I’m afraid I cannot yet report an improvement in the food stakes but elsewhere things are truly looking up! My first classes last week passed without injury and I am really impressed by the level of enthusiasm shown by the majority of the children. On arrival I tend to attract what can only be described as a mob of eleves, during one riot I had about eight boys under the age of ten screaming questions at me like I knew the cure for cancer, when I gave up and simply stated that ‘Je ne comprend pas’ one worldly looking fellow spat ‘urgh, elle est bete’ – charmed I’m sure. For those of you who don’t speak French my little friend had quite simply deemed me ‘stupid’.
On Saturday my housemates and I enjoyed a long lazy day on the beaches of Lac du Chalin. The water there is crystal clear and the ducks incredibly greedy!! We lay around in the sun enjoying a picnic purchased from the local market (rotisserie chicken, goats cheese, crusty bread, fruit and local artisan cookies, om nom nom).
Later, with sun tinged noses we enjoyed a dinner party (bien arosé) at the house of a fellow English teacher. We ate a typical Jurrassian dinner including several aperitifs, Mont D’Or and Morteau sausage. For those who might be interested, Mont D’or is a cheese which one adds white wine to then cooks in the oven in a wheel of bark or ‘sapin’ creating a rich delicious cheese sauce which one pours over potatoes and smoked meats. Afterwards our host insisted we must try un digestif !! She pulled out an ominous looking bottle complete with hand written label ‘Genciane, 1981’ – the rest I’m sure you can imagine. I can describe the taste only as liquid fire. This particular bottle of traditional local liquor had been produced by her husband’s late father, you can imagine how awful I felt about be unable to finish it!!
On Sunday, with a slightly fuzzy head, I made my way to an ‘eco-truc’ festival, which translates quite simply as an ‘eco-thing’. Other than some rather interesting musical creations, as pictured here (avec un peu de chance) the festival was fairly unremarkable. I spent the rest of the day with a friends family exploring a local nature reserve speaking casually in French and almost getting used to this whole thing!
And that brings me to today, my first full day of work!! My classes are all wonderful and I actually quite enjoyed being interrogated by CM2! “Ow-ar-you?” (adorable) “Do you like Fish and Chips?” (bien sur, je suis anglaise, duh) “Do you have brothers or a sister?” and my personal favourite “Do you prefer snakes or steak?”!!
As I side note for a specific group of friends I must confess, teaching the kids to say ‘VERY GOOD’ in a certain way was simply irresistible! Haha!
The rest of my week includes a trip to the cinema with one school, my first Italian language class, moving into my permanent residence (with a kitchen!!!!) and a weekend in Dijon with friends to celebrate my 21st birthday!
Bisous
