Officially moved in!

I am writing this from my sea foam green desk in my new (or rather very old) apartment in downtown Blois. Thanks to my awesome landlord who lugged my now 55 lb suitcase up a spiral staircase for me, it took all of two minutes to move into my new digs.

There are two other assistantes de langue in my building, both from England. Amy hails from Liverpool and Harriet is from a London suburb. We all moved in today and spent a good two hours going from one room to another comparing our apartments and offering decorating suggestions. We also went out for pizza (yum!). They don't speak as much French as I do, so we speak English together (though this proves difficult at times as they have quite heavy accents and have different slang terms for things like elevators (lifts) and mail (the post); we plan on teaching each other our dialects so we can all be "trilingual"). I am encouraging them to speak more French, though. It doesn't just enter your brain through osmosis; you have to use it everyday.

I've spent a good part of the evening (note that it is past 1am in Blois) making my small room feel more like home. My walls are now covered with my friends' and family's smiling faces, treasured cards, poems, maps, post cards, and brochures. My trusty college dorm comforter is on my bed, and my clothes are neatly put away in my armoir (yes, I have an armoir). Edwige, my temporary host mom for the past week and avid gardener, took me shopping yesterday for plants to make my room more cozy, so now I also have a small garden with small jars of lovely growing things. I have colorful flowers, of course, but my personal favorites are my little pepper plant about the size of my knuckle (peppers are my favorite vegetable) and a North African plant that closes its leaves when you touch them. My kitchenette is pretty, well, nasty. I will be bleaching it soon. And I have to go in search of the sauce pans and frying pans I was promised or give up cooked food for the next eight months. The bathroom is tiny but not unbearable. My greatest joy is the large, stereotypically-French window right over my bed that opens onto the courtyard. What a great place to read, write, and people-watch!

I have a big day tomorrow as October 1st is officially my first day as an assistante de langue. We are all going to a big orientation in Orléans to take care of important paper work and to begin learning how to teach our students English. All I feel like doing is nesting and doing some necessary shopping for food and essentials like toilet paper and a reading lamp, but alas, this must wait. Despite my desire to do otherwise, I am excited for what tomorrow will bring. After all, I love being a student, meeting new people, and getting cool handouts, so tomorrow should be a good day.

More info and pictures to come as soon as I'm settled.

If you care to write to me in Blois, here is the address. Note that I am no longer in Apartment 6 as planned but have moved across the courtyard to Apartment 17.

Erin BEATON
SCI LEXGAU
Résidence les Cottages
22, rue porte côté, Boîte 17
41000 Blois
FRANCE