it isn’t too hard or it will pop my new little confidence bubble.
The second important thing is that, no, the blasted internet still isn’t connected, but I do have a landline phone! My number is 0033549111845. So that’s quite exciting. I have already had a very welcome phone call from Gillian. So if you want to ring at any time, please feel free to do so. We have just come off daylight saving and I’m pretty sure we are exactly 12 hours behind New Zealand. I get back from Paris on Friday afternoon.
OK. On Saturday I went into town and met my friend Anna and we wandered round for quite a bit. Then we sat in a café and tried to visualise situations that might be tossed at us when we have our oral exam. We are doing it in pairs. And we practised acting out little scenarios. Well, talking them through. It was good, but for all that my tongue will once again become all knotted up and I will be lost for words. Hard to believe, I know! This is French we’re talking about here folks!
On Sunday morning I went for a walk with Marie-Hélène and Christian. I was a bit taken aback at one point when we were walking along a well-used track beside some paddocks, and there were two chaps with rifles, hunting rabbits! They were so close to us, and right in the open, and for me it was pretty darned scary. OK, it was sort of the country, but within spitting distance of residential areas. I was just really grateful that I don’t have buck teeth.
Just before lunch I got picked up by Sophie and Julie, the two daughters of Any, an English teacher at the lycee. Also with them were Sophie’s two daughters, Salome and Angel. They were absolutely delightful and could speak a few words of English. They had also practised saying, “Alison, will you teach us the haka?” I can help people with the haka, but I think it’s easier to just look on You Tube. Anyway, we all went to Any’s for lunch. She and her husband Jean-Claude live in a little village about 15 kms out of Poitiers, called Beruges. In fact, Any is the deputy mayor! It was a lovely day. Nice food and conversation, and then we went for a walk. It’s an old Gallo-Roman site and we walked down a track where the Romans had created a pathway and placed stones for the carts. And the slabs of rock are still there. Amazing. Just amazing.
Oh yes, Jean-Claude used to play rugby and we reminisced about the French rugby team that came to New Zealand in, when was it – 1961? Guy and André Boniface, Pierre Albaladejo et al. For some reason they have really stuck in my memory.
So a good weekend. It sure beats reading in an enclosed space for 48 hours! Indeed my studio hasn’t got any bigger, but I’m trying hard to live with it. All “student” accommodation is much the same from what I have seen. I would really like to be in Centre Ville (middle of town) where all the action is, but at least here I have the support of Christian and M-H. And many of the apartments in town, it being the old part of Poitiers, look like they don’t get the sun at all. So that’s the story.
Yesterday I had a practice run at getting the bus to the station. I had to go and pick up tickets for my trip coming up in November. (Going to visit Ian in Italy!) So I did that, and also tried to change my tickets for Paris today so I could go a bit earlier, as I need to find the NZ Embassy there so I can vote. (Well, when I was talking to Helen a little while ago I promised her I would! True!) But they were ‘no change’ tickets. Which doesn’t really matter. If I don’t get to the embassy I think I can download voting forms and send them off.
Oh yes, that reminds me – a little bit of political stuff here. Salome is 7 and obviously quite bright. However, she has recently started getting quite stressed as she sometimes only gets 17 out of 20 for her tests! She thinks she is letting her family down. Yes, regular standardised testing. The Sarkosy government stopped the system of teaching and learning in primary schools which involved the kids investigating stuff, in a manner, from what I can gather, similar to NZ. It’s now about standards and regular testing which no doubt encourages the teachers to teach to the tests. And I have heard a little whisper that John Key is planning something similar. What does he think that will achieve? Teachers already do their best. Having tests does not make the kids become more able. Students with learning difficulties for reasons of heredity, environment or whatever will continue to have learning difficulties. No more warm learning environments, just competitive learning of facts. And I like kids knowing ‘stuff’ as much as the next person. Probably more. But these kids are babies!
Anyway, I have probably just just lost some regular subscribers. :-)
Late yesterday afternoon M-H and I went to the movies - my first French movie experience. I can't remember the title, but it was based on an Agatha Christie novel, so the very blatant cases of over acting seemed apt somehow for that genre. There was also a lot of bosom groping which I don't think Agatha Christie had written about. I actually really enjoyed it, and had no trouble following the general idea of the story. But to be honest I couldn't really follow what the actors were saying. But I do love the movies and hope we go again soon. I won't be buying a tub of ice cream however - it cost the equivalent of NZ $9.
Time to go. I need to pack my little weekend suitcase I bought on Saturday. At home I have got a terrific weekend suitcase I bought once from Crazy Clarke’s in Australia. It cost the princely sum of $11, from memory. I use it a lot, but obviously I don’t have it here so I had to get something else. It’s a nice wee case, and red, but it certainly wasn’t $11.
The photos show Julie, Salome, Sophie and Angel on the ancient Roman road,with Any just out sight; and the family posing with a chateau in the background. Apparently there are 12 chateaux in the district.
Have a good week.
Love Moi.

