Today was finally my first day in a French classroom. I only had one class today: a 4e collège class (the equivalent of eighth grade in the US). Overall, I think it went pretty well! All I had to do today was introduce myself, so I presented the PowerPoint I'd made in advance and then answered the students' questions. My favorite questions I got were: "What is your zodiac sign?" (I didn't know French middle schoolers were into astrology); "Do you know Tupac?" (I think they meant do I know of him; I doubt they expected me to know him personally, seeing as he's dead and all); "Do you like Eminem?" (These kids lover their rappers apparently); "What is your favorite fantasy animal?" (SUCH a strong and creative question, I said dragons but I'll have to think on that more intently); "What is the tattoo on your arm?" (That's fair); and "Do you like fish and chips?" (I'm from America, but, not England). One of the girls drew a picture of a goat for me, so she already has a special place in my heart. Some students were talking while I was presenting, and a few of them were clearly bored (especially towards the end), but that's pretty much par for the course with middle schoolers. They definitely could have been a lot worse. I realized when I got back to my apartment that I'd left my flashdrive in the teacher's laptop, so hopefully it will still be there when I go back tomorrow. I'll start the day in a different classroom, but it's only two doors down from where I was today so I (again, hopefully) can stop by and grab it before class starts.
I only have that one 8:55-9:55 class on Wednesdays, so I have the rest of the day free. I went back to the apartment for a little bit and played Twisted Wonderland (part of their Halloween event ends at midnight tonight so I had to make sure I was caught up), and then I met up with an English assistant from Scotland at Columbus Café & Co. I ordered a croque monsieur sandwich and some sort of iced chocolate drink. I really need to figure out another way to ask what something is other than "Qu'est-ce que c'est, ça là?" because, just like with the pizza at the mall on Saturday, instead of telling me what was in/on the sandwich, the cashier just rung me up for it. Fortunately, it was delicious, whatever it was, but I don't know that I'll be so lucky every time. The chocolate drink was pretty yummy too, but it just wasn't complementing the sandwich, so I went back and also ordered a peach iced tea.
While the Scottish assistant (I'll call her "B" here) and I chatted over our meals, a tall blonde girl walked up to us and said, "Excuse me, I heard you speaking English." She explained that she is a refugee from Ukraine, and while she does speak French she prefers English, but she never meets people that speak English in France. I asked if she likes it here, and the short answer was basically "no." She said that people always point out her accent when she speaks French (I noticed that she didn't have a strong accent at all when she speaks English though), and that all kids her age (she's 14 and in 3e, so ninth grade in US terms) want to do is "go to McDonald's and on dates," but she just wants to study and read Harry Potter. She was especially upset that none of her peers are Harry Potter fans, and was very excited when I told her I'm a Hufflepuff because she, too, is a Hufflepuff. I told her that I have also always preferred studying and reading over hanging out with people (which is true). She said that her peers in her English class are horrible at English and that French people have the mentality of "I don't need English, I have French." She also said that she tries to compliment people on the street (stuff like "I like your outfit" or "You are very pretty,") but nobody in this country reacts well to that. I really hope the employees and other patrons in the café didn't speak English, because she spoke very loudly about how unfriendly French people are. Still, her enthusiasm at finding two other English speakers was adorable, and she asked for our phone numbers. I really hope we see her again!
I was still thirsty after my tea and chocolate drink (especially after talking for 2.5 hours straight), and I had been craving a smoothie last night, so I cashed in on that craving and ordered one to go.
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