strikes... again.

so not only did i walk to school twice today, but i somehow managed to delete my epic blog entry as well. needless to say, after a nap & some chocolate, i'm feeling much better. i'll attempt to recount what was exactly in my deleted blog...

so i'm currently writing this from the school, which i had to sneak into not once, but two times this morning. while i was legitimately warned yesterday about the possibility of not having school, i was really hoping to get through a lesson plan & get back into the swing of things (since i'm bored out of my skull from not having class thus far this week). i shouldn't have given my hopes up though, as upon my arrival (at quarter to eight, mind you), the students were blockading the door, letting no one pass. see, everyone strikes in this country. everyone. i figured i was tricky enough, and i headed around towards the back gate. no one would be there... no one's ever there. blocked. so i wandered around back to the front, my patience waning, and after a few minutes, decided to go hang out with the teachers to see if there was any reason to stay & not go back to bed. i noticed that they were allowing the b.t.s. (upper-level) students to pass through the gate, and as the next hoard of them shuffled inside, i made a break for it, simply hid myself in the crowd, pretended i was a b.t.s. student, & got in. success. take that, french kids!

inside, the teachers were idly standing around, and i said "bonjour" in a sarcastic tone to nicolas (who was present for my rant yesterday concerning the school system and the ability to strike whenever there's urge to do so). he said that he was impressed with the fact that i got into school... like i'm telling him my secret. no, i explained that i probably just look enough like a b.t.s. student & snuck in. fair enough. as class wasn't taking place, i decided to make some photocopies, only to discover that my white folder (a.k.a. my bible, because it contains everything i need to survive at le dantec, including lesson plans & class lists) was missing from my bag. okay, everyone already knows how i'm the one who can't remember where she put her keys five minutes ago. couple that with not being a morning person, and the fact that i woke up at the equivalent 1:00 a.m. michigan-time (jet-lag's a bitch), and it's understandable that i'd have some problems. a teacher told me that i'd have enough time to run back home & class would most likely eventually commence at nine. likely story.

sooo... i decided to go home to get my shit. escaping the "prison" was almost as much a fiasco as getting in in the first place, like i needed a reason to leave. i decided to go for the back gate, as there were fewer students (and less debris, a slab of concrete & a banner of protest) guarding that entryway. at the other gate, the students used whatever salvage they could... a tire, dumpster, and bent fender fashioned into a "lock"... how resourceful! one of the "guards" asked me if i wanted to leave, to which i rolled my eyes. i rhetorically exclaimed, "wouldn't you guys rather just sleep?" not expecting an answer, to which one of them said "yeah." my response: "me too." he grudgingly moved the piece of concrete he had wedged between the gate, acting as if i was causing this horrible inconvenience. a "bonne journee," accompanied by a terribly snotty & sarcastic smirk (hey, it's what i've gotta do to survive around here sometimes), and i was off. i made the trek half an hour back, uphill both ways (true story, folks), plodding away to the rhythm of the music coming from my ipod, and when i got back to the house i was, not surprisingly, not at all in a hurry to get back to things. i grabbed my stuff, had a drink of water, and incessantly checked my e-mail for already the hundredth time since waking up.

fast-forward fifty minutes later. i again, find the gate at the school blocked, only this time, there were no student manning their castle doors. instead, there was a man who i'd seen earlier in the parking lot, attempting to pry the door open. i helped him kick the tire that was wedged between the gate & the wall loose from its spot. we forced the gate open enough for us to slide through, then carefully moved it & the dumpster back in place to serve as the makeshift barrier. i made my way back into the salle des profs, where everyone was congregated in the main room, having a meeting of sorts. they were discussing a letter (i'm presuming one that the students wrote), and the possibility of continued strike tomorrow, as well as an explanation to tell the parents. one of my teachers came over to me, explained what i needed to know in english, and then told me that there wasn't any reason i needed to be there. brilliant. i walked to school twice, for nothing. super!

my frustrations as an educator are simple: if you don't show up to class, you can't learn. or even better, if you don't show up, you fail. see, this doesn't work here in france, land of the striking. i understand the importance of public demonstration and the need to make your voice heard. do it constructively. i refuse to believe that people don't have any power in this type of situation. make the students responsible for their actions, please. i'm still baffled how people can function here. another frustration: how i could've stayed home (or at least done something mildly entertaining instead of waiting around to find out that i don't have class), had i known. not only did i not miss anything by taking a week off before break (there were national student strikes then), but i could've taken a week off after break as well. oh well. here's to probably not having class again tomorrow! maybe i'll just have to start early on weekend festivities!

on a better note... nicolas took jacqueline & myself to pointe de bihit (i think), near trebeurden yesterday, on our roundabout way to the supermarket. we hiked along the cliffs, and it was nice to get some fresh sea air (and get out of the apartment for a bit). he kept telling us not to fall, as we stepped over the "interdit" sign, warning us not to pass because of the dangerous terrain. nice. at one point, you could see the sea to the left & the right, as we stepped out onto the little peninsula. i was sure i saw a group of seals, bobbing their heads in the waves, but my eyes were playing tricks on me, and they turned out to be nothing more than a couple of rocks. the shadows cast by the enormous boulders (or teeny tiny islands if you will), were made even more impressive as the sun was setting. no pictures from this one (who brings their camera to the "supermarche," but i'll be sure to go back & post some when i do.