Address + Phone No

It took a long time to get to sleep last night – about 1am I think. All sorts of things going through my mind – the worst is this English club!
Amazingly I slept long – when I first heard the teacher arrive upstairs I put in some earplugs that I bought on Friday. The must have worked because I woke and got a real fright to see it read 11:17! If I haven’t said already – it is almost pitch black in the room/ apartment because of the ugly roller garage doors, so there is no light to help wake you. In one way, those of you who know me well will snigger, I love it!
Got a rattle on and headed to the closest large shopping centre armed with a list of things to get for these lessons!
One of which were printer cartridges, the previous teacher had bought a printer/ copier, as only way to get things off the laptop to use for lessons. This cost about 40€! I might try my luck and see if school will pay for them – not sure how to ask that! Couldn’t find stickers anywhere to use as rewards I walked around for ages. Finally I found only about 6 packets and luckily they were just perfect.

Also got some basic provisions for meals – I have no freezer or microwave (prehistoric) so tend to run out of fresh meat/veges/fruit every couple of days. I couldn’t resist the smell of a fresh rotisserie chicken, so this will be next 4 meals –lunch and dinner for 2 days! Thought I would wait till Friday and take the family to do the groceries, that way they can help carry home! That of course is the other restraint – not to buy heavy things that you can’t get home with 2 hands! Man- it reminds me of varsity flatting and nearly ripping your fingers off walking home with really heavy plastic bags.

I then popped into the office for them to show me about – no such luck, just come tomorrow and I will unlock the class – I have no idea where it is or what is in there or how big it is. I then asked about the photocopier –just come and get me and I will put in code! That is very frustrating! I wonder if there is large paper / crayons / scissors / whiteboard (hopefully not blackboard) / whiteboard pens? I have not yet set foot in any part of school apart from secretary office! I probably won’t sleep tonight either. What also doesn’t help is I have a boy who drove the N.Z. teacher crazy last year – (she swears he is adhd and quite often had to leave him alone, she had 9 children) also I get there today and they add more to my list. I now have 15x 4/5 year olds. I am certain this will be a family affair from next week on! Also of course –I can’t speak French to communicate with them – this has been not so much on my mind until I thought about how do I explain the activity to them, or the rules!
Spent 3 hours this afternoon organising activities and printing them off the computer. Probably have far too much for 1 day but I really have no idea how much we will get through in an hour.

I have just had an email passed onto me from AFS France inviting me to Dijon this Sunday for what I think is questions / answers/ picnic / meet the other students. I am not interested in going as it is focussed on young students and their host families. With time set aside for them to discuss host family problems/ ideas etc…. Not much use to me – I also think they don’t realise my age! It isn’t all that simple either, not that I have a host family to drive me there – it is about 1:30 in the fast train I think and then all the drama for trying to timetable then get to location – Nuh – Better things to do! Like be with my family!!!

Really missing contact with people – just been reading some other teachers blogs – they have had host families and had a pretty good time. Meeting lots of people, having real French daily life, food ( 6 course every lunch) and experiences, being involved in all that a family does. Being taken places and looking around, help with getting language classes/ carte de sejour / apartments. Being invited out with different people they have met through their family and generally welcomed. All I have had is picked up off the train – put at flat – teacher came took us in to town then tea – that is it! Nothing since first day – I can’t believe I haven’t lost the plot – I think I have handled it all pretty well – only tears a couple of times and that was when talking to home! It shouldn’t be like this though – I should have had a host family for first 5 weeks like promised! There is definitely something going on with AFS and this school – it just seems so easy – have a flat therefore dump in it and forget!
No French experience like I was supposed to and now really quite bitter about it because it won’t happen now! I do feel totally abandoned, not even told things like emergency numbers, phone numbers of people to ring if I need anything like a Dr and the list goes on!

If anyone would like to use snail mail - I would love some or in case you need me and my N.Z. phone has died -
c/- Notre Dame Ecole
30 Rue de la Grange du College
Besancon 25000
FRANCE

French Phone number - +33 06 59 26 10 41