Rose en Corrèze

It's over.

2008-06-27T23:37:00.002+02:00

Wednesday:

My two fifth grade classes were going on canoeing and biking trips this week, so their English lessons got smushed onto Wednesday morning. I attempted chocolate chip cookies which, if you are Nicholas, Peter, Mom or Dad, looked a lot like the cookie jerky from a few years back. And that was the best of three attempts. The kids loved them anyways and demanded the recipe. Both classes showed up with the big pink Paris rugby team flags and pink crepe paper flowers pinned to their shirts. When the class ended, they all came up and gave me their flowers, which they had made. How sweet!! Everything was pink themed because "Rose" in French translates to "pink." So essentially, my name in French is Pink. I am conflicted about this.

Thursday:

Hi busy day. It is also near 30 degrees Celsius, which I believe is about 145 degrees Farenheit. I am also trekking around Ussel with a grocery bag of peanut butter and jelly sandwich fixings, a projector, and a backpack with my laptop. I was sweating like a pig. Jean-François and I banged out some awesome pbjs for our combined fourth grade insanity and also for my third graders at School One. That class went well. Mr. Modeste, the principal, gave me a present - a photo book of pictures of the Plateau Millevaches. The two teachers I work with at School One, Catherine and Fabienne, took this last day to tell me how difficult this year was. They both approached it in ways that I tried not to take offense to. Look, I'm a new teacher, I'm not French, foreign languages are not a subject everyone immediately takes a liking to, give me a break. I did the absolute best I could. Every single day.
Then at School Two, the ridiculous fourth graders were ANGELS because Marie-Pierre sat in. They also enjoyed the pbj sammies. P* gave me a really pretty bracelet, S* gave me candies, and the rest of the students gave me adorable scraps of paper.
Virginie at School Three had to explain to me 2855 times how the 'lesson' was going down. I think the sun and heat fried my brain. The pancake recipe she found was a little odd - yogurt? - and the electric griddle was way too hot but they kids devoured the pancakes. It was a really good time. Those students are just out of this world. As I'm with them all afternoon - from after lunch to the end of school - they all gave me bises (kiss-kiss) as they left school. OH MY GOODNESS can they be any cuter. Mr. Barbe, the principal, gave me the present from the staff - a book about Corrèze, a Corrèzien recipe book (yes!!!), and an address book with pictures of the volcanoes. There is also an hysTERical card with notes from all the teachers. They are a funny bunch.

Friday:

As my fifth graders were out biking or canoeing or climbing trees, I only had my nervous fourth graders at School Two. Catherine is very no-nonsense, so when it came to be five minutes late, I poked my head out the door. I glimpsed ALL of the fourth and fifth graders - all of my students at School Two - in the hallway with those darn pink Paris rugby flags. UH-OH. Madame Cousty, the principal and third grade teacher, called me out into the hallway. I immediately burst into tears. Oh my goodness. Not even in English could I express how grateful and thankful and happy and sad and fulfilled I felt. I learned so much and I grew so much, and it's because of nearly 150 of the silliest little children on the planet. The school gave me a present - a butterfly necklace that I personally find hideous but hope to work into my wardrobe somehow. And more awesome scraps of paper from my students. I especially liked the acrostics poems: Rigolote (fun), Océan (ocean? what?), Sérieuse (serious), Etats-Unis (United States). There are funnier ones.

During this last session of lessons, I gathered up all my students in each class by groups and took their pictures. Photographic evidence, I told them. I can't wait to introduce you to all of them. They have such personalities and hysterical stories. I love them, really.

Françoise took me out to dinner at Lac Ponty restaurant. It was beautiful. "I didn't want you to leave France with only bad memories!" she joked. My bags are packed. My bank account is closed. In classic French style, I had one more argument with France Telecom. (A letter to close the internet account and a phone call to close the phone line. Will it end.) I have two more huge packages to mail home. I have said my goodbyes. I have been emotionally and mentally ready to leave for a few weeks now.

I just feel so comfortable here. I really look forward to sitting still for a while.

I am very proud and happy that I can look back on this experience and say that I did my very best every day, that I went far outside my comfort zones often, that I learned so much about me as a person and French speaker and teacher, that this is the keystone event in my life thus far.

A weekend in Paris and I'm back in New York for a whirlwind summer.

Au revoir, La France. Tu me manqueras, mais nous nous reverrons bientôt. A la prochaine.

Life is manic.

2008-06-24T10:00:00.002+02:00

On Friday afternoon, Virginie picked me up and we went to her house in Saint-Junien-près-Bort. She lives with Joselin, nicknamed Jose (sounds like Joes), her boyfriend-nearly-husband, their dog Shina (pronounced Sheena), and their two cats. Saint-Junien is an adorable little...crossing of roads. We went for walks, had dinner - truffade, which is basically cheesy homefries spread on ham slices, and I brought homemade brownies for dessert - and generally had a delightful evening. We visited the Lac de Bort, or the big lake formed by the dam at Bort-les-Orgues. There's a castle on the other side that was unintentionally saved when plans for the dam changed. Apparently no one seemed to care if the lake submerged the castle. we also took a walk to the Site Saint-Nazaire that overlooked the gorges of the Dordogne river. Ohhhh my goodness. It was so impressive. I'm not sure my photos do it justice. I slept over. In the morning, we made our way to Puy de Dome. On the way there, we stopped at Lac de Guéry, the only lake in France where you can legally ice-fish (really?), Mont Sancy (where if you remember, I went "skiing"), and Orcival to see a beautiful (but still scaffolded!!!) Romanesque church. Once at Puy de Dome, THE mountain of the Massif Central, we had lunch with Virginie's college friend Sandra and her boyfriend Julien. The five of us, all teachers of some form, talked about France, the US, how stupid hot it was, how high up the mountain is, and had a good time. And we hiked up the mountain. It was just over 400m vertical and took about 45 minutes to go up. Once up, we walked around the summit, looked at the ruins of the ancient temple to Mercury, watched the...how do you say "parapent in English? people flying around on kites, and drank lots of water. By walking all the way around this mountaintop, you can see the Cantal mountains, the very extinct volcanoes, the city of Clermont-Ferrand, and this beautiful, unknown, lost region. It was breathtaking. It took us nearly two hours to go down the hill and find the parking lot, and involved much "Jose? Are you sure we're almost there? Jose, do you even know where we are?" It was really fun. Virginie is a really fun person. She's smart, down to earth, humble, funny, and genuinely kind. I like her a lot. We have similar opinions of the schools in Ussel. School Three, where she works, is pretty cliquey and stand-off-ish. She was unsurprised that there were some teachers there that haven't said word one to me. Jose was a really cool guy too. They're good together.

As a farewell dinner, Hélène invited me and Françoise to her home for a traditional French dinner. Her husband Laurent and their son Pierre were there, as well as Pierre's best friend/partner in crime Daniel. Those two are hysterical, as I have mentioned many times. Better than TV. They watch unsubtitled episodes of "Lost" in English, so their English is pretty funny. They're also brilliant. Anyways. Apéritif was La Vache Qui Rit apéricubes, crackers, and champagne. But not just any champagne - the brand of Queen Elizabeth! Classy. Entrée was salad with shaved wild boar, melon cubes, and goat cheese. It sounds gross but it was beautiful and the wild boar, the first I had ever eaten, tasted like some of the best dry ham I've ever eaten. It was delicious. Plat was rosemary roast beef with olive oil mashed potatos, all perfectly cooked. Unbelievably delicious. Then cheese - Saint-Nectaire (soft), Cantal (hard), and bleu d'Auvergne (bleu). Dessert was clafoutis, a sort of flan with whole cherries. Everything was so delicious. The Lombarteix are such warm and kind people; I feel so comfortable with Françoise; Daniel and Pierre are hysterical. They gave me a little parting gift - a mug with the old time La Vache Qui Rit picture on it! This will be MY mug for....

I HAVE A TEACHING JOB!!! Monday afternoon, after classes (more yelling, lots of sweating, lots of bitterweetness) and before the dinner party, I had a Skype interview with the school in New York. It was really exciting to finally see "in person" the principal and French teachers with whom I have been corresponding via email for the past month now. They are so professional and positive and enthusiastic. I guess they liked me. After about an hour of discussions about teaching, the principal offered me the position as their new French and Spanish teacher. I am on the MOON. I am so so so excited!!! Oh my goodness. I have so many questions for them now. Namely, when can I get into MY classroom!!

Today after my ONE class as my fifth graders are off on a bike ride somewhere, Jean-François and I are going to look for peanut butter for snackies on Thursday, I am going to get baking materials for brownies and cookies, and then I am going to bake up a storm. Luckily Françoise won't be here to see the bordèle - she has a meeting elsewhere.

Wednesday is my last class with my fifth graders. I am going to miss them a lot. They are fairly indifferent about me, I'm sure. The third graders and some of my fourth graders are really upset that I'm not coming back next year. I love this job and I am so so so grateful for the things I've learned and the doors it has opened for me. Even when there are intensely disappointing days.

I will be in New York in one week. Seven days.

A Bad Day In France:

2008-06-19T18:49:00.004+02:00

School One's fourth graders were annoying during their evaluations. Be quiet and do your own work, it's a test.
School One's third graders were more annoying during their evaluations. Be quiet and do your own work, it's a test.
School Two's ridiculous fourth graders were ridiculous during their evaluations. I sent out B* because he can't figure out how to not bother everyone. However, I was supposed to send him out with a classmate because he ended up hiding in his classroom (not where he should have gone, he should have gone to the principal's classroom). This was made even worse when one of the resource teachers (I think?) came to look for him and he was not in the principal's classroom nor was he in English. The three of us found him in the hallway with his jacket, apparently preparing to leave. Oh my goodness. He was not the only one who was acting up. I took away all of their tests and screamed at them. Be quiet and do your own work. It's a test. I'm going to take off five points from all of their tests. They were ridiculous.
School Two's Merci Madame, the secretary and computer teacher, has a name: Anne. All right then. She and I both lamented the lack of hard work in schools both by teachers and by students.
School Three's fourth graders did well on their evaluations. They finished ahead of time, so I pulled "Where is Thumbkin?" out of nowhere and now they've at least heard "How are you?".
School Three's third graders are just. so. dim. I blame their schedule. One hour of English one time a week does not allow for real progress or retention of any material. I feel so bad for some of them, especially V* and S* who are seriously lacking any stimulation at home: you look in their eyes and there is just nothing. It breaks my heart. They're benign.

I fully maintain that the French high school students who are taking their final exams (le Bac) right now would never pass my Regents, APs, SATs or ACTs; but I concede that as a high school student, I would not have passed their exams. This is not based on cultural reasonings, but just simple "What are you taught and how are you taught to express it." American high school students are taught to manipulate information and derive meaning from it, whereas, at least in my opinion, French high school students are taught to memorize the meanings.

But at the elementary level, before all the non- and low- and even mid-acheivers are weeded out, I fully believe that French elementary students do not perform at the same proficiency level of their American counterparts.

This universal education is a common idea in both France and the US; the US emphasizes more on equal opportunity, while France emphasizes performance. At least everyone in the US is supposed to receive a quality education. In France, I see so many of my students who will never pass the 'regular' high school tracks. They'll be tracked into the vocational high school programs. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in a country that has such a rigid social structure, it immediately sets you up to stay where you are. No wonder so many French are born, live, and die in the same town. They never had the opportunity to do anything else. Had Andy been a French student, I guarantee that because of his home life, and not due to his ambition or intelligence, he would have been tracked into a manual labor vocational high school program. But because Andy is American and has ambition and intelligence, he got to go to college to study something admittedly useless but that interested him and not dictated by some shadowy figure.

I just keep seeing this "lowest common denominator" idea in the French education system. It's not equal opportunity; it's opportunity for only the good students and little support for students who even minorly struggle. In the US, anyone can improve their opportunities by hard work. I just don't see that in France. Hard work just is not rewarded. My teachers are thrilled that I work as hard as I do for them; I'm not great but I do try hard. But I would be appreciated just as much had I not done all this work, had I just photocopied the pages from the textbook and followed the stupid I Spy password gimmick.

Please, can that high school in New York call me already so I can leave this disappointing world of French education?

Tick tock...

2008-06-17T19:03:00.002+02:00

I have TEN days left in Ussel. Ohhh my goodness!!! People ask me if I'm happy and I say yes, but sad at the same time. I've developed some very one-sided attachments to this place and the people I've met.

I haven't updated because I've been in a very negative mood.
1. The outing with Hélène, Françoise's friend, to her equestrian center exhibition was...not my cup of tea. It's called the Centre Equi-Relax, where they mix horseback riding (I use the term loosely), a Chinese meditation technique called qi gong, music, and natural arts and crafts. I am not an animal person, but despite Andy's insistance, I don't hate animals. I am indifferent. And horses are just too touchy-feely for my taste. It was super cold and started to rain. And like all very French situations, I became uncomfortably bored about two hours too soon. Seriously, horses and yoga? Are you kidding me. No.
2. I have a grand total of 11,62€ in my bank account, and there is entirely too much stress-baking I want to do.
3. My students are antsy. It's getting to the end of the school year, the weather is not summery (it's been raining for the past week), and they pick up really fast that I have little patience for distracted children. This is so newbie teacher, but if I'm a first year teacher I'll take advantage of making mistakes like this. Like I told my ESM freshmen who wanted to go to the bathroom during their 80 minute blocks, "If I can't pee, neither can you." Rar. Do you think I want to be here either? Let's just muscle through this.
4. My body, after high-calorie cantine meals in the land of "mix it with cream!", has gone from decently sized in September to downright squishy to some bizarre Play-Doh-inspired shapes. I am very unhappy that the first thing I do when I touch down in Syracuse is spend time with the man who thinks my body is a temple, then wear a bathing suit on a national beach. I have lost 3kg in about a month, but there's a good 10kg to go. I have learned however that I use food as therapy.
5. I just REALLY want to go home. This attitude is not what I should have for my last weeks. It makes work and life that much more difficult.
6. I realise they're very busy with finals and end of the year shenanigans but the high school in New York has not responded to my emails since Friday. We have been emailing daily for the past three weeks. AHHH. I need them to know that my New York State intial certifications have been processed and I have pieces of paper saying I am allowed to teach!!! I am very excited.

Things to look forward to in the coming days:
1. I am going to Virginie's house this weekend to spend time with her and her boyfriend Josselin (pronounced like Jocelyn) and go hiking and sightseeing in her neck of the woods! She told me not to bring anything but I totally want to make brownies for Friday night and oatmeal raisin cookies for scampering around on Saturday.
2. Evaluations in all of my classes. If there is any reason to enjoy test days, it's because the lesson plan is easy: instructions, pass out tests, instructions, let 'em loose.
3. A formal traditional French dinner at Hélène with Françoise on Monday! Again, we were told not to bring anything but we'll bring some chocolates and flowers.
4. School One's final week's lessons will be combined with Jean-François' class. This way, his students get some American culture and we get to rest a little bit while the kids experience death by Powerpoint. Assuming it works. And peanut butter and jelly sammiches! With yucky German peanut butter.
5. School Three's students are getting a pancake party at Virginie's pleading. "Please, can we do pancakes? I love pancakes." Really? Well sure. I like Virginie a lot. It took a while to warm up to her and for her to open up to me but she's a really nice person, down to earth, and kind.
6. I'm not sure what School Two's classes are doing for treats. I can't really make 100 of something interesting and decidedly American.

ANNND then I go to Paris! For a weekend! I already have things I want to see and do mapped out:
Picasso Museum
L'Orangerie (Monet's waterlilies)
chocolate shop Cacao et Chocolat
cheese shop L'Alessose or whatever
Galeries Lafayette
Montmartre for touristy souvenirs
FNAC's book section for French books
Chinese food
vegetarian restaurants

I am so excited to come home. I am going to miss Ussel so much. Luckily I can take pictures of ALL of my students! These pictures will not be posted online so as to protect them.

Are we there yet?

2008-06-11T19:03:00.002+02:00

Ugh, I think I lost the twenty-five full sheet color printouts of the rooms of the house. They are not at home, they are not at School Two...hopefully I left them somewhere at School One or Three. Please please please, I was really expecting to use them for like...everything.

I'm very very anxious to go home, for a number of reasons. One reason I have not mentioned is the increasing isolation here at the high school. Now that Ben and Rocio are gone, it's just me. There are no regular classes now, so there are much fewer students and even fewer teachers. I am not the effervescent Rocio or thoughtful Ben; I am quiet Rose. My parents will deny this up and down but I am just not outgoing. I am friendly, but initiating conversations, even in English, is not where I feel confident. Even less so in French where I'm perpetually afraid that my conversation interrupts others or is inappropriate, or that I'm speaking incorrectly - incorrect syntax, conjugation, pronunciation. It's very frustrating. I am so aware that I am The Foreigner, and now the comfort of having fellow foreigners is gone. I am so self-conscious of being an outsider. I am culturally, socially, and linguistically outside; here at the high school, where I am welcome but have absolutely no official attachment, I am an administrative outsider. Basically this boils down to being ignored in the staff lunchroom. I feel paralyzed to fix it. I just do not feel confident enough to initiate a conversation with people who barely acknowledge my well-rehearsed "Bonjour, bon appetit!" It makes me feel very lonely. The only people who I feel comfortable talking to are Krystyna the librarian and Françoise.

In other news, last night was a bizarre happening. Virginie, my sole colleague at School Three, single-handedly organized the year-end show. It was based on ecology and recycling. Her students modeled "clothes" fashioned from trash; Christelle, the third grade teacher in the room next door, had her students perform some chants and songs based on ecology; the fifth grade teacher across the hall had her students perform interpretive dance (no really) based on ecology (it was actually pretty good); and there was some non sequitur tumbling performed by the third graders. BUT. The best part was the 'surprise' from the teachers, including me!! All the teachers got a celebrity character to dress up as for a little fashion show. Guess who the token American representative was? PARIS HILTON. (Imagine that pronounced in a French accent, it's hysterical.) I wore a denim miniskirt and a pink tank top. Virginie lent me a little stuffed dog and some sweet necklaces. It was sooo funny! And fun! I was, however, the most overweight Paris Hilton ever but it was so cool to be included like that. (See above paragraph.) The whole thing, from set-up to departure, was very School Three - lots of waiting around, confusion, starting well past the posted time, and fun. After the show we all went for a drink. I got my Diabolo Fraise (limonade or Sprite with strawberry syrup) and we chatted like teachers. Fun times.

I completely forgot to tell you about this!! Last week, the classes at School Two put on their plays. Each class had a different play. There were two nights of plays, some repeated.
1. Marie-Pierre's fourth graders did a play about Miss Tomato wanting to marry Mr. Pickle but Mr. Pickle being in love with Miss Tomato Sauce and the various other vegetables, fresh and canned, in the kitchen with them. The best part about this was that they knew a lot of those words in English! They were fantastic.
2. Catherines's fourth graders did a play about the Jumpers and the Yawners. King Jumper wanted a restful vacation, and Queen Yawner wanted an active vacation so they traded kingdoms. Hi, my students are the CUTEST ever.
3. Christophe's fifth graders did a play that was a series of vignettes about fear. Wow, um, some of these kids can act.
4. Sylvie, who organized and directed all of the plays, had her students perform a play that was a hodgepodge of a bunch of fairy tales.
The two fifth grade classes are huge, so each play got acted twice with mostly varied cast members.
I was handed the cameras and told to snap away! However, the kids moved around a lot so there were a lot of blurry pictures. I managed to get at least one picture of each student on stage, in addition to the curtain calls. I love my students!

Speaking of pictures, Christophe brought out the camera at Tuesday's lesson to add to the album he's creating for his students. "Here we are at the pool, here we are in English with Miss D...." I cannot wait to get pictures of my students.

Continental finally confirmed my flight to Syracuse!! Who wants to come pick up my tired little buns at the airport?

La fille la plus chanceuse du monde.

2008-06-08T14:53:00.002+02:00

I am the luckiest girl in the world.

It's part circumstantial, part preparation, part hard work, part faith, part pure darn luck.

My family supports and loves me, cheering me on.
My boyfriend loves and supports me.
My friends are still there after years of insanity.
I love my job here.
I probably have a job in New York.
I am genuinely happy.

This is not where I expected to be at 24 years old. Andy has always found my year-by-year plans rather rigid anyways. Who knows what can happen. And the alternatives can be just as exciting.

Everything is going to turn out fine because I am the luckiest girl in the world.

Madame Renson, Jean LeLoup, Patricia Martinez: 1; Rose: 0

2008-06-05T19:45:00.002+02:00

When will I EVER learn?

Student-centered activities are where it's at. Give the students a structured and goal-oriented activity that they manage. You as the teacher can correct and referee disagreements, but the students interact with each other, not with you.

Example 1: This is for my fourth graders. I printed out five pictures each of living rooms, dining rooms, kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms. (I'd like to thank Pottery Barn Kids and my now empty ink cartridge.) This is a fun and stupid easy review activity. Each kid gets a picture. I do an example, and then pick one of the better students to start.
Kid 1: What's this!
Kid 2: The kitchen!
Kid 1: (counts the objects in the room out loud) Three! What's in the kitchen!
Kid 3: A stove! Is in the kitchen!
Etc. I love it. I don't have to say anything.

Example 2: This is for my dim group of third graders. The bright third graders did the flyswatter game. I colored all six shapes in ten colors, so there were sixty shapes in all. (I am an idiot.) I passed out the shapes to the kids. I did an example and picked C* to do the example because he's the only kid with a clue in this class.
Kid 1: What shape is it!
Kid 2: It's a...purple...square!
Kid 1 sticks his shape on the wall and Kid 2 gets up and presents one of his shapes. First one to get rid of all of his shapes wins. And would you believe it but this was the best lesson this group has ever had? I was smiling from ear to ear. I can plan a decent activity but shy away immediately from implementing them in my lessons. It's a newbie teacher's fear of "losing control" of the class.

The exclamation points are direct quotes. Everything is exciting for them.

Why living in France rocks:

2008-06-02T19:29:00.002+02:00

I woke up this morning in a funk. I dragged myself to the high school liberry (don't worry, my fifth graders say library) to get some work done and replan my lessons. Lunch at the high school cantine was lamb. I have hated every lamb plate I've ever tried so I ate at the apartment. I struggled through my three classes, and so did my students.

I finally got home a little after 5:00pm (that feels so weird to write). I had done some minor shopping at Leader Price for the basics. I did my exercises and took a shower. I made some dinner and watched some TV.

I then remembered that I had half a bottle of Loire Valley red wine. That glass has seriously made me feel better. It's not the alcohol; it's just something in red wine that makes me feel good. I like it. White wines will never do this for me. Yay for world-class high quality yet inexpensive wines to pick yourself up after a funky day.

31-USA Day!!

2008-06-01T14:55:00.004+02:00

That means I have thirty-one days until I land on American soil.

School Three is my least favorite school. The atmosphere is pleasant and very French "We'll do it when we get around to it," the teachers are very kind, and the directeur Mr. Barbe is a very gregarious fellow. The students mostly come from the Cité, which is the projects, and there is a strong Muslim population there. Other students live at the Gendarmerie Mobile, the police barracks. I like the school well enough but it just does not compare in terms of friendliness, openness, and an atmosphere in which I feel comfortable to Schools One or Two.

I work with only Virginie at School Three. Virginie teaches a combined 3rd/4th grade classroom. She is 27, and therefore the teacher closest in age to me. She has invited me to the school play, the hiking trip, the field trip to the Lascaux Caves (argh! I was busy that day!), to her home soon south of Ussel to go hiking, and most recently to the school's dinner dance fundraiser. I originally declined. I no longer have roommates to drag around, and Françoise is very busy. Well, I rethought it. I declined because I knew I would be uncomfortably alone. School Three's teachers are nice enough but they're very cliquey and while they acknowledge me, they don't include me. (There is an exception. Wait for it.) Virginie has reached out to me because she is the only one who has anything to with me officially. Also because she's also a fairly quiet person like me. So I agreed to go to the fundraiser with Virginie and her boyfriend.

So Virginie and her boyfriend Joselin (I know I'm spelling that wrong) picked me up and we got to the Salle Polyvalente (town conference hall thingy) around 8:30. There were tables lined up and a DJ playing music for the kids to "dance" around to. This was the progression of the evening:

8:30 - 10:00 Apéritif, which means overpriced drinkies at the bar with chips, greeting people where I got to bise (kiss-kiss greeting) a lot of people, watching the kids rock out to their bad selves, watch the DJ's fog machine destroy any ambiance, get to know Joselin a little and comiserate about not being familiar at all with these people or the situation, and get very hungry.

10:00 - 1:30 Meal, dancing, and random conversations. Everyone got served some overalcoholised punch. Joselin and I were left alone while Virginie helped out with the serving. She gave us strict instructions to speak only in English as he was going on vacation to Ireland. I recommended he visit the Ring of Kerry, and we discussed education, his job, my job, French politics, French cuisine, etc. Dinner was a salade composée, boeuf bourgignon, cheese, and fruit tarte. Very good food. During the entire meal, the DJ kept playing overly loud music, turning the lights on and off, and the fog machine was on full blast. It was virtually impossible to hold a conversation. A lot of my students were there, including a few of my awesome fifth graders from School Two! I desperately wanted to dance but I was so so so self-conscious. I learned to dance in American high schools, so my style has a lot of hip gyrating and moves that, from what I observed on this French dance floor, would only reinforce how NOT French I am. I finally got my butt out there, and Juanes' "La Camisa Negra" came on so I felt so much better. I of course scooted off the minute I heard the opening notes of "YMCA" and apologized to my table for my culture's contribution.

I also got the crazy idea that my legacy should be teaching all of my students the "Cotton Eye Joe" dance. What do you think?

I mentioned an exception. Valérie is a second grade teacher at School Three, the wife of Christophe the fifth grade teacher at School Two, and the mother of P*, one of the good kids in the ridiculous fourth grade class at School Two. Valérie is gorgeous. She's perpetually smiley (a rarity for French women!), blonde, and funny. Christophe is a lucky lucky man. (I think Christophe is a wonderful man as well, even if he is a little generous with the wine at times.) In an upcoming event that I am keeping under wraps because I am involved in a hysterical capacity, Valérie is portraying "the French Paris Hilton," an obnoxiously beautiful supermodel. When she talks to you, she touches you. I love Valérie and want to be her friend.

A high school in New York is super enthusiastic about me. I am super excited about them as well. A phone call Friday afternoon made me smile from ear to ear. If this works out, I will be the happiest girl in the world!

Today I have downloaded more music, printed out flashcards, planned lessons including many much student-centered activities, made hard-boiled eggs and Lemon Angel Pie. Now who to give it to...Madame Laugier, the proviseur/high school principal? Laurence and Serge next door?

I have a hotel reserved in Paris. I have a first-class one-way ticket to Paris. I have a plane ticket to Newark. I cannot believe I have to leave...I love this job and I love my life here, but I know it's not real. I miss you all so much! I'm coming home!

L2 teaching methods: a reflection

2008-05-30T16:59:00.003+02:00

I have been thinking about second language learning, its application in New York, its application in France, my classroom training, and my experiential training. Language learning has gone through many permutations and fads in the past decades. My mother can tell you that teaching methods are cyclical in their usage: one year it's the hot new thing to do, only to be thrown out the next year, but come back ten years later. I've been wondering about the required methodology here in France, its subsequent results in the general French population's linguistic success, and how it compares with everything I've been taught.

As a student at Cortland, the word "communicative" was pounded into our heads. Our lesson plan formats focused on permutations of grammar concepts that used the vocabulary. I have, you have, she has, we have, you all have, they have tea. I have tea at noon. You have tea at two o'clock in the afternoon. One of my favorite lesosn plan formats is PACE, which stands for Presentation, Attention, Comprehension, Expansion. It works like a dream for introducing new grammar ideas without shoving a conjugation table in your students' bewildered faces. (What's a conjugation, and why have I never heard that word until French class?) The focus of a communicative classroom is, obviously, organic communication using the memorized vocabulary lists and grammar structures in culturally appropriate situations. As a methods student and as a student teacher, I struggled with developing and implementing student-centered activities. I'm very good at talking; everyone who knows me knows that all too well. What is difficult for me is to "give up control" of the classroom and let the students discover the language on their own, while I provide the materials and culturally appropriate situations in which to practice their newfound communicative ability. This communicative approach is not immediately comfortable for me, but I managed some success in my student teaching placements.

As an EFL teacher in France, I am bound by the same national curriculum that my colleagues must follow. There is a required pedagogical approach in language education, and it mostly involves memorizing structures and replacing various vocabulary words. My students completely understand themselves when they say "My mom's name is Marie; she is tall and pretty; she is in the kitchen." I am expressly told, "Do not teach them grammar. Conjugations are done in middle school. You are here to teach them to speak with an authentic accent, vocabulary, and culture." After a couple of workshops and very little oversight for a first year teacher, I am happy and proud to say that I've grasped this methodology fairly well. My third grade students can tell you their name, age, favorite color, favorite farm animal, the day, the month, shapes, count to 20; my third graders can tell you their name, age, favorite color, physical and personal description, describe their family, name 32 different foods, and now the rooms and furniture in the house; my fifth graders can tell you about the weather, their clothes, the time, school subjects, and places in town. I am very proud of the progress my students have made in their expressive ability, albeit very limited in scope. However, I'm not allowed to teach them grammar, and quite frankly there is just not enough time or cognitive development for it to be of much use. They are only nine years old. My students had the hardest time reading the penpal letters Mom and Maggie sent because they were written with organic syntax, something my students couldn't possible broach based on their education. It stressed them out, and me as well. I thought my students could communicate; why don't they see the words they do know? I realised that this methodology has taught them into a memorized, structure begets structure, uncommunicative corner.

Recently, I've realised that the methodology I use here in France is the Audiolingual Method, or ALM. This is the method used in my parents' language classrooms. The teacher speaks exclusively in the target language; the students listen and parrot the structures, replacing vocabulary words. Little attention is paid to grammatical structures or concepts. The joke in the language education world is that the first phrase the students learn to say in the language is something so situationally exclusive that it's virtually impractical - things like "May I have another cup of coffee please?" It's very teacher-centered, and students almost passive absorb the language through osmosis. (I have slept on my Spanish grammar book. I still cannot conjugate the subjunctive correctly on the first try.) This method matches the French educational system well, as it is authoritarian and focuses on rote memorisation. Students participate in class by posing and responding appropriately to questions. This method lends itself easily to TPR, or Total Physical Response. I observed a TPR classroom while at Cortland. I was amazed at the students' communicative abilities but they had no concept of conjugations or syntax. I do TPR a lot just because miming instructions in English is easier for me than trying to figure out if "au-dessous" or "en-dessous" or "dessus" means "on top of" or "underneath." I cannot keep those straight.

The antithesis to ALM is the communicative approach that was preached to me at Cortland. This approach acknowledges the necessity of metacognition in language learning - students have a right to learn how they're learning the language. Students are encouraged to think about the language and develop organic utterances based on the grammatical structures and vocabulary. The teacher presents using authentic texts lke stories, poems, videos, and songs. This method lends itself easily to student-centered activities like dialogues, skits, listening exercises, and other tasks that the NYS Regents tests and that the National Standards emphasizes. I fully maintain that while my French fifth graders rocked the socks off the NYS Checkpoint A written evaluation (a 100-word note), the painfully weak attempts of my New York eighth graders were more communicative and organic.

In the past weeks, I've been thinking about the differences of teaching in France, teaching in New York, how my experience in France will help or hinder teaching in New York, and what this means for me as a language teacher. Has this experience trained me the "wrong" way? I mean, I have been told time and again by Jean and Patricia, my methods instructors, that language education must be communicative and student-centered; my parents, both excellent teachers, remind me constantly "It's not about you, Rose;" my best mentor Rhonda told me "You are not 100% responsible for their successes or failures." All of these things tell me that what I'm doing in France is the opposite of my training and the expected methodology in New York. Am I in trouble when I return?

I maintain that this experience in France is invaluable both professionally and personally. I am learning so much immersing myself in The Real France, which is what I really wanted when I applied for this job. I will have so much to offer a class of students in New York. I am learning so much about classroom management and lesson preparation. I am learning so much about how students learn language. I am learning that my family is more than important, and that someday I want a family as well with the man who supports me and loves me. However, despite all the lessons this experience has taught me about myself, life, people, teaching, and language education, I can't help but wonder if this is a step backwards in the world I intend to enter upon my return. I mean, I'm practicing the "no-no" methodology! How can I enter a New York classroom and effectively teach using the New York and national standards, American textbooks, and New York teenagers? I feel like I need to observe a New York classroom before I dive back in again. However, due to my schedule and logistic needs, I will probably go from the airplane into a classroom.

My beach reading this summer includes my methods textbooks and Spanish literature textbooks. I really need to reintroduce myself to American education and language learning methodology.

For the four remaining weeks, I will continue my English lessons as I have before, but trying desperately to incorporate more student-centered activities. Let them free!

Thank you for reading. I love teaching, I really do; I just hope I'm not doing it "wrong."

How to correctly leave France:

2008-05-28T17:50:00.002+02:00

1. Cut all ties to France Orange and hold a seance to irradicate its presence in your life.
Really, this involves sending a return receipt letter to Customer Service asking them to please disconnect your service and stop billing you as of a certain date. Then to ensure that no more automatic withdrawals are incurred on your bank account, put a block on your account. Then once you receive the letter from Customer Service saying that they have indeed received your letter and will cut off your internet (and life) as of April 30, you will need to call France Orange Customer Service three times for them to send you the appropriate instructions on how to give them back the magic internet box. Normally, you could just go to the France Orange store, but they conveniently closed the one in Ussel in April. Now it's a cell phone shop only. Then, armed with the special France Orange magic internet box return by mail ticket, you go to the newspaper shop to buy packing paper, wrap up the magic internet box, and then go to the post office and mail the whole thing off.
Next is lighting some candles and chanting, because oh my goodness France Orange how I loathe thee.

2. Cancel your French life insurance policy.
I took out the biggest policy they had because I'm kind of a klutz and goodness knows I would want the most comprehensive coverage possible. I have no recourse if something goes wrong. This one included body repatriation even. So in order to cancel the "responsabilité civile," as it's called, you again send a return receipt letter to MAIF Customer Service and attach a copy of your soon-to-expire residency card. See? This is why I want to cancel. Soon I will leave your country because I will no longer be legal.

3. Close your bank account.
Nadine, my banker, will be on vacation during my last full business week in Ussel. So she set up an appointment with Isabelle in the next office over to come in on Friday, June 27, to close my account. This will involve them giving me a big wad of Euros and me relinquishing my beloved debit card.

4. Realise that no one wants anything to do with your pay-as-you-go cell phone. Hooray for useless and uninteresting souvenirs.

5. Pray that the Rectorat (district office?) pays you on time.

6. Make travel arrangements.
I have reserved three nights in a very very very nice hotel in Paris: Hotel Saint Louis Marais. It is very nice because I get a shower, a double bed, wifi, buffet breakfast, airport shuttle, satellite TV, 24 hour concierge, and decadence. Also the hostel was booked up.
The SNCF website is undergoing some updates and as such, the train reservation part is down. I will be going first class, as it's less than 40€ to do so. I need mah space.

7. Make lots of lists.

I have less than one month in France!

