Titles are hard

It is Saturday morning and I am savoring the ability to sleep in and do almost nothing, more than I have in months. I'm glad that I had the entire month of September to essentially fuck around, because shit is about kick into high gear.
Tuesday was heinous. The RATP website (the transit authority for Paris) was down on Monday night and so I couldn't make an itinerary for getting to orientation. I decided it couldn't take more than half an hour on the RER and planned accordingly. Man I was wrong. I spent an hour on the RER, then another half hour on the bus. The main office for the Academy of Versailles, department of Yvelines, is in the middle of NO WHERE. In a giant shopping mall. So ridiculous. So basically I was an hour late. The orientation itself was basically pointless. I mean I signed legal papers and got paperwork for direct depositing my paychecks, but the teaching tips were bullshit. Afterward I was so tired and frustrated that I bought myself a giant chocolate macaron and braved the commute home.
On Wednesday I had to go to the post office to pick up my missed package from Darty (toaster oven and hot pot). Of course the two relatively small items were packed into a giant box with a bunch of padding. There was a big blue string-like thing tied around it, so I used that to carry it home. I must have looked so dumb. Then I mounted the giant box on the banister in my stairwell and pushed it up three flights. It was totally bonkers. I am still sore from the ordeal. That afternoon I officially turned in everything for my carte de séjour, so now I have to wait for approval so I can go get a medical check up. Keisha already had hers and apparently they tried to ask for her vaccination records. The French are all about outlining the rules and then throwing in some extra stuff when you're all ready to go. Luckily most of this extraneous crap is just a power trip and not really essential. Anyway, Keisha also had some sort of torso x-ray done. I understand that they want us to be healthy so they won't have to take care of us in case some pre-existing condition makes us sick, but honestly what was going to be on that x-ray? A baby? I don't think cancer shows up on your average x-ray. Whatever.
Thursday was my first day of teaching. I was up at 6 am and on the 7:18 train leaving from St. Lazare. So bogus. The schools are fine, so are the kids, but I'm frustrated with the administrators. There are just no teaching guidelines, no materials, no way to find out what their English teachers are teaching so I can supplement it. So I will wing it. Luckily I'm not responsible for testing or grading, just for getting them to speak. So that is what I will do. After teaching my first CE2 class (8 year olds), I was so frustrated I just wanted to leave. I don't understand why they want me to teach a conversation class to kids who have maybe a month's worth of English in their brains. They're not conversational, duh.
Anyway, I managed to overcome the hopelessness by the end of the day. The kids are great for the most part. They're very chatty but I think it bothers their teachers more than it bothers me. Their teachers want them to shut up all the time and honestly, I only need silence when I'm talking or I'm calling on someone. I remember quite vividly what it's like to be a kid, and even more vividly what is was like to learn a foreign language for the first time (although I honestly can't remember about much English Mme. Butler used -- the two languages have melted together in my mind).
Anyway, I survived that day and dragged my tired ass home. Friday was another Nanterre-marathon day. I got two of the classes I wanted, but one is too full so it looks like I'll be in two MICEFA classes (History of Paris and History of Franco-American Relations). Oh well. Keisha, Lucia, and I also stopped by the sports complex to get the schedule of classes and such. Next week I'll get my SUAPS card (they LOVE their acronyms here) and then I'll try to fit stuff in around my class schedule. I also need to stop by Paris 7 to check out their schedule and sign up procedure. Their website says I need a medical exam, but Paris X doesn't, so who knows. I'll have two classes starting this week with MICEFA, but my Nanterre classes won't start until the week after.
I stayed up way too late last night and now I'm afraid I've screwed myself for waking up at 6 am on Monday. Ugh, it is so painful. Today I'm going to take it easy, do laundry, maybe go out tonight? And tomorrow will be lesson-planning day. Gah. Luckily class periods are only about 35 minutes, so I don't have to fill up the time with much.