Officially a “prof” in France

…which sounds so much fancier than the English “teacher”

I have been observing classes, but this week was my very first to lesson plan and interact with the kids on my own. It’s been a big learning week for me… here are some questions that came up…

What do you do when your entire class of kids doesn’t show up?

Day 1 of teaching, Class #3 just doesn’t show up. Not even one student who was too scared to get in trouble for skipping. I didn’t know what to do so I waited for about 10 minutes, memorized my schedule because I looked at it so much, then went down to the teachers lounge hoping to run into one of the English teachers. No such luck. I stood awkwardly on the outskirts of a conversation between two profs I had never met until one of them asked me if I needed something. Yes. I need my students.

I was sent to speak with “la vie scolaire” (counselors/attendance office) and they said that sometimes the kids need to be reminded that my classes are not an option for them, they are compulsory. Well. Ok.  Stupid kids. I waited around for you. And now I’ve missed the bus and have to wait another hour. Needless to say- they do not get the option of voting on the topic they would like to study. And I will tell them that. And pick something that I want to do instead.

What do you do when you unlock your classroom door to find another teacher already using it?

You tell your students to hang tight and then run and bother “la vie scolaire” again. They send you to another room that is also being used. Run back to office. Finally they will send you to a tiny room with no technology…  Since I couldn’t use my planned lessons I instead discussed the crazy zoo event that happened in Ohio this week. God Bless you, interesting current events.

What do French kids immediately think when they hear the word “USA”?

I wanted to know what the kids knew already about America, so I put USA on the board in a circle and asked them what comes to mind right away. McDonalds was always in the first 3 things mentioned. One brave soul said “eunh, fat people”. New York always made the list. And Obama.  Also The Simpsons. And that’s how the world knows us, folks. 

What do you do when the fire alarm goes off in French high school?

Thankfully, you do the same thing you do in America. You get the kids out of the building and you shut the door behind you. You are also supposed to remember the attendance sheet- which I forgot. You should also probably know what the alarm sounds like, or else something like this will happen

Me: “ok! Whose cell phone is going off?”

Kids: “eunh Madame, we have to leave”

Me: “Wait what? Oh my gosh is that the fire alarm!”

Thanks to all who offered suggestions for my chapter themes with the kids…  here are the topics chosen by my 9 classes of First Years

American High Schools: 1

Hollywood & PopCulture: 4 (one of these groups is also interested in American sports. Ughhh. Fake it ‘til you make it right?)

French and American Stereotypes: 1

American Holidays: 1

*I did not see two of my classes of kids this week- the class that skipped and one that was cancelled for a meeting*

My 2 classes of “terminales”/ seniors are more serious and want to talk about American Politics and Government, Social Classes in America, Travel in the US, and Stereotypes

I will have two classes where I will be working with teachers who want to improve their English. Most are doing this for fun, some are doing this so they can practice to take an exam so they are certified to teach their discipline in English. The amount of language learning that goes on over here is incredible to me… bah American Education you are so far behind.

I asked all the teachers why they were taking that hour with me and one said “I want to improve my English so I can speak to tourists and people that I meet from other places.” Immediately a bumper sticker I once saw in America popped into my mind “Welcome to America, Speak English!” (Miraculously I somehow resisted the urge to rear-end the vehicle) … If everyone instead thought like this Frenchman, our world would be a better place. 

But I have survived my first week of teaching with many ups and downs.  And now I have a two week vacation!

Interesting social life tidbits from the week:

Crepes and cider in Trentemoult, which is a lovely little once-fishing village at the end of my bus line. We ate at a restaurant right on the water and it was quite charming.

Salsa dancing. We thought there was a lesson in the basement of this bar… nope, it was just in the middle of the bar. This tiny Latin American man led us speaking a mix of Spanish and French, Salsa music was cranked up loud, French bar patrons looked on, and we all stepped on each others’ feet as we “danced” for an hour. Kaitlin and Tracie- the way this man danced reminded me a little of UD Intermediate Jazz Dance with Gary 2007… figure eights? Still look real awkward when I attempt them.

Devoured Oysters (not just by me)

There are always evening activities at the foyer where I live and this week was themed “Energy Week”. I had a lot to do with lesson planning, but on Thursday I went on this odd little field trip: drove to a wind turbine about an hour away, looked at it, and then had a sampling of oysters in the middle of the wind turbine field by the glow of car headlights. First time with Oysters- and I think I was a little overenthusiastic… it was delicious but by the time we got home all I wanted was some bread and water. What do oysters taste like? My friend’s first reaction was “Oh Gahhh it takes like something you would accidently swallow when you are swimming in the sea!” I liked ‘em. They are salty. And you slurp them right out the shell. 