Rose and Umbrellas

2008-05-27T23:02:00.003+02:00

I seem to have bad luck when it comes to unexpected rain, expected rain, and umbrella possession in times of rain. I spent three cold and rainy days in Bordeaux in 2005 being perpetually wet and cold. I got caught in a torrential sleeting rainstorm in Bayeux and ducked into a bookshop to pretend to look at children's books. Walking back to my building from the library in Cortland while wearing white capri pants and a blue tank top, it started to rain heavily. A freak rainstorm in Cortland forced me into the bookstore where I bought an umbrella for $25. I later "lost" the umbrella at Andy's apartment in West Campus; we maintain that one of his idiot roommates or their friends took it. Most recently, Maggie and I braved the Eiffel Tower in the rain without an umbrella.

In short, I have had poor experiences with rain and the appropriate protection against it. I suppose a positive rain experience is hard to come by; after all, it usually ruins all plans and no one's hair looks good after coming in from the rain. I maintain to this day that I absolutely hate rain and would much rather snow.

I had another umbrella crisis back in November. It was raining, I walk everywhere, and I knew that this being France, it will probably rain some more. In France, there are these stores called maroquineries. These shops sell purses, luggage, gloves, cute scarves, sometimes hats, and umbrellas. And since the one in Ussel is across the square from the laundromat, I used my forty minutes of wash to scope out the scene. I told the maroquiniere lady that I'm a simple girl and I don't want something flashy, anything with a print, and that it needs to be sturdy. We tried nearly a dozen out, discussing the merits and downfalls of each. I finally decided on a slate grey one that opened with one button. My jaw dropped when she rang it up: 69€. Oh my goodness!! I had definitely not expected to pay that much for an umbrella! But since she had spent so long with me talking about it and we were at the register, I felt obligated. She is the only luggage store in town, after all...

I didn't open the thing for months. I toyed with the idea of returning it, but was unconvinced of the possibility of that happening in France. (I now know it's ok.) For months, that little blue plastic bag represented all of my poor umbrella purchases.

In fact, I was so ashamed, scared, angry or whatever to use it that I didn't bring it with me on vacation! How silly of me. South France and Paris in February?! Girl, please. It rains in France. What were you thinking? So I bought a reasonable umbrella for 10€. I was pleased with it because it was black with pastel spots. However, it was very flimsy. I was disappointed.

This winter was very dry. Very little rain, virtually no snow. Once March rolled around though - here comes the rain! I finally gave in and broke out the 69€ umbrella. And what do you know, but it is really worth all sixty-nine inflated Euros? I bring that thing with me everywhere. It has become my trusty umbrella, and I am sincerely looking forward to bringing it back to New York where it will stay safe and unused in my car's glove compartment.

I am very happy to finally have made a significant purchase that has turned out for the best. I very much so like my umbrella.

I still absolutely hate hate hate the rain.

A pretty cool weekend!

2008-05-25T20:23:00.002+02:00

Friday was a good lay low day. Andy helped me make a recording for my fifth graders. The quality was really good and it was all comprehensible input, but because the structures weren't EXACTLY what they know or what was on their worksheet, they got really really confused. We muscled through it.

Marie-Pierre asked me if my brothers would be interested in being her 16 year old son's summer penpal; if not them, did I know any American high school-aged boys? Um, sure...I sent a note off to FLTEACH and I'm going to ask Reilly and Audra if their French teachers would be interested in hooking up a student. I suspect that this penpal-ship could become more. It sounds like a personal ad: "Looking for English writing correspondant, possibly more."

On Saturday I did some major shopping to make desserts for Sunday. My goal: strawberry shortcake. I had a well-recommended recipe from allrecipes.com, my best website. If not, I still had a box of brownie mix from Mom and Dad's Halloween care package. Here are the fruits of Saturday:
Shortcake: Absolute bust. I need to remember that baked goods are only as good as the butter you use, and I bought the cheap butter from Leader Price. Also, I am unconvinced of the effectiveness of French baking powder, and I was lacking cream of tartar.
Angel food cake, to replace the shortcake: Surprisingly perfect texture, but due to a lack of lemon and vanilla extract, tasted like an egg white omelette. Also my recipe said to let it bake for 45 minutes. Having completely forgotten that the angel food cake mixes are idiot-proof and super quick, I believed it and the tops burned.
Brownies: DELICIOUS. Every time! Ask Glass Tower; I would bake four sheets of brownies every Tuesday for Glass Tower to sell as a fundraiser. Everyone loved them and asked for them. 25 cents was a steal for one of Rose the AA's brownies!
Orange Jello Poke Cake: Using a prepared French yellow cake mix I had intended to make for either School One or School Three, I prepared the last of the Jello from the Halloween care package. It tasted like creamsicle and was delicious.

So that's what I did Saturday. Bake. Françoise needs a new hand mixer. Hers is pre-war, and possibly pre-Wars of Religion (which were in the 17th century).

Why on earth did I bake so much?? I was invited to Hélène's for Sunday lunch and had offered to bring dessert. It was a delightful afternoon! This was the menu:
Apéritif: cocktail weiners and Banyul, a prune-flavored sweet wine from southern France-almost-Spain.
Entrée: melon
Plat: Pommes de terres farcies (stuffed potatoes) which really meant a casserole of super super thin sliced potatoes, pork sausage, and tomatoes.
Salade: salade du marché (market salad) which means delicious green and purple lettuce with homemade Dijon mustard vinaigrette
Cheese: blue d'Auvergne and Cantal
Dessert: the aforementioned brownies (decorated with checkered confectioner's sugar and sliced strawberries) and orange poke cake, and of course coffee.

After lunch, Hélène and her husband Laurent left their son Pierre to study while we three went an hour east to Salers, an ADORABLE town in the département of Cantal (Ussel is in the département of Corrèze). The drive itself was beautiful. Picture all the stereotypical images of the French countryside: flowers on the side of the road (yellows, white Queen Anne's lace, blues and pinks), green trees, cows, ridiculously beautiful towns that don't seem to have acknowledged the arrival of the 18th century, castles...it was beautiful. We arrived in Salers which was surprisingly alive for a Sunday in the middle of nowhere. There were shops with regional products: tome which is the base cheese from which Cantal is made, ham, cookies, Gentiane which is the ultra-bitter liquor Ben bought back in like November, and all sorts of other stuff. Hélène and Laurent bought some liquor and cheese and cookies, a box of which they gave to me, and I bought a postcard. We had tea in a very nice café where a Belgian group was visiting in search of their ancestors. Their conversation was neat to see the dynamics between Europeans. Just really cool. The village of Salers is IN the Massif Central, the chain of mountains in the middle of France, and there is an INCREDIBLE lookout point. The town itself calls itself a Renaissance town and is so beautifully preserved. Absolutely gorgeous. We got home around 7:00pm.

The super awful terrible no good very bad part of this little excursion: IT WAS POURING. And because we're so high up in elevation, the wind was atrocious. We were completely soaked. As soon as I got home I took a hot bath and had tea.

In any case, it was a delightful Sunday. I need to send them flowers or something as a thank you, if only to assure future invitations. Did I mention that Hélène is a school doctor and Laurent is a dentist? Yes. Their house is very French but very very nice. In the guest bedroom there is a sink and a bidet. I have some serious ideas about thank you gifts for them: Syracuse China, a nice painting of Camillus or Syracuse, and anything involving American cuisine.

I also got Françoise a bouquet for Mother's Day, as it is celebrated today in France. It's a beautiful bouquet with yellow roses and yellow daisies. So pretty and she loved it. :)

Next week is going to be busy!!! I have to make some serious moves regarding going home: train ticket, lodging in Paris, closing my MAIF account (essentially life insurance), closing my bank account, applying to new teaching jobs, figuring out what the heck to do about health insurance (France wins on this), and other various wranglings. Oh and did I mention plan and present lessons?

Oooph.

2008-05-21T19:13:00.002+02:00

So two weeks after I emailed my supervisor, Madame Renson, about coming in to observe my lessons and to talk about the fifth grade exams, she calls this morning. To say that she's coming TOMORROW. Argh. I shouldn't be nervous or anxious; it's not like I'd ever prepare anything different. It's just not a lot of notice. I wouldn't even invite someone to come over that early. Eesh.

I don't feel very well today. I feel dehydrated despite countless bottles of water and green tea. I have a headache and I just feel out of sorts. I didn't exercise.

I did, however, buy two pairs of (matching) shoes at the Wednesday morning marché for 10€. Both, together. One pair is brown and the other pair is black. They're the same pair of shoes. They're really cute and have the sturdy European soles I've been missing for the past eight months.

I also mailed out seventeen teaching applications, only two of which are actively looking for a foreign language teacher.

Today is not a good day, but it's not a bad day either. Wednesdays have historically been difficult days for me.

An awesome weekend!!

2008-05-18T21:10:00.003+02:00

I didn't end up going to the Russian Choral concert on Friday night. My excuses were the 10€ ticket, I was tired, I was preparing my tutoring lesson, it was raining, and I wanted to stay online. Sorry to disapoint you Soleil!

SO. Teh internetz has this thing called torrents. Thanks to Shannon for guiding me through. Basically, this is how I've been entertaining myself online, keeping myself from going entirely insane due to boredom, and looking for fun ways to spice up my lessons. I have all of Sex and the City, Oz, and Clone High, which are all super fun tv shows; a couple of movies; and about 10GB of music. Oh my goodness. Françoise's internet connection is only about 3,294 times better than mine was, so the files come in less than 24 hours at the slowest.

Of course, this comes with surprises. Among my discoveries:
"Asereje" by Las Ketchup
"The Hampsterdance Song"
"Peanut Butter Jelly Time"
among others. I have not yet filtered all 10GB of music. Luckily the Toshiba has 231 GB.

On Saturday, I embarked on the grocery trip odd-yssey. What did I buy?
At the "organic" grocery store: dish soap, rice cakes, crème fraiche (kind of like sour cream and fresh cream), pie dough, crème de marron (spread made from sugared boiled chestnuts)
At Leader Price, the super cheap grocery store: kitchen sponges, mayonnaise, white vinegar
At the market: one kilo of potatos, parsley (I think it was free with purchase!), celery, a cucumber, four peaches, a melon, a barquette of strawberries, two onions, a dozen eggs (they still had feathers on them!)
At the cheese shop: raspberry jam
At the convience store: a new travel-size water bottle and toothpaste
At the bakery: half-loaf of whole wheat bread

When I finally got home, dragging all this stuff with me, I got busy in the kitchen! What did I make?
Tarte au morailles: One of my fifth grade students gave me a block of morailles. This is a super strong soft cheese from the north of France (Soleil and Shannon, do you recognize it?). The thing to do with it is make this pie. So I rolled out the pie crust, placed a layer of the super stinky cheese down, and covered it all with the crème fraiche. Fifteen-ish minutes in the oven and voilà, stinky cheese pie. It's pretty good.
Potato salad: peeled and boiled the potatos to a PERFECT texture, boiled and peeled the eggs (way too fresh), chopped the onions and celery, mix. I was unable to find dill.

Saturday was also my last tutoring session with my student. I have to pass a ton of websites to her! I did get paid for our final four sessions, so yay for cash in hand.

On Saturday evening, the city of Ussel hosted a Nuit au Musée, or Night at the Museum. Yes, Ussel has a museum! In fact, it's a collection of historic buildings with historically significant artifacts from the area, open only in the summer. The exhibition started at the Chapelle des Pénitents with a choral recital by the Cantante 19, the regional choir. It was very nice. The Chapelle has displays of painted wooden saint figures, a horse-drawn hearse complete with a stuffed horse, displays of religious life paraphenalia (baptism dresses, wedding pictures, rosaries, random boxes). As with all of these cultural events in town, I was bound to see students. And guess who showed up - Alexia and Antoine! I love them so much. She is so sweet. I think we could actually be friends in like real life too. After the exhibition at the Chapelle, the whole group walked to the museum downtown where we listened to the Lyre Usselloise, the city band play some embarassingly inappropriate songs (the Bugs Bunny theme?!) and a storyteller tell the French version of Hansel and Gretl, called Jeannette and Jeannot. The storyteller was absolutely fantastic. I really enjoyed her. Then we we went to the printing shop that displayed Ussel's printing history, mostly based on music printing. That was pretty cool. The middle school art classes had had a workshop on lithographs and produced a calendar. I'll see if they're not selling it; it looked really cool! So that was a supremely delightful Saturday night!

Wait, why did I make potato salad? Well, Françoise's best friend is Hélène who is the mother of Pierre who is a student at the high school, friends with Daniel, and with whom I have hung out a few times. Hélène invited me to spend Sunday with her. We went to her Equestrian/Tao Chi Center, where a very dynamic lady named Emmanuelle rehabs horses and teaches a type of Chinese meditation called Qi Xong (ah spelling), in addition to chain smoking. (We are in France, after all.) It was pretty cool, even if I am not at all an animal person and horses require a relationship with humans to pretty much function. And guess who else was there? Marie-Claude, the conseillère pédagogique who first greeted me in Brive!! And her crazy daughter Camille. Her husband Olivier showed up too. Basically it was a group riding lesson and meeting for this center's upcoming exhibition. It was pretty cool, honestly. My potato salad was a huge hit, especially when I told them it was a traditional American picnic recipe. It was pretty good, if I do say so myself! Go me. I am not so all about the horses. I'm not scared of them; I just don't know how to communicate with them. I tried leading this one pony around but she just refused to acknowledge me. I am not an animal person, and apparently animals agree. Even Tahini begs to go outside when she's home alone with me.

I just got a phone call from Hélène inviting me to next Sunday's lunch! I'm going to bring dessert. Who wants to see Rose attempt angel food cake for strawberry shortcake? What other options do I have...I do still have two boxes of orange jello and brownie mix, but I was planning on baking for Schools One and Three this week. Hmmm. This will require thought!

I am exhausted from this weekend. I am so looking forward to school this week, too!

...long long time ago...

2008-05-14T18:56:00.002+02:00

Not much to update, honestly.

Still teaching small funny French children about English with wildly varied success and hysterically frustrating failures. Still super anxious about coming home, both positively and negatively.

My weight has seriously started to bother me. The first thing I'm doing when I get home to the States is the annual family vacation to Cape Cod, where we either go to the beach or go to the pond, both activities requiring a bathing suit and a body without nine months' worth of cheese and Nutella.

But oh my goodness, Nutelllllla...

So I'm exercising a lot and watching what I eat. Drinking lots of water and green tea.

There's a Russian choral recital on Friday night. I'd be going alone, if I go at all. Opinions?

Saturday night is the Nuit des Musées, or the Night at the Museum. The Ussel Museum (I know, right) is having a little pre-season celebration with special exhibits and presentations (and apparently a little apéro!) for FREE. This is cool because the museum is only open in July and August, and I'm terribly fascinated by what could possibly be in this po-dunk town's museum. More Ventadour memorabilia? Cows?

On Sunday, I have been invited to Françoise's best friend Hélène's lakehouse. Hélène is the mother of Pierre, a junior at the high school who is super in English and with whom I have hung out in addition to his friend Daniel and Ben. Pierre is better than TV. He's a very funny little boy. Ben had apparently been teaching them American slang, and Pierre tried some out on me once. Ahhh that was funny and in any other situation, incredibly offensive. I'm bringing American potato salad.

Three classes tomorrow, three classes Friday...less than 60 days left. Oh the mixed emotions.

My life in France is unreal.

2008-05-08T17:19:00.002+02:00

The librarian Krystyna is immensely helpful in choosing ability-appropriate and engaging novels for me to read. Zadig by Voltaire was fantastic; Le rouge et le noir by Stendhal was way too thick; I am now in the middle of Claudine à l'école by Willy et Colette which is so far very accessible. I may not be entirely illiterate.

Mass job applications may not prove as fruitful as I would like to believe given the status of my NYS certification: what does "Not ready for review" mean? And why is there no one I can call about this? Why does Albany make this so hard. Sad. A trip to the Credential Office at Cortland is in order this summer.

Today is a national holiday. Victoire 1945. May 8 marks the victory of the Allies over the Axis powers. I knew something was going to go on in Ussel; I did not know I would be an active participant!! I found the "marching" band (oh WG how you have spoiled me) at the Hotel de Ville. Along with pretty much everyone else: Monsieur Modeste, Marie-Pierre, Madame Cousty, Monsieur Barbe, Alexia and Antoine, Anne-Sophie, Catherine, Monique, Christophe and Valérie, Sylvie, Madame Laugier, Fabienne, and about 30 of my students from all three schools. Marie-Pierre waved me over, so I went to say hi. Of course, Monsieur Modeste couldn't just leave it at that: "You're going to walk with us to the Monument aux Morts?" So instead of just watching the parade, I walked in it. Yes. Right in between Anne-Sophie and Alexia, behind my students, and in front of the firefighters. Oh, did I mention the mayor was there? Yes. Madame LeClerc said hello to everyone before the parade started. I shook her hand. I don't even know who the mayor of Camillus is! So we got to the Monument aux Morts, listened to some prepared speeches sent by the Secretary of State, a poem read by some students from School Three, and flowers were laid at the monument. The students sang two songs: one was the anthem of the résistants, and the other was La Marseillaise. Repeat it all at the Monument aux Résistants. Apparently, at Place Voltaire which incidentally is where the middle school, the monuments to the dead and resistants, and the tourism office are, there was a small battle between the Germans and a troop of French soldiers. 42 Frenchmen died. Monsieur Modeste didn't mention which side won. In any case, it was a super cool morning.

There are three weeks at the beginning of May. May 1: Labor Day. May 2: Friday after Labor day but what the heck, let's make it a long weekend. May 8: Victoire 1945. May 11: Pentecost Monday (what?). May 15: national education strike, during which only two of my three teachers are striking. How has this completely thrown my lesson plans for a loop? If anyone recalls, I was the only person at ESM or Spencer who didn't want a snow day. ACK!! So this is fun. Random days off.

Françoise was supposed to go to the family house in Bugeat last night. But her boyfriend Patrick called and said he was coming up! Best not to surprise Françoise like that; she got very flustered. So we went shopping for dinner. Seafood with red wine. Who cares! The minute she got home, she got a phone call from a good friend. So imagine her on the phone and me trying my hardest to not annoy her too much but at the same time get dinner ready with her sign-language instructions. It was fairly successful! And now I have a neat recipe I'd like to try: scallops, mushrooms and baby shrimps in a creamy crab sauce, baked. YUM. The wine totally didn't match but we did not care. Patrick is a tuba player. I picked out the cheeses - a St Nectaire fermier and a Cantal entre deux. I love cheese! Patrick brought the desserts: Paris-Brest and a crème brulée tarte. The entrée was supposed to be grated carrots, but Françoise forgot that she had left the carrots in Bugeat last week! After dinner we went for a walk farther south than I've ever gone before. Busy day + wine + walk = very very sleepy Rose.

An "organic" store opened in Ussel. I don't know why they call it organic; isn't all food based on carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen? In any case, it's all very healthy and environmentally friendly. There's even environmentally friendly house insulation. In 10kg bags. Next to the whole wheat pasta. I like their tea selections. I'll be back, for sure.

I miss home but being able to keep myself busy with school and job searches and going for exploratory walks and maintaining my yoga and exercise routine and reading real books and trying to figure out why Tahini hates me is really good.

A fairly productive weekend!

2008-05-04T13:33:00.002+02:00

I went to the market on Saturday, and it was very productive! I got beautiful fresh strawberries that I've been cutting into slices and drizzling with honey. Delicious! I also got a head of lettuce which is more filling than it looks. I got orange juice and a pot of confiture de lait, which is a sweet spread made from cooking sweetened condensed milk until it caramelises. I've been told it's fantastic on apple slices. Yummy! I also got a half a loaf of un pain for Sunday and Monday's breakfast. Bread just tastes so much better in the morning than toast.

I re-planned my tutoring lesson for Saturday evening which went nicely. It's so hard to find grammar exercises that challenge her, that she can understand, and that don't require huge amounts of explanation for me. I have no idea what this tense is called in English: "I have done." Present perfect? Also, in the sentence "I asked my doctor a question," which is the direct object and which is the indirect object? Goodness.

I also FINALLY got my return ticket wrangled. My ticket is a Reward (frequent flier) ticket so there are restrictions on flights. The flight I wanted on Sunday, June 29 has no openings for me. The best Leslie, the super duper awesome international desk representative, found me was the earliest flight available on Tuesday, July 1. Close enough! Here it is:
7:00am Paris -> 8:00amish Geneva
9:15am Geneva -> 12:00 noon Newark
It's like time travel! I have no idea how flying across time zones works. From Newark, I have a number of options:
1. Buy the $260 ticket for the flight to Syracuse.
2. Take the shuttle ($15) to the Port Authority and catch a Greyhound bus ($60) to Syracuse.
3. Take the shuttle ($15) to Penn Station and catch an Amtrak train ($50) to Syracuse.
4. Take a taxi (approx. $3,921) to Syracuse.
5. Have Dad come pick me up.
At least I'm over the water. Once I'm in North America I can figure it out. Also, the least time spent in Newark the better. There is awful food and you have to pay for the wifi. Very unpleasant.

Today I vacuumed my room and the living room in addition to the linoleum in the hallway and kitchen, did some laundry, and am considering a walk. I'm also going to exercise twice a day. My exercise routine is only thirty minutes.

I kinda feel like a nap. Or a big piece of chocolate something.

Françoise's cat, Tahini, went out last night and I have not seen her since. She was starting fights with the other random cats on the high school grounds. I'm slightly worried. Françoise insists "She has to live her life" but if something happens to Tahini while I'm home alone, I will feel so guilty. Tahini also whines at me a lot.

Ok, let me get something intelligent accomplished.

Oh hai.

2008-05-01T20:19:00.002+02:00

SO. Rocio left on Tuesday evening. I've never seen her so stressed. She hadn't slept since about Friday night. We finally cleaned the apartment, and it's tons cleaner than when we found it. We did our part and left little things for the next assistants like our stack of magazines, lesson plan ideas and materials, our galette des rois crown, and some random other stuff. The last assistants in the apartment were Argentinian and had left tons of posters of Argentina and South America, so Rocio and I made sure to leave a few posters and a Mexican and American flag. It was sad to see her leave.

Yesterday, Ben came to Ussel to get his bike repaired, meet me for a drink, and meet his two best students Daniel and Pierre for a kebab (I joined them). We talked in English. When he left after dinner, it really hit me: I'm all alone now. My girl friend Rocio is gone, and my compatriot Ben is really gone. I may never see them again. That makes me sad. It was a short time together but due to our circumstances, it was really strong. You get to know someone really well when you're the only people in town in your 20s. Pretty much.

I have moved into Françoise's apartment. We went grocery shopping which was perfect timing. She has an OVEN!!! I bought cake mix - it's all batter already so all I have to do is pour it into a pan and put it in the oven. I'm so excited!! She has a Senseo coffee maker and a real (French-sized) fridge. She has a washer. I'm in a real French house! (Apartment. But you know.) This is such an awesome situation. The downsides, however, are that I don't really have a workspace to do school work, and that her internet connection is even screwier than our magic internet box is. The only computer that can connect to the internet is her laptop, and only with the cable. The wifi is bwoke, her magic internet box is being selfish and not letting the Toshiba hook up. However, she has given me free use of her laptop. I had installed Skype in like November, I installed AIM, and her webcam is even better than mine! However the keyboard is French. My touch-typing skills are still fantastic.

My students rocked their evaluations. My fourth graders were especially entertaining during their oral evaluations:
Me: What do you have for breakfast?
More than one student: I have green beans, pasta...and chocolate.
Me: ...Okay then.
I gave them full credit. I mean, it's comprehensible. Just weird. And they know better. My fifth graders also wrote a 100-word note! Eighth graders in New York state have to write a 100-word note based on a prompt for the eighth grade proficiency exam. My French Is at ESM struggled with this; my fifth graders ROCKED it. I am so so so proud of them.

I finally paid for my New York state certifications and fingerprinting. I've written a statement of purpose outlining why I think learning a new language and culture is important and how I teach my students and what I believe about the importance of learning a new language and culture and what I believe about the capabilities of my students. I'm proud of it: it's very positive and structured.

Continental and I are on shaky terms. There are currently no seats available on the date I want to fly home. I will call every few days as Miss Harris suggested. Miss Harris is the lady I talked to at the Continental International Desk.

I'm slowly working through my schoolwork. I have one class completely done: tests graded and marking period report completed. Next week's lessons are all planned, but materials need to be made.

Happy Rose :)

Short post:

2008-04-28T17:35:00.003+02:00

It's been a crazy couple of days: giving evaluations, grading evaluations, writing up marking period reports, planning three of the most messed-up weeks ever, moving out, cleaning our apartment that never is 100% clean.

In my quiet moments, this is what I do:

I miss everyone so much, but I only have two more months left. In teaching terms, this means "Oh my goodness, that's it?!"

As much as the students annoy the bejeepers out of me and simultaneously frustrating, rewarding, and hysterical, I do love this job. I have the best colleagues ever. I have the best students ever too.

Happiness comes to those who work for it.

2008-04-24T17:21:00.002+02:00

Really need to follow my own advice. Saturday evening and all day Sunday were really disappointing, but I guess that's to be expected after a fantastic two weeks of galavanting and flagrant credit card abuse.

I followed Marie-Christine's advice on calling the students' attention to the structure of the words and sentences. We did some "word and sentence study" review on Monday and Tuesday: mostly question and answer matching and fill-in-the-blanks. From what I'm seeing on the evaluations they took today, it seems to have significantly improved their utterances both orally and written. I'm pleased. Also the tests were super easy. But the scatterplot (Remember AP Stats with Kincaid? I sure do!) that's coming out seems pretty reliable. A good r-value, if you will. (That was the first math class I got an A in since fifth grade.) I'm very satisfied with the results. Whether the word study idea was successful this time around or not wouldn't have determined if I'd do it again. I definitely will continue to do this for the next unit, and I hope to use this in future foreign language classes.

I am verrry lazy lately. I have to pack up my stuff and move it to Francoise's sometime, bring the magic internet box back to France Orange, block the automatic withdrawal at my bank, and Rocio and I need to majorly clean the apartment and have lunch! I will also need to buy at least breakfast stuff and pay for school meals. And then I have to plan out my lessons for at least the next three weeks. Due to random French holidays, the next three weeks look super screwy. Sylvie also told me that they have to pretty much teach real lessons all the way up to the second-to-last week because if they show the slightest sign of letting up, the kids lose it. This last marking period is going to be a doozy! All this to do and it's already Thursday. I could have done a ton earlier this week, but yeah.

Looking for jobs in New York is very frustrating. I'm very unconfident of my paperwork certifying me to teach, but I'm very confident of my credentials, experience, and ability to teach. Some school should just look at my resume and go "Wow, she can teach and speak French so well she did it in France! And all of her letters of recommendation are in French. We should hire her." Yes. Someone should hire me. I am awesome.

Have I mentioned how much I love my exercise routine? And the NPR Program Stream? Oh NPR, how I love you. I cannot find a bias at all, which is a relief after the NYTimes and Washington Post.

(I cannot wait to go home and see everyone!!)

So how is it, skipping around Europe?

2008-04-21T20:57:00.003+02:00

Just DANDY. Oh my goodness. As I told Alexia this morning, it's starting to sink in that this is possibly my last long-term stay in Europe other than vacations. Il faut profiter, as Rocío says. (All the time.)

My trip started off typically. I was way too early to the train station in Ussel, and my connection in Brive went screwy because the train people farther down the line were striking so the train turned into a bus. Also Marie left her keys at our place so she had to take a train from Limoges to Brive to get them from me. And BEN was on the train to Brive too!! An oddly English conversation. I really miss that dude. He's a smart cookie. After his contract ends at the end of this month, he's going to a WWOOF (volunteer farm help) farm with sheep. Ah the jokes. Anyway. I'm on vacation, so back to the story.

My flight from Toulouse to Madrid was flawless. easyJet is a real airline with incredibly hot multilingual flight attendants. I paid for Speedy Boarding (imagine that with a French accent, it's hysterical) which meant I was first on the plane. It was a great flight.

I got into Madrid around 10:00pm. I went to check into my hostel, El Albergue Juvenil de Madrid, only to find that the reservation I made didn't start until SUNDAY night. OHHH my goodness, I was bedless?! That NEVER happens to me! Luckily, the desk dude at my intended hostel called the neighboring ones and found me a bed in the friendliest dump two blocks down. I also learned that the desk dude at Albergue Juvenil was actually French. I just about hugged him. This was an awesome hostel. I have not stayed in better hotels. Spotlessly clean, small rooms, free internet access, way too many cakes at breakfast. My roommates were three Italian translation students with impeccable English. I also met a girl from NC State!! She was studying textiles and was on study abroad in Paris.

I don't really remember the day-by-day activities in Spain, but I do know that I did the most I could in my two cities. Madrid is just a beautiful city. It's not huge but it's still a metropolis. It's Spanish but it doesn't have the cultural arrogance of the French. It was just delightful. I loved the openness of the Spanish people, the agreableness of everything. Ah it was wonderful. Things I saw and did:
- El Prado is the national museum. Here I saw all the paintings I had studied for so long in Weaver's Spanish Peninsular Civilization class. Here I saw all the Spanish history I studied. Here I saw Goya, Velazquez, Tintoretto, Goya, Ribera. I love paintings. I love good sculptures. This was beautiful. I got to see Las Meninas, but I didn't have a compact mirror so I missed doing the backwards trick. This was an amazing morning.
- Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum is across the street from El Prado. It has a HUGE collection. I got to see a Modigliani exhibit, an Otto Dix exhibit, all sorts of medieval religious art (my favorite!), and pretty much the entire European history of art. The Carmen Thyssen-Bornemisza collection included some AMERICAN artists! Who painted pictures of Upstate New York! I totally teared up when I saw the titles of these paintings. A beautiful afternoon.
- La Reina Sofía is yet ANOTHER museum in Madrid's "Museum Mile" (they're pretty much in a straight line). It holds a huge collection of mostly modern art which I have a hard time understanding. I much prefer medieval religious art, maybe because the themes are so much more straightforward (read: Jesus and pals). However, the Reina Sofía has Guernica, Picasso's masterpiece. If you are a student of Hispanic language and cultures, you have seen and studied this painting. It is enormous in person and awe-inspring and humbling and painful and beautiful. There was also Dalí and Miró! Amazing.
- History of the City Museum was empty when I visited. It was neat to see the history of the city in artifacts and pretty cool displays. It's just really cool to see in person the things you've read about in books and studied and had massive exams and papers on. Lots of "Aha!" moments.
- Archaeological Museum was cut short because they were in full-on renovations. But it did put France to shame in terms of display. There were some really, and I mean, amazing displays of Muslim artifacts and Siglo de Oro artifacts. Increíble.
- Spain has yet another art museum: the Museum of Fine Arts! More Ribera, Pedrera, López, Madrazo, and just in case I hadn't seen enough yet, Picasso was back. Unfortunately, all that was Goya was closed. It wasn't terribly interesting. Way too snooty.
- El Parque de Buen Retiro is Madrid's answer to Central Park in New York City, Kensington Gardens in London, and the Jardins de Luxembourg in Paris. It's beautiful. There's a Palacio Cristal, a huge pond/lake/artificial body of water with paddle boats, running paths, and a garden devoted to the victims of 3/11. (Madrid's commuter trains were bombed on March 11, 2004. ETA, the separatist terrorist Basque group, was originally blamed but when it was found out it was Al-Qaeda, it completely unraveled the elections that were basically the next week.)
- I went to the Palacio Real and the adjoining Catedral de la Almuneda. I'm not terribly interested in castles and I had quite enough Jésus y amigos so I opted out of actually visiting.
- I went to a flamenco night!!! For 30€ (steep!) I got two wonderful hours and a huge glass of sangria filled with amazing dancing. This is a traditional Spanish dance that's better the farther south you go. It reminded me of Irish step dancing in that there's a lot of floor pounding - so much so that there were holes worn into the stage! It was delightful. A little pathetic to attend on your own but something I absolutely had to do.
- I had awesome food in Madrid. (All of Spain actually.) The breakfast at the hostel was fantastic. For lunch one day, I went to 100 Montaditos, which apparently is a chain but you wouldn't know it from looking at it. I got a platter of six mini sandwiches about 15 centimeters long with things like shrimp, salmon, ham, sausage in them, a little dish of pickled everything, and a jarra of beer. It was delicious but let's just say that 1:30pm is not a good time for Rose to have a jarra de cerveza española. I also had churros y chocolate from the same place Samantha Brown went to! It was delicious. There weren't enough tables for singles so I sat at a table with a single gentleman. He had a Rick Steves guidebook so I commented on it. (As much as Rick is a huge dweeb, he's a good traveler.) This gentleman was impressed that I was traveling by myself. I also visited La Mallorquina, an institution in Madrid for a huge pastry that was basically half donut and half whipped cream. Delicious. The hostel also recommended a buffet down the street. For less than 10€, I got unlimited salad and hot dishes and (bad) ice cream. The coffee sucked too. But it was very good and called FresCo, so it was really healthy stuff. Definitely a good deal.
Madrid was wonderful. Everything I wanted in a vacation.

I took an AVE train from Madrid to Barcelona. The AVE is the Spanish high-speed train. Its French equivalent is the TGV. Let's compare the AVE and the TGV, shall we?
AVE: Madrid-Barcelona, 2 hours; free earbuds to listen to eight radio stations or the in-train movie; recorded stop announcements; digital display of weather, speed, time, and anticipated time of arrival; candies at the end of the train; clean bathrooms.
TGV: Marseille-Paris, 2 hours.
Spain wins again!

Barcelona is crazy. It's just so busy. I saw so many vacationers. I firmly believe that Italian "students" never go to school. Also, British and Australian backpackers will do anything. And the American backpackers usually look the most lost and clueless. My hostel was an HI Hostel but it wasn't all that great. (I should have listened to you, Nikki!) I did not enjoy chatting with the Norwegian hippie and his disgusting dreaded beard, or playing the "What are they doing?" game with the Japanese kids in my room. But breakfast was good and I was able to shower and sleep and that's the point, right? So what did I do in Barcelona?
- Parc Montjuic is where tons of fun stuff to see is, so I did way too much of it in one day. I was definitely suffering from death by museum at the end of that day. This is also where the Olympic complex is! The 1992 Olympics in Barcelona were the first ones that I was conscious of, and it was really special for me to visit a modern Olympic city. (I'm also really angry at the boycotts against Beijing. Please keep sports and politics separate. It's about the athletes, not your agendas.) I got to see the stadium! I think I could have gone inside but I couldn't figure it out. The Olympic Museum was super cool though. It again demonstrated the Spanish knack for display. Just wonderful. Also in this park was the Catalan Archaeological Museum which showed all the neat stuff found in the area around Barcelona. Another museum was the Catalan Ethnographic Museum. This reminded me a lot of the museum in Lourdes: lots of cultural artifacts from daily life of not just the Catalan people but people all over the world. You also go to tour their store room! A really neat museum. My favorite part of Parc Montjuic was the Botanical Garden. I really missed Aunt Karla here! It was all based on Mediterranean plants and had a huge section devoted to South Africa! This is only her specialty. Man, I really needed her. It was a beautiful park with gorgeous views of the city. The last thing in Park Montjuic was the Fundación Joan Miró. The temporary exhibit of modern Chinese kitsch propaganda art was pretty sweet. Actually, it was better than Joan's stuff. I just can't get into modern art. There was also a French school group there not appreciating the opportunity. Did my high school ever go to world-famous art museums? Hmph.
- Barcelona is also the home of the Picasso Museum, which Dad emailed me about just before I left for vacation. It was really sweet. It did a really good job of chronicling his life and the progression of his style. I liked his blue period the best.
- Barcelona is also the home of Antoni Gaudí, which is where we get the adjective "gaudy" from. I don't know, I think his stuff is pretty sweet. He was trained as an architect and his creations are entirely based on geometry and unconventional lines. He has a park and at least three buildings in Barcelona. The park has his house full of the ergonomic furniture he designed. That was a disappointing visit. The Casa Batlló was the only one of the houses I visited because it was the least expensive. It was commissioned by a bourgeois couple who used it as their own apartment and rented out the rest. His use of natural light and internal supports and loadless walls and curved lines were just beautiful.
- You cannot go to Barcelona without seeing Gaudí's masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia. He designed this crazy church and work started on it in the late 1800s but it's still so not done. They were predicting the first mass being held sometime this year but dude, I was there. They are not ready. It was beautiful and "typical" Gaudí style, full of non-right angles and shiny mosaics and curves. It honestly looks like if you let wet sand drip through your fingers. And my admission fee apparently helps them continue work. (What are all those construction workers going to do when it's done?)
- I also attended a Spanish guitar recital at one of the churches in the Barri Gotic, or Gothic quarter. It was fantastic. The guitarists had studied at John Hopkins in Baltimore, which to me seems like the world's biggest "Uh-BUH?!" They were excellent.
- Ok, why in my Spanish classes did I never hear about golosinas?! These are bulk candy shops and they are everywhere in Spain. Corner stores also sell salty snackies like nuts and potato chips by the kilo. Oh my goodness I ate so much Spanish candy.
- I have never seen so many KFCs and Burger Kings and Pizza Huts and McDonald's and Starbucks. Spain isn't as concerned, it seems, with "losing" its cultural identity as France is. Bring on the multinationals! Bring on the European Union! Spain is a major player, a positive force in the EU. France vetoed the EU Constitution a few years ago. Poor sports.

