A week in the life...

Just realized that I haven't updated in about a week.  Nothing terribly exciting happened in the last 7 days, just simply living my life in France.  That's exciting enough if you ask me!

Last weekend was very similar to all of my other weekends in Caen: a bunch of assistants get together for food or drinks and we talk about life, living in this wonderful country, and the most recent escapades the French are getting into.  Sunday, of course, was the market by the port.  It was chilly this past Sunday but still nice to walk around after mass at Saint Pierre.  Monday, we finally had our orientation for the assistants working at middle schools and high schools.  We have been waiting for this orientation since we all arrived about a month ago.  The  information/orientation session was similar to what an orientation would be when you have been in your job for 2 weeks already: boring and a waste of time.  The part that saved this day from being completely wasted was meeting all of the other assistants that we have been emailing, but haven't met yet because they teach in different cities.  It was so great to meet them, especially since we have been emailing each other since June. We are planning on having an assistant Thanksgiving so hopefully we can all hang out again then.

Tuesday I had class as usual, only one cancelled because a teacher was on strike.  That night, I met a few friends at a bar that I haven't been to yet.  It was a really cool place and I will definitely visit again soon, hopefully on a night more people are out!  I had a classic Normandy drink called an embuscade.  The literal translation of this word is ambush.  Think of this as the Normandy version of a Long Island.  It has Calvados, which is a liquor from Normandy, wine, and beer.  Needless to say, I had one and was happy for the rest of the night.  We didn't stay out too late this night, which was smart because it started pouring on my way home.

Wednesday I needed to do laundry for my trip and also take care of a form for my rental agency in Eugene, Oregon.  As if I didn't have enough bureaucracy to deal with in France, I had to sign this form and get it notarized to be able to receive my security deposit back.  Anyone who knows me knows I would have taken care of this right away had I been in America.  But in France?  You have got to be kidding me.  You want me to find a notary?  After trying to get out of this several times with several different suggestions, I decided to show them up and actually find a notary in France and get this done so I could get my check.  The first place I went to was close for lunch when I got there.  I only had 10 minutes to wait so Whitney and I sat in the sun for awhile.  This notary is right across from L'Abbey aux Hommes and Hotel de Ville.  It was a beautiful day so why not take a picture?

Hotel de Ville and Abbey aux Hommes

Waiting for the le notaire to come back from lunch

Can you guess what happened when they came back from lunch?  It says 'Le Notaire' on the side of the building but of course they can't do a notary, I have to go somewhere else. That was predictable.  Okay, let's try another place.  On my third try, I finally had a notary that was willing to get past the confusing paper in English brought in by an American, listen to what I needed, and save me from my nightmare.  They charged me 15 euro for a tiny little signature, but I did it!  It's all in French so the people at my real estate agency will not be able to understand it, which should worry me, but instead it makes me kind of happy on the inside.  I went through the trouble, I did what I needed to do, why should I care if it inconvenience you because you can't read it?  Insert evil laugh here. 

Wednesday continued to be a busy day, because it was my turn to help cook dinner for that night.  Wednesday nights we have mass at Saint Julien and then we all eat dinner together.  There can be anywhere from 50-70 people.  We made 6 dessert pies, about 8 bags of frozen vegetables, sausages, and a lot of couscous.  There were more people than we expected but everything turned out great, and people enjoyed the meal.  Because there are so many people, everyone only has to cook dinner once so I am finished for the year. I left before the activity of the night because I needed to prepare for my classes on Thursday. 

Thursday I had 3 classes and all of them were a little difficult in their own way.  In my early morning class, we talked about roommates.  They had already listened to a recording I had done about roommates but didn't understand all of it.  I tried to explain everything I said to them but it was like pulling teeth trying to get these kids to talk.  I had a little more luck with my second group.  It could have been because it was so early in the morning but also because the school vacation is starting Friday.  Between the strikes and their two week break starting in a matter of hours, I think these kids are completely checked out.  My next two classes were difficult because I felt that no one understood what I was saying.  I tried to play a game with one class and have the other do a worksheet that I made up.  In both classes, I had blank stares and answers in French.  At the end of the day, I was just as ready for this vacation as those kids. 

