The Beginning of the End

With another school week completed in Apt and just one left week left in the classroom until the end of my contract, it has become more apparent to me how fast this experience has gone by! It seems like just yesterday I was anxiously taking my first steps into a French classroom. Because I have a teaching school that rotates every other week, I have already had quite a few 'goodbye' classes this week. To see the students’ reactions to me leaving, always sad and wishing I could stay until the end of their school year, makes me realize that I have made quite a difference by being here. It is both encouraging and heartbreaking to hear them say "sniff sniff" with a frown - knowing that they will miss me and that I will probably never see them again. For my "goodbye lesson", I have been having students tell me what they are planning on doing in the future and then they can ask me the same, along with any other questions they may have for me before I leave. This has led to some hilarious requests, my favorite being "What do you think of French men?" I have had quite a few students ask about how I got the job as assistant, saying that I have made them want to consider doing this for year (going to a foreign country to teach French). I cannot explain the pride this makes me feel, knowing that I did make some type of an impact on them. Some have even come up after class and asked for my e-mail to stay in contact. I feel like I really made a rapport with several of the students here, making it hard to leave. I have to say that when one of the students left my classroom on Monday and said "goodbye forever", it really hit me that I won't ever see them again or be here again. It is just extremely weird to think about - I will miss this place!

With Easter vacation coming up (vacances de Pâques), in one of my classes, we talked about what everyone is doing for the holiday. Of course, some didn't know the meaning of Easter at first, leaving some bewildered looks. To try to be clearer, I asked "What do you think Easter means?". One female student who knew the answer excitedly yelled out "chocolate!" I mean, let's be honest - she IS right! Monday I received a surprise Easter package from my parents filled with just that: chocolate (and other assorted goodies too). With so much support from home during this entire experience that I have been here in France, it has really made me realize how blessed I am to have such amazing parents. As this was my first true experience living away from home* in my life, venturing to live and work in a foreign country, knowing no one coming in, I cannot thank them enough for the many times I called them, wrote messages on Facebook, skyped them, etc saying how much I missed home. They were and are always nothing but supportive and passionate about my goals and dreams, not letting me give up and making me see that everything will not always be bright and cheery - those are the moments where we truly find ourselves.

How the French do Easter chocolate

Merci Maman et Papa!

The weather continues to be blue skies every day, with the sun getting stronger each day. Jeans and jackets are being swapped with skirts and sandals; Spring is really starting to arrive around here! Not only are flowers starting to bloom, but the buds on the trees are starting to turn into leaves too. Today, as I was walking around the school grounds in a light cardigan and sundress, I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply the smell of Provence. I instantly opened my eyes to realize I had been caught in a memory; the smell had brought me back to my summer studying abroad in Aix-en-Provence, with my long sunny walks to and from school. It is funny how this weather is bringing back so many memories of this beautiful region. I can't help but remember myself arriving in September, sweating and panting while falling down the ramp at Avignon TGV with my too-heavy baggage, not used to the Provencal climate or laid-back nature of the culture. Wednesday afternoon, though I had some work to do, Amy and I went to the park to relax, read and soak up the sun. I think that I might be getting a little habitué to this way of life, at long last.

Monsieur Potter and sunlight.

This week also brought the visit from the primary assistant from last year, Cece! Though I had never spoken to her until she arrived, she was so lovely to have around, extremely friendly and we all spent hours telling stories of our experiences in Apt and beyond. On Monday, we all went to dinner at a new place in town called l'Auberge Espagnole. Again, because Apt is so small, new places don't happen very often - I was pleased to see it quite busy on a Monday night! We enjoyed a leisurely dinner of tapas and sangria, coupled by great conversation and a friendly waiter. We welcomed her to a simple dinner at the apartment on Tuesday and after a quick two days, we said our goodbyes. Doing the assistantship brings people together but having been placed in Apt automatically made the three of us instant friends. It is hard to explain to other people, even assistants, what it is like to live and be in assistant in this small village. We all had a universal understanding and bond between us from the beginning. I am so glad that she had the opportunity to come and visit - it was so great to meet her!

She even brought us some American spoils - my favorite girl scout cookies! Thanks Cece!

