J'ai tout compris!

The other day Jube asked me if my blog was dead. "Of course not!" I said, but then I realized that I really haven't been doing a good job of updating. So here's a try to get back into the swing of things:

I graduated on May 10! Now I just have to find a job.

BB visited, and we had a great time. He now knows that Norfolk, Virginia is really awesome.

Since finishing classes, I've been reading lots of books and updating lots of resumes.

Now, for something completely different (and vastly more amusing):

The other day, Jube, Lorene and I went to the president's house for dinner. Yes, that's right, I'm in tight with President Runte of Old Dominion University! (Actually we went for a different reason, but it sounds good to say that I know her really well, right? Except that now she's going to be president of a Canadian university, so bye bye reference...) Jube's real last name is the same as a relatively famous French author. Let's say his name is Jube Rousseau (as the French say, why not?) President Runte has her PhD in French Literature, and as she gave us our nametags she said, "Did you know that Rousseau was a famous French author?"

"Oh yes," said Jube.

"Ah! Et vous parlez francais?" she asked.

"Oui, oui, bien sur," he answered.

She turned towards the nametags again, and mistakenly addressed me: "Et d'ou est-ce que vous venez, alors?"

I thought about answering, "De l'Ohio," but instead Jube told her he was from Montpellier.

"Wonderful, wonderful," she said, abstractedly. "Well, bon appetit!"

As we were leaving, she again spoke to Jube, asking about his future plans. I jumped in, to prove that I could speak French too, and we chatted a bit about where we would find jobs. She mentioned moving to Canada, as she was doing, and I made a stupid joke about writing down her phone number to call her later. (She didn't laugh very hard.) Poor Lorene, who speaks German very well but not much French, pretended like she was listening to the conversation.

"Bon, bien, au revoir!" she said.

"Au revoir!" Jube and I answered.

"Au revoir!" put in Lorene, as we were leaving. On our way back to the car, we all burst out laughing. "I had no idea what she said, but I think that it looked good to say that, right?"

Are We There Yet?

I've been totally stressed out for the past month (when I wasn't blogging). First I went abroad (the same trip as last year, part deux, with Paris thrown in to the mix); then when I got back, I had work; Jube's spring break; my mom's visit; and, of course, worrying about jobs. I'm almost finished with my Master's, so I've been applying for jobs since January. Just before I left and just after I got home I stepped up my efforts, and so far I've had 3 interviews. I'm still waiting to find out about one... I thought I'd hear back last week sometime, but no luck. I hope that it's good news. (Jube has learned his English too well - he keeps repeating "no news is good news!")

And to cap off the stress, this weekend is my comprehensive exam. My master's program decided to change its traditional "three hours and write everything you can remember!" to a take-home exam. Ugh! I don't know about you, but I hate take-home exams! I absolutely despise them, for many reasons. Which I will enumerate for you, since the only alternative is the exam.

1. An in-class exam ruins three hours. A take-home exam ruins an entire weekend (or even entire week, in some cases!).
2. Professors expect more out of you for a take-home exam than an in-class exam. I've had to do so much research for this stupid exam - I much prefer studying in advance.
3. I'm better at in-class exams! (So yeah, this one only refers to me, but so what?)

All weekend I've had this horrible stomachache because I should have been working on my exam. And even when I am working on it, I feel sick, because I'm worried. I really don't want to take it again!

So I guess I'll get back to it.

Bruises, 1

This week has been full and busy. Some bad things happened and some good things happened. I'm going to split it up into two posts, with mixed good/bad elements. Let's review:

I started working out three weeks ago. I didn't want to talk about it on here too much because, well, I'd just started. I've never worked out before... I used to play racquetball and swim two or three times a week, but ODU is undergoing some really annoying construction which has closed the pool and the racquetball courts. Actually, I don't know if there ever were racquetball courts, but the new Rec Center will have some. It's due to open next spring, about a month before I finish my master's program. Very convenient timing for me, isn't it?

