Today I (fingers crossed!) fly home for the holiday vacation.
Annabelle told me about a "lights and sound" show at Place de la Liberation that's put on for Christmas, and I was eager to go see it. I'm glad she told me, or else I would have missed it! Since my classes finish mid-afternoon, I'm not usually out around downtown at 18h (6PM), which is when the first of three shows starts. I saw the show on Friday with Barbara and Sara and Alicia (woo, special appearance!) who was in town for the weekend. For anyone who I introduced Alicia to that day but didn't catch the connection, we studied abroad together and now she's in her second year of being an assistant.
Anyway, the lights show was fun to see, even if I kept on noticing things that were not particularly well thought out. Everyone's legs were moving faster than they were walking, but at least that was consistent. See if you can spot the horse wagon whose wheels turn WAY faster than the horse is walking, and the interaction between Remi and Santa didn't seem quite polished. Hey Mallory, maybe you can make one of these next year! ETA: the entire show was over 20 minutes, and youtube only allows 15, so I had to trim it down. It took a long time to get the upload to work, so that's why this post is being finished in mid-January.
Hopefully this video of the lights show is better quality than the video from the Christmas market. Make sure to select "HD" to view it in its full glory!
Fellow assistants, I'll see you in 2011! Family, school friends and others, hopefully I'll see you in the next two weeks!
20 December, 2010
18 December, 2010
Snow in Dijon!
In the past month it has been snowing quite frequently in Dijon. And since it has been colder than usual for late fall, said snow has often stuck to the ground, if only for a few days.
Yesterday was one of those days – HF let out early, and some schools in neighboring towns were canceled for the rest of the week! As night fell, it continued to snow and swirl around. After attempting to go to a concert with Sara and Emily that turned out to have been moved somewhere else across town, I decided to walk around and enjoy the magical weather!
First, though, I was inspired to build a snowman. The snow was very powdery and not particularly wet/easy to compact, but I still managed.
After I finished Monsieur bonhomme de neige, I walked to la Place de la Libération to see the Christmas lights in the snow. Standing between Palais des Ducs and the Marché de Noël, I took a video of the lights and decorations!
Joyeux fêtes, everyone! Happy holidays!
Also, I just installed the “insert video” plugin for Windows Live Writer, and noticed a pretty careless, relatively big problem: if you customize where the plugin should be installed during installation, the plugin doesn’t know where to look for its files. It should be able to take the “install to” location entered by the user and use it effectively, but apparently that’s too much to ask here. Sigh. So it appears that the inclusion of media needs to be done after I've already uploaded a post.
ETA: well zut, people, I just noticed that the quality of the video is awful. I recorded it in HD, and apparently Blogger reduced the file size on their servers via pixelization. That's lame; sorry guys. Also, sorry for the high pitched noise in the video. I will admit this quirk is my camera's fault, and somewhat mine for not using an external mic. Too bad Blogger didn't reduce that noise's volume down...
Yesterday was one of those days – HF let out early, and some schools in neighboring towns were canceled for the rest of the week! As night fell, it continued to snow and swirl around. After attempting to go to a concert with Sara and Emily that turned out to have been moved somewhere else across town, I decided to walk around and enjoy the magical weather!
First, though, I was inspired to build a snowman. The snow was very powdery and not particularly wet/easy to compact, but I still managed.
 |
| M. Bonhomme de Neige was warm, and I was cold. |
Joyeux fêtes, everyone! Happy holidays!
Also, I just installed the “insert video” plugin for Windows Live Writer, and noticed a pretty careless, relatively big problem: if you customize where the plugin should be installed during installation, the plugin doesn’t know where to look for its files. It should be able to take the “install to” location entered by the user and use it effectively, but apparently that’s too much to ask here. Sigh. So it appears that the inclusion of media needs to be done after I've already uploaded a post.
ETA: well zut, people, I just noticed that the quality of the video is awful. I recorded it in HD, and apparently Blogger reduced the file size on their servers via pixelization. That's lame; sorry guys. Also, sorry for the high pitched noise in the video. I will admit this quirk is my camera's fault, and somewhat mine for not using an external mic. Too bad Blogger didn't reduce that noise's volume down...
15 December, 2010
A pre-vacation mélange of thoughts
Hark the Herald angels shout… two more days till we get out!!
Did you ever have that chant in the weeks before Christmas? I learned that from Coach Cox when I was in lower school.
Anyway. It’s Wednesday morning, and I have 4 hours of class left to teach over two days before I’m on break for two weeks! I’m heading home for the holidays as well as Brad and Elaine’s wedding. Looking forward to seeing everyone! I’m also going to miss my assistant-peeps from Dijon as well, but I’ll get to see them again soon enough :)
This post is a random smattering of things that I’ve been meaning to post. If you want to skim through, I’ve conveniently highlighted summary sentences in green. Let’s begin!
- Taigne (the kitten who lives at my apartment and is adorable) has recently become more affectionate; this means that whenever you’re sitting on the couch watching TV or reading, she is all up ons, purring and trying to have as much physical contact as possible. When you inevitably get up to go do something else, this sudden need for contact produces what I’m calling the parrot effect: elle devient un perroquet (she becomes a parrot, sitting on your shoulder). It’s adorable to see her sitting on someone’s – usually Annabelle’s or my – shoulder as he or she walks around the kitchen, organizes a binder, etc. When I get back from break, I don’t know if she’ll still be small enough to sit on my shoulder!
- I never realized how American North Face jackets look until I saw a French person in one, and he immediately transformed into an American college student. My third host sibling, Benjamin, is in Dijon for a few days for a surprise visit. I’m glad I got to meet him! He flew in from New York from vacation, and while on vacation he needed a jacket. So he bought a North Face (“lifetime guarantee!” he said) and that is how I saw a Frenchman in a North Face jacket. It’s subtle, but the style is definitely American and not French.
- For some unknown reason, my towel keeps on disappearing from the bathroom towel rack; in the past week I must have changed towels four times! I don’t understand why this keeps happening… it’s a very minor thing, but still annoying. The first time (aka the first week) Annabelle mistook my blue towel for her blue towel and used it; understandable, and now I don’t use blue towels. I pick towels that look distinct from the rest, I try to put them in the same spot each day… and more often than not, recently, I walk in the salle de bain in the morning to find my towel gone, thrown in the wash. URG. I realize that it’s just Isabelle trying to straighten things up, but I asked her in the beginning which towel I should pick, and she said that it didn’t matter. I’ve been picking the same two towels, and they keep on getting washed over and over again. I don’t smell that bad, honest!
- Aside from seeing people, there are three things in particular that I’m looking forward to when I return home: my American cell phone, broccoli, and going to the grocery store on Sunday.
