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.