Pourquoi tu rigoles?: The sequel

Due to my recent negligence of my poor, all-but-forgotten blog, I decided to write one more installment before my vacation.

Lately, some of my bevvy of beautiful English assistants have been feeling the effects of the French affect, or lack thereof. I cannot reiterate enough how unfriendly and, often times, hostile the people here come off as being. Smiles are few and far between and, as I have mentioned before, only the crazies giggle to themselves on the street.

A sourpuss stands out in a crowd

This grating unfriendliness has left some of my girlfriends feeling isolated and, as a result, properly homesick. They feel torn between wanting to be more integrated into French customs while still maintaing their patented, American level of pep and good cheer. If one walks down the street, a smile dopily plastered on their face, the attention they receive will likely be unfavorable. But the alternative option of being completely unapproachable isn't exactly desirable, either. What do do, what to do...

Dopey smile--not for every day use.

For a while we made jokes about trying to perfect our perfect "French ennui" face, otherwise known as "brat face" (censored for PG audiences). Walking down the street with a near scowl that said something between "leave me alone" and "what smells like rancid meat?" became the goal. This was mainly to deter creepy, cat-calling men. No eye contact + stink face would surely = no creepers. Wrong.

Ennui face. So bored I could die. Literally.

The creepers are used to the stink face. In fact, I think they take it as a dare. They see a lady with her tough-chick face slathered on like war paint and want to be the one to break it into a raised eyebrow or little coquettish grin. They see you walking towards them at a quickened pace, more of a huff really, from blocks away and think to themselves "Challenge accepted"! They spew whatever comes to mind at passing women like: "Oh how your eyes sparkle in the sunlight" or "Ooh a sporty girl! I like sporty girls..." Normally for me, this leads to a severe scowl or the surprised raising of the eyebrows paired with a look, taken from "Clueless" Cher, that conveys the reaction of "As if!" as my tough-chick self blows past them without missing a beat.

Stink face in Italy

So what is the point of this post? I've nearly arrived. Recently, I've decided that since the men are going to be piggish no matter how a woman is carrying herself, a pleasant face is worth a try. Not only have men stopped bothering me as much (maybe the more approachable you look, the less appealing you are), but other, more welcome company has sprung up. In the last month, I've been approached by four or five elderly people on the street. They ask for directions or simply want to have a little chat.

The social interactions include a depressing story from a little old woman, who I met while waiting for the bus, and how she and her sick husband couldn't live together anymore since he was in a hospital in Paris and "Isn't that sad?" to which I replied "Yes, ma'am, that is terribly sad. I'm so sorry. Here comes the #23". "Thank you, dear."

Result of a Google search for "Cute Old People"

I also had a woman stop to tell me that she feels ashamed for having such a strong public pension and that she wonders why the youth of France has not decided to revolt in protest . This was on the sidewalk while I was on my way to work--running late as per usual. But I couldn't resist the chance to discuss the situation of employment and social benefits with her. We chatted for nearly ten minutes (sorry, students) before I left on my merry way.

And most recently, an elderly man on the street waved me down and asked if he was on the right track to the doctor's office located in my building. I assured him he was with a beaming smile and he thanked me for stopping.

Laugh lines be damned!

So that's it. That's the point of this seemingly endless rambling. When you look pleasant, lonely elderly folk stop for a quick chat or for a small favor. I'm always obliged to help...I simply can't resist their adorable shuffling and timidity. Tourists are also more prone to stopping to ask for directions or advice when you look like you aren't going to bite their children or kick them in the shins. So if you want to be in the business of brightening a day or two while simultaneously avoiding Creepster McGees, a pleasant little curl of the lip is all it takes.

Normal, pleasant smile used to attract unsuspecting elderly folk

It has also helped me to find more of a balance between my cheerleader-adjacent perkiness that is so acceptable in the US and the somber, European stoicness that is so common here. So, bevvy of beauties, this has worked for me and I'm fairly certain it can work for you.

If you're needing proof, here is an article I found on the benefits of smiling: http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongbeauty/tp/smiling.htm It's not the most reputable source, but it does the job.

Peace, Love, and Death Metal


Ann

Charges: Blog Neglect Verdict: Guilty

I don't have much to say in terms of updates or dilemmas, so here is a photo montage of the last month and a half. Hopefully it's enjoyed by all!

