So today was my first day "intervening" in the classes (that's a literal translation of the French word for what I'm doing), and it was a success! I taught four different classes, two at Ecole Champagne in the morning and then two in the afternoon at Ecole Bourgogne. Normally I would have three at Ecole Bourgogne but one class was on a field trip to the library. I'm glad I got a bit of a break -- four classes was enough for one day.
The first one was definitely the hardest. It's a class of CP/CE2 (I've mentioned it earlier, it's a mix of 1st graders and 3rd graders) and their level of English was pretty much nonexistent. I knew that it was going to be harder to teach the littler ones, but I think I'm going to have to go even slower than I expected. After today, I'm planning on sticking just to sing-alongs. I found that teaching "what's your name...?," "my name is ______," and "your name is _______" can be incredibly difficult if you don't take great care distinguish, beyond just intonation, between which is the question and which is the response (something I was careful to do in the following three classes). We sang the alphabet song quite a few times, and will probably do so again many times before moving onto something else.
But despite the slightly rocky start, the next three classes went really well. The best was undoubtedly Magali's CM2s (5th grade). Of course it helps that all of them had some foundation in English, so distinguishing between "What's your name?" and "My name is _________" was a lot easier. And this class was particularly attentive and eager to learn. After an introduction to the question and response, I presented them with flashcards with people or characters I thought they would recognize -- Spiderman, Dora the Explorer, Spongebob Squarepants, President Sarkozy, President Obama. The first three I picked based on what I had seen on their t-shirts, bookbags, and pencil cases while I was observing. I also added the two presidents and some other characters like Asterix and Obelix, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and Santa Claus. Next we moved on to a chant.
The chant came from a book authored by Carolyn Graham, who apparently is famous in the pedagogical world for creating a serious of language-learning tools based on songs and chants. After today I could see why she's famous, the "Hank/Frank" chant I used worked really well and seemed to help the kids both understand the vocabulary it introduced (some American names and the words bank, hill, bike, candy) and some practice with asking each other their names (each kid received a piece of paper with a name on it, they had to find a partner whose name rhymed with his or her name -- as in Jill/Phil, Hank/Frank, etc). Then, after reviewing the alphabet, we played Hangman using the names and vocabulary in the chant. And, at another teacher's suggestion, I wrapped up each session by asking the students to summarize what we had learned that day (in French).
I repeated essentially the same lesson for the next two classes, although I omitted the Hank/Frank game for Myriam's CE1 class (2nd grade) because it seemed too complicated. The game didn't work quite as well for Michele's CM1 class, and I'm not sure if it's because there were more of them (25 versus 21), or because they were younger, or because they were generally less attentive. I'll know more after a few more classes, I think.
So I arrived at school at 9:20am or so to make some photocopies and do final preparations for my lesson, and I didn't end up leaving until nearly 5pm because the last class (Myrian's CE1s) were celebrating a birthday! One of the little girls turned 9 today and her mom brought in a magnificent cake decked out in bright pink frosting and glitter, and topped with fruit-shaped candies. We had a little party in the préau (the term for the big open interior space in an elementary school where the kids have recess if the weather is really bad and is sometimes used for the kinds of games we would play in gym class at home). We sang Happy Birthday in five languages (all of us sang in French and English, then another student sang it in German, and another in Persian, and another in Jamaican Patois) and ate the cake with Orangina and orange soda to drink.
So although technically I was only teaching for 2 2/3 hours today (the class with the littlest ones was only 25 minutes instead of the typical 45 minutes), I actually spent 7 hours at the school. And usually I won't have to stay that late, but ithe job will definitely entail more than 12 hours per week. The two-hour lunch break in the middle puts sort of a dent in things, because from door-to-door my commute is about 40 minutes, too long to merit the trip home and back. But it's nice to eat lunch at school, because I get to chat with the other instituts (short for instituteurs, which means teachers). So far I've only been eating at Ecole Champagne, because I'm there in the mornings and put my lunch in the refrigerator there when I arrive. But I think I'm going to split the lunches with Ecole Bourgogne, because I want to get to know the teachers there too. At Bourgogne, most of the teachers gather in the salle des maîtres during the afternoon recess for coffee or tea and a quick treat, if someone brought something to share. But I'd like to get to know them a little more beyond those 15-20 minutes. One of the teachers at Bourgogne invited me to a dinner for all of the teachers the Friday of the Toussaint vacation (a week from tomorrow). And a professor at Champagne invited me over for dinner at her house next Tuesday. I've been really lucky to encounter so many friendly people here!
Two more brief but exciting things: 1) Today I got an email regarding the flyers I put up offering English tutoring! The process was a bit of an ordeal, because once I figured out the standard size/format and had the flyers printed up, I got a new phone number (I'm finally on the monthly plan) and had to have them all reprinted. At home it wouldn't be a big deal, but since I have to go to the CRIJ (regional youth center) in the c-v (only about a 15 minute walk from my apartment, but still), during their business hours, it took a bit longer. But I spent quite a bit of time Wednesday afternoon walking around and asking local merchants if I could put up my petit pub (advertisement) in their window or by the cash register (a fairly common practice). I distributed about a dozen to a few bakeries, two tabacs (sort of like a newspaper stand, but a store and with cigarettes too), a fish merchant, a florist, a cafe, and the local supermarket. I also hung them up in the Fac des lettres (Arts and Sciences College in the c-v) on the notice boards there. But even though I distributed so many, I was still uncertain as to whether I'd get any responses... so it's nice to have even one!
2) Both yesterday and today I went for 45-minute runs, which represents a serious improvement in my fitness level from when I first arrived. At Claire's suggestion, I researched the marathon schedule in Europe and found quite a few in France in March and April. So I've drawn up a workout schedule and am hoping to be ready by that time, despite the much-dreaded cold/snow. And it's definitely been easier to run the past few weeks when I wasn't really teaching yet. But hopefully I'll be able to keep it up.
That's all for now!
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Rain, Cold, and, of course, Ultimate
Yes, indeed, the warm weather and sunshine is gone. The transformation took place overnight: I went to bed Thursday after yet another day of 80-ish degrees and bright sunshine, and woke up to 40 degrees and rain. Yuck! And it's been like that ever since. I think it's supposed to get at least a little warmer tomorrow (hopefully we didn't skip fall entirely), but the skirts-and-t-shirts phase is definitely over. Boo!
But the bad weather didn't stop my weekend plans: Friday night was the annual UC-Vesontio team elections / team meeting. This meeting was both to elect new leadership and to act as a formal start of the new year: the first half of which consists of the indoor league through January and the second half of which consists of the outdoor league, which ends in April/May. It was held in the Besançon Sport Nautique club (rowing, canoeing, kayaking, swimming) club house, which is conveniently very close to where I live. We were all instructed to bring some munchies and/or beverages to share for the socializing part after. I figured the fare would be the chips/pretzels/popcorn variety, so I ate dinner before the meeting at 8pm. I'm both glad and sorry I did so -- the "meeting" part itself lasted nearly 2 hours!!
Now, in the past I have sat through some long team elections (any Ruckus player reading this will know what I'm talking about), but in this case it wasn't even the elections part that took long! It was the summary / vision for the future bit that went on forever. But once that was over (and I was pleased that I understood everything that was said), we had a feast! There was in fact one bag of chips, but besides that there were sausages, four kinds of cheese -- two types each of Conté and Concoillotte (all local, all in massive quantities), many many baguettes, lots of loaves of what looked like banana or zucchini bread but was savory rather than sweet, biscuits, mini cream puffs, three kinds of chocolate cake, even homemade M&M cookies! And of course, local wine and Belgian beer in serious quantities. What started as sort of a tedious meeting turned into a really excellent social evening!
Saturday afternoon Candice and I took a bus to Ornans to see the recently-renovated and now quite fancy Gustave Courbet museum. Courbet, the 19th century painter, became famous for a number of reasons: his realistic style, the "real life" scenes he painted on a scale previously used only for religious or historical scenes, his scandalous The Origin of the World (Google Image at your own peril). But he came from humble little Ornans, a village on the Loue river about a 30-minute bus ride south-east of Besançon. The museum is small but state-of-the-art; I was quite impressed.
Here's a cool example: an early Courbet portrait, with a picture of the screen that was displayed next to it. Many of his paintings have darkened due to age (he started with a foundation of black covering the entire canvas and the chemicals in that paint have started to seep through the color he painted on top). So, for a few of the paintings, the museum curators used intense back-light to recreate the original colors, took pictures of the painting, then displayed those pictures on the video screen next to it, along with a brief description of why that section is interesting.
