Ideas I've been toying with

I got to thinking the other day about my future--a subject I spend most of my time trying not to think about.  I wonder if I will always be a teacher.  I enjoy it, but two years in the public French school system has been frustrating.  The classes I've been giving lately to adults have somewhat renewed my interest in teaching.  The students are just so interesting and motivated.  It is absolutely a different world.  And even though classes are over at the university (probably, but who knows; the strike is so complicated!) the theme of my teaching this year has remained the same--teaching people English oriented to specific subjects has meant that I have learned a lot about stuff I didn't know about!  From the pneumologists I tutor, I have become conversant in medical concepts, and from the business people and my finance students I teach I have learned a lot about economics and have subsequently developed a keen interest in economic matters.  It's strange sometimes; after studying English lit and French in college, I never imagined that I would be interested in such practical matters!

So back to (thinking about) the future, I do really enjoy teaching; I just would like to have some other things on the side or something else I can delve into.  So I was thinking that translation would be a great field to get into.  I can do it in a lot of different places and it could be really interesting.  But then again, I think of every time someone asks me for a French word in English, and I always hesitate a lot, "Um, well it depends on the context and this and that." And then I give them a word and five minutes later I say, "No, well I don't think that word really has same meaning really expresses your idea." And then I bumble back and forth and usually don't find a good translation that I am satisfied with.  

 Once upon a time before I had ever studied a language, I imagined that translating was easy and that everything was just word for word.  I didn't understand why different people would translate the same text--what was the controversy with the first guy who did it?  Now, I realize how delicate and difficult translation is.  (And that is why you should never EVER trust an online translator.)  I'm not sure if I have the patience for this job.  Still, it's a consideration.

The other alternative I was thinking about was studying international relations.   The other day when I was spending my usual hour on www.cnn.com looking at world news when I realized just how interested I am in all of this!  A lot!  I'm not really sure what kind of job possibilities that could lead to, but it's still something to think about.

And, well, in light of this I started my own little project...which may sound strange--but I am faced with free time for the first time in a very long time.  I am wikipedia-ing every country in the world.  My interest in international relations is one reason.  But also I am sick of meeting people and having no idea where their home country is on a map and knowing nothing about it.  And I'm sick of reading news and not really knowing anything about the countries where the stuff is taking place.  And knowing some history helps put things into context.  My goal is to be able to identify every country on the map.  

The last idea I've been toying with is vegetarian, partially influenced by having seen Supersize Me the other day.  It would be hard to imagine that I would say this if you had witnessed the lengths I would take to avoid eating a vegetable when I was a child.  But then again, there are some delicious meats that Carlos brought me from Spain, and it would be a pity to waste them.  I think I'll just reduce my meat intake and find some new fun things to do with vegetables.   I am open to any suggestions!

The day before Carlos arrived, I decided I'd surprise him in Metz since he was going to arrive there in a bus from Frankfurt and then take the train to Nancy. His bus was late, so I called several times with not-so-subtle "Hey...Are you in Metz yet? I mean, I am still in Nancy and all of course ...but I was just wondering where you are" calls. He was pleasantly surprised to see me at the there when his bus finally fought through all of the Friday-before-Easter vacation traffic. And I'm glad I met him since he had a pretty long wait for the next train to Nancy and I was glad to help with his suitcase since it was full of clothes I'd left in Spain over Christmas and yummy Spanish tuna and lomo for me.

It is really bizarre how quickly 2 weeks can pass, especially when you want them to go slowly. I know it's a cliche, and everyone always says "Time flies..." but it's really true. I did have a lot of private lessons and doc appointments and stuff too which kept me busy so it wasn't a particularly relaxing holiday...but that's ok because laziness can sort of get out of control when you have too much time without anything scheduled.

