"Haayyloooo! Guuudddbyee!"

I am writing this from my 12:50 train from Elbeuf to Rouen. I caught the 7:40 bus to the metro to the Rouen train station this morning, and took the train into Elbeuf for the first time. Yay public transportation! Elbeuf was slightly more charming than Google Earth might suggest, but I believe the fact that it’s sunny (yet again!) today makes everything look nicer.

I also met my contact person, Nicole, who is basically seeing me through this whole process. To say that she is nice or helpful is a gross understatement. She met me in her car at the Elbeuf train station, to her office, and then took me to each of the schools where I will be teaching, introducing me to the teachers and the students. She even bought me lunch before I caught the train back to Rouen! I tried to insist that was not necessary, but she would not have it.

I met all of the teachers, about 15-20 between the two schools, and I introduced myself (in French, for now!) to “my” future students. They are no older than 11, some as young as 6 in some classes. I had imagined that I would spend my time in one classroom in one school, and in one classroom at the second school. However, the plan is that I will teach one day per week at each of the schools, meaning a full 6-hour day at each school per week. I will go around to each classroom and spend anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour in each of 5-9 classes.

This situation would be ideal because it means I only have to travel from Rouen to Elbeuf two times per week; the cost would add up quickly if the commute were several days per week. Also, if the teachers at the two schools accept my proposed schedule, I will be working in one school on Thursdays and the other on Fridays. This would give me a Saturday-Wednesday weekend! I could get used to that J

For the most part the students seemed receptive albeit a bit reserved at first, understandably so. They are excited to have somebody all the way from the U.S, and I hope I can be truly helpful in developing their accents and their confidence in saying simple English phrases. Some of the older students in the second school were raising their hands and demonstrating their English skills. I got many a “Hello!” and “My name is!” as well as colors, numbers, etc. This makes me so excited that they are already enthusiastic. I left to a chorus of “Gouuudd byeee!” in the last class I visited. I have a good feeling so far.

The teachers themselves were incredibly welcoming and happy to have somebody to help them in teaching English. I was worried that they might feel as if I was stepping on their toes, but it was quite the opposite; I even enjoyed a café in the teacher’s lounge while they took their post-recess break.

Back at her office, Nicole called several landlords for me and actually secured me a meeting with one of them for later this afternoon. Though I am confident in my French in casual conversation, a telephone conversation with a landlord is a completely different story! It’s all business, and if they feel that you are unsure of how the ‘system’ works, or sense a naïveté about you, you could get… hoodwinked, to put it nicely!  As I listened to her navigate her way through the conversation, I was immensely glad that she offered to call for me. I would have been lost.

Next Monday is the assistants’ orientation, and Tuesday and Thursday I observe one full day at each school, along with a half-day observations at each school on Friday. The following week, I officially begin my assistantship. This week, however, I continue my apartment search, open a bank account, buy my weekly/monthly/yearly (who knows yet) train/bus/metro passes, and generally get settled. Whew!

Knowing I have somebody to call if I need help is an immense weight off my shoulders. Nicole told me that if I have any troubles at all, or if I am unsure of anything about the apartment, to call her right away. As they say in French, “j’ai de la chance!” - I am very lucky!

I am crossing my fingers about this apartment viewing later, but I don’t want to get my hopes up. I guess I’ll know soon!

Edit: While writing this, I missed my stop to Rouen by 25 mins. Oops! So I got back on a train in the opposite direction and arrived in Rouen in time to see the apartment. It went well enough, we meet again tomorrow to go over all of the paperwork! Wish me luck again! :)

Happy Summer!

It's officially the first day of summer, although I feel as if it's already flying by!


I am living with my friend Erica and her family for the summer, and working on their orchard. It's amazing to be able to spend every day outside, and a vast improvement from the waitressing I'd been doing for so long. I actually look forward to work every day now!


As I've been quite relaxed and relatively carefree this summer, I had a bit of a reality check yesterday. Around 7pm, while reading on the porch, I suddenly thought "I'm leaving in three months from today!!!"


My gut reaction was nervousness, but not a bad kind. The kind that comes from not yet knowing where I'll be teaching (or living, for that matter), not having received my paperwork in the mail yet (though I'm not supposed to get it until later next month), and just the general feeling of not being physically prepared. Mentally, however, I feel I am prepared. 


I am so excited to get back to France, and this time, have a lot of time to really experience it. I have started making a list of things I want to accomplish while I am there, and I feel that I'll find so many opportunities that I can't even imagine right now. 

For now, though, I am going to try to make the summer last and enjoy every minute. It is one of the first summers where I don't have to work 24/7 on weekends and it's amazing to be able to have fun with friends and family. 


