Des grèves

Getting cinquième INTER from permanence (where they go when their teacher is off) was difficult! Although I asked for cinquième, apparently the teacher thought I was asking for sixième - and told me that there were too many of them (there's nine in the cinquième class). I didn't think my accent was so awful that you could mistake one number for another but hey ho!

Anyways, as said in a previous blip, they are studing The Landlady - so I spent the hour discussing with them how the story could have ended. My favourite guess was probably one pupil who said that he thought the main character lived and killed the Landlady with a "heavy object" because the "heros of stories don't die". He does have a good point. The rest of the lesson was spent playing hangman with Elements of Fiction words, where the class had to guess the word and then define it. They do know some impressive vocabulary; protagonist, antagonist, resolution to name but a few! Brilliant class to work with, just the right mix of enthusiasm and cheekiness.

My next class was the Troisième INTER, in which one girl had asked whether I could help her with her conversational skills and pronunciation. So I ended up chatting with her for my free hour that would usually be spent with the whole class (as they are the eldest, they choose whether or not to come in to a class when the teacher is absent)! Absolutely lovely girl, and a brilliant knowledge of English...just unsure whether her accent is "good" or not. Had a great chat about French television, what she wanted to do after collège and lycée (politics, although we talked about the engrained chauvinism within the French political system and how all female politicians are only for show!). Also talked quite a lot about accents, both English and French ones. It is difficult for me to differentiate (the only way I can is whether or not I understand them straightaway!) but apparently Toulouse and Marseille (i.e. Southern) accents are mocked in Northern France...therefore a Northern accent is the way to go.

We also had an interesting discussion about the fact all the pupils answer the question "How are you?" with "I'm Fine". This always gives me the knee jerk reaction of asking "Is everything okay?". Turns out it is the same in French...if you answer ça va with ça va, people will always assume something is up!

Coffee with Becky, Claire and Laura at La Tour Solidor this afternoon. This was followed by a quick trip to the CAF (Caisse Allocation Familiale) office and a visit to the Musée des Beaux-Arts with Laura. One of the brilliant things in France is that every museum and art gallery is free to the under 26s...great for all us assistants. Lots of gorgeous works of art - also a plethora of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and the saints! Strange, because you don't really think of France as a religious country. Laura and I decided that we preferred the actual paintings paintings to the more modern stuff. I just genuinely don't understand how pieces of bread stuck on a canvas and splashed with white paint can be called art. Oh well, maybe one day I will be arty enough to understand it! Talked totally in French too.

Ended my day by seeing Becky and Claire (again!) for tea (or dinner, sorry Becky!). Homemade burgers were on the cards...although eaten in a rather French baguette as burger buns don't particularly exist. Oh, and with camembert/brie. Très français. Finished the evening watching Alan Carr...not so French !

As an aside, another very French thing has happened today. Strikes are a'coming. Train strike tomorrow (luckily I don't travel to work by train), and then a baggage handler strike on Friday, maybe longer. I fly home on Saturday. If my aeroplane is cancelled (like my ferry), I will begin to think I'm cursed.

Oh, and this is a street in Caen. The lantern really caught my eye as I was passing.