April in Paris

I am getting alarmingly close to the end of my ex-pat adventure. Which for the last few weeks has been making me panic about fitting in everything that I can while I'm here, within my financial means. The other part of me is worrying about what I will do when I get back. Luckily I have some very supportive and flexible roommates so that has helped cut down on the stress, but I have been searching for jobs and doing everything I can to simplify getting certified to teach from over here.

Teaching has become pretty...intermittent. Remember how I was waiting to actually work a "full" twelve-hour week? Yeah, that never happened. They finally found another replacement for the teacher on maternity leave (two months later!), and he's really nice but says, "For the time being, I don't need you which I'm not really proud of coz a native speaker is a real asset." So I will be working maybe nine hours a week for my two weeks left, and I have two weeks of vacation in the middle, which is just kind of unreal when you think about the fact that I'm still getting paid the same amount despite all of this. But hey, I'm not complaining. Just dumbfounded.

I have been enjoying the teaching that I actually get to do. Recently I have been working on gun control by using articles about Gabrielle Giffords being shot and Bowling for Columbine. I have also been using the language lab and having my students listen to NPR programs and then presenting to the class what they learned, and they seem to be really into it. I'm glad that I have been able to spend my year abroad continuing to prepare myself for a career in teaching.

In other news, Dave will be here a week from today, and is staying for two weeks! I'm so excited to have the chance to pick him up from the airport and to show him Paris after years of going to see him in Los Angeles. He's also never been to Europe, so it should be an incredible experience for both of us. The first week we are spending in Paris, and I'm cramming as much Parisian goodness as I possibly can into it. The following Saturday we are taking a train to Giverny to see Monet's gardens. When I was researching it someone said that renting bikes for the four miles to the gardens from the train station was the way to go. Should be a relaxing Saturday outside of the city.

The next day we will leave for Nice, where I studied abroad last summer. I have never seen water the same color blue, and I am so excited to show him. We're taking day trips to Cannes, Monaco, Cape Ferrat, and maybe Antibes. We will also visit my host family from when I stayed there. Then, when we get back to Paris we'll finish anything we missed, and spend the last Saturday relaxing at Versailles.

We both agreed to have a tentative plan but that the main purpose is to relax and enjoy ourselves. I don't want to be a slave to the schedule.

For the next three weeks the family I au pair for will be out of town (that timing couldn't be more perfect!), so I am spending this week teaching and getting ready for Dave to arrive!

Christmas Time in the City (of luurrrve)

After my last class before Christmas, during which I made my students sing Christmas carols, my premières (youngest grade in French high school) stopped me in the hallway. One girl asked me if I could stay for a minute. I was confused, but said sure. The next thing a knew, the rest of the class (it's split into two groups, and I see one group per week) congregated, and one particularly charming kid named Vincent came up with a big brightly colored bag. They all yelled "Merry Christmas!" and presented it to me. It was my first Christmas gift from students, and I was truly floored by their ability to coordinate and how much they must like me, because there were some NICE chocolates inside! Jeff de Bruges makes some goooood stuff, I'll tell you that.

Here is a picture of the chocolate:

However, the best part was the card they made. It cracked me up so much.

Apparently Santa does "all imaginable" badass things in France...

Dave read this and said "Until our spaceship sends us away from Earth which will be the end of relationship." Hahahahaha.

And, of course, a Star Wars reference.

These are the kinds of things that make me love teaching, and motivate me to work harder for my students. :) It really set the tone for Christmas break.

So this is Christmas

Paris cannot handle snow. It snowed about ten centimeters, or a little less than four inches, today and traffic is at a standstill. Apparently it is the most snow Paris has had since 1987. Horns honk impatiently, the distinct “EEE OOO” sound of the sirens of emergency vehicles wails as they try to maneuver through the blocked streets, and the traffic lights cycle through red and green with no movement of traffic because this much snow is incomprehensible. They even shut down the Eiffel tower. Man, these parisiens would HATE Grand Rapids.

