Pictures from Bordeaux

So early morning the first Monday of the Toussaint break, I left for lunch in Paris. Regrettably, in the one tiny stretch of the walk between chez moi and the bus stop, I did not take out my flashlight. It was at this point that I tripped on... something? Probably just my own feet. In any case, I skinned my knee (and ripped the jeans that should have been protecting me) and sprained my foot and possibly ankle. I didn't reallyyy notice this last part until I got off the bus. But being me I decided to push on (and I'm glad I did). In Paris, I had lunch with one of my all time favorite professors at a really lovely place (after literally hobbling across the street from the train station to the monoprix to pick up something to wrap my foot/ankle with).

After this, I had to decide whether to hobble on to Bordeaux or to take the next train back to Lorient. It seemed like a shame not to go to Bordeaux so on I went! I passed the train ride with a pleasant enough grandfather who explained all the different agricultures seen on the way. By asking for the name of hay bales in French I think I might have given him the impression that they don't exist in the US. Whoops. He lives in a Paris suburb now, but was raised in the Bordeaux region where he still keeps a house. And, for Toussaint, he was taking some of his grandkids to said house. I got to meet them too. Very cute. Less cute was some of the xenophobic statements that were peppered in when discussing immigration. Even more so due to the fact we were sharing the cabin with two people who were pretty clearly immigrants who spoke French. Whoops. They just continued on with their conversation and I tried to change the subject... but it came up a lot.

And then, Bordeaux. Ah, Bordeaux with three exceptionally wonderful fellow English assistants (hello! if you find your way here :) ). They were incredibly understanding of my need for less speed and more hobbling and sitting. I appreciated that immensely. Like, for reals, y'all were the best. Also, we got Thai food for dinner that was actually legit. What's not to love about that?

So my time in Bordeaux was very lovely, if a little drizzly. It didn't transform me into a connaisseuse of wine, but ehhh, I enjoyed what I had:

At a wine museum, interesting stuff. It was followed by a tasting (dégustation) that was slightly less than impressive. On the other hand, we accidentally made the anglophone worker there speak to us in French the whole time.... It was a little awkard on both sides.

Impressive wine barrel

!

Hello, welcome to Bordeaux, look at our impressive array of wine. Next stop, Bordrunk. (I kid, I kid, even though some of us have very low tolerances.)

The Hôtel de Ville, note the rain

Bordeaux at night, a really lovely contrast between sky and shopping. I bet they do gorgeous things with Christmas lights too.

Bisous (more to come, I promise, Dr. LesMis)

MCJ

Oh hey didn't see you there

Today I bring to you a random assortment of thoughts:

1. Just about everything is cheaper for students/young people/people with small salaries. This includes everything from lunches for faculty to Breton lessons. When I arrived for my first Breton class (a group class) the teacher was like oh well... since you are a student (I'm not...), we will something out for you. Well, okay.... Pas mal.
2. Speaking of my Breton lessons, I love them. I've only had one so far, but the group is super amusing and even if I don't learn to speak Breton I'm going to have an excellent time linguistics-nerding-it-up.
3. I love French kids. Aside from half of one class (out of 30 classes at the middle school... so I won't see them often), the students are really lovely and wonderful. They're inquisitive and excited to meet a foreigner. They don't always like to speak English (they can be really shy about it), but sometimes they surprise me with their enthusiasm.
4. The primary school students... oh my goodness... they are so precious. Now that they all recognize me when I come into the school courtyard, a crowd of ten to twenty will run up and start asking me questions. Or just staring at me. I've gotten very used to being stared at. One little girl (a 6 year old, so she hasn't started English yet/won't have me in class) ran up to me today and asked if I was the one she saw at Leclerc yesterday. Well, little girl, I don't know what to tell you. I was at Leclerc yesterday, so maybe yes. Girl: huh? Me: It could have been me. I didn't see you, but maybe it was me. Girl: huh? Me: ... it was me. Girl: yayyyyyy! (runs off to friends)
5. The elem kids LOVE language games. I will describe some of them in an upcoming post.
6. When I mess up in French life, I don't mind too much because they lead me to Unique Speaking Opportunities (which I will now call USOs). Thus far, these have included a really nice chat with a taxi driver when I missed the last bus back to Quéven, asking a stranger about getting a taxi, talking on the phone with all sorts of people about bureaucratic paper-y French business. I like USOs. Because of USOs, I now say oui to surveys and don't get upset when I do stupid stuff like miss the bus because it came a minute early and wasn't marked the normal way. Who cares, I got back earlier than the bus anyway.
7. I now have a Tabac where the people know me, but no boulangerie. There are two and they seem to alternate being open late afternoons. As such, I have not succeeded in claiming one as my own and I feel super guilty for cheating on both of them. I'm sorry boulangeries, I've tried.

Okay, that's all for now. France is awesome, as always. I've finally met the other language assistants in the department and they're wonderful. I'm sure you'll hear more about them soon.

Bisous

MCJ