A Few New Things

Sunday, September 27
Today the other assistants and I had planned on going to Plage Minimes but the bus out there doesn't run on Sundays. So I walked around some areas I hadn't see before in La Rochelle and I bought a sandwich and sat on the Plage de la Concurrence and read my book all afternoon. It was a beautiful sunny day as most of the days have been since I got here!

I love walking down the streets of La Rochelle

Plage de la Concurrence (this was actually taken on Saturday but I forgot to post it)

Walking around looking back at the beach

After walking around the beach I got a little lost going home and walked through a little zoo and a park. They were beautiful with all of the trees and greenery so I didn't mind being a little lost. I knew I was generally going in the right direction. It was a lazy Sunday enjoying God's creation!

Monday, September 28

Today I moved into my house in La Rochelle!  I got all unpacked and bought some fresh fruit and veggies from the market that is open everyday. Some of the other assistants planned on going to Ile de Ré, which is a little island off the coast. I tried to find the bus but they didn't tell me which bus number it was and apparently they were on the bus already and saw me walking around as the bus pulled away. I texted them, and they told me which bus it was, so I took the next one, which wasn't until 12:50pm, so I bought a sandwich first. I met them in the town Saint Martin, and they had already walked all around it since it isn't huge, so they got lunch and I walked around by myself. Here are some things I saw in Saint Martin:

the port

Cathédrale St-Martin

View of the Atlantic and the lighthouse from the top of the bell tower on the cathedral

View of Saint Martin and the ocean

A map of Ile de Ré on the side of a building

After walking around St Martin, we took the bus to the town La Flotte. We walked around the town and bought ice cream. Then we tried to walk to the abbey and the fortress but it was a little before 5pm when we started walking and the last bus that left La Flotte returning to La Rochelle was at 6:20pm. We thought we could make it in time, but around 5:30pm we realized there was no way we could make it all the way out there and back in time for the bus so we just turned back because we didn't want to be stuck on the island. Here are some views of La Flotte:

We walked along the ocean and saw all of the boats tied up out in the water.

Walking down the streets of La Flotte

Walking to the abbey with the ocean on our left and fields on our right

The abbey in the distance. It looks so beautiful we will have to get there next time!

It was a beautiful day, but so windy that my hair felt gross when I got home because of all the salt and wind.

Tuesday, September 29
Today wasn't a very exciting day. I just walked around with my roommate Gabby and we got Vietnamese food for lunch, which was really good. I didn't take a lot of pictures, but here are a couple.

Porte Royale

Steeple of Notre Dame

Wednesday, September 30

Today I met with Sylvie (my contact person/coordinator) to talk about CAF which gives me money back for rent since I am living on low wages (all of the assistants get it). Then I just spent the day hanging out with Thea, walking around town, getting coffee, enjoying the beautiful day.

Thursday, October 1

Today was our first day of orientation so all of the primary assistants in La Rochelle and surrounding towns came (there were only 10 of us and of the ten there was only 1 guy). We had people talk to us about the school system in France, insurance, etc. We got our schedules and which schools we will be working in, which was very exciting because that's what we were waiting for. I will be in three schools: Angoulins on Mondays (this school is outside of La Rochelle, but I can take a bus there), Doumer on Tuesdays (this school is just down the street from my house probaby a 5 or 10 minute walk), and Profit on Thursdays (this school is still in La Rochelle, but I will probably take a bus to get there). All three schools I will be in multiple classes during the day ranging from 6 year olds to 11 year olds.

Around 6:30pm all of us took the bus to Sylvie's house for dinner and we just sat around and talked. She has a beautiful little house with a backyard and a cat. She lives outside of La Rochelle and the buses end at 7:30pm so she had to drive us all back into La Rochelle at the end of the night, which was really nice of her.

Friday, October 2

Today we had orientation, but we didn't have as much paperwork to do as we had yesterday. Instead we talked about activities we can do with our students and we practiced some of the activities as a group. It was much more fun than yesterday because we weren't being talked at all day in French, which can be draining. After orientation, all of the assistants went out for drinks and then some of us walked around for a while showing the other assistants who aren't in La Rochelle some things. We had dinner together since the other assistants didn't have to catch a train or bus until after 9pm. It was nice getting to know some of the other assistants and enjoying the sunny day outside. Some of the other assistants live in much smaller towns so they were amazed by how much there was to La Rochelle and how pretty it is.

Now it is Saturday and it's cloudy outside and cold. I'm excited but nervous to meet the teachers and students in my school next week! I will try to keep you up to date with how it goes.