News with 'bite'

The weather is, once again, not encouraging for getting outside so today we looked at photos of Akaroa, Kaikoura and Christchurch, plus a vacation Pascal and Axel had near Aix en Provence some time ago.

Yesterday I practised my Intermediate lesson with Pascal and my beginners lesson with Axel. I still have some process issues to fix with the beginner process but hopefully it will be easier at Plelauff because the students are used to the process. However, Axel got the hang of it once he saw things written down. The process I have to use is probably very different to what happens in his school. The Tefl process concentrates more on the spoken language.

I enjoyed trying out my ideas and it was the first time I have given individual lessons rather than in a group situation. In the evening we drove to Pascal's friend's house in another area. His name too is Pascal and I met him two weeks ago at a BBQ. A very nice man. We watched TV and ate ordered-in Pizza, pepperoni for me. I like the french pizzas because the emphasis is on the toppings, not the crust. The pizzas were washed down with a bottle of rose and water.

When I write my blog at Pascal's place it's usually in his laboratory, because that's where the internet router is. I decided to learn a little bit about how dental crowns are actually made because, for most people, it's a mystery - one minute you have a bad tooth and the next it is replaced with a gorgeous 'fake' one.

Well, Pascal is a dental technician of many years experience. It seems to require a great deal of equipment, time and mess. It also requires a lot of precision, of course. Moulds are made, plaster is poured, crowns are sculptured and painted with ceramic materials. It's extremely time-consuming so I suppose that's why such dental work costs a fortune.

Today I must catch the train and the bus to return to Plelauff but I'm hoping to spend a wee bit more time here again next weekend. We don't know if Pascal will have much time available for sightseeing but, fingers crossed, we might see another area of Brittany. Alas, we may not have time for Mont St Michel. I might have to find a way to come back to France in order to see that marvel (more visited than the Eiffel Tower).