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I am now on Christmas Vacation and went snowboarding today at Les 7 Laux. I’m sore all over and very tired, but it was lots of fun. Anyway, more on that in another post.
I’ve written a lot about travel and life in France, but I haven’t actually blogged much about my job here: teaching 5-12 year-old French kids the English language (or a few songs in it). I’ve talked about Pont de l’Isère, Jules Vallès, and La Roche de Glun, although not in any great detail. You might be wondering, do they exist, or are they spooks? So I’m going to make a post about each of my schools, starting with the primary school of La Roche de Glun.
Old sign for La Roche de Glun.
La Roche de Glun is a commune, meaning that it is at the lowest level of administration in the French government, kind of like a municipality in the States. It only has a little over 3,000 people, so the school is likewise pretty small. I work with six different classes, each 30 minutes long. La Roche de Glun is incredibly charming, with tiny winding streets on an island in the Rhône river. Most of the architecture in the center of town dates from the 1300’s to the 1500’s.
Blue doors on one of the old buildings in La Roche de Glun.
There is no train station, so I catch the bus at 7:50 am. The commune isn’t on the bus route unless requested, so I had to ask for it come on the days I teach and I’m the only person it ever picks up after I’m done with school. Speaking of this bus stop, the last day of class before Christmas break I was waiting for the bus as usual and heard my name being screamed by about a hundred French children. (Alleeesssonnn.) The entire school was returning from a Christmas lunch and each of the students walked past me and wished me a Bonnes Vacances or Joyeux Noël. It was adorable.
La Porte de Roussillon, from the 1300's.
The whole of La Roche de Glun used to be surrounded by a wall, with two entrances, one being La Porte de Rousillon (above) which is still standing. It’s grown out from there and most of the town lives in the houses outside of the original city or up in the mountains or in the country. The teachers I work with seem to live either extremely close to the school (across the street) or in the middle of the countryside at places that are vaguely referred to as “the orchard” or “the farm.” All of the kids are pretty easy to work with and are sometimes almost eerily quiet when I’m doing my lessons.
École Primaire, where I teach.
The school itself is also old and charming; it even has a room with a fireplace on the top floor and a real school bell outside. I haven’t figured out how it always gets rung at the right time, as a student does it and it doesn’t seem to always be the same one. Maybe they all take turns. I’ll have to ask. The extension to the school is newer and has a lot of big windows, which seem to be distracting for the kids but at least they let some light in.
Typical French classroom with pencil cases all around.
I worked with the younger CP, CE1, and CE2 kids (5 to 8-years-old) this semester and I’ll be working with the older students next semester. Most of my work seems to revolve around songs, and I don’t think I can even think about “We Wish You A Merry Christmas” after literally teaching it to 13 different classes last week. Anyway, it’s always a challenge to make things like “family members” and “colors” into a game, but it’s what I have to do to get them to pay attention. For example, to practice numbers we played the card game “War” and for Christmas we all worked on a Christmas tree on the board using colors and shapes. Ex: “Draw one, big green triangle,” “Draw one yellow star,” etc.
Christmas decoration in La Roche de Glun.
So there you have an idea of La Roche de Glun, where I spend my Fridays. It’s going to be nice to have a couple weeks off, although winter holidays made it easy in terms of lessons. Speaking of which, France just keeps getting more festive and there were pseudo-marching bands and a Christmas market last night in Valence. It’s been sad with a lot of assistants and friends going home for the holidays, but I think my Christmas in France will be a charming experience.
This is the building I live in. They love the trompe l'oeil in Valence.
I’m progressing steadily, although today was a setback in terms of confidence. I was clearly told (although this is now denied) that I didn’t have to ask for the bus to stop in Pont de l’Isere, just La Roche de Glun. So I didn’t…and the bus didn’t stop and I ended up in another town. I asked for help at the high school in that town and someone came to pick me up, but it was really embarrassing and awful for my first day at Pont de l’Isere. This is the second time I’ve been really lost. The first was my very first morning in Valence, when I went for a walk and ended up in another town and was late for a rendez-vous with my “responsable.” She probably thinks I have some sort of mental disorder. Oh well. I don’t often make the same mistake twice. I just hate having to explain my mistake over and over again to everyone I’m working with.
Anyway, besides that, things are pretty good. The above building is La Manu, the foyer where I am living. I’ll take a picture of my room when I’m not drying my laundry everywhere. (The French dryers have low heat settings, alas. I guess I should rejoice in saving energy, though.) There are trompe l’oeils all over Valence, and this is the one on the windowless side of La Manu. Don’t worry, I have a window, and actually have the only railing like the one in front of the guitar player and snowboarder. I don’t really know what’s going on with the people dancing on the left, but they are evidentally in the walkway I photographed earlier.
