Category: France

Frenchisms

On By notyouravggiraffeIn France, TAPIF, Uncategorized4 Comments

When I was in England, I wrote a blog post about Britishisms and things I’d noticed that were kind of specific to British culture. Now that I’m over in France, I thought I would do the same thing! Again, don’t get me wrong, I don’t think negatively about the French culture at all (or at least, not about everything), but I do find it fascinating to examine differences in culture, and in day-to-day life. Enjoy!

  • Long(er) meals

At the schools where I work, the students (and myself) get an hour and a half for lunch. This includes recess and time for eating for the kids, but in the US, it seems like you’re lucky if you get half an hour to eat. Although this means that the lunch hour can sometimes drag on if you have no one to talk to or nowhere else to go, it means that you have time to decompress and prepare yourself for the afternoon. Not to mention the fact that you don’t feel rushed to inhale your food (so I could actually prepare decent lunches for myself instead of just a small sandwich because that’s all I could eat in the time I had – although that it what I eat because who can resist a good lunch time sandwich?). The students also get much more balanced, and healthier lunches in the cafeteria, and the menus sometimes include things you’d never see in a US elementary school (one prime example would be rabbit for lunch). The best thing is that it’s not just lunches. If you go out to dinner, you’re not rushed to pay your bill after they clear your place. You can chat, hang out, and be relaxed until you’re ready to pay and leave. The French take eating very seriously.

  • Chip flavors

Okay, I’m not sure if this is a super “frenchism” but I got a kick out of it anyway so, I’m using it. Literally my first day in Angers, my mom and I went to Monoprix to suss out the goods, and to see what I would have access to grocery wise. We wandered around this fairly big store and somehow ended up in the chip aisle. After glancing haphazardly through the titles, my eyes fell upon a bag with a cheeseburger flavor. That was quite the double-take. From there, there was roasted chicken, pickles and mustard, and my all time favorite: ham and cranberry. I’m not sure if this is a national thing, but those are pretty daring flavors. Here I was thinking prawn cocktail in England was adventurous!

  • Timeliness (and its almost non-existence)

Within my time here, it has come to my attention that if you want anything done, you should’ve asked for it a week before you needed it done. Part of this is the bureaucracy, but part of it is also just a “we’ll get to it when we get to it” kind of attitude, which is nice sometimes, but not so nice when your toilet is running and you’re told it could be a week before someone looks at it (I realize this could be universal, but it’s the manner in which you’re told you’ll have to wait that really adds the oomph to this frenchism). Not to mention, you seem to need appointments for everything (for instance, for opening a bank account) and heaven forbid you be able to do something the day you planned on getting it done! One might even say they have a bit of a laissez-faire attitude towards life, and you can definitely see where that saying originated.

  • Stores aren’t open all the time

One of the first days I was here, my mother and I made the mistake of waiting until 3pm to try and find lunch. Much to our surprise, almost every place was closed. Many eateries close at 2pm, and don’t reopen until dinner time, around 7pm. Because of this, most places (including banks and other offices) close from 12 until 1:30/2pm to make sure that everyone can get food if they want. As aforementioned, the French take their lunch break seriously.  Additionally, very little is open on Sundays. That means your options are limited for eating out, the grocery stores close earlier (if they’re even open at all), and the streets are pretty empty throughout the day. It’s fine to navigate if you’re aware of the closures, but not great if they catch you off guard. This also means that the places that ARE open on Sundays are often packed, and have long lines because of this. It can also make Sundays quite dull since there isn’t much to do. Banks are also always closed on Sunday, and many aren’t open on Monday so you better hope you don’t have any banking emergencies over the weekend (honestly not that big of a deal unless you want to do something with a person because ATMs are open 24/7). Peep this funny comic another assistant shared on Facebook to illustrate the struggle: 

Image result for comic about french business hours
  • BREAD

I’m pretty sure the French eat bread, usually baguettes, with every meal. It’s a solid staple and I appreciate a culture that doesn’t shy away from its carbs. One fairly true stereotype of the French is the number of people who do, in fact, walk around carrying a baguette from the shops. It makes you feel slightly more French when you walk around wielding a massive loaf of bread in your arms.

  • Vous vs. Tu

In French, you address people differently based on their age, status, or position relative to you (formality is taken very seriously in this language). Anyone older than you, or superior to you is addressed using a “vous,” while your friends and those younger can be called “tu.” They have aptly named this se vouvoyer and se tutoyer. It’s always a question when meeting a new person whether it’s a vous or a tu situation, so to be safe, always go with the vous. Half of the teachers with whom I work have been super chill about us tutoying each other, but the others haven’t said a word, and I’m not about to rock the boat that is French grammar. Ironically, you get in trouble for not vousvoying when you should, but the teachers have also corrected me when I accidentally use vous instead of tu with them as well!