Brussels and other things.

First of all I want to quote from a book I have just finished reading. It's called "A Year in the Merde" by Stephen Clarke, published by Black Swan. He was working in Paris then found out he wasn't getting paid, because he didn't have a carte de sejour! ' All I had to do was take my passport, work contract, 3 passport photos, a recent electricity bill and the marriage certificates of any hamsters I'd owned since 1995, all photocopied on to medieval parchment. No problème.' It actually is a continuing story not entirely unfamiliar to moi, and the whole book is very funny! Incidentally, I have had another meeting at the University place in Centre Ville where they go through the dossier to make sure everything is Ok before you head off to the Prefecture. I got the same nice young man as last time, and he speaks beautiful English. He was very helpful, although I did flinch when he said I would need a medical check up. I had several of those in Auckland before i left, in order to get the visa in the first place. I have all the forms saying that I am fit and well and hale and hearty. I also have an appointment coming up for a chest x-ray. So we've left the medical check hanging and he thinks it sould be OK. We will see! Anyway, he was very kind and I just happened to have a silver fern badge in my bag so I gave it to him. Also because he kept confusing New Zealand and Australia!
OK then. I tried to get the photos to be dotted through the text, but I can only get them to go at the start. Tiffany, how to you get your photos to go where you want them? So, to Belgium. As I said, the tickets didn't arrive in the mqil, and as we speak they still haven't arrived. Charming. Marie-Hélène kindly took me to the railway station on Friday afternoon and as well as her help I managed to get a chap in an 'English spoken here' booth. Which was a wee bit of a trick really as he wasn't what you would call fluent. And didn't really want to know about the missing tickets. Which is fair enough in a way, as it's a postal problem, not a rail one. But I thought that if he could check on the computer, and if i could show him my passport.... But no. Never mind. So I purchased two more tickets. He said that for the trip to Bruxelles it was the last available ticket and I didn't have an allocated seat. "You will sit in the little seat," he told me. Which I did! It really was little, and when the train stopped and people got on and off I had to stand and squish myself up flat against the wall so people could get past and out the door. But actually, it was OK. I read a book and the time went by no problem. I could have gone and sat in a vacant seat, but in doing that you risk someone coming and saying, "That's my seat" and it was easier to stay where I was. Even if I did look slightly odd.
Anyway, I arrived in Brussells and was met by Louise and her host Corinne. Louise is in Belgium on the same AFS programme as me. She teaches French at Auckland Girls Grammar. Corrine (I have given two different spelling options as i don't know!) was lovely and a fluent English speaker. She lives in a bequtiful apartment in a very chic part of the city. I really liked Brussells. It had a certain ambience, and in mqny ways reminded me of New Zealand. Not that a place has to remind me of NZ for me to like it, but I just thought I'd mention that fact! We went and had a meal at a nice restaurant a short walk way. I don't know if I'm just imagining it, but the people seems to speak a bit more slowly and I understood more than I usually do. Anyway, on Saturday we got the tram and then the metro and went to the station again, this time to meet Suzanne, who is also in Belgium, staying in an industrial city which I think is called Charleroi. Or something like that. I should get my facts right before I stqrt blogging. Suzanne teaches at Mt Roskill Grammar. We had a great day just wandering round. We did the double decker tourist bus thing which was really great. Had lunch at a waffle place, and saw the statue of the little boy peeing. He is often dressed in some sort of outfit, and that day was wearing a streetcleaner's uniform. To acknowledge street cleaners no doubt. We had a quick look at some shops, but mostly we did touristy things and it was great.
That night we walked to another local restaurant, this time Chinese.
On Sunday Louise and I spent the whole morning trying to book to go to Italy to see Ian for a few days. The on-line booking service was not working well and it was all a bit fraught. However, we got it sorted finally. Actually, it took us a lqrge part of the day bacuse when we had finished it was time to tram and metro to the stqtion again. Because it was time for me to go home. I had a seat this time, and off I went. I had to hop off at Lilles and change trains, but managed that without getting stressed at all!
So that was my weekend in Belgium. The photos are of me at the Poitiers Station waiting to be in charge of the guard's van, Louise et moi, and the little boy peeing.
And now it's this week. Uni is still going really well. There's just a really good combination of personalities. I've got uni every day as usual, and tomorrow afternoon I have a couple of sessions at school as well. Probably. On Saturday I'm going to visit Anna at the convent or wherever it is she's staying and we plan to go for a walk and then do some preparation for the oral exam which is coming up the week after next. Not just oral- it's a whole set of exams. On Sunday I think I'm going to have lunch with one of the teachers from the lycee. And on Tuesday afternoon I am going to Paris on the train! What a life, eh? I am going to catch up with Tim and Elizabeth, my lovely Auckland next-door-neighbours. Hopefully we will get to visit the Musée d'Orsay, which I am really dying to see. I come back on Friday. Nothing planned for the last weekend of the Toussaints holiday, but I guess I should study!
I hope you are all well. Keep in touch.
Love Alison.

