So things have finally picked up, and, just as I feared, starting to prepare for work has left me with little time to practice the fine art of laziness and do frivolous things such as update this blog. Pity. And just in case you didn't get it the first time, I have indeed started my teaching assistant job, which means that I actually have to work (boo!) and put an end to the "fun in the sun" which has quickly become my life in Nice. However, work is nothing but a necessary evil; unfortunately, the swift and unforgiving passage of October 1st (rent day) has left my pockets feeling a little "light" if you know what I mean. But, as luck would have it, I get free internet access at the school that I work at (booya!) so at least I'll be spending a little less money at internet cafes, something that is definitely a fringe benefit!
This past week has been a whirlwind in terms of the various adminstrative headaches suffered in order to get the paperwork together so I could finally get this thing started. In the last few days, I have signed an enormous amount of papers and met an even larger amount of people. On Sunday for example, we had a huge orientation where all the assistants in Nice and the surrounding regions (about 200 of us) attended and attempted (in a mishmash of different languages) to get to know one another. Since the assistants that will be teaching in the region represent about 25 different nationalities and 6 languages (English, Spanish, Italian, Arabic, Russian, German), the whole "getting to know you" thing could get kind of complex:
Me: Hello! Bonjour!
Fellow Assistant (in heavily accented English) : Euh... Hello.
Me (realizing that they don't speak English) : Salut, bonjour! Je m'appelle Oneika, je suis du Canada.
Fellow Assistant (in heavily accented French) : Euh.... Bonjour.... Je ne parle pas bien le français.. doo you... speaka Ingleesh?
FIN (I'm getting good at writing dialogues, eh? ;-) )***
Good times, lol. But seriously, it was great meeting other people doing the program and quite enriching as well, for obvious reasons. I'm sure I annoyed the Spanish and Italian assistants with my pathetic attempts to speak (my terrible) Spanish and Italian with them. But hey, whatever.
My first day at school (which was today) was super fun, to say the least. Though I was a tad grumpy this morning (I had to be at school before 8am and my school is a 20 minute walk away!), my grimace soon gave way to smiles when I met the students (who had varied and interesting reactions to my being there). Surprisingly enough, they were all very nice, motivated, and had a good level of English. I only attended 2 of the 5 classes I was supposed to see today and both were classes where the students are about the same age as I am (from 19 years old to 23). So I almost felt if I was among friends lol. All in all, the experience was cool, and I got a great schedule (I only work 3 days a week so 4 -day weekend!).
So now, at least, I can actually honestly say that I am gainfully employed. No more laziness/sleeping in/lounging for hours on the beach *sniff sniff, tear*. So get ready for a barrage of work stories/venting (à la shoe salesman Al Bundy from "Married with Children"), cuz I'm positive that I'll have stories a plenty. Since, you know, working part-time, as a teaching assistant on the French Riviera, in a high school located a 15 minute walk away from the Mediterranean sea, is like, sooooo stressful.
;-)