Unfortunately all of Courbet's really famous paintings are in much bigger museums: the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, the Musee de Beaux Arts in Lyon, etc. But it was cool to see such a broad sampling of his work, and to get a fuller sense of the cultural changes that were going on at the time and why his art was provocative. It's a shame that the weather was so yucky on Saturday, because Ornans is an adorable little village and the scenery is breath-taking, even in the chilly drizzle.
Even more unfortunately, almost every single shop and restaurant in the town was closed. And since the only bus back to Besançon wasn't coming until 7:35pm (we got there around 1:30pm), we had to spend 3 hours reading the newspaper in the only brasserie which was open. So what started off as a fun adventure turned into sort of a long afternoon/evening. But I'm glad we did it!
And then on Sunday, up early for a one-day Ultimate tournament in Vesoul. Until Friday evening I wasn't planning to go to the tournament (I'm a little worried that my life in France is turning into nothing but Frisbee...), but during the team soirée I was convinced. It was then too that I found out that the Discjontes, the team I played with in Dijon, would be there. It was so cool (and really bizarre) to see them again! Pretty much everyone I played with is still there, and they looked exactly the same. I guess 2 years isn't a long time....
So this tournament was indoor, which resembles outdoor Ultimate even less than you would think. The most basic difference is that everything is truncated: 5 players on each side versus 7, shorter field, shorter stall count (8 seconds instead of 10). But even more than that, there are no natural elements to get in the way of really absurd passes. One team consistently threw straight blades (not even hammers, these were more like knives); that sort of thing would never work with even the slightest breeze. But, seeing as it was again 40 degrees and raining, indoors turned out to be sort of a good idea.
Vesoul is about a 45-minute drive north of Besançon. We took two teams: les vieux (the veterans, literally, the old people) et les jeunes (those who haven't been around since the club was founded 5 years ago). I played with the jeunes, obviously, and our team included two guys who just started playing Ultimate around the time I arrived in Besançon. Luckily we also had Gael, Thomas and GuiGui (Jean-Guillaume), who are very athletic and good handlers. Our combination of youth and skill managed to beat out age and treachery: not only did we win our pool, but we beat les vieux on universe point in the semi-final. It was pretty exciting, we were down 5-8 and came back to win 9-8. And although I had a couple of bad throws / drops, overall I was really pleased with how I played. We played five games, each about 25 minutes long. In between our matches we cheered on les vieux. There were 11 teams total, all local to the region. Apparently lots of the players on our team are good friends with the team from Strasbourg, and both Besançon teams lost to Pontarlier, the tournament champions. They play exclusively indoor, and it was they who threw all of those blades.
The atmosphere at the tournament was really convivial -- it's more of a local event than a serious tournament. I certainly found it to be more casual than any tournament I've been to in the U.S. And the food was a lot better too! Never have I ever eaten so well at any Ultimate tournament (and it wasn't expensive either). We went out for dinner as a team after, so it turned into a really long day (7am to 11:30pm), but it was a great one. I'm so glad that I went!
So that's all of the news, except for one more thing:
I have finalized my plans for the Toussaint holiday! I know, I know, I haven't really done any work yet, let alone enough to merit a vacation -- but it's the public school system's schedule, and if they want to give me a vacation, so be it. As of about a week ago I was planning to do a little tour of the south of France with Grace and Mary-Kate, two other Wake grads who are also assistants in France (Grace is in a tiny town outside of Tours and Mary-Kate is in Lyon). But the logistics were too complicated, so I looked into other options. And fortunately Brooke has gotten all settled in with her family (she's going to be an au pair in Vienna for a year) and was eager to have me come visit. So I'm going to Vienna, by way of Lyon! I'll leave Saturday morning, spend the weekend with Mary-Kate and get to see Lyon (one of the major cities in France after Paris, and I've never been there), then on Monday evening I'm taking a flight to Vienna, where I'll be staying with Brooke until the following Monday morning! If all goes according to plan I'll be back in Besançon by that Monday night and have all of Tuesday and Wednesday to get organized before school recommences on Thursday!
At first it did seem a little silly to go to Vienna, considering I have been there before and there are so many other places in Europe I haven't been yet. But since Brooke has been there now for about 6 months total (2ish in the summer of 2010 and 4ish this past summer), she's become sort of an expert on the city. And between a cheap flight, free lodging, and the chance to catch up with a good friend, it just seemed like the right choice. And by flying through Lyon rather than Paris, I'll get to see another friend, and a new city! I'm quite excited about it all. Bed time now!
But the bad weather didn't stop my weekend plans: Friday night was the annual UC-Vesontio team elections / team meeting. This meeting was both to elect new leadership and to act as a formal start of the new year: the first half of which consists of the indoor league through January and the second half of which consists of the outdoor league, which ends in April/May. It was held in the Besançon Sport Nautique club (rowing, canoeing, kayaking, swimming) club house, which is conveniently very close to where I live. We were all instructed to bring some munchies and/or beverages to share for the socializing part after. I figured the fare would be the chips/pretzels/popcorn variety, so I ate dinner before the meeting at 8pm. I'm both glad and sorry I did so -- the "meeting" part itself lasted nearly 2 hours!!
Now, in the past I have sat through some long team elections (any Ruckus player reading this will know what I'm talking about), but in this case it wasn't even the elections part that took long! It was the summary / vision for the future bit that went on forever. But once that was over (and I was pleased that I understood everything that was said), we had a feast! There was in fact one bag of chips, but besides that there were sausages, four kinds of cheese -- two types each of Conté and Concoillotte (all local, all in massive quantities), many many baguettes, lots of loaves of what looked like banana or zucchini bread but was savory rather than sweet, biscuits, mini cream puffs, three kinds of chocolate cake, even homemade M&M cookies! And of course, local wine and Belgian beer in serious quantities. What started as sort of a tedious meeting turned into a really excellent social evening!
Saturday afternoon Candice and I took a bus to Ornans to see the recently-renovated and now quite fancy Gustave Courbet museum. Courbet, the 19th century painter, became famous for a number of reasons: his realistic style, the "real life" scenes he painted on a scale previously used only for religious or historical scenes, his scandalous The Origin of the World (Google Image at your own peril). But he came from humble little Ornans, a village on the Loue river about a 30-minute bus ride south-east of Besançon. The museum is small but state-of-the-art; I was quite impressed.
Here's a cool example: an early Courbet portrait, with a picture of the screen that was displayed next to it. Many of his paintings have darkened due to age (he started with a foundation of black covering the entire canvas and the chemicals in that paint have started to seep through the color he painted on top). So, for a few of the paintings, the museum curators used intense back-light to recreate the original colors, took pictures of the painting, then displayed those pictures on the video screen next to it, along with a brief description of why that section is interesting.
Unfortunately all of Courbet's really famous paintings are in much bigger museums: the Louvre, the Musee d'Orsay, the Musee de Beaux Arts in Lyon, etc. But it was cool to see such a broad sampling of his work, and to get a fuller sense of the cultural changes that were going on at the time and why his art was provocative. It's a shame that the weather was so yucky on Saturday, because Ornans is an adorable little village and the scenery is breath-taking, even in the chilly drizzle.
And then on Sunday, up early for a one-day Ultimate tournament in Vesoul. Until Friday evening I wasn't planning to go to the tournament (I'm a little worried that my life in France is turning into nothing but Frisbee...), but during the team soirée I was convinced. It was then too that I found out that the Discjontes, the team I played with in Dijon, would be there. It was so cool (and really bizarre) to see them again! Pretty much everyone I played with is still there, and they looked exactly the same. I guess 2 years isn't a long time....
So this tournament was indoor, which resembles outdoor Ultimate even less than you would think. The most basic difference is that everything is truncated: 5 players on each side versus 7, shorter field, shorter stall count (8 seconds instead of 10). But even more than that, there are no natural elements to get in the way of really absurd passes. One team consistently threw straight blades (not even hammers, these were more like knives); that sort of thing would never work with even the slightest breeze. But, seeing as it was again 40 degrees and raining, indoors turned out to be sort of a good idea.
