ATTENTION!

For the lovely people who've sent me emails/Facebook messages/etc. about how they want to leave comments on the blog but can't, I've changed the settings so that anonymous/people without Google accounts can leave comments. Hopefully it works, because I'd really love to hear people's thoughts!

Canadian pub and the Pompidou.

I spent good chunks of the last two days in Paris, doing stuff with some of the other English assistants. On Wednesday night, we went to the Irish Cultural Centre to an opera of The Diary of Anne Frank (very good, I thought). Yesterday, we decided to go to the Centre Georges Pompidou, which is the modern art museum. However, before we all met up, I went to The Great Canadian Pub near Notre Dame with two of the other assistants. It was very neat, even if they had run out of things I wanted (been craving a caesar, "sorry, we're out of Clamato"; wanted poutine, "sorry we're out of fries, would home fries be OK?" [they totally were]).

One of the banners outside of the pub.

A photo for the Habs fans in my family.

Only in a Canadian bar would you find a framed photo of a hockey fight, autographed by both players involved (Iginla and Lecavalier).

After a good but expensive meal, we head off to meet the others at the Pompidou. It's a very interesting builing from the outside.

Once in, we made our way to the musée levels, where they have more permanent exhibits.

On the escalator, which is that weird hamster tube-like structure on the outside of the building.

Next are some paintings, but, because I didn't take note of the artists or titles, I can't tell you anything about them.

And finally, the piece that I found odd. A table made by Francis Ford Coppola, complete with his name under the glass.

I have a lot more pictures, but it's just far too many to upload onto here. Maybe when I get back to Canada, I'll invest in one of those carousel projectors and do a marathon travelogue presentation... can you even still buy a carousel projector?

Day trip into Paris.

Yesterday (the first day of my Toussaint holidays), I went into Paris to meet up with some of the other English assistants that I met during training. We mostly stuck around the Notre Dame area, walking around a lot after having a lunch of delicious crêpes. Of course, I took a lot of photos of the area, so here are some of the more choice pictures.

Notre Dame Cathedral. There was some kind of event happening; not too sure what it was, as all of the signs were in Spanish.

A view of the Seine.

The glass pyramid outside of the Louvre.

The glass pyramid inside of the Louvre.

A small part of the Tuileries.

The Eiffel Tower twinkling at dusk.

Me outside of the Louvre, wearing the graduation present from my aunts and uncles.

All in all, it was a pretty great day. I'm planning on going back into the city later this week to actually go to the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe, and spend a day in the Louvre.

Neuilly-sur-Seine

As promised, some photos of Neuilly-sur-Seine, a rather rich suburb of Paris.

Some apartments that look much more upscale than others.

A fancy-looking residence.

The school where the meetings were held. Insane, right? I mean, it had a fancier bell tower than some churches I've seen in Canada. This photo doesn't really do the school justice. It's much larger than what you can see here, as well.

Well, starting Saturday, I'm on holidays for a week and a half, so I'm really hoping to do some exploring and travelling. If all goes to plan (what few I have at the moment), I should have lots of photos and stories to share after the Toussaint break.

Pulp Fiction moment.

My French angels.

As I'm sure most of the people reading my blog already know, I lost my grandmother over the weekend. This, of course, has been very difficult for me, as I've had to deal with my grief without my family by my side. As I was unable to return to Canada for the funeral, it was arranged for me to be able to watch the service over Skype.

The service was scheduled for today (it actually just concluded). I had a meeting in Neuilly-sur-Seine today, but, as it was to be over by 4:30pm, I knew I'd be back in plenty of time. After having coffee with some of the other assistants at a café at the end of our meeting, I made my way back to Gare du Nord to catch my train home. Within 10 minutes of leaving the station, my train, along a few others, stopped without having reached a station. Due to a problem with the tracks' signals, our trains were unable to move for an hour. Upon reaching the first station, we sat at the platform for another half-hour. The train continued to go extraordinarily slow as we continued on for the next few stations. Of course, time was rolling on (over 2 hours into what should've been a 45-minute ride) and I began to get worried that I wouldn't make it home in time for the service.

A lovely woman sitting across from me could see how upset I was getting, and asked me where I was going. I told her and also told her about how I had to change trains at one station and said that I needed to get back to L'Isle-Adam by a certain time. As we neared her station, she and her sister offered to drive me back to my house. I was hesitant, what with them being strangers, but as I told them why I needed to be home, they insisted, so I accepted.

Those two wonderful women got me home in time to say goodbye to my grandma, because I'm sure that staying on the train would've made me miss the service. I don't know their names, where they live or how to contact them, but I will be eternally grateful for what they did for me today. I will never forget their kindness.

Merci, mes anges.

First week of work.

I've now officially finished my first week of work. I think it went well, but I'm kind of tired of talking/answering questions about myself. There are only so many times I can answer the question 'What are your favourite bands?' and receive blank stares in response.

Some of the classes I'm working with are the youngest students in the school, around fourteen- and fifteen-years-old. I'm also working with BTS students, who've already finished school, but are taking more courses in preparation for university/the job market. It's a pretty good mix and, with the BTS classes, I get to hear about things like real estate and international trade, rather than how to describe people in English.

On Wednesday, I had to go into the Parisian suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine for a meeting for all of the English assistants in this part of the académie. It was nice getting to meet some of the other assistants, especially ones that speak English. It gave my mind a bit of a break. I have to go back again next Wednesday for the second part of the meeting. Hopefully, it will be more work-driven, because this last one just dragged on and on talking about administrative things. It got tedious before we'd even had lunch, and it went until nearly 4:00pm.

I don't really have too much more to report and, unfortunately, I don't have any pictures for this entry. I'll try to get some when I go back to Neuilly-sur-Seine because, from what I've both seen and heard, it's a pretty ritzy place. Fun fact: Sarkozy was once mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine.

A short walk.

I went for short walk around town, purposely avoiding the downtown area I've been to so often already. I wanted to take some photos of stuff that's more out of the way (if you can even call it that; it's all pretty jam-packed). Starting off from my house, I walked to the Pavillon chinois again, just to have a familiar starting point.

I soon found myself near the school I'll be working at (starting tomorrow!), so I took some photos of the surrounding area.

My job starts tomorrow afternoon, so I'm hoping that, once I get into a proper weekly routine, I'll be able to set aside some specific time to go exploring in the town and take some more photos. Also, in spite of how loath I am to admit it, I hope it cools off soon. It's so hot here that going for walks can be a bit of an arduous task.