the darndest things

No comments
, by

No comments
, by

third time's the charm.

No comments
, by

lapin lapin!

1 comments
, by

11 October 2012

the darndest things

I just finished up my second week of work here at the lycée.  Whenever anyone asks me how my kids are, I always say it's a huge range, which is the most honest answer I can give. The kids are from 14 to 19 years old, and are all over the place in terms of oral skills and comprehension. Not surprising considering I teach 11 different classes during the week, meaning I interact with close to 250 kids. However in my introductory Q&A sessions, they all seem to ask the same questions, the most popular being:

      - What music you prefer?
My go-to is "Kanye West....Lady Gaga.....Drake....(Ugh I don't care) Moving on."

      - Do you have boyfriend?
"No, and I'm not looking for one here at the lycée."...except that's not completely true, some of my students are super sexy. Judge away comrades! I say age is just a number.

      - Do you know celebrities?
Like.....Does it look like I know celebrities?

      - Do you like France? What do you think of the people?
"Oh my gosh yesss cheese! Wine! Everything's so relaxed! So nice!" When I really just want to say Americans think you're kind of rude and that you/your cheese smells.

      - What is different about France?
"Everything inconviently shuts down on Sundays (and sometimes Mondays too), and dryers don't exist." Also I casually mention how they've been suckered into going to school until 6:00 pm, whereas Americans end at 3:00 which really sets them off.....sorry profs!

      - Do you smoke drugs? Do you have gun?
"Um no and no."....It is clear what they think about Americans!
Overall the teaching is going well. I have to admit, I was super concerned last week while observing when one of the teachers said to me "If they're misbehaving or talking or, you know, making fun of you, just send them back to me." 
Read more »
Posted by at No comments:

06 October 2012

Just a couple of photos to remember my first two weeks in Angers! Can't believe I've been here that long -- time is flying!
View of the Chateau from the other side of la Maine

Chapel within my lycée
Read more »
Posted by at No comments:

04 October 2012

third time's the charm.

HEAR YE HEAR YE cross number 2 off my goal list because......I GOT A BIKE.  Angers has this wonderful program for all their residents that if you give them a copy of your ID, proof of lodging in Angers, and show that you actually work, you can rent a bike for up to 4 months fo' FREE (given that you agree to pay 200 euro if someone jacks it which seemed kinda pricey butttttt I'm not planning on having it stolen). 

I was so stoked about this that I showed up 45 minutes before the place opened to wait in line the day after I had proof of lodging from my new apartment. It wasn't until 30 minutes later that I realized there was a sign on the door that read "CLOSED MONDAYS".....Good one, France.  

So the next afternoon I returned with high hopes annnnnnnnd got shot down in the face by the guy at the front desk saying there were no more left that day. 

So THIS morning I arrived super early and, despite being the only person in line, continued to wait, determined to get my vélo! As I waited, I read the morning paper and checked out my horoscope....

I see what you did there, fate.
Read more »
Posted by at No comments:

01 October 2012

lapin lapin!

It is the first of October, and it officially feels like fall now that I have started school.  Today was my first day at Lycée Joachim du Bellay, the largest public school in Angers. I met most of the english professors last week when I dropped by, but this time I was actually interacting with the kids for the first time.  I was a little nervous at first, but the first class ("The Gifted", as my professor calls them....) were very talkative and friendly and spent the entire class period asking me questions and telling me about themselves.  They really liked hearing about my days playing the violin, learning about rap and hip hops artists, and hearing about where I had traveled in France. Apparently half of these students were focusing on musical instruments, and the other half on dance which is why they are labeled as "bright/The Gifted" (her words, not mine.)

 My second class also went well, although they were much more timid, and I had to leave about 10 minutes into class so they could take an exam.  My third class also went well, and I was doing a little more "work" (if you could call it that) going from group to group correcting business proposals that they were writing in english. I think the professor thinks I'm not strict enough when correcting their grammar.  But as a person struggling to master another language, I feel for them SO much.  I know from experience how incredibly awful it feels when someone has no idea what you're saying and when you really just cannot formulate a thought or feeling that, in your native language, would not be an issue.  I know it's my job to correct them and help them learn, but I feel so bad!

 Two things have stuck out to me thus far:
              1. Professors' accents.  Most of the english professors have such strong English accents and are so fluent in French that it is almost impossible to tell whether they learned english as a second language from a British instructor, or just have been an expat living in France for 40 years!  One of the professors noted my accent and warned me that I might have to repeat things a couple times before the students understand since they're used to hearing British accents. Honestly I was just happy that they didn't ask me to fake a British accent so that the kids would learn  the"Queen's English" properly, as they did with my sister when she was in Spain (still LOL-ing at that story).
Read more »
Posted by at 1 comment:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)