Tout va bien!

I know, I know, I'm terribly overdue for a blog entry. My apologies for the silence, I'll make sure this post makes up for the lost time! But where to begin...

Two weeks ago I began teaching in the high school. So far I have 10 classes total that I teach - the students range in age from 15 to 27, and have a similarly enormous range of English skills! The past two weeks, I played introductory games to make my students feel more at ease speaking with me, and also showed them a photograph of my house back in Charlotte, which led into a discussion of the role of housing in the American dream. You know I can't keep sociology out of it! I think the students found it interesting - as did I! It was funny to hear what they found interesting about my house: the mailbox, the long driveway, the big yard, the American flag on the corner. Most of my students - and most people in France, especially Paris - live in small apartments in town. Very different from the suburban America that I grew up in, to say the least.

I've now had two different orientation sessions for my master's program at l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales. At both meetings, I felt so reassured that I've made the right choice pursuing my masters at l'EHESS. The school, its history, the professors and researchers, the other students are all my kind of people - intellectually curious, eager to do research, pushing the boundaries of current knowledge, challenging everything taken for granted. I think it's going to be a great bridge between Wesleyan and my doctoral studies (wherever those will be...!). My courses (which mostly consist of small research seminars - an anomaly in France!) begin next week and I am SO excited about this. I'm really hungry for some intellectual challenges, and I can't wait to learn sociology from the French perspective.

Finally, it is with much relief that I can officially say that I have found housing! Yesterday I responded to a small announcement I found on a bulletin board at school for a room in a woman's apartment. I called and she immediately invited me over. We both clicked and so I will be moving in next week. This is an immense load off my shoulders, because I have spent a lot of time, money, energy, and stress trying to find a place. Apparently Paris is now officially the second most expensive housing market in the world, after Tokyo. The location is truly ideal, a good place in between my master's classes and the high school where I teach. It's on the tenth floor, so I have a magnificent view of Paris from my room - and from the kitchen, I can see all of Paris, including the Eiffel Tower, Sacre Coeur, and Montparnasse Tower. Not too shabby! Not to mention the price is extremely affordable, and the woman with whom I'll be living is very nice and welcoming. I can't wait to finally have a place to call home!

Welcome (back) to Paris!

I've been in Paris over ten days now, and it really feels as though I never left! As soon as I arrived, everything felt familiar and right, kind of like I was 'home' again. My flight came in very early Monday morning, and I took a long cab ride from the airport to the monastery where I am staying for the moment. With the help of two nuns, I somehow managed to carry all of my suitcases up to the third floor where my room is located. It's a pretty nice room - I have a small bedroom with a bed and desk, and a large walk-in closet plus a bathroom with a shower and toilet. There are 30 girls living at the monastery, all of them in college here in Paris. They're all French, except for one, who is Taiwanese and doesn't speak much French and who prefers to speak to me in English. It is definitely a good opportunity for me to practice my conversational French skills and to meet French people my age. We're all served breakfast and dinner together, although I am very sad to report that the food is simply awful! But since it's included in the price of the room, I have a hard time justifying buying other food when I know I can eat for free...

These past two weeks have been filled with formal and informal meetings for the other teaching assistants. Thanks to the wonders of Facebook, we've all been able to communicate with each other and there were a few outings organized amongst the assistants. The assistants are not just English-speaking Americans - they represent languages and countries from all over the world. They're really a diverse group of people in terms of age, background, origin, etc, and it's really neat that I get to hang out with such fascinating people!

Next week I begin teaching at the high school, and I also have my first class for my master's. However, much of France will be on strike beginning on Tuesday, so I'm not quite sure if the high school and/or my university will be functioning! Ah the joys of France. In the meantime, the weather here is simply beautiful and I am off to enjoy a weekend of picnicking, museuming, and general enjoyment!