I spent the day inside, playing “snowball fight” with Lawrence as fat snowflakes drifted down outside, and we listened to Christmas music on my laptop. I put his coat and gloves on him and took him out on the balcony to experience the snow. He mostly just made snow balls and then sucked on them like they were some kind of candy, but to each his own. Recently Maja told me that her mom said something about how it just isn’t Christmas without children. I have always been rather indifferent to the idea of having children, but that point stuck with me. I can’t imagine the holidays having that “magic” without children to enjoy it and to bring it to life for everyone else. I am sitting in the tiny French café on the corner by my house. I like it because it is so authentically French. It hasn’t been updated since the 70’s it seems like, and it’s always the same barman working, and there is always a crowd of regulars (crusty old French people who speak no English and have been coming here forever). I think the barman thinks I’m nuts for coming in despite old French men hitting on me, but there is something truly charming and extremely French about this place. That being said, the older men are harmless and it gives me a chance to speak French. It is definitely not a place for tourists. Plus, they have a room that consists entirely of windows so I can sit and watch people pass by on the street while I drink my chocolat chaud.

With the winter weather and December sneaking up on me, I’ve been thinking about Christmas a lot recently. It is going to be my first Christmas away from my family. Ever. I keep going around in my head about it. I got invited to join my host family from last summer in Nice, and to see my Sicilian family who I have never met, but I plan to while I’m here. Neither of those worked out, too expensive. I got offered babysitting on Christmas day, and with that in mind, I have decided to stay in Paris. I want to at least spend it with some children. Sandra and Andre are going to London for a weekend during my break, and today they told me that they would pay for me to come if I can babysit when they go out. It would be a fun Christmasy trip. I realized that besides not seeing my family and Dave, it shouldn’t be that bad to be here for Christmas. I mean I’m in Paris for God’s sake. There are lights strung up over the roads, festive markets hawk Christmas items and delicious hot food, snow is falling, and I caught the fresh scent of pine from the fresh pine trees at the stores (45 euro for a tree! That’s like 60 dollars! I guess I’ve never bought a tree but it seems a bit steep!). The best part of Christmas is and always has been the anticipation; hearing Christmas songs, making cookies, playing in the snow. Christmas day I always feel a little deflated, like the fun is over. I had a snowball fight with the other kids I babysit for this week. I had so much fun chasing the boys and dodging the (somewhat pathetic…I am from Michigan after all) cold fluffy balls of snow while Parisiens reluctantly smiled as they passed. It definitely got me in the Christmas spirit. I am just going to try and have as many Christmasy moments as I can. I had my students sing "Jingle Bells" yesterday, and they loved it. They cracked up when I added the "HA HA HA" after "laughing all the way." I asked a student how Christmas is different here. He said, “I sink eet ees ze same as America, just weeth…euh…less decorating.” I laughed. I’m sure he’s seen Christmas Vacation and thinks that all Americans are like that.

So, I’m going to have a French Christmas. I hope to Skype with my family though. I miss them. J

Here is my Christmas playlist if you're looking for something Christmasy too. ;)

Discover the playlist Christmas with John Williams

Too cool for school.

I need to update this more so that I’m not playing an endless game of catch up. Let’s see…

Work has been going well. I asked all of my classes what stereotypes French people have for Americans. I even told them that I was the one time they could get away with badmouthing Americans in front of me. I was shocked at how little animosity they have for Americans…in fact, it was quite the contrary. The worst things I heard were “Zey eat a lot of ze fast food,” or “Zey are…euh…couch potato!” which I thought was pretty funny actually. It made me feel bad about all the annoying comments I got from Americans when I told them I was coming to France, like “Remind them who helped them out in the war!” (What about the Revolutionary War, doofus?) Or, “Well I hope you’ll shower more than the French do.” Why do Americans like to hate on the French? There are tons of French stereotypes; you know it as well as I do. For example, in one of my favorite childhood Christmas films, Home Alone (which oddly enough is called “Maman, J'ai Raté L'avion” – “Mom, I Missed the Plane” – in French), Buzz says, “French babes don’t shave their pits!” We should be what the French call “Les incompetents”, but they actually do seem to like us. Maybe Obama’s international popularity has something to do with this.

My kids love all things American for the most part (except Lady Gaga. They don’t seem to be fans for some reason…). They watch almost only American TV shows and listen to a LOT of American music. It’s kind of an interesting perspective to have, being in their school. I’m like some kind of really cool Martian that they are intimidated by but seem very impressed with. I wish my students in the U.S. felt that way too, haha.

