A beautiful weekend in Lyon and a two-week lesson on American folk music

It was a truly beautiful weekend to get away from the Mayenne. Certainly, it was difficult to get up at 5am the Friday morning that I left, walked fifteen minutes to the bus-stop, and took the bus to the train station in Laval. But it was all worth it once I got inside the massive two-story TGV bound for Marseille-St. Charles on which I would stop at Lyon Part-Dieu after about four hours of moving. I did my bible reading, catching up on what I hadn't done. I'm finding I get much more accomplished when I do things in two-day readings, and for some reason, it works. I continued my reading of Stendhal, which I have recently begun as part of my personal edification in reading the classic 19th century novelists. I also listened to music such as Coldplay and such, passing the time easily before arriving at my destination.

When I arrived at Part-Dieu, I had no idea where to go, but I knew I had forgotten something important, my contact case. After eating a quick bite at "Quick," a European version of McDonald's, I went across the street to the Carrefour, traversing the grande surface (shopping center), which turned out to be the Galleries Lafayettes of Lyon. It turns out that Carrefour did not have the contact case, but rather, the pharmacy, or store with the green cross, did. Found it and went on my way. I took the Metro for the first time and was pleasantly surprised at (1) how clean it was, (2) how relaxed the pace was to actually get in and off the train, and (3) how easy the network was to navigate. I easily arrived at the Vieux Lyon-St. Jean station and then took a cable car, which went up the side of a hill on which stood the Auberge de Jeunesse (youth hostel).

Arriving at the youth hostel was spectacular. I had such a gorgeous view of nearly the entire city of Lyon that is broken up into three sections separated by the Saone and Rhone rivers. Fortunately, for my entire visit, I had great sunny and yet, cool weather. After checking into the hostel and depositing my backpack, I proceeded to go exploring. I did quite a bit of walking through Vieux Lyon, which is filled with Renaissance architecture and beautiful buildings. I took a tour around Mont Fourviere, where I saw the basilica, which is fantastic, a nineteenth century wonder, where on the inside, you can find beautiful mosaics and murals, reminiscent of icons from the Byzantine empire. I was thoroughly impressed by its splendor. After seeing this wonder, I descended down once more to look around Bellecour and Rue de la Republique to find shopping districts and restaurants. I ended up crossing the Saone once more to Vieux Lyon, where I ate at a bouchon, which is a restaurant that serves every single imaginable part of a pig, and I experienced that first-hand. It wasn't all that pleasant, because I didn't know exactly what I was eating. Started my meal with a Salade Lyonnaise, which had meat and eggs and was rather tasty. Then, I had my main course with bread, which was some kind of fat-laced pig with innerd parts that I had trouble eating. I ended up leaving a large portion of it. What I think redeemed my strange experience was having a tarte aux poires at the end that I enjoyed. After dinner, I headed extremely early to the theatre, Le Croiseur. I ended up getting turned around as seems to happen frequently, but I found the place and in plenty of time, almost too much of it.

At the theatre after waiting almost an hour, I finally met Camille and she brought her German friend, who had come all the way from Berlin just to see the play. By the way, the play was by Brecht, "Grand Peur et Misere du 3e Reich," very famous play in Germany apparently. It was translated into French, badly though in some parts according to the German friend, Silvia. I sat next to Silvia in the square, which was the realm where audience members would be in the position to participate or be called upon involuntarily. It was an interesting experience and I had a wonderful time. The play itself was intense with emotional moments, highlighting the emotional trauma of people living in Germany under the Third Reich. I got to read a part of the script as I was called upon, with my best pronunciation yet with my American accent still there. Camille told me afterwards that it was very good pronunciation. The rest was a blur, since the French was difficult to understand. But the massacre on stage at the end was spectacular and sobering seeing the death camp and a flash of light as the end of a truly dramatic play. I liked it so much I had to see it for the final performance on Saturday. Afterwards, I congratulated Camille and talked to Silvia, who has invited me to come to Germany and see the Berlin Philharmoniker (with free tickets from her friends), so I'm planning a visit to Berlin in the next month.

The next day, I got up rather late and went to explore Rue de la Republique, stopping by the Opera house and the Hotel de Ville. I got to see the Roman theatre at Fourviere and then did some shopping in the Bellecour area, where I found something small, taking advantage of the sales that are going on all around France for the month of January. I then met Camille, Johan, and Silvia in Vieux Lyon, where we went to eat at a bouchon for lunch, which was great. I didn't eat much, since it was about 13:30 when we were eating and I already had eaten something. It was pleasant and Johan and Camille took care of the bill. We went walking around, looking at traboules, exploring the steep pathway at Fourviere. Also, a pleasant experience. Afterwards, I headed back for a nap before heading back to the theatre for the final performance. Wonderful, memorable, and I could understand more than what I had before. I also had a completely different viewing angle than before. The group decided to have a party, but I declined the offer, knowing that when they said party, it could mean being up until 4am dancing, getting drunk, etc. I was right. The next morning, Johan told me that they stayed up until that time.

