Brolly Dolly - Mardi 07.11.06

Mardi 07.11.06 Brolly Dolly

It’s lashing down this morning so it’s macs and brollies at the ready. The rain prolongs our journey but at least we’re dry. It has eased off by the time we reach Fort-de-France but we’re halfway across the road when Nicola realises that her brolly is on the bus. We go our separate ways; I wait for my connecting bus and Nicola treks off up the hill to Lycée Schoelcher.

Both the CM2 classes have a wild time running up to the board as they play listen and touch with the numbers we’ve just learned. There’s a bit of a collision during Christophe’s class. Two of the bigger boys collide at the blackboard. They bounce back. Nobody is injured but it leaves me with a pain in my side from laughing too much. Even the lads crack up and a cheeky grin creeps across Christophe’s face.

Half the kids have forgotten their images. I don’t intend using them today but I asked out of curiosity just to see who was on the ball. There’s another collision in Dominique’s class; she comes down on her class like a tonne of bricks upon hearing that some pupils do not have their cut-outs. It’s out with the black marker once again as six pupils get giant X’s beside their names. Allons, allons!

My CE2 classes are as good as gold today. We recap on the questions and responses concerning their name and age and then we get into the games. There’s a competitive streak among many of Madame Pamphile’s students. I make them choose English names for their teams. They call themselves the Balloons and the Stars. It’s a close call throughout but when I add a few more numbers it’s the Balloons who soar ahead. Madame Edragas’ class are not as assertive but they have fun nonetheless. A mystery umbrella blows by the doorway distracting the class for a moment. One of the boys is sent out to retrieve it and I begin to think he has blown away with it as he doesn’t return for ages. The last few minutes of each class are spent introducing the Irish dance we’ll be doing: Séanín. I display my colourful dancing cut-outs and play some music before quickly getting the kids to try their hand at some steps and turns.

On the bus I meet Elizabeth the school’s Martiniquan English teacher. She tells me she lost her umbrella and I begin to wonder if it was hers which waltzed past the classroom. It starts pouring again as we get off the bus and we stand under a canopy while Elizabeth rummages around for a scarf. We meet Deborah, another assistante, from Dominica and I tell her all about our voyage to her country. She asks if I’m giving English lessons and offers to pass on some students to me. She lives in Saint-Joseph and says that it’s too much to travel into Fort-de-France to meet them. She invites Elizabeth and I to her house someday – so we can discuss teaching methods…

Deborah pops into her car, Elizabeth turns the corner to trek home and I go looking for congratulation cards for our Graduation; they’re insanely expensive so later that evening I get out my laptop and rustle up a communal card for my classmates. I’m due to meet Nic for lunch but as I’ve a few minutes left I head into Bibliothèque Schoelcher to see what all the fuss is about. It’s a grand building and their travel guide section is quite extensive.

I’ve planned to meet Nicola at MacDo and we end up gorging ourselves on fries and caramel sundaes. We browse about the shops as Nic does some last-minute shopping for her home visit. In Leader Price I stock up on food for the week while Nic buys some rhum to bring home. There’s a lady ahead of us from St. Lucia and on hearing our accents she begins to talk to us about our travels. It seems like everyone wants to practise English today as the cashier also strikes up conversation as she scans our goods.

Nicola has another class to go so once again we go our separate ways. I keep spotting a young guy with the black cap, red t-shirt and baggy jeans (umm…don’t they all look like that!). I saw him earlier when I got the bus with Elizabeth and again outside Leader Price. Perhaps he’s a triplet because as soon as I’ve turned along the cemetery wall I spy him again, propped up against a pole.

There’s lots of post from Crédit Mutuel today. We’ve finally got paid – a whole €850, and I’ve also got my PIN so I can actually take it out too. Nic’s off home tomorrow for the week so I make a farewell dinner of mince, peas and rice. For some reason Nic thinks the rice is potatoes... If she’s making subtle hints about my cooking abilities she has chosen the perfect occasion as I won’t be making meals for two over the next week! M&M ice-cream and a few beers help it go down easy and we’re soon off to bed as full as ticks. The damn mosquitoes make me tick and there’s a mini-massacre as I squish them from within my netted refuge; with blood on my hands and bites on my legs I soon nod off.