There are two weight rooms open on campus, as well as basketball courts and soccer/field hockey/lacrosse fields, but I don't play any of those sports. My boss encouraged me to sign up for the Monarch Quick Fit Program. It basically gives you a commitment to work out three times a week, half an hour for weight training and half an hour for cardio each of those days. When I went in for the initial explanation, I was shown 8 different weight machines. On the first one, my personal trainer (for 10 minutes!) asked me what weight I normally used. "Uhh, I've never used any of these machines before," I answered. I didn't realize that I looked so muscular and strong! Even a seasoned professional couldn't tell that I don't normally work out! Why did I sign up for the Quick Fit program again?

But it's been good, I've been keeping to the workout schedule and have already lost 3 pounds. It's very exciting! So that's something GOOD that has been happening lately.

What's something BAD? Well, our toilet has been acting up lately. The water just keeps running and running without collecting in the tank or the bowl. I figured out that it has to do with the black rubber stopper that regulates the flow of water in the tank. But, since we live in an apartment building (where they just raised the rent by $30!), I was not about to buy a new rubber stopper and install it myself! I informed the apartment manager on Friday. We lived this weekend by turning the water on and off and manually adjusting the rubber stopper so that we could flush the toilet. It's super annoying, too! I was tempted to follow the "yellow is mellow, brown goes down" rule, but Jube thinks that it's pretty disgusting to do that. I have to admit, though, that at 4:00 in the morning I wasn't about to turn the water on just to flush.

Today, after having complained again to management yesterday, someone came by to fix the toilet. She worked on it for awhile and then told me, "It should be fine." She left, and the water kept running... and running... and running... Obviously she hadn't fixed the toilet at all! So I ran downstairs to the management office (which, by the way, is only open from 10am-1pm, so it's hard to catch them when you work!) to try to get her before she left. The apartment owner was very unhappy that we had had to wait nearly a week to have the toilet fixed and came up to fix my toilet himself. Now it's working again, and I'm very happy to know that I can flush the toilet whenever I want.

beginagain

Last May, Jube and I were surprised at how empty campus felt when most of the students left for the summer. After a few days we didn't even notice it, and we'd totally forgotten about it until yesterday, when the new students moved in. (You can't call them "freshmen" anymore, but most of us still do.) The parking lot across from us, empty all summer, is full again. Our apartment management put big signs near the entrances to our parking lot, saying, "NOT for Dorm Students!!" (You can't call them "dorms" either--"residence hall" is much preferred--but no one parked in our lot!)

While riding my bike to work on campus, I found it much more difficult to navigate with students clogging the sidewalks and crosswalks. Classes start on Monday. The year has cycled back around and we're ready to begin again.

Literary Morning

I hate waking up when it is still dark outside. Although it's been getting lighter and lighter every day, the sky was overcast this morning and threatening rain. I sighed and fixed myself breakfast, amusing myself by thinking of all the ways I could talk about this kind of weather in French.

Il fait noir... Il fait pas beau!... Il menace...

It made me think about something I said in Spain that made my Spanish friends snort with laughter. I'm not exactly sure why, but I have a theory. On a day with weather like today, we all left a cafe to go back to class. We were all complaining about the weather, and I contributed "Que dia mas feo!" I copied the sytax straight from my host mother, so I knew the construction was correct. Still, my friends laughed and laughed. I figure now that it was because it sounded like something a 70-year-old woman (like my host mother) would say, but I can't be certain.

On my walk to work, I thought about how the weather made the day feel like an autumn evening. The only people outside with me were fellow unfortunates who had to go to early class or work. We nodded to each other in quiet, melancholy complicity.

The weather made me think about the first poem I memorized, "Song" by Christina Rossetti. I felt like I was walking "through that misty twilight/ that doth not rise nor set."

It has been a long long time since I thought about poetry! "Song" made me think about that other Rossetti poem, the one with the line "there is no friend like a sister," and I couldn't think of the title. At the crosswalk I found myself opposite the ODU student theater, and the "Coming Attractions" on the electronic display rolled by:

Musical Theater Presents:

The Apple
(Act I)
and
Goblin Market

How bizarre! I suddenly realized that "Goblin Market" was the title of the Rossetti poem I was thinking about. It was indeed a surreal morning walk to work.

Maybe He Was Right...

