This post won't be exactly chronological, but I'll give an overview of life and then my little trip to Luxembourg!
School has been going well so far, and I really like the teachers I'm working with. They definitely have different styles of teaching and I think it's interesting to get to see those in action. I can already see an improvement in the speaking abilities of most of the kids, which is really great. They did have a girl join the program right before the Toussaint holiday and she is definitely struggling, but I can't really blame her!
Sam and I recently switched to spending 2 weeks with each grade level instead of one in order to be more involved in the class and creating lessons. Last week I actually created and taught a mini lesson on patterns and colors using a turkey and it's feathers. I don't think I've ever cut/laminated this much in my entire life. I can't really say that it's my favorite activity! There is also a ton of work that goes into being a teacher- especially in France where everything is twice as difficult as it needs to be. The teacher who is in charge of the 1st graders had to completely create all of her immersion curriculum when she began this year, and the same goes for the teacher in charge of the 2nd graders this year. They have no pedagogical support and they're basically winging it. They don't make all the worksheets and so forth because of online resources, but they do spend an above average amount of time making things for the class and figuring out how to structure it around the very bizarre school schedule. Also, the 1st grade teacher literally gives out at least 5 worksheets a day (per class) and then we have to grade them all. So that's 5 worksheets per student that we have to grade, stamp, and date. So. much. fun.
Life in general is setting down into a good little rhythm. I've got my favorite grocery store, boulangerie, and bar all settled! Definitely a necessity! There is actually an assistant who is here with her husband- a chef! They're both really awesome and kind enough to open their home to us on Sundays for a big dinner and (American) football watching. I even got to see the Colts get pummeled by the Patriots :( But anyways it's great to have a group of friends and everyone is always willing to hang out, make dinner together, etc. My room is finally looking less institutionalized thanks to the pictures that Steve brought me, the postcards I received from home, and the cards as well! Oh, and I also hung up my chest x-ray to add an extra 'flair' to the room ;)
Which brings me to this: I'm officially allowed to be in France until June-ish! Go me! I had my Visa appointment a few weeks ago, and it was just as useless and time-wasting as the first one a few years ago. Actually, it was worse. They took such a long time doing the medical visit that all of us arrived back in Nancy too late to go see the prefecture to get the actual Visa sticker. We all had to come back the next day. Ohhhhh France.
But I've managed to leave France and go to another country- Luxembourg! Luxembourg is only 1.5 hours by regional train from Nancy, and I went with a few friends back in October! I'll explain most of the trip via pictures since it's been nothing but text so far!
Right after we all decided to go to Luxembourg for the day, some other assistants informed us that it was actually on the same day as the "Royal Wedding". Obviously we're not talking Will & Kate here- actually they didn't even both to show up to the blessed event. Don't worry Harry was there- but it was the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Countess Stephanie of Belgium. There were people lined up on the streets to get a glimpse of Stephanie as she exited the cathedral. Here's the one clear shot I got of her as she got inside the car:
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| The train of her dress was 13 feet long! |
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| This is a picture of the happy couple inside the cathedral as shown in town square on the replaying of the wedding later that day! |
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| My friend Megan and I trying to waste some time while waiting to see the bride and groom! |
After the wedding hoopla was over, I was reminded of one of my least favorite traits of European people- their complete and utter lack of respect for personal space. They definitely do not have bubbles at all!! We were trying to get into the center of town to get some lunch and so we drifted with the crowd that direction. As it turns out, the most convenient direction was blocked by a set of bleachers where the press were sitting. Once the first wave of people realized this, they all turned around and headed right back the other way. People were just getting smushed together! Every time I managed to get some space, whoever was behind or next to me immediately filled it with their body! There was always someone pressed up against me. I kept trying to have my arms out in front and behind me to create some space but they managed to invade it somehow. Throw in hundreds of people and a severe deodorant shortage and you've got an incredibly uncomfortable situation! Somehow we made it out of that crowd and found somewhere to eat, but I'm not sure how I made it without screaming at someone... actually I did quite severely tell some Italian woman to stop touching me when she tried to move past me by grabbing my shoulders....
Anyways after lunch we headed into the town center and then down into an amazing park! We were there on such a beautiful day, and the weather was perfect. All of the leaves in the park we starting to change, and it really reminded me of home :)
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| Completely spontaneous picture of the girls :) |
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| Random statue that we found while walking from one side of the city to the other! There was absolutely zero explanation as to what is was of/from/supposed to be. There were a lot of things like that actually! |
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| View of the city center from the othe rside of the bridge |
After we walked around in the park and wandered through town, we decided to go and see some other sighs. We crossed a big bridge and came across this tiny lime green tourist train. Naturally, we decided to take it! The train was... interesting... It came complete with an audio guide and you were allowed to select your own language. One of the options was Luxembourgish- yes, a real language- but most of us stuck with our native language! The train ride took us down to the lower part of the city, which was really nice to see. The sights were great and we did get a few bits of useful information, but mostly we were just confused. The audio guide tried to make it 'more interesting' by telling the history of the city as a story through the eyes of a water nymph that some prince or something supposedly married? The problem was that they failed to qualify any of this before embarking on the story! Then, as we got into the older parts of town, the audio cut out because the roads were cobblestone and the ride was very bumpy. Even though the audio guide left much to be desired, it was nice to see parts of town that we otherwise would have missed!
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| The girls on the train! |
I'm sure I've managed to forget something that's happened in the last month, and if I remember I'll add it in the next post! I'll try to update the blog very soon with lots of pictures and stories of my trip to Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest with Steve!
I miss everyone from home and hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving :)
Love,
Liv
I died reading the part about cutting and laminating. Welcome to my life. I'm pretty sure my hands will fall off in a few years ;) Teaching is hard work!!! Looks like you're having a good time ... great pictures!!!
ReplyDeleteHaha I know! There is always something to be cut, graded, or laminated! We have the worst paper cutter too... the board doesn't extend far enough to keep the paper straight when you cut!!!
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