Belgium, getting stranded/adventures, and of course, more teaching

La Belgique

One of the best things about being in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais Region (Lille region) is how close I am to some major European cities. Paris is only a little more than an hour away by train, a couple of hours from London (if you live on the coast, you can easily take a ferry to Dover), and really close to Belgium. As a matter of fact, the train ride to Brugge is only 1 ½ hours (and that’s with a longer stop, with the train just chilling in another Belgian town). Driving, that’s about the same amount of time from Richmond to Virginia Beach, with no traffic (and really depending on how fast you drive).

Last weekend, we had a 3-day weekend. Or at least us assistants did. Friday was a holiday, but some students still had to go back to school on Saturday morning. Thank goodness none of the English teachers I work with teach on Saturdays. Ideally, we would have liked to spend the weekend in Bruges, but it was a lot of last minute planning and we couldn’t find a cheap enough hostel or hotel that was available for at least one of the nights. So on Saturday, I headed to Bruges for a day trip with 3 other assistants. We did get a late start and caught a train 4 hours later than originally planned, but we got there!

Bruges

Bruges’ chocolate festival was that same weekend, so that was kind of the reason for our trip, but once we got there, we just really wanted to wander around, especially since we only had the afternoon. Bruges is beautiful, but of course very touristy. At some places, I couldn’t decide if I should speak in English or in French to order…I ended up using both languages. I definitely want to go back again, to actually see more and maybe go inside some museums or up the beffroi. I’m seriously glad that I’m close enough to be able to take a day trip, plus we got this special pass/ticket that cost only 20 euros round trip!

Perfect Belgian town?

Wandering around, we saw plenty of chocolate shops and we even stumbled across the beer wall – a wall/glass case with the thousands of Belgian beer on display! And of course before we left, we had to have a Belgian waffle (and fries), AND I bought a kilo of chocolate… and I got a small box free (which came in handy later…)! It kinda sucks that the last train from Bruges to Lille left at 7:32 pm, but it’s ok. It’s close enough.

One of many chocolate shops!

The kilo + of chocolate that I bought :D

Only one small part of the beer wall!

Bloquées

So we already knew that we would be cutting it very close with our trains because our train was scheduled to arrive in Lille at 8:56 and then the last train to Béthune was scheduled to leave at 9:02 pm. We knew that we would literally have to jump off the train and book it to the other side of the station, and by the end of the day, we were just so tired so we were very eager to get back home. Unfortunately, the train pulled into the station at about 9:02 and we still booked it to the other side of the station... and yes, we missed our train. Just by a minute. Darn these trains for always leaving at precise times.

Luckily, we had bumped into other assistants at the train station in Bruges and we got their number, just in case we really did miss our train. So after sitting in McDonald’s until it closed using their wifi and texting a bunch of assistants in the Lille area, looking for a floor to sleep on, one American assistant offered us his floor! Now French apartments are known for being pretty small and there were 3 of us stranded, but there was no way that we were going to split up. So, we met up with a group of assistants and were able to sleep with a roof over our head (yay no having to sleep in the train station)!In exchange for a floor (it was carpet… how luxurious!) and to express our gratitude (especially since we were really desperate and tired), I gave our gracious host my small box of Belgian chocolate. Everything happens for a reason right? And at least we made some friends and some good came out of being stranded. But on Sunday morning, I had never been so happy to come back to the small town of Béthune.

L’enseignement

Teaching, is, well, teaching. I’ve definitely had days with good classes who are more interested in the lessons and who participate more and then I’ve had bad days with classes who clearly aren’t interested and/or don’t want to participate at all. We did a little activity today in our last meeting for lycée assistants and we were really put in the shoes of our students. It really hasn’t been that long since I’ve been a student, but sometimes you kind of forget how difficult things can be in a foreign language. Also, for them, English is a required subject, so not everyone is learning English because they want to. One of the teachers told us today that it seems like in general in the French education system, the students have been somewhat trained to listen and have never really had to participate as much.

I have also started tutoring 2 boys, ages 11 and 9. They’re the kids of a Spanish teacher at Blaringhem and they’re actually really enthused about learning English. They’ve already learned some at school, so they get really excited when I tell them some words they already know. So far, I’ve only had one session with them and I was just trying to get a feel of what they already know and try and see what kind of activities I could do with them. I did play Simon Says with them (which they loved) and I’m excited I get to plan some activities, etc. for little kids too!