Vesoul is about a 45-minute drive north of Besançon. We took two teams: les vieux (the veterans, literally, the old people) et les jeunes (those who haven't been around since the club was founded 5 years ago). I played with the jeunes, obviously, and our team included two guys who just started playing Ultimate around the time I arrived in Besançon. Luckily we also had Gael, Thomas and GuiGui (Jean-Guillaume), who are very athletic and good handlers. Our combination of youth and skill managed to beat out age and treachery: not only did we win our pool, but we beat les vieux on universe point in the semi-final. It was pretty exciting, we were down 5-8 and came back to win 9-8. And although I had a couple of bad throws / drops, overall I was really pleased with how I played. We played five games, each about 25 minutes long. In between our matches we cheered on les vieux. There were 11 teams total, all local to the region. Apparently lots of the players on our team are good friends with the team from Strasbourg, and both Besançon teams lost to Pontarlier, the tournament champions. They play exclusively indoor, and it was they who threw all of those blades.
The atmosphere at the tournament was really convivial -- it's more of a local event than a serious tournament. I certainly found it to be more casual than any tournament I've been to in the U.S. And the food was a lot better too! Never have I ever eaten so well at any Ultimate tournament (and it wasn't expensive either). We went out for dinner as a team after, so it turned into a really long day (7am to 11:30pm), but it was a great one. I'm so glad that I went!
So that's all of the news, except for one more thing:
I have finalized my plans for the Toussaint holiday! I know, I know, I haven't really done any work yet, let alone enough to merit a vacation -- but it's the public school system's schedule, and if they want to give me a vacation, so be it. As of about a week ago I was planning to do a little tour of the south of France with Grace and Mary-Kate, two other Wake grads who are also assistants in France (Grace is in a tiny town outside of Tours and Mary-Kate is in Lyon). But the logistics were too complicated, so I looked into other options. And fortunately Brooke has gotten all settled in with her family (she's going to be an au pair in Vienna for a year) and was eager to have me come visit. So I'm going to Vienna, by way of Lyon! I'll leave Saturday morning, spend the weekend with Mary-Kate and get to see Lyon (one of the major cities in France after Paris, and I've never been there), then on Monday evening I'm taking a flight to Vienna, where I'll be staying with Brooke until the following Monday morning! If all goes according to plan I'll be back in Besançon by that Monday night and have all of Tuesday and Wednesday to get organized before school recommences on Thursday!
At first it did seem a little silly to go to Vienna, considering I have been there before and there are so many other places in Europe I haven't been yet. But since Brooke has been there now for about 6 months total (2ish in the summer of 2010 and 4ish this past summer), she's become sort of an expert on the city. And between a cheap flight, free lodging, and the chance to catch up with a good friend, it just seemed like the right choice. And by flying through Lyon rather than Paris, I'll get to see another friend, and a new city! I'm quite excited about it all. Bed time now!
Friday, October 7, 2011
Two Cups of Coffee and Two Glasses of Wine
For those of you who find this blog entry title disconcerting (probably my parents), I am happy to assure you that I have not become a caffeine addict nor a wine-o (although I guess I probably wouldn't admit it if I had). But nonetheless, this blog title comes from the two very interesting conversations I had recently: one yesterday afternoon and the other evening.
Yesterday was Wednesday and as I "work" (I put it in quotes because I don't actually start teaching until next Thursday, so it still doesn't feel like real work yet) in the elementary school system, I have Wednesdays off. So I woke up bright and early to go to the CAF (Caisse des Allocations Familiales -- the bureau which offers reimbursements to young workers who don't get paid very much, like me) to pick up some forms. Then I made some serious progress in Au Bonheur des Dammes -- only 95 pages to go, out of the original 495! I had just made some lunch when I got a phone call from my downstairs neighbor.
A little backstory: last week I wrote a letter to each of the two families who live on the bottom two floors. Steph and Charly told me that they both have kids and that the English teaching assistant who lived with them last year, Anna, would babysit for these kids occasionally. Having your babysitting job in the same building seems like a pretty sweet deal to me, so I dropped a note in each of their mailboxes explaining who I was, how long I would be here, and that I would be more than willing to babysit. I ran into the first-floor neighbor last Saturday and he told me that his family doesn't use babysitters very often -- no luck there. So it was Mr. Oldendorf, whose family lives on the second floor, who called yesterday to say that they would love to have me babysit occasionally for their two daughters and invited me down for a cup of coffee. Since I happened to be in the building and didn't have any other plans, I accepted. Mr. Oldendorf is German, but his wife Corinne is French. Their two daughters (the one who was home yesterday appeared to be about 6 and was very shy, and the other is apparently 11) speak both French and German. He is an artist/professor at the art school at the university here and she works for the French ministry of culture.
Mr. Oldendorf brewed us both a cup of very strong but very delicious coffee and we talked for quite a while about Besançon, Bern (the area where he grew up), and Paris. Then his daughter's friend came over for a playdate, so he brewed some more coffee for the playdate's father, and it turned into quite an extensive conversation about the United States, 9/11, and many other things. Afterward, I reflected upon whether this conversation could have taken place in another context. For instance, was the interaction only interesting because it involved two (later three) people from two (later three) different countries who were interested to hear the opinions of someone from another country? For instance, even if I was the "new neighbor" at home, another American would probably be less inclined to ask how I felt the US had changed in the aftermath of September 11th. I am positive that my sending the letter offering to babysit was what prompted the invitation for coffee -- otherwise I might have gone the whole 8 months here never meeting or having a real conversation with my neighbors. Maybe part of it too is that this conversation took longer because it involved translation -- Mr. Oldendorf speaks fluent German and French and his English is fairly fluent (I would probably classify it as fluent, even if there were a few words he asked me to explain or define). My French is certainly fluent by American standards, but not quite there when compared to the speech of a local. Or maybe it's because I'm not yet incredibly busy, the way I often become when I'm at home or when I was at Wake. It made me wonder if I ever missed out on conversations like this, because I was zealous in filling my schedule with activities...
And now for the two glasses of wine. So Charly, the second half of the couple with whom I share this apartment, has been in Bordeaux for the past week. He is working on his PhD in archeology and part of his thesis research involves analyzing soil cores from Greenland. Apparently there are some scientific devices at the university in Bordeaux which they don't have here in Besançon, because he had to drive some of the cores there this week to analyze them using said equipment. I noticed earier this week that Steph hasn't been cooking as much as she normally does when he's home, so I offered to cook dinner for the two of us tonight.
The entree itself was pretty simple: peppers stuffed with a combination of rice, chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, and cheese. But along with that we had a simple salad, some whole-grain bread from a local boulangerie, a bottle of Pinot Noir from Bourgogne, and for dessert some chocolat noir noisette (dark chocolate with hazelnuts) made by Cote d'Or, a brand which is available in the grocery store but which I selected at random my second week here and found to be absolutely delicious. The stuffed peppers turned out to be quite good -- I made quite a few substitutions and sort of guessed for the measurements, since it was an American recipe, so I was particularly pleased that they worked out. This picture doesn't quite do the meal justice... I took it somewhat hastily, I promise it was much more appetizing than it appears here:
But the best part of the evening was the conversation. I didn't really note what time we started eating... it was probably about 8:30pm (I got back from observing in the schools around 5:45pm after running a few quick errands on the way home, went for a run, showered, then started cooking). But we didn't finish until nearly 11:45pm! We didn't talk about anything earth-shattering, but all sorts of things both banal and personal. It was very pleasant to take the whole evening preparing dinner and enjoying the meal -- I wasn't wearing a watch and had no reason to consult the time outside of cooking times. I know that my schedule will not always be this free-form, and so I'm glad the Type A that dominates my personality was able to take a backseat tonight, even if it was just for an evening.
Well now it's well past my bedtime! Bon soir!
Yesterday was Wednesday and as I "work" (I put it in quotes because I don't actually start teaching until next Thursday, so it still doesn't feel like real work yet) in the elementary school system, I have Wednesdays off. So I woke up bright and early to go to the CAF (Caisse des Allocations Familiales -- the bureau which offers reimbursements to young workers who don't get paid very much, like me) to pick up some forms. Then I made some serious progress in Au Bonheur des Dammes -- only 95 pages to go, out of the original 495! I had just made some lunch when I got a phone call from my downstairs neighbor.
