Two Weeks Left!

(<-- Yes, this is Perpignan! Please feel free to drool)






The countdown is on: I have two weeks left until I leave for France! Part of me is oh-so-excited; part of me knows that reality hasn't quite settled in. And in either case, I definitely haven't started packing...

Today at my store, something unbelievably coincidental happened: a lady came in, and I talked to her for a minute, noticing her strong British accent. I asked where she was from, and she said, "France" (I was convinced she was English!). We began speaking in French, and she told me that she was from Lyons, in eastern France. I told her that I was moving to France in two weeks, to Perpignan. "C'est pas vrai!" (No way!) She said. She is going to Perpignan next week! It was totally bizarre. So we started talking about the town (still in French, mind you) and her impressions of it. What fun to be able to talk to someone who has been there and who knows the culture. She warned me of the strong southern accents. "You won't understand them at first," she warned me. "Or at least I don't." Great. But the best part was that she told me my accent was perfect -- that I didn't sound American at all, but close to a true Poitevin (someone from the Poitiers region). Awesome.

With the limited time I have left, I've started making a list of all the things I am looking forward to when I arrive in France. I thought I would share some of them with you:

- Going to FNAC (my favorite store in France; like a Virgin Megastore meets Best Buy meets Borders)

- Taking a train everywhere and not having to drive (yay, Carte 12-25!)

- Carte d'Or caramel ice cream (oh, if only you knew...)

- Red wine. Oh, the red wine!

- Saturday markets (so wonderful and cheap -- I love it all, except for the skinned rabbits)

- The relaxed culture, so laid-back and at ease (it's great until you need something done RIGHT NOW)

- The food. Oh my. Meat with fruit. Exquisite desserts. Delectable pastries. Fois gras (yeah, I'm inhumane like that). Bread. Cheese. Wine. Have I mentioned the wine? (Need I go on?)

- My apartment. Granted, I won't be moving in until late October, but that won't stop me from being excited. I can't wait to be there! It looks soooooo cute!

As you can tell, I am really looking forward to going back "home." I will keep you updated as the time gets closer! And if you are interested in coming to visit, please let me know! I'd love to have visitors.

Visa Application Completed!

One of the requirements for teaching abroad is getting a long-term visa. I will admit that I was pretty nervous about this, because the French Consulate is very specific about what documents they require and how everything is to be filled out. Worst of all, I had to go down to San Francisco in person to get my visa - a $300 dollar trip for what I thought would be a 15-minute meeting.

The good news is that my mother came with me, and we stayed with my great-aunt in San Jose. So we turned our trip into a mini-family reunion. That part was so much fun. I am so glad that we went and visited her.

As for the meeting at the French Consulate in SF, it went well, too. I thought I would be the only one with an 11 am meeting, but no...there were about five of us. That meant that I got to wait in line for almost a half an hour before anyone would see me. I had way more paperwork than I needed, but I had it all organized, so I was able to give them just what they needed. My application was approved faster than everyone else's in line (thanks to my obsessive double-checking of required documents!!), and all I had to do was wait. And wait. And wait.

Over an hour later, my passport was returned to me with my visa in it. Yay! They say that this is valid for three months after I enter France, but in a way, it'll only last me one month, as I'll need to apply for a carte de séjour during my first week in France. That won't be easy, since I'll be in Paris for the first four or five days of my stay. But it'll get done. I know it will.

In the meantime, the countdown begins: I leave one month from today!

Making Time for Vacations

I haven't arrived in France, and already I am planning vacations. My last "brown package" (as my mother calls them) from the Fulbright had my official, stamped contract from the Ministère de l'Education Nationale de Montpellier. In it, I learned that my lycée was part of Zone A for vacations. (France, you may know, is split into three "zones" and are on completely different vacation schedules; this works out quite well) So, here are my vacation times (if you'd like to come visit):

Vacances de Toussaint: Saturday, October 25 - Thursday, November 6
Vacances de Noel: Saturday, December 23 - Monday, January 5
Vacances d'Hiver: Saturday, February 7 - Monday, February 23
Vacances de Printemps: Saturday, April 4 - Monday, April 20

Yes, the French really know how to vacation!! So, here are some ideas for trips that I am thinking of already:

Trip Idea #1: Basque Country
- Toulouse – Lourdes – Pau – Biarritz – Bayonne

Trip Idea #2: Absolute Mediterranean Paradise
- Aix-en-Provence – St. Tropez – Nice – Corsica

Trip Idea #3: Going North
- Paris – Brussels – Bruges – Luxembourg

Trip Idea #4: Return to the Familiar
- Bordeaux – Poitiers – Futuroscope – La Rochelle – Ile de Re

Other places I'd like to visit:

Eastern France: Colmar, Dijon, Lyon, Grenoble

Outside of France (to the South and East): Andorra, Barcelona, Florence and Venice, Corsica, Greek Isles

Outside of France (to the North and East): Brussels and Bruges, Luxembourg, Switzerland, London (by Eurostar)


We'll see how many of these trips actually happen. Until then, I will have fun daydreaming!

