Saturday afternoon
Jun. 3rd, 2006 03:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jenn_unpluggedIt's been a while since I've had a chance to get online long enough to post! I've been really busy this week and I've done so much that it seems like it must have been two weeks by now.
So it's cold here. Really, really cold. It's not typical at all, and I was unprepared for it. I had brought a lightweight coat to wear in London and thought I might need it here at night, but yeow! It's been in the 40s during the day, which is winter where I live. My linen capris and sandals are just not cutting it.
I had a free morning Wednesday, which was nice. I slept late, updated this, caught up on my email, and then headed out to the IUFM (the teacher's college) to meet up with the group. We went to the Caves du Chartreuse, where they make a liquer (sp?) special to this area called Chartreuse. I've toured many wineries in my life, but this one had the cheesiest film ever, I swear. The monks who make Chartreuse were searching for the "elixir of life" (Philosopher's stone, eh Harry Potter fans?) back in the 16th and 17th centuries, and as the legend goes, they were given a mysterious manuscript that contained the secret recipe for the elixir in the 17th century. They followed the recipe and distilled the elixir, and this is how Chartreuse is made. The film was very dramatic of course, with people in period costumes reenacting these exciting moments in history. Our guide was equally dramatic, which added to the fun. Later, there was another film, for which we had to wear 3D glasses. I'm not quite sure why the film had to be made in 3D, as it was just about how the monks settled in the area and built their monastary.
After the tour, we got to taste the Chartreuse, which is very strong (about 55% alcohol). Most of the Americans were wondering how people managed to drink it without some sort of mixer, again missing the point that it's considered a digestive aid and not really meant to be a cocktail. We drove through the mountains before going back to town, and it was snowing at the top! The boys had a snowball fight, even. It was COLD.
That evening, I went back to Anne Goube's flat (she is the organizer of the exchange program here) for dinner. She had invited along a young American man and his girlfriend. She and her family had lived in California for a few years in the 1980s, and there they had met this young man's family. His mother was French and his father American, so they all spoke French and became good friends. She hadn't seen him since he was five and then he called her out of the blue a few weeks ago. He's an engineer now and was going to be working in Grenoble for a month. I felt a bit like I was eavesdropping during dinner, but it was great fun to get to know them and hear about their shared past. The food she cooked was something very traditionally French, les quenelles. The best way for me to describe them is that they're a bit like the Roman gnocchi, only with a flavor of meat. They were baked with a cheesy sauce, and were quite good.
Eating in people's homes is really a very special thing, you know? You can go to a place and eat in restaurants, but it isn't the same.
Thursday was a fun day, because I spent it with younger children. In the morning, I visited a preschool and stayed with a class of 3-year-olds. That was great fun, and I really learned a lot. They were all so adorable, and the teacher was fantastic. She was wonderful with them, and it was amazing to watch her.
A bit about preschool and elementary school in France: Preschool is for ages 3-5, and it's completely free (though not mandatory). Elementary school is for ages 6-11 (first through sixth grades). Both types of school have a morning session from 8:30 to 11:30 and an afternoon session from 1:30 to 4:30. In between, most children go home for lunch, and most of the teachers do as well. I should also note that teacher pay is the same all over France if you have the same degree and amount of experience, so a preschool teacher makes the same salary as a high school teacher. In the US, that's not true, and it isn't even required for preschool teachers to have a college degree. Here, all teachers have the equivalent of a master's degree in their content area and another two years of teacher training on top of that, so they are all highly educated. It's actually quite difficult to become a teacher in France, as they have to get their degrees and then pass a very competitive exam just to get into the teacher's college. I think less than 10% are accepted. It's not a job that pays well, but it's coveted because it's regarded as a very honorable and prestigious job and one with good benefits and security. Teacher attrition is non-existant here, while in the US, it's 50%.
So, the preschool class: The children were adorable. The teacher introduced me and told them I was an American and did not speak French, and then tried to get them to guess how I had travelled to France. They guessed cars, trains, and boats, and then finally one child guessed an airplane. I counted in English for them and sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". They tried to sing along and it was so cute! I wrote the words down for the teacher and she said she would teach it to them. They were preparing for Father's Day and coloring little cards and things, and it was fun to watch. One had attached herself to me before it was time for me to go.
One thing that was very interesting was that at around 10:00, the entire class went to the toilet together. There was one big bathroom with about 12 toilets along the walls (all in the open), and all of them just stripped down and went! They even helped each other get undressed and redressed, which was cute. I don't know if it's done like that in the US, but I imagine that we separate the sexes very early. Here, it's not a big deal at all. Boys and girls know they are different and it's not even giggle-worthy. That seems much healthier to me than the American tradition of "private parts" being something you keep completely hidden and sex being a topic that isn't discussed with children at all.
