Sunny Southern Getaway

On Friday, I had my last departmental meeting at the university.  We gathered to officially approve the final grades for a last test that some students took.  Afterwards, my coworkers and I shared a potluck meal and celebrated the send-off of our director who is moving to another department next year.  It was a fun time, made all that much better knowing that I'll be coming back to continue another year as an English teacher at Université Grenoble-Alpes.  That's right! I just picked up my contract today and am working on my visa renewal to stay another year in Grenoble and in the same job.  It's been a bit of a tough situation for paperwork with my renewal, but I think it's worth it.  I find the job very rewarding and interesting.  I quickly grew to love Grenoble, which I fondly say could be Denver's equivalent in France with interesting and fun places to go in the city, all the while with easy access to the mountains and nature.  I've also made great friends this year, many of whom are returning next school year too.

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With summer on the horizon and a standstill for contract/ visa paperwork (until today), I decided to take a quick getaway starting Saturday.  In 2012, I studied in Aix-en-Provence and I hadn't returned there since.  It seemed like a nice opportunity to revisit the place I had called home for four months.  So, I found a cheap bus ticket and soon found myself in Aix on Saturday afternoon.  I met up with a Grenoble friend for coffee/ tea and wandering the streets.  I quickly saw that some things had changed while much remained the same.  I visited Aix's fountains, the winding streets, and yellow and orange buildings.  I walked past the cathedral sitting directly across from where I went to class and took familiar routes as if I was having déja vu.  

La Rotonde - Aix-en-Provence

Since my getaway was a bit of a last minute decision, I couldn't find too many good available hotels, and decided to try Couchsurfing.  Couchsurfing, if you don't know, is an online community of travelers where like-minded people offer a place to stay, a partner in crime for adventure, and the opportunity to find new connections in different cities.  I was hosted by an American guy living in Aix who is doing an internship to complete his Masters program.  His roommate was away so there was a spare bedroom all for me.  He was very kind and we hung out my first night in town, had dinner on a restaurant terrace, and went for a drink with his friends.

Mont Saint Victoire from the apartment window.

On Sunday, I was in the mood for a hike, and the place to do that in Aix is Mont Saint Victoire, the famous muse of the painter Paul Cezanne.  After a quick stop at the shop (I forgot to pack socks!), I caught a bus to the trailhead.  I took a trail up the back side of St. Victoire that was quite steep and winding.  Every so often, I could see the cross at the top peek between the trees.  It took a bit of effort, but eventually I made it to the top for an incredible view over the Provence countryside and Aix-en-Provence.  Feeling adventurous, I took a different route back that was less steep but definitely hotter with more sun.  This route lead back to an incredible blue lake held back by a large dam.  

Once back in Aix, I was feeling a bit hot and tired, so I rewarded myself with an ice cream and a little meandering before calling it an early night.

Heading down the ridge from St. Victoire

Looking back from the dam.

The next morning, I was continuing my adventure.  Before leaving Aix, I stopped by a crepe shop I had discovered during my studies for a delicious spinach and goat cheese crepe for lunch.  Then, I hopped on a bus and headed to the small coastal village of Cassis. 

Port of Cassis

Cassis was a special destination where I was meeting a couple friends from Grenoble that were cycling there.  But it was early and I had some time to spend.  I checked into my cute hostel by the port and went to explore.  I walked through the little streets, but quickly headed for the boats and beach.  Seeing that the main beach was really busy, I decided to continue on for a nice view up the hill and go to another rockier but more empty beach.  I was sidetrack by a soap shop along the way that gave a free little tour of their production space.  It was interesting learning about the different kinds of soap for the area as well as what goes into them.  I bought myself a little lotion that was promised to help skin conditions for everything from sunburn to acne.  So far, I have to say that it's lived up to its promise!

Beautiful beach stop.

Eventually I made it to the beach where I lounged in the sun for a couple hours.  Unfortunately, the water was much too cold to swim, but I was enjoying my time in the sun a lot.  Around that time, my friend called to say that the two of them would be arriving in the next hour or two.  I lazily packed up my things and headed back to my hostel for a quick shower and then walk along the port at sunset before meeting them for dinner and a football (soccer) match.  English and Iceland were playing in the Eurocup and it was a big game! The tiny country of Iceland won.  

Cassis at sunset.

The next morning I enjoyed breakfast on the terrace of my hostel before packing up my things and joining my friends at a different hostel where we'd be staying the second night.  There wasn't room for us the first night, but one of the friends I was with had worked at this hostel years ago and maintained a good relationship with the owner so we wanted to spend some time there.  I do have to say that this was the best hostel I've ever stayed in hands down.  It's the Cassis Hostel if anyone is wondering... It has a lot of character with books, eclectic decorations and travel ideas as well as a big kitchen and great outdoor patio.  However, the best part was the infinity pool looking over the bay! 

My friends and I decided this was a perfect day for another hike and we headed to the Calanques.  Described to me as somewhat like a fjord, the calanques are a series of inlets with crystal blue and green water surrounded by towering cliffs.  We explored the first three calanques, before giving into the sun and returning to find some water.  It was an absolutely stunning hike and a beautiful part of the world.  