When I came home, I received the best package ever in the mail from the world's greatest parents.  They sent me candy, glow sticks, peanuts, crackerjacks, guidebooks, and pictures from home that I will to use in my classes.  Even if I thought I didn't need some of those things from home, I know now that I definitely did.  Glenn and Helen Ostapeck, you are the best!  You can expect pretty awesome Christmas presents :) 

The other English teachers at my middle school had set up a meeting time for tea this afternoon.  We went to this very cute place downtown.  I was expecting it to be a little cafe but instead it was a used book store with a tea room upstairs.  I met one of the other teachers right at 4 and we looked around for awhile.  There is an English section of this bookstore too!  I was very excited to see that!  The other English teacher that met us came with her husband and with her 9 month-old little girl, Louise.  French kids are always adorable but this little girl was the cutest.  They have the most fashionable little coats in France for their kids that I don't think you could ever find in the United States.  Louise loved anything shiny that she could play with, especially spoons and my bracelet.  She sat on my lap trying so hard to get my bracelet off of my wrist, it was so cute.  I haven't babysat in a long time but I would definitely watch this little girl if Claude asked!  We joked about how I was speaking to her in English because I do not know any baby talk in French!  Not that she knew the difference but it was funny.  We sat for about an hour, I had a hot chocolate and a brownie, both were amazing!  It's wonderful finding trying out new places around the city because I can see which ones I like the best!  I didn't get a picture of this one but I will definitely be going back there soon and take one!

Dinner tonight was at the house, with all of my roommates plus a few others.  I love living here because I never know who is going to be at the house and sometimes I do not even know the people in the living room. But it's very fun and I love the sense of community here. 

I am off on my 10 day vacation tomorrow to London, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland!  I will probably be out of contact for most of that time, so I won't be able to update for about 2 weeks!  I am sure that I will have plenty to write about and pictures to show once I get back.  There might have to be a series of blog posts so I don't have you reading the Odyssey the day I get back.  Until then, loved ones!

C'est la bonne vie pour moi!  :)

The Strikes (and cultural experiences) Continue!

While some people are tired of the strikes and upset over the inconviences they're causing, I am still completely fascinated by the process and the effects.

There was a country-wide organized strike against raising the retirment age on Tuesday, but because this strike is indefinite, it is continuing day after day.  I went into my school this morning at 8:15 for my first class.  I spoke with Christine on the way to class who told me that she does not participate in the strikes and thinks they do not accomplish anything.  She informed me that some classes might not be taking place today because many students and teachers have problems getting to school if they are using public transportation.  You will see why public transportation gets delayed later in this post.  Most of her students were in class and she sat in the back while I taught them about baseball and American football.  It was a fun lesson for them and I think they enjoyed it.  Their favorite part might have been when I sang "Take me out to the ballgame"!  After class, Christine had me do a recording on roommates.  Since William didn't have any recordings for me to do, I went downstairs to find the other two teachers I work with to see if they were going to be in their classes today.

When I went into the teacher's lounge, I found a group of teachers on their way outside to stand in front of the school on strike.  In that group were, of course, the two teachers I was going to work with later that day.  They said they would not be in class today so I was free to go home.  I was supposed to work until 2:30 and it was about 10:00.  Well, okay.  Then they asked if I wanted to come stand with them outside.  While I do not necessarily support the strikes and think people are taking this a little out of control, I had to go see what they were going to do.

This is the first thing we see when we walk outside of the gate.  This is called bocking, for obvious reasons, and is done by students.  They block the entrances of their schools with crates, as you see here, or trash, or anything they can find to make it hard to get into the school.  Claire, a teacher at my high school, has informed me she believes students will do this all next week as well.  With their holiday coming up at the end of next week, they all want to have lots of time off school.  That means discouraging teachers and students from getting inside the school.


For awhile, all of the teachers were just standing in the entrance to the school.  I kept asking Claude what was the plan and what they were going to do.  She didn't really know what was going on, but intended to follow the other teachers.  I was beginning to think that I would get going, until a tram went by and a teacher yelled out (in French), "That's the last one that's getting by." Uh oh.  This should be exciting.  


