When I got back from my little trip to Dortmund, I finally got to start teaching the kids in my schools. To begin with I wasn't too sure what to expect, or what was expected of me. But I got off to a decent start, trying to force 6-10 year olds to repeat "my name is...", more often than not it came out as "my nezz eee". Oh the little Frenchies. After 2 classes, most of them has got the hang of it.
My bank card finally arrived, well not necessarily arrived because I had to go into the bank and practically break down in front of the woman telling her how awful my week had been and waiting 5 weeks to get a bank card was bloody ridiculous! So the woman looked really apologetic, scurried to the bank and came back declaring "c'est bon, c'est bon". I wanted to run over and hug her.
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| Best Cheesecake in the world! |
It was Jessica's birthday on Monday so we all went out for dinner on Tuesday, and it was sooo nice. We went to a restaurant called The Berliner, which was seriously trendy and surprisingly quiet. It was a Tuesday, so I didn't think much of it. As soon as we took a seat, they played the new Interpol song. I have a new favourite place. They also had the best cheesecake I've ever eaten, EVER.
One of the main issues I've been having is my lack of speaking French outside school, and the amount I'm speaking it in school. Most of my friends here are English/American and this is great because I have met an amazing bunch of people. I just wish I could have the confidence to speak more French within social situations and with my peers. I'm by no means bad at French I just wish it I had less inhibitions. At schools it's been fine, I've been speaking loads of French, and a teacher even told me I was good today. Although my vocabulary is currently limited to sit down, shut up and behave!
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| La Piscine |
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| Stickers |
A highlight for me, was Hannah, Chloe and my trip to La Piscine museum in Roubaix. It used to be a swimming pool, and they still had a shallow pool in the main hall with statues and carvings around the walkway round the edge. It was so pretty, as there were giant stained glass window at either end which reflected in the pool. The only creepy thing was that every now and again they played sounds of children playing and splashing. It was pretty disturbing really. Their exhibitions were amazing and certainly worth the 7E entrance. And that's without the Degas exhibition which has been plastered all over the metro stations. I have to admit, it was a total let down. it was a collection of bronze statues, which were beautiful but the atmosphere of the gallery was horrid. Full of tour guides and German tourists it made it difficult to appreciate the art, unlike the rest of the museum which was quiet. Outside there was a lampost which was covered in the stickers you are given at the museum, I thought that was worth a photo.
Thursday was a jour férié, which is essentially a public holiday, because it was remembrance day. So on Wednesday night Cait and Louise had a party in Roubaix. It was soooo much fun and it was really nice to chat in French with people, so things are definitely improving on that front. We drank tequila and wine and we danced to Gwen Stefani and it was amazing. I'm glad I left when I did though, because I felt seriously ill the next day. And I had to miss out on Hana and Hannah's trip to Ypres for remembrance day, which really sucked.
Over the last week I've had a serious moral boost, but I'm really looking forward to Christmas and seeing my family. The countdown starts here.
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| Clare, Hana, Moi et Nick chez Cait et Louise |
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