Sète and Carcassonne
(And More of Montpellier)

Sète
    In the past few weeks, I've been able to explore a little bit outside of Montpellier. Though Montpellier is a city with an unimaginable amount of things to do, the other areas of the Languedoc-Roussillon region are worth visiting.

    Last weekend, some new friends from England and Switzerland and I took the fifteen minute train ride to the port city of Sète. It's a town heavily dependent on it's fishing industry, and one of the problems plaguing their industry is over fishing by larger companies.

   After a (now typical) lunch of a baguette and cheese, we made our way up Mont Saint Clair, the small mountain that looks over the city and Meditteranean. We couldn't find trail up to the top, so we followed the cars and took the much longer route up to the top. The panting, the heavy stomachs, the ill prepared hiking attire, the feeling like giving up and realizing how out of shape you actually are, and the occasional bickering on the way up (we all had different ideas on what the French "dead end" road signs meant), it was all worth it. It always is.




   This past weekend, I went on the excursion with my school to Carcassonne, the medieval town where Robin Hood (the Kevin Costner version) was filmed. It was a chilly day, and the wind made the visit slightly miserable. But the castle was straight out of a fairy tale, perched on top of a hill overlooking the countryside.




   This past Monday, I got roped into volunteering at a local middle school by one of the directors at the Accent Francais. I was nervous out of my mind because 1) I had to ride the tram to get there, and me and the tram had decided to live separate lives after the tram workers decided to give me a 35 euro fine for not stamping my ticket, and 2) I had no idea what to expect.
   I should learn never to trust my anxiety, because the experience was beyond anything I expected. I walked into the classroom, decorated in American and British flags and a cardboard display the length of an entire wall advertising the Fast and the Furious, and was greeted by the sprightly English teacher. He explained to me that he hadn't told his students I was coming and was very excited for me to help them learn English. Some students shied away, some giggled when I said hello to them, and some waved enthusiastically and exclaimed a hearty hello in return. The teacher had them ask questions in English and write down my responses also in English. I was told not to speak any French, but having just come from a class where I had to speak French and nothing but French, I slipped up a few times. 
   Their questions ranged from "Where are you from?" to "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" to "Do you see famous people?" to "Will you marry me?". Their faces became an amusing look of incomprehension when I said that I was from Connecticut. They were very interested in the fact that I had a twin brother. One boy was very upset I didn't listen to heavy metal or Doctor Who (but not too upset, this was the same boy who asked me to marry him). A group of girls strongly recommended I watch the TV show Empire, so I told them I would watch it and let them know what I thought. 
   They are all so bright and curious, and it was thrilling to be back in a classroom, listening to the teacher-student dynamic, finding out what they're learning and answering the students' questions. I'm looking forward to my Monday afternoons now.