So I stand there with the other teachers on strike and wait for the next tram.  It is beginning to rain at this point, and I know that I am going to have to at least walk to the next tram stop further up because I know they are planning to block the next one when it comes.  Everything outside is mass chaos at this point.  Students from the high school across the way get out of class and come towards the teachers.  Claude told me they have been planning this for awhile now, what 'this' is, I'm not quite sure.  Then, a few students from our middle school get out of class, and beginning running towards and out the gates.  Some teachers pull students back in the gates and close them.  We are located on a busy street, and these kids were not even looking to see if it was safe to cross the street.

Then the real fun started.  A tram in the distance.

The high school kids on our side of the street run across the way, to stand on the tracks.  Some teachers cross to stand on the tracks.  Meanwhile, cars are still zooming by and this tram is approaching the blockade.  The students stand their ground and make no effort to get out of the way of the tram.  The tram slows to a stop in front of the students, while honking it's horn.  No one moves.





This was when I decided to begin my walk home, and possibly catch a tram when or if they happened to let one through.  I passed by many students on my way back, who were all headed towards the direction of the blockade so who knows what they were all planning next.  I do not know what they think they are accomplishing by stalling trams and being hooligans in the street, but they think it's going to work.  Despite the strikes since Tuesday, there has been no change to the current retirement age of 62. 


So that was my morning.  Since Thursday is my last day of class, I am now on my weekend.  The assistants have orientation on Monday (luckily at my high school!) so I will not have to teach that day either.  After next week is my trip to London, Scotland, and Ireland!  It's going by so fast.  I have almost been here for a full month!  Despite the initial freak out when I first got here, I have loved getting to know this city and this fascinating culture!  It is wonderful and I am loving my time here! Until next time!

C'est la bonne vie pour moi! :)

 

Perfect Fall Weekend in Normandy...

Everyone keeps saying it rains all the time in Normandy but this beautiful weather is seriously making me doubt that.  The last four days have been absolutely gorgeous and luckily I have been able to soak in a lot of the wonderful sunlight.

My weekend started Friday, because I did not have any classes.  I did laundry in the morning, before heading out to find some lunch.  There is a certain place that I love to get a jambon gruyere sandwich (ham with cheese and butter).  I have tried them at numerous other places but this one is by far my favorite.  After eating my sandwich and running a few errands around town, I decided to sit at our favorite cafe for some coffee.  And because it was so gorgeous outside, I decided to just sit and read for awhile.  It was so nice to relax, read, and people watch for a little while. 

View from our cafe

Perfect day to sit and read

The rest of Friday I relaxed, read a little more in our backyard and hung out with my roommates.  Louise, Nadege and I needed to go grocery shopping.  Unfortunately, I feel like we always go on Friday nights which are the busiest.  We go to a huge supermarket where they have everything you could possibly want.  Because it is so crowded, people will leave their carts with all of their groceries at the end of a row, go and grab other things they need and come back to their cart.  It is so strange to look down the main aisle and see multiple carts without owners just chilling in the store.  But Nadege and Louise convinced me that it is normal and everyone does it.  They have actually been laughing at me because I think it is so weird for people to just leave their cart anywhere in the store and come back to it.  The system seems to work so I guess I should get used to it. 

Saturday, we planned to go back to our favorite creperie Rose and Grey with all of the assistants.  Now, when I say all of the assistants, I do not just mean the English Assistants.  We have language assistants from all over the world who join us now.  There is an Italian girl, a couple of German assistants, and a few Spanish ones as well.  There were a total of 16 of us for lunch at the creperie that day.  We didn't get our French lesson for the day because the sweet lady we love so much had laryngitis.  It made her even more cute that she was going around whispering French to us.  She felt bad she couldn't give us a lesson but we told her that we would be back every weekend so it wasn't a problem. 

With Margaux and Ashley on the terrace at Rose and Grey

My absolute favorite restaurant in Caen.

