A [School] Day in the Life

By now, some of you might be wondering why I am actually in France. Sure, I am learning French, eating French food, and living la vie.  But what do I actually do here?   Allow me to tell you about the breeziest job I will probably ever have.  Here is a taste of what it is like to be a teaching assistant in France.

I did not know what to expect my first week of classes, naturally.  I showed up and most teachers had me introduce myself and “observe.”  Most of my first encounters with classes went like this:

“Hi, my name is Jacinda.  I’m from the United States—“

“New York?” 

“No, I’m from Michigan—“

“Ahhhh. Chicago!”

“Not quite. I’m close to Chicago, but Chicago is actually in Illinois.”

Blank stares.

“Okay, has anyone heard of Detroit? Detroit is in Michigan.”

Blank stares.

“Umm...does anyone know Eminem…the rapper?”

“Ahhh, oui  Madame!”

“Okay, well, he’s from Detroit.”

Then every class, without fail, corrected me on my pronunciation of Detroit.  “Ah, Day-twah, Madame.”

Thank you Eminem.  I don't know how I would make Michigan relevant to French teenagers without you.

Like all teaching assistants in France, I am required to work twelve hours a week (like I said, breezy).   I split my time between two French high schools or lycées. Lycées in France consist of the three final years of secondary education.  Therefore, most of my students are secondes (sophomores), premières (juniors), or terminales (seniors).   I work at Lycée Jean Monnet, a lycée général, and Lycée J.F. Oberlin, a lycée technologique.  Students at lycées générals are being prepared for higher education while students at lycées technologiques are being primed for the workplace.  Students at my lycée général will take the bac (baccalauréat) at the end of their terminale year.  My students at the lycée technologique will not.  Many of my students, at both schools however, plan on going directly into BTS (Brevet de technicien supérieur) after school.  BTS, from what I understand, is two years of career training that has students working at a company and attending classes on alternating weeks.  In short, my students are quite diverse age-wise and goal-wise.  There is a huge difference between my terminale, bac-conscious students from Jean Monnet and my rowdy groups of secondes from Oberlin. 

Lycee Jean Monnet

Lycee J-F Oberlin

There are some things that are pretty standard among all of my students, though.  For example, all of my students, no matter how rude or disruptive they are during class, will greet their professeurs (and me) upon entering and leaving the class.  Most often, it is a simple, “bonjour, madame,” or, “hello, teacher.”  Some of the more adventurous students will even go as far as to say, “hello teacher, how are you?”  To which I reply, “I’m good, how are you?”  The conversation usually ends here with a blank stare, but occasionally, I’ve had students reply with “Oh! Yes, I am…euh…fine.”  My all time favorite was when a student was leaving the classroom and said, “goodbye, my girlfriend!”  I should have corrected him but it was the most English I’d heard out of any of my students that day so I let it drop.

Another interesting phenomenon: the pencil case.  Every student and teacher has one.  Every student comes to class with pencils, pens, white-out, glue; the works!  It’s truly amazing.  Even self-proclaimed slackers have a pencil case at the ready.  I guess students are taught from a very early age to be prepared and organized.  I think back to the time when a teacher in my middle-school threw a tub of pencils over a student’s head because the student had forgotten his pencil for the fourth day in a row.  If only American schools were as insistent about pencil cases, that whole incident could have been avoided. 

The pencil case.

Between Jean Monnet and Oberlin, I work with nine professeurs d’anglais (English teachers).  With some classes, I work side-by-side with the teacher instructing classes of up to 25 students.  With other classes, I work with groups of five to twelve students.  Each professeur has me doing something different with her class.  The types of students and their levels of English are quite varied.  Consequently, I’ve spent a lot of time planning different lessons. These include lessons explaining American high schools (school buses? sports? PROM???), lessons about Thanksgiving, and, as of this week, lessons about the Super Bowl.  I’ve also played a plethora of games just to get my students speaking.  I’ve done everything from hangman to modified drinking games.  There have been days where my students really get into the game and have a good time and there have been others where I’m faced with blank stares, or worse, whispering and giggling in French.  I’ve even had students ask their professeurs, “why is she here?”

There have been times when I, myself, have wondered that.  Why am I here?  I asked myself this after I spent 30 minutes trying to explain the concept of Bingo to my students only to have the professeur spend 30 seconds explaining the instructions in French.  I ask myself this when professeurs correct me on my pronunciation of an English word.  But more often, I really enjoy the time I spend with my students.  The times when my students really have fun playing games make the blanks stares bearable.  Repeating myself over and over, using every synonym I know accompanied by frantic hand gestures, all seems worth it when I have students beg to stay with my group rather than return to their classrooms.  

