in a paper boat

This week has been...frustrating. I feel like I've been floating merrily along since I got here, everything pretty much falling into place without too much effort...until this week. It started over the weekend when I started getting sick. First a sore throat, then a stuffy/runny nose, then a cough, and eventually the chills. I'm still coughing a week later, but I'm feeling better. Then on Tuesday I was asked to prepare something about The American Dream. Those were my instructions: something. I assumed that meant I could do whatever I want. So I first talked about my personal definition of the American Dream and then I handed out several sheets of paper to the students, each with a word that I associate with the ideal American Dream: equality, liberty, happiness, success, etc. I wanted them to work in groups of 2 or 3 and try to define the word in their own terms and explain how they thought it related to the American Dream (either how I had described it or as they imagined it). The teacher seemed very annoyed with my activity because it was "too difficult". She pushed through it as quickly as possible and after class she explained that I can't do open-ended things, I have to give them concrete tasks with specific questions and I have to know in advance the answers that I want them to give. She sounded so annoyed with me and I was feeling like a complete failure and so of course I started crying...and couldn't stop. And then she was like OMG! It's not that serious! Everything's going to be OK! But it took me forever to compose myself. The thing is, this professor had been nothing but nice and helpful until this point and I hated to disappoint her and I felt like it wasn't really my fault. But yeah. I cried. The next day she left a note for me that said how sorry she was. That she talked to Michael about it and he said it was her fault, that she expected me to know what to do already without any guidance and then got upset when I DIDN'T know. Everything's fine now, but it was pretty sucky at the time.

So, I got past that incident, but there was more awfulness to come! This time closer to "home". There's a man who lives at l'internat with his wife (and some kids?). And he gets PISSED if anyone makes any noise after 9 PM. Luckily I have avoided his tirades, but one of my roommates got screamed at for taking a shower after 10PM on her first night at l'internat. And we heard some high school girls getting screamed at the other night for...something? Sitting in the stairwell (to get better wifi signal)? Anyway, APPARENTLY, this lovely man and his wife HAVEN'T SLEPT A FULL NIGHT SINCE WE (the assistants) MOVED IN. BECAUSE....we flush the toilet between the hours of 9PM and 7AM. GASP!!!!!!! His first step was to post a sign on the door of our bathroom asking that we THINK OF THE CHILDREN!!! Basically it says: PLEASE! PLEASE! PLEASE! LET US SLEEP! LET OUR CHILDREN SLEEP! I. kid. you. not. And since the sign asked that we use the toilet "with discretion" during the aforementioned hours, we made a concerted effort to pee as little as possible during the night. Seriously. I woke up at 4 one morning and had to pee and actually debated for 15 minutes whether or not I should. But even with our discretionary use of the bathroom, we were still basically RUINING HIS LIFE.

So, without first talking to us about it, he went to the PROVISEUR of the high school, THE PRINCIPAL OF THE SCHOOL WHERE I WORK, and complained that we are impossible to live with. So the proviseur sent the three of us letters asking us to please learn to respect others since we all have to live together. Then the ogre wrote me a letter by hand saying that when we flush that toilet after 9PM we wake him up and we wake his wife up and we wake up Tiny Tim and Oliver Twist and every other pitiable literary character ever known to man. So basically the letter from the proviseur asked that we meet with the guy to resolve our problems. So Anne and I found him and said we wanted to talk about the "problem". He actually tried to avoid us!!! But we told him we had somewhere to go that evening and had classes early in the morning and needed to talk right away. So we explained that we have made every effort to be considerate, but that it's impossible to refrain from using the toilet at night. He and his wife said they understood that, but that the water runs right in their room and wakes them up every time, sometimes three or four times a night. And then they proceeded to explain that when we flush the toilet we can push on the flush, but then stop it. In this one aspect of French/European life I was completely ignorant. I have never seen a toilet designed for more economic use of water. I guess I'm just an UGLY AMERICAN. But anyway, couldn't he have just come upstairs and explained that without talking to the proviseur of the high school?? What a whack job. Seriously. But at least that's resolved....for the moment.

But yeah, this week has just seemed SUPER SHITTY. But it's ending on more positive notes. I had two really good lessons today. One involving Paul Simon's "American Tune" and one involving more NCIS, with acting and a discussion about Gibbs' interrogation techniques, the anonymous favorite being "the Creepy Uncle". And last night even though I was still feeling sick and still upset about the whole toilet drama, I went with Anne and Chrissy to a Mulhouse Assistants party. It was hosted by two assistants, one from Scotland, one from Germany. It was really nice to meet everyone, chat about whatever, and just chill. I'm obviously not a social butterfly, but I really enjoy meeting people while I'm here and it's nice to have things to do.

So, I guess it makes sense that after two positive, uneventful weeks I would have one really sucky one. But I hope the universe has gotten all that out of its system and will now let me continue with my life in France without too much hassle...or crying. And I hope to finally have my 3G wireless on Monday, so I won't have to hang out at MacDo anymore (like I am now)...although, really, it's pretty comfortable here. And I don't have to worry about walking/tram-ing home alone at night since Anne and I always go together.

Tomorrow, we're going to take a day trip to Basel, Switzerland. Taking the train. Will probably go to a museum and who knows what else. It's kind of really cool that I can easily spend a Saturday in another country if I feel like it. Plus, the train ticket only costs 5 euro, soooo you can't really beat that. I mean, you could if it was 4 euro...or free...but I'm not complaining...not about this at least.

Also, IT'S COLD. Like legit cold. I don't even want to know how freezing it will be in a month. It will be interesting to spend Christmas break in Florida and then come back to cold weather. Oh, also, I'm totally going to England at the end of November. Did I mention that? It wasn't definite, but now it is. Going with two English professors and 13 students from the high school. And Monia's coming too! So that'll be really neat. Yay for travel!! Anyway, I guess that's all I have to rant and rave about for this evening. I still need to post pictures...which I'll do eventually.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Stephanie (: