Wolves.

I arrived in Marvejols on Monday morning, after a hectic bus and train ride, to find pretty much what I expected: an extremely small village. One of the English teachers that I will be working with picked me up from the station and drove me to the college (middle school), an approximately three minute drive across town. I was then shuffled around by secretaries, teachers and the principal himself. I signed what seemed to be endless documents and introduced to who knows how many people. I tried to put my best accent on each "bonjour," but to no avail. I got my keys to my room, that is located on the 5th floor of the school, and I lugged my bags onto the tiny elevator. I live in the dormitory part of the school among around 20 students who board there; I am, of course, on the girls’ side. I was warned that the boys have been sneaking into girls’ room, so I have to really make sure to keep my door locked.

After throwing my stuff into my room, I went to lunch in the cantine with all the teachers. As soon as I walked down the hall, I could hear whispers of "c'est elle? c'est l'assistante americaine? ooooo." Then walking into the cantine I was welcomed with stares from droves of 11 to 15 year olds, all looking at my flip flops like I was crazy. Walking through the tables, a few students shouted "hello!" to me as I passed; I pretty certain everyone knows who I am. After lunch, I started unpacking my room, which is quite spacious but I can only describe it as my Van Gogh room.My windows look out onto the courtyard where the kids play and beyond that the mountains that surround the town; it is a fantastic view.

Since I don't start working until Thursday, I decided to stick around the school and unpack a few things instead of exploring. The exploring started today. My day started with a knock on my door from another English teacher, Lionel, at 10 am, wondering if I wanted to open my bank account. Half asleep and still in my nightgown, I said yes, but give me a few minutes. I got my bank account open fairly easily and headed back to the school for lunch, where I was greeted with hundreds of "hellllooooos." After lunch, I decided to venture out into the town.

Walking through the streets, I realized that Marvejols is definitely bigger than my hometown, Durham, NH. There are far fewer people, but many more restaurants, shops and cafes. I walked through the walled part of the city and was immediately reminded of Venice. All the roads are tiny and definitely not made for cars, though they do manage to squeeze themselves through somehow. I took a few pictures, but I felt absolutely absurd taking pictures of these people's every day lives. I walked down the Esplanade de l'Europe, which follows the tiny river that flows through Marvejols.

And the wolves. Let's not forget about the wolves. So, as I found out before arriving in Marvejols, the region (Lozere) is famous for its wolves. I thought, okay, maybe for the tourists there will be some wolf memorabilia; the wolves became a joke to me. But oh no. Yes, the wolves are contained to their little reservation, but on almost every storefront, there is a picture of a wolf. There is a cafe "Le Petit Loup," the little wolf. I found a fountain of wolf heads. Even the supermarket: a man in the school told me it was just behind the wolf statue. Wolves are everywhere.

All in all, I saw very few people my age and just very few people in general but it is a beautiful village with very friendly people. All the teachers here are very welcoming and extremely helpful. I start work on Thursday when I will be answering the questions "where are you from" and "how old are you" about a million times. Until then, I will entertain myself somehow.