A little backstory: last week I wrote a letter to each of the two families who live on the bottom two floors. Steph and Charly told me that they both have kids and that the English teaching assistant who lived with them last year, Anna, would babysit for these kids occasionally. Having your babysitting job in the same building seems like a pretty sweet deal to me, so I dropped a note in each of their mailboxes explaining who I was, how long I would be here, and that I would be more than willing to babysit. I ran into the first-floor neighbor last Saturday and he told me that his family doesn't use babysitters very often -- no luck there. So it was Mr. Oldendorf, whose family lives on the second floor, who called yesterday to say that they would love to have me babysit occasionally for their two daughters and invited me down for a cup of coffee. Since I happened to be in the building and didn't have any other plans, I accepted. Mr. Oldendorf is German, but his wife Corinne is French. Their two daughters (the one who was home yesterday appeared to be about 6 and was very shy, and the other is apparently 11) speak both French and German. He is an artist/professor at the art school at the university here and she works for the French ministry of culture.
Mr. Oldendorf brewed us both a cup of very strong but very delicious coffee and we talked for quite a while about Besançon, Bern (the area where he grew up), and Paris. Then his daughter's friend came over for a playdate, so he brewed some more coffee for the playdate's father, and it turned into quite an extensive conversation about the United States, 9/11, and many other things. Afterward, I reflected upon whether this conversation could have taken place in another context. For instance, was the interaction only interesting because it involved two (later three) people from two (later three) different countries who were interested to hear the opinions of someone from another country? For instance, even if I was the "new neighbor" at home, another American would probably be less inclined to ask how I felt the US had changed in the aftermath of September 11th. I am positive that my sending the letter offering to babysit was what prompted the invitation for coffee -- otherwise I might have gone the whole 8 months here never meeting or having a real conversation with my neighbors. Maybe part of it too is that this conversation took longer because it involved translation -- Mr. Oldendorf speaks fluent German and French and his English is fairly fluent (I would probably classify it as fluent, even if there were a few words he asked me to explain or define). My French is certainly fluent by American standards, but not quite there when compared to the speech of a local. Or maybe it's because I'm not yet incredibly busy, the way I often become when I'm at home or when I was at Wake. It made me wonder if I ever missed out on conversations like this, because I was zealous in filling my schedule with activities...
And now for the two glasses of wine. So Charly, the second half of the couple with whom I share this apartment, has been in Bordeaux for the past week. He is working on his PhD in archeology and part of his thesis research involves analyzing soil cores from Greenland. Apparently there are some scientific devices at the university in Bordeaux which they don't have here in Besançon, because he had to drive some of the cores there this week to analyze them using said equipment. I noticed earier this week that Steph hasn't been cooking as much as she normally does when he's home, so I offered to cook dinner for the two of us tonight.
The entree itself was pretty simple: peppers stuffed with a combination of rice, chickpeas, tomatoes, onions, and cheese. But along with that we had a simple salad, some whole-grain bread from a local boulangerie, a bottle of Pinot Noir from Bourgogne, and for dessert some chocolat noir noisette (dark chocolate with hazelnuts) made by Cote d'Or, a brand which is available in the grocery store but which I selected at random my second week here and found to be absolutely delicious. The stuffed peppers turned out to be quite good -- I made quite a few substitutions and sort of guessed for the measurements, since it was an American recipe, so I was particularly pleased that they worked out. This picture doesn't quite do the meal justice... I took it somewhat hastily, I promise it was much more appetizing than it appears here:
But the best part of the evening was the conversation. I didn't really note what time we started eating... it was probably about 8:30pm (I got back from observing in the schools around 5:45pm after running a few quick errands on the way home, went for a run, showered, then started cooking). But we didn't finish until nearly 11:45pm! We didn't talk about anything earth-shattering, but all sorts of things both banal and personal. It was very pleasant to take the whole evening preparing dinner and enjoying the meal -- I wasn't wearing a watch and had no reason to consult the time outside of cooking times. I know that my schedule will not always be this free-form, and so I'm glad the Type A that dominates my personality was able to take a backseat tonight, even if it was just for an evening.
Well now it's well past my bedtime! Bon soir!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
First Day in the Schools
So yesterday was my first day observing in the schools. I woke up bright and early so that I could catch the #10 bus before 7:30am, to guarantee I would be at Ecole Champagne in Planoise before 8:15am. Classes start at 8:30am, but I wanted to make sure that I got there early so I could meet some of the other teachers and figure out which classes I would be observing.
Waking up that early was a bit of a jolt, to be honest. I've been waking up around 8:15am for the past 2 weeks, because that's the time sunlight comes streaming through my window and floods the room with light. And the #10 was packed. But it only took 22 minutes from my stop to the one in Planoise, and less than ten minutes to walk to the school. I went first to the Directeur's office and he showed me to the salle de maîtres (teachers' lounge). I got to meet most of the teachers (about 10 in total, 8 of them women and mostly of the same height and with brown hair -- remembering their names is going to be an issue). I was surprised at how young the teachers were -- all of them seemed only a few years older than me, at most. Maybe this is because Planoise is seen as sort of a "difficult" area, so veteran teachers move on to schools in more desirable neighborhoods? At 8:30am the teachers went out into the cour (schoolyard) and collected their students, who were lined up by class. First I shadowed Caroline, the English referent (point person) for Ecole Champagne. Her class consists of twenty-two CP students. CP is the equivalent of first grade in the US (six year-olds).
Here's the terminology:
1st grade, 6 years old ==> Cours préparatoire (CP)
2nd grade, 7 years old ==> Cours élémentaire 1re année (CE1)
3rd grade, 8 years old ==> Cours élémentaire 2e année (CE2)
4th grade, 9 years old ==> Cours moyen 1re année (CM1)
5th grade, 10 years old == Cours moyen 2e année (CM2)
Twenty-two students doesn't sound like a lot for someone coming from the context of college seminars. But twenty-two 6 year-olds? Yikes! After only 15 minutes I started to get a headache just from all of the constant motion coming from the little bodies in my field of vision. Caroline wasn't teaching any English on Monday morning -- she told me they reserve the mornings for the core subjects of French and Math -- but it was helpful to see how she conducted the class. I will be assisting in one class at Ecole Champagne which has CP students in it. It's actually a class of CP and CPE (6 and 8-year olds together). Fabienne, my liaison, explained that this is due to budget/hiring cuts, but I'm still not sure why they would put kids two grades apart together. I'm definitely going to request to observe that class when I go in on Thursday.
I spent all morning at Ecole Champagne and ate lunch with the teachers there, then walked over to Ecole Bourgogne. The walk took about 10 minutes -- I'm positive there is a faster way than the one I took, but I didn't want to get lost on my first day and the way I took followed a main road/sidewalk.
At Ecole Bourgogne I followed a teacher named Annette who speaks very fluent British English. I was able to observe her CM2 class for their English lesson, than another CM2 class Annette instructed (while her class was learning German), and then Annette's class again during their history/writing class. I found the CM2 kids to be much more manageable. Maybe that's not the right word -- but the teacher's role in those classes seemed less like babysitting and more like teaching. The two classes were both full (22 kids in each) of exuberant, eager little ones. They were awkstruck when Annette told them that I came from the US. At the beginning of the history/writing lesson, she let her class ask me some questions about myself and the United States. Here were some of the memorable ones:
Also, when I named my home state, quite a few teachers immediately referenced a relatively famous French song whose title is the same name. Isabelle Adjani, a French actress from the 1970s, sang "Ohio" (click to hear it on YouTube). I remember Sabrina and Yohan, the French ex-pat couple who helped me out when I was stranded in Casablanca three summers ago, told me this too, but at the time I was too weary to process it. Other French people have mentioned it to me again since, but this was the first time I wrote down the singer's name.
So overall my first day of observing was highly successful. The teachers were very welcoming, and seemed to lead their classes effectively. One thing that struck me was how long it took to get the students from one place to another: walking from the schoolyard to the classroom took forever because the kids were perpetually wandering out of line and talking too loudly. Despite being in what people keep referring to as a "difficult area," the schools seemed to be well-equipped and well-maintained.
Another word on that: I feel like my blogs haven't done Planoise justice. Yes, it's a neighborhood consisting of high-rise, low-cost apartment buildings built in the 1960s and 1970s for new immigrants. The apartment buildings' architecture reflects their vintage (that is to say, they are ugly). But the area, at least the part I'm in, doesn't seem anything like what I would consider a "rough neighborhood." Maybe it's because there are trees everywhere. Despite all of the buildings, Planoise is just as verdant as the rest of Besançon, maybe even more because it's more spread out than the c-v. It's hard to tell to what extent Planoise's reputation comes from general French phobia of foreigners, particularly those from its former colonies.... But I'll let you know as I spend time there regularly!
