C'est Nice

now I don't have anything left to write about.... just kidding. It is hard to think, though, when those deffies get started. for those of you that don't know, Fnac is a store that resembles a Barnes & Noble, but with a darker decor, and interbred with a Best Buy... but no washing machines. Anyway... it's kind of crazy. They're (as in, the French) are having their semi-annual "soldes" this week, so things are a bit hectic round here. The main street, Jean Medecin, which is normally barely tolerable, is now a veritable parking lot.

And I'm sure as hell not getting anything during these crazy sales. Why? Because I've thrown a bunch of dough down for my february break. Unsure as to whether or not I'd be travelling at the end of my assistantship, I thought better get in a good trip during my TWO WEEKS OFF in Feb. So, I'm going to Italia to visit gram and Jerry for the first week, and then to -- wait for it -- Morocco! That's right, folks, your very own Charlie is going to Africa! Whoaaoaoaoaoaoaoaoaa! I'm pretty stoked about everything except the "low-fare" airline tickets I bought. It cost half of what I paid to get home for the christmas break, which I think is something like a bargain. Granted, there is NO WAY i'd be able to pay for this thing if I weren't living rent-free... It's been a little awkward when talking to my non-Lycée assistant friends about the trip, trying to toe the line between sharing my excitement and bragging.

The best news of all, however, is that I've managed to convince Annapaola and Charlotte to come with me. Okay, convince may be a stretch, it's more like I told them my plans, and then they said, "hey, that sounds good!" and signed on. Then there was the requisite alignment of plans, which is never exactly pleasant, and usually more tedious than I like. But I think it's all going to work out. I had been prepared to do the trip on my own, having grandiose visions of the rogue, lonesome traveller in a strange land, sitting all day in some salon de thé, writing in the notebook I bought from a man who makes his own paper for a quarter of a Draim, or whatever it is they use there (i guess I might want to check that out beforehand... ah well). My solo trip also included an equally grandiose notion of going back to Nice via Gibraltar and southern spain, taking the Ferry over from Tangiers, but that got a little complex. Plus, it takes something like two days on a bus, apparently longer on a train, and I think I know myself well enough to anticipate the intense unhappiness that would set in about two hours into the trip. Ah well.

This week, I've been doing a lesson on Martin Luther King for my classes. I like the lesson, because it's both topical and timely and it makes them listen to someone else speak English besides me. I'd forgotten how good the "I have a dream speech" is, and I'd never really read it in a literary context. I got an mp3 of the speech off the 'net, and there's something kind of thrilling about listening to MLK himself give such an awesome speech, recorded from the Lincoln Memorial, and everything. For some reason, it makes me want to visit DC... I've never been to the Lincoln memorial, and as tacky as it sounds, I like the idea of going somewhere where historical things happened.

Other than that, things are slowly re-entering the groove. I've basically given up on trying to defeat jet-lag... my sleeping hours on the weekend, when I'm going out, are more or less EST hours, so I just sort of suffer during the week. I'll tell you one thing: this espresso shit has about as much caffeine as my breakfast cereal (right now, generic brand Smacks, although there's a box of Frosted Flakes, "Frosties" as they're called here, on deck).

All right, well, they've started singing again, so I think that might be my cue to head for the door. I hope everyone is well, wherever you are. Love to all.