Trying is tiring

Hello everybody. Sorry I haven't written a Blog in so long, it's been a Busy Time. Or should I say, a "Busy Time". (By this I mean I'm accepting the fact that I've just added myself to the long list of people you know who use 'busy' as an excuse)


I've got a new flatmate... ...who's name is Floriane. She is French (from La Vendée), and I presume happy to be down south keeping her feet dry. The best thing about having a flatmate is the rent cuts itself in half. Amazing. This is a really obvious thing to say I know, but still, cracking. 'Spose it makes up for the fact that I'm fearful our heating bill (which is debited from my account) will be through the roof, given that Flo likes to leave the heating on ALL THE TIME. Heating which I don't use. "We'll both pay half?" Don't think so love.


Work is unrelenting...

...except for thursday, which I have off. The other days though, blimey. I'd like to make it clear at this point that in no way am I complaining about my job - I know it's amazing for what it is, and stuff, (see my first and only V-log), it's just that it gets annoying when people mess me around with regards to lessons and timetabling. I've gone in (as normal) three times this week, only to find upon arrival that I'm not needed. It's a bit of a bummer as well because it takes me around an hour to get there (my schools are in the suburbs on the edge of the city). Maybe I should get an iPhone, it would probably be able to give me constant updates on the situation at school. (although, we all know what people think of people with iPhones...)

Anyway, just so you know how hard it is, here's an accurate* transcript of a conversation I had with the Principale Adjointe (deputy) in school last friday:

M: Hullo, I was just wondering about this next hour now, do I have a class? It's just that I haven't seen the teacher at all and was wondering whether I should take all of them instead of just my usual group?

PA: Hmmm? M: It was about my class now. Laetitia's not here I don't think, so should I just carry on as normal?

PA: Well you'd carry on as normal, but Laetitia's not here. So, I'm not sure what her class are doing. Do you usually take all of them then?

M: No, just half.

PA: Yeah, well she's on strike.

M: Right. (Cheers for letting me know in advance though).

PA: Yup so you probably shouldn't have come in. Are you on strike too?

M: No, no-one told me about the strike. (Again)

PA: Oh. Well don't worry about it then. You can just go home.

M: Ok, thanks for telling me (2 hours too late), see you next week! (Tumbleweed...)

*Dramatisation. May not have happened.
Bloody strikes!
HONESTLY though, this whole striking thing is getting out of control. Everyone's on strike all the time. I expect most of us are in favour of the workers having a voice, but when they take the day off to use their voices calling each other in the bath, you start to think that maybe not everyone goes on strike because they feel passionately about the reforms they want. Whenever strikes have been on (just in my three schools I've had at least 10 since I started in October), I ask people what their for. The answers come in 3 categories:
1. Most people don't know (but still take the day off)
2. Most of the remaining will say something like 'it's to get better rights and recognition' (what does that even mean?!)
3. A really really small percentage will know what it's for, or be activley involved in it.

So it seems to me that the vast majority just take advantage and bunk off work, leaving the Assistants (who have no right to strike, don't you know) as the ones who 'pay', not the Ministry of Education. One successful revolution and the government's too scared to fight back...

Coming from where I do, it would probably be out of character to suggest what I am about to. But, well, in not so many words, it could be time for France to turn to someone like this...