A fondue experience like no other :)

On Saturday night some girl friends and I went out to dinner at my favourite fondue restaurant. It is delicious and an experience all on its own. It is a nice place and fun with just two people but always more fun with a small group. The meal starts with a little kir type drink and little apperitif snacks like olives, meat, cheese and such. Then they bring out the wine which is given out in baby bottles. That is right, your drink is served in a baby bottle which they have cut a larger whole out of the top. Then comes the fondue. You have a choice of cheese or oil. Usually with a group of people you can get both. With the cheese fondue comes bread and potatoes. The oil one comes with raw meat which you cook in the oil yourself. You then get dessert, either fruit salad or a plate of cheese. You can of course order other desserts which cost only 2 Euros more. It is all delicious and decently priced. On top of all the delicious food the restaurant is a fantastic atmosphere in its self. In order to get to the other side of the table you are required to climb over the table (therefore if you go I suggest not wearing a skirt! lol) The owner is a funny little old man who tries to convince most of the female customers to marry his son, he jokes with all the clients and just makes the meal even more enjoyable. If you are ever in the Montmartre area you need to check out this restaurant called 'Refuge de Fondue' near metro Abbesses. Like I said, delicious and fairly cheap!!!! Gotta love the french gastronomie :)

Christmas markets in Paris

One of my favourite things in Paris is the Christmas markets that are open this time of year. The one along the Champs Elysee is best visted at night. The lights are all up and the streets are simply magical :) I visited the market with a few friends and we shared some churaus and I had my necessary hot wine. The little booths are set up along both sides of the street. Some have chocolates, so have candies, some have candles, or scarfs, other great gifts. This year they also had a section of ice sculptures (of course it was 14 euros to go in so I passed) but the idea along was cool. They also had a live animal nativity with yaks and such. It was also interesting that they added a kids section with moon bounces, and climbing things. They even had one of those large luge slides, where you slide down on a rug thing. It was funny to see it in the middle of the Christmas huts. However it was nice to see that they had a photo with Santa booth. I just like walking up and down the market streets, and enjoying the christmas atmosphere. This is one thing I wish I could find more of back in Canada. It is the closest I get to the Christmas spirit here!

a bad day and then some!

So I don't usually complain about the transportation out here as it is a pretty good system, when it is working that is! lol However, yesterday was literally the worst day for transport that I have ever had!! I headed out around 10:30 in the morning and got to the station with the train still on at the platform. However, it then sat there for 15 mintues without even telling us that anything had changed or that it was delayed. I finally got to where I needed to be and did what I was doing. I then headed back into Paris to go out to Chelles to coach. The train worked fine until about three stops from where I needed to get off and then it slowed down and stayed a little longer at every stop. I then ha to run to catch the train to take me to chelles. Of course, I got there and two out of the three trains were cancelled. Eventually a train came and headed out to Chelles, however I think it was the slowest train I have ever been on. So I get to Chelles and I headed to the bus stop. I waited a few minutes and there were no buses around anywhere, which seemed odd to me. At some point two police officers came by and said: "didn't you know there are no more buses?" We were like no, there were no signs, nothing! So we find out that the reason there were no buses was because one bus driver was 'attacked'. There are 5 bus lines and they shut down all 5 of them because 1 driver was 'attacked'. Only here! so I then had to wait 20 minutes for a bus to take me 5 mintues from where I was coaching. Finally I got to coaching and wasn't really sure if I ould be able to get back to Paris. I ended coaching at 8:30 and was staying to train. I had two choices for getting to the train station. a) catch the 9:10 bus or b) the 10:25 one. So because I wanted to train I stayed and headed to the bus stop at 10:10. I got there and the electronic sign read 'service finished'. On top of that it started pouring rain. Finally the bus came at 10:25 anyways. Finally I got back to the train station, got back to Paris and home, around 12:00 am! What a day!!!! Thinking I need to find a job that pays me enough so I can buy a scooter! lol

Thanksgiving in Paris

SO one of the benefits of having American friends in Paris is that I get to celebrate both Canadian and American thanksgiving with friends :) Although the American thanksgiving was on the Thursday, we celebrated it on the Friday. We headed over to Michele's house for a wonderful meal. I got there early and we started cooking. For any of you who know Michele, you know her apartment is quaint but small and therefore it was difficult to cook everything at once so we had to do almost everything one at a time!! Eventually it all got done and the others started showing up. Jasmin made hot wine, which was delicious. We had stuffing, gravy, turkey, the stachell green bean casserole, corn bread, mashed potatoes and of course pumpkin pie!!! Fantastic! Man did it feel like home. It was really nice. Instead of the typical sporting event we headed out to a bar (or two). It was a great thanksgiving, even if it was in Paris and on the American holiday !! lol

Halloween in Paris ( a little behind but none the less)

So I know I am literally a month behind on this post but here goes anyways.
The night before Halloween some friends and I went to a scottish bar for a pumpkin carving event. It was organized by an american who has lived here for awhile and this is the second annual pumpkin carving event. We got into groups and paid 10 euros for the group to get a pumpkin, a knife and spoon and markers. We were then given about an hour and a half (even though it was only supposed to be an hour!) to carve the pumpkin. We then placed all the pumpkins along the bar and they bar staff judged them for us. My group was made up of the two girls I had gone with, and four or five other people we just met there that evening. Gotta love who these things bring foreigners together. We decided to carve a ghost into our pumpkin. It didn't look too bad, but unfortunately didn't win. Oh well, maybe next year.