I went to a shopping center during my lunch break and had lunch and bought some shoes. :-D I headed on to the elementary school after that, where I was to spend the afternoon with a fourth grade class. The teacher introduced me and we all went out into the hall to look at a world map to see where Texas is. The teacher put a sticker on the map over Austin to mark my visit, and I answered their questions. They wanted to know if I was enjoying my trip to France, and if I had been to New York and seen the Statue of Liberty. One boy wanted to know if the Texas Rangers really existed, and when I said yes, that set off a lot of excitement among the boys.
I watched their math lesson for today, which consisted of the Rallye Mathématique, a sort of math contest a bit like Academic Decathalon that schoolchildren in France participate in. The teacher gave them six problems to do which were something like mathematical logic puzzles, and they had 30 minutes to work on them however they chose. At the end of the thirty minutes, they wrote their solutions on posters and put them on the board and then sat on the floor and started to discuss them. They did all of this with no intervention from the teacher - he sat in the back with me and told me more about the class and the Rallye in general. He only stepped in when they seemed to need someone to moderate their discussion.
The discussion was interrupted by recess, during which time I went to the teacher's lounge, which overlooks the playground, to have coffee and meet the other teachers. They were interesting people, and we communicated as best we could in my very limited French and their limited English. I was trying to learn more from the teachers about how the school day was structured, and one explained it as "a very long day". I decided not to tell them about my 12-hour days as a high school teacher!
After recess, the mathematical discussion continued, and it was very interesting. I tried to ask some guiding questions, but my French is so poor it was difficult. The teacher could generally translate, though, and he seemed very excited that I (a math professor all the way from America) was helping teach his class!
The school itself was a poor one, with paint peeling from the walls and not enough books or calculators to go around, but the children were enthusiastic and sweet, and the teachers were good. I know I was observing the very best teachers, but I was truly impressed by their skill and knowledge.
That afternoon, I took the tram back to Silvana's flat and we had a quick dinner and went to see The DaVinci Code at the movies. It was better than I expected, considering that the reviews haven't been so good. Silvava is really nice and I had the feeling that night of being out with a friend, which was lovely.
I'm running out of time, so I'll keep this description of Friday's activities short. I spent the morning watching the teacher candidates at the IUFM presenting their final projects. It was interesting, but hard work for me because my French is not very good. Fortunately, I can read quite a bit, so I could follow their slides, at least. We were supposed to have a picnic in the mountains, but it was too cold so we had our picnic in a classroom instead. After that, we drove up into the mountains to a hydroelectric plant for a tour and a visit to their museum. 80% of France's power is from nuclear plants, but the remaining 20% comes mostly from hydroelectric plants in the Alps. The drive was gorgeous, up through a narrow valley on a road that wound through little villages along the way, and up to a beautiful blue lake. The plant was interesting and I learned a lot about how electricity has been made during the last 150 years.
After the tour, everyone went their separate ways for the weekend. I went back to Anne's house to have dinner with her and her husband. She gave me a tour of the supermarket, which you'll know is an interesting thing to do if you've ever travelled. I bought some chocolates and a few other things I will have trouble fitting into my suitcase, and a shopping bag with the supermarket's name on it.
A side note: in many countries, it's typical for people to bring their own bags to the grocery store. There also isn't someone to bag your groceries - you do that yourself. So people bring a market bag with them, and now I have one from Carrefour to take shopping with me at home! Anne (who lived in Austin for a year) said that if there are any French people in Central Market and I am carrying thaht bag, they'll find me!
Dinner was great fun, and very good too. I helped cook, and learned how to make chocolate mousse and salad dressing! Anne and her husband are very nice people, and since they've lived in Austin, we could talk about things around town. They made some suggestions for places we should take the French exchange students next spring, like to certain museums, a cattle market, and an oil field. She also suggested we take them to Fredericksburg, which I agree would be a lovely trip for them.
I slept in this morning and haven't done much of consequence today. I had lunch with Silvana and her daughter Estelle, and watched Silvana start dinner for tonight. She's invited some friends over, which should be interesting. We went and had coffee with a woman whom Silvava said was like a mother to her, a lovely old lady who has to be one of the most charismatic and spunky woman of 73 I've ever met. She'll be at the dinner party tonight, so I'll get to know her better.
And that was my week, more or less! I may have time to post again Monday, since this is a holiday weekend. I'll be visiting schools again on Tuesday and then home on Wednesday morning, so it's coming to an end. I'm so, so glad I did this, though, and I hope to have a chance to do it again. It's been a fantastic experience so far!
So it's cold here. Really, really cold. It's not typical at all, and I was unprepared for it. I had brought a lightweight coat to wear in London and thought I might need it here at night, but yeow! It's been in the 40s during the day, which is winter where I live. My linen capris and sandals are just not cutting it.
