Starting last week it began to enter our minds that this gig isn't going to last forever. In fact we have just made it over the proverbial hill, and the majority of our contract has already passed. Of course we are not letting that dampen our spirit because we still have not one, but two more vacations to look forward to. However, it has occurred to us that now is the time to begin planning for our future. We're not getting ahead of ourselves either, by future I simply mean next year. With the economy still in a state of limbo, and the job market for just graduated applicants not exactly overflowing with possibilites, we feel our best option is to continue working abroad.
Our official search began just a couple days ago, and our target areas are (in no particular order): France, Italy, Greece, Haiti, and Switzerland. Our number one goal is to find another English teaching position in a different region of France. This year has with out a doubt improved our French language abilities exponentially, but we have still not achieved our overarching aspirations of fluency. We want that. It has also been brought to our attention, given the recent natural disaster, that Haiti will soon be in need of French speaking teachers, so we have begun to look into NGO jobs over there. One major roadblock on that front is the persisting state of emergency, and the basic human needs of food, water and shelter that must be met before anyone begins to think about rebuilding/education. Switzerland is also a viable option thanks to the multitude of job options, the fact that French is an official language, and its close proximity to our current location. Yesterday I applied for a job with the World Health Organization, and as I am quite sure nothing will materialize, it felt good to take that first step in the job hunt.
As a very last resort (because returning to the United States is out of the question, although that may depend on President Obama's State of the Union Address this evening) we are considering one of the many, many teaching positions available in South Korea. Aside from the fact that it would add nothing to my resume, they would provide airfare to and from the country, a place to live, and over 2million Won per month. However, we would have to live in Korea. We're trying to cover all our bases. If anyone has any suggestions we'd love to hear them (or if you have any foreign job placement connections, those would be gratefully accepted as well).
A bientôt,
-Jordan and Kathryn
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Pub Lunch
Our class fieldtrip to London materialized rather last minute. I had been told about the excursion about a month before hand, but due to the necessity of purchasing tickets well in advance the initial outlook for our accompaniment was bleak. Luckily for us the French do not seem to be very adept with planning out schedules too far in advance. Thanks to one students test to obtain a permis de conduire, and another’s misplaced National Identity Card, Kathryn and I were able to join the group just one day before the trip. I had never been to London before other than three hours spent navigating the underground to Heathrow while coming home for the Winter Holiday. For Kathryn this would be her second tour through the capital of the United Kingdom, but her first time there in the last eight years.
The fieldtrip itself had a very “play-as-we-go” atmosphere, but one goal was to have as much time as possible for sight-seeing, museums, lunch, and a favorite Lillois pastime…shopping. With that in mind we met the electronic engineering BTS class at the Lille-Europe station to board our 7:35am departure. We arrived in London just before 8am local time. Once we had disembarked from the train our group traversed back and forth across the length of St. Pancras station twice before finally locating a currency exchange where we could turn our euros into pounds. While the students were exchanging their money Kathryn and I grabbed a croissant to hold us over seeing as our 5am rise that morning left very little time for breakfast.
First up on our list of activities for the day was a visit to the London Science Museum. The original plan was to take one of the famed double-decker buses which would provide a great opportunity for the students to see the city compared to the underground. Unfortunately the cost of a daily pass for the buses cost double that of the subway so we gave in to frugality, and the kids got their first chance to practice their English skills. None of them took that chance; instead they just walked up to the teller’s window, handed her the money, and waited for their change hoping they would receive the correct amount as well as their pass card. Our first challenge of the trip came just minutes later as we attempted to catch the blue-line of the underground.
It was still rather early in the morning London time, and we seemed to be right in the heart of rush hour as thousands of Londoners were making their way to work that morning. This was the main contributing factor to almost losing Kathryn before the day even got started. When the train pulled up it was, expectantly, filled to capacity. As the doors slid open about half the train car squeezed and pushed their way off as about the same number of people did to get on. We were a group of about twelve students, the teacher (Catherine) and one of the school administrators who is in charge of much of the schools financial expenditures (Eric).