Today was our stage d'accueil (orientation), tomorrow no school, then observing again on Thursday. Friday I have a journée pédagogique (teachers' workshop). Last night I went to another Ultimate practice and tomorrow night I'm playing in a mini-tournament at the university! That's all for now!
Waking up that early was a bit of a jolt, to be honest. I've been waking up around 8:15am for the past 2 weeks, because that's the time sunlight comes streaming through my window and floods the room with light. And the #10 was packed. But it only took 22 minutes from my stop to the one in Planoise, and less than ten minutes to walk to the school. I went first to the Directeur's office and he showed me to the salle de maîtres (teachers' lounge). I got to meet most of the teachers (about 10 in total, 8 of them women and mostly of the same height and with brown hair -- remembering their names is going to be an issue). I was surprised at how young the teachers were -- all of them seemed only a few years older than me, at most. Maybe this is because Planoise is seen as sort of a "difficult" area, so veteran teachers move on to schools in more desirable neighborhoods? At 8:30am the teachers went out into the cour (schoolyard) and collected their students, who were lined up by class. First I shadowed Caroline, the English referent (point person) for Ecole Champagne. Her class consists of twenty-two CP students. CP is the equivalent of first grade in the US (six year-olds).
Here's the terminology:
1st grade, 6 years old ==> Cours préparatoire (CP)
2nd grade, 7 years old ==> Cours élémentaire 1re année (CE1)
3rd grade, 8 years old ==> Cours élémentaire 2e année (CE2)
4th grade, 9 years old ==> Cours moyen 1re année (CM1)
5th grade, 10 years old == Cours moyen 2e année (CM2)
Twenty-two students doesn't sound like a lot for someone coming from the context of college seminars. But twenty-two 6 year-olds? Yikes! After only 15 minutes I started to get a headache just from all of the constant motion coming from the little bodies in my field of vision. Caroline wasn't teaching any English on Monday morning -- she told me they reserve the mornings for the core subjects of French and Math -- but it was helpful to see how she conducted the class. I will be assisting in one class at Ecole Champagne which has CP students in it. It's actually a class of CP and CPE (6 and 8-year olds together). Fabienne, my liaison, explained that this is due to budget/hiring cuts, but I'm still not sure why they would put kids two grades apart together. I'm definitely going to request to observe that class when I go in on Thursday.
I spent all morning at Ecole Champagne and ate lunch with the teachers there, then walked over to Ecole Bourgogne. The walk took about 10 minutes -- I'm positive there is a faster way than the one I took, but I didn't want to get lost on my first day and the way I took followed a main road/sidewalk.
At Ecole Bourgogne I followed a teacher named Annette who speaks very fluent British English. I was able to observe her CM2 class for their English lesson, than another CM2 class Annette instructed (while her class was learning German), and then Annette's class again during their history/writing class. I found the CM2 kids to be much more manageable. Maybe that's not the right word -- but the teacher's role in those classes seemed less like babysitting and more like teaching. The two classes were both full (22 kids in each) of exuberant, eager little ones. They were awkstruck when Annette told them that I came from the US. At the beginning of the history/writing lesson, she let her class ask me some questions about myself and the United States. Here were some of the memorable ones:
- Do you know any famous "pop stars"? (in quotes because that's the term the girl used in French)
- Do you know President Obama?
- Have you ever stayed in the White House?
- Do you know David Guetta?
- Were you there on September 11th when the twin towers (les tours jumelles) fell?
- Do you really use dollars and not euros?
Also, when I named my home state, quite a few teachers immediately referenced a relatively famous French song whose title is the same name. Isabelle Adjani, a French actress from the 1970s, sang "Ohio" (click to hear it on YouTube). I remember Sabrina and Yohan, the French ex-pat couple who helped me out when I was stranded in Casablanca three summers ago, told me this too, but at the time I was too weary to process it. Other French people have mentioned it to me again since, but this was the first time I wrote down the singer's name.
So overall my first day of observing was highly successful. The teachers were very welcoming, and seemed to lead their classes effectively. One thing that struck me was how long it took to get the students from one place to another: walking from the schoolyard to the classroom took forever because the kids were perpetually wandering out of line and talking too loudly. Despite being in what people keep referring to as a "difficult area," the schools seemed to be well-equipped and well-maintained.
Another word on that: I feel like my blogs haven't done Planoise justice. Yes, it's a neighborhood consisting of high-rise, low-cost apartment buildings built in the 1960s and 1970s for new immigrants. The apartment buildings' architecture reflects their vintage (that is to say, they are ugly). But the area, at least the part I'm in, doesn't seem anything like what I would consider a "rough neighborhood." Maybe it's because there are trees everywhere. Despite all of the buildings, Planoise is just as verdant as the rest of Besançon, maybe even more because it's more spread out than the c-v. It's hard to tell to what extent Planoise's reputation comes from general French phobia of foreigners, particularly those from its former colonies.... But I'll let you know as I spend time there regularly!
Today was our stage d'accueil (orientation), tomorrow no school, then observing again on Thursday. Friday I have a journée pédagogique (teachers' workshop). Last night I went to another Ultimate practice and tomorrow night I'm playing in a mini-tournament at the university! That's all for now!
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Une Journee Chez La Famille Coudel
Whew, this has been quite the weekend!
Friday evening I had my second UC Visontin practice (the name of the Ultimate team). My arrival at the practice was complicated by the fact that the car belonging to Fred, my ride, broke down right after he arrived around the corner from my apartment. We had to call the team captains and they brought a handful of people to help push the car into an actual parking space. As of this evening the car was still there (I think Fred said his mechanic doesn't work on the weekends). But we got there eventually! This practice is inside a gym. In Europe, there are two seasons of Ultimate: indoor and outdoor. Personally I don't really like playing inside, but I guess winter is so cold and so long that most parts of Europe wouldn't get to play without an indoor league.
After practice about half of the team (we were only 15 or so on Friday evening, but you play 5 v. 5 indoor) went to a bar/brasserie. Someone explained to me that there are really only 2 big bars in the c-v, so whenever they go out it's to one of those. Luckily both are only a short walk from where I live. The special of the night was Maredsous 10, a Belgian beer which is sweet but also very strong. One was plenty! I had a great time though -- it was good to see that I could hang out and chat easily with people from the team outside of playing Ultimate (where there is a lot less talking required).
Then Saturday was the big apple festival at the Coudel's (see blog title: "A Day at the Coudel's")! I arrived in Leisle around noon and, a bit to my chagrin, they were already well into the process. Apparently they picked most of the apples on Friday and started pressing them very early on Saturday morning. So while I got to participate for about 2 hours, that was only a small percentage of the total. Here are some pictures:
Adding apples to the slicing/mashing component. To me the apple-mashing machine appeared to be identical to the machine the Davey Tree people use to cut up branches that fall in the street, just smaller.
Diced/mashed apple bits spurting out into the tubs below:
The pressing element: you heap handfuls of the mashed apples into a mold, lay a piece of cheese-cloth on top, then add another layer. The metal bar at the top has a winch attached, so that the bar descends and presses the apple bits down tightly, extracting all of the juice:
Turning the winch below. The cheese cloth is brown, which is why you can't see the layers of mashed apples:
And the juice flows into the waiting buckets:
So my contribution was to work on the team checking the apples for rotten spots, and cutting them open if they appeared to have any flaws. I got to chat with some of the other people there: most of them were friends of Jeremy (the Coudels' oldest son), either people he met in high school/college or people he works with now. Most of them were about my age, maybe a little older.
Then around 3pm we went back to the house (this whole process was taking place in the yard and barn of a house-turned-hostel on the other side of the village) for a giant meal. 19 people necessitated two tables, and we had a sumptuous meal including a salad of beets, endives, apples, and pine nuts, then a lamb, apricot, and fig tajine over couscous, then the requisite cheese, bread, coffee, and cake.
We spent most of the rest of the afternoon just lazing around the house, chatting, playing games, reading. A little later some people went back to start pasteurizing the juice (all but a few of the 400 bottles would be pasteurized so that they could be drunk throughout the year, not just in the next two weeks). The pasteurizing process really only required three people, so we couldn't all work there at once, but I got to see it before I left (it just meant heating the apple juice, small barrels at a time, to a certain temperature for a certain amount of time).
