j'ai un lit
Or I have a bed!
Finally. It's nice to have a room that looks slightly more like a human lives here. Though the walls are far too bland, I need some photos or posters. Not sure whether I'm really allowed to, since they're trying to sell the house, but still. Blank canvas is not the look I was really hoping for.
This morning I was confronted by one of my biggest fears about Canada - a bug in the bathroom. Unlucky for said bug, it had a date with my nice heavy wedge heel, and then a nice flush down the toilet. My bathroom, my rules pal.
So anyway, we have a French girl moving in on Monday - so I won't be alone on the top floor anymore, hurrah. Though it might mean I have to turn my films down - the walls in this place are paper thin. I've also taken to watching films to go to sleep, and I ended up watching 13 Going on 30 three nights and a morning in a row before I managed to stay awake through the whole thing.
I guess the most pressing matter to talk about is my first real day at school. My commute is interesting, it's pretty long but I can deal with it. The walk from the bus stop to school was a it longer than I'd hoped - I've since found a bus that will take me from the bus stop to school, which makes life a lot easier. ANYWAY. I ended up at school from 8.40 until almost 4pm - it was like being back at EC. If I'd been constantly busy, I'd have been up for that. However, I totally wasn't busy. I did a ten minute introduction at the start of class, then left class and sat around bored until my next intro. I did my introductory PowerPoint SIX times in one day. I've never been so bored. Also at lunch time, I decided to make a real effort and go and sit at a table in the staff room. I even chose to sit with other people rather than picking an empty table which would have been easier. A nice teacher sat and chatted with me, and we agreed that she would speak to me in English and I would reply in French, that way we would both improve. When she left, the table filled with about 9 other teachers. I could see them looking at me, thinking who the hell is this kid, but not one of them bothered to ask. I sat awkwardly trying to listen to conversation and understand what was going on. Eventually, when it had quietened down a bit, I just got up and went to the actual staff room - where the desks were, and sat with the English teachers. The teachers in there were a lot friendlier than those in the lunch room.
Overall, my first day was a bit of a flop. I quite enjoyed the bit in the classes, the teachers I'll be working with are all great and the kids were too. I just found it difficult to sit in school all day for the sake of less than an hour's work altogether. And I'll be doing the same thing Mon-Thurs this week and the week after, before I start teaching properly on Friday 27th September. I'm going to be so glad of having Friday off as a ped day, which is like a teacher's training day over here. I'm sure once I get into teaching and have a sensible timetable it'll be great, but right now it's long pointless days.
Today Kat and Gwen, two British assistants, and their housemate Caroline, who is Canadian, came down from St Georges to Quebec, so we met them (at the mall, of course) for lunch (sushi) and a bit of shopping. It was so nice to see them again, hopefully will be seeing them next weekend too, when we'll hopefully be able to do a bit more shopping.
We also had a bit of flat bonding today, when Alice, Andre, Guillaume and I all huddled round the tv watching Madagascar. It's amazing how a cartoon film can bring 4 twenty-somethings from different countries together. Maybe cos it's hilarious.
I haven't much else to say now, I'm loving life with Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. I have never watched any other M.I. film but I do think this one is class. I wish I spoke Russian so I could go on a proper wicked undercover mission. I digress. traaaa budday.
Finally. It's nice to have a room that looks slightly more like a human lives here. Though the walls are far too bland, I need some photos or posters. Not sure whether I'm really allowed to, since they're trying to sell the house, but still. Blank canvas is not the look I was really hoping for.
This morning I was confronted by one of my biggest fears about Canada - a bug in the bathroom. Unlucky for said bug, it had a date with my nice heavy wedge heel, and then a nice flush down the toilet. My bathroom, my rules pal.
So anyway, we have a French girl moving in on Monday - so I won't be alone on the top floor anymore, hurrah. Though it might mean I have to turn my films down - the walls in this place are paper thin. I've also taken to watching films to go to sleep, and I ended up watching 13 Going on 30 three nights and a morning in a row before I managed to stay awake through the whole thing.
I guess the most pressing matter to talk about is my first real day at school. My commute is interesting, it's pretty long but I can deal with it. The walk from the bus stop to school was a it longer than I'd hoped - I've since found a bus that will take me from the bus stop to school, which makes life a lot easier. ANYWAY. I ended up at school from 8.40 until almost 4pm - it was like being back at EC. If I'd been constantly busy, I'd have been up for that. However, I totally wasn't busy. I did a ten minute introduction at the start of class, then left class and sat around bored until my next intro. I did my introductory PowerPoint SIX times in one day. I've never been so bored. Also at lunch time, I decided to make a real effort and go and sit at a table in the staff room. I even chose to sit with other people rather than picking an empty table which would have been easier. A nice teacher sat and chatted with me, and we agreed that she would speak to me in English and I would reply in French, that way we would both improve. When she left, the table filled with about 9 other teachers. I could see them looking at me, thinking who the hell is this kid, but not one of them bothered to ask. I sat awkwardly trying to listen to conversation and understand what was going on. Eventually, when it had quietened down a bit, I just got up and went to the actual staff room - where the desks were, and sat with the English teachers. The teachers in there were a lot friendlier than those in the lunch room.
Overall, my first day was a bit of a flop. I quite enjoyed the bit in the classes, the teachers I'll be working with are all great and the kids were too. I just found it difficult to sit in school all day for the sake of less than an hour's work altogether. And I'll be doing the same thing Mon-Thurs this week and the week after, before I start teaching properly on Friday 27th September. I'm going to be so glad of having Friday off as a ped day, which is like a teacher's training day over here. I'm sure once I get into teaching and have a sensible timetable it'll be great, but right now it's long pointless days.
Today Kat and Gwen, two British assistants, and their housemate Caroline, who is Canadian, came down from St Georges to Quebec, so we met them (at the mall, of course) for lunch (sushi) and a bit of shopping. It was so nice to see them again, hopefully will be seeing them next weekend too, when we'll hopefully be able to do a bit more shopping.
We also had a bit of flat bonding today, when Alice, Andre, Guillaume and I all huddled round the tv watching Madagascar. It's amazing how a cartoon film can bring 4 twenty-somethings from different countries together. Maybe cos it's hilarious.
I haven't much else to say now, I'm loving life with Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol. I have never watched any other M.I. film but I do think this one is class. I wish I spoke Russian so I could go on a proper wicked undercover mission. I digress. traaaa budday.
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