The Hibernating Bear Returns

Okay, well I have had more meetings with many more little trombones, and I am getting a better feel for my job. I ended up with another class because one of the lecteurs quit. This one is in the English department, and it is a phonetics class. I don't mind taking on another class because that means overtime pay, but it is funny because...

1. I am supposed to teach the English phonetics alphabet, which I don't know.
2. I am supposed to teach it with British accent/intonation.

One of the other American lecteurs teaching the same class thought about faking a British accent,which I think is hilarious. Not exactly how I am going to manage that class...II am trying to channel all of the nights I spent last year with my British friends while they talked about bahsil oreGAHno instead of baysil and orEgeno. I am trying to learn the English phonetic alphabet, which is pretty weird, although I am familiar with the French one.

I am also concerned about my sociology students, because the first thing the main teacher told me when we sat down to talk about the class is that many of the students will resist learning English because they think it is the language of the cultural and political imperialists. Apparently the sociology students are the real hippies--and the organizers of most of the university strikes. This will be fun...?

Otherwise, I have master's students, a lot in law and business. I am supposed to lead classes related to their subjects. "You don't have to be an expert in the subjet," people keep telling me, but then the descriptions of the classes I am teaching seem to prove the contrary. I am leading one class related to the financial state of companies, and the role of lawyers in companies. Is it possible to know negative amounts about something? I think I know negative amounts about business finance and business lawyers. Classes start next week, and I am a little nervous, but I am excited to start getting a feel for the classes so that I have a better understanding of what I should for them. Until then I will be reading scholarly sociology papers and trying to understand finance stuff...

I guess part of my problem is that I don't have internet. Normally, when faced with such situations where I felt at a loss for information, I would just sit down with the internet and research research research. But there's no internet at home...it only works sometimes at the university, and well honestly I find myself at McDo more often than I would like just to connect. And when I do connect, I have emails to catch up on and have been preoccupied with the search for a plane ticket to Spain for my first vacation (end of October-beginning of November--Carlos and I will be together for our first anniversary :-) ). I am not afraid to admit it--I am a slave to technology. I feel very lost without the internet. It's worse in another country when it's my sole method of communication with almost everyone I know. I'll be getting it soon, though. Bérengère went to the place yesterday, and soon we will have internet, phone and television (well more than the two unclear channels we have now). The telephone will actually give me unlimited calls to landlines in the United States (I think).
On Friday I went out for drinks with the lecteurs. I actually like the girl that stole my apartment alot, haha. We are supposed to host one night a week or so where our students can come join us for drinks and practice their English. That'll be interesting.

Carlos gave me a nickname last year in Metz--the Hibernating Bear--because well, the colder got, the earlier I wanted to go sleep every night. Basically, I was ready to go to bed just about when the sun was setting--I guess this is just one way my body deals with the cold. Well, it's already chilly here so the Hibernating Bear is back--hitting the hay by 9 o'clock most nights. The problem is remembering to set my alarm before falling asleep--cause if not, I might not wake up until springtime....