La Greve!

Only in France would I get the day off because my fellow teachers are going on strike :) Vive la France!

So Tired

I am fed up with French public transportation.

The greve (strike) of course began the day that I arrived in Lyon, and has been going ever since.

I rendez-vous'ed with about 60 other language assistants last night in Vieux Lyon, which is the one of the best preserved Rennaissance quarters in Europe (truly beautiful). After a night of much commiseration about potential near-future homelessness, I ran back to the only bus stop that connects to my current dwelling, only to find that the buses had stopped running at 7:46 p.m. It was 10:50 p.m. Ugh.

It's okay; we're in this together. Luckily, Megan (the girl I plan to live with) had spoken with another assistant about crashing at her place for the night. By 1 a.m. that morning, there were SIX of us headed back to this girl's place, ready to crash on her floor (to our surprise, we all got partial beds!). Fantastic.

Only problem? I had to be back the next morning to St. Genis Leval in order to get BACK to Lyon, to get down to Vienne, my temporary weekend-dwelling. But of course, that did not happen.

8:30 a.m. Waiting for bus 35.

10:00 a.m. Waiting for bus 35.

11:15 a.m. Waiting for bus 10.

12:05 p.m. Waiting for bus 10.

I finally make it back, after realizing I took the wrong bus 10, to St. Genis Leval, at 12:45 p.m. That's four hours of traveling, and two trains to Vienne missed. :( All is well, however, as Jackie (my current host) called ahead and scheduled to have someone pick me up on their way to Vienne later tonight, so for the moment, I can avoid the bus. Well, exhaustion has now set in and I eagerly await my potential move into the city...

La Bienvenue à Lyon

Bonjour tout le monde!

Hi everyone! Maggie here with an update on her life in Lyon, France. I arrived two days ago in a flurry of Air Canada plane flights, a TGV train trip, and too-much-luggage to be met at the Lyon Part Dieu train station by the lovely Geraldine, the Spanish language teacher at the lycée, or high school, where I'll be teaching. For the moment, I'm staying with her in her tiny appartement close to Part Dieu.

Am I experiencing culture shock? YES. Is it better than the first time I decided to live in France? YES. If you're wondering why this blog is entitled "Franglish Deux," or "Franglish Two," you can check out the original "Franglish," about my study abroad experience in Paris in 2007, at maggieinparis.blogspot.com.

So, by day two of my 7-month adventure, I've purchased my first baguette, sampled a few cheeses, and already crossed a huge length of the city on foot. But now is not the time to enjoy the charm of Lyon, unfortunately. I'm desperately searching for a place to live (which is why I traversed the entire city today--on foot, because all the buses are on strike, of course--so French!). I found a few today, one which is charming on the inside, and the other which is charming on the outside. Go figure.

I also have to open a French bank account, get a French cell phone, and (soon) get a French health check-up (just to make sure I'm not bringing chicken pox into the country, I suppose). These times are stressful, but I'm getting used to everything being different and my French is already improving.

I visited my high schools, Louis Aragon and Pablo Picasso (which are on the same campus--one's a technical school), yesterday, where I filled out some paperwork on the o-so-French 8.5 x 12 in. paper and ate some fried fish on a heap of peas and ultra sweet grapes for lunch at the "cantine"--the first meal I could officially swallow since being here.

On my walk home today (for which I stupidly wore my un-broken-in new tennies), I encountered a merry-go-round, a French-reggae band, ridiculously talented trick-rollerbladers (jealous), and a man on a motorcycle with a baby pink Hello Kitty helmet. Despite the stress, I have to admit, it's been a good day. :)

Over and out.

(Caption: A big pile of shoes.)