Friday, February 11, 2011
I'm legal!!!
So, for those of us who don't come from the E.U., fulfilling all the requirements to be here is quite the ordeal. I don't want to say that it's been frustrating, because really I haven't cared. It's just been a lot of paperwork and visits to the local prefecture. I got the letter telling me when my first appointment was 4 days after the appointment was supposed to have happened. No matter. They gave me another one. The second one was when I was home for Christmas. Third times a charm. I went last week to hand in the final bits of paper work (proof of my identity and residence, the information from my medical visit earlier in the year, etc), and I finally got my tampon! (Tampon means stamp in French.) The French love tampons and put them on absolutely everything. So, now I am finally a legal French immigrant! I pay taxes, am entitled to health care, and get a weekly ration of wine and cheese.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Misc. Bits of January
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| Getting ready to leave for Mini- Skirt Night hosted by the local Uni |
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| 11th Century Abbey Ruins & the lovely French/ Bulgarian family who took us |
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| Basquiat exhibit in Paris: Basquiat (wikipedia) |
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| Brie and I's weekend in Paris.... |
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| The 2 hour line we had to stand in to see the exhibit |
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| Day trip to Rheims- Drinking Irish beer in the capitol of the Champagne region |
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| Kate cut my hair. It looked good in the end. |
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| Maria, Xiomara, and Kate had their first peanut, butter & jelly's, albeit on a baguette. Maria is skeptical. |
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| Yes!... She changed her mind. |
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| I've been trying to sketch a little again... |
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| Now that its gotten freezing, |
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| That, and we've been becoming connoisseurs of all 2 euro wines. |
Monday, January 31, 2011
A Typical Day at St. Exupery Primary School
9:30 am : I arrive, kiss all the other teachers, draw pictures of cartoons looking sad/tired/hot/happy, and make copies of fruit flash cards.
9:45 - 10:25 (CM2/ 5rh graders) : The kids are old enough to be self- conscious, which often makes teaching less fun; however, they have longer attention spans and are better at guessing what I'm trying to convey. Sometimes, when we're practicing saying "Hello," I shake their hands and they all giggle uncontrollably. When I'm really tired I start giggling too, and we all giggle together for a while. It's very counter the French ideal of scholastic discipline.
10:25 - 11:00 : The first recess of the day for the kids. Teachers drink coffee/tea and smoke. My director teases me for not liking coffee.
11:00 - 11:40 (CE2/ 3rd graders) : We begin by singing a song about the days of the week to the tune of the "Adam's Family" theme, proceed to take a survey about on what food students like. Most of the students get confused when I ask them to "glue their papers" because they think I'm saying blue. I make the kids write "I listen to my teacher" three times when they get too unruly. Then we translate it together, and it becomes a fun exercise.
11:40 - 2:00 : Lunch- Everyone gets 12 - 2 off to eat. The neglected kids with "bad parents" have to eat in the cafeteria rather than going home for a proper French meal. I eat with the other teachers for an hour, slowly understanding less and less. Occasionally, we talk about American movies, food, or the weather, in which case I keep up with the conversation. Otherwise, I smile a lot, and ask questions of whoevers sitting next to me. They are very sweet about looking out for me. On some lucky days we all drink delicious wine. Eventually, when I can no longer concentrate, I sneak off to read or work on lesson plans.
2:00 - 2:40 (CE1/ 2nd graders) : We sing, read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" to review colors and learn days of the week, play flashcard games in which the kids always cheat. A little girl vomits on her desk and is too shy to interrupt me. It takes me several minutes to notice her neighbor has his hand up, because he always has his hand up. Always. And most of the time he doesn't actually have anything to say.
2:40 - 3:20 ( a different group of CE2/ 3rd graders) : We sing, do the same class survey. I spend half the class telling them to "listen, please." The three worst students spend the whole class ignoring me, but drawing me pictures that usually include the phrase "Megane je t'aime." The boys decided the survey is a contest and begin to say that they like every type of food in order to have a higher number than the girls. Some bully others into saying "yes" for everything. Everyone stays in the class for two minutes at the beginning of recess as a punishment for not listening.
