Encore Provence

Tuesday was my second day in school, which went much the same but better than the first. I like the principal, he's quite funny as far as I can tell, because he speaks very fast but I just laugh whenever he pauses. This is not foolproof- I've had more than one strange look from him as well.

my first day breakfast

The three classes I work in are all at the same standard of English which is helpful because I only have to prepare one lesson and then repeat it three times with each class on a Tuesday afternoon. However, yet again, the teachers did not realise it was a week of observation and the last two were expecting me to take their class. It is frustrating to keep explaining in another language, while trying to be very polite and give a good impression, that our contract states we are not supposed to take classes at all or start assisting this first week. In the end, we did three impromptu lessons where I introduced myself in English and the children had to think up questions they knew how to ask in English and then could come up one by one to ask me. This resulted in some great questions; 'do you like chocolate?' and 'do you like cheese?' (yes,no) and some more interesting ones, such as 'what colour is it?,' and 'how much is it?'. When I told them I lived in Apt they were astounded and couldn't seem to get their head round it until the teacher asked them to think about how I would work in Apt yet live in England. Once that thought had processed they seemed to accept it.

Again, the children were very keen to say 'hello' and 'goodbye', and every moment a joke was shared in class, the students would swing round to watch my reaction. When I was asked my birthday and I explained it was this Saturday, one of the little girls nearly fell off her seat. The teacher explained it was her birthday on Saturday too and this seemed to please her so much she spent the rest of the lesson, glancing round at me and whenever I caught her eye I got a big toothy smile and a wave. Trop mignon!

my walk down from the school- lovely now but through secluded woods when it gets dark maybe not so good 

So now, somehow two weeks have gone by since I arrived in Provence and I can't believe that's all its been. Everybody said to me, the first few weeks will drag, and then it will fly by, yet somehow, here I am, feeling in a way it was only yesterday I said goodbye to everyone at home yet also that it was a lifetime ago, so much has happened since. Today I went into Avignon and met another English assistant for coffee and then we went to her friend's house for a big lunch of cheese, bread, wine, tomatoes where I met lots of fellow Erasmus students. It really does feel like swings and roundabouts here but I am slowly beginning to realise this is a year I'm never going to forget, and for all the right reasons.

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