Kathryn and I had stayed at the back of the group with the intention of corralling stragglers, and making sure no one was left behind. This almost came back to bite us. Kathryn, coming from Portland, was not exactly practiced in the art of forcing oneself onto a train car, and took more of a passive and accommodating approach rather than one more aggressive. In most aspects of life this is the best way to handle interpersonal relations in a foreign land, but anyone who has ridden the “L” during rush hour knows that’s not the best way to get onto a train. That being said, as the class piled on we quickly ran out of space and Kathryn was left standing on the platform as the ominous tone sounded indicating the doors would be closing. Neither Kathryn nor I had brought our phones with us because of the exorbitant out-of-country charges, so separation was not an option. Thinking quickly I was just able to fit my arm through the closing doors, and pry them back open enough to yank Kathryn onto the ledge while pushing a couple students further into the cabin to make room for her to fully board. That little dust-up aside the biggest problem we encountered the rest of the day was merely which pub to stop at and eat lunch.
We got off the train at Piccadilly Circus then stopped in the middle of the square so that Catherine could get her bearings (and actually decide what we would be doing seeing as the trip had no itinerary, but only a few ideas about possible things to do). After only a few minutes of impeding foot traffic (in normal French style) and consulting the map we headed off towards the science museum. Our walk there took about 45min, and took us through a major upscale shopping and hotel district. This was most apparent by the students stopping every block or so to take pictures of the numerous Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, Ferrari’s and Aston Martins. The BTS students we quite obviously very excited for the trip, but it seemed they cared more that they were missing school rather than for the cultural experience. The kids were all between the ages of about 19 and 22 so who could really blame them?(I carefully selected this specific picture of two of the students that more or less sums up their behavior throughout the trip) One thing they really enjoyed was singing, loudly, in French (kind of). As we marched down the street Kathryn and I did our best to keep some slight distance between ourselves and the group so we wouldn’t be mistaken for French. Their tune of choice was not really a song at all. They just sang at the top of their lungs “Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry,” and then followed it with something in French that was incomprehensible. In fact it wasn’t until about an hour or two before we left that we actually realized what they were saying. To us it just sounded like “Cherriarty” (pronounced similar to the last name of the Sherlock Holmes nemesis Prof. James Moriarty). Aside from singing they also enjoyed clapping in unison at random people or at street musicians, and of course shouting and gesturing at the women of London.
As per the suggestion of one of the other English teachers at Baggio who had spent significant time living in England when he was younger, we searched out some pub-lunch which was described as cheaper and in most cases tastier than any restaurant you might encounter. Based on our previous experiences with British cuisine (tuna/corn/carrot lasagna, burnt-to-a-crisp sausages, and mushy peas) we figured we would stick to the staple delicacy: fish n’ chips and a pint. Lunch was really good (and it turned out cheaper than the kid’s meals at Macdo), and because Eric didn’t speak English we spent a majority of our trip conversing in, and improving our French.
After lunch we met back up in front of the National Galleries, and Catherine took us on a mini sight-seeing tour. We started off seeing the guards on horseback in front of the palace guard’s stables. We continued on passed Downing Street (which was completely closed off), then to Westminster Cathedral and Abbey, and got a good picture across the street from Big Ben. Next we took a stroll through the Jefferson Park Gardens detouring for a few minutes while half the class took a bathroom break. One of the hopes for the trip was to be at Buckingham Palace in time to see the changing of the guards, but no one could seem to figure out when exactly that was so we hung around the Palace gates long enough for the kids to snap some pictures and determine if they could climb over safely, which luck enough they figured they could not.
For the final segment of the trip we convened at Piccadilly Circus one more time and laid out plans to meet up two or three hours later, and everyone was given some free time to explore London (and by “explore” I mean go shopping). This gave Kathryn and I a chance to first indulge in something that is non-existent in Lille: latte’s and more specifically Starbucks. I mean mini espresso shots are great from time to time, but other than that Lille doesn’t exactly have variety when it comes to getting a caffeine fix. One other motive in stopping for coffee was the fast approaching exhaustion from our early morning departure coupled with hour after hour of walking around the city. So we used this opportunity to relax and spend up the last of our pounds. After Starbucks we wandered around a bit more and Kathryn stopped in a couple boutiques before heading back to meet the class in front of the Ripley’s Believe It or Not museum.
