Newest Archives Profile Whispers Rings Host
And I mean flushed in the non-bathroom sort of way Weighing my pockets with stones of longing |
It was a hard morning. I really didn't want to get up, and I forgot the Hello song CD at home. Hair looked cute, though. Feixa's class was out of control so the Comic Strip got dropped. Manu being sweet about it, though. Bauza's surprisingly well behaved, though we barely accomplished a thing. Fuent�s's class looked terrified the whole 45 minutes and didn't seem to really catch on. Jean-Louis not too negative, however. Had to wait an eternity for the bus, and once I got on it I got harassed by some nineteen year olds. Guy in front of me laughed when I made a crack in English. They didn't say anything that bad, and while my personal space was invaded somewhat there wasn't much actual touching, but I felt upset all the same by the time I got off at Les Halles. At least one of them seemed to get my drift when I asked what they would do in my place. Wish there were a recipe for getting out of those situations, but just like teaching nothing ever works the same twice. Ugh. I have the distinct impression that I'm going to have plenty of chances to practice, though. Guess that's something to look forward to. But really, did I ever learn what to do in a situation like that? It's not like I can "just say no". How annoying. Now I'm all sad and uncomfortable. The rest of the day was a crazy jumble, too, but all in all I think it made up for the bus incident. Back in the teachers' lounge at Jean Mac�, Gis�le (the principal) brought in some chocolate to share with everyone. She offered it to everybody but all the male teachers refused. Gis�le said "Ils ne le veulent pas parce que les morceaux ne sont pas assez grands." ("They don't want any because the pieces aren't big enough." Then she added with a smile, "Ils doivent l'entendre souvent, que les morceaux ne sont pas assez grands!" ("The pieces aren't big enough... They must hear that a lot!") and cracked up with the rest of the female teachers. The male teachers she was referring to, sadly, did not hear. The female teachers expressed their disappointment that they hadn't heard. Then, Gis�le brought in some mail she had gotten and plopped it on the table... Surprise! One was a magazine of saucy men's underwear (they had a good laugh about that) and the next appeared to be a preview catalogue of naked man magazines... porn ads! It was super hilarious. Jean-Louis came over, caught of glimpse of glistening abs and said, "Hey, now, what is the English teacher going to think of French schools!?" So I said, "I think that French teachers are much happier than American teachers!" The ladies had even shut the curtains so the kids at recess couldn't peek in. There was a lot of joking "academic material" talk. Earlier in the morning Sophie Claire was there with her toddler daughter and M. Fuent�s was trying to get her to come over. "J'ai moins en moins de succ�s," he proclaimed. (I am less and less successful.) Madame Bauza quipped, "Tu dois essayer avec les filles de votre age!" (You'd do better to try with girls your own age!) Cracks about his lack of success with women continued for several minutes afterward. My CM2 at Lakanal was canceled so that gave me a little extra time that afternoon. Classes went fairly well. One student gave me a "scooby doo"; a gaggle of girls surrounded me after class and one said she wished I was her sister. I had Max write a little about himself and his family - he said his dad is called Randal, is 49, and likes screaming at him, and about himself he simply listed his games and toys - most of them intended for kids over 14. He sounded proud about that. Oh! And I'm to be interviewed for the school newspaper! Left early; wandered the back neighborhoods that I love so much and still managed to sneak away with my recipass� before the Police Pr�fecture closed at 4. Not only did I walk through some astoundingly charming quartiers; I also stumbled across the greatest antique bookstore! SO cute. Best location and breathtaking inventory. Really quite overwhelming. Made friends with the owner, I think. We have a date on Monday. He even had La V�nus d'Ille, and on top of a 1950s gold leaf Kama Sutra, a mid 17th century pocket volume of poetry. So perfect. Went to the cyber for an hour, then at 7 went to Caro's for loads of delicious pizza, sprite, wine (that great red and a c�t� du languedoc ros�) and delightful company. Alina and I (and numerous tag alongs) have plans to visit the Basilique St. Paul-Serge on Saturday afternoon. I'm super excited. Potential plans for tomorrow: get Caf application, get groceries, go to the basilica to ask about visiting hours, go to the Horreum. Sleepy but excited. If only I didn't have to work tomorrow. <3 P.S. Wish K would write so I wouldn't feel so dumb.
Bawdy behavior in the teachers' lounge at 6:53 p.m.
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