I’ve decided not to post anymore photos from the euro trip that
was. Partly because it takes so much time to upload and place pictures with the
right size and position but more importantly, because I think the blog should
be dedicated to writing and facebook and instagram have done a fine job at
containing obsessions with visual story telling. The cities that remain
unpictured here are Prague and Kutna Hora in the Czech Republic and Budapest in
Hungary. Don't think I'm biased towards Western Europe, although I might be. With this having been my first time right of the
former Iron Curtain, I must say that it's not as bad as you might think. Not that it would be somewhere I'd like to live, but it's somewhere that a fat wallet can set up shop for a lengthy, luxury vacation.
Whoever
said France is the place for those who work to live knew what they were talking
about. A job as an assistant teacher puts super emphasis on the live side of
the equation. Since I’ve been in France the past two months, I believe I’ve
already read more books, cooked more meals, taken more scenic walks, attended
more concerts, drink more coffee and wine than the entirety of the prior two
years. The way I see it, you have work 12 hours a week. If you know what you’re
doing you work maybe 5 hours outside of class. The rest of the time is dedicated
to “personal projects”. Whether that means writing research papers, solving
complex mathematical equations, learning a new language, or writing a novel,
there are loads of options on the table for you to choose from. So yeah, it’s
kind of like working for Google, minus the fat paycheck. More to come on this
topic, but first, a little comical relief:
“B-A-C-O-N,
bacon, that’s how you spell bacon” The class reciprocates nothing but perhaps my own blank stare, as
I hold up a round orange fruit, the first of several foods I’ll be presenting
today as a part of our alimentation lesson. Perhaps they are confused by my thick American
accent or maybe they are aware of the fact that nobody would take them seriously if they ever
went to a fruit stand in American and asked “Vear eez zee bacon”.
“Jean-Pierre,
Marie Antoinette, come up to the front of the class. I want you all to act out
a scene using the vocabulary we just learned Jean-Pierre you’ll be the laggard redneck
and Marie Antoinette, you’ll be the hungry ditz….Ready Go.”
MA: “Hello
Jean-Pierre, can I pleez ave zee bacon. I am very ungry.”
JP: “Yes, I veel
geev you two bacons. Beecuz you askt so nicely.”
MA: “Zank you!”
JP: “No, zank
you! Ave a nice day!”
“Very Good.
What progress we are making, fluency is just around the corner and over the 200
foot chateau wall.” More blank stares. "It's ok to laugh when I make a joke" No reaction. Three seconds later, comprehension settles in "hahahahahaha"