I’m leaving tomorrow to meet my parents and my aunt in Rome. We will then explore by cruise Rome, Sicily, Athens (as long as the political situation has calmed), Crete, and Ephesus Turkey. I am so excited to see my family, but am especially proud of my dad for braving that transatlantic flight for the first time. I am so excited to share this big travel experience with him, and also share it with my wonderfully adventurous mom and aunt.

Bises,

Steph

Trop Contente

Bonjour Blog Readers are you out there? If you are, and you’ve been reading… send some comments my way. It brightens up my inbox! (Are my posts too long? I know I know. I write a lot…)

It’s been almost a month since the big Au Revoir and my dramatic entrance into France via 5 planes and at least 10 airport mental breakdowns. 

Things I am missing (besides your face)

Internet : This has been more frustrating than all the paperwork required to live in France. I’ve finally figured out my wifi in the lobby, but that’s only because I spent about 2 nights camped out in the lobby waiting for a computer guru to walk by. The problem was I knew what he looked like but did not know his name…

I have since purchased internet for my room. But I have to wait for at least 10 days to get my router/box technology thing. Unfortunately this box will probably come when I am on vacation with my family and I am afraid that if I don’t pick it up they will send it back.

I am also missing…

A kitchen that has more than 2 hot plates, 1 pot, 1 pan, 2 plates, 1 mug, and 2 bowls. I have mastered the art of making a pizza in a frying pan. And I’m eating like a college freshman again. Pasta Pasta Pasta. Lazy nights it’s just honey and baguette. I was planning on toughing it out and only using the hotplates for my time here, but I think I may make the big splurge on a toaster oven once the Department of Education fills up my French bank account a bit. I would really like to experiment a little with duck and also snails while I am here… maybe even rabbit if I can find something at the grocery that doesn’t actually look like a rabbit… 

Clothes Dryer. We have one at the foyer, but one of my friends used it and it worked for 2 hours and he thought his clothes were less dry afterwards. All of my clothes are currently spread on every possible surface of my room to “dry”. This makes things a bit uncomfortable when friends stop by- hey welcome to my room, there is no space to sit because my clothes are hanging off all the chairs and my desk and my kitchen table and every door handle… and yea, that’s a display of my underwear over there.

Things I am loving

The fact that my pants are feeling a little looser. Cheers to optimism and ignoring the fact that I haven’t put my jeans in a dryer for 3 weeks now. But the amount of walking I do over here is fantastic.

Kebabs and frites (gyros and fries) are the Cousin Vinny’s of France. There is a “restaurant” conveniently located at our tram stop and its open late night.

I have a lovely view of the field next to my building…. I tend to do a lot of watching out these windows. There’s a cat with no tail that frequents it quite often. There are a lot of bunnies that chase each other around. I see dogs and their owners and am jealous of them. We also had a homeless man for a brief spell of time and I could see his red tent in the woods next to the field (He has since packed up and moved away).

Canadian Thanksgiving. I celebrated the holiday for the first time here, and it was really one of my favorite nights thus far. We met up at another foyer and the Canadians prepared chicken (a turkey is hard to find and involves a lot of planning), taboulé (it’s kind of like stuffing right?), vegetables, mashed potatoes, salad, wine wine wine. I love Thanksgiving because its celebrations involve food and people you love… and this year I felt so grateful to be able to share this meal with people from all over the world (I think we had 6 different countries represented).  Community. I love it. The best part about Canadian Thanksgiving? We get to do the same thing all over again in 6 weeks for American Thanksgiving. The Americans are determined to have a turkey.

Free Fridays: I finally got my work schedule, and this girl has 3 day weekends every weekend. I am also finished teaching by 12 on Wednesdays.  But I have classes at 8am Mon/Wed/Thurs… and I have an hour commute. But I’m not complaining. I will teach for a week next week and then start our two week All Saints/Fall Vacation. 

And finally, I found this postcard to decorate my room: It’s a bulldog, with a glass of champagne tipped over, and the dog is wearing a sparkly red babyhat. I am warming up to the idea of a bulldog because Joseph is slightly obsessed, but I really do love this particular bulldog  because we both understand that every good party clearly needs a dog, some champagne, sparkles, and an amusingly small hat.

I shall leave you with that image. A Bientôt!