  • Never-ending paperwork

One thing I didn’t necessarily expect was how bureaucratic France is, and the sheer volume of copies and signatures they require for even the tiniest little thing. It feels like for any little thing, you’re going to need your birth certificate, bank information, photocopy of your passport, and your work contract, along with potentially random other tidbits. On top of that, once you’ve submitted any given application, you’ll then have to wait for approval, you’ll get a letter telling you you’ve been approved, then another letter with whatever it is you originally wanted, and then another letter outlining the details of what you’ve received. I had to sign three copies of my work contract, and when setting up a bank account, had to initial all 10ish pages of the document outlining everything. I think there are a lot of trees dying due to France’s penchant love for requiring literal mounds of paperwork for everything. Not to mention, you’re told to keep your pay stubs for the rest of your life, so honestly, I can see how it’s a bit of a thing here. To further back up the length of time things take, I received my November paystub in MARCH… you can imagine the strength of my eye roll when I opened that envelope.

  • Striking

Faire la grève could potentially be considered a national pastime. The French are very proud of their allotted hours for the work week, how many vacation days they get, their right to public transportation, and many other things, to the point that when one of those rights is infringed upon in the slightest fashion, the unions might announce a strike. Since moving here, there has already been a national strike (which didn’t impact me specifically but some teachers at other schools went on strike, and transportation was a little delayed), two strikes where my school(s) for the day was closed the entire day, and some smaller strikes on the bus services, which can lead to minor delays or no busses running on certain lines, and various other “social moments” that occur. (Don’t get me started on the gilets jaunes, because that’s just a whole other can of beans)

  • Tea with no milk

At my orientation for work, the woman in charge told us we were going to break for tea and coffee. I saw a box of English Breakfast tea, and promptly got very excited as for various reasons, I hadn’t had any tea since I arrived in France. I poured myself a nice cup (in a plastic cup), and looked around for the milk. We all searched around the room, in the fridge, and asked about it, only to be told that the French don’t take their tea with milk (cue the gasps). I thought this was just an isolated incident, but alas, I’ve seen it many more times in my schools, on essentially a daily basis! How the French can make such beautiful coffee and wine, and yet still drink tea without milk is completely beyond me.

  • Split classrooms

This is specific to the French education system but it isn’t a rare occurrence to have at least one (if not more) classroom that is made up of multiple grades in a school. The smaller of my two schools only has three classrooms and all three of them are split grades. The theory behind this practice is that it allows students to learn empathy and how to work with students either ahead or behind them, while also potentially pushing them to learn a little more than they would if they weren’t in a split class. Sometimes this is done, however because of size, resources, and the number of teachers available at any given school.

  • Scarves

I swear, in France, a scarf is the most important, and necessary accessory for any given day, regardless of the weather. In my first month in Angers, there were several low-to-high 70s days, and you’d walk around seeing people wearing heavy coats and bundled up in scarves! It’s like the scarf simultaneously keeps them warm AND keeps them from getting too hot! They also have this way of tying their scarves that I feel like unless you’re French, you can’t replicate, and I would like to be let in on that secret, please.

  • Non-refrigerated milk

You can still find milk in the refrigerated section, but if you go to larger supermarkets, there’s also milk you can buy on the shelves. You refrigerate it after opening, but seeing milk sitting on a shelf at room temperature threw me for a loop the first time I saw it. Plus, it expires much more quickly it seems than the ones that come straight out of the refrigerator. (Related side note: some of the yogurts have fromage blanc, i.e. white cheese written on their labels, but I have been assured that the yogurt does not, in fact, contain any cheese.)

  • AZERTY keyboards

It’s a minor thing, but typing with a keyboard that uses the same letters as English, but puts them in a different order is beyond confusing to my touch typing brain. Not to mention, French has accents, so those characters live with the numbers at the top of the keyboard EXCEPT they have priority over the numbers so you have to press the ALT key plus the number key in order to get the number. Don’t even get me started on punctuation as well because some keys have THREE characters so there are three different ways to achieve three different characters and honestly sometimes, I just spell the words wrong and hope for autocorrect. Sometimes I’ll even start typing incorrectly on my laptop after a day of having used a French computer… Just take a look if you don’t believe me:

Image result for azerty keyboard france
  • MORE PAPERWORK

Did I mention the paperwork issue already? I did? Funny, because that’s exactly what the bureaucratic situation is like in France because you think you’ve done something already and know all about it, and then NOPE, you’ve got to do it all over again but this time with different information… plus signing it, submitting it by mail, along with a pdf copy submitted online, and just for kicks, you’ll have to email it along with an additional copy because vive la France. I’m already dreading leaving if only because I have to write a properly worded letter to cancel my phone plan, close my bank account, cancel my housing assistance, and terminate my rent agreement… because we love killing trees here, and making things more difficult than they need to be!

  • Bonjour

Even though saying hello to each other isn’t something that is specific to France, it seems like the French take a certain type of pride in uttering bonjour to their colleagues and friends (and depending on where in the region/country you are, this can be applied to crossing a random human on a walk in the park, or on the street). All the teachers with whom I work make a point of saying bonjour to me when they first see me, and I’ve frequently heard teachers say to other teachers “I haven’t said hello to you today yet, have I” as if it were sacrilege to have not greeted your coworkers in the morning. Not only this, but if they happen to have said hello to each other already, they will proceed to say rebonjour… the French have a word specifically for saying hello to one another again, and I quite enjoy the novelty of it. Not to mention, they take saying hello so seriously, that it’s essentially a routine that every interaction must begin with bonjour regardless of where, when, and with whom, and they take offense if you skip that little introduction in your interaction. I’ve frequently asked people in shops, or at the train station for assistance, and gotten their attention by saying “excuse me” and proceeding to ask my question, only to get a look of disdain in return as they aggressively look at me in order to say bonjour, to make the point that I forgot that pivotal word. (I once overheard a customer at a smaller supermarket get mad at the person behind the cash register once because he “walked in and nobody said hello” to him after he had said the requisite bonjour, so it’s a thing with strangers as well).

