Chapter 99: Kimberley Avenue

nerd blog post #105

I have some OCD urges sometimes. For example, when anyone ever says, "spooky" I have to say, "spooky Hallowe'en!" No matter what. I have talked to some close friends who have similar behaviour after such phrases as, "knock, knock" ("who's there!?") and, "ding dong" ("merrily on high!"). It's strange, I know. And as I reached chapter 99, there was no other title but what I wrote, as 99 Kimberley Avenue is my parents addy and I can't separate the two.

But this blog has nothing to do with my parents house. It's just a regular nerd blog update about the week post-Murphy.

I returned to Rennes Monday night with hopes to teach and anxieties about how that would go. But, surprisingly, I had my first week of teaching since the week of February 2nd. Attendance was low, but the blockaders were nowhere to be seen and classes went on. All of them! It was discouraging to hear about how many had dropped out, especially first years. The students were pretty stressed and have, of course, a lot of work to do. With exams starting tomorrow, tensions are high. So where are the blockaders and what are they up to? Good q. And I have no a for that q. Their website hasn't been updated and neither has their twitter. But the fear is that they were lying low for a week so security would be sent away (it was) and then come back with a vengeance to interrupt exams. A good plan for them as they were becoming fewer and weaker as the weeks rolled on. So we'll see tomorrow if that's true, or if they have given up.

Otherwise, Rennes was good. My computer breakdown is a drag, but I haven't lost any photos or anything, so that's good news. Tuesday Tradition was successful, as always. We have a new friend named Benjamen who comes now as well. He lives in our building and is a law student from Lille, in the North of France. It's great because he's fun and nice and shakes things up, but also because we have to speak French, which I love.

side note: I definitely didn't expect to be speaking as much English as I do. I thought I would be fully immersed, but I speak a great deal of English both in Rennes and Paris. My French is strong and has improved, but I often wish things were a bit different and I spoke it all the time. What has been nice to notice, though, is how the switch between languages has become very quick and natural, something I had hoped to improve upon this year. While in Quebec four years ago, my French improved a ton, but my English (believe it or not) got worse and I actually spoke English in a weird way for a few days when the Summer was up. But this year, transitioning between the two has become easy, and I really like that. End of side note.

Friday was a national holiday (D-Day beach liberation) and so trains were very expensive. At the last minute, I carpooled using the website I did back in November. I drove with a 20 year old student at my school, an older lady teacher, and a quebecois professional baseball player. It was a great ride and the four hours flew by. Having two Canadians in the car (from French and English Canada) proved for very interesting convos. And as he had only been in France for a month, I had to translate some quebecois slang for the others. Hilarious. I love Quebec.

It has been a relaxing week-end here in Paris. I hung out with clowns Friday afternoon and then had a chill night. On Saturday, I met my friend, Charli. She's from England and goes to clown school. We went to a tea house and had tea and pastries. Delicious. I really like her and it's nice to have a friend that I see on my own here in Paris. In the evening, Raffi, Viktor and German Clown Michael and I went to a party hosted by someone at Rose Bakery (where the boys work). It was thrown by this older lady who is British and wears fashionable clothing. She had delicious treats at the party and a beautiful apartment. There were probably ten countries represented, and everyone was really nice. From there, we went to a party at Quebecois Clown Nico's house. There was dancing and singing and it was super fun. Today, I had a quiet day to myself. I slept in like a teen, read, organized, talked to my mama (Happy M Day!) and also to Bronco.

Speaking of, Bronwyn arrives tomorrow morning and I couldn't be more excited. She'll be here for three weeks - the longest visitor yet! I'm really pumped to see her and for the adventures we will go on!

Have a good Sunday!

Signing off,
Hincks.