I took a train back to Besançon a little before 7pm and turned in early. Then this morning I went to a service at the Église Reformée de Besançon (a protestant church). It's in the c-v, right by art museum in the Place de la Republique. It's a really neat chapel: probably about the same size as my church at home's sanctuary (without the balcony), but made of stone with vaulted ceilings. I'll have to find out more, but I bet the chapel itself was once a Catholic church.
I was really surprised by how many young people there were there! I went to church once in Dijon and was wholly unimpressed by how dingy the space was and how cryptic the service seemed to be (although possibly it was my own shortcomings in comprehension that made it so). There were probably 45-50 people there this morning and the majority appeared to be under 40 years old. This is certainly unusual for churches in France, at least based on everything I've ever heard. We sang probably 8-9 hymns throughout the service -- they were much shorter than hymns I've sung at services in the US. At home I've often thought the hymns have too many verses, but today I saw the value in having 4-5 versus instead of 2-3. It takes about two for the congregation to get a hang of the rhythm, and with these hymns they were over before we really ever sang them in unison. The sermon was on the victory at Jericho (Joshua 6) and how the "peaceful" victory can be a metaphor for approaching the problems we encounter in our own lives. Don't ask me to go any further into detail than that, not only did I have a bit of trouble following the sermon, but there was a baby two rows behind me that squawked intermittently throughout the service (they did invite the children to go to Sunday school but either that's not available for infants or these parents didn't want to go that route, because the crying definitely lasted the whole service). Despite the small-child wailing, I really enjoyed the service and will definitely go back again.
After church, I spent about 2 hours reading Au Bonheur des Dammes in Parc Micaud (I posted pictures of it in an earlier entry, it's the one right by the banks of the Doubs). I really like that park a lot!
Then at 3pm I met up with Candice and Laurie, two other assistants who are living together, at the Musee du Temps (Museum of Time) for a tour of the Palais de Granvelle, the building in which the museum is located. It was the "palace" (I put it in quotes because it's closer to my idea of a French chateau than a palace) of Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle who became an advisor for the Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Fifth. The palais is remarkable because it was built in 1534 and reflects a style of architecture which was then unknown in the region. Nicolas Perrenot traveled extensively on behalf of Charles Quint, including to Spain and Italy, where he saw the new styles of architecture and art which would come to be known as the Renaissance period.
His palais is an adoption of those styles, with some modifications to make it work in Franche-Compte (the region where Besançon is located). For instance, it has severely angled roofs, to help channel the snow and rain which fall regularly. You can see too that the roof tiles were done in the toit bourguignon style (the patterned roof tiles which are commonly found in Bourgogne, the name of the region where Dijon is located). I'm sure that the roof tiles are more recent than 1534, but they're still cool. You can see from these pictures (to the left and right of this paragraph) that the attempt at Renaissance-inspired symmetrical design didn't last very long -- look at the photo on the left and follow the lines up from the columns on the ground floor to the inset columns on the floor above. Now look at the picture on the right -- oops! In fact none of the four "corners" of the building are set at right angles either, because of flaws in the execution of the design or because the foundations shifted after the building was constructed. The visite (tour) was really informative. It blows my mind that this structure has been in Besançon for nearly 500 years!
After the tour we went up to the tower and I got to take some cool pictures of the city:
St. Jean's Cathedral! (and the construction cranes for the Citadel):
Looking down Grande Rue ("Big Street," or Main Street), past the toit bourguignon roof of the Palais de Granvelle:
A closer look down the same street:
And then the afternoon/evening turned into a series of (unexpected) social occaisons: one with Janice, an American and former assistant who now lives in Besançon with her French husband and two kids (don't worry Mom and Dad, I will come back). Candice had arranged to meet with her just to hear her advice and suggestions, and Laurie and I ended up tagging along. Then after dinner I met up with Pierre, the guy I sat next to on the train from Paris to Besançon. He was home again this weekend and sent me a message earlier today asking if I'd like to meet him for coffee during the time between when he arrived in Besançon from Pontarlier (the town about an hour away where his family lives) and when his train left for Paris. Traffic delays on his way to Besançon meant that we only chatted briefly in the gare café, but it was kind of cool to see him again. It's weird to think that it's only been two weeks since I arrived; it feels like I have been here forever -- and at the same time like I moved in with Steph and Charly last night. Then, when I got back from the gare, Steph and Charly asked if I would like to join them in their Sunday evening beer. I keep forgetting to write down the name... they've invited me to join them once before and we had the same beer; it's definitely a German variety but I can't recall the name. We also had some of the apple cake Steph made this afternoon -- it was quite good! Charly leaves tomorrow for Bordeaux. He'll be there for a week using the lab equipment at the university to analyze his soil cores in other ways than he can here.
And now I am off to bed! I'm not even going to check the word count as I most certainly over 1200 works, but thanks for sticking it out to the end! Tomorrow is my "first day of school" (observing) and I'm very excited! Bonne nuit (goodnight)!
Friday evening I had my second UC Visontin practice (the name of the Ultimate team). My arrival at the practice was complicated by the fact that the car belonging to Fred, my ride, broke down right after he arrived around the corner from my apartment. We had to call the team captains and they brought a handful of people to help push the car into an actual parking space. As of this evening the car was still there (I think Fred said his mechanic doesn't work on the weekends). But we got there eventually! This practice is inside a gym. In Europe, there are two seasons of Ultimate: indoor and outdoor. Personally I don't really like playing inside, but I guess winter is so cold and so long that most parts of Europe wouldn't get to play without an indoor league.
After practice about half of the team (we were only 15 or so on Friday evening, but you play 5 v. 5 indoor) went to a bar/brasserie. Someone explained to me that there are really only 2 big bars in the c-v, so whenever they go out it's to one of those. Luckily both are only a short walk from where I live. The special of the night was Maredsous 10, a Belgian beer which is sweet but also very strong. One was plenty! I had a great time though -- it was good to see that I could hang out and chat easily with people from the team outside of playing Ultimate (where there is a lot less talking required).
Then Saturday was the big apple festival at the Coudel's (see blog title: "A Day at the Coudel's")! I arrived in Leisle around noon and, a bit to my chagrin, they were already well into the process. Apparently they picked most of the apples on Friday and started pressing them very early on Saturday morning. So while I got to participate for about 2 hours, that was only a small percentage of the total. Here are some pictures:
Adding apples to the slicing/mashing component. To me the apple-mashing machine appeared to be identical to the machine the Davey Tree people use to cut up branches that fall in the street, just smaller.
Diced/mashed apple bits spurting out into the tubs below:
The pressing element: you heap handfuls of the mashed apples into a mold, lay a piece of cheese-cloth on top, then add another layer. The metal bar at the top has a winch attached, so that the bar descends and presses the apple bits down tightly, extracting all of the juice:
Turning the winch below. The cheese cloth is brown, which is why you can't see the layers of mashed apples:
And the juice flows into the waiting buckets:
And then the contents of the bucket are poured into these:
Then around 3pm we went back to the house (this whole process was taking place in the yard and barn of a house-turned-hostel on the other side of the village) for a giant meal. 19 people necessitated two tables, and we had a sumptuous meal including a salad of beets, endives, apples, and pine nuts, then a lamb, apricot, and fig tajine over couscous, then the requisite cheese, bread, coffee, and cake.
We spent most of the rest of the afternoon just lazing around the house, chatting, playing games, reading. A little later some people went back to start pasteurizing the juice (all but a few of the 400 bottles would be pasteurized so that they could be drunk throughout the year, not just in the next two weeks). The pasteurizing process really only required three people, so we couldn't all work there at once, but I got to see it before I left (it just meant heating the apple juice, small barrels at a time, to a certain temperature for a certain amount of time).
I took a train back to Besançon a little before 7pm and turned in early. Then this morning I went to a service at the Église Reformée de Besançon (a protestant church). It's in the c-v, right by art museum in the Place de la Republique. It's a really neat chapel: probably about the same size as my church at home's sanctuary (without the balcony), but made of stone with vaulted ceilings. I'll have to find out more, but I bet the chapel itself was once a Catholic church.
