Chapter 24: Presies in my Pigeon Hole

nerd blog post #27

Saying that there's nothing to do in Rennes on a Sunday is not me being a bored teenager whining about my parents choice to live here instead of Paris. It's just true. Every store is closed, some bus routes don't run, all night bars and boxes, banks, corner stores, grocery stores, museums, most restaurants and cafes.. All closed. Sunday is Rennes' dark day. I experienced a bit of the Sunday blues my first couple of weeks here. After Marche Day and Night Box dancing, Sunday seemed a little drab. Downtown, there are a couple of cafes (out of dozens) that are open. But really, it's quite different to what I'm used to, which is Sunday being no different than any weekday.

I like it now, though, for lot's of reasons. These are some:
1. I don't spend money.
2. I have to brainstorm activities and be creative.
3. It means that I'm usually outside more of the day.
4. It's a distinctly different day, and ends (or starts?) the week nicely.
5. It provides a forced day off for workers. (My big brother and I were talking yesterday on Skype and he brought up point 5, to give him the credit..) I think it's great. It means that people who would otherwise not be seeing their kids on the week-ends have one day to do so. And it's usually not the privileged working nights and week-ends, so it's nicer for those that have to work undesirable hours to have Sunday off.

So my Sunday.. I slept in after a night bar dance party, and in the afternoon, Cynthia and I went over to another American lecteur's place for lunch (lupper, more like). There were six of us there, and she cooked a delicious spaghetti dish with homemade meatballs. We contributed desert. It was nice.

Later, Cynthia and I did a big clean of the bathrooms and kitchen. Nicolas has been amazing at keeping this place so well-equipped that we wanted to do a big job for him. The common rooms are now spotless. We're getting a dishwasher this week, and he bought a brand new vacuum cleaner on the week-end.. This place is getting better and better!

I did my German homework. I haven't struggled so much since high school math. I wanted to call one of my many German friends to help me, but was a bit stubborn.. Anyways, figured it out and have class in a couple of hours.

I would like to award 89 points to everyone I talked to on Skype yesterday. Also, I discovered that we can conference call! Imagine. Schachter in TO, Doctor in the UK, and I on a three-way call. It was magical.

Best part:
Since Nicolas is in Saint-Malo during the week, his partner has moved in and will be living with us, too. So now there are four of us, which is awesome! I love parties.
It gets better:
I said four, but really there are five. There's a DOG too!! I almost died. Andorra is the best little dog I've ever seen. Cocker Spaniel size, but black and white, Andorra doesn't bark or leave presies on the carpet. I offered to walk her anytime. I'm pumped.

I taught two classes this morning. I love them. The first years are my favourites - so keen and optimistic. I'm organizing a first-year English-speaking kind of club.. We'll have movie nights and bar nights and little pots. Unlike the English club I'm part of, this one will be all in English. So I passed around a sheet of paper, and every single student signed up. They wanted to know when it would start and had various (hilarious) ideas for different kind of nights. Their ideas included:
-country dancing
-costume parties
-Irish night
-and one real treat of a student suggested a "Contest of Drunk."
I don't even know what an Irish night means exactly, but their enthusiasm is appreciated, and I'll get that started soon.

I'm also going to celebrate Thanksgiving with the Monday class on the 13th. No turkey, but definitely treats. The evening that night, I'm making a Thanksgiving feast and inviting people over. This will be themed, and no food for peeps who don't dress up. Some of you know that Thanksgiving is my favourite holiday.. No gifts, little commercial attention... Just food, booze, company, reflection, and a day off school/work. I also really like holidays such as Halloween, Homecoming and Players. And I love throwing surprise b-day parties. For 5 points, what is your favourite holiday?

I'm getting along really well with my office-mate. We never see each other, but we leave each other notes sometimes. She left me a nice one on Friday asking me if I'd be interested in a Canadian/Breton evening.. Or, she wondered, if we couldn't find more Canadians, I'd be interested in meeting her French friends. She also asked if I like oysters. The answer to everything is yes.

In the department, all of the staff have little mail boxes with our names on them. We're to check them often, as it's the main way we're told about meetings and stuff. It took me a few days to realize that my mail box is the same thing as my pigeon hole. I was told by several profs that they would let me know by leaving a message in my pigeon hole. My WHAT!? Now, I don't know if that term is ever used in Canada, but I certainly have never heard it, and I can't say pigeon hole without laughing.. It sounds ridiculous. Especially said by a French person. Pigeon is said in three syllables, and the 'o' in hole is drawn out forever.. Hilarious.

This morning there was a little presie in my pigeon hole! I had mentioned before that I adore Marmite, that strong and bitter British spread. You either love it or hate it, and most hate it. But I think it's amazing. So does my dad. Anyways, in my p-hole was a box of Marmite cookies! Which I didn't even know existed!! How exciting. They're really tasty.

If I could, I would leave you all presies in your pigeon holes. Much love to Canada, Canadian pigeon holes, and all pigeons and holes in general.

Signing off,
Hincks.