Ça y est !

While this expression can have a million and one meanings, depending on the context (just try looking it up on word reference, no quick easy answer), basically it's a kind of woot woot, it worked/is working out, it's done (exclamation point!!)! In this case, I am of course, refering to where we left off with my previous post--well, previous previous post--about my life being on hold until I found housing. As I said quickly in my pink praline post, I HAVE A HOME!! Chez an incredibly nice famille française--mom (Sophie), dad (Gilles) and 18-year old son (Oscar). Oh yeah, and the giant, but friendly, dog (Rita). I have taken over the room of the older son (don't remember his name...). It's a beautiful house nestled on the Fourvière Hill, overlooking the lovely city of Lyon. I know, my life is tough. I just had my first dinner with them (as well as Sophie's brother), and everything about it was so typically French, I almost can't believe it myself. Needless to say, this is going to be a delightful and educational 7 months. I never envisioned this kind of living situation when I thought about coming to Lyon--I figured I would find an apartment with some other French people my age--but this is so much better! I wanted cultural immersion, and boy am I going to get it. Duck, champignons, squash gratin, wine from the Rhone valley, and of course, some fromage, plus your average French dinner table discussion topics: wine, food (while eating other food), and politics. For my part, I taught them the words for squash and pumpkin, and shot down their sterotype that Americans don't like fresh cheese. Apparently, we only like it cooked and are afraid of French cheese, including goat cheese. Oh no, I said, although I don't like goat cheese, I know many Americans who do, and we have many other French cheeses in the US. It is, of course, a much more central part of the French gastronomical culture than in the US, as is foie gras, bread, wine, well, food in general.



View from back of the house, same view as from my room (snow-capped mountain is Mont Blanc--apparently when it is so clear you can see it, rain is coming soon!)
My room (a bit bigger than it looks)

As for other things that are off and running, I had my first, sort of, real day at work this afternoon. For the first week or so, I'm basically just introducing myself and observing. I did jump in every now and then when the teacher asked me to explain an expression--"live and let live"(I almost started singing "Let it Be)-- give a synonym for "profess" or "anxiety," etc. It's really a challenge to suddenly have to explain things you just say all the time without even thinking about them. It was a really interesting 3 hours, and I was really impressed by the students level of English and, especially, by their eagerness to participate. They were expressing ideas in English that I could never have done in French when I was in high school. Even in college level French courses students weren't usually so vocal. Of course, today I apparently had some of the best students at the school, so my impression is a little one-sided. Probably the most hilarious part of the day was when a student said the F-word while performing a skit. In France, les gros mots, or cuss words, aren't as strong and offensive as they are in English, and you'll hear them much more often, including out of the mouths of children, than in the US. As a result, when French people speak English, they often drop more cuss words than many of us would in an everday conversation. The teacher kindly explained to the student that this word was extremely inappropriate, much more offensive than he thought, and was never to be used in the classroom, while I nodded vigorously from my seat.

Besides a little F-bomb dropping, the rest of the day was spent with another teacher who had had her students watch a short video in which New Yorkers were inteviewed about their opinions on the mosque near Ground Zero. I appreciated that she emphasized that only some Americans confuse terrorists/extremists with Muslims. Others of us realize that it was not in fact the Muslim community that flew planes into the twin towers. Then again, it's probably the same people who compare Obama to Hitler and insist that he was not born in the US. In that class, I realized I would be spending some time this year teaching the students differences between British and American English, starting today with autumn and fall (next week--can't and cahn't). I'll probably learn some things along the way too, and before I know it, I may even become fluent in British (I kid, I kid).

Ok, that's all for now folks. Tomorrow I'm opening a bank account, getting a metro pass, and hitting up the Monoprix for some essentials. Look out Lyon, Lindsey really lives here now! :)