Wow, two posts in just one day, this must be juicy! Only four short hours ago I was sitting at a Starbuck’s (don’t hate) wondering why I hadn’t brought my jacket with me to Chicago, with a big smile on my face in honor of La Journée de la Joie. While waiting for my 5:15 […]
Last night I decided to take the train from St. Louis to Chicago rather than drive or fly. The last time I took the train in the US was again from St. Louis to Chicago to apply for a long-stay visa at the French Consulate in Chicago, but that was 15 years ago. Things have […]
With our departure date only a month and four days away, it’s time to go to Chicago to get (another) long-stay visa that will allow me to live and work in France for a year. During the first year, I plan to apply for French citizenship. This time last year I went to Chicago for […]
I’m reaching back many years while writing this little post. I was recently speaking with a friend about train travel for my French Teacher blog http://learnfrenchwithjennifer.com , and I was reminded of the town of Vichy when my friend recommended that I read this article: http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2013/apr/25/vichy-lives-in-a-way/ The year was 1992, and I was 21 years old. When […]
As we started to tell friends and family that we are moving to France this summer (granted, it’s been a year and a half in the making), one of the very first questions people ask is: “Why?” This question is asked in various tones. “Why would you ever want to leave the US?” “Why would […]
Back in January I applied for a Program Dean position at Oxbridge Academy in Montpellier. I wrote about it in a post: Working @ Montpellier this Summer ?!?!?. Then in March I got an interview, and was so nervous about it I could hardly stand it! Since then I have been waiting, waiting, waiting. Two […]
What is more tempting to all of your human senses than just walking down the street in Paris? These particular memories stem from my spending a decent amount of time every summer in the 15th arrondissement, where my husband grew up, and where his parents still live. It’s a very residential district, and one of […]
Since I am not renewing my teaching contract this year, and since we are moving to the South of France in June, I’ve been spending the last six months or so really focusing on what to do about my professional life. I see this as a real opportunity to do something different and exciting, keeping […]
This is a picture of me, my sister, and my mom. Don’t we all look alike? Let’s take a leap back in time about 14 years to 1998, and that was the first time that I lived in Béziers. I had just gotten married (three times, all to the same man), and we were living […]
January-March: Limoux: Carnaval de Limoux Approximately ten weeks of festival, this is one of the longest running carnivals in the world. Masks, costumes, music, pranks, King Carnival burned at the stake, swapping of roles, and it’s all done in the Occitan language. March: Nîmes: Féria de Primavera This is the pre-Lenten carnaval , and the first of […]
