Ceci n'est pas juste un fromage.

Well today I inadvertently agreed to accompanying one of my CP (Year 2) teachers on an overnight trip up the Mèdoc -  its a place where they grow wine, not a euphemism - with her boyfriend without realising until afterwards that that is what I'd agreed to. This time it worked out pretty well since I really want to go exploring around there and who better to do it with than some vrai français but I really do need to stop just agreeing emphatically when people tell me things I don't understand. 

I also finally confessed to being in possession of my primary school photographs, complete with uniform and fringe. I haven't actually brought them in yet, but I don't think I can back out now. 

Funniest conversation of the day came from another 'Very Hungry Catepillar' session with a CE2 (Year 4). When we got to Saturday - I'm sure you remember, the caterpillar goes mental and starts eating cakes - I pointed to the slice of cheese and asked them what it was. Shrugs and mutters. 'Ok', I said, 'its cheese'. Everyone repeated back 'shees'. 'What does that mean in French, children?' More shrugs and mutters. 'Seriously?' I asked. 'Nobody can tell me what the French word for this is?' I wondered whether my French was wrong. Finally a brave girl stuck up her hand. '*Urrrr... est-ce qu'il le comté?' she suggested. 'Non!!' a boy immediately shot her down. 'Regardes les trous! C'est pas comté!!' 'Mais la couleur!' '...Gruyère?' someone added to the table. Oh lord, I thought. What have I started? 'Fromage! I wanted fromage! You're 8!'. 'Ohhh le fromage!.. Juste le fromage?' In the end we decided it was probably an Emmental with a strangely coloured rind. Note to self - when drawing cheese for French children you cannot just get away with a yellow slab.  

Speaking of cheese, my second favourite conversation was one which I know another primary school assistant has already had - a CE1 (Year 3) class asked me to sit and tell them about primary school in England. I explained that at their age I used to start at 9 and finish at 3.15. Cries of '*Non!' C'est pas juste!!' 'Vite! Il faut grèver!' (Ok so I made that last one up but we all know they were thinking it) were abound until I explained that they probably did the same amount of work hours, its just that the English children don't insist on taking 2 hours out of the day to eat their sandwiches. We all agreed that really you could get a lot more done with the day if you just got rid of all the cheese courses.

Oh, les français. 

P.S. Thank you all so much for actually reading this.. I can't get over how many people do and it means a lot to me!! 

P.P.S *Is is compté? 'No! Look at the holes! That's not a compté!' But what about the colour!!'

** No! Its not fair!! Quick! We must strike!