Milemarker

I am officially a French functionaire (which means governmental employee). Today I looked at my account to see where I was at in euros, and there it was triple digits and all. What did I feel there? Proud. I sort of wanted to turn to the middle age woman behind me in line and say, “um, excuse me, but I am an American being paid by your government, how bout it?” I think this constitutes my first real job out of college, yep put it on the resume I’m doin’ it. So what did I do with my newfound resolve and excitement? I went to the closest grocery and bought some Gruyere cheese, a huge beer made in Alsace, which is near the German border, and went home to eat a good meal, drink this lovely beer and write a few letters.
Cheers

Wedding all done.

The wedding is over, I am once again back in an airport. Waiting again to get on a plane and wait again.

Congratulations to Stuart and Erin who have started their lives together yesterday. It was a perfect wedding in many ways, the weather, the fun, the food, the lighting, the location, all the family chipping in to help and make it special. I was only in my home town for 48 hours almost exactly, but every minute was worth it. Breakfast at Crackle Barrell, rehersal dinner with us all around the same table, last minute thoughts and bird seed to buy, cakes that taste more like fudge, wedding felt more like it should.
Thanks to all of you who were there, and I say to you two Stu and Erin, enjoy the journey, you have embarked on a new road together. Enjoy it. Pictures will come soon I promise.

And so the first week is over.

It took a little more out of me than I thought it was going to, but I am happy where I am. It feels different to not be physically exhausted after a day of work. It is different to use your mind instead of your back to make a living. The kids were great I have seniors (Terminals) through sophomores (Premieres) who have proved to be a little difficult, but it will be good. I was prepared, but not near enough. The teaching was easy, it was the prep that caught me off guard.

I am sitting in my kitchen, as I do here in Castres most evenings, going over some new lesson ideas for next week and packing for a climbing trip up into the Pyrenees. I got hooked up with the local climbing club here and in less than two sessions at the local wall, they invited me to come and spend the weekend craiging and then some class IV alpine up somewhere. Didn’t so much pack for this one. However Ryan you will be pleased to know that I did bring my spandex along, so those will prove helpful and for the top all I have is my down green Patagonia and a few more light tops that I will layer like hell to keep warm, dirtbag alpine? Does that exist Josh?

I will post photos soon ya’ll I am having to do it all from the school and there is all kinds of malfunction problems. I am going to be getting internet here in the apartment soon, so take heed all y’all skypers, I will be online maybe next week.

And about next week the Verner clan has yet again pulled together to buy their son and brother a flight back to the states for Stuart and Erin’s wedding that will be next weekend, the 20th. So I will leave Toulouse, France at 12:45 on Thursday, get to Nashville that night at 9 stay until Sunday afternoon about 4 and head back to France to be at work on Tuesday.

The way it all went down

I put my phone in the mailbox at the airport just about an hour before I was planning on leaving for Paris. I was on a companion pass for the way there, and had done all the necessary tricks I could think of to get on the plane. I hung out at the gate all day just so that they would know who I was and that I had paid to play so to speak.
Strike number one, the guards change every flight. Well no matter, the attendants had told me that the flight was tight, but “you never know”. Right.
Twenty minutes before the flight was supposed to take off a mass crowd of what looked like to be geriatric tourists. They all filed in and I was the only one left. No space…NO SPACE!
I was to start school that Monday, this was Wednesday. I still didn’t have a place to stay nor much of anything else planned out. I needed to get on that flight and the next wasn’t until the next afternoon.
“London or Frankfurt”, the lady said in a distinctive French accent. Looked at the board to see which one was leaving when…London in 5 min, Frankfurt later that evening.
I took the London. 6 hours later after hardly eating and sitting next to an extremely talkative English 20 year old wanting nothing more than to be ‘proper drunk’ as soon as he touched down in England.
When I landed and then went through customs, no bags. ‘Hmm’, I thought, ‘that is strange.’ I did remember that I had two bags that I checked on to the plane. Well at least my stuff made the plane to Paris. Half a day, the tube, EuroStar, another train to Paris Airport, totaling about $250, I was reunited with my bags. Not end of story sadly.
Bought a overnight train ticket to Toulouse and then to Castres. Nice enough, thought I would sleep, but it was to hot and I couldn’t get my head to turn off or feel even somewhat comfortable in three day old dress clothes. Arrived in Toulouse because I had to change trains, lost the transfer ticket. Perfect. Bought another one, but being so tired I said Mazamet the city I am working in, not the city I live in. Ran with 100lbs of baggage to get the wrong train, had to get off and buy yet another ticket finally to Castres by bus.
Eight hours later I was shown the apartment and took it without a question.
Having only my liner for covers I took the curtains down and for the first time in 84 hours, I slept.