How Stephen Got His Groove Back

Well shit. Looks like another month has come and gone without much notice, and without much commentary on my behalf. I’d like to say that I barely wrote anything during the second half of January because I was out and about, busy beyond belief without a second to spare and never on the internet, but that would be a blatant lie. The truth is quite the opposite to be perfectly honest. As I mentioned before, I had gotten myself into a bit of a mid-year slump after the holidays, and though I tried to pull myself out of it as quickly as possible, these things take some time. Cooking and baking and blogging have all been helpful tools, but being stuck in Saint-Brieuc for the the entire month of January was a bit of a road block. When I wasn’t preoccupied with the oven, I found myself in my room watching things like Downton Abbey (which, by the way, is an amazing show that I highly recommend watching if you haven’t yet) and eating more than my fair share of desserts. I was far from being clinically depressed, but was still highly unmotivated thanks to a bout cold weather, the unglamorous ‘city’ of Saint-Brieuc, and an ever impending sense of doom looming over my undecided future. Dramatic much? Oui.

Luckily, February has thus far been a breath of fresh air and the rest of the month is full of promise. Out of nowhere, there seems to be so much to do and see! Being too busy to write has become a legitimate excuse over the past week, and the fun of February isn’t even half over! With a road trip to Normandy and a pseudo-weekend in Rennes already under my belt, I still have a week long trip to Picardie followed by an Italian tour to look forward to! My mind has been a little all over the place lately trying to keep the travel plans straight for all four of these trips, but it’s kept me busy and anxious in an excited way. Places to go! People to see! Much better than brooding in my bed. Who ever would’ve thought February could be so grand?

As I headed out to Normandy this past weekend in a nine person “mini-bus” with my Franco-American crew, I couldn’t help but recall another voyage made not so long ago. Last January during interim break, I headed South with my friends Sarah, Clara, Ann, and Laurel for an Arkansan adventure that I’ll never forget. The week we spent in Conway was by far one of the most hilarious and enjoyable times of my conscious life, both extremely exciting and incredibly relaxing. Being in warm weather, going on mountainous walks, singing show tunes at the dinner table, drinking $1.99 margarita’s at JJ’s, giving into/falling in love with country music, cave diving, curling up on couches, learning about places like Pickle’s Gap and Toad Suck, baking buttloads of cookies and decorating a staggering number of Valentine’s Day cards made for a welcome recess from freezing/studying our asses off at Olaf. Breaking routine, visiting somewhere new, and being surrounded by wonderful people gave everything a new light. There was a sense of comfort and openness with my friends after being together day and night for the entirety of break. It’s so easy to get caught up in the stresses of life, but weeks like that help you notice how happy things can be when you let go and have some uninhibited fun. #clichécentralbutwhateveritstrue #ewijustusedahashtag

The beginning of something beautiful

happy beings behind falsely angry façades

hot potatoes make the world go round and cause awkward photographic reactions

The MOST Valentine's Arkansas has ever seen

The weekend at my friend Leslie’s in Normandy essentially served the same revitalizing purpose as the week in Arkansas but in a much more urgently-needed and heightened sense. Getting the heck out of St-B. and letting things loose in the country shook things up and made me giddy. Making homemade pizza in a giant brick oven, sipping on cidre and wine, cuddling with an adorable dog, seeing the tragically beautiful beaches of Normandy, visiting the epic tapestry of Bayeux, gathering around a raclette, wandering around the countryside, playing charades and trivial pursuit, watching the Superbowl (for the sake of Madonna), getting snowed-in and missing a full day of work (snow days do still exist!), and marveling at Le Mont Saint-Michel made for a memorable weekend that has given me a firm shove out of my previous slump status. My life is nuts, in a good way. I’m sending out a MILLION thanks to Leslie and Allie for making this weekend happen! You two are the bomb.

