Everything is harder in French except the food

On an unrelated note before I begin, this is how I feel about goodbyes:










I mean, I know it doesn't really apply, but that's mostly how I feel about goodbyes, so there you go--I guess the point of this little anecdote is that goodbyes aren't really forever, and that I'm sure I'm going to see a lot of the people I have met and care about again at some point in the future.

ANYWAYS,
I have gotten to meet all of the people I will be working with, and I am actually helping out with my first class tomorrow, which is all very exciting and whatnot and everyone is really helpful and everything, but this does not get around one essential point: I have to do all this in French. As many of you know, my French is pretty good, which does make my life a little easier; I can usually figure out what to ask and what to say to get by in most situations. The problem is that this does not get around the fact that speaking for many hours in a foreign language is tiring. I'll do pretty well for the first half of the day and my french will sound pretty good and I'll be constructing full, well thought out sentences, and then all of the sudden all of that will shut down. I feel like after a certain point the language centers of my brain are tired of being abused and they basically say "fuck this, I'm outta here" and all of the sudden all of french is gone and I'm stuck gasping for air like a fish (and doing stuff like forgetting the word for "exercise" in French, which is, surprisingly, "exercise"). It's quite an experience. On top of that, the experience of constantly expressing phonemes that your mouth is not used to it is physically exhausting on your mouth. If I've done a lot of talking I feel like I've been doing tongue push-ups or something. It's as if you've just spent a lot of time making out with someone only more tiring and a whole lot less enjoyable and exciting. So really not like making out with someone at all. (I'm sure that this explanation will be wonderfully helpful.)

Anyhow, the only thing that isn't hard to do in French is the food. This is because it is pretty awesome. For lunch I have been eating at the school cafeteria because it is close and relatively cheap (for me it's about 2.50 euros). Growing up in the states, the thought of eating at the cafeteria unless forced seems like a poor choice, but I will explain. For the said 2.50 euro, I get an entrée (which in French means appetizer); usually a salad or something, but it can also be charcuterie. I then also get a main dish--the last two times it was boeuf bourginion and paella, and some desert--usually a pudding or a yoghurt. I also get several pieces of baguette. Then, when I go into the staff eating room (which makes me feel really important), I can get some fancy cheese. AND, wait for it... WINE!! You can have wine at lunch in French high schools!! How awesome is that? I just love it. All of this for two euros and it's all pretty decent, and lightyears better than anything you would find in any American public high school. It's pretty awesome. Although, if you were Jewish, Muslim or vegetarian in this section of the country you would definitely be in trouble. There is a lot of meat, and on top of that, a lot of porc. They definitely love their ham and bacon here.

Anyhow, I start officially next week--although I won't actually start teaching until the week after that, because I'm going to spend the first week introducing myself in classes and observing. I have to go to Nantes on Monday to do the official orientation, so I might get to meet some more assistants there, which would be exciting. I haven't found a family yet, but I have had 5 people offer to house me, so I definitely have options. I met one of them today, and they were a very cool young couple. I have a feeling that this is going to be a hard decision...