Mom and Dad roadtrip, 3

So last night Mom and Dad went to l'Opera, a fancy shmancy restaurant here in Avignon and I'm going to admit it - I'm a lil' jealous. I mean, it's really great that I stayed in and organized/cleaned/packed up my life but dang, they had a really great meal at a restaurant that people I know have recommended. Ohhhhh well it's all good. I'm glad they had a nice (romantic?) birthday dinner for Mom and that I got a chance to start wrapping up my life here at 5 rue Saint Thomas d'Aquin.

Today we went to Cassis! Every time I've called home in the past month and asked my parents the question "So what do you want to DO in Provence?" my mother has responded with "Well, your dad just wants to go to the beach. Get him to the sea." And today... mission accomplished. We hit up both Cassis and Marseille, basking in the sun (ahemgettingsunburnedahem) and chilling, eating picnics and pastries, having a wonderful Saturday on the water.

In fact, I don't have too many pictures from today because we spent 3 hours lying on the beach in Cassis and then we went and pastry-ed ourselves in Marseille. Not too much picture-worthy but it was relaxing and a perfect way to pass our time together, I feel. Tonight I showed the 'rents Place Pie which was, as usual, hoppin with life and then I went to the Bal de Teinturiers (a street here in the 'non) that had free music, cheap beers, and a ton of dancing. And! The dancing! Was done in an emptied-out pool! Like in "It's a Wonderful Life." Raise your hand if you think that's cool!

So tomorrow I reveal to them the glories of Les Halles and we'll pick up and send ourselves somewhere else, somewhere new. Guaranteed to be a good time. M & D are coming with me on Monday to school which, although it shouldn't't, is kinda stressing me out (hi, whose mom is a professor of education? and, hello, teaching in front of my parents) but it's going to be good and Mom's offered to 'be used' during class time with the kids so that I feel no pressure and she can participate and the kids can hear her speak. It'll be good.

Mom and Dad roadtrips, 1 and 2

But first things first:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

Here we have my ridiculously good-looking parents in a town called Roussillon, which we visited yesterday. I love 'em.

So far we've had 2 roadtrip days! I don't know why, but the Rain Gods are making their presence known here in Provence and it has poured, off and on, since my parents got here. Where's the Provencal weather everyone raves about? We're expecting sun, blue skies, beautiful fields, windows down in the car, and smooth travels. Instead it's been, mostly, rain rain rain rain, grey skies, thunder, lightning, puddles, and nastiness. What the bleep.

But hey, that's ok! Because we're still "profiter-ing" and it's been wonderful. Yesterday we headed east to some little towns, at my suggestion. The itinerary? L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Fontaine de Vaucluse, Roussillon, and Gordes. Roussillon was new to me and it is as gorgeous as everyone says it is. Et voila. It's nice, eh? That's ochre... reminds us all of Colorado, I think. It is amazing to think that, down the road from where I live (ahemcitywithapalaceahem) there are these colors! My eyes exploded and it was all very nice.

Today we went to La Camargue! National park hollah! Flamingos, bulls, rice patties, oh my. So here are some pics:


Looks boring? Definitely not!

Ok so maybe I fell asleep a little. But that was ok because this was followed by flamingo-watching. Flamingos. In southern France?

Yes, flamingos. Flamingi?

And we took a nap at the Mediterranean. Oh man.

They're here!

Hullo.
My parents are here!

I'm so excited about it that I can't sleep! Ok, well, it's 6:00 am and it's pouring with rain and the wind is crazy and so I'm just up and (almost) ready for the day. The plan is to pick up the rental car and do a tour of Provence over the next few days but OY rain is expected for the next few days so... what are we going to do? Me? I'm just happy to get in a car and go places, I hope that's cool with M & D. They're staying chez Micaela and I'm still with la vieille dame. We'll meet up for breakfast and start our day and who knows what'll happen?