- For my cell phone, I’m looking forward to hearing my ringtone(s – Mallory, you’d better call me!), having close to unlimited talk and texting, and being able to send picture messages!! Although now that I think about it, I can’t actually picture what my phone looks like. I know it’s purple… ah, yes, the Motorola. As I was typing this, I had a hard time getting the image of both my French Samsung phone and my old-old LG phone out out of my head. Yes, Tonia and Susan, that’s the one whose blue plastic sticker-cover I saved.
- Broccoli – I know that broccoli exists in France, but it is one of my favorite vegetables and my host family here never eats it! I mentioned it to Isabelle, but I guess they’re just not fans of broccoli. Anyway, these three months have probably been the longest time that I have gone in my life without eating broccoli. Yes, I’m serious (it’s healthy, Elaine!).
- Regarding going to the grocery store – pretty much everything closes in France on Sundays, which can trip you up when you’re used to 24/7 grocery stores. I really want to go to the grocery store at midnight on Sunday the 26th, just because I can. Anyone want to go with??
- France and the US have a different attitude toward decorating for the holidays.
- As a first example, in France the cities put up lights along the streets and go all-out with lights shows, but individual families rarely put up anything. In the US it’s the individual families who decorate, while towns and cities might put up some decorative holiday banners or a few lights on the skyscrapers, but that’s about it in my experience.
- Secondly, Americans tend to buy Christmas trees (which can be HUGE!) many, many weeks in advance; the French buy a small tree, maybe 2-3 feet tall (because they often don’t have the means to transport a bigger tree) only a week or two before Christmas. For example, Isabelle is planning to buy her tree on Saturday the 18th.
- Thirdly, in the US many radio stations start playing Christmas music on December first and don’t stop until I after I want to scratch off my ears. In stores, you can’t escape it. In France, I’ve heard just enough Christmas music to be lovely without overwhelming. This is my opinion, obviously, and others may feel differently.
- My English vocabulary now contains many more British words than it did 3 months ago, thanks to the 6 Brits I hang out with in Dijon. I’ve recently found myself saying “proper” much more frequently, and earlier this week (and now) when I typed the word “niche” I could only hear the British pronunciation in my head. The British pronunciation of some words is the same as the French, of which niche is an example, but that doesn’t mean that I will start calling zucchinis courgettes! Oh come on Brits, don’t get the face on, it’s called a zucchini!
- Yesterday I had the class with Quentin, the kid who I made sit in the corner last week. I’m please to report that he and his friends were model students this time around! I could tell that they understood the message, and it stuck with them. Yay!
That’s all for now, folks!
08 December, 2010
Open mouth, insert foot, shrug
That’s kind of how I feel about my day today. I don’t know whether I can blame it on my sickness or not, but that would certainly be an easy way out. Also: oh gosh, this is a long blog post.
As of today, my voice is pretty much officially gone. Sometimes I was able to actually make speech noises, but not necessarily for the duration of an entire sentence. My throat feels fine, like nothing’s wrong, but when I go to speak, no sound comes out.
However, this morning I was still hopeful that I could teach my Terminale class at C by speaking softly (it’s a class of only 4 or 6) and using handwritten signs. So I got up, got dressed, ate breakfast and drank my tea, brushed my teeth, and started to head out the door… except my keys were gone.
Moment #1:
We all (the four of us) leave our keys on a desk next to the front door of the apartment. Since I always store my keys on the desk, my first thought was, “someone must have taken my keys by accident, or maybe Annabelle lent them to a friend because of their project presentation today.” Normally, I would take someone else’s keys and head out, assuming the swtcheroo would be fixed that evening. But there weren’t any keys on the desk at all. I was the only one home.
When I decided to just go to school and worry later about how to get back inside, I discovered that the door was locked.
I was locked in the apartment, and supposed to teach a class in 30 minutes. Joy.
You see, French doors are locked using deadbolts (2 turns to fully lock, for some reason), but the deadbolts can only be turned/released using keys. Doesn’t matter if you’re inside or outside, a key is required.
I looked through all the drawers, on all the tables, in my purse: every place I could think of, and found no keys. So I texted people (I’m hoarse, remember?) to ask for help and/or let them know. Isabelle was at a massage, and Annabelle was in the middle of a test (I found out later). Paul’s University campus is far enough away that it wasn’t worth trying to get in touch with him. So at 10:55AM, after 25 minutes of scrambling and searching I finally called Carnot to say that I was stuck and could not teach my 11AM class. The man at Vie Scholaire was kind enough to call the administration for me, since I was obviously straining to overcome my hoarseness in addition to being locked indoors on the 2nd (1er) floor. Sigh. Thank goodness that the German teacher Kirsty and I talked to yesterday gave me the number for the school, because otherwise I wouldn’t have known what to do!
However, this situation then led to my first bête (idiotic, foot-in-mouth) moment of the day – I eventually found my keys in my purse, at the very bottom of the pocket. D’oh. I remember putting my keys on the desk last night, and I checked my purse before I called C. Oh well, *shrug*; with my sore throat it was probably better for me to rest anyway.
Moment #2:
Isabelle was going to the doctor’s office today, and told me to come with her so that I could get my throat checked out.
The doctor isn’t in on Wednesday afternoons, but I made an appointment for Thursday. On the way home, we swung by the pharmacy to get a refill of one of Isabelle’s medications for her knee pain. However, there was a significant, unforeseen delay in this leg of the trip, because our car was hit by a Divia bus on the way there.
Now when I say “hit,” I actually mean that the side of the bus scraped the side of the car at roughly 5 mph. We were both turning left and the bus driver unintentionally cut us off by turning from the right-hand lane (the traffic patterns are being redesigned, so the lanes are constantly in transition). “Unintentionally” because he thought there was only one lane instead of 2.
It was a weird and slow experience, though, because we were turning… I could see that there wasn’t much room in the “goal” lane… the bus’s turning radius meant that it was getting closer to my side of the car… the side of the bus was 2 feet away and closing… and by the time I tried to verbally/scratchily react beyond, “wow, that bus is close to us!” the distance had already been closed and we were being pushed and jostled by the bus, in the middle of the intersection. We could hear and feel some of the metal being bent and the bumper being damaged.
The car was still drivable, once we got the bumper lashed back “on,” and the rest of the delay was waiting for the Divia people to arrive, inspecting the damage and filling out the report (Isabelle, not me). Surprisingly, everyone was quite friendly and at ease – I was really worried that the situation would be tense and hostile. I’ve never been in a car crash before (knock on wood!), but I imagine in the States there would be yelling and it would be a generally unhappy time for everyone. Maybe this was different because it was a public bus instead of two private individuals, and Divia has a formal procedure for this sort of incident. Not because it happens very often, but because they have to.
Anyway, I got a closer look at the French accident citation process this afternoon than I ever expected to. This moment was much more of a “sigh” moment because I was feeling tired and kind of sicky, and I just sort of quietly observed the whole thing, feeling as though I was experiencing things kind of behind a curtain.
