I was switched to a different section of French this week, so our schedule is shaken up once again. This bothers Sydney not one iota, but I nearly cried with frustration when the internet repair guy asked when we’d be home tomorrow. I just managed to keep back an “I don’t KNOW!” and be civil. Part of my frustration has to do with the fact that it’s impossible to be efficient with one’s time when a new schedule has to be learned, and we go through this each semester. This semester I have been trying to work on a writing project that keeps getting pushed back because of the running-around we’re doing at the beginning of the semester, so my impatience with delay is mounting. The shaking up is getting a bit old, but I suppose it’s a small price to pay for a good job.
So I was running to French today at its new time, which meant launching myself up several flights of very steep, narrow steps to what I think must be the former attic of one of the oldest buildings on campus. This, immediately following a wearing-out session at the gym, was just too much for my energy levels. Arriving in time but exhausted, I plopped myself in a chair and found myself facing one of my former students. Ah. Lovely. Stripped of all authority, equipped with my still-very-bad French accent, I found myself living Example #798 of how teaching offers great opportunity for embarrassment even when you’re not actually teaching. I guess this is good motivation to put even more time into that French homework each day, so that I can keep embarrassment to a minimum. And I’ll enjoy watching my former freshman developing into a mature sophomore.
Erin
Alan Schmierer