gaaaaah

so i just spent FOREVER putting photos up on facebook because i thought they'd be visible to anyone, but it turns out you do need a facebook login to see them. The good news is that everyone can now have a facebook login if you want it, so if you want to see my photos you can create a facebook account and then click the link at right.

longer post later.

love y'all

better

So i had hoped to put up a bunch of pictures today, but it's taking forever and i've already been at the internet cafe for hours so i'm going to put it off. But i did want to let y'all know that things have been much better since the last time i updated. I'm close to working out all my bureaucratic issues, and am feeling much better about my social situation. In addition, i'm very close to being done with my law school applications - today i sent completed applications to 5 schools - i have 3 more that lack bits and pieces and i need to get my last recommendation in and send those and then i'll be DONE!...and then the waiting starts :-/. But yeah, things are going well. Vanessa's in St. Denis doing training for the week, which means that i get to try and bond with our other roommates. Monday we watched Final Destination 3, which turns out to be a terrible movie in any language. Today for the second week i'm going to go to a Mourangue class. Mourangue is the local martial arts style - a lot like capoeira. The class is open to all ages, but its almost all little kids, which makes it really unintimidating. And this weekend we're heading back up into the mountains with a big group of English teachers - the plan is to do a six-hour hike on saturday, spend the night in a bed and breakfast, and probably get a bus back. I WILL remember to bring my camera!

Love y'all

trouble in paradise

I know it's been a while since I updated, but i haven't had a whole lot to report - most of the past couple of weeks have just been taken up with school, settling into the house, and trying to get things organized to apply for law school next year. But now i need to do a little bit of venting, because there are four things bothering me quite a bit right now:

1) Sexual Harassment. Since i don't have a car, i have to walk quite a bit to get to my schools. Yesterday i had to walk for 45 minutes, and the ENTIRE way i was subject to an unending series of whistles, cat-calls, and car horns. I was already not in the best mood, and it really didn't help to feel completely objectified the entire way. It drives me crazy that I'm expected to endure that kind of thing, just because i happen to be female and in a public place.

2) Discipline. I had to send a kid to the principal's office yesterday and i feel terrible about it, but the thing is, my ability to enforce discipline is really limited, both because i don't really have the vocabulary for it in French, and also because i have literally no training in classroom management. I'm not supposed to be having to deal with entire classes completely on my own, that's why i'm a teaching ASSISTANT - but this week one of the English teachers was absent all week, and they just made me take her classes by myself.

3) French Bureaucracy. On Monday i have to go all the way up to St. Denis to visit a doctor in order to get medical clearance to get my "carte de sejour" - the French Green Card. I should have had this doctor's appointment last month, but the people who are supposed to be helping with all my administrative stuff are essentially clueless. It's really frustrating.

4) Friends. I'm really lucky to have found Vanessa - we're extremely well suited and I really enjoy her company. But in the larger group of assistants i still just kinda feel insecure and like i haven't really found my place. A lot of them are really nice, but i'm finding it hard to get close to people. It makes me really appreciate the surfeit of wonderful people I was so lucky to have around me in Chicago and Dallas.

Yeah. So even though i still love it here, and am still really glad i came, it's not entirely perfect...and it would definitely be improved if people came to visit me!

Love y'all