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Thanksgiving is in a week, so this past week I did a lesson on Thanksgiving for some of my classes that I see every other week. I taught a little bit of history, food, and contemporary culture (football, Macy’s Day Parade, and Black Friday). My students have seriously been in awe of how much food we eat at Thanksgiving (I had shown them pictures of the main things—turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, etc.) and how crowded it gets on Black Friday. Also, showing my students all the food made me super hungry.

To celebrate Thanksgiving (sometime next weekend probably), the other assistants and I are going to make our own version of a Thanksgiving meal. None of us have an oven, so I guess we’re just going to buy turkey meat from the store and just cook it on the stove? We’ve found cranberries here, so the only thing really missing is a pumpkin pie. I guess we’ll just have to have some sort of French pastry as a substitute!

À plus! xx

On doit toujours parler en français!

With the beginning of our real teaching period and the end of our first break, the other assistants who live at Blaringhem and I have decided to actually speak in French with each other all the time, or as much as possible. We had been speaking English with each other ever since we arrived, so it hasn’t really done much to improve our French, and when we actually do speak French to other teachers or waiters, we found ourselves stumbling, trying to get our mind back in French mode, thinking about vocab and grammar. Now with us trying to constantly speak in French, it’s helping our brains constantly be in French mode and like anything else, practice makes perfect.

To help my brain stay in French mode, I’ve been watching more tv when I have time and at times, I just leave it on the music channel (even if there are some songs in English), instead of watching whatever shows I have on my external HD or listening to music that’s in English. I’ve been watching a show called Plus belle la vie, which is on during lunch and in the afternoons, and I guess it could be almost like a French soap opera or drama? I’m still trying to follow the characters and how they’re related to each other. All I know is that this one guy is in love with his mother-in-law.

Also, in the mornings, when I’m getting ready and eating breakfast, I’ve watched cartoons/kids shows, like “Le Petit Nicolas,” or the news. In the morning, there are a lot of infomercials, and a few of them are dubbed. I find it interesting because I have seen a lot (and I mean A LOT) of infomercials for these undergarments for women that instantly slim the figure. I think the name of one them is ceinture ventre plat (belt for a flat stomach). A lot of them are things that help enhance/slim the figure or exercise equipment in general. I wonder if this has anything to do with the stereotype that all French women are thin.

On Sundays, after church, How I Met Your Mother is on tv. And of course, anyone who knows me knows that I absolutely love that show, so of I course I watch it, even dubbed in French. Legendary is translated into = Hallucinant! “C’est hallu… attends… cinant!” That definitely doesn’t have the same feel as legendary. It also makes me wonder how they translated the line with “… and I hope you’re not lactose intolerant because the end is dary (or something like that).”

Teaching

Now, I really understand how teachers feel when students don’t participate, when they ask a question and nobody raises their hand, and why they randomly call on people. I know it’s difficult because it’s a foreign language and because they’re not used to hearing an American accent as opposed to a British English accent. Hopefully the lessons when I do games, etc. will be better, but for now, I’m still seeing certain classes for a first time, so I have to get a feel for the students and their levels. Also, I’m hoping that the students are just shy and eventually they’ll warm up to me. Thank goodness for the Hermiones of the class (the student who will raise his/her hand and will most likely have the answer to every question or who volunteer for everything). When I think about it though, 5 years ago, when I was in their spot, I barely ever participated. One of the teachers lent me some books with ideas for games, etc. for teaching English as a foreign language, so I’m definitely going to look into those. 

One really interesting thing that I found out from my students’ introductions is that they live all over the place. When I say all over the place, I really do mean throughout the region. Some of them don’t actually live in Béthune, some live in the small towns right outside of Béthune, and others live in towns that are a bit farther out. For example, one student lives in Arras, which is the big town I visited over break, and that’s a good 30 minute train ride away. I’ve also heard of students living Hazerbrouck (another town, at least a 15 minute train ride away). This isn’t too weird to me considering that I went to Henrico High School for IB, so students came from all over the county, but Blaringhem doesn’t have a specialty center. It doesn’t seem like they do zoning at all, and I wonder how students choose to attend this particular lycée. There are other lyccées in the area that do have some sort of specialty program as well. I guess this is something that I’m going to have to find out in a lesson I do about high school in the US vs. lycées in France.

We have a 3-day weekend coming up for Armistice Day (11/11), so hopefully I’ll be able to go to Belgium… more specifically Brugges! I heard it’s the chocolate festival there this weekend too…

Bises xx

Madame!

I have to admit that I have been pretty lazy in updating my blog and I am literally forcing myself to write this entry.