  • Nonexistent public restrooms

This seems to be a European thing in general, but France really doesn’t buy into having restrooms accessible to the general public (and if they do, they probably won’t be free). Going out, or traveling somewhere can become an endeavor of planning, and you always have to be prepared to potentially have to shell out some coins for the privilege to pee (Shout out to you if you understand the Urinetown reference there…)

  • La Bise

When you greet someone in a friendly setting, this can sometimes prompt the act of la bise, where you greet the other person with a kiss (it’s really a cheek-to-cheek sort of action) on each cheek (which one starts still baffles me). It’s not something that I’ve had to do frequently, but I’ve definitely had the awkward start with some people of the whole “should I, or shouldn’t I” type thing when it comes to the whole ordeal. It can certainly be disconcerting if you’re not expecting it, and perhaps a little awkward at first, but it’s definitely part of the custom. I’ve seen teenagers partake in it while greeting each other on the bus in the morning, so a sure fire way to pretend you’re wholly French, is to use la bise as a greeting (when it’s appropriate, of course)!

  • Lack of self checkouts

This is kind of an odd one, but in most of the supermarkets where I shop, there isn’t an option for self-checkout, meaning you have to wait in a line with everyone else (there are never enough lines), and then check out that way. This always massively stresses me out because there aren’t people helping bag the groceries (which isn’t odd within itself, necessarily), so you have to frantically bag as the cashier scans the items, but sometimes it isn’t in the right order so you end up shoving things into your bag so rapidly so that you can get out of there before the next person starts coming through. The one store where there is a quasi self check-out option calls itself “express” so I always get people giving me a slight side-eye as I rock up with my rolling basket, even though I’m quick, and I’m not actually buying that many things. I miss having the “15 items or fewer” aisles, as well as the plentiful number of checkout lanes during peak business hours.

A weekend in Saint Malo

On By notyouravggiraffeIn France, TAPIF, Travel1 Comment

Even though I’ve been living in France for almost six whole months now, I feel like I haven’t really seen much of the country other than Angers, and the couple of cities I visited back in November. Angers is unfortunately not super centrally located, which can make day/weekend trips difficult, but not impossible! I opted for a weekend trip to Saint Malo, about three hours away by train. I had one connection in Laval on my way up, but the station is small so I didn’t have to run around.

Spending only a weekend somewhere means the bulk of my exploring happened on Saturday. This being France, most things don’t open until 10am anyway, so I could have a quasi leisurely morning. I decided to start the day with a trip to the aquarium, which was about a 20 minute bus ride from where I was staying, since it’s more towards the entrance to the city, rather than the center of it. I arrived for opening and spent the next 90 minutes seeing all kinds of marine life (including turtles, sharks, and everyone’s beloved friends Nemo and Dory). They’ve done a great job at laying out the exhibits, and in addition to the touch pool, they also have two “attractions” you can visit. They’re not the most thrilling, but one is an adventure underseas where you feel like you’re in a submarine at the bottom of the ocean, while the other actually allows you to go underwater in your own Nautibus as you get up close and personal with some fish on a five minute track (I’m not doing a good job at explaining the attractions, but you can google them if you’re more interested in them). I really enjoyed getting to feel like a kid again, while also seeing some new fish, as well as some baby turtles. Aquarium in Saint MALO

After the aquarium, I took the bus back to the old city, and got to explore the Intra Muros part of Saint Malo. I started with a quick stop at the beach where I touched (what I think was) the English Channel, and was able to walk up to the Fort National since the tide was out, although it wasn’t open as March is still considered off season for them.

I watched the waves crash for a bit before finally entering the walled city. I walked up along the ramparts to get a panoramic view of the city, it’s surrounding area, and the coastline. Other than the fact that it was super windy, I very much enjoyed the views, and I can say that Saint Malo is a beautiful city, indeed. I got more views as I climbed the watchtowers in the history museum.

My entry ticket also included the Solidor Tower, so I took the half an hour walk there, but unfortunately, due to weather conditions, the viewpoint wasn’t open. To their credit, it was extremely windy – to the point where sometimes I couldn’t even walk straight! I did get to, however, see their smallish museum dedicated to Breton sailors who explored Cape Horn. The wind did put a slight damper on the whole day as I definitely got wind burnt, and felt tired earlier than I normally would. I found some shelter from the wind by visiting the cathedral, which has some of the most beautiful stained glass I’ve ever seen (always a sucker for stained glass). It oddly isn’t super religious, which made it more relatable for me, at least.

To finish off my day, I had a Nutella beignet from Maison Hector, and it was divine. I made a mess for sure, but it was well worth it. I’m not sure what the deal with beignets here is, but there were many places from which they were available, so I figured I had good reason to partake (as if you ever need a reason to get something filled with Nutella).

