When I worked at a preschool the summer after my freshman year in college, there was this kid who, although he was already five years old, didn't have the best grasp of the English language. He used to say things like, "I go ride bikes now." - now, that sounds like a statement, yes? Wrong. It would be a question, so when you answered, "Yes," as in, "Yes, soon you will," it was really a "Yes, you can," or at least that's how he took it because it was a question to him.
The above story demonstrates perfectly how I feel every time some little kid talks to me in French. There's a terrifying moment where you say oui and hope it wasn't somehow a question that you weren't supposed to agree to. Of course, these kids mumble and half the time they're just telling you things for the hell of it, so the logical answer is oui and it always seems to appease them. But I just know that someday I'm not going to hear the entire sentence, say yes, and the kid will run off and do something they shouldn't. Maybe I should try to pay more attention or tell them to parler plus fort.
I also for the life of me can't figure out the deal with some of the teachers at my school. Some of them are subs, I get that, but some of them are there every day for the same teachers. I didn't even meet one teacher for three weeks before I started teaching with her, and she's been gone the past two weeks again. And one teacher never comes on Thursdays? I just don't understand what they're doing. Oh, sure I could ask, but imagine trying to formulate that question... "Pourquoi Mme ____ ne vient jamais à l'école? Elle travaille deux jours par semaine? Je ne comprends pas. Pourquoi son nom est à la porte quand elle n'est jamais là?" Yeah, that would not be awkward or intrusive at all.
Whatever. Some things are best left unknown.
Tomorrow I'm headed off to Bruges for the Ice Sculpture festival. Yay Belgium again! Maybe I'll get another gouffre (waffle ;]). I've been dreaming about them since Brussels the first time.
No comments:
Post a Comment