As there is no Thanksgiving and therefore no Thanksgiving break in France, today was just a normal Thursday filled with 6 classes to teach. What made today better was the fact that all my lessons where exactly the same: to explain and talk about Thanksgiving all day. I do have to say at time it was hard to talk about the holiday that I was sorely missing, but to see the students so interested in something so culturally different than what they are used to in France put me in a better mood. They were so curious, asking many questions and offering up knowledge they knew about Thanksgiving - though I did have to explain several times the difference between using the words Indians and Native Americans.
Besides a few exceptions, I am feeling more at ease with my students, and they are all starting to show that they like me. Today I got asked by a different student again if I was going to the music festival on Saturday and another asked if I would buy a lotto ticket from him for a school trip (completely done in English, mind you! So proud!). Although there are always the ones that cause I bit of trouble, the other kids who are motivated and interested really make up for it - they are becoming a joy to teach.
Today, I also went into finally fill out my paperwork about me being absent for one class Tuesday. After doing some reimbursement paperwork with the secretary, I explained that I needed to fill out my documentation for being absent. Confused, she told me I needed to see the woman I talked to yesterday, the same woman who had told me to wait for this secretary the day before. Typical France misunderstanding/disorganization!
Also in the office, one of the other secretaries showed me an awesome new teaching resource that has great educational English videos that I can use while in the classrooms. He had even set me up with a log in and password before I asked! I am always so humbled by the kindness and helpfulness of the other teachers and secretaries here in Apt. They truly go out of their way to make me feel welcome, with many of them yelling "Happy Thanksgiving!" after me as I walked by today. One even stopped to tell me about the amount of turkeys that were sold in America this year. If I have to be away from home working on this holiday this year, I am glad there are such great people that I work with that make the day enjoyable.
After I was done working, I enjoyed some down time at the apartment. I even went to the cantine for dinner, something that I have not done in a long while but when I saw that they had dinde* on the menu for tonight, I decided it was a sign that I should not cook and get out of the apartment. I even got to have a lovely conversation with two of the student monitors who I had seen many time around the school but had not talked to much. We had a lovely conversation about travels, life in France, life in America and it was completely in French! They even commented that I speak well, the woman even said that I speak the best out of all the assistants they had met in the past! I guess I am getting better, and these compliments only help my confidence in using the language to grow. Once I returned, I called friends and my parents at home to wish them a Happy Thanksgiving. Though I was so thankful to talk to them on the phone on this wonderful holiday, saying goodbye was hard. The only thing that was getting me through was the realization that I will be coming home in THREE WEEKS for Christmas! Feeling that a little Christmas spirit was needed, I am finishing off the night with doing something I would totally do on Thanksgiving at home: listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies! Specifically, I am just about to start Miracle on 34th Street in French with a cup of hot cocoa in hand. Let the Christmas season begin!
 |
| Christmas spirit at the charcuterie! |
**Note to everyone reading at home: Happy Thanksgiving!! I am thankful for for all of you, who are reading this and supporting me in my teaching and travels. I can not be more grateful to have friends and family like you all!**
*Translation: TURKEY!
No comments:
Post a Comment