First Weekend in Roanne

Friday was my first full day in Roanne. I got to check my email at the high school but unfortunately they blocked Facebook. I got the TV to work in the apartment which has been nice! I watched some interesting french shows like a show about couples getting married and another about a group of random people living in a huge house in Haiti (reminded me of the show Real World in the US). Also, someone came by to change the light bulb in my room because it wasn’t working. Later in the evening, Fatima found out that we could buy wifi from Orange for a limited time so that was an awesome discovery! Kate and I went Facebook crazy once we got our internet working haha. I have also been teaching Kate some Polish which has been fun! She will be a pro by the end of the program :). Kate’s and Fatima’s roommate came today! Her name is Kim and she is from Germany. She seems really cool!

On Saturday, I spent a lot of time enjoying my internet haha. I also watched the Big Bang Theory on TV. It was all in English and I was a little surprised that it wasn’t dubbed. I got to explore Roanne today with Fatima and Kate. We also met up with an American assistant (Melissa) who came by to hang out for the day. We walked all around the town and explored the shops. We stopped by a bakery and I bought a Kinder Egg!! I couldn’t resist lol. They are too good! They remind me of my childhood :). 

My Kinder egg :) 

We took a lot of pictures of the town and we all had a lot of fun! Roanne is a really nice city! I am starting to like it a lot! I also got my french number today so I am happy to have at least one thing sorted out here! 

Being silly in Roanne

Hangin' in Roanne by a cool building

Melissa and I near a fountain

Before going to sleep, I got to Skype with my family which was nice and I also got to skype with my friends Janet and Erica! They kept me updated about the UGA game as we talked. I am happy that we won! It was an exciting game against LSU! :)

On Sunday, I went to church in the morning. It was an interesting experience. It was really warm in the church at first because the church was packed! There were a lot of people there (mostly older people as I expected) but there were also a few families. There were not that many young people (like high school/college age) but I saw a few! It was a special mass today because this church just got a new organ so I believe it was the first mass in which the organ was played. It seemed like a big deal because there were like 5-6 priests there and 8 alter servers lol. I took a picture in the middle of the mass and the French lady sitting next to me took one too after she saw me take one haha! It was cool to hear familiar prayers and songs in French! There was also a guy who was recording the mass as well as the people there so I am probably in this recording lol.

Church St Etienne in Roanne

Program from the mass which had the mass songs and was also useful as a fan to cool off haha

At church

There was a projector so you could watch the organist play

The weather today was chilly and rainy. This was the first day that it hasn’t been super hot outside so the change was nice. In the afternoon, I hung out with Kate and Kim. We had a good long chat in french for a few hours! It was great to just hang out and talk! :)

Here's the toy that was in my kinder egg! 

I hope to hear from the lady in charge soon about my teaching placement and housing! Some assistants are starting to teach this upcoming week but I am still unsure of so many things!

Still chilling in Roanne,

Magdalena

Roanne Stress!!!

This afternoon I arrived in Roanne, and I am super stressed! Caroline and I went to Roanne to the high school that I am supposed to be staying at to check in and see the apartment. It turns out that the school had no idea that I was coming... what?! I have been getting emails from a lady in charge of the assistants in my region and she had told me that everything was ready for me at this apartment like three weeks ago... so I had no idea what to do! We talked it over with the administration and they are letting me stay for a week at an apartment at the school. They won’t allow me to stay longer because they rented it out to some rugby players from New Zealand (so random lol). They are arriving sometime next week so I have to figure out where I will be living... ahhhhhh! I am so lucky that Caroline came with me to Roanne because we were able to call the lady in charge of the region to update her about my situation. She had no idea that the school didn’t have space for me and she felt really bad. She is trying to find housing for me so hopefully something will turn up...

I am really worried about the housing situation but I have to try to look at the bright side. I have a place to stay for this week, Caroline and I had a delicious lunch in Roanne, and I got to meet two other assistants (a girl from England(Kate) and a girl from Spain(Fatima)). They are both really friendly and Kate even took me to the grocery store today! It was really nice to have someone to talk to and hang out with in this new city :). 

Yummy lunch

I still don’t know where I will be working or what my hours will be... I really thought that I would know more by now but I’m hoping that everything will work out for the best! 

Wish me luck,

Magdalena

Lyon Times

So the past few days here have really flown by! On Monday, Caroline and I worked on our tans since the weather here is so nice right now. It’s really sunny and hot! We went out to dinner with one of Caroline’s friends who I had met when I visited two years ago. We each had a pizza and we ate it with a knife and fork :). Then we had dessert! I ordered some mint chocolate chip ice cream and it was really good! 