This being France, very little is open on Sunday, so I had a day of a lot of wandering (I think I covered most of the streets in Intra Muros). I wanted to do a bus tour but I couldn’t find it (not sure if I was in the wrong place or what), so I ended up going into little stores to escape the wind, while also walking almost everywhere I possibly could. I went down to a new beach, grabbed a seashell as a souvenir, and enjoyed a galette for lunch. I made sure to grab a Kouign Amann before I left, seeing as those are a speciality of the region. I definitely had time to spare when I arrived at the train station, and had a painless journey back to Angers. Even though I only had a short time in Saint Malo, I’m glad I was able to visit, and check off a new city in France!

11 Things I miss as an American living in France

On By notyouravggiraffeIn France, TravelLeave a comment

Moving abroad, for any reason, is exciting, but in all that excitement, you can sometimes forget that you are in fact, moving to another country, where the culture, customs, and even the language can be different from home. It’s totally okay to feel homesick, or to feel out of place when you first take that leap of going abroad, but no matter how used to it you get, there are always those few things that can’t be replicated elsewhere. Living in France, I’ve definitely had moments where I’ve thought “it wouldn’t be like this in the states,” or “that’s not how we’d do it back home,” and it can be cathartic in some ways. That being said, there are some things I miss, and would love for them to make their way over to France (and Europe). Here are some of those things:

1. TARGET

I 100% missed Target (pronounced tar-jay if you know what I mean), while I was in England, and I miss it equally as much in France. I feel like there are more quasi-superstores here than I encountered in London (at least, places where you can get more than just food), but nothing can ever truly compare to Target (or American superstores for that matter). There’s something about picking up that red basket, and wandering through the aisles that can’t be found in the land of cheese and wine. Not to mention, they had a hilarious adult avocado costume for Halloween, and if I had been at home, I might have bought it for the sheer giggles it would produce (so maybe it’s good we don’t have a Target in Angers?).

2. Things being open on Sundays

This might not be as big of an issue if you live in a super big, touristy city, but here in Angers, Sunday is a QUIET, and UNEVENTFUL day. Very little is open, and if the weather isn’t great, you’re unlikely to see masses of people out and about either. You can’t grocery shop on a Sunday (shoutout to the famous Costco runs, I definitely miss those samples), and there’s just generally very little to do – even those big stereotypical French strikes tend to be organized for Saturday here, so you can see how seriously they take their day of doing nothing. I also miss stores not closing for a couple hours for lunch every day… we get it France, you love your food.

3. To-go beverages

Americans’ go to “on the go” beverage is usually coffee, but since I’m not a coffee drinker, I tend to stick with tea or hot chocolate for my morning pick me up. The French emphasize the importance of relaxed eating, and indulging in your meals, so the idea of grabbing a quick coffee to go isn’t really a thing… My morning commute is not filled with people drinking from paper cups, or from travel mugs (even though I stand out like a sore thumb because I definitely do this with my morning tea because otherwise I would not function), and it doesn’t seem to be a thing to pop into a café to grab a beverage to-go. PLUS, if you do grab to-go, don’t be surprised by the seemingly minuscule sizes, which speaking of, another thing I miss is…

4. Large(r) drink sizes

I know it’s a joke that Americans plus size everything, but that is definitely not an issue here in France. The sizes for beverages can sometimes be a little smaller here, but that doesn’t mean they’re cheaper! I miss being able to go into a cafe, order a hot chocolate, and having it be the size of an actual drink, rather than something I can consume in three sips. I remember getting a hot chocolate to go one afternoon for kicks and giggles, and it was the size of an espresso shot… that was the only choice I had, and it was consumed almost before I’d left the shop!

5. A proclivity for snacking

No matter where you shop for your food in the States, there’s usually a giant snack aisle, filled with an assortment of snack foods that can range from healthy to absolutely not so. As I’ve mentioned before, France takes their meals seriously, so even their goûters (snacks) aren’t quite the same as I would be used to at home. Not to mention, the snack food that is available tends to be spendier because it isn’t a common purchase. I miss being able to buy hoards of granola bars (at a reasonable price) and goldfish crackers that I could nibble whenever that afternoon hunger takes over (because I can be a #hangrygal).

6. Peanut Butter

Don’t get me wrong, Nutella is great, but nothing can quite substitute my love for peanut butter, and the versatility it has when it comes to how it can be eaten. I miss being able to eat my fruit with some added creamy protein, topping up some dessert for an extra sweet flavor, and coating my late night toast, (or just straight up eating it from the container because why not). Peanut butter is sold in France (mostly in the American/International section) but it’s very expensive when you calculate on a per gram basis, so I haven’t splurged for it yet. That being said, I miss it a lot, so it might happen soon.

7. Goldfish Crackers

Much like peanut butter, this is a go-to snack of mine, and a staple of my diet since I was a child. I miss the cheesiness of the cheddar crackers, and popping a handful into my mouth at once. Even more so, this summer I discovered the Vanilla Cupcake flavored crackers, and I even brought a bag over with me in September (it didn’t last very long) because they are a game changer. I could wax lyrical about Goldfish crackers, but regardless, I miss having them to snack on during my long days, or as a comfort food when I’m feeling down.

