I don't work Wednesdays!

Bonjour mes amis!

Well, I didn’t start work this week, but I did go in to all 4 of my schools to introduce myself the other day and I’ll be starting on Monday! For those who have been following this, my contract begins on October 1. I won’t actually report for my first day until October 12, and our first vacation starts on the 24th. I’m getting paid for the entire month of October, when, in fact, I will only have worked 8 days! (Also, I’ll just be observing my classes for at least 4 of those days!) Have I mentioned yet that I LOVE France?

I was supposed to go meet the directeurs of the schools the other day, but apparently there was some big meeting that morning for all the directeurs, so 3 of the 4 people I was supposed to meet weren’t at the schools! I got my schedule on Monday, and luckily it looks pretty good. I don’t work at all on Wednesday, and the only day I have morning classes is Tuesday (which is actually a super-long day, but I think I’ll be able to use my Wednesdays off to recover).
I’m working in two of my schools from Monday until mid-January, and then in the other two from mid-January until the end of April. They’re pretty far away from my apartment, but luckily they’re all pretty near each other, and I can buy a monthly bus pass for €15 (for unlimited rides), so I don’t think it’ll be too bad of a commute.

I’m supposed to work 12 hours a week, but because of the way English classes are scheduled in the primary schools, my responsable (the woman who is kind of “in charge” of the primary assistants in Nevers) is actually having a hard time getting me to 12 hours! For the first half of my contract (from now until mid-January), for example, I’m only with the kids for 6 hours and 15 minutes each week!

I’m finally getting all of my administrative tasks taken care of – I got my forms sent in to the French immigration office this morning, and once I turn in forms on Friday for my salary advance, I think I’ll be all set!

In other exciting news – I FINALLY have a bank card! When I opened my account, I was told to come back 8 days later to pick up my card. I went back so many times to check if it was there that the man at the front desk (his name is actually Pierre, and he’s very helpful) now recognizes me and doesn’t need to ask my name anymore! In short, it took 14 days for the card to arrive, although I am now pleased to say that I have a bank card AND a pin code (they send it to you separately in the mail)!

Sadly, my camera has died unexpectedly, and I’m very distressed by the fact that I’m now camera-less! I’m hoping to get another one soon so I can continue documenting my vie en France!

A group of us from Nevers are taking a day trip on Saturday to Clermont-Ferrand, a city about 2 hours away by train. It has a cathedral built out of volcanic rock (it’s in the middle of a range of extinct volcanoes), so I’m sure it will be a fun excursion!