Monday 3rd December, 2012             2330

Nothing to report other than that six of us sat down to goulash  followed by pancakes and French home baked biscuits/bread. It was the first - and certainly the last time I will attempt goulash, at least here. Daisy liked it, Kevin and Ollivier ate plenty of it but I think Joanna and Ollivier’s student were just being polite. I thought it was awful. In fact I knew it was going to be awful! Paprika in my book is red, the stuff here is dun coloured and when I opened the jar it smelt strange.

I am really annoyed because I made enough to feed a dozen, hoping I could freeze some for myself another day but although there was plenty left Ollivier has taken it all - I don‘t want it. I was very disappointed and would have been better off making pottage pie or a chilli. It really annoys me particularly when we are trying to introduce our students to the niceties of western cuisine when I produce something even I don’t like! Ok, so the recipe was straight from BBC Good Food and the paprika is most odd but I must shoulder some blame because I could have called the meal off. Anyone who has ever cooked will have had disasters but normally because of your own failings, mine in this case was deciding on the dish. Oh to be able to have unfettered access to “proper” herbs and spices!

Tuesday 4th        1830

Heavy workload today and this sees me fatigued right now. Dinner will be nothing more complicated than a couple of cheese and bacon rolls, which reminds me that now bacon doesn’t exist in this city any more, I will need to order some online.

My middle class didn’t want to have an activity or play a game, instead they wanted me to teach them English songs. I taught them The Wild Rover and (probably shouldn’t have) Oh Sir Jasper. They seemed to appreciate it though and rewarded me by most of them giving me a rendition of their class song. When you have thirty-odd girls singing it can be rather moving.

My last class of the day didn’t want a game either - they wanted me to tell them all about Christmas. Made a change I suppose.

Wednesday 5th       1245

I had a bizarre start to the day. On waking I went straight to the bathroom to shower and afterwards I dressed and then folded my quilt so as to air the bed. Midway through my cuppa I realised I hadn’t got my phone, which lives under my pillow as an alarm clock at night. As I hadn’t touched it since the alarm went off it had to be still on the bed, right? Well it wasn’t. I unfolded the quilt but it wasn’t in that, shook the pillows and no sign, I even moved the mattress in case it had slipped down between it and the headboard. Nothing. I spent the next half an hour checking and double checking everywhere in here I had been and also everywhere I hadn’t, to no avail. I was beginning to think I was going potty but noticed Kevin was online so sent him a message asking him to call me. I could hear it ringing but it took me ages to find! Finally I located it. Pepsi sleeps under the table on two large pillows and underneath one of them was a slipper I gave her to chew. The phone was tucked right out of sight inside the slipper!

When I entered my first class every student was avidly devouring a small newspaper which turned out to be issue No 27 of “Sunflower”, the foreign language department’s newsletter (although it is the first edition I have ever seen). Quite an amateur production and one which would have benefited from prevailing on Kevin or me to proof-read  before printing. Not only is it liberally peppered with spelling mistakes but the crossword was missing two clues. During the break Ollivier who was teaching in the next room) approached me brandishing a copy and looking as pleased as Punch. In one short article he had spotted two errors “onfidence” and “strergth” but missed the third - “perseverance”. He was though quite chuffed with himself until I rather deflated him by pointing out that he had missed the mistake in the foreign teachers’ names - mine and Kevin’s are fine but he is now apparently Olivia! He left in high dudgeon.

2000

Time for food for everyone and tonight I will get my bacon/cheese rolls - the stall had run out of rolls last night so I ended up with sardines and pasta. This time though the tin of fish was different and thankfully wasn’t spicy.

Although cool, today was pleasant and sunny but of course as soon as the sun disappears it gets really cold now - at least by my standards these days. Anything in single figures lately sees me suffering so I am glad I am not in the UK at present with the snow they are having!