Now you’ve had a taste of how I spend my days in France. If that didn’t satiate your appetite, there’s an entire network of assistants divulging all! Assistant Forum

For the actual program description, see this site: Program Description

Toussaint Vacation Trip to Eastern Europe

I realize that over a month has passed since my Toussaint vacation, but I figured I owe it to the few people that are interested in my travels and haven't yet hopped on the facebook bandwagon. Those of you who have looked at the hundreds of photos from the trip, you're welcome to read on or use this time to Sporcle.

Our trip took place during France's Toussaint holiday at the end of October. Some other teaching assistants had been planning a trip to Eastern Europe and, at the last minute, I decided to tag along. Best decision ever!  There were six of us altogether and we all got along swimmingly. We visited Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, and Prague. I had never seen any of these places and, frankly, I knew very little about them. As we are but humble assistants, on assistant's salaries, we spent most of our time wandering around the cities, enjoying all that we could see for free. I must admit, most of my money was spent on food, which was really a key component of the trip. Here are some pictures and highlights from each of the places we visited:

Vienna, Austria:

I have always wanted to go to Vienna because I have read so much John Irving and have always been enchanted with his descriptions and apparent obsession with the place. Though the weather wasn't terrific, the sights were pretty incredible and I adored the Viennese cafes.

Stephansdom or St. Stephan's Cathedral

Walking around Stephansdom, one runs the risk of being pounced on by one of the many guys dressed up as Mozart trying to sell concert tickets. I realize that going to Vienna and not attending some sort of musical event is a little pathetic, but these concerts were expensive! Personally, I was just as happy strolling by the accordion player near Karlskirche.

Karlskirche or St. Charles's Church

Our first night there, we found a local bar that served us our first taste of goulash and Austrian beer. We also ate at the Hotel Sacher to try the famous, original Sacher-torte. (John Irving loved Sacher-torte so much, he named his dog after it...or so the legend says.) The sacher-torte itself was okay. It's a chocolate cake with apricot in the middle. But the cafe was very fancy, complete with a mandatory coat check.

Sacher-torte!

We didn't have much time or money to hit too many museums, but on our last morning we splurged on the Belvedere, a palace/art museum. There were some strange modern art exhibits and a cool Klimt exhibit. There's something so authentic feeling about seeing an artist's exhibit in his or her own country. 

The grounds at the Belvedere

We spent our last afternoon at a market in the rain. Normally, I would have been miserable, but we had some pretty excellent falafel sandwiches that really made my day.

Bratislava, Slovakia:

We only stayed in Bratislava for one night, which was perfectly adequate considering the size of the town. By the end of our time there, we had made the rounds in the compact city center a couple of times. Bratislava was awesome because it wasn't full of tourists and it was really cheap. The food was great, too. We found one restaurant called the Slovak pub which was so good that we went back the next day for lunch. The first night I was there I had this really rich dish: pierogis in goat cheese...or was it lamb's milk? I don't remember.

Statues like this are all over the city center

 We also hiked to the castle on the hill that overlooks Bratislava. You couldn't go inside and the castle itself wasn't that attractive. The view of the city and beyond was worth it, though.

The castle in Bratislava

As we had some pastry enthusiasts on the trip, we made frequent stops at pastries and cafes. On one of these stops, we spotted a pastry that looked either really disgusting or really delicious. After some post-vacation research, I've identified the pastry as Kolache, a dessert with fruit, poppy seeds, and some form of cheese.

My traveling companions trying the mystery dessert

The best dessert in Bratislava, by far, was hot chocolate from a hot chocolate cafe. I ordered the dark chocolate and almond hot chocolate. It was really thick, soupy, and delicious!!

Dark chocolate soup!

From Bratislava, we took a really cheap bus to Budapest (less than 5 Euros for me because I'm a student!) The bus was great because it took a lot less time than scheduled AND they showed My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Friends.

Budapest, Hungary:

Budapest definitely had my favorite river view. Buda and Pest lie on either side of the Danube and each had their marvelous landscapes to behold. Our hostel was on the Pest side, as were many of the sights and restaurants we visited. The Buda side had the castle, the labyrinth, and the park of Communist mementos. 

The Buda side of the Danube

Parliament on the Pest side of the Danube

Our hostel, I decided, was really just a three bedroom apartment that someone turned into a hostel. We stayed in one of the bedrooms, with several other people. We shared two bathrooms with 20 or more other guests. And the common living room was shared with reception. It was crowded, but it was cheap and had a kitchen, so we couldn't complain.

