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Published: October 16th 2006
Pont Henri IV et Moi
This bridge was built in the 1590's and to a Florida girl, that is so cool! It lies over La Vienne, the pretty river in town!Bonjour to you from Chatellerault!
It was a complicated trip from Paris to Chatellerault but I made it (after a no-show taxi and bolt through the Paris train station that ended in a missed train and a purchase of an entirely new ticket). Isabelle, (my supervisor here at the highschool) picked me and Kelly up from the train station and welcomed us into her home. She cooked us a big dinner, yum! The next few days were spent getting me settled (with the help of Kelly) into my little dorm apartment at the Lycée. For lack of a better term and lack of a more aesthetically pleasing living quarters, I have dubbed the dorm apt "The Chateau" or "La Palais" or even more "The Mansion". Inhabitents of The Mansion include Veronica, a girl from Mexico. She will be a teaching spanish while she is here. Katie, from KY is my other mansion mate (we share the West-Wing together), and she is the other english assistant here. Up the grand staircse we also have Stefane, the trés français professeur d'informatiques. So far we have all gotten along very well... we all speak french together (some better than others...cough cough) and last
St. Jacques Cathedral
I pass this cathedral almost every day. It dates back to 1066, almost 1000 years! night Katie, Veronica, and I played an intense game of UNO. We enjoy drinking red wine, fromage, and chocolat around our little kitchen table.
Everyone is extremely friendly in my town. In the past week and a half I have been cooked many french meals and invited into several french homes as the " interesting American guest". This past week I started observing in the classrooms and I start teaching next week. While I was observing at the College (a Middle School in France not a university!!) I felt like suc a celebrity, (or did I have something on my face?!) because at the start of every class the teacher would introduce me to the students and instantly there would be a million hands in the air waiting to ask "the interesting American" a question. They asked about my family, pets, hometown, and hobbies. They are just so cute : " Excusay me but do you have anzee brozers ou seesters?" For the rest of the class they would turn around every now and then and smile at me and then I would smile back, and then they would quickly turn around to the front as is to pretend
Maison dans le Jardin
This sweet little house is in the middle of town. It is always closed but on a plaque I read that it is from the 15th century and it used to be the home of the town guard... they were not looking at me...we played this game in every class throughout the whole day. I am really lookng forward to teaching!
My town has a lot of history and I am busy seeking out a book about it...though it will be in French of course! From what I have gathered, the region in which I am living was originally settled by Gallo-Roman tribes and later became a passing point for a lot of crusading activity. There is a church here that was built in 1066 and served as a resting refuge place for religous pilgrims en route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. There is also a Bridge here built in the 16 century and is supposedly one of the prettiest bridges in France.
I am enjoying exploring my town and everyday I find something new to see and do! Maybe I am just a dork but I eat up all this old architecture and history. I could spend all day aimlessly walking around the town people watching and listening to La Vie En Rose on my Ipod!
Kelly is coming for the weekend and we will start planning our upcoming vacation!!
Until next
Good times at the Mansion
UNO game players: Me and Katie in the front and Stefane and Veronica in the back. Note the hundres of neon colored post-its in the background. Katie and I thought it would help us improve our kitchen vocabulary in french. So far it is doing wonders! time,
Shelly
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Ngaire
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Wow Bula, your little town is sooo cute! That is so cool man, living there for seven whole months! I hope it is nice and warm for ya...unlike my windy Welly. Love Ngaire xxx