03.18.09
Monday was definitely an interesting start to the week, since I was greeted at our school by tons of students blocking the main entrance! Students were literally blocking EVERY entrance actually, and they would not let anyone into the gates (they even formed a human chain….). I found Simon, a friend from my class, and we attempted to walk around the school in search of an open entrance to see if class was cancelled. We finally found one on the opposite side that they forgot to block, so we went in to find out our morning class was cancelled, but the rest of classes would begin after noon! We were warned that a blockade might happen, and there would be more security, since someone broke into the school grounds last Thursday night and vandalized a few buildings. I could not even attempt to tell you why this is going on, since the French confuse me more and more each day. AND tomorrow there is a national Greve ! All the buses, trams, trains, may be closed or delayed; soooo school may be canceled again? Other professions are taking apart in it too (including Vero of course…)! Vero told me I could take her bike to school if the trams are not running, BUT let’s hope this isn’t the case since I realllly don’t wanna bike around 35 minutes to school. She told me 6 out of 8 teachers at her school are striking tomorrow, since class sizes keep getting bigger, and they will not hire more teachers. She got really riled up about it over dinner, and told me it was hard to explain, but I got the majority of it.
Tuesday a few girls and I went to Carcassonne after class, and it was a blast! The weather was absolutely gorgeous, but the wind was a little nippy. The train ride was only an hour and a half, and we arrived right on time! For some reason, I was imagining the town to be quite small, with not a lot to see other than La Cite, the fortress. But it actually turned out to be bigger than I expected, with lots of shopping and a lot to see! The Castle is from the 12th century, had been restored in the 19th century. La Cite is basically a walled in town, with tons of look outs and towers. It was seriously remarkable to see. We paid 5 Euros to explore the walls and walk around the towers. It was definitely worth it and I am so happy I went! We grabbed lunch at an extremely cute café outside on a porch, and we were able to enjoy the sun, before our train came. We got our on train, and 45 minutes later it still had not left! We had no idea what the problem was, but we followed an older French woman onto a different train (I’m still not sure it this was legal) BUT we made it home and it seemed to work!
So this past Sunday marked the 8 week mark. Kind of unbelievable if you ask me; I can’t believe I have actually been living in France for two months. There have definitely been times I wish I was home, but the good things (new friends, traveling, etc) have unquestionably surpassed the times of missing home. I am eager for my family to come visit.. .only two months to go! I’m getting nervous that these last few months are going to fly by. In two weeks is Spring break, and after that there is only around a month left! SO many places left I want to explore, yet so little time!
xxx
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