Took my train at 13:30, weaving through the masses at Part-Dieu, fortunately with a ticket that didn't need to be composted or time-stamped. I boarded, having caffeined up with a Starbucks coffee of the day, an espresso, and a double chocolate muffin. I was good to go. Didn't sleep a wink the whole trip back, read my Bible reading, and listened to music. I arrived at 17:06, met Nathy, and headed home.

Let's get back to business, shall we:

This week has started off exceptionally well. I decided to play some fiddle tunes and teach on American folk music for the next two weeks, given the fact that we're already in Anglophone music mode. It's something that comes from my heritage, of which I beam with pride when I play Irish folk tunes. Today (Monday),I played a collection of fiddle tunes, starting with the French Canadian "Vive l'amour," then moving to some more traditional music: "Molly on the Shore," "Swallow's Tale," "Irish Washerwoman," "Turkey in the Straw," and ended with "Ashokan Farewell." I talked about flatfoot dancing, Irish dance/drinking parties (showing a clip from "Titanic") and even played "My Heart Will Go On," for one of my groups! Some of the girls were singing along, not well, mind you, but at least they felt entertained. Feel-good moments. I'm so glad to share my violin-playing with my students. It gives me joy to talk about one of the things that gives me passion, music. I've definitely got a feeling these next two weeks will be fun and enjoyable. Folk music this week, country music the next. For once, I'm not dreading a week after a weekend of traveling. That's something for which I can be thankful.

Just got my schedule from the middle school, which changes this week. Should be interesting and hopefully manageable. Icky middle-schoolers, nonetheless. It takes talent to deal with middle-schoolers. Some of these teachers at the middle school know how to do that, and I admire them. This time, I'm planning on working closely with the teacher responsible so that things can run more smoothly. I trust it will. I keep trusting. Things are going to be fine. :)

Integration into a new church family and the beginning of a short week

The weekend promised sleep and rest as well as opportunities to pursue my reading projects. I decided to start Stendhal this week after having read "Tresor d'amour," a 21st century novel by Philippe Sollers, which just hit the book-stands several weeks ago. The book centers around the nineteenth century novelist Stendhal who wrote "Le rouge et le noir," a novel that painted a vivid picture of France in 1830, a time of great political upheaval. This week, I decided to read another of Stendhal's works, "Chartreuse de Palme," which was the novel that made the author famous. It was referred to numerous times in Philippe Sollers' novel (an ode to Stendhal), so I thought it logical to read it next.

Sunday was thoroughly enjoyable as I integrated well into a new church family, small but close-knit. Christian P. from Mayenne picked me up to take me to Laval at 9:55am and we had a nice time chatting about our family, country, background, etc. We arrived at the church, which is, in fact, the rez-de-chaussee, or the ground floor of a building. It was very small but cozy, all the same. The order of worship was structured and in a bulletin! Worship at the other church was rather spontaneous and disorganized in some spots. It seemed to have the structure of a Catholic mass and was deliberate and well-planned. The music was simple with a keyboard, but included a prelude and interlude by J.S. Bach. It was traditional but comfortable. The most remarkable thing about it was the fact that a young woman led the preaching of the Word. Eleanore is a young pastor who just began preaching recently. She is well-posed and interprets the Scriptures well and with ease. She discussed Luke 10, the passage about the sending of the 72 disciples, a passage that I had read for my daily Bible reading. It was good to revisit this section, which, I think, is often overlooked, but merits great importance, for it is a passage that points directly to evangelism, which was the main topic of the sermon. After the worship service (which was only one hour, in lieu of two hours at the Assembly of God church), we had the aperitif, which consisted of cider or orange juice, crackers, and pretzels. I got to mingle with some of the parishioners, including a violinist who played for Volubilis at the concert. The people at the church are kind and welcoming and I feel at ease with them. One of them planned on putting me into contact with a young American woman and PhD, who studied 18th century French literature for her dissertation. Score. I can tell I'm going to enjoy coming to this church every other week. I have a solution for the ride-sharing problem, having the option of either riding with Christian or a family that lives in Mayenne. I can definitely say that this was an answer to prayer, and for that, I am thankful.

