Welcome back to another installment of Miriam in Dijon (think I’ll keep that trend going, thanks Netflix)! It’s December, which means it’s the holidays, and I think with the year it’s been, little things like lights and decorations have been a great uplift of mood. I mentioned last month that the decorations in centre ville have been up for several weeks, but with the introduction of being able to leave the house within a radius of 20km, and then déconfinement, more people have been able to enjoy them. Unfortunately, when I say more people, I mean exactly that, because the main square (Place de la Libération) was rather crowded the night I went to see the lights in action. It’s unfortunate (in my mind, at least) that people seem to view the pandemic as an “all or nothing” situation in terms of how they act, but before I get too into my thoughts on that (and believe me, I have many), let’s dive into my third month in France, and the last month of 2020!

Two Weeks of Teaching

It’s funny to mention it, but I’ve yet to actually work a full month as an English assistant, and won’t actually do so until March (which will be the only month where I work a full four weeks). Regardless, I did work two weeks in December, which were weeks filled with a true mish mosh of content, but mainly holiday themed lessons, especially for my collège students. That being said, it wasn’t two weeks of back to back holiday content, so I did get to have some variety (much different from my experience working in primary schools). While I did do a lot of “Christmas song Jeopardy” with many of my classes, especially the last week before break, some of my classes were still talking about Gothic Literature, or Freedom of Speech before the final week.

Unlike the last holiday season I spent in France, there have been no school holiday lunches or celebrations to mark the season. My collège did have a repas de Noel in the final week, but I did not join in as that didn’t sound like something I would be comfortable with given the pandemic – I was not the only member of staff who did not participate. The schools are decorated with Christmas trees, tinsel, and lights, which is a nice mood lifter, but is also a stark reminder of the double standard of laïcité in schools. If you’ve been following me since Angers, you’ll know I had difficulty with this in 2018, and 2020 is no different. Essentially, laïcité means no religion (or politics) in classrooms or at school. However, this rule is seemingly thrown out the window when it comes to Christmas. I was told I couldn’t put a window cling of a menorah on my window because it’s “religious” but that Christmas trees are considered “secular,” and therefore are allowed in schools. The irony is not lost on me, and it’s not worth an actual fight about it, but I do use it to insist that I will speak about Hanukkah if asked. I think it’s important to learn about what other people do during this time of year because we don’t all celebrate Christmas, regardless of how “non-religious” the French may think it is.

Regardless of all that, I still had a good two weeks with my students, even if by the end I was ready to never hear “All I Want For Christmas is You” again (which is practically a sin, I know, but when you hear the intro 30 times in an hour two times in a row in one day? It’s hard). Even with the students slowly losing focus and the will to be in school, I made it through (as did they), and successfully segued into the break.

The Pandemic in France

I wish I could go a blog post without mentioning the pandemic but alas, 2020 isn’t that kind to us (still holding out judgement on 2021). I figured this would also be a good way to update people who aren’t in France on what the situation looks like here, because I know that international coverage of the pandemic can be very hit or miss these days.

On December 15th, France officially came out of lockdown, even though the numbers were nowhere near where the government had said they needed to be in order for confinement to be removed. In lockdown’s place, we now have a curfew every evening from 20h to 6h, and if you need to do anything during those hours, you need an attestation. Outside of the curfew, however, attestations are no longer needed. The curfew was not in place on Christmas Eve, for better or for worse, but will remain in place for New Year’s Eve. You could have six adults at your house to celebrate Christmas under the new guidelines. Personally, I don’t think France should’ve come out of lockdown, considering numbers plateaued, and were trending slightly upwards by the time lockdown was removed. Perhaps this is because my region is currently the worst affected in France, and the rate of incidence in my département is already at what it was when I arrived at the end of September, but really I think it’s just because I’m not sure how they expect numbers to go down when they were already trending upwards, and are now encouraging travel and get togethers. I understand that Christmas is important to many families, but after seeing what happened in the US post Thanksgiving, I’m not thrilled about France’s prospects in the coming weeks. It’s hard to look at numbers increasing and understand the logic in opening things, especially before a two week holiday for students, when people will travel (which is allowed). Not to mention I still see way too many people not wearing masks properly, or at all, when outside, so I’m hesitant to think the next few weeks will look fab. Maybe I’m a Scrooge, or a pessimist, but I find it a little hard to be optimistic about it right now, unfortunately.

In line with things being a bit of a mess with France’s handling of the pandemic, on the Wednesday of the last week of school, the government announced that high school and middle school students had the option to stay home for Thursday and Friday before the break. I find this particularly telling, and found that in my middle school (which is the school where I work on Thursday/Friday), that it was very much a mixed bag. Most students were present on Thursday, but one of my teachers was speculating this was down to the big holiday lunch more than anything. There were more absences on Friday, but not the amount I would’ve anticipated to see if a similar option was made available in the US. Either way, it seems a backhanded way to admit that perhaps schools aren’t as safe as they’ve been proclaiming them to be, and I’ll be interested to see what happens with schools if (and really it’s trending towards when) another lockdown happens.

On the vaccination front, France is starting vaccinations in EHPADs (old people homes) on Sunday 27 December in Paris, and my region (Bourgogne-Franche Comté). Their current roll out plan doesn’t see the average citizen getting vaccinated until at least fall 2021, but it’s at least a start.

