Alsacez-vous!

Well it’s been about a week since I have ventured anywhere more exotic than the exciting town of Saverne, France. What awaits me every Thursday and Friday in this rural Alsacian town is classroom after classroom of (for the most part) non-English speaking students who, I am quite sure, would rather be out smoking cigarettes than inside learning about Thanksgiving with me. But hey, someone’s gotta do it, right?

I figure that since I haven’t been out traveling Europe this past week, I’ll take this time to catch you up on what has been going on in France. I do actually spend some time here, believe it or not. To begin, we shall go back 2 weeks, to the first week of November, and my glorious return to school after the Toussaint holidays in Ireland.

Bane of my existence.

Every Thursday starts with a bang. And by bang, I mean blaring alarm at 4:30am. Why, you ask? Well I live a lovely two-and-a-half hour commute from work, and to make it into to work in time for my 8:55am class on Thursday, I must leave Saint-Amarin by 5:15am. Over the past weeks I have gotten quite used to my early wakeups. I expect nothing less than sub-zero temperatures to accost me as I grace my front stoop. Thank you to my scarves, gloves, sweaters and jackets for preventing frostbite during the walk to the train station. I arrive in Saverne 45 minutes ahead of my scheduled class, so as to use the time to make photocopies and prepare for my lessons. Thursday November 4^th was much a typical day in this respect, expect the photocopier would prove to be a bit trickier than previously thought. Get prepared people, school drama about to ensue. 

Generally the teachers’ lounge is empty during the 8-9am class period. I often even have the place to myself. So on this cold and blistery Thursday morning, I went about my business as usual, making photocopies, etc. 20 minutes in to my photocopying, Catherine, a fellow English teacher (but one that I do not work with), waltzed into the teachers’ lounge with photocopying on her mind. As one of the photocopiers was broken, she was meant to wait for me to finish. Now unfortunately, I had a serious amount of copies to do for my lesson on Thanksgiving, and they were all for my class starting at 9am. I was frantically racing around attempting to get everything in order, when Catherine began to ask about my use of the machine. Was I still using it? Yes. Would I be done soon? I still had some copies to do, but it wouldn’t be too long. How long? I wasn’t entirely sure. Was I making copies for the next class period? Yes. Slowly her questions began to go from polite to irritating to downright rude. Eventually she began yelling at me in French that I could not possibly need all these copies (and by all it was like 30) for the next class, that she had to make copies for her class, and that this was ridiculous, etc, etc. By the end of the ordeal I was practically shaking and sweating bullets next to the photocopier as I (still not done) moved aside to let her use the copier. So, my first squabble! If you can even call it that on my part – but I am not about to step on any toes in this place. For those of you who don’t know, the French certainly do live up to their reputation of being “snotty” (and somewhat mean) from time to time. Ha! Is this what my life has become? Fights over the photocopier? I never thought I would see the day…

That week, and the following week, most of the lessons I taught were about Thanksgiving. If only one French child knew one thing about how our country was founded! Most don’t even recognize the fact that we were an English colony that waged war to gain independence. Even after reading a story, doing reading comprehension, and discussing Thanksgiving traditions in the US today, most of them could not see the point of this holiday. “There aren’t any presents?” Well, no. It’s about being together with your family, celebrating everything you have to be thankful for. Reaction? Blank stares. 

However, in one class, the kids really made me smile with our final Thanksgiving activity. With only a few minutes left, I asked the students to think about one thing they were really thankful for in their lives. I asked them to write it on a piece of paper, anonymously, and hand it to me as they left the room. What they wrote was on tiny bits of paper ripped out of their notebooks. I expected to take a look, and then throw the papers away, but what they wrote was so adorable, that I carry around their answers with me still. “I am thankful that I have friends to make me feel good and who like me how I am.” “I’m thankful for having wonderful parents.” “I am thankful for having friends who make me smile everyday.” I must admit I left this class with a big smile on my face. When they’re not being annoying and bratty, kids can be very sweet.

