Thurs Aug 28 Heather's School

We finally made it to Heather's new school, College Eugene Dubois, on Thursday afternoon. I had thought she was already registered, but NON, zeese vas note zee case! Un peu de panique, and then it was ok. Ne paniquez pas, right? They were very, very kind, and immediately put EZER (their pronunciation of Heather) into the 6ieme 5, one of 8 groups of 6th graders, and the one where she will have a very nice French teacher whom we have already met, Nathalie STILLKRAUTH. We filled out papers, paid for school lunches for the month, and promised to bring in the immunization records that we forgot to bring with us (left them in California, whoops). Thank you Dr. Hemant for taking such good care of us!

Thursday evening, we were invited to eat dinner with Sophie MACON and her two daughters, Manon (13) and Charlotte (11). Also invited were Rafael and his kids. Sophie lives only 3 minutes walking from us, but she has a view not to be believed: see group photo .

Friday, I was able to meet with one of the 8 other English teachers at my lycee, Madeleine. We met in Villefranche sur Saone, a city near Trevoux (again, I got there without getting lost!) I am now QUITE relaxed about the start of the new school year, and feel well supported by my colleagues! Monday will be the first day for all teachers, Tuesday is for the students in Seconde (10th) only, Wednesday will be just for teachers, and Thursday will be the first day for students in Premiere and Terminale (11th & 12th). Friday MIGHT be a normal day of classes, but the schedule will change before all is said and done so who knows!

Driving home, it occured to me the extreme efficacy of the traffic circle, known here as rond point. In the US, rural areas have tons of 4-way stop signs, or traffic lights which require electricity. The rond point eliminates the need for electricity, and saves gas because drivers just slow down; they only need to stop to yield if someone else is coming! Wow, Christina, that was deep.