La Roche-sur-Yon

La Roche-sur-Yon

Friday, December 18, 2015

Butterball has a hotline?

Thanksgiving is an interesting undertaking every year abroad.  The ingredients are difficult to find, foreign friends don't understand that sweet potatoes are not a dessert, and how on earth are we going to find enough dishes to put everything in?

This year, I was torn between two Thanksgiving meals happening at the same time at each of my schools.  I defaulted to my usual Thursday school, where I sat down with the cafeteria chef ahead of time to plan out the meal.  I was stunned walking into the self (cafeteria) on Thanksgiving: there were American flags and turkey decorations everywhere. They got me to wear a Stars and Stripes scarf and I helped to emcee a quiz game in the staff room (questions on the U.S., Thanksgiving, and Minnesota).  Everyone is now aware that Prince was born in Minneapolis.  Mission accomplished.

The meal itself was incredibly well done, especially considering it was made for around 400 students and staff.  Turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, and even pumpkin pie squares with fancy cranberry sauce cubes on top.  It was definitely the best pumpkin pie I've had in France, and the bravest of the students tried it.  It generated a lot of discussion in class afterwards.

On Friday night, Thanksgiving among the assistants went considerably smoothly as well.  Last year there were only two of us from the U.S. to obsess over the meal, but with a group of six this year, we divided the duties pretty well.  I had the cranberries and sweet potatoes.  The girls who had turkey duty actually found a turkey at a supermarket (the ONE I didn't know existed at this time last year).  It was small but delicious; when it was put on the table, there was a silence followed by, "...Does anyone actually know how to carve a turkey?" and thanks to a certain video made by my family last year, I was able to save the day.

All in all, there was a lot to be thankful for this year: wonderful students, colleagues, and friends; living and working in a beautiful country; and being able to Skype with my family and friends far away.

À très bientôt!

Thursday, December 10, 2015

Nouvelle ville, nouveau château

Sometimes, I get caught up being in France and in Europe in general, and forget to explore my own region.  There's one city in the Académie de Nantes that I've meant to visit many times, but my plans have always fallen through: Angers.  Early in November, I finally made it happen.  I took a train about an hour and a half north toward Paris for a day trip.


Angers is the third-largest city in my académie (after Nantes and Le Mans).  It's a comfortable size with a beautiful centre-ville and architecture similar to that of Paris and Nantes.  It has a university as well as plenty of cafés, restaurants, shopping, a cathedral, and an impressive castle.  It's the envy of all assistants in the Académie de Nantes waiting for their placement: a perfect liveable town.  After walking around to get my bearings for the first hour, I stumbled on possibly the best crêperie I've ever been to, La Crêperie du Château, on a small side street near the castle.  I stopped by the cathedral on my way.

It was a beautiful sunny day for visiting the château itself.  Inside the fortified walls, there's a huge garden and a chapel.  It was mostly built in the 13th  century; it's one of the few defensive castles built that never fell thanks to its enormous walls and seventeen towers.  You can walk on the ramparts, where there are many small gardens and a view of the city and Loire river.  But the castle's claim to fame is the Tenture d'Apocalypse (Apocalyse Tapestry), commissioned at the end of the 14th century by Duke Louis I of Anjou.  It's located in a huge dark room underground: six pieces of tapestry, two stories high, divided into fourteen story panels each, depicting the apocalypse according to John.  It's massive, very well-preserved...and recognized as the world's most important medieval tapestry.  During the16th century, the castle was home to Catherine de Medici.

After the château visit, I searched for, and found, a decent pair of boots for the upcoming rainy season.  I know it's not very interesting compared to epic medieval tapestry, but the Vendée is not the best as far as fashion goes, and I have to take advantage when I get out.  A day trip well worth it.