3:20 - 3:55 : Recess again. I drink tea and get bombarded by my favorite class of five year olds, who all want to kiss me and tell me about their dogs and cousins.
3:55 - 4:10 (CP/ 1st graders) : Lots and lots of singing. I feel so bad for the teachers who have to listen to my terrible voice all the time. I speak a little French and have to change activities constantly to keep them engaged. There are two little boys in the front who smile at me and talk to me the entire class, no matter what I'm doing. When I was showing them a map of America and telling them that I live in Virginia, one of them told me he lives in Kansas. I think he was serious. He said it with such a precious, spacey little smile that it made me want to visit that terrible state.
4:10 - 4:45 (different group of CE1/ 2nd graders) : We count backwards and forwards to ten, saying the words out loud and using our hands. When we get back to zero, everyone claps their hands above their heads and shouts "Blast off." I've never explained what it means, but they love it. More singing, games, and books.
5:00 - As I leave for the day the students are in the halls, pulling their coats and backpacks on. The five year olds again kiss me. The seven, eight, and nine year olds tell me "Hello" and immediately afterwards, "Goodbye," with big smiles and genuine eagerness to communicate. The oldest kids say "Goodbye" shyly, or else burst into laughter after they say it. Making it to the front office, I ask one of the administrators to unlock the door for me. He says "No, you must stay here." We both chuckle. It's hard to make jokes in a foreign language, but it's easy to make someone feel welcome.
9:45 - 10:25 (CM2/ 5rh graders) : The kids are old enough to be self- conscious, which often makes teaching less fun; however, they have longer attention spans and are better at guessing what I'm trying to convey. Sometimes, when we're practicing saying "Hello," I shake their hands and they all giggle uncontrollably. When I'm really tired I start giggling too, and we all giggle together for a while. It's very counter the French ideal of scholastic discipline.
10:25 - 11:00 : The first recess of the day for the kids. Teachers drink coffee/tea and smoke. My director teases me for not liking coffee.
11:00 - 11:40 (CE2/ 3rd graders) : We begin by singing a song about the days of the week to the tune of the "Adam's Family" theme, proceed to take a survey about on what food students like. Most of the students get confused when I ask them to "glue their papers" because they think I'm saying blue. I make the kids write "I listen to my teacher" three times when they get too unruly. Then we translate it together, and it becomes a fun exercise.
11:40 - 2:00 : Lunch- Everyone gets 12 - 2 off to eat. The neglected kids with "bad parents" have to eat in the cafeteria rather than going home for a proper French meal. I eat with the other teachers for an hour, slowly understanding less and less. Occasionally, we talk about American movies, food, or the weather, in which case I keep up with the conversation. Otherwise, I smile a lot, and ask questions of whoevers sitting next to me. They are very sweet about looking out for me. On some lucky days we all drink delicious wine. Eventually, when I can no longer concentrate, I sneak off to read or work on lesson plans.
2:00 - 2:40 (CE1/ 2nd graders) : We sing, read "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" to review colors and learn days of the week, play flashcard games in which the kids always cheat. A little girl vomits on her desk and is too shy to interrupt me. It takes me several minutes to notice her neighbor has his hand up, because he always has his hand up. Always. And most of the time he doesn't actually have anything to say.
2:40 - 3:20 ( a different group of CE2/ 3rd graders) : We sing, do the same class survey. I spend half the class telling them to "listen, please." The three worst students spend the whole class ignoring me, but drawing me pictures that usually include the phrase "Megane je t'aime." The boys decided the survey is a contest and begin to say that they like every type of food in order to have a higher number than the girls. Some bully others into saying "yes" for everything. Everyone stays in the class for two minutes at the beginning of recess as a punishment for not listening.