Spending the Holidays in Dijon

Due to the current health situation, travel for the holidays obviously isn’t the best idea. Even under normal circumstances (what even is normal anymore), I wouldn’t have gone back to the US for the break, but my parents most likely would have come over to Europe. Even if they didn’t, I would have been off exploring other countries to pass the time, rather than planning for two weeks holed away in my room. With the increase in cases (and an ever increasing R rate), I made the decision that staying in Dijon would be for the best, and have tried to make the most of it.

Before the actual break began, I went into centre ville to see the lights after dark, and I’ll admit, it was a very pretty sight to see. Something about lights and decorations make me smile, even if I wasn’t a fan of how many other people were there to share that feeling with me at the same time. In addition to the big Christmas tree being lit up, there are several lit up trees in front of the Palais des Ducs, and a light projection display on the façade of the palace, and on one of the nearby churches. It’s not quite the ambiance that Angers had, but I don’t think I can truly compare given that I wasn’t in Angers during a pandemic, and much of the holiday festivities, like Christmas markets, have been cancelled this year.

I’m not going to lie, spending two weeks alone in a small room is not ideal. It’s not great fun, either. I kept telling myself that I was fine with it, and that I’m fine living alone, but when I got back from work on Friday, the 18^th, I was suddenly hit with the realization that I would be having no social interaction for the next two weeks, and that there wouldn’t be much for me to do, given the current situation and rising numbers. It’s hard to justify doing something just to do it, when it involves public transport, or being indoors (like shopping more than just the one time a week I usually go). I know I’m on the more paranoid side of things, but I’ve made it this far without getting sick, and given that my region is actively the worst (our rate of incidence is now back above 200/100,000), I’m not keen on putting myself at more risk than necessary. Sometimes I wonder when I’ll feel comfortable just doing things again. I feel horrid when my teachers invite me over to their houses, and I can’t confidently commit because of all the variables involved with going over to others’ homes. It’s hard not to feel like you’re being ridiculous sometimes.

I’ve tried to go on daily walks to get some fresh air, and to just get myself out of my small room. I discovered a lovely park near the mall that was such a calm, peaceful walk. It even had goats, sheep, and chickens! It’s nice to “spice up” my walking trails, since for a while there, I was only doing the same one since it was within 1km of where I live. I’m trying to take advantage of being able to roam, given that (in my mind at least), there’s a strong chance for another lockdown come January. I’ve also been doing some embroidery, and reading to pass the time when I’m not binging something online. I can’t say I’m having the most exciting days, but I know that I wouldn’t necessarily enjoy myself if I was traveling somewhere right now. I buy myself lots of pains au chocolat when I can, and purchased myself a slice of buche de noel for Christmas Eve, along with a Galette des Rois for myself, just so I could have a crown.

The rain has also made a return, which makes going out slightly more … wet, but I’m a PNW gal, so I can handle it! I keep seeing the little snow icon in my weather app, but I think it’s unlikely that it’ll happen considering that the weather doesn’t get *that* cold during the day, at least.

French Bureaucracy Troubles

I bet you thought I had sorted all my issues once I got the PIN for my bank card, but the troubles did not end there! Being a language assistant, we have the right to sécu, the social security/health insurance French people have. In order to be put in the system though, you have to apply for it. Once you apply, you’re issued a temporary number, followed by your Carte Vitale, which is in essence your social security, and health insurance, card. Last time I was an assistant, I never received a temporary number, despite numerous calls to the sécu office. Since I didn’t anticipate coming back, I didn’t make much of it and just left it. When I came back to Dijon, I obviously had to start the process again, given that I wasn’t in the system… or so I thought. Turns out, I *had* somehow made it into the system (lord only knows when) and when I sent in another application in October, they registered it, and sent my info to Angers, because that’s the last address on file. Even though there was a new address in the new application. Cue a long 45 minute phone call where I’m told I have to resubmit everything with a typed out letter stating I changed addresses in order for it to be put in the system, and registered that I moved… despite the paperwork saying I’ve moved. This country, I swear. Luckily, I have a lovely secretary at school who has been very helpful, and was more than willing to send off my paperwork for a third time. Fingers crossed I’ll have some documentation in January!

A 2020 Recap

Seeing as it’s the last month of the year, I thought I’d be remiss not to mention a little bit about some highlights of the year. My year did start out strong with NBA games aplenty, and being cast in my favorite Shakespeare play (a production which, unfortunately, has not come to fruition). I had plans all laid out for where I was going to go next, but we all know how best laid plans worked out this year… If you had asked me at the start of 2020 if I would be doing TAPIF again, I would’ve said probably not, and yet, here we are. I’m choosing to view my coming to France as a door opening, even if it wasn’t the first door I wanted to open.

That’s been my December! It’s hard to believe that another year has come and gone, especially when I feel like I have very little to report back as accomplishments for the past 12 months. I obviously don’t know what January is going to look like, let alone what my next steps will be after TAPIF (which is a can of worms I’m working very hard to keep closed, and at the back of the shelf). It’ll be a new experience to ring in the New Year alone (and possibly a lonely one), but hopefully this year will be a one off. I’m looking cautiously at 2021, but I imagine most of us are at this point. All I can do is continue with this adventure one day at a time!

See you in January, and (weirdly) in 2021! Bonne année et meilleurs vœux!