One day we went to Metz with some of my Nancy friends, and of course it was nice with Carlos because we were able to reminisce last year together, and because it was the first time my friends from Nancy had seen Metz, and they liked it. That meant a lot to me because in the Nancy vs. Metz wars, I think Metz doesn't get enough credit (especially when the night life in Nancy is so much better). But Metz is a really beautiful city, and it was a lovely day to go back and stroll along the Moselle. We also saw our friends who run a sandwich shop there, and Carlos has convinced them to vacation in Almeria.

The fair is in town so we spent a lot of time there. I was surprised at how similar the Foire Lorraine is to the Mississippi State Fair. That is to say that the rides and games and junk foods are the same, the carnies are all kind of scary and have weird rural accents, and there are rednecks everywhere (mullets galore).  We had fun just walking around, watching people ride the rides, figuring why every game was nearly impossible to win and eating fair food.  (Strange fair vocabulary for you-- Cotton Candy is called "barbe à papa" or papa's beard (ew!)  and candy apples are "pommes d'amour" or love apples).

We did a lot of cooking too--homemade pizza, lasagna, teriyaki salmon etc...but that meant that we spent lots of time doing dishes too. I dream of the day that I will once again have a dishwasher.  And I will not even complain about unloading it!  

Easter is strange when you are not with your family...or at least someone's family! We didn't really know how to celebrate...so it was a pretty uneventful day except for the yummy barbecue pizza followed by chocolate crepes we made for lunch.

Carlos left at 6 o'clock yesterday morning, and I've had such busy days, and I've been so tired that I haven't had time for it to really sink in and be sad. Over the two weeks that he was here a lot of things I need to do accumulated so I have plenty to do to keep my distracted.  

And now for your latest news on the student strike.  There will be another vote on Tuesday to determine whether the blocage will continue, and there has been some discussion of pushing back exams, which could mean I'd have to stay in France longer than expected.  Last year however, they had a similar situation, and what they ended up doing was just having exams at the normal time despite only having had a few weeks of class.  Despite the fact that this means the students will have had a lot less class, this is what I am hoping for--there is still a chance they will make me recover all the lost hours of class and then do exams later.

I have to say, I'm starting to develop a big head. I mean, being an anglophone around these parts is sort of like being a celebrity. People hear me and my friends speaking English and chase us down the street to talk to us, "You speeeek Eeeenglish?" Then they ask us for English lessons or propose English exchanges or try to get our numbers. Sometimes in restaurants I am pretty sure that people are listening to our conversations. On Saturday a woman accosted us because her friend was telling her that we don't have plays on words in English (umm, aren't there plays on words in every language?), and well I tried to explain puns, but the only one I could think of was that a friend of Parks has some slippers in the shape of Sigmund Freud's head, and they're called Freudian slippers, and well that one took a good 10 minutes to even try to explain. All of the attention is pretty annoying sometimes, but I do love the novelty.

And every once and a while you find someone who doesn't just love English but who loves America. For example, I wasn't aware of the 6 month wait to go to the eye doctor here, and I just realized that I have a few contacts left! I called EVERY eye doctor in town, and the earliest I could get an appointment was going to be July...that is until I started calling the suburbs and I stumbled upon an America-lover, and managed to get an appointment next week. Apparently his love of America stems from his travels on both the east and west coast. Everyone I've met who has been to the United States has really liked it. This guy seemed just absolutely astonished that someone from the US would call him and try to get an appointment. "Jackson, Mississippi--isn't that crazy!" he kept saying.

The students have voted to continue the strike, and it's still not the party I imagined it would be. I had heard rumors that we'd have to recuperate the hours, but the last I heard was that we will put the info for the class online and hope that the students will do it at home. I'm wondering if they will continue the strike through exams and well just wishing that this weren't happening. As it is the French universities are ill-organized--for example I have absolutely no idea when any of my exams are, and this is normal for the universities--but with the strikes, things are even more confusing and unorganized. Still, the real victims are the students who do not oppose the reforms and still want to learn. In the university where my friend Andromeda works, they voted to strike by a single vote, so now the 49% of students who want to continue going to class, can't.

Anyway, my second spring break has started, and Carlos arrives tomorrow!