Once everyone had returned from their shopping adventures, some with kitsch London souvenirs, others with British flag apparel, and one kid with a Yankee’s hat, we still had about two hours to kill, and the general consensus was to pass the time in one of the cities pubs. No one had any exact pub in mind so we began to wander along the streets, with the students peering into every pub we passed to see if there was enough room or if it looked accommodating. Finally they settled on one place down a side street and one by one they all piled in. Again we were bringing up the rear and just as we were walking in the door the students were quickly shuffling past us back out onto the street. It seemed a little odd since they had been kind of choosey when deciding. Then we noticed the all male customer base, the mesh tank-tops worn by the bartenders, and the gay-life magazines on the tables. No rude or degrading comments were made by any of the students; they just turned on their heels and walked right back out the door. Thinking they had just made a bad judgment on that particular bar the group walked about half a block down, and were about to enter a new pub when Kathryn and I figured we should inform them that they had stumbled upon “Boys Town” and it didn’t matter what bar they chose in this small quarter…they would all be gay bars.
The class then agreed the best course of action would just be to take the underground back to St. Pancras International train station, and find a pub around there. Again there were no problems with the subway, but the first pub we went into refused to acknowledge the student’s international identification cards as proper forms of age verification and wouldn't serve them. The bar next door did, so we all got a pint, raised our glasses to a day well spent, and then the class erupted in to their “Thierry Henry” chant. Apparently on the screen right behind where we were sitting was a large screen showing soccer highlights, and at that very moment they had just replayed the incident during the match between France v. Ireland when Mr. Henry reached out and palmed the ball to prevent it from going out of bounds, then proceeded to kick it back in front of the goal where a waiting teammate headed it in. This was met by a chorus of “Boo’s” from the English patrons, and the bartender quickly grabbed the remote and changed the channel.
That was the end of our fieldtrip to London. We had an amazing day getting to see most of the major sights and attractions, and Catherine was a fantastic guide helping us navigate the underground and through the streets of the capital (however, we did spend approx 30min or so lost in the parking garage back at the Lille-Europe train station trying to find her car). To be perfectly honest before this trip I did not hold London or the English in very high regard. All I had ever really learned or heard about them was that we kicked their ass in the Revolutionary War and then again in 1812; they were oppressive colonizers, spoke with a funny accent, had bad teeth, and worse food. While most of those ideas have stayed the same (and actually been exemplified/proven correct) I have a whole new list of reasons of why London rocks.
A bientôt,
-Jordan and Kathryn
First up on our list of activities for the day was a visit to the London Science Museum. The original plan was to take one of the famed double-decker buses which would provide a great opportunity for the students to see the city compared to the underground. Unfortunately the cost of a daily pass for the buses cost double that of the subway so we gave in to frugality, and the kids got their first chance to practice their English skills. None of them took that chance; instead they just walked up to the teller’s window, handed her the money, and waited for their change hoping they would receive the correct amount as well as their pass card. Our first challenge of the trip came just minutes later as we attempted to catch the blue-line of the underground.
It was still rather early in the morning London time, and we seemed to be right in the heart of rush hour as thousands of Londoners were making their way to work that morning. This was the main contributing factor to almost losing Kathryn before the day even got started. When the train pulled up it was, expectantly, filled to capacity. As the doors slid open about half the train car squeezed and pushed their way off as about the same number of people did to get on. We were a group of about twelve students, the teacher (Catherine) and one of the school administrators who is in charge of much of the schools financial expenditures (Eric).
Kathryn and I had stayed at the back of the group with the intention of corralling stragglers, and making sure no one was left behind. This almost came back to bite us. Kathryn, coming from Portland, was not exactly practiced in the art of forcing oneself onto a train car, and took more of a passive and accommodating approach rather than one more aggressive. In most aspects of life this is the best way to handle interpersonal relations in a foreign land, but anyone who has ridden the “L” during rush hour knows that’s not the best way to get onto a train. That being said, as the class piled on we quickly ran out of space and Kathryn was left standing on the platform as the ominous tone sounded indicating the doors would be closing. Neither Kathryn nor I had brought our phones with us because of the exorbitant out-of-country charges, so separation was not an option. Thinking quickly I was just able to fit my arm through the closing doors, and pry them back open enough to yank Kathryn onto the ledge while pushing a couple students further into the cabin to make room for her to fully board. That little dust-up aside the biggest problem we encountered the rest of the day was merely which pub to stop at and eat lunch.
