Plusieurs Contes de Leah ... I mean Léa

No one will get that title. It's just because of something we're doing in French ... "Trois Contes de Flaubert" ... heh ... heh ...

Anyhow, I just have a few comments. Short stories, actually. In general, nothing terribly exciting is happening.

Firstly, I thought I should comment on the public transportation system. It's good. We should have more in Royal Oak. I mean ... we are right by Detroit, aren't we?

But what I really want to say has to do with the buses. Every time buses pass one another the drivers smile (sometimes) and wave at one another. I just think that's so cool! What a nice and simple gesture of camaraderie.

I just love it every time I see it.

Anyhow, I now have a quick word on history.

My history teacher is really intense. And she gets angry a lot. And she yells. A lot. Sometimes I don't even know what it's about, all I know is that her voice rises twenty decibles and two octaves and I'm deaf for ten minutes afterwards. But mostly it's for something little. I don't know, someone doesn't have a pen or something.

Last week a boy in my class, Axel, fell asleep. The teacher was sitting at her desk and giving a lecture and in mid-sentence she stopped and said, "Axel? Axel, are you asleep?"

Axel raised his head and looked at her. I could feel my ears wincing in anticipation.

"Were you asleep, Axel?"

"Uh ... yes."

You know what she did? She laughed.

This is Miss OH-MY-GOD-YOU-FORGOT-YOUR-PEN-IF-I-WOULD'T-GET-FIRED-FOR-DOING-IT-I-WOULD-BEAT-YOU-WITH-MY-HISTORY-BOOK-YOU-STUPID-STUPID-CHILD (admittedly exaggerated) ... and she laughed! What's more, she made a JOKE about it this week; "Okay, we're going to start class now, if Axel is awake."

Cuh-razy.

Also on history (sorry, Dad, this is also in a letter I'm going to send you), we got back the tests we took on Christianity on Monday. Teachers here have no qualms about making people's work (good or poor) public knowledge, and she made many many comments on how she spent infinite amounts of time correcting spelling and grammar mistakes--on more than half the class's tests, more time than she spent correcting content. This is a normal comment--French grammar is very complicated.

So, she was passing back tests, complete with comments ("You could do better," "Good job; best note in the class," and very commonly, "Your grammar is unacceptable," etc etc). Then she got to me. "You've made obvious progress in language, Leah," she said. Then she turned to the class and said pointedly, "And there were some paragraphs with NO FAULTS!!!!"

Hee ...

My last thing is about French class today.

My French teacher (who scares me) had me read a bit aloud today. Oy! It was sooooo frightening. I mean, I've heard people read aloud in my English class ... oy vey.

Anyhow, when I was through, she said, "Do you do this often, Leah? It's a good exercise for you."

I nodded feebly and said I do sometimes ... I have once to someone else and a few times to myself.

Then you know what she said that made my life complete? "You have a charming accent."

Woah.

Leah Elaine Darland. From the midwest of the United States, where we have horrible nasally accents and pinch our vowels and our "a" sounds (as in "France") are absolutely scary ... has been told that she has a charming accent.

I never thought I'd live to see the day, but it has arrived.

My accent ... is charming. Not simply preferred over British accents (which is just confusing) ... but charming...

Life is beautiful and it only gets better.

Until next time,

Leah