3:20 - 3:55 : Recess again. I drink tea and get bombarded by my favorite class of five year olds, who all want to kiss me and tell me about their dogs and cousins.
3:55 - 4:10 (CP/ 1st graders) : Lots and lots of singing. I feel so bad for the teachers who have to listen to my terrible voice all the time. I speak a little French and have to change activities constantly to keep them engaged. There are two little boys in the front who smile at me and talk to me the entire class, no matter what I'm doing. When I was showing them a map of America and telling them that I live in Virginia, one of them told me he lives in Kansas. I think he was serious. He said it with such a precious, spacey little smile that it made me want to visit that terrible state.
4:10 - 4:45 (different group of CE1/ 2nd graders) : We count backwards and forwards to ten, saying the words out loud and using our hands. When we get back to zero, everyone claps their hands above their heads and shouts "Blast off." I've never explained what it means, but they love it. More singing, games, and books.
5:00 - As I leave for the day the students are in the halls, pulling their coats and backpacks on. The five year olds again kiss me. The seven, eight, and nine year olds tell me "Hello" and immediately afterwards, "Goodbye," with big smiles and genuine eagerness to communicate. The oldest kids say "Goodbye" shyly, or else burst into laughter after they say it. Making it to the front office, I ask one of the administrators to unlock the door for me. He says "No, you must stay here." We both chuckle. It's hard to make jokes in a foreign language, but it's easy to make someone feel welcome.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Maria and Iris' Birfdays (explained through native drinks)
Favorite French Moment of the Week, #3
Hanging out a few days ago, the conversation came round to cheese. It often does in France. We all discussed our love for various French cheeses, and, finally, the question that always comes up, came up: What good cheese does America have? Some one had the brilliant epiphany that we have spray cheese (Cheese-wiz). Unable to come up with an exact translation, Kate explained to our baffled French-friends that it is "cheese that comes out of a whip-cream bottle." Shocked and bewildered one of them said, in perfect English, "You are the most powerful country on earth and you eat this?"
I think I might've redeemed us if I'd only been able to explain string cheese.
I think I might've redeemed us if I'd only been able to explain string cheese.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Favorite French Moment of the Week, #2
This week we learned a new French phrase from a new French friend:
"J'ai la patate." (I hope I've got it right.)
Literally, it means "I have the potatoe." Figuratively, it means to be energetic and maybe a little bit powerful. Felix explained it by saying "It's like after you have a red bull and you're..." and then he flexed his muscles and made a face. You can also say "J'ai le frite." "I have the french fry."
"J'ai la patate." (I hope I've got it right.)
Literally, it means "I have the potatoe." Figuratively, it means to be energetic and maybe a little bit powerful. Felix explained it by saying "It's like after you have a red bull and you're..." and then he flexed his muscles and made a face. You can also say "J'ai le frite." "I have the french fry."
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Back in La France
I'm back after two wonderful weeks in Richmond. I must admit that Laon has lost some of it's charm. It's less beautiful covered in brown, melting snow, and the students are less energetic. I've been warned by experienced teachers that the next 6 weeks are the hardest time to teach. "The kids are bored and tired." Additionally, speaking French has gotten harder. It's not exactly that I've forgotten the French I learned, although that is the simple way of explaining it. Instead, I've relaxed. Before leaving I was in the habit of translating all of my thoughts into French, even when I was alone. It was good practice and helped to keep that part of my mind alert. Around 5 days after returning to the states I stopped doing that. Now, French is harder. It feels as if a part of my brain has turned off. What's more, my attention span is shorter. After focusing on listening to a French conversation for about 10 minutes I zone out; before break it had been more like half an hour. Then, of course, there's jet-lag. I've been ploughing through books because I can't fall asleep.
In spite of all the small downers, it's been great to see all of the other assistants again. It's incredible how much they can make this sleepy, little town feel like a home.
In spite of all the small downers, it's been great to see all of the other assistants again. It's incredible how much they can make this sleepy, little town feel like a home.
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