Bisous,

Stephanie

I wrote this post before leaving for the market this morning… I got home and almost deleted all of my “things I am missing” section. I forgot my camera this morning, so more on the market in a later post…

But this morning while shopping for fresh fruit and cheese and bread I said to my friend “Really, is there ANYTHING wrong with our lives right now? Because this is perfection”. Somehow no matter how many times I visit, France seems to recapture my heart in a new way. I’m quite Happy.

Saturday Night Saturday Night

I had some interesting interactions in Nantes this weekend…

1.       Some friends and I were on our way to the castle, when we passed some French men sitting at an outdoor table… I overheard one of them ask the other if he thought we were French. In my opinion French women always look fabulous… so WooHoo! For maybe being considered one.
 
2.       Later in the evening I was asked on the street if I had a lighter. Here is our conversation
“No I do not have a lighter, I do not smoke”
“You are clearly not French”
“Why because I don’t smoke?”
“No, because of your accent”
Goodbye all self confidence and good feeling from being possibly mistaken for a French girl earlier in the evening.
 
3.       We left to go to a bar and I was not quite finished with my wine… so I just carried it by my side and tried to be discreet when we were walking through the center of town. Someone walked past me and asked what I was doing with that bottle of wine. I wanted to say I am hiding it. In French “to hide” = se cacher. Instead of using that verb I used “Se coucher” which means to go to/to take to bed.  I told a stranger I was taking my bottle of wine to bed. Awesome.
 
4.       We got to the bar where I ran into a whole crowd of my students… I’ve just been observing a lot of classes so I did not recognize them, but they knew who I was right away. Why were my high school students in a bar? Perhaps that young drinking age is not so great for professional relationships. I am mainly confused why they were in Nantes… it takes me an hour on public transportation to get to my high school and I doubt they drove themselves as they cannot get their license until age 18. Thankfully when I saw them I was just standing in line for the bathroom and not doing anything to make a fool of myself. I told them I would see them Monday and that was that.
 

Some other interesting weekend tidbits:

There is a bar here called “La Maison” which translates to “The House”. It is organized like a house would be with its different rooms decorated as different rooms in a house… you can choose to drink in the kitchen, the bedroom, the living room, the bathroom even. Very fun.

 

I also had my very first treat from a bakery (I’ve been very good you see). I am biding my time until the perfect macaron comes into my life, but I did get directions to the supposed very best boulangerie in Nantes. I also walked past this beautiful display (a revolving tower of macarons? Yes Please!) but did not have the time to stop. I’m sure it will not disappoint. Neither did this Caramel Éclair. The caramel here is sea-salted and absolutely delicious.

 

Sunday: to recuperate from being so Frenchy, in a true act of desperately missing Joseph (and also a desire to interact with fellow human beings) I went to watch American football at the one bar in Nantes that will show a game. The Bills won. Eagles were looking sloppy. Sportz. ‘Merica. Speaking English. Oh Yeah. Apparently  that even my English  has a very strong American accent and is hilarious for people from Australia and Guadeloupe to imitate. (Emily George if you are reading this- the country of Guadeloupe reminds me of AP U.S. History and our dilemma with Guam. Yes?)

No word on my school schedule yet- so I've been working on my to-do list and spying on people with their dogs in the field outside my window instead.

Maybe by the time I see my students again they will have forgotten that they saw me in a bar on Saturday night.

Bises!   Steph

Lycée Bouaye

I had the day to myself today and it's been very productive! I got a French cell phone! and picked up my French bank card! and got some groceries.   I have my big “Nantes High School English Assistants” Orientation Thursday, and I will be back at school Friday to (hopefully) have my teaching schedule!

I’ve done observations of English classes all week.  I saw a student wearing denim shortalls- again 224, particularly you Grace… love you! Rockin style choices. I’ve also seen a pair of purple sneakers that I am dying to find for myself… But school stuff: One class is learning about Native Americans and they were watching excerpts from Dances with Wolves, another class was learning family vocabulary and used “The Simpsons” to create a family tree.  The students are quite shy with me and afraid to make mistakes in front of a native speaker, but I’m sure once I say anything in French they will realize that I have an accent and make some mistakes in their language too. As a language learner you are going to make mistakes. Always. And it’s hard to shake an accent. Corrections are very important but too many too fast can be disheartening. I will have to balance encouragement and corrections (especially pronunciation) with zeez kiddos.

When I studied abroad I heard the most encouraging thing from a teacher, asking us to think something along the lines of:

“Yes, I am trying to speak French. No I am not French. I am American. I will probably never really sound like I am French unless I live here for many consecutive years. Oh you can understand me? Even with my accent? Oh you think my accent is charming? Yes it is isn’t it?”