Moments #3 and #4:
These foot-in-mouth moments are not nearly as exciting as the first two; they were more of the standard “why did I write that…” moments. I’d like to think that if I were well I would have thought through those Facebook posts a little more fully, but who knows. Neither was very serious, and both were easily fixable by explaining what I’d actually meant, it was just sort of the icing on the cake.
Suet isn’t meat, as it turns out (aka I need to pay more attention when I read recipe ingredients), and suggesting going on a walk when talking about someone’s figure (because you’re aware of the bridesmaid dress you need to wear at the end of this month) is easy to interpret offensively. Sigh/shrug.
Moment #5:
Because of the aforementioned sore throat, I emailed the teacher whose classes I have tomorrow that I may not be able to speak in class. She (Florence) wrote back, saying, “you will come to school tomorrow whether you can talk or not… I’ll prepare another activity in case you can’t talk.” AKA, she wanted me to take part of the group of kids no matter what, even if I just give them an activity to do on their own. I thought the phrasing was a bit brusque, but hey, okay, I can do that.
I’m glad I emailed back to confirm, because she sensed that something wasn’t right and then clarified in another message: “you should see if you’re feeling well in the morning, and if so then come in and teach. Otherwise, she will prepare an activity to give to the students herself.” Aha. Makes more sense, though I can imagine her meaning the first version as well.
“Verrai,” not “viendrai.” Oops. Normalement (if I were well), I hope, I would have read the verb properly. Tonight, I’m just glad I emailed back to confirm.
And… that was my day. It was definitely one of the more crazy ones that France has thrown at me so far. Next post I’ll try to include some pictures so it’s more interesting for you.
07 December, 2010
Dear Dijon weather and chatty lyceens...
... please stop raining and be quiet (respectively)!
The weather here has been quite cold recently, although the shift this week from snow to rain has brought the temperature above freezing. Annabelle and Paul were sick a week ago, and though I've been fighting it since then I have finally succumbed to sinus annoyances and a sore throat.
Prepubescent boy voice, anyone?
So what does a teaching assistant do when she has a sore throat? Continue teaching, apparently; or at least that's what I did today.
I woke up and could speak some, so I figured I should at least go in and give it a try. These two last weeks before the holiday break, I'm doing a special type of lesson at HF with the secondes. The students who scored highest on the most recent test are given to me to do a discussion activity while the other students review the test material. If I hadn't shown up today, the teachers would have been overloaded, and the good students would have missed out on more advanced practice.
The first class went pretty well; when my voice broke a few times, I smiled along with the students because I sounded so ridiculous. The second class started out pretty quiet, with only a few kids who would respond to questions. However, soon after my introduction - including the "you need to listen carefully because I'm sick and can't speak loudly" bit - some of the students started chatting amongst themselves, and would not stop.
Now, I don't really like quiet classes, but classes that chat in French are worse because it's counterproductive. I'm sure you can imagine, if you haven't experienced it yourself, that trying to speak/read/listen in one language is much more difficult when there is a second language being spoken! Léna, Quentin and Léa in particular would would not be quiet. What is almost more frustrating is that they would occasionally participate in English , but then go right back to chatting. If they happen to find this post and can understand it, good job kids, but you should have respected me and been quiet in class!
Anyway. I told the three of them to be quiet, I told them specifically to be quiet because they were distracting, I called on them repeatedly to answer questions when they had obviously been chatting... and after each time they continued. By this point it was severely distracting for me (and I'm sure the other students as well, though they didn't mind as much), and I was getting irritated. This sort of thing happened at C a few weeks ago and I hadn't realized during the class period how I should react, and I didn't want to make the same mistake this time. This time, my throat was paying for it.
Quentin and Léna were the most disruptive, and Quentin was sitting between the two girls. So finally I responded by saying, "Quentin, if I have to tell again to be quiet, I'm going to make you sit in the corner." I knew there was a chance that he hadn't completely understood this warning, but I'd given him enough warnings already. I singled him out partially because of his position (divide and conquer), but also with the hope that Léna would get the hint and not reply back to him.
So, inevitably, the next time he started talking to Léna in French: "Quentin, I told you to stop chatting. You need to go sit in the corner." At the confusion on his face, I walked over, took an extra chair, and placed it in the corner, facing away from the class. Now he understood.
After the chair was in place, he wanted another chance, but there was no way I was going to have that. "But I'm going to participate, I can say things..." To be honest, I don't remember whether he was speaking in English or French. At that point, I'd just had enough, and I wanted to make a point.
The rest of the class period was much more quiet - no more chatting! Success. But they were also quieter in general, understandably but unfortunately. At the end of class I approached Quentin and told him that I'm happy when he speaks English - he's quite good, and he was participating in the beginning! - but that he has to stop speaking in French during class. It was clear he knew he had misbehaved, and I hope he doesn't do it again. Léna, who was often a co-conspirator, was off to the side and had a coy looking smile on her face as I talked to her friend. Hopefully she understands that next time, she will also go sit in the corner.
These students were supposed to be the good ones, argh.
So in conclusion, what was memorable today? Confirming that both 5- and 15-year-olds understand that getting put in time-out is bad, that's what!
I had to do something, and it worked, but now I'm second guessing whether it was the best way to handle the situation, or whether I should have made Léna sit separately as well (there wasn't another easy corner, though). Thoughts? I learned after class (of course after class...) that detention does exist here, and I could have just given him/them detentions. Well, now I have an alternative the next time someone chats to that excess. But if they want to behave and chat like 5-year-olds, I'm tempted to treat them like 5-year-olds until they realize that I expect them to pay attention and participate.
Whew. Here's hoping Thursday doesn't require a repeat performance.
p.s. - as I was writing this post, Taigne fell asleep in my lap. Awwww...
The weather here has been quite cold recently, although the shift this week from snow to rain has brought the temperature above freezing. Annabelle and Paul were sick a week ago, and though I've been fighting it since then I have finally succumbed to sinus annoyances and a sore throat.
Prepubescent boy voice, anyone?
So what does a teaching assistant do when she has a sore throat? Continue teaching, apparently; or at least that's what I did today.
I woke up and could speak some, so I figured I should at least go in and give it a try. These two last weeks before the holiday break, I'm doing a special type of lesson at HF with the secondes. The students who scored highest on the most recent test are given to me to do a discussion activity while the other students review the test material. If I hadn't shown up today, the teachers would have been overloaded, and the good students would have missed out on more advanced practice.
The first class went pretty well; when my voice broke a few times, I smiled along with the students because I sounded so ridiculous. The second class started out pretty quiet, with only a few kids who would respond to questions. However, soon after my introduction - including the "you need to listen carefully because I'm sick and can't speak loudly" bit - some of the students started chatting amongst themselves, and would not stop.
