A few assistants work at multiple schools- especially those
assistants working with little ones. The title of this blog post came straight
out of the mouth of one of my friends, as we discussed the ending of the
February vacations and the idea of heading back to work on Monday.
So what have I done with a week of zero responsibility in
Nantes?
Bicloo
Nantes has this neat bike rental system. Bikes are stationed
all throughout the city and Frenchies can choose to subscribe for a yearlong
membership (29 euros for the year 20 euros if you have a public transportation pass, first 30 minutes of Biking free from any Bicloo station in the
city) or one can subscribe for 1-7 days (cost 1-5 euros). The bikes have no locks, but when
finished you simply click them into place at any Bicloo station, ready for another
Nantais to use as they please. We’ve
obviously seen these Bicloo stations, commented on figuring out how to use
them, and finally took advantage of one of our gorgeous February days to rent
bikes for the day.
I had a bike when I lived and studied in Grenoble, but biking
in traffic is something to get re-accustomed to. I don’t know if I can speak
for all Europeans but the French at least find it quite normal to share
the road with cyclists. Bike lanes are all over Nantes, and I’m pretty sure we
only broke a few minor traffic laws while determining our paths throughout the
day (some terrifying large roundabouts were conquered).
We are already discussing the endless opportunities these
bikes can open up to us. Namely, on Saturday nights when we end up at Hangar
Bananes we now won’t have to rush and make the long trek to catch the last tram
home… we can instead rent our bikes at the Elephant, and after an uncomfortable
ride home on cobblestone, click them into place at 8 Mai. I've suggested that we take a Sunday, when everything is closed and there is nothing to do, to bike to the neighboring town Clisson for a picnic- 1/2 hour train ride away. I have little to no
faith that neither of these events will ever happen. But it’s nice to know the possibility is
there.
Day Trip: Rennes, France
Meet pretty pretty Rennes. I actually have been to the train
station in this city before… two summers ago I had to transfer here as I
traveled from Paris to camp, but my bags were too much for me to handle to do
any kind of exploring.
Rennes is a beautiful city to walk through. The capitol of
Bretagne, it’s famous for galettes/crepes and medieval half-timbered houses.
Fretting over the fate of my computer
I’ve spent a significant part of this week crying to my
mother, worrying about my computer, and running countless scans only to come
across a frozen screen. I’ve had some terrifying “failure is imminent” messages
pop up. Yikes. The tech-savvy foyer employer took a look at it and it seems to
be freezing less now… My computer is my biggest link to America while I’m here. I don’t love the idea of getting a new
hard drive, inevitably a French one… although the technology vocabulary I would
be forced to learn could greatly enhance my language development. I would
prefer it not to crash at all, but if it must, it could do me a big favor and
wait 11 weeks until I’m home in America.
That’s right… 11 weeks. It seems so little when I think
about it in weeks. I have mixed feelings about that number. Where has the time
gone?
Back to work on Monday... to wrap up my 3 day work-month.
Bisous,
Steph
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