My lovely sister and her wonderful husband came for a visit in early January. Happy 1st anniversary to Rachel and Jason!

Stayed up as late as we could (which turned out to be half-time since it was a school night) to watch the Superbowl!

Some of my lovely ladies and myself at a party at "High Club"--the only actual night club in Nice--for a pre-Carnaval bash

Action shot (below): Ann tosses confetti nilly-willy into the air at the opening ceremonies of Carnaval

Picture of me and the bro-in-law waiting for the train to Italy

In other news, I got my hair cut. It looks sorta like this on a good day:

and sorta like this on a bad:

Small updates:

I have successfully submitted two grad school applications (NYU and University of San Francisco), re-applied for my position here in Nice, applied for a position with Amnesty International in London, and begun the search for summer employment back in MN.

I have visits from Miss Mary Dy and Miss Natalie Sokol in March to look forward to. Minnesota Love!

Also, I leave on a 16-day jam-packed vacation on Thursday. What's on the docket? Spain (Madrid, Toledo, La Solana/the region of Castilla de la Mancha), Budapest, and Krakow. With a day in Geneva thrown in for good measure. Smiles all around! Ready, set, adventure.

Much love!

Ann (a name that, when said with an American accent, is apparently incomprehensible for Australians and Brits...who knew?)

The Holiday(s)

Christmas was surprisingly easy to weather while I was away from my family in sunny Nice. I had my friend Tracy here (she works as an assistant in Bordeaux) and we made the most of my splendid location. On the 24th, we took a gorgeous 2-hour bus ride up to Valberg, which is a sleepy little ski resort town in the French Alps, to see some snow. Unfortunately, the mildness of this year's winter seems to be global, so all of the available snow was man-made. Nonetheless, we each grabbed a handful with pleasure. This was followed by a nice, cozy lunch and a wonderful cup of steaming hot chocolate. Delicious.

The next day we prepared a traditional American breakfast for my Algerian roommates. French toast (with maple syrup), scrambled eggs, breakfast potatoes, and OJ. Yum. Then we were off to the beach because...pourquoi pas? It was a beautiful, sunny day--which felt pretty surreal until I looked up the weather in MN and realized it was a balmy 51 degrees there. Apparently this winter season at my home sweet home was not one to miss

For Near Year's Eve, I have another friend who is here for a little vacation--Kaliya. We decided to do a little house-party hopping since most places in Nice (and in the Western world) required a relatively steep cover for entrance. We ate some delicious Lebanese food at a friend's apartment and then came back to my place for a dance party extravaganza and the countdown to midnight. Fortunately, we could see the fireworks that were shot off along the Promenade des Anglais from my terrace. Perfect.

So, what are my New Year's Resolutions?
1. Start going to more language exchanges--since there is such a huge student and foreign population in Nice, there are multiple places where you can go to have a drink and a conversation with many people in the language you want to practice. Usually it's a French-English exchange, but there are some that do an hour of French and then an hour of whatever else people want to speak (which usually defaults to English, but at least the options are more open). Though I do feel that my French has greatly improved, the added practice couldn't hurt!

2. Start running more.

3. Enjoy the rest of my time here with the great people that I have met.

Happy Near Year, everyone!

Cheers!

Git 'Er Dun.

Classes have ended for the 2011 and won't recommence until January 3rd, so now is my chance to plow through and focus my energy on applying for graduate school programs and looking for summer work for next year. I have found three schools with strong programs in International Education that don't require the GRE (thanks for the advice, Kristi!): NYU, University of San Francisco, and St. Thomas University. My number one from the list is NYU because they have the best resources for international programs, but I would be happy with any of them!

They definitely each have major pros and cons. I have friends living in NYC right now and that school has the strongest program, but man it is expensive to sustain yourself in New York. Pro for SFU is that my lovely sister is living in the Bay Area right now, and it would be great to be near to her...but again--very expensive place to live. St. Thomas is near my family and friends in MN, and they have a great general education program, but I'm not sure how strong their "Masters in International Leadership" is (it sorta sounds like a load of hooey).

But! Those are my options for now. The plan is to try to renew my contract in France and be accepted to graduate school. If both happen for me, I will defer school for a year to come back to France for the 2012-2013 school year. Fingers crossed!