Now, I don't really like quiet classes, but classes that chat in French are worse because it's counterproductive. I'm sure you can imagine, if you haven't experienced it yourself, that trying to speak/read/listen in one language is much more difficult when there is a second language being spoken! Léna, Quentin and Léa in particular would would not be quiet. What is almost more frustrating is that they would occasionally participate in English , but then go right back to chatting. If they happen to find this post and can understand it, good job kids, but you should have respected me and been quiet in class!
Anyway. I told the three of them to be quiet, I told them specifically to be quiet because they were distracting, I called on them repeatedly to answer questions when they had obviously been chatting... and after each time they continued. By this point it was severely distracting for me (and I'm sure the other students as well, though they didn't mind as much), and I was getting irritated. This sort of thing happened at C a few weeks ago and I hadn't realized during the class period how I should react, and I didn't want to make the same mistake this time. This time, my throat was paying for it.
Quentin and Léna were the most disruptive, and Quentin was sitting between the two girls. So finally I responded by saying, "Quentin, if I have to tell again to be quiet, I'm going to make you sit in the corner." I knew there was a chance that he hadn't completely understood this warning, but I'd given him enough warnings already. I singled him out partially because of his position (divide and conquer), but also with the hope that Léna would get the hint and not reply back to him.
So, inevitably, the next time he started talking to Léna in French: "Quentin, I told you to stop chatting. You need to go sit in the corner." At the confusion on his face, I walked over, took an extra chair, and placed it in the corner, facing away from the class. Now he understood.
After the chair was in place, he wanted another chance, but there was no way I was going to have that. "But I'm going to participate, I can say things..." To be honest, I don't remember whether he was speaking in English or French. At that point, I'd just had enough, and I wanted to make a point.
The rest of the class period was much more quiet - no more chatting! Success. But they were also quieter in general, understandably but unfortunately. At the end of class I approached Quentin and told him that I'm happy when he speaks English - he's quite good, and he was participating in the beginning! - but that he has to stop speaking in French during class. It was clear he knew he had misbehaved, and I hope he doesn't do it again. Léna, who was often a co-conspirator, was off to the side and had a coy looking smile on her face as I talked to her friend. Hopefully she understands that next time, she will also go sit in the corner.
These students were supposed to be the good ones, argh.
So in conclusion, what was memorable today? Confirming that both 5- and 15-year-olds understand that getting put in time-out is bad, that's what!
I had to do something, and it worked, but now I'm second guessing whether it was the best way to handle the situation, or whether I should have made Léna sit separately as well (there wasn't another easy corner, though). Thoughts? I learned after class (of course after class...) that detention does exist here, and I could have just given him/them detentions. Well, now I have an alternative the next time someone chats to that excess. But if they want to behave and chat like 5-year-olds, I'm tempted to treat them like 5-year-olds until they realize that I expect them to pay attention and participate.
Whew. Here's hoping Thursday doesn't require a repeat performance.
p.s. - as I was writing this post, Taigne fell asleep in my lap. Awwww...
16 November, 2010
Un petit pause
Right now I should be asleep, or finishing up the comprehension quiz for tomorrow's roadtrip activity. Or probably asleep. But since I've been remiss in completing legitimate posts about Belgium, I wanted to publish something quickly.
On my iGoogle page I have the weather widget, with displays for home, school, and Dijon. Last week I noticed the daily predictions (which are indicated by pictures) were kind of unusual. How so, you might ask?
Not cool, man. Sadly, the trend, looks like it will continue this week after a brief, beautiful pause over the weekend. It might not rain on Wednesday. Not that the rain isn't lovely, but I like some sunshine too. And it's much less fun to bike when the roads are wet.
I've been trying to perfect my "British" pronunciation of the word "yogurt" recently, because it amuses me so. I put the word British in quotes because of the great variety of accents, and my general ineptitude at imitating them. Apparently I'm getting better, but I still have to concentrate hard on the "o" sound. I always start thinking of the hint Will gave me: it sounds like the word "cog."
Speaking of British accents, I was talking today with Kirsty about Dijon, and I said "Place Darcy" with a (Northern?) English accent! Man, what a way to startle yourself! Proof I've been hanging out with a lot of Brits, I suppose. It was very funny because the elongated "a" just popped in the middle of a regular sentence.
Lastly but not least, we're going to be getting a kitty bientôt! One of Annabelle's friends either owns the mother cat or knows the owner, so we're getting a half-Angora kitten! She's dark calico with a white spot on her nose, and she is going to be named (Cha)taigne. Rather, she'll be called "Taigne." It's quite a cute name because she was born in the fall, when châtaignes (chestnuts) are ripening, she's dark brown, and chat = cat in French. Apparently the identical pronunciation of the word "teigne" (ringworm, certain types of moths, or an evil/aggressive person) doesn't bother them, so I'm not going to worry about it either. I think Taigne is a clever and cute name for our new kitty! Have no fear, I will post pictures of little Taigne once she arrives.
On my iGoogle page I have the weather widget, with displays for home, school, and Dijon. Last week I noticed the daily predictions (which are indicated by pictures) were kind of unusual. How so, you might ask?
Not cool, man. Sadly, the trend, looks like it will continue this week after a brief, beautiful pause over the weekend. It might not rain on Wednesday. Not that the rain isn't lovely, but I like some sunshine too. And it's much less fun to bike when the roads are wet.
I've been trying to perfect my "British" pronunciation of the word "yogurt" recently, because it amuses me so. I put the word British in quotes because of the great variety of accents, and my general ineptitude at imitating them. Apparently I'm getting better, but I still have to concentrate hard on the "o" sound. I always start thinking of the hint Will gave me: it sounds like the word "cog."
Speaking of British accents, I was talking today with Kirsty about Dijon, and I said "Place Darcy" with a (Northern?) English accent! Man, what a way to startle yourself! Proof I've been hanging out with a lot of Brits, I suppose. It was very funny because the elongated "a" just popped in the middle of a regular sentence.
Lastly but not least, we're going to be getting a kitty bientôt! One of Annabelle's friends either owns the mother cat or knows the owner, so we're getting a half-Angora kitten! She's dark calico with a white spot on her nose, and she is going to be named (Cha)taigne. Rather, she'll be called "Taigne." It's quite a cute name because she was born in the fall, when châtaignes (chestnuts) are ripening, she's dark brown, and chat = cat in French. Apparently the identical pronunciation of the word "teigne" (ringworm, certain types of moths, or an evil/aggressive person) doesn't bother them, so I'm not going to worry about it either. I think Taigne is a clever and cute name for our new kitty! Have no fear, I will post pictures of little Taigne once she arrives.
05 November, 2010
BELGIUM!
After three weeks of work (2 weeks of observation and 1 week of teaching, roughly), France decided that the assistants were working too hard, so we were given a nearly two-week vacation. Sweet, eh?
