soggy cauliflower, abba and white stilettos

My last post left me somewhat alone and lost. Now, I think, I am almost found.

Early Monday morning I found myself suddenly with two fellow assistants – yay I’m not the only person mad enough to do this!!

Due to lack of access to a kitchen we have been eating, for the most part, in the school canteen. This is worth discussing. First I must stress that the canteen is CLEAN and ORGANISED, to quite an impressive standard. For only 2.50 euros we get an entrée, a main, either a piece of cheese or a yogurt and a dessert. Great? ...well, yes, if you consider a plate of soggy spinach and overcooked cauliflower to be a main meal. Roll on the 15^th when our contract here ends and we get this modern thing called a kitchen...heard of one? They’re considered to be quite an efficient way of catering for oneself.

After a couple of days of this culinary cauchemare the other assistants and I decided to treat ourselves to a meal in one (of four) of the local restaurants. Here I pretty much devoured a bowl of Mobiflette, a local dish consisting of potatoes and ham in a rich creamy cheese sauce, delicious. The night was almost perfect, good food, good conversation and...Abba ? Yes yes throughout the whole meal we were forced to listen to ABBA’s greatest hits...on repeat. On hearing dancing queen for the second time we realised it was probably time to leave...

And this, surely should be the end of that night’s events? Oh no. In the freezing night air we in turn tried, and failed, to open our door. Our keys jammed and refused to let us in. Winner. This little spectacle resulted in us having to wake our neighbour, a French teacher, who we had yet to introduce ourselves to...and what an introduction it was...us half freezing to death apologising profusely in broken French, her in her silky red night gown trying desperately to protect her modesty.

One of Les Rousses very pretty views 

Today was less eventful, after a nice drive through the mountains to the ski resort Les Rousses we sat and devoured yet another meal in hope of avoiding more measly legumes. Our waitress amused me in her hooped earrings and white stilettos, a nice taste of England, right on the Swiss border. On the other hand the scenery here really is breathtaking; the trees are all just beginning to turn shyly into their red and auburn coats, ready to take on the wrath of a Jurassian winter!!