Final Destination: Narbonne

As many of you know, I’m in Narbonne! It only took me two flights, four train rides, and a week of vacation to get here from Texas, but I’m here now! I got here Wednesday, September 26th by train (almost three hours from Marseille), and Jill, an English teacher from my school (with whom I’ve been in correspondence) picked me up at the station (merci beaucouuuuup)! We went to the school, went on a petite aventure to find my room, and finally found it. (As it was Wednesday afternoon, the school was almost empty; French schools close Wednesday afternoons).

the final test: The DaVinci Code
(not really... but I do have to enter a code to open my bedroom door)

ma petite chambre bleue

I'm on the 5th floor... which is actually

the 4th floor in France (ground floor, 1, 2, 3, 4).

I didn't have any sheets/pillow/covers when I arrived,
but Jill was sweet enough to loan me some, thank goodness!

a little welcome present from another English teacher, so sweet!

I have a little shower and sink combo, which I'm thankful for!
The toilet is separate (right next door) and I share it with
the two other girls on my floor. Also note that little button on the left?
That's how I get my shower water, but I have to push the button about
 once a minute in order to keep the water going (so the water cuts off
several times during the shower). Ha! But I'm just glad to have my own. :)

This is the best part... the view out my window!

(Granted, this is not a breathtaking view... I'm not in the centre-ville,

I'm out a bit in a residential area. However, in the distance you can

see the 800-year-old Cathédrale Saint-Just-et-Saint-Pasteur de Narbonne.

Forget saying that three times fast, say it once fast. That's enough!)

My first couple days/nights, I was a little bit… I’m not sure how to describe it. The problem was that I didn’t feel well – at all. Funny story, the first night I almost got sick. In front of high school students. Who will probably be my students. Nice first impression, eh? NOPE. I didn’t think so either, so I legitimately told myself “you will NOT be sick, you will not be sick” over and over again. It worked. That night and the next day, I noticed I was having cramps as if I’d been running (which I assure you I had NOT been running) that were so severe they prevented me from walking even a bit to go into the city. Great. Obviously I came to the only logical conclusion that my gall bladder (or my appendix) was failing immediately upon my entrance to France, and that I'd need a chirurgie (surgery), which is hard enough to pronounce let alone finance when my French insurance won't kick in for a month. So I did what any sane person would do and a) called my mom from a payphone to whine and then b) went back to my room and took a nap.

So you see, the first days were a little difficult. First of all, I thought I might be dying. Second of all, I had no access to the world at ALL. No phone, no Internet, no friends to hang out with (there’s a Spanish teacher who lives next door to me who is really nice but is a full-time teacher and as such is, of course, busy). Third of all, I was doubting my abilities in French. While trying to talk to the Spanish teacher and a few of the students, I was having trouble following all the conversation. Or being funny, at all (which is hard in another language, and something that makes me sad because humor is important to me)! Maybe it was because I wasn’t feeling well, maybe it was because it was the first couple days in France. But I was beginning to think maybe I don’t speak French? And with all these things happening to me, I thought about the fact that it would be eight months before I hug anyone who’s known me my whole life. It was a little sad. But I knew the whole time that this is the best thing I’ve ever done… and really, when you’re in France, and you can see an 800-year-old cathedral out of your bedroom window… well, you just know that everything’s gonna be alright.

So I read a little Pride and Prejudice and watched an old episode of Grey’s Anatomy I found on my iTunes and realized that I have plenty of time for things to be fantastic. And, by the way, everything’s much better now. More on that soon!

Also, a couple things before I go:

a) Figured out my mystery illness! First of all, I ate vinaigrette on my salad the first night. Well, I remembered I have a recently-developed vinaigrette allergy. Now I definitely will not forget. Second of all, I’m pretty sure the other part was a pulled muscle in my stomach due to “Munich-Narbonne: The Adventure” starring Katy vs. the 70-pound luggage.

b) I had a fantasy that my first Narbonne post would feature amazing pictures of my new home. Well, for many a reason (such as disgusting weather), that hasn’t happened yet. But it’ll come. Ne vous inquiétez pas!

Oh and one last thing (HA!) to leave you with: a happy little tidbit. Monday, October 1st is my first day of work officially, but as our orientation for secondary language assistants in my district isn’t until the 10th, guess who doesn’t start her actual work schedule until the 11th? Holler! Now I have some time to get situated. Quelle bonne chance!