Okay, so it was actually the midterm vacation (la vacance de la Toussaint, which is not a particularly laïque/secular name given the laïque school system ), but the above paragraph is kind of how it felt for the language assistants. We also have Armistice day (Nov 11th) and November 12th off, but after that we work straight until the holiday break.
Anyway, during la vacance de la Toussaint I went to Belgium! I was gone 8 days, including travel days, and visited Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp. I had a great time, ate lots of goffres/waffles (6 to be exact), and took lots of pictures. Lots of pictures.
This post will serve as a placeholder and navigation post for my entries relating to Belgium. So without further ado:
Okay, so it was actually the midterm vacation (la vacance de la Toussaint, which is not a particularly laïque/secular name given the laïque school system ), but the above paragraph is kind of how it felt for the language assistants. We also have Armistice day (Nov 11th) and November 12th off, but after that we work straight until the holiday break.
Anyway, during la vacance de la Toussaint I went to Belgium! I was gone 8 days, including travel days, and visited Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp. I had a great time, ate lots of goffres/waffles (6 to be exact), and took lots of pictures. Lots of pictures.
This post will serve as a placeholder and navigation post for my entries relating to Belgium. So without further ado:
- Days 1-3: Brussels
- Days 4-5: Bruges
- Day 6: Ghent
- Day 7-8: Antwerp
22 October, 2010
Keeping fit in France
... and no, I don't mean the British "fit."
Since I only work 12 hours a week, I've trying to get into a good biking and running routine. I'm finding more and more biking/running paths near me, which is great. The big Parc de la Colombiere is also nearby.
Some of the paths I've biked so far:
Paths I've run:
One thing that I've noticed around France, and find really interesting, is that plenty of people go running in parcs, but it's not socially okay if you go running outside of a park. So when I jog or walk to Place Wilson, I always feel self conscious. But, I mean, how are you supposed to get to the parc to go jogging? Drive? If I were to take the bus in running clothes, I would almost be stared out of the bus. It's just not done.
So far I've tried to pick non-peak times, bike to the park, or just ignore what looks I get. In France it's socially acceptable to watch or look at someone for a period of time that would be considered rude in the States, so it could be partially that difference. However, I've also noticed that men (generally older men) stare at me as I pass them, running, in the parc. I'm not a fan at all of that behavior, but am not sure what to do about it besides ignore it. Maybe it's my hair? Something else to get used to, I guess. Since I literally lived on the park trail in Nantes, I've never dealt with this issue before.
Since I only work 12 hours a week, I've trying to get into a good biking and running routine. I'm finding more and more biking/running paths near me, which is great. The big Parc de la Colombiere is also nearby.
Some of the paths I've biked so far:
- Around Lake Kir and on toward Plombières-lès-Dijon, which I mentioned in this post.
- Parc de la Colombière (these are the main paths, though I've biked more than this)
- Along the Canal de Bourgogne past Longvic (this is a vast shortening and simplification of where I biked, because I didn't know where I was going for a while and wandered around neighborhoods in Longvic)
- Another path toward Plobières-lès-Dijon
Paths I've run:
- Parc de la Colombière
- Cours de Charles de Gaulle and Cours du Parc, the wide and pleasant sidewalk connecting Place Wilson and the Parc de la Colombière
- Cours entre Place Wilson and le Parc de la Colombière (obviously, the Parc is an ideal place to go running)
- To the petite village of "Ahuy," which I still don't quite know how to pronounce in French. Annie and I biked this, just sort of picking a direction and going. It was lovely, and the first time I've biked hills since I've been in France (7/11/10).
One thing that I've noticed around France, and find really interesting, is that plenty of people go running in parcs, but it's not socially okay if you go running outside of a park. So when I jog or walk to Place Wilson, I always feel self conscious. But, I mean, how are you supposed to get to the parc to go jogging? Drive? If I were to take the bus in running clothes, I would almost be stared out of the bus. It's just not done.
So far I've tried to pick non-peak times, bike to the park, or just ignore what looks I get. In France it's socially acceptable to watch or look at someone for a period of time that would be considered rude in the States, so it could be partially that difference. However, I've also noticed that men (generally older men) stare at me as I pass them, running, in the parc. I'm not a fan at all of that behavior, but am not sure what to do about it besides ignore it. Maybe it's my hair? Something else to get used to, I guess. Since I literally lived on the park trail in Nantes, I've never dealt with this issue before.
21 October, 2010
Deuxième stage
Today was a very enjoyable and informative day, even though I slept through my alarm. As Elaine can confirm, this happens very rarely. However, it tends to coincide with days when I really need the extra sleep - with the recent drop in temperatures in Dijon, my throat's been feeling a little unhappy. I'm drinking lots of tea, but extra sleep is the best medicine.
Anyway, I woke up when Kirsty texted me to ask why I wasn't at the bus stop 10 minutes ago. Oops. The morning was sunny, though, after days of clouds, so I was very cheerful despite my lateness.
Fortunately I had not missed a class; today was my second stage (orientation) as an assistant. My original expectations for la stage were not quite correct, as it was small - only English assistants, and only English assistants from Cote D'or. The smaller number of assistants made it nicer, though. I got to remeet a few English assistants, and meet a few more. In particular, I (re?)met Annie from California, who works in Beaune but has just moved to Dijon... two blocks from me! She, Kirsty and I all live in the same coin or quartier (area/quarter), which is great. She has a bike too, and we are both excited at the prospect of a biking partner.
So today we had our questions answered (administrative, pedagogic, scheduling...) and learned more about the resources available to us. Very useful, but around 4PM we were all getting fidgety.
Heading to Centre-ville, our group shrank somewhat as people went home or to the train station (for those not in Dijon), but 12 of us went to a brasserie (E) to get drinks and dinner. We ate quite early for French standards - 6:15 PM - but we were catching a movie at 7:25PM so it was necessary. The cafeteria lunch at the orientation wasn't very good, either, so we were hungry.
Our group shrank again after dinner. Nine English assistants headed to Cinéma Desvosges to see The Social Network in VO (vérsion originale, aka English with French subtitles). I don't know how much of the plot is fictional and how much of the plot is real, but it was a really well made movie. The script and characters drew you in and held on until just the last moment - right before the credits rolled I realised the film was ending, and at the same time it occurred to me that I wasn't in the US anymore. "Anymore" meaning as soon as the film ended, because the immersion in American culture in this movie is comprensive! We all enjoyed it greatly. I recommend it!
Something I've remarked repeatedly is that Dijon has a surprising mix of anglophones. The program as a whole has the most Americans, I think, followed by the British. However, in Dijon, the Brits outnumber the Americans greatly. It's fantastic, because I'm exposed to British accents that I haven't heard, and I'm learning a lot about England, particularly her geography.
