January 29, 2009 (PM)

Today's one class was easy. I had a group of four Terminale girls. Instead of doing the planned lesson, I allowed them to ask me questions about any topics that interested them. We started with prom/cheerleaders, talked about the effectiveness of non-native English speakers teaching them English, and ended up with me being asked for advice on how to meet boys that are boyfriend-material. :P Ha! Seriously. I told them I was having boy problems, too. When I asked whether they ever meet guys at clubs, they told me they're too young to even get inside. In France you can drink wine and beer at 16, but must be 18 to drink liquor. And since clubs serve liquor, they aren't allowed in. :( I told them the best I could suggest is to try meeting guys at the supermarket or church! :P Or just to wait until they go to college because there's more variety and freedom. I think that's the wisest choice.

Other than that, they seemed disappointed in their English class because they learn words and vocab relating to boring subjects like pollution and world affairs--things that are useless when trying to learn/practice conversations skills. I told them it was the best their profs could do given the availability of native English speakers here that are qualified and willing to teach. And a prof can't just rely on oral lessons because students need to build a good vocab foundation. Not to mention the fact that it would be nearly impossible to conduct conversation classes with 30+ students at a time. I promised the girls they'd have more convo opportunities if they studied English at the university level or lived in an English-speaking country.

Gah, speaking about teaching is boring. And it really annoys me when I'm writing and the bus driver can't drive worth a crap. If someone were to look at my handwriting they'd think I was second-grader! I've learned to appreciate the good bus drivers (especially since they come few and far between). The good ones drive like racecar drivers, zipping in and out of lanes, slipping between poorly-parked cars on narrow one-way streets, and not breaking a sweat when they come within inches of a building while making a tight turn. Then you've got the crappy/unfriendly drivers who are extremely rude to the passengers, speed up and slow down constantly (causing me to get carsick), and leave bus-stops too quickly (causing old ladies to fall down when finding a seat). It makes me wish that I had Moby (the station wagon) here with me.

Oh, almost forgot! I had my first real taste of French bitchiness the other day on Boulevard Gambetta. :) I stopped at a tabac to find a cool magazine with Obama on the cover, preferably one I could understand. So I was looking through one, and the lady asked me to please not "'feuilleter" (leaf through) the magazines because then nobody would buy them. I wasn't really thinking, so I just had it in my head that she didn't want me to bend or crinkle the covers. But I wasn't hurting them. No creases, no nothin'. Was being extra careful. Anyway, I kept on looking at different magazine covers and found another one I liked. So I held it above my head and kinda fanned the pages lightly (couldn't see anything, though). Then she proceeded to get all bitchy at me again. So I calmly said "I want to buy a magazine that I can understand. Why would I buy one without looking inside first?" But she continued being rude to me and said something about how I should go to a "supermarche" (supermarket) if I wanted to "feuilleter" the magazines. That's when I just rolled my eyes and politely said "Okay, well, good evening!" and left. And she was STILL muttering stuff as I walked out of there. Geeeeeeez!