Rouen , chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte, final days of work

For all who may not know, I have a mild obsession with Joan of Arc. Orleans was the first city she saved, so when I was placed there I could only attribute that to fate. I have visited many cities that thank her for liberating them (Beaugency and Blois), searched out her statues in Orleans and surrounding towns, found her in various cathedrals, and read anything I can put my hands on about her. Thus, it was only proper to visit the city where she was burned at the stake at only the age of 19. Rouen is in Normandy, about a three hour trip from Orleans along the Seine river. It was a large town, equip with its own metro, but we had only one thing in mind – find Joan. The Cathedral is huge but overlooks a cute square. There is a Joan of Arc church that is very modern, but cool nonetheless. A museum is hidden inside of a gift shop and takes you through her life with wax figures enacting important moments. There is a tower with Joan memorabilia on the second floor and a giant cross marks where she was killed. Her heart didn’t burn, so they threw it and her ashes into the Seine. It was really cool to see all the Joan stuff, but a little devastating considering most of the pictures/statues were of her burning at the stake, certainly not her most glorified moment. Nonetheless, it was a cool trip to make.

The week of April 14 – April 18 marked my last days of school. It was a bit odd saying goodbyes. My colleagues at Checy threw a party for me and gave me some really nice gifts. But what struck me the most was when my favorite 4eme class gave me a giant card that they had all signed, a French flag, and a class photograph. It was really nice to feel appreciated.

The weekend after my last days, I went to a chateau with Sandrine. It was about 1.5 hour drive, to the outskirts of Paris. Vaux-le-Vicomte was actually the inspiration for Versailles and was built by a croonie of Louis the sun king. Foucault got on Louis’s bad side, though, and got banished. His mascot was a squirrel. The Chateau was really nice, complete with decorated stables and beautiful gardens. After walking around the chateau we went to Barbizon, a little town that was the inspiration for art by Millet. We found the woods and had a picnic before taking a lovely promenade in the forest. It was a really nice experience and I will always appreciate Sandrine looking out for me, making sure I have as many cultural experiences as possible here.

I moved out of my apartment in Orleans. I moved all my stuff to a friend’s house while I travel around. I am heading to London, Oslo and Turkey to visit people, and I am really excited. I get back right in the middle of the Joan of Arc festival, and then head to Lacanau to enjoy (watching) surfing and the beach. My vacation has officially started!!

Brussels and Futuroscope

Bruxelles



The 20th of March I hopped a train to Brussels, Belgium to visit my friend Katie who is teaching at the International School there. Brussels is only one hour from Paris, but it was quite different from being in France. For one, all of the signs are reauired to be in both French and Flemish. Flemish is a Germanic language, thus a cousin to English and a lot of the words were pretty close. I am interested in learning what the teaching curriculum is like in Belgium, do all students learn both languages?
Saturday, Katie had a conference to attend, so I hung out with Molly, another visiting American, and we explored the city center. There is a big square, the grand place, with beautiful buildings with ornate decorations. In the square there is also a chocolate museum, with of course free samples. We walked through a local craft market and an antique market, before finding an outdoor cafe to bask in the winter sun. Difference number 2: the Belgians don't give you free tap water like in France, but they do give you butter with your bread.
After sampling Belgian beers, we headed out for a night on the town to celebrate Katie's roommate's birthday. After eating Greek food, we found the overrated Mannequin Pis, and went to a bar called Delirium. We also ate the most delicious waffle I have ever had in my entire life. After absinthe and comedy at the bar, we went dancing and got back to Katie's around 2am.
Sunday was a lazy, but still beautiful winter day. We hung out in a park, people watching, before I got my train back to Paris.

From the short duration of my time there, Brussels seems like an interesting, and diverse capital. But the most intriguing aspect was not the city itself, but the Americans I met that lived there. None of them spoke French beyond the basics, which amazed me, considering that they have lived there for as long as I have. It's easy to get around just speaking English, and when your friends speak English, and you work/teach in English, it's easy to get insular and only use English. It just really surprised me.


Futuroscope



I have been to many a theme park in my day, but never something like this one. Three hours away, near Poitiers, is Futuroscope, an indoor theme park with a futuristic theme. I visited the park with Tiphaine, a friend from the IUFM, and her two sisters and we had a blast. I have never watched so many IMAX movies in one day. There were films that you watched while your seat moved under you, like a simulated car chase. Another moving one was a tour of the region where we were, complete with a creepy tree-elf tour guide that sneezed on you (water blown on you from somewhere). There was a round theater teaching you about the galaxies, another where the screen continued under your feet, thus giving you two intense images, one that led you down the blue nile, and another that showed you the world of dinosaurs. The length of the films was from 5 minutes to 40 and some were 3D. The best, though, wasn't a film at all. It was an interactive simulation of blindness. We were led into a completely dark room filled with sounds, smells, and objects and were supposed to find our way through. Before entering, there were multiple signs saying that it was IMPERATIVE to understand French fluently for your safety. I was a little nervous, but it turns out that it wasn't too bad. The guide directed us through the "rainforest", where we touched plants, heard birds, rode on a "boat." Then he lead us into a crowded street that was very loud and I started getting a little nervous, even though I knew it wasn't real, because I couldn't hear him and he separated everyone from the group, so we were all just staggering around, running into cars, people, dogs, street signs, etc. Finally, he brought us back together to cross the street and go to the beach. You had to pay extra for this activity, but the money went to help people who were blind or partially blind and the experience itself was certainly worth it. As Tiphaine said in her note upon leaving the simulation "not to make a pun or anything, but this experience was certainly eye opening."