Graduation

This has been 3 of the fastest weeks of my life. I have seen and learnd so much in such a short period of time that it is hard to describe to others. I found out I was moving to France on April 30th. That's less than a month ago and so much has changed. Ridiculous.

I "graduated" from training this week. Complete with our bicycle helmet caps and "Sweet Dreams" playing as we marched/danced into the conference room for out t-shirt and first aid kit diplomas. It was a hectic, long week but really fun and informative too. It is shocking how much you can learn about yourself when you role play through potential scenarios and do tons of public speaking every day. Our instructors were awesome and very patient with us. I was impressed every day that I went in by the organization and transparency of the company. Somthing that is seriously lacking in most US based corporations.

I described a bit of what I was learning in the last post so I won't elaborate too much more other than to tell you that I can now:

• successfully dismantle a bike and then reassemble it including all the cabling and many other random mechanic skills we will need while on the road
• rack 24 bikes on top of the van and trailer and then drive that van and trailer down streets about the size of a small alley lined by historic buildings (like Napoleon stayed here type of historic) with no sidewalk buffer
• prepare a "gourmet" picnic with an hour prep time which often becomes about a half hour because you are doing van support for the riders at the same time
• order a baguette in french, ordering a beer seems to always confuse either me or the server, but the baguette I am good at

Bike school was always the best time, mostly because of our instructor, Sebastian. Picture the "worst" french accent you can come up with and then add a very dry sense of humor and a couple random gestures to try to get the point across and that's Sebastian in a nut shell. I was so impressed by his vocabulary considering bikes (parts, pieces, how to describe the mechanics) would not be an easy thing to explain to others outside of your native language. It wouldn't be easy to do within your native language for that matter!

Driving was by far the most anxiety provoking of all the tasks and still is. Especially considering I am going to IRELAND! (Very excited about my placement but I'll get back to that.) Driving such a large vehicle with so much cargo on the opposite side of the road with the steering wheel on the left. Like a postman. No big deal, right?

We all had speculations about Ireland. Mostly because I don't speak any other languages (I won't count my lack-of-practice spanish) but also because I have been there before. I have not, however, spent much time in County Kerry and I have definitely not bike toured through the area staying at Premiere Inns. This will be a welcomed first experience.

I have been thinking of my Oma a lot lately. Well before I knew where I would be assigned I kept having this sneaky little thought that she was somehow, somewhere pulling strings to make this all happen. She was such a big part of building my adventurous spirit and I just laugh when I think of her and Clara (with her flip up shades) driving around in the "batmobile". Now that I'm going to Ireland it seems like an obvious connection. I still don't know if I believe in an afterlife, but the thought sure does make me happy so I will leave it at that.

The best part of training, by far, was my fellow trainees. There were 12 of us in one house. 12 very different people from a little of all over: we had two italians, one slovanian, two americans living in Paris, one american who has been in France for 30 years, one irishman who lives in Spain, one german-american (dual citizenship), two from Oregon, one from Hawaii and one from Wisconsin. Two housemates are vegetarian and one vegan. One was even on crutches (he dislocated his ankle playing basketball with his brother) and everyone scrambled to relocate upstairs so he could have a bed in the downstairs bedroom.

This seems like it would be chaos, but it was quite the opposite. Everyone was so respectful that it somehow restored my faith in the world and our potential for world peace. Apparently all we have to do is educate everyone and teach them to be tolerant of cultural differences. No biggie.

It really did make the whole experience that much richer. I didn't predict that I would become so close to everyone and each drive to the train was a little part of the house dynamic leaving. It's sad to think that we bonded over such an overwhelming learning process but we actually won't be working with each other at all. At least it's not likely within this first year. We have been successfully scattered.

We had dinner together every night. No matter how busy we all were the laptops were turned off and skype phone calls were delayed so we could all sit down together. The first night the "americans" cooked we made veggie burgers and little sliders for the meat eaters, complete with all the fixins (including cheddar cheese and ketchup) and sweet potato fries on the side. Very few at the table had experienced a homemade veggie burger and it was funny to watch the expressions! One of the best parts was when an impromptu Star Spangled Banner erupted from the kitchen. Just plain silly.

Almost every night was complete with a toast or explanation of the food on the table. (Fern gave the american toast and it went something like this, "God bless America, where we stay home drink beer and let the neighbors vote".) At the end of the toast was typically this little ditty that the people of Bordeaux apparently do whenever there is something exciting happening at their table. We decided it would happen just about any time we opened a bottle of wine. Watch for it at the end of the video.

I never once heard an argument about who got first shower or what should be on tv (partially due to the fact that the tv was never on). Everyone respected when someone needed a little alone time and we all pitched in on chores and laundry. Simone could sometimes be found sitting in our field playing the didgeridoo and I laugh when I think of opening my shutters (very french) and seeing him and Fern sitting outside in the field just watching the moon. Simone also spread a positive affirmations phrase around the house that he picked up in Australia, "You beauty". It's hard to describe, and I wish I had an audio recording of it because it makes me laugh every time I hear it.

I could go on and on about every single one of my new friends, but it would probably end up being the longest post ever so I will spare you all and share a video with you instead. Beth put this together and it is so cute. Enjoy.

ps. Mom and Dad- If you want to see the video bigger click the four arrows at the bottom right to make it go full screen. Or you can click the youtube log and it will take you to the source. LOVE YOU :)