Where to start? Well I arrived in Paris Monday afternoon (middle of the night Monday/early hours Tuesday NZ time). I was very tired and my friend Laure informed me that we would be having dinner that night with mutual friends. I was reminded that dinner here is a lot later than NZ so it was planned for 8.30. So I was off to bed for a couple of hours to be able to get through the evening. It was a fantastic evening catching up with Jason who was at Eau Vive, in Provence, with me in 2005 and his wife, who I hadn’t met before. It was a typically French meal and evening. Jason is doing the same thing as me but in Paris. That night was a late one (went to bed after midnight) so I was pretty shattered as I don’t sleep very well on planes and the trip door-to-door Tauranga to Paris was well over 30 hours! I think I’m still recovering.
Tuesday – I had a few jobs to do – one of which was get a cellphone which I did but I seem to be having problems texting or receiving messages to/from NZ so I need to look into that. I, of course, had to look around Paris a bit. So it was off to the Eiffel Tower. It’s been quite hot here this week (26/27 degrees) and there were kids playing in the sprinkler just below the Tower – classic. It’s such a great atmosphere. I’d forgotten what an awesome city it is. It’s funny being here a second time as it is all quite familiar and I feel a lot more confident getting around. Then it was off to Cimitière Père Lachaise where lots of famous people like Jim Morrison (the Doors), Oscar Wilde, Chopin and my personal favourite Edith Piaf are buried. I never got here last time so it was on the to-do list. I even managed to have an interesting fellow attach himself to me which I used to my advantage, while fobbing off his advances, as he knew where all the famous grave sites were. This cemetery is a suburb in its own right, with streets and divisions and you need a map to get around it. In the evening I went out to get some takeaways (my friend had a rehearsal) and I managed to lock myself out of the apartment and I was so tired I feel asleep on the doorstep!
Wednesday – off to my new town L’Aigle – I sat next to a lovely old French lady and we had some interesting discussions. It’s been interesting the people I’ve met – they really have a different take on life and I quite like it – I think there will be a thing or two for me to learn here. Also on the train the conductor had to look at my passport and commented again on Les All Blacks – I happened to be wearing all black which he thought was funny and mentioned that all that was missing was the silver fern! I have to say there isn’t much evidence of the World Cup here. The person in charge of me while I’m here kindly picked me up at the station, took me to my apartment at the school (which is dated but relatively tidy and quite big and sunny), she gave me linen and then took me to the supermarket to get some food. Having just arrived I wasn’t really sure what I needed so got a few things and then she invited me back to her place for dinner with her family which was really lovely.
Thursday – today – wow, what a day! First of all, it’s weird living at the school, the distance between teachers and students isn’t like in NZ, they all eat at the canteen together, smoke out the front of the school – and it’s weird to wake up in the morning and look out the window and see the students all gathering before school and I’m still in my pj’s!! I had a big list of administration/paper work to do so I got started on that. Went to the staffroom and started talking to one of the teachers, next thing I know he’s helped me get my swipe card to eat at the canteen (which is a good deal and heaps of good food for not a lot!), then he introduced me to a whole crew of teachers about my age who are really nice (and a lot of them live on site too). They took me to the canteen and bought me lunch (as I didn’t have credit on my card yet), so friendly! Everyone that I have met, even strangers on the street have been so nice and helpful. Went to town (10 mins walk) to do a few things – it’s a really old, beautiful village. Then one of the other teachers asked me to go for a walk with her – we ended up finding out some more useful info to help get some extra work. So I couldn’t have asked for more really, I’m so stoked with how the first few days have gone.
I haven't added any photos of L'Aigle or the appartment as I haven't taken any yet.
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