Oh the joys of small towns in France

If last year the occasional lack of internet made me depressed, hmmm I wonder what the total lack of internet will do. The school where I'm living is under construction. While they were doing work on my side of the building they took out the wifi system and they haven't re-installed it. This will be fixed "soon" apparently. I don't have much faith in them. I told them my birthday is next week and I would like a way to talk to my family by then. I'm not sure if there is really any way to make them hurry up and just do it already.

I have a TV in my room that gets 3 channels...occasionally. It's mostly soap operas though. When I got there the shower was broken and the toilet was leaking. Luckily they fixed these things pretty quickly. There are only 2 language assistants at this school. Me and the Spanish assistant from Mexico. The school put me on the 4th floor...and the other assistant on the 2nd floor. I'm not sure why they separated us.

I found a yarn shop and I started knitting a scarf to pass the time. My classes don't start until Tuesday next week. Then...I bought groceries so I could make dinner in my room instead of eating constantly in the cafeteria. I bought a knife and cutting board because I didn't have one. The store had put the bar code sticker on the blade. While I was trying to wash it off I accidentally cut my left thumb. Blood everywhere...and I went to the hospital. Luckily it wasn't a big cut...it just bled a lot. The doctor put some steri strips on it...the french equivalent of butterfly bandages. It's doing ok now. Just a bit annoying. It's hard to button things, type, wash things. I'm not supposed to get it wet.

In Figeac not many people speak English. My brain has been in French mode for weeks. It feels weird to be writing in English. My head is still thinking in French sentence structures and vocab. This didn't really happen the last time I was in France because I was with all Americans or people that spoke English because they were foreigners. People in Figeac don't recognize my accent as "American" straight off....they have to ask. I've been asked multiple times if I'm French, and what part of France I come from. And then when I say I'm American...apparently I don't understand enough French to talk to them and they get nervous. There are a lot of tourists in Figeac during the summer because it is a medieval town built on the old trade routes and all of the buildings were built in the 12 and 13th centuries. Also, Champollion, the person who first learned to read/translate hieroglyphics using the Rosetta stone lived here. But now the tourist season is over, and Americans are hard to come by I guess.

Well...I'm going to get back to not doing much at all. Maybe I'll look up some activities to do with my classes on Tuesday. Wish me luck!

-Shannon

I'm back in France!

Salut tout le monde!

I'm in France again on yet another adventure. I'm sorry I haven't posted anything about this before hand, but if you have talked to me at all recently, I left the beginning of September to go to Figeac, France to be a teacher's assistant for an English class. I'll be here until next summer, so if I didn't have a chance to see you before I left I'm sorry...the last week was sort of hectic.

At the moment I'm in Toulouse exploring, next week I'll be in Aix en Provence to visit the place I miss very very much, and then to Figeac I go.

I hope I like Figeac. It's a very small town, so it will take some getting used to. There is one grocery store in town, and it's one of those small grocery stores that don't have much in them. The plus side is that I will have a free room when I arrive in Figeac, along with free internet.

I'll be posting pictures of my adventures in Toulouse eventually...I'm going to wait till I leave to go to Aix so that I can post all of the toulouse pics in one enty. I hope you all are having a great start to the school year if you're still in school....and I miss you all!

-Shannon

PS: If anyone wants me to send them a postcard, let me know and send me your address :)

Mon sejour a fini :(

Bonjour tout le monde!

Well, I'm back in the states...I got back Tuesday night, and I miss France already.

Kentucky is a bit boring, and I miss my friends. I did get to go to the movies yesterday with Keebee...that made me happy.

I think this will be my last post, but I do have some pictures I can post, and I may post them later.

I can't believe it's all over....

Hey! Sorry about not posting in so long :)

Bonjour tout le monde!

Je suis vraiment desolée que je n'ai pas écrit il y a longtemps.

I'm really sorry I haven't written in so long. I've been pretty busy, and I haven't found time to write. I've been having a great time. I've had a lot of new and interesting experiences. Just last weekend I got back from my spring break with my parents in Italy. I will be posting the pictures right after I finish writing this.

As my time left here grows shorter and shorter, I find myself wishing I could stay here longer, but I know I have to go back home soon. France has really grown on me, and not only that, I now have a boyfriend here in France. I know it was a stupid idea to start a relationship only 5 months before I had to go home, but I did it anyways, and it's been one of the best experiences in my life. I don't know if we'll be together after I return to the states, I will just have to wait and see, and live life one day at a time.

Right now I'm in the middle of my final exams. I'm also in the middle of trying to find a job in France for my last month and a half here. Right now I think I will be here till the end of June. This is not, of course, set in stone. I don't have my return ticket yet. I have my dorm till the end of June, so...I don't know. I really want to stay as long as I can. As the french say "Je veux profiter de mon temps que j'ai en France."

I feel that I have changed a lot while I've been over here. I am no longer the same shy girl who hid behind the college hoodies and a pony tail. But in a way I am the same, I'm still me. One can't really change all that much. As my mom said, "A tiger can't change his stripes." I will always be me, I will always be Shannon, no matter where I am, how I dress, or what language I'm speaking.

I hope to be able to return to France after I graduate. I want to teach English in France for a while. We'll see how that works out. I can't guarantee anything. I have to graduate from Bellarmine first.

My trip with my parents was amazing. Sorry I didn't explain a lot about that in this post. I just felt like reflecting. I guess I was in that kind of mood.

This probably will not be my last post. I will try to post and update you guys on how my job search in France is doing, and when I will be coming back to the states. I hope to see you all this summer before I start my classes for my senior year at the end of August. I miss you all!

Today I don't have class because it's a national holiday celebrating the end of WWII. I heard everything is closed, but my friend and I are going to try to go to the beach anyways. Who wants to waste such a beautiful day? It's 75 degrees and sunny, and I don't have exams today....I don't want to miss it!

So, all said and done, I would have to say that my experience in France was something I am really glad I had the opportunity to do. It truly was a once in a lifetime experience, and I would highly reccommend it to anyone wishing to study abroad. I have friends who didn't have as great of a time as I did. I'm not sure if it was the place I'm in, the friends I've made, or just the sunshine all year long, but I truly enjoyed this year. I wish my cousin Nolan best of luck next year. He's studying in France next year....I don't remember what city, but it's not too far from here he said.

Well, I will get going on posting all those pictures....

À bientôt!

I love and miss you all!

-Shannon