So far the only rule is to try and make the students talk. Sometimes this is worse than pulling teeth, like this morning... With Halloween being next week (during the vacation), I prepared some lessons on American traditions for celebrating Halloween. One of the activities was to have the students read aloud the legend of how Jack O' Lanterns became a symbol for the holiday, and then I asked some basic comprehension questions. There is not much more disheartening than asking a simple question ("Who is the main character?" -- Answer: ...Jack) and being greeted with blank, apathetic stares. But I survived the class and am glad they're not always that painful. Usually there's at least one or two students per class I can count on to make a slight effort or at least guilt into answering by staring them down.
More on the Good, the arrival of the break means that Brooke and Josh will be here soon! I've got a couple days before they arrive and a couple days after they leave to work on some (hopefully more effective) lesson plans, but the rest of my break will be fully dedicated to touristing it up in Paris and London.
The Bad: I've been a lazy blogger and didn't finish my Lyon post; instead of continuing my entry yesterday like I thought I would, I instead went to St-Etienne with Claire and dropped more money at Ikea and at the bookstore than is really prudent. But who can pass up a block of chef's knives for 3 euros (using a kitchen knife to cut bread and veggies like we were before = not fun)? Or three frying pans for 9 euros (pancakes are now an option!)? Or an intro guide on French wine for... ok, that one wasn't as reasonably priced. But I digress. Claire talked me into staying overnight instead of being responsible and catching a train back to Feurs that evening, so as a result I got to experience bar trivia (le quizz), French style. Rather than one question at a time, there are three rounds where you're given 10 questions at a time and have to answer them all at once. I also had the chance to meet a bunch of her friends, who are all really cool, and the night was topped off by winning trivia (though in no part thanks to me!). Upon further reflection, the Bad really isn't bad at all, aside from slight irresponsibility :)
The Ugly: the internet, which is getting quite ugly indeed. It's been two weeks since SFR told us that our phone line was supposedly functional, and we finally had a technician come out today to check it out. After several tries and completely deconstructing all the related wires in the wall, he seemed to think it was some sort of electrical problem, which then becomes the school's problem, not France Telecom's. Unfortunately the school doesn't have an electrician -- and we're really not even sure that's the problem -- so it looks like internet/phone/TV are not going to be an option here after all... even though we've been paying for it for two weeks and SFR told us it was functional. I'm currently using a loaner 3G USB stick that they gave us while they were still working on the problem, but I'm guessing we'll have to give that back imminently. Bleh.
Also as a side note, no pictures today since 3G signal in Feurs is only one bar. If it's not strong enough for g-chat, I feel like trying to upload a picture would bring the whole system crashing down. So my Lyon update will have to wait a little longer! Speaking of Lyon, I have to trek over there tomorrow afternoon for my immigration/medical appointment, so I'm hoping trains are running smoothly enough that I won't have any problems. Tomorrow is a day replete with appointments, as I also have a doctor's appointment in Feurs to get a physical done that will allow me to practice and race with the running club. Here's hoping the strike impedes none of these important errands!
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