arrivals

I made it to France! I have been here a month and a few days and am feeling more settled. I want to share some pictures with you in lieu of giving too much description (otherwise I’ll never publish this). First up, my new home sweet home of Mende, France.

MENDE

Mende Cathedral

View of Mende

Rainbow over Mende

View from my dorm room window

Exemplary medieval streets

Mountain hike

Hermitage

Top of the mountain!

Mende’s very own river

My life in Mende in a few brief details:

I teach 12 hours of class each week at the local technical high school. I am still working on learning all my students names, but I have enjoyed playing games, teaching and sharing different cultural points with them.
I celebrated my 23rd birthday in October!! Yay!!
I hiked up the mountain in Mende (pictured above) at just the right time when the leaves were turning from a lush green to hues of gold, orange, and red.
I attended the beloved, local Soup Festival with some friends and enjoyed many bowls of delicious homemade soup.

MONTPELLIER

Montpellier’s beautiful architecture

A rather strange looking cathedral

Place de la Comedie at night

Highlights from a few sunny days in Montpellier:

I found a five or six nice thrift stores and flea markets which gave me a little tour of the city itself and the different neighborhoods.
I celebrated Halloween with an American friend who decided to go all out and throw a party, complete with plastic spider rings and black bread. ~spooky~
I met up with several other language assistants from around the world who are teaching here in France. The different countries include: Costa Rica, Taiwan, Brazil, Yemen and the UK.

SETE

Along the canal in Sete

A rainy day in Sete

Overlooking the city and harbor

Cathedral in Sete

Regional specialty: tielles

Oysters!

Roasted cheese ❤

Pastries!

real italian pasta!

cake!

Next, I spent a few rainy days in Sete:

I found an excellent hostel with a cute little cafe out front and lots of nice lounging areas. I really appreciated this because there were several times when it was too flooded to leave the building!
I sampled a few of the city’s local specialties including tielles (small pie pocket filled with seafood) and some locally caught oysters. And of course the classic french cheese and pastries!

And now, the french baguette has seen his shadow and its 6 more weeks of teaching for me!

meme-teaching-assistants