7 posts tagged “work”
From now until the end of 2009 I have only 61 classroom hours to teach. On top of that I have all of my private lessons and tutoring, but so many of my classes are away on stages from here on that I never once work the full 12 classroom hours a week.
It makes coming back from a great vacation a bit easier to bear!
Yesterday my friend Grant emailed me, saying, "I already read the ice cream thing weeks ago so get off your ass and write something cool." Simmer down, Grant.
But he's right, of course. I haven't written anything in over a month, mostly because I was in the States for over three week. Mostly in New York, with a quick three-day visit to my maternal grandparents in Los Angeles. Even though this trip was significantly longer than most of my trips home, I still didn't get to see everyone or do everything I wanted to. I was particularly looking forward to catching up with one of my childhood friends, Jade. She's one of the friends I mentioned back in this post, and we haven't seen each other in way too many years. Hopefully next time . . .While I was in New York, I reached the three-year anniversary of my arrival in France. It was hard to celebrate while not in the country, but it is amazing to me that I'm still here. And entering my fourth year of teaching! So, happy third anniversary to me.
I don't think I've actually written here about what I'll be doing this year. Back in January, when my job with the cool educational non-profit fell through, I had less than a week before the last deadline for the assistantship. This program is what brought me to Paris back in 2006. Technically, you're only allowed to do it twice. Which I have already done. In 2006 I was accepted through the US embassy in Washington, DC, and then my contract was renewed for the 2007-2008 school year through the rectorat in Paris. The program is so insanely disorganized, however, that I thought there was a pretty good chance that there is no master database, and so I figured I’d take a shot at applying again. I had to rush to get my recommendations and fill out the paperwork, but managed to get it done in time. It’s funny, ‘cause when I applied in the winter of 2005 I spent SO LONG on getting the application just right, and this time around I just threw it together. I didn’t think it would work, especially because the supposed overnight express envelope that I sent ended up taking two nights, and so my application got in a day late.
The stars were shining on me, however, because I was accepted. Once I moved apartments, I called up the lovely new lady at the rectorat (I’m still sad that Madame Dionis is gone, but the new Madame Couetdic seems to be more on the ball) and asked if it was possible to assign me a school near my new apartment, rather than the one they had on file. She said she’d see what she could do, but no promises. And then, score! The high school I’ll be working at is a 12-minute walk from my place!
I went by to meet the headmistress back in July, and we really hit it off. Then yesterday I met the English teacher in charge of me, Solange. We had already spoken on the phone and emailed a few times, mostly to discuss my scheduling preferences. I have been nothing but impressed with the school’s organization, so far. I already have my finalized schedule for the year, and received all my paperwork from the intendance and secretariat. I’ve been given a tour of the school, my own whiteboard markers and attendance book (ooh, the power I wield!), and met three of the six English teachers I’ll be working with. All of this makes me think that I’ll probably hate the students, as in my experience it’s impossible to like both the staff AND the students in one school.
I’m really happy with my schedule, too. Every other week I have to work one hour on Fridays, from 11 am to noon, but other than that I have four-day weekends and never work before 9 am or past 4 pm. And eight of my 12 classes are in the same room, which is really nice. Of course, the other four classes are in the amphitheater, which will be interesting, to say the least, but you can’t have it all.
Tomorrow is orientation, which I’m not looking forward to that much since I have a feeling I’ll know most of the information. But I can just play Scramble on my awesome new iTouch.
I’ve already had two hours of tutoring since being back: one with Lucas, and one with the hot pilot. Both went really well, and I had a huge smile on my face when I rang the doorbell at Lucas’ house and heard him squeal “it’s SOPHIE!” His reading has advanced so much; I have a feeling that soon I won’t have much more work to do!
I’m still in the process of scheduling all of my private lessons. I have to turn down quite a few people, since I won’t have the time or energy to take on all the clients that contact me. I’m having trouble figuring out how many hours I should do in addition to the twelve hours of classroom time. It’s a bit frustrating, because if you break down the pay by hour, I get paid literally twice as much to tutor as to be an assistant, but I need the assistantship for the working papers and the paid vacation. It’s really a pretty good deal.
And I am SO relieved that my 15 months of being a sans papiers are over. I think the only reason I don’t feel guilty is that I earned this! Living illegally takes dedication.
Oh, lordy.
I was trying to be positive in my post yesterday. I had a vague hope that this relationship might be long-term, and so I thought there was a chance that the parents would stumble across my blog at some point, and I didn't want anything damning on here. But at this point, I would be shocked if we make it through the week.
Why, you ask? Well, for starters, this morning the father took me aside and told me that it's not working out. I'd been here all of 40 hours at that point, including the 16 I was asleep. When I asked why, he said he didn't want to go into detail, but that he and his wife are not comfortable because there's too much of a disconnect between what they were expecting and what I was expecting.
Hm. I pointed out that I had only been here one full day, and that perhaps we could discuss their expectations and define my responsibilities. I've asked to do that several times, and each time they tell me that we'll take things as they come. But now they wanted to give me the boot after one day!