Making dinner at the hostel in Budapest

I loved the market that was right around the corner from the hostel. We made many stops for meal supplies and souvenir shopping. I tried goulash here that was delicious, but it burned my tongue. I also got a delicious chocolate marzipan cake here. Mmmm.

The main market in Budapest

The receptionist at or hostel told us we had to check out the labyrinth under the castle. Well, we did, but we weren't that impressed. There was no guesswork involved. Maps were posted and there were few opportunities to even choose a path. There was another really strange modern art exhibit down there, too.

The group with our lanterns in the labyrinth

The best pastry we tried in Budapest was Somloi. It was just cake, chocolate, whipped cream, and nuts(maybe?) in a cup...but it was delicious. After spending three days in Budapest, we hopped on the night bus to Prague. This was a terrible experience for some of us...but my ride was pretty smooth and I actually slept some.

Prague, Czech Republic:

Arriving at 6am in the frigid cold was not an ideal introduction to Prague. It didn't help that we had a grumpy welcome at the hostel and the only place open was McDo's. Once we had some caffeine in our systems and the sun came out, Prague started to look pretty okay. Prague was probably the most touristy of all the places we went, but understandably so; there was a lot to see and do.

The astronomical clock in the town square

There was a big square with an astronomical clock and trumpeter. We had the best timing with the trumpeter. Every time we got to the square, I wondered why so many people were gathered around the clock. Then, as we made our way through the crowd, the trumpeter would play and I would realize we were passing the clock on the hour...again.

Little cobblestoned streets with all sorts of shops fanned out from the town square.  Eventually, if we followed the flow of tourists, we would end up at the Charles Bridge.  This is a pedestrian bridge full of vendors and artists.  It was pretty cool but definitely not a good route to take if you want to get somewhere quickly.

Posing in front of the Charles Bridge

On the other side of the river, we found a park, some cafes, and the John Lennon Wall. The John Lennon wall was pretty cool. It was fun trying to pick out all the pieces of Beatles songs that I knew. I like thinking that the next time I see this wall it will probably look completely different.

The John Lennon Wall

On Halloween morning, some of us decided to wake up before sunrise to go to the Charles Bridge before the tourists were out and about. The bridge was really foggy and eerie; perfect for Halloween. As it turned out, only photographers had the same idea as us. There was a whole group of them taking photos of the statues and fog. I like to think that my foggy silhouette will probably be on postcards and photo books for years to come.

The Charles Bridge on Halloween morning, sans tourists

We had to make a stop at the Prague Castle: the biggest castle complex in the world.  Even the cathedral inside the complex was huge.  I'm glad we toured some of the castle.  I think I enjoyed the climb and the view from the castle even more, though.

Prague Castle gates

Catching the train on the last morning in Prague almost didn't happen. We were trying to spend our last Czech koruna on coffees. The barista was infuriatingly slow, though, and Chrissy and I ended up making a mad dash for the train, coffees in hand. I was sad to leave Prague, but exhausted from our whirlwind tour of Eastern Europe. 

If you would like to see more pictures from the trip, you should definitely check out Chrissy's Photos. She is an amazing photographer and I was thankful to have her on the trip!   

À Cause de la Grève

The last time I travelled through Europe, my European Heritage and Culture class had to seriously alter our travel plans because the trains weren’t running.  Why, you ask? À cause de la grève[i], bien sûr.  I remember trying and failing to send postcards on this trip, as well.  The post offices were closed…à cause de la grève. At the time, I didn’t think much of it. We took a bus, I didn’t send postcards, c’est la vie.

Now I am officially a temporary resident in France (that’s right, after waiting 2+ hours at the Office of Immigration, I now own a Titre de séjour…and an X-ray of my lungs!)  As a resident, one learns how exactly la grève works…or doesn’t, in France.  I learned that I can count on the fact that I can’t always count on public transportation during la grève.  I also learned that, though many French people take their droite de grève seriously, others simply take advantage of the lack of services (and function in general).  Les manifestations, I learned, resemble a parade minus the candy, plus police.  Note that, compared to the blocked airport in Marseille and the riots in Lyon, la grève I encountered in Strasbourg appeared relatively docile.  However, having very little experience with strikes (I’m talking one documentary about the meatpacking industry in Canada, folks) la grève in France certainly piqued my interest.  In an attempt to enlighten those of you, for whom striking is as foreign as foie gras, I’ll share a few of my observations:

