Hallowe'en

Look! Proof I'm actually teaching! This is me with class CM2, which roughly equates to Primary 7. For the last day of term I let them dress up (if they so wished), and we bobbed for apples and carved pumpkins instead of learning English. This has elevated me from merely "popular teacher" to a level approaching that of a divine entity, and the news I was returning after the holidays was greeted with cheers. This is the only job I've ever had where I don't dread the start of my shift, and although I am absolutely exhausted after five weeks in the classroom, it's so rewarding and fun that November 12th doesn't seem like a black monstrosity squatting on my calendar - more like something to look forward to.

After school ended, I met Antoine (my CouchSurfing buddy) and we went to the local brewery to sample their artisan beers. We were the only ones in the tasting area, a Scandinavian-esque vision in white and oak finished off with a lovely wood-burning stove. Antoine thought the beer to be a little underwhelming, but I was rather taken with the ambrée and bought a litre bottle.

Afterwards, we had dinner at Le Petit Journal and saw Ted in French at the cinema. Having already seen it in English was handy, seeing as I am severely lacking in the kind of filthy vocabulary to which the eponymous bear is partial. It seemed to go down well with the audience, who obviously aren't as used to Seth McFarlane's humour as many of us are.

This weekend I'll be cleaning and packing madly in preparation for my big trip, which starts on Monday. I've bought an InterRail ticket and will be travelling between here and Sweden, stopping on the way to visit fellow year-abroaders from Edinburgh. I'm not sure whether I'll be able to update this while I'm travelling, so expect silence for a while and then a burst of posts around November 10th, which is my planned return date. Suffice to say I'm madly excited about hitting the rails once more, albeit in slightly more graceful fashion this time around (the backpack and flip-flops having been replaced with sensible shoes and a sturdy little case). All aboard!