After lunch, I had to get back to the Aumonerie for the return weekend for students. It was basically like a retreat.  We drove to the Abbey Mondaye, listened to speeches and talked about theology.  The weekend was rather exhausting for me, seeing as everything was in French.  I understood a lot but there gets to be a point where I am just too tired to concentrate enough to understand anything.  Luckily, a few people who speak English were able to help me out.  I'm happy I went because the abbey was in the middle of the French countryside.  It was beautiful and very different than what I am used to when I go on Newman Retreats in Oregon.  I was having a blast traveling around the hills and fields.  I even came about 5 feet away from the most beautiful cows I have ever seen.  Unfortunately, I forgot my camera on our walk so I have nothing to document that.  But here are some other pictures from the weekend.

The view on our drive to the abbey

The retreat house where we slept

 I saw this out one of the windows and it took my breath away, I think this is so beautiful! And French!

With one of my house-mates, Nadege

When we returned home Sunday, I immediately got to work on the much anticipated cookies!  All of the residents were really excited for me to make American cookies so I couldn't let them down even though I was really tired.  A few of the ingredients were off because they make things differently here in France, but the cookies turned out relatively good.  They all really liked them.  There are a few things I will try differently next time I make them, which I'm sure will be sometime soon. 

Today, I had to be in class in the afternoon.  But unfortunately, the students didn't think they needed to be in class but instead participating in the strike.  People, the myth is true: the French have been on strike at least twice a week since I have been here.  There are a couple of things I find really interesting about these strikes. For example, on Friday I was walking in the exact same path as a giant strike of students.  I was intrigued by the fact there were two police officers on motorcycles leading the way of the students.  They would ride in front and literally turn traffic other directions so that cars could not go the same way as the students were marching.  Then I found out that all strikes must warn police ahead of time and police have to be present to lead them.  It is a safety concern not only for the cars and businesses in the way of the strike but also for the strikers on foot, so they stay safe and no one gets hit by oncoming traffic. 

In any case, I taught one class this afternoon because there were not any students present in the next class.  In my class after that one, Claire said there would be one student, and he had a test to make up.  I also am off tomorrow morning, seeing as there is a huge organized strike and the teacher I am supposed to be working with is participating.  I am trying to do a job here but if the French keep striking, I am going to have nothing but free time.  Well, it could be worst.  After all, it's giving me time to update my blog! 

I am off this beautiful afternoon to meet some friends at our cafe.  I can't pass up the chance to be outside on a day like today! Hopefully this weather continues for a bit, I'm not counting on it though! Au Revoir!

C'est la bonne vie pour moi! :) 

French Lesson: Les Anges et Un Cauchemar

Because I am in teaching mode today, there is a lesson attached to this post.  See if you can figure out what "les anges" et "un cauchemar" are from the various stories of a Thursday in my life.

Thursdays I start very early in the morning: 8:15.  This might not seem that early to most people but let me explain something, it is pitch black when I have to wake up at 7 to get ready.  It is most of the time very cold.  The highlight of my mornings is breakfast, sometimes with and sometimes without my roommates, in which I have coffee, a bowl of cereal, glass of orange juice, and sometimes a piece of bread as well.  My roommates most of the time have a bowl of coffee.  Yes, that is correct, they drink coffee out of a bowl.  I remember learning about this in my first year of high school French but it is very odd to actually watch them pour coffee into a bowl and proceed to drink it.  In any case, I make sure to also drink coffee in the morning and I have to leave around 7:50 to catch the tram to my school.  Because I live right next to the university, the trams are packed in the mornings with students shuffling to class and back and forth between the two campuses.

Today, I arrived to school and my first class was with Christine.  Christine is a very sweet woman, whose husband is British and they are bringing up their children to be bilingual.  I think this is an awesome concept and great for young kids to learn languages early.  When I am with her class, she has me stay in the classroom she normally teaches in and she moves herself to a different class. Her class in the morning is another class of advanced students who take more English classes than regular students.  I had two groups of about 12 for a half hour each.  These kids were very kind, and while some were a little shy, most asked me many questions.  I had a great experience with this class.  Can you figure out what "les anges" means?

Then I had class with some older students with a teacher I had not met yet.  I did not know where to go so Christine helped me find my way.  The teacher had not yet made it to her classroom so all of the students were standing in the hallway talking very loudly.  Christine spoke to another teacher Claude, in French, and explained that I was looking for Sevrine so that I could attend her class.  A couple of the boys in the hallway heard Christine, saw me, and then said to each other, "Oh c'est la nouvelle assistant, elle est tres mignonne."  Another lesson in French, this means "Oh, the new assistant.  She's very pretty."  So as they were laughing about this, I thought I would let them know I understood perfectly what they were saying.  I said loudly, "I understand you."  When they looked at me as if I had grown two heads, I said it again in French, "Je comprends."  At least that quieted them down until they got inside the class.

Once inside they resumed their talking, none of it in English, and while their teacher tried to quiet them down, they did not respect her at all and continued behaving like children.  Their teacher had to speak a lot of French with them because their level of English is so poor.  Even then, they were talking back and talking out of turn.  She tried to have them ask me some questions and while some participated, other just caused distractions.  My favorite example was when they asked, "Who is your best friend?"  As soon as I answered Justine, the worst kid of them all said in a thick, French accent, "Justin Bieber?"  And because they are middle schoolers, everyone laughed.  I told them no, I was not best friends with Justin Bieber, and Justine is a girl. Thank you Justine for being in my example!  Has anyone guessed what "un cauchemar" means yet?

The rest of the class time did not have much improvements except when I was able to sit down and watch their lesson from the teacher.  Even then, she had to practically shout over them and it was like pulling teeth to get them to answer.  Luckily for me, I only have this class period every other week.  I switch back and forth between two classes, and when I am not in the other class I am going to be doing recordings of articles for the students.  I read an article and record it, and they listen to my recording when they do their homework on the article.  I have already done one, it's actually really fun and I am excited to continue them!  

My last class was this afternoon and while they did not give me an trouble or grief, the students were very shy.  It was hard to get them to ask me questions.  Their level of English is also really low so they desperately wanted me to speak French with them today.  I am not sure how to get them to understand that I am just as nervous to speak French with them as they are to speak English with me.  But because I am the teacher, I switched to French for a couple of minutes for them and I think they appreciated it.  They are good, very nice kids, they just need some encouragement.  I think it will be fun getting to know this class over the year.

And just like that, my first week is finished!  I only work 3 days out of the week and only for 4 hours each day.  I am used to a much more packed schedule from my time at the University of Oregon but it's nice having down time during the day.  I am sure it will soon be taken up with lesson planning but I am enjoying the freedom for now.  Thursday night is the night to go out in Caen because most students go home for the weekend.  I think I am going to meet up with some other assistants, we need to celebrate this first week of success and share stories!  It should be fun.

Oh right, I need to tell you what the words mean.  Well, I used "les anges" to describe the first group who were all very nice, sweet, and willing to learn English.

les anges = angels

And I used "un cauchemar" for the second group of very rowdy, rude students who could care less they have a English teaching assistant to help them.

un cauchemar = nightmare

Hope you enjoyed this little lesson.  I am sure there will be more to come!

C'est la bonne vie pour moi! :)    

First day of class in the front of the room...

It's Tuesday here in France and I just finished my first two days as a teaching assistant.  I have had a wide range of experiences these last couple of days so sit back and enjoy my roller coaster week!

This past weekend was pretty quiet, I didn't have any grand plans, just to meet with the other assistants for lunch and maybe some coffee.  We went back to the first creperie we went to together, Rose and Grey.  I think it is safe to say that we will be having lunch here every Saturday we are in Caen.  Not only is this the cutest little restaurant in France that you will ever see but there is the sweetest, kind, warm-hearted woman who works there making all of the galettes and crepes.  We sat in the front of the restaurant this time and I ordered the set menu which came with a galette Normandy (a version of a crepe only with cheese, ham, and an egg inside), a sugar crepe for dessert and a cafe (coffee in France, one espresso shot, very strong).  All for only 7,50 euro.  Most restaurants have a set menu like this and we have all found that it is worth it to order the set menu because you get the different courses and it's not terribly expensive.  Throughout the course of our meal, this sweet woman who either works at or owns the creperie kept coming back to us and sometimes correcting us if we said something wrong in French.  I know that she is the one who makes all of the food at the restaurant so we were thrilled when she kept coming back and talking to us as if we were friends.  We told her we would come back every Saturday and she agreed that we would have a "lesson" during lunch each time.  We all just love her, so it's safe to say we know what we are doing this Saturday at noon.  We had dinner together Saturday night at a different place, and Hannah brought some of her house mates who are assistants in other languages.  We went to an Italian restaurant that night and had a wonderful evening eating and talking.  

