What's your name?

Even though I was paid for working the entire month of October, today was my first day of teaching. (Paid vacation in your first month? Crazy, I know!) After nearly two weeks of sleeping in until 8h00, it was difficult to wake up at 6h00 this morning. Not to mention that I work up to the realization that I hadn't planned anything for today! Way to make a good first impression, Kelsey! 

I started class off by asking the students what they did during vacation. When I said, "Moi, je suis allée en Suède avec quelques amis." One student asked where that was en Angleterre... Ummm. Not quite. Then I asked what they'd learned en anglais last year. I'm told they learned about colors, days of the week, weather, animals, members of the family, food, clothes... Now I really wonder how much of this they actually remember. When I said "What's my name?" the crickets answered for me. When I asked the same question in French, they knew the answer. It's cute to hear them try to say my name; it's not easy! (I don't dare ask them to try my last name!) I spent most of my time going over the phrases "my name is..." and "what's your name?" and then read a cute story about a dog named Mudge and a cat named Fluffy. Then we started talking about our pets. Upon mentioning that I had three dogs, four cats, and eight horses (I always include Tracy's in that count), their eyes practically bugged out! 

By the end of the day, I was exhausted. Though I'm there all day, I have three hours worth of breaks. Taking scheduled breaks is tough for me, since I generally HATE taking a lunch or other breaks and would much rather power through and get off early. I'll be more prepared for future classes, but I'd say that my first day went fairly well. I don't want to speak prematurely, but I think I can do this pretty well! It can only get easier, right?

So, now I've got my three-day weekend ahead of me! What am I going to do? Who knows... but I do know that there's a strike for the buses tomorrow and also a metro, tram, and bus strike on Saturday. How lovely. Welcome to France! 

Bisous, 

-kelse

Moi, je suis allée en Suede avec quelques amis. - I went to Sweden with a few friends. 

en Angleterre - in England 

en anglais - in English