Ajaccio: My First Few Days <3
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Oh my gosh! I’ve been busier than ever here in beautiful Ajaccio (pronounced Ah-jeck-see-oh). The photos of this place did not do it justice. It’s absolutely stunning. Even in the rain :)
This is gonna be a long one. Stay with me.
The day I arrived was spent with my amazing boss and colleague, Valérie. This woman took time out of her life and picked me up from the airport before making me a delicious lunch, which we ate at her house with her family. And THEN she drove me to my apartment and carried my backpack up a super steep flight of stairs for me. (Fun fact: my apartment building was built in 1492! Yeah. The year Columbus sailed the ocean blue. That 1492. How cool is that?!) After she got me settled in, Valérie drove down windy roads to the countryside for tea with another new colleague of mine, Marie-Christine. My afternoon was spent with my new BFF Valérie, Marie-Christine, and her husband, Nicholas. We spent hours chatting, drinking tea, and eating cookies. It was so kind of them. I was feeling more and more comfortable as the day went on. After tea, I was too tired for dinner so Valérie took me back to my place, but not before she sent me off with groceries and half a quiche. It was a pretty amazing first day. I was exhausted. And I had very little clue as to what the heck was going on, what with all the French and whatnot, but it was a good day.
My second day in Corsica, I had lunch at Valérie’s house again. She couldn’t be any more kind and wonderful. After lunch, I spent the afternoon wandering around the cobble-stoned streets of my new city. Again, it’s unimaginably beautiful here. There are high mountains soaring up above sparkly blue water met with ancient pastel buildings. It’s ridiculous.
There is one street, Rue Fesch, that I like the most so far. No cars allowed. Only pedestrians. So I wandered up and down the little streets until I felt like going to take a nap in my 15th century apartment. I ended the day with dinner at the Pisani’s, the family I will be babysitting for in exchange for housing. They have two little boys named Jean-Baptiste and Louis. Couldn’t be more French if they tried. Jean-Baptiste is 9 and Louis is 7. Again, everyone seemed so sweet and nice. The mother’s name is Julie and she’s a quiet and reserved lady. My French isn’t great, to say the least, but we managed by speaking a little English and a little French until her husband came home. They seem like a wonderful family. I played a dominos type game with the boys and I can’t wait to spend more time with them. They’re too cute!
This is where i had lunch at Valerie's. so pretty!!
On Monday, I finally met the other assistants. I made plans to meet up with one of the other American girls, Ella, but I slept through my alarm! Oops. I was still getting over jet lag. Luckily, we recognized each other as we passed on the street. Thank God for FaceBook amiright? I grabbed a drink looking out over the port with my lovely new friend and then met up with the other assistants. It took me about .2 seconds to realize that my French needed some WORK! One of the assistants, an italian girl named Federica may as well be French she’s so good. I met another Italian girl named Carmen and a guy from Scotland named… ready? Gareth. He sounds like Shrek. It’s awesome. Here’s about what my brain was comprehending during the whole meet and greet process: “Hi. It’s nice to meet you a;dlaldkaflkdjfal;djf airplane alkdjfal;flajd;lfkadf went adlfkajdf;lkjadl;fj afternoon ladjfl;adfakdfd others ald;faldkfafj. ladkfjal;dkskfj? ;ldkfjal;dksjfal;kdsjf! hahahaha! ;ladkfakdf.” Occasionally someone would try to ask me something and I just stared at them perplexed.
I’m not gonna lie. It shook me up a little bit. My train of thought went a little like the following: ohmygod. everyonessogoodatfrench. whyaretheysogoodandimsobad? ohmygodimsostupid. whyamihererightnowahhhhhhhhh. Ok. So I freaked out a little bit.
I’ve since realized that not everyone is going to be at the same level in French and I’m not an idiot because my French isn’t as good as everyone else’s. Federica has a serious French boyfriend. Gareth has already lived in France as an English Assistant. Carmen studied French for 12 years. Ella’s just really smart? Anywho, it was rough at first, but every day I’m getting better and better :)
The next few days were spent meeting more assistants and teachers. (I’ll be teaching at two middle schools, which are called colleges here.) The staffs and administrations at both schools seem helpful and genuine. As far as assistants go, there are 5 American assistants, 2 Scottish assistants, 1 English assistant and 3 italian assistants. We are all in different programs, but we’re all here and in the same boat!
I can’t say anything more than I AM SO LUCKY. I lucked out with my boss and the teachers at my schools. I lucked out with my housing situation and the family I’ll work for. And I lucked out with the other assistants. The last point I can’t stress enough. The other assistants are all very open and helpful. Everyone just wants to help each other, get know one another and have a good time. It’s been amazing. I don’t mean to gush so much, but honestly, everything, or rather everyone, has been more than friendly and welcoming. I can’t wait to see what the next few weeks bring!! :D