Spain was amazing. I'm so glad I got to see what I did, but at the same time I can't help feeling guilty that Madrid and Barcelona were all I saw. I loved Madrid and Barcelona. The metros were so clean and didn't reek of urine like Paris. People were friendly and forthcoming with English when my hard-suffering Spanish didn't cut it. Food was tasty and varied. I felt 100% safe. My French teacher card was indispensable - "Y si soy profesora en Francia?" was the magic phrase. There was more to do in both cities than I had time for. I almost missed seeing the Reina Sofía due to a scheduling mishap! The weather was warm and dry for all of about two days. It was amazing.

Again, easyJet was awesome. The flight to Paris was easy and depressing. Let's leave beautiful sunny Spain for grey cloudy cold Paris. Ugh. Oh and let's navigate the Paris metro. I don't really like Paris. I find it cold. Beautiful but unfriendly, rich but snooty, full of things to do and eat and see but boring. Wow I'm such a snob. I checked into my hostel, St. Christopher's, which is brand-new and still needs to work out the kinks. However the rooms were enormous, the bunk beds were super sturdy, there was luggage storage under the beds, there were duvets (!!!) on the beds, and there was internet access. I liked the neighborhood too. It was real Paris, not crazy touristy overrun Paris.

I made it to CDG Airport thirty minutes after Maggie's plane touched down, just in time apparently for her to have emerged from baggage claim two minutes prior. I was SO happy to see her. Magsters is the awesomest. We made our way back to St. Christopher's to dump our bags and walked a good hour in the wrong direction to get there because I read the map wrong. After that, we did The World's Most Ridiculous and Ambitious Tour of Paris' Top Five: Basilique de Sacre Coeur, lunch in the Latin Quarter (the same Antillais restaurant that Liz and Kathy and I went to!), Cathedrale de Notre Dame, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, and the Tour Eiffel. All before 7:00pm. We were DRAGGING. Jet lag didn't seem to hit Maggie until about Thursday of that week. It also started to rain right when we made our way to the Tour Eiffel, which sucked. It's great because it means short lines and still awesome visibility, but I hate rain so so so much. And I had left my umbrella in the room.

The next morning, we made our way to Rennes, the capital of Brittany/Bretagne. We checked into our HI Hostel which gave us a private ensuite two bed room (sweet!) and two free internet tickets. It was also next to a canal, which was pretty. We got lunch at a crepe restaurant which was delicious. Then we went on a walking tour of Rennes proposed by the tourism office's map. That was super fun. We took lots of silly and fun pictures. Did I mention that it was beautifully sunny and gorgeous out? My favorite part was the Jardin Thabor. So beautiful with the flowers and the fountains. Rennes was a great place to base ourselves.

The next day, we did our day trip to Mont St Michel, a Benedictine abbey built on a rocky point that turns into an island during the very fast high tides. It was low tide when we were there, so we got to walk around the mount. That was awesome! The abbey itself was really empty. It reminded me of the Palais des Papes in Avignon: "Imagine this room filled with beautiful tapestries, the sculptures painted brilliant colors, etc..." But the cloister was gorgeous and the main chapel was filled with beautiful Gothic light. (It was Gothic, right?) We had lunch at an over priced restaurant that served the famous Mere Poulard omelette (mostly air) and wasted a good hour at a cafe. This is the second-most visited site in France other than what's in Paris, so I'm glad Maggie got to see this. I've always wanted to go too.

On Wednesday, we made a day trip to St-Malo, a walled city on the north coast of Bretagne. The walled city was pretty fun. The Museum of the History of the City was lamecore and I was not translating well for poor Mags. She's patient though. This is the city where Jacques Cartier sailed from to explore Canada, so there's a statue to him on the walls (I think he's actually looking the wrong way) and in the Cathedrale there's a plaque on the floor saying he prayed there before setting sail and his tomb! Pretty cool, considering I actually did a presentation on him for my grad class last summer. We had lunch at this cute little place - I had a tartine reblochonne (open face cheese, bacon, onion, pepper and potato sandwich) and Maggie had a croque monsieur (grilled cheese and ham sandwich). Delicious and totally worth the 12€ we spent - that's for both of us. Yes. I love the provinces. The best part about St-Malo was the famed Grand Aquarium. Incredibly expensive and probably better if you had small French children (we are sans enfants) but sooo cool! Scary Atlantic fish, pretty tropical fish including Dory and Nemo, a shark tank with hyperactive shiny fish and huge desperate turtles, and all sorts of other crazy fish. After the regular tank visits, you're directed to this area called the Nautibus. What? It's named after the Nautilus because Jules Verne is from St-Malo. It's basically a theme park ride, and it was HYSTERICAL. Maggie and I couldn't get over how unreal it was. You go into this submarine-like thingy and it brings you around a huge tank filled with fish. The submarine also makes fake submarine noises. So funny!!!

Then we went to Quimper, which is at the very end of the nose of Bretagne. It's known for some serious Celtic history and porcelain. By today, Maggie was starting to feel a little tired. I'm pretty bossy and this is a stupidly ambitious whirlwind tour of Paris and Brittany. But she's (a little too) patient and as long as there was a bathroom somewhere, she was all set! (Sorry dude ;) ) We climbed up a big hill, shopped for porcelain, sampled lots of caramel and cookies at factory outlet stores, and had lunch at a great crepe place. I had one with onion "jam" and seaweed. It was DELICIOUS, no joke. We visited the Museum of Breton History and the Fine Arts Museum. The Fine Arts Museum was AWESOME. There was an interactive Matisse exhibit where we got to draw! The other art was pretty cool too, even if the artists were nobodies. The Cathedrale in Quimper is really folkloric: there's a statue to the Celtic King Gradlon on top, and the typical cross layout of the church is bent to the left at the end to mimic Christ's head turned to the right (left if you're looking AT it) on the cross. Pretty sweet. It was stupid windy in Quimper too.

Our last day trip was to Carnac. I wasn't 100% positive on how to get there, but some questions to the bus driver and my maps got us where we needed to go. Unfortunately, it was pouring. Have I mentioned how much I hate rain? Maggie was trying her darndest to be patient with me, but I was getting pretty agitated. We had lunch in a cute restaurant that was popular with normal French people. I had mussels! I love mussels. Maggie hates seafood and rated my dish a four out of ten on the grossness scale. Our purpose for going to this lost little town on a pouring rain day was to see the megalithes. Like there are random stones all around southern England (think Stonehenge, the biggest henge of them all...before that there was Strawhenge and Woodhenge...), all over southern Bretagne are purposely shaped rocks in specific patterns. The Museum we visited after lunch told us that some of them were funerary markers, but just north of the village center were the Alignements. There are hundreds of stones lined up in rows. My favorite reasoning is that Saint Cornely was being chased by Roman soldiers. Coming to the end of the "world" (Carnac is also on the beach), he turned the Roman soldiers all lined up in their ranks to stone. After multiple phone calls to the company that gives hiking tours of the Alignements, we decided that (1) we can't find nor do we want to look for the office of said company and (2) it's freaking pouring and we're cold and wet. So we ran up to the rocks, took six pictures, and booked it back to town. We caught the next bus+train combo back to Rennes. Shower and a sandwich later, we were ready to end the vacation.

We woke up at ridiculous o'clock to catch the bus+metro+train to Paris. We arrived in Paris just past 9:00am and I gave Maggie a hug goodbye, putting her in a taxi headed to CDG. I made it back to Ussel by 4:00.

That was a very charged vacation. It was amazing. I loved every minute of it, even the rainy parts (now). It was SO good to see Maggie. We talked, or rather, I talked, the whole time. We shared newbie teacher stories, and she gave me awesome ideas for my current and future classrooms. I know my family can't really come visit - mostly things involving airplanes - so it's super awesome that good longtime friends can visit me. It's not all about me, really. There is not one day that goes by that I don't think "Dad would love this" or "I wonder what Peter would say right now". You are always always always in my thoughts. When I get really lonely while traveling, I imagine that I'm Samantha Brown and there's a camera following me with an audience who really cares what I think about what I'm seeing and doing. Hahaha, I'm ridiculous.

My camera card filled up after the walking tour of Rennes, so I'm going to steal Maggie's pictures from Facebook. Picasa will be updated soon. Thanks for being patient with this post! I will see you in ten weeks and counting!!!

Sucking too hard on your lollipop, love's gonna get you down...

2008-04-04T16:39:00.003+02:00

Happy!

Thursday was a rough day. School One's fourth graders did beautifully with crossword puzzles and word searches. I did these because they help reinforce the spelling of the words and also the image-word correlations we've been working on. It was exciting to find something they thrived on, but also disappointing that something so so so banal would occupy them so completely. I mean, when I was in elementary school, I hated those stupid puzzles. But whatever works I guess.

School One was also doing school pictures. The third graders' sessions was actually scheduled during their English lesson, which was fine with me. I was not looking forward to playing lion tamer again. Their teacher Fabienne gave me such a surprise - she actually smiled at me! She's always been very quiet and reserved. She invited me to have my picture taken with the class. So I'm in the class picture! And I got an individual picture taken. Luckily I was having an awesome hair day, zits that refused to disappear, and was wearing a light blue sweater. It should come out wonderful. *sarcasm* The principal Mr. Modeste asked me for a copy of my picture. I joked "With my autograph on it?" He played along. "Yes, I collect pictures of famous American actresses. I'll tell everyone who asks that it was a famous American actress who came to Ussel." I LOVE Mr. Modeste. He is friggin amazing. Ahhh that was a great morning.

School Two's ridiculous fourth graders were especially ridiculous on Thursday. I gave them all croix dans les règles de vie (discipline marks). Stop talking. Write. Some students finished and it was because they focused on their work. EEESH. Marie-Pierre totally backs me up on them. They are just obnoxious. I'm going to change their seats again after vacation. Keep them on their toes.

Thursday afternoon's lessons at School Three were cancelled because the fourth grade classes were putting on plays. Luc's class put on a play called "A Day at the Museum." Students shared the roles of the Mona Lisa, the Thinker, and some famous statue of the discus thrower. It was basically commentaries of the works of arts and the various visitors to the museum. Cute. My students and the students of another fourth grade class put on a play that I think was set in 1940s Paris. Apart from that I'm not sure what it was about. It was hard to hear them. The kids didn't speak up or articulate that well. The most surprising part about this school assembly, the closest cultural translation I can think of, is that after the students presented the plays, the entire cast came out and fielded questions and comments from the audience. And the audience were their classmates. Wow. You'd never see that in the States!

Thursday evening was spent with Marie. Carine is coming back from her maternity leave. So Marie has been proposed (that's directly translated from the French) another substitute teacher post - sixth grade English in Brive until the end of the year. I'm going to pass along my fifth and fourth grade activities to her, including the grammar I'd love to do with my students but aren't allowed. She's a fun person. Very sensitive. We went shopping for perfume - would you believe that Ussel has two perfume shops? - and she spent about forty-five minutes smelling bottle after bottle. In case anyone's wondering, J'adore Dior eau de parfum for me please. And LaCoste Essential for Andy. And then she bought chocolate so all was forgiven.

This Friday morning was wonderfully simple. I fully subscribe to the idea that students must work independently, albeit with structured activities, with the language in order to own it and understand it on their own terms. So my two fifth grade classes did beautifully with their card game. Catherine's fourth grade class is just too obedient to play. They worry too much about people following the rules. I have also come to the conclusion that A*B*'s sole purpose in life is to piss off M*. Not one lesson goes by without M* whining "He's bothering me! Can I please sit with M*?" (Her friend.)

The best part about School Two is how welcoming and friendly the teachers are. They invited me to their regular pre-vacation luncheon. Catherine and Marie-Pierre were in charge of this time. There was trail mix and little pâté slices with kirs for apéritif; cheesy puffs for entrée; chopped endive, ham and cheese for salad; coq au vin with boiled potatoes for main; bleu cheese and cantal cheese; coconut pound cake and the richest chocolate mousse everrr for dessert. Remember the Christmas luncheon and how Christophe was overly generous with the champagne and wine? Goodness who on earth puts that man in charge of the drinks. But it was delightful. At the end of the meal, they made sure everyone had contributed. I asked the teacher who had the cash box quietly during clean-up how much I could contribute and she blew me off, laughing. Christophe asked "What are you two girls talking about?" and she explained to him that I was trying to give them money. He laughed and said "We don't take dollars!" Ahhh I LOVE School Two!

I am ALL set for vacation! I have all of my airline and hostel reservation confirmations printed and ready. I know how to get to the airport from the train station in Toulouse - it'll cost 3.10€! All I have to do while on vacation is eat, sightsee, and shop. I am SO excited!!! I'm very anxious as well but that's normal.

The pictures on PicasaWeb have also been updated from the last month. All the new pictures are in the Ussel album. I have to do some major reorganizing. That album is all mixed up. Enjoy! More pictures to come when I get home!!

Point System for the past few days

2008-04-02T22:50:00.003+02:00

+ Françoise, the agente comptable with whom I stayed for the first two nights in Ussel, and I had a good talk. I will slowly move into her spare bedroom in her apartment on the high school campus during the week after vacation. I will keep my room clean and will contribute to the household chores. I am allowed to keep having my tutoring student over on Saturday evenings. I will contribute the same portion of the rent that I pay currently for half of the apartment I share with Rocio. I may use her internet, phone, TV, and washing machine. This is an excellent situation. How to thank her.

+ Penpal letters went more smoothly. This entire project is showing just how much more planning was necessary. I had no idea, I swear. I'm very surprised and very very grateful to Mom and her colleagues for putting up with me. I must write a significant thank you.

- School One's third graders cannot handle the centers activities. I am super bummed. What am I supposed to do with twenty-three eight year olds?? They are so needy!

+ Sylvie paid me before vacation for the private tutoring lessons with her daughter. Sweet!!

+ Sylvie's fifth graders did well with the new seating chart. Except T*. He's a bright kid but oh my goodness give it a rest with the girls until middle school, will ya?

+ All of my cahiers are graded!!! With minimal missing pages! This marking period has shown me that careful and methodical planning will lead to results I am comfortable with. I am not good enough of a teacher to fly by the seat of my pants.

+ I went to the Musée du Président today! This was an optional field trip sponsored by the high school. Four students went, two of whom I recognize mostly because they're the most visible students (they dress really hippy-like). And also Polo, the retired French teacher who talks a mile a minute, hasn't taught at the high school for years but basically still lives there, and coaches theatre. And also two of the conseillères pédagogique d'éducation and their assorted children. This museum is a collection of the gifts that former President Jacques Chirac has collected from state and official visits throughout the world. He gave them all to the Conseil Général which displays them quite nicely in a beautiful museum in a beautiful part of Corrèze. I really liked it. However the bus ride put me to sleep.

+ Excellent food at the cantine. So good in fact that while passing through the line today at lunch, I asked the woman in charge if I couldn't have a second entrée. I took a picture.

+ I am so so so excited for vacation!!

- I am also a bit apprehensive. My Spanish skills will be tested. I'm not 100% certain how to get from the train station in Toulouse to the airport in Toulouse. I'm not 100% certain how to get to the airport in Barcelona. I don't have a map of either Madrid or Barcelona other than my guide book. I even have wiggle room in my plans between Madrid and Spain - I have Tuesday April 8 booked in both Madrid and Barcelona - something I never do. Will Maggie have fun? Is our week too ambitious? Is our week organized appropriately, both time- and money-wise? Oh my goodness is my paycheck minus the 100€ deducted for Orange and MAIF going to hold me? (Abuse of the American credit cards must be held to a minimum, if not nothing.) Will I be safe? AGH. These are questions I always have about vacation. It's just a different country. I have become so comfortable in France that I no longer outwardly worry about safety or logistics - I just know what precautions to take. AH stop worrying Rose. You're going on VACATION. To SPAIN!!!

Tomorrow: School One's fourth and third graders, School Two's ridiculous fourth graders, lunch with Merci Madame (I hear it's going to be lamb...ewww), then to see the play School Three's students are producing.

Friday: School Two's fifth graders and absurdly obedient fourth graders, lunch with School Two's faculty, saying goodbye to Marie :( but hello again to Carine hopefully with the baby!, and PACKING!!!

Saturday at noon I am on my way!

Vacances de Printemps: Les Vacances de -agne: Espagne et Bretagne

2008-03-30T21:54:00.002+02:00

As usual, here is the run-down of my upcoming Spring Vacation: The Vacation to the -agne: Spain and Brittany. Brittany is the nose of France. I will be spending one week in Spain and one week in Brittany with my best friend from home, Maggie. Why I decided to put these two destinations together is beyond me, but I'm super duper excited for it. So this is what and where and when of it all:

Saturday, April 5:
Ussel -> Madrid
A train from Ussel to Toulouse where I will catch a flight with easyJet, a discount British airline, to Madrid.

In Madrid, I plan on seeing the Reina Sofia, Thyssen, El Prado, El Parque del Buen Retiro, as many churches as possible, some nifty museums, and all sorts of other amazing Madrileno stuff. I plan on eating tapas, paella, gazpacho, and chocolate y churros. I plan on attenting a flamenco recital and a zarzuela performance.

I will also be making a day trip to El Escorial, a monastery where pretty much the entire Spanish royal family is buried.

I will be staying from April 5 to April 8 at the Albergue Juvenil which has an 87% approval rating on hostelworld.com.

Tuesday, April 8:
Madrid -> Barcelona

I will be taking either a bus or a train to Barcelona. I haven't decided. I'd like the trip itself to be an adventure and allow me to soak up as much of the Spanish countryside as possible.

In Barcelona, I plan on seeing La Sagrada Familia, the Picasso Museum, Barri Gotic, the Museum of the History of the City, Parc Guell, any of the Olympic sites, the "Spanish Village," the Ethnology Museum, and the beaches. It will probably not be warm enough to frolic but I'm all for a lazy afternoon with a beer and a book on the sand.

I will be staying at Center Ramblas, an HI-affiliated hostel.

Saturday, April 12:
Barcelona -> Paris

I will take another easyJet flight from Barcelona to Paris. I will be staying, hopefully, at the BVJ Louvre for one night. Maggie arrives on Sunday morning. We will do a whirlwind tour of Paris because she won't be exhausted enough from an eight-hour flight and jet-lag and then hopefully stay in BVJ Louvre Sunday night. I say hopefully because despite numerous phone calls and numerous online reservations, I have yet to receive any confirmation. And inexpensive, safe, and clean accomodations in Paris are hard to find.

Monday, April 14:
Paris -> Rennes

We will be basing ourselves in Rennes, the capital of Bretagne (Brittany). We will be staying at the HI Hostel in Rennes for this week. While in Rennes, we will see what a big provincial French city looks like and hopefully visit the Brittany Museum about Breton culture and history. There's also a neat science museum.

From Rennes, we will be making day trips to:
Mont Saint Michel: the monastery on an island whose causeway gets washed away by the tide.
Saint Malo: beautiful walled port city on the northern coast. There's an aquarium to see too!
Quimper: on Finistere (literally the end of the earth), this city has another Breton Culture and History Museum, a cathedral, and beautiful silly French-ness.
Carnac: known for stone monoliths, menhirs, and dolmens. (We will learn the difference among them, I hope.) My goal is to get a hiking tour, but it's hard to get there from anywhere so we'll see.

We will eat crepes, galettess, moules frites, lots of awesome Breton cheese, cider, and tons of amazing French food.

We return to Paris on April 19 in time for Maggie's flight back to New York and in time for my train back to the booming metropolis of Ussel.

I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS VACATION!!!

A landmark event.

2008-03-29T23:49:00.002+01:00

I began studying French in September 1998. Eighth grade, middle school, Mademoiselle Majewicz. I picked the French name "Rosette" because "Rose" wasn't on the list. Ten years later, I now know that rosette is actually a kind of sausage. That makes for a good dinner conversation.

I have studied French for nearly eleven years now. Intensive vocabulary, grammar, culture. Intensive (and expensive!) trips. Some of the best teachers. Some of the best books.

If proficiency is measured in the subconscious, then I think I may be getting somewhere. I find myself babbling in French even when no one's listening. I speak in English to myself occasionally, but directly translating the French I'm thinking. French is becoming more and more natural, or I'm becoming more and more comfortable.

"We breathe in our first language and swim in our second." ~ Adam Gopnik, Paris to the Moon.

I had my very first dream in French on Thursday night. I surprised myself awake. People (again, never anyone I recognize) and I were speaking French.

Pretty neat, huh?

Oh my goodness, are you ok?? What happened??

2008-03-28T17:35:00.002+01:00

So hey! Remember me? Yeah. I almost don't remember myself. This is what happened:

Literally minutes after I made my last post, the magic internet box lost its signal. Now as we all remember, this happens regularly because the magic internet box is special and forgets its medication and has a hard time finding its favorite satellite. Or something. However, the signal didn't come back immediately. No bother, we'll wait it out. No reason to spend 34 cents a minute to get unhelpful "customer service" from France Orange. It'll come back.

On Friday morning, I pushed myself out of bed to go to my three classes at School Three. The minute I said "Bonjour" to Merci Madame (some day I will learn her name), she basically sent me home. Apparently when I called in sick on Thursday, she assumed it was for Friday as well. So none of my teachers had planned on English that Friday. Ohhh...well I'm here? Yes but Rose, you don't have to be here if you don't feel well. I really struggled with this. I felt well enough to power through three hours of English and I felt really bad about just going home. "I don't want to seem lazy..." to which Catherine, who usually spends her class' English lesson giving me quizzical looks from the back of the classroom, responded, "Oh don't worry Rose, no one thinks THAT." I took that as a compliment and went home.

Unfortunately at home there was still no internet. I was frustrated because I couldn't go to school, so I decided to be productive and proactive at least one way. So I called France Orange. They told me, or at least I heard, that they would send a technician on Tuesday evening. Whaaat?! All weekend?? And Rocio went to Paris for the weekend.

I was very sick + alone on a long weekend + no internet + two days and all eight classes of missed lessons = sad sad sad Rose. I just felt miserable and awful and hated myself and France and wanted to go home NOWNOWNOW.

Well, I wasn't entirely alone this weekend. My tutoring student came and we did some grammar and an article. I am so nervous for her - when she goes to her Bac Pro school next year, apparently they're supposed to be grammar and vocabulary experts. AHHH that would freak me out! So we're going to try more grammar practice.

Also, Yolande came to visit. Yolande is the daughter of Marie-Jo, one of the (nicest!) English teachers at the high school. Yolande is doing the equivalent of her bachelor's and master's at the same time. She's also applying to study abroad at Dickinson College in Pennsylvania! She's super sweet. Also she's gorgeous. She was fun to have around.

Monday was a holiday. France takes Easter Monday off, the US sometimes takes Good Friday off. Yay.

Tuesday went all right. I felt better but not 100%. My principals were super cool with me missing Thursday and Friday and don't expect me to make up the missing lessons. I am verrry happy about that. There is no way I was going to do that anyways.

Wednesday was awful. I was supposed to go to my three schools in the morning to correct notebooks but I woke up feeling worse than when I went to bed. The technician who was supposed to "come" today (I had called France Orange again over the weekend and apparently I misheard) was actually a woman who ran some tests on the phone to tell me the SAME DAMN THING I called them to fix!! I was FURIOUS. Rocio and I asked our friend Marie to call France Orange for us because I was in no state to call and Rocio's French isn't good enough. The CSR on the phone asked to speak to me again, during which he spoke awful English. How condescending. I do not consider that helpful or comforting. I see it as "oh you poor foreigner, let me reassure you because I have the power and you've been without internet for a week even though you're paying for it..." which by the way we have to call the billing department some day. In any event, they said they'd send a real live person to the building to actually TOUCH the phone lines on Thursday. And I didn't have to be there.

Add to all of this, I was fre-eaking out. I'm a naturally high-strung person. I was especially nervous because my supervisor, Madame Renson (who was my very first contact in France way back last summer), was coming to observe me. And because I missed last Monday's fourth graders, last Thursday and Friday, and the Monday of this week, my lessons were completely out of whack. Also I didn't feel well physically. I barely slept Wednesday night and sent whimpering text messages to Mom and Andy.

Somehow I made it out of bed on Thursday. School One's fourth graders were ok. I never have their lessons well done. I guess that's the penalty for being the first of four sections. Madame Renson was supposed to be in School One's third grade class, but she never showed up. I was starting to worry if something happened. In any case, the third graders did well and Maggie's students have some adorable letters to read about farm animals.

So then to School Two for the insane fourth graders. And look who's there! Apparently Madame Renson had gotten the schools mixed up. However, during my hour lesson, she was corned by all of the Cycle 3 (third, fourth, and fifth grade) teachers - Madame Cousty (she's the principal and teaches third grade), Christophe and Sylvie the fifth grade teacher, and Marie-Pierre and Catherine the fourth grade teachers. In France, if you are currently in Teacher College, you are automatically habilité - certified to teach English. In years past, l'habilitation was optional. So Madame Cousty is habilitée but the last time the other four had an English class was in high school. But next year, all full-time teachers will be required to teach English. There will be workshops to do essentially "catch-up" habilitation, but ohhh my goodness. The assistant will still be there, but in more of an assisting role and not responsible for the entire class as my colleagues and I currently are. So instead of observing my lessons, Madame Renson spent her time explaining to the teachers this new deal. They are understandably nervous for a number of pedagogical, preparatorial, and cultural reasons. Can you imagine?!

Can I just say how much I love Madame Renson. She is so patient and understanding and helpful. She totally made me feel better about my lessons, even though she didn't see any of them. She, and apparently the rest of my teachers, are thrilled to death that the English assistant actually has training in pedagogy and language education. Even Christophe said "Well, if Rose just stays next year..."

Madame Renson drove me to School Three where she was going to observe Luc's fourth grade class which overlaps my fourth grade class. However, the teachers there were even less thrilled about the new English project so Madame Renson got to fight with them as well. I only work with Virginie at School Three, and she was (rightly so) pissed off about this. My fourth graders were awful that day. I literally picked F* up and put him outside the classroom. I feel for that kid, really. He does not have the skills necessary to be in a mainstream classroom. Also M* is amazingly obnoxious. However, my third graders did AWESOME with the centers activities!!! They LOVED them, and I think they actually learned something! I'm going to make up some more for them because C*, K*, and F* are cruising through them. I'm psyched about it too, because usually F* is annoying. Because the centers activities are individual, I got a chance to really see how students work. I'm convinced V* has something wrong. I can't tell if he has anything in his head.

To make Thursday even better, I got not ONE but TWO!!! packages!!! One from Momma - penpal letters, my windsuit, and she sent me Easter!! A chocolate bunny and cutout cookies and jelly beans!! Thank you Mom! AND I got a package from the Powells - three bags of roasted edamame! I'm totally taking those with me on vacation. Awesome snacky food. Thank you!!!

Today was all right. Sylvie's fifth graders are obnoxious. I'm making up a seating chart because they are just...oh my goodness. They also need a different discipline plan than the house - sticker - coin deal I do with five other classes. Catherine's fourth graders need teacher-centered activities so I didn't give them the card game I made up. Christophe's fifth graders are, as usual, brilliant and totally understood the card game I made up for them. AH!! Also Christophe invited me to School Two's regular pre-vacation faculty lunch. I wonder if I couldn't bring something to share...

After school, I got clean bedsheets from Joceline the laundry lady at the high school, ate lunch with Marie (yummy! the lunch, not her), typed up a grammar worksheet for my tutoring student, did laundry, bought pants I'm not convinced I like yet (the pants I brought are biting the dust), and bought fixings to make dinner for Rocio and her friend Max who came to visit tout d'un coup this weekend. I found PARMESEAN CHEESE! Granted in a 100g plastic baggie but oh my goodness! So I'm making spaghetti and meatballs.

I feel MUCH better. Not necessarily about school because the penpal letters are showing how poorly I planned it but how good of a sport Mom and her colleagues are being with me and because there is NO way I'm getting evaluations done before next week. Not necessarily physically because I have an awful cough and a voice that scared my students - I'm not kidding and I haven't exercised or done yoga regularly since last Tuesday. Not necessarily emotionally because I have THREE WHOLE MONTHS left until I can come home.

But I feel better because I have the support of my principals and teachers and Madame Renson, because Madame Renson and Madame Cousty and Monsieur Modeste are going to write letters of recommendation for my credential file, because my room is clean, because I'm feeling a little better, because I know that I can leave before June 30th, because it's only three more months and two weeks of it is vacation in Spain and with Magsters.

SO.

That's what happened. Glad to be back. Hopefully the magic internet box keeps calm.

2008-03-20T08:30:00.002+01:00

I'm home sick from school today.

I have a sore throat.

I walked 1.5 hours in the dry cold yesterday.

I had to go to the train station.

I had a meeting in Tulle.

So now I have a sore throat, a fever, body aches, and a headache.

That's the backward explanation. I'm not even getting reimbursed for the transportation costs.

I'm feeling pretty sucky today. Thursdays are my busiest days which means five classes are missing English. It's not so bad in the long run, but I feel horrible about it. It's especially bad because two of these classes already missed Monday's lesson due to a field trip to the movies. (What?) If I was in the States, I could suck it up and just go to school and lie low. But the biggest problem here is that I walk to school. And today I have three schools to go to. And it's cold and dry out. I don't feel well enough to do all that.

So I called all my schools and it's ok. I told them all, "We can discuss making up the missed hours when I get back," but no one really seemed to care. Which would be fabulous because let's face it. It's only English. If the kids miss a lesson, it's not a big deal.

On the bright side, I made more than a dozen centers activities for my third graders. I am so psyched! Hopefully it'll work. We'll see. And maybe today on my impromptu day off, I can make some more centers activities for my fourth and fifth graders. I have an idea for a Clue-like game for the fifth graders...

Things at home I'd like to experience:

2008-03-15T22:27:00.003+01:00

It's early still to be thinking about going home. As Andy pointed out, I still have three full months left in the land of expansive social programs, mediocre chocolate, amazing pastries, beautiful cheeses, and state-subsidized rail.

Here is an inexhaustive list of things I want to see, eat, and do when I get back to the USA.

Mom's homemade pizza, Mom's homemade chicken wings, Mom's homemade tomato sauce, eggplant and zucchini parmesean, chocolate chip cookies, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches made with Smucker's peanut butter and Dad's homemade strawberry jam, Dad's homemade chili, a real cookout of Hoffman hot dogs, hamburgers, and Italian sausage, s'mores, Carousel Mall, Erie Boulevard with Andy, Taco Bell, Onondaga Lake Park, Green Lakes, Jamesville Beach, real American television, driving, Andy's pork chops with egg noodles, understanding ambient conversation, Pops and Grandma's house in Oswego, Wegmans, doing some real reading, State Fair, true independence, Triscuits with extra sharp New York state cheddar and pepperoni, the blue Doritos, Kool-Aid, Cheerios...

It's not just the things. A lot of this has been sent to me in care packages. And I love it. But there's also the experience. So much of these "things" have strong emotional relations. Funny how all of this I remember with sunny days and bright smiles and happy times. I miss home a lot.

I go for mine, I got to shine, now throw your hands up in the sky high.

2008-03-14T21:01:00.005+01:00

Yay! Today was a good day. I had a hard time getting out of bed. I guess this is a good thing because I am sleeping better - I thank the yoga - but it's a bad thing because I need to get UP and get MOVING!

So I got to School Two for three back-to-back classes. (Ok, with fifteen minute breaks in between.) I got there at 8:00, and by 8:10 I had pumped out a quick dialogue for my awesome fifth graders to read. And they did! I had one of the M4 girls and J* "present" it. They did a good job reading it cold. We did some comprehension questions, and then they had the rest of the class period to create their own dialogue. These kids are such good workers. I left today thinking I'm a good teacher. I was really impressed at how well it worked.

Lunch with Rocio and Marie was nice. Sometimes I think Rocio is too familiar and that interferes with her comprehension of the conversations. But then again I've also become ultra-pragmatic.

I'm also tagging along the high school field trip in two weeks to the Musée du Président. I am SO excited! I've wanted to see this ever since I learned that former President Jacques Chirac is from Corrèze and that he put his museum here! So now I get to go for FREE. I just bring a bag lunch. I am SO excited! I don't even care that it'll be in the middle of crazy marking period wrap-up. Woohoo!!

In other travel news, God bless the SNCF. Not only can I reserve and purchase my train tickets online, but I can choose to have them delivered to my house for FREE within four days. All of the tickets Maggie and I need for our whirlwind tour of Bretagne have been delivered! I have the youth reduction card and Maggie doesn't, obviously. Can I just say: this card is a god-send. Sign that you've lived in Europe: you dread your 25th birthday because it marks the end of pretty much all price reductions.

I went to the post office to mail out Mom's penpal letters (finally, I know) and buy some pre-stamped international envelopes. Then I went to Leader Price, my hands-down least favorite grocery store ever for applesauce, strawberry candies, and quite possibly the worst chocolate I've ever had. French chocolate is not all that good, and the French promote it more than they should. Super-cheap grocery store chocolate is awful. I have 400g to eat. I think I'll manage. And then I bought a pain, which is different than a baguette in terms of ingredients, shape and size. Basically a pain is bigger and more nutritious.

Tomorrow I will go to marché to see if there's anything else I can waste my money on, see if Juliette (Ben's supposed friend...wonder what happened there...) is busking with her concertina (miniature accordion), and perhaps get a fun pastry. Then some serious lesson planning. Then tutoring. Then more serious lesson planning. Only three more weeks, and the last day is shot because of vacation. I'm not making my kids do anything "serious" on the day before vacation because my head's not in school either. So we do something fun and cultural. But only three weeks! I have to do centers and évaluations orales and penpal letters and Saint Patrick's Day! Did you know that Ireland is an Anglophone country? We should probably talk about Saint Patrick then.