The following evening was Halloween!! Halloween was interesting out here. The French don't actually celebrate halloween out here. They are starting to send the kids out trick or treating but it is dificult when almost everyone lives in apartment buildings. As for the young adults, they don't mind going out to celebrate especially since it was on a friday this year. However, and this is the big however. Most French don't actually dress up!! That is part of the whole fun of the evening is getting dressed up into a costume and acting like someone other than yourself. They even have incentive out here. Bars were offering free shots or cheap drinks if you showed up in costume, yet still the number of non-foreigners dressed up was minimal. It even got to the point where some people came up to us and asked to have their picture taken with us because we were all dressed up!! It was odd, we were like stars, simply for doing what ever normal north american young adult does on Halloween evening!!! I was dressed as a bunny and we decided to do a little pub crawl. We had a blast. Met some really interesting people and a lot of foreigners. It was pretty clear when we were out to see who was north american and who was french and who was from elsewhere in europe based on their costumes. We saw everything from Kid Rock to the flinstones to snow white to elvis. We had a lot of fun and that is all that really matters isn't it :)

the french movie experience

Twilight (the second chapter) came out on wednesday night here in Paris. Some friends and I decided to go see it. What an experience let me tell you! We waited in line which was actually more of a clump! Out here they don't know how to line up for a film but rather cram as many people as possible between two velvet ropes which are set a good 30 feet apart. So everyone sortof clumps together and pushes and complains about everyone else pushing them, etc. and waits. Finally about 5 mintues before the film is supposed to start they start letting people in. They barely check tickets and they just usher everyone in. I must admit I felt very much like cattle! lol We headed up the escalator in no real order and basically in chaos and then headed to the theatre. Then more chaos rained, the doors from the theatre opened and people shooved through. It was literally a mad house. Finally we found seats (together which was lucky). It was craziness, people yelling at others for saving seats, people pushing people. An actual fight broke out! lol I love the movies. Then the advertisments start. Out here it is literally 25 minutes long and that is before it starts the actual upcoming ads. And then the movie begins. I have to say, watching an English movie with french subtitles in France is different. They don't laugh at the same things the rest of us do! lol it was a good movie, and a fun experience. I enjoyed the film and loved watching it with a bunch french (men and women). Another great french film experience! :)

the experience of watching a French Wild West film

Out here in France they have a comic strip about a Wild West character named Lucky Luke. Or as the French pronounce it 'Louky Louk'. The comic strip isn't too bad, funny and has some big wild west characters in it. So during the school vacation I went to see the film with a friend and three boys she babysits for. My friend and I were surprised and slightly disappointed by the film. It wouldn't have been so bad, except for the horrible rendition of the wild west characters. They had Billy the kid who acted like a 5 year old, and was psychotic. Jess James spent most of the film quoting shakespeare, and not the typical character from our Wild West stories. Even Calamity Jane was present but one of the most ugly and oddest people I have ever seen. None of these characters were presented in a way that was typical of their north american wild west personalities. The film would probably have been good if I didn't know the North American version of the Wild West. It was a very typcial french film and was definitely an experience. Too bad, it wasn't better but it was still fun. :)

Pointless job interviews

So I guess I should be happy just to be getting job interviews but some of these have been a complete waste of time. I applied to a few jobs at Language schools in Paris. I have not taught business English before and don't have any experience teaching adults other than private tutoring lessons. However, this is all stated in my cover letter and on my resume. I have lots of experience teaching, especially teaching English here in France, but none with adults. So when a company calls me and invites me to come in for an interview you would think that they had already read my CV and cover letter and should know what is on it. So when the interviewer at the end states well you have no experience with adults or teaching business English, it gets kindof redundant and annoying. No kidding, it is right on my CV that I don't have that experience. So if that is a problem for you, why did you ask me to come in for an interview and waste both of our time. I had another one that went really well, but then at the end of the interview the lady says they don't have any part-time positions available right now but if they do, they will give me a call. That is written clear as day in my cover letter that I am looking for part-time work as I am a student. Why don't these people actually read what is written on the CVs. Crazy people! lol Here's hoping the next interview goes better!

update continued - work

As most of you know, I headed back to France to teach Enlgish with the schools I was at last year. I was told all summer that I would work at the same two schools I was at last year and that they were counting on me to come back with a visa as there was a job waiting for me. However, about three weeks after I had been back here, I finally got an answer about the job. They no longer had the money or the hours for me to work. Therefore, I was now jobless!! Thanks for the heads up France. So with the start of October arriving, I have to start looking for work. Unfortunately, most companies have already done most of their hiring and I am behind the ball now. So I have sent MANY resumes and cover letters to so many different companies, English teaching companies, babysitting companies, even telemarketing companies! lol Anything and Everything. So a few interviews have come my way but nothing definite so far. Hopefully something will come along soon, until then, I am spending my time here wandering the city and going to class. Keeping my fingers crossed!

