COW FEST WHAT?

Well, I'm starting to feel all settled in here in the Haute Savoie. Lauren arrived last Thursday night and since then we've moved into our new apartment. We had been living in another apt in the same building but for some reason unbeknownst to me, we had to move into the apartment on the next floor up. We spent all day moving all of our furniture (which wasn't much but still quite a hassle) upstairs to the 2nd etage.

Anywho, it has been a good past couple of days. Friday Lauren and I explored St. Julien together and hopped over to Annemasse for the afternoon just to check it out and look for a used bike to buy. We decided that we were very happy to be living in quaint St. Julien as opposed to the rather grungy Annemasse. We didn't really get to do much bike searching as we had to make it back to town to do dinner with some friends. Our neighbors just so happen to be two French girls who are English teachers at my middle school and are great fun. We ate with them and one of their friends Friday night and then woke up early Saturday morning for the famous Retour de l'Alpinage Festival in beautiful Annecy. Annecy is probably one of the prettiest cities in all of Europe. There are canals that go through the old town and a huge lake surrounded by mountains right smack in the middle of town. It's really incredibly beautiful. The festival was celebrated the traditional Savoie region food and traditions but mostly the cows coming down the mountain for winter. There was a rather bizarre yet entertaining parade full of cows and horses.

Life so far in the Haute Savoie

It's hard to believe I've only been in France for a week.. so much has happened since I first stepped foot into Geneva last Tuesday. It has already been a great time over here and already I've gotten to know many amazing people. After a long flight from DC, I arrived to Geneva last Tuesday. Kindly enough, one of the English teachers from the middle school picked me up and brought me to my new apartment. I was pleasantly surprised by the size and condition of the apartment! Much better than my apartment in Toulon, and cheaper too! The apartment is not furnished but teachers from the school are super nice and have donated some chairs and beds and tables and such. We've got the important things but its still a work in progress. Lauren and I will be sharing the apartment with two other roomates, Chris from England and Raquel from Spain. They are both really cool and Im looking forward to hanging out with them and getting to know them more.

Since I've been here, I have met alot of teachers from my schools and have already observed some classes. I found out that I will be spending most of my time teaching at the two middle schools and only 3 hours at the high school. It will be really fun working with middle school kids for the first time and of course Im looking forward to being at the high school as well. Everyone I work with is so nice and coincidentally, most of the english teachers are really young!

This past weekend Chris and I went to Autrans, a mountain village just outside of Grenoble, where we had our 'assistantship training'. On the way there we had to change trains in a town called Bellegarde. We had about two hours to kill there and well we really lucked out because it just so happened to be market day in Bellegarde! We meandered around the streets while listening to really cheezy french music that played on the loudspeakers all over town. It was hilarious and great fun. We finally made it to Grenoble, endured a terribly boring and useless 3 hour lecture, and then hopped in the bus with 200 other assistants and headed to Autrans. It was really great meeting lots of them and getting to know the ones that will be in nearby towns. The training itself was pointless and a waste of time but I guess you could say it was a perfect introduction to living in France.... nothing ever gets done. But, you gotta love it...c'est la vie...francaise! In any case, The mountains were beautiful and I met some really great people.

The weather here has been amazing and really warm. St. Julien-en-Genevois (where I live and work) is such a cute town and is just minutes from Geneva. The other day I decided to go for a walk and 2 minutes after I had left my apartment, I found myself walking past the Swiss customs officer! Crazy huh?! St. Julien is a town that sits between two big moutains (cant remember their names) and it overlooks acres of vineyards and farmland as well as the city of Geneva. On Sunday, I decided to walk 8 kilometers to Geneva and an hour and a half later, I arrived. What a great city! I ended up stumbling upon a tiny bike rental "shop" where you can borrow bikes for free- you just have to give them your passport and a 20 franc deposit and your good to go. I rode all around town, through some parks and around the lake some. It was so beautiful and such a blast. The old town and all the parks are so charming and the lake is really beautiful. I ended up walking back home to my apartment in St. Julien, took some pics along the way and made it home just before dark. What a great day.

This week I am observing classes and trying to get all my paperwork turned in and set up my internet, bank account, visa stuff, blee blah blib. Everything here takes soooo long and is such a process but I know that patience is a virtue and I guess a lesson that God has been trying to teach me for a while now. This is definitely the place to learn patience, no doubt.

Lauren arrives on Thursday and I am stoked!!!!! I can't wait for her to be here and I cant wait to see what's in store for her as she embarks on this amazing journey. I know our time here in France will be unforgettable and we will both learn so much. Until next time!