I was really surprised by how many young people there were there! I went to church once in Dijon and was wholly unimpressed by how dingy the space was and how cryptic the service seemed to be (although possibly it was my own shortcomings in comprehension that made it so). There were probably 45-50 people there this morning and the majority appeared to be under 40 years old. This is certainly unusual for churches in France, at least based on everything I've ever heard. We sang probably 8-9 hymns throughout the service -- they were much shorter than hymns I've sung at services in the US. At home I've often thought the hymns have too many verses, but today I saw the value in having 4-5 versus instead of 2-3. It takes about two for the congregation to get a hang of the rhythm, and with these hymns they were over before we really ever sang them in unison. The sermon was on the victory at Jericho (Joshua 6) and how the "peaceful" victory can be a metaphor for approaching the problems we encounter in our own lives. Don't ask me to go any further into detail than that, not only did I have a bit of trouble following the sermon, but there was a baby two rows behind me that squawked intermittently throughout the service (they did invite the children to go to Sunday school but either that's not available for infants or these parents didn't want to go that route, because the crying definitely lasted the whole service). Despite the small-child wailing, I really enjoyed the service and will definitely go back again.
After church, I spent about 2 hours reading Au Bonheur des Dammes in Parc Micaud (I posted pictures of it in an earlier entry, it's the one right by the banks of the Doubs). I really like that park a lot!
Then at 3pm I met up with Candice and Laurie, two other assistants who are living together, at the Musee du Temps (Museum of Time) for a tour of the Palais de Granvelle, the building in which the museum is located. It was the "palace" (I put it in quotes because it's closer to my idea of a French chateau than a palace) of Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle who became an advisor for the Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Fifth. The palais is remarkable because it was built in 1534 and reflects a style of architecture which was then unknown in the region. Nicolas Perrenot traveled extensively on behalf of Charles Quint, including to Spain and Italy, where he saw the new styles of architecture and art which would come to be known as the Renaissance period.
His palais is an adoption of those styles, with some modifications to make it work in Franche-Compte (the region where Besançon is located). For instance, it has severely angled roofs, to help channel the snow and rain which fall regularly. You can see too that the roof tiles were done in the toit bourguignon style (the patterned roof tiles which are commonly found in Bourgogne, the name of the region where Dijon is located). I'm sure that the roof tiles are more recent than 1534, but they're still cool. You can see from these pictures (to the left and right of this paragraph) that the attempt at Renaissance-inspired symmetrical design didn't last very long -- look at the photo on the left and follow the lines up from the columns on the ground floor to the inset columns on the floor above. Now look at the picture on the right -- oops! In fact none of the four "corners" of the building are set at right angles either, because of flaws in the execution of the design or because the foundations shifted after the building was constructed. The visite (tour) was really informative. It blows my mind that this structure has been in Besançon for nearly 500 years! After the tour we went up to the tower and I got to take some cool pictures of the city:
St. Jean's Cathedral! (and the construction cranes for the Citadel):
Looking down Grande Rue ("Big Street," or Main Street), past the toit bourguignon roof of the Palais de Granvelle:
A closer look down the same street:
And then the afternoon/evening turned into a series of (unexpected) social occaisons: one with Janice, an American and former assistant who now lives in Besançon with her French husband and two kids (don't worry Mom and Dad, I will come back). Candice had arranged to meet with her just to hear her advice and suggestions, and Laurie and I ended up tagging along. Then after dinner I met up with Pierre, the guy I sat next to on the train from Paris to Besançon. He was home again this weekend and sent me a message earlier today asking if I'd like to meet him for coffee during the time between when he arrived in Besançon from Pontarlier (the town about an hour away where his family lives) and when his train left for Paris. Traffic delays on his way to Besançon meant that we only chatted briefly in the gare café, but it was kind of cool to see him again. It's weird to think that it's only been two weeks since I arrived; it feels like I have been here forever -- and at the same time like I moved in with Steph and Charly last night. Then, when I got back from the gare, Steph and Charly asked if I would like to join them in their Sunday evening beer. I keep forgetting to write down the name... they've invited me to join them once before and we had the same beer; it's definitely a German variety but I can't recall the name. We also had some of the apple cake Steph made this afternoon -- it was quite good! Charly leaves tomorrow for Bordeaux. He'll be there for a week using the lab equipment at the university to analyze his soil cores in other ways than he can here.
And now I am off to bed! I'm not even going to check the word count as I most certainly over 1200 works, but thanks for sticking it out to the end! Tomorrow is my "first day of school" (observing) and I'm very excited! Bonne nuit (goodnight)!
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Aujourd'hui etait formidable
I figured if I'm not going to be keeping a separate French blog anymore, I might as well integrate more French into my English blog... This entry's title means "Today was great!"
Here are three reasons why:
This morning I met with Fabienne, my liaison and she drove me to Planoise to introduce me to the principals at the two schools where I will be an assistant. We also met up with Nicola and Kirstie, two other assistants who will also be teaching in elementary schools in Planoise. They're both from England and as of this morning were both without housing.
When I arrived about a week and a half ago, it seemed a little silly to have gotten here so early. But now I am incredibly glad that I did. I ended up finding housing very quickly, but everyone else I have talked to has had a lot more trouble; either the housing they had arranged didn't turn out to be what they planned, or they didn't make any arrangements at all and now can't find anything. I feel both very lucky, and very glad that I got here early.
Anyway, the three of us plus Fabienne went on a little mini tour of Planoise, which is a fairly large neighborhood. It is full of high-rise apartment buildings, "slum" is way too harsh to describe the area, but "low-income housing" definitely fits. The streets are very confusing and I was having a hard time maintaining a sense of direction with the tall buildings. But Fabienne showed us exactly which bus stops we could use and how to get to each of our schools. Mine (Ecole Bourgogne and Ecole Champagne) are a 5-minute walk from each other. I'm going to take the bus there tomorrow morning to get an idea of how long it will take when I start on Monday. The principals at my two schools were very different: one was very friendly and organized, the other seemed a little disinterested. But the disinterested one works at a school where I was introduced to a very warm and friendly teacher who happens to speak very good English, so she can be my go-to person if I have a problem.
After Fabienne dropped us off in the c-v, I made a quick stop home to get some papers (this was in preparation for going to the phone store so I could start the monthly plan in October, but it turns out they need another form from the bank which will take a week -- I'm discovering it's always a week with the bank). It was on the walk home that I succumbed to temptation, in pastry form.
So far I have been very economical and very healthy -- I think the only meal I've had "out" was a salad I ate in a cafe my second full day here (plus the Indian food Steph and Charly treated me to last week). I haven't *gasp* had a single French pastry yet. So, I ducked into a patisserie on my way home and picked up a tartlette saumon et epinard (small quiche with salmon and spinach) and a chocolate eclair. Here's the photo:
Pretty yummy looking, huh? The best part of the day was yet to come though. After lunch I did a little research and figured out which bus line to take to get to the nearest centre equestre I found on the city website. It turns out that the barn itself is a bit of a walk from the bus stop (15-20 minutes), but I got there just fine. It's called Les Ecuries de Chateau Galland and they have quite an extensive facility. When I first walked up the main barn area and office was totally empty. The horses all looked healthy and well-kept, and I wandered a little bit trying to find someone who could give me more information. I made it all the way out to the area, where there were 5-6 people riding. There was a woman in the far paddock bringing in 3 horses, and when she approached I ascertained that she was the director.
After she explained all about the operation to me in her office, she showed me around and introduced me to some of the cavaliers (riders) and the horses. She was very friendly and down-to-earth and seemed willing to accomodate my particular situation (arriving a little after the "season" had started and leaving early). She said that the she has had other foreign riders before, and that in her experience the most difficult part for the Americans especially, is the difference in the style of riding, not in the lack of vocabulary. This could be problematic because I found myself a bit overwhelmed at how few horse-related words I knew in French. These words would come as easily as breathing in English, but I was totally nonplussed when Marie, the director, presented me with an item of tack or started elaborating on the lessons. She showed me a "Learn About Horses" book for young children which I might borrow -- it has all of the basic vocabulary that I'm seriously lacking.
So it looks like I'm going to be able to take lessons once per week for the rest of the time I'm here (except vacations)!! I'm going to ask my family to ship over my riding things so I can get started right away. The barn is sort of far away (25 minute bus ride + 15-20 minute walk), but Marie assured me that some of the others who ride during the Friday 3pm lesson slot live near the c-v and could give me a ride. She actually asked one of the cavaliers who was on their way out to give me a ride today, so I wouldn't have to walk/wait for the bus. Natalie, the woman who dropped me off near the gare, told me that she started riding at Chateau Galland when her daughter was taking lessons there. She said that Marie runs the barn very well and that she has always been pleased with it. I think riding there will be a great opportunity! Not just to ride, which of course would be enough, but Marie mentioned how the same riders come at the same time each week, and so they get to know each other well. I hadn't thought of this as a way to make French friends, but it might just work out that way!