All Saints Day is an official holiday here, so a lot of places were closed, and the church was actually packed. It’s interesting that a religious holiday is a countrywide official holiday, considering the fact that France is all aboutlaïcité and keeping church separate from state. All Souls Day also seems to be more important here. Flowers were being sold all over the place during break.

For the rest of the break, I explored a bit of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. I also went up 3 beffrois, (I’m pretty sure there’s one in almost all of the major towns in this region), which means there were a lot stairs to climb up and down: in Arras, Béthune, and Dunkerque. Luckily each day I went, it was pretty sunny and not raining or too many clouds.

Arras – view of the Grande Place

Béthune – my studio is just down this road

Dunkerque – I think that’s the port

In Arras, we had a guided tour of les boves – the area underground that people lived in, was used during the wars, and merchants even used it for storage. We also visited the Saint VaastCatherdal and a cemetery (I believe it was British?). It was so nice to actually get to see a slightly bigger city and get out of the small town of Béthune.

I think I would have liked to live in Dunkerque, a town on the coast. Not only are there beaches, but there seemed to be a good amount of shopping. They have an H&M and if I spent more time in there, I probably would have walked out with plenty of bags and a good amount of my first paycheck spent. Surprisingly, I walked out of there empty handed. Besides the beach and the shopping, we visited the Saint Eloi church and then the Port Museum and got to tour 3 ships.

Aside from the day trips around the region, I also discovered Bruay-La-Buissière, a small town right outside of Béthune. It seems more like suburbia and has a shopping center, which consists of a movie theater, a bowling alley, various restaurants, and shopping! Luckily, this is more affordable shopping! There are many shoes stores (comparable to Payless or Shoe Carnival) and even clothing stores (comparable to Marshalls or TJ Maxx) that are pretty cheap! And everything is really cute… I just want to buy everything. Going with Melissa on her search for boots, depresses me a little, because I just want to buy my own boots. One of the stores has so many boots—there are so many black boots, but they’re all somewhat different, whether it is a slight difference in the heel or the point of the toe… but there are so many and I don’t know how I would be able to pick just one pair! Also, a thicker heel is more common here; a thin, more stiletto-like heel is rare. I guess it makes sense though, especially with all the cobblestone sidewalks. I feel like eventually, I will give in and buy a pair… or at least sometime before I leave. Also, heels in general are just more popular… I’ve seen a lot of the sneaker heel.  Despite all the (very cute) clothes and shoes tempting me, my only purchase during break (other than postcards, food, and train/bus tickets) was a (very cute) purse.

I’ve begun teaching by myself and it is a bit scary and nerve wracking, but I’m glad that I get smaller groups (on average 10 students). I realized that one hour is not super easy to plan for and that some students really do not like speaking English at all. I’m definitely going to have be more strict with only speaking English, but it is hard when they don’t understand and sometime slowing down and using simple words doesn’t cut it. Some teachers have told me that their classes are weak, but they all have to take the bac at the end of the year, so they need to pass (although apparently failing/repeating a grade is more common here). During my observations, I was also surprised at how much French was spoken in the classroom. If I remember correctly, we had to speak French all the time in high school classes and English… c’étaitinterdit (forbidden)! I also find it kind of funny that I was the student that barely ever participated, but now, I’m the one that has to force the students to participate. Now I know how teachers feel when nobody raises their hand or volunteers.

I only had 3 classes yesterday and one today. For one, I was just sent groups of students to help them with their pronunciation. So we’ll see how everything goes next week, when I have my first full week. I also realized that I’m going to have to brush up on current US events/news because one teacher wants me to work a bit with current events in the US. I love how as I type this, I’m watching the French news.

Donc, c’est tout. Bon week-end!

Bises x

“Pour votre santé, pratiquez la physique regulière"

 For your health, exercise regularly.

This phrase shows up at the bottom of the screen during a McDonald’s commercial. Even for commercials advertising other types of food, even a cheese spread, they have a little note that says to eat fruit and vegetables regularly. At least the French encourage a healthy lifestyle?

Speaking of McDonald’s, I had a lot of questions about McD’s in one of my classes last week. The teacher also asked if I could tell the students about the other fast food places in the US. As I started listing them, they were so surprised that’s more than just McDonald’s, Subway, and KFC. Also, I feel like I confirm some American stereotypes when I say that I do like burgers and pizza.

iamsterdam

So this past weekend, I met up with Aisa in Amsterdam! It’s so pretty with the architecture and canals and everything…! On Saturday, we went to the Rijksmuseum and then we got to see two Brazilian music ensembles perform at the Concert Hall. Sunday, we went to the Van Gogh museum and took a canal boat tour of the city. Everybody bikes there, so it definitely took me a while to make sure that I was on the sidewalk and not in the bike lane. At least they ring their bells… I just didn’t want to get run over!

