What a difference a year makes

A year ago today I received the following email.

Félicitations/Congratulations ! - French Teaching Assistantship Program 2008 - 2009

Assistant WASHINGTON-AMBA

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from Assistant WASHINGTON-AMBA to Assistant WASHINGTON-AMBA date Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 4:54 PM subject Félicitations/Congratulations ! - French Teaching Assistantship Program 2008 - 2009 mailed-by diplomatie.gouv.fr

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Bravo ! A l'issue de la commission franco-américaine de sélection des assistants de langue vivante, nous avons le plaisir de vous informer que vous avez été sélectionné(e) pour un poste d’assistant(e) en France, rémunéré par le Ministère de l’Education Nationale français, pour l’année scolaire 2008 - 2009.

Vous serez affecté(e) dans un ou plusieurs établissements d’enseignement dans l’académie de BORDEAUX. Les établissements où vous interviendrez ne se trouvent pas nécessairement dans la ville qui donne son nom à l’académie. Veuillez noter que vous recevrez un courrier de la part de votre académie vous informant de votre lieu d’affectation (niveau scolaire et ville) mi-juin.

Merci d’envoyer un courrier à Mlle Marjorie NELSON si vous ne souhaitez pas accepter le poste.

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Congratulations! We are very pleased to inform you of your acceptance to the French Teaching Assistantship Program, sponsored by the French Ministry of Education, for the 2008 – 2009 academic year.

You will be assigned to one or several schools in the académie of BORDEAUX. The school (s) in which you are placed will not necessarily be located in the city of BORDEAUX. Around mid-June your académie will send you more information, including your city assignment and instruction level.

If you are unable to accept this position, please send a letter of withdrawal to Miss Marjorie NELSON immediately.

Félicitations!

And today was my last day teaching. Wow. Sad.

this trumps everything else I have seen, EVER. I can die happy now!

I am back from the Spain/Portugal April Vacation Extravaganza. I'll write about that sometime. There are some of my pictures on my Shutterfly site, and once my camera battery is recharged and I am feeling motivated, there will be more. However in the meantime, I must share this story because it is truly truly amazing. Hopefully I will share stolen pictures at some point. But for now, just the story.
There is a river that runs through Bordeaux. Along the river bank, there is a slight hill that is covered in trees, weeds, shrubs, etc. Along the edge of the hill, there is a cement wall. On the other side of the cement wall, there is a flat grassy area and the sidewalk. It is a popular place for people to hang out, especially when the weather is nice. Yesterday was a picture perfect day, and we found ourselves sitting on the cement wall, watching all the people go by. We had been there a little while when we noticed a Muslim woman (wearing a robe and head scarf) walking towards us. She was peering over the cement wall, looking at all the overgrowth of weeds and stuff. We thought she might be searching for trash, since that seems to be a popular pastime in Bordeaux. She was around 50 yards away from us when she stopped. We were joking that she must have found something good, because she started climbing over the cement wall, into the weeds. We waited a bit, to see what she had found that was worth jumping over the wall for. But she never came out. Randall jokingly said "I bet she is taking a sh**" We had a good laugh over that, until Anya stood up, got a better look at the woman, and said "Randall, you are exactly right" So then, in my disbelief I stood up to get a better look. And sure enough, she was squatted down in the bushes, kind of under a tree, going number 2. At that point, she finished, and I saw the full moon as she rose and started pulling her drawers up. She walked over to the wall, and tried to heave herself back up, but she was unable to. She struggled for a bit, before a do gooder Bordelaise (DGB) stopped to help her. The DGB pulled on the woman, but their efforts were fruitless. The woman remained stuck behind the wall. They started looking around, seeing who else they could draft to help. None of us were too anxious to get up close and personal with a woman who had obviously just dropped a deuce without using TP or a post going hand wash. So while we continued watching eagerly, we prayed that they would not come and ask us for help. Luckily, a Bordeaux city worker was driving by in a golf cart. The DGB stopped him. So then the woman had two people trying to pull her up over the wall. Still nothing though. Inbetween where we were sitting and the debacle, there was a dog person (basically like a bum, they have loads of dogs and hang out around grocery store doors, harassing people for money) sleeping. The DGB went over and woke the dog person, who joined the efforts to free the woman. She now had three people pulling, but still NOTHING. Then, two young teenage girls walked by, and they joined the crusade. They both jumped down to the other side of the wall, with the woman. They were lifting her from behind, as the other three pulled her from the front. Finally, the woman was free. The group disbanded, and much like the Apollo 13 astronauts or the members of NSync, knowing that while they would never work together again, for a brief period of time, they had been a part of something major.

Un bon bonbon? En anglais, on dit un good good good?

A student said that to me yesterday. It might be one of my favorite student quotes all year. In addition to this one, also from yesterday. It was my first (and only) day with a class of 3emes (13-14 year olds). So they were just asking me questions about myself, America, etc.
Student: Have you got a married?
Me: No, I am not married.
Student: Have you got a boyfriend?
Me: No, I am single.
Student: Ahhh...elle est célibataire. So you are alone?
Ha! Going to school is always good for my pride.
But yesterday was my last day at J. Jaures. It was super sad. A lot of the kids are in London, so it was kind of a weird day to begin with. But I did have my favorite class of 6emes, the youngest ones at the school. They are SO cute. So yesterday, I got to class and the teacher asked me to stand outside while the kids prepared something. I was outside for around 10 minutes before I was allowed back in the classroom. When I came back in, they were all standing in the front of the room, holding this card.

Each one read a line. It was sooooo stinking cute, I almost started crying. Then they gave me flowers, a ring, a bunch of chocolate, little pictures they had drawn, and a bunny. There are more pictures on my shutterfly page. I love those kids! Another teacher also gave me a book. It was very sweet.

French people love striking. The students at the university have been on strike all semester. I guess basically this semester will be a complete waste for them. They have manifestations every Thursday. This is Bordeaux 2, with their sign that says blocked.

For a few weeks now, we have been smelling the grossest of gross smells in the kitchen. I couldn't take it, and had to find the source of the smell. Huge shock, I found this science experience growing in NBG's cupboard. It was a leaky bottle, a sack of potatoes, and something else that I don't want to know what it is.

Things at chez Crazy Bones Dejean are not awesome right now. We have been without electricity in my room, Anya's room, and the bathroom for well over a week now. Our toilet is electric. We have no hot water for bathing or doing dishes. When the electricity first went off, we were a bit worried that Maryse would handle this like everything else-put it on the back burner until there is absolutely nothing else pressing to do, then take care of it. But we were initially optimistic that it would be fixed soon, although I think deep down that we knew better. Mama DJ is leaving until Thursday, meaning that we will be without electricity until at least this Thursday, two weeks after it went off. Luckily, we are leaving for Spain and Portugal on Monday. Hopefully by the time we return...

sad good bye pictures, writing to follow, sometime

hand paddlin'

A few weeks ago on an unseasonably warm Friday evening, we found ourselves walking along the Garonne. We had been walking a short while when we saw this-


It was a man, on some sort of flat boat, paddling upstream...with his hands and nothing else. He attracted a large audience along the shore, including a group of police officers, who eventually met up with him in a boat. I obviously have no idea what was exchanged between them, but the police boat left, and this guy kept paddling. And that's all I know.