My second day at Collège Grand Champ started with some drama. I had asked a lot of questions about my move and getting started the day before, mentioning my concern that my contact professor was taking a leave of absence until January. I received a nasty email from her the night before which had also been sent to the entire department. I sent her an email to smooth things over and arrived at school feeling extremely anxious. Thankfully all the teachers I met the day before rallied around me. Corinne told me the email had left her shaking with rage, Christel said the contact had a pattern of starting problems with other staff members and let me know the principal was not fond of her.
I spent two hours with Viri’s classes. They were really energetic and it was a little overwhelming. Corinne took me to look at bank accounts and apartments online after class. I was a little frustrated she did it in French because I’m not sure I entirely understood, but it was very nice of her to take time to do. Before I left for the day we also got some paperwork started with the office so I could get paid.
I missed the bus that left directly from the school, so I walked about 12 minutes into town through a slight drizzle. I got to see some lovely flower and fountains while I waited for the bus.
I walked back to my apartment through Crémieu. I passed a monument to the soldiers of WWI, WWII, and those of the 1870-1871 war as I entered town.
I spent the night watching the US election and calling my friends and family. It was incredibly stressful. It felt incredibly isolating to be an ocean away from everything that was happening. No one in France would care about the election to the same extent and it was hard to be going through so much while I was alone. Some of the professors did send me emails in support of Biden. Corinne texted to say how happy she was when Michigan turned blue- I had to laugh because she hadn’t known where Michigan was before Monday.
Mary-Est-En-France 