The past few days have been nice, albeit a little rainy around here still. Every provençal person I have talked to apologizes for this, saying "This is SO abnormal, it normally never rains here! This is the worst winter in a long time!" Seeing the pictures back in Michigan of the several feet of snow coupled along with the below freezing temperatures, I realize these people here don't know what a real winter looks like!
Monday was another normal day, though an interesting moment came when shopping at the local Camaieu. After going to the till to buy a shirt, the woman asked me if I wanted to sign up for the store card. I replied with a firm yet polite "non, merci" - per usual. This must have been not the right response, as she suddenly shot me a glare and said "you speak english??" Responding with "oui", she said "London?!?" I continued to respond to her in French though she insisted on trying to speak broken English, quite loudly mind you so all the other customers in the store were listening. When I said I was from the states, she practically screamed "OOOHHH!! The STATES!! Ahh coool!" Even the simplest transactions here sometimes make me feel like a sideshow freak.
Tuesday, with another morning class cancelled due to sickness, Amy and I enjoyed some nice sunshine (which is hard to come by these days) with a coffee and wifi break at Bar l'Aptois. After my two afternoon classes, I decided to get out around town and had a nice walk to parts of town that I have never visited. I didn't find much, as it is low season, many of the restaurants and little shops are closed for an annual holiday until February vacations. Sometimes I can walk through alley after alley without seeing a soul - both evoking feelings of peacefulness and isolation.
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| Blurred Lines... pretty sure this isn't Robin Thicke's style |
Today, was both a great day and a very hard one: today was my birthday. It is hard spending a day like this so far away from home, family and friends - you all were on my mind constantly today! Although I woke up to pouring rain outside, I bundled up and headed off to my morning classes, trying to not let the rain get me down. While swimming through the mass of students in the crowded corridor, some of them seeing me and giving their normal "Hellooooo!" greetings, I heard two of my students yell out "Happy Birthday!" I was shocked, I had no idea they knew it was my birthday today - I hadn't told any of my students about it. As you can imagine, the word spread like wildfire throughout this mass of students. So as I walked into my first class moments later, all the students told me “Happy Birthday!” one by one. As we were still waiting for the teacher to return back to the classroom, the students were talking amongst themselves and all of a sudden I heard them all sign out the strains of a very out of tune English Happy Birthday song for me. Quite embarrassed and touched, I thanked them for their thoughtfulness. The teacher came into this scene turned to me and said "Is it your birthday today? How did they know?!" I'm still not entirely sure how this piece of knowledge came into the student's hands, but walking through the school today and seeing student after student call after me with a joyful "Happy Birthday!" made being away from home much easier.
To celebrate, Amy and I decided to have a nice lunch in town, at a restaurant I have been dying to try, Chez mon cousin Alphonse. Although they have the normal standard dishes, along with provençal favorites, this restaurants claim to fame are the pizzas they make over a wood fire. I decided to get the genovèse, which included toppings such as fresh tomatoes, eggplants, pesto and ham. Then, greeted with a dessert menu just as large as the regular one, I decided to get a Coupe Alphonse, an ice cream sundae with spiced bread and caramel ice cream topped with caramel topping. After a little shopping and reading at the library, we trudged back home in the rain, where I cuddled up, caught up on some American shows, and watched Mean Girls while eating a lovely chocolate mousse pastry as my birthday cake. It was a wonderful day.
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| Delicious! |
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| Birthday Sundae |
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| French version of a birthday cake: chocolate mousse pastry |
Many of my close friends and family know that I have been thinking quite a bit about turning 24 the past few weeks, causing me to reflect on the past year of my life. I can't believe so much has happened in the past year: I finished performing my age-out season with my best friends, moved to Indiana for a long-term substitute position, stood up at my brother's wedding, was accepted into the TAPIF program, taught nearly six weeks of band camp (working with the best staff and students I could ever ask for), moved to France, traveled to seven different countries, met people from all around the world, taught English in a foreign country, continued to learn French (everyday), and gained more sense of self than I ever thought imaginable. I have learned that I am so much stronger than I ever thought I could be. Moving to a place that you have never been, knowing not one person, and using a second language that you have rarely used with native speakers is a SCARY thing. But it is also one of the most liberating decisions I have made in my life. I may have a lot of anxiety about "what I should be doing/should have done" by the age 24, but I have come to realize that it doesn't really matter - this is my journey, and I won't compare it to others.
Although this experience is not over for me, there are only 2.5 short months left of teaching and 3.5 in Europe, filled with traveling to so many new places. With my eyes set on the future, it is hard to stay in the present. But I am now realizing I must, as time continues to slip away faster every day. So here's to you, 24 - I will raise my glass and say "Santé!" May this next year of life be as rewarding and empowering as the last.
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