We got off the train at Piccadilly Circus then stopped in the middle of the square so that Catherine could get her bearings (and actually decide what we would be doing seeing as the trip had no itinerary, but only a few ideas about possible things to do). After only a few minutes of impeding foot traffic (in normal French style) and consulting the map we headed off towards the science museum. Our walk there took about 45min, and took us through a major upscale shopping and hotel district. This was most apparent by the students stopping every block or so to take pictures of the numerous Bentleys, Rolls-Royces, Ferrari’s and Aston Martins. The BTS students we quite obviously very excited for the trip, but it seemed they cared more that they were missing school rather than for the cultural experience. The kids were all between the ages of about 19 and 22 so who could really blame them?(I carefully selected this specific picture of two of the students that more or less sums up their behavior throughout the trip) One thing they really enjoyed was singing, loudly, in French (kind of). As we marched down the street Kathryn and I did our best to keep some slight distance between ourselves and the group so we wouldn’t be mistaken for French. Their tune of choice was not really a song at all. They just sang at the top of their lungs “Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry,” and then followed it with something in French that was incomprehensible. In fact it wasn’t until about an hour or two before we left that we actually realized what they were saying. To us it just sounded like “Cherriarty” (pronounced similar to the last name of the Sherlock Holmes nemesis Prof. James Moriarty). Aside from singing they also enjoyed clapping in unison at random people or at street musicians, and of course shouting and gesturing at the women of London.
The science museum was on the campus of the London Royal Institute College, (and as we found out at 9:30am when we arrived) didn’t open until 10am. When the doors finally opened we all poured in and the students went off on their own to (I assume) explore the engineering wings while we accompanied Catherine and Eric to the cafeteria to have a coffee. We didn’t spend too much time at the museum, and soon enough we were meeting back up in front to discuss lunch options. The students were unwaveringly bent on getting Macdonald’s (apparently because it was “cheap), but the adults wanted sometime a little more traditional. So we hopped the subway (this time without incident) back to a less costly area of the city in a bit more of a touristy district, and split up from the students who went off in search of their precious Macdo.
As per the suggestion of one of the other English teachers at Baggio who had spent significant time living in England when he was younger, we searched out some pub-lunch which was described as cheaper and in most cases tastier than any restaurant you might encounter. Based on our previous experiences with British cuisine (tuna/corn/carrot lasagna, burnt-to-a-crisp sausages, and mushy peas) we figured we would stick to the staple delicacy: fish n’ chips and a pint. Lunch was really good (and it turned out cheaper than the kid’s meals at Macdo), and because Eric didn’t speak English we spent a majority of our trip conversing in, and improving our French.
That was the end of our fieldtrip to London. We had an amazing day getting to see most of the major sights and attractions, and Catherine was a fantastic guide helping us navigate the underground and through the streets of the capital (however, we did spend approx 30min or so lost in the parking garage back at the Lille-Europe train station trying to find her car). To be perfectly honest before this trip I did not hold London or the English in very high regard. All I had ever really learned or heard about them was that we kicked their ass in the Revolutionary War and then again in 1812; they were oppressive colonizers, spoke with a funny accent, had bad teeth, and worse food. While most of those ideas have stayed the same (and actually been exemplified/proven correct) I have a whole new list of reasons of why London rocks.
A bientôt,
-Jordan and Kathryn
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
COMING SOON!!! (as soon as I find some time to write)
Sunday with one of the other English teachers at Baggio (and her two baby daughters). Including a rare opportunity to talk some football (American that is) with her husband who was the captain of the French National American Football team, and finally having a chance to actually watch a game (Vikings v. Cowboys edited to play without commercials and with commentary in French).
AND...a BTS class fieldtrip to London!
AND...a BTS class fieldtrip to London!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Schedule Changes: School and Vacation
Since returning from the States not too much has been happening here in Lille other than the start of our second term of school. Both Kathryn and I have had our schedules changed around a bit. Her more than I and more than necessary. One of her schools, Turgot, got the brilliant idea to count the actual minutes that she works rather than the class periods. While teaching little kids, it is hard enough to keep their attention for the five minutes it takes to explain the rules of BINGO let alone keep them entertained for an entire hour's worth of English lessons. For this reason (I assume it's the reason, but it is France so who knows?) her class periods last 45minutes each; so even if she teaches twelve different classes that does not amount to twelve hours of work. Of course they are not taking into account how much time she spends preparing for each one of the classes. How could they when a third of the teachers cancel class on her just minutes before she is scheduled to begin? They also don't account for the hours she spends waiting around between classes because they refuse to group any of her English lessons together. This leaves her with large gaps of time filled with nothing but awkward silence alone in the lounge because all the other professors are too busy shut off in their cliques gossiping. So currently Kathryn is in the midst of a scheduling conflict created by the simple fact that all but a select few of the teachers she works with has any intention of assisting, and by "assisting" I mean telling her when they plan to have an English lesson.