Side question: Did you study English geography in school? Because I remember briefly covering Canadian geography in lower school, but that's it besides American geography and general European/world geography.
Annie, living in Dijon now, adds to the American assistants at our soirées. For example, at the movie theatre, there were 5 Brits, 1 Canadian and 3 Americans. It's a nice mix, and leads to many amusing "well what do you call this/how do you pronounce ___?" discussions. Before the movie began, we discovered that there are three (+, I'm sure) distinct ways to say the word "pasta." Who knew, right? It's all in the way the "a" is pronounced.
Anyway, I woke up when Kirsty texted me to ask why I wasn't at the bus stop 10 minutes ago. Oops. The morning was sunny, though, after days of clouds, so I was very cheerful despite my lateness.
Fortunately I had not missed a class; today was my second stage (orientation) as an assistant. My original expectations for la stage were not quite correct, as it was small - only English assistants, and only English assistants from Cote D'or. The smaller number of assistants made it nicer, though. I got to remeet a few English assistants, and meet a few more. In particular, I (re?)met Annie from California, who works in Beaune but has just moved to Dijon... two blocks from me! She, Kirsty and I all live in the same coin or quartier (area/quarter), which is great. She has a bike too, and we are both excited at the prospect of a biking partner.
So today we had our questions answered (administrative, pedagogic, scheduling...) and learned more about the resources available to us. Very useful, but around 4PM we were all getting fidgety.
Heading to Centre-ville, our group shrank somewhat as people went home or to the train station (for those not in Dijon), but 12 of us went to a brasserie (E) to get drinks and dinner. We ate quite early for French standards - 6:15 PM - but we were catching a movie at 7:25PM so it was necessary. The cafeteria lunch at the orientation wasn't very good, either, so we were hungry.
 |
| Place de la Libération as I walked to dinner |
Something I've remarked repeatedly is that Dijon has a surprising mix of anglophones. The program as a whole has the most Americans, I think, followed by the British. However, in Dijon, the Brits outnumber the Americans greatly. It's fantastic, because I'm exposed to British accents that I haven't heard, and I'm learning a lot about England, particularly her geography.
Side question: Did you study English geography in school? Because I remember briefly covering Canadian geography in lower school, but that's it besides American geography and general European/world geography.
Annie, living in Dijon now, adds to the American assistants at our soirées. For example, at the movie theatre, there were 5 Brits, 1 Canadian and 3 Americans. It's a nice mix, and leads to many amusing "well what do you call this/how do you pronounce ___?" discussions. Before the movie began, we discovered that there are three (+, I'm sure) distinct ways to say the word "pasta." Who knew, right? It's all in the way the "a" is pronounced.
 |
| Before the movie, still in Place de la Libération. The building on the left is part of the Palais de Ducs (on the right of the previous picture), and you can see a banner of a ligne 1 bus. |
11 October, 2010
An average day, if a long one
Nothing terribly adventurous or exciting happened today, it was a normal day. I observed courses starting at 8AM, went for a run, watched Friends in French (the very American episode with Brad Pitt over for Thanksgiving).
However, I did see the sunrise, so I'll leave you with this picture:
However, I did see the sunrise, so I'll leave you with this picture:
10 October, 2010
Clarification on my work so far
Chatting with Mallory, I realized that I may not have been terribly clear about my work here in Dijon. Here's more information on what I know so far!
So you're an "English Assistant," what does that mean?
I will be assisting English teachers in two high schools in Dijon, France. In this program, run by the French government, there are also Spanish, German and Italian assistants, as well as a few other languages as well. The majority of assistants are anglophones, with the next largest percentage being hispanophones. Our goal as language assistants is to get our students to practice their oral/spoken skills. Technically, we are only allowed to speak to the students in our teaching language. Assistants are assigned to both primaire (elementary) and sécondaire (middle and high) school.
Wow, is that as much responsibility as it sounds like?
Sort of - we are responsible for our students' learning, and how well we prepare for our classes can significantly affect their improvement. However, since assistants are native speakers of our teaching language (close to 100% of the time...), whatever interactions we have are legitimate and we don't have to be perfect. For example, whatever English I speak is "proper" American conversational English for someone from my region. It would therefore be theoretically possible to wing a class and come out fine, because the goal is for the students to be immersed in fluent, natural communication.
Wow, you've had to get into the swing of things really fast, yes?
The first two weeks of work, which started on October 5th, are supposed to be for observation only, which helps. Observation includes taking notes on teaching styles and activities as well as helping out with class. I've currently completed one week of observation, and I think some of my actual teaching will start during this upcoming week.
How are the kids so far?
Shy, in a word. Sure, there are jokers - and French students speak a lot amongst themselves during class, which is especially distracting in an English class - but they are hesitant to speak English. Which is, of course, why I'm here: to get them used to speaking English so they will improve. You can't improve without making mistakes - I learned that first hand while studying in Nantes in 2008 (E) - and I know I'm going to have to urge them repeatedly to speak in English, to speak louder, and to participate.
Why two schools?
At each school I'm the 2nd English assistant, and I work half time at each. Both schools have 1.5 English assistants, essentially and I'm the second half. Why? Because it was determined that these schools could benefit from/needed more than one English assistant, but apparently they didn't need two. Also, cleverly, both Katie and Kirsty are British so I provide a representative of another Anglophone culture to the students' experience.
Are the two schools you teach at different?
From what I've seen so far and what people keep telling me, yes. My "primary" school is Lycée Carnot (where I work with Kirsty) and my "secondary" school is Lycée Hippolyte Fontaine (where I work with Katie). Both of those links are French wikipedia, but you can change the language to English if you need. Henceforth I will refer to my two schools as C and HF.
The organization at C is being done by one teacher, Alain, who is coordinating our schedules and pretty much telling the other profs what's happening (at least that's the impression I get). So far almost all professor interaction that Kirsty and I have had is either through or thanks to Alain. For most of my classes at C, multiple teachers will send me 3 students each, so that I'll have 6 to 9 students each session. Meaning if there are three English classes of the same level going on simultaneously, I'll have 3 students from each class, all together in a classroom with me for an hour. C is supposed to be one of the top schools in Dijon - second only to Lycée Charles de Gaulle in languages, apparently - and it's relatively bourgeois. That means that the student population is not terribly diverse, and everyone is relatively well-off.
The organization at HF is doing done primarily by one teacher, Danielle, who also happens to be the responsable (main teaching contact) for all of the language assistants in the Burgundy region. Danielle is receiving significant help and cooperation from the other four English teachers at HF, and so Katie and I have a bit of contact with the other staff. At HF I'm going to be assisting the teachers more individually with their classes, meaning I will only see one teacher's class at a time. From what they've talked about so far, I believe they will want me to be in the classroom with them often, switching off who is teaching what half of the class within one hour. HF is also renowned for being one of the "rougher" schools in Dijon, with lower-performing and more minority students/cultural diversity. It is also a technical school, which means that there are some older students - Katie's and my age, actually - who are pursuing their technical degree to become, for example, mechanics.