One of the English teachers has had jury duty for the last couple of weeks, so there has been a substitute filling in, who is around my age, Leslie. It’s been interesting talking to someone my age and who also just finished studying to be a teacher. It’s so different here! For example, the French Ministry of Education takes count of how many teachers and substitutes will be needed, and ONLY certifies that many. As opposed to back home, where anyone who qualifies is certified and then we just have to fend for ourselves in the workforce, French teachers are actually placed where they are needed. Not sure which way is better...

It’s also still something I am getting used to that teachers all share classrooms. The high school actually functions a lot more like a university. Teachers have different schedules, and switch rooms accordingly. If a teacher is only sick for a day, they just cancel class. Classes run Monday through Saturday, with classes only in the morning on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Teachers here are only paid for the eighteen hours a week they spend in front of the class, and then other than that are not expected to be at school. When I student taught I learned that in the U.S. you are contracted to be at school from around 7 AM (about 30 minutes before school starts) to help students before school if they need it. Leaving right after school is frowned upon in American schools, and often times being able to coach a sport or being willing to run a club is preferred, which equals even more time at school. On top of that, we still have to lesson plan, grade papers, do parent-teacher conferences, curriculum meetings; the list goes on and on. However, here school is much more academic and less about socializing. There is no prom, or clubs, very few team sports. The focus is entirely on the Baccalaureate which they need to do well on to go to college (and preferably a good one, because the clout of their University really does matter when looking for jobs here). Back home, a kid can go to college with no idea what they want to do. Here in France, that is not the case. Academic competition is pretty cutthroat, and that follows you as you go on to enter the workforce.

There are also no clocks in the classrooms, which drives me nuts if I forget my watch. It is also the first time I have used an actual chalkboard to teach. It’s old school. Pun intended. The heaters don't work extremely well either, so it can be pretty cold in certain rooms. They also don't have computers in every room (only in the teachers' room) like you see back home. There is maybe a TV and VCR/DVD but technology just isn't big in French education.

I am soaking up as much cultural information as I can, and am really enjoying myself. I saw my painter friends, Cerb and Michel again this week. I was working on the computer and I heard them say, “C’est Kelly!” I chatted with them for a while. Cerb asked me if we use “yaoo” in the States. I was like..er.. I don’t think so…until I realized he was saying "Yahoo." Sometimes the fact that the French don’t pronounce "h’s" makes communication really difficult! You can’t hear the difference between “angry” and “hungry” at all when they say it. I made my kids repeat the two after me in class last week, exaggerating the “h” sound on hungry. I’m pretty sure I made them spit all over each other but they were laughing a lot.

Being a language assistant is perfect because it’s everything I like about teaching minus grading piles of papers every night. I’m really enjoying what my professors told me would be the most laid back year of my life. It’s weird after five years of an intense college schedule. Now it’s like I hardly have anything to worry about and I’m learning to relax. I didn't have to teach one of my classes today, and was told I don't need to teach my last class on Thursday or Friday. Still no full work week! No wonder I'm so relaxed.

Another day, another Euro

So, at my school I get a reduced lunch for a measly 2.50 Euro. Which is still $3.40, but for a meal here it's amazingly cheap. It comes with a soup/salad, main dish, yogurt or cheese, and fruit or dessert. So, I went to school earlier than normal to take advantage of this deal. But, I got there later than intended, so when I got to the teacher's lounge with my tray, there was literally NO ONE that I knew. Everyone looked at me when I walked in so I kind of panicked and just made a really fast judgement call on who was the least intimidating. Two guys in their late twenties to early thirties won, so they got stuck with me. It wasn't until I was sitting down that I noticed their paint splattered clothes. They were definitely not teachers. Turns out I sat down with two painters who were doing work on the school...lol. But Michel and Cerb were extremely nice and chatted the whole lunch hour with me in French about America, France, what I should see while I'm here, etc. They were good lunchtime company.

Then, later, I met one of the classes I have yet to meet because of the strikes, then the teacher was sick, and then there was a bank holiday. I have yet to work a full 12 hours a week...*knock on wood*. I was in the middle of introducing myself to the class of about 24 students when a kid called out really loudly "You are very beautiful!" in a really thick French accent. This caused the rest of the class to erupt with laughter and me to blush like crazy. I know it's a compliment but I felt really awkward. Even the teacher laughed at me. :-/

Odile gives me a ride to the train station after school everyday, and I always blabber away in French with her. She is honestly one of the nicest people I have ever met. She invited me to come over and cook an American meal for her sometime. I'm thinking macaroni and cheese. Another teacher was saying that they should take me on a daytrip to Champagne. I love how nice everyone is at my school. A lot of them were language assistants in England so they know what it's like and take it upon themselves to make sure I experience France while I'm here. I'm very lucky.

