Update in list form

1. I have been very busy at school and applying to graduate school.
2. Madame Cousty, the principal at School Two, told me I was "bien élévée" which means I was raised well and that my parents would be proud of me. Have I mentioned that this is my favorite school?
3. I went to Oradour-sur-Glane on the high school field trip. It was very very very interesting, and my pictures show some really neat things. Wow what a trip. It was also exhausting as it was five hours straight in a bus.
4. I didn't have any classes on Tuesday because the teachers went on strike.
5. I only had one class on Friday because all of the fourth and fifth graders in the three schools were essentially "running the mile," or in this case, running as far as they can for twelve minutes and if they run far enough, they qualify for another race. I went to cheer on my kids - and realized that I don't know a lot of their names - and they were excited to see me there.
6. I have successfully done "les bises" with two people: Alexia and Katell, a fourth grade teacher at School One whose class I take to do English. "Les bises" are the kiss-kiss thing you do on the cheek to greet people you know well. This is monumental because I have done les bises with two people and it's two months into my stay. A cultural benchmark, if you will.
7. My third grade class at School Three is totally walking all over me. I plan to implement a different tactic toward basically being a bonehead, and hopefully we can actually get some English done. No longer will they make me cry.
8. The high school students went on strike on Thursday to protest the plan to make universities "autonomous," or basically make the French university system exactly like the American system. The university students are also on strike. Um, if it will make your diplomas more meaningful and make you take your education more seriously, then...I say go for it.
9. I am rethinking my February vacation plans.
10. Grad school application deadlines make me nervous.
11. I did a Thanksgiving lesson with all of my Thursday classes and told them it was their fault for making me miss it. Joking, of course. But they enjoyed it. Apparently it's not very well known at all in France.
12. Jean-François from School One gave me some apple pie on Thursday. Wow. He's so sweet. I shared it with Ben and Rocio. Our own mini thanksgiving.
13. Just have a lot on my mind. Miss you all. Look at the pictures - they all have captions now.