well, this promises be quite a post.
actually i’ve been in lyon for about a week now. i’m getting by on my decent, if broken, french and there have been small victories…getting a cell phone, buying train passes, opening a bank account, and most importantly securing an apartment. there were a few days in limbo, one of which i spent with fellow assistants at the hostel who were/are also homeless for the time being. it’s a strange sensation, not having a place to go back to or just to put all your belongings. i don’t think i’ve ever felt quite so accomplished as when i removed my luggage from the train station locker and unpacked/arranged all my stuff (with its 3-week old wrinkles and faint smell of salt).
the apartment i ended up in (the first one we looked at, in fact) is actually a student residence so it’s mostly filled with students at the university of lyon. it’s a two-room studio with a little kitchenette and a surprisingly nice view of the city (9th floor..). the location is pretty fabulous, right in front of metro and tram stops, one block from the river and a 10 minute walk from place bellecour, the central meeting spot/commercial center of the city. from there it’s only another 10 minutes to vieux lyon, the historic/touristy section, which happens to be where a lot of the bars are. handy when the metro stops running at midnight. there are also a lot of north african men who just seem to mill around the building selling things on blankets (yard sale??) during the day, so hopefully I’ll pick up some arabic along the way. i counted two arabic bookstores and two indian clothing stores. also a ton of “kebap” places and a few hookah bars.
i don’t actually start teaching until.. well, actually i don’t begin teaching in earnest until november. the area i’m working in (st. etienne, tiny little town renowned for its complete boring-ness) seems way behind the curve.. most other assistants have already begun teaching or have at least been to their schools. we have two meetings next week (where we will likely at least find out what/how many schools we’re at) followed by observations the next week, followed by a week and a half of vacation. ha! so.. no teaching until november.
in the meantime i’ve been exploring the city a bit (i got a nice tour yesterday from a french woman my roommate knows) and marveling that i get to live here. it’s really very pretty. and it has not one, but TWO rivers. which are not only charming but make it nearly impossible to get lost. if you find one, you know exactly where you are. for being a ‘big city’ lyon is actually very small. the rest of my time has been spent with other assistants at irish pubs (i know, i know). we don’t meet many french, but we have gathered a nice assortment of english, scottish, canadian and various others (polish? german?). i hear there’s another canadian who’s fluent in french and arabic…
(by the way my blogger account is still in hebrew and i can't figure out how to change it.. anyone..?)
actually i’ve been in lyon for about a week now. i’m getting by on my decent, if broken, french and there have been small victories…getting a cell phone, buying train passes, opening a bank account, and most importantly securing an apartment. there were a few days in limbo, one of which i spent with fellow assistants at the hostel who were/are also homeless for the time being. it’s a strange sensation, not having a place to go back to or just to put all your belongings. i don’t think i’ve ever felt quite so accomplished as when i removed my luggage from the train station locker and unpacked/arranged all my stuff (with its 3-week old wrinkles and faint smell of salt).
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| view from the window over my desk |
i don’t actually start teaching until.. well, actually i don’t begin teaching in earnest until november. the area i’m working in (st. etienne, tiny little town renowned for its complete boring-ness) seems way behind the curve.. most other assistants have already begun teaching or have at least been to their schools. we have two meetings next week (where we will likely at least find out what/how many schools we’re at) followed by observations the next week, followed by a week and a half of vacation. ha! so.. no teaching until november.
in the meantime i’ve been exploring the city a bit (i got a nice tour yesterday from a french woman my roommate knows) and marveling that i get to live here. it’s really very pretty. and it has not one, but TWO rivers. which are not only charming but make it nearly impossible to get lost. if you find one, you know exactly where you are. for being a ‘big city’ lyon is actually very small. the rest of my time has been spent with other assistants at irish pubs (i know, i know). we don’t meet many french, but we have gathered a nice assortment of english, scottish, canadian and various others (polish? german?). i hear there’s another canadian who’s fluent in french and arabic…
(by the way my blogger account is still in hebrew and i can't figure out how to change it.. anyone..?)
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