Salut a Tous #21
Trip Start
Sep 06, 2011
1
21
30
Trip End
Apr 15, 2012
Where I stayed
Val Thorens, Rhône-Alpes, France
Sunday, February 12, 2012
OK, enough righteous indignation. This week:
© I had a successful week at work
© I had adventures to Decathlon on Wednesday.
© I massively overslept on Friday.
© I made it to the Alps yesterday.
Not a whole lot to say about work this week, we made Valentines cards a couple of times, and the pancakes that I was worried about went fine. It was fine. I didn’t really do a whole lot, there were four groups and I just went around all the groups and chanted the vocabulary with them, "flour", “eggs”, “milk”. Was fun stuff! I did find it very funny when one of the poor group adults asked around the group if anyone could crack an egg, and then trusted the half of the group who put their hand up saying that they could. They couldn’t. I’ve never seen eggs be quite so spectacularly destroyed, although the group adult (who’s a general helper in the school, but I’ve never actually been introduced to him and can never remember what his name is!) did manage to recover the pancake batter.
I left before they got round to actually cooking the pancakes, and instead accompanied my CM2 class to the library. Not particularly useful for me to be there, but it was interesting. Especially as I can join the library for free, and it’s just round the corner from my school. There’s also a library in the centre of town which I can use on the same membership, and as I was supposed to be joining a library at some point whilst I’m here, as it’s free. I would be able to pop down there at lunchtime on Thursdays and rent DVDs. And I think I can take them back to any of the libraries in Nimes.
The oversleeping on Friday was not technically oversleeping. I was awake in time to go to language school, but I had such a headache that by the time I had made myself breakfast I decided I needed to just go back to bed. I then slept straight through for another three hours. When I woke up I felt much better, so I guess that I did really need the sleep – I haven’t been sleeping all that well recently, but I’ve worked out how to get my room the perfect temperature for me to sleep – leave the window open and have the radiator on full. Turning the radiators off doesn’t cool the room down quick enough. Opening the windows cools the room down too fast. So having both makes it just right. Thankfully I don’t pay for the heating! Thankfully because Nimes is so cold at the moment, the town is dead quiet at night, enough so that I can get to sleep deeply enough to sleep through any noise. Just have to not be at the point of dropping off when the guy across the street asks to be let in. I have no idea why this guy does not have a key, but every night at about 10:30 a guy will shout to be let in. For at least 10 minutes. He’ll shout, then whistle, then phone. He doesn’t phone up to start with, because that would make sense, and he’s French. But anyway, this whole procedure tends to happen just as I’m dropping off to sleep, so wakes me up, and then I have to go through the whole dropping off stage of sleep all over again.
Anyway.
Yesterday was much more exciting! I got the train up to the Alps, and then with perfect timing mum and dad realised they could pick me up from Moutiers rather than me catching the bus. It was very nice to see Mummy and Daddy again. And George I guess. Although he has nicked my pens. It’s also nice that Cassie, Bob, Emma, Penny and James are here, although I haven’t skied with the kids yet really – I’ve heard James is a bit speedy!
The apartments are very nice, although it’s a bit scary getting to them! Although, I’d say it’s more cold than it is scary… It’s a skidoo ride to get to the building, and the guy obviously does the route too often as he goes really really really quickly. Thankfully mum and dad warned me so I had everything covered. Gloves, hat, scarf the lot.
We skied for quite a bit today, I think I’ve skied the least, but I’m the least confident. The last time I skied properly I couldn’t walk for a week, so I’m a bit tentative. It’s funny, my body is doing the skiing perfectly well, but my brain is screaming at me that I can’t do it, so I’m having to go down the slopes chanting to myself “I CAN do it, I CAN do it, I CAN do it…” it’s kept me going so far!
Anyway, I’m absolutely knackered. I will try and send this tonight, but the WiFi in the building is dead, so I’m trying to do it using a WiFi hotspot on my phone. Despite the fact that I hardly have any mobile signal.
Word of the Week (from Daddy): feu tricolor – traffic lights
A bientôt!
Chloe xx