I REALLY miss friends and family. But Mom was right. These next weeks will FLY. I have to talk to Françoise about housing and if not her then Madame le Proviseur and if not her then Monsieur Martinet at the Circonscription de l'Inspection Académique and if not him then Madame Renson. I am unconcerned. No one who knows me will let me be homeless. I have to ask Madame Renson about June 30. I have to get an appointment to close my bank account. I have to confirm that the Rectorat will really pay us when they're supposed to so my paycheck doesn't end up in limbo. And THEN I have to get a real ticket home. Because June 10 is not correct. Thanks Continental. And then I have to book a hotel and a train in Paris. AHHHH all this in less than eight weeks?!

But yes I really miss my family and my friends.

France is nice but I can't live here with the back of my mind always thinking of home.

This is a really long month.

2008-03-13T18:08:00.002+01:00

So. Hokay.

Everything for my April break is reserved. This is a major task, and necessarily time-consuming but fund-consuming. Oh my goodness! But I'm super duper excited. Spain!! And Bretagne!! With Maggie!!! Even better. Oh I'm so so so looking forward to this vacation!

But I must concentrate on my job. Ooh boy. A few conversations with Maggie inspired a multi-lesson idea: centers! How awesome would that work. I hope to work it into the day that my conseillère pédagogique comes to visit. She's coming two Thursdays from today. I'm not sure how I feel about this. Thursdays are my longest days - 8:30 to 4:30, the whole school day - and have some of my most challenging classes (School Two's fourth grade B, School Three's third graders). But I really want her to come. I want her feedback. I can make some changes in the weeks to come. I know there are things I don't like but I just don't feel like I have the skills to change it. It's so hard! Teaching is not instinctive to me, but I like it enough to work on it.

I will also be going to Tulle for a meeting with the Corrèze assistantes primaires (all four of us are girls). I'll be looking forward to seeing Sashi. Eleanor and Courtney will be disdainful of the whole situation, I'm sure. And understandably so. This is a real teaching job, and little children are devils. Even Luc at School Three said so! It's hard enough with a teaching degree, let alone no formal training whatsoever. I feel badly for them. But I'm looking forward to seeing the girls. Hopefully we can find something fun for lunch. Or I'll just bring a sammich like last time.

I am LOVING my yoga podcasts. I feel so much better, and I would dare say that a week into it I'm seeing some changes in my body. Not like I'm losing weight but I just feel more...centered. Calm. I didn't scream at my School Three third graders today. I stayed calm and they did too. It is SO true: the younger or more immature the students are, the more sensitive they are to your mood.

Only three more classes tomorrow!! I think I'm going to have my fifth graders create a dialogue about the school vocab we've been working on. And when we present them, their peers can help evaluate their accuracy and content. Yes! I have awesome fifth graders. I love them so much. Is it because they're older? No...not really, because I would also adopt three of my third graders from School Three.

Rocio is awesome, fyi. She went to centre ville last night and came back with two candy bars for me!!! She's trying really hard to lose some weight, but the weather has been torturing her with cold, damp, and rain. I don't really care and am powering through my kilo jar of Nutella. (Signs you've lived in Europe: Nutella is it's own food group and you can have two servings a day.) I just want to be happy. And chocolate makes me happy. So does yogurt!

March is really long. I am so looking forward to April. That will be a long vacation, and I will be very happy to explore and be "busy" on my own time. The month of May is really weird. There are a lot of days off, special instructional days, and other randomicities. However I only find out if I ask and like the week before. Yay for France.

[Homesickness is awful.]

So what did YOU do this weekend?

2008-03-10T09:42:00.003+01:00

Saturday was my work day. My tutoring student canceled (I'm only disappointed because that means 15E less for me), so I had a long day to plan out lessons and activities. Theoretically I could have cleaned my room, but apparently I can't be bothered to clean that pigsty. Ewie. But I did come up with some ideas for a stations lesson for my ridiculous third graders.

On Saturday evening, Rocio's friend Carina came over. Carina is an English teacher in Mexico who is currently a Spanish assistant in Brive. The idea was to go see Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis which is a nationwide blockbuster release. However, we live in a two-screen theatre town and this movie is being shown a total of maybe five times. So we get to the theatre and the line is out the door and in the parking lot. They closed the door basically in our faces! Man! The only other movie playing that night was Sweeney Todd, and none of us were interested in seeing that. So we got a beer at the "Mexican" pub across the street which was showing a rugby game and had American license plates covering the wall. Anyone have a New York one to donate?? Then we went back home where Rocio made dinner, we had beer and tortilla chips, and finished the pear ice cream.

Sunday, I had an invitation to go downhill skiing with Alexia, my second grade teacher colleague at School One, and her son A*, my third grade student at School One. Alexia has never been skiing in her life - she's more of a cross-country girl - and A* is eight. So we were ultra-beginners. So we get to Mont Dore and it is a MOUNTAIN. Oh my goodness. After lunch, we bought a ski pass and rented skis. This entire trip cost about 40E, by the way. Very inexpensive. I kid you not, the MINUTE we get on the slopes, A* falls down and breaks into uncontrollable tears. Oh I felt so bad. This was his idea and he was so upset that it wasn't working the way he wanted. So Alexia and he spent the time on the level part getting used to skis. I took the bench-on-a-clothesline thingy to the top with the sole intention of just making it down. Once. Well...I went about two hundred meters down, and mostly on my butt and face. I was close to the parking lot at this point so I said "Screw it!" I couldn't get up anymore and I couldn't figure out how to go slow enough down the "hill" (it was maybe 30 degrees) without panicking and falling to my butt. So I took my skis off. I was laughing the whole time. I was just amazed at my lack of physical coordination and ability to move the way I needed to. My left butt cheek really hurts, and I'm sure there will be a great bruise there soon. Also my right calf. Bizarre. An awesome trip. A* eventually enjoyed himself too and was smiling.

As my dad pointed out in his email following a Skype call to Mom, there's a reason our family didn't shell out $1000 a person to go down a hill. He had similar experiences. Cross-country skiing is so much more exhilarating and rewarding. Alexia said maybe next time we'll do that.

So yeah. I tried downhill skiing and now I don't want to do it again.

Vacances de Printemps, Semaine 1

2008-03-07T21:15:00.002+01:00

AKA Spring Vacation, Week 1

I have another two week vacation coming up in April. I know what you're thinking - already?! Didn't I just get back from the Vacation of Decadence? Well yes, but remember I work in France and the French take their vacation time seriously. They will go on strike if you try to mess with their vacation time, working hours, and retirement.

My vacation officially begins Saturday, April 5. On Saturday, I am taking a train from Ussel to Toulouse. In Toulouse, I am catching a plane to Madrid!! I have reserved a bed in one of the highest-ranked hostels in the world. I will be there for four nights to explore Madrid, tapas, Camper shoes, El Prado, La Reina Sofia, Thyssen-Bornemisza, El Parque de Buen Retiro, dozens of churches of various importances, El Palacio Real, the National Archaeological Museum, and plates and plates of Spanish food including chocolate y churros, Rioja wine, paella, gazpacho, and other deliciousness. I also plan two day trips, hopefully, to El Escorial (a monastery) and Toledo (because I am a traveler).

After Madrid, I will take either a bus or train to Barcelona where I have reserved a bed at a highly recommended hostel for three nights. I plan on seeing La Sagrada Familia, La Rambla, maybe a beach or two, and delicious Catalan food. I alos plan on taking a day trip to Zaragoza to see the cathedral, Roman ruins, Aljaferia, and random museums. Also for more food.

After Barcelona, I will take a plane to Paris and meet up with Maggie!! That next week is not yet planned as I'm not quite sure how we're going to swing six nights. But I am super duper excited. Other than lesson planning, vacation planning is pretty much the only real activity I do.

Judgment calls.

2008-03-07T19:52:00.002+01:00

A class-by-class appraisal of the cutest and most trying children on the planet:

1. School One's fourth graders are all right. I love the girls, and the boys are really polarized between the awesome ones and the two idiots, or three depending on how W* is feeling that day.
2. School One's third graders are just a big class. Here are twenty-three eight year olds. Teach them English. Oh and make it communicative and fun. Oh and they can barely write French, let alone decipher written English.
3. Marie-Pierre and I agree: her class of fourth graders at School Two have really strong personalities and really weak personalities. They've made it into a Students versus Teacher thing. They hate me no matter what and are rude and disrespectful. They pass notes, they get out of their seats without permission (a big deal in my schools apparently), make fun of me and my French, talk despite multiple punishments. Eeesh. We get so little accomplished.
4. Catherine's class of fourth graders at School Two are so well-behaved, minus the two sets of little boys with the same names who just piss everyone off. And the Roma girl who has fully accepted her role as the school pariah. Catherine also has been giving me fewer mildly disapproving looks from the back.
5. Sylvie's fifth graders at School Two only behave when she's in the classroom. There's a group of students who couldn't care less, a group of students who are all about English, and third group of the most lost little souls ever. I swear, they all have permanent puppy dog faces. In general, they're okay but they're not so much fun.
6. Christophe's fifth graders at School Two are my favorites. Hands down. I gave them a conversation activity today and would you believe it, but I heard ONLY ENGLISH for a full ten minutes among them. They are amazing. So smart, they work quickly, they pay attention, they make an effort, they try. Ah I'm so adopting the M4 girls (four girls in this class have names that start with M and they're all best friends. One of them actually takes German at the same time but I didn't know that this was her FIRST year of English because she's one of the best students). I love Christophe and his group of wunderkinds.
7. School Three's fourth graders are so cliquey. F* does not belong in English. He cannot function in a regular school environment. He cannot follow instructions. He has no filter. The rest of them do fairly well, and I like when Z* decides to participate.
8. I hate hate hate School Three's third graders. If I could, I'd take C*, O*, and K* and leave the other seven. They are so below the level of intellectual maturity required to learn English. This class really makes me question the wiseness of second languages in elementary classes.

The point of all this is that I'm in a rut, pedagogically speaking. I cannot expect the same lesson to work for all students or for all classes. School Three's third graders need either super-quiet busy seatwork or forty-five minutes of Simon Says and Head Shoulders Knees and Toes. Which would probably kill me but anything for the students, right? School Two's difficult fourth graders need more structure and responsibility, I think...whereas their classmates in the other section of fourth graders do just fine with teacher-centered activities.

I'm discovering the same problems I had in student teaching. I'm so worried about "losing" control in the classroom that all the activities and teaching methods I use are teacher-centered. Not only is this exhausting on the part of the teacher, but it also relieves the student of any personal responsibility for learning the material. The best activities I've had - Guess Who, Telephone Conjugations - were student-centered. They take more to plan and a lot more confidence in my own abilities to effectively introduce the material and in my students to properly follow the instructions.

The difficulties I'm seeing in my lessons are not a result of me not following the textbook. If anything, I believe my students are learning authentic and richer English than what I see in the textbooks I've been told to use. I do use some ideas from the books, and on a few occasions I've used some of the recordings.

I wish I had more training in FLES than just the three-credit course with Profesora Martinez. Even that was FLEX - just exposure, "look how cool Spanish/French is!", not "Here are vocabulary words that you will need to know for your middle school placement exam." Teaching, from what I've seen and heard from family and colleagues, is twenty percent training, ten percent instinct, and seventy percent experience. I am brand-new to this biznass, I just graduated, and I'm not a natural teacher. It's hard but I like it. Really. It helps that I truly do care about every one of my 144 students. I hope they know it.

In this marking period, here are the next topics that we are going to cover:
Third grade (CE2): Aminals! I just don't know what set or where to draw the set from...farm animals? Jungle animals? Forest animals? A random mix? From one of the textbooks or a storybook? A storybook from the liberry or my own?
Fourth grade (CM1): Other Foods Part I. This means meats and starches. Basically I picked some out of the food pyramid that have cultural significance on both sides of the pond.
Fifth grade (CM2): Places in school.

As my tutoring student canceled this week's lesson (she's visiting her two-year prep school!!), I will make a real effort to creating some engaging, student-centered, communicative, and productive activities for the lessons to come.

Four more months...

It shouldn't be funny...

2008-03-04T22:33:00.002+01:00

Hands down, one of my favorite fourth graders today:

Me: What do you have for breakfast?
L*: IHAVEBACON.

Really strongly, really fast, and really quickly after my question. Ahahahaha. That made my day.

This class of fourth graders also really likes the game where all of their vocabulary "words" (we do English word = picture) are on the board, they close their eyes and put their heads down, I take one away, and ask the question that matches. They have to figure out which one's missing. I will not understand why they like it so much. It's sooo boring.

I like my yoga podcasts. It puts me in a good mood.

It SNOWED today!! For real snow! It was pretty wet and it's not really accumulating more than a centimeter or so, but still! Snow! Finally, my fifth graders got to practice their weather vocabulary. I do love Christophe's fifth graders.

I wish I could take pictures of them and give you their real names because they have the coolest names ever. I'll remember them just like I do Tracy's and Rhonda's students though, I'm sure. I'll never throw out my class rosters on my computer though. Those names are precious and hold so many memories.

Tomorrow I will write up the written lessons, put money on my high school meal card, put money on my elementary school meal card, plan my tutoring lesson, buy a good quality baguette, talk to Francoise, do some serious reading...

Anyone want to fly over to give me a hug and a kiss? I miss you. Good thing there's snow. Snow always does something for me.

Self-improvement.

2008-03-03T21:24:00.003+01:00

If I've learned anything in my short twenty-three years on the planet, it's that you must be proactive. The squeaky wheel gets the grease; if you want something, ask; if you want something done, do it; no one is going to wait for you. In light of this, here are some things that I've managed to do lately to improve my mood, body, mind, and general well-being. They're small, but it just shows that it doesn't take much to make a big difference, and the commitment can be worth more than the act.

1. Exercise daily. I have a routine of very simple exercises from elementary school phys ed and from the gym at home. It's probably not going to do much in the way of losing weight or toning, but I feel better at least.
2. Podcasts! NPR's Talk of the Nation, TF1's 20H (French private news station), and YogAmazing (currently downloading Episode 115: yoga for snowboarders and skiers...).
3. Downloading some super upbeat music from home. Andy sent me our new favorite CDs and I've downloaded a bunch of songs that I've heard here. Having fun happy music to listen to on my way to and from school puts me in a good mood.
4. Drinking lots of water.
5. Shaving, pumice stoning my feet, and lotioning daily. This is a big deal when I have to hold the shower head and kneel in the bathtub.
6. Breakfast every day with hot chocolate (milk!) and whole wheat toast.
7. Make a conscious decision to let the little things about sharing my living space slide. And it's all little things.
8. Read twenty pages a night of French.

School wasn't so good today but I'm not letting it bother me as much as it would have say, a year ago today. I'm not letting it completely roll off my shoulders, but I'm not dwelling on it and make me miserable. It's partly due to poor planning and anticipation, and partly the students' lack of attention. Tomorrow will be better because I say so.

[Homesickness comes in really sharp pangs now, like attacks. It's very unpleasant.]

Les Vacances de Decadence (long)

2008-02-29T19:52:00.002+01:00

I left for vacation at 12:00pm on Friday, February 8. My last class ended at 11:15am, and I was very very excited.

Notes from my trip from Ussel to Marseille (not an easy feat!), translated from French:
-the mountains of the Massif Central silhouetted between the haze of the clouds and the brilliance of the sun
-replanted trees in exact columns even better ordered than corn
-bare trees in the foreground become lace through which you see the mountain pines
-cultural differences become less and less distinct
-I sat at a four-seat place with two women - one Canadian and one French - who spoke English the whole way...I love not being noticed as Anglo!
-nausea in the bus from Ussel to Clermont
-a REAL rest and an opportunity for some French

[Friday 2/8] Marseille is huge but the youth hostel is friendly and accommodating. The girl at the desk used the familiar form of "you" with me, and that made me feel comfortable. Tomorrow is serious sight-seeing and maybe meeting up with Ben for lunch or coffee. I needed this vacation.

[Saturday 2/9] Today at breakfast there was an Algerian or Tunisian man, a Quebecoise named Emilie and an Australian named Adam. I kept quiet because I'm a quiet person and also without knowing who I was they made some rather rude comments about the US. AS I was leaving, Adam asked if I was going on the hiking trip to the Calanques. I said no but I'll go ask. I asked the man in charge who said it was cancelled. I asked "Why? There's another guy who wants to go..." So Nabil, the guide, restarted the trip just for me and Adam! About an hour of buses and a trip to a corner market for picnic fixings, we were in pleine nature. Words cannot describe how amazing, beautiful, exciting, and exhilirating this was. sights I'd always wanted to see but never had the guts or desire. But something inside me said why not and despite my very tired feet and body, Iam thrilled I went. Amazing and beautiful sights. So much "oh my goodness" and "oh my gosh" and "wow." An unforgettable and memorable experience. I got to play translator between Nabil and Adam who was not thrilled about me being American but tolerated my weak translation skills well. I am so glad I did this, and tomorrow I'll take it easier. I had dinner, and beer, and now I'm going to bed. Happy happy day.

[Sunday 2/10] Natalie is from Canada and a first grade teacher in England. She moved into my room last night, as did a large and smelly Japanese girl whose English was really weak. Despite numerous and polite requests to sleep on her side, snored and ground her teeth to the point of sleeplessness for me, Natalie, and the other English girl who left. Natalie and I finally had enough and asked the super sweet night watchman Salim with whom she made friends to switch rooms. Yay! So after a good night's sleep, I DID Marseille. Palais Longchamps was a cute park with a neat hanging garden fountain, no giraffes, and the HUGE palace for the Fine Arts Museum and the Natural History Museum. The Natural History Museum was lots of really old stuffed animals (in pretty bad shape) and a thinly researched temporary exhibition on the North Pole. As I left, I passed the Museum of...fancy people's houses or something...in any case it matched the Vacation of Decadence. I mosied down to Vieux Port to do some sight seeing and find a very mediocre lunch of eggplant pizza (and horrible service). Then I braved crazy vacation traffic to climb Fort Saint Nicolas (it belonged to Napoleon) and crossed the street to Jardin des Pharos, a happening park full of families including one celebrating their little boy's first birthday complete with a tricycle! On my way to the other side of Vieux Port I bumped into Adam from yesterday and traded travel tips. Then I tried my darndest to find Le Panier Quartier but shops are hard to find on Sunday! Also the tourism guide's suggested walking path sucked. I found the cathedral which reminded me of Florence. La Vieille Charite accepted my attestation professionnelle (French teacher's ID card) for the world's worst contemporary art exhibition. I have yet to find contemporary art I truly like. By now I'm exhausted by I still have Notre Dame de la Garde to find! So I arrived exactly for mass but also for amazing views of the city that was turning beautiful warm colors in the afternoon sun. Then I caught a bus back to Vieux Port and the metro to the bus for the hostel. And I saw Natalie again! We had dinner and talked the night away. We're both North Americans teaching elementary school in Europe, traveling extensively during vacations, and are maintaining long-distance relationships with boyfriends named Andrew. This hostel has truly shown me the benefits of youth hostel life. I'm actually looking forward to Nice's hostel and seriously considering hostels for Maggie's trip in April.

[Monday 2/11] Today was an adventure! I woke up my whole hostel room this morning with my alarm clock. The bus to the metro was late but I made it to the train station with ten minutes to spare. It was a night train from Nantes (north of La Rochelle!) to Nice so my chair reclined a lot. I got to Saint Raphael, bought an expensive bus ticket to Saint Tropez, ate a great little breakfast, and fixed my ticket to Nice. The bus ride to Saint Tropez was awesome - we hugged the coast for most of the way, and it was beautiful. On the other side were resorts and adorable lonely beach towns and beautiful villas. I arrived in Saint Tropez and went to an internet cafe to unload my camera. I wandered around, soaking up the atmosphere and the fact that I'm on the Mediterranean coast. I found lunch at La Tarte Tropezienne - grilled open face pissaladiere and sardine sandwich and salad. Delicious! (Look at the picture.) After lunch, I found my hotel. I couldn't really put my finger on it, but I didn't like it and only decided that after I paid 70E. So I went to the Office de Tourisme and asked for recommendations. The hotel they recommended was actually the next place in my book, and for 8E more a night, I got a beautiful room, flat screen TV with fifteen international and French channels, a minibar (I'll never figure that one out), an immaculate bathroom, and super friendly service. Unfortunately the first hotel only refunded me 20E, so that was a 50E mistake. I consoled myself with a visit to the Musee de l'Annonciation which was Pointillism heaven. Jus really nice and totally worth the 5E. I even bought art postcards! I bought a piece of tarte tropezienne which was delicious. I like being on vacation!

[Tuesday 2/12] Today was fun! I woke up really early because I didn't do a lot of physical activity the day before. I visited the market which was on the plaza where my hotel was - another plus! And I bought some lavender and a towel...I know I'm weird. First on my list of things to do and see was the Citadel, a fortress on a hill. I walked around and kept hearing a loud bird. So I look up, and it's a PEACOCK!! In a tree! I followed him for a bit and then walked the perimeter of the Citadel for some breathtaking views of the bay. I visited the Citadel which was pretty dull but the writeup was helpful. I saw another pretty bird that looked like a finch - red breast, green back - but it was camera-shy. Lots of pretty plants too. As I left, a peacock was at the entrance with his feathers fully displayed as it tried to bully a pigeon. I can't believe I saw a peacock - not in a zoo or a park! After the Citadel, I found the Parish Church. Photos were forbidden which is too bad because it was pretty. Lots of saints' effigies and yellow paint. For lunch I tried to find a place to eat, but every place seemed really uninterested in me. So I grabbed a sandwich from Tarte Tropezienne and some snackies from the minimart next door and watched TV in my hotel room. I got up in time to see a tour boat - and went on! For 9E I got an hour of commentated tour of the bay of Saint Tropez including some famous peoples' houses. the guide asked me personally a lot of questions once it was understood that I'm from New York and not French. That makes me really uncomfortable because it puts my spoken French in the spotlight and I don't like people seeing me immediately as The American Girl...eh. After the boat tour, I embarked on an odyssey to find a pair of jeans, as my American pair were dying of crotch holes. Not only did I find ones that fit (American size 12!), but also a cute grey turtleneck. I also bought stamps. Then to Senequier, a famous cafe, for cappuccino and tarte tropezienne - yummy!! By then I had walked around a lot and was bored so I bought some more snackies at the minimart and vegged out in my hotel room. An excellent day.

[Wednesday 2/13] *disclaimer* Dad, avert your eyes: I "lost" my MC for a little bit this morning. The hotel concierge was more than patient and helpful and sympathetic. Luckily I had left it on the Post Office counter when I bought my stamps and the clerk kept it for me. I wasted time looking at boats in the port until the bus back to Saint Raphael. The trip from Saint Raphael to Nice was very unpleasant: lots of annoying teens with awful Franco-Italian fashion and haircuts, beggars getting mad at me for not giving them money...eesh. Finally I arrived in NICE! This city is crazy. It reminds me a lot of Italian shops - I know I have something to do if I get bored! I wandered to Vieux Nice and went to the Parc de la Colline du Chateau and saw all sorts of neat things: ruins of a 12th century church, Saddam Hussein's yacht in the port, the coolest jungle gym ever, and a waterfall! I stopped at a neat place for "dinner" but it was only 6:00pm. I had three stuffed sardines and salad witha glass of rose wine. I still have sardine bones in my teeth. I like the hostel so far, especially the in-room showers. This is a great vacation.

[Thursday 2/14] I miss Andy. Valentine's Day sucks away from him. Mom called too. I could hear how much she misses me. I feel bad about that. Today I saw the Fine Arts Museum which was pretty neat, the Russian Orthodox Cathedral which is pretty much tiled in gold and mosaics, the Contemporary Art Museum which explained the plastic men on poles in the main square but is still very uninteresting, the Museum of Prehistory which was NEAT, and Vieux Port. I ate dinner at Quick (Belgian McDonald's), had socca (chickpea flour and olive oil crepe), and walked everywhere. I need to buy a jacket and shoes...too bad French fashion is pretty bad. I love vacation!

[Friday 2/15] Today I saw the Matisse Museum. He was a smart man but I couldn't really appreciate a lot of his art. It was less dramatic than I expected. Next door was the Archaeological Site and Museum - Roman ruins!! Really well laid out and explained. I wish I had more time. These two places were in the neighborhood called Cimiez, which is RICH, like reminded me of Madison Avenue near the French Consulate RICH. Wow. For lunch I mosied back to Vieux Nice and randomly found a busy place to eat. If I don't have a specific place from my guide book, I go to whatever looks edible and busy. I had pissaladiere, which is anchovy, carmelized onion and olive pizza, daube which is beef with I think lavender ravioli, and the world's worst charlotte aux fraises (strawberry shortcake) but they did give me a free kir (wine with fruit syrup) and they were super friendly. Then I went to the Chagall Museum. Marc Chagall was a Jewish artist from the south of France, and this museum focused on his Bibical works which are naturally on the Old Testament. Absolutely breathtaking. And there were benches to sit and just STARE at his paintings, so that was fabulous. I went to the carnival and got a crepe with creme marron (sweet chestnut spread) and got to watch a bitch fight between the crepe girl and a snotty girl who wasn't satisfied with her crepe. For dinner I found a recommended place for a salade nicoise (green salad with tuna, anchovies, and hard boiled eggs), the hottest and least similar lasagna, and chocolate MOUSSE. YUMM. Now to PARIS!

I didn't keep my journal in Paris as Paris is exhausting. It was so good to see Kathy and Liz. They're family, really. I've known Liz since she was born, and Kathy has known my parents for longer than I've been alive. I am not the best travel buddy but they were as patient as they could be. It was neat to see Paris, France, and Europe with fresh eyes as so much of what I see is colored with my perspective and studies. Jet lag was not kind to Liz the first couple of hours, but she muscled through it. Kathy discovered that Paris is mostly built on spiral staircases much to her dismay. We did a lot of fun stuff, but there's still a huge list of things to do and see in Paris both for me and for them. Things we did see:
The Louvre! Kathy wanted to see the medieval part which is super cool and more interesting than the Old Lady. Liz wanted to see the Winged Victory of S...(how do you say that again?), and Kathy could have done a day entirely in the sculpture gardens.
Musee d'Orsay. So cool we had to go back another morning.
Eiffel Tower. We went on a sunny afternoon, only for it to close for an evacuation exercise. LAMECORE. So we went back on a cloudy afternoon and were rewarded with surprisingly excellent views of Paris. We went to the top floor, something I've never done, Liz went to the bathroom, we had hot chocolate, and we sent postcards. Excellent!
Bateaux Mouches. A guided boat tour of Paris on the Seine. Freezing but bright and very fun.
Sacre Coeur! This was in our neighborhood and where Kathy discovered Paris' love for spiral staircases. I love Sacre Coeur.
Notre Dame. The first afternoon we were too late to climb up, but we did go inside. It's so pretty but smaller than it looks inside. The second time Liz and I climbed to the top, followed closely by a British couple of which the wife was deathly afraid of heights. SOOO much fun!
Berthillion, or as Kathy and Liz put it, Mansion Ice Cream. Delicious gourmet ice cream on the ritzy Ile de Saint-Louis. I got caramel ice cream on a hot waffle.
Pantheon so Liz could find Voltaire's tomb. It is SO cold in there.
Museum of the Middle Ages. My favorite place ever.
Versaiies! I've never been there and to be honest, it reminded me of those Decorative Arts museums I avoid because it's just rich peoples' furniture and household items. I liked the paintings and tapestries better. Unfortunately it's February and the gardens were less than pretty. Marie Antoinette had a French village recreated so she could play peasant, and that was absolutely beautiful. I think I'd like Versailles if you could live like French royalty for a weekend - complete with the clothes.
Our neighborhood was awesome. Montmartre is really touristy but it's busy, friendly, and you can find Real Paris there. Breakfast was at this adorable and super busy bakery with excellent value menus. We ate in a number of nights for dinner, as Liz discovered the magic of baguette and jam and Nutella. We had a lot of Greek food from a great deli, a cheese platter one night, and all around deliciousness. One lunch we found an Antillaise place - French island food that was beyond delicious. Another night we went to a restaurant in our neighborhood. In Versailles we went to a recommended place that was excellent value and delicious. Lots of crepes, coffees, and sandwiches. Lots of metro rides. The weather was very good the entire time. Only two grey days - Versailles and the Eiffel Tower, unfortunately. Liz had some serious shopping to do, so she bought a swimsuit and a jacket. I bought the same one, but she looks much better in it. In any case, I finally have a good quality and cute spring jacket.

So that was the vacation. Two weeks is a LONG time, and I enjoyed it. I really needed it too. I hope you got my postcards. It was a real vacation, and totally worth the (hundreds) of euros and dollars I overspent.

Fun times in silly France.

2008-02-27T21:57:00.001+01:00

1. I owe an enormous update about the Vacation of Decadence.

2. Pictures from the Vacation of Decadence are due.

3. I owe many many emails and phone calls home.

4. I went to a primary English teachers' workshop today. It was very refreshing.

5. Other things on my to-do list include wrapping up evaluations, marking period grades, and penpal letters.

6. I have officially passed the halfway point. Day 157.

University of Minnesota

2008-02-07T16:58:00.000+01:00

So less than a week after the Graduate Admissions office sent my application to the Education and Curriculum department for review, a decision has been reached. I have not been accepted to the University of Minnesota. I'm kinda bummed about this. I mean, I have a stellar GPA, very modest GRE scores, an impressive resume, and my recommendations were from my most respected mentors and teachers. What else did they want?? Is this going to hurt my chances when I (a) reapply to the Master's program or (b) apply to the PhD program?? The Second Language and Culture Education program there is just about perfect for what I'm interested in...I'm second-guessing myself now. Ahhh at least I don't feel as awful about this as when Midd rejected me. I wonder why. But still. What else did they want?? Pooey.

At least UWisc-Mad liked me. That phone call just about made my evening.

100 Things

2008-02-06T19:52:00.007+01:00

This is a popular thing for bloggers to do, so here are 100 things about me that you may or may not know and may or may not want to know.

1. When I first got to college, I swore up and down I'd never teach.
2. I also said I'd never learn Spanish.
3. I have a really bad sweet tooth.
4. I stress-bake. The night before I left for my study abroad in France, I baked a chocolate cake. My parents were perplexed.
5. I have had seven roommates in my life. I still speak to all of them.
6. I was so addicted to Solitaire in college that I finally deleted it off my computer.
7. I have a very sensitive nose; most smells bother me.
8. I rarely recognize the people in my dreams.
9. I was a hostess at Friendly's for three weeks.
10. I firmly believe that I have no hair color. It's sort of light brown but it used to be blonde. I think it's brownish greyish blondish.
11. My feet are very narrow.
12. I play piano and violin, a constant source of simultaneous stress and relief.
13. I had braces in elementary school.
14. I have a slight case of scoliosis which naturally is worsened when I gain weight.
15. I totalled my parents' car when I was 19. "Dad, a really bad thing happened..."
16. I really should have been a child of the 70's.
17. I am not a party girl.
18. I'm a closet Trekkie. Now not closet, but yes. Within two minutes of any TNG episode, I can tell you which one it is. I wish DS9 didn't go to pot after the first couple of seasons. Voyager could have been better, and the most recent edition was painful. I hear there's a new TNG movie in the works...
19. For my high school graduation, my aunt offered me a trip to visit her in New York City, complete with a Broadway show. We saw "Mamma Mia" and she was understandably confused.
20. The same aunt also came to visit me in France when I studied abroad. She came for a weekend. We saw some WWII sites and the Bayeux tapestry in Normandy, not Paris. Her friends were understandably confused.
21. The group of people I hung out with in high school are super-over-achievers. "We're AP" was our motto.
22. I still do the finger trick to remember left and right.
23. However I am phenomenal with maps.
24. It would take a lot of convincing and ideal conditions for me to try Tequila again.
25. My favorite summer memories include Cape Cod, Harbormess, and grilling outside.
26. If she can shovel out the snow, my mother will still grill. We have run out of propane on more than one wintery evening as a result.
27. I'm very high-strung.
28. Horror movies make me cry more than scare me.
29. My dad apparently wanted to name me Gina.
30. My grandmother went sky-diving for her 83rd birthday.
31. I have twin brothers. They are very very smart men.
32. I have never babysat.
33. I love blankets and own quite a few in about three different places.
34. My favorite colors are pink and yellow. In college, I did four loads of laundry: permanent press, darks, whites, and yellow.
35. When I have children, I already have the girls' names picked out but I have no idea what to name the boys.
36. I am 5'6". I've always been disappointed that I didn't end up taller.
37. My favorite artists are Norman Rockwell, Maxfield Parrish, Marc Chagall and Raoul Dufy.
38. I was not raised with organized religion.
39. All of my Catholic knowledge has been derived from religious art.
40. I love (and miss!) the Food Network, the Travel Channel, and the History Channel.
41. I find Cary Grant very attractive. He also strongly resembles my grandfather.
42. I can be very inflexible.
43. New York Times crossword puzzles are the best.
44. I never played sports as a kid, but I was always at my brothers' games and usually had an administrative role.
45. I'm terrible at chess.
46. My brothers tried to teach me how to play pitch and gave up about thirty minutes through because I was so abysmal.
47. I have traveled extensively throughout New York State as part of my mother's personal quest to learn more about it for her fourth grade social studies curriculum.
48. I was eliminated from a spelling bee for misspelling "pennant."
49. My mother is a very good seamstress and has made some of the best Halloween costumes ever.
50. My brothers and I were Legomaniacs and created an entire city. It was incredible.
51. I went to my first symphony concert when I was seven and my first rock concert when I was 12.
52. I am not an animal person.
53. My boyfriend wants a cat.
54. I've told him: it's me or the cat.
55. He's a smart man.
56. When I was in high school, I diagnosed myself with pica. I eat paper, wood, and rubber. This is apparently linked to a neurophysiological deficiency.
57. Which makes sense, as I am often emotionally and physically constipated.
58. I hate cutting my nails. Even when I was a kid and my mom would cut them, I put up such a fuss.
59. When I was in elementary school, I wanted to be a cartographer.
60. I memorized the state capitals when I was in third grade, and my classmates would quiz me at lunch.
61. I got glasses in third grade to match my best friend's. When she got a new style, I did too. And then she got contacts.
62. I can't even do eye drops.
63. I love stand-up comedy.
64. My parents are really smart. They're also funny people.
65. When I was 10, I got a wart on my left knee. It's still there.
66. I grind my teeth at night.
67. I have a naturally low body temperature. But I'm rarely cold.
68. I rarely get sick, and when I do, it's usually not for more than a few days.
69. I HATE rain.
70. I know enough Italian to buy stamps and gelato. (Is any more really necessary?)
71. I had no idea that my high school classmates had parties with beer until I got to college.
72. My brothers throw awesome parties.
73. Everyone in my immediate family with a college degree is a teacher.
74. I'm really bossy.
75. Places outside of Europe I want to visit: Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Thailand, India, an African safari, Argentina, Mexico, Hawaii, the Dominican Republic, Montreal, Quebec, Toronto, aaand basically the entire US.
76. I like Yuengling, dry red wines, Bailey's, and Irish whiskey.
77. An important thing that living abroad has helped me to realize is that I don't really like being away from my home.
78. Most of the computers in my family have names: George, Henry, Frederick, Dwight, Ralph, and Cosette. It helps keep track of them.
79. I can count the number of days I was absent from school on two hands.
80. I also didn't skip classes in college for the first two years.
81. My first kiss was when I was nineteen.
82. For about a year in high school, I was really into astrology.
83. The first place I go in a bookstore is to the dictionaries.
84. Cleaning bathrooms is really therapeutic.
85. I didn't wear nail polish until I was nineteen, and then only on my toes.
86. I have adorable toes.
87. Yellow roses make me very happy.
88. I enjoy grocery shopping.
89. Despite nearly 2000 pictures, I am not such a good photographer.
90. I am fifteen months older than my brothers. Because I was so young, my parents didn't actually tell me outright that I was going to be a big sister. So my mom "gave" them to me as a present when we went to pick her up at the hospital.
91. They're still mine.
92. McDonald's is my weakness.
93. My dream car is an automatic Peugeot 206 imported to the States. Hey, it's a dream.
94. I handwrite all first drafts. Typing is only for revisions and final drafts. Lesson plans are always handwritten because let's face it - everything in that changes within the first five minutes of a class.
95. I don't have a very good memory. One of my best posts from my college years blogs was about a two-hour period on a Thursday morning I could not remember at all.
96. Which is odd considering my trilingual vocabulary.
97. I do not appreciate most interior design things, like highly stylized rooms and houses, TV shows, and stores.
98. When I graduated high school, my French teacher gave me a stuffed animal fox so I would always have a friend. It's supposed to be the fox from the book The Little Prince. Most people mistake it for a beaver because it's pretty much two-dimensional.
99. I love used book sales because sometimes you can find a book in another language.
100. I am really going to miss grenadine syrup for two Euros when I go back to the States.

