Shadowfiend23 @ Wrocław

Tuesday (Oct. 1) was my first day of training, and it was not bad at all. Deanna and I woke up at about 8:00, hopped on a bus, got on the tram, and arrived in Montferrand at 10:10 – just in time to meet Remy and get the letter the bank had sent him asking for certification that I was staying with him (even though I am not and was not – we don’t go back there until the 6th). After getting the letter, Deanna and I hightailed it back to Place de Jaude and I promptly handed the receptionist the letter. She told me that I needed to come back on Friday to complete the opening of my account. (As a side note, I find the red tape at the bank – and elsewhere – a bit ridiculous. I will have been to the bank five times now as of Friday and the account is still not technically open)

After the bank trip, Deanna and I returned to David and Julien’s to sleep a bit more. After sleeping until 12:00 (the training started at 2:00), I took a bus down to the Inspection Academique and scrambled inside at 1:50. The meeting was very informal, and it mostly consisted of us being given a plethora of documents to complete. (We needed to sign up for social security and give our French bank account info so that we can get paid) There were supposed to be 10 of us at the meeting, but one girl had withdrawn from the program and another has apparently similarly defected (she hasn’t shown up, hasn’t contacted anyone, and isn’t answering any emails). Also, as a side note, I am the only guy in the mini group (which consists of those English assistants in the Puy-De-Dome department who are teaching in Clermont-Ferrand at the primary level). After working on the documents and discussing general topics regarding the TAPIF program, we were dismissed for the day. I headed back to David and Julien’s to find Deanna awaiting me eagerly.

The rest of the night was pretty quiet until the time came to have our “pre-dinner” drinks. David and Julien poured me a glass of a champagne (it wasn’t from champagne, but the liquid was of the same type), and I quickly downed it. It was good champagne, but I was mainly drinking it out of politesse. But then they poured another glass for me. So I drank that one too. Then, at dinner, I had two glasses of red wine for similar reasons. Then, David was telling me about the “eau de vie” that he had in the cabinet. Apparently, “eau de vie” is like Everclear, so it’s something like 90% alcohol. He was excited to show me it, and I (somewhat) reluctantly decided to have a small amount with some sugar. Then, I had some “clementine” liqueur, which was pretty good. Needless to say, by this point, I was feeling pretty buzzed from the alcohol. David, Julien, Deanna, and I had all been drinking, and even though I had had the most by far, it was pretty fun to have a laid back evening with everyone. We told jokes, recounted stories, and watched a bit of TV. Then, after doing a minimum of sleeping preparations, I fell relatively quickly to sleep.