So Much Uncertainty

Right now, I feel very vulnerable about everything that relates to the Fulbright. There is still so much unknown, and I keep waiting to hear from somebody -- anybody! -- about what I do next. I remember before I went to Poitiers, I got so many handouts and how-tos and whatnot about every step of the process in getting to France.

Step One: Walk to the Post Office.
Step Two: Pick up a Passport application (if you do not know where it is, ask someone).
Step Three: Fill out Passport application.
Step Four: Send Passport application.

At least, that's what it felt like. Now, I have a feeling I will be on my own. It is MY responsibility to contact the French Embassy and find out what immunizations or medical examinations I need before leaving the country. It is MY responsibility to find out when Visa applications are due. And it is MY responsibility to set up a French bank account. Thankfully, I've done all these before...then again, that was almost five years ago. I've forgotten what I did to get my Visa, and I'm pretty sure I remember signing my life away to Crédit Agricole when I signed up for a checking account.

But the French Embassy? They aren't listed in the Corvallis Yellow Pages. Sure, I've called them before, but I was calling one specific person for one specific purpose (that purpose being returning her phone call). Now I don't know who to call! "Oui, bonjour. Is there, ummm...any medical tests I need to take before going to France?...Who do I talk to, then?...Oh, I need to call THAT number?...Got it." (*insert embarrassed look here*)

I like to be prepared about everything, and right now I just feel so unprepared that it's unnerving. I still have plenty of time to get everything done, but...I just want to know what I should be thinking about doing?

Is that really so much to ask?

Apartment (Not) For Rent

I don't know if it's too early to be looking for a place to live in Perpignan, but I simply cannot help myself. My list of Google searches is littered with bilingual phrases, like "apartments for rent in Perpignan," "louer une chambre perpignan," and "apartment rent perpignan -holiday -vacation." Apparently, to "rent an apartment" in British English is akin to finding a vacation rental for the summer. I don't want that.

I did find one place that, despite being a vacation rental, can also be rented out long-term. It's right in the center of town, nicely furnished, and has a terrace. I talked to the propriétaire (the landlord), and they would be willing to give me a discounted price for the 7 months that I would be there: intead of paying 4 weeks of rent per month, they would give me the 4th week for free. How very nice! But still, it would be 950 euros (almost $1,500 -- yikes!!) month. Granted, the Fulbright Commission would take care of most of that, but I don't want to blow my whole paycheck on my apartment! So I'll keep looking. Still, I thought I would include the link here, just so you could see (I'm looking at the "top floor" apartment):

http://myperpignan.com/Perpignan-accommodation.html

The thing is, I'm in love with the kitchen. But is the kitchen worth 950 euros a month??

Health Center To-Do List

When I got the letter announcing that I had won the Fulbright, I was also sent a lengthy medical form to fill out within three weeks. Not thinking that I had a problem with the deadline, I waited a few days and then scheduled my appointment. Yesterday I met with a clinician on campus to talk about all the tests that had to be done in order for my paperwork to be sent in.

Then the lights went out.

That's right -- all the electricity on campus went out, and I wasn't able to get any of my tests done, except for a TB skin test. But the bad news is that one of my tests takes a bit longer than the rest for the results to come back. So I made a quick phone call to the French Embassy in Washington, D.C., and got the deadline for my medical results extended. Yay!

I remember having a bunch of tests before my last trip to France, but not nearly this many! I suppose that most of these examinations are for those who are going to malarial areas and places in the middle of nowhere.

Still, one thing is for sure: Fulbrighters must be pretty darn healthy!

Catalan For Beginners

For the past few days, I have been googling Perpignan like mad. Maps, Google Earth, tourist websites, school websites -- I've pretty much seen them all. And one thing I have found is this: Perpignan is a bilingual city, speaking both French and Catalan. In fact, many of the students at the high school where I will teach speak Catalan.

This means that I get to learn a new language! Only this time, I am on my own. So, on Saturday I went up to Powell's and bought myself a "Teach Yourself Catalan" guide -- complete with a 2-disk CD set and a how-to book. So I'm learning. Only I'm limited to the basic conversation skills that remind me of my first year of high school. "Hola, bon dia! Com va? Bé, gràcies" and "Jo sóc la Sarah. Com es diu?"

For many people, I assume, it would seem like a hassle to have to learn a new language over a summer -- but for me, I am stoked! How fun will it be to come back to the States and say, "yeah, I'm fluent in both French and Catalan..." Nice.

The region of Catalonia itself (just FYI) extends from just south of Barcelona to just north of Perpignan, and is isolated along the coastline. It's apparently a beautiful area (the Spanish man I ran into at Powell's told me so). You just can't beat mountains and blue waters side by side. I cannot wait to go!