Monday, May 19, 2008

Departure date?

The directeur of one of my schools is retiring this year, and today he gave me an invitation to his retirement party. Problem being that it's July 1, and I've kind of been hoping to start my travels then if I still have to work on the 30th, or preferably the 30th. Now I feel like I can't leave then because I would be missing his party. But here's the thing, I don't even know how I'd make it to the party in the first place. I could get a bus there, but then I would have to beg a ride from someone to get home. And I would be hanging around awkwardly by myself, or hanging on awkwardly to a group of teachers without talking to anyone. Yeah, I know it's good for social experiences but you know what, it's the very end of the year. Any progress I might possibly make with my coworkers will not matter. So basically I'm not going, but I feel like I can't ask to leave now because it would be rude. I guess I could lie and say that my contract is done on the 27th, which is a terrible option, or just say that I've already booked my ticket home, which is another lie because I haven't booked a ticket home and I'll be travelling after the contract is up, not going directly home. Why couldn't he have just been rude and not invite me?

Speaking of social relations at this particular school, all of a sudden I've reached bise-ing level with the CM2 maitresse. She hasn't been cold to me, just not overly friendly, then all of a sudden last week she started bise-ing me and gossiping with me about the kids and commiserating about their horrible behavior. Kind of odd, but I'm glad she's finally accepted me. I wonder if the difference is that I screamed at the class for acting like animals that day? Puzzling.

As I said I don't have a ticket home yet. I'm trying to decide what I'm going to do for travel plans. I would really like to be home for my birthday on July 15th (24 this year!), and I really doubt that I will have the money to travel for any longer than two weeks. But there are so many places I want to go still! I guess the best thing to do is plan out something for two weeks, price it out, and then pick a departure date. I can't believe it's time to think about this already.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh my god I'm in the exact same situation as you! One of my teachers is retiring and is having a 'fete' at the school on July 1 and somehow they've all decided all the school is going to learn 'Yellow Submarine' after I did it with CM2 so I'm kind of obligated to be there now and I was planning to start my sabbatical in Paris from the 1st. Dang.

au soleil levant said...

Annoying! Don't they realize that the assistants just want to get the heck out of there once our contracts are up? I hope they don't want you to teach the kids more than the first verse and chorus of Yellow Submarine!

Monique Geisler said...

Just tell them you aren't sure when you're going to be back here again and you really want to see other parts of Europe/the world before your birthday :)

...or lie. I'm always a big fan of lying. But, I guess that's sort of wrong, or something.

Also, please, take the counter! I stole it from someone else and it's really exciting to see what kinda international stalkers read about me every day :)

Anonymous said...

Since I'm quitting I'm just going to tell them I won't be in Metz for the party. I feel bad about it but it's going to be too awkward after I tell them I'm going so I don't think I'd want to be there anyway. I'd like to thank the teachers who have been kind to me though, any ideas how to do that?