Week 3: "Je vais vomir!"

Week 3 was both my first full week teaching, and the last week before half-term. Consequently, I taught the same lesson on Halloween 11 times, and am now up on my French Halloween vocabulary. Good job that pumpkins, bats and haunted houses crop up all the time in daily conversation…

One particular student – called Pierre, naturally – so horrified at my photos of last year’s Halloween, or perhaps offended by my teaching generally, evidently did not enjoy my first class with him. The previous group had been sternly told off by the teacher for being ‘too loud’ (they were just having a good time), so I began with the next group by stressing that if they had something to say, they must first put their hand up (much less fun than shouting out). Pierre took this very literally. By the time I reached his hand, patiently suspended in mid-air and not at all reflecting the urgency on his ghostly-white face, he managed to stutter ‘je vais…je vais vomir!’ before proceeding to projectile vomit  all over the classroom floor. Trying very hard not to take his adverse reaction to my class personally, I and the squealing 10 year olds evacuated the rapidly pungent classroom.

Amidst the classroom drama, my beautiful renditions of the ‘Trick or Treat’ song and my school being transformed into Hogwarts/’Poudlard’ mid-week (?!), this week I tried out a tap class in Boulogne, keen to meet some locals and spend an hour a week immersed in French language. Before the class started, I was wary that I would struggle with all the technical language in translation, but it transpired the teacher was from Holland, had learnt tap in America, and spent much of the time talking in English…not ideal for my French. 

On Wednesday, I met up with Gina, who gave me a tour of Science Po, the university where she’s studying during her year abroad. After lunch and a catch up, I FINALLY got to visit Shakespeare and Company! Excitement levels through the roof, the bookshop made my "eyes flow with joy, hearts dance with comforts", as Volumnia would say. With regular events, type-writers and smell-of-books, it definitely won’t be my last visit. Gina and I then got caught in sheets of rain, and dove for cover in a café. 

Saturday saw 3 hours of unsuccessful queuing for Tour 13 (more info to follow in the next entry), followed by dinner at M.O.B., a vegan burger diner originating from Brooklyn. Found at Les Docks, on Quai D'Austerlitz, the chain serves cheap fast food from their slightly restricted menu, but this absence is made up for by the megaphone they use to call your name when your burger's ready.

After dinner, Sophie, Elspeth and I demonstrated our UNSTOPPABLE COMMITMENT TO ROBOTS DANCING by heading to Maison des Arts de la Culture Creteil for the final night of Blanca Li's Robot!, a beautiful yet surreal posthumanist dance performance - with robots. Dancing.

On Sunday, a heavy storm cloud weighed ominously over Boulogne and I was officially accepted within the Boulogne community, as my photo was retweeted and featured on their facebook page. Woop!