The week started fairly well. I had a long day yesterday (Monday) at school and was extremely exhausted by the end. A Summary of Monday: "Stay the Night," went pretty well with the 1eres. They did not really interpret the song at all, but at least they listened some to my thoughts on the matter. They seemed a bit more engaged than usual, which is, at least, progress on their part. Still, by the end, they literally walk out on me without caring about what comes next on my agenda. I have to say that perhaps the worst part of this is that my course comes right before lunch. I simply have to let them go, because many of the students haven't much time to eat before heading back to class. An inconvenience? Yes. But this group is probably one of the worst when it comes to getting and keeping their attention for fifty minutes. It's a constant challenge. After lunch, I had a good time talking about "Imagine" with my terminale students that I see once every three weeks. Directly after, however, my lesson with the TLA completely fell through. I had intended to talk about slavery because this month is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month. That all fell through as I tried to start a discussion on the issue by recounting the Transatlantic Slave Trade with images and even a video that was sobering on the issue. Then, I handed out an article with a quiz at the end, thinking it would be appropriate for these students who are studying literature. Not exactly. The kids did not even respond to my questions and I was left there naked without any interlocutor in the room. Tough stuff. And then I asked if the kids thought it was boring, and they said "don't teach us history again." So, an embarrassing situation but at least, it told me what NOT to teach ever again. Next week, we will talk about music and I will bring in my violin which was requested at the beginning of the year. My last group at the end of the day watched the rest of "The Prestige," and was quite impressed with the film. The discussion that followed was not the most meaningful unfortunately.

At the end of the day, Monday, I was terribly exhausted, and it showed in rehearsal with Volubilis. We spent almost the entire time reading (and for me, sight-reading) in German, Brahms' Zigeunerlieder (a collection of 11 lieder or German gypsy-songs). I struggled through nearly the entire thing just because I had the hardest time grappling with the pronunciation. Fortunately, we sang some of the songs on "la," but combining the words with the music was the most difficult part of this intellectually demanding exercise. And at the end of the day, mind you. Fortunately, I had the company of some enjoyable people from the choir who were part of the ride-share from Mayenne. That made the evening worth it in the end.

Today was not bad. I slept in to make up for the exhaustion from yesterday. This evening's discussion was fairly decent with the Secondes. But then the kids did not want to talk about the song, at which point, I had to go to the point of desperation, in taking song requests from the students so that we could listen to anything with English lyrics. Another embarrassing moment, to be sure. What can you do though when the kids will not engage in discussion with the questions and exercises given? Frustrating, but whatever. I said "au revoir" to this group of Secondes in the rotational cycle. Some of them were sad to see me go. One group of girls came up to me and asked me where I was from in the US. I said to them, "Georgia." And they said, "Trop cool. Tu as de la chance!" (So cool. You are so lucky!) At this point, I can safely say things will be okay for the last three classes I must teach this week. And then, Lyon for the weekend.

And the third time's a charm.

It seems that things do indeed get better if you wait long enough. This week has gone relatively smoothly, even as it is a busier week than the last one. Perhaps, that's a sign that I do much better when I have more classes during the week. I'm not so sure. Maybe it has to do with having more lessons to prepare, managing my free time better with reading and violin practice, and getting better sleep without resorting to "nappage" (or the over-indulgence in naps).

The beginning went well as I remembered to get up this time to go in for the voluntary discussion on the Tucson shootings and Illegal Immigration. Lo and behold, I was alive and kicking at 8am in a class of terminales (in case you haven't already noticed: my favorite group to teach). We had a good discussion and I had an opinion on the matter that was different than the previous assistant's, Nell M. who came last year. Nell hailed from Tucson, AZ, which had faced scrutiny before about the illegal immigration problem, so I'm sure her opinion was much more focused in on the problems within her own community. But I had an opinion, albeit one that was based upon facts collected from various news sources including the NY Times, Washington Post, and others. It's difficult to go solely on news sources though. Illegal immigration is a topic not as much seen or examined in Georgia as Tucson, but still, the existence of large Hispanic communities in places like Dalton make it a pertinent topic all the same. Monday was a typical Monday in any case, and I had to eat my lunch at the school. The afternoon passed by slowly as I had to wait between classes. Then, I had to change classes at the last minute for my literary Terminale students, so I was wandering around trying to find people and then, forgetting my worksheets, had to run back to my casier (locker) and grab them to return back downstairs to my students. We then proceeded to examine "Sound of Silence," (Simon and Garfunkel), which I was hardly prepared to talk about after running around like a chicken with its head cut off. Nevertheless, we made it through, and the students appreciated hearing my point of view on the song.

As for Tuesday, I managed to find something easy enough to teach to my sixth graders (sixieme) that did not require much effort on their part. I taught them how to say tongue twisters. It's a decent exercise in pronunciation that is fun and enjoyable. For example, "She sells seashells by the sea shore." A little tricky with the tongue there, but it's fun to say. I provided the French translation to the side on the board for all of my tongue twisters (which was a rough, sight translation, but it worked) so that the students would understand. After enjoying a bit of pronouncing, enunciating, and repeating, we continued to the second part of the lesson, which was a little more serious. We talked about money, starting by reviewing numbers. I showed them the dollar sign and then we continued to name other types of currency. Each student, on his or her worksheet, then chose the more logical price (choosing between two options), which helped the students estimate prices for different things (car, pencil, binder, etc.) I felt triumphant. For the last lesson with my sixth graders, I found something that was feasible for them and yet, something they enjoyed. We did some games with the white board in which each student participated gladly and with a lot of energy. I then rewarded the students for bearing with me with a video from the musical comedy, "Cabaret,"-- the song called "Money," with Liza Minnelli. Most of the kids laughed, but some of them cried out, "Monsieur, c'est pas bon; c'est nul!" Such exercises carried over to Thursday (today) as I did a retake of the tongue-twister/money lesson.