I guess it has to happen sometimes. I finished my last two paragraphs but I haven't started my last (lastlastlast!!!!) paper yet. Due at noon tomorrow. Will probably be written tonight in front of the TV.

In other (non-school-related) news, it was my birthday yesterday! My dad woke me up in the morning to wish me a great day, and Lorene called me at work after scaring Jube with her German birthday wishes. My boss gave me a really nice card and invited us out to dinner with her and her husband next week. Then last night Jube took me out to the restaurant where we stuffed ourselves.

I dressed up in a Promod dress I'd bought a couple of years ago and wore the Fragonard perfume he bought me during our first trip to Eze. He wore shorts and his "Crabby Dick's" t-shirt, which I thought was a great choice since we were going to a rival restaurant, Joe's Crab Shack. (Yeah, I was probably way overdressed, but I don't get to dress up too much and it was fun!) We had shrimp, crab dip, dessert, all on the pier in downtown Norfolk. Funnily enough there were two tables of French men nearby.

Then we came home where I fell asleep almost immediately and I woke up this morning with a sore throat, having caught a little bug. That must be why I haven't started my paper yet, right?

Spring Break: The Good, the Bad, and... well you know the rest...!

That is a night shot from our hotel window in Brussels. Lorene and I had a great view!

So. The Good: I visited Brussels, where I was happy to see that my French was still up to snuff. I went to my favorite stores (like Zara, Camaieu, H&M, and Promod) but managed not to spend too much. I made everyone at home happy by sending nice postcards--even to work! Am I too much of a suck-up?


Here you can see a really old passageway connecting two houses in Bruges. I liked it!

The Bad: I got sick and almost "baptized" the Tube while switching trains. I managed to keep control of myself because the only thing I had to puke in was a little ziplock baggie that was already kind of gross (it had peanut-butter leftovers in it). As I was desperately searching for a trash can, I remembered that there aren't any for fear of terrorists putting bombs in them! Not only that, there are no corners in the Tube--everything is... well... tube shaped! I didn't relish crouching in full sight of everyone while retching into my disgusting baggie. I managed to hold it until the hotel...

Plus I didn't get to try mussels in Brussels. Now that is really too bad!


Here is a picture I took of a wall in the cathedral in Bruges. I like how the thanks are in French and Flemish.

The Ugly: I missed Jube's birthday while I was abroad! Of course I called and sent a postcard and bought him lots of beer and chocolate, but it couldn't really make up for my absence. And finally, I have a picture of the Ugly in Brussels:


Yum! Doesn't that make you want some Coke? Well, it's funny anyway!

My Trip

Howdy folks! It's been a rough ten days in Europe, but I think I'm finally back on US time. I did a lot of things that I hadn't done before, like visit Cambridge, Oxford, Brussels, and Bruges, and a lot of things that I had done before, like take tea in Kensington Palace and drink a demi in a brasserie. I had more good moments than bad, so let me tell you about some of them.

First, Cambridge is a beautiful college. Here I saw undergraduates punting along the river Cam and lots of Gothic architecture:





I enjoyed a rainy day at Camden Lock in London...



And a sunny day in Brussels...



But the nicest town we visited was Bruges.







I had some great food while abroad too. The highlights include:

Fish and Chips from a pub in England
Indian Food near Leicester Square
French fries in a cornet with mayonnaise in Brussels
A tasty savory crepe from La Maison des Crepes
A wonderful 3 course meal in Bruges, including fresh tomato soup and pineapple chicken
Lots of beer (including one called "Forbidden Fruit" with naked people on the bottle)
One very tasty Belgian waffle

I Heart ODU

ODU students are very proud of their alma mater. They name their most precious possessions after it:



Awww! I'm sure ODU was a really cute puppy!



Get outta here man or ODU's gonna blow you away!

TENNIS!!

So what have I been up to lately? Mainly finishing the semester, working, and getting all the documents together for Jube's green card. I'm afraid I haven't done anything interesting or fun, although if you want advice about fiance visas and/or adjustment of status, feel free to email me and I'll help as much as I can.

If I haven't done anything interesting lately, then why am I writing here? Good question! Well, tonight I took a break from paper-writing (that's scheduled for tomorrow--1pm-11:59pm) and went to see Anthem Live! James Blake v. Andre Agassi!


