Burn Notice

Theatrics aside, I'm okay. From what I've gathered following that Friday morning conversation, I've still got my job, and I'll be teaching at three schools instead of the one I was first assigned. I'm sorry if I freaked anybody out, but - me being me - I saw an opportunity for some nonlinear storytelling and a cliffhanger ending and I couldn't help myself.

Basically, I'm in the process of following every lead I've got to get in touch with local administrators and, through them, to my assigned schools. I've got one very nice regional administrator helping me out, and she keeps giving me numbers to call and names to ask for. Trouble is, bureaucracy that I'm dealing with, each name ends up being a lead to the next name. I'm secondarily hunting for apartments, but until I make sure I am actually working for those three schools, I hesitate to commit to anything. Basically, I feel like ex-spy Michael Westen running leads to the ground and tyring to resolve his burn notice.*

From what I understand at the moment, one of my schools is in Grasse, where I am, and the other two are in St-Valier-de-Thiey. Here's the map. St-Vallier-de-Thiey is very small, reachable either by car, or by a 20-minute bus ride from Grasse. So, when I signed up for this region and the Azure Coast, you can imagine that this isn't exactly what I had in mind.

But that's not to say I haven't made it to the coast anyway. I met up with two wonderful fellow assistants in the region and strolled around Cannes and Nice for several hours each. And now, my first recommendation. This one's in Nice: ice cream at Fennochio on the Place Rosetti, inside the charming winding streets of the old town. Everything you need to know to find it: right here.

And I shouldn't come down too hard on Grasse, because the center of town is fairly charming and has just about everything you could reasonably need. One such thing is a wonderful restaurant called La Grignote, on the Place Aux Aires, located here. I had a terrific dinner there Saturday night: Foie Gras Ravioli in a cream sauce, followed by a tarte-aux-pommes that they simply knocked out of the park. Service was very good, and the outdoor seating is on a nice little plaza with a fountain and old French buildings whose paint and stucco are crumbling in just the right-looking way. I will post pictures of these various places soon.

So, this afternoon brought some decent news. After some more bureaucratic run-around, I finally got in touch with one Mme. Leblanc, an administrator trying to get in touch with my three schools to make sure I'm still wanted. She's also investigating whether the schools have housing set aside for me, and she's working out my schedule (even keeping in mind the bus schedule from Grasse to St-Vallier). None of it's set yet, but I'm meeting with her at her office in Grasse on Friday morning.

"That's not much, Mikey."
"It's not much, Sam. But it's more than we had."


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*Theatrics not aside, I considered starting the post like this:


My name is Andy Weiner. I used to be a teaching assistant. Until...

WOMAN ON PHONE [V.O.]: We don't need any teaching assistants this year.

When you're burned, you've got nothing. No work, no salary, nobody to validate your visa. You're stuck in whatever city they decided to assign you to.

Email from Dad onscreen: "Where are u???"
Andy types: "In Grasse"

You take whatever work comes your way.

Andy scrolls through Facebook, bored.

You rely on anybody who's still talking to you... A few fellow teaching assistants who happen to be in the same time zone.

Andy walks around promenades with Katie Hardy and Soraya. He Skypes with his friend Lauren.

A friendly French woman who's part of the system that changed your placement.

Andy reads email from Mme. Laboz.

Family, too...

RENEE (ON SKYPE): We miss you, kiddo!

...If you're desperate.

RENEE (CONTD.): At least they're not gonna' have a war over there, like when cousin Paul was in the Peace Corps in South America!

Bottom line, until you figure out who can un-burn you... you're not going anywhere.



...If you have no idea what I'm talking about, click here.