The non-commute

Last week, I slogged through snow, 

risked frostbite while waiting around for various modes of public transportation 

& spent far too many hours on trains.

It was exhausting.

This week, my commute is 99.9% less of a hassle.

See that building in the foreground on the left side of the picture?

It houses the language school where I teach.

Oh, it bears mentioning that I took this photo from our balcony 

(about a week ago, when we had a light dusting of snow& not piles of white stuff like now).

Yep, I can see my workplace from my apartment.

My trip to work this morning took me all of 3 minutes.

On foot.

And my new students seem at least 50% less infuriating than my previous group.

Good news all round!

This morning in numbers

 30:  how many centimetres of snow fell overnight

40:  how many minutes it took me to slog through knee-deep powdery white stuff to the train station

snow falling at Annecy train station this morning

at least 12:  the number of phone calls from various students, wondering if we still had class

60:  the length of train trip in minutes from Annecy to Annemasse

5:  the amount of time in minutes left to my destination when my phone rang yet again

1:  the number of phone calls I received to tell me that class was cancelled

5:  the approximate number of swear words I muttered under my breath after said phone call

20:  the amount of euros I spent on my train ticket for absolutely no reason

snow, trees & chilly cows seen from the train

4.5:  the number of hours I spent walking to/from the station,
sitting in trains,
waiting on freezing-cold platforms
& cursing Old Man Winter

But, on the positive side...

2: how many hours I napped this afternoon!

Straight from French fashion week... the safety vest!

Have you ever seen a pictogram like this one?

No?  Neither had I, until I started my new job last month.

You see, my students are all employees of the SNCF (the French national railway).  

They need to learn English 

because they work on board the TGV (high-speed train) between Geneva & Paris, 

so they deal with a lot of international types who travel for business or tourists on vacation.

So where does the safety vest come in?

Well, our classes take place in a building in the rail yard in Annemasse 

(a city about an hour from Annecy by - you guessed it - train).

After I arrive at the station, I have to get myself to Platform D,

walk allllllll the way to the end of the platform,

put my very very very yellow vest on over my coat,

& only then am I authorized to cross the railway tracks 

in order to get to the part of the rail yard where our classroom is.

Sounds like a hassle, right?

I know.

But these signs at the entry to the tracks are enough to scare anybody 

into donning something fluorescent with velcro closures, wouldn't you agree?

Click to enlarge... if you dare.  Le yikes!!!

Full speed ahead!

Today was my second day at my new teaching job.

The good news? Today was about 99% less disastrous than my first day was.

The bad news?  I am exhausted from:

- all of yesterday's turmoil

- intense lesson-planning

- going to bed way too late & waking up way too early

- commuting two hours on the train every day
- & (last but not least!)

spending six hours per day teaching a class of total beginners.

So the extent of my blogging tonight 

is going to consist of posting this photo
of some speedy boats on the Lac d'Annecy

that I snapped while we were out on a bateau ourselves last weekend.

And, as soon as life stops zipping along at 6 million knots per hour,
I'll tell you more about that & all sorts of other things.  I promise!

Le sigh: back at work

Yesterday was Sunday.  It was wonderful.  

My morning looked something like this:

9:30 a.m.  Wake up.  Think about getting up but lounge in bed for a while instead.

10:30 a.m.  Brunch at home:  

fresh-squeezed OJ & bagels & St Moret (France's version of cream cheese) & smoked salmon & tea.

11:30 a.m.  Sit in sun on balcony, drink second cup of tea, read magazines.

Today was the first day of my new job, 

which just so happens to be in a city 90 km (1 hour by train) from Annecy.  

This morning was not exactly wonderful.

It looked something like this:

6:00 a.m.  Alarm goes off.  

6:15 a.m.  Drag self out of bed, get into shower.

6:30 a.m.  Get dressed, double-check that school bag is all ready to go, put kettle on.

6:45 a.m.  Eat breakfast.

7:05 a.m.  Already??!

7:10 a.m.  Brush teeth, debate whether or not to take umbrella 

(I chose not to, which was a big mistake...)

7:15 a.m.  Leave house (it's not even light out, for Pete's sake!)

7:17 a.m.  Get on bus.

7:27 a.m.  Get off bus at train station in Annecy.

7:39 a.m.  Train leaves for La Roche sur Foiron.

8:00 a.m.  FQ calls.  Happily inform him all is going well & I'm right on time.

8:10 a.m.  Realize that I spoke way too soon.

8:15 a.m.  Train staff make announcement to let us know we are delayed

 because something-or-other is blocking the tracks.

8:20 a.m.  Start to panic.  

Find conductor & ask him if he can call ahead to the next station 

to ask them to hold the train I am supposed to catch for the second part of my trip.

8:21 a.m.  Conductor looks dubious.

8:35 a.m.  Arrive at La Roche sur Foiron.  

Train has not waited for me.

8:36 a.m.  Learn that waiting for next train will make me 15 minutes late for new job.  

Try not to cry.

8:40 a.m.  Call taxi.

8:50 a.m.  Taxi arrives.

9:10 a.m.  Taxi stops at bank machine so I can withdraw my life savings to pay for 20-minute trip.

9:15 a.m.  Finally arrive at the train station in Annemasse.

9:17 a.m.  Try, without success, to figure out where I'm supposed to go.

9:18 a.m.  Go to information window, introduce myself as English teacher 

explain I am there to start an intensive training course to the TGV (fast train) employees, 

encounter blank stare.

9:20 a.m.  Go to Station Director's office, introduce myself as above, encounter blank stare.

9:22 a.m.  Director makes a phone call or two.  Stare becomes slightly less blank.

9:25 a.m.  Am handed orange safety vest & told to "walk this way".

9:27 a.m.  Cross many railway tracks with cranky SNCF (French railway) employee in tow.

9:29 a.m.  Finally arrive where I'm supposed to be.  Students waiting for me.

9:30 a.m.  Start class.

And you know what?  That's not even the worst of it!

You will have to wait until I have the time & energy to dedicate an entire post 

to what truly ruined my morning, so for now, let me leave you with these two words:

turkish toilet

Not.  Even.  Joking.