Brussels

Well, the tickets did not arrive!!!! Can you believe it? I had to buy another lot and got the last available one to Brussels. This did not entitle me to a seat however, so I sat for over 4 hours on a little pull down dickie seat in the bit of the train that joins the two carriages. I was quite expecting to see the men shovelling coal. Anyway, Brussels at first sight seems lovely, but I'll write more later.

Thursday

Tomorrow I am going to Brussels on the train. Or am I? I had no luck booking on line - the system just wouldn't let me. So Louise in Brussels booked the tickets, picked them up and posted them to me. A week ago. They still haven't arrived! One more mail delivery! Not sure what I'm going to do really. Cross your fingers please!

The weekend

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And a jolly nice weekend it was too. It got up to about 24 or 25 degrees on Saturday and Sunday which was pretty darned good. I love being warm!
I had things to do both days. I think that Marie Hélène was a bit worried about me having spent the previous two weekends in solitary splendour so she jacked some things up, which was lovely. I do go into town on my own sometimes, but there's a limit as to how often you feel like doing that. Same as sitting in cafés. Anway. On Saturday morning I did some grocery shopping. I have never especially liked doing that, and after John died it was something that I found incredibly difficult to do too. But I made myself, as I had pretty much run out of food! And it was OK. In the afternoon I went with Christian and Marie Hélène to Christian's cousin's farm. Now I have to admit that I don't really know where it is. Near a very very small village called Thou, which must be small indeed as I didn't notice it. It took us about 50 minutes to drive there. The cousin is a retired farmer who still lives on the farm which has obviously been in the family for generations. Really old buildings and all terribly "French"! Saturday was La Gremole day. Like a big feast. Lots of people were there for the occasion. A woman had made the batter and Robert cooked the gremoles in a giant oven in an outbuilding especially mqde for the pupose I imagine. They are like a thick pancake, and have the usual flour, water etc, but also apples and cheese! Marie Hélène said that old apples were usually used. I guess it was a way in times gone by of mqking sure that nothing went to waste. When the batter is ready they are blobbed, in pancake shqpes onto cabbage leaves! Then they are put on long hqndled shovels and put in the oven. They are very specific to this region apparently. And quite nice too I must say! That was really interesting.
Whle we were there we went for a walk with some women to the "lavoir." After walking for quite a wee way I was beginning to think that it was an awfully long way just to go to the toilet and perhaps it might be easier to pop behind the hedge. In fact, it was a communal clothes washing place! The water comes up from a spring and the women in the old days used to tqke their washing there and no doubt beat it about a bit, and have a good old gossip at the same time. Really interesting again!
So that was Saturday really. On Sunday, Viviane, who is a friend of M-H and Christian came and picked me up and took me to her place for lunch. She's really nice. We had a lovely meal - duck - then went for a drive. We went back to the village with the chateau that I went to soon after I got here. It was nice to go back there, and I think I took a bit more in this time. We also went to a lovely garden, kind of like a larger version of the Queen's Gardens in Nelson. And I guess a bit like the Auckland Botanical Gqrdens. Lots of roses. They were just about at the end of their season, but it was still lovely to look at them. It was a very restful place. Beautiful without being overly neat, if you know what I mean. Not that it was untidy!
We went back to Viviane's, turned on the TV and I managed to catch the last 20 minutes of the rugby match Toulouse v Bath. It was actually quite exciting with Toulouse winning with the penalty kick right on full time. Byron Kelleher was in the team.
And today is Monday. That pretty much always comes after Sunday which is not a bad thing when you think about it.
The first photo is of Farmer Robert doing the business in the oven, and the other one is the war memorial in the Abbey. Which is in the grounds of the chateau.
Oh, by the way, I advertised for a flatmate, or a family who might like to "have me". No response. Valerie, one of the English teachers at school, said that whilst it is not unheard of to share flats, it is unusual in France and is more of an Anglo-Saxon thing. And if you add to that mix the fact that I'm not in my 20s..... Hmmm....
I did however get an email from someone who wanted to meet me to practise speaking English. We have met once but she is a bit hard to pin down as she lives half an hour away from Poitiers and only comes in for work on odd days.
But there we are. The latest update. Keep tuned folks, and thanks for those comments and/or emails!