But the part where we were reunited? At the train station? I felt like Micaela and I were one minute late and I'd told Dad I was going to meet them on the platform at the train station so they would have nothing to worry about. I ran out of Micaela's car, I ran into the station, and I started running to the TV screens to watch for their arrival but I heard Mom's voice. I looked up, saw her and Dad at the top of the stairs, and bolted straight for them. Eighteen minutes later, our hugging was done and we were downstairs with Micaela, riding to Avignon.

Basically, I am so so happy right now.

(if you could all make a plea to the weathergods to make this rain go away, I would really appreciate it. I mean, teaching "It's raining, it's pouring" to the kids at school is fun, but I don't need an example at the moment!

This one's from December

I love my family a LOT.

And we love the silly hats.

Merry Christmas!

This is what I did in Germany

In Munich, we put on some music and I DANCED...

Enjoy!

Today I swam in the Mediterranean

wonderful.

not gonna lie

yesterday was a bad day.

but today was SO GOOD!

It comes down to two things

1: I tried giving three fifteen year-old girls English lessons to help them review for their exam tomorrow. Turns out I learned probably as much as they did (you know, what verb tenses we have and all of that) but I think I explained what they needed pretty well so *phew* am not total failure in my own language.

2: I saw my kids perform in their "conte musical" ce soir (after five minutes of not remember what we call that in English, it was pointed out to me that a 'conte musical' is, indeed, a musical). These kids have been working on this shindig for TWO YEARS, writing the story, the lyrics, the instrumental parts. Their music teacher wrote the accompaniment and the kids just sang with such gusto. I, of course, understood not a word because hi, sung French? Really hard to understand. Mumbly sung little-kid French? Even harder. And yeah, my comprehension isn't where it needs to be. But that's ok! Because it was all just so cute! I knew every single kid on the stage - I have interacted with each and every one of them. I know I have gotten at least one smile out of each student. As insane as they are, they're also eager little kids who just want to play and have fun and make their parents proud and joke around with each other.

That was great.

Tomorrow? Road trip!!

Community Events

What up, what up!
It's May 18th. Ahhhhhhhhhhh.
Hours till I wake up: 12.
Hours till I start teaching: 15.
Hours I'll stay awake tonight thinking about how I have to teach in the morning: 3.
Hours of sleep I'll get: 4?
Days till my parents get here: 10!
Days my parents are visiting: 14!

Ok so.
In the past few days I have been ALL UP in various communities. What, pray tell, does that mean? Well, Friday night, my Dad managed to Skype me into the All Saints May Coffeehouse that he organized... It was AWESOME. At 1:30 am I signed online, it was 7:30 their time, I was able to see my church family via computer and they all saw me on the GIANT SCREEN Dad apparently put up in the undercroft. I'm imagining Star Trek and being beamed in, are you?
So I said hello to all my church family that I've been missing since I've been here and then I sang for them. How sweet is that? Three years ago? Not possible. Today? Totally possible. I sang for them my new song and then Dad turned the camera on him and I got to hear him and Lisa sing some Van Morrison and it was, all around, so very cool. Made me even more excited to go home and see everyone. It was also just sweet to participate in the first international All Saints Coffeehouse. Hurrah technology!
That was Friday.
Last night (Saturday) was La Nuit des Musees here in Avignon: many Avignonnaise museums were open to the public for free/reduced rates from 8pm-midnight. How cool is that!? This little city was hoppin' and boppin' and everyone (gmas and lil' kids alike) were rollin' around town checking out old stuff. I went into la Musee Lapidinaire and saw hierorglypics. Raise your hand if you can spell that word on the first try! Anyone? Anyone?
But I'd only gotten 4 hours of sleep on Friday night so I didn't make it to any other museum. But what a cool community event!
Today was one of the cooler things I've done in Avignon: free kayak/canoe thing on Le Rhone! All of Avignon was invited! All we had to do was get ourselves to the island, get a life jacket and get into a kayak! Robyn and I double-kayaked our way back and forth between the two bridges for an hour and it was awesome on multiple levels. Awesome for the tan, awesome for the arms, awesome for the community.

It's stuff like this that makes me really happy - people being out and about, doing (free) stuff that benefits everyone and it's all just for the experience. No profit, nothing really to gain except a good time.