I am getting along with most of the teachers, although there are a couple who are just accepting my presence and aren’t into the teaching of English. The first day of class is the hardest. Although I’m basically saying my name, age, where I come from, etc., I have to gauge how much English the class actually knows. The blank stares are usually a give away. My last round of first classes is tomorrow. And then I’m going to Geneva on Saturday!
A Penguin Pastry!
Above is one of the more amazing things I’ve found. For only 1.80€, I bought this adorable and delicious pastry penguin. It’s hard to tell from this picture, but he had webbed feet, a beak, and eyes. I wanted to buy all ten of his friends, but the sugar contained in his rich chocolate filled head alone multiplied by 10 would have made me regret that. Usually, the animal pastries are disappointing, but this was an incredible exception. And it was a penguin! I think I have chosen my favorite patisserie in Valence. Plus, the woman there is always nice to me and smiles. A rarity sometimes in France. Not the niceness, the smiling. It’s not that they’re not happy, they just don’t show their teeth as much as us Americans.
Speaking of chocolate, I actually went to a chocolate factory yesterday: Valrhona. I was getting a ride from Connie, a woman from Connecticut who has lived in France for 18 years and teaches English here. On the way, she wanted to pick up some chocolate for her daughter’s wedding. The amazing thing about Valrhona is that in the chocolate store, you can sample as much as you want. And you can try everything! I ate too many truffles and then I tried some sort of liqueur filled chocolate and felt like I’d just taken a straight shot of alcohol. Which I covered up with another piece of chocolate. I felt so gluttonous, but it was free and delicious. I might be going back there. In the same town, Tain l’Hermitage, there is wine tasting. That would be a decadent day!
Apparently, Rabelais once lived in this building. The sky is often a beautiful blue in Valence.
Before starting my post, let me first say, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TIM!!!
Today was my first day to actually interact directly with my students. I mainly told them my name and had to clarify that I was not from England like Sophie, the assistant who worked in my position last year. They then asked me questions like “What time is it in America?” and “How old are you?” I’m feeling less nervous about the teaching, although one of my schools (I have three) is in an area of town that is rather poor and mostly immigrants. The kids are nice, but disruptive, and the teachers yell a lot more than I’m used to. The students’ French is also imperfect, as many of their parents don’t speak it as their first language and this will make learning English even harder. But no one back home should worry about my safety, as I take a bus that drops me off right in front of the school and it’s really only after dark that I shouldn’t be in that part of town. The other two schools are in rural areas and are much calmer. One, La Roche de Glun, is in a very charming medieval town. Which is good, because the bus only comes by every few hours, so I will have some waiting between when I finish teaching and when I go back to Valence.
I take too many pictures of people's windows. But they're so charming! I hope I don't appear to be stalking.
The other day I got to really test my language skills when helping a French guy who lives in my foyer with some New Zealand tax papers. Neither of us could really figure out with he was able to get an exemption on his foreign income when he moved there, but it was good practice for translating and going back and forth between the languages. The biggest language challenge, I think, is when I’m with French people who are all speaking to me at once. To my ears it still all runs together. But sometimes smiling and nodding when the conversation is not too important works.
I love the "secret passageways" in town. They're not actually called that, but that's how I'm referring to them.
Wednesday, I met up with a group of internationals for the second time. The first was a crepe party last Saturday and this time was at a pub. It is nice that someone has taken the initiative to round up all the foreigners and friendly French people in Valence. I’ve met a lot of people and have been able to practice my French, although I do indulge in English with some of the British assistants and au pairs. It keeps me sane! It can be so tiring to think and speak in another language all day.
More eye candy for my pastry-loving friends.
On Thursday, I was able to enjoy the town for the first time without having stressful administrative work. I walked around the park, got a pear smoothie, finished Winter in the Blood by James Welch (kind of a depressing book for such a beautiful day), and admired the wind-up robot toys in one of the shops. I also bought a fluffy pillow so I don’t have to use the flat tube pillow that came with my room. It was so weird to not have to worry about deadlines or work and the day reminded me why I took this time in France in the first place. Sometimes it’s easy to forget how great it is to be here when I’m struggling with paperwork or adjusting to the new climate and timezone.
I hear thunder outside and it reminds me of Oklahoma! I’m sure this storm will pale in comparison, though. I do miss my favorite meteorologist Gary England keeping me advised of the tornadoes, high winds, and severe thunderstorms.