Saturday 11th

Hilary wanted more photos! I don't really have anything new. This is an old castle? fortified tower? Hmmm.... I can't quite remember. It's very near the village of Grues where we stayed a few weekends ago, and Jean used to play here and climb around this building when he was a boy. It was closed when we were there, but was quite impressive with its size, and the way it just was there, just popping up really.
It's a beautiful autumn day here. We have had a bit of heavy fog so this clear crispness makes a very pleasant change. It's lovely.
No real news. Uni, and that's pretty much all. I went out for a meal last night chez Reine-Marie and Louis, very nice people who are friends of Thérèse and Jean. Today I am going somewhere with Christian and Marie-Hélène. Something to do with eating cake, but I didn't quite get it all!
Toodle pip!
Alison.

Jeudi 9 octobre

Bonjour. I'm at school at the moment. I came in as I had 3 sessions timetabled for this afternoon - 3 hours in total. However, none of the teachers wants me! I can understand it really. I have just had a talk with the HOD and she said she thought it would be a good idea if teachers like me came part way through the year when they had their classes established. The beginning of our school year in New Zealand perhaps. As it is, they are only just getting to know their classes. Anyway, I'll use this time to make some resources and prepare some lessons. And the walk here and back will do me no harm at all! :-)
Sunny but cool today. Lots of golden leaves floating around.
Later. Well, I have indeed used the time fruitfully. I have sifted through quite a bit of New Zealand information and I will do a kind of web quest quiz thing. I have talked to a few teachers as they have flitted in and out of the Languages staffroom. I think I have mentioned before how very welcoming and pleasant they are. Très gentilles.