Wednesday was a total day off. My premieres (juniors) went on a ski trip and only one or two stuck around the school, so I called off the classes for the day. It was bliss. I got to sleep in for the first time on a Wednesday since the vacation. And, of course, since I love to indulge in sleep, I was a very happy camper. Didn't do too much either. Some reading, shopping at the librairie (bookstore), and hanging out with the German and Spanish assistantes with a coffee date at Le Voyageur (a local brasserie). And to continue a series of beautiful days, the sun shone through the entire day.

Today was not bad at all. Three classes at the middle school was rough and tiring, but somehow, I managed just fine, didn't have too much time leftover at the end, and kept most every student under control. That's a first, I have to say, and perhaps,it was good that it happened the last day with the sixth graders. It will permit me to make a comfortable transition with the seventh graders that I will see in a couple weeks. What was the cherry on the top of a good day was this afternoon. I made my way from the middle school and made some copies for my Terminale group. I got to change the classroom to one that had multimedia equipment (something that is not always reliable). That made things perfect.

The group I was about to see (TESB) had an exam last week, which was the reason they were not there. TESB always has a good excuse, something vraisemblable. Not surprising, because they're probably my best group. I ushered in my students and we plunged into "Sound of Silence" (Simon and Garfunkel). It was a guided discussion with a listening part at the beginning. Then, we proceeded to a textual analysis of the lyrics, examining first, difficult words and phrases, which I explained skillfully with ease in translations (wherever necessary). We then went stanza by stanza in a linear way, discussing the meaning of each section. I was impressed with how the students came up with their own interpretations of the text. It's a rather difficult text to work with, but is, no less, interesting. I felt a heave of gratification at the end, because it just went so well. A good way to end a busy Thursday.

For some reason, I have confidence to think that tomorrow is going to go well. I'm officially over the hill now. It's all downhill from here. Just two courses tomorrow: TSTGA (business terminale) and one course with the middle schoolers. Nothing to prepare, just show up and hand out photocopied worksheets. Wow. Here I am sitting under the light of a papier-mache lamp and feeling that week 3 was by far, my most successful week here for 2011. I think a glass of champagne and dark chocolate are called for this weekend. My optimism is only beginning...

An explanation for a previous post and a summary of today

I feel I owe an explanation for a statement I made in my previous post that summarized the events in Paris during the holidays. I did not mean to be ill-intentioned or mean toward my parents in being happy that they left when they did. It was just I was happy having seen them for a couple days and knew it was time for them to leave. I love my parents very much and feel loved by them for coming to see me for the holidays. It was something they didn't have to do, but they took the opportunity just to come see me and visit Paris at the same time. I had a good time with them, but I was ready to leave them and Paris at the end of the time there to return to a normal routine and my life as a Mayennais. Just so we're clear on that matter.

Today wasn't bad. The weather seemed to cooperate a bit as the sun came out at certain intervals throughout the day. I got up late once more but arrived on time to my orchestra rehearsal. I'm going to have to find a ride to orchestra rehearsal so as not to inconvenience my family. Orchestra was fine. We had sectionals today, which is always good as I've mentioned before. At the end of the rehearsal, I talked to the concert master Philippe, who is assisting me in finding repertoire so that I can continue solo work. He found two pieces that I'm having a look at, Wieniawski, "Legende," and the Dvorak "Romance." I love the first of these pieces. It's pretty short and yet beautiful and virtuostic, but not in a show-piece kind of way, but no less violinistic. I like those pieces, ones that have soul but are not too pretentious and showy. There are numerous violin showpieces, but I find that there are many other interesting things to look at than showpieces. Then, again, I would love to learn Sarasate's "Carmen Fantasy," which is in itself a showpiece but also an encapsulation of Bizet's famous opera. I've spent the evening alone as my family went to a party in Chateau-Gontier close by. I do not wish to hide the fact that I will be sleeping in tomorrow morning, since I'm very tired and need to get ready for a busy week ahead. And with that, I close this summary of the latest headlines in Mayenne and wish you a beautiful Sunday.

End of the week and some good news

After a week of mishaps, disappointments, and fatigue, I have finally arrived at the weekend. Not that it was a terribly hard week, especially since I only had one class with the 6eme; it's just certain stress and lack of sleep contributed to some misery during week. I had a facebook conversation (not via chat) with several people who gave me some suggestions about handling kids and interesting ideas for lessons. So I listened and decided to do a lesson on songs for the next couple weeks.

For the Wednesday crowd (2 classes with 8 students), they listened to "Imagine" by John Lennon. Good reception. They participated, filled in the gaps in the lyrics, answered questions about the meaning of the songs, etc. They also seemed to like it. My Wednesday classes are among the most sympathetic of my students, since they both listen well and participate. They're 1eres (juniors).

