mardi le 9 septembre

Are you out there?
Three things of significance today. 1. I weighed myself. Aaagh! 2. I got drenched in a thunderstorm. 3. I went to a mall!
Back to yesterday. I sat my language placement test along with a large proportion of the population of China, it seemed. Well, a small proportion. It was OK really. There was a photo of some jazz musicians and we had to write about what they were doing, and mqke up stuff qbout how they formed their group, etc. We also had to discuss the statement - Life in the city is better then in the country. I had no trouble waxing lyrical on that. It's easy to say in French, "I love shopping!" I mean, it would have been full of mistakes, but at least i was able to write something.
In the afternoon I went to the school. I was really nervous, and at first the meeting with the principal didn't seem to be going too well - altough it was hard to tell as I couldn't understand him - but then I met the English teachers and they were simply lovely. All female, and all very good English speakers. We chatted for a while, and Im going to have lunch with them on Thursday. We'll then work out a timetable.
And last night Thérèse and Jean had some extended family round for tea which was very pleasant.
This moring I had my oral lqnguage test at the university. It was a beautiful day here so off I went without a coat or umbrella. Not a good idea! As I sat on the bus I could see the sky getting blacker and blacker...... By the time I got to uni it was pelting down, with thunder and lightning added in for good meqsure. It's about a 10 minute walk from the bus stop and I had no choice but to just go for it. So I arrived at my interview absolutely sodden and squelching. I suppose in a way it helped as it was an immediate talking point and I was able to be a bit dramatic. If you can picture that at all. :-) Anyway, that was OK too I guess. And then I went back into the same downpour to get the bus back home.
Oh, an interesting little thing on the bus.... There is a sign that changes and shows the destination, the nqme of the next stop, etc. I was looking at it and I thought, "Gosh, Il est (he is) seems a funny name for a bus stop, compared with Perpinière, Champlain, and other nice French names." And then I looked more closely and saw that is actually said 'Il est 10:20.' Lol!!
Speaking of buses, I notice that there is always someone standing by the driver chatting to him or her. I imagine that practice has been banned in New Zealand since Barbara and I were at Intermediate when we used to stand and chat to a driver called Currant Bun, feeling very proud that we knew him. (I cannot vouch for ther fact that he was the offspring of a Mr and Mrs Bun, but can only say that I knew of no other name!)
Anyway, after drying out, and a long lunch, and a rest, :-), Jean took me to a mall. You may be interested to know that the clothes look much the same as in NZ, although you need to bear in mind that I'm in the provinces! There did seem to be quite a few baggy trousers gathered in at the ankle. Not a good look for Apple Women I'm afraid.
Incidentally, if you don't want to comment on this blog, you can email me at allykroon@hotmail.com If you want. I might be repeating myself here.
And so this episode draws to a close. I will end with some wise words from my lovely form 2 teacher, George Williamson, who said that you are never separated from people as long as they are thinking about you. I thought that was really nice.
Amities,
Alison.