TGIF

TGIF!  The week has flown by and I'm not even sure I did anything that exciting to warrant it.  Hmmm.

Monday was a slow day.  Life of leisure, hanging around the house, you know the drill.  My mom sent me an article from the Drudge Report that 47 officers were hurt this past weekend in Belfast during a riot about a parade.  Evidently on Sunday some Irish republicans (Catholics) marched their parade into the Protestant section and then a shit show/riot started, complete with bottles, bricks, and fireworks.  Geez Louise!  We really dodged a bullet (literally) by going two weekends ago and not this one.  This pretty much confirms I won't need to go back.  Noooo thanks.

On Tuesday, I ran some errands and hung around and then went over to the French Alliance to get an "assessment" of my French skills in order to place me in a class.  The Alliance is sort of a cultural center for all...Frenchness in Dublin.  They have a cafe and offer classes and show movies and organize other activities for the Francophiles living here.  One of my friends here talked about taking classes there last year (as she didn't have a job yet) so I figured...why not?  I'll at least go by, see what they have to offer, speak some elementary French to a person to get "assessed", and maybe sign up.  I figured the assessment would be no big deal, and I sat on a bench in line with several other people who were waiting for their assessments.  They all seemed to be speaking French.  Damnit.  There were 3 teachers, and the one that looked the nicest finally called me in - thank God.  Turns out, she WASN'T the nicest.  My stomach started twisting in knots as she spoke rapid fire French to me and everything I thought I knew flew right out of my head.  

Frenchie: AUpoiausdoifjasodpfiu??  (Rapid fire French).
Lauren: I'm sorry...?  Oh, I sit here? (Gesturing to a chair.  She nods.  I trip over myself and fall into the chair.)
Frenchie: SPOiuposifjapoisdjfaposidfu?  (More rapid fire French).
Lauren: Um..oh.  Wait.  What?  I'm sorry, you're asking if I have any French experience..?
Frenchie: Oui.  Tell me a little about your French, if you have any.
(She's speaking in English, so am I supposed to answer in English?  Or French?  I have my "J'ai etudie le francais quand j'etais un etudiant a l'Universite du Texas; il y a cinq ans." rehearsed in my head, but again...BLANK.)
Lauren: Oh.  Um right, I studied French in college, I'm American, I...went to UT, in Texas, and..it's been 5 years since I've done anything with it.  I mean I can read it but I have a hard time speaking it! Haha!  (Nervous laughter like a stupid dumbass.  She nods.)
Frenchie: Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?
Lauren: In French?  (She looks at me like I'm a stupid dumbass.)
Frenchie:  Um.  YES.
Lauren (Sweating profusely, and stuttering profusely)  Um ok, Je m'appelle Lauren, je suis Americaine, je suis ici porque mi esposo...oh wait, that's Spanish!  Hahahah!  Sorry! I also speak Spanish!  Um..je peux parler l'espagnol tambien.  I mean aussi.  I get confused.  HAHAHAH!  (The shrill, nervous laughter, stuttering, and sweating won't stop.  Please God make it stop.)  Je suis ici pourquoi mon...marie..?  Il est ici a...he's here to work.  I'm sorry.  (Just stop talking and then you can get the hell outta here and never show your face in this place again.)
Frenchie (trying to calm me down):  Ok, I'm going to give you this blank paragraph, and I want you to follow these instructions - write about what you like to do, what you did this past weekend, and what you are going to do this coming weekend.  I'll check back with you after I do another assessment.

I botched the paragraph, knew what I was trying to say but couldn't even make myself write it, and had officially decided I could never recover from this horribly embarrassing encounter and I would fling myself down the stairs after this was over and never think of it again.  Frenchie basically assessed that I should start at the "Beginner 2" level because I had a basic understanding of the language but still didn't know a damn thing about French or life in general.  Completely defeated, I walked to the Ginger Man to meet Drew for a pint and I may or may not have cried about my French experience and my confusion over the course my life is supposed to take here in Dublin.  Should I take a French class?  It's 350 euro!  That's a lot of money to keep me busy.  If I take one, when should I take it?  I'd like to take it during the day, but what if I get a job?  What if I NEVER get a job?  Should I take it at night?  Is taking French stupid?  I'll never use it in the States...which is also something I should have figured out when I decided to MINOR IN IT like a stupid dumb dummy.  I still don't know the answers to any of these questions so I'll let you know if and when I figure it out.

Tuesday was a low point.

But never fear!  Wednesday was fun; I met my friend Lauren at the Queen of Tarts (my fave place, have I said that before?) for a delicious lunch and chocolate cake and then walked to Dublin Castle with her to hang out.  I made some yummy sausage rolls for dinner I'll post about later.

Thursday was low key - I slept in, had a 3 mile run (yay!), read in the park, and met Tracy at The Cellar for the Professional Women's Network get together.  The PWN is a younger group of girls, some work, some don't, still associated with the American Women's Club, but who meet one Thursday night a month for drinks and a speaker.  We had a guy from the US Embassy come speak to us about consular services, so that was cool, and Tracy and I made new, cool, young friends!  None of them had kids, some worked, some didn't, and it was just...really fun.  We went out with them for drinks afterwards and we were both pumped to have met some nice cool sarcastic funny girls who like wine too.  Sweet relief!

Today...I'm doing stuff around the house, applying for a few more jobs, gonna go on a walk as we've had the best weather on record in Dublin for 5 DAYS STRAIGHT, and pack for Westport tomorrow!

I'm gonna go eat some lunch and be productive.  More posts about sausage rolls and Westport to come.  Happy Friday!