Wow! I can’t believe its June already. Where does the time go? I feel like an ould one just saying that!
Anyhow time may be ticking away but we’ve to think of the here and now. It’s Mother’s Day on Sunday and the kids are all excited. They tell me about the things they’ve seen or bought with that sort of excitement which I thought was only reserved for Christmas. I’m sure they can’t wait to be parents themselves so they can receive all those wonderful presents which are advertised on billboards around the island: leather two-seater couch for €499.99; random-brand washing machine for €299.99; swanky mobile phone for only €79.99 with additional connection fee of €29.99 per month. For the moment however their parents will have to do with the cute cards they make. Madame Edragas’ class are gone on an outing but I leave their share of cards on her desk in case she needs a backup plan.
There are two stagiaires looking in on my class with Christophe’s kids; for once the kids are more animated than them! Madame Bois is off to a poetry competition in town so her kids have spent the morning practising a skit for the end-of-year spectacle. There’s no date set for it as of yet but I may not be around to see it so I let them finish entertaining before I start educating.
Guy Chaston is hopping about the schoolyard this morning. He calls into the library while I’m tidying out my locker. I have accumulated so many bits and bobs that I’ll definitely need the whole month to tackle it! Once I get home I lock into sorting mode again. I’ve boxes of teaching aides and photocopies and Irish knickknacks which I’ll be leaving behind.
Nicola is stuck in town most of the day hanging around for her lessons. J.P keeps her company for a while in the gay café and she’s soon hiking around the hills after her students. The rain just keeps coming this afternoon so I retreat from the terrace to the living room where I once again try to put order on the disorder.
Our mate Stephen is heading back to England for a fortnight on Sunday so we decide to go for a farewell Chinese tonight. We’ve no sooner eaten the assortment of nems, raviolis and samosas than we’re full, but we battle on with our portions of chicken satay and Peking duck. Miraculously I’ve room for profiteroles. They turn out to be the best ones I’ve had here – and the little Irish flag on the summit makes the meal!
We haven’t caught sight of Fabrice lately so he must be mixing things up in Miami at this stage. However there are other distractions in town tonight as plenty of military men are milling around the créole village. According to Nadjene, the palm-leaf fish seller, they’re more dignified and less rowdy than the usual suspects. She manages to get Stephen to buy two fish before asking us girls if we want a discrete word dropped into army ears. Tonight our date is with Stephen so we reluctantly decline; there are plenty more fish in the sea.
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