La Rentrée

I have made it to Tarbes.
After a crazy stint in Munich for Oktoberfest, I’ve arrived, fully exhausted and ready to be settled. While we didn’t spend the entire time partying at the tents, we did spend an awful lot of time befriending the local beers. When Allie and I arrived, on Wednesday, we stowed our bags in the lockers at the train station and headed into town to see what it was all about… Beer and Bretzels! (and radishes, cabbage, sausages, and beer – again for emphasis) Munich is home to four large breweries: Lowenbrau, Hofbrau, Paulaner, and Augustiner. These four brews are allowed to be served at Oktoberfest. Any beers produced outside of the city limits are not allowed to have a tent on the Therenweise. Munich’s beers are pure and natural, and that’s what provides them with the delicious tastes that keep people drinking more than 100,000 liters per day (and that’s only the count for ONE of the larger breweries!) The beers must only contain four ingredients: Water, Hops, Wheat, and Yeast. We learned this on the second day that we were in Munich when Allie, Geraldo, and I took a brewery and tasting tour. We also learned that in order for a beer garden to be official it must have mature chestnut trees and the people must be allowed to bring their own food. The trees: chestnut trees were planted in public serving areas in order to keep the beer cool as there were no refrigeration systems and the trees’ broad leaves provided shade for both the brew and the guests. The food: a king wanted it to be the case that all could go and enjoy a drink, rich and poor alike, and as beer was relatively affordable, but a meal was not, he ruled that people should be allowed to bring their own food if they like.
The next day, Friday, we took a tour to the town of Dachau, next to which was housed the Dachau concentration camp. Now the camp is a memorial with only two of the barracks standing, and the main building transformed into a sort of museum. While there exists a gas room at Dachau, it was never used, it was hardly necessary in any case as the men at the camp were mostly worked to death anyway. The camp did however install a supplementary facility with 4 extra ovens, to expedite the body burning process. This facility was kept on the outside of the fence so that the workers within might not know what was in store for them, but the ovens were always working overtime and the smell of burnt flesh was something the prisoners would miss. Inscribed on the entry gates is “work will set you free”. But as we all know, for all the work those punished as scapegoats during the holocaust were only set free by the allied forces, not their backbreaking labor.
When we returned from Dachau, we decided to do something light, so we took a beer at a large centrally-located beer garden and ate the sandwiches we packed earlier that day. We took it easy that night though (meaning we each drank only 2 liters each) and spent the rest of the evening just meandering around, trying German McDonalds (I tried a McChicken which had sweet chili sauce instead of mayo – yum!), and stopping for some gelato.
On Saturday we finally succeeded in meeting-up with Mary Bolling in the main plaza of Munich to take a tour of town, by bike… by bar… by a beer-bike-bar which we powered by peddling and were served by the guide as he ‘drove’ us around town at 5mph. It was only an hour and a half, but we really enjoyed this light-hearted tour of Munich and the guide’s comical take on the local history. After that, the rest of Saturday was a blur. We walked around the town, walked through the English gardens, and eventually ended up at the Hoffbrau tent for one last hurrah… which lasted nearly all night! (It’s ok, I slept on the trains the next day between Munich and Strasbourg and then Strasbourg to Toulouse).
Arriving in Toulouse, tired and travel-worn, Valentin picked me up at the train and we went for a bite to eat before starting the 1.5 hour drive to Tarbes.
So here I am, at the Foyer des Jeunes Travailleurs (F.J.T.). I’ve only spent one night here, but I don’t plan on spending many more. It is, as a matter of fact, better than I anticipated, as I have my own room with a sink for only 17,5 euros per night, but I plan on leaving much sooner than next Monday. Sarah, the other American, and Natalia, the Chilean, have found studio apartments not too far from the city center, and in the same small building! I went with Natalia to the realtor today, as we decided to run errands together while we’re both staying at the F.J.T., so she could finalize the apartment details, and I decided to ask whether or not he could suggest anything for me that would not be too far from the city center as well. As it happens, the realtor we were working with is the owner of the building in which Sarah and Natalia have chosen to live, and he told me that he’ll be done with work on another studio (though slightly bigger and so more expensive) in about 2 weeks, would I like to see it? Yes! So we went to the building, and I immediately felt good things… it’s above a bakery, how much better could it get?! The free studio is 32m2 and is completely furnished. PLUS, a few of the assistants last year got together and bought a washing machine, and the studio which might be mine already has space for a washer and the necessary connections! I was excited for certain aspects of living with roommates, but not for others. But if the three of us live in such a small building anyway, it’s like having all the positives of living with other people, and none of the negatives!
I was busy getting things done today, with finding an apartment and all (pure luck), and opening a bank account at the Société Generale, I feel like I’ve accomplished at least a quarter of the things that had me being nervous about this experience. As for me being done at the F.J.T., I plan on staying with Natalia as of Thursday until my apartment is ready. It will be a little cramped for the two of us there, but that way I won’t have to do a big move of my suitcases once we’ve started doing observations and visiting my schools next week (I will be working in 3 different elementary schools I found out today).
I met my contacts from the program today, at what I would consider to be the district office. As it turns out, there is one elementary school which is further out of town, an hour walk I believe, and as it turns out this will be one of the schools I have. Luckily, or unluckily, there is a bicycle that they have from the past few years which I will be given to make my commute… wearing a purple helmet and a yellow reflective vest… oy. However, we only work 3 days per week, Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, with Wednesday and Friday off. This means constant 3-day weekends for travel and fun, and that only one day per week I will make the trek to that school.
Tuesday nights are the meetings of the local engineering school’s international club, and being that its Tuesday, we will be off shortly to walk back to town for un verre with the club and to start mingling with the locals!
Signing off,
Veronica Corningstone