(There's Andre's serve!)

Boy do I love tennis! The affair started when I was a freshman in college. I had free access to the university gym (the HPER Center, which we pronounced "hyper center") where I began to play racquetball pretty frequently. I've never been a very athletic person. I played softball during the summers in elementary school for fun; I've always known how to swim well (thanks, Water Babies!), but I've never been able to do it fast or competitively. My extra-curricular activities in high school were marching band, pep band, theater, and In the Know. I still don't know why I started playing racquetball, but I ended up loving it. It also turned into a way to flirt with Jube, since he also likes racquet sports and would sometimes play with me.

Since I liked racquetball, I figured I'd like tennis too. As one of my required PE classes in college, I took Tennis 1, which was pretty enjoyable.

And Then....

Then, in France, I discovered the joy that is watching the French Open. I love the commentators--their unabashed impartiality and enjoyment of the game--I love the atmosphere on the courts. (No, I've never been, but I can feel it.) I made Beau-Papa laugh by imitating the French fans: "Alleeeeeeeez!" In 2004 I had to watch Roland Garros in the US. I recently discovered a never-sent letter to ESPN complaining about their tennis commentators. They didn't seem to be watching the game!

Enough about me and tennis! I went to Anthem Live!, which is a charity match which raised money for cancer research. It was really fun, with a relaxed atmosphere and lots of fans. It was my first live tennis match, and it was great. Agassi and Blake took their match to two sets and a tiebreak. Blake finally won, but the crowd favorite was (of course!) Andre. Here is a shot of Blake dealing with his tough serve:



And now I'm off to bed to prepare myself for intense paper-writing tomorrow.

PS: I almost forgot to mention! Jube and I really really wanted to be French and shout "Alleeeeeeeez!" like we heard on France 3... but we were pretty embarrassed. After I heard an old lady shout "Come home with me tonight, Andre!", I realized I had nothing to worry about. So I shouted "alleeeeeeeeeeez!" Jube couldn't be seen as less courageous as his wife, so later on he shouted it too. I think we're ready for Roland Garros now!

Homecoming '06

I don't post as much as I wish I did. Maybe soon I'll set myself a challenge--a post a day or something like that. But I think I'll wait until after finals...

Anyway, this week here at Old Dominion University is Homecoming! There have been lots of fun activities that I haven't attended because of work, class, and downright laziness (I'm real lazy, y'know?). But yesterday I decided to take part in the festivities. I called Willie and Monique, rounded up Jube, and headed to the official pre-game Tailgate Party beside the Constant Center. They fed us like Americans should be fed.



ODU is wayyy bigger than my undergrad, Wittenberg University, but I got used to most of the differences pretty quickly. Sure, there are lots of buildings on campus, but I only have class in two of them. I can ignore all the others. Yeah, yeah, ODU's International Center is a whole building, with at least 20 employees, and Witt only had one full-timer... And of course the student center here is really big, with its own travel agency, Starbucks, and Quizznos... but really, that's surface stuff. What I can't get used to is the Constant Center. It is really huge. Jube is going to see Godsmack there; I bought tickets to see Agassi play a charity match. And the coolest part is that, as a student, I can get in to see the basketball teams play for free! Here's a picture of half of the basketball court in the Constant Center:



The funniest part of going to basketball games here are the ODU Cheerleaders and Dance Team. It wouldn't be funny except that Jube and Monique were disappointed that the cheerleaders didn't dance like in the movies (I guess they're thinking about American Pie, et al.). Luckily for them, towards the end of the game both the dance team and the cheerleading squad swept out onto the court to do their very popular dance to "Ice Cream and Cake," leading the student section in their trademarked gestures.



Here the students aren't dancing, but rather heckling the opposing team like a student section should.

Social? Tu parles!

Oh MAN! Little did I know that going out on Friday would be an all-night enterprise!

