That one time the metro doors closed on me.

hey y'all,

Yep. You read that right. This morning the metro doors closed on me while I was trying to get on the train. I was running late and didn't want to wait for the next train, so even though I heard the dinging sound of the doors closing (while I was about 10 ft away...), I took off and jetted to the door. I took a big step onto the metro and thought I was in the clear. That feeling of relief went away very quickly as I felt the doors close around my shoulders. Oops. I made an awkward "OOOF" sound and squeezed my way into the train. All the while, the people around me were just sort of staring at me. No worries though. I made it onto the train and made it to work on time -- albeit with a large dose of embarrassment. Oh well. C'est la vie.

I did observations at both of my schools today from about 8:30-4:30. It was a long day, but it was pretty entertaining. In one of the classes, I stood at the front of the class and the students were allowed to ask me any questions they wanted. Here were the top questions:

1. How is America? -- But really, what kind of question is that? My response: Uhhh. Big?
2. Is it hot in America? -- That depends on the region.
3. Does it snow a lot in America? -- ...That depends on the region.
4. So does it rain a lot in America? -- ...Oddly enough, that depends on the region as well.
Sidenote: I think it's really hard for them to grasp how big the US and how much it varies from region to region.
5. How long did it take you to get here? -- When I said about 7 hours on a plane, the whole class gasped. Pretty comical.
6. Is there a time difference? -- They asked me this question around 3pm, so I told them that it was currently 9am in America. Again, more gasps. Followed by this question:
7. Is it the same year in America as in France? -- Yes...
8. (My personal favorite) - So do you go home to the United States every single night? -- If only.

Oh what a day. Kids are too funny. And they sure do love to stare. It's like I'm some rare species that they've never encountered before. I enjoy the attention, but at times it's really awkward. Such as when I'm sitting in the back of the class and 5 of the 20 students are turned around just staring at me. Haven't figured out a good reaction to that yet. I'm brainstorming though.

Tomorrow I have a few things I need to accomplish. Fortunately I'm off on Fridays so I've got plenty of time.

1. Run.
2. Go to the lavomatique (laundromat). This will for sure be an adventure. Fingers crossed that I don't read something wrong and shrink all my clothing. But seriously, it's a legitimate concern.
3. Wait around for a package from my parents that will include but may not be limited to a warm jacket, rain boots, KASHI, and PEANUT BUTTER. Oh, America.
4. Buy more minutes for my French phone.
5. Fill out some more paperwork. Honestly, I feel like the paperwork never ends.

Also. I never gave a proper shoutout to the WASHINGTON NATIONALS for being the NL East Champs! Oh heyyyy. Sorry, Bravos. #NATITUDE

Hope all is well at home.


Luv,
Sarah