I made it! I guess that's kindof a "duh" thing, but I really was having nightmares about suicidal pilots and hearing about planes crashing around the globe (a Russian hockey team and a tourist plane by Everest). Not to mention all the other things that could've gone wrong in the airport or on the way to it or from it. Anyway, the point is that I'm safe and sound in my new French home. Here's the story:
The last couple of days in the US really dragged on. 98 degrees, I mean percent, of my friends were gone, and the closer I got to leaving the more I wanted to stay. My last day was mom's birthday, and we went out to Red Robin (yumm). I got the most American thing I could think of - a Whiskey River BBQ Burger. After I got home I went to Rebekah's for a while to say bye. Saying goodbye to friends and family has been the worst part of this journey thus far, next to the limited communication with my host family. Working on that...
I had to wake up and say bye to the siblings before they left for school on Monday, which meant getting up at 7. Then I took a 3 hour nap and got up for my final preparations. Finally, mom and dad drove me to the airport in Pasco. One of my bags was overweight by 6 pounds, so I had to take out some shoes. Then, the lady didn't know if I was riding Comfort or Economy class, so she just assumed Comfort and didn't charge me for the extra bag, which would've cost an arm and a leg but I was already willing to pay it. So that was awesome.
I said bye to mom and dad in front of security. Big mistake. The security girl knows I'm a crybaby now. That would be mom's fault for crying first! But then I went through no problem and sat down at one of the 4 gates.
The first flight went smoothly, I had my own bench and I was in Seattle within an hour, where I had a 3 hour layover. That was where I realized I had left my phone charger at home. Of all the things. I HAD to leave something behind, everybody does. I just wish it was just about anything else. I only say that because guess how much a phone charger is in SeaTac? If you guessed $65 you were exactly correct and you deserve one of my mom's cookies. I was appalled. SIXTY FIVE DOLLARS. I could've gotten a way cheaper one when I got here but I just wasn't sure how close the nearest cell phone store is (turns out it's only a 5 minute drive away) and I didn't know if I would need my phone to call my host mom once I got into Lyon. Obviously I'm still upset. Who wouldn't be? Rich people. That's who.
In the airport I sat next to some twenty-some-year old guy who was going to Berlin to look for a job and who had only been studying German for a month and a half. I commend his bravery. I'm having a hard time with six years worth of French!
On the plane I was placed next to a 23 year old Norwegian was being sent back home because his school, Green River, wouldn't accept his credits from Norway. He said it was Norway's fault though, so he's not mad at us. It sucks though because he was planning on staying in the US for the next three years and he had only been there for a month. His English was solid. His secret? Hollywood. They have subtitles in Norway instead of dubbed shows, so I guess that really helps. Good to know! We didn't talk for super long; the plane wasn't full so he got up and found his own bench. Which left me with my own, which was great! I was able to sleep for maybe an hour or two during that flight. I watched Kung Fu Panda 2 and can't really remember what else occupied that 10 hour flight. I know I spent a good amount of time looking out the window. Watching the sun rise at 35,000 feet is pretty incredible when you're flying over a sea of rolling clouds. It was beautiful, but impossible to catch the fullness with my camera. The in-flight meal was pretty tasty, and there was a lighter snack towards the end. Not quite what I had flying United two years ago, but it was good.
I landed in Frankfurt and went off to look for my last flight into Lyon. I found out that it was in Gate B, but that was all the board said. No gate number. I happened to overhear some French guys walking by me so I asked them if they knew anything, and one guy said I just had to wait for it to show up. So I did, and it did. I found my gate and sat down for a few minutes before we boarded. It was another quick trip, just a little longer than from Pasco to Seattle. The view was awesome. Europe's layout of land is so much different than the United States. I tried to get some pictures, but you just have to see it for yourself. They served this soft, twisty pretzel that was cut in half (hotdog style) and had a garlic butter spread in between, it was delicious.
After being pounded with German since Seattle, I was very thankful to finally hear nothing but French when I landed in Lyon. I was super nervous to meet Isabelle and Anouk. I had no idea what I would say or what they looked like or what they would say or if I would understand them or if they would understand me or if my accent would be ok or if my luggage would fit in their car or if I looked or sounded super American or if I smelled bad or if they smelled bad or a lot of other things. Needless to say, my head was spinning.