Oh, and one more positive: I had yet another pleasant evening with Steph and Charly. It wasn't anything earth-shattering; we watched the news and a couple of other TV shows together, but we had fun laughing at the spoofs and they explained the linguistic jokes and puns which were a bit beyond my reach. My interaction with them has been very positive so far, and I hope it continues that way!
I hope your day was just as good! A bientôt! (until sometime soon)
Here are three reasons why:
- I got to see the two schools where I will be teaching.
- I had a really decadent (well, by my recent standards) lunch.
- I found a barn / equestrian center where I will be able to ride!
This morning I met with Fabienne, my liaison and she drove me to Planoise to introduce me to the principals at the two schools where I will be an assistant. We also met up with Nicola and Kirstie, two other assistants who will also be teaching in elementary schools in Planoise. They're both from England and as of this morning were both without housing.
When I arrived about a week and a half ago, it seemed a little silly to have gotten here so early. But now I am incredibly glad that I did. I ended up finding housing very quickly, but everyone else I have talked to has had a lot more trouble; either the housing they had arranged didn't turn out to be what they planned, or they didn't make any arrangements at all and now can't find anything. I feel both very lucky, and very glad that I got here early.
Anyway, the three of us plus Fabienne went on a little mini tour of Planoise, which is a fairly large neighborhood. It is full of high-rise apartment buildings, "slum" is way too harsh to describe the area, but "low-income housing" definitely fits. The streets are very confusing and I was having a hard time maintaining a sense of direction with the tall buildings. But Fabienne showed us exactly which bus stops we could use and how to get to each of our schools. Mine (Ecole Bourgogne and Ecole Champagne) are a 5-minute walk from each other. I'm going to take the bus there tomorrow morning to get an idea of how long it will take when I start on Monday. The principals at my two schools were very different: one was very friendly and organized, the other seemed a little disinterested. But the disinterested one works at a school where I was introduced to a very warm and friendly teacher who happens to speak very good English, so she can be my go-to person if I have a problem.
After Fabienne dropped us off in the c-v, I made a quick stop home to get some papers (this was in preparation for going to the phone store so I could start the monthly plan in October, but it turns out they need another form from the bank which will take a week -- I'm discovering it's always a week with the bank). It was on the walk home that I succumbed to temptation, in pastry form.
So far I have been very economical and very healthy -- I think the only meal I've had "out" was a salad I ate in a cafe my second full day here (plus the Indian food Steph and Charly treated me to last week). I haven't *gasp* had a single French pastry yet. So, I ducked into a patisserie on my way home and picked up a tartlette saumon et epinard (small quiche with salmon and spinach) and a chocolate eclair. Here's the photo:
Pretty yummy looking, huh? The best part of the day was yet to come though. After lunch I did a little research and figured out which bus line to take to get to the nearest centre equestre I found on the city website. It turns out that the barn itself is a bit of a walk from the bus stop (15-20 minutes), but I got there just fine. It's called Les Ecuries de Chateau Galland and they have quite an extensive facility. When I first walked up the main barn area and office was totally empty. The horses all looked healthy and well-kept, and I wandered a little bit trying to find someone who could give me more information. I made it all the way out to the area, where there were 5-6 people riding. There was a woman in the far paddock bringing in 3 horses, and when she approached I ascertained that she was the director.
After she explained all about the operation to me in her office, she showed me around and introduced me to some of the cavaliers (riders) and the horses. She was very friendly and down-to-earth and seemed willing to accomodate my particular situation (arriving a little after the "season" had started and leaving early). She said that the she has had other foreign riders before, and that in her experience the most difficult part for the Americans especially, is the difference in the style of riding, not in the lack of vocabulary. This could be problematic because I found myself a bit overwhelmed at how few horse-related words I knew in French. These words would come as easily as breathing in English, but I was totally nonplussed when Marie, the director, presented me with an item of tack or started elaborating on the lessons. She showed me a "Learn About Horses" book for young children which I might borrow -- it has all of the basic vocabulary that I'm seriously lacking.
So it looks like I'm going to be able to take lessons once per week for the rest of the time I'm here (except vacations)!! I'm going to ask my family to ship over my riding things so I can get started right away. The barn is sort of far away (25 minute bus ride + 15-20 minute walk), but Marie assured me that some of the others who ride during the Friday 3pm lesson slot live near the c-v and could give me a ride. She actually asked one of the cavaliers who was on their way out to give me a ride today, so I wouldn't have to walk/wait for the bus. Natalie, the woman who dropped me off near the gare, told me that she started riding at Chateau Galland when her daughter was taking lessons there. She said that Marie runs the barn very well and that she has always been pleased with it. I think riding there will be a great opportunity! Not just to ride, which of course would be enough, but Marie mentioned how the same riders come at the same time each week, and so they get to know each other well. I hadn't thought of this as a way to make French friends, but it might just work out that way!
Oh, and one more positive: I had yet another pleasant evening with Steph and Charly. It wasn't anything earth-shattering; we watched the news and a couple of other TV shows together, but we had fun laughing at the spoofs and they explained the linguistic jokes and puns which were a bit beyond my reach. My interaction with them has been very positive so far, and I hope it continues that way!
I hope your day was just as good! A bientôt! (until sometime soon)
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Lots of Meandering and A Cool Clock
Hello all! So I didn't quite get to everything today... There were some organizational difficulties getting everyone to not Carrefour, but Casino Géant (which materially is the same thing, sort of the difference between Wal-mart and Meijer). Group shopping is never efficient, and with some people still uncertain about their living situation, decisiveness was not running high. But I did get the things I needed: a few toiletries, toilet paper (we're not out, but I wanted to demonstrate that I'll be providing my half of the communal supplies), and, most importantly, a pillow -- see pictures below.
From this angle, the pillow enclosed in a purple case (the new one, plus new case) certainly looks brighter:
But it's really only from this angle that you get a full understanding of how excited I am to sleep on my new pillow tonight:
It seems comical now, but originally I was totally prepared to tough it out with the doubled-over psuedo-pillow. But after bringing home my new one, I'm convinced I made the right choice.
In the afternoon we (a few other assistants and I) had planned to go to the citadel. Unfortunately, the logistics of everyone returning home with their shopping and meeting up again meant we would only have a few hours, which, from what I've heard, would not be enough time. So I offered to show them St. Jean's Cathedral.
Luck was on our side here, because we arrived just in time to get a tour/explanation of the famous astrological clock located in the cathedral. Here are some of the pictures:
The clock dates from 1860 and has a fantastical number of complications. You can see from these pictures below how the figures (representing hope, faith and charity) were moving as the clock struck 3pm.
Compare these two pictures. Note that before 3pm, the Jesus figure in the top center is standing up with his arms outstretched. As part of the clock's movement at 3pm, the Jesus figure "descends to the grave," and two guards appear on either side (you can sort of see them coming forward in the pic on the right). Then at midnight he will "rise" again.
This is one of the many miniature clocks which line each side of the face; they record the time in various cities around the world. This one was labeled "Mexico/Amerique." The numbers in blue on the bottom indicate night-time.
This face records the date of Easter for this calendar year (obviously the year labels have been updated since 1860, but the mechanism itself has not).
These pictures (4 on each side of the clock, I believe) are bordered by dials which offer the time of the tides in the various cities. The really cool part is that the picture moves just like a storybook!
The back of the clock. Surprisingly not as complicated as I expected for something so enormous!
Our group wandering the streets behind the cathedral (Laurie, Candice, Gemma, and Sean). This was before we ran into two other assistants, Kirstie and Nicola, totally by coincidence.
We hiked part of the way up to the Citadel and I got to take some cool shots:
Graffiti is everywhere, unfortunately. It's such a shame to see such beautiful old structures marred by such thoughtless behavior.
This bee has bright blue wings! I thought it was unusual...
The view from my kitchen window. It's not terribly obvious, but you can see the WWII memorial in front of the gare in the middle of the picture, toward the back.
Tomorrow I'm meeting with my liaison to see the schools where I will be teaching. Wish me luck!
PS I have officially abandoned my attempt to keep up a translation of my blog in French. It was a worthy endeavor, but between this blog and my personal journal (which I am writing in French), I need to make sure I'm spending more time living here than recording my life here. Thanks to those of you who humored me for those few brief entries!
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