My feet feel like they're in mud...

2008-02-05T19:51:00.000+01:00

This week is DRAGGING.

1. I'm sorry B*, but I can't give you the answers when I explain five times in French what the directions say and your answer is "So what do I put?" You put down a sentence or four that describes yourself using two physical and two personal adjectives. I am happy. I am dumb. Whatever you want. EEESH. I could not believe how little this one particular class understood. And to top it off, Catherine's in the back giving me weird looks. Makes me feel sooo stupid. Which I'm not, her students just didn't study.

2. Is vacation here yet?

3. My private tutoring lesson didn't go well. I tried to branch out from straight economic articles to an article on corporate social responsibility. From her body language alone she didn't like it. Oh my goodness girl, you have exhausted my economic knowledge. Let's not ressurect the pain that was Mr. Marks' P&Q graphs, ok?

4. My trains leave on Friday at noon. That is the start of my vacation.

5. Wine and cheese farewell for Ben tomorrow. Silly boy.

6. I'm going to Marseille and Saint-Tropez and NICE and Paris for vacation. Is that decadent or what?

7. I was invited to School Two's Chandeleur party on Friday afternoon - but that's when my trains leave! Awww thanks Sylvie and Christophe! They're awesome people.

8. I had a really good talk with the director of the Wisconsin program. He's very friendly and realistic. Definitely cleared up some of my questions. Good talk.

9. FRIIIDAY.

10. I miss being hugged and getting hugs. I hope Kathy and Liz can help me out with that in a week!

UGH.

2008-02-04T20:33:00.001+01:00

I know he's only nine, but I'm really sick and tired of one of my student's excuses. "But I didn't take English last year!" You have nothing in your notebook, you don't pay attention in class, you don't participate, and you spend half of class facing the other direction. There are PLENTY of other students who didn't do English last year, and they're doing fine. The problem is your attitude, sir, and it had better shape up. I expect more out of you. But he is only nine.

I've long said that I have a different personality in French. My word choices, the way I express myself, the times I choose to involve myself in conversation and how, all make me a different person than my normal American self. I can say normal because France has only been nine months of my life so far. Maybe it's because it's different, or maybe I genuinely dislike this other person. I don't really know how to change it either externally or internally. It's really putting a bad flavor in my mouth. I'm also incredibly homesick and people-sick and America-sick. I have a right to these feelings. It's part of living abroad. I won't give up on this job, despite brief moments of feedback from my colleagues and students. It's just so emotionally draining. I have become a pragmatic and practical person to a fault; to the point where I just do NOT feel or express my emotions. And when the slightest thing gets to me, I break down. All I think about all day are my classes, my bank account, and the best vacation arrangements. I do a good job of pushing out images of Mom and Dad and Peter and Nicholas and Andy and the rest of my family and friends out of my head. It just makes me sad that I'm SO alone here. Everyone else has a family and a real life. I'm here temporarily. After vacation, I won't even have my roommates: Ben is leaving and Rocio and I are rubbing each other the wrong way. So I focus on the practical. I've become a different person and I don't like it, and then I resent France and the French language. It's awful. I don't care about getting words or grammar or my accent right; I don't even want to talk at the end of the day in any language. English is frustrating because NO one understands it, not even my students who were supposed to have studied for their evaluations (why do I bother, honestly...). I just feel so so so alone and self-centered and lost. I have got to find a way out of this.

Also, Alouette.fr is good French internet radio, broadcast from the region where La Rochelle is. Keeps me from going entirely insane.

February Vacations!

2008-02-03T12:04:00.000+01:00

Here it is as promised: the itinerary for my upcoming February vacation. I am off officially from Saturday, February 9 to Sunday, February 24.

Friday, February 8: Ussel -> Marseille
Marseille is the second- or third-largest city in France, depending on which statistic you go by. It is on the Mediterranean, large, multicultural, and known for a fish stew called bouillabaisse. I plan on visiting the Archaeological Museum, the African, Oceanic and American Indian Art Museum, the History of Marseille Museum, the Fashion Museum, the Santon Museum, the Fine Arts Museum if it's open, the Basilica, see if I can't scope out some of the Calanques, and eat and eat and eat.
I will be staying at the Bonneveine Youth Hostel.

Monday, February 11: Marseille -> Saint-Tropez
Saint-Tropez is a resort town in the south of France known for celebrities' houses (like Elton John...!), Tropezienne sandals, and hoity-toity-ness. Most of the adventure here will be trying to get there as I'm not entirely convinced that my tickets will get me there, but I've researched it a lot and am excited! There aren't a ton of sites here, but many sights and I'm looking forward to this city a lot.
I will be staying at Hotel La Mediterranee, which has so far deserved its glowing review in my guide book.

Wednesday, February 13: Saint-Tropez -> Nice
Nice, pronounced "Neece", is a Riviera resort town known for The Good Life. I plan on visiting the old town, a museum named in honor of one of my favorite artists Marc Chagall, the Matisse Museum, the Roman ruins, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Fine Arts Museum, and soaking up some serious good life.
I will be staying at Las Camelias Youth Hostel.

Saturday, February 16: Nice -> Paris
PARIS!! I will be meeting up with Dad's friend's daughter Liz and wife Kathy for a week-long whirlwind tour of Paris. We will be doing the Big Five: Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, Arc de Triomphe, and Musee d'Orsay. (Everyone has different Big Fives.) They'd also like to do a day-trip, and I suggested Reims (pronounced "Rance") to see the cathedral where most French kings were crowned and a champagne cellar tour.
We will be staying at the Hotel Bonsejour Montmartre in the middle of Montmartre, the neighborhood known for the Moulin Rouge, Sacre Coeur, and Amelie.

I return to Ussel the afternoon of Sunday, February 24. After that, six grueling weeks of children asking me "Teacher, what does that mean?". Easter and it's associated Holy Days are in this marking period so I haven't mapped out exactly what's happening every day, but I do know what topics my classes are going to cover.

I have been in France for 132 complete days. I still have five whole months left. This is incredibly emotionally exhausting.

2008-02-02T15:45:00.000+01:00

Is Puxatawney Phil's prediction global, or does it just apply to northeastern United States?

It tried to snow here on Thursday and Friday but it seemed like the weather was confused. It snowed/rained/sleeted, but it all melted by noon. Now it's sunny.

That was a busy morning.

2008-01-30T13:29:00.001+01:00

So let's talk about what I did today instead of how emotionally overwhelmed I am. Either way, we're talking about ME ME ME. I am a very self-centered person. Yes.

I woke up this morning at 6:00am but did not get out of bed until 7:15am because I (a) am lazy, (b) am tired, and (c) really like my blankies. But I did get up finally and got to School One by 8:00. Why am I going to school on Wednesday? I don't have classes on Wednesday. Well, I'm grading my students' infernal cahiers. (Cahier means notebook.) They must have a grade on them, and their classroom teachers can't do it because it's not their lesson and there's a reason they're not teaching English. And I wouldn't ask them to grade them - it's my class, it's my work. It's frustrating, rewarding, surprising, and astonishing all at the same time. Some kids are awesome orally but don't have a darn thing written in their notebooks; some kids have everything in their notebooks and it's beautifully done; some kids are just absolutely clueless. Luckily their notebooks strongly correlate to their performance and behavior in class and later on the évaluations. I was at School One until 9:30. After that I went to School Two, where I have four classes. That took until about 11:15. I got to School Three which is about twenty minutes away if I book it or four songs on my iPod (thank you Jackie and Andre and Ivan and Benno, that little pink square saves my LIFE) by 11:35. I quickly graded the eighteen notebooks I have there, because school ends at 12:00. So that was my morning. Je suis épuisée.

Remember how S*, a fourth grader at School Three invited me to her tenth birthday party? I did call her parents to decline. I'm her teacher, not her friend. And it's not fair for other kids who don't have a birthday during the school year, who don't have a birthday party, or whatever. Apparently she told EVERY fourth grade girl at her school that I was invited. The other girls in her class all asked me, as did random other students at School Three who I don't even know. Greaaat. "Are you coming to S*'s birthday party?" Eek, I didn't know what to say! S* was absent yesterday for English and today when I was extraordinarily there, so I couldn't even tell her personally. I have a bad feeling this could be uglier, but it's not very comfortable for me. Thanks a lot S*.

Also, we have finally been paid. This paycheck is paying for two weeks on the Cote d'Azur and Paris. I am SOOO excited for vacations. It seems to be mostly on vacation that I speak more French. I will not be taking the Toshiba with me as I really want to disconnect myself from this thing for a bit. I will post about my vacation soon; I know I promised this weekend.

I am going to take a quick nap, write up some grade grids, bundle up American penpal letters, do my exercises (I should post about those some day, it's amusing), go to dinner, and veg. Thursday and Friday are going to be taxing.

An email this morning:

2008-01-29T10:41:00.000+01:00

Dear Rose,

I am pleased to let you know that we have recommended that the Graduate School admit you to the Professional French Masters Program beginning Fall 2008.

Congratulations and good luck as you prepare for your interdisciplinary studies with us at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and please contact me at your earliest convenience so that we may discuss enrollment and other “préparatifs” for the fall 2008 semester in Madison.

Bien cordialement,

Ritt Deitz, Ph.D.
Executive Director
UW-Madison Professional French Masters Program

This is exciting. I don't mean to put a damper on anyone, but I'm not sure I want to do this right yet. It's just a lot to handle.

Frustrating day Number 127.

2008-01-28T21:12:00.001+01:00

I did everything "right" today, but things just didn't work out. Let's do the point system because that usually puts things into perspective.

+: Woke up at a decent time to eat breakfast.
+: Printed tons of stuff out at the liberry. (That's how I spell it.)
-: Boudin noir for lunch. I've tried it before. It's not awful but it's nothing special.
+: Monsieur Paillous is a very nice man.
-: Pascal, the talkative teacher, needs to read some real books about American politics that aren't written by French people and are about something other than American radicalism. I really wanted to tell him off but I wasn't able to find the words to say that politely and forcefully.
-: School One's fourth graders will not shut up.
+: School One's fourth graders loved the review activity.
-: School One's third graders will not shut up, and B* and L* need to cut it out.
-: School Two's difficult fourth graders will not shut up and totally blew the review activity.
-: I need to stick to my house discipline system.
+: I watched ninety minutes of French TV today: a game show called Des Chiffres et des Lettres which is like Boggle and Numbers Boggle, another game show called Questions pour un champion which is like Jeopardy and is really good for my cultural knowledge, and the news. Oh and tons of commercials. I love the commercials.
+: Comfortable food for dinner.
+: Karine and Delphine were at dinner.
-: Pascal was at dinner, and talked about horseshoe crabs ("It's not a crab. It's not a crab." OK I GET IT BUT IT'S CALLED A CRAB.), millipedes, and American soap operas from the 70s like Dynasty and Dallas. Oh my goodness. This man is insufferable. There is more than just you in this "conversation," sir.

So the total: 0. I guess it all evens out.

Today made me laugh.

2008-01-24T21:35:00.000+01:00

So my responsable Madame Renson mentioned before Christmas break that I need to be inspected, or basically observed. Sweet, come on down. Watch the mayhem begin. I know that I speak too much French and that I don't use the textbook, but my kids can express themselves very well regardless so peu importe. But three weeks have passed since la rentrée and no word from the Power Tower (really, her office is a huge tower in the middle of what would be a quaint little river valley). So I email her. Her response: mid-March. Okeedokee. Glad to know it's not a pressing issue. Granted, I don't really fret about the problems in my classrooms like the other primary assistants she's in charge of do. I doubt I'll be inspected more than once.

Today was a national strike of government workers: some transportation workers, the post office, the water and electricity office, government officials, and teachers! Again! Fortunately, because there was already one strike back in November, only about 33% of all teachers in France went on strike. None of my Thursday teachers were on strike, so I still had all of my classes. I was very relieved to hear this, because missing a day totally throws a monkey wrench into my plans. However, some other students' teachers were on strike. Normally, students of striking teachers are given a note ahead of time saying "Your teacher is supporting something or other" and the kids don't come to school. Except the poor kids whose parents don't support the strike, don't know about the strike, don't have any other place to put the kids, or insist their kids go to school regardless. So I had a few visitors in my classes today. At School Two, they were luckily still my own students so it was ok. But at School Three, I had four extra fourth graders who do English with their classroom teacher Luc. Luc follows the textbook to a T, as well he should. I do not follow the textbook because I don't feel it's thorough enough. (I don't mean that I'm better than the book; I just think that me as a native English speaker and trained FL teacher can find other ways to teach my students the same stuff.) So I told the four guests that they could follow along as best they could, try to participate, and just learn some more English. They did well, and my School Three fourth graders were extra-better behaved because they were showing off for their guests. Whoopee!!

There is a slice of bacon on the outside part of my windowsill. That is all.

S* gave me an invitation (with horrific spelling) to her 10th birthday party.
Rose: Did you ask your parents?
S*: Uh huh. (nods)
Rose: What did they say?
S* (giggles) They laughed.
So I looked up the address, and it's a hike so I couldn't exactly just pop in and say hi. I really can't justify a teacher attending a student's birthday party, as much as it might disappoint her. So I'm going to call her parents.

Normally, employees of the National Education department are paid on the last Friday of the month or the 27th of the month, which ever comes first. The salaries are usually dispersed on the Thursday before and posted in our bank accounts that Friday. Well, considering probably anyone involved with my paycheck was picketing her very office today, I'm a little doubtful that my pay will actually be in my account tomorrow.

This weekend will include details on my upcoming February break. France is AWESOME.

Awesome happenings lately:

2008-01-22T20:32:00.000+01:00

A* is a little boy in one of my fourth grade classes. He usually spends English class with a pained look on his face. He frowns, he pouts, and sometimes his frustration becomes full-on sobs. Last Thursday, instead of outright giving them the question to answer, I asked them to come up with it. Based on "What's your name?", "What's your dad's name?". and "What color are your eyes?", what would be the question about the color of your dad's eyes? A* raised his hand. That in itself is a huge deal. Yes, A*? "What color are your dad's eyes?" he asks firmly but quietly. YESSS!!! YES, THAT'S IT! I shout, throwing my hands up in the air. Good job, A*! Even his teacher, Catherine, who usually sits in the back of the class with a slightly annoyed look on her face because her students can get pretty chatty, SMILED. I was so proud of him. I gave him a sticker. And guess who's regularly raising his hand and participating in class now? A*. Go him. I'm so proud of him.

F* has been a constant problem in the fourth grade class at School Three. When his teacher, Virginie, and I exchange the groups (I also have her third graders) we trade stories about how F* is behaving today. Last Thursday, he was an angel. Thank you for remembering your medication. He doesn't speak too well but I can understand, and probably only me, what he's trying to say. I was very proud of him and told him so. He even earned a sticker for that day (this is one of the classes that I'm doing the house=sticker thing). He said, "Rose, I like you a lot. I like doing English with you. I didn't like English last year but you make it fun." Thank you F*. I like doing English with you too. Today, Virginie and I exchanged the groups. She walked out of the classroom with an annoyed face: "F* is be a handful today. Don't hesitate to send him to the directeur." Ohhh, he did so well on Thursday! "Yeah, he was for me too. Today is a different story." Well what do you know, but F* repeated his brilliant performance from Thursday. He raised his hand, he was enthusiastic, he made an effort, and he totally earned his sticker. He also asked me for my email address. I'm divided. I don't really want to because I don't feel comfortable with it - I would have to think before giving my email address to a high school student - but I don't want to lose his trust. In any case, as long as he takes his medication (which I'm sure he has, there's no explanation for the drastic changes in his behavior), he's a doll.

F*'s classmate S* is enamored with me. She gave me the most poorly written New Year's note saying "Rose you are the best teacher." She invited me to her birthday party next Wednesday. "Did you ask your parents?" Surprised look. "Ask your parents first sweetheart."

Ben is leaving in three weeks. This is not an awesome happening, but he is an awesome happening. Fun conversations with Ben, translated from French:
Rose: Have you seen my watch?
Ben: No...
Rose: Yeah I lost it.
Ben: Well, it must be with my glasses. And by with, I mean they've run off together. And by run off together, Rocio stole them.
Rose: Whaaat.
Ben: It's in her blood! You know how she is.

(While trying to eat a baked apple for dinner) Ben: So...(struggling) how is this supposed to work?
Rose: What I want to know is what was wrong with the plain apple in the first place. Why does it need to be cooked?
Ben: This is really hard. (Apple ends up on his tray.)
Rose: Food shouldn't be hard to eat.
Ben: Like crab! It's delicious, but it's way too much work for so little food.
Ok that was better with the visuals. Imagine trying to eat a baked apple. It's not pleasant.

He is an intelligent and amusing fellow. He's very sarcastic (see first conversation), but not in the usual annoying way.

Christophe is one of my fifth grade teachers. He gave me unprompted praise today. This is étonnant because the French just don't do that. He said "I really like that you make them repeat so many times. They're really getting the hang of it." Well, it can be boring, but at least now they're conjugating irregular verbs! "Yes. You're really doing well." Christophe is fantastic. Sylvie, my other fifth grade teacher, had a student observer. Sure, let her in, the more the merrier. Even the student observer said that she liked the lessons, that she liked how much they were required to move and talk and recognize.

Good days.

Also I think I have the French plague, but I'm stronger than it. I think the last time I was sick was maybe in February 2007. I don't get sick very easily. Lots of tea and lots of rest. Yay!

That was a long week.

2008-01-19T14:54:00.001+01:00

And thank goodness it's done.

School was okay. The students are progressing slowly and are understanding what English class is all about. I did have one lesson completely blow up in my face. Their teacher Sylvie said "It happens. Don't worry. Not every lesson is going to be perfect." It is SO nice to have the support of my teachers. They are such nice people. I really need to create lessons for the next weeks that are more student-centered. I'm tired of talking, they're tired of writing, and I think we're all getting bored. I have a great Valentine's Day lesson for my third and fourth grade classes, but I need something more engaging for my fifth graders. Also I'm discovering that my two fifth grade classes are on entirely different levels. Sylvie's class is just...well, they're not all that bright. Christophe's students, on the other hand, remind me a lot of Rhonda's Spanish IV classes: I can do anything I want with them and they will give me the benefit of the doubt and just go along with it. At least they try! Sylvie's class is chatty and they give up much faster. Anyways. I really really like this job. If it didn't require relinquishing my American citizenship, leaving my family and my home, and getting a French degree, I'd stay and be a real elementary English teacher. This is a sweet job.

That brings me to another point. I'm very frustrated with the comments I've been hearing from other assistants. Teaching is a profession. We take it seriously. Not everyone can teach. Heck, even I doubted my abilities and before that even refused to entertain the idea of teaching. I'm not very good at it and I see the mistakes I make every day, but I still take this seriously. I really question the wiseness of taking on this job without an interest in teaching or children. If you've never taught before, this is not exactly the kind of first experience that will make you like it. If you've never stayed in France for an extended period of time before, this is not the kind of experience that will make you comfortable. This is a real job, and people take you seriously. I'm just very disappointed in the amount of preparation - pedagogical, linguistic, and cultural - that people have done prior to this experience. Honestly, how do you expect to teach without ever having learned how to teach? How do you expect to succeed and be happy in France without really learning about the language and culture? I've watched a lot of baseball but that doesn't make me a catcher for the Yankees.

Speaking of learning about the language and culture, we had a dinner party on Wednesday. Ben was at the post office in November and overheard a woman with a strong American accent. Her name is Vicky, her husband's name is William, and they have lived in France - specifically just outside of Ussel - with their 23 year old daughter Juliette since Bush was elected seven years ago. They describe themselves to the French people they meet as political refugees. Neat. So Ben invited them over to have dinner. Vicky got even more excited when she heard about Rocio and Rocio's family, as Vicky spent years in Colombia (before the drugs) as a Spanish teacher. So we had a Correzien liquor made from the root of some flower. It was awful and apparently no one buys more than one bottle in their lifetime it's so bad. Dinner was quesadillas made from real corn tortillas courtesy of Juliette and salad. Dessert was pistachio ice cream and Mom's Christmas cookies and Oreos! It was an interesting evening: American conversations have so many codes, the most important one of which is to not offend your conversation partner. I spent the majority of the evening talking to William while he said my parents were selfish for owning a Suburban, that Sarkozy is awful for France, that I should stay in France for at least three years, and that the French are negative people. I disagreed with virtually all of this but as this was an American conversation, I couldn't find the words to express myself. I also got the impression that the entire family needed a good French civilization textbook. The entire evening was very confusing: Rocio speaks French and Spanish, her mother speaks only Spanish, David speaks Spanish and English, Juliette speaks French and English, Ben speaks French and English (and sort of Spanish), Vicky speaks English and Spanish and sort of French, William speaks English and sort of French, and I speak French and English and Spanish. Add in the fact that Ben and Rocio and I speak exclusively French to each other. I couldn't figure out what language to speak to anyone. It was quite possibly the most confusing dinner party I've ever been to. But it was enjoyable for the most part.

On Wednesday I attended a junior year French class. I am looking forward to more of these! The teacher, Madame S (it's long and Polish) is very sweet and accommodating, and her students were appropriately intrigued. Hopefully there will be more French going on in my life now.

My private tutoring student called on Wednesday evening and left me quite possibly the clearest French voicemail I've ever received. There was a school skiing trip on Saturday that she wanted to go to and as it would interfere with the English lesson (or vice-versa), could we please reschedule to Friday evening. But of course! Unfortunately, the lesson I prepared didn't go so hot. We did financial profiles of a fictitious company and of Citigroup. There was entirely too much jargon that I had to look up myself (what's private equity?), and she didn't seem to like it much. I'll find something better for next week.

I found a job in New York. I applied and contacted the group, but that was yesterday. The job was posted in November so I'm not sure when they wanted to fill it, but it's only perfect for me. I can do EVERYTHING :)

Today I went to the famous Bergeron pastry shop to buy the fig pastry I kept seeing. This shop is famous because it makes Les Chocolats du Président because President Chirac lives a few kilometers from here in a huge chateau protected by the Gendarmerie whose barracks are between the high school and School Three. Got that? Yes. I got home and Ben asked, "So are you done for this weekend? That's all you said you had planned..." Hahaha, yep. We also have one and a half bottles of wine to work through, so we'll keep busy :)

Life is pretty damn good.

Day 113 (!!!)

2008-01-14T22:16:00.000+01:00

Good day today. Incredibly tranquil weekend (re: grocery shopping and lesson planning) but good day today. Well, my tutoring lesson on Saturday went awesome. My student isn't kidding when she says she's interested in economics. We did an article on the subprime mortgage crisis in the US and she blew me away. All righty then. More economic news it is then.

Saturday Ben made us - me, Rocio, her mom, her brother David, and Ben himself - a real American breakfast. He found real Canadian (whaaat no) maple syrup, so he made French toast and bacon. It was delicious. Go Ben. I'm going to miss him a lot when he leaves for his other city in February.

My fourth graders' homework assignment today was to either draw or cut out five pictures of peoples' heads and paste them in their notebooks. If you don't have magazines, if you don't have a computer, if you don't have catalogs, you draw pictures. We need to see eyes and hair. L* asked, "Can we find the pictures from porn magazines?" I told him in English that he was inappropriate and that I'm telling the teacher. But their teacher, Catherine, spends their English lesson time in maternelle and doesn't always get back immediately. So I go next door to Katell who is super fun to tell her in case I can't find Catherine immediately. Katell's eyes get huge. I leave the building (the school here is housed in four different buildings around a paved courtyard) and there's Catherine. I tell her. Her eyes get huge, and says "Well, he didn't even know that babies drink their mothers' breastmilk. And his mother will make up some ridiculous excuse when I tell her." Sucks for L*, but he's apparently not like this in regular class. He totally takes advantage of me, and it's going to stop. Eesh.

Ben and I are apparently going to Pascal's premiere history/geography class on Wednesday. Pascal is a tiny little teacher here at the high school, super friendly, and a great conversationalist. So we're going to his junior year history class to talk about "American institutions" like racism, immigrants, foreign trade policy, etc. Um. Do I look like I know anything about this?

I finished a book today! L'Amant de la Chine du Nord by Marguerite Duras. It was really abstract but neat for the role reversals in terms of sexuality, race, and socioeconomic status. I was very proud of myself. So I decided that I had to continue. I borrowed L'Oeuvre au Noir by Marguerite Yourcenar which is set in the 16th century and about an alchemist. The first forty pages are pretty sweet. I'm psyched! Look Ma, I'm reading! Finally. Eesh, I'm virtually illiterate.

Tomorrow will be a GOOD day. Hot chocolate and Nutella toast for breakfast. Yummy yummy.

Friiiday.

2008-01-11T15:15:00.000+01:00

I didn't get wine for tonight. I did however get an amandine which appears to be a little almond torte, which I got specifically because I have a fourth grader with that as her first name. So that's my treat. Yay!

I have two new students at School Two, and do they have the most Anglophone names ever. They're Roma, or gypsies, and due to the nomadic nature of their people, they don't go to school much. In fact, they probably won't stay long. I get the impression that the teachers don't invest a lot into them and quite possibly even anticipate the day they move on. It's one way of life for sure, but I just feel so bad for these kids. They're so disenfranchised from the start, and to keep moving them around so they don't go to school violates their rights as children. Fourth grader S* seemed to follow along ok, but when I asked fifth grader J* if she was able to follow at all she responded "I don't understand English" in a really off-putting tone. Eh, Christophe warned me about her.

I ate lunch today with Delphine the little librarian and a French teacher. I was truly interested in how French is taught here, because it's basically like English is taught in the US, so I asked some questions. The teacher then invited me to come to her classes! That was exactly what I wanted. I only took one French literature class at Cortland (I know!), and I need more French in my life in general. (Who doesn't?) So I will be attending her junior year French literature class on Wednesday mornings. I am so psyched!

Also of note: I am officially a card-carrying French teacher. I had heard through the assistants' grapevine about the existence of a attestation professionnelle, or teacher ID card. I hadn't seen or heard anything official from my responsibles so I took matters into my own hands. I asked Madame Cousty because she's the principal at my main school, ie the school that I'm attached to administratively, and she had no idea. But she suggested I go to the Inspection Academique or the District Office. Luckily it's in Ussel, luckily it's next door to School Three, and luckily my responsable Madame Mouty works there. So I go there and ask the secretary who is a younger guy who reminds me a lot of Ryan, the newest teller at my bank in Camillus, because they both have dark features, are of slight build, and a nervous energy about him. So I nicknamed this secretary Ryan. Makes me happy. I ask, "I apologize for bothering you but I would like to know please if I, as a language assistant in the first degree, have the right to a teacher's ID card." Now, for those of you who hate to hear me apologize so much, you need to know that this is the polite way to start a professional request, especially when you just walk into an office like I did. :) "Ryan" goes to ask the Inspecteur Monsieur Martinet, and fetches me a little card. Ryan and Monsieur tell me to mark that I'm an enseignante (teacher) and not an assistant, because the cards are only for real teachers. I am not a teacher de juris but based on what I do, I certainly am de facto. Luckily I still had my stash of AAA passport photos with me! So less than ten minutes later, I have a pretty little card that says I'm a teacher with the French National Ministry of Education. What's so great about that, you ask? American teachers don't have anything similar, just a xeroxed copy of their certification from the black hole that is Albany. Well, in the European Union, being a teacher means you are cool stuff. FREE ADMISSION to museums, historical sites, monuments, you name it. I am truly looking forward to trying this sucker out during the February vacation. I am so happy that I took the initiative to ask. France, you are silly but there are some fantastic perks.

My bank here in France is funny. It's not a national bank; I've seen two branches total. But it is a baby bank version of the much larger national Credit Agricole, so one would think they do normal bank-y things. I have about $200 in American Express travelers' cheques with me, mostly for "oh my goodness I'm going to sleep on the streets tonight" emergencies. However, just in case, I thought I'd ask my bank if they exchange them. I asked on Thursday. The girl at the counter said "Oh, no" and her eyes got really big. Now this is France, so you should never take one person's answer as gospel. So I went back today. The man at the counter also got the big eyes, inhaled deeply, and said "We could try. I've never done it before." Slightly more promising. It also costs €12,70 to make a deposit from my French bank to a bank account outside of the European Union. I think. I may not remember that correctly.

Ben got me a Christmas present! It's Lonely Planet: Europe on a Shoestring because I had mentioned how much I love Lonely Planet and that after my first trip to France, I somehow lost track of the edition Aunt Karla gave or lent me. I've always felt very very badly about that. But anyways, that was really nice of Ben. Merci mon pote :)

The price for a meal here at the cantine du lycée has been re-evaluated for the new fiscal year; it went from €1,69 to €1,71. Our rent has also been evaluated for the months of October, November and December and we owe and additional €8,12 (divided by three). Our rent has also been re-evaluated for the new fiscal year and will now cost €2 more. Upon hearing these increases, some teachers actually complained. "They don't increase our salary." Two cents or two euro more and you're complaining? I think I'm luckier than a skunk to have this place to live! To eat for about $2 a meal. Jeepers people. The French seem to be habituated to deprivation; after the wars they got used to being "have-nots" and have a hard time accepting that with proper money management, they to can be a "have" and stop feeling bad for themselves. Eesh. Live the good life already. Only a French person would complain about living in France, honestly.

Ahhh I really need to clean my room. Mostly my table. I need shelves, because it's basically layered with schtuff.

Just keep swimming!

2008-01-10T17:27:00.000+01:00

It's been a decent week in France. Monday went pretty well, and I realized that my difficult classes really do need some kind of concrete discipline system. They work so much better when there's a physical "carrot" at the end of the stick and not just the nebulous "because it's good for you" reason to learn. Anything, for that matter.

Tuesday went beautifully. I LOVE my fifth graders! They are so smart! I also think that I'm not challenging them enough. Especially after talking with Mira, I think I may be simplifying things too much. The fifth graders can handle more. Hopefully next week will throw something fun in their faces. Ahhh I love this job!

I did a lot of work on Wednesday, but as always never enough. There's always more to do.

Tuesday night Ben bought a galette des rois or a Kings' Cake and some (dry!!) cider. And we feted the Epiphany, all of us: Ben, me, Rocio and her mom and her brother David, and our adopted buddy Marie (the substitute English teacher). It was delightful. The King Cake is a flaky pastry with almond paste inside. Somewhere in the cake is hidden a fève, which originally was a dried bean but in the past centuries has become a tiny porcelain trinket. Typically it's something country-ish like a chicken, a cow, a carton of eggs, or something religious like baby Jesus, Mom Mary, or the Magi; in recent decades it's become popular culture characters. I've seen Mickey Mouse. The tradition behind the King Cake is this: The youngest of the party hides under the table while the second oldest cuts the cake into eight or six pieces. The youngest person, under the table, dictates who gets what piece of the cake. He has to skip a part if there are fewer people than cake pieces. As you eat the cake, someone will find the little fève. This person becomes the king (or queen), chooses a partner queen (or king), and wears a little paper crown that Burger King totally ripped off. So our fève was Lord Asriel which matched "The Golden Compass" crown. And I found it! I made David my king because Ben already got to play because he's the youngest of us. Marie was so disappointed - she NEVER gets the fève! So that was a delightful evening.

Tuesdays are our usual wine and cheese nights but that was pre-empted by the King Cake. So we did wine and cheese on Wednesday. The usual suspects. It was so much fun. People in charge here at the high school like us because we're so laid-back and quiet. We don't have raucous parties; we do wine and cheese, and King Cake.

Today in school, I* gave me a New Year's present. It was chocolates! The tag even said "For Rose Happy New Year from the M* family" on it! I have to mention also that this family is Muslim, and if I had to stereotype my students, it's the Muslim and Turkish students who are more inclined toward language learning. Probably because they speak one language at home and French in school. Ah that was so sweet!!

My discipline system is working! I draw a house on the board. The house has ten components. Each time the class as a whole (I didn't say it was perfect) causes us to slow down or stop for whatever reason, I erase a part of the house. After three parts are erased, they write ten lines. After five parts of the house are erased, they get a croix dans les règles de vie (discipline marks that carry into regular class with Maitresse). After all parts of the house are erased, we stop class altogether. If the house is completely intact at the end of the class, they get a sticker. At the end of the marking period, I count up the number of stickers they have. 1-4 stickers gets a penny; 5-9 stickers gets a nickel; 10+ stickers gets a dime. I'd like to tweak it to make the individual students more accountable, but there are just SO many of them! I dunno...I guess I should do it like that.

Oooh Rocio's mom is cooking and it's onions and garlic and something. They're leaving next Saturday! I was really looking forward to spending more time with them. I hope they're not too bored here in the cultural mecca of La France Profonde.

Oh - while at the Post Office one day, Ben bumped into an American woman. Apparently she and her husband fled the US once Bush was elected...I forget if it was the first or second time...but in any case, they're pretty much political refugees of sorts. They are artists and used to teach Spanish in Colombia. So they're coming over on Wednesday for a Spanish soiree.

Let's be positive.

2008-01-07T23:09:00.000+01:00

I am in such a funk lately.

Here is a list of things I love about France.

1. Patisseries. The stores, the pastries, and the sweet ladies who work in the patisserie down the street. There's this new one I haven't seen yet; it's called la figue or the fig and it looks like green almond paste. I hope there's fig in it. I cannot WAIT. It's my reward for this weekend.

2. Hot chocolate and toast with Nutella for breakfast. Oh my goodness. Now to hire someone to make it for me, because I have become that lazy.

3. The teachers I work with. I love Monsieur Modeste, the directeur of School One, who jokes around with me and gives me les bises (kiss kiss greeting); Madame Cousty, the directrice of School Two who sometimes greets me in English; Monsieur Barbe the directeur at School Three who I rarely see but is always very friendly; Astrid, Luc, Valérie and Virginie at School Three who always say hi and have nothing but help to give; Jean-François, Alexia, Katell, Catherine, Fabienne and the hordes of other teachers at School One who are so super friendly; Christophe, Sylvie, Marie-Pierre, Catherine, Monique, and the other teachers at School Two who always smile and say hi and love what I do even though I mess up all the time. I am so so so lucky to have such great colleagues.

