Vacances de Toussaint

This Saturday is the start of the first vacation of the school year (after only two weeks of teaching and three weeks since I got here). It’s the Vacances de Toussaint, which culminates in All Saints' Day on November 1^st.

I have two trips planned over the next two weeks. The first is to Normandy, where I’ll spend a few days with a group of Saint-Quentin assistants. I’ve always wanted to visit the WWII sites there, and I expect it will be very interesting to see the landing beaches and learn more about D-Day.

For my second trip, I’m planning a weeklong visit to see a high school friend who’s getting her master's degree in England. I’ve never been to the UK before, and it’s on the top of my list of places to visit this year. We’ll start in Norwich and then make our way to London, which I’m especially excited about!

I’ll be sure to put up some posts from my trips when my vacation ends in November. In the meantime, I’ll wish everyone an early Happy Halloween, which is most unfortunately not celebrated in France.

~ My travel plans (Saint-Quentin in lower right) ~

(image credit: http://underbellylive.com/sure-spend-halloween-us/)
*map from Google

I Wish to Go to the Festival

It was a fair, not quite a festival, but I couldn't resist. During a break in the rain yesterday evening, I met up with some other assistants to visit the Saint Denis Fair, which has been set up in Saint-Quentin all October. It was chilly and rather misty, so there weren’t a lot of people out and many of the booths were closed. Still, it was fun to walk around, dazzled by the bright flashing lights at every turn. We all enjoyed a dessert before leaving (mine was a chocolate beignet—like an enormous chocolate filled donut). I had some fun in iPhoto with the pictures below.

~ Entrance to the Fair ~

~ All of the food ~

~ Fun house - It's Crazy! ~

~ Ferris Wheel ~ 

~ Grande roue in French ~ 

Teaching Roundup 1: First Attempts

In the midst of arriving in Europe, struggling through French, meeting new people, and making travel plans for my upcoming vacation, my focus can sometimes shift from the main reason I’m here: to help teach English to French high-schoolers. This part of my experience began on October 7, and over the past two weeks I’ve worked with several teachers and met a lot of students.

Teaching is both foreign and familiar to me. My limited experience comes from teaching Hebrew School to a class of six-year olds during my senior year of college. I’m not sure how well that stint prepared me for this—teaching three kids about Jewish holidays via coloring pages and story time is hardly the same as working with an entire class of adolescents who’s first language is different from mine.

It’s still very new, so I’ll just have to see how things progress! For now, here’s a list of 5 things that have surprised me in my new role of English Teaching Assistant.

# 1. Trying to dispel stereotypes about the US. A lot of information the students have about the US is from American TV shows like Glee, Desperate Housewives, and One Tree Hill, and several times they have asked me if I’ve met a celebrity and if life in the US is like life in American TV shows. It’s not, for the most part, and I think the students are a little disappointed to hear that!

# 2. Talking about 9/11. I think this is like when I ask my parents where they were when MLK or Kennedy was shot. Everyone who remembers 9/11 has had the “where were you when” conversation, but when I told one class about it this week, I had never felt more like an outsider… extremely separate from the class and also extremely American. To the students, I have detailed information about this thing that happened really far away when they were toddlers and hasn’t had much impact on their lives. It was a strange and surprisingly difficult few minutes, to say the least.

# 3. Questions about American politics. I’ve cared a lot more about politics since college, but some of the high school students have been asking me extremely thoughtful questions about the US government and my views on it. One day this week, I got into a conversation about American foreign policy and whether or not I agree with it. I’m impressed that the students are savvy enough to want to discuss complex issues like this.

# 4. Being stared at. Maybe this should have been obvious, and to their credit it's probably odd for the students to come into class one day and have this strange American lurking in the corner who proceeds to spend an hour speaking non-stop English. I’ve never loved being the center of attention, but I assume the staring will diminish as students get used to me being here.

# 5. The utter incomprehension as to why I would come to Saint-Quentin. Apparently a lot of young people in Saint-Quentin are waiting for the day when they can move to a bigger city. It’s a complete mystery to them why any foreigner would choose to be in Saint-Quentin, which is amusing to me because I’ve found the town to be quite pleasant. I’ve been quick to assure them that while I only chose the region, and not the precise town, I’m comparatively lucky since other assistants are in towns a sixth the size of Saint-Quentin.

Going to the Movies

Last Thursday, a group of assistants decided that an evening at the movies was just what the dreary day called for. After a pasta dinner (cooking for one can be a challenge in our small apartment kitchens, so cooking for a group was very amusing), we walked through pouring rain to the movie theater nearby. Our chosen film was called Eyjafjallajokull, which I honestly thought was a typo the first time I saw the title. Turns out, Eyjafjallajokull is the name of the Icelandic volcano which erupted in 2010, spewing huge amounts of ash into the air and stranding thousands of travelers across the world as planes were unable to navigate the murky skies.

