Monday 11/14: Native Americans, God Save the Queen, and Gorgonzola

This morning I had class at 8:30am, so I quietly snuck out of the room and left Alison sleeping. Her morning class had been cancelled (the class was on a trip to London), so she didn’t have to teach until 12:55pm!

Today I taught my first class (10-11 yr olds) some American history. It was really basic and really quick (we only spent 25 mins), but I gave them an overview from the Native Americans living there before the Europeans arrived until just after the American Revolution. I made sure to clarify that Christopher Colombus was not as great as he’s made out to be… It was actually fairly difficult to explain everything in a very simple manner—and in French! Oof. I think they understood…

I had a long break this morning, so I came back and slept for about 45mins, then Alison and I hung out while I prepared a bit more for my afternoon classes. We ate lunch together, and then she had to leave. I finished preparing and then biked over to the other school.

Both classes were rowdy today (I told the younger ones that if they didn’t settle down, they wouldn’t get to do any coloring…they kept talking, so they didn’t get to color!) and that was, of course, tough. It’s hard enough that I only have 30 minutes!

After my classes at the other school, I returned home to quickly make up a page with the lyrics to “God Save the Queen” (the English national anthem). Then I headed to my last class of the day—the really difficult 9-10 yr olds! But, today the teacher stayed in the room AND the most obnoxious student wasn’t there! Excellent! It was a million times better! I explained about the UK and how it’s a country that is made up of 4 smaller “countries” and they had to color a map (one color for the UK, a different color for Ireland) and the flags of the UK and Ireland. Then we listened to “God Save the Queen.” Next time we might listen to the Scottish or Irish national anthem—we’ll see.

When I got home, I had tea with Catherine and we talked about plans for Thanksgiving. I invited Alison yesterday and Pablo (the assistant from Argentina) today—I think both of them can come! Chantal & family will be there as well, so it should be quite the party!

I went grocery shopping with Catherine tonight (we found cheddar!!! Hopefully it's decent...) and then helped her make pasta with gorgonzola sauce for dinner. After dinner (and after the news) Twilight #1 was showing on TV. Margot and Hugo (who stayed home from school today because he’s sick) suggested we watch it, so we all saw the film. It was dubbed over in French, which was better—at least I was practicing French!! They were all thrilled to see me onscreen and I enjoyed seeing the Colombia Gorge and reliving some of the memories from filming.