(market morning)

I meandered through the Saturday market this morning, and thoroughly enjoyed taking in the sights, scents, and sounds it had to offer. The produce all looked delicious, and there was even paella at one booth! This is the sale and production of a local specialty from the Aveyron region--gâteau à la broche. After looking it up, I discovered that this is a dessert/cake/pastry made by turning a wooden cone on a spit before a wood fire, dousing it constantly with batter as it turns, building up layers until you have a christmas tree-shaped hollow cake.

So a few pictures from the market as a treat, which will hopefully entice you to read on about the unfolding of my life thus far in Rodez.

Since my arrival on Wednesday, I've enjoyed exploring the town on my own, and attempted to set some of my life in order. This has been a moderately successful endeavor, but there is still MUCH to take care of--most importantly, finding a permanent living situation. Everything here has been a bit last-minute so far--from changing towns to my housing arrangement falling through to getting transport from the Rodez train station--but thus far, all of the just-barely craziness has always worked out, so I'm trying to remain patient as I wonder what I'll be doing tomorrow and next week!

I met the woman who is "in charge" of the assistants in Rodez yesterday, and she seems quite sweet and helpful. She's new to the job as of this fall, so we're both getting our bearings, but upon meeting, she supplied me with the email of a Spanish assistant from Colombia who will be arriving this weekend (whose housing also fell through, so I'm hoping she will be open to apartment-hunting with me). Additionally, Nathalie (the contact person) offered to go to the bank with me, help me look for apartments, and even invited me to have lunch with her and her husband. It's nice to know there's someone here to advocate for me, if I need it!

As for the possible roommate, I haven't heard from her yet, and assume that she's in the throes of travel preparation. Hope of a flatmate is hindering me from really beginning the apartment search, as I'm not sure what I'm looking for at this point. I have a room reserved at the foyer until Tuesday, and hope that I can extend my stay there without any issues.

Wednesday, Nathalie will be driving me and another assistant or two to the orientation in Toulouse, which is about two hours away. There, I'll get to meet more assistants, hopefully find out what school(s) I will be at (another thing to wait for which impacts where I look for an apartment, since feet are my only transportation), etc. I don't know if we'll get to see much of the city, but I'm very thankful that Nathalie will drive us, and that I don't have to buy a train ticket!

So. I suppose that's the basic update. I'll be sure to keep you posted, so don't forget to check in!

*Teaser: I have a post planned, which will be entitled: "A tale of two drivers."