Bergerac, France

I just learned where I will be calling my new home for a year: Bergerac, France, which is a commune in the Dordogne region of France. Dordogne is between the Loire Valley and the Pyrénées, and there are more than 1500 castles in the region! Bergerac has about 30,000 inhabitants and 21 square miles to its name, but it seems to be a big tourist destination (especially among Brits - there are tons of direct Ryan Air flights to different cities in England). Within the town are caves, bastides, castles, vineyards, and a harbor (the Dordogne river runs through it). Cyrano de Bergerac gets his name from the town, and there's a statue of him in the town's center. Apparently Bergerac also has some of the best wine in the Bordeaux region - lucky me. (The departments in France are a bit confusing, so I'm technically in the Bordeaux department even though I'm about an hour and a half from the city of Bordeaux).

I'll be teaching primary school kids - I start Oct. 11 and finish April 30, and have 5 weeks of paid vacation in between. Needless to say, I can't wait.


[That will be me, the red square]