It's been a busy week! Okay, that's a bit of an overstatement. It was a busier week. Of course the fact that I had a killer cough for most of it didn't help. It's no fun trying to teach and suddenly going into a coughing fit and not being able to stop.
Early in the week, I was approached by one of my students about the internship he's applying for at NASA. Since it's in the States and all, he needed to make sure his English sounded "American" and that his resume was in the correct form. I spent the week meeting with him, re-working his resume, proofreading essays, and explaining instructions. I'm just lucky that this student is basically fluent since he lived in Michigan for 6 years. I can almost talk like a normal person to him! But I now know more about NASA type projects than any normal non-engineering person should know. I know he has very little chance, but my fingers are tightly crossed for him!
This weekend was actually pretty jammed packed. It all started with Thursday (technically not the weekend as I work a bit on Friday). I went to a wine and cheese party at a friend's house. I wasn't going to go, but this Brazilian guy I had plans with was going and invited me along. I begrudgingly agreed (I'm not a fan of everyone who lives at this house) and dragged fellow lectrice Denise along. In the end, I had a good time and met a few cool new people.
Friday, I went with Denise to a Canadian restaurant where she was invited by some of her students (she's Canadian). It was called Indian Trapper, and it was neither politically correct or Canadian save for a few things like the Quebecois poutine (though nothing close to the real thing) and for some things with maple syrup. However, it was a fun night and it involved free cake.
Yesterday, I headed to Lille with Denise, her housemate, and the housemate's brother. We had a yummy lunch and hit the shops where none of us had any luck. At least the housemate drove us, so I wasn't out any money for the trip. I only went along to give Denise a break as her housemate can drive her up a wall at times, and the brother wanted to practice his English (the girl doesn't understand English at all). With both me and Denise, we could take turns who was dealing with who. I think it took some of the pressure off.
Returning to Valenciennes, I ran off to meet up for drinks with the Brazilian, his friend who was visiting from Rouen, and a girl we met on Thursday. We had a good (and hilarious at times) conversation. I completely lost track of time and was late to meet Hannah to help her make dinner for our gang including the aforementioned housemate and her brother. While we may have freaked them out with our non French eating tendencies, I think everyone had a good night. Except for the part where we got turned away from one bar since Tish was wearing flip flops.
This week, I'm off from work. The engineering students have exams, and the school where I teach the Masters class is closed for the ski trip. Yes, the school randomly closes for a week so everyone can go skiing. Don't ask. How lucky is it that they both fall on the same week??? Tuesday, I am totally making a trip down to Chauny! Can't wait!
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