Une manifestation I witnessed my first week in Strasbourg 

I arrived early to await Tram C because I knew the tram operators planned to strike that day.  Conveniently, all the tram stations announce, days in advance, when exactly they will cease to run.   Sure, strikes cause frustration, but they get points for organization.  Apparently, Sarkozy introduced a law stipulating that public transport must “maintain a minimum level of service.”*  The law requires transit workers to give 48 hours notice before a strike, making traveler notification easier.  Back at the station, a 40-something lady approached everyone waiting and warned us that the next tram would not arrive for 40 minutes.  This seemed strange to me because the monitor read 10 minutes.  In addition, nothing about this woman looked official, so I decided to wait.  Most others took this lady’s advice and left the station.  The lady, apparently concerned with my punctuality, continued to tell me that students planned to block the approaching tram and I really should consider an alternate route.  I responded by readying my camera, in preparation for rioting teens.  Well, not taking advice from strangers paid off because the tram arrived shortly.  The lady and I, the only ones left on the platform, boarded the tram.  En route, we passed a group of students walking down the road.  They walked so nonchalantly that I almost mistook them for German high schoolers on a field trip (not an uncommon encounter in Strasbourg).  Without banners, megaphones, or flyers, these students simply strolled down the street, talking to each other.  So this is la grève in France?  I guess retiring at 62 rather than 60 is a little too far off for these kids to get too riled up.  Or perhaps, these 30 students took advantage of not having to class and, once struck by guilt, made a last minute effort to do something for the cause.

La Manifestation at Place de la Republique

At school that day, six striking teachers standing outside of the school greeted me.  Happily, two of the teachers on strike were colleagues of mine, so I had no afternoon classes that day!  The low numbers of strikers came as a shock to me.  This was la grève about which I had heard so much?  After speaking briefly with these teachers, I found out that the main event, la manifestation, occurred later that day at Place de la République.  I decided to stop by and check it out, as I now had a free afternoon.  When I got to la manifestation, hundreds of people were gathered, just standing around.  A couple of vans were dispersed throughout the crowd playing various American classic rock hits.  Cops in their riot gear lined the streets around Place de la République.  As far as I could tell, they acted more as traffic directors than riot control. I did encounter two unexpected additions to my ever-evolving grève schema: food vendors and old men wearing masks and adult diapers!  After taking some pictures and hanging around for a while, I realized that the demonstrators weren’t going anywhere soon.  I left feeling somewhat disappointed at the lack of action I’d been seeing over the past couple days. 

Creative costumes at la manifestation

As it turns out, I wasn’t the only one disappointed.  I had a conversation with one of my striking colleagues a day after one of the strikes.  She was disenchanted with the way the strike was going.  Already, she had participated in the four days that teachers collectively went on strike.  Each day, she wasn’t teaching, she gave up her pay of 100 Euros.  It seems to me that she is taking the fall for the other teachers who stayed in school to teach the two students that showed up.  Instead of all of the teachers striking effectively once, she and a select few strike ineffectively several times.  I was especially impressed when she told me she didn’t even care that much about this specific cause.  Her concern was more with her droite de grève. From what I understood, she believes that if she and others are complacent about one issue, then they lose the right to challenge that and other issues later on. 

Police at the Tram station at Place de la Republique

I can’t say that all the French have views like this.  There were, after all, the majority of teachers inside teaching on the days of la grève.  Not to mention, the girl on the train to Vienna complaining about la grève ruining her plans to see Lady Gaga.  Nevertheless, this teacher’s statements struck me as admirable.  Throughout the strike, I had been thinking about how, had I the choice, I wouldn’t go on strike.  It wouldn’t be the worst thing to work until 62 or 67 and I certainly would not want to miss out on 100 Euros each day I decided to stand in the cold with a flag.  Is this shortsightedness (or even selfishness) an American mindset, I wonder?  Or is it just my personal tendency to make choices based on practicality and frugality?  Watching the babies and young children getting toted along on the marches and at la manifestation convinces me that there is something uniquely French about la grève.  Fruitless though it may seem to an American outsider, there is something romantically idealistic about a country that will fight so hard for their rights.

---

[i] La Grève: The French word for strike.  I use it purposefully in this otherwise English composition because la grève is so, well, French. 

* See Wikipedia: “Service Minimum” (http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_minimum)

Bienvenue chez moi

 Last Monday, I left Lycée Jean Monnet and walked the half-hour back to the C.I.A.R.U.S.  (Okay, okay, maybe more like 45 minutes as it is impossible to take a direct route through Petite France).  I had also walked to school earlier that morning.  I was being frugal because I only had change to buy a one-way tram ticket and I was saving that for when I would be laden with luggage.  I asked the receptionist at the front desk for the key to the bagagerie.   He asked me if I had found a place to stay yet, and for the first time, I was able to respond with good news.  This receptionist was my favorite.  He seemed very concerned with my extended stay at the C.I.A.R.U.S. and even called a friend to see if she knew of any available lodging. 