4. I love Rocio, even when she is a sniffly coughy mess. Pobrecita.

5. Ben is awesome. He's smart. I appreciate that more than he knows.

6. Françoise. I could not express to her well enough in the Christmas card I gave her how much her support and friendship means to me. She is amazing.

7. The teachers at the high school: Karine the marketing teacher, the two librarians Krystyna and The Little One, Blandine, Marie, Marie-Jo, Pascal with the lisp and lazy eye who I cannot understand but love anyways, Madame Menardi and her husband, Madame le Proviseur who gave me a scarf for Christmas (!!!), and heck even the laundry lady. I am so so so lucky to be in a place where people are friendly and patient and kind. So kind.

8. Saturday markets are fun, even though the one in Ussel has become pretty po-dunk.

9. God bless the SNCF. And please make them stop striking.

10. I truly enjoy the French concept of cooking: anything can be put into puff pastry form. Fish? Puff pastry fish! Cheese? Cheesy puffs! Chicken? Vol a vent! (Chicken and gravy puff pastry dumplings.) Fruits? Well that's what puff pastry was made for.

11. Inexpensive high-quality wine.

12. Teevee.

13. Vacations!!!

14. Ussel-specific: Due to the location and geography, it rarely precipitates here. During the day, skies are usually clear. Any rain that comes from the Atlantic dries up, and we're just to the west of the mountains. It's also been unseasonably warm, so much so that I'm very much so anticipating a good sale at Depech'Mod' to get a nice light jacket. (The one Mom bought me years ago is kicking the bucket.) It's foggy a lot here which can be very thick. It sometimes rains at night. But it's just not cold or high enough for snow, and we're too far inland for rain. How happy does this make me?!

Things I wish France could figure out:

1. Meet the salt and pepper shaker.

2. You live next door to Italy. What is up with your Italian food.

3. Automatic cars are not bad.

4. Curb your dog please.

5. Central heat.

6. Customer service.

7. Convenient store hours (ok, convenient for ME).

8. A sensible immigration policy. (The US could use this as well.)

Vacances de Noel et Bonne Année

2008-01-06T13:04:00.000+01:00

So we were too busy and internet connectivity was limited in Lyon and Dijon.

Mira and Shannon showed up Monday afternoon. We bounced around. Unfortunately, we couldn't find a place to spend New Year's Eve. I think this was due to the fact that we JUST met each other and in good American fashion, didn't want to impose anything. However, that led to a lot of awkward situations. We did find a cool Chinese buffet and then a building fire to watch! It was not fireworks like Mira thought, but a huge building fire started supposedly by some dude who tried to make his chicken à flambée and ended up killing one and injuring two. Great entertainment. They let it burn for fourteen hours.

In Lyon I visited the Musée des Beaux-Arts, a sacred arts museum whose exhibit was on religious toys - like toys for children to "play" mass, and the Botanical Garden where I saw a very cold Asian elephant, agitated leopards, silly Tamarind monkeys, and I think reindeer.

We went to Dijon on Thursday. What a great city! All the museums were free! I went to the Musée de la Vie Bourgignone and the Fine Arts Museum. The Burgundian life museum was really cool: very well organized, well explained, and HUGE. It was totally worth it. The Fine Arts museum was incredible. HUGE, well explained, and fairly well organized. I got the audio guide for a change, which was nice to have a voice in my head other than my own. So much to see. We had dinner at this Spanish-style place: Shannon got fajitas! I don't remember the name of my dish other than it was in a dog bowl. The next day, Mira and i went to a vegetarian restaurant where they were out of fish but it was delicious nonetheless. I had a stuffed pepper and the world's largest organic brownie. DELICIOUS.

My trip back to Ussel took ten hours. The only bad part of living in the middle of nowhere is that you can't get there from anywhere. As usual, I freaked out about missing my connections but it all worked out. Note to self: avoid taking buses in the evening as it is dark, it usually rains, and roads in France are twisty and on mountains. Oh my goodness I was petrified.

So today I did laundry and sort of cleaned my room. I still have to make sure that all my stuff is ready for this week coming up.

I'm so confused about where my life is supposed to go. Grad school applications aren't doing so well, but I'm very uncertain about the status of my New York State teacher certification. I don't know what to do. I just want to be happy, and I'm starting to think that I need a Plan B.

Vacances de Noel: Clermont to Lyon

2007-12-30T10:05:00.000+01:00

Today I woke up, ate my last breakfast at my hotel and caught the bus to the main plaza to walk around and wait for McDonald’s to open up. Over a delightful coffee and an awful hamburger (France! You are not allowed to destroy McDonald’s!), I updated my blog, downloaded my photos, and bounced around online. I got to about 65%-ish battery power and already the Toshiba was significantly slower. Which is understandable. I’ve never taxed the battery like that before. But he behaved well. Then I caught the bus back to the train station to Lyon. I read some of my book and listened to the iPod. Oh my goodness I love the iPod. It saves me from total boredom.

I got to Lyon. I knew I was going to have a tough time finding the hostel, and I did because I got distracted by the funicular, which is a vertical version of a subway up a hill. I thought it would provide good sights but it was in a tunnel. Anyways, I did see the beautiful Basilique de la Fourniviere which should provide entertainment for tomorrow. I finally found the hostel. The dude at the desk could use charm lessons. What a pill. So after discovering that the hostel’s wireless internet connection is unavailable for guests (how rude), I went back up to my room.

To my room, where there is one other girl, I’m guessing from Australia based on her Qantas Airlines baggage tag, and where I plunked down to listen to my new two CD set of traditional French songs. Oh my goodness this stuff is amazing. I love Josephine Baker and Charles Trenet and probably Maurice Chevalier. This is the stuff Madame Ponterio tried to show us but I couldn’t get it. Now I’m listening to it myself and I LOVE it. Ah. I’m also playing solitaire.

Tomorrow I will probably look at the Basilique and do other silly things on this hill and then head down to centre ville to do that double-decker bus tour I promised I’d never do in Paris. Mira and Shannon are supposed to arrive around 3:00pm. I cannot wait to meet them!! There is so much stuff to do in this city and due to our timing, I’m not sure we’ll be able to do enough…but I’m sure we’ll have fun in any case. Yay for travel buddies!

Vacances de Noel: Clermont-Ferrand Day 3

2007-12-29T11:16:00.000+01:00

The news tonight is saying the Clermont-Ferrand tested as the second-most intelligent city in France (after Lille) according to an unscientific British survey. They interviewed some people in the street, and some old lady said, “Well, I read. I play Nintendo!” Also they’re profiling a “snowscoot.” It’s a scooter with snowboards for wheels. And the oldest woman in France turned 113. She does not look good. Sarkozy wants 25,000 illegal immigrants deported but there haven’t been enough lately so there’s a little crisis. The town where the Marquis de LaFayette was born celebrated his birthday by getting dressed in period costumes. And some dude sits on hills in the region with a radio and tracks thunderstorms – specifically the lightning. France is silly.

Today was adventure day – the day to do things outside of Clermont in order to find other things. First idea was to find the Museum of Resistance and Deportation and Internment in one of the “suburbs” called Chamalieres. Chamalieres was a delightful little bourg with a lively Saturday market, a very pretty church, and generally cute and sweet. I found the museum with little difficulty. However the door was locked. The lights were on. I called and the call was ended. Very confusing. I realize it’s Saturday of New Year’s weekend, but…I was very confused. And disappointed. So I took pretty pictures of the inside of the church and the park.

Then I went back to Clermont to look for some place nice to eat lunch. I found a chain restaurant called Garden Ice Café (real French, guys) and ordered a steak with a “blue cheese” sauce. It was ok. But I enjoyed sitting and eating a real meal instead of silly sandwiches.

Then I went to another “suburb” called Montferrand. This is where the big Michelin factory is. They don’t give tours. But I went to see the fine arts museum! It started with seventh century art and moved up through the centuries. I truly enjoyed the art. There was a series of twelve huge paintings illustrating the Song of Roland, maybe the first example of French literature. I really liked that. Also religious art is fascinating. There was a book in the giftshop about Christian (ok Catholic) saints and how they are portrayed in art and I would have bought it except it was super heavy and super expensive. However, throughout the regular collections was this temporary exposition of commentaries and double-entendres and parallelisms to current events that was just really sophomoric and silly. I really disliked it and said so in the guestbook. Leave me my seventeenth century portraits without the supposedly “deep” connections to today. It wasn’t art; it was a series of complaints. It interrupted (I totally spelled that in French first) and distracted from the permanent collection which was well organized, well grouped, and well explained. Someone had obviously done a lot of work to put together this exhibit and it was just spoiled with the little cartoons commenting on the paintings and sculptures.

When I was finished with the museum, I had two options: go back to the hotel or find the botanical gardens. It was threatening rain, it was already 3:30pm, and I wasn’t really looking forward to figuring out an area that just didn’t look very inviting. So I went back.

Tomorrow I’m going to McDonald’s to drink a cup of coffee and mooch off their wifi, go to Lyon, and find something cute to eat for dinner. That’s the plan. Go me! I can’t wait to meet Shannon and Mira…I really am at the point where I need a travel buddy. I’m tired of being by myself!

Also I think there’s stand-up comedy on TV hosted by the actor who played the retarded guy in Amelie. In French même! Who woulda thunk.

Vacances de Noel: Clermont-Ferrand Day 2

2007-12-28T11:15:00.000+01:00

Today I bounced around downtown for two hours. I bought some bus passes and some postcards. I went shopping. When I say shopping, I really mean window-licking. I love Galeries LaFayette. I love the perfume department. So much fun, and so out of my reach. Ah euros. Anyways, if anyone’s interested, my favorite fragrance is Dior J’adore eau de toilette. And if Andy liked cologne, I’d get him LaCoste Essential eau de toilette. Also, French lingerie is disappointing. I am so not a C here…more like a large D. Hmmm. I’m still looking forward to trying some on!

I broke down and had lunch at Quick. It was ok. Tasty but not a lot of food. But still nice. I’m still just really tired of French food. Hopefully I’ll be able to find something more interesting for tomorrow.

I did two museums today. The Musee Bargoin has an archeological museum which highlighted prehistoric artifacts found in the region, and has a textile museum which had an exposition on Syrian textiles. So amazing. I was really glad I went. The second museum was Musee LeCoq, a natural history museum. French natural history museums have a history of scaring the bejeezus out of me thanks to the stuffed animals and other artifacts of fauna. there was also an exposition on insects, which was more historically interesting to me than biologically. Just really neat stuff. Too many stuffed animals still.

I bought some Clermontoise treats today. This city and region is known for dried/conserved fruits and fruits made out of almond paste. I bought chataignes glacees and a brochette of almond paste fruits. Not bad. Sweet but nothing I’d buy again. I still like chocolate.

Tomorrow I plan on hunting down the last two museums and a botanical garden. These sites are not in the city but in two outlying “suburbs” easily reached with my bus passes. I’ll let you know if I survive.

My spoken French is deteriorating. I’m worried.

Vacances de Noel - Clermont-Ferrand!

2007-12-27T11:13:00.000+01:00

Today is my first full day in Clermont-Ferrand. I timed things well in terms of getting up, eating breakfast, and deciding things to do. As usual, I have about a day longer than I need in this city, but luckily there’s a MALL! Ok, I’ve already been there but I saved Galeries LaFayette for a day when I’m bored silly. I love French stores…such pretty clothes and so cute. I really like one of the looks: skinny tight pants, pointy flats or ballerinas, and a turtleneck with a smock-like top. It looks so cute and I know I would look so good in it. Ah I cannot wait for the January sales to get underway.

Today I went to the tourism office – the “i” always saves you, Aunt Karla! – to get any information about a concert, opera, or play shown in the days I’m here. Unfortunately, it’s vacation, and the week-long limbo between Christmas and New Year’s. So no such luck. But the tourism office has a mini Romanesque art museum, complete with a thirty minute-long video detailing Romanesque religious sculpture and architecture. My historical architectural knowledge is deepening. Slowly. I also went to the Cathédrale de Clermont-Ferrand, a foreboding and hauntingly beautiful structure. It was built with volcanic rocks, so it’s black. Unlike other ancient urban structures that turn a dark sooty color after centuries of urban pollution, this one is already black. It’s really pretty inside and outside. I found a door inside that advertised climbing up the church’s tower to see a panoramic view of the city and the surrounding mountains. However it was locked and I can never figure out where to find whoever’s in charge of churches. They are such rich places, and they’re usually always open. Anyways. It was a beautiful place to spend the morning.

I then found a place for lunch: 11€ Vietnamese buffet! Thank you for something other than traditional French food. It’s great stuff, really…but I was really itching for something different. Luckily the biggest city in central France has a strong non-native population. So that was delicious. And the French idea of spicy is not. Not at all.

The rest of the afternoon, I shopped. I bought a two-disc compilation of traditional French songs from singers like Edith Piaf, Charles Trenet, and Maurice Chevalier. I also bought a CD of French Christmas carols, complete with instrumental and karaoke versions! Also, I found the Michelin store! Michelin is a FRENCH company, if you didn’t know, and it’s based in Clermont. So all your tires are French. The company also produces well-respected AAA-style road maps and travel guides. And the Michelin Man – the big round dude – has a name! His name is Bidemon or something like that. I bought a little stuffed version of him. He’s going to be my “traveling gnome.” Hey, I need something to entertain myself!

Then I went to Jardin LeCoq. It’s named after some famous Clermont person. I dunno. But it was a really nice place. To get there, I passed all the university buildings, reminding of Cortland and La Rochelle. The garden was very pleasant. The pond had been drained due to the season. I saw a beautiful Classic sculpture of a woman crying in a grotto, and I took a picture of it. It reminded me of a sculpture I saw in Toulouse last time around. Anyways, I liked the sculpture and the topiary in the shape of a seal with a ball. That amused me.

Then I went to find the Basilique de Notre-Dame de Port, a Romanesque church profiled in the Romanesque art museum in the tourism office. Unfortunately, it was en travaux so I couldn’t go in, but I was able to follow signs to climb some stairs where a teenage couple was hanging out to take some great pictures. It’s a beautiful church, but unfortunately many of the cool architectural details are best seen inside the church, not outside!

Then…I said I’m tired and my feet hurt so I went back to the hotel. Which is very nice, a good price, has a very nice breakfast buffet, and the most helpful and friendly concierge. I like it a lot, except for the fact that I’m thirty minutes from the stuff I want to see!!

Tomorrow I’m doing museums. There are at least two, one of which is two-in-one, so it’ll be like seeing three. Sort of. I would also like to find a really cool place for lunch that serves food I’m interested in eating and not plain boring French food.
I was woken this morning at 6:30am with a phone call. I didn’t recognize the number, but something told me to answer it. It was Ben. He wanted to know where I was. Once I said I was in Clermont, he said never mind, thanks, and left. He sounded really pressed. Obviously something was wrong, but if I can’t help him…I worried about him all day. His vacation plans were to visit his old host family in Rennes and then head to Krakow (you know, Poland) to visit a friend from home who’s studying there (I know, right?). So after not hearing anything all day, I texted him. No response. I texted Rocio. No response. I texted Blandine, who was sure to know if Ben was in trouble. Apparently he had forgotten his passport and Rocio brought it to Limoges, where I’m assuming Ben picked it up or something. I figured it was something about his passport. That’s so like him. I was just worried he was in trouble and got caught at Polish customs and was being detained or something. But apparently he’s ok. I’m just waiting for his text to say so. Another huge surprise – he doesn’t have any credit on his cell! Ah so annoying.

So vacation is nice because I forget how lonely I am. I realized something today. I need to stop thinking about how lonely I am, how sad I am that I’m away from my family, how homesick I am, because I still have six full months in France. That’s not going to change, so I better just get used to it. Suck it up.

I’m also starting my own personal French literature course. I’m about a third of the way through my first book. Hopefully I’ll have reason to keep reading it, if only wasting two hours in a café with a cute little drink to pass the time in between touristy things.

Joyeux Noël

2007-12-24T15:40:00.000+01:00

Thoughtfulness.

2007-12-23T22:41:00.000+01:00

A few years ago, I had an online journal through LiveJournal. I still have the account but I don't post in my own journal anymore. I just use it to follow some communities.

I was reading through my second year of college because I'm avoiding real work like the plague. I was a very high-strung little girl then, completely fascinated with boys, overachieving, and fairly conceited.

Did I know who I'd be now? Did I have any idea what I'd be doing now? Did I know that those missteps with those silly boys led me to a wonderful relationship with a strong, intelligent man who loves me? Did I know that all those hours spent in the liberry would land me an awesome job? Did I know that all of those tutoring sessions and TA-ing credits would teach me what works in a classroom? Did I know that I'd still lean on those same professors for support? Did I know that some friends don't last forever? Did I realize that those years at Cortland were some of the best years of my life?

I'm proud of where and who I was. I'm very very proud of where and who I am now. I still have no idea what the next years will hold for me; I only know what I want.

I could really use a hug. Or a Star Trek transporter beam.

A Saturday where I actually did stuff!

2007-12-22T18:06:00.001+01:00

I went to the post office to ask about the packages that Andy and Dad sent. The lady there, in classic French "I don't give a damn about your problem and will do nothing outside of my immediate job description to help you out" fashion, sent me to the Point Courrier or postal depot to ask them. Luckily the depot isn't terribly far. So I speak to a lady who was trying her best to help me understand my options, but apparently my confusion called the attention of the office manager. He had me write down my name, phone number, real address, the address that was marked on the package, and promised to call. I doubted that, highly.

I bought yogurt, kiwis, bleu d'Auvergne cheese, gout exotique flavored water (I love France!), bread, and a thank you gift plant for Blandine on Christmas Eve. Shopping is dangerous. Also, I bought cookies. France, could you please make a box of cookies more expensive so I wouldn't be so tempted to buy them. I love cookies.

I also got a sammich from the sandwich shop down the street. Same place made the awesome pizza from Wednesday night. It's called Chez Sandrine and I think Sandrine is the only person who works there. Good for her.

I planned four of six lessons for the first week of school after vacation, and prepared materials for two of those. My fourth graders are going to do a family and personal description unit. Usually, these kind of lessons focus on the British Royal family. One of my fourth grade class is fascinated with England and the royal family in particular. I'm going to do the Bush family instead. Go USA! Hahahaha.

Having been hand-held through the absolutely most basic workings of BitTorrent and MiniNova by Shannon, I am now downloading entirely too much American TV. Seriously. I do not need this but it gives me something to do. It is entertaining.

The doorbell rang at about 1:30. Nathalie, one of the surveillantes or guidance counselors or resident assistants here at the high school who lives upstairs, said that I have a package. The truck was outside waiting for me. Um, ok?? So I go outside and the dude is waiting outside the garage under the building. I sign and it's ANDY'S package! I miss him a lot. Thank you baby. I love you.

Hopefully I'll hear something about Dad's package. The man at the postal depot actually did call to say that a package was delivered today in my mailbox, which was actually one of the two ink cartridges I ordered online. Well thanks for calling sir, but that's neither of the packages I was concerned about.

I also got a Christmas card from Pops and Grandma today! I LOVE getting mail :-)

I still have sooo much work to do!

Recent happenings in silly France.

2007-12-21T16:51:00.000+01:00

Silly just means that my fully American eyes sometimes look at what I see in France and laugh because it would never happen in the States.

Sunday:
There was a marché de Noël in Ussel. Now usually le marché de samedi is a good time, but lately in Ussel it's been waning. This Christmas market was utterly disappointing. I went looking for more Christmas presents and found none. It was held in the tiny covered market and it was all food-stuffs and none of it terribly appealing. Dandelion products? We're stretching it here. Luckily I discovered that the kebab restaurant is open on Sundays so that was delicious.

Monday:
Three exhausting classes of written evaluations. They sober up quick when they know there's a grade...I wonder if I can do homework next marking period! Wouldn't that be great. They didn't do so hot. "Maitresse, what's the word for dog?" Well gee honey, if you don't know that after four weeks of a unit on pets, you should just skip that question. Eesh.

Tuesday: Four exhausting classes of written evaluations. After my last class at School Two, the district supervisor of visual arts - I don't know his name but Madame Renson arranged this for me - picked me up and drove me to Tulle. He dropped me off at the high school where Courtney from DC, Erin from California, Christina from Germany and Laura from Mexico are assistants. There we waited... for what to Courtney seemed like a long time but I personally think was just French and quite frankly, if you have no control over a situation, there's no reason to freak out. Anyways. We waited until Madame Renson came to pick up me, Courtney, Erin and Christina and we went to a wine shop where Madame Renson knew the owner for what we were told ahead of time would be a meal but actually turned out to be bottles after bottles of delicious wine and light snackies. All the primary English assistants and the high school German assistants were there. It was really fun. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and liked meeting and re-meeting and talking with the other English assistants. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, the other girls I was with were peeved because they didn't know when Madame Renson was picking us up, the meal was not real food, and because they drank too much wine. It was bad news for them...and quite frankly, it annoyed me. You say you know how to drink...then show it. Be a lady and hold yourself properly. Anyways. It was a lot of fun. I woke up SOOO early on Wednesday morning and caught the train back to Ussel.

Wednesday:
I arrived at home at 8:30am. I took a shower, rested, and then started the odyssey. I went shopping, had lunch, and did some massive and expensive mailing. The smallest pre-paid box to send things to the US is about the size of a shoebox and costs 30€. That's a lot. I did some work for my lessons and a ton of very depressing corrections of the evaulations. Dude, my students sooo did not study. It was saddening because I felt like it was my fault that they did so poorly. But Rhonda's voice came back: I am not 100% responsible for their failures; I am not 100% responsible for their successes. And when I did their marking period averages, the percentages did, in my eyes, match their acheivement and behavior. Yes, he's a goofball; yes, she's brilliant; yes, he's getting it; yes, she's clueless. So despite my disappointment with how their written evaluations went, I was pleased as to how the numbers showed their achievement.

Wednesday night, Rocio went to pick up her mom and brother David from the train station in Limoges. Due to prohibitive airline ticket costs, Señora and David will be staying with us throughout January. I understand that they just cannot afford to leave earlier and I wouldn't have them stay anywhere else, especially if we have the space here. It will be demanding for everyone but so far, I'm really enjoying having a mom here. David's really quiet so far. But with Rocio gone and Ben leaving the next day, he suggested we get a pizza, a bottle of wine, and spend the night in English - a novelty for us, considering we've spoken English to each other less than a dozen times. It was really neat. The wine was excellent - a little sweet but good - and the pizza was delicious. He's a really smart guy and I enjoy his company. No substitute for my Andy but probably the best situation I could have hoped for here.

Thursday:
Five exhausting classes of the same Christmas lesson. These kids just don't stop talking! But it went ok. At School Three, Luc and I traded third graders...although the class I taught seemed much older. But he said that my third graders are right on track - what's your name, my name is, numbers, age, colors, favorite color - and that they are a handful even though there's only ten of them! The kids I worked with also had strong personalities but they were very patient with me and seemed to be fascinated with my English. Cute.

Thursday was the high school's repas de Noël. Choice of appetizer: crazy looking shrimp cocktail (remember that they keep the animal whole for you in France) or foie gras; choice of entree: confit de canard or fish; choice of dessert: apple pie, bûche de Noël or some sort of custard; choice of many cheeses; and candy!! Delicious food with the delightful company of the English teachers Blandine, Marie, and Marie-Jo. Such good times. Also there was real wine at the table, not the regular table wine that doesn't taste all that good.

Thursday night we were invited to Monsieur Paillous' for an apéro which actually does mean wine and snackies. Apparently not only were me, Ben, and Rocio invited, but so were Madame Laugier, a high school teacher; Monsieur and Madame Menardi, a economics teacher and accountant and their middle school son; Madame le proviseur or high school principal; Marie, our buddy who is also the substitute English teacher. It was sooo much fun. Such good food and such good company. However, as most French soirées do, it lasted about an hour longer than my stamina and concentration could hold. I begged out about ten minutes earlier than Ben and Rocio did to go home, correct the last written evaluations and be frustrated again at their lack of studying, take a shower, and CRASH. Apparently Madame Laugier had gifts for us. She gave me this beautiful silk pink and black plaid scarf. I wore it today and got nothing but compliments. I think I've found my new accessory: pretty little scarves!

Friday (today):
So hard to wake up on Fridays but when I finally do get to School Two, I am instantly rewarded with warm smiles and bonjours from the teachers and "Hellos" from my students. I love School Two. The Christmas lesson went much better, as all of my repeated lessons do the next day, and my fifth graders especially rocked it. Sylvie, one of the fifth grade teachers, gave me such great compliments. "I really like what you do, and the students seem to really like you too. You do a good job here." Ok, it sounded much better in her French and her words and six hours ago when I was more awake, but really she made my day. Her and also one of the school cleaning ladies who is the mother of O*, one of my star fourth graders. I told her that even though O* sits in the waaay back of the room (in an awful desk might I add) she makes such an effort, does really really well, is really quite a good little girl and always participates. Her mother responded, "Yes, she is a good girl. She also really likes you." Awww!!! I have to add that O* has a really cute high-pitched voice. Did I mention that I love School Two?

Madame Cousty, the directrice of School Two invited me...or maybe it was the other teachers...to the teachers' repas de Noël. That was delicious! Little cheesy puff pastries and mini mini tarts, veggie soup, and raclette, accompanied by two bottles of champagne and five bottles of Burgundy wine. Dessert was an Italian ice cream, but not gelato, Italian ice, or anything like that...it was just delicious. It was prepared by the three male teachers - Christophe, Frank, and...I forget the other dude. Christophe is one of my fifth grade teachers, and was overly generous with the wine and champagne. Also he's a riot. And wonderful company. During dessert, I made a tiny speech that I'm kind of proud of, just thanking them for their generosity, their warm welcome, and that this is my favorite school. Hands down.

Later today I finished Andy's present, mailed that, and picked up Oma's Christmas package!! Thank you Oma! :)

Today is good. Tomorrow will be good. Monday is Christmas Eve with Blandine and her family and Rocio and her family. Tuesday is quietly Christmas by myself and the presents that have been mailed to me, and Wednesday starts vacation!!

Vacances de Noel

2007-12-15T16:35:00.001+01:00

The last day of school before the Christmas vacations is Friday, December 21. I will not be leaving for vacation immediately because most tourist attractions won't be open and it would just be more money spent on hotels. Also I have things to do!

Christmas Eve I will be attending Christmas Mass at the Eglise de St-Martin in Ussel with Blandine, one of the high school English teachers, and her family. I enjoy church services in French because it helps my listening skills, and because I get to sing in French which is silly. I will also be spending Christmas Eve with her family. Hopefully there will be some bûche de Noël.

Christmas Day I will be opening up the Christmas presents Mom and Dad sent. I will also be doing video chats via Skype with anyone available. Hopefully this means Mom, Dad, Peter, Nicholas, and Oma and whoever else is around. Christmas is hard without your family around, but they're always in my thoughts. :)

Wednesday, December 26 - Sunday, December 30:
Clermont-Ferrand is the big city around these parts. It is known for the mountains, being central, a little Roman history, and bleu cheese that is too good even for Buffalo wings.
I will be staying at Grand Hotel du Midi.

Sunday, December 30 - January 3:
Lyon is the third-largest city in France and the gastronomic capital. It is known for puppets, silk, bouchon restaurants, and hopefully museums and churches and other historical sites. I will be meeting up with Shannon and Mira, fellow assistants from way up north with whom I've been in regular internet contact for a few weeks now.
For the first night, I will be staying at the well-recommended youth hostel. When Shannon and Mira get there on the 31st, we will be moving to Hotel Normandie. Hooray for wifi, private bathrooms, and all sorts of starred hotel goodness! And double hooray for travel buddies! We will, among other things, ring in the New Year together like mature intelligent young ladies, eat entirely too much, and brainstorm the future February in Spain trip.

January 3 - January 5
Dijon is known for mustard, beef burgundy, and Burgundy wine. Hopefully there are also museums, churches, and pretty things for me and Shannon to look at (Mira may not be continuing).
We will be staying at Hotel Chateaubriand with the most pleasant hotel concierge I've ever spoken to on the phone.

And then I come home for six straight weeks of serious elementary English as a foreign language. I'm so psyched!!!

I'm very tired of the internet.

2007-12-15T13:49:00.001+01:00

I have opened applications at my three remaining graduate schools. That's about all I've done today of note.

At the risk of jinxing myself, I believe the magic internet box is calming down. As you recall from previous entries, the broadband modem thingy has to "reset" itself daily. However, my personal magic internet box is a bit rememdial, taking forever to find its new favorite satellite, and constantly changing favorite satellites. This resulted in poor connections, hours without connection, and generally not the service I paid for. However, I believe my internet connection now works without this constant interruption. Yes, I can see that the box resets itself daily, but the interruptions aren't as long or frequent. I wonder why but I'm not going to ask. I just don't have the patience, language, or basic knowledge of internet connections to figure out what was going on and why it's not happening anymore. I'm cautiously pleased.

I have a lot more things to do today, and it's already 14h. That means 2:00 pm in French.

Also, Happy Birthday Dad!! I miss you.

A good Friday.

2007-12-14T20:38:00.000+01:00

My roommates left for the weekend. Ben went to Toulouse to stay with the daughter of Marie-Jo, one of the English teachers at the high school. If you ever wanted to meet a more Anglo-Saxon French woman, meet Marie-Jo. Her daughter Eloise has the baby son Thibault who loves magazines. They are fantastic people. So that's where Ben is. Toulouse.

Rocio's weekend plans evolved from escorting Marie, the substitute English teacher from Reunion who is super cool, to the train station to accompanying Marie to her real home in Limoges. So they're in Limoges this weekend.

This afternoon, I took a really French two-hour lunch break to eat lunch, bounce around online, and rest. Then I went photo shooting. Updated photos are online.

But now my roommates are gone. I was really looking forward to watching TV tonight with Rocio. But now I have 100g of chocolate from Celine (the bestest boulangerie - patisserie - chocolaterie - salon de the dans la Correze ou peut-etre dans le Limousin) and a bottle of wine that I am halfway through already.

Hahahaha Windows is checking for solutions to the 619 reported problems in the recent past regarding Internet Explorer. I use Firefox because Skype messes with IE. I don't know why. Skype messes with Andy's computer too.

Friday nights in Ussel are awesome.

good days > bad days

2007-12-13T16:56:00.000+01:00

Today was an excellent day. I did oral evaluations and written review in all of the classes, and will continue with it tomorrow. School One's fourth graders totally shaped up after Monsieur Modeste the directeur yelled at them. They were awesome, except that L* was farting like no other. Given what the typical French breakfast is (hot chocolate or hot milk, toast with butter, Nutella or jam) I think he could be lactose-intolerant and just not realize it. Anyways, it was good. School One's third graders were equally good. They just don't read or listen to directions.

School Two's crazy fourth graders did ok. Some of them surprised me!! I also ran out of photocopies. This is bad. I don't think I have any more photocopies at this school...and I'm not sure if it's for the période (marking period) or if it's for the year. Please be for the marking period!! Eeek!!! I really do like this school. Usually I eat lunch with the office lady I called Merci Madame because that's all I've ever called her, and the directrice Madame Cousty. I don't know why but Madame Cousty didn't come, but two stagiaires ate lunch too. These two girls are in their final year of teacher school and are basically student teaching. To teach in France, you need a licence which is basically the equivalent of a BA and then you go on to get your certification. You need to pass the concours which is an abysmally difficult certification exam. I haven't figured out if the concours is the CAPES or if the CAPES is something different. Anyways, the conversation started with Franco-American relations and comparisons, which I tire of easily, to education in general. It was very pleasant.

School Three is FINALLY starting to be ok. Luc, who teaches fourth grade English as well, and I are trading third graders next Thursday. I haven't a clue why. I met the wife of School Two teacher Christophe, Virginie, and whose son P* is part of the crazy School Two fourth graders. (Are you getting all of this?) Virginie was super sweet. My teacher at School Three is also named Virginie, and she let me play teacher! I got to herd the kids to récré (recess) and round them up afterwards. So awesome. I love this job, I really do. I hate hate hate hate hate it when I don't understand a damn word anyone says, when the kids are little devils, and when I feel lonely. But there are more good days than bad days, so I have to hold on to that. It must be said that a lot of what I do here is real teacher stuff, and that's not what a lot of assistants like about this job...even though it's a teaching job. I don't feel like any of the teachers ignore me, take advantage of me, or are rude to me - quite the opposite! While they may not entirely know how to approach me at times, that's ok because I don't know what to say to them either. It took me countable minutes to bring up the courage to ask the stagiaires at lunch even just one question. I walked up to Luc today to verify which set of nosepickers - I'm sorry, I mean students - we were trading - and I rehearsed the questions at least five times. I like that the teachers give me opportunities to assert my role as a helper teacher. I like that the students politely correct me. "Maitresse, c'est une faute, pas un, Well thank you S*! I like that people always ask me how I like Ussel, if I have anyone my age to hang out with, that I have a stack of phone numbers in my cell phone to call in case I get lonely. I like that I have a list of people here in Ussel to write Christmas-New Year's cards to. As I said to Merci Madame, I really feel at ease here. If it wasn't for my family being in the US, I could stay here. I exaggerate of course; France is ridiculous and I miss WalMart, real McDonald's (wtf is this nonsense), and toll-free 1-800 customer service numbers like you wouldn't believe...among other things. But France is a nice place and I'm fairly happy. Do you think l'Education Nationale could spare a couple few hundred euro more for my monthly salary? I'd really like to support the French economy...

I will probably post again tonight after doing more work. Agh I don't know how I'm going to do my révisions écrites if I don't have any copies!! They are going to get sooo bored if I just say "write fifteen sentences" or something like that. Also they can't write sentences. "I wearing is black pants" is close but is not going to get you full credit on the speaking evaluation.

I want to be home for Christmas so much. Sucks that it would take me probably 36 hours round-trip to get from Ussel to Camillus. Oh and $218,35,235 (which is still only 100€).

More lists!

2007-12-12T20:41:00.001+01:00

1. I woke up today and ate breakfast. This is important because I've been having a hard time doing it recently. However, it's not a total WIN! because I got out of bed an hour after my alarm and breakfast in France is mostly chocolate. I really should add in some OJ.

2. I went to centre ville to do laundry, buy some cards, do some massive (and expensive!!!) photocopying, buy a very expensive umbrella that I'm debating whether I will and even if I am allowed to return, and some post office busy-ness.

3. I asked the laundry lady here at the high school how often I'm allowed to trade in my dirty sheets for clean sheets. Normalement, once a month but for me, every two weeks. Aww, thanks! I'm not going to do that though...I really don't like people going out of their way for me. I also asked if there was anything available at the high school linen office that would make my bed less Flinestone-y. No. Hmmm. Ikea?

4. I. Did. A TON OF WORK. Today. Yay!!! My evaluations and review packets are done. The next four class days are done. The last two class days of the marking period will be (shhh) Christmas and winter in New York and the US.

5. I cleaned some of the kitchen. This is also a symptom of Stage 2 of culture shock. You develop a heightened sense of cleanliness and are easily annoyed. Add this to my fairly inflexible attitude and the fact that I'm really fatigued of sharing my living space with others. But it's not my roommates' fault. They're fine. I'm just going slightly crazy.