Sunday, Margaux came to church with me at Saint-Pierre.  She was interested in seeing what mass is like and also wanted to experience a mass in such a beautiful cathedral.  I tried my best to explain to her what was happening throughout the mass but I am still getting used to the responses myself because they are in French.  Luckily, the parts of mass do not change from region to region so I know exactly what part of mass we are at, I just might not fully understand the prayer being said.  But I am proud to say that I can now answer "Et avec votre espirit"( and also with you), sing along with songs if I have the words in front of me, and follow along with the "Notre Pere" (Our Father) although I still do not know the words in French to participate.  That is my next goal.  Nadege told me that she would write it down for me. 

After church, we went to McDonalds, to use their free wi-fi to plan our trip during our first vacation.  Although we were there for far too long, we got a lot done and our trip is booked!  Margaux and I will be taking a ferry to London, staying for about 5 days, heading on an overnight bus to Edinburgh, Scotland, staying for about 3 days before flying to Dublin for a 3 more days and then making the trek back the day before we have to teach again.  We are very excited to be able to experience all of these new places. While we are in London, Margaux is planning to visit Oxford, while I take a day trip to Wales.  Then, one day the two of us will take a day trip to Stonehenge, Windsor, and Bath.  Needless to say, I can't wait and am very excited!

Monday, my contract started.  I arrived at Jules Verne High School in the afternoon and had 3 hours of class that day.  For those of you who don't know, high schools in France are separated similar to American colleges.  They have to know what they want to study and based on that they will go to a specific high school.  Jules Verne is a technological high school, which means  kids who what to study mechanics and engineering go to this school.  It also means that the majority are boys.  And when I say majority, I mean that I have only 4 female students in the 6 different classes I teach in.  That is background you will need for my stories.  So, I had spoken to the teachers before and I knew that I was simply going to introduce myself to the students and answer any questions they might have.  The first class was nothing short of a frustrating, disastrous, train wreck.  These boys talked the entire class period with absolutely no respect to their teacher and did not show any motivation in class at all.  When I went to the front to introduce myself, the quieted for about a minute before resuming their chatter.  I definitely stood my ground, showed them I would not take all of their chit-chat and laughing fits.  Some of them were very nice and participating in asking me questions but some were complete brats.  I would address them directly, they would look down, ignore me, and then as soon as I turned my attention to someone else, they were talking again.  Luckily, this was by far the worst class I have had and I do not think the other students will give me as much grief as those ones.  I only have them for about 55 minutes a week so it is manageable.   I went back to the high school Tuesday and had a wonderful class who were all interested in American culture and asked me very intelligent questions as well.  I guess that in every school there are going to be hooligans and there are going to be angel students.  This is just a little of what I have to get used to. 

And finally today was my first day at the middle school Lechanteur and I was very pleased with that class as well.  The teacher had made them a worksheet of questions to ask me which was very thorough.  This is an advanced English class, so the students have 2 more hours a week of English than the other students and are very motivated.  I had a great time with them and found that their English skills are quite good.  I am really looking forward to working more with them.  They seemed very interested in the geography of America when I explained where I was from, where I went to school, how far away Stephen goes to school, and where Maine is located in the United States.  Next week, I think I will work more with them about the geography of America and see where they would want to go if they had the chance.   

I am off tomorrow (Wednesday) and Thursday I am at the middle school for about 4 hours.  It has been a great start to the week and I can't wait to continue.  It is definitely wearing me out but it's nice to finally have a set schedule again.  I'm sure Thursday will come bring many more experiences and stories and I'm really looking forward to it.  Until then, I need to go buy a new hair straightener (my American one broke Monday) and figure out a way to up my Facebook privacy since I am getting quite a few requests from French high schoolers.   

C'est la bonne vie pour moi! :)