Two soccer games in two weeks and more cute students

Definitely shouldn't have been worried about the game last night selling out... Ha! Just like at Gillette Stadium when the Revs play there the Stade de Gerland closed basically all the sections except for three, which is maybe why I was having trouble buying tickets online. Not to worry. They were practically GIVING tickets away--we (me, Patrick, and Greg, a guy from the UK who isn't an assistant but hangs out with our group) bought tickets for 4 euros each from some guy on the street. There were like 25 people in the stadium. Well, not that few, but it was COMPLETELY different from the men's game and this was a champion's league play-off game for the women! No one was standing or singing during the game. There was a lone guy playing some huge drum and trying to get people to chant without much success. They didn't even have the beer and food stands open! Greg and I ended up trekking all the way almost back to where we had to enter the stadium to buy the worst sandwiches I have ever eaten. Ever. Sigh. The Boston Breakers women's soccer team has more of a following than the Lyon women's team... But it was still fun to see them, and they're really good! Or Serbia, who they were playing, is exceedingly bad. After a scoreless first half during which Lyon completely controlled the ball, we (yes, WE) ended up annihilating Serbia 5-0. I made Patrick and Greg promise that they would come back for a men's match because it's just such a different atmosphere. Still glad I went though! But is the fact that I've been to the Stade de Gerland twice in the two weeks I've been in Lyon pathetic or awesome? Or does it simply mean that I'm French? :)

Anyway, since women clearly have to go to bed early to get their beauty sleep, the women's game started early and ended early so even in spite of a post-game walk by the river in the gorgeous blustery fall weather, I made it to bed relatively early. Which was good since I had to get up at 6:45 this morning (basically three hours earlier than I've gotten up since I got here--lucky me!) to be at my school before 8. Had a class with my favorite teacher so far at Collège de Vaise who I'm developing a bit of a crush on in that I want to BE her. She's a fantastic teacher, from what I can see, is super nice, speaks English with almost no accent (and is obviously fluent in French and gods knows what other 8 million languages), and is fashionable without being annoying about it. Plus she's the only teacher who I really seem to connect with on more of a friend level. Yep, my new goal is to be her best friend by the end of the year... Anyway, her class this morning was awesome. They asked me a million questions--some of the same but some new--and kept asking them even after the bell rang! They were just so engaged and excited and respectful, and this was at 8am! Plus, the majority of the kids in the class asked questions instead of just one or two students. So cool.

Then I had two periods off and braved the torrential downpour (although hallelujah! after like 10 years of owning raincoats that promise to be waterproof and are just vaguely water-resistant--NOT the same thing--my new Goretex raincoat from L.L. Bean has proved to be worth the money and actually keeps me dry!) to find the most amazing boulangerie near my school where I got the best pain au chocolat I've had since I got here. I'm pretty sure that will become a Thursday break ritual. Met a German assistant who works at both schools I do who seems really nice--found out from her that my other school does, in fact, provide housing, although she works at the high school there and not the middle school so maybe that's why I never heard about the housing... Anyway, I wouldn't want to live way out in the boonies anyway! Also, cleared up some confusion with my secretary about paperwork and such and got myself set up with an account so I can use the school printer and hopefully the copy machine. Then I had a class at 11 that was night and day from the earlier class. The kids were a serious handful, but luckily the teacher just had me take them one by one to another room to interview me. I only worked with three of them for 15 minutes each and they're in their first or second year of English so it was pretty basic English, but they were very earnest and cute away from the class craziness.

Came home to make soup and cuddle in dry clothes and buy my ticket to Amsterdam for my first school vacation, which is amazingly in two weeks!!! So excited!!!!