Lady Gaga and Oprah

With one of my more advanced classes, I am pretty much allowed to cover whatever topics I want. In class, we made a list together about what they would like to discuss. The list included: Oprah, high school cliques, reality TV shows, prom, American boys, Sweet 16s, 21^st birthdays, and the NRA. Yes, the NRA. So what did I do during a class period when I had extra time after discussing a document? We watched Oprah interviewing Lady Gaga. Laziness on my part? Perhaps, but they loved it. 

Another large chunk of my day at school is devoted to avoiding advances from young teenage boys. Oh yes, French boys do indeed live up to their reputation in this respect. I can’t tell you how many, “Madamoiselle, je t’aime”s and “I ♡ you”s I have received on small pieces of paper in the middle of class. One boy, while I was correcting one of his papers, decided to inscribe, “I love you, Sarah” into his desk. I must admit, it is somewhat flattering, even if it is coming from 16-year-olds!

But overall, here is I what I have decided about French school: I would never send my child to one. And here’s why. Those children are in school from 7:55am until 6:00pm. And not just doing sports, or music, or art. They are in ACADEMIC CLASSES for 8 hours a day! It’s inhumane. They take 12 different subjects! By the time they are finished class at the end of the day, they are so exhausted they don’t have the energy (or the time, for that matter) to go and play sports or practice music. None of the schools have organized sports teams, bands, choirs, photography clubs, or charity organizations. Thank God I grew up in the US. When I look back on my high school experience, and how richly diverse all of my activities were, I cannot imagine my creativity being stifled in a place like French high school. Here, school is just for learning, nothing else. No wonder the French stink at most sports! They never have time to play anyway!

On the whole, I do enjoy my job at school. My students are getting better at English, and I leave almost every day feeling a sense of accomplishment about one class or another. Just this past week, I had a class that normally never speaks, and that actually makes my life a living hell for one hour each Thursday. However, when I told them we were doing a debate on French vs. American television, they formed teams, came up with arguments, and held an intelligent debate in English about which one they thought was better, and why. Maybe I’m having a bigger impact than I thought…

On the way up the mountain!

Anyway, moving on to life outside of school. Saint-Amarin is a very small town. Life here moves at a glacial pace, if that. The stores on the main street are almost never open, except if it’s the boulangerie, but even they keep odd hours. More often than not it looks like a ghost town when I glance outside my window. But I am not complaining. This is what I came here for: relaxation in the midst of all my travels. I love it here. When I’m here for only a few days at a time, small-town life really does suit me. Just the other day Aoife and I decided to explore our beautiful surroundings. We grabbed our sneakers and went out for a glorious hike through the woods. The crisp autumn air felt amazing in my lungs as well scaled the Vosges Mountains. The view at the top was not to be believed. 

Yum, yum, yum, yum, yum.

Our life inside the apartment is improving as well. We just acquired a mini oven (we previously did not have one at all) and christened it by having a full Sunday roast. We had a few other English assistants from the area over, and Aoife made a roast chicken, homemade mashed potatoes, and sautéed vegetables. It was quite delectable, especially since I didn’t have to make it myself! I must admit, upon moving to France I have become somewhat lazy with the cooking. Not because I don’t like to cook. I love to cook. But the freshly made baguettes from the boulangerie on the corner and the creamy Camembert from the market make an amazing lunch for less than two euro! It’s hard to beat. 

Strasbourg Christmas Market

Other than that, not much is new. I recently acquired my “carte de séjour” and am now officially considered a resident of France. Harry Potter comes out on Wednesday, and you better believe I will be front and center in that theater. The Alsace Christmas markets start this weekend and I can’t wait to explore them! I have been hearing about these markets since my arrival in Strasbourg in September. Even the SNCF, the French train system, is offering special deals to people who want to travel to Alsace to experience the markets in all their glory. Finally, on Saturday morning I'm off to London to celebrate Thanksgiving with some of my closest friends from UVA. 

Doesn’t get much better than this, huh?

Happy early Thanksgiving to all!