 This morning, I officially paid my last rent bills and gave the office my lettre de résiliation, my letter explaining when I would be leaving the apartment and when to schedule a contrôle de chambre (room inspection). This required me to go and see my least favorite French person here: the gestionnaire (secretary) of the school. Every time that I have had to talk to her, it has resulted in her rolling her eyes and getting frustrated that I did not understand or could not say something. Needless to say, I always brace myself for a conversation with her. When I saw her and presented her with the letter, explaining we needed to schedule a time for the inspection, she looked at me, wide-eyed and the biggest smile on her face, and said “Mais tu parles bien le français!”** I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so happy or smile that big. As we continued our conversation she kept repeating her compliment and while making a photocopy, even remarked to another office worker how well I speak now. As I was leaving, she reiterated this by saying, “Tu as fait bien du progrès pendant ton année ici ! C’est bien !“  I can safely say that her kind words meant and still mean a lot to me, as I spent the year avoiding her judgmental glares. With her compliment, it really allowed me to finally say to myself “Yes, you have gotten better. A lot better.” That feeling is wonderful – I am proud of myself and what this experience has given me even beyond French language learning: a stronger sense of self.

With one more weekend and week until my job as an assistant is done, I have to say that I am a bit melancholic and triste. After so much time spent here, it is hard not to be! As always, I will continue to enjoy the last few dregs of this experience, like savoring the last sip of a glass of magnificent rosé. Chin chin!

*Yeah, I know most people have this moment when they are 18 and go off to college. For me, it was at 23 when I moved to a foreign country. Cheers to attending college in my hometown!

**Translation: But you speak French very well!

***Translation: You made good progress during your year here! That’s great!

Célébrez!

After a full day of classes on Thursday, I was tired and ready to just snuggle and watch a movie for the night. However, I was invited to spend the evening at Véronique’s house, with other fellow teachers from the lycée, some English and some who merely speak and understand a bit of English. I have been waiting for this opportunity since plans for it fell through before Christmas, so although I was feeling not up to a night of speaking French (and English, for that matter), Amy and I went off to meet Olivier, who gave us a ride to Véronique’s house.

As I had not yet been to her house, I only had one image in my head of what it might look like: coming from Cathy (ma coordinatrice, or supervisor/colleague, whose house I have been to a few times), “Véro’s house makes my house look like Uncle Tom’s Cabin!” As we drove up her private drive on the side of one of the rolling hills just outside the chic Bonnieux, I marveled at the wonderful pool and garden outside as well as the beautifully decorated interior of the home. It was very provençal, yet in an exquisite way. They immediately handed us glasses of wine and said it was necessary that we celebrate. All of a sudden, Véronique came around the corner with a gift bag in hand and offered a joyous “Happy Birthday!” Everyone commenced in singing the song in English, allowing me to tear up a bit, and was given a beautiful ring to commemorate my time here in France – they said they always wanted me to remember them. Bien sûr, it was a moment that I will never forget.

Then, they shoved food on our plates, which included quiche lorraine, pizza du jambon, an endive salad, cold cuts of ham and salami, bread and a spicy shrimp cocktail salad, followed by dessert of a raspberry tart, brownies and clementines, all while all types of wine were poured, along with an after eating coffee, tea and pastis. I saw my teachers I work with but met their husbands, other teachers from the school and even a Vietnamese landscape worker who is friends with Véro. We spent the night conversing in both French and English, though I must admit they mostly spoke English to us and they would tell stories in French to the group. Best story of the nigh: the story of one of the teacher’s bike trip across America last summer and a very awkward situation that arose on a stay in Kansas. I definitely learned some new vocabulary with that one….

Friday, with one private lesson to teach as one was cancelled, I got all dressed up to go and have a nice dinner to celebrate my birthday with Amy and Alison. As they arrived a little later than expected, they got cleaned up and yelled to me through my door that they were ready to go. I walked into the kitchen and was greeted with a surprise: a stack of delicious brownies topped with lit candles and the girls singing Happy Birthday to me! It was such a sweet gesture (literally, as those speculoos brownies were amazing!) and so unexpected. Thanks girls for the cake and gifts! Then we were off to dinner at le Carnot Set. This is listed on Tripadvisor as being one of the best restaurants in Apt, and it did not disappoint. I had a delicious magret aux cerises, duck with cherries and cherry sauce, served with roasted vegetables, bread and even some fries on the side. It is a definitely a place I want to go back to, as the food was as great as the service, with the chef personally coming out to hand his plates to his customers. This place definitely broke the stereotype that French servers can be cold; they were so kind and friendly. Je reviens bientôt*….

