Diary of a bibliothécaire, first day

Do I look like a librarian?

Yesterday was a day of firsts for me. First day at my new job, first actual paid work for many years, therefore first time working in France, and this being France, first experience of a two and half hour lunch break.

In some ways my first day as a real librarian was pretty full on as Tuesdays are the only day of the week when I have both a morning and an afternoon at work and add in the fact that as Monday was a public holiday we also had the 7.00am school run, which takes almost an hour, I was rather tired last night. However, it was also quite an easy start as all morning it was just me and my boss C, so there was plenty of time and no distractions to go through the basics, before I was let loose on the public in the afternoon. C is lovely and so friendly and chatty she put me at ease immediately. Having worked at the library for 18 years, she also knows almost everyone who comes in by name and is never short of friendly conversation with the public as she is working. This is something that will probably take me more than the four months I have. I am quite shy, so chatting with strangers, even in English, is a struggle, but at least for the first few weeks, my newness (and my English accent) will give us all something to talk about.

I came home at lunch time, made a nice tuna salad, ate it and then wondered what to do for the next two hours before going back to work. I did think about making dinner, so when I got in just after seven in the evening it would be ready to serve, I also thought about joining Ade on a dog walk, but what I actually did, was sit down and relax. Although as the sky grew dark, the rain came down and the thunder started rumbling, it wasn’t as relaxing as I’d hoped. In order to become more French, I need to work out just what it is they do with their two and half hour lunch breaks, any ideas?

I still have lots to learn and many more questions to be answered, but I survived my first day as a bibliothécaire.