Oh la la, the grève is getting out of hand. This morning, a quarter of the students in my high school classes were absent because they weren’t able to get to school because the buses have stopped running. Why? Because there’s no gas. Teachers from both of my schools have told me that they’ve had to drive to towns more than an hour and a half away to find gas, only to wait in line for two to three hours (if and) when they finally get there. On some streets, abandoned cars are lined up waiting for tow trucks that might not come for a while; else they risk breaking down on the side of the road as well.
My teachers have advised me to get out of Louviers while I can. They themselves are worried that their travel plans for the vacances might fall through, especially those flying on AirFrance. Planes coming into France have been advised to bring enough fuel to get back to where they came from because airports here can’t refill their tanks. On Monday, Charles de Gaulle only had enough fuel to last until Wednesday. Although the trains do not use gas, the SNCF still has to support those on strike, just in case something happens to them. What’s more, they’re not even affected by this proposed law; they can retire at 50! Marianne, one of my colleagues at the collège promised me that I’ll see at least three SNCF strikes before I leave. “Oh there’s a leaf on the track! Let’s go on strike,” she said. Or “oh it’s too windy today, let’s go on strike!” We laughed as if she was kidding, but part of me believes she wasn’t exaggerating that much.
This week marked my first “official” week of lessons. This past Monday, I had to laugh to myself as I finished my first day at 10.30 after only two hours of restaurant role-play. I get paid to talk to kids about what’s on a menu. Best job ever. Now I get to go on vacation for 12 days, during which I’ll also be paid. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I work with the younger kids at collège. My PowerPoint presentation was a hit, especially the section on pets and Philly foods. I’ve found that the 11 and 12 year-olds are better at English than a lot of the high schoolers, mostly because they participate and are excited to learn.
Tomorrow morning I have three classes, but I should hopefully be on my way to Lyon via Paris by 12.30. Southern France, Italy and Switzerland? Yeah, I think I can manage. Impeccable!
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