Thankfully, I'm settled into my apartment and in my room. I still need some curtains because the outdoor blinds are not working for me. I'm sorry, but I come from a place where prancing (and often dancing) around in one's own room is acceptable at any hour. This act has proven quite difficult when my lovely view of the square in front of my apartment is full of pedestrians and city drivers... whoops! Luckily, the French (much like their Italian cousins) do not believe in screens. This makes for much easier shutter closing and opening. My colocatrice (or "flatmate", there's no real American English equivalent) is the best. I was lucky enough to have found the perfect flat from the start. Oddly enough, her family is Polish as well and she speaks Polish fluently, too. This makes those I-can't-quite-explain-this-to-you moments so much easier! That is just one of the many examples of how Saint-Etienne is the poster-child for "It's a small world."
Everyone that I've met so far is extremely nice (both Stephanois--from Saint-Etienne-- and foreign)! The other language assistants are pretty amazing. It makes sense that we would get along well, since it takes a certain type of person to take part in such an endeavor.
Part of the new room...
At the Mine Museum
Roomie giving a tour of the Mine Museum
This week marked the beginning of my Assistantship period. Though I visited the high school with my head teacher a few weeks ago (when I'd arrived in Saint-Etienne). My school is the largest of the high schools in the school district. This would explain my getting lost numerous times per day. Everyone being rather friendly really helps in times such as those! Today we had our Orientation with some head education honchos and found out that we aren't supposed to be doing anything but observing classes and introducing ourselves this week and next. Interestingly enough, some of the assistants have already been assigned their own classrooms and have been asked to prepare lessons (the great majority of us have very little to no teaching experience), and some said that their teachers have asked them to grade assignments. Luckily our superiors made it very clear that these are NOT aspects of the assistantship program. I suppose that I was fortunate enough to have only worked with professors who understand this concept, so far (well, more-or-less). I only worked for two days this week (since I had my orientation today, and couldn't make it to the 5 classes I was to have). So far I've worked with secondes (the equivalent of sophomores), premiers (juniors), terminales (seniors), and with students of the BTS (Brevets de Technichiens) program (a higher national certificate, post-secondary). The levels really vary. There were some younger classes that had much higher levels than some of the BTS students (some of who, by the way, are older than I).
For the most part, I felt welcomed and I felt that the majority of the students were interested in this "special guest". I love the reactions that follow my American accent. Some people in the hallways (or in the street, when I'm with my anglophone friends) will repeat the new sounds that they hear. The funniest is when people hear Americans talking and ask whether we're British. That is not an ice breaker at the bar, fellas. Maybe when you get it right, it works. But if your not so solid on your English accents, try another "talk-up" line (as my Londonian friend calls them). One thing that I'm excited for: perfecting my British English... "uni", "mate", and "cheers" have started creeping into sentences ("dodgy" isn't far behind!).
I'm really looking forward to beginning to plan some conversation lessons. Once I get a feel for what the teacher hope to accomplish with the class, and what (s)he expects for me to bring to the classroom dynamic, things will get really fun!
It's interesting that (almost) every time that I live abroad, I seem to have this other life. An ocean, time-difference, and cultural differences sometimes make it hard to keep everything straight. I think that this time, this will be my biggest challenge. I've experienced some intense culture shock, reverse-culture-shock, homesickness, and being sick of home(ness). If any of the symptoms leading up to those creep up on me, I'll be better prepared for them. But, I truly think that trying to fuse "My American Life" and "My French Life" together to become (simply) "My Life" will pose the biggest problem in the coming weeks. I know that I've already been bad at keeping certain Skype dates and at responding to certain e-mails in a more Cecilia-like fashion (aka- within 5 minutes of receiving them). So, my Autumn Resolution is to work toward balancing both aspects of my life... both worlds with cultures, relationships, and realities. I may as well add meditation to that resolution. It would probably be beneficial at this point.