Stage at the Concert Hall 

 Visiting the museums made me realize that I really do love art museums. I mean, I’m not a big art person and I don’t know a bunch of artists, movements and their styles, but I just love walking through the museum, looking at the art, and even comparing it to artists and styles that I do know. I found myself analyzing art somewhat, but I guess that’s a result from IB Art in high school with all our gallery critiques and workbook assignments.

This weekend, Aisa told me that I dress like a teacher (at least I am one… err, an assistant at least). I would love to buy some clothes and/or other accessories, but that’s going to have to wait until after I get paid. Also, I’ve discussed this with Melissa. Even though the dress code is casual at school, I feel like I need to dress up a bit, especially since I’m working with students that are not that much younger than me. I’m actually also working with students who are around my age because of the BTS program that they’re doing (I would say it’s comparable to doing technical or vocational school). I don’t want my students slacking off or not taking me seriously, just because I’m not that much older than them. I want to make sure they respect me, so I feel like it’ll be alright if I look like a teacher… at least during school hours.

I’m on break now (Vacances de Toussaint) and I’ll start teaching my own classes right after! I’m excited and also nervous, which means that I’ll be spending some of my break coming up with some lesson plans. I also have to make sure that they can be adjusted for different language levels, because even if they are in the same grade, some of the classes seem weaker than others.

So for the rest of break will probably be small trips to towns around here to see what they have, especially since I already took a big trip. Yesterday, I did some grocery shopping and got some school supplies, so I was finally able to hang stuff up on my walls… it’s just maps and postcards, but at least it’s better than being just plain white! I also went to the library and checked out a French movie, Celle que j’aime and got The Hunger Games (in French of course).  I had heard from Cheryl that it’s a good book, so I’m hoping that it’ll be just as good in French. I started reading some of it, and it’s kind of annoying when I look up words every now and then, but this will be my little project for the next 3 weeks. Today, Melissa and I took a bus to Bruay, a town just outside of Béthune. It seems to be a bit more suburbian, with malls, and cheaper stores. We found a few that we'll definitely be visiting after we get paid. I already know that one of them is going to be my favorite... so many cute clothes, shoes, and purses! 

I need to find some sort of project or hobby to do during my free time here. I wish I had a guitar or keyboard here, I’m pretty sure I could find one to rent (for the guitar at least), but then I also don’t want to disturb my neighbors, especially since I’m basically in a dorm room, and one of my neighbors is a teacher whose apartment is right next to mine. We’ll see what I end up doing. I used to write when I was little, I did art in high school, I’ve played piano… so I wonder if I should try to revisit one of those hobbies or find something completely new. I’m also hoping to wander around the university area sometime during break to see if they have any classes, groups, or anything I could join. I wonder if I could do a conversation exchange (French & English)… I think it’d be beneficial, but like I said… we’ll see... on verra!

I’ve been for a month… it’s crazy! A month ago, on September 25^th, I was in Paris. It feels like I’ve been forever, but then at the same time, it feels like I haven’t been here for that long… Also, I finally got my French social security number and I have my doctor's appointment next month, so soon my visa will be validated! 

À plus! xx

food & wanderings

I have a tv in my room so from time to time, I’ll watch French tv instead of watching HIMYM again (I’m in the middle of season 4 and I started watching from the beginning ever since I moved into my studio). Some of the channels show American shows, like 7^th Heaven (7 à la maison), Smallville, How I Met Your Mother, Friends, Glee, and the Simpsons. It’s always interesting to watch them dubbed in French. The voices seem like they tried to make them very similar to the original voices. I watched a couple episodes of The Simpsons, but I just could not stand Marge Simpson’s voice. It’s way too rapsy and it just sounds kind of creepy. Also, I found it interesting that Glee is still in English. I suppose that they can’t really dub all of the songs, so that’s understandable. Also, when I was flipping through channels last weekend, I noticed that the movie Bad Boys was still in English.

Despite the colder weather (although it has been around the 60 F, so it’s not terribly cold), I don’t get the same feeling of fall like I would normally get in Virginia. Around here, I don’t see the leaves changing colors—no red, yellow, or orange leaves all over the place.

One thing that I’ve noticed around here is the big use of reusable bags. At the grocery store, after they scan it all, they just slide it down and you are the one that’s supposed to put in your bag. Also, if you don’t have your own bag, you have to ask for them and they cost 3 centimes. Also, at Auchan, the store comparable to a Wal-Mart, you have to put in one euro (coin) into this little device that’s attached to get a shopping cart. Once the euro is in, you can unlock it from the others and then you take your euro back when you return the cart. I don’t know if that description makes any sense at all, but I found it very weird.

