On Wednesday I went with Molly and Magda to another free at noon concert at the Opera. This week? Traditional Arabian Poetry turned into music. Can you say perfect timing to get me pumped?
Thursday's event had more mixed emotions. Melanie (who helped me get situated in this apartment) hosted a going away party for herself. She has a little more than a month left before her baby comes into the world. Her and Hassum's apartment is so modern and perfectly organized it should be interesting what happens when the little one starts to take over. Most of the teachers came over for the aperitif and what hit me the most that night was: A) I can now understand EVERYTHING (including your average dirty French joke) B) I am now as consumed as they are with how their students act, think, work (or lack of) C) I am so happy and lucky to have such a wonderful mixture of people to work with and I'm bummed I already have to say goodbye to one of the most helpful ones. What worries her and the rest of the teachers the most is the substitute teacher dilemma. She was supposed to meet and know who was taking over her class this week; the Academy never sent anyone over but claims they have found someone. Talk about stressful, leaving your class to an unknown person.
Friday was a win-win day. First, at school we celebrated Carnivale and had a crêpe party. As much as I want to explain what this holiday is, I really can't understand it myself. It consists of dressing up (much like Halloween) but there is no candy involved. I figured it was similar to Mardi Gras but it actually occurs before the day of Beads, boobs, and King Cake. The theme for our school this year was: Le Voyage. Regardez les déguisements!
All of the teachers
Audrey's class- CE1
Nawel's class- CM1/CM2
No words needed ;p
Marjorie's Class- CM1/CM2
Nathalie's Class- CE1
Mélanie's Class- CE2/ CM1
Elodie's Class- CE2
Béatrice's Class- CM1/CM2
Second win? My cousins Matt and Ned came for a quick-less-than-24-hours visit. We took Ned on a little tour but due to jet lag it wasn't the whole shebang. We decided to get a beer at this lovely bar in Vieux Lyon and Ned's connaissance with beer convinced us to get another and another. By the time we made it over to my tartine place, Ned was staring at his red checkered napkin to stay awake. Their visit was brief but it definitely soaked up any homesickness I have had lately.
Yesterday I went on a hunt to find some warm clothing for my week long excursion to Northern Africa. Yeah, failure 100%. What I did run into again was the African/Asian food market: Madras. I now have a large supply of paprika for any recipes I may acquire this week :) Sydney struck the jackpot as well when we were exploring; she finally found a Black hair salon and by one I actually mean we found two or three side streets full of them. We celebrated our findings the American way with burgers from Ninkasi.
Up early in the morning to catch the metro to catch the TGV to catch a plane. Talk to you when I return from Aladdin's side of the world :)
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