One brother.

Sarlat-la-Canéda

My last little hurrah for the vacances d'avril was a trip back along the same train line to Bordeaux, where I stayed with a different Pierre and his roommate Chloé, both of whom are music students.  I arrived Friday evening and Saturday was my day trip to Sarlat-la-Canéda...which is in the region, but a bit further than I anticipated.

Sarlat was my favorite town that I visited when I came to France on our high school trip.  It was small but lively at the same time, with lots of character.  When I arrived after a long train/bus fiasco, it was maybe even better than I'd remembered.  The Saturday market was still open and I promptly got into a philosophical discussion with a vendor over saucisson noix (nut-flavored sausage).  For lunch, I tried cassoulet, a regional specialty, a delicious duck stew.

Matchbox win

The météo (weather forecast) had told me it would rain all afternoon, but I had only beautiful sunny skies.  I was able to make several trips around the town, peek inside the cathedral (which had excellent matchboxes...), and visit the garden atop the hill.  Late in the afternoon, I found a tiny side street and stopped for a coffee at a small place with an outside terrace.  I suddenly recognized whatever was playing on the radio; when evergreens and gingerbread cookies popped into mind, I realized that Christmas in April was about to happen (the culprit? "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree") and I looked around at the other customers (a couple of French families and an English couple).  Not sure who started it, but suddenly, we were all dancing to Christmas music on the terrace...in the middle of April.  In that moment, I became convinced that the three-hour trek to Sarlat was worth it.

After, I had a beautiful sunny train ride through the Dordogne region back to Bordeaux.  I spent my last rainy day visiting Sunday markets throughout town before taking the train back to la Roche.

Coming back was a bit of a blur.  Most of the other assistants had already left the city or were leaving, as we were already at the end of April.  Elyse and I had many a picnic during that final week as weather permitted before she headed back to the U.S. of A.

Grenoble

Returning to work, I was introduced to les ponts du mai : literally, the bridges of May.  I may have mentioned the French phrase faire le pont before; it basically means that if Thursday is a bank holiday, everyone bridges the gap and takes Friday off too.  This year, this happened every weekend in May, which was kind of ironic after having extended my contract.  I also had a job interview across France in Grenoble (near the Alpes) and was let off the hook one Tuesday at the lycée.  The following Tuesday, there was a huge strike in France concerning proposed middle school reform...and since most of my teachers decided to protest, I didn't have to go in.

My couple of days in the southeast were well spent.  I had my interview in Grenoble, but stayed with my friend Katie a forty-minute train ride away in Chambéry, le carrefour de l'Europe (the crossroads of Europe, with trains coming and going from Italy and Switzerland and several places in France).  Chambéry is an adorable small town with the gorgeous snowcapped Alpes looming in the distance.  We went to the Lac Bourget, the largest lake in France, and she introduced me to the regional cheese fondu specialty...even if it was 90 degrees and way too hot for it.  Side note: Alpes specialties are best enjoyed during winter ski trips.

Lac Bourget

May turned out to be a light month of work, but students continue until the beginning of July; they have about two months off for summer.  While I'm done working, I'm still in contact with my colleagues at the collège who are helping me to piece together my life situation for the summer months; we all have our fingers crossed that I'll be assigned to the same school next year!

To fill my newfound spare time, I'm discovering the not-so-fun side of being a college professor (grading 150 final exams...all essays...one hundred and fifty?!?) and also swinging by a different lycée in la Roche that didn't get an assistant because it's private and not part of the Éducation National; one of their English teachers is a friend of mine.  Her students are very spunky and snarky:

Me: "Do you have any pets?"

Student: "Yes: one brother."