In other news, my conveyer belt of visitors has begun. Yesterday morning, my friend Tyler (who is a flight attendant for Delta) flew out to say "Hi" for a couple of days. He is able to fly quite cheaply, which is good news for me! Unfortunately for him, he is my visitor guinea pig--hopefully things will go much smoother as the other start to arrive.

So that's basically it, for the time being. Personal statements, looking for people to write letters of recommendation, and showing people around Nice. Not a terrible way to spend winter vacation.


A plus!

Ann

Setbacks and Perseverance

I took a break from blogging for a while due to some unfortunate news that I received from home. After some much-needed time for processing and reflecting, I'm back with a purpose! I truly feel that blogging helps me to feel more connected to...something. Whether it's my family and friends back home or any random stranger who happens to stumble upon my humble ramblings, I don't really care. It's just nice to feel like you could have the potential to brighten someone's day or keep them posted on the happenings of your life. So I will try my best to post at least one time per week on this little thing--it's definitely more for me than for anyone else, but any source of comfort that one can receive when they are so far away from home is definitely welcomed with open arms.

So! A lot has happened.

1. Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving here in France was very bittersweet. On the one hand, you are far away from your family who you know is digging into the traditional meal of food on top of food, smothered with gravy, and finished with whipped-cream slathered pumpkin pie. Le Sigh.

On the other hand, the new family that I've formed here in Nice came over to my place and we made due with what we could scrape together. I found (pre-cut) turkey breast that I roasted with vegetables. We also had garlic green beans, cous cous, apple pie (soooo good) with cinnamon whipped cream, mashed potatoes, and delicious apple sauce. The best part, though, was definitely the company. My little salon housed about 12 people who were all happy to dig into the delicious food and the lively conversation. What a nice way to feel a little closer to home without having to travel anywhere.

Day Trip:
As I mentioned before, I am determined to see as much as I can of the Cote d'Azur before I leave for the summer (more on this later). I took a day trip to Eze with my friends Emily and Rachel. Eze is a gorgeous little medieval village perched on a hill top. It provides stunning views of the sea and the hills. The narrow, stone roads are just so adorable and quaint and all of the little ships are carved into the old stone walls of the city. We hiked up the hill on a path called the Chemin de Nietzsche which took about an hour, but was a nice change from the city life. Hopefully in the coming weeks, when I have 5 visitors coming over the winter break, I will be able to discover more of the coast!

General Life Direction:
I think I have figured out a short-term plan for myself. Finally. After I graduated from the U of M, I felt completely lost. A part of me wanted to just settle into a teaching job because it seemed like the easiest thing that I could do at the time--I mean, what else does one do with a double major in French and Political Science in Minnesota?

Then I came to France and my eyes were opened. At first it was overwhelming. I came here expecting clarity to be the end result, and it was just such a scary thing to realize that I am not confined to the limits of Minnesota. I could go anywhere, do anything, be anyone I wanted to be. This realization made me feel lost and like I was stumbling around in the dark--not a good combination when paired with bad news from home and homesickness.

Then I had a breakthrough. I have always considered working in a study abroad office for a company or university to be one of my top choices. However, most of those positions require a master's degree of some sort. I didn't quite know how to approach this predicament. Do I pursue a graduate level degree in French? International Relations? Linguistics? What to do? There are far too many academic interests that I hold dear to me...how do I choose one? Enter: Lisa.

Lisa is one of the American assistants here in France. She and I have become pretty close and we often have discussions about future plans and options. Through these discussions, I learned we are interested in pursuing the same career paths--coordinating study abroad programs. Well, to be more specific, this is just one of the many paths Lisa is considering as she has many academic interests as well. Anyways, she told me that she had read an article on international education, which definitely peaked my interest. Essentially, it's a master's program in how to coordinate international education programs...Bingo! Yahtzee! GOAAAAAAAL!

So that is my new goal. Life is infinitely easier when you have a goal in mind. SO! *drum roll please.....*

My current plan is to: try to renew my contract for next year in France, take the GRE in the summer of 2012 (must start studying...grr), start a TEFL certification class, re-take the GRE if necessary, and then apply for jobs. If no jobs take, apply for graduate programs which would begin in 2014. I might also try my luck with jobs in the US for next year as well...but it is difficult to secure a position without a master's. What up, life goals.

