Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Confusion... where is the snow?

Just in case you were wondering, I feel like I'm skipping winter completely this year. Now, I may miss the snow, but the cold? Not one bit! The fact that I can run in SHORTS in January makes me incredibly happy. Anyway, the weather has been nice lately. Hovering around 10 degrees with sometimes sun and sometimes cloud. Better than negative temperatures for sure.
Anyway, a bit about this week.
Yesterday I went to my volunteer placement. I got to teach all by myself again, and it went fairly well. I just find it really difficult to get the kids to listen sometimes... they always speak out over their teachers, so it is a challenge to make sure that I am not too strict (since I'm a student) but not too lenient either. Definitely a learning experience! I also learned a bit more about the French teaching system which I found interesting. I guess the teachers will periodically be audited/reviewed/inspected based on one of their lessons. The auditor will choose which class they will be reviewing, and will let the teacher know after a class with those students that the next class will be audited. This way, the students can't be prepared. Then, the auditor comes, reviews the lesson, and you get feedback. Based on the lesson and also as to how well you take the feedback, you could either climb the pay scale faster or be temporarily relieved of work... interesting. I think I would be terrified. But it fits in well with the French system; everything is about not just being at the top of your game, but being better than everyone else. It would be nerve-wracking!
Today, two friends and I also booked our train tickets to Paris for the first weekend in March for the Half-Marathon! We are leaving on the Friday and coming back on Monday, that way we can see a bit of the city and also have lots of time to check out the runner's village. We have convinced one of our friends to come along too, which will be great. And we found a fabulous apartment to rent too, thanks to some traveling connections with a friend on the exchange. It is a really cute apartment, right on a metro line, in a nice neighbourhood, and we get a special price since we are referred patrons! Plus there is a full kitchen so we can cook for ourselves. We are going to feast after the race! I'm getting very excited for it. I can't wait! It will feel so good to accomplish it.
But until then, I do have lots on the go. We have quite a few writing and oral assignments this semester, so I'll be busy with schoolwork. Plus, thinking way into the future, I will be returning to Ryerson Camp this summer so I will be thinking ahead to staff and programming. And of course-- traveling. This weekend, 5 of us are hitting up the night train on Thursday and heading down to Nice, on the Cote d'Azur! It will be very beautiful I'm sure. Plus we're going to stop by Monaco to check out how the rich folks live, and maybe even win some money at the famous Monte Carlo casino!
Life is good!

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