I got off the plane, got all my luggage, and carted it out to the entrance to the airport where about a million people were waiting for the arriving passengers. I kept my eyes peeled for a tall blond woman and her tall daughter because those were the only descriptions that I had, but didn't see anyone. There was a short blond woman with a sign that had "Glayman" written on it, and in my confusion I misread it for "Garland" and asked if she was Isabelle. She wasn't. Maybe ten minutes later I was standing there waiting for someone to show up, when they did! At first sight of them, all my worries were forgotten. They looked and smelled totally normal. After an awkward exchange of la bise (only awkward because I didn't know what side to go to first and there was a couple hesitant movements towards to same side), we walked and talked and pushed my bags to their car, and it was just really fun.
Isabelle is actually really funny, and so is Anouk. I wish I understood everything they said though. That's been kindof hard. Most of the time Isabelle says something I just nod or say "ok," unless it's something important that we're talking about and I don't understand I'll say "comment?" or "j'ai pas compris." We had a little talk about that over dinner last night, I said I would probably say a lot of things that don't make sense, so they should tell me to repeat it, and they said if they said anything I didn't understand to repeat that, so at least we all know I'm just an idiot haha. I'm learning though, and by the end of the month I'm hoping I'll be pretty much good to go. I can't wait to see how much improvement I'll have gone through by the end of the year!
Their house is great, with a very open living room connected to the kitchen. They have a nice flatscreen TV with cable, a Wii, and a nice PC and WiFi. I was really worried they wouldn't have that, but things just keep working out in my favor! Then there's like two stairs that go down to my room, which is sweet! It has a vaulted ceiling and a second floor with a desk and a big bookshelf. I also have my own bathroom with a sink, toilet, and shower. Awesome. Except for the scary looking, translucent spiders with gangly legs and small bodies living in the corners. I'll take care of them eventually, but maybe we can be friends. We'll see. There's also a big sofa and there's even an out of tune piano in the room. There's a sliding glass door that goes outside that has automatic blinds that shut with the push of a button. My bed is also super comfortable, even if it's not very big.
I had an authentic French experience this morning when I was woken up by not one, but TWO different roosters right outside my window. At 7:30 in the morning. Pretty sure I can look forward to that for the rest of the year. Today Isabelle took me on a little tour of Annonay, which is beautiful to look at from far away because it's tucked on a hill. The surrounding area is also very pretty and very green. I live pretty close to the schools I'm working at. Did I mention that? Schools? Plural? Even though my work paper I got from France says I'm only assigned to work in one school, Isabelle says I'm working in 3. Little urked about that. Not really much I can do about that though. C'est la vie! So I also live just two and a half miles (4 km) from the city center and only a mile from a mall. If you know anything about
French malls, which I'm pretty sure you don't, then you would know that they're also a grocery store. It's actually really cool.
Cats. They have two cats. I'm allergic to cats...so far it hasn't been so bad though. Granted, it's only been a day. I just kick them out of my room and hope they didn't try to make a nest in my blanket. They also have a guinea pig that's five years old and doesn't eat and a rabbit without a name (they just call it 'lapin' which means rabbit).
That's pretty been the last two days. Super eventful, which is why this post is so dang long. I need to eat and take a power nap before we go to the post office to photocopy and send off my immigration papers.
Travelin' Man is hungired (hungry+tired).
Today I had the place to myself for most of the day. I needed to take a little parcel to the post office, but I decided I should stall and play guitar for a while. Basically I was just nervous about needing to communicate with someone by myself so I kept putting if off until I put on my big boy shorts and grabbed my camera and headed out! Isabelle had given me directions the day before, but I double checked myself with google maps before i left. It was only like a 10 minute walk, tops. I got some pretty decent pictures of the church that is just around the corner, and then I went to face my fears.
I didn't know her name, but the poor lady who helped me at the post office must have thought I was mentally challenged. She didn't ask if I was from the U.S. or anything, but she asked me about something about needing something on the computer and I had no idea so I just said "non," but when she gave me an inquisitive look I changed my answer to "oui." That one worked. Then, since the French credit cards only have a chip that they scan, I couldn't pay with my debit card and I haven't exchanged any my cash for Euros yet, so she was telling me to go withdraw money from the ATM outside, but it didn't register until after I asked her to repeat herself like three times. Finally I went out and took out some money so she could get rid of me. She was very nice.