Okay, I think that's a decent summary. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask in the comments and I'll answer them!
At each school I'm the 2nd English assistant, and I work half time at each. Both schools have 1.5 English assistants, essentially and I'm the second half. Why? Because it was determined that these schools could benefit from/needed more than one English assistant, but apparently they didn't need two. Also, cleverly, both Katie and Kirsty are British so I provide a representative of another Anglophone culture to the students' experience.
Are the two schools you teach at different?
From what I've seen so far and what people keep telling me, yes. My "primary" school is Lycée Carnot (where I work with Kirsty) and my "secondary" school is Lycée Hippolyte Fontaine (where I work with Katie). Both of those links are French wikipedia, but you can change the language to English if you need. Henceforth I will refer to my two schools as C and HF.
The organization at C is being done by one teacher, Alain, who is coordinating our schedules and pretty much telling the other profs what's happening (at least that's the impression I get). So far almost all professor interaction that Kirsty and I have had is either through or thanks to Alain. For most of my classes at C, multiple teachers will send me 3 students each, so that I'll have 6 to 9 students each session. Meaning if there are three English classes of the same level going on simultaneously, I'll have 3 students from each class, all together in a classroom with me for an hour. C is supposed to be one of the top schools in Dijon - second only to Lycée Charles de Gaulle in languages, apparently - and it's relatively bourgeois. That means that the student population is not terribly diverse, and everyone is relatively well-off.
The organization at HF is doing done primarily by one teacher, Danielle, who also happens to be the responsable (main teaching contact) for all of the language assistants in the Burgundy region. Danielle is receiving significant help and cooperation from the other four English teachers at HF, and so Katie and I have a bit of contact with the other staff. At HF I'm going to be assisting the teachers more individually with their classes, meaning I will only see one teacher's class at a time. From what they've talked about so far, I believe they will want me to be in the classroom with them often, switching off who is teaching what half of the class within one hour. HF is also renowned for being one of the "rougher" schools in Dijon, with lower-performing and more minority students/cultural diversity. It is also a technical school, which means that there are some older students - Katie's and my age, actually - who are pursuing their technical degree to become, for example, mechanics.
Okay, I think that's a decent summary. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask in the comments and I'll answer them!
Lake Kir and an organ concert at Saint Bénigne de Dijon
Last night (Saturday night) Isabelle hosted a big party for her friends who helped her move in to the apartment in June. There were probably close to 25 people there, and the event lasted from 20h30 until 1h45 (8:30PM until 1:45AM). I was impressed that everyone stayed so late! It was very enjoyable, though I was nervous at the beginning about meeting so many French people. Man, did the introductions (walking around the circle of chairs and giving bises and shaking hands) go on forever! I grabbed a seat early, so I mostly had to stand and receive bises.
Since it was a late night, I felt validated taking a grosse matinee (lazy/late morning). After lunch I went for a bike ride, though - to Lake Kir and beyond! There is a very nice bike path along there, and it was a pleasant ride when I wasn't dodging strollers and families. The weather recently has been amazing, and today was no exception - qu'il fasse beau aujourd'hui! The lake is apparently artificial, with a sandy beach of maybe 75 feet deep and a few hundred feet long. It looked like you could have gone swimming, if the high was above 66 °F (18.9 °C). Mainly, though, there are lots of paths for strolling and biking. It's far enough away from Dijon that some small hills (les collines) surrounded the lake and its path. Very beautiful! I kept on biking for a ways more past the lake, going through what appeared to be community gardens and up into another town. I had to turn back once I got to the town, however, because I was going to a concert at 17h! I hope to explore more of the biking path in that direction another day.
Kirsty and I had already visited the Cathédrale Saint Bénigne last week, and we'd picked up information about some music concerts. Since one of the concerts was coming up, we decided to go. Will, another British assistant who is working at two middle schools, also attended. The concert we chose was an organ performance. We sat facing the back of the auditorium; as appears to be a trend in European churches with organs (maybe just Catholic cathedrals? I'm no expert...), the organ was at the back of the sanctuary. It was amusing to see half of the chairs turned backward.
Five pieces were played (F); Bach, Mozart, Alain, Werner, and Dupre. The Dupre and the middle movement of the Alain were probably my favorite pieces, followed by the Mozart. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the Bach ricercar the least! I found it cacophonous, actually - while I normally love to hear the complex interweaving melodies of Bach pieces (this was a six-voice piece), the acoustics of this organ made it too much for me. It was difficult to distinguish the voices from the loud reverberations.
I did think ahead, though, and brought my recorder to the concert! I started recording partially through the introduction of the Mozart, so here are the four files I have:
Since it was a late night, I felt validated taking a grosse matinee (lazy/late morning). After lunch I went for a bike ride, though - to Lake Kir and beyond! There is a very nice bike path along there, and it was a pleasant ride when I wasn't dodging strollers and families. The weather recently has been amazing, and today was no exception - qu'il fasse beau aujourd'hui! The lake is apparently artificial, with a sandy beach of maybe 75 feet deep and a few hundred feet long. It looked like you could have gone swimming, if the high was above 66 °F (18.9 °C). Mainly, though, there are lots of paths for strolling and biking. It's far enough away from Dijon that some small hills (les collines) surrounded the lake and its path. Very beautiful! I kept on biking for a ways more past the lake, going through what appeared to be community gardens and up into another town. I had to turn back once I got to the town, however, because I was going to a concert at 17h! I hope to explore more of the biking path in that direction another day.
Kirsty and I had already visited the Cathédrale Saint Bénigne last week, and we'd picked up information about some music concerts. Since one of the concerts was coming up, we decided to go. Will, another British assistant who is working at two middle schools, also attended. The concert we chose was an organ performance. We sat facing the back of the auditorium; as appears to be a trend in European churches with organs (maybe just Catholic cathedrals? I'm no expert...), the organ was at the back of the sanctuary. It was amusing to see half of the chairs turned backward.
Five pieces were played (F); Bach, Mozart, Alain, Werner, and Dupre. The Dupre and the middle movement of the Alain were probably my favorite pieces, followed by the Mozart. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the Bach ricercar the least! I found it cacophonous, actually - while I normally love to hear the complex interweaving melodies of Bach pieces (this was a six-voice piece), the acoustics of this organ made it too much for me. It was difficult to distinguish the voices from the loud reverberations.
