31 October 2005

HAVE LIGHTS – WILL TRAVEL

Yippee, I now have lights for my bicycle which means I can venture out at night-time armed and dangerous. Not that lights mean anything to the French and I have seen more cyclists at night without lights than with, but still, I’m English and have to adhere to at least a smidge of road safety. (‘anon’, stop that snickering, I can hear you from here, you know full well that a helmet does nothing for a girl’s hair …)

30 October 2005

HALF-TERM

Well, an unexpected half-term holiday provided the perfect excuse for a well-deserved (in my eyes) break. And there I was thinking that we would have to work right up until Christmas, especially as the French education system forces some of its poor little mites to attend school even on Saturdays. So I came home to England where I realised that I am actually a bit in limbo land – whichever country I’m in, I feel a bit foreign. And it was a bit weird to be able to understand completely the background noise around me. But I had a wonderful time slouching around making a mess of the place, going down to the beach, picking up games and orange curd to bring back and cathartically hacking back the garden. Unfortunately the arnica was looking a bit slug/snail-damaged, I’m not sure which of those slimey beasts munched it but thank goodness for salt is all I can say. However, I seemed to spend most of the week overdosing on Green & Black’s organic chocolate (mmmm …) so I’m back in the dandelion and red clover de-tox clinic, recovering from my excesses …

18 October 2005

WITHDRAWAL GROUPS

I’ve begun to take some students in what’s known as ‘withdrawal groups’ which makes it sound like we’re trying to get over our drug habits! Instead, we do role-play (this sounds decidedly dodgy) where they have to assume roles like ‘phoning a hotel to make a reservation with me as the stroppy receptionist. Heaven help them if they ever do it for real else they might end up with two people in a single room with no bath or shower paying £500 each. Good job I am here to rescue their English!

17 October 2005

BISES

One of the difficulties I encounter on an almost daily basis is all the kissing which goes on here. Whenever you meet your friends (and sometimes even your friends’ friends) you are supposed to kiss each other on the cheek. It’s not the ‘mwaar-mwaar’ sort of air kissing of the drama lovies, oh no, it’s much more sophisticated than that and my French friends seem to do it so effortlessly. They lean forward so elegantly without touching and just ever so slightly nudging cheeks so as to give the impression of a kiss. Whereas, I, coming from England where that sort of thing is just NOT done, am completely at sea. I have to hold on to the other person’s shoulders to balance myself and I never know which cheek to start with and then get confused about whether it should be two or three or four kisses. Believe me, there have been many painful clashes of cheek bones. Maybe I should retreat to a natural English reserve and just nod politely or, at a push, shake hands.

16 October 2005

STADE DE FRANCE

Well my first trip to Stade de France was a huge success – Stade Français beat Stade Toulousain 29-15! The stadium itself is huge, much bigger than Twickenham, but I’m a little sorry to say that I didn’t think mighty Toulouse played as well as they could have done. One thing I was really shocked about is the amount of noise from the crowd when the kicker was preparing to kick. In England, you can hear a pin drop no matter which side is converting a try or kicking a penalty. It reminded me of a bull fight. However, the main thing is that Stade Français got the victory they needed and deserved! Bravo!

© stade.fr

15 October 2005

THE ADVENTURES OF A STRIPEY BAG

Well, it’s catch-up time. I did once say I was not the most diligent of emailers but it looks like I’m not the most faithful of bloggers either. However, to tell the truth, the internet connection has been a bit dodgy and after a couple of weeks of working, sleeping and playing (mostly sleeping), I’m only really just beginning to feel half-way normal.

But things are looking up: I now have net curtains – before this, I had been living in a sort of twilight world with the blinds permanently down since I value my privacy and do not want the neighbours spying on me. And I have discovered a very nice organic shop very close to my flat so I am in soya and beanburger heaven there! I had my first letter from England this week which included a nice pair of dusting gloves and anyone who knows about my passion for dusting will appreciate this gesture!

School is great, the children and teachers at school are wonderful (and for someone who doesn’t really ‘do’ children, this is saying something). We have some way to go, linguistically speaking, as the pupils are still getting mixed up between ‘he’ and ‘she’ ….. There is also even a rumour going around that my tutor and I are an ‘item’. This is not surprising really since I am with him all the time, following him around like a puppy as I have no idea where I am really going or what I am really doing. And children will be, well, children!