I left my house around 7 with my friend Willie. We went to Kilmer's house, where she had prepared lasagna and salad for us, along with homemade blueberry wine. We had a great dinner and then talked for awhile, lounging around her condo (her roommates were gone, so it was all for us!). After awhile she suggested we go to a local bar, Harry's. (Kilmer has an eye for local dives. The first time we went out with her, for karaoke, she found the seediest bar ever, called the Dockside. It will forever be known as the Darkside--and we need to pay it a visit, soon!) Harry's was full of marines and sailors. Willie did the best he could to protect Kilmer and me from their assault techniques, and was unfortunately followed into the bathroom where a so-called marine asked him to introduce us. Another sailor, Reggie Love (I'm permitting myself the use of the actual name he gave us because I think it was already a pseudonym), bought us a pitcher of beer and told us that the other marine was in the Taliban. Oh, Harry's! What a place!

After Harry's closed, we went to ihop, since Willie was feeling like a midnight (or 2:30am) snack. I think everyone who closed out a bar decided to go too, and we had about a 10 minute wait for our table. After chowing down on French toast and pancakes, we decided to call it a night and went outside to drive home. Unfortunately, Kilmer had parked Willie's car in the Home Depot parking lot, which was patrolled by a "predatory" towing company. We walked across the street to withdraw money and were approached by a "private taxi." Kilmer promptly told him where to shove it, and he left when she threatened to call the police. I had the taxi dispatch number programmed in my phone from my trip to the social security office, and they sent one over right away.

We paid to get Willie's car back, and on the way out Kilmer gave everyone the finger. "Willie," she said, "Just give that guy the bird, okay?"

"Sure," he said wearily, flashing the doit d'honneur at the owner of the company. Right then Kilmer stopped at a stop sign, and Willie begged her to get away before he came after us. Of course, we were the big loser, because we lost about $115 combined on our little trip to the towing company. I finally got home at about 4:30am.

This wouldn't have been too bad, except that my dad was coming to visit me on Saturday! He told me he would arrive about 12 or 1pm, so I dragged myself out of bed at 10am to clean and shower. When he hadn't shown up by 1:30, I called him. "Oh, I'll be leaving within the hour," he told me. Either he was cleverly pretending he had never told me he'd arrive by 1pm, or I'd misunderstood the night before and he'd told me he'd leave by 1pm. It's probably the latter . . .

He finally got to my apartment at 6pm. We headed out right away to the No Frills Bar and Grill where we had some great sandwiches, and then went to the movie theater to see Little Miss Sunshine, which I thoroughly enjoyed. After we had gone to bed, Dad's phone rang at 11:30pm. It woke me up, and I heard him talking in the other room.

"I think you have the wrong number. [pause] Oh, Joey! Well, Joey, are you okay? [pause] Where are you? [pause] Well, all right. Have a good night, Joey." My father is a teacher and a chess coach (for a few elementary schools), and one of his former students decided to get drunk and call him up! Although we felt kind of bad, it was hilarious.

On Sunday morning we went to ihop for breakfast, and then picked up some important items from the hardware store to put together my bed (the frame and headboard have been separate ever since I moved in). We also picked up a new bike from my friend's house and then Dad headed home, leaving me tired, lonely, and with a ton of homework to finish.

Social

I've gone out with my friends for the past few weeks. I went to karaoke one night, to an Irish pub the next, and finally to the "graduate hangout" on Tuesday evening. (I think they call it a graduate hangout because it's on campus and right next to campus security . . . since the undergrads stay away anyway, they're being market savvy.) Then I met with a group to talk about a project last night, and I'm going to another friend's house tonight. I told Jube about all of this over the phone, and he said, "You've been pretty social these days!"

Well I guess I have! I've been especially social if you compare it to our normal routine, which consisted of eating dinner with each other and then watching television, with perhaps one weekend a month spent with Other People. Maybe it's being back on a university campus--there are just more people around who all want to go out, so why not band together? Maybe it's because I don't know anyone in Norfolk, so I have to be proactive about meeting people. Or maybe it's because Jube isn't here. Eating dinner and watching TV becomes kind of sad and lonely when you don't have anyone to cuddle with (or shout at to turn down the guitar).

The reason doesn't really matter, but I'm glad I have things to do outside of homework. I think that would have driven me crazy by now!

Ernesto!!