The Calanques

Getting back into town, we stopped for ice cream (a scoop of salted caramel and a scoop of Snickers for me), then went to the store and bought the fixings for a delicious Mexican themed dinner that we made at the hostel.  It ended up being a great night with lots of food, delicious drinks (mojitos!), and talking with other travelers staying in the small hostel.  It was a perfect four-night getaway in the sunshine.  I can't wait to go back.

Loving the View

Work is still keeping me busy here in Grenoble.  There are two weeks of classes left and lots of grading to accomplish, but soon I'll be on break.  I'm excited to say that after being away from home for the past two Christmas seasons, I'll be returning to spend the holidays with my family in Colorado this year.  So I'll finish classes on Thursday the 17th at 5pm and prepare for my 10am flight the following morning.  I'll be back for two weeks.

Things are going well in Grenoble.  Teaching has had its difficult moments (and by teaching, I really mean just figuring out all the administration and grading), but I find it quite rewarding.  I've gotten some nice feedback from a couple students, and that sure feels good.  It's quite the change from my first day when a student looked me over and walked out of my class before even giving me a chance to speak! 

I feel like I've been able to talk about some exciting things this year, which keeps classes all that more interesting.  I enjoy being able to talk about advanced subjects like the street artist Banksy, short films, Buy Nothing Day (a way to protest Black Friday), and the Tiny House Movement.  I look forward to continuing to push the box next semester.  Next semester's schedule isn't quite finalized, but it looks like I'll be switching some of the extra classes I've taken on from IT students to students studying alpine geography.  I'm figuring out what exactly that is so that I can cater some subjects to their interests!

In other news, the snow has arrived around Grenoble and the ski resorts are open.  I'm waiting until after the holidays to check out the snow myself, but I had friends show me pictures of the beautiful slopes.  It's been cold and sometimes wet in Grenoble itself, but today was beautifully sunny.  Check it out for yourself! I snapped a couple quick pictures on the way into my office this afternoon.

Teaching: USA

Being an English teacher, it's understandable to sometimes be mistakenly identified as English... given that's the language I'm talking about.  This year I've struggled with showing my classes (mainly the younger groups) that I'm from an altogether different country. In an effort to reinforce that I'm not from England, I spent my lessons this past week talking about the USA. I talked about the flag (colors, 50 stars, 13 stripes), the size of the US (it's more than 15 times the landmass of France), and the American dollar. I even brought in some real money for them to check out... which they got very excited about! The best/funniest question I received about the $1 bill: "Is it yours or did your mom give it to you?" They were pretty impressed that it was all mine! Haha, it just reminded me that I am teaching young kids who have a lot to learn! Now, after I gave them American flags to color in, I expect I'll probably be receiving a few of those as "gifts." Up until now, I've kept receiving UK flags.

Now I'm thinking about this week's lessons. I'm struggling I find a suitable topic to keep their attention since I'll be in the schools the last two days before everyone goes on a two-week vacation. I'm sure they'll be bouncing off the walls! But I'm looking forward to break as well. I'll be heading to Paris for five days to discover the city, museums, and culture and meet up with some Colorado State University friends. I plan to do some typically touristy things such as the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre while enjoy the company of those around me and seeing a new side of the famous city. I can't wait!

Kids are Funny

As a prof d'anglais at elementary schools, it should come as no surprise that the kids love me.  For them, I represent a time to learn something different, new, and sometimes just plain funny.  I'm different from their regular teachers in that I'm younger, from somewhere they don't understand, and have all sorts of "funny" traditions.

For example, last week I was teaching the days of the week.  European calendars are organized such that they start with Monday, i.e. Monday is the first day of the week, whereas I explained that for me as an American, Sunday is the first day of the week.  Of course confusion ensued, and I assured them that everything is still the same; the weekend is still Saturday/ Sunday and the school week is Monday through Friday.  Although this did bring up some discussion about Wednesdays - France is in the process of changing the school calendar to add Wednesday morning school.  Currently, Wednesday is thought of as a recreation and extra-curricular activity day.  The four days that they do have school last until 5 pm - bring on the strikes!  After I showed them my calendar and they heard the song that started on Sunday, they seemed somewhat reassured and passed it off as a funny cultural difference (probably not the way they would phrase it - but that's what it is nonetheless).

While this is a great way for the children to learn about the U.S. and my traditions, sometimes their questions are just plain silly.  For example, "Why is your name Danielle?"... "Uhh, because that's what my parents decided it would be?" Or there's the assumption that I currently live in the U.S. and fly to France every week to teach: "Do you take a plane or a train from the U.S.? A plane. Woah, that must be really far away! Yep, it is, but I am living in Perpignan for this year. Ohhhhhh."

Given that I am so "exotic" to these young-ins (and that I always have fun songs to share), they get very excited when they see me arrive.  I probably hear "Hello!" or "Hello Danielle!" (they use my first name or equally as often "maîtresse," meaning teacher) at least 20 times before I even make it into the classroom.  Sometimes, a kid gives me a sticker and thinks he's the coolest in the class or I receive a specially-made card (I got a lot when I gave them Christmas cards to color).  Last week, I received the most intricately made one yet! It was a card, inside of a homemade envelope, inside of a homemade baggy with handles (all made out of colored paper).  It's funny to see how many different ways they can spell my name.

This year, I'm understanding more and more the phrase, "Kids say the darnedest things"!

"For Danielle: I really like English but unfortunately I'm French! Also, you are pretty and nice."