I had a lesson prepared for the Thursday group (Terminale level students), but unfortunately, they mysteriously did not show up. I waited at the newly appointed room, and waited, and then ran to the usual room. No one. I was pretty pissed as this kind of thing has happened to me before. Fortunately, I handled it better than previously with anger and resentment. It was a good lesson: we were going to examine the lyrics of "Sound of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel. Great song (and fortunately, I can keep it for the next week). I had an activity planned with textual analysis and studying the overall picture (meaning). Today, I informed their teacher of this absence of the entire class, hoping that the matter will be resolved in the next week.

As for today, I got up late. I was supposed to be up by 6:35am for an 8am class that I would be assisting for. Last night, I set my alarm, making sure that it would go off at the designated time, adjusting as necessary. This morning, I woke up at 8:20am with the sound of calm, tranquil static from the FM radio transmitter and to the sound of Emilie's, "il faut se depecher" (I have to hurry) talking to the cat that enters my room periodically. And yes, internally and externally, my heart was crying a four-letter word. I didn't expect this to happen, didn't want it to happen, but it happened. And I felt like that four-letter expletive all morning. I texted the teacher that I was going to assist for (we were going to talk about illegal immigration, the new law in Arizona, and the aftermath of the shootings in Tucson), emailed him, and then left him a voicemail message. He did indeed receive the message as I later learned.

So, I went in for the 6eme at the middle school, keeping my lesson simple with the "What's Your News" video lesson with a PowerPoint talking about the hobbies, etc. Fine. In the afternoon, I went for the meeting about England and apologized to Marc E. for what I had done. He said, no problem, I'll come in on Monday, a day when I have class all day, but I can be there. So I'll do it. And I'm going to make sure my alarm clock is faithful to me this time. (I hate that excuse-- my alarm clock didn't work-- it's so lame, yet it happens to everyone).

This evening, I found out some awesome news, that I got a full scholarship to return to Middlebury's French School this summer. I was thrilled to see that I pay NOTHING. I totally feel I should go back, especially since I honestly would not like to spend a dreadful, long, hot, and humid summer in Georgia. Yeah, Georgia is on my mind, but not in that dreamy way... That has been something that has haunted me the past month: what the heck am I going to do with myself until I go to graduate school. Well, it looks like Midd has made the decision for me. I can't wait to go back and take 3 literature courses and enjoy the intellectual stimulation and conviviality. And, it will be a great warmup to returning to the academic world and going off to graduate school. Now I have something to look forward to this summer.

The weekend promises to be fun and relaxing. I'm not going to the Reformed Church just yet (but the next week). It happens once every two weeks in Laval. In the meantime, I'll probably go back to the Evangelical Protestant Church, if once every two weeks, then so be it.

Beginning of Second week, a drag

We all know people tend to break with their resolutions within the second week. The first week they are completely optimistic and hopeful that things will turn out for the better. When you arrive at the second week, things start to get tougher. Not saying that's the case for me; it's just this week has been harder than last week.

My Rich! magazine interview game with journalists and rich people was a success and clearly the students enjoyed it very much. My weekend was enjoyable and relaxing with the first orchestra rehearsal of the New Year and a return to the Pentecostal church. Monday's return to the choir was refreshing as we looked at work by Part and Buxtehude, pieces that we will be singing in our concert in May, presumably. Monday was the end of the road for the Interview game and it enjoyed its last course with the Terminale students.

Tuesday began pretty well. I finally got around to showing the first part of "The Prestige" to my Terminale ESA class. They were practically demanding it and I had promised it would happen. So, I made a worksheet that they will use to answer questions related to the film. They're liking the film so far, which they're watching in English with French subtitles to help them whenever necessary. Fine.

I spent close to two and half hours preparing a lesson for both today and tomorrow. What I wanted to do with my Secondes (sophomores) was a lesson on New Year's Resolutions. I began by showing them a video of a Brit girl who had all these ideas about New Year's resolutions and then she got drunk and forgot about them, showing that such resolutions are often breached and dismissed. I wanted the students to look at a sheet and check the resolutions that they would want to do and then find people in the room with the same resolution. Didn't work out so well. Then, I tried to get the students to talk about a memorable year in the past and what they did well. Total failure. They didn't respond or participate; they blabbed, in French, of course. So, I lost control over the students (much as I frequently lose control over the 1eres on Monday morning at 11am right before lunch time). My mind, of course, was a swirl of both panic, stress, and frustration, and at the moment, I am typing this entry probably over-caffeinated and feeling over-stressed... :/

So, here I am at 12:32am. I have a plan for tomorrow's early class, and I hope it works. The next week, we're going to work on themes involving songs with political themes, since there have been quite a few highly charged events in the news recently (namely, the shootings in Tucson, AZ). So tomorrow, the students will analyze ONE song: John Lennon, "Imagine." Hopefully, this will spark discussion. We will talk about John Lennon's life using a PowerPoint and then analyze the lyrics and meaning of the song. All right, so there's the scoop. Now back to a commercial break and I'll see you when we get back...

