The end of my time in Tergnier has come! Thursday was my last day of classes at Condren, Friday was my last day in town, and Saturday I caught a bus from Paris to Amsterdam.
It really blows my mind how fast 7 months have flown by. It is also crazy to think that I am 1 year out of college, and to think of all that I've done in that year: moved to Kansas City & worked there for 3 months; went home to California; then moved to France, and grown fond of my little apartment, this little town in gray Picardie, and of course all the people I've met here.
This past week has been a rather gloomy one, full of goodbyes and rain. On Sunday I had my last basketball game with Équipe B, who took the #13 jersey I've been wearing and had my name put on it along with the name of the club-- ASG Gauchy! They also pushed me into the shower with all my clothes on directly after the game, apparently a tradition of some sort. I also said goodbye to the yoga class I've been attending on Monday nights, Equipe A who I've been practicing with twice per week, Bara & Jakub, several assistants who live nearby, and of course all the students and teachers I've worked with over the last few months.
The most moving moment of the week came on Thursday, when I said goodbye to the students and teachers at Condren. In the morning during my last regular class, the director of the school, Lucille, and I made chocolate chip cookies with the older kids, and I spent my usual 30 minutes with maternelle, practicing colors, animals, and numbers. Lucille told me to come back in the afternoon to taste the cookies and to say goodbye-- I thought it was going to be something small and short. When I arrived Lucille had me doing something on the computer in a classroom, but after a few minutes someone came to get me and told me everyone was waiting for me in the maternelle classroom. I walked over, and all the kids in the whole school were there (theres about 70 of them), and had decorated the classroom with American flags and were clapping and cheering! All the teachers were there too, and everyone sang a few songs-- "Head, Shoulder, Knees and Toes", "Michelle", and this one- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPn52kRQx3k -- along with Lucille's husband, who had brought along his guitar. They had had a shirt made for me that said the name of the school and had all the kids' signatures on it, as well as a map of France on one sleeve and one of the US on the other. A lot of kids gave me notes and drawings, and of course we tried the cookies! I couldn't help but cry a bit, it was so nice to know that everyone felt that having me at the school had been a help, and of course it was sad to say goodbye-- the teachers and students at that school in particular have been so kind to me since the very beginning.
My very last day in Tergnier was a nice one, with very typical April weather-- all day it alternated between rain and sunshine. I took one last run along the canal, where everything was much greener than the last time I had gone. In the evening I ate dinner with some friends in Chauny, and as I walked out of the house there was a giant bright rainbow just above the school across the street from our apartment! It was a nice last image of our little place.
The last few days have been busy ones-- on Saturday I was on a bus for almost 11 hours, and arrived in Amsterdam in the early evening. Thanks to the internet and the wonders of social networking, I was able to stay with a friend of a friend for the night, and yesterday I walked around the city for hours, and saw the van Gogh museum and some prostitutes along the way (weird!!) Yesterday afternoon I caught a ride into Germany and at around 10 pm arrived in Diepholz, where Tabea picked me up and drove me to her parents' house (the very first place I stopped in Germany was McDonald's. lol) Her parents are very kind and so far in the way of German specialties I've tasted beet syrup, special breakfast rolls, and real Black Forest ham. This morning Tabea and I took the train to Osnabruck, where she is a student at the university.
I'll be in Germany for the next 2 weeks, mostly in Osnabruck but also in Hamburg for one weekend and Berlin for a few days at the end, then it's back to Saint Quentin, France, for one week, then on to Prague, Geneva, and Tuscany! I can't post photos because I'm using a university computer, but I'll try to do that soon. For now I will leave you with this article about the first round of the French presidential election, which happened yesterday (if you're interested):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/apr/23/francois-hollande-french-election?intcmp=239
and also this German proverb that Tabea taught me:
Was der Bauer nicht kennt, dass isst er nicht! (=What the farmer doesn't know, he doesn't eat.)
beautiful...
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