I reminded the father that I had canceled my vacation plans, rearranged my summer, and turned down other jobs for August in order to be available for them. He said that my leaving would be bad for them too, as they would have no one to help for the next three weeks. I suggested that instead of firing me, perhaps we could just discuss what they'd like me to do differently and that way no one will be shit out of luck for August.
He had to check that with his wife, who I guess agreed, because he came back to me with, "I'm still very confident that this won't work, but we'll give it a shot for you."
Gee, thanks, asshole.
So far, since being here, I've played hide and seek, I spy, started teaching T. how to swim, swum races with T. and her friend J., walked up and down countless stairs with A., painted and drawn pictures with T. and J., made play dough meals, read stories, applied stickers, created origami fortune tellers, and forced myself to lose at Memory. I've chased after A., helped T. get dressed, had a smile on my face the whole time, and still they're not happy. But god forbid they tell me why!
I think, honestly, what it comes down to is the same thing I experienced last summer. These people think they want a white, Ivy-educated au pair for their kids, but they don't. They want an immigrant (not an American immigrant!) woman who's just happy to have a job, and will clean up after the kids and eat in the kitchen. They want someone they can feel comfortable ordering around, not someone who's obviously their intellectual equal.
And it's not just how they treat me that's disgusting. They, and their many visiting friends (6 adults and 2 kids are the current guests) are just so rude to the servants. It's like a bad movie. One of them took a sip of sparkling water and spit it out, saying "this isn't Perrier, it's San Pellegrino." Oh no! Call the cops! Another one sniffs every dish before eating, and rejects most of them, saying that they're full of glutamate. They mock the food, the service, the plates and glasses, and insult the staff behind their backs. It's just revolting.
I'm also not allowed to play with A., ever. His mom is insanely attached to him, and won't give me the chance to get to know him and have him feel comfortable with me. If I try to play with him she'll pick him up. But yet this morning her husband said I need to make more of an effort with A. Get your stories straight, people! They obviously have no idea what they want. Last night the mom told me to eat with the adults, as long as I would get up and chase A. around during the meal. So I did. This morning her husband said that made him uncomfortable. So I said I would just eat with the kids. He said that he knew I would be unhappy with that. I suggested that perhaps he let me decide what would make me unhappy.
The kitchen staff obviously feel bad for me. I heard the cook say to her assistant, "c'est infernale, je n'en supporte plus!" which translates to "this is hell, I can't stand it any more!"
You and me both, sister.
I've just discovered my new favorite bedtime snack. I warmed up some milk, grated fresh nutmeg into it, and then added a small spoonful of lime blossom honey. Yum.
I picked up a few new tutoring clients this week, which was really very needed. Hopefully by the middle of February (ie right when the next two-week vacation hits) I'll be a bit more comfortable with the amount of hours I'm working. I've been babysitting a lot the past couple of weeks, which is great for some quick cash, but I still need more hours to feel comfortable.
AND I want to have some leeway to spend money when I'm in Spain for a week! I really should reserve my hostels . . . anyone have recommendations for Seville, Cordoba, and Grenada?
After my full-day clean-up last Saturday, I headed over to Anna's house for an organic dinner party. Five of the seven of us had been at my party the night before, and the others told me all the funny stories that I had missed. I'm not the only one who, after a night of drinking, smacks herself on the forehead upon remembering some of the things she said and did, am I?
The dinner party was fantastic. We had beet hummus, fennel soup with little goat cheese and citrus crackers, pea and mushroom risotto, and chocolate mousse for dessert. Everything was homemade and organic and really, really good. Friends Pauline and Baker helped Anna with the cooking, while I contributed wine and Monsieur La Carotte. (I look weird in those pictures because Anna mocked my annoying habit of smiling when someone points a camera at me. God forbid.)
On Sunday I joined Colin and some of his friends for a pub quiz at an Irish bar. We came in second place, losing by only one point! Do you know the first Christian martyr? Or the first city to have a duty-free store? Or what the Wassermann test is for? I didn't think so. It was lots of fun though, and since they do it every Sunday night I'm hoping to get my own team together and take down Colin next time. Watch out!
This week has been insanely busy. Most of my tutoring jobs are relatively far away, which means that I average an hour of traveling for every hour of teaching. That leads to days with four hours of teaching, and three hours of transportation, and a very exhausted Sophie. I've also been having a lot of trouble sleeping. There is just nothing worse than lying in bed, so tired that your eyeballs hurt, and unable to stop the wheels from spinning. I'm hoping to balance out my clients a bit, and shove all the 16th and 17th arrondissement people into the same day so that I'm not shlepping over there twice a week. On the plus side, I'm making ends meet with just my lessons. I'm hardly saving anything, but I'm not going to run through my savings too quickly, either.