8. Burgerville (or whatever your local fast food/burger place is)

I missed Burgerville when I went away to university two states away, so there was no way I was going to France and not wanting some delicious rosemary fries, or a phenomenal chocolate milkshake! There’s something special about your local place, and that definitely can’t be replicated anywhere else. I made sure to have my go-to Burgerville meal before I left the States, but that doesn’t mean that when an ad of theirs pops up on my facebook feed that I don’t get a little sad inside that I can’t eat it at this moment in time.

9. People asking “how are you” during many forms of interaction

Unlike in the US, your cashier or bus driver in France isn’t going to ask you how you are when you interact with them. You’ll get a perfunctory hello, and then the interaction is mostly finished, except for you handing them money, and then you say “have a good day/night” and you leave. Even though my conversations aren’t that much shorter in these kinds of situations in France, I still find myself sometimes starting to ask “comment ça va” before remembering that that isn’t really done here (or at least, doesn’t seem to be). I’m not the most outgoing of people, but it’s still a nice little thing to experience whenever you’re out and about. Not to mention, a lot of Americans who do this are very smiley, and their enthusiasm can usually bleed into you, which is not so much the case here.

10. Hearing that good old American accent

Granted, there are Americans participating in TAPIF, so I’m not bereft of hearing English spoken in an American accent, or the English language at all (considering it’s part of my job, it would be concerning if I never heard it), but it’s not quite the same as being surrounded by a language, and accent, that is familiar to your ears. Not to mention, I’ve had several French people tell me my accent is unintelligible, or allude to the idea that Americans don’t speak “proper” English, and sometimes it makes me so sad because I can’t change the way I speak! (this also is by no means a complaint about being in France, surrounded by French… more that I miss the familiarity of what I would be surrounded by at home).

11. Free public restrooms

I’m a planner, and forgive if this is oversharing, but any journey of mine includes planning of where the nearest facilities might be should I need them, and let me tell you, that is not an easy thing to do in this country. There aren’t any Targets, Fred Meyers (shoutout to those of you in the PNW who get it), or really any kind of store that just has a public restroom that you can nip in and use at any given moment. Here, you’ll either have to shell out to use a public restroom (especially in train stations), or you’ll have to hop into a cafe, buy something, and hope that they have a restroom you can use. It’s not something you really think about in the States, but it’s definitely something that you have to think about in France!

Obviously, missing things about the US doesn’t mean that I don’t like being in France, or that there aren’t things I know I’ll miss from France when I leave (potential blog subject for a few months time?). I’m glad I miss things because it means I’m experiencing a different culture, and living somewhere new, all while pushing my personal boundaries, and learning a lot about myself, and the future (whew, run on sentence, sorry to all my English teachers this sentence offended).

✨The Holidays away from Home✨

On By notyouravggiraffeIn France, TAPIFLeave a comment

When it gets towards the end of November (or really as soon as Halloween ends), people tend to start thinking towards the holidays. In France, the streets start getting decorated with festive lights, and all the shops put up their holiday lights, and decorations, to signal the start of the season. Even though in the US that’s usually delayed slightly by Thanksgiving, the lights going up signaled both a joyful feeling of excitement to see them lit up (and the fact that it means the holiday break is getting closer), but it also came with a twinge of homesickness, and longing for those we hold most dear (I sound like a Hallmark film right now, but if you’re not sappy at the holidays, when will you be?) When I was in London, I remember feeling saddened by the fact that I would not be at home for Thanksgiving for the first time in my entire life, but also that I was relatively alone in a season where we’re supposed to be surrounded by family, and friends, and although my circumstances this year are different, some of those same feelings did surface. 

I wasn’t expecting it, but this year at Thanksgiving, I did get a pang of longing to be at home, seeing family, and eating pumpkin pie (there aren’t many American foods I miss, but this one is something I truly miss dearly). Even with this feeling though, this didn’t mean that I let the holiday slip by unnoticed. I did a couple of Thanksgiving lessons in my classes, complete with hand turkeys, and the kids longing to eat all the food I was showing them. Even though during my year abroad I worked through Thanksgiving, and gave it no second thought, this time, I feel like I was more aware of the date itself. However, just because the day went by without celebration, that didn’t mean that it all went by without any notice. Many of the American assistants in Angers got together and held a Thanksgiving dinner the day after Thanksgiving (we all had to work Thursday/Friday so it made more sense to do it that way). We had to substitute the turkey for chicken and ham (which seems more appropriate for France anyway), but we had mashed potatoes, someone managed to throw together some stuffing (which was quite impressive considering the ingredients at our disposal), vegetables, and even some homemade pumpkin bread! It was such a lovely way to acknowledge the holiday, and to be able to feel slightly less far away from home. 

Once Thanksgiving had come and gone, the only thing on everyone’s mind (or at least, almost everyone’s mind) is Christmas and the holiday break. There are lights all throughout Angers, and I’ll frequently see them on some of my bus rides back into town considering that the sun is setting earlier and earlier at the moment. There’s a Christmas market in the main town square, along with a Ferris wheel and an ice skating “rink” set up, which makes Angers feel very lively. There’s something about lights that make me smile, and long for a nice, hot chocolate. The castle in town is also lit up, and if a medieval castle can get into the spirit of the holidays, it stands to reason that others can as well.