I on the other hand have had a much smoother transition into my new schedule. Unfortunately I no longer have Wednesdays off and now have to work everyday! Of course I only have one hour of class Tuesdays and Wednesdays (and an hour commute each way), but c'mon, how can they expect me to be productive with only TWO days off per week, What is this Soviet Russia?!? Anyway, I am now working with a new BTS class, and am having them discuss their reports on the summer internships they completed this past June. So far things have gone well, but I have the sneaking suspicion that I once again am speaking with the best of the class first, and it will all be downhill from here. Oh well...at least I should be getting an entertaining class fieldtrip to London out of it come January 19th!
The big news of the past week is that Friday was Kathryn's birthday. I had lots planned including pasteries, flowers, dinner and a movie, but some class scheduling conflicts got in the way and I had to make a few modifications on the fly. I still think she had a pretty good birthday, hopefully. After I finished with my day I picked up some lunch for the both of us from a little sandwich shop close to my school, and brought it home with a bouquet of roses. That went over well. Kathryn was not feeling in top shape so we just hungout for a bit, and caught up on some American television shows that have been streamed over the internet. We had eaten lunch in the mid-afternoon, and we spent a little longer than expected getting ready to go out for the evening so we just grabbed a quick bite before dashing out the door to catch the tram into the centre-ville. Next we went to a little brasserie that we have been to a few times to have a little desert. Kathryn had an "assiette gourmande," or a mini tasting platter, and I had a very delicious tiramisu (Kathryn ate half). We paid the bill as soon as the food arrived because it was important we were not late for our final event of the evening: Le Majestique Cinéma to see Avatar in 3D. It was in English with French subtitles. We had considered seeing the French dubbed version, but we had heard so many good things about the movie and figured if we had the opportunity to see it in English we should take it. The movie was fantastic! I had never seen a film in 3D before, and the graphics and special effects were amazing. My only problem with the film was the general plot, and overall storyline was strikingly similar to that of Ferngully: The Last Rainforest. I'm not complaining though because it really was exciting and entertaining.
That was the end of our night and Kathryn's birthday. Seeing as we didn't get a chance to go out for a fancy meal we will probably make up for that sometime soon. The only other interesting tidbit from this past week came when we discovered a special deal by Ryanair for flights costing only £4 each way. That being a deal we could not pass up we booked tickets for our upcoming February vacation to the Spanish island of Ibiza. I don't know too much about the island, but at the very least it should be a great escape from the below freezing temperatures and almost daily snow flurries of Nord-Pas de Calais.
A bientôt,
-Jordan and Kathryn
I on the other hand have had a much smoother transition into my new schedule. Unfortunately I no longer have Wednesdays off and now have to work everyday! Of course I only have one hour of class Tuesdays and Wednesdays (and an hour commute each way), but c'mon, how can they expect me to be productive with only TWO days off per week, What is this Soviet Russia?!? Anyway, I am now working with a new BTS class, and am having them discuss their reports on the summer internships they completed this past June. So far things have gone well, but I have the sneaking suspicion that I once again am speaking with the best of the class first, and it will all be downhill from here. Oh well...at least I should be getting an entertaining class fieldtrip to London out of it come January 19th!
The big news of the past week is that Friday was Kathryn's birthday. I had lots planned including pasteries, flowers, dinner and a movie, but some class scheduling conflicts got in the way and I had to make a few modifications on the fly. I still think she had a pretty good birthday, hopefully. After I finished with my day I picked up some lunch for the both of us from a little sandwich shop close to my school, and brought it home with a bouquet of roses. That went over well. Kathryn was not feeling in top shape so we just hungout for a bit, and caught up on some American television shows that have been streamed over the internet. We had eaten lunch in the mid-afternoon, and we spent a little longer than expected getting ready to go out for the evening so we just grabbed a quick bite before dashing out the door to catch the tram into the centre-ville. Next we went to a little brasserie that we have been to a few times to have a little desert. Kathryn had an "assiette gourmande," or a mini tasting platter, and I had a very delicious tiramisu (Kathryn ate half). We paid the bill as soon as the food arrived because it was important we were not late for our final event of the evening: Le Majestique Cinéma to see Avatar in 3D. It was in English with French subtitles. We had considered seeing the French dubbed version, but we had heard so many good things about the movie and figured if we had the opportunity to see it in English we should take it. The movie was fantastic! I had never seen a film in 3D before, and the graphics and special effects were amazing. My only problem with the film was the general plot, and overall storyline was strikingly similar to that of Ferngully: The Last Rainforest. I'm not complaining though because it really was exciting and entertaining.