Thursday night Pauline had me over to her place for dinner. Her place is so small that when I stood up from her desk she elbowed me in the sternum. But it's cute and clean and she whipped up a four-course meal for the two of us: melted brie with sautéed mushrooms and fresh spinach, quinoa with ratatouille, a cheese course, and chocolate crème, all of it organic. My friends here are very into organic food, in case you haven't noticed. Which is nice, 'cause it balances out all the nutella I eat.
I want to catch a movie this weekend. I'm thinking Blindness, since I'm going to marry Mark Ruffalo and he'll probably want me to have seen it. Any other recommendations?
My friend Lauren, who has a fantastic and widely-read blog, wrote a post that I really like. I've been waiting to write about it for a few days, hoping that I would be able to pinpoint what it is that touched me the most. But I can't do it. Still, I encourage you to go over and poke around. She has a completely different take on life in Paris (as a student, in a long-term relationship, etc etc) so it'll make for some interesting reading.
I made some very concerted efforts to get out and about this week. Because I know that when I get in a funk I tend to wallow in it, and get crankier and mopier as the days go on. So I had drinks with two of my students from last year, cheap Indian food with Anna, and more drinks with Steve. That evening, somehow, ended up with my "singing" a duet of "Endless Love" with Toby, in a gay karaoke bar. Steve is either a fantastic or terrible influence. Did I mention that I didn't get home till well after 1 am, and had to be up at 7 am for work?
I was so pooped in front of my classes that David (my most favorite 12 year-old ever) said, "Sophie, you are not playing?" when I kind of zoned out between rounds of a very successful game I've been doing this week. "What, David?" "Are you unhappy?" Oh, no! I realized that my massive blood sugar deficit was coming across on my face, and quickly summoned up a smile and shook myself out of my slump.
This game worked so well in ALL of my classes, that several students came up and either told me how much fun they had (consider my cockles warmed) or asked if we could play again. One girl, Thaïs, even asked for my email address so she can talk to me online. But the best moment of the work-week was probably the very first one, when I walked into Catherine's class at 8:05 am (ie five minutes late) on Tuesday and the students cheered. They cheered! For me! That was really fantastic.
I feel like if I can come up with enough more games like this one, and just ignore the teachers, that I can make it through the remaining weeks of my contract. Of which there are 12. I can do that. I hope.
In other news, my cooking is continuing. I made variations on my lentil soup for a few weeks, and it kept getting better and better. Tonight I was planning on cooking up some white beans and rosemary to go with my salmon, but as I've never cooked beans before I didn't realize you have to soak them FOREVER. So I had the salmon with grilled lemon slices, and then spent the rest of the night preparing a delicious white bean/smoked ham/rosemary soup. I read a few recipes online, and then kind of improvised. I didn't measure a single thing, or follow one particular recipe, and it turned out fantastic. I can't wait for the cookbook I ordered to arrive with my mom! I have some sweet potatoes and ginger waiting for their turn.
I have two more book reviews to type up, and then I have to wait for the next round of books to come in. My translation was submitted last week, and I really enjoyed it. I would love to get more translation jobs. It's interesting and challenging work, not to mention well-paying. Anyone have contacts in publishing houses, preferably de jeunesse, to share?
I'm finally sure that I made the right choice by moving back to Paris. A lot of things have fallen into place this week:
- I'm able to sleep through the church bells from the really ugly church across the street
- my legs no longer give out at the 3rd floor, which is good since I live on the 4th floor (or 5th American floor) of a walk-up
- I made my third, and last for a VERY long time, trip to Ikea. I now have a coffee table and a bedside table, and never want to see another Swedish meatball
- I have an appointment (on Monday!) for my medical visit
- I know which boulangerie in my neighborhood has the best baguette, and which has the best pain au chocolat
- my French CV is in good shape
- I'm going on vacation in 10 days!
My travel plans for Christmas break have changed a bit, and after five days in Belgium I'm going to visit Jamie in the Hague. I've been to Amsterdam twice, but have never really traveled around Holland, so I'm super-excited to see a bit more of the country. I plan on a day trip to Delft, for the Vermeer museum.
I also realized that if I leave for New York as soon as Spring vacation starts, I can be home for the seders. I'm so glad to know that I'll be there, since I really missed Thanksgiving and Chanukah this year. My guess is that I won't fast, since that would entail missing too many of my favorite New York/American meals, but I didn't last year either, since I was in Italy.
As soon as the sun comes out again I'm going to take more pictures of my apartment, now that it's more or less set up. It's been so grey and foggy and rainy that I have no beautiful light pouring in, and that's what really makes the place look special.
Another thing that's making me really happy is that I had a very good interview today at a major publishing house. They asked me to be a reader for their English language books, and to translate a middle-grade novel from French to English! I have to do a test run before I'm hired, but I'm fairly confident. So knowing that I'll (probably) be a bit busier and have some more money coming in takes some of the pressure off.
I'm totally zonked from waking up before 7 four days in a row, so am heading to bed. Tomorrow I am going to trim a Christmas tree* for the first time ever! Whoopee!
*it's not my tree. I don't believe in Chanukah bushes.