Eyjafjallajokull is a comedy about a bitterly divorced couple stranded by the volcano’s eruption on their way from France to Greece for their daughter’s wedding. It follows their adventures and mishaps as they seek alternate ways of travel after their flight is diverted, and they inevitably make amends by the movie’s conclusion. It was funny and at times strange, but I’m pleased that I understood enough of the French dialogue to follow most of what was going on (it helped that a lot of the humor was slapstick). They do show some English movies in Saint-Quentin, but hopefully I’ll venture more into the French film world as my French improves this year.

~ Movie Poster ~

(image credit: http://www.femina.ch/)

Amiens: Boat Tour

My last day in Amiens, I wandered into the tourist office with two other assistants from Saint-Quentin. When we asked for some recommendations of things to do in the city, one suggestion we received was to take a boat tour through one of the city’s parks, the Parc Saint-Pierre. We decided it sounded like a fun thing to do, and it ended up being my highlight from the whole trip!

We managed to find the ticket office in the park and reserved three spots for an afternoon tour. We boarded what seemed like a large canoe with a motor (I don’t know boat terminology), where we joined about eight other passengers plus the guide. The tour took us meandering through the park’s small canals, past flower gardens, houses’ backyards, and through tunnels of trees where it was easy to forget we were in the middle of a large city.  There were a ton of ducks that were highly amusing to watch, and the natural scenery was beautiful.

I couldn’t follow everything that our French guide said, but I got the impression that we were traversing an area known for its biodiversity and impressive man-made islands. My favorite moment was near the end of the tour. We rounded a corner into a broad body of water and could suddenly see the Amiens Cathedral in the distance, just visible above the trees and water (I snapped a photo, the last one below). The rest of the city was hidden, so it looked like there was an isolated cathedral in the middle of a lush landscape.

~ Just around the river bend... ~

~ Ducks! ~

~ Lovely flowers ~

~ Sarah, Haidee, and me on the boat ~

~ Cathedral in the distance ~

Amiens: Cathedral

One of the main sights to see in Amiens is the cathedral, one of the tallest in France. It was breathtaking—truly enormous, with plenty of towering arches, stained glass windows, and a black and white labyrinth pattern on the marble floor.  There were also military memorials throughout, honoring both French and foreign troops who fought during World War I (this part of France is rich in WWI and WWII history).

~ Back of the cathedral ~

~ Side view; detail of the facade ~

~ Me in front of the cathedral ~

~ Interior views ~

~ Memorial to American soldiers ~

~ Stained glass windows ~

~ Decorative detail ~

~ I added a Warhol spin~

Amiens: Orientation

The first official part of my job was attending a program orientation in Amiens last week. Amiens is the capital of the academie I’m working in (kind of like a county in the US).  It’s much bigger than Saint-Quentin, so I decided to stay a few extra days and turn my visit into a mini-vacation.

The orientation itself was a mix of standard administrative things (forms, forms, forms) and learning a few strategies that will help everyone in the program be effective teaching assistants. I’ll have to see if I end up implementing any of them once I get into the swing of things over the next few weeks.

During the rest of my stay in Amiens, I had a nice time exploring the city with a few other assistants. The city has a beautiful network of canals throughout (it’s called “La Petite Venise du Nord” – the Little Venice of the North) which made for scenic views at every turn. Below are some snapshots of the city’s streets, plus a few images from the Musee de Picardie (an art museum in Amiens).

   

~ Picturesque cobblestone streets and old buildings ~

 

~ I really hope creepy statues won't be a theme this year ~

~ Glimpse of the cathedral ~

~ Musee de Picardie; Egyptian artifacts ~

~ Dinner spot on Friday night - I even fed some bread to a swan family that swam by ~

~ By day and by night ~

Saint-Quentin Basilica

Unlike many cities I've visited in France, Saint-Quentin does not have a cathedral. Instead, it has a Basilica, which is quite impressive (though not as grand as some cathedrals I've seen).

Last weekend, the Basilica hosted a flower show where creative floral arrangements were placed throughout the interior space. It was a fun way to see the Basilica for the first time; adding flowers and plants made the austere stone look completely different. Some of the flowers were even placed on statues, dressing them up in fun ways.

~ Back of the Basilica ~

~ Interior arches ~

 

~ Dressed up statue - this was my favorite ~

Parc des Champs Elysees

Though I still have quite a bit of exploring to do in Saint-Quentin, I did visit a few sites this weekend. One of these was the Parc des Champs Elysees, a nice sized park in the middle of town conveniently located between my school and the city center. It's a peaceful area with several paths, a playground, tennis courts, and flowers and trees throughout. I'm glad I took my camera since I doubt the flowers will stick around as the weather gets colder! There's even an old stone ruin, tucked away in the park's Jardin d'Horticulture, that I believe is left over from when the Romans controlled France.

~ Border of the park ~

~ One of several tree avenues ~

~ "Horticulture Garden" ~

~ More flowers ~

 ~ Love all the purple! ~

 ~ Visitor's Center ~

~ Roman (I think) ruins ~