Musings

Sorry about the photos for thos of you who have dial up. I do myself in Auckland, but completely forgot that it would take a while to download the blog when it has photos. Having said that, I have just added another!
It has been an interesting day. I mentioned to Sophie, my prof, this morning, that i still hadn't heard anything from the Carte de Sejour people who were going to email me as soon as they received the faxed birth and wedding certificqtes that Jane was sending. And i know she did it some time ago. So Sophie sent me to the office where there was a great deal of misunderstanding but finally they understood what I was saying and rang the place. Oh yes, the certificqtes were there and they were waiting for me to come in! But in fact I needed the real ones as the Prefecture would not accept faxed copies. However, I was to come in and go through all the stuff and all i would then need would be the original copies. Sophie said i should miss the afternoon uni session and go into town and do the business. Anna, my friend the Polish nun, said she would come with me. I have been before to this place but had no recollection of how to get there. So Sophie drew a map. Great stuff. Anna and I got the bus home to my place to get my paperwork, and by an amazing stroke of luck, or was it because I had a nun with me? :-) - the certificates were in my mail box! Wonderful! So I gathered all my stuff together and off we went into Centre Ville. And I forgot the map. Blast. Well, we got a street map from the tourist place and did our best. We walked around and around, and were even helped by a very gorgeous Frenchman with beautifully accented English. But no luck. So I came home again. In fact I have found out that I have to have a chest X-ray so would have had to go back again anyway. But it just goes on and on. And on.... Every day brings a new challenge.
Just a word regarding my difficulties here. A nice quote from my old teacher George, once again! "It is a shame that many bright people feel things more vividlly than others. You are one of those." :-) What can I say? 1960 was a good year!
A few random jottings:
*I still have trouble knowing which way to look when I cross the road. I am regulqrly in serious danger of being run over.
*I thought there were a lot of faulty toilets until I discovered that you pull the little knob UP!
*People really DO speak very quickly and run it all together.
*Smoking is very big here! The high school students aren't allowed to smoke in the school grounds so the footpqths outside the schools qre always crowded with groups of students smoking.
*I hadn't realised how hopeless I was at the 24 hour clock. They use it all the time here, and I'm forever having to do little calculations in my head.
*I had a very romantic notion about Brasseries, but the ones here are populated by very shifty looking characters indeed!
*In my uni class we have 7 students from South Korea, 2 from China, and one each from Japan, Poland, Spain, Syria, Libya, Bellarusse (sp?) and of course NZ.
*Things seem to cost the same, or twice as much, depending on how you look at it i.e. something that costs 7 dollars on NZ will cost 7 euros here. So in fact it is double, but it would mqke life a misery if you were constqntly making conversions. (Although I confess that I actually do. But then try to get over it!)
That's probably enough reading for today. Oh yes, I went to the market on Sunday morning and I saw Albert Tatlock again! Speaking of which, I hear thqt Leanne has a job in a restaurant. It's good to keep up with these things.
Take care.
Love Alison.

October about the 4th I think.

The photo is of Jean in La Rochelle. I just thought it was a nice photo with a lovely view. I am at Jean and Thérèse's place at the moment. I was invited for lunch and then invited to use the computer. Wonderful stuff! They are heading off on holiday on Monday for a month, and I am feeling a bit anxious - as if I wasn't already - as it's like my support network is disappearing. I'm not going to moan on too much about how I am feeling because it must be a bit boring, and you will all be thinking, "Get over it! Get a life. Go out and meet people." And such stuff as that. Because I know all that too. Trouble is, I don't seem to be in control here. Some sort of emotional alien has popped in to my brain and is taking over. Oh well....
People are being very nice to me and I am obviously a bit of a puzzle to them as I would appear to be in a dream situqtion really. It's just hqrd.
Anyway, now the computer is needed, so until next time....
Au revoir!

At the library

Yes, today I come to you direct from a suburban Poitiers library! Internet access is free, but I've been here once before and there's only one computer and it's usually taken. But today I got it! Yay.
It's a difficult time I'm muddling on through at the moment. As my friend Cathy so rightly said in an email, alone is often really good. Lonely isn't. And that's it. There isn't even anywhere to walk around in my studio. And certainly no-one to talk to. I am immeasurably grateful to my cousin Les who sent me the October North and South. It arrived yesterday and I have been engrossed in it ever since! I have had this thought that actually private boarding would be good for solo AFS teachers, even if they have to move us on every now and then. My French isn't going to improve if I'm not talking to anyone. Just a thought, anyway.
This afternoon I had an appointment for an epilation - wax - having managed to at last find a place. I was fearing that I would get offers from circuses wanting me to take over from the bearded lady. So I'm all smooth again. Now i need to find a hairdresser..... Not quite such a need for that at the moment. And who knows, I might just end up going grey.
I decided today after uni also that I would post a couple of t-shirts to Sienna and Isla, so I thought I would send some of the resources I have bought as well. I was planning to send them as cheaply as possible as there is no rush at all. But no - it didn't work out like that. I would have had to go and buy a box and because it wasn't the standard poste boite it wasn't going to work out any cheaper. Possibly a little. So the books are flying over as well. I have sent them to you Nadean at Kolmar Road. Incidentally, the man at La Poste was incredibly helpful and patient with me. The queue got longer and longer and he didn't bat an eyelid. (There were other people working as well. Not just my chap.) I really appreciated his kindness.
People here seem to do queues. They are not my favourite thing at all!
By the way Jane, when I told you that there were casinos here, I have discovered that in fact Casino is a supermarket chain like Countdown! Lol! No wonder I saw signs all over the place.
Well, I just had a conversation with a little boy who wants the computer. Yes, we actually understood each other! So I had better check my emails and log off.
I'm not in the best shape ever, but will weather through things I guess.
Love Moi.