First week of 2011, so far a success

Mondays are rough, as I've admitted numerous times in my blog. This week, I was returning from my holidays in Paris, which were wonderful and adventurous but also tiring. I don't think I fully recovered from the alcohol consumption of New Year's until yesterday (Tuesday). Not saying I want to be in that position again. I guess I should say, I don't like alcohol as much as many of my friends. For one thing, it causes sleeplessness for me, the total opposite from most people, and for another, I regularly take medication that can interfere with it. I think alcohol can be enjoyed in complete moderation and care, and I certainly have to be careful. I don't think I will try anything with an alcohol level above 15 percent ever, just because I know the feeling of misery that is associated with that. So, I am deliberately limiting myself to wine and beer, perhaps for good reason. The occasional rum cocktail can be thrown in there, but only in miniscule, small doses. I'm fully aware of the effects of alcohol and the mental impairment associated and choose to abstain except for special occasions. This is not a resolution to stay away from drinking; rather, it is to have an awareness of the potential risks and handling them with care. And that's a continual theme for the upkeep of my well-being and health.

Despite the fatigue, I returned to school as normal Monday with only two classes to teach. I decided to return to the Superhero theme that I started before the vacation. The kids seemed to like it. I think they even enjoyed designing their own superhero. Such a male theme, so I'm sure the guys enjoyed it even more than the girls. Whatever, superhero anything is an American theme, and French people are not to accustomed to it. The next day (yesterday), I looked at a theme of hobbies, showing the middle schoolers different videos such as dancing, camping, and kicking the ball. I decided to return to very basic concepts, seeing as their level was pretty low. BBC British Council Learning English Kids seems to have a wealth of video and interactive resources available to ESL teachers, and I took full advantage of their offerings.

Tuesday evening, I started a new theme in the Personal Conversation class for the Secondes (sophomores), Rich! The concept is to imagine that we're in the year 2025, that one has won the lottery or "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" and has one's own dream job. So, I had the students write down a full profile of who they will be in 15 years as a rich and famous person. Afterwards, I had them imagine being journalists interviewing these famous, rich people of the future, and they prepared a series of questions. Finally, I had them interview each other in line, with two lines (one for the journalists; one for the rich people). Each journalist in the line asked the rich or famous person one question and we rotated until just about everyone had the chance to speak. It was a good activity to keep conversation running constantly for about 30 minutes and the kids seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. I should say, I regularly consult the British Council of the BBC for help, and this idea, which I adapted to fit each situation, has made for a truly interactive learning process. This game has been used today, Wednesday, and will complete its cycle on Monday with my other students. (I think the Tuesday evening conversation class is a great group to experiment with, to see which topics could be potentially interesting to all the others; so, I choose them as my guinea pigs from now on.)

Wednesday afternoon was pleasing and relaxing. I decided to start a Literary Study of the ESV, which will involve a complete look at the Bible from cover to cover, with an approach that is more thematic rather than starting from Genesis and working to Revelation. For example, the approach begins with passages from Psalms, Genesis, Ecclesiastes, and 1 Corinthians. Reading passages in this way will help me immensely as it will be more methodical and organized by topic. I'm really excited. It's a good New Year's resolution to do this ESV literary study, which I found through a link that my friend Devin W. posted a couple days ago. There are many methodical approaches out there, even one that provides a two-year tour through the Bible that I may look into for following years. Following my daily reading routine, I proceeded to listen to some music while starting the "Death of Ivan Ilitch," by Leo Tolstoy, which I read in a French/Russian edition that I found fascinating. Even though I don't know a word of Russian or have a familiarity with the Cyrillic alphabet, I find Russian literature satiable and enjoyable. I would love to have a reading knowledge of the language someday. And perhaps I will be able to, by returning to Middlebury and could use it for research purposes in my PhD program.

Engaging the middle schoolers into meaningful discussion has continued to be a challenge. But as the English teacher, Cecile B., has said, you have to be patient with the sixth graders and do simple things and not be too ambitious. I get that, I think. So, I have gone back to a subject that hopefully is somewhat familiar to which they can connect, hobbies and sports. Basically, my lesson has consisted in providing them with a vocabulary of these things, very simple and basic. Unfortunately, Thursday afternoon was a disaster as I chose to print out handouts that were too difficult for the students. Not only that, but there was no projector in the room, making me improvise further and without much success. I suppose I was too ambitious with them, seeing as the product of the lesson was to engage in a conversation about hobbies. The worksheet sucked, and I had to explain everything before the kids could even attempt the assignment.

