Salut!
I’ll give you three guesses as to what time of year it
is? Technically, there are a few
correct answers to this, so if you said any of the following, then you are
correct:
1) Spring.
Obviously. Le printemps in
France has more hot and cold “flashes” than a menopausal woman. Seriously. Take today for an example- we have had wind, sun, rain, and
hail…all in the period of 20 minutes.
How’s that for unpredictable?
April showers bring May flowers…
2) Political Elections. We are in the final push for the French presidential
election. It seems to be coming
down between the current president, Nicolas Sarkozy, and the Socialist
candidate, François Hollande. And,
to add to the regular amount of political drama that exists in this country,
Hollande apparently has a good chance at beating Sarkozy. Voting occurs on Sunday, which means
that we’ve got two more evening news cycles to endure before all of France votes. Thus far, the election process all
seems very similar to elections in the US; the exception to this is
the signs that are required by law to be posted outside of all public
schools. Here is a picture of some
of the posters:
3) Les vacances de printemps. Yes, I'm in another paid vacation period. As with the last
2-week vacation period, this one is staggered throughout the country (perhaps
you remember that I said MaryKate Wagner in Lyon was on vacation already), so
now it’s my turn for a vacation.
That said, the end of my contract is April 30. The end of the 2-week vacation is May
7. Which means…drum roll
please…I’m done teaching! That’s
right, I had my last class today! What
did I do on my last day at work? I
sent two kids to la classe de la directrice (the principle’s classroom). Yep, I’m mean. But the boys were being like regular 5th
grade boys, treating the last English class like their personal recreation
hour. Well, honestly, j’en ai marre (a very
useful French expression, meaning both “I’ve had enough” and “I’m fed up”) so I
sent them off and then the rest of the students and I had a great last class. With all the classes this week, I have
been discussing the United States- looking at maps, explaining the daily life
of an American elementary student, and answering any questions that the students and teachers have. Some questions were legitimately insightful for kids their age,
and others were amusing. Here are
a few:
I had showed them a picture of my parent’s apartment
building in Atlanta that has 40 floors.
Kids: woah c’est un gratte ciel! (wow it’s a sky scraper!)
Follow up question by another kid- what happens if all the elevators stop
working? Are you stuck?
Kid: have you twirled around in a tornado?
Discussion followed on how we try to NOT twirl around in a
tornado.
Kid: have you seen Justin Beiber?
Me: nope.
Kid: have you seen Selena Gomez?
Me: nope.
Kid: have you seen Hilary Duff?
Me: no...but does the Disney channel exist in France?
Kid: I am thinking of working in the United States. Who do I need to talk to in order to do
this?
Me: How old are you?
Kid: 12
Me: Well I’d check with your parent’s first, and then talk
to the government and they can maybe give you a visa.
So while teaching in France has come to an end, I still have
time left in France and Europe before my departure on May 10!
Keep in touch!
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