October: Cough, Cough, COUGH!

With me having returned to the world of work, and the subsequent events surrounding that, the blog has very much taken a back seat in recent weeks. I'm not getting into back into the habit of writing specific catch up posts anymore - the blog needs to reflect that I've got less time on my hands so it will likely be more "round ups" these days, than indulgent specific posts. You do what you can. 

The biggest thing to have happened over the last month is that I've been as sick as a dog. I mentioned in the last post that I came home from San Sebastian with a barking cough and no voice. Well, I managed to work on the Mon/Tues/Wed of that week and made an appointment to see my GP but before the appointment decided that it was probably wise to rule out Covid. Turns out, I did have Covid, and so did William (Iain seems to be immune!). I was forced off work and I spent days and days at home just coughing and coughing and coughing. It was a rather subdued birthday indeed. 

The covid subsided and I was testing negative but I just couldn't stop coughing so I managed to get an online RDV with a GP and he gave me a load of meds. Vive la France! Then it was straight back to work but my voice hadn't come back and I was feeling really rubbish. The new job and lack of support in the role was also definitely affecting my mental health. I arranged a settling in review with my boss and she was nice enough but didn't provide any proper concrete strategies to support me. The best bit was, however, when I asked if we could possibly meet once a fortnight or so, and he reply was: "Well, I'm very busy already, and I'm trying to improve my own work/life balance." Christ on a bike. 

So the month plodded on, and so did I. The cough just wouldn't subside and I actually took the hit and went to see my own (grumpy) GP. I was pleasantly surprised that he took me seriously, tested me for pneumonia, put me on a steroid inhaler and requested that I come back the following week as he wasn't happy with my chest. I've already seen him and again and he wants me to got back a third time (should actually make an appointment to sort this out for next week). It's safe to say that I've been really sick. Oh, and I've given myself a hernia from all the coughing. What an absolute shambles. 

In the meantime, I've been getting on with being a teacher of English as a foreign language at the University of Pau. With mixed successes if I'm honest. I've definitely found that being in the classroom is my natural habitat but I'm really struggling and second guessing myself over all the content because I'm not trained or experienced in the subject matter. Lessons are taking hours to research and prep, and I'm often angry at how much of my own time is being taken up with planning. I also had to write all my own exams which the students sat just before the autumn holidays. It's been a huge learning curve and although I'm not exactly enjoying it, I do recognise that it's really excellent for my CV. Seven years out of paid employment is huge and I probably didn't realise how much of a transition a return to the classroom was going to be. 

While all this has been going on, I've been trying to keep on top of (some) of the regular house stuff and have managed to get the bathroom toilet replaced, the chimney swept, and the boiler serviced. And tried to sort out all of our insurance. Never ending! 

Iain and William had a very unusual experience in the middle of October down at the slides in Hédas next to Bosquet. Some ned started having a go at Iain, trying to get his mobile phone off him and when Iain squared up to him, the guy pulled a knife! Unbelievable. Iain made a quick exit to find the police and when he found some in Place Clemenceau, he got a bit flustered and told the cops, "There's a guy over there with a spoon." !!!! The cops were great, and found and arrested the ned almost immediately upon which Iain and William had to go to the police station to give a statement. Old sleepy Pau, eh? I'm so glad to hear that William wasn't scared or anxious after it. He was just excited about going to the police station! 

LM :-)