This week is my week of observation and introduction at the high school. English classes are Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. That means I don't have to work tomorrow or Thursday! C'est la belle vie. Instead I can stroll about the gardens and go to the market.
So far, I've enjoyed working with the high schoolers! All I've done is introduce myself and answer their questions (if they have any), but it's been fun. Some classes are shy, some uninterested, but some are enthusiastic and curious. I was asked everything from my age to my political and religious views. (Which I denied telling them. I was given the impression that it's practically illegal to talk about religion in a French public school.) Some favorite questions: "Do you think the French boys more beautiful than the American boys?" and, "Euhm...you 'ave 'obeez?" (It is hard for them to pronounce the word "hobbies").
I've been much less lonely and bored for the past few days. Of course it helps having work. I've also seen a bit more of people my age around the hostel (sometimes in the common room I wish for a little MORE solitude, even...), and the assistants of Châlons met for coffee on Sunday.
Housing...my current lodging is not perfect. It is well located, and safe. But sharing showers and toilets (with guys and girls) means often dirty bathrooms and a little inconvenience (I have to take my keys and a bag of shampoos, et cetera, to the shower and lock my room door). And I have not had a night of good sleep since I arrived--there's so much noise (this morning, for example, I heard my neighbor's alarm go off at 6am, my other neighbor's at 7, music playing, showers going, doors slamming...), and the mattress is awful (it's really a 3-4 inch high cushion). I don't usually mind having to go to the common room for internet, but the connection isn't that great, and often it's full of loud, rowdy guys who really disturb my Skype conversations.
I had a dream that I could find an ideal living situation if I rented a room from a family. Then yesterday at school I mentioned it, and the discouraging faces made crushed my dream. "But of course," I can still look in newspaper ads; these women just thought it very unlikely I would find a family to rent from. I decided it is best for me to make the most of what I have right now, and be grateful for it.
However others today recommended I visit a certain lady at the school who knows all about "those kind of things" (host families, I guess?) in Châlons. Further, I've just been informed that there are different kinds of rooms in this place where I'm staying--one of the assistants is moving into a better one, and now there may be a place for me in an apartment in this building... I need to ask around and find out more. That's my general situation: if I want a change, I need to ask around. Will it ever end? I just want to be settled! But I also want to have the most ideal living situation that I can.
Is it worth the trouble? Is there really someplace better? Do I still believe I can find some sort of ideal place?
Ideal:
Comfortable bed.
My own bed, closet space, & toiletries space.
A place for me to cook AND store foods & kitchenware.
Good wifi connection.
Easy to walk or to take bus to school and downtown.
Near a grocery store and boulangerie/café.
Is that too much to ask for?
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