I'm back in 'Murica and all is well! I had a wonderful time with my family in France during the past two weeks, and surprisingly, I didn't shed a tear during the process of leaving Nantes, my cute little apartment, France, and Europe. I know I'll be back, so it wasn't as tragic to leave as it otherwise could have been.
Get ready for several (read: MANY) posts related to my final six weeks in Europe. First up, we have my final weeks at Lycée Carcouët and the two weeks I spent introducing my friend Seth to Europe!
The last couple of weeks of work were a flurry of social activities: birthday parties, dinner parties, goodbye parties, all sorts of parties! So much fun and many good memories to end my year of working in France with amazing people from around the world!
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| Spanish dinner night at Jose's apartment with other assistants. |
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| C's birthday party! |
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| Maddy's birthday costume party! |
The teachers at Carcouët took me out to dinner as a goodbye and thank you and were incredibly kind to present me with several great books, some yummy treats, and a beautiful necklace! A couple of my classes also gave me cards and treats as well. So much love!! I was quite sad to leave the great students and professors of Carcouët, but they sent me off with the best of farewells. I can't express enough appreciation to them for such a fantastic work environment, job, and such great coworkers!
Speaking of thank-yous, I would like to send a
very big and
very special thank you to every friend and colleague I met and spent time with this past year! I met some truly incredible people who have inspired me with their openness and kindness to continue on this path of an international and Europe-focused life. All of the cultures, languages, stories, and fun soirées that came together this year made this an unforgettable year, and the best year of my life. I'm so glad I always took so many pictures; I don't ever want the faces and the memories to fade!
On my last free weekend before work ended, I took myself out to the coastal city of Pornic for a leisurely Sunday at the beach. I had a lovely time enjoying the sunshine, warm weather, soft sand, cool ocean, ice cream, and people watching at another beautiful spot along France's Atlantic coast.
My last day of work was Friday, 19 April, and Seth, my old friend from high school, arrived in Nantes on 18 April. We spent the weekend exploring the city and painting the town with the other assistants and several groups of my BTS students. After a hilarious and fun weekend, we headed off to Amsterdam!
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| Goofing around on one of the last nights out with the other assistants! |
I adored Amsterdam when I spent a few days there in late February with V, so I was happy to be back for more fun! Seth liked the architecture, bicycles, chill atmosphere, and the Heineken, while I enjoyed seeing some new parts of town, visiting the Heineken Experience, and finally making my way to the "I AMsterdam" sign. It was a bit chilly when we were there, but we had a great time.
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| Experiencing the Heineken Experience :) |
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| DANG, I love me some pofferjtes! |
On 23 April, we headed to Schiphol airport and boarded a plane for Spain! More about our ten days in Spain in the next post. :)
My last day of work was Friday, 19 April, and Seth, my old friend from high school, arrived in Nantes on 18 April. We spent the weekend exploring the city and painting the town with the other assistants and several groups of my BTS students. After a hilarious and fun weekend, we headed off to Amsterdam!
On 23 April, we headed to Schiphol airport and boarded a plane for Spain! More about our ten days in Spain in the next post. :)
Hello!
ReplyDeleteI will be participating in TAPIF this coming year in Nantes, and am also from the Seattle area. I was interested in knowing around what time your arrêté de nomination came in the mail? I know that it is not guaranteed to come at the same time for me, but it would be nice to know!
Thank you!
-Carly
Hi, Carly!
DeleteFirst off, congratulations!! You're in for a fantastic year. :) I received my work contract by postal mail on 9 July 2012 and had my visa appointment at the San Francisco consulate during the first week of August (and I received my passport with the visa in it only 3 days after my appointment, fortunately!). I think early- to mid-July is the typical time to receive the contract, assuming the Rectorat isn't backed up with more paperwork than usual.
Good luck, and let me know if you have other questions!
-Afton