Well, it looks like February is going to be the lost month for my blog. The month is already half gone (where did the time go?), and now I'm off to Germany for the next ten days.
School continues to go well. I've been doing classroom objects for the past two weeks, and I've been making valentines with my kids (according to precise directions in English with key vocab). They were freaked out by the valentine-concept and, as V-Day is only between lovers and not between friends or classmates here in France, I got a lot of concern for WHO to give this to sent my way. I think more than one valentine made in English class was made into a proclamation of love to quite a few nin-year-old boys and girls.
Valentine's Day was a non-event here in France. There were barely any hearts and chocolates in the windows at all. My friend Adel arrived this past Tuesday, and we spent our V-Day with Harriet watching a romantic comedy and eating lots of pistachio ice cream. An excellent evening, for sure!
Now, Adel and I are off to Germany. We start today in Paris, then catch a plane to Düsseldorf tomorrow. We're staying with Adel's brother's old host family in Cologne (Köln), then visiting my friend Rhea whom I met two years ago in Rennes in her hometown of Bielefeld, then shooting south to Frankfurt to meet up with my old marching band buddy Tony, and finally ending our trip in a little village called Batten with Adel's old host family from high school. I am both excited and nervous for the adventure. I think I'm going to have a lot of German thrown my way! But I expect I'm in for a treat.
To get back home, I'm taking a train to Strasbourg, a very German French city and seat of the European Union, and exploring with my friend Suzie. And then back to home-sweet-Blois for the final six weeks of my teaching contract. What a whirlwind!
Well, time to catch the train. Let the adventure begin!
This should be an interesting tale once it unfolds, Of course many Europeans are multi lingual and I was surprised to see you chose French over German, But it has worked out so well for you. Friends on an international stage, introducing Valentines to your youthful students an learning that their traditions dictate that they are exchanged between lovers..................corrupting the minds of the French youth with those decadent American practices...ahhhh amour, a very international language spoken by all but understood by few.....Okay, enough of that. Hope you have a safe and fun journey.
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