Yes. France is so silly that it's making me silly. Cannot WAIT for this weekend - I have a bottle of Cotes de Rhone and a TV program waiting for me on Friday night. I am amazing.

Also, I love my boyfriend. I'm proud to be his girlfriend. Who else can make me smile that much with just his voice. I miss him and can't wait to see him. He doesn't read this blog often, but he knows. :) Silly Andy.

I like lists. They're easier to read.

2007-12-11T22:27:00.001+01:00

1. I woke up at a decent time today and ate breakfast.

2. I did a lot of really good work before my classes.

3. The photocopier at School Three was en panne; basically there was a paper jam that they couldn't figure out. The teachers there don't really know how to deal with my presence and I can't figure out how to approach them, so I couldn't tell them that un-jamming photocopiers was basically my summer job. So I couldn't use that photocopier. Not bad, just possibly...embettant. I don't know what the translation would be.

4. My classes ROCKED. School Three's fourth graders did awesome on their letters. F* didn't participate as usual, and when the class ended, he handed me a piece of paper with "SALU" (it's supposed to be salut) saying "Can you send this?" No, F*, you chose not to pay attention or participate. I gave you lines to copy and you didn't do that either. No. E* was really spacey today and I took away a point, which I gave back when he decided to focus on the work. It worked!! I'm starting to like these kids despite them.

5. Lunch at the cantine was nice. I sat with Blandine and Karine, the English teachers, and Marie, the substitute English teacher. Blandine invited me and Rocio to her house and to Christmas Eve Mass with her family!!! How sweet!! Now I have to find something to bring for them. Eek! Some brainstorming also created a little Réunion-Mexico-US soirée at our apartment next week for the high school language teachers and ourselves. Someone help me think of something uniquely American to make that does not require an oven. Oooh I have orange Jello?

6. School Two's three classes did awesome. I was so proud of them. I love when they work well, when they pay attention, and when they're not little devils.

7. I. Did. So. Much. Work. Tonight. Dinner was nice with all of the roomies and Marie.
8. It's trying desperately to snow here but it's just not sticking. I miss snow!

Oy.

2007-12-10T18:30:00.000+01:00

So today was...hey let's do the point system!

+2: I woke up at a good time and ate breakfast.
-1: I got out of bed an hour after my alarm.
+2: I got a lot of good work done this morning.
+1: I finally wrote thank you emails.
+1: Dad was able to email my unofficial transcripts to UMinn because I don't know why, but Yahoo(!) mail was getting lost in the transfer.
+1: I bought ~65€ worth of train tickets for Christmas vacation.
+1: They were serving chicken!!! for lunch today at the cantine (high school cafeteria). Finally a meat I recognize and enjoy! (I'm really tired of pork.)
-5: School One's fourth graders suck it. They do not listen and they waste time. I totally blew up at them, after which I promptly broke into tears in the bathroom.
+5: I got a package from Mom and Dad!! Full of Christmas presents wrapped in Christmas paper!! With a cute little note attached!! That totally made my day. I could have been deported today and I would have still smiled.
+1: Monsieur Modeste, the directeur (principal) of School One totally has my back about the fourth graders.
+1: Catherine, the teacher of said fourth graders, is equally sympathetic about the situation but she can't do much except warn them sternly beforehand and scream at them afterward (which she did) because she's up in maternelle (preschool) during their English lesson.
+1: School One's third graders LOVED Maggie's students' letters. They were so impressed that they were able to understand parts of them! Awww...just...raise your hand if you have a question?
+1: School Two's crazy fourth graders did well despite talking way too much. I'm starting to like them despite them. M* is still a brat, B* is still clueless, C* is still a crybaby, A* and S* are still my favorites, and F* and M* need to give it a rest until high school.
+1: I'm still in France.

Today's total is: +12! Ok good. If it was negative, I'd have to leave or something.

Musings about France.

2007-12-10T10:49:00.000+01:00

This is so typical of culture shock.

Things that would never work in France:
1. Atkins Diet,low-/no-carb diets
2. Non-smoking restaurants and bars (it's supposed to be law as of January 2008; yeeeah right)
3. credit cards (what, no prélevement automatique?)
4. universally privatized higher education
5. "Work more to earn more". Sorry Sarko.
6. SUVs. (Mom, your Suburban would just not work although I have seen some Hyundais and even a Jeep.)
7. taking responsibility for your own actions, independence, modesty, humility

I am very tired of disgustingly vulgar French youth with no respect for my (very American) personal space, of being able to smell people even if it's a good smell, of public transport, and of living with people.

Oh my goodness I'm here until the first week of July??

Vacation...

Day 75. Is anyone counting the other way?

2007-12-08T16:34:00.001+01:00

Things that have happened recently:

1. I have two weeks of school left before vacation.
2. Vacation plans are being finalized. A train strike starting December 13 may or may not affect these plans, and as such no train tickets have been purchased. *#&%#)%!! railroad workers.
3. School on Friday went all right. Luckily it ended.
4. Françoise, the high school accounting office lady who I stayed with for my first two days in Ussel and who has helped me through a number of things, is very sympathetic to my France Orange internet troubles. After discussing my difficulties, she will call Tech Support and see what's up. Although it's working fine today. There was, however, about a six hour gap on Thursday where it wasn't.
5. I went grocery shopping.
6. I cleaned the apartment. I burned candles which I am convinced also burn evil nasty smells of apartments where people don't clean. Where is this dust coming from? So confusing.
7. I bought some Christmas presents.
8. I should start some more graduate applications.
9. I should write some emails.
10. I should write some Christmas cards.
11. I should do some schoolwork.
12. I am going to...a tiny village outside of Brive tomorrow with Courtney, Sashi, and Madame Renson. There is a Christmas market.
13. I need new slippers. The ones I bought here are already disgusting. Ew.
14. How pathetic is it that I'm bored? I'm in friggin EUROPE and I'm bored out of my skull.

Life in small-town France is realllly quiet.

Whiney homesick lonely post about Day 74 in silly France.

2007-12-06T20:04:00.002+01:00

Sometimes I really question the wiseness of hiring foreigners to teach mandatory parts of the curriculum. I was hired, supposedly, because I'm a native [American!] English speaker, I have a background in education, and I speak French. But as is so painfully obvious among the Americans hired, a background in education and ability to speak French aren't necessarily requirements. But while I speak French, I don't necessarily understand French culture. The French education system is much more complex than what I remember reading in my French civilization textbook. I spend way too much time speaking French in my classes. When I speak English, they don't listen or they laugh at me. Both of those things make me feel awful. I'm coming to terms with my limited French. Just because I've studied it for ten years and spent five months in France doesn't make me fluent or even remotely proficient. I can do what I need and that's about it. I screw up in French all the time. And my students call me on it. It's very disheartening. I know I shouldn't take what they say to heart, that it's not about me; but this trip was supposed to be about me, right? Why have a newbie teacher speak bad French to students to teach them English? I'm just really frustrated today...my lessons didn't go well and I still can't sleep or wake up in the morning. I set two alarms today in hopes that the idea of a "snooze button" may bring me back to my old routines at home. I just don't feel like I'm culturally or linguistically qualified for this job. I don't use the textbooks because they're so confusing. They're written for people who can't speak a word of English to teach English to elementary school students: basic vocabulary, lots of audio supports, lots of pointing and circular vocabulary. But I have to use them because that's what is expected of the students.

Ugh I'm going to stop whining. I'm just not feeling good today. Add to this the number of people who have asked me if I'm going home for Christmas. No. Thanks for asking.

Exciting news from the silly world of France.

2007-12-05T22:04:00.000+01:00

Sometimes I forget that I'm on a different continent. There's a lot of physical and mental separation between Europe and North America. Sometimes I wonder how much of it I actually comprehend and realize, and how much of it I just let slide.

I have come to the conclusion that I love love love the SNCF (when they aren't on strike for having to retire when everyone else does). I love my Carte 12-25 that gets me usually 50% off any ticket. I love how efficient it is. I do not like, however, that I live in a teeny tiny town that is only served by three regional train lines, but whatever. At least I can get out if need be. Which I did! Today! I went to Tulle! To pick up my...*dun dun dun* CARTE DE SEJOUR! (And temporary work authorization card but not as cool as the infamous CdS.) This is my official residency card that makes me legal of for the length of my stay here in France. Not that I wasn't before, but my visa and receipt of filling out my carte de séjour were just temporary until this magic pretty laminated card came. It expires the same date that my contract does, June 30, 2008. I will be coming home ASAP after that date. I no longer have a contract past then so I can't be paid so I'm not working. Oh heck no. But the reason this paragraph started with my conclusion regarding the French state-subsidized nationwide public transportation system is because I took a bus to and from Tulle. I enjoy buses more than trains. You see more towns, you see more countryside, you can buy your ticket right from the driver, the driver is really friendly, and it's generally more pleasant. Also French bus drivers are crazy.

I did massive loads of work when I got home at lunch, and hopefully tomorrow's lessons won't suck terribly. I just hope I have enough for the entire class periods!

I would still like to know if and when I'm ever receiving my social security card. But no bother.

Wowww.

2007-12-04T10:27:00.001+01:00

So making noise in class, not listening, getting my attention by snapping your fingers and saying "Eh, eh, Rose!", talking during directions, and basically being idiots is translating nicely into notebook grades for the most ridiculous fourth grade class at School Two. They don't pay attention, and when we do notebook work, they obviously weren't paying attention. This marking period evaluation is going to be rough for them, and I don't feel bad. I'm glad I have these notebooks done now so I can speak to Marie-Pierre about them. My goodness they're just awful.

A question for France

2007-12-04T09:51:00.000+01:00

Why is there no authentic Italian cheese available? You share a border with Italy, yet you cover your pizzas with Emmental (which tastes like Swiss), and your pasta and sauce get no cheese (unless it's Emmental again). It's disappointing, what with me being from an Italian background. I know you're very proud of your 300+ varieties of cheese. I've tried quite a few and I agree, they're very good. However, perhaps your cheese pride has left you a bit arrogant. You're so close to Italy and with the CEE, wouldn't importing real Italian cheeses be lucrative? Try it. Try some mozzarella on the pizza. Try some parmigiano on the spaghetti. It's good, really. The Italians have been doing it for years.

Oh and while you're at it, put some damn basil and oregano in your pasta sauces.

Mondays are NOT fun.

2007-12-03T20:57:00.000+01:00

Ugh. So I think I may have a hypothesis as to why I can't fall asleep at night and why I have a hard time waking up in the morning. My government-issued high school living quarters mattress is way too hard. Normally I like a firmer mattress, but this one is just painful. I realized this last night. Hm. I could buy one at the Wal-Mart for about 100€. Or I could investigate other ways to be more comfortable at night, like finding some rocks.

(I am super duper stoked that I finally found how to make the euro symbol.)

Today was ok, other than still not being able to wake up and get crap done at a decent hour. I only had two of my three scheduled classes because my School One third graders were on a field trip to the cinema or theater or something like that. They didn't really know. But School One's and School Two's fourth graders did awful in their notebook check. The object of this lesson was to check to make sure they had the right pages in their notebooks and that the pages were filled out completely. I collected them all (baaad idea - those suckers are heavy!) and am correcting them. But both of these classes just WOULD NOT SHUT UP. Oh my goodness. But I enjoy correcting their notebooks. Hopefully they will study and do well on the evaluations.

Today I confirmed hotel reservations for the Christmas vacations. I will be spending New Year's Eve in Lyon, the gastronomic capital of France and the third-largest city, with a fellow assistant named Shannon. She's stationed in way northern France teaching high school students, and we've been talking online through Facebook and the assistants' forum. She's excited and seems to be of a similar mind when it comes to traveling. So I'm excited :) Yay for new friends!

Despite not doing anything remotely productive this morning besides finding unblocked season seven of Scrubs on YouTube (which has been promptly shut down as of this evening), I managed to get quite a bit done tonight. I'm dong working though because I'm tired, it's late, and I have people to chat with.

The best way to beat homesickness is to keep busy. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming...

Peace out :)

Good news and bad news.

2007-11-30T23:19:00.000+01:00

Good news first.

I really really really think I've found something that makes me truly happy in life. I really like this job. It must be said that I do have an amazing network of people around me, from the teachers I work with directly, the other English teachers, my supervisors, to the people at the high school. I'm very lucky. It must be said that I do have a basic understanding of pedagogy and how a language class should work. But man oh man. Do I LOVE elementary foreign language classes. It is amazing to see even ONE student be able to utter something in another language. It is amazing when a little girl from my most difficult fourth grade class (guess where...School Three!) say, and I quote, "I really like English with you, Miss D." It is amazing when lessons actually work and students make visible progress. It is amazing that my students can't copy their own damn handwriting correctly. I would be in heaven if I could continue this line of work for the rest of my life.

This discovery may also be due to one of the stages of culture shock: over-romanticizing and a self-induced euphoria about your new environment. I am believing that I'm just truly happy.

This afternoon I sat in on the non-pregnant Karine's senior English literature class. It was amusing and I learned a little bit. They translated the first two pages of the book they're reading, which reinforced just how much I loathe translation. You lose so much of the real sense of the text. Just...jeepers, just learn the language. Hahaha.

I received a letter today from the Préfecture or the county office saying that my carte de séjour or residency card is ready for me to come pick up!! In Tulle!!...ah France. Well in any case, this means I'm legal. I wonder when or if I'll get my social security card. That's pretty much the only thing I don't have. Way to go Rose!

Rocio and I went to centre ville tonight to do some shopping...oh so dangerous. And then we went to one of the Turkish restaurants for a kebab. A kebab is basically a gyro, but the meat is on a huge rotisserie contraption and gets shaved off. It's only about the best thing the Muslim immigrant population has contributed to France, and I'm not being racist with that remark. This is pure deliciousness on a plate (or in a pita, depending on how you order it). Rocio agreed.

Also, I bought a winter jacket. It's super sweet. It's black and has warm sweater cuffs that close around my wrists. It was around 60E. The only things I don't like is that the hood looks ridiculous and that it buttons instead of zipping. But it's awesome. I had originally ordered a jacket but it was going to take three weeks to get here. And then it was backordered another FOUR weeks. No. It's cold now. So I canceled it without penalty and found this jacket in town.

Tomorrow I'm doing some housekeeping and lesson planning - only a few more to go before vacation! My tutoring student is coming later tomorrow evening. Sunday, I am probably going to Neuvic, a little town about 20km south of us (Ben bikes there a lot) to hear a concert with one of my district supervisors, Madame Mouty, her husband Olivier and their daughter Camille. Next weekend, I'm going to the marché de Noel with my other district supervisor, Madame Renson, and possibly Sashi, the Indian assistant in Brive-la-Gaillarde and Courtney, the assistant from DC in Tulle. Lots of things to do.

Now the bad news.
I cannot sleep. It's almost insomnia. I cannot fall asleep at night. I cannot clear my head. And when I do finally wear myself out tossing and turning, I wake up a lot. When my alarm goes off in the morning, I feel paralyzed. I can't get out of bed. I'm so tired from not sleeping and I get myself too worked up about the day ahead. It's not like I'm not tired at night. I get back from school and I'm exhausted, physically and mentally. It's really mentally straining to have two languages swimming in my head at once. I actually prefer speaking only French or only English - mix the two and I'm lost. (This may bode ill for future endeavours but whatever.) I could easily go to the pharmacie across the street and they could direct me to the nearest pill; that would be so French. The French have a pill for everything. A simple head cold will warrant four prescription medications and a doctor's note to miss work. But I know my problem is more mental than anything. Once I figure out how to really clear my head I hope I'll sleep better. But back to the main point. I can't sleep. At all.

Well, no one's answering my IMs so I'll try this sleeping thing.

Big huge happy smiley face.

2007-11-29T20:37:00.001+01:00

I am very happy.

Today went much better than I had anticipated. I would still like to know why I have to repeat directions three times to the class, and then at least twice to individual students. I asked Vous comprenez?, why did you say oui?? Anyways. I was very pleased with how the activities went today. I especially like when S* in School Three's third grade class tells me before class starts (they have recré right before anglais) "I'm going to be good today." Ohhh that makes me want to just HUG them. I really do like these little kids. There are even moments when I think, Yes, I really do like elementary foreign language education. I'd be really stoked if I could spend the rest of my life doing this - teaching elementary kids languages, developing materials and curricula, and educating other teachers. Ahhh I love little kids, even if they do make waaay too much noise. All. The. Time.

Today after school at School Three, I had a meeting with Luc, a fourth grade teacher who also teaches two classes of English. I just wanted a teacher's perspective, because it's so easy for me to get really tunnel-visioned and lose sight of the purpose of my lessons and activities. But apparently Astrid, a preschool teacher at School Three who also teaches at least one class of English, Madame Mouty, my district supervisor, and Virginie, the teacher whose class of third and fourth graders were also there. So it was really a nice little chat about what should be happening in English class. I was also told I really should be following the (damned) books. I don't like the books so much. I am not familiar with British English and it's really awkward and unnatural for me to say "Have you got a pet?" But it was really nice. Yay!

Also today, we got PAID!!! It is more than last month's salary, but according to my information (aka the amazing forums at assistantsinfrance.com), it all evens out eventually. In any case, it's exciting to have cash. Now to see how fast I'll use it up...hopefully I'll have enough for my upcoming Christmas vacation and sending people cute little French packages of French things with French stamps. Yay.

Ben and I went to dinner tonight with the substitute English teacher. Her name is Marie and she's from Réunion, a French island in the Indian Ocean. She's subbing for one of the Karines who is very pregnant. She was really neat to talk to. She's currently doing her PhD in English, and her thesis is on dreams in Shakespeare's plays. Um, wow. But her company was very welcome and she's nice. Yay.

So yes. Many "yay"'s, and happy Rose. Tomorrow may be shaky because I have Catherine's fourth graders at School Two and she always has this mildly disapproving look on her face...but I'm driving through because it's almost the WEEKEND. Omg I cannot WAIT for market day.

Love you all. So much.

And what actually got accomplished today, part 2:

2007-11-28T21:08:00.000+01:00

4. Successfully disposed of dirty sheets and procured new clean and freshly starched sheets from the high school linen...office. The washing lady was super sweet and complimented me on my French. Awww! I'm very happy. I have clean sheets. Two months is really gross to go without washing your bed. Ewwwie.
5. Planned out the rest of this période. It's getting to crunch time. However, tomorrow's and definitely Friday's lessons are not very well planned out at all. I just know when the évalutations will be, when we're writing letters to Mom's and Maggie's students, and when we're doing serious review. Ahhh tomorrow is going to be ROUGH.
6. Ben and I recorded some listening exercises for my fourth graders!! It worked really well. Now I just have to hope that whatever CD players are available in my schools can read CD-Rs. Fat chance, but whatev. I'm so stoked. We had fun with it too. One of the very few times we've spoken English to each other.
7. So apparently it's normal that the magic internet box finds its new favorite satellite every day. What's not normal is that it takes FOREVER to do so. The very patient man at France Orange told me I should call Tech Support, to which I groaned and said oh my goodness please no, those ladies on the phone are really mean. Well whatever. Ben was equally disappointed.
8. I totally cleaned.
9. I made hotel reservations for Christmas break! I'm visiting Clermont-Ferrand, Lyon, and Dijon. I will post a more detailed itinerary including links to the cities' tourism office pages and hotels. Yay for vacations!!

Happy happy day. France is silly but I'm a happy girl. I will be sooo depressed when I'm in the States...

Things I have done today so far and things to do still:

2007-11-28T12:56:00.000+01:00

What I have done this morning:
1. I went to my bank to figure out why I haven't been able to access my account online. It turns out that about two weeks after I opened my account, they updated their networks and my access code didn't work. While I saw this notice online and in the window of the bank itself, I'm a little perplexed as to why they didn't tell their clients (I can't possibly be the only one!) that their now old codes wouldn't work anymore. In any case, a quick ten minute visit to a very friendly bank a tout bien reglé and I am very happy.
2. I messed up the washing machine at the laundromat (again!) but at least now I have clean undies.
3. I went to the papeterie which is basically like a giant bookstore/office supply store, aka my paradise. I bought a handwriting workbook for second graders to practice my French cursive, some notebook paper, a planner (finally!) and some index cards.

Things I still have to do today:
1. I need to drop off my dirty sheets at the high school laundry room. Since they're the sheets lent to me by the high school, I'm not obligated to wash them myself. Yay for less laundry to do.
2. Plan out evaluation schedules - oral, writing/reading, listening - and review lessons.
3. I have a really sweet idea for the review and listening part and hopefully Ben will be able to help me out.
4. Burn a CD of the pictures of Oradour-sur-Glane for Pascal the history teacher.
5. Go to France Orange to recharge my cell phone and also ask why the magic internet box has to find its new favorite satellite so often and why it takes so long.

Today is a good day. It's sunny and I'm happy.

Oh also I should probably make some plans for Christmas vacation, considering pretty much everything will be booked.

Yay!!

2007-11-27T18:34:00.000+01:00

I have completed, submitted, and paid for my very first graduate school application. University of Minnesota is DONE!
This is very exciting. Now I only have three more to do...until I find more.
I'm celebrating with wine. Good quality wine is inexpensive in France, so I have delicious wine.

I'm very very very tired.

It has officially been two months of life in France.

2007-11-25T20:01:00.000+01:00

And so far, it's been pretty good. Slight hiccups regarding communication connections and teaching is not an easy job, but I'm very thankful for Ben, Rocio, Françoise (Madame Varrierras), the English teachers Blandine, Karine, Karine, and Marie-Jo, Alexia, Jean-François, Madame Renson, Madame Mouty, the teachers at School Two Madame Cousty, Merci Madame, Sylvie, Christophe, Catherine, and Marie-Pierre, Monsieur Paillous and Madame Menardi at the high school intendance, and the numerous other random teachers who take the time to talk to us. I'm thankful that I have parents who support me and help me out in any way they can. I'm thankful for my supportive and loving boyfriend. I'm thankful for my brothers who answer my random IMs with "hiiii rosie." I'm thankful for my best friend who is helping me out immensely and sent me the best care package ever. I'm lucky to be in a school district where I'm wanted, I'm needed, and I'm cared for. I'm lucky to be in a tiny town that still has a train station, the best bakery ever (omg their bread is so tasty, it reminds me of why I missed France), an adorable bookstore I have yet to purchase anything from except a calendar, a laundromat, and a super-supermarket. I'm lucky that the weather is decent. I'm lucky to be paid (in Euros!!!) for less than part-time work and still get full health insurance, paid vacations, and a safe clean roof over my head with people I care about and who care about me.

Yeah. I'm doing ok. I'm doing good.

This weekend was mostly spent arranging the University of Minnesota application and preparing lessons. My tutee didn't come on Saturday evening due to a death in the family, so I spent that time writing lessons and writing papers. I also cleaned the bathroom, toilet, my room (finally!), and the living room. I did the living room because that's where the tutoring sessions are and I like that to be clean. I love Ajax powder. And degreasing disinfecting Monsieur Propre (Mr. Clean!). I dislike the Swiffer-esque mop gadget, but I'm getting used to it.

Tomorrow is the start of running around, trying to get this application to Minnesota in time for the deadline that is FRIDAY. This may be logistically impossible but I refuse to be anything but positive. I can do it.

Since Karla is not coming for February break, I have made a blanket call to other English assistants if they'd like to accompany me on a whirlwind two-week tour of Spain. So far, two girls have responded; Lauren is a high school assistant and Mira is a primary assistant, and they're in the same school district. I wonder if they've met. Anyways. Whatever happens, it will be an exhausting two weeks, with or without travel buddies. Rocio has a cousin in Granada, so I'll be staying there :)

I'm also very much so looking forward to Maggie's visit in April. I'm debating whether or not to do the real 'backpacking through Europe' thing and stay in a hostel, or to splurge and get a nice hotel with served breakfast, a pool, and free wifi. The difference is Maggie's experience and also about 100E a night. Haaa.

France is fun. I'm still looking forward to seeing my family again.

Update in list form

2007-11-24T10:23:00.000+01:00

1. I have been very busy at school and applying to graduate school.
2. Madame Cousty, the principal at School Two, told me I was "bien élévée" which means I was raised well and that my parents would be proud of me. Have I mentioned that this is my favorite school?
3. I went to Oradour-sur-Glane on the high school field trip. It was very very very interesting, and my pictures show some really neat things. Wow what a trip. It was also exhausting as it was five hours straight in a bus.
4. I didn't have any classes on Tuesday because the teachers went on strike.
5. I only had one class on Friday because all of the fourth and fifth graders in the three schools were essentially "running the mile," or in this case, running as far as they can for twelve minutes and if they run far enough, they qualify for another race. I went to cheer on my kids - and realized that I don't know a lot of their names - and they were excited to see me there.
6. I have successfully done "les bises" with two people: Alexia and Katell, a fourth grade teacher at School One whose class I take to do English. "Les bises" are the kiss-kiss thing you do on the cheek to greet people you know well. This is monumental because I have done les bises with two people and it's two months into my stay. A cultural benchmark, if you will.
7. My third grade class at School Three is totally walking all over me. I plan to implement a different tactic toward basically being a bonehead, and hopefully we can actually get some English done. No longer will they make me cry.
8. The high school students went on strike on Thursday to protest the plan to make universities "autonomous," or basically make the French university system exactly like the American system. The university students are also on strike. Um, if it will make your diplomas more meaningful and make you take your education more seriously, then...I say go for it.
9. I am rethinking my February vacation plans.
10. Grad school application deadlines make me nervous.
11. I did a Thanksgiving lesson with all of my Thursday classes and told them it was their fault for making me miss it. Joking, of course. But they enjoyed it. Apparently it's not very well known at all in France.
12. Jean-François from School One gave me some apple pie on Thursday. Wow. He's so sweet. I shared it with Ben and Rocio. Our own mini thanksgiving.
13. Just have a lot on my mind. Miss you all. Look at the pictures - they all have captions now.

Whole lotta not so much stufff

2007-11-19T21:41:00.000+01:00

Sunday afternoon was very enjoyable. J-F AND Alexia came by to pick me up in separate cars - Alexia with her son A* who is a student in my third grade class at School One, and J-F with his daughter E* who is also a student in third grade at School One. Add another twist: J-F and Alexia are a couple. Nifty. We first went to this ancient farmhouse in the country (as opposed to the booming metropolis of Ussel?) that J-F is renovating. It's a cute little house that needs a ton of work, but. But. BUT. It has a view of the mountains. The center of France has a chain of very extinct volcanoes, and you can see them PERFECTLY from his front door. Un-friggin-believable. I've never seen mountains like that before. They were beautiful. Go look at the pictures. So after walking around his property and looking at the various stuff in his sort-of-house, we went to Alexia's apartment for tea and cakes :) Delicious cakes, all homemade by J-F (he's apparently quite skilled), and delightful conversation. I finally felt comfortable enough to use the familiar "you" form with at least Alexia. I don't know about J-F; he seemed really ill at ease the entire time, which makes me feel like I was making him uncomfortable. I dunno. In any case, I really enjoyed their company, and Alexia started to feel more like an old friend. Really. She's so super sweet. Ah I love them.

So today I usually have three classes: third and fourth graders at School One and Marie-Pierre's fourth graders at School Two. J-F totally forgot to tell me but no biggy that my fourth graders at School One were going to the movies on a field trip and because their usual English teacher was at the field trip, could I do English with them. Well sure! No problem :) No really, it wasn't a big deal. Except they took FOREVER to color flags. It's not hard guys...really. My third graders at School One are starting to worry me - we accomplish less and less every day. I told their teacher Fabienne who said she'd talk to them and that next Monday she'd sit in on the class. Ah she's a nice lady. So after School One I usually have to book it to School Two...except I totally forgot that Marie-Pierre's fourth graders were also going on the field trip to the movies. No biggie, but wow do I have an awful memory.

Today I worked a little more on my application for Minnesota. Ahhh I'm nervous and that's impeding my progress on my personal statements...but I'm plugging through.

Tomorrow, the teachers are going on strike so I don't have any classes. I told Monsieur Modeste, the principal at School One, that it's too bad the kids don't have class, to which he responded, "Well, how great is it that the kids have teachers who are keeping their best interests in mind?" Touché! A perspective I haven't thought of. However, I still think the strike is symptomatic of many systematic and social problems in France, and my online buddy Skylar (who is also an assistant but much farther north) ranted well on it. I'd give you the link but her blog is protected.

So instead of teaching my fourth and fifth graders, I'll be doing laundry, going shopping, asking the internet people why the magic internet box keeps blinking, asking the bank people why I can't access my account online, and perhaps finding a different liberry book because the one I have is way too hard.

And I'm hormonal and that's intensifying my homesickness, which usually stays quiet.

Time flies when you're...drinking amazing red wine.

2007-11-18T12:19:00.000+01:00

So whenever I make it tothe grocery store, I make it a point to pick up a bottle of wine because it's super cheap and it's practical. I know I like dry reds (thanks Mom) and I haven't yet developed a taste for any whites. I have found that I looove Côtes de Rhone, a very smooth and dry red from the center of France. So I picked up a bottle completely at random and apparently it was excellent. Delicious.

Anyways. Blog entries have been sparse because apparently the magic internet box has to "reset" itself periodically. My manual says it should take "une dizaine" or a couple ten minutes of so to do its blinky business and find its new favorite satellite, but my magic box is apparently remedial and takes DAYS. I don't understand it. Let's be insular Americans and mark this oddity in the "Golly France is silly" column.

Friday night, Ben and I went to the Eglise Saint-Martin to attend a Corsican music concert. We were warned ahead of time by the marketing teacher Karine that these sorts of things could either be very very good or very very bad. About half-way through the concert, we realized that we had no perspective to decide one way or the other. So we decided that it was delightful and entertaining and truly a nice way to spend a Friday night. The concert ended around 11:00pm. As we walked home, we realized two things: (1) Ussel has no nightlife. 11:00pm on a Friday night and the streets are deserted. (2) Because there are no cities for a good couple kilometers, the night sky is FULL of stars. Unbelievable. We forgot the icy night air that was freezing our tootsies and just stared up at the stars. Beautiful.

Saturday I went to the market to find veggies, bleu d'Auvergne, fruits, and a hat. I found the cheese and bought a (unnecessarily expensive) hat that looks super-cute on me. However, it's November and the produce is pretty pathetic. Yay for rickets.

Saturday evening, my private English tutee came over. If she was my daughter, I would be so proud of her. She's so conscientious, intelligent, bright, quick, and sweet. Oh my goodness. Since the first lesson was basically a getting-to-know-you deal, this lesson I actually planned. Although I wasn't entirely sure if the activities I planned would work, be helpful, or too easy or hard for her, it went very well. We did some grammar exercises from my Bedford Handbook that Mr. Bender made us buy in 11th grade AP English Language and Composition. That went really well. There's an entire section in my edition of ESL trouble spots, and she did really well. Granted, it's pretty much what they do in class but I think it was still really beneficial. Then we did a pronunciation exercise. I found this Learner's Dictionary from Miriam-Webster for ESL learners, and that was awesome. She's so good. Since in class they had been studying social class and the Industrial Revolution in England, I found the most amazing Wall Street Journal article. She read it aloud and we discussed it. She's really smart and expresses herself well. A very enjoyable and easy hour and a half!

Today I am going to visit Jean-François and Alexia from School One. J-F is a preschool teacher who is doing his "habilitation", or basically being certified to teach English, and Alexia was a French assistant in Scotland. I've mentioned this. But I'm going to hang out with them for an undisclosed and probably uncomfortably long amount of time this afternoon. I'm bringing a bag of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups I brought in my suitcase. They're still good, I tested them.

I have started the application for the Second Languages and Cultures Masters at the University of Minnesota. Here's hoping that anyone responds to my plaintive emails for recommendations! Ahhh.

Good times. Ben is going to the store to buy toilet paper so it's a good day. Now to be productive.

Day 53

2007-11-15T20:51:00.000+01:00

So yesterday was an adventure. Tuesday, November 14, was the start of the train strike. All of the train station workers - counter clerks, conductors, anyone - was striking against wages, pensions, retirements, and basically the system itself which is slowly trying to privatize. I think. Whatever, in any case, this was the singular worst day my contact, Madame Renson, could have picked for a meeting of the primary English assistants in the Correze. Thank you Madame. So this is how my day went:

My bus from Ussel left at 6:00am. Normally, I'd take the train that leaves at about 7:00am to get to Brive a little after 8:00. However, because of the strike, I had to take a bus (not typical) that stopped at Tulle, a city about mid-way between. Now at Tulle, I had to wait another hour and a half until the bus could take me to Brive, arriving at 9:30am, a good half hour after the meeting started. No biggie, Madame Renson totally understood. In fact, Courtney from DC lives in Tulle and she was going to take the same bus so that would make two of the four of us late. So I'm at the Tulle station frantically, I don't know why frantically but probably because that's how I am, asking every bus that comes by "Are you going to Brive?" All of them tell me no, this is a school bus. So I go to the closed train station to verify for the umpteenth time that my bus really isn't arriving until just before 9:00am and that I have a good hour and a half to do NOTHING. This (French) girl comes up to me and asks, "Are you looking for the bus that goes to Brive?" Well yes! "Well me too, let's go search things out." So we ask a couple other buses, but she's obviously in more of a rush than me but I'm more frantic about it, and she finally says "Ok, this is pointless. My dad will drive us." WHAAAT? Are you serious? I don't even know your name!! Are you sure? I ask. "Oh yeah. We have to get to Brive, don't we?" Well I guess. It's at this point - less than TWO minutes after this girl started talking to me, that I realize that I'm getting a ride from a girl I hardly know in her dad's car to Brive. Um, ok. I finally have to introduce myself. Her name is July (pronounced Julie). Her dad doesn't want gas money. Ok. A half hour later, I'm in Brive. She gave me her cell number in case something happens. Basically I almost hitchhiked. It was amazing. I couldn't thank her or her dad enough. Her dad seemed mostly put out because the strike was messing with his life. That's about the only reason the French don't like their own strikes.

So the meeting went well. It was me, Courtney from DC who works in Tulle, Eleanor from London and Sashi from India (wow) who work in Brive. Madame Renson is the best. She's so kind, she really sympathizes with us, and she genuinely HELPS us. We got some good redirection for our lessons, some ideas on how to give the evaluations for the end of the marking period, shared some materials, and are possibly going to a Christmas market in a tiny little town north of Brive with her! She's the best. She's also going to come observe our classes just for hints and pointers. I'm nervous, as always, but I know it's never to criticize us or to point out our faults, but to improve the lessons and teaching techniques. I love Madame Renson.

So Sashi wasn't feeling well - the cold is really not agreeing with her - so Courtney, Eleanor and I went out to a creperie (restaurant that sells sweet and savory crepes, salads and ice creams) for lunch. It was really great. They're such sweet girls, really. I'm glad to know them at least. Eleanor is a riot and Courtney is so familiar. Anyways, it was fun.

So by the time I got to the train station in Brive to figure out how to get home, it was about 2:30pm. However, the only dude there, mostly directing people to appropriate buses, told me that in fact the bus I needed would leave Brive at 4:00pm. Yay for more waiting. And that it would bring me to Tulle, where I would have to wait for another bus to leave at 6:50pm. OMG MORE waiting. So the bus came and I got to Tulle, where the station was closed. Now there aren't a lot of things to do around train stations in general, and I don't really like cafes or bars because the cigarette smoke really bothers me, so I spent a good 45 minutes outside. Not a good idea. I finally gave in and went to the cafe across the street where I spent 1.10E on a coffee to sit for the other hour I had in Tulle. Finally the bus came and I got to Ussel at 8:00pm. I text messaged July to tell her I got home ok.