Kate presenting Leslie's cozy little home

HOMEMADE PIZZA

Raclette Dinner chez Leslie

Le Mont St-Michel

Even though the characters and settings of my life continue to change, there are certain things that remain true:

• traveling with someone is one of the best ways to really get to know them
• cold weather is relative
• snow days are always the best days
• road trips are always the best trips
• food brings people together, namely potatoes
• charades requires more skill than you think
• sleeping between two people is starts out as a wonderful idea until you become a fiery hot mess
• 90s jams alway make the perfect car ride soundtrack

My upgraded emotional status stuck with me throughout this week as more classes were canceled (making this a four-day-work-MONTH) and as I headed to Rennes on Tuesday afternoon for a mid-week weekend. Our last-minute-guest-conductor-turned-new-found-friend from last year’s orchestra tour, Tito Munoz, was in town directing Bejamin Britten’s opera,  The Turn of the Screw. I got to see the show with my resident Rennes friends (Mary Claire, Berit, and most recently relocated Steph!), and got a chance to hang out/catch up with Tito after the show which was great! Talking about last year’s tour made me freshly miss orchestra, but there was a welcomed sense of nostalgia and plenty of other things to talk about to keep us from focusing too heavily on the past. My days off gave me plenty of time to get in some good one-on-one time with Steph and Berit as well, nicely rounding off my time in Rennes.

So that’s more or less where my life is at. There’s still plenty to worry about (and a mouthful of canker sores to prove it), with my sister out of commission thanks to her gallbladder, open-ended travel plans, unplanned lessons to teach, and my future continuing to be 100% uncertain, but present life is pretty good with trips on either side of me. My chin is up, and I’m ready for more fun. Come and join my party! Catch ya on the other side of Italy!

Bisous bisous xoxo

The most lucky

As I mentioned before, I have finally settled into my new home, which is a beautiful, beautiful thing. I’m not sure how I managed it, but I somehow ended up with the best situation one could hope for from the teaching program. Seriously. It’s the bomb. I am living in a gorgeous row house with two wonderful housemates and a landlord who is more like a grandfather than a property owner. Basically, I am ridiculously lucky. Even though French society and government are super centralized, the teaching program is kind of a disjointed, shit show, grab bag. School assignments and housing arrangements vary greatly from region to region, and even from person to person. Other assistants are lodged in austere school dormitories, or worse, left to roam the streets until they can find a place to rent with little to no help from their host teachers. I, however, had to do nothing other than buy my train ticket and walk into a fab set-up.

Three stories tall, with a wooden spiral staircase to connect the levels, 9 rue Chateaubriand is the epitome of a charming French home.  The ground floor is shared space with a living room, dining room, and a fully equipped kitchen that leads out to our patio. René resides on the second floor, and Alex, Phelicia and I each have a room up on the top floor. Since I was the first to arrive, I had my choice of the three rooms. I ended up choosing the smallest room at the end of the hallway thanks to its huge window that overlooks the garden and lends well to watching sunsets. Definitely worth sparing the extra 5m² in my opinion. As soon as I get my camera battery back (I was an idiot and left it charging in Rennes), I will upload some pictures of the house so you can see for yourselves how wonderful it is!

Upon my arrival on Wednesday night, my landlord, René, had a veritable feast waiting for me in the back garden. We chatted and drank wine until midnight, and I was pleasantly surprised by how quickly my French came back to me after a Summer without using it. Since that first night, my housemates and I have continued to be spoiled by our new French grandpa: elaborate breakfast spreads, day trips to St. Malo and Mont-St-Michel, help with setting up our bank accounts and filling out paperwork… He is one of the kindest people I have ever met, and I am immensely grateful to be living with him.

My roommates are also the best. Phelicia comes from Jamaica. She loves reality t.v. and Beyoncé, so we are obvi going to be besties. Alexandra hails from Deutschland, but you would never know it when she is speaking French because she is a baller when it comes to foreign languages. She’s super genuine, adventurous, great to talk to, and a ton of fun. So pumped to get to know both of them better this year!

Well, I think that’s about it for now. Orientation from 9:30 to 5 tomorrow, so I should probably get to bed sooner rather than later. To be completely honest, I’m probably going to watch last week’s Glee first, so I’d better start tout de suite!

Bisous