The castle, lit up at night
Lights adorning the theatre in the Place de Ralliement,serving as the backdrop for the Christmas market in town

The Christmas market in Angers isn’t a remarkably large market, but it gives the town a certain je ne sais quoi which makes it feel more like home (in a way that can’t really be described because it’s not as if Portland holds an annual Christmas market or as if it’s a long standing tradition in my family). There are homemade goods, food (tartiflette, and crepes galore), vin chaud, and even a merry-go-round all in one area. Not to mention, they blast Christmas music, which tends to be in English ironically, which gives you a bit more of that holiday spirit (yes, I have danced in the streets when Mariah Carey’s All I want for Christmas is you came on, but honestly, what else was I supposed to do?) I was initially going to check out some Christmas cheer in Paris over a weekend, but due to the unfortunate collision of my weekend and the fourth weekend of gilets jaunes protesting, I had to cancel my quick trip.

What I find baffling (in a way,   although not really) is that all the teachers have asked me to do lessons on Christmas, even though France has laïcité, which is essentially a mandate that there is no religion in school, in any way, shape, or form. Even with that, I told my teachers that I would talk about Christmas in the US, but that I would also be presenting a little bit about Hanukkah, because that’s what I do during the holidays (even though some of them couldn’t seem to grasp initially why I didn’t celebrate Christmas.) The fact that I don’t celebrate Christmas seems to be fairly shocking to many people (I had one student quite frankly exclaim “oh, la pauvre” which essentially translates to “you poor thing”), and most of my students had never heard of Hanukkah before. I decorated my door with a paper menorah (since I don’t have a real one with me), and sincerely wish I had the patience, and time, to make latkes for myself here. 

My schools put up little decorations here and there, one of mine has a full-on tree in one of their doorways, and the children at the other school had to learn Jingle Bells for their school Christmas market. The oncoming celebration of Christmas, however, means that the students have endless energy, and are excited for a break they know is shortly arriving, which can sometimes makes lessons difficult. The last week of lessons consisted mostly of coloring, crossword puzzles, and games (which is something I definitely remember from my childhood but being on the other side, I can 100% see why teachers do it…) The teachers (along with the students) have been bringing chocolate to school, so I can’t complain there, and I got to partake in an end of year lunch at each of my schools (which included alcohol, for one of them IN the building… only in France). The best part though about the approach of Christmas and the holidays is that I get to see my parents when they come to visit (which has been a long countdown for me, let’s be honest). Here’s to the rest of the season and happy holidays to you all!!

Exploring (more of) France

On By notyouravggiraffeIn France, TAPIF, TravelLeave a comment

After only having done two weeks of actual work (three if you’re counting our week of orientation), the school calendar has aligned in such a way that I then got two weeks off for Toussaint. All schools have these two weeks off, and although it seems a little silly to be having a holiday this soon after having arrived, I can’t exactly complain… A lot of assistants go galavanting throughout other European countries during this break, but I decided to stay a bit more local and visit some places on small day trips (also stayed to work on grad school apps but we can ignore the fact that I had responsibilities these two weeks). In case you were doubting the fact that the region of France where I live (and its surroundings) is beautiful, I will provide some photographic evidence to prove you wrong, along with some short summaries of my trips!

NANTES

Located just 35(ish) minutes from Angers, my first day trip was to Nantes. My only experience with Nantes was an IKEA trip within a few days of my arrival in France, so I only really saw the city from the window of the tram. Nantes is bigger than Angers, but as much as I love the big city vibe, I’m glad I was placed in schools near Angers. I went with some other assistants, and it’s always better to have travel buddies with whom to explore new places. Highlights of the day include the castle (15th century), the mechanical elephant, and all the greenery that surrounds the city in the form of parks and green-spaces. We also saw the cathedral, and managed to sneak into the art museum (unintentionally)!

Chateau du Duchesse Anne
Mechanical Elephant
View of Nantes from the chateau

RENNES

Rennes was ironically my first choice for academies when it came to my TAPIF application, and although I’m happy with how everything has turned out in Angers, I very much wanted to visit the namesake of my first choice. I arrived a little after 11am, and even though the sky was grey and cloudy, it would soon clear to such a beautiful, sunny day. The first visit of the day was to the Musée de Bretagne. As Rennes is the capitol of Brittany, the museum provided information and architectural finds from the beginning of the region to how Rennes has evolved to what it is today. After having the necessary crepes for lunch, it was an afternoon filled with wandering where we ran into the historic center complete with 15th century houses, Rennes Cathedral, and a walk along the canal.

Historic Center of Rennes

POITIERS

Stop number three on my mini-tour de (NorthWestern) France was to the city of Poitiers, which was the furthest away from Angers. The day was cold, as the seasons have unfortunately finally begun to change, but that didn’t stop us from exploring around outside (just meant we made lots of stops for hot chocolate, and found places to go in and warm ourselves up every so often). We visited the Musée de Sainte Croix, which houses archeological finds from the pre-neolithic age, and paintings through to the modernist movement. Once again found ourselves eating crepes for lunch, and wandered around going into several churches, and even found a smaller replica of the statue of liberty! Poitiers feels like it should be widely spread out, but ultimately we ended up circling back to the same places we’d visited before inadvertently. It’s definitely chalk full of history though, so if that’s your cup of tea, Poitiers is the place to be!