I am very excited for this weekend for two reasons:

1. On Saturday night I get to eat for free at Mary. They specialize in gelato but they offered a free Italian meal from their new menu for twenty Yelpers, and I got in. Score! Plus, I'm excited to meet and rub elbows with other Paris Yelpers. It's still a really small community, and I have some free time so I'd love to get more involved. Plus, the more French friends I have = the more French I speak = the better I do on my French exams. It's win-win-win.

2. After my free dinner, I am joining some of my fellow language assistants on a party boat on the Seine. I always see boats on the river when I walk by and I have been dying to be on one. We took a boat tour when I studied abroad last summer but this will be so much better because A. I don't have to pretend to listen to a tour guide and B. it's at night and drinks and dancing are involved.

Right now I am very happy to be here. Now I just need to get paid again so I can figure out what in the world I'm going to do for Christmas.

C'est ma vie.

Now that the vacation is over along with the strikes and protests, my life has gained some sense of normalcy. I say some because tomorrow is a bank holiday so there is no school, and Friday I get to go in late because they are taking an exam and I'm not needed in the morning. We'll see if I ever work my full 12 hours a week, but I'm pretty okay with that.

If anyone is reading this as a guide to what your experience will be in this program, you should probably stop now. From what I have heard from my other assistant friends, everyone's experience is drastically different. I work with seven different teachers, so what I do depends on them. For some, they send me four to six students, and I can literally teach them whatever I want and my only real goal is to get them speaking English as much as possible. For others I get fifteen students at a time, and still others I get one at a time. At orientation we are not supposed to have more than eight at a time, but I don't mind because my big groups are really great kids. For the terminale (which sounds like they are dying but is actually the equivalent of our high school seniors), I take them one by one and show them a "document" (either a photo or a phrase). They get ten minutes to study it and take notes to prepare, and then ten minutes to talk to me about the photo. This is really easy, but I prefer teaching bigger groups. It's nice too because I can reuse my lesson plans because the groups change every week. The kids have all been really good save for that some of them seem to be terrified of speaking English with me (because I'm soooo intimidating, clearly). Until yesterday that is. For some reason one of the teachers gave me four boys at a time who clearly should not have been put together. They were obnoxious as hell and kept egging each other on. During introductions they told me that they "like women." Later when I was trying to talk about differences between the US and France one said "I like ze US because it's easy to get ze women in your bed." Le sigh. I was pretty happy when that class was over. My other classes were great though. When I told one class of fifteen that I live in LA (I still show them Michigan on the map, I haven't forgotten where I came from :), and that my boyfriend works in Hollywood, they all gasped like I'm the coolest thing since sliced bread. This of course leads to ridiculous questions like "Do you know Beyonce?"

After introducing myself, I asked my kids if they had any questions for me. One kid said really quietly "Oui, es tu celebataire?" which means "Yes, are you single?" I said, "Oh, and in case you were wondering, I DO understand some French even though I won't speak it with you." All the kids laughed including the one who said it even though his face turned bright red.

I talked a lot about stereotypes of the US and French kids seem obsessed with the idea of cheerleaders. They call them "pom pom girls" and several kids have asked me if I was one while in school. I was also a little surprised to find out that they didn't know the phrase "trick-or-treat." France has a lot of holidays, but I just can't imagine my life without having gone door to door and asking for candy dressed up as Xena Warrior Princess.

When asked about the differences between the US and France, one kid said that in the US people would think French men are gay for dressing nicely. He is probably right. In a country where homosexuality is already more (although not completely) accepted than the US, a man wearing a scarf or a murse (man purse if you're unfamiliar with the term) is not assumed to be gay. Men are almost always dressed impeccably and it's normal here. Really though, much like my cell phone, my gaydar is just not functional in Europe. I thought that was an interesting cultural difference to note.

I had my students make me a list of French music to check out. I'm excited to give them a whirl.

Aside from school and babysitting, it looks like I won't be able to come home for Christmas this year. My Sicilian family that I have never met invited me to join them for the holiday, and my host mom from last summer invited me back to Nice. No white Christmas for me, but it should be a memorable one either way.