It's such a relief to have this feeling...that what I am doing right now in France is applicable to what I want to do with my life. At first coming to France was sort of a diversion tactic. I had the mentality of "Oh...I have no idea what's happening right now so...Travel!" But it actually ended up doing exactly what I wanted it to do--provided me with clarity.

Picture time!
Eze:




Happy Ann:






Hugs and Kisses


Ann

Relative Recovery, Tiny Pig

After a couple weeks in a confusing, stressful place, I feel like I have nearly fully emerged from my slump. Thanks to the help of my wonderful friends, the return of the sunshine here in Nice, and a cunning use of Al Green's and Tenacious D's music, I am feeling much better. Though it is difficult to be away from home, and will continue to be so, it's best to power through the bad so as to ensure that one is still taking advantage of the good.

I do love it here, I do think that it's a great experience, and the best thing for me to do is to not allow myself to sit in my apartment eating massive amounts of chips/chocolate while illegally streaming American TV shows. Obviously the occasional indulgence is good, but there is SO much I haven't seen. I am beginning to guilt myself because I have been here for nearly 8 and truly haven't done much of anything in terms of touristy endeavors on the Cote d'Azur.

Here is a list of things that I need to see/do:
Chagall museum
Matisse museum
Roman ruins
Renoir museum (Cagnes-sur-Mer)
Old city of Cagnes-sur-Mer
Eze
Monaco
Villefrance-sur-Mer
Toulon
Go hiking in the animal refuge/national park
Go up to the mountains (this will probably wait for a month or two)
Antibes again
Cannes
Russian Church
Ventimiglia

SO! I have a full plate in terms of things to see and do. Luckily the buses and trains are fast and (relatively) reliable--given there isn't a strike. Hopefully in the next month, I will be able to cross all of these things off my list. This also will mean that I will need to get up at a decent time on weekends and my days off so as to complete this list, which is definitely not a bad thing. I'm also tentatively planning a trip to Germany and Belgium and eagerly awaiting some wonderful visitors from the USA. Things to look forward to!

As promised......TINY PIG!

Singin' the Blues...but only a little.

With the end of the Toussaints holiday at the end of October came the end of the "honeymoon" period of my cultural adjustment. Now my general mood has turned a bit funky, but is most certainly not fresh. I have been trying to keep myself busy, but the appeal of sitting on my couch with some sort of junk/comfort food has become difficult to ignore! I am definitely hoping that the never-ceasing positive attitudes of my friends will pull me out of this wonkiness toute de suite (ASAP) so I can go back to feeling normal again.

I think that one of the major reasons for my current slump, besides the obvious issue of homesickness, has been the sheer amount of stimulation that I have received since arriving in Nice. I took this job as an assistant and came to France to attempt to find some clarity and direction. Instead I now have more options and opportunities at my feet than I ever thought possible! Should I come to Europe for my masters? Should I hang out here for another year to work as a teaching assistant? Should I try my hand at moving here and working without enrolling in school (gasp!)? Then there are the same options in the US...and if you extend even further, the same options in South America, Asia, Africa, and Australia. I think that the next six months will most definitely provide some sort of weight that will help to tip the scales in one direction or another, but the waiting is always the hardest part (words of wisdom by Tom Petty).

Another thing that I haven't been able to shake from my brain is the idea of "success". Success, to me, has never meant sitting at a desk, earning a 401K, and completing meaningless tasks. Success means feeling fulfilled from all aspects of your life, including the work you do. I know that it is an idealistic viewpoint, but I do think that it's possible to achieve. I also am trying my hardest to distance myself from the (very American) idea that how much you make determines your level of success--success should be a feeling, not a figure. Now I'm not trying to go all hippy dippy on you (Dad, don't worry), but one of my goals for my time in France is for me to determine what would make me feel satisfied for now, and to pursue it once this year is over. And once whatever "that" is stops fulfilling me, I need to promise myself that I will replace it with something that does.

On another, much lighter note, I went to the Fête des Châtaignes in Cagnes-sur-Mer this past weekend where I got to eat (more) freshly roasted chestnuts, pet a baby pig and some kittens, drink (more) mulled wine, and spend time with a good friend. Pictures of said tiny pig to come!


Hugs and Bisous

Ann