I've been seeing a family friend (well, a friend who met my dad about 3 months after I'd applied to this program in France, who happens to live within 20 minutes from me. Hello, small world!) to help her sons practice their English. They're already bilingual (in the true sense of the word. Their Polish declensions are actually correct unlike mine, which take about 2-3 attempts before settling confidently on one to use) and are at the perfect age to absorb everything thrown in the direction of their brain. We work on conversing and we play games, talk informally, and will eventually watch some videos and discuss them. It's nice because the family is great, and really make me feel at home/like we've been friends for ages. But, also, I'm able to be around pre-adolescents. As much as I've always thought that I'd like to teach high schoolers and adults, my time teaching 3-14 year olds last year made me realize that being around people in general makes me happy.
There's also an opportunity to work with adults, learning English. That is also a more relaxed setting, and would be a wonderful experience. I think that the coming months will really allow me to decide on whether or not teaching is for me. I'll be giving an Italian lesson tomorrow (kind of as a trial, no pressure!)... I guess that second Romance Language came in handy, after all!
I can't help but laugh: I went into uni (haha. Thanks, Brits!) as a music education major. I was sure that teaching high schoolers the wonders of music was what I wanted to do with my life. Alas, by year 2, I was all about the foreign languages and cultures. Life, as often related to a circle, has kept me within the realm of education. Though, it's good to know that I've gone about re-discovering it in a sense. "If it's meant to be, it's meant to be". No matter how hard I try to deny it, if I'm meant to teach, it'll be. As of right now, though, I don't think I'd mind.
Well, the reason that I chose the title of this (ridiculously long) post, is because of the French way. I don't know exactly how to put into words what I mean by this. Let's just say, the phrase that can be found par tout : "Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité" might describe the French better were it changed to "Autorisé, Légalité, Formalité". In other words, even the French empathize with foreigners going through the myriad of administrative, financial, and legal formalities. I don't think I've received this much guidance or paperwork from any organization back home! It can get stressful because of the unavoidable Catch-22s lurking around every corner ("you can't open a bank account without proof of residence", "you can't live here without proof of your bank account"), though sometimes thinking like an American can really help ("well, I don't have a home, yet. BUT, my place of employment has an address!").
One of the main differences that I cite between the US and France is the American work-ethic versus that of the French. For the most part, it's hard for many Americans (or maybe I'm just stereotyping) to separate worktime and playtime. Constantly replying to boss' emails and stressing out over a project at work while out to dinner with friends seems to be the norm. Lunch breaks? Haha! Over the computer, while still taking phone calls, or (for those lucky enough) a quick run to Starbuck for a caffeine boost and an indigestion-inducing two-bites of a sandwich. While in France, lunch breaks? Cities are deserted, some restaurants even close for lunch hour. School children go home for their two-hour break if their close enough. My high school has their 4-course sit-down meal, complete with water pitchers at each table. Once home, it's family time and leisure time. Even homework has its limits.
This mentality is great for the soul and for the body. However, it's also the driving force between the "yes, you do have all of the necessary forms for which you've been running around all day. But, you see, we close in 1 hour, so I really don't feel like processing anything else today. You'll have to come back tomorrow" situations. This, along with duration estimations ("Oh, if I send your bank card today, it should arrive to you by Wednesday", read: Saturday), can be quite frustrating when taken in large doses.
When I really think about it, though. Would I rather live in a more efficient, yet highly stressful environment? Or would I rather live where efficacy is not on the top of the list of priorities, but where leisure is considered a necessity for survival? I'll take the latter.
Now that I've sufficiently rambled. I leave you, that's assuming that anyone actually reads this craziness, with a quote from the book that I'm currently reading by Elaine Sciolino, La Seduction: How the French Play the Game of Life: "France... operates as 'an extremely strange system, impenetrable from the outside, rather agreeable to live in, but totally different from anywhere else'. (12)"
À la prochaine ! Bisous xx
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