The end of the week was better, however. My terminale students seemed to like the interview process with the journalists and rich people. Good lesson, which as I've mentioned before, facilitates conversation and keeps everyone talking for thirty minutes or longer. As for the middle schoolers, this afternoon was also much better. I requested a room change to one that has a projector and computer, two things I'm finding are almost essential for middle school and for some high school lessons. My videos from the BBC did not work. SOL. But I was able to find a substitute video that helped show dancing as a hobby (Dancing with the Stars finale). I also had some visuals for the sports activities. I taught the kids how to say, "I love" or "I hate" in place of like or dislike, and conducted the lesson in conversation format. I ended up reviewing weather terms that I'm sure the kids had learned before and with an interactive maze game which the kids took turns playing on the projector board. Yes, my first week of 2011 was a success. And now, I can rest and relax for the weekend.

On another note: Ordered TGV ticket to Lyon for the 28th, so I'm definitely venturing down to the Rhone Alps at the end of the month, for the primary purpose of seeing my friend Camille in a Brecht play, but also, just to explore the city for a couple days. Looking forward to traveling again after four weeks of normal routine.

Holidays in Paris 2010/11

Having my family in Paris was a mixture between pure excitement and enjoyment and frustration that my parents and little brother know only ten words of French. Their arrival made me incredibly excited as I watched their entrance into the Gare Montparnasse standing right across from a massive TGV train. I did give them the biggest hug ever when they arrived with their tiny suitcases rolling on the tarmac ground from their shuttle bus (that I gave exact directions to follow from Roissy airport). It was wonderful to take them to the Metro and navigate through so that we could arrive at our destination and hotel (which I had scouted out a day in advance so that there would be no problems). The first day we rested and then went out to the Champs Elysees to the Christmas market, grabbing a market pizza, chili, and mauled wine among other delightful things. The next day, we tackled the touristy things hitting the Eiffel Tower first and climbing the mountain of stairs to the second floor just so we could skip the interminable line stretching out underneath the girth of the cast-iron structure that was deemed horrendous by many Parisians at the time of construction. Upon mounting the 900 ft high tower, we took pictures and did as any tourist would, asking other tourists to take our pictures. Not a huge deal, but still it feels weird asking other people to take one`s own picture.

We kept doing the touristy thing looking around at the Galeries Lafayette (mainly looking for a bathroom) and rescheduling our visit to the Palais Garnier (Opéra) for the the following day. The visit to the Opéra was enjoyable but we just looked around, caught a glimpse of Box 5, where the Fantome from Gaston Lereux's famous novel lingered in the shadows and haunted the opera house, eventually shattering the gorgeous chandelier that dangles over the red velvet laced sièges that line the beautiful auditorium. We followed our visit with a trip to Montmartre to see Sacré Coeur and to the Cremaillère, an interesting café and brasserie complete with a silly French variety show.

Wednesday was enjoyable as we went to the Louvre, a museum I have been longing to visit. My family and I arrived before opening and took the shortcut in the Caroussel underground entry, buying our tickets through the automated machines. My father and I went to see the Egyptian and Mesopotamian antiquities such as the sarocophogus and Hammurabi's Code, while Mom and Josh visited Mona with the rest of the crowd. We made our way, skimming the surface of the French art, Renaissance tapestries, and medieval stained glass. After three hours of looking, we headed back to our hotel for a nap and then heading to a brasserie just down the street from our hotel. It was delightful.

We went to the Musée D’Orsay on Thursday, which my parents enjoyed much better because it was less crowded. Although disappointed by the fact that the Monet paintings (most of the 52) were in the Grand Palais a block down, they were able to still appreciate a number of paintings from the Impressionist and Post-impressionist period, including some from Degas and Renoir. I was glad to see some of the paintings I had not looked at before. On Thursday to top off all the touristy stuff we did this week, we did a Bateau-Mouche ride down the Seine, which was both relaxing and yet rather cold. Of course, we were surrounded by tourists from all over. My brother, who took about 1000 photos the whole trip, got some good shots from the Seine and the Eiffel Tower. At the end of the day, we chose to do some non-touristy shopping at Montparnasse at the Galleries Lafayette and turning in pretty early around 10pm. My parents would leave the following morning.

The next morning, I said goodbye to my folks, happy that they had come to see me, very grateful, but ready to see them go their separate way. This was a wonderful Christmas present to have them come see me, but I was ready to enjoy the New Year without them just as I had enjoyed the first three months of my assistantship without them. I have come to the point where I feel comfortable here in France as a francophone, and seeing my non-francophone family leave was in some ways a good thing for me. I’m not saying I don’t love them. I do very deeply. It’s just that this entire experience has been designed for me to engage in the French culture, perfect my French, and allow me to exchange with the culture in teaching English. This is my job for seven months and I want to do it to the best of my ability. So off I go. And I will already look forward to being reunited with my family in May but with the expectation that I’m going to enjoy every minute of the journey to get there.

