Ups and Downs

WHAT I LEARNED TODAY:
My fair skin and blonde hair get me far in this world.

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This week was one big downer, but things are looking up.

1. Everyone thinks I am French. Do I seem French to you? Do I speak Spanish with a French accent? Or English for that matter? I don't know what it is, but this "Eres francés, no?" thing needs to stop. Or I need to chill out and have some fun with it and just answer, "sí"....

2. I have been deathly ill. Ms. Ruiter ended the transportation class 15 minutes early last night because she was going to vomit. She returned home to a French roommate dinner that consisted of a Toulouse specialty called Coulleut (or something like that)...which came from a can and smelled distinctly of cat food. It was kidney beans and sausages. It looked like what my stomach wanted to wretch out of my body. Ultimately, I ate the Coulluet and it was, in fact, exactly what the doctor ordered.

3. I am being pimped out by Alsace Escola d'Idiomes. They give me no materials, they rush me in and out of my classes, they smash children of vastly different levels into one class, yet when the mothers complain, they blame me. Thankfully, I am able to communicate directly with the mommies, but I think my BS will only hold up for another week before their dreams of English-speaking child prodigies fade and the sham that is Alsace Escola d'Idiomes is exposed. Snort.

4. My future roommates and I feel that we have been duped (a little) by a real estate agency. Everything will be fine, and we DO live in luxury, but it all was a bit weird....only at the last minute did they tell us there was an additional charge each month for utilities....so we sat around a table discussing the contract for an hour....until the bastards finally convinced us to sign. All I can say is, I really wanted to bite Kate-the-realtor's nose off when she kissed me goodbye and said, "We really should go for a drink some time, Love. You have my mobile number." I hope you choke on your Versace boots, Kate, while I scrimp and save to pay your agency fee.

5. Maybe it's my blonde hair, but crazy men like to hit on me; okay, maybe it's just because they're CRAZY. A Pakistani man rambled at me for 2 hours while I waited at the police station today. He wouldn't shut up about his hatred of the Spanish (which was ironic as he was speaking in Spanish, at least I thought...) and was actually rebuffed when I said that I would NOT like to "tomar algo" with him after our respective cases were resolved. Then, the police officer (who was hot) asked me if I wanted to take my clothes off because it was so hot in the office...then, he kept telling loud, boastful stories to his buddy in the next room while I waited for him to simply fill in a few slots on a computer screen with my report. NOTE TO ALL: asking me to strip and talking about how much you beat people up will not get you a date with me! On a happy note, I now have a police report to send to the insurance company and may have a new laptop and camera when I return to España in January.

6. Two all-happy things, while I am poorer than dirt and hate Alsace Escola d'Idiomes, I have come to LOVE the business English class. The students make me wet myself. There are 13 women and 2 men and boy do we cackle. Additionally, I got a call from a great school while I was waiting at the police department and I have an interview with them tomorrow. Cross yer fingers, ladies.