52 Days!

France actually seems like a concrete place now. I bought my plane ticket a few days ago (leaving 9/22 from O'Hare with a layover in Toronto, then arriving in Paris at 9:40am on the 23rd! And seeing as how my lucky number is 23, I can't think of a better day to arrive) and I have my housing worked out now too. I'll be living in a foyer, which is kind of like a dorm for working young adults. From the pictures, it looks like a very sweet one-person apartment, with a kitchen (comprised of two stove-top burners and sink-- I'll be making a lot of pasta) and bathroom. I've been emailing back and forth with the woman in charge, who must be really sick of coming into work every morning and finding yet another email from me. This morning it was about bedding. Do I need to bring it, and if so, what size is the bed? I'm sure she's used to these questions, but the way she's been responding is very french (curt and to the point) which makes me think that she probably already hates me. Yesterday it was about the proximity to the train station, which I had already google-mapped, but I wanted to be sure the foyer really is within walking distance from the station. It is. Maybe I am just crazy. I've already made three copies of everything that I could possibly need, printed out my ticket for the train from Paris to Bar le Duc, and printed out directions from the train station to the foyer. And bought a nice file folder from CVS to keep it all in. I'm this close to doing a trial run of packing to make sure everything fits, but I think what I really need to do is get out of the house! Clearly this is all stemming from having nothing else to do and being excited about France.

For those of you (and I know there are so many of you reading) who don't know what I'm about to embark upon in the fall, let me give you a quick overview: I was hired by the French government, though their organization TAPIF (Teaching Assistantship Program in France) to be an English language assistant in three primary schools in Bar le Duc, Lorraine. Bar le Duc is a small to medium-sized town about an hour away from Nancy and Metz, and an hour and forty-five minutes away from Paris. That's how long it takes on their high-speed train, the TGV, at any rate.



So here's a map of France with all the different regions. Lorraine is colored purple, in the northeast corner. If you look very carefully, you'll see Bar le Duc on the far left side of the region. Okay, it's impossible to see, so here's a close up of the region.



See it now? That's where I'll be for seven months! If you wikipedia Bar le Duc, you'll officially know as much as I do about the town, and find out that they're known for the red and white currant jam they make (and then you'll know what your souvenir will be.)

I'll be working 12 hours a week, which will be split across the three elementary schools. As of yet, I have no idea what will be expected of me as a language assistant. I know that I'll prepare lesson plans, but I don't know if that's in conjunction with the teacher. I also don't know if I'll be doing any of my own teaching, or if I'm mostly there to play games and be a tutor. We've been told to come prepared with souvenirs of America to aid in our teaching (postcards, currency, maps, etc.) and to think of songs and games to teach the kids. Based on this information, it sounds like a lot of fun! It's also why I wanted to be in a primary school instead of with older kids. Although part of me wishes that I had applied to teach in a high school so that their level of English would be higher and they'd be discussing literature in the classroom... but I think primary school will be a blast. And who doesn't love adorable French children?

Besides teaching, I'll hopefully find a babysitting or tutoring job to supplement my income, and to fund all the traveling I hope to do. We have a sickening amount of vacation time (the first vacation begins three weeks after I start my job! And on my birthday, too!) and I'd like to travel during most of it. I have so many lovely friends either studying or working abroad this year so hopefully I can visit all of them.

In any case, I'm very much looking forward to France. The nervousness I had been feeling has given way to excitement, which will surely turn into anxiety as the Big Day approaches, but right now I'm ready to go back to France for Part Deux.