That was the end of our night and Kathryn's birthday. Seeing as we didn't get a chance to go out for a fancy meal we will probably make up for that sometime soon. The only other interesting tidbit from this past week came when we discovered a special deal by Ryanair for flights costing only £4 each way. That being a deal we could not pass up we booked tickets for our upcoming February vacation to the Spanish island of Ibiza. I don't know too much about the island, but at the very least it should be a great escape from the below freezing temperatures and almost daily snow flurries of Nord-Pas de Calais.
A bientôt,
-Jordan and Kathryn
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Voyage Karma
Yesterday we returned from Chicago. We had an absolutely amazing time and really wish we could have stayed an extra week. Ten days have never flown by that fast. What I want to write about first (for those of you who didn't get the story first hand) is the trials and tribulations that we endured throughout our travels to and from Lille.
In the interest of saving a little money our plane tickets were booked to leave from London/Heathrow airport. By Eurostar trains London is only about an hour and a half away from Lille, but Eurostar is also quite expensive especially if you need to buy tickets around Christmas time only a week or two before traveling. So we settled for a 40euro bus to London rather than the 250euro train. This turned out to be the best (and worst) decision we could have possibly made. That was because of the total shut down of the Eurostar system the day before we were scheduled to depart.
Due to a record amount of snow that fell on Northern France coupled with the "extreme" cold, the trains all broke down. Apparently 50million euros doesn't buy too much these days. The snow-guard on the bottom of these trains failed to keep snow and ice from accumulating in the electrical system. When the trains left the cold France air and went into the much warmer Chunnel Tunnel the snow and ice melted, shorted out the electrical system and stopped five trains dead in the tunnel. The French and English had no idea what to do so of course they did what any European country would do in that situation...nothing at all and try to divert the blame. There were 2000 people trapped on trains for something like 12-14hours with no food and no information.
With no idea how to fix this problem Eurostar totally stopped all train travel between France and England leaving over 100,000 people stranded; the only secondary option would be to drive and take the ferry across the Channel. Thank God we were cheap and booked a bus.
Let's go back a little over a week to December 20th.
10:15p.m. - Kathryn and I were packed and out the door towards the bus stop. That day we had an extra inch or so of snowfall, and we wanted to get there early to be prepared for any problems the weather might cause. Little did we know what kinds of problems we were in for.
10:55p.m. - We arrived at Gare Lille-Europe on the Boulevard de Leeds where we were told to meet the bus. What we were told by the man at the Eurolines counter was the bus would arrive sometime between 11p.m. and 11:30p.m., we would board shortly after that and leave for London at midnight. Gare Lille-Europe is the second major train station in Lille, and it is mostly outside. Yes they had glass walls enclosing the station, but there were gaps between them and the doors were always open. This was where we had to wait for the bus. The temperature was the same as outside, but at the very least we were shielded from the wind. We found a group of other people also waiting for the bus and joined them.
11:45p.m. - A bus pulled up and everyone grabbed their bags and rushed over. Its destination was Southern France, and we dragged ourselves back to the station. We were beginning to get a little concerned. Luckily so were the other French people we were waiting with, and they had cell phones. One person called the Eurolines office trying to find out where the bus was and when it might be arriving. The person on the other end told him they didn't have any information.
12:30a.m. - Still no bus, and still no information from the Eurolines office.
1:00a.m. - There was a loud announcement over the P.A. system saying that the station was closing and everyone had to vacate. There were about 20 or so of us waiting for this bus so the general idea (between Kathryn and I anyway) was that they would allow us to continue waiting in the very top corner of the station until the bus arrived. We were wrong. They sent security over with a very large German Sheppard, and instructed us that they had no connection with Eurolines and that we all needed to grab our bags and go wait outside in the 25degree snow and wind.
1:15a.m. - A group of four or five people (one of whom was probably 70+ years old) went across the street to the Crown Plaza Hotel seeking refuge. All of them were immediately turned away back into the cold. It was unbelievable how inconsiderate and insensitive the French could be in certain situations. In general the French are kind and helpful, but not this night. It was also at about this time that someone called Eurolines again to try and find out what was going on. This time we got some "good" news. We were told the bus was en route and should be there in 30min.