I spent New Year’s Eve for the most part alone. I went to the Bibliothèque Nationale de France to read some Camus while waiting to meet up with my friend, M. to prepare for the evening. I went to M’s girlfriend’s apartment where I would spend two quiet evenings. She basically gave me the key and said I could have the apartment for the short stay. Very nice and generous. M. and S. invited me to come with them to the New Year’s Eve party at a French friend’s house in north Paris. I gladly accepted and met up with another Middlebury friend named H. in her apartment. So we shared some Champagne at H’s apartment and then went to North Paris to the French friend’s apartment. The atmosphere was convivial with wine to go around, hors d’oeuvres, chocolate. And I met several German people, who were kind and talkative. I spent about four hours in this atmosphere, drinking, eating, and dancing. I had never been to a New Year’s Eve party outside of my house. It got a little funky, but I enjoyed it for the most part.

However, realizing that my drinking limit was pretty low in comparison with others, I left by Métro (which was free the whole evening) before the others headed to go clubbing. Drinking even a little bit can be disorienting. And for me, the impairment was evident when I had to navigate back to the S’s apartment, which was all the way across town. Granted, it wasn’t all that difficult, but still, I took the Line 12 in the Direction of Mairie d’Issy and arrived at Pigalle, where the rest of the line was closed. This was at 1:45am. I talked to one of the transportation authorities, who told me that I needed to ride Line 2 to Charles de Gaulle-Etoile and then Line 1 to Concorde, so I proceeded to do those two things, fortunately without complete mental impairment. (keep in mind I was also alone) I walked to the exit from the Concorde metro and saw drunk men of African descent yelling at the police and causing a hold-up, because the lines were closed. I proceeded to the exit, knew where I was going (by some miracle), and headed across the Seine to the Rive Gauche (Left Bank). I saw the Louvre to my left and then the Musée d’Orsay to my right, and knew I was going in the right direction (because S.’s apartment is not too far from this spot). Crashed at the apartment.

I did not wake up until 11am, after which time I went looking for a café and found one just across from the Solférino métro stop, called the Solférino. I ordered an Entrecote steak with béarnaise sauce (which my mother loved when she ordered it for one of our meals), mousse au chocolat, and an espresso à la française. Pretty tasty. Afterwards, I was still tired and had to take an hour nap to recover from the exhausting party from the night before. I decided to take it easy and go see a movie at the cinema, not too far away at Montparnasse. I went to see the “Tourist,” which fortunately was in English with French subtitles. It was a pretty interesting movie with some intrigue and mystery, but in some ways, it was just predictable. In any case, it was good to see the gorgeous Angelina Jolie strutting her stuff as an undercover spy (very sexy indeed) and “woman of mystery.” That perhaps was the best part of the movie. Any man would go for her as she is quite the item, especially with her carefully crafted British accent. After the movie, I grabbed McDonald’s, chuckling quietly seeing many French people out buying fast food in Paris. Went to bed and got ready to leave the next day.

Today:
Left the apartment at 9am to meet M. at the Montparnasse-Bienvenüe metro station. No problem
with the trains at Montparnasse. Took the TGV to Le Mans and made a quick transfer on the same track
platform to a regional train and arrived home around 12pm.

Coming home, I didn’t realize that my host mother would cook an elaborate meal. We had a lot of seafood this afternoon. Starting out with shrimp and delicious sauces, we took the aperitif of Champagne. Passing into the dining room, we took some salmon and sauces, oysters, and then escargots. I love escargots, sometimes cannot get enough of the garlic butter which enshrouds the little animals! For the main course, we had duck salad in a vinaigrette dressing. To top it all off, chocolate from Bizeray, the chocolatier where I bought my mother’s present, and an espresso. Muwah. Very delicious. It feels so good to be home and I’ve had a beautiful vacation, and I am looking forward to beginning lessons tomorrow. Speaking of which, I have a lesson to prepare for tomorrow. Off I go to the next assignment…

Christmas Dinner at the Griffon's house

(I'm writing this a week after the fact, so my memory is a bit fuzzy)

Mass at the Eglise Saint-Martin: Beautiful mass, elaborately formed with liturgical music and call and responses. A short lecture (sermon). We were all done in about an hour. I felt a sense of excitement and anticipation of the Christmas weekend to follow, when I would see my parents.

Dinner after the mass: Coquilles Saint-Jacques (shell fish); main course: flank steak dipped into a Roquefort strong cheese sauce and on the side, walnuts; after main meal: chevre (goat-cheese) wrapped with a strip of bacon over a piece of toasted bread, to the side a salad with a vinaigrette dressing; Poire Belle-Helene-- cold pears with ice cream and chocolate fondue to the side. All with Mercier Champagne (about 4 or 5 glasses). So delicious.

Christmas morning: Ombeline woke me up from my slumbers at about 8:00am saying "Le pere noel a passe par ici." (Father Christmas (Santa) passed by last night!) I couldn't help but giggle silently remembering how much I was excited about descending down to the den to look at my stocking. This time, I left out my shoe for them. I got some chocolates and a book with pictures of Chateaux all over the Loire. I was excited and happy! The kids got chocolates and toys, including an XBox 360. It was fun. I then proceeded to leave at 9:15am for my train at the Laval train station.