Hôtel de Ville
Statue de La Liberté
Hôtel de Ville at night

TOURS

My last day trip during this break was to Tours. Only about an hour away, I absolutely loved the architecture of this city (even the train station is a sight to see). The morning started with a visit to the beautiful cathedral, followed by a stop at the chateau (which only has two remaining towers). As Tours is located on the Loire River, we were able to walk across a foot bridge, and see a lovely view of the river (thankfully the weather held out enough for us to enjoy a walk outside). We visited the museum of natural history, as well as walking into the historic part of town, and wandering past the Hôtel de Ville. Tours was such a great place to visit, and I had so much fun touring it for the day!

Two weeks of holiday has definitely gone by much too quickly, but I’m sure that’s in part to the fact that I did four day trips in a short amount of time, and each of those days were packed with walking, exploring, and lots of crepe eating (I have no shame when it comes to the amount of crepes I have consumed in my short amount of time being in France). I’m already back in the mode of lesson planning, and thinking about all the things I have to accomplish before getting back to school, but that doesn’t stop me from reminiscing about all my fun adventures. I’m lucky to live so near a train station, and I’m very glad that train travel in France is easy, and relatively not too expensive. It always catches me a little off guard how easy it is to travel around in Europe, and I’m hoping to take more advantage of that over the following months!

Two weeks in… a speedy introduction to teaching

On By notyouravggiraffeIn France, TAPIFLeave a comment

I’ve completed my first two weeks of being an English language assistant, and in no way can I say that this is an easy job. Sure, I only work 12 hours a week, but those 12 hours are contact hours, not the total amount of hours I spend in a school. I’m usually at each school from 9:30am until either 2:30pm, or 4:10pm, depending on the school (although I do start at 1:30pm on Monday, so can’t really complain about that too much). When you factor in a half hour commute each way, and having to leave in the morning an hour before I’m due at school in order to catch the bus, it can make for a very long day! Not to mention, you’re constantly speaking (or yelling), and trying to find creative ways to explain activities both with words, and without. Now, because the French education system values time off, we’re already on vacation (thank goodness because I’ve also already gotten sick): two weeks off for Toussaint. I’ll be writing all about my adventures during those two weeks in a separate post, but I thought I’d give you all some of my thoughts from my first two weeks working in France. I do apologize in advance for the length.

Initially, my schedule didn’t seem too daunting, but in practice, it’s a little bit more so. Although 30-45 minutes doesn’t sound like a lot of time to be up in front of a class, it can definitely feel like it’s lasting for an eternity (or can feel like you’ve snapped your fingers and time is up). I’m working in two schools, one in Les Ponts de Cé, and the other in Mûrs Erigne. Both are a little outside of Angers, and definitely in quieter places (they’re very pretty areas, I would recommend a quick google image search if I were you, but that’s just me). When I go out to Ponts de Cé, my stop is the last on the bus route and I’ll sometimes spend the last 10-15 minutes alone on the bus waiting for the terminus, but hey, at least I can take a quick little snooze in the mornings if need be. I alternate days at each school during the week, with Wednesday as a day off in the middle of the week. In both schools I work with students from GS (kindergarten) to CM2 (fifth grade). Obviously every grade level requires different material, but what makes some classes even more challenging is the fact that they have split classes where you’ll get CM1/CM2 together or even CE1/CE2/CM1 (2nd, 3rd, 4th) in one classroom. Most of these classrooms do English all together, which is great on one hand, but stressful on the other because there is a very large difference between vocabulary skills in CE1 and CM1.

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View from the bus on the way home from one of my schools

Week one was very much figuring things out, and either doing very little in the classroom, or being left to lead an entire lesson, not knowing what on, and with nothing planned (funny how things always end up in extremes). By the end of the week I was leading activities with smaller groups of students, and I have to say that is much easier to manage than an entire classroom of students. I had to make a little presentation about myself for the kids, and then was subjugated to all the questions they could muster including whether I’d been to New York (yes), do I have a swimming pool in my backyard (no), and oddly enough, whether I had voted in the most recent election (an emphatic yes to that one). Some honorable mention questions include one child asking me if I had ever seen the Eiffel Tower (but the one in Vegas, go figure), and another asking me if we had color TV in the US.

I’ve spent a lot of time outside of the classroom looking for activities, coloring pages, and songs to use with the students to help engage them better with English, and to have lessons be more than just a session where I speak at them. Who knew there were so many songs for so many different topics? I say this in awe, but also through slightly gritted teeth because they get stuck in your head very quickly, and then you’re singing a song about how to introduce yourself for the rest of the day (someone suggested using baby shark to learn family words, and I’d love to do that, but don’t know if I could handle tens of children singing that to me all day after class ends). I will say though that it’s lovely to work with the younger students (GS/CP) because they still view learning optimistically, and love being read to in English, even if they don’t understand every word I’m saying (not that the older kids aren’t lovely to work with, though). Even with a bad day, their energy is pretty infectious, and it’s relieving to feel like I’m not doing everything wrong since they don’t seem too put out by it all.