I made my way down to the bagagerie for what I hoped would be the last time.  I could barely open the door because there was a mountain of luggage blocking it.  When I finally forced the door open, I lamented having placed my bag in the back corner, out of the way.  The German schools groups do not pack lightly.  After a few attempts to move luggage and make a path, I mounted the pile and awkwardly made my way to the back of the room.  I sincerely apologize to the German student whose valuables I crushed, but in my situation, you would have done the same?  Once I dug out my suitcase, I launched it to the top of the pile and dragged it out of the room.  As I left to C.I.A.R.U.S. for the last time, I wondered if there was a security camera in the bagagerie and if my favorite receptionist was enjoying the instant replay of my acrobatic feat.

   

I was exhausted when I arrived to my apartment on Rue D’Upsal.  Justine was just saying au revoir to her mom and a friend.  She showed me to my room and left me to unpacking.  As I only had a suitcase and a backpack, this took me less than a half an hour.  Justine offered to drive me to the mall to buy bedding for my new bed.  The drive Auchan was pleasant and we got to know each other as much as my French abilities would allow.  Justine helped me find the right sized bedding and bought me a comforter cover that was prettier than the cheap one I wanted to buy.  Thanks Justine! 

Tomorrow marks my one week anniversary living with Justine, Maxime, and Benoit.  I could not have found a better living situation if I had looked for months.  Though they have been close friends for a long time, my colocataires are willing to share their routines and friendship.  They are extremely patient and accommodating with my limited French abilities. Justine even reprimands the boys for not using proper French around me because she doesn’t want me to learn French wrong.  In my first week, I was treated to traditional Alsatian cuisine, a movie at the biggest theater in Europe (so I’m told), and a Saturday adventure around town. 

Our apartment is a good size for the four of us.  We live on the second floor, which, if you are not familiar with French buildings, is actually the 3^rd story.  We have a kitchen, equipped with all the main appliances plus a washer and dryer (a luxury I’m told; many French apartments are without.)  The living area has a table, at which we eat many of our meals, a couch, TV and bonsai tree.  There is a balcony where two of my roommates smoke and I haven’t really spent much time.  We have a toilet room and bathroom, très European.  Our bath is a decent size complete with air jets that I have yet to test out.  My room is a good size (comparable to my room at home).  My room came complete with a bed, desk, and closet.  I’m really content with my room, the apartment, and my apartment mates.  Now that I’m settled, I’m ready to start absorbing the French language and culture and, of course, get out and TRAVEL! 

Phase 1 Complete

Here I am!  Alive and well in Strasbourg.  I flew directly into the small Strasbourg airport.  There were very few people on my plane and they all seemed to vanish at baggage claim.  This left me and an elderly couple alone to try and figure out how to get train tickets out of a machine that only accepted special train cards and coins (of which I had none.)  I eventually asked a man at the airport’s only café to make change and he did, but only because I was jolie (which I find hard to believe as I hadn’t had a full night’s sleep in three days).  I made my way to an empty train platform where it started to rain.  The elderly couple soon followed and together, we figured out when the next train would arrive.  My first impressions: Strasbourg is empty and dreary. 

After ten minutes, I got off the train at Gare Centrale.  I saw that Strasbourg was actually quite populated but still dreary.  I diligently followed the hostel’s directions, found the number 10 bus in the direction of Brant Université, and got off at Place de Pierre.  I must have looked confused to not see the hostel because the bus driver called out something which I figured, with the aid of his hand motions, meant walk two blocks and turn right.  Once I checked into my room, I didn’t really know how to begin looking for housing .  I decided to walk around with a map instead.  In this way I was able to discover a few things.  First, I found a river.  Or two rivers.  Really, it’s one river that splits and then joins back together forming a small island, referred to as Petite France. I discovered that most of Strasbourg is in or around Petite France and as long as I remembered where the rivers were, I was able to find my way back to the hostel.  I also discovered people!   A lot of them.  They all seem to gravitate towards Place de la Cathédrale.  It’s no wonder.  The Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg kind of sneaks up on you.  I was walking down small, shop-lined alleys and then the sun was completely blocked by a giant cathedral.  It is really breathtaking.

Well, I don’t want to go into detail about the rest of my week.  Let’s just say, there were times that I viewed the homeless people under the bridges with envy.  This week involved much frustration, disappointment, and some shady apartment visits.  The good news is, I have found a place to live, I have visited my schools and met the teachers will be observing in the next few weeks, and Strasbourg is looking a lot less dreary these days.