2:00a.m. - A bus pulled up and everyone grabbed their bags and rushed over. It was going to Eastern Europe. We went back over in front of the station.
2:45a.m. - People are huddled together under blankets on a bench; others are bouncing around and doing jumping-jacks to try and stay warm. The bus still hasn't come. Back on the phone with Eurolines the person was transferred to speak with someone at an office in Paris who still had no information. The person on the phone told the representative that we had been informed the bus would arrive in 30min and that was almost an hour and a half ago. The representative’s response: "well it must be your fault." He literally said it was OUR FAULT that the bus wasn't there yet. Then we were hung up on. So we called back and after about 10 seconds of explaining we were hung up on again.
3:00a.m. - It was now three hours after our buses scheduled departure time, and four hours since we arrived at the station. We were both freezing cold, Kathryn could barely stand her feet were so frozen, and we were pretty discouraged by the lack of humanity exhibited by the French. It was at this time that someone new got on the phone with Eurolines, and was being told that the bus was "Annuler" (cancelled). It was also at this time that Kathryn and I were starting to freak out because the trains were shut down so we couldn't get to London that way, and the 7am bus to London was totally sold-out which was why we chose the midnight bus in the first place. The bus being cancelled and all, we figured we were out of options and would be stuck in France forever. We called Fiona to see if it would be possible to get picked up. She was awake and said that would be fine.
3:03a.m. - We could see a bus pulling off the expressway and heading our direction. Having been told that the bus was cancelled no one really believed this was it. When it came to a stop a large rather round British man got off, and yelled "Eurolines to London, hurry up and get on!" We quickly called Fiona back to inform her not to come, and then got on the warm bus as quickly as possible. Six hours later we pulled in to the bus station in London.
We had a few hours to kill so we got some breakfast and then tried to figure out the best way to take the underground to Heathrow. Other than the mishap at the beginning the trip went very smooth. Kathryn and I got seats next to each other in the Economy Plus section of the plane and in an exit row so we had more than enough room. After only 8hours in the air (the flight was scheduled for 9hrs) we touched down in Chicago.
I titled this entry "Voyage Karma" because I think that was exactly what happened to us. We were forced to endure harsh conditions of icy wind and below freezing temperatures for hours as well as rude and inconsiderate French people. This was all made up for by our flight back to London. Due to the Christmas "Underpants Bomber" and the anticipation of strengthened security at the airport we made sure to leave about three hours early for our flight. We got there so early that they couldn't give us our seats when we checked in, and had to get them at the gate. When we got to the head of the line at our gate the lady quickly found our tickets and told us "congratulations we decided to give you more comfortable seats." Then she handed us two business class tickets. I have never had a more comfortable eight hour flight in my life (even when I was upgraded to business class to Athens). We moved quickly from Heathrow to the train station St. Pancras, got some breakfast at the station and were back home in Lille by 2:30p.m. We immediately went to sleep.
I cannot say enough how great of a time we both had in Chicago. It was awesome seeing friends and family, and just all around feeling totally comfortable and relaxed. We resume school on Monday; go for about a month, then have Winter Holiday vacation until February 22nd. Kathryn and I are so excited for the next eight or more months here. Let's just hope my Dad's cooking school buddy comes through and we can spend the summer working in Sardinia!
A bientôt,
Jordan and Kathryn
In the interest of saving a little money our plane tickets were booked to leave from London/Heathrow airport. By Eurostar trains London is only about an hour and a half away from Lille, but Eurostar is also quite expensive especially if you need to buy tickets around Christmas time only a week or two before traveling. So we settled for a 40euro bus to London rather than the 250euro train. This turned out to be the best (and worst) decision we could have possibly made. That was because of the total shut down of the Eurostar system the day before we were scheduled to depart.
With no idea how to fix this problem Eurostar totally stopped all train travel between France and England leaving over 100,000 people stranded; the only secondary option would be to drive and take the ferry across the Channel. Thank God we were cheap and booked a bus.
Let's go back a little over a week to December 20th.
10:15p.m. - Kathryn and I were packed and out the door towards the bus stop. That day we had an extra inch or so of snowfall, and we wanted to get there early to be prepared for any problems the weather might cause. Little did we know what kinds of problems we were in for.
