vignettes: Perhaps vampires is a bit strong but...

5:05 P.M.

I'm so shit at making updates after vacation. Sometimes I feel like I'd just like to live through the moments and not have to document it all the time. Or maybe it's just laziness? Anyway, in the interest of being concise, my vacation in Toulouse was lovely. Laurent and I spent our time exploring the city's museums, eating at some very tasty restaurants, partied with his friends, played some Monopoly, followed the election coverage, went to the movies (saw the new 007 movie, I'm not impressed), and I even dragged him to see Alicia Keys in concert. It was funny because she and the opening acts spoke to the audience in English and they all cheered, although they probably had no idea what the artists were saying. She did try to speak some French, though, such as "Ca va? Ca va bien, merci." haha

I was impressed with the election coverage here. Every day, Laurent and I watched the news and they always had a segment dedicated to explaining how the American elections work, how people were likely to vote, and the various points of views of the French (especially the black French population). They even had guests on the shows who were "American election experts." One guy was American with a perfect French accent, grr (although Laurent pointed out his various gramatical errors, so ha!). I had to watch the elections at a friend's house who had CNN (our TV has been broken since I arrived). I stayed up until 7 A.M. following the elections, when they announced that Obama won. The next day, I went to the doctor's office for my medical visit and the nurse asked me about the elections while checking my height and giving me a vision test. At school, the teachers were also curious about the American election process and my insights on the results. One even made his class chant "Yes we can!" with me, haha...
A part of me is sad that I wasn't at home, celebrating with friends in the streets and feeling the good vibes from fellow Americains, but I also think it was interesting to see it all from an outsider's perspective. It's strange how I went from being embarassed to be American in France to feeling proud (but not in an overly patriotic way), seemingly overnight.

Anyway, coming back to Metz and getting back to work was rough for me. The kids were outta control the first day back after break, which was to be expected. My schedule at one of my schools has changed where I have my own room, but am teaching all alone. I've had to be more strict with them and deal out punishments without hesitating, which will take some getting used to. I gave one of my classes a graded test because they couldn't stop talking. Blah, for some classes, it feels more like babysitting than teaching. But whatever, I'm still getting paid!
I've been planning some trips for the upcoming weeks. I'll be going to Lyon in two weeks and then Paris to see Lykke Li in concert and visit my friend (or long lost twin) Janet.

We got today off because it's le jour de l'armistice, when Germany and France signed the treaty to end World War 1. Yay for sleeping in and pyjamas all day!