La Vie Amandoise

 Ahh so it's only been 4 days but 4 days of a massive amount of change.  So let's see...  First off may I say again Lucia {loo chee ah} (the Italian sister I'm staying with) is amazing, if this system continues I hope I'm as hard working, selfless, positive, classy (cough and as good of a cook cough) as her, she really is a gem.  She could say 'tonight we are going to eat boiled shoes' and I would say 'yum sounds delicious, I wonder how she is going make that', it's like she walks into any kitchen (other people's houses included) and walks out with a 5 course meal and a patisserie style apple tarte.  She is actually in the process of working out how to rent this house to 'curistes', people coming here for the spa, the thermal springs, and she is going to move in with her sister in Sicily.  This is the family's longtime home and the home she shared with her husband who died a few years back, you can tell it's super hard on her to leave but hard to stay here as well.  She told me she needed to move in with her sister while she was still useful (💔). Ugh anyway she is going to be a 'curiste' herself for 3 weeks in October and then she is planning on moving out in Decemeber.  She talks with everybody about the truth: her relatives, physical therapist, old school friends, etc; but she says that for an Italian she's not very 'expressive'.  She can be a bit bossy so I have to be stern, 'No Lucia I can't eat anymore' or no 'Lucia Im going to finish pulling the weeds over here before I pick up the rotten tomatoes'...etc etc, which is good practice for me.  We are both in trouble though, she keeps working herself to death so I say 'no Lucia you've done way too much let me help you' but when I help her her, her son Stefano keeps yelling at her that it's not nice to make me work... Eih yai yai.  

She used to teach Italian (and she is always receiveing calls and calling Italian friends and family) so I am learning some now.  The other night she taught me how to say ' that's not true' in Italian (we were watching an Italian tv show, we also read the daily text and the Bible in Italian) so last night for the millionth time she said in French 'you don't eat very much' I responded in a flash of "righteous" indignation 'questa nonna vero!'.  Stefano and her started cracking up laughing.  She has learned how to say "my sister lives in Syracuse" and 'the truth' and 'I love coffee in the morning' in English.  

I've been figuring out the bus route (#121) because it's true it gets pretty cold and wet here, it's a kind of cold humidity that sucks the heat from yo body.  In the north you are not in Paris and you are not in the south of France it is polar fleece/puffer coat/plaid wool shirt and hunting sock France.  I need to buy some more warm clothes 😬, the house is not heated so if it's 55F outside its 55F inside.  You learn quickly to turn on the bathroom heater BEFORE you go to take a shower.  So far I've been doing lots of paperwork: social security, appointments for a bank account, health care, payroll, OFll, carte jeune, etc.  and there is more to come.  I met with both schools and they are both very nice, I turns out one English teacher is Scottish so that will be fun.  

 I still do not know my teaching schedule but I have my orientation day in Lille on Thursday this week.  They are very happy that I speak French pretty well because I guess in the past they've had some difficulty communicating, I do feel my French improving even just in this first week.  I now know that a 'vise' is not a vise but in fact a screw, bêche is a spade, food names, I'm learning how to pray in French and some theocratic words I didn't know before.  I am now formally titled 'our American' by my small French congregation here in Saint-Amand-les-eaux, I gave my first comment the other night and they told me my accent was very posh so that's a plus. 

The other day I took a train to a nearby town called Valenciennes a large small town (it reminds me of Fort Wayne) I met up with Lucia and we visited an Italian friend of hers that has cancer then we went to see the most bizarre Art Museum reopening ever.  I also went with Rachel's family to the English meeting in Mons, Belgium on Sunday, I got to meet some fellow pioneers and we are planning on doing some service days together.  I was actually supposed to go to see a carillon concert with Rachel and her daughter Chloé in Douai but on the way back from Belgium her husband got a call, his mom had died.  Horrible, I do say when I hang out with people for the first time bad things happen.  Anyway an eventful week leading to more eventful weeks.  Rachel loaned me her bike, it's pretty cool, so I've been biking around town getting my bearings and see how long it takes to commute to school and get groceries and the like.  By the way the grocery store (E.Leclerc for real) is amazing, sigh 😍 cheese by the wheel, a wine cellar/aisles of local beers, beautiful fresh produce, clean not too ginormous, a loyalty card, a whole bike tool/part aisle, you make money by recycling glass bottles, you can buy raw milk and it has the best prices in the area. Tomorrow appointments with two different banks, bicycling, service and train tickets!  À bientôt!