I did think ahead, though, and brought my recorder to the concert! I started recording partially through the introduction of the Mozart, so here are the four files I have:
- Wolfgang-Amadeus MOZART, Adagio et Rondo en Ut mineur, K617
- Jehan ALAIN, Suite pour orgue
- Introduction
- Variation Scherzo
- Variation Choral
- Jean-Jacques WERNER, Le Cantique de Siméon
- Marcel DUPRE, Carillon (extrait des sept pièces)
06 October, 2010
In France, grapes are crunchy
Tonight my host mother Isabelle and I dined together after she got home from her oil painting class. Annabelle and Paul are often out of the house at dinnertime and later, which is not what I originally expected.
For dessert we had some of the grapes she had recently bought; Burgundy is famous for its wine, so its grapes are pretty well known too.
However, grapes in France are different from what you buy in the states; not only are the varieties different (no, you don't eat the varieties that are used in wine making), but they have seeds. I'm not sure seedless grapes exist here, and don't expect them to become popular anytime in the near future. Understandably, there's a great deal of pride associated with France's grapes/wine, and also the French are very against engineered and manipulated foods, which in this case they might extend to grapes bred to not have seeds. But I disgress.
When I first tried a grape and made a face when I crunched down on the seeds (les pépins) because I wasn't expecting the crunch. Grapes aren't supposed to be crunchy... plus, the seeds are bitter. Isabelle thought my expression was funny, as well as the fact that I spat the seeds of the next few grapes I ate into my hand. "Tu manges les raisins comme les enfants," she amusedly told me (you eat grapes like little kids, spitting out the seeds).
I figured that I should make an effort to act like an adult French person, so I tried to eat grapes "normally," swallowing the seeds. I wish I could have seen my expression the first few grapes, because I'm sure it would have been very pitiful and funny. The trick, I found out, is to swallow the seeds as soon as possible so the bitterness is masked by the sweet grape. I also tried not to crunch the seeds, but that was awkward because I felt like I was eating mochi and not grapes. Swallowing the seeds quickly - which is kind of like learning to swallow pills - still isn't great, in my opinion, because you have very little time to enjoy the grape unless you want a bitter aftertaste.
Anyway, I can successfully eat grapes like a Frenchperson. I did notice, though, that at the next meal where we ate grapes, Paul spat the seeds out into his hand. I couldn't think of the words fast enough to mention it, so I just chuckled to myself.
For dessert we had some of the grapes she had recently bought; Burgundy is famous for its wine, so its grapes are pretty well known too.
However, grapes in France are different from what you buy in the states; not only are the varieties different (no, you don't eat the varieties that are used in wine making), but they have seeds. I'm not sure seedless grapes exist here, and don't expect them to become popular anytime in the near future. Understandably, there's a great deal of pride associated with France's grapes/wine, and also the French are very against engineered and manipulated foods, which in this case they might extend to grapes bred to not have seeds. But I disgress.
When I first tried a grape and made a face when I crunched down on the seeds (les pépins) because I wasn't expecting the crunch. Grapes aren't supposed to be crunchy... plus, the seeds are bitter. Isabelle thought my expression was funny, as well as the fact that I spat the seeds of the next few grapes I ate into my hand. "Tu manges les raisins comme les enfants," she amusedly told me (you eat grapes like little kids, spitting out the seeds).
I figured that I should make an effort to act like an adult French person, so I tried to eat grapes "normally," swallowing the seeds. I wish I could have seen my expression the first few grapes, because I'm sure it would have been very pitiful and funny. The trick, I found out, is to swallow the seeds as soon as possible so the bitterness is masked by the sweet grape. I also tried not to crunch the seeds, but that was awkward because I felt like I was eating mochi and not grapes. Swallowing the seeds quickly - which is kind of like learning to swallow pills - still isn't great, in my opinion, because you have very little time to enjoy the grape unless you want a bitter aftertaste.
Anyway, I can successfully eat grapes like a Frenchperson. I did notice, though, that at the next meal where we ate grapes, Paul spat the seeds out into his hand. I couldn't think of the words fast enough to mention it, so I just chuckled to myself.
01 October, 2010
A list of interesting links about Dijon
This list will grow as I find more interesting links. Language of the site listed after the hyperlink; if both English and French are available, the E and F will host the hyperlinks.
- Good 'ol Wikipedia. E/F
- Dijon's tourist website. E/F
- My break schedule this year. F
29 September, 2010
Cours d'anglais
Since I live above an elementary school, the end-of-period bells and recess brouhaha are often audible. Also, when I'm walking to and from the apartment, I sometimes hear bits of class as I pass near the doors.
Today there was an English class taking place, and I heard one student introducing herself as part of an exercise. I was focusing on the cute too much to catch her name, but here is a sentence equivalent to what she said... before you read this quote, imagine an adorable, mignon French accent coating this little voice: "My name is Pierre."
Rather, "Mye nameh eez Pierre." D'awww...
Today there was an English class taking place, and I heard one student introducing herself as part of an exercise. I was focusing on the cute too much to catch her name, but here is a sentence equivalent to what she said... before you read this quote, imagine an adorable, mignon French accent coating this little voice: "My name is Pierre."
Rather, "Mye nameh eez Pierre." D'awww...
25 September, 2010
24 September, 2010
23 September, 2010
22 September, 2010
Welcome, bienvenue!
Well hello, glad you found your way here. For reference, any links that will significantly aid your understanding of my posts will be bolded.
For the next 7+ months, I will be living in France, working for the French government as an assitante d'anglais (English language assistant). Out of the three académie preferences I gave in my application (France is divided into 30 "Académies," by the ministry of education), I found out on April 6th that I had been placed in the Académie de Dijon. On July 20th, I found out that I would be working in Dijon at two different high schools, and on September 4th I secured housing. Whew!
During my "séjour en France" (my stay in France), I will try to keep this blog updated with pictures and anecdotes of the things that I do. I am writing this post one week after entering France, so I have a little catching up to do. However, to facilitate comprehension of the timeline, I will be backdating the first few posts.
You may or may not be aware that I'm kind of paranoid about releasing personal information on the internet, especially in public forums. I therefore enter into the blogosphere very hesitantly. I haven't completely figured out how I want to use this form of communication, so we will have to see how it evolves.
Written 1/10/10
For the next 7+ months, I will be living in France, working for the French government as an assitante d'anglais (English language assistant). Out of the three académie preferences I gave in my application (France is divided into 30 "Académies," by the ministry of education), I found out on April 6th that I had been placed in the Académie de Dijon. On July 20th, I found out that I would be working in Dijon at two different high schools, and on September 4th I secured housing. Whew!
During my "séjour en France" (my stay in France), I will try to keep this blog updated with pictures and anecdotes of the things that I do. I am writing this post one week after entering France, so I have a little catching up to do. However, to facilitate comprehension of the timeline, I will be backdating the first few posts.
You may or may not be aware that I'm kind of paranoid about releasing personal information on the internet, especially in public forums. I therefore enter into the blogosphere very hesitantly. I haven't completely figured out how I want to use this form of communication, so we will have to see how it evolves.
Written 1/10/10
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