So, I learned how to repaint a car this weekend. Pretty exciting stuff, let me tell you. Fortunately it was a beautiful day, so it was nice to be outside sanding, priming, painting, you know.
I went to see Angles d'Attaque, I think the English title was Vantage Point, with Forest Whitaker and probably some other famous dudes I should have recognized. It was a good film, but it definately villainized Arabs, as if that's what either of these countries needs!
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
The young'uns
Today, I had my first day with the 7th graders. This is a supplementary project in addition to my normal hours that I work. But seeing as how many of my classes get cancelled for various reasons (strikes, tests, personal vacations), it really doesn't hurt to show up a few extra hours.
They are working on short plays in small groups, so the teacher needs help in order to give personal attention to each group. I took two of the plays today. They were supposed to have all their roles memorized, but when we read through the plays, it was obvious they weren't. My favorite 'oops' was a girl who was supposed to say 'I'm not interested' several times, but ended up saying 'I'm not interesting.' So, I sent them to study their lines for 10 minutes, and I was so impressed when they stayed quiet and actually learned them. I then asked the students if they understood what they were saying, and I was surprised to find that while they understood the jist of the story line, the meaning of each sentance was very fuzzy, which says to me they had mostly memorized syllables of sounds, which could NOT have been easy! So, we spent the last half of the hour translating. All in all, the middle schoolers were nice kids!
Tomorrow I go back to the big'uns. It will be a very different environment!
They are working on short plays in small groups, so the teacher needs help in order to give personal attention to each group. I took two of the plays today. They were supposed to have all their roles memorized, but when we read through the plays, it was obvious they weren't. My favorite 'oops' was a girl who was supposed to say 'I'm not interested' several times, but ended up saying 'I'm not interesting.' So, I sent them to study their lines for 10 minutes, and I was so impressed when they stayed quiet and actually learned them. I then asked the students if they understood what they were saying, and I was surprised to find that while they understood the jist of the story line, the meaning of each sentance was very fuzzy, which says to me they had mostly memorized syllables of sounds, which could NOT have been easy! So, we spent the last half of the hour translating. All in all, the middle schoolers were nice kids!
Tomorrow I go back to the big'uns. It will be a very different environment!
Monday, March 10, 2008
Back from break
Break was really fun! My friend and fellow English assistant Danielle and I went to Paris where we met up with one of my friends from home, Hana Katsenes. It was Hana's first time in Paris, so we did the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomph, Sacré Coeur, and the Louvre. The weather on the first day was HORRIBLE, we even got hailed on during our 3 hour walking tour of Paris. If you could mentally get past the wind and celestial vomit, the tour was very interesting. The hostel we stayed in was kind of like 'Little America' where half the staff were native English speakers and about 75% of the guests were from the US. However, the facilities were very clean and very new so the comfort was well worth the 'inauthenticity.' We stayed in Paris for 3 days before heading down to Capbreton where I showed Hana a little of the southwest coast of France.
In Capbreton, after walking along the beach a little, we saw the old Nazi bunkers that have been left to the mercy of the ocean and time. The town seems to have no desire to spend the money to either maintain them or take them out, and the shape of the coast has changed ever so slightly so that high tide washes up past them. They are just now a decrepit peice of history that has become part of the coast. Then, we spent 5 hours in a resaurant sipping our coffees and watching the sun set. After two days in Capbreton, we went to Bordeaux and stayed with Danielle for a night. It was a good thing Danielle and Hana hit it off because I had to leave Sunday evening to get back to my town whereas Hana left Monday morning. Yay for my friends meeting eachother!
My trip back was not a lot of fun because I didn't plan well for it so I had to take a train and then wait 4 hours for a bus and then walk nearly two miles in 40° rain toting a suitcase back up the hill to my place. Next time I will DEFINATELY be talking with potential rides long before leaving Aire sur l'Adour!
Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. Better late than never, right?
Hana and the Nazi barracks
Me, the Louvre, and the wind
Danielle, probably in some famous garden that is very pretty between the months of April and October.
Me, Danielle, and the German guy in front of Sacré Coeur
At the restaurant where Hana and I spent the whole afternoon, we asked for a wine list. They didn't have one in print so rather than rattling them off to me, he pulled the sign off the wall. We found this hilarious.
In Capbreton, after walking along the beach a little, we saw the old Nazi bunkers that have been left to the mercy of the ocean and time. The town seems to have no desire to spend the money to either maintain them or take them out, and the shape of the coast has changed ever so slightly so that high tide washes up past them. They are just now a decrepit peice of history that has become part of the coast. Then, we spent 5 hours in a resaurant sipping our coffees and watching the sun set. After two days in Capbreton, we went to Bordeaux and stayed with Danielle for a night. It was a good thing Danielle and Hana hit it off because I had to leave Sunday evening to get back to my town whereas Hana left Monday morning. Yay for my friends meeting eachother!
My trip back was not a lot of fun because I didn't plan well for it so I had to take a train and then wait 4 hours for a bus and then walk nearly two miles in 40° rain toting a suitcase back up the hill to my place. Next time I will DEFINATELY be talking with potential rides long before leaving Aire sur l'Adour!
Here are some pictures for your enjoyment. Better late than never, right?
Hana and the Nazi barracks
Me, the Louvre, and the wind
Danielle, probably in some famous garden that is very pretty between the months of April and October.
Me, Danielle, and the German guy in front of Sacré Coeur
At the restaurant where Hana and I spent the whole afternoon, we asked for a wine list. They didn't have one in print so rather than rattling them off to me, he pulled the sign off the wall. We found this hilarious.
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