The chef even jumped in for a picture, asian tourist style!

Seriously, AMAZING. My mouth is salivating as I am typing.

Homemade Speculoos Brownies, so delicious!

Sooo.. they didn't know they were trick candles. After five attempts with no avail, we threw them into a bowl of water - definitely blown out now!

Although Saturday was supposed to be spent hiking, seeing the forecast was rain, we decided to call it off and try to go again next week. It was good that we had – we ventured out in the morning to have a nice breakfast at a café and it was pouring rain and windy, making a simple walk through town quite chilling to the bone. In our best efforts, we thought we might rent a car for the day and drive around to visit a few villages. That plan was squashed when we were informed that all cars were already rented out for the rest of February. We decided to stay in, spending the day and night cooking, talking, and even doing some French grammar.** It was a relaxing way to spend the day, and nice to be out of the cold. 

Homemade tomato soup, courtesy of chef Amy

After a lazy, sunny Sunday, I was back to teaching early today. As I was told my students would be going on a field trip that afternoon, I was to prepare a lesson on Nelson Mandela to help them understand the movie. The first class enjoyed learning about him and his important life’s work. On presenting the topic of the day to the second class, I saw one student roll her eyes and turn to her fellow students, complaining in French that they have covered this topic ten times already in their English career. I asked her to speak up and in English and she angrily asked if we could talk about something else today, she was sick of talking about this topic. As no one in the rest of the group was even talking, I was extremely taken aback by her forwardness. However, I was flexible and turned it more into a comparison lesson, asking them for similarities and differences of apartheid and segregation. I had never experienced a student to be so demanding, and in situations like this I feel like it is better to be flexible – I could have said “No, this is what your teacher wants us to talk about and this is what we are doing” but that just makes the student not motivated to participate. I got her and the other students to talk and compare, making me feel quite accomplished today with a difficult situation. This rainy and windy afternoon, I helped chaperone a field trip to the cinema to see Nelson Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. Quel film incroyable! I couldn’t help but cry a few times at the amazing story of this man’s life. Everyone must see this and understand this part of history.

I also received a lovely card in the mail today from Dan and Brenna, thank you! With all the festivities this weekend, it was nice to receive this message from home, making me even more excited to celebrate with them and my parents in 12 DAYS!! That’s right, in less than 2 weeks, my family will be here! The excitement is killing me. For now, I will continue to celebrate my time here, as I am continually realizing there is hardly any time left. On doit célébrer!***

Loved the 3D card!

*Translation: I’ll be back soon….

**I know what you all are thinking: happenin’ Saturday night, right? But really, I needed that grammar review.

***Translation: We must celebrate!

"I like Facebook because I can spy on people."

Today was just another manic Monday but was a good day full of surprises. I taught class very early this morning and was genuinely surprised and happy that my students were not only awake but happy to participate in English! It must have helped that the topic of the lesson was social networks, which solicited some good discussion and debates, filled with memorable quotes like the title of this blog.

After class, I went to la loge to find that I had a surprise package from back home! Two of my best friends, Chris and Marissa, had decided to send me a package of Christmas goodies and letters. This really touched my heart, as I have been trying to get some holiday cheer going on around here lately and now there is plenty of it. I will have to hang up some of the coloring pages to get some Christmas spirit flowing in the apartment. Thanks so much guys and can't wait to see you soon for Christmas!

Pure happiness.

There were even letters inside!

Filled with candy canes, peanut butter m&ms, hello kitty stuff (floss, puzzle, stickers, plate/dish thing, christmas ornament and COLORING BOOK), peppermint hot chocolate mix, gold sparkle OPI nail polish and a CHOCOLATE ADVENT CALENDAR. Seriously guys, best surprise ever!

This afternoon was a new experience for me: it was my first day teaching English at a business! I was told that these would mostly be conversation classes, to get the business associates used to speaking to people and meeting people at conferences. Because of this, and because it was the first day, I decided to do introductions and talking about their lives. I figured that this would be a good place to start and came ready with sheets full of vocabulary and pictures to help with verbs they may not know. However, I was surprised to see that during my first lesson with the computer engineer and electrical engineer, they already knew all of this information and more! We got through my lesson in about 10 minutes and then I just had to wing the conversation for the next hour. At one point, I even asked them what they want to know in English, as it seemed like they had a good understanding of grammar but I wanted to know what topics interested them, and of course what could I teach them. They said that they want to know how to say things specific to their field, as that technical vocabulary is confusing to them. Of course! I had thought of this before, but as their boss told me to focus on conversational English, I didn't think to look any of this up. For next time though, I will definitely focus on a more advanced level of English - definitely the most advanced class I have had to teach here which should be a challenge. The two of them were incredibly nice though, which made our conversation for the hour to be quite enjoyable.