10:55p.m. - We arrived at Gare Lille-Europe on the Boulevard de Leeds where we were told to meet the bus. What we were told by the man at the Eurolines counter was the bus would arrive sometime between 11p.m. and 11:30p.m., we would board shortly after that and leave for London at midnight. Gare Lille-Europe is the second major train station in Lille, and it is mostly outside. Yes they had glass walls enclosing the station, but there were gaps between them and the doors were always open. This was where we had to wait for the bus. The temperature was the same as outside, but at the very least we were shielded from the wind. We found a group of other people also waiting for the bus and joined them.
11:45p.m. - A bus pulled up and everyone grabbed their bags and rushed over. Its destination was Southern France, and we dragged ourselves back to the station. We were beginning to get a little concerned. Luckily so were the other French people we were waiting with, and they had cell phones. One person called the Eurolines office trying to find out where the bus was and when it might be arriving. The person on the other end told him they didn't have any information.
12:30a.m. - Still no bus, and still no information from the Eurolines office.
1:00a.m. - There was a loud announcement over the P.A. system saying that the station was closing and everyone had to vacate. There were about 20 or so of us waiting for this bus so the general idea (between Kathryn and I anyway) was that they would allow us to continue waiting in the very top corner of the station until the bus arrived. We were wrong. They sent security over with a very large German Sheppard, and instructed us that they had no connection with Eurolines and that we all needed to grab our bags and go wait outside in the 25degree snow and wind.
1:15a.m. - A group of four or five people (one of whom was probably 70+ years old) went across the street to the Crown Plaza Hotel seeking refuge. All of them were immediately turned away back into the cold. It was unbelievable how inconsiderate and insensitive the French could be in certain situations. In general the French are kind and helpful, but not this night. It was also at about this time that someone called Eurolines again to try and find out what was going on. This time we got some "good" news. We were told the bus was en route and should be there in 30min.
2:00a.m. - A bus pulled up and everyone grabbed their bags and rushed over. It was going to Eastern Europe. We went back over in front of the station.
2:45a.m. - People are huddled together under blankets on a bench; others are bouncing around and doing jumping-jacks to try and stay warm. The bus still hasn't come. Back on the phone with Eurolines the person was transferred to speak with someone at an office in Paris who still had no information. The person on the phone told the representative that we had been informed the bus would arrive in 30min and that was almost an hour and a half ago. The representative’s response: "well it must be your fault." He literally said it was OUR FAULT that the bus wasn't there yet. Then we were hung up on. So we called back and after about 10 seconds of explaining we were hung up on again.
3:00a.m. - It was now three hours after our buses scheduled departure time, and four hours since we arrived at the station. We were both freezing cold, Kathryn could barely stand her feet were so frozen, and we were pretty discouraged by the lack of humanity exhibited by the French. It was at this time that someone new got on the phone with Eurolines, and was being told that the bus was "Annuler" (cancelled). It was also at this time that Kathryn and I were starting to freak out because the trains were shut down so we couldn't get to London that way, and the 7am bus to London was totally sold-out which was why we chose the midnight bus in the first place. The bus being cancelled and all, we figured we were out of options and would be stuck in France forever. We called Fiona to see if it would be possible to get picked up. She was awake and said that would be fine.
3:03a.m. - We could see a bus pulling off the expressway and heading our direction. Having been told that the bus was cancelled no one really believed this was it. When it came to a stop a large rather round British man got off, and yelled "Eurolines to London, hurry up and get on!" We quickly called Fiona back to inform her not to come, and then got on the warm bus as quickly as possible. Six hours later we pulled in to the bus station in London.
We had a few hours to kill so we got some breakfast and then tried to figure out the best way to take the underground to Heathrow. Other than the mishap at the beginning the trip went very smooth. Kathryn and I got seats next to each other in the Economy Plus section of the plane and in an exit row so we had more than enough room. After only 8hours in the air (the flight was scheduled for 9hrs) we touched down in Chicago.
I cannot say enough how great of a time we both had in Chicago. It was awesome seeing friends and family, and just all around feeling totally comfortable and relaxed. We resume school on Monday; go for about a month, then have Winter Holiday vacation until February 22nd. Kathryn and I are so excited for the next eight or more months here. Let's just hope my Dad's cooking school buddy comes through and we can spend the summer working in Sardinia!
A bientôt,
Jordan and Kathryn
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