Day 23 - lundi

School pictures - click here21 fevrier 2011

Today marks the beginning of the fourth week in Nice. It was a beautiful day with a clear blue sky. It was warm enough to sit outside for lunch. Class began early in the day. There was a good energy in the classroom today.

Each class we listen to one or two dialogues and need to determine what we have heard and what it is about. This has been very tricky. Today, the first one went fairly well for me, so I was patting myself on the back. Then came the second dialogue, and I had to admit that I understood very little of what was being discussed. Humility is a virtue, and helps one get past the awkward moments.

After classes, I stayed at school to complete our assigned exercises with Elisabeth. She left to catch the train to Antibes. I finished up and decided to walk to the Chretien librairie, i.e. Christian bookstore, around the corner. It wasn’t open today, but I will return another day to look around. The other bookstore near the Church may be more specifically Catholic - I’m not sure. Tomorrow it is supposed to be raining again, so that trek will be scheduled for another day.

When the bookstore was not open, I decided to go to the papeterie, the office goods store. It is quite close to the school. It is very modest compared to Staples, but you know, it had everything I was searching for: BIC mechanical pencils (sold individually), a notebook for class, and a smaller one for my purse. They also had un perforateur – a hole punch. I’ve been looking for one in order to organize all the worksheets I get in the classes. In France and around Europe, as I understand, four (or two) holes are the standard. Hence, this device makes 4 holes. It will stay in France with Michele when I leave.

For such a lovely day, there is not much else to report. Have a good night, Dear Reader.  

Day 16 - lundi

14 fevrier 2011  Bon St. Valentin!

Today was a long day. I had class in the afternoon again. In the morning, however, I wanted to get to the religious bookstore near Notre Dame de l’Assomption, so I left the house at 9:45. I would like to get a simple prayer book, with the words of the Mass and/or the basic prayers – Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory Be… Even a children's book would be fine.

On my way, I took a little detour and found a 2-Euro store called Minimax. This is like our Dollar Tree. I found some plastic food storage containers and some washcloths that will be useful.

When I got to the religious bookstore, however, it was closed. There was a sign on the door that announced new hours - now Tuesday through Saturday. Well, that just means another trip later in the week.

Back at school, there was a whole new group of students who were being tested. I met a lovely woman from Serbia who is working for United Emirates Airline. She is only here for one week, though. Maybe I will catch up with her tomorrow. Since our classes start in the morning on Tuesday, I might see her at lunchtime.

At 11:00, Marina and I worked on giving directions. Then at noon, Kate met us, and we went upstairs for lunch and to practice our dialogue – “theater”-piece. Kate was heading off to buy some clothes while the best sales are still going on – this is the last week. Many places have up to 50-70% off.

When it was time for class to begin at 2:45, there was no Kate. Oh, well, we read for those who were missing. I’m sorry that Kate missed it all, because she was doing really well.

We did a lot of free speaking in class today – asking questions of one another and trying to answer. Our teacher Eric is quite patient, and has a silly sense of humor. When we don’t pronounce things correctly, he often tells us what it sounds like we are saying, usually with a good deal of laughter from the class. It is quite evident that we need more speaking practice.

I was invited to join a group of students who were going to an Indian restaurant for dinner at 7:30. This sounded like fun, so I walked home after class, for the first time in the rain, worked for half an hour, and then walked back to school to join the group. We walked almost all the way down to Masséna Place to a restaurant called Hollywood-Bollywood. It was a delightful evening of food and friends. We laughed a lot. Radovan was the only guy who came along. He always sees the humorous side of things. The owner of the restaurant was enjoying us, too, I think, despite the noise level.

Since I returned home at 10:15, I did not have a chance to use the internet, but I will post this before school in the morning. Now it is time to finish my homework and go to bed.

Have a good night, Dear Reader.