My Funny Valentine

Le week-end is here once again! The constant rain we have been having decided to stop for a few days, bringing sunshine here to Apt and making all the people who live here very happy again – they are very grumpy due to this bizarre weather. Again, I think that they should make a trip to Michigan - they might have something different to say.

Classes have been generally great this week! It helped that the topic I chose to do was Valentine’s Day, where we listened to My Funny Valentine as a comprehension exercise and then talked about what the song means and what the students opinions of the songs were. This really worked well; I don’t know if I have ever heard them so quiet in class before, as it was dead silence as they were trying to hear the words to the song. Also, some got quite passionate with their opinions of the song, eliciting reactions like “WHAT?! WHY would a man say to a woman ‘your looks are laughable’!? That is SO mean!!” Either way, the students seemed to enjoy themselves, and I enjoyed teaching. I feel like I am finally getting a hang of this assistantship thing – too bad I only have 2 more months of teaching.*

Wednesday, I had one of my private lessons during the sunny afternoon. We met in the teacher’s lounge as usual but I was shocked to find the school resembled No Man’s Land during our entire lesson (which mind you, is from 12:30-2:30 in the afternoon). Of course, French schools do shut down on Wednesday afternoons, but I didn’t know to what degree. I asked her to explain about this and shared with her what is normal in America. Both she and I agreed, we much prefer the French way.

Bar l'Aptois - our regular cafe

In the evening, Amy and I went to the cinema to see a movie that I have wanted to see for a long time: 12 Years A Slave. What an incredible, harrowing film, it is definitely a story that has stayed with me and will continue to. Then, after a full day of teaching Thursday, Véronique took me downtown to pick out a ring. The ring that the teachers had given me for my birthday did not fit, and when Véro went to get it in a different size/get it resized, they didn’t have any more. So, instead she took me with her to the shop where I picked out a new ring with the correct size and ordered it. I still cannot believe the extremely kind gesture of this, giving me such a nice souvenir of France. I will really miss these kind people when I return, and every time I look at the ring I will remember them and mon séjour en France.

Valentine’s Day promises to be a fairly normal Friday, filled with cleaning, laundry, a private lesson, and other planning for next week. But, we will have Alison coming in from Avignon, so we will be having a little dinner, dessert and maybe a movie this evening. Then, tomorrow, as the forecast looks promising, we will make our second attempt to hike up le Mont Saint- Victoire. Happy Valentine’s Day!

*Actually, less than that due to the 2 week break starting in ONE WEEK. That’s right, I see my family in ONE WEEK!! I can’t believe it.