On y va!

So I have been meaning to start a French blog, because I am busy and/or lazy I can't respond to individual emails. But having had a cast and brace and such on my wrist until this week, it hasn't happened until now. In case you missed the story, I was riding my sweet french bike that I bought used from this awesome old guy, when suddenly this kid whipped out on his scooter from behind a bus stop to cross the street without looking. I swerved hard in order to avoid him, but I took the fall instead. So I fractured my wrist in early September which was unfortunate, but I got to witness the French socialized health care system up close, and had pretty good experiences. It was interesting to have a cast for the first time, and it was exceeding awkward to try to teach myself to be a lefty, but I am newly free wristed and loving it. It still hurts if I put a lot of weight on it, so I try not to and it seems fine.

So life is Lyon is really awesome. Teaching is a little terrifying because it turns out I am essentially a college professor. I teach three courses, six sections in all, and I was given the course titles and then was told to run along and create my own lesson plans, find all my own materials and etc. Considering my students are college and grad students attending the most prestigious university in France, this is kind of intense. It's tons of work, and I still feel sort of overwhelmed by the whole thing. I spend most of the time trying to appear basically intelligent and rapidly overcoming any fears of public speaking which I may formerly have suffered. And when I am well-prepared, which is much the time, I really do love it, so it has its own rewards.

My living situation could hardly be better. My room is huge, I have my own bathroom and little balcony. My roomies here (a Tunisian, a Brit, a Canadian and my colby friend) are amazing, we are great friends and do almost everything together. We take turns cooking family dinners every night, and hang out with a bunch with a ragtag band of International and French students we have befriended. Lyon is beautiful, there is the most glorious park/zoo/botanical garden (see photo), beautiful old historic silkweaving sections, great museums, restaurants, etc. There are great bike and pedestrian paths all along the Rhone River, the markets are always fun, and we have been exploring the larger French countryside, and generally revelling in all things (especially gastronomically) French.

I will post some photos also to get started on a good foot, and post any questions you have! Thanks for reading,
Charlotte