Mundane Fundane

Hump day is over! I am so tired even though work hasn't been tiring! I can't even express how strange and wonderful it is to eat a leisurely breakfast and get other stuff done at 8am and then not have to leave until 8:45. And there is SUNlight spilling through the windows while all of this is going on! Usually I'd leave at 6:45 or 7:00 in the pitch black to start the day in Sweden. (Ok, in the summer it wasn't black but still just as early).

We work from 9:00-17:00 and we can take lunch between 12-14. You can take the whole time if you want but most people do 12:30 or 13-14. This still doesn't really make sense to me since in my mind the less hours of work = the better. But yeah obviously you gotta get something done... So sometimes we will have to stay late so it should be close to full-time anyway,  plus a lot of lunch. I won't go into details about where I work or with whom because I really don't want to publicly publish anything specific like that. It's not like anybody here will know this URL anyway, nor be interested in it. This will be really boring. Don't read it unless you want to know about my tasks at work and other daily habits. And the best part is that there are NO PHOTOS.

I haven't had much training yet but learned as I go. My main tasks are like so: the boss forwards me random e-mails that she received but can't bother to read (because they are in English). Then at a good moment I say, "So, this e-mail you sent, what do I need to do about it?" Then she makes me explain which e-mail it was and what it's about, including me slowly reading it to her out loud. Then she explains the situation to me and tells me what to do. Usually she wants me to respond to the e-mail, usually in English. Then she tells me exactly what to write (in French). Then I try not to forget all the details and write the e-mail. Not all that efficient is it? Sounds sort of like The Office? I'm happy with it! Because the boss has left early every day this week so I have had almost no work to do in the afternoons!

Another task I have is translations! I love this bit. I've been putting a few promotional texts into English which is really fun since I get to make stuff sound good in my language of expertise without having to actually write or invent the content. I have put one activity info sheet into awkward French (I needed to get that shit edited afterward). But they need the help so I will probably do this more and hopefully improve.

Next week I'll help another girl work on a book about a big project that is ending. Today at work I was delighted when my boss told me I was going with her and a couple other people to a town an hour north of here to promote a project that we will be working on! I'm excited about seeing a little of the surrounding scenery here. The event is from 10-12, then lunch, then again from 14-16. So typical!

Well that's all so far with work. I really like it because it's laid back and the people are all so nice and interesting and I learn so much! Other than that I have walked around enough to see some stores and thus crave a huge shopping day, and haven't done much else. Every yoga place is free for the first time, so I went with a roommate and a neighbor, who are basically trying out every yoga class in the city. Tonight they went and I think it was the yoga I really enjoy but I was too sleepy to go, typical excuse.

Another new thing is my green tea test. Yeah green tea is great for your health in many different ways, everybody knows that and I won't get into it. I read that to reap the most benefit from it you should drink at least 2 cups a day, and that more than 5 cups doesn't help any extra. The exact science of Statistics has proven that so it must be ever-so true. So every day I have been drinking 2 cups of natural green tea. I have done this religiously for over a week now. I don't know if these changes are supposed to be physically noticeable but I still believe in the benefits no matter what. I do feel great, because it has just enough caffeine for a natural-feeling energy kick but not the bad feelings I get from my beloved coffee. Feeling great might have to do with recently moving to a place that not only speaks French but also has 60º and blue skies in November.

The last piece of news is that I am getting an American visitor this weekend! Haven't had an American one since Danielle came in June! It is dear cousin Perry's friend and my former French tutee who currently studies in Clermont-Ferrand! She barely needed my help at all though so I don't take credit for her language talent. I would, however give a lot of credit to the best French teacher in history that we both had, the late Mr. Peterka who taught me more French than anybody else has! He was the best teacher and everybody knew it!

A bientôt!