The biggest hurdle for me has been figuring out how to teach material in English when I’m only supposed to speak English. Obviously this makes sense because of the immersion factor, but when many of the students can only say “hello, my name is…” or only have a very vague comprehension of basic words, it can be pretty complicated to find the words to say what you need to say (there’s a lot of gesticulating going on as well, which can sometimes feel like a misguided game of charades but you really want your teammate to get the answer correct). The easy way out is to slip into French to explain everything, but in my couple days of observation, this is what the teachers seem to always do and consequently, most of the English lessons are in French, which would be counterproductive to the whole reason why I’m here. When I’m only being used for pronunciation, it’s not a complicated affair but I’ve had to lead a few lessons, and sometimes all that greets me after a sentence is blank stares (which I always hope is from post-lunch fatigue, but those blank stares are sometimes accompanied by a confused facial expression as well so…).

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What’s the date English board in one of my classrooms

It’s only been two weeks, but it would be a lie to say that all my classroom experiences have been great, and that I feel at ease with what I’m doing. Most of the classes are big, chatty, and can seem pretty uninterested by the prospect of learning English. Teaching is definitely a skill, and we have had very little training when it comes to how to instruct others in learning this complicated, and new language. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I learned English as a child, so of course these things come naturally, but that doesn’t mean that 27 French students will understand the concept of “tomorrow” and “yesterday” while learning the days of the week. It’s really easy to get frustrated with myself for not being good enough, or explaining things well enough, but I know that it’s a learning process not only for the kids, but also for me. It’s a steep learning curve, but in just these two weeks, I feel like I’ve gotten a little bit more sure of myself, and confident in what I’m doing (although a lot of that is “fake it ’til you make it” but we can pretend I’m actually getting better at this thing). It’s really easy to get overwhelmed with everything going on, but I’m hoping that having two weeks off will help refocus things, and allow me to get on top of all my planning. Either way, it’s only been two weeks so I don’t feel like I can hold myself up to such high standards (even though we all know I’ll still do it anyway), but hopefully it will only get better from here!

Bienvenue à Angers!

On By notyouravggiraffeIn France, TAPIF1 Comment

It’s been a week since I arrived in Angers, and what a week it has been. I’ve been walking a lot (for those of you who like to keep track, my average has been well over 10K steps a day), and getting used to the city that I’ll call home for the next seven months. If you don’t know Angers, it’s a pretty decently sized city in La Maine et La Loire, about 2.5 hours west of Paris. It doesn’t feel too big, but it also doesn’t feel too small. It has a castle (as many cities in this part of France do), museums, two universities, and plenty of good food to eat. I’ve had pretty good weather since the moment my train pulled into the station, and I’m hoping it holds out for a little longer! The evenings are starting to cool down, and fall is definitely in the air, but the French are still eating (and drinking) en terrace so we can pretend the weather isn’t changing… yet.

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The Chateau d’Angers, which houses the apocalypse tapestries, unique to Europe

I don’t need to go over everything bureaucratic I’ve had to endure since arriving, but I will say that the French LOVE their paperwork. I don’t know how many forms I’ve signed, dated, resigned, copied, and finally been able to turn in… I’m partially worried I’ve filled something out incorrectly, or have accidentally signed my soul over to the patron saint of baguettes (not that that would be such a tremendous problem, let’s be real). I had to set up a bank account, which involved going to a bank, making an appointment, then returning to said bank to open the account (not to mention the FIVE banks we visited before one would allow me to open an account easily – Mon Dieu)! I’ve officially moved into a foyer, which is a sort of living accommodation for working 16-30 year olds. I have a studio with a small kitchenette, and I’m currently acclimatizing to the very European idea of sleeping only with a duvet, and with no top sheet (I know, what a very American thing of me to say). I’m trying to make it into a space that feels a little bit like home, and it will definitely take some getting used to, but I’m hoping it will be a success, and a place I’ll be content with for my time here. It’s very centrally located, so I definitely can’t complain about that.

IMG_2320Of COURSE, I can’t speak about France without talking about food. Grocery shopping is going to be an adventure as there aren’t a lot of one stop shops in Angers (although many stores do have a lot of what you need on a daily basis). There are the grocery stores that get bigger as you enter them (it’s some special French magic), and then your specific boulangeries, poissonneries, and your ever important cheese shop. I’ve been loving my breakfasts (although eating in a patisserie every morning will definitely not be convenient once I start working), and creating any excuse to devour a pain au chocolate, or a crepe (or two). Honestly, it’s a good thing I’ve done so much walking! (I will probably dedicate an entire post at some point to the food in Angers because I have had some truly heavenly things in only one week so it can really only go up from here).

This next week is going to be a taster of the seven months to come, but with it being so jam-packed, maybe I’ll be able to forget about some of the stress that comes with moving to a foreign country for an extended amount of time. I’ve had part one of my orientation (signing lots of paperwork), and I’ll be spending two days this week observing in my two schools to get the lay of the land, as well as having another orientation specific to lesson planning, and what to bring to each class session. I’ve met some fellow assistants, so hopefully we can work with each other to make the adjustment easier, and I’m glad to have people with whom to experience this city, and this program. My schedule will definitely be a busy one, but I’m excited to get going, meet all the students, and start helping them with English! As Annie once optimistically sang, “I think I’m gonna like it here.”

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