The second group I taught is the boss who hired me and his wife the receptionist. They are at a lower level, though the difference between their levels is going to be a challenge in itself. He can carry on a conversation with me, although pronunciation and tenses can always be improved, while his wife doesn't know any of the numbers past 10. Nonetheless, it was a good change of pace, as I feel like I had something to teach them and the second hour flew by quickly. After getting paid and trying to say goodbye to his dog*, Alain drove me back to the Cité Scolaire in Apt. Even though it is my job to teach him English, I feel like he knows that I want to learn some French - a few times during the lesson and during this car ride, he pointed out words that I probably wouldn't know in French. Although I would love to continually speak with him in French, I know that it is not what I am there for, but during our car rides it seems that he is trying to get me to practice too, which I could not be more thrilled about. We marveled at les illuminations d'Apt together and he told me the difference between illuminations and une fête de lumières. Either way, he likes the Christmas spirit too, and I cannot wait to give more English lessons next week.

*So me and this dog, we really hit it off last week. And this week whenever I tried to pet him, he barked and backed away! This is not the end though, we WILL be friends. It is my new goal.

Le Mistral

Le Mistral.... it is the wind that blows from the North to the South of France. It is said to be the reason for the amazing blue skies that are ever-abundant here in Provence, as it chases away all the clouds in the sky. In the summer, this breeze is quite nice, as it cuts through the blistering heat in this Mediterranean region. However, everyone has said beware: the mistral in the winter will cut through you like a knife. Although Provence does not get snow typically, le mistral is said to keep people inside all winter long, due to it's awful frigid temperature.

The past few weeks I have been here have been quite beautiful weather - blue skies almost everyday along with skirt wearing temperatures. However, last night, I was resorted to wear a sweatshirt, long pants, two pairs of socks as well as 3 blankets on my bed, due to the freezing chill that was in the apartment.* Even though it is just the beginning of October, I feel like le mistral is beginning to arrive. And I feel like I am ill-equipped to meet it this winter.

Besides the seasons seeming to change over-night, today was a wonderful day of surprises. This morning, we went down to the gate as always to leave school grounds. The gate keeper waved us into the office, where I was given a large package from home! It was filled with all my favorite things that I can not get here: JIF peanut butter, Reeses peanut butter PUMPKINS, a Hello Kitty travel toothbrush, Twix, Swedish Fish, Reeses pieces, Butterfinger bites, and a tupperware full of my Mom's amazing homemade brownies. I seriously was like screaming with excitement as I unwrapped it.

EEK!

Ummm can we just focus on the Reeses pumpkin right now? IN LOVE

Mom's brownies made the trek all the way across the pond!

Choosy Becca chooses JIF!

Then we bundled up and spent the afternoon in town - running errands and shopping for warmer clothes. Its tempting to want to buy everything that will keep me warm, but I don't get paid until the end of this month, so just the necessities for right now. Then came the second surprise: Amy received a call from a flower shop in town that someone had bought her flowers! She went and picked up her beautiful birthday flowers from her aunt and sister.

Beautiful flowers for the birthday girl!

Adding to the cold breeze flowing through town, new decorations are being put up as well. I said in a previous post that all the shops are closed lately for vacation. Although that is true, the streets have been filled this week with workers putting up strings and strings of lights, making the city festive for the holidays. Amy told me today that the person that does the Christmas decorations here in Apt also does them for the famous streets of the Champs d'Elysees in Paris and Regent Street in London. The lights are not on yet, but they are all in place. Even though it won't be anything like my Dad's amazing Christmas lights display**, I can not wait to see this quaint village around Christmas time.

The start of Noël in Apt

Off to Cannes tomorrow until Sunday, going to celebrate Amy's birthday on the French Riveria!

*Note: my apartment does have a furnace/heater, but it only turns on when the rest of the building has it on. We can't turn it on ourselves.
**If you don't know of my Dad's light display, it is legendary. Each year, he adds more lights. I think the latest record is 16,000, but I could be dreadfully wrong.