On Tuesday, Caroline’s niece was here so we played with her! She is super cute! Later in the afternoon, Caroline and I went to Lyon. I got to walk around Jean Moulin Lyon 3 which was cool! The school is so much smaller than UGA but it had a nice atmosphere! We got there right when students were on break from class because everyone was just hanging out outside. I also got to see a french friend (Tony) that I met at UGA who is studying at Lyon 3! It is always great to catch up with UGA friends! :)

Tony and I at Lyon 3

Lyon 3

Lyon

After catching up with Tony, Caroline and I walked around Lyon and I took some pictures of the city. This is my second time visiting this city and it always amazes me! Everything is just so beautiful here! After walking around, we had a drink outside and just enjoyed the fresh air. I really love all of the outdoor seating areas in France especially when the weather is so nice!

Lyon

Caroline and I

On Wednesday, Caroline and I decided to go to this american style restaurant for lunch in Vaise. We had both been craving a good burger for a while so we thought this would be a great experience. The burgers at this place were really good and really big! They came with crispy fries which were delicious as well! After the burgers, we wanted some american dessert as well. We were really hoping to try their cupcakes, but unfortunately they were out of cupcakes by the time we wanted to order them :(. I got a strawberry donut instead which was pretty good and Caroline got some cookies and cream ice cream. 

After lunch I felt extremely full... My stomach is not used to eating such big meals. Even though my tummy felt a little strange after this meal, I have nothing but good things to say about the food in France! Everything that I have had has tasted really good :)! When we got back to Caroline’s, we decided to work on our tans some more because it was still really hot outside. It felt really nice to just relax. After tanning, we had a delicious dinner, and then we watched some french TV.

Tomorrow morning I’m heading out to Roanne to move into my apartment. I have really enjoyed my stay at Caroline’s and her family has been wonderful! It’s going to be a little hard to leave here but I am excited to see where I will be living for the next seven months! I am also excited to start meeting the other teaching assistants!

Off to Roanne,

Magdalena

Airport Fun

It is Monday afternoon and I am finally settling in at my friend Caroline’s place where I will be staying for a few days before heading off to Roanne. I am really happy that I get to spend time with her and her sweet family :). The journey here has been an interesting one...

I had an overnight flight from Atlanta to London on Saturday night. I got to use the new Atlanta International Terminal for the first time tonight and it was super efficient! I got through security within minutes and soon found myself at the gate with over two hours left to spare. At first I wasn’t sure what to do with the time, but then I ended up using it to make last minute calls and texts to family and friends :). 

Fancy Chandelier at the International Terminal

                                                       

Beautiful Georgia Sunset

                                                             

After a while, I noticed that people were starting to line up at the gate so I lined up as well. I dressed comfortably for the flight in a red UGA t-shirt, shorts, and sneakers. Little did I know that this shirt would help me make my first airport friend haha. This guy in line wearing an Alabama shirt notices my UGA shirt and starts talking to me about the UGA football game. We then go on to have a conversation while in line about our Europe plans and he tells me that he quit his job so that he could go to Octoberfest! All he brought with him was a backpack for his month long time abroad. We continue to chat and as we board the plane we realize that we are in the same row of seats just one seat apart! What are the odds of that? On this same flight, I sat in the aisle seat and on my left sat a really nice older lady from South Africa. She was very talkative and told me that she was visiting her children and grandchildren who live in Atlanta. She talked to me throughout the entire flight and she was really cool. Sometimes her South African accent made it difficult for me to understand everything that she was telling me but anyways it was nice to not feel so alone while traveling :).

After I made it to London I was super tired, but I was excited because I got to meet up with a friend of mine (Ollie) who I met at UGA my sophomore year. It was great to catch up and to have a personal guide of the massive London airport. 

At Heathrow

Ollie, I, and the Reese's Puffs Cereal I brought for him from the US

After hanging with Ollie, I headed over to my next gate which would take me on a flight to Lyon. Unfortunately, this flight was delayed, but it’s alright because it was a safe and short flight. In this plane I got a window seat which allowed me to take some cool pictures!

View of Lyon

During this short flight, I sat next to a french couple who live in Lyon. I got to practice some french with them and they got to practice some english with me. I attempted to sleep on the flight and maybe got in a short 30-40 minute power nap. It has always been rather difficult for me to fall asleep while flying. It’s going to take a few days to reset myself to another time zone. 

Adjusting to French time,

Magdalena 

One day left before heading overseas

Tomorrow evening I will be boarding a plane to France! I will be a teaching assistant in primary schools in Roanne, France for 7 months starting in October. I will be teaching 6-11 year old students English. I was lucky enough to have secured housing at a high school in the center of the city. I have no idea what this apartment looks like or who I will be living with but it should be interesting!

I am super lucky to have friends from all over so I will do my best to visit as many places as I can during my stay. I hope to reconnect with international friends that I met at throughout my four years at UGA. I also hope to make many new friends while on this adventure. I will miss my family and friends in the US but luckily now there are many ways to stay in touch (skype, imessages, whatsapp..) so they won't seem so far away. :) I will try to blog frequently about my life in France and travels around Europe!

Nervous and excited for tomorrow,

Magdalena