Bientôt les Vacances

Lately, there's been a whisper in the air.  Synaptically jumping with imperceptible speed and immediacy, it's made its way from student to teacher, from teacher to student, linking their minds with horrifying unity as this whisper grows louder and louder and louder and infects each individual with the robotic determination of a one-track mind... bientôt les vacances, bientôt les vacances, bientôt les vacances...

Yes, it's nearly vacation-time again and while the students are especially squirmy and the teachers groan about how the break can't come soon enough, I'm saying, "What?!  Already? Didn't we just get back from one?"

Every six week or seven weeks, lucky French children are blessed with a two-week break.  We've already had Toussaint in October/November, Christmas break in December/January and we'll be having Winter break in February/ March, Easter break in April/May and les Grands Vacances in July/August/September.  Yes, you read that right.  October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May, July, August, September.  Every month of the year, excluding June, is at least partially covered by some break.  We Americans can at least take some spiteful pleasure in knowing that the French kids will be in school until July 2nd, whereas we get out, yes, a whole two weeks earlier in June (alright, or less, depending on how many snow days we've had...)  I think we can all agree who's got the better end of the deal. 

While I may be benefiting from these bountiful breaks while I'm here, don't think that I'm telling you all this to rub it in.  I'm just as bitter about it as you are.  Every time I hear a teacher say, "You know, seven weeks is simply too long to go without a break," I try to repress my natural Jekyll-like instinct to fly into a rage and drag my fingernails across the chalkboard and tear the curtains from the window while screaming, "YOU DON'T KNOW HOW EASY YOU HAVE IT, YOU LUCKY BASTARDS!"  But usually, I just explain that Americans only have two weeks in December, one in March or April, and then the summer break (you know, just to give them some perspective and perhaps help them realize they should feel grateful for the 18 weeks of vacation they have).  But this generally backfires and the teachers and students exclaim things like, "Oh la la!  C'est pas possible!" and end up making me feel like I live in some sort of primitive, tyrannical, backwards culture.  And who's to say who's right?

So I may as well enjoy it while I can.  While I'll be spending the first week of vacation in Bar-le-Duc (here's hoping for sunny weather so I can sunbathe by the canal and pretend I'm lying on a beach in Nice), I'll then be hopping over to Ireland for the second week to give my French it's due vacation as well.  And after vacation is over, only six weeks left of teaching... I'm so torn about how that makes me feel that that'll be a blog post for another day. 

Vivent les vacances!