Here's to a long and leisurely 3 months :) and an amazing upcoming year!

This is what I did while waiting for my car to be fixed for 3.5 hours today...

The information comes in irresistible tidbits for this program.

I applied in October 2010.  I found out in early April 2011 that I had been accepted. Then, I waited about two weeks for an email detailing my next steps, which turned out to be filling out some important paperwork, getting passport photos taken, and sending copies of my birth certificate and passport to Paris so I can be properly assigned to a school – with a 10-day notice to have it all in the mail! How very French of them ;)

A couple of weeks after this I emailed the woman in charge, Carolyn, to ask whether I would be teaching elementary school (école primaire), or école secondaire (which encompasses middle school and high school). Everybody in the TAPIF (Teaching Assistantship Program in France) Facebook group seemed to know what age they’d be teaching, so I couldn’t resist asking. I was not sure I had any preference and thought it best not to develop a preference when I could get assigned to any of the three levels.

Carolyn emailed me back about a week and a half later - I can only imagine how many emails she gets every day - saying that my contract was for 7 months in école primaire. I am really happy about this! As I said, I did not have a preference in the matter, but I think I secretly hoped that I’d be assigned to elementary school.  Young kids can be unruly and severely lacking in attention span, but I think the indifference of older students might bother me more.

Plus, high school students go on strike a lot.

(source: http://www.wsws.org/articles/2008/dec2008/demo-d19.shtml)

So the wait continues! I will find out between late June and (dread) late August where exactly in Rouen I will be teaching. It could be a more urban area and close to a train station (read: easy access to Paris J) or somewhere in the middle of nowhere! Until then I cannot make living arrangements in Rouen, nor can I get a visa, which requires proof of residence. I love planning and making careful decisions so this is a bit difficult for me, but I’ll consider it part of the adventure!

Before I applied to this program, I had never seriously considered becoming a teacher. I had thought about it only as a possible answer to that nagging, “what am I going to do with my life?” question running through the minds of most recent college graduates. I think this will be a great way to figure out if teaching would actually be something I would like to do. I feel like I might enjoy being a college French professor, but I’m not sure yet.

One thing that keeps me considering the latter career is a conversation I had with Mr. Bondurand, who was my European Cinema professor during my semester in Paris.  He was a brilliant man and fluent in many languages. After the interview portion of my final exam, which lasted 30 minutes instead of 15 because I blabber when I’m nervous, he said, “You know, you could be a French Professor”.  I don’t remember the context exactly but his words still stick with me. I regarded his opinion highly and those words had a huge impact on me. He saw (or heard) something in me that I did not, and I am so grateful for his confidence.

There he is, in the white shirt. Salut Mr. Bondurand!

For now I am stalking the TAPIF message boards and reading posts by past assistants, which has become somewhat of a new hobby.

Maybe the word “addiction” is more appropriate here?

The posts have information and first-hand experiences in dealing with every possible aspect of packing, travel, preparation, paperwork, teaching, French life, bureaucracy, etc… You can see how it’s easy to get caught up in reading about it all!

I have also been watching plenty of French films on my computer thanks to Netflix. I want to sound like a native by the time I arrive J It’s also a great excuse to watch lots of movies.

One thing that is certain about French citizens is that they love politics. I really, really do not love politics. I try to keep up on what is going on and read my share of news articles, but I lose interest so quickly. Especially since the online news sources I use (mainly www.newyorktimes.com and www.huffingtonpost.com) have great “Food” sections. I can’t help myself! I love what I love, and I love French and food, among other things.

That being said, I feel like I need to take a crash course in both French and American politics and brush up on current events before I leave for France. I can see it now, my  young students asking me, their American assistant, what I think of this or that new policy, and me having no clue what they are talking about.

It is not a far stretch. Eep. Let’s hope I can stay interested enough in some articles long enough to get a general idea of what’s going on in the world. I have, however, picked up no fewer than 6 novels relating to French life and culture, mostly written by Americans who have travelled in France. They are addicting! The list includes

“Lunch in Paris”, by Elizabeth Bard

“Why French Women Don’t Get Fat”, by Mireille Guiliano

“What French Women Know”, by Debra Ollivier

“A Moveable Feast”, by Ernest Hemmingway

“Sixty Million Frenchmen can’t be Wrong – Why We Love France but not the French”, by Jean-Benoit Nadeau

“A Year in Provence”, by Peter Mayle


Somebody stop me! Or at least deactivate my amazon.com account. 

That should keep me busy until I find out my placement! Or, at the rate I’m going, until I finish all those and then break down and read some political articles.