Reasoning

I don't think I explained why exactly I am doing this in my last post. Let me back up a little bit here. I am graduating from GVSU at the end of this month. My major is English, my teachable minor is French, and I studied these to get certified to teach them in a secondary education (6-12) setting.

I have studied French since my freshman year of high school...which, holy crap, is now NINE years ago. I have just always really enjoyed the language and the culture.

I finally made it to France for the first time last summer. I did a study abroad program through Grand Valley, and spent one week in Paris, and four weeks studying in Nice (plus a couple weeks of CouchSurfing on my own and with my cousin). I knew I had to go back. I was in love with France.

That, and I didn't manage to pass my certification tests for French. Whoops.

Therefore, spending seven more months in France will satisfy my France craving and hopefully boost my fluency to where I can become a certified French teacher when I get back. That is all.

Also, I found a "Meeting Planner" so that I could figure out when would be good times for Dave and I to talk. After being in a long distance relationship for this long we know that communication is key. Although our schedules will be the exact opposite, there will be a few times a day when they do intersect at convenient times. :-) Whew!

Acceptance

As cheesy as it is, Tuesday, April 6th changed my life.

I was in Los Angeles, California visiting my boyfriend, Dave. I hadn't seen him since January, so needless to say I was pretty happy to be in his presence, and be enjoying nice weather. My semester of student teaching, and final semester of college was almost complete.

I was at his desk at work, checking my e-mail when it happened. The e-mail I had been waiting for.

Dear Future Teaching Assistant,

Congratulations! We are very pleased to inform you of your acceptance to the Teaching Assistant Program in France for the 2010-2011 academic year, sponsored by the French Ministry of Education.

You have been placed in the Académie de Versailles. You will be assigned to one or more schools in the region, however, please note that your school(s) will not necessarily be located in the city of “Versailles.” The Académie of Versailles covers a large region and has many postings in smaller cities and towns. Do not assume that you will be placed close to Paris. The Académie will make specific city and school assignments this summer and will send you more details regarding your placement at that time. For now, please be patient and keep an open mind! In the meantime, you can find out more information about your Académie at: http://www.ac-versailles.fr/

Your placement in this region is FINAL; we will not grant requests to change academies, nor will we place you on a waiting list for other regions.

Please confirm by e-mail whether you will accept the offered position as a Teaching Assistant in France. If your plans have changed and you are no longer able to participate in this year’s program, we ask that you let us know immediately so that we can offer the post to a candidate on the waiting list. Should you withdraw from this year’s program, we cannot guarantee your future acceptance into the program as deferment is not an option. You must send us an e-mail either confirming your acceptance or withdrawing from the program by the end of the day on Sunday, April 18. If you do not respond by April 18, we will not be able to hold your spot.

If you confirm your acceptance of the offered position, we will send you more information about your next steps after April 18.

We look forward to hearing from you and félicitations!

Carolyn COLLINS

Educational Affairs Program Officer

Teaching Assistant Program in France

Embassy of France

4101 Reservoir Road

Washington, D.C. 20007

www.frenchculture.org/assistantshipprogram

I will admit that I reacted with a slightly embarassing, extremely dramatic hands-to-my-face gasp. I have the opportunity to spend seven months being a Teacher Assistant in a French classroom...AND GET PAID FOR IT. Dave and pretty much everyone have been extremely supportive and excited. I have gone through a range of emotions from disbelief, extreme excitement, nervousness, and fear. And it's only been eleven days. I think my biggest fear is of being alone, but I have some friends in France from when I studied abroad there. Dave will come visit me about half-way through my stay, along with other friends who have vowed to come visit.

I replied: Je suis ravi d'accepter le poste. Merci! (I am thrilled to accept the position. Thank you!)

I quickly received a response:

Thank you for confirming your acceptance of the teaching position. We look forward to having you in the program this year! I will be in touch in a couple of weeks with instructions about your next administrative steps, but for now, you can do the following to prepare in advance:

• Make sure your passport is valid through October 31, 2011. If it expires before this date, please start the process to renew your passport immediately.

• Obtain 4 passport photos (Hard copies, like the ones you can have done at CVS, Walgreens, etc.)

• Make at least 1 copy of your passport (Color or B&W, just make sure all of the passport information is legible. You may want to make extra copies at this time since you will need to bring copies to France with you as well.)

• Make at least 1 copy of your birth certificate (Color or B&W, legible. You may want to make extras now to prepare for further down the road.)

A bientôt!

Carolyn COLLINS

Educational Affairs Program Officer

Teaching Assistant Program in France

Embassy of France

4101 Reservoir Road

Washington, D.C. 20007

www.frenchculture.org/assistantshipprogram

This is my chance to really improve my French fluency, and make my resume shine because I want to be an English and French teacher when I return to the states. This blog will chronicle the entire process. Hopefully. I usually have a hard time keeping up on my blogs, because I'm not really sure who my audience is. Am I writing for myself, hoping someone else will enjoy it? I think in this case, I am keeping this for people who will be participating in the program in the future so that they know what to expect, and can learn from my mistakes. I also hope my friends and family will use it as a way to keep in touch and know what I am experiencing.

A bientôt...j'espère! ;-)

Boston