What a DAY. I did the impossible - travel in small-town France during a nationwide public transportation strike! I almost hitchhiked! French people are nice!

Today classes went well. The nationwide strike is also hitting the schools, and two of my three schools have told me that next Tuesday, the 20th, the teachers whose students I have won't be there. And if the teachers aren't there, the students aren't there (there is no such thing as a substitute)...so I don't have classes. This sucks, sort of, both for my lesson planning and also because the kids miss English class. However it's kinda cool because I'll get to experience the French school system during a strike, and well, I get to sleep in. I enjoy sleeping immensely.

School One's fourth graders did beautifully today. I think it's the new seating chart their classroom teacher implemented. It's awesome. School One's third graders did well too, which was cool. School Two's fourth graders couldn't wrap their heads around the concept we were doing and I kind of lost it with them...I couldn't understand why they couldn't understand...I hate that. What I really don't like when they don't understand is they completely shut down without trying. I'd understand if they tried at least once and got it totally wrong, but they don't even try. My wait time is SO long with them. It's frustrating. I had lunch with School Two's "Merci Madame" and Sylvie, the mother of the girl I tutor at School Two and we had a good conversation about food quality and frozen foods. I invoked the Mom and Dad's freezer full of homemade strawberry jam and pork products. Ah I miss home. School Three's fourth graders did amazing. Even F*. He said "I decided to do well in English." I think he took his medication, but whatever. He was active, responding appropriately, and making a REAL effort. I was so proud of him. I told him so. Ah if he turns out to be my success story I'll be so happy. School Three's third graders basically made one of their classmates cry. "T*'s crying." What's the matter honey, you have to tell me or I can't make it better. "There's so much noise, everyone's talking and I'm not learning anything." WOW. Guilt trip? Well honey, that's partly my fault because I'm not managing the class very well, but it's also your classmates' fault because they refuse to listen and they make stupid comments. Do you understand what you're supposed to do here? (They were doing a little coloring activity.) "Yes." Ok. You tell me if I can do anything to make you feel better. I also sent S* out of the room because he's disgusting, makes inappropriate comments, and is basically an obnoxious asshole. When I sent him out, he protested sooo much, "No I'll stop, I'll be good, I promise." No, absolutely not. I warned you enough. Go to the principal's office and tell him you're wasting your classmates' time. While the class was working in their notebooks, I went outside because I knew very well that he didn't go to the principal's office, he was standing outside the door. We had a good talk and he behaved for the rest of the class. And I told him so. I feel terrible because there are three students - C*, L*, and T* who are genuinely interested and make a real effort. But there are also students, one of whose brother is the very attentive T* in the twinned fourth grade class, whose minds are anywhere BUT school (it's not just me, I know), and other students who think that this is joking play time. NO, it's school and it's serious business. We're here to learn!

Anyways, today was a good day. I like my roommates a lot. Ben and I are probably going to a Corsican music concert tomorrow night at the church (Rocio declined due to the 10E ticket price), I'm going to the market and this adorable Williams-Sonoma style store on Saturday, and on Sunday Jean-Francois from School One and I are going to get together...hopefully to talk about something other than elementary school English as a foreign language. Ben and Rocio are going to Brive because the Spanish assistants there have found a Salsa night in town and invited any and all assistants or exchange students. And because Rocio likes to experience things from her own language's culture and because Ben doesn't refuse basically anything, they're going. I'm not because it will invariably be in a very smoky bar. Also I don't want to.

Mostly good.

Day 51

2007-11-13T20:57:00.000+01:00

Today went well. My most frustrating group of fourth graders behaved much better when I sent F* out of the room and also when I told them of the possibility of American penpals. We'll see if that even pans out though. Who knows. They really did get the hang of "Do you have a pet? I have a dog. His name is Fido" and so on. It was really exciting. My other fourth graders, even the smart ones, struggled with it. It's so weird. I asked their classroom teacher Virginie if I could observe her class: not tomorrow because I have a meeting, not Thursday because I teach all day, not Friday because they have a field trip (to the movies?), sooo maybe Monday morning.

My original contact in France, Madame Renson, called me last night around 7 to say that there was a meeting tomorrow (Wednesday) in Brive, another city about 1.5 hours in the train from Ussel. Thanks for the advance notice and luckily I don't have anything on Wednesdays. However, when I went to the train station this afternoon to buy my tickets, I remembered: the massive country-wide strike is starting tomorrow! France likes to strike, and while I sympathize with their reasons, I don't believe the people striking should strike. It's just ridiculous: the train stations, the Paris Metro, the post office, the teachers, the water company, the gas company, and the students all have strikes coming up. It's ridiculous. So this means I leave Ussel at 6:00am tomorrow morning to arrive in Brive at 9:30am, a half hour late for my meeting. Luckily Madame Renson understands, but still. So frigging annoying. But I've text-messaged the other girls I know will be at the meeting and we're going to do lunch: Eleanor from England and Courtney from DC at least, and I haven't heard yet from Sashi from India. Yay! More comraderie. Unfortunately, this silly strike means I won't be able to leave Brive until about 6:00pm and get to Ussel until about 9:00pm. Fantabulous.

I finally got the courage to ask someone to go grocery shopping: I asked Francoise, the first lady to welcome me here in France. Remember I stayed at her apartment for two nights before I moved in with Ben and Rocio? We did a power-shop because we got to the grocery store about 45 minutes before it closed. I'm very happy. I have obscene amounts of good French food. I love Francoise. She is hands-down the sweetest woman here. I told her - "You're not my mom but you act like it. Thank you so much for everything you do." And she replied, "But I AM a mother." So true. She's awesome. I need a picture of her. And I also need to buy her flowers or something. SOMETHING.

So for dinner tonight at the high school cafeteria, all three of us - me, Ben, and Rocio - all went together. This is a big deal because Rocio doesn't always eat at the cafeteria for dinner because it's really early for her (7:00pm is early for Mexicans, apparentlt). However, I looked at the menu, and it clearly said "saupiette de kangourou" which sort of translates to "kangaroo chunks." Oh really? I asked the nice man who serves us - he kind of knows our faces now - and I asked him point blank:
Rose: What meat is that?
Man: Kangaroo.
Rose: I'll have the potatoes and brussel sprouts please.
Man: Would you like a cordon bleu?
Rose: Omg yes PLEASE.
So Ben and Rocio took the "kangaroo." I asked Ben:
Rose: So how's your Australian jumping animal?
Ben: It's not that bad.
Rose: But it's a friggin kangaroo!
Ben: Well either kangaroo tastes exactly like beef, or it's beef.
Rose: The dude at the counter totally said it was kangaroo.
Ben: Yeah, I heard too, but I think "kangaroo" refers to the cut or the preparation of the meat rather than the meat itself.
Rose: No.
Ben: Yes.
Rose: Well, you find me the town called "kangaroo" and it's famous beef plate and I'll believe you.
Ben said something witty here but I forget. He apparently enjoys eating, or at least tasting, exotic foods. I do not. I enjoy chocolate, pastries, and their combinations.

School good. France silly. Rose happy.

Day 50 of...who knows

2007-11-12T18:02:00.000+01:00

Ok, so I think I'm getting a little manic here.

I have amazing days where I feel great, I enjoy my job (really!), I feel happy and safe and content and that my life is going in positive directions.

And then I have moments that refuse to budge where I feel completely alone, tired, useless, like I can't express myself, and just generally awful.

These bad moments aren't just Bad French Days, because even on Bad French days I've felt really good. But it's like these moments come without warning, and I'll be in the middle of a lesson with my third graders and I'll be fighting back tears! For what?! Because I'm homesick or I miss real American fast food? It sounds petty but I guess it's true. In the great time I'm having here - and I have to stress I'm really enjoying myself - there are horrible moments that just won't leave where I have a huge lump in my throat and tears in my eyes.

It's very frustrating.

Also, I have about a half a dozen people's phone numbers in my cell phone. And I need to go grocery shopping, badly. But I'm having trouble finding the courage to ask someone. Eesh. I'm such a wuss.

Today was ok, in terms of work and France-ness. I'm trying to think positively for the coming weeks even though the entire freaking country is going on strike in a few days for various reasons. I will not be joining the strike both because I have no right to based on how I'm compensated, and also because I don't think it's useful. Actually, I think it's ridiculous and petty and stupid and I hate this part about France. They strike for everything.

Ahhh, France.

Things I have done this weekend:

2007-11-11T16:25:00.000+01:00

1. I went to the Saturday morning market. It is becoming progressively smaller in terms of the number of produce sellers, but the Turkish dry goods sellers (shoes, clothes, random stuff) are still out in full force. I bought some tomatos, strawberries, Orangina (ok at the little minimart) and a baguette. It was FREEZING, like below 32 degrees F.

2. My private tutoring student came for her very first session! It went very well. Apparently, to pass her high school exit exam (it's called the Bac, short for Baccalaureat), she only has a written English section. But because after high school, she's going to a two-year prep school and then a private business school for the equivalent of her bachelor's degree (I think), she really wants to practice her spoken English. Her spoken English, by the way, is impeccable. Minor idiomatic errors, minor pronunciation errors, some weird word choices, but her verbs are conjugated correctly and she speaks fluidly and without hesitation. I'm really looking forward to this hour and a half each Saturday, and hopefully Monique will be able to bang out a letter every once in a while to her. That would be sweet.

3. It's really cold here. It rarely precipitates, thank goodness. (I hate rain.) The water in France is notoriously hard. I don't drink a lot of water despite the French obsession with bottled water. I spend at least an hour outside every day walking to school. Add all this up and my skin is VERY dry. So I went to the pharmacie across the street to find some lotion. All I said to the very nice pharmacienne was that my skin is dry and I need some lotion, preferably without a scent. She was very helpful. As she was ringing me up, she asked, "How long have you been in France?" BUSTED!!! Ah she was really nice though. "No, you express yourself very well, your verbs are conjugated correctly..." Oh good. My teachers would be so happy to hear that. But anyways, I have nice French body lotion that already made my skin feel tons better last night.

4. I like planning lessons now that I have a very familiar format to follow with all of them, I know what I'm going to do, and I know how to do it. I have all my lessons for this entire week planned out - all six of them. Ah it's a rough life.

5. During the week, I eat lunch and dinner either at the high school cafeteria or at the school I'm at around lunch time. This is nice because it's really cheap, there are people to talk to, and the meals are very well-balanced (appetizer, main, cheese, fruit, dessert, and bread). During the weekends, I cook for myself. I've developed a really yummy pasta recipe:
-one serving's worth of long pasta (pasketti or the like)
-sauce: clove of garlic sauteed in oil or butter with salt, pepper, and an herb blend called "fines herbes" (no idea what's in it but it's good) and a chopped tomato
Cook both at the same time in different pots obviously and then toss the pasketti with the sauce. It's really tasty and has veggies and starch so I feel ok about it.
I also drink unnecessary amounts of tea.

6. I'm also starting grad school applications. Schools I'm seriously considering:
The University of Iowa Ph.D in Second Language Acquisition
The University of Minnesota MA in Second Languages and Cultures. (this is also where my long-time buddy and childhood friend Erin is sutdying to be a vet!)
University of Wisconsin - Madison MA in Professional French studies (this was highly recommended by a former English assistant in France)
Mom emailed me the world's longest list with virtually every school in the continental US that had a linguistics program. Thanks. I'll, um, look through it.

France is cold. France is silly. But Rose is feeling fairly content.

I am a lucky lucky girl.

2007-11-09T17:17:00.000+01:00

This is an amazing job. I officially work 11.5 hours a week, give fifteen classes of forty-five minutes each, and teach six lessons a week. This is sah-weeeeet.

Good things from this week, in list form:
1. School Two is consistently my favorite school. Marie-Pierre asked if I wanted a table in front of the room to put my stuff on. My teaching style usually involves putting the materials I'm using on a table in front of me, so it was basically like she read my mind. She brought me up to the school's ATTIC (yes, an attic) and I picked out an old student desk. I may change it up because I pretty much have carte blanche in that school. The principal and the lady I only know as "Merci Madame" have taken to making sure that they eat lunch with me on Thursdays to provide company. It's amazing. I teach a total of four classes there: two 4th grades and two 5th grades, and three of the teachers stay in the room with me. Marie-Pierre doesn't, but it's all good because these students are amazing. They're intelligent, well-behaved, interested, make good efforts, and are just too plain cute. I'm starting weather with my 5th graders, and we sang the Incey Wincey Spider song. If you've never seen 26 10-year-olds sing and do the hand motions for this song, it should definitely be on your to-do list for life. Ab-so-friggin-lutely cute. And apparently there's a direct French counterpart, about a spider climbing up a water spout...whatever that is.
2. School One is so pleasant. Jean-Francois teaches the other section of 4th grade English there, and we just finished planning out this next "marking period" for topics to cover. It's so great to have someone native to this system to bounce ideas off of, and it's especially cool because he's studying with Madame Renson, my original contact and ultimate resource. J-F is great, I really like working with him. Alexia is another teacher at this school, and she was a French assistant in Scotland a few years ago. When she introduced herself to me, she spoke in (adorably Scottish accented) English and gave me her phone number. I only have two classes at School One, and they're really decent. The 4th graders can be a handful, and the 3rd grade class is entirely too big (there's more than 25 I'm sure). But it's decent and they grasp concepts fairly well. Very encouraging.
3. I GOT PAID!!! This is my first paycheck in France. Being in the Academie of Limoges really makes a difference - it's so well-organized, there are fewer assistants than the other academies, and the people we deal with know us personally and are genuinely invested in our experience. I didn't ask for the advance, but my very first paycheck was not delayed like it has been in previous years, and was deposited immediately in my French bank account. I was paid 700E for four weeks. This is the biggest paycheck I've ever received. It's pretty special.
4. I love Rocio. She's so friendly and we have really pleasant conversations. There's about a six year age difference between us, but we get along so well. It's really nice to have someone else to speak with, whose French is on the same level as your own, and who also speaks Spanish!! She's awesome and I'm so glad there's someone like her here.
5. In case Ben reads this, he's pretty cool too. :) People at the high school are surprised that we don't speak to each other in English, but honestly, it'd be weird if we did. Our first encounter was among other French people, and usually Rocio is with us, and it's kind of rude to speak a language that other people don't understand. So we're about 90% of the time speaking in French, even the times when it's just him and me. But he's intelligent and amusing and I enjoy that.

Not so good things that happened this week:
1. I got so fed up with my 3rd and 4th grade classes at School Three. I'm so angry at them. They REFUSE to listen to me, they don't listen to their classmates, they refuse to even attempt to understand. A song I tried with the 3rd graders:
Red, orange, yellow and green
These are colors I have seen
Black, white, purple and blue
These are colors I know too.
I don't do anything differently with them than I did with the 3rd graders at School One, but for some reason, these students have absolutely zero interest in me, English, or even just behaving. I've sent the really naughty ones to the principal's office, I've made them copy lines, I've made them sit in silence for the last fifteen minutes of the lesson (that was probably harder for me), and yet nothing works. Their classroom teacher, Virginie, has been nothing but sympathetic and supportive. She suggests ways to discipline them, which I try, but they refuse to behave. I'm so frustrated with them!! And there's only eleven of them! I've already written them out of the penpal project with Mom's and Maggie's classes, with maybe the exception of C*. He's so attentive and I really worry, as I bet he does too in his little 8-year-old head, that he'll lose his English. I'd love to work with him because he TRIES. The others don't. They crack jokes, they punch each other, they make fun of each other, they start a phrase and then start laughing because they think they're saying it funny...I don't know what to do. Ideally but lazily, I'd find a way to eliminate them entirely because I only have an hour with them a week and we really don't accomplish anything. We've done numbers and "What's your name?". That's IT. Very frustrating. Ah. Maybe I'll find a moment to talk with Virginie on purpose about my difficulties. Maybe she'll let me observe an entire regular class. I'd like that.

I have my very first private tutoring lesson tomorrow with the daughter of one of the teachers from School Two. I don't have anything prepared except we're going to snack on Goldfish (thanks Mom and Dad!) and I'm going to gauge her English proficiency and she's going to tell me what exactly she'd like to work on. I'm so excited! It's also 15E for 1.5 hours, so go me.

I'm in FRAAANCE and I'm happy. Happy happy happy Rosa.

Back from vacation!

2007-11-08T20:57:00.000+01:00

So my October (Toussaint) vacation went fairly well. I spent entirely too much money that I didn't have but it's the memories that count, right? Right. Here's the recap:

Saturday, October 27: Arrival in Les-Eyzies. This is my first town, because I hadn't yet figured out how to get to Montignac. Upon arrival at Les-E, I discovered that the town consists of one road with the National Prehistory Museum, an ancient prehistoric encampment site, and three cute little souvenir shops. That's it. I found the tourism office (as Karla puts it, the "i" always saves you - it's the symbol for any information or tourist booth). At the tourism booth, and at the Les-E train station, I discovered that there is no mass public transport to Montignac. The dude at the train station said I could walk or bike. It's 25km, and not on roads I would ever walk or bike. Think Route 5 Auburn-Camillus. No. The lady at the tourism office, who looked like she wasn't entirely thrilled with her job, told me that I could take a taxi there for 40E one-way. No. I was very disappointed that I wasn't going to be able to see the famous Lascaux Caves, but comforted in the fact that there were other prehistoric sites to see in Les-E and that I'd have...FOUR DAYS to see them.

So in Les-E, I went to the Musee National de la Prehistoire (National Prehistory Museum). This visit took an entire morning. It was fascinating. So much ancient stuff. I took a picture of a stuffed moose because I thought it was funny. It was really cool, and I was really glad I went.
I also went to the Abri de Pataud (Pataud Shelter), which was excavated by a Harvard archaeologist who discovered a prehistoric encampment. You can tour the "cave" which has been modernised to showcase more prehistoric artifacts, and the archaeological dig itself which has long since been finished with but they still have all the markers in place. So neat. WOW! I saw something old and important.
Then I walked about 1km out of town to the Grottes de Font de Gaume, which are caves like Lascaux. The tour guide led us in to the cave, turned on lights, and showed us paintings and markings in the stones. And he would talk and explain what they were thought to have meant, the materials used to make the drawings and carvings, and so on, and then it would strike me: these paintings are 10,000 years old. In-CRED-ible. Just really impressive.
By this point I pretty much exhausted Les-E and wandered around taking pictures of quite possibly the more boring little French...crossing of unimportant roads (I'm not even going to call it a town). So I spent a good deal of time in my hotel room watching TV, trying desperately to get into my liberry book that is too hard for me, and doing Sudoku puzzles. Finally it was the day to go to Sarlat.

I arrived in Sarlat on Wednesday, October 31. Apparently, and my guide book didn't tell me this, but there's not much to do in Sarlat other than walk around. And walk around I did...on Wednesday and Thursday. I got kind of bored, so I went to see a movie. I saw Le Premier Cri, a French documentary I kept seeing profiled on the hours of TV I watched in Les-E about women giving birth all over the world. It was really fascinating. The French know how to make a good documentary. And then I got some ice cream because I like it, and it was delicious. Sarlat luckily had a HUGE market going on Wednesday which provided endless entertainment. Markets are funny places. Lots of people, some doing real shopping, some just looking, and tons of children getting in the way. And dog crap. Goodness I can't stand French dog shit. It's friggin everywhere and despite ubiquitous doggy bag stations all over the cities, no one ever cleans up after Fido. Rar.

I arrived in Cahors on Sunday evening. It was only on the bus from Sarlat to Cahors that I discovered the private bus route that links Montignac and the Lascaux caves to the rest of the world. WTF, guys. No one could tell me about this? Annoying. Anyways. Cahors was a welcome sight. About the size of La Rochelle, there was a huge carnival (arcade games, about twenty versions of bumper cars, and all the delicious carnival food you could want), an organ recital at the beautiful cathedral that had painted rather than carved walls (this was interesting), a UNESCO World Heritage Site for a bridge (gorgeous!) and tonnnns of shopping. It should be noted that by this point, my newly purchased French boots had broken in and were also breaking my foot. So I had to buy new shoes. Sounds more fun than it was, as I'm trying to stay on a budget (haaa that's funny) and French womens' shoes are unnecessarily pointy and heeled. But I managed to find some inexpensive and reasonably sensible boots that I would never have bought in the States, but when in France...Cahors also had a really cute old town which was fun to walk around in. I had my own room in the youth hostel, and it was 30E for two nights, two breakfasts, and sheets and blanket rental. What a steal. Especially considering my two previous rooms in Les-E and Sarlat...oops. There was also a lookout point from a hill on the other side of the river that basically encircles Sarlat...but after walking nearly an hour in the direction of what I thought to be this lookout point, I saw no sign of it, nor a sign. So I turned around. I was cold and it was getting around 4:00pm, and I don't like to be out and alone in cities where no one knows where I am. Safety first, sort of. Cahors also had a Museum to the Resistance (don't laugh) and Deporation and World War II, which was not very well profiled in my guidebook, I must say. For free, I wandered around the admittedly small museum that had six small rooms with the most text I've ever seen in a museum. It was more like a library with documents and pictures and articles and exposes on so much. There was a model plane collection that showed the different models of American, British, and German war planes; there was an amazing room dedicated to the deportation of the French (from Cahors even) to German concentration camps; there was an enormous section for the French resistance in Cahors (seriously, it wasn't much but the fact that there was even the idea of a Resistance gave some hope to the French who were feeling pretty betrayed by their leader Petain). Such an amazing place. I'm so glad I got to see that.

Then to Lourdes. Lourdes is known for a 14-year old girl named Bernadette Soubuirous who, in the early 1800s, saw visions of the Virgin Mary in a cave. The water in the cave turned out to be healing, the visions told her to build a church on the site, and Bernie became a nun and later a saint. Her body is actually in perfect condition 150 years later. No more than 10 years after her visions, the grotto where she saw the visions became a pilgrimage site for Catholics, and when the church was built, an enormous religious complex (I'd say bigger than San Pietro in the Vatican) sprang up. I mean it's huge. About 2/3s of the town of Lourdes is hotels and their attached restaurants and crap shops (think plastic bottles in the shape of the Virgin Mary for collecting the holy water at the spring). But the church that was built is absolutely beautiful, and I have to say that even I was moved to tears. It was partly the enormity of the site, and also homesickness, fatigue, loneliness, and just overwhelming emotions of being in France...it's really something. I mean, this is really the most amazing opportunity of my life. I get to live in culture that I've studied for ten years now, get paid, access one of the best social security systems in the world, and pretty much do as I please. It's amazing. So Lourdes was pretty cool. Other than the extensive religious complex, there is also a castle on a hill with amAZing views of the Pyrenees mountains and the town (although that isn't so interesting). There was also a little museum of traditional Pyreneen life that was cute. The town of Lourdes also has a private wax museum, and after remembering Casey and my experience at the Joan of Arc wax museum, I couldn't resist. My favorite scene was a wax recreation of Da Vinci's Last Supper. This was monumental for me because I missed out on seeing the original in Milan, and also because my new favorite comic, the British Eddie Izzard, does a hysterical sketch about Jesus and Pals (Jesus and the twelve Apostles) "posing" for the picture. "We can't all do big arms! Ok, now a fun one..." I laughed the entire time I was in that room, and it was not at all appropriate. Wax museums are funny. There is also another lookout point in Lourdes, just as there was one in Cahors, but it was closed "exceptionally" the day I tried to go. Thank you France. I was more disappointed because I didn't have anything else to do, rather than missing out on a view of the mountains.

Anyways. The vacation was nice but I was SO glad to be back in Ussel finally. I had been text-messaging my roommate Rocio the entire time while we were on vacation (she went to Paris) and when I finally got home, I gave her a big hug. Oh was it good to see her! I'm really happy that I got to see what I did on this trip, and while it wasn't necessarily the most productive trip in terms of patrimony and history, it was interesting nonetheless. I took about 100 photos and have yet to figure out where to post them. Apparently it's possible to for non-members to access Facebook photo albums, so that may be a possibility because that's a really simple and familiar platform. I'll let you know.

Anyways, I hope you received my postcards. You were all thought of, I promise you that.

Not a good day.

2007-10-25T18:40:00.000+02:00

Well, it was good this morning. This morning I went to School One, which is by far my easiest school with the coolest principal (Mr. M.). I have pretty much unlimited access to the copier, as long as no one else is waiting for it, and I only have two classes. The fourth grade class is really bright, and the third grade class is pretty good also (almost typed that in French) and the students want so badly to impress me. I like that.

Then to School Two for one class with the hardest of the four groups I have there. I gave croises (marks) in the regles de vie (class rules; essentially I gave them discipline marks) to two of the most offensive boys. S* took advantage of the fact that I didn't remember his name and B* feigns stupidity because "I took German last year." I don't care, you turn around and stop talking. Luckily their classroom teacher, Marie-Pierre totally backs me up. Ah this is my favorite school.

And then to School Three. Thursdays are my most exhausting days. Lots of walking, lots of classes, lots of different levels. I got fed up with my fourth graders and gave them lines to copy. I spoke with their classroom teacher, Virginie, who has been nothing but sympathetic and supportive of my struggles with F*. F* apparently sees a psychologist, and he also takes advantage of the fact that he's not entirely right in the head. I think he has a filter problem, as in he doesn't think before he speaks. His seven classmates tire of him very quickly, and respond beautifully when he is strictly disciplined.

I also got fed up with my third graders at this same school. Their classroom teacher is also Virginie (it's a combined class), and there are eleven of them. I love the Turkish boys and C*, the boy who was raised in Ghana. I cannot stand T* who corrects my French, S* who is going to be a pervert someday if he isn't already, and T2* who won't stop friggin moving. These kids respond really well to songs and games - they did so well with Concentration - but they do NOT SHUT UP. I tell them in French, "You are being rude. I'm talking. When I say Listen, you do not talk." Plain, simple, decently pronounced French. And they continue talking. I play the waiting game. They continue. So I gave them lines too. I would have stayed to speak with Virginie again but I feel so embarrassed that I can't maintain control of the classroom with either of her groups, and I was also just exhausted mentally and physically. I feel like I'm going downhill with these two groups, especially because they're in the same class. They feed off one another. The most offensive perpetrators in both of these groups are well-known to the really nice principal (Mr. B.), but doesn't sending the kids who misbehave to the office every single class destroy my authority and also inhibit their progress in English? I really wish I could just cut this whole school out of my schedule. It gives me nothing but headaches.

Also, I've joined the high school newspaper. There is a name, but I didn't quite get it down. Apparently everyone else understood. Go figure. It should be interesting...I think there's a lot of sections, there's a paper and web version, and overall I think it's rather ambitious, but French kids are more apt to do things of this nature than their American counterparts. When the first web version is posted in December I'll post the link.

I also called Pops and Grandma!!! They're back from Italy. Oh I can't wait to hear their stories and see their pictures. Pops said they ate so many croissants. Yep, that's the European hotel's idea of a "continental" breakfast. You want eggs and bacon and cereal, you go to the well-known American hotels like the Ritz.

CANNOT WAIT FOR VACATION.

on internet searching and Anglophone resources

2007-10-24T19:37:00.000+02:00

So I did a Google search for long distance relationships because why not, and the results were intriguing.
1. I'm tired of the first search result being a Wiki-something. Enough with Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Wikihow, Wikitravel.
2. Is there nothing the BBC can't do?? In addition to being a treasure trove of English education resources, it offers advice too? I can't wait for more BBC answers to my internet questions.
3. I am currently looking for a website that shows Scrubs and The Office (US version) online for free. NBC.com doesn't work here, as my IP address shows I'm clearly outside of the US. I've been bouncing around but so far, I haven't found what I'm looking for. I could buy each episode for $1.99 through iTunes, but if it exists for free, I'd rather that. I have found Family Guy (and American Dad), and would also be interested in Robot Chicken.
My life is ridiculous. Who gets to work 12 hours a week, get two week vacations every two months, and do whatever they want for the remaining hours?? I have got to find some more liberry books.

Fun things that have happened recently, in list form:

2007-10-24T15:36:00.000+02:00

1. The annoying fourth graders at School Three did really well with a dialogue exercise. There are only eight of them, but it's eight really strong personalities. Once I sent F* to the principal's office, they did much better, and when he was sent back, even he did well with the dialogue. Lucky his partner was Nice T* (not to be confused with Rude T* in the third grade class School Three) who helped him out quite a bit.

2. My two fifth grade classes at School Two were amazing. We did "What are you wearing? What is he/she wearing? I'm wearing... She/He's wearing..." in a telephone game and it worked SO well. I was so impressed. A good clue that an activity is working is when I'm not talking anymore. That means that the students understand the directions and they're actively participating and behaving. It was really cool. They totally get the structure of the sentences, and I'm just really proud of them. They're really smart kids.

3. One of my fourth grade classes at School Two just could not get the hang of the structure "I'm from France. I'm French." It was really frustrating. It was odd because this class is usually better than their counterparts at School Three. Oh well. Moving on.

4. I officially have my recepisse (receipt, sort of) for my residency card!! This is fantastic news. Granted, it expires two weeks after my visa does but the lady at the office told me I should have my real residency card by then. Hooray!!

5. I bought a coaxial cable and now we have television. All five (I think?) free channels. Oh the decadence...Ben doesn't watch tv (really?) but Rocio was really looking forward to it so for 6E, we have tele. Woohoo.

6. Vacation is coming up and I really don't want to wait for two very full days to go by before I can get on trains and start moving! I want to see more things than plain simple tranquil Ussel.

7. I'm having some difficulty uploading pictures online. Yahoo! Photos has become Flickr, and I haven't figured out Flickr's terminology. They have "sets" and "collections" and I don't know how to work it. Blogspot/Blogger, the site that hosts my blog, and Picassa are both part of the Google conglomerate, so there's something there I'm not quite getting. Dad uses DotPhoto but I'm just trying to find the simplest way for me to upload and then for others to easily access my photos. Hm.

8. Happy and safe. :)

Miss you and love you all!

Toussaint Vacation

2007-10-22T18:37:00.000+02:00

The upcoming October break is called Toussaint (All-Saints) and is from Saturday, October 27 to Tuesday, November 6. However, I don't have lessons on Wednesdays so my own vacation is until November 7. Here is where I'm going, what I'm doing, and where I'm staying:

Sat. 10/27: Ussel -> Montignac
Montignac
Montignac is a good base for exploring the Lascaux Caves, which have prehistoric cave paintings.
I will be staying at Hotel de la Grotte

Mon. 10/29: Montignac -> Les Eyzies de Tayac-Sireuil
Les Eyzies de Tayac-Sireuil
Les Eyzies (blah blah blah) has more prehistoric cave paintings, but unlike Lascaux, these are the real things.
I will be staying at hotel de France Auberge du Musee, part of a partially-government funded hotel chain. God I love France.

Wed. 10/31: Les Ezyies -> Sarlat-La-Caneda
Sarlat-La-Caneda
Sarlat is a pretty village with castles and old stuff. Ben recommended it when I mentioned it as a possibility.
I will be staying at Hotel de la Madeleine.

Fri. 11/2: Sarlat -> Cahors
Cahors
Cahors is another pretty village with more castles and old stuff. Karine, a marketing teacher here at the high school, lives in Cahors and has given me her phone number so we could possibly meet up. Apparently Cahors is where the Roman wine-making tradition still is, as in this is where they make the oldest wine. I tried some; it's good stuff.
I will be staying at Auberge de Jeunesse de Frederic Suisse, the only youth hostel on the trip.

Sun. 11/4: Cahors -> Lourdes
Lourdes
Lourdes is a Catholic pilgrimage site where the waters in a cave that a little girl saw visions of the Virgin Mary are said to heal people. The last confirmed case was an Italian woman cured of rheumatoid arthritis or something of that nature. Catholic mythology is enthralling.
I will be staying at Hotel Viscos.

Wed. 11/7: Lourdes -> Ussel
This leg of the trip will probably take all day. Hopefully I can find another liberry book.

I'm very excited!!!

I don't know what day it is

2007-10-22T18:15:00.000+02:00

This morning Rocío and I headed to the train station at 5:30am to catch the train to Limoges. We had our mandatory immigrants' doctor's appointment today, and since the only train that could get us to Limoges on time left at 6:24am, we had to get up really early. We took a taxi to the clinic because I'm super lazy and prefer to have a nice man drive us there in a warm heated car with leather seats than figure out which bus takes us the closest and then walk. So we get to the clinic and who walks in the waiting room but Courtney!! My buddy from DC! How happy was I to see her. Ah I really like her. She's smart and funny and cute. Ah. Anyways. My appointment was first, and the first order of business was a chest x-ray. For this I had to take everything on top off, including my bra. I was prepared for this, but Rocío had been freaking out for a week about having to be anywhere near unclothed. I asked the doctor afterward why they do it and apparently it's tuberculosis screening. I was weighed (62kg, or 136lbs so not bad) and measured (172cm? does that sound right?) and he checked my heart or my pulse, can't remember because I was trying too hard to relax (it always happens), checked my vaccination records against a chart (thanks Dad! that really helped), and asked me if was on any medications (my prescription wasn't that big of a deal apparently, and I had even brought a copy of it in case) and if I had ever had any serious illnesses. And that was it! I was given a certificate of the visit to bring to the Sous-Préfecture and my chest x-ray. I really should find a way to post it online, it's fascinating. You can see the outline of my boobs and my scoliosis, which looks a lot worse in x-ray form. What a great souvenir. The doctor was really nice and patient.

Rocío and I found the bus stop across the street from the clinic (stop, I like taxis) and headed back downtown. Then since I had a good 2.5 hours to kill before the next train to Ussel, I dragged poor Rocío to the Tourism Office in Limoges to see if they had any information about the places I'm going to visit for the upcoming vacation. The lady handed me one brochure. Not so helpful. I miss the girls at the Tourisme Office in La Rochelle - they had everything and never hesitated when I asked for information. :-( Sad. Anyways. I chilled in the train station with a really crappy sandwich, reading my liberry book and waiting for the train. And then I fell asleep in the train. I have got to stop that, it's really not good! I could be reading, or writing postcards, or doing Sudoku puzzles...

So I dropped off a copy of my medical visit certificate at the Sous-Préfecture and discovered that yes, I do in fact have my récepissé! This document is temporary (it expires January 14, 2008) but is in fact proof that I have applied for and am in the process of receiving a real residency card! This is fantabulous news. They still want to see my original birth certificate, which bothers me. French administration doesn't realize that if I give them my original American birth certificate, getting a new one is not an easy thing. It's not something you give up so easily for anything. Copies, always. But I'll bring the original and the original translation and refuse to surrender either. I need those suckers. If the French postal service wasn't so iffy about mail security I'd mail home my original so Dad could put it back in the safety deposit box, but as it is, I feel more secure knowing its whereabouts at all times. Which is in my official purple folder.

So Ben came back from classes and we unsuccessfully tried to hook him up to the Livebox. He has a Mac, so we're trying to translate my PC's settings to his Mac's settings. And neither of us are particularly well-versed in technology so it was difficult. That conversation was in English.

Tonight, I'm going to dinner at the cantine, Andy and I are going to Skype, I'm going to make sure I'm ready for my lessons for at least Tuesday, and Ben is going to frog around on the Toshiba because we've also disabled his access to the crappy school network. Whoopsies.

Love you all!!