Lay of the Land

This week has been all about settling into my new home! I still feel like I'm trying to absorb and process the fact that I'm living in France!

My new roommate Nicole and I have gotten to know each other over the past few days. Yesterday we wandered all around the town and I helped her pick up a few things that she needed. We got sandwiches and sat on a bench in a square in Centre Ville to visit and eat. I've come across some great places to get sandwiches and crepes and pasta to go in the past few days! Those are some of the things that I really love about France. Today I picked up a sandwich and had a picnic lunch in Parc Jouvet with two other assistants in my program.

Speaking of parks, I christened Valence with its first jog yesterday afternoon! I'm so happy because I discovered a great park for running at the top of my street that connects with the Parc Jouvet in the center of town! I also found another assistant who plays tennis, so as soon as I figure out where to buy balls, we're going to go try to hit around. Word on the street is that there's also an indoor swimming pool somewhere near where I live.

Last night we had our second dinner party at the apartment! Cloé's coworker is also subletting his apartment to an assistant, so we invited a mix of her friends and other assistants over chez nous. It's so nice to feel a little bit social, even though I really don't know any of these people yet. Some of the other assistants and I bonded over the fact that it's very difficult to make friends in a foreign language because it's practically impossible to crack a joke. The French people that I've met so far have been very patient and understanding of the fact that I'm constantly butchering their language and I'm sure saying things in the most awkward ways.

Today I felt very accomplished and adult because I went to the bank and took care of a few matters concerning my account, en français. I've signed a lot of papers at the bank since I arrived here, and I haven't had anyone there to translate my interactions, so I certainly hope that my French actually is as good as I think it is. The coming weeks hold a mountain of paperwork in French legalese.

Tomorrow morning I'm heading out to Grenoble and then Autrans Mountain for a training retreat with the rest of the assistants! I'm excited to finally meet everyone and get things moving! I went to my schools this week and got to see all of my new students' shining faces, so now I need some training so that I can actually know what to do with them!