Before I left England, my lovely friend Emma presented me with a new addition to my bag collection. In the picture, it can be seen taking a well-earned rest on the chair. Well, this extremely attractive, versatile, and what’s more, washable, stripey bag accompanies me everywhere. We go to school, to the market, to art galleries, to bars, shopping for net curtains, to the park, to the rugby – which is in fact where we are going tonight for the big game: Stade Français v. Stade Toulousain. Go Paris!

09 October 2005

TOURISTY THINGS

Yesterday, Montmartre was celebrating its wine harvest under a lovely blue sky. My friend invited me to play at being tourists and, after watching a parade with all the different wine producing regions of France represented, we went on a guided tour around the neighbourhood, passing by the vineyard (picture above), the cemetery, the Lapin Agile (drinking den), the Moulin de la Galette (old dancehall, now a restaurant) (mental note: must try), the Bateau Lavoir (famous former artists’ studio where Modigliani (and others, including Picasso) started out. The area still has an arty feel, although this can get lost amongst all the tourists.

Unfortunately, I’m afraid to say that Stade Français lost away to Clermont yesterday. See what happens when I’m not there to cheer them on, good job it’s only a game. I spent the evening soaking up the French language trying to work out what my friends were saying while enjoying some so-so vodka pasta (mental note: le Procope looked better). Then I was taken home via another touristy route. It may be a cliché but Paris by night really does look fantastic!

07 October 2005

GIRODET

© louvre
I’m quite excited that I'm now officially a ‘professional’ member of The Louvre and went to see their exhibition on Girodet. He was originally a pupil of David’s and a pioneer of French Romanticism and it’s a beautiful exhibition full of atmosphere and sensuous figures. I particularly liked his attention to detail and resolved to find out more about him.

Then on the metro, as I was musing about the exhibition and about how every station seems to have its own resident tramp, and how there are an awful lot of deaf people in Paris (do they sign in French?), I saw a man being arrested by the armed police. After slapping his face quite forcefully a couple of times, they handcuffed him and led him away. Life is certainly eventful here.

05 October 2005

I PASSED!

Wooo, I’ve passed my herbalism exam with distinction! What a clever girlie I feel, it gives me hope for my herbalism future! I just hope I don’t forget it all while I’m over here having fun in Paris … which reminds me, must revise my bony landmarks for next year. Now, where’s the elderflower and nettle champagne to celebrate?

04 October 2005

STRIKE

Naturally, I want to immerse myself in the local culture (however, I will draw the line at snails and foie gras) so today I participated in a very ancient French tradition: a strike! It was a general strike and as far as teachers are concerned, apparently there is a law being drafted which will mean that if the English teacher is ill, then the PE or Physics or Music teachers will have to stand in for them to teach English and vice versa. Can you imagine? So I had a very nice day lazing around, catching up on emails and working out what bureaucratic nightmares still need to be endured. Vive la Révolution!

03 October 2005

MY FIRST DAY AT SCHOOL

So today was my First Day and it was a bit like being five years’ old again, but I’m glad to say I survived. The morning was spent being bombarded with questions (who would have thought I could be so intriguing?) from the sublime to the ridiculous, like: where do you live?; how old are you? (the cheek!); do you have a cat?; do you like Paris?; can you sing for us? (ouch!); do you have a boyfriend?; what’s your ‘phone number?! Oh, for heaven’s sake! The most embarassing bit came when I thought I was being asked “do you like a reporter?”. What a strange question, thought I, but hey, maybe these kids find current affairs intellectually stimulating and regularly read The Telegraph …. In fact, it turned out to be “do you like Harry Potter?” which, if said with a strong French accent sounds very much like ‘do you like a reporter?’ Oh, what fun we’re going to have! Then this afternoon, I had to go to the University for an afternoon of French bureaucracy, dressed up as an ‘information session', nothing of which they couldn’t have told me in an email! Pfff! And now, I’m exhausted … yawn … so good night … zzzzzzz

p.s. I don’t want to lower the tone but one thing I find most odd and a bit distressing is that there are no toilet seats in the school – why should this be? Speculations gratefully received!

01 October 2005

HALLOWED GROUND

Yippee, my first match at Jean Bouin and Stade Français won 25-10 against Castres. The second half was a bit slow, with not enough action, but I was glad to be there watching it live instead of via the internet. Afterwards, it was great to catch up with all my lovely fellow Stade Français supporters! And especially so as my very dear friend louise gave me a super present: the new book about Stade Français which has just been published. I was even lucky enough to meet the author as well as Monsieur Le President! Oh, and Mirco of course! ;-p
© stade.fr

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