She reminded us that an accent is part of who you are, and it’s very difficult to lose it completely. It’s not something to be embarrassed about.

French are typically taught British English, so my accent and some expressions may be hard for some of the students… but at the same time I am a Midwesterner and have the most desired American accent out there.  They should probably consider themselves lucky to have an Ohioan (even if they have never heard of my state).

I already noted that most high schools have longer school days than we do in the good ol USA, and that some hold classes on Saturdays. Another big difference is that students attend high school only for 3 years.

For this first part of the year I will be working with “les secondes” who are in their first year of High School. I will have small groups of students 1x per week for a month. Then I get all new students. The English teachers want me to basically create chapter ideas with a final project for the students to present to them at the end of the month. The students in each group can choose what they would like to learn. I have a couple ideas and I am hoping that the students this first session will have ideas of what they want to learn as well. Obviously my first class with each group will be an introduction class, so I can’t get too elaborate with my “chapters”… no time for the beloved syllabus day!

At the same time, this blog post is to shamelessly ask your opinions- What do these French kiddos absolutely need to know about America? English Language?  Email me if you want to hear about what I’ve got so far…

No matter what topic/chapter the students choose to do, I would also like to give them some common language/slang vocabulary… but it has to be appropriate for 15 year olds. Some kind of “word of the week”. Any suggestions for that vocabulary list?

I will also have a group of 6 teachers from school 1x a week so they can practice their English... a little intimidating!

When the semester changes we are going to try and make a yearbook- which is something they don’t do here. That will be an interesting challenge of course and in no way can it be as elaborate as ours in the states, but I think it could be a great way to really make normal American high school life something personal and easy for them to understand.

I’m kind of working from scratch here, as I’ve never really done my own teaching and I don't have a course book to follow. Suggestions are welcome… I am very excited to have my schedule, really hammer out some plans, and get going!

Foyer Grand Voile

I am finally settled into Le FOYER Des Jeunes Travailleurs, Grand Voile, where I will be living for the school year. (email me if you want to be my penpal I LOVE letters). We don’t really have Foyers in the States, but it’s essentially government subsidized housing for young working people ages 16-30. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I have my own bathroom and kitchen area in my room- basically a studio. There is also some shared community space and they run programs every week. When I studied abroad I had a sink, a bed, and a desk to myself and everything else was communal. So I’m quite happy with my housing situation. This is where I live now…

The walls in my hallway are RED and so is my door- 224 Housies you know how gemmy and wonderful that makes me feel.  

This is my room! Excuse the ugly brown blanket, but it was free. My initial trip to the grocery store I bought all the essentials- toilet paper, a 3 euro bottle of Bordeaux, cheese, baguette, and some sunflowers. It’s not my home until I have flowers.  I also got a small pumpkin. Happy Fall!

 My big complaint is that there is no wifi in the rooms… DUMB. There is supposedly wifi in the lobby downstairs but my computer has yet to find the network. There is a computer room but it is locked up on weekends… and Skyping on a computer with someone else right next to you is awkward anyways. This will seriously hinder my communication… I am going to figure out a better internet situation in November when my to-do list includes more things like “drink wine” instead of “register with immigration”.

I’ve been busy busy since being here. I have been to my high school and there are seven English teachers there! One of the teachers is Polish and is very interested in how Americans with Polish roots celebrate their heritage. He thought it was quite funny that my family eats Kielbasa on special occasions like weddings, parties, holidays. I have yet to tell him that my brother flies the Polish flag on his boat… I’m sure he will get a kick out of that. He also really likes English phrases like "Whats Up" and "See You Later".

I still don’t have my schedule worked out yet, but I heard that I will mostly be observing classes until the All Saints vacation at the end of October. So I’ll observe for 2 weeks and then have a 2 week vacation. Yes please! My high school operates from 8am-6pm Mon-Tues-Thurs-Fri but closes at 12 on Wednesdays. (I will not be working all those hours, and teachers don’t work all those hours, they each have a unique schedule). Some French high schools have classes on Saturdays… I am lucky that mine does not!

I have a French bank account! I don’t know why this is so exciting to me, but I feel legit now.  I will hate this French bank account when I leave for home- I hear it’s a nightmare to close them. 

I’ve figured out transportation and have been into the city a couple of times! I also finally went to the transportation office and bought my monthly pass and applied for an identity card.  I did a hop-on hop-off tour with some other language assistants who are living in my building. It’s going to be a fun year, in a fun city. My favorite- Nantes is famous for this giant mechanical elephant that you can RIDE! I can’t wait for visitors so I have someone to go with me!

