New bike. New blog.

Here's my new bike! Faster than my last one and the lock is a million times easier to use. :) After a few 40 km rides we'll see how she's holding up but so far so good. And best part, it's PURPLE!

 

Yesterday was my first ride home after taking the bus for January and most of February, and the fresh air felt so nice. I stopped to snap a picture of the still flooded Parc Balzac. 

And for the new blog from my roommate Hélène. She and her friends from her Masters program in Wine, Tourism, and Gastronomy [that's my kinda Masters program] started a blog about food and also restaurants in Angers called Les Dodues de l'Ouest.  They're funny posts, and slowly they're being translated into English too! This is the French version Les dodues and here's the English one: The Dodues.
The first recipe up was Steak Tartar, très français!

Finally, excitement level is super high as ma petite soeur arrives in a couple short days!! I can't wait! So excited to roam around Paris and to welcome Suzanne to the country of bread and chocolate. I think she's going to like it here :)

Viva le printemps!

It's been a beautiful day in Angers. I woke up early to go to the CAF to drop off papers to apply for assistance paying rent, which I did less out of necessity than out the fact that all the other assistants are doing it... and some extra travel moola wouldn't hurt. So maybe the next time I hear about the problems with foreigners, I'll be able to chime in. :) Ah, socialist countries. One of the other lectrices who has a baby, told me all the advantages to having three kids in France, and it was crazy (free liposuction and laser surgery, the right to take the test for any civil service job, including teachers, police, etc, without the otherwise required testing, early retirement, the list went on.) And for just one child, she receives so much money for childcare that ultimately she pays 300 euros a year for 30 hours a week, minus vacations. And all her friends tell her she should find a cheaper childcare provider! Meanwhile her family with babies in England debate between going back to work, or just forgetting about it because the childcare is too expensive. I still a free-market kinda girl too be sure, but it's fascinating to hear about the money the government spends here.


Back to my walk to the CAF. It's at the end of an old, wide, car-free boulevard lined in old mansions. Today was 60 degrees and sunny, (perfect temperature!!!) and the birds were chirping. It was neat to walk along this pedestrian street, listening to the birds, and the cute kids talking in French to their parents, and I suddenly appreciated how cars are usually block out all that pleasant background noise. The pretty walk starts at the fountain at the Parc de Maille which leads right up to the Avenue Jeanne d'Arc

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My computer has gone to the dogs lately [is that a saying? Inherited that trait from Mom...] I tried to get the pictures in a logical order but I'm finally giving up, better luck next post. At least the weather's nice!

Old hat

Teaching at l'Université d'Angers as an English lectrice must officially becoming old hat, because I can't be surprised anymore about the communication and organization here. Last night in the Masters class I teach, there are two students who speak English pretty well, and I'm thankful for them. The others don't, some might hate speaking English, and one or two actually speak almost no English at all so it's not exactly an ideal class for teaching/learning. Anyways, here's an excerpt:

Me- Oral presentations will take place the last week in  April, and the exam will be our last class in April.
Student 1- We don't have class in April.
Me- Uhh..
Student 1- We have internships.
Student 2- And we don't have class the first two weeks of March.
Me- Okay... [Regrouping in seconds my lesson plans for the semester] So you're saying we have 3 classes left, including the exam?
Student 2- Right.
Me- Okay. Alright. Well, I guess I get paid the same either way so that works for me.
Student 2- Well played!

Of course, I would really like to teach them well, but so long as the University doesn't tell me about what I'm doing, and surprises like that happen, I do like to firstly see the bright side of things:)  It's funny to think if the two students who speak English weren't in my class, I just never would have known, and they would never have had any test- or grade for that matter- for the class!

Leaving class things got better. I returned the classroom keys to l'accueil and the very friendly lady who works the second half of the day was there. She had just been given a meringue from the man who lives in the building's wife, and she split it with me! I really thought I didn't like meringue but when in Rome, or in France in this case... you don't say no to homemade desserts! The texture was so wonderful, and such contrasts, deeeelectable.

