Collioure

Today I took a break from Perpignan (my new home) and went on a day excursion.  I, with two other English language assistants, ended up in a small coastal village called Collioure. 

Collioure is very picturesque with its old stone buildings, colorful streets, mini art galleries, clear water and rocky coast.  Our first stop was to find a delicious sandwich.  Mine was ham, lettuce, and butter on a baguette... yumm, and we sat for lunch on a bench looking across the water and village.  During this time, there were also some army guys doing training exercises in rafts and kayaks on the water.  After that, we spent a lot of time exploring the village.  Some of the highlights were the lookout point where a small, old church sat, the varying colors of houses with pink, blue, turquoise, and orange all mixed in, and browsing through tiny art galleries where the artists were painting and proud to show their work. 

Now back in Perpignan, I am looking forward to starting teaching next week.  We had a full day of lesson planning and school training a couple days ago, and I'm hoping that my 12 hours of teaching will go smoothly.  I'll be teaching in three schools, one which is in Perpignan.  The other two are in outlying villages called Baixas and Peyrestortes.  Baixas is a village of wine makers, and Peyrestortes is so small that the entire school is only 3 or 4 classes. I'll be able to do both of those schools in one day, and I am looking forward to getting to know my colleagues there!

While Perpignan doesn't yet quite feel like home, I'm really enjoying the people I've met and the experiences I've had.  And this is only the beginning!