Beaucoup de soucis en bureaucratie

If I neglected to touch on the following subject in my entries from my last stay in France, I would like to take a moment to touch on the two elements of life in France that demand the most patience and acceptance. These issues are those of the impossibility of the Internet and that of the bureaucratic system of government. It is, for all intents and purposes, impossible to get anything done in regards to any paperwork or getting any answers about time sensitive issues, especially when it is virtually impossible to find a reliable Internet connection. Last week, all the language assistants for the Academie de Nice assembled at the Rectorat for a day of filling out paperwork and having questions answered. Unfortunately, the outcome of this reunion fell short of many of our expectations, and many assistants were left with the sensation that they still had absolutely no idea what was to transpire in the coming months, let alone weeks. It did not help that the entire seminar for the high school level assistants (who, keep in mind, do not necessarily have all that much experience in French because they are to teach their own native languages) was performed entirely in French. Certain paperwork was heavily emphasized, but very little to no information was given about how, where, or when we were to receive said documents nor to whom we were to send or give them. I, personally sent emails to the coordinator posing my own questions, but, of course cannot check my receipt of any messages via email because I have no viable access to my email account nor to the internet. The Lycee has blocked gmail (and practically all other email servers), facebook, and blogspot, among many other sources of communication to ensure that students to do use them during class time or to pirate information, and so, my only free form of Internet is futile. My subscription at the town mediateque includes 2 hours per week of Internet usage, which, of course, can only be dispensed using their computers. This is a practical application for updating pre-typed blog entries and checking emails, but is otherwise impractical being as it takes me three times as long to send an email, as well as having the inability to post photos, communicate using facebook, and the mediateque remains closed Sunday and Monday all day, and is only open two hours on Tuesday. It is absolutely absurd according to this urban inhabitant.

To make matters worse, there is a new Proviseur at the school due to a very recent shift in administration, and the timetable of classes remains unsettled. It has been changed five times since the beginning of the school year, nearly 1 month ago, and the professors are rallying to do it themselves. This also means that the timetable for the assistants (myself and Lucy) remains a complete mystery—more a problem for her than for myself, as her time is split between two different schools. In the words of my fellow comrades at the school…<> (Translation: It is truly a nightmare.)