Updated foot photo

Believe it or not, this is the healthy progression of a second-degree burn... It's gross, but I can't help but be fascinated - I've never had a boo-boo this bad before...

Today sucks; yesterday was better...

So, see the post below for my adventure today... I'm off work at least until Tuesday because of it, and possibly through all of next week (which really means until Jan. 8th, as vacation starts next weekend) - and while that may seem good, I am not meant to be paid for it, since I'm new to the French system... the principal at my school is working with me, though, and told me to just come talk to him about it again on Monday, when I can go for more than 30 seconds before bursting into tears...

Anyway, yesterday was a train day - I got up at 5 am, got on a train at 6, and didn't get home until 9 PM... I spent the morning in Paris, the afternoon in Amiens, and an hour in Lille before catching my train homeward... And to top all that off, the controlleur didn't stamp my railpass, so if I can turn a 14 into a 19 or a 29, I've got a day of free travel coming up. Not that I can even make it to the train station in Charleville at the moment, but I'm sure this burn will heal quickly.

At least, I hope so.

So, here are some pics from hier... enjoy!

Amiens Cathedral - the largest in France.


















Store window in Paris...














The head of John the Baptist, acquired in 1206

















Rimbaud (who was born in my hometown) sculpture in Paris















A sunny day in Paris... beautiful!

AAAAAIIIIEEE!!! (ouch.)

Well, I've never found myself to be extremely clumsy, but I proved myself wrong this morning, when I dropped my kettle, full of boiling water, onto my left foot. It hurt at least as much as it looks like, and on top of that, I was shuttled to the hospital in an ambulance, while trying to explain everything in French... I did learn a lot of new words, so that' s a plus, I suppose...

Bruges... and beyond

so, a few cool things about traveling alone...
- I get asked for directions all the time... guess I must look like I know where I'm going (I don't)
- I get to walk at my own speed.
- I get to choose what to see and what not to bother with...
- No one knows I'm a foreigner, since I don't walk around speaking English all day. (Bonus: I don't have to speak to anyone all day...)
- I can go to grocery stores in every neighborhood, looking for the cool unique items that can only be found there...
and, I can eat really cheap, since I only get food at grocery stores...

but, there are some down sides, too...
- no one to talk to
- no one to eat with
- no one to laugh with
- no one to hold hands with
- single hotel rooms are expensive!!
- can't really walk around much after dark; just seems foolish so far from home, and in unknown areas...

Anyway, my trip to Bruges was a combination of all of the above... I'm really glad to have gone, and look forward to going back with T. and enjoying the romantic side of the city a bit more:

Vacances de Toussaint!

Glad I thought to take a couple pics on the first day; the rest of the time in the Netherlands it was rainy and very cold. The first day was lovely, though!


For the American assistant who decided not to come; I brought you back a picture, but that's it!




We had the most beautiful weather I've ever experienced in Paris this time; tank tops in November, you've got to be kidding me!!




I love the random art everywhere in the city; this is outside one of the side entrances to the Louvre... really cool to stumble upon...

One the way to the prefecture...

Internet in my room!

Wow! finally got the NeufBox package that we've been waiting for... still no high-speed WiFi, but that should only be a week or two away... right now I've got old-school dial-up that is really slow, but at least I can finally use my laptop!!!! Woot!

So, here are some random pictures from the last few weeks...

This is the park across the street from the train station in Charleville...















This is me grinning to myself in the same park; I know, I'm a goober! This is on the way to do my final administrative task: request a residency card, or as the Frence call them, la carte de Sejour... The lady at the window was so impressed with my 'dossier' that she took care of everything really quickly... Having lived here before comes in handy sometimes...


The banks of the Meuse river, two blocks from my school/home...

Well, each pic is taking at least ten minutes at this point, so I'm afraid that's all I've got... more later...

Getting settled quite nicely...

So I got my bank account opened yesterday... it was surprisingly easy this time around... and although I don't have wi-fi here in the middle of the Ardennes, I've been able to commandeer a computer in the teacher's lounge for several hours with no complaints... Still can't get this silly computer to upload my pics, but you all know where to reach me via e-mail, and maybe I'll have better luck in a couple days...
I've also found a ton of online resources, and really won't have to come up with my own teaching ideas at all, I don't think anyway. This is good, because the students here have a really difficult time speaking in English, and all the stuff I brought from home to share is really a bit over their heads... the online stuff is divided into super-easy, easy, difficult, etc. so if nothing else it will help me to figure out what level the kids are at...
I'm getting my first cold; not a huge surprise after T's rhume... I was sure I'd be sick Monday night, after drinking out of the same water bottle, but no, it took walking around for 2 hours the other night looking for an internet cafe, sans scarf, to get me...
I'll eventually make it back out the the huge, walmart-type store here, Carrefour, though, and get some tea and other goodies... my stomach is revolting after almost 2 weeks of cheese and wine, and I need to start getting back on my balanced diet that keeps me from getting sick... Oh, but the the cheese and chocolate are so good!
This will make u all laugh: the mascot of this region (the Ardennes) is the "sanglier" or wild boar, also known as... a hog or RAZORBACK. I about fell out of my chair laughing when I figured this out...
well, I guess that's all for now... I've got classes for the next three mornings, including 4 hours on Saturday, but I think after that Anna (my almost-roommate, the other English assistant here at Lycee Chanzy) and I are heading over to Reims for a little socialization.... the teachers here have been nice, as well as most of the kids, but I'm definitely missing speaking to anyone whose accent I can understand without thinking about it... and vacation is officially 20 days away (also known as "less than 3 weeks"), so I've got some planning to do...

Finally here - God it's cold!

Hi everyone - I've finally made it here and settled in... this is the first day I've had any time to get online, and my access is still very limited, so please bear with me as I figure things out... I've got some pics that I've tried to upload, but so far I'm unable to make this computer accept my requests. It's all a bit frustrating right now, but I'm sure things will even out eventually. I am waiting on keys to the teacher's lounge so that I can have access to a computer on the weekends and after school hours...

Oh, look - I've just figured out how to load a pic! This is my desk in my dorm room - I need some more stuff for my walls, but at least I thought about what I'd want ahead of time and brought a few things with me...

Well, off to the excitement of trying to get life set up in a foreign country - time to go line up at the bank and hope I can get an account opened today...

Oh, and Sarah - sorry about the lack of menu item pics from AMS - I was only there overnight this time, and didn't even go into a coffeeshop, but I promise I'll do my best to get back up there soon and fill you in!

A weekend in the West Indies

The view from our balcony...

The famous Negril sunset...

And a quiet morning walk on Seven-Mile Beach...














Blues so blue you think it's fake even while you're there...

Jamaica!

As you can see from our pics, we didn't get far from the beach on this one...