Orientation in Nantes

Very early this morning at 5h10, I arose from my bed a bit tired and enervated.  I ate a quick breakfast and walked to the lycee to catch my ride to my orientation in Nantes.  I rode with the German assistant girl, Salome, who was very kind to lend me a ride in her car for the 2h30 journey.  It was a grey and rainy Tuesday morning and visibility was obscure.  It was good to chat with her a bit in French the whole way, while navigating the confusing French roads.  Ok, there were roundabouts (rond-point) on almost every corner where we were riding.  This seemed almost exactly like the United Kingdom.  We got off to a good start but when we entered into the city limits of Nantes, all confidence disappeared... Salome and I had no idea which rond-point to take.  After passing  numerous corners, we finally asked someone to give us directions from a local bar.  The monsieur was very nice.  He showed us exactly where to go and so we arrived.  Salome dropped me off at the CRDP and went to her orientation at the Rectorat de Nantes.

So, the orientation was supposed to start at 9h00.  I got there at 9h40.  Nervous and afraid I was abysmally late, I walked into a large auditorium and took a seat in the back.  Fortunately, the welcoming time (acceuil) was between 9h00-9h30.  I had only missed ten minutes of the presentation.  They went through everything in the handbook from bank accounts and social security to mutuelles, etc.  Kind of boring, kind of superfluous.  Some unreasonable questions, but that's normal at these kinds of events.  Finally, we broke up the group of English assistants into those going to the college (middle school) and lycee (high school).

Still pretty big group.  40-50 assistants in a room at once.  First, administrators went through the Do's and Don'ts of assisting in the school.    We then talked about games and how to integrate them into the curriculum.  At 12h30 we broke for lunch, and I proceeded to go with an assistant from New Jersey named Tamar and her friend Brianne.

Together, Brianne, Tamar, and I found a cafeteria at the University of Nantes that was very inexpensive.  Four euros for a menu classique (combo in America) with a sandwich avec du jambon et du beurre (sandwich with ham and butter); a cup of yogurt; a little gateau (almost like a Little Debbies' cake); and a can of coca cola.  Super bon marche, n'est-ce pas?  It was nice to talk to Brianne and Tamar about their first impressions of France as assistants.  They are both living in a small town as well in an apartment together.  We enjoyed talking about cultural differences with the French, including their two-hour lunch break (12h-14h) and other things.   We walked back to the CRDP for the final hours of this interminable orientation... Finally got out around 17h and took a pleasant voyage home to Mayenne.

Some good things came out of the orientation.  I learned about how to engage students with games and how to act in front of them (maintaining discipline, etc.). I'm extremely tired and will go to bed early tonight and sleep in tomorrow.  Bonne nuit, tout le monde.