update part 2 - Nuit Blanche

One of the great things about Paris are its festivals and events. For example, Nuit Blanche. It is an evening of artistic installations throughout the city. The installations run right until 6am and they are all over the city and all different. This year I managed to visit at least a few of the exhibits. One of my favourites was the giant disco ball that was hung from a crane in the middle of Luxembourg gardens. It took quite awhile to actually get into the middle of the park but it was worth it. Especailly since it was such a nice night out. We spent a good hour or so just sitting in the middle of the gardens looking up at the disco ball. It was fun to meet all the other people experiencing the fesitivities too. We saw a few other installations such as: there was a video that was playing in the middle of the street showing different people doing activities that when they were by themselves looked as though they were having intercourse but then each image was shown with what they were truly doing such as painting a white wall, or drinking from a water jug, etc. It was quite interesting. Then we saw a few more videos throughout the city, and an exhibit that had wooden cut outs that rotated around with a light shining on them projecting them onto a screen. They were kindof mystical shaped creatures. We also went to St. Severin church where they had speakers set up and choral music playing, it was like hearing choir in surround sound. It was simply beautiful and just breath taking. We finished our evening with St. Eusacthe church where they were showing a video that simply a camera aimed at the arrival gate of International arrivals and filmed as people exited. It was simple but seemed really calming because of where it was, and the fact that it was 6am. :) We weren't the only ones in tehre either, however, we were two of the few that weren't sleeping on the floor of the church. It was a great evening and I really enjoyed exploring the artistic aspects of Paris. It didn't hurt that we had a bottle of wine or two with us!! Nuit Blanche a great part of Parisien life. Can't wait for the next city event :)

catching up for the past month part 1

So it has been awhile sine I posted on here. I apologize for the lack of updates. I am going to do a series of updates that will fill people in on what I have been doing out here for the past month.

Part 1:
First let me tell you about registering for school out here in France. It has been a long and lengthy process but finally I have all of my courses picked and my tutition is paid for.
It sarted the first week I was back here. I had to go into the school and pick up my file and fill out a bunch of forms, get my department to sign off on my program and get a thesis advisor to sign off on my thesis idea and agree to help me throughout the year. That took about a week to do and was a little stressful as every student taking a masters with the department of french literature is seeking a thesis advisor and there are very few of them. I had received many responses from professors saying they already had too many students. I finally found an advisor who is a little scary but I think it will be good for me as she will push me to really improve my french. Once all that was done, I had to make an appointment with the office for masters services and spent a good half hour waiting eventhough I had an appointment. Finally my file was processed and I then had to go to another building on campus to pay my tuition and get my student card. I paid my tuition (only 400 euros, plus social security and athletics for a total of 600 euros) that is equivalent to about 1000$ which is slightly cheaper than any masters program I know of back home! lol I then got my student card which they did in 5 mintues. Took my photo, scanned it and printed the card. Done and Done!!
Once that was all finished I had to wait for my specific dates to register (in person) for my courses. As part of my french literature degree I have to take a language course. As I am Canadian I can't take English so therefore decided to take French. I am sure learning a new language like german or italian or spanish would have been fun but I am already nervous enough about taking courses here and having to write a thesis in French that I might as well work on my French a little bit more. Finally as of Wednesday I am registered for a French language course, a 17th century literature course, a 16th to 19th century literature course, a themes and genres in French literature course, a Voyages in 16th to 19th century literature course and a three day course on French theatre which takes place over three saturdays throughout November. So after about three weeks worth of work, I am finally registered for my courses and ready to start my masters program.
Courses finally start next Monday and I have my first French literature masters course at La Sorbonne on Tuesday morning. I am a little nervous, not sure how this will go but am pretty excited and can't wait to get started. I am a little worried since I am not really good with dates and numbers in french so we will see how it goes with note taking and such. So, four days in counting and my masters program starts. We'll see what happens :)

Welcome to MB's journal

So after spending the past couple of years sending out mass emails about my travels and life in Europe I have decided to start a blog to help reduce the number of unnecessary emails you all receive.
This is the start of my third year living in Paris, France. I leave this evening from Toronto airport and will arrive in Paris tomorrow afternoon.
This year is a little different than the past two. I will not only be teaching English but I will also be doing a masters in French Literature at La Sorbonne University in Paris. I am pretty excited about it but also very nervous. It has been a few years since I have been in a classroom and I am throwing myself into a classroom where the native language of everyone but me is French! lol I have no idea what to expect from this school year and that is pretty different for me. I usually like to plan and sometimes over plan things so going into this unknown is scary but really exciting! I can't wait to start.
I am also looking forward to seeing my friends back on the other side of the ocean and can't wait to be back in my own apartment (sorry rents, I loved being home but definitely prefer living on my own, as I am sure you prefer not having an extra person in your house either). Stay tuned as the adventures are sure to continue. :)