On Thursday, we had another orientation in Lille with assistants in the region, but we were split up into lycée, college, and primaire again and we discussed things about our observations and teaching techniques, etc. We got a free lunch in the school’s cantine—mine consisted of an entrée (more like an appetizer) (salami and tomatoes), a juice box, a dessert (bananas with coconut and chocolate), a yogurt, bread, cheese, and then the plat principal—a hot dog sliced open, stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon, which is apparently a regional specialty, frites, and veggies. That just sounds sooo French, right?! The teachers were also very nice by providing us with coffee, tea, and cookies in the middle of the afternoon—it was definitely much needed.

After the orientation, I met up with the other Béthune assistants—our little “family” and we had dinner together. We felt bad for our waiter because he seemed to be the only one, but then we realized that it was probably normal since everybody’s not in a rush here. We actually had to leave in a rush because the last train to Béthune leaves at 8:42 pm (so early!) and so after inhaling my crème brulée (so good… wish I could’ve enjoyed it more), paying him and telling him that the change was his tip, we literally ran from the restaurant to the train station. I realized then that I am seriously out of shape and was afraid that my crème brulée would come back up, but we made it on the train with a few minutes to spare. I know we definitely looked like crazy Americans (and a Canadian) running through the square of Lille… and I’m pretty sure we were yelling at each other in English too, so of course we drew attention to ourselves. Oh well. 

crème brulée

The other day, I got mistaken for a student. The school system here is very different than in the US, and so some students leave earlier in the afternoon, depending on their schedule. I was leaving the school and there was a line of students getting their agendas checked at the gate. I was right behind the students, so I got asked what level I was in. I told the person checking the agendas that I’m actually the American assistant, and he responded with a quick “Excusez-moi” and let me through.

On afternoons where I don’t work late classes, I usually end up walking and wandering with one of the other assistants. On Friday, Melissa and I walked to the cemetery, which had a special section for soldiers of the war. Afterwards, we walked basically to the edge of town and then walked back (with all of this walking and uneven streets, I’m definitely going to wear out all of my shoes). 

Yesterday, Yvonne, Melissa, and I decided to check out the art exhibits of “Le Louvre à Béthune.” They were in two different places, one in Chapelle St. Pry (an old chapel which is often used now for art exhibits) and one in the old Banque (also now used for art exhbits and cultural events). They both were free and in Chapelle St. Pry, they had different works that were all about “Les Trois Grâces.” The exhibit in the old Banque was more contemporary. Afterwards, we wandered over to the Jardin Public (a public park) and played on whatever playground equipment we had there and then eventually made our way over to the Gare de l’Eau/Parc Fluvial, which is basically a park surrounding a body of water (Lake? Canal?). It seems like the type of park where everybody goes to run, ride their bikes, or even go fishing (although the water was super dirty…)

rainbow at the Jardin Public

Gare de l'eau/Parc Fluvial

I think I’m going to do more wandering next week, during our first break (Vacances de Toussaint—All Saints Day) and maybe take some day trips out to some other towns in the region. This coming weekend, I’m going to meet Aisa in Amsterdam, so I’m really excited for my first Euro trip and to see Face!

This week is my last of observations… and I only have a few more classes to see and I’m going to start planning my own lessons… after break I’ll have my own classes… eep! Also, I wonder if I should start “smizing” more. I had read somewhere that Europeans don’t smile as much and they might start to think you’re crazy if you smile all the time. I wonder if my constant smiling during my Q&A sessions in class weirded out any students. Plus, I’ve noticed that in the teacher’s area in school, we will always say bonjour or bonsoir in passing, but for the most part, it sounds more monotonous coming from the other teachers, especially if I don’t really know them. I also have to make note of the time of day, because others actually do say bonsoir after a certain time.

So now, I am seriously contemplating going back to the boulangerie/patisserie tomorrow since I’m almost finished with the loaf of bread that I bought yesterday. I can’t help it… the bread is just so good and I eat it all the time with Brie and strawberry jam. Plus, if you don’t it within a few days, it gets all hard and stale. Also, on a food related note, I have realized that I have eaten more frites here in the past 3 weeks that I would normally do back home in the US.

It’s weird to think that I’ve been here in France for only 3 weeks. Three weeks ago, I was in Paris. It honestly feels like I’ve been here forever. My French conversation skills still need work though…

À tout à l’heure! x