Chapter 70: And Now, A Tragedy

nerd blog post #76

The week-end was nice and relaxing. After the long teaching days, it was good to catch up on December e-mails, sleep, and a mountain of laundry. Saturday night was Natalie's party. I was introduced to ants-on-a-log. I'd heard the term, I think, but never actually eaten celery with pb and raisins. After that, Cynthia and I went to Museum again to dance. The music has been disappointing in 2009, so Museum is taking a break for awhile..

Monday was another day off, apart from the two hours of creative writing in the evening. I went to my fave cafe and wrote a letter to my grandparents. That is maybe the solo tradition I missed the most while away. In the evening, Cynthia and I went over to Merrill's for a new tradition: Yoga Mondays. Now. I'm not usually into yoga, but I am into great party trix (are for kids), and that is the main reason I am a member of YM. I promise many a flexible party trick upon my return. The yoga we do is led by a man named Bikram who has with a thick Indian accent. He's teaching a class in LA but we just hear his voice. It's quite entertaining. After that, Merrill made us dindins.

Tuesday began the "week" of work. Classes are all good this semester. I have some students that I already know, and a bundle of new ones. In the evening, Tuesday Tradition continued at Merrill's - always a highlight of the week.

And now,

A Tragedy:

More bike drama. Cynthia and I agreed that we would trade her bike every other week until the other one is fixed. This week is my week, which is great. But this morning, I was riding along, and turned a corner, and skidded on black ice. I took a HUGE face plant, my bike on one side of the road and me on the other. My bike light fell off, my bag spilled, my hand and knee were bleeding, my tights were ripped, I was very sad, it was dark, several cars screeched to a halt. AND NO ONE ASKED IF I WAS OKAY!!! I got my act together, got back on the bike (which, by the way, is fine) and limp-rode to school. I told my students my tragic tale in a detailed and dramatic way, I showed them the evidence of my multiple injuries, I explained how not ONE person opened their car door or stopped on the sidewalk to see if I was alright.. And their response? "C'est la France!" They said that unless there was a single guy to play prince or I was bleeding from the head and not moving, it's my own business. I accept the cultural difference, but I still have a hole in my tights.

The End.

This afternoon I met with the professor in charge of the new class I'll be teaching. I learned that it's not through the English department, but a sector that teaches English to non-English specialists. This is a group of Master's students who are studying civil service. They will not be working in English, but need this course to get their degree. They are graded on listening comprehension, oral expression and written skills. Being that it starts late, the classes will be 1.5 hours long for 8 weeks, instead of 12. I didn't get much guidance outside of that. I think I'll need to see what level the students are at before I do too much planning. He did, however, tell me about a section on the BBC website on learning English that has free podcasts and quizzes and all sorts of material. That may be useful for other classes as well. Anyways, I'm still a bit confused about what I'm supposed to do, but not too worried about it..

I have the theatre group tonight. I'll be splitting them up into two groups and into partners for scene work. I asked them to e-mail me if they had any preferences, and split them up according to that. I also selected scenes for each group that wants to work in English, and tonight we will read a bunch of them, as well as some in French, to compile the first set of scenes we'll work on.

Tomorrow, I leave for Paris until Tuesday morning. I'm looking forward to it! We're going to a play on Friday night, I have plans to find a thrift shop that apparently exists, and I'm going to L'Arche to see if I can possibly volunteer there in the Spring/Summer. Otherwise, I'll just enjoy the city...

There are a bunch of visitors coming in the next few months and I am very excited about all of them! Next Thursday, though, I have a friend coming for 10 days. Her name is Jana, she's German, and we were friends in Africa. We didn't see each other from 1992 (I think) until 2001, and haven't seen each other since 2002. But we've always been in touch and we have the kind of friendship where we can pick up where we left off.. I am really looking forward to seeing her! The others will be announced latron..

Alright, dear subscribers, I have a class in 2 minutes and should go.. I hope you're all well and that Canada isn't too cold.

Much love,
Hincks.