Before I moved to Norfolk, Jube did lots of research on the city. He still does a lot, and when we talk on the phone, he asks me to "check if those tennis courts by our apartment are free to the public." Actually, he asks me that about once a week... Before I left France, he also asked me about hurricanes. He had heard there were a lot around Norfolk. Now, although I have lived in Ohio for most of my life, I was born in Washington, DC and have visited the area at least twice a year, every year (until I moved to France). To me, "Virginia" meant Northern Virginia, and I told him that hurricanes weren't very strong when they reached Virginia. Sure, there might be a little bit of rain, maybe a power outage or something, but that's it. So when Ernesto changed course and rammed into North Carolina, I thought, "Wow, sucks to live in the Outer Banks!" Then I saw the weather map and realized, "Hey, Norfolk is right next to North Carolina!" Today, ODU is closed. That's pretty cool, because I don't have to work, but it's also very annoying, because I was going to drive up to my parents' house today. So I have to make sure that I won't die because of flash floods on my way up... Wish me luck!

Sealed

As I was walking on campus the other day, I walked past the seal of Old Dominion University set into the path. I carefully avoided walking on it, and immediately caught myself remembering Wittenberg. There, you are taught never to step on the seal. That will make you fail your next test. The only time you are supposed to walk on it is on or after graduation day. I stepped on the seal once my freshman year, ironically while cramming for a biology test. I didn't fail, but I didn't do well either (what do you expect when you start studying on your way to class?). After that, I was a good Wittenberger. Jube, on the other hand, gleefully stomped on the seal whenever we walked by. "I'm not really a Wittenberg student," he would tell me, "and I don't believe in all that superstitious crap anyway."

At Wittenberg, we also have the Kissing Bridge near Graduation Hollow. If you kiss there once, that means you're pretty serious. If you kiss twice, you're going to get married. During nighttime walks you could see lots of couples kissing on the bridge, and at times you had to practically wait in line if you wanted to have a chance. Jube didn't believe in that, either, but look where we are now...

I don't know what traditions Old Dominion has, especially since it's a pretty young university. I did hear some students last night at midnight laughing and talking in a foreign language in the parking lot near my house. Most of the tenants here at my apartment complex are international students, which suits me well. Of the international students, I would say over half of them are Indian, and that's who I saw last night when I looked out of my window. A group of about 15 students, including two girls in saris, circled around one of their friends--the one without any luck, I guess. They threw two dozen eggs at him, and he sat like a pro and took every single one of them, even inviting head shots. When he was finished, he wiped off the goo from his head and smiled for the camcorder that one of the girls had used to film the entire fracas. I had to laugh--I'm back at school again.

Plus ca change...

Hi again everyone! I'll have been in Norfolk for a week at about 4:30 tomorrow afternoon. I've been doing lots of stuff, like finding a graduate assistantship, moving into my house, getting my student ID, and (joy of all joys) getting a replacement social security card.

You see, before I moved to France two years ago, I put my social security card in a safe place so I wouldn't lose it abroad. Unfortunately, I have now forgotten where that safe place was, so I didn't have my card. This wouldn't really be a big deal, except that the guy who takes care of the tax forms in my department is a freak and demands more than the government wants (sound familiar, anyone?). He wouldn't accept my passport, drivers license, and birth certificate, and had no sympathy for my carless state. I had to get a taxi to drive me 20 minutes to the Social Security Office in Norfolk. Both of my taxi drivers took the scenic route, so I got to see lots of pretty houses along the way, and some things that made me smile: the Social Security Office is on Robin Hood Road, and we passed Sherwood Forest Elementary school on the way out there.

When I walked into the office, I had a pleasant feeling towards American bureaucracy, despite my present troubles with the Office of Homeland Security regarding Jube's visa. The kind old police officer at the information desk directed me to the correct room to get a replacement social security card, after having signed a paper and checking my ID. My mood was a bit dampened when I entered the room only to find an almost exact replica of the Prefecture in Nice: rows of seats filled with people, and enough crying babies to rival the foreign affairs office. Now, I know that the Social Security Office has more babies than other bureaucratic places in the US, because they all need to have a number assigned to them, but it's definitely annoying to sit next to a one-year-old who keeps touching your book.

