Chapter 17: Chile Con Carne

nerd blog post # 18

Guten morgen. (Just practicing..)

This will be a shorty, as bews is little. Last night Cynthia helped me move some of my stuff to her place. Married roomie is moving out slowly, but it was unreal to sleep there last night. I slept diagonally in my double bed, curtains open, windows wide.. Just how I like it. It was quiet and safe, and I was very happy. I also have internet there, and it was great to talk to my mama via Skype and to Murphy via g-chat. I would like to chat with all of you via any method, so get on the Skpye train, and ride with me. Choo choo.

This morning, I enjoyed a shower more than I have in a long time. I have a favourite shower in the world, but it's in Canada, and it wasn't that good, but nothing can be. 8 points if you know where the best shower in the world is located.

I taught two pronunciation classes this morning, and had mad technical difficulties in the lab. We ended up having to do them orally, which is kind of more fun for me anyways. I like reading aloud. I'm immature, though, and couldn't keep a straight face during the phrase, "Pornography is pornagraphic." Oopsies. Also, at the beginning of each class, I ask the students to go around and say their name, where they're from, why they're studying English, and one fun fact. I love fun facts. Today, a student told the class that she's studying English because she wants to be a mistress. Bilingual mistresses receive more perks, I suppose.... They also engage in whatever game I want them to, which is one of the best parts of this job. Sometimes friends and family don't really dig my invented games, but when your mark is relying on it, you'll play anything! It's great.

This afternoon I have another class, and then there's a party for all English students and profs. I am hoping for free treats and wine. Then I'll do some grocery shopping for Doc's arrival. I think he'll be really pumped about the food here. He loooooves pastries, and there are lot's. Then dins with P-A. And then ... finally ... my friend arrives! I am very excited.

I would like to comment on how different it feels not being a student, but being at university.. This is the first year since age three or so that I haven't gone back to school in the normal way. What's strange, though, is that I still have the September feeling - the feeling of an abundance of energy, excitement, and the desire to make new friends that I have felt every September for as long as I can remember. I don't know if it's a feeling that's ingrained in me (like how animals and some peeps get frisky in the Spring) or if it's that I'm at a university where others are feeling that way. Or maybe a combination.

It's harder, though, because no one is really looking to make friends with me, or share in my excitement of back to school. I see students in my classes that look like my genre, and I want to make plans to hang with them. But I can't really.. And I see groups eating in the caf and want to go and sit with them, but I feel as though it's not quite the same. There are the professors, though, all of whom are very nice, but they seem keen to teach and then go home.. So no luck there. I look forward to starting sports and classes next week and then, perhaps, I'll find a group of Frenchies who want to sip cafe and go to Thirsty Street and have wild jams.

I will say, though, that it's an absolute pleasure watching others feel as I did for so many years. I long to join in, but also appreciate that I had my turn to feel that way, and loved it every Fall. I think mostly about Queen's, and how exciting it was to have new roommates, to see friends again after a long summer, and to get into a rhythm of being very busy and happy. Watching them makes me think more seriously about teaching.

The hardest part of my job is to refrain from daydreaming about the Freens (French teens) in my classes. They are SO cute and keen and have horrific accents. I love it.

Already I'm starting to think about next Fall. What I'll do, where I'll be, and how I'd answer if I'm asked to stay.. It's so far away, but if I want to apply for anything, it will start soon. So it's at the back of my mind.

Another hard part is dressing like a teacher. I don't have a lot of stuff here, and am already finding it hard to pick outfits that are appropes. And so, for 34 points, I would like to ask my fashionable friends: In a 12 week span, how many times can I recycle an outfit?

And finally, as my big brother Adam has so kindly advertised this nerd blog on his nerd blog, I will direct you to it in case you want previdence (proof and evidence) of the switcheroo that happened at my birth. If you dig science, it's very interesting. If you dig him, I'll pass along his digits.
http://www.princeton.edu/~ahincks/chile5.html

With love,
Hincks