I also had dinner and a little tour with one of my French friends from the camp I worked at last summer.  We had crepes and cider and looked at the CASTLE (yes, there is a castle in my city. With a moat.) Magic.  A lot of assistants met up at the castle with bottles of wine this weekend too. There is no open container law in France so I always keep a corkscrew in my bag for situations like that, and in case I ever need to defend myself I feel safer with it. 

 There is still so much to do- apply for health insurance, sign up for French social security, finish registering  with  immigration, and get a French phone…  bah. The French are notorious for all the paperwork required to just… well do anything here. They love passport sized photos and photocopies of everything.  I am still feeling overwhelmed and have never more enjoyed crossing things off a list!

I leave you with this. Look at these cookies. You probably know that I cannot wink. It is an unfortunate genetic disability that I unsuccessfully tried to defeat with two years worth of New Year’s Resolutions.

                                                Bises Bises,

                                                                    Steph

Pornic & Sainte Marie Sur Mer, FRANCE

Cou Cou everyone, I finally find myself in France. And it is lovely.

 The past few days I have spent with an English teacher from the high school where I'll be teaching, and her family. I was originally a little anxious about this, seeing as I had never stayed with a French family before... but it has been nothing but wonderful. We speak French about 95% of the time and I have regained a lot of confidence in my language skills- it's hard to retain vocabulary and grammar without any regular practice in the States. I have also had the opportunity to eat homecooked delicious french food- we have had pain au chocolat, quiche, crepes (with scallops and leeks YUM), mussels and duck. Oh la la Mmmmm.


I'm going to attempt putting some photos of the city on the blog now...  It's situated right on the ocean- I can almost see you over there America!! There is also a chateau that dates from the Middle Ages, the Duke who built it knew Joan of Arc- I think they were friends but I could have misunderstood that part... People just walk around this place like it's nothing. Mmm I love the history and oldness of everything over here!











I spent today wandering around taking pictures, and journaling on the beach (see photo below). Not bad huh. I resisted the urge to swim in the ocean, because I did not think it was in my best interest to get eaten by a shark alone in France before I even started work here.

A little anecdote for you: While I was walking an older French man who passed me started to sing in English something Sinatra like- then said "not bad enh?" in French when he finished. Hoooowwww did he know I spoke English when we did not speak to each other? It's not like I was wearing a shirt with the bald eagle on it and tossing my passport around like a baton. In face I was wearing a boring green shirt, jeans, and carrying my French purse. Bah.

Tomorrow I move in with a different teacher who lives closer to the high school. It will be easier to get some of my affairs in order from there- open my back account etc. I can't move into my housing now until next Monday... so unless they can find me somewhere else to stay, I will be coming back to Pornic to stay with this family again for the weekend. 

There is a big education strike tomorrow. Oh France. You and your revolutionary spirit.

I'm happy to be here.


Gros Bisous,
Steph

More Airport Thoughts

I take back everything nice I ever said about airports. 

This particular trip involved 3 planes…

 1: delayed. I had to run through JFK to make my flight to Barcelona… which was also delayed but they told us it wasn’t.

2: I have never ever been sick on an airplane. Guess there’s a first time for everything.

 3: Cancelled. After I sat through a 5 hour layover. They just never assigned a gate, and then removed it from the screen.  I had to collect all of my luggage, tell a million people I do not speak Spanish, and get a new ticket for the next day, hotel info, and transport to hotel. 

I was exhausted and still not feeling well, and alone… it all just put me over the edge. I have never had such troubles flying! The worst part is that I just got done reassuring all the men in my life who have told me countless times “be safe” “take care of yourself”,  I worry about you” how capable and great I was at getting myself around over here.

Lowlight of the day: having to just stop and cry when I couldn’t find the hotel shuttles in Parking G.  While carrying 130lbs of luggage.  After asking about 10 people for help and ending back up in the same spot looking at parking A-F. Why isn’t Parking G right next to Parking F?

Highlight of the day: The Spanish teenager that awkwardly came over to me while I was crying and just patted my shoulder a couple of times and offered me some water in broken English.

I hope I make it to Nantes tomorrow without any troubles. I have no idea how many hours it’s taken me to travel this time, but it’s been too many.  Hopefully I’ve had my share of bad luck and travel troubles, and that I’m in the clear for the next 8-10 months now!

Sorry for the negativity! I felt so much better once I got to the hotel and could get a shower and a nap. I will feel even better tomorrow when I get to France.

Love love love,

Steph