Chapter 54: What Is Pets?

nerd blog post # 59

The past few days have been very busy, exciting and full of bews. Much of this bews is of the work variety... Ahem.

Monday afternoon, I met with the woman who was giving the paper on Toni Morrison. She asked if I'd minded going out to lunch, instead of to her house. I don't eat out very much, so it was a treat. We drove to her town, called St-Gilles, which is about fifteen minutes out of Rennes, and very lovely. We went to a restaurant that I could never afford, and I asked her if she wanted to go halfsies on a pizza. She agreed, and then said she wished she had a daughter.. I guess halfsies at restaurants is more of a girl thing.. We also had wine and then this delicious coffee/ice-cream treat for dessert.

Back at her house, I listened to Toni Morrison read from her books on tape. The woman (Claude) wanted me to sound like Toni. Now, Toni the Tiger is an old, black woman with a raspy Southern-ish accent. Which is how she sounds when she reads. When I try to sound like her, I sound like a 1-900 phone sex operator.. So I did my best to do the voice and accent, while not sounding like I was trying to seduce. Weird.

While at her place, she told me of this three-day international literature conference in July in Vienna. She's put in a proposal and asked, if accepted, if I'd go and read for her again. In Vienna? Sure! She also asked me if I was staying in Rennes next year, and if so, offered that I live with her for free, in exchange for picking her boys up from school on days she couldn't. Less sure...

Monday night, Foun and Lucie went to Merrill's and we had a great dinner of pasta and wine.. It was a fun little party, and we headed to O'Connells after and met up with more students. I really like hanging with F+L. They're good friends.

Tuesday morning, I went to Betton, a town not far from Rennes to meet Veronique and the principal of the school. The school reminded me of the school I went to in Lesotho. Not one building, but classes scattered across a large property, with walkways in between. The administrative building, that housed the principal and secretary's offices, the staff room, photocopy room (personal fave!) etc. was really nice and modern, with a friendly feel. The principal was busy when I got there, so I hung out in the staff room and enjoyed coffee, cake and chats with some really nice teachers. They had heard I was coming and were very welcoming.

When I finally saw the principal, it was not quite what I had expected. He grilled me with questions about my education and previous employment. It was kind of intense, and he was kind of scary, but after fifteen minutes, his face softened. Perfect. I'd weaseled my way into his heart of stone! He welcomed me to the team, and suggested I go and introduce myself to some of the English classes as he drafted a contract.

The students I'll be teaching will be 13-15 years old, the upper two years of the French equivalent of middle school. Full of attitude and energy, which I love. They were happy to meet a Canadian, and asked me lot's of questions.. I encouraged them to speak in English to me, and received some of the following questions:
-Do you like French eats?
-Ow hold is your fazher?
-Do you have a little friend? (boyfriend)
-Do you eat maple syrup at breakfast?
-Is Toronto the capital of Quebec?
-What is pets?
And so on...

I can basically choose my hours there, but will wait until the new courses at the university are settled before signing with this school. I wouldn't start until January, so there's lots of time still. But it was fun to get out of Rennes and see some younger people.

Tuesday evening was the reading, and I was excited about it. Picture Oprah Winfrey's set: over sized, comfy chairs.. A trendy coffee table with an unnecessary lamp and water glasses, and books "randomly" strewn about. I sat beside Claude and did my best to sit very still as she read her paper. When it was my turn to read from the books, the lights dimmed. I found that a bit funny. The auditorium was quite full and some of the profs from the English department were there. Merrill went, too. After the reading, I had to stay near the front for Q&A. Not that I had any As at all.. But I did some small nods.

When it was all over, I went over to Merrill's for our (now) Tuesday tradition of sipping wine in her room and talking about boys and work. I'm spending more time with her these days, and enjoying it. We're quite different, but get along well. Tuesdays with Merrill is a highlight of my week. (Nothing like TWT, though..)

This evening was the theatre group. Due to photocopying issues (I got into trouble.. oopsies), we couldn't do scene work as planned. Instead, we did other stuff. I was going to write about it but I was so inspired by these students that I'm now realizing it's unbloggable. They continue to impress me and they show me new ways of seeing things. And they have no idea.. Their optimism and energy is contagious. I think that's why I love teaching so much.. It's amazing that all of these students come for two or four hours a week, voluntarily, and want to learn and to work. Anyways, it was a great evening..

Also, Cynthia got back! It was good to see her. She was a good girl and picked up two giant bottles of duty free vodka from Poland. She had a nice trip, but is glad to be back. I'm glad, too.

The busy week is not yet over.. Merrill left an hour ago after making corn bread for the stuffing. Tomorrow, Benito gets here. Tomorrow evening, T-Giving1000. And on and on..

I'm tired, but happy.

Love to you all,
Hincks.