Arriving in Pont-Audemer

So I am reluctant to write this post because I don't have any images to accompany it but I will write it anyways.

I arrived in Paris early Monday morning and had to figure out how to make my way to Pont-Audemer. I had already planned and researched taking the Roissy bus because I heard that the RER was hard to manage with baggage and that some of my colleagues who already made their way to Rouen found it difficult. I had a hard time finding where to get on the bus, online gave me several pick-up points but due to construction in the airport, they weren't exactly right.  Outside the airport, where I thought I could board the bus I met a Franco-African man who is a driver of hired cars(you know, like a taxi but fancier, I don't really know what that is called). He asked me if I needed a car and of course I didn't want to pay for that. He decided to talk to me anyway and find out what I was doing in Paris and where I was from(his guess was Sweden). Well anyway, to make a long story short, he told me I was pretty and made sure I knew where I was going to find the bus which was in another terminal.

After sitting on the bus for an hour, I had to drag my luggage around Paris for ten minutes to find the train station which was not fun and left me sweaty and tired. I was able to rest for about an hour and a half before boarding my train. Boarding a train with luggage for seven months is rather tricky when you don't have the necessary strength and most of it has been used up the past 20 hours. Fortunately, I met an older American couple who were setting out on a Normand adventure to help me.

I took the train to Bernay where I met up with my contact from the middle school. She took me to her cottage which was lovely with a wildflowers and a cat who thought it was fun to lay on me while I was sleeping. I spent the rest of the day with her walking through town and later eating dinner with her partner who owns a used book store. They were very gracious but I was so tired and wanted to be left alone. I was filling home sick as this point and everything was a little awkward.

The next day I went to both schools and met everyone. I even observed some classes and did some interviews even though I am not suppose to be working until next week. I was handed off to my high school contact who is a lot of fun but intimidates me a little. Her house is awesome, it is very colorfully decorated and she has a huge garden.

I have met a lot of new faces and can't remember half of there names. I also feel slightly like a puppy who is being passed around from one English teacher to another but I am having a lot of fun. I don't want to overwhelm you but I do have a lot of things to write about so I'll probably do another post to tell you about all that fun later.

New Adventure, New Blog

So here I am sitting on the floor of my parent's living room staring at my excessively large suitcase. I tend to get overwhelmed packing large amounts of things and take frequent breaks anytime I'm moving or getting ready for big trips like I am today. My excuses for breaks include getting coffee, going to target, watching a movie and apparently creating a new blog. 

Some of you have requested that I write about my experiences while I am a teaching assistant in Pont-Audemer for the next seven months. Last time I was abroad I had a blog and didn't update it regularly so I'd like to warn you now that this blog will not be well kept.

Some of you who are familiar with my old blog are probably wondering why I created a new one and why is it called Noix de Coco(coconut). One of the reasons is that during my time abroad in France, my comrade and I learned that my old blog name was also a nickname for a certain appendage. Oops. Now why coconut? I did think about naming my blog something clever like a quote about "imprudent movables" or a witty saying that I came up with but when I was eating my coconut yogurt one morning I thought "Noix de Coco" and nothing else would work for my blog name. If you know me well you know that coconut is one of my favorite smells, flavors and textures. Big whoop, right?  Well, yes it is a mundane thing to name my blog but when I was in France last time I was really excited  by how easy coconut things are to find and fell in love with coconut yogurt which wasn't available in the states at the time. A lot of people hate coconut, a lot of people love coconut but for some reason those little coconut yogurts were one trivial thing that made me feel like I belonged there.

This time leaving is extremely bittersweet for me. The past week I have been thinking about all the things I am going to miss; holidays, my big bro graduating college, my best friend planning her wedding, the best and the only real work family I've ever had, 34 teenage "nieces," and all the frivolous things in-between. Knowing that I am going to miss out on so much, its a little easier that I have things to look forward to, no matter how small they might be.

I do have a lovely German roommate to meet, two extremely helpful contacts/co-op teachers, a charming small city, old and new friends, traveling and whatever else comes my way which will probably include getting lost, a few tears and maybe even a over a grabby market patron(Leah you know what I'm talking about).