Hurrah!

And on the sixth day, I ate snails.

Plural. More than one snail.

So I don't think I mentioned that last week Alice was here visiting! It was a grand time. Somehow, someway, the two of us manage to meet, literally, all over the world. Last summer it was D.C. when I was living in New York and this year it's been Cannes in January, when she first got here, then Paris, when I was visiting with the Yee, and then last week, Alice made it down to Avignon for some R&R and a LOT of lying around. On the bank. Of the river. Checking out Avignon.

This is what Avignon looks like from the island (you go sit on the island to check out the city in all its splendor. Minus Celine's head. Not that her head isn't splendid but... right):

ANYYYYYYWAY Alice and I did a lot of tanning and staring at Avignon and all of that. It was blissful. But after two days of that, the plan was to go to Aix-en-Provence because Friend Kylie sings nothing but its praises and hey, two days in Avignon? Ca suffit. So we bouged our way to Aix.

While in line at the TGV station, we met two New Yorkers. Of course I went off on my "Holy whoa, I'm moving to NYC in August!" spiel which turned into them telling us that they have no idea what to see in Aix which turned into me telling them that I can show them how to get around the city etc. which turned into them inviting us to lunch.

So at noon on Saturday, Alice and I sat down with two very nice people that we had just met at Les Deux Garcons and we ate snails. And oysters. And I had an enormous steak de thon with some peppers on the side. It was fantastic and random and bling bling and a lot of fun. Oh MAN the things that happen when you travel.

currently thinking...

current thoughts on life here in france?
Seriously, who knows what's going to happen tomorrow?
And that's good.


For instance, last night I had no idea that this afternoon I'd be walking around in grottes (big rock cave-y things) that were lived in up until 1580. Or that I'd be driving through Les Alpilles. Or that Robyn would provide me with some fantastico bean/rice burgers for dinner.

On Friday night I had no idea that on Saturday I'd be eating a ridiculously expensive meal with two strangers and Alice.*

Tuesday night of last week I had no idea that the English Challenge on Wednesday would go so well for my little kids. I'm so proud of them! They stepped up to the plate and remembered words like "Halloween" and "witch" and "sister" and "brother!" I think I've taught them a little something!

So that's my attempt at a mini-update right now. Carpe the diem out of this place because, when I return, it's: "Find a freaking job!" time and, well, that's a lot to handle.

I'm wishing you all giggles and cheese,
emfin


*remind me to expand on that

Happy Mother's Day

K, so I'm posting this at 12:05 on Monday morning... but in the US it is still Sunday! so...

Happy Mother's Day, Mom!

May 10th

Hi, it's May 10th.

So what's the big deal about that?

Well, two days ago I realized that two months from now I will be landing in the United States. July 8th, 2008, I'll be stepping off a plane in LaGuardia. At 4:00 in the afternoon. With all my suitcases. With culture shock, a craving for bread, and a need to hit up Koronet's as soon as possible.

Time has been FLYING since the month began and, while there's nothing wrong with that, it is starting to scare me. There are three more Saturdays in May. Then June hits. Then BAM the festival here in Avignon starts and then I bounce out.

And then this blog will come to an end. "emilieausud" will no longer work and I'll be wrapping things up here. I hope I've managed to write well about my adventures and such here. The French bureaucracy, the educational system, the bread and cheese, the wine festivals. The traveling, the people I've met, the music I've heard, the strange phrases I've learned.

So what do I have lined up for the next few weeks?

Saturday, May 17th: nuit des musees: all the museums in Avignon will be free for one night!
May 28th-June 10th: my parents will be here!
week one: driving around Provence
week two: head up North, stay in Paris, do daytrips to cool places!
June 14th: Gay Pride in Lyon
June 21st: tour of the lavender fields!
June 28th: (here's hoping) Paris Gay Pride
June 6th: Avignon festival starts
June 8th: bye bye France

In the meantime, people will be leaving and that is just straight up weird. And sad.

But, people... I'm so excited to come home. I cannot wait to see everyone and my hometown. It's going to be good.