i've missed having a social life!

After pretty much having nothing to do all week, I had a lovely and sociable weekend! That also means the weekend flew by in a heartbeat, and now, I'm back at work in just a little over 12 hours!

Yesterday, the weather was gorgeous, so I went out to explore the Pre-Braderie. A braderie is basically a huge flea market that's held in the streets of the town. The Valenciennes Braderie is tomorrow, but this weekend, the shops were doing a pre-braderie which was basically sidewalk sales. I didn't look too closely at things, because I didn't want to spend any money. While out, I received a text from fellow lectrice Laura about meeting up for a coffee. I met up with her and we enjoyed the warmth and sunshine outside a cafe.

Later, I met up with another lectrice I was put into contact with, Denise. She's from Canada and working in the science part of the university. And get this, another lectrice working with her is the girl who was the assistant at my lycee the year before me! Small world. She'll be surprised to learn this info as well. Anyway, Denise and I wandered around town a bit before getting a drink with this guy who she randomly met on the train who is in fact during his Doctorate at the university. We ended up wandering around a huge lake, grabbing dinner, and having another drink until the late hours of the night. A lovely time!

Today, my colleague Jane invited me for lunch at her house and to meet her family. We had a delicious French/Anglo meal (the main course and cheese were French, the dessert was British) and spent hours talking. Her kids are bilingual, and they were just so cute. Since the weather was once again beautiful, we also wandered around their village where I had the pleasure of seeing many dogs, cats, horses, and cows! I loved it! I also took advantage of her English language library (she has so many books!), so now I have something else to do with my time.

Tonight, I'm meeting up with Hannah (another lectrice). Since she was in France all summer and doesn't have classes until tomorrow, she had went home to Dublin for a week. I've only met her a few times, but she apparently has loads to tell me. Knowing that I won't go to bed early anyway, I agreed to meet for a drink.

Tomorrow, I have my second week of lessons. Once again, I only work Monday this week. The first year students are starting, but since they'll be talking TOEIC exam type things, they want to keep all the students together so that they all receive the same info. Next week, I'll be starting with them.