All of this week has been training/orientation specifically for the primary school assistants (and that makes three of us here in Blois). A lot of it seemed common sense for teaching stuff but it was nice to hear some ideas for games and activities. One girl was there from a neighboring town that had the same position last year. She was extremely helpful with tips and tricks that worked for her last year.
We got to observe an English lesson in a French classroom and visit our schools. I am teaching at two separate schools that are on opposite sides of the city. Parodi is in the north area of the city and I have to take a bus to get there. There I will be doing the equivalent of 2nd and 3rd grades. My other school, Marcel Bühler, is across the river about ten minutes walking from my house. It’s a really nice school in a cute area of town people call Blois-Vienne. There I will be teaching 4th and 5th grades with a weekly session with the babies (1st graders). It should be fun!
On Friday, I went and spent a half day at school with my landlady, Valérie. She teaches English at a middle school twenty minutes away. She was very sweet about wanting me to come. I spoke to three classes (two 6th grades and one 9th grade class) and it was really fun. When I walked through the cafeteria with Valérie, I felt famous. I could hear them saying “C’est la fille américaine!!!” and staring as I had come to find out that Valérie had told all of her classes that I was coming. Word spread and I was greeted with many hellos and good afternoons.
In the 9th grade class, I was supposed to stay in English the whole period. They could keep up pretty well and understand my responses to the questions. I got asked about my senior prom, fraternities/sororities, American football, and general stuff about me. It was interesting hearing Valérie correct their pronunciation so I could better understand them. It’s very funny to hear how there is little different between “she can” and “chicken”! They say “shiii-cahn” for both.
When there was about five minutes left Valérie told me that I could speak French so they could ask other questions, etc. One girl told me after class that she liked the way I speak French! She said with my accent, it was very cute. haha
Friday night, I was invited to Valérie’s birthday party with was at the house. I hung out with 8 French women in their fourties for about four hours. It was so tiring to keep up with all of their (sometimes scandalous) topics. Mostly, they talked about kids, their weights, young people (with subtle glances toward me), and neighborhood gossip. The champagne soaked evening was really fun even though I mostly listened.
Saturday was a lazy day where I got ready and moseyed into town to buy things at the market. It was in the 70’s and I had one of those moments where you get torn between seasons. For how much I want to buy pumpkins and watch the leaves turn, I couldn’t help but want one more day of Oregon summer.
I ended up getting swept away by Valérie to pick up Camille and go to a chocolate festival that was a couple towns away. There were tons of samples and it was nice to see more of the area. For dinner, the family was going to her boyfriend’s place where another birthday party was happening. I was staying home from this one so I was left with the place to myself. I got to play some piano and watch French tv until it was time to meet up with people at the bars. I had my first kebab in almost two years and it was amazing. We ended up going to three-ish bars with a lot of assistants and it was nice to have a big group out.
So, my first lesson is tomorrow morning! I need to make a more final draft of what I want to do on the first day. I hope it all goes well!
Bisous,
Em
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