I even got to hear a fight between a young woman and a mother. The young woman had called one of her friends on her cell phone, nearly deafening those around her, screaming about a fight she had had the night before, "and I don't know what the fuck she wanted, but she fucking hit me right in the head. Shit! That bitch don't know what kinda shit she got herself into!" The mother asked her to please use less curse words, but either the young woman didn't hear or didn't care. Finally the security guard had to intervene, and the young woman left before her number was called.

Once that was finished, I went back to finish filling out the papers for my job, where the secretary kept me for about half an hour longer than she had to. Oh well, at least I'm used to waiting now.

Also, when I was in France, I kept thinking about how flirtatious the men were. For example, when I went parasailing, I didn't have my swimsuit. The employee said, "No problem, you can borrow mine," with a big grin at his baggies. Well, I have discovered that in the American South, it's pretty similar. Today I had a man compliment my skirt while I was at an ATM; the employee taking my picture for my student ID said, "It'll be great, you're pretty!"; and at the Social Security Office, as I moved past people to find an empty seat, one of the men said, "I know you ain't that fat!" Luckily, after two years in France, it doesn't faze me at all.

So those are my impressions of the US so far. It's different than I remember it, but maybe that's just because I've absorbed other customs in France. I felt really uncomfortable, for example, when the bagger bagged my groceries for me and then helped me take them outside. On the other hand, everyone is super nice, like my teller at the credit union who found out about my wedding and told me about her 13-year-old daughter while I was opening my new accounts. I felt strange that she was sharing so much personal information, and I had to tell myself that it's just like that in America!

What? A New Post?

I know, I know, how can I imagine that anyone is still reading this? Since I last posted, a lot has happened. I spent a month working at a summer program in Nice, which I will avoid writing about except to say that I went to the hospital twice, spent the night there once--and wasn't sick a day. Kids are crazy. I also began to realize that bureaucracy is bureaucracy everywhere you look. If I thought I had problems working in France, then Jube is having a crisis trying to work in the US! Our visa troubles aren't finished yet, and I don't want to bore anyone with the details. So you're not getting any.

I arrived in Washington, D.C. last Thursday night at 8:30. I cried at the airport, I cried in line... I tried not to cry on the plane, but I was so emotional that V for Vendetta really jerked those tears. How embarrassing! The pilot announced that the weather was 36 degrees (C) as we touched down--I thought France was hot, but the south can't compare with the tropical heat of a Washington Metro Area summer. On Friday we drove down to Norfolk, Virginia, home of Old Dominion University and my new apartment, which I discovered. It has air conditioning. Then my mom took off for her vacation, leaving me at home to watch the dogs. And I got sick. Is it the air conditioning? Was it the close quarters on the plane? Or did I just catch the bug going around here? Whatever the reason, I ran a low fever for 3 days and still have a deep wet chest cough as my companion while I call all kinds of different places to try to find a job.

So I'm safe, I'm in the US, I'm still sick... and hopefully soon I'll have a more interesting post for you.

Um, Like

Three weeks ago, when I was in the US, I attended the recruiting weekend of a large Virginia university. Since I attended Wittenberg University, a small, liberal arts institution in Springfield, Ohio, I was unprepared for the size of the student union. I knew in which rooms the weekend program would take place--but how to find them in such a huge building?

My mom and I headed to the information desk. (Yes, my mother came with me. A lot of the other prospective students thought this was a little weird--a mother at a GRADUATE recruiting weekend?--but I wasn't going to drive to an unknown city alone and forgo the chance to spend the time with my mommy!) "Excuse me, can you tell me where the spring recruiting weekend is?" I asked.

"Umm... I haven't heard anything about that," the girl said. She looked like she was about 16 years old. "Nikki, can you help these people?"

Nikki turned to us. "What's up?" she asked. She was dressed in sweats with the university's logo and chomping on some chewing gum.

"We're looking for the spring recruiting weekend," I said.

"Umm, does that have, like, something to do with graduation?" she asked.

"No," I said, "It's for graduate school."

"Ohh, yeah, that's it. Down the hall and to your right," she told us, pointing with her pencil.

As soon as we were out of sight, we burst into laughter. Moving back might be a shock...