A couple of us went to our French friend's place for dinner and we had galettes, which are like crepes but made with buckwheat flour so a little heartier and savory. They were pre-made by the fancy French brand Reflets de France and we filled them with mushrooms, green peppers, onions, ham, eggs, chevre and emmental cheese. Once again, delicious. For dessert her roommate had made a pear chocolate crumble. I don't think they make chocolate like that back home... I'm in food heaven lately. :)

Lindsey's many talents don't include folding galettes, but at least it tastes just as good.

In fact, one of Lindsey's talents is singing, so we discussed the English Talent Show which I'm helping to organize. And, thank goodness, as of last night I know what I'll do now and it's with these ladies and some of Nadia's friends. I came up with an idea, and they loved it, so we're going to practice and hopefully get 2nd place: 10 movie tickets to the trendy little cinema that shows foreign films (students would have preferred the big cinema but they always dub movies so us foreigners are happy.) I'll say no more about our act, so that you might watch it aired live online on the school's website on March 20. Hehe. 

Finally, pictures I edited on Instagram. And with that, bon soirée!

Artichauts.

Finally, I can say I've bought an artichoke from the market and enjoyed my favorite food in the nation that just might have made them famous. Ahh, les artichauts, comme je les adore.

And as long as we're talking about food, lunch today was another treat. Wasa crackers were on special a while back, soo I have been eating wasa with hummus or peanut butter on repeat for a while now. Today I switched it up with this: Brie, honey, and pear. Yum! At the market I found a stand where avocados were 5 for just 1 euro 50, so I'm going to be eating a lot of avocado this week :) 

Yesterday I went to the Angers soccer game. Angers is 2nd in their division and played 2nd to last Laval, and tied. But it was an exciting match to watch, and we had seats right up front. I went with 9 girls and two guys- lots of us girls went since we got in free for Valentine's Day. 

Hot dog in a baguette!

Sporting the Angers SCO scarves... 

The die-hard fan section never sat down. This is 20 minutes before the game even started and when most of the seats were still empty. 

Both teams had cheerleaders that danced before the game and at halftime.

Allez Angers!!

Inondation

Here on French Press I've possibly failed to show just how often it has rained since the day I got back into town, so here's a look at the inondation (flooding) in Angers. But the rain here still doesn't compare to Boulogne Sur Mer so you won't hear a complaint from me!

There are normally steps and stadium seating along here but that's all underwater, just like the trees on the other side of the river. 

And Parc Balzac is also underwater.

High waters would not be a problem for this guy.

These restaurants are out of business for the time being I guess!

Back on higher ground...

...flowers are blooming!

Sunday dreamings and schemings

Last night we went to Entr'acte to celebrate Ron's birthday. We got there at 8, which is pretty early for dinner so the restaurant was on the empty side. But a couple hours later when it filled up we noticed that just about everyone else dining had white hair. This, it turns out, is a great sign. It was a pretty colorful restaurant and the food was excellent, including the duck dish I had. (And I learned I like duck too which is pretty great to know.)

Attempting a self portrait with the mirror behind us. 

Our server helped us out in the end.

The woman who ran the restaurant was so sweet. She smelled the bottle of wine before Dan, who was trying it for us, took a sip, and was suspicious so she took his glass and we all thought she was going to take a sip. But instead she just sniffed it and said non, non, non, and had the server get a different bottle. It wasn't corked but it wasn't great. We never found out if she got a different year or what happened, but Dan said the second bottle was much better so we appreciated the gesture! Then as we were leaving, she came outside to "faire la bise" 3 times for each of the guys (usuallyyy 2 kisses is enough so 3 is just above and beyond, and when it's someone you only just met, well sheesh) and to say bon dimanche. 

Multitasking

The job search has words like multitasking on the mind. So as evidence of my aptitude, here I'm learning to watercolor and planning Zan's visit at the same time : )

New Lenses

I was playing around with my new camera lenses for my phone (crazy to think such a thing exists!) But it was so great. There were always places around town that I couldn't capture in a picture, and now I can thanks to this neat Christmas gift from maman. The first time I used the lenses inside the house, in a relatively small room, I didn't quite get it, but all that has changed now! 

This is the wide-angle lens.

And here's the fish-eye. 

This is a tricky building built on rock that always escaped my camera's capabilities since it only could get half of what you see below. 

And the same, this time à la fish-eye.