I had a free morning Wednesday, which was nice. I slept late, updated this, caught up on my email, and then headed out to the IUFM (the teacher's college) to meet up with the group. We went to the Caves du Chartreuse, where they make a liquer (sp?) special to this area called Chartreuse. I've toured many wineries in my life, but this one had the cheesiest film ever, I swear. The monks who make Chartreuse were searching for the "elixir of life" (Philosopher's stone, eh Harry Potter fans?) back in the 16th and 17th centuries, and as the legend goes, they were given a mysterious manuscript that contained the secret recipe for the elixir in the 17th century. They followed the recipe and distilled the elixir, and this is how Chartreuse is made. The film was very dramatic of course, with people in period costumes reenacting these exciting moments in history. Our guide was equally dramatic, which added to the fun. Later, there was another film, for which we had to wear 3D glasses. I'm not quite sure why the film had to be made in 3D, as it was just about how the monks settled in the area and built their monastary.
After the tour, we got to taste the Chartreuse, which is very strong (about 55% alcohol). Most of the Americans were wondering how people managed to drink it without some sort of mixer, again missing the point that it's considered a digestive aid and not really meant to be a cocktail. We drove through the mountains before going back to town, and it was snowing at the top! The boys had a snowball fight, even. It was COLD.
That evening, I went back to Anne Goube's flat (she is the organizer of the exchange program here) for dinner. She had invited along a young American man and his girlfriend. She and her family had lived in California for a few years in the 1980s, and there they had met this young man's family. His mother was French and his father American, so they all spoke French and became good friends. She hadn't seen him since he was five and then he called her out of the blue a few weeks ago. He's an engineer now and was going to be working in Grenoble for a month. I felt a bit like I was eavesdropping during dinner, but it was great fun to get to know them and hear about their shared past. The food she cooked was something very traditionally French, les quenelles. The best way for me to describe them is that they're a bit like the Roman gnocchi, only with a flavor of meat. They were baked with a cheesy sauce, and were quite good.
Eating in people's homes is really a very special thing, you know? You can go to a place and eat in restaurants, but it isn't the same.
Thursday was a fun day, because I spent it with younger children. In the morning, I visited a preschool and stayed with a class of 3-year-olds. That was great fun, and I really learned a lot. They were all so adorable, and the teacher was fantastic. She was wonderful with them, and it was amazing to watch her.
A bit about preschool and elementary school in France: Preschool is for ages 3-5, and it's completely free (though not mandatory). Elementary school is for ages 6-11 (first through sixth grades). Both types of school have a morning session from 8:30 to 11:30 and an afternoon session from 1:30 to 4:30. In between, most children go home for lunch, and most of the teachers do as well. I should also note that teacher pay is the same all over France if you have the same degree and amount of experience, so a preschool teacher makes the same salary as a high school teacher. In the US, that's not true, and it isn't even required for preschool teachers to have a college degree. Here, all teachers have the equivalent of a master's degree in their content area and another two years of teacher training on top of that, so they are all highly educated. It's actually quite difficult to become a teacher in France, as they have to get their degrees and then pass a very competitive exam just to get into the teacher's college. I think less than 10% are accepted. It's not a job that pays well, but it's coveted because it's regarded as a very honorable and prestigious job and one with good benefits and security. Teacher attrition is non-existant here, while in the US, it's 50%.
So, the preschool class: The children were adorable. The teacher introduced me and told them I was an American and did not speak French, and then tried to get them to guess how I had travelled to France. They guessed cars, trains, and boats, and then finally one child guessed an airplane. I counted in English for them and sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star". They tried to sing along and it was so cute! I wrote the words down for the teacher and she said she would teach it to them. They were preparing for Father's Day and coloring little cards and things, and it was fun to watch. One had attached herself to me before it was time for me to go.
One thing that was very interesting was that at around 10:00, the entire class went to the toilet together. There was one big bathroom with about 12 toilets along the walls (all in the open), and all of them just stripped down and went! They even helped each other get undressed and redressed, which was cute. I don't know if it's done like that in the US, but I imagine that we separate the sexes very early. Here, it's not a big deal at all. Boys and girls know they are different and it's not even giggle-worthy. That seems much healthier to me than the American tradition of "private parts" being something you keep completely hidden and sex being a topic that isn't discussed with children at all.
I went to a shopping center during my lunch break and had lunch and bought some shoes. :-D I headed on to the elementary school after that, where I was to spend the afternoon with a fourth grade class. The teacher introduced me and we all went out into the hall to look at a world map to see where Texas is. The teacher put a sticker on the map over Austin to mark my visit, and I answered their questions. They wanted to know if I was enjoying my trip to France, and if I had been to New York and seen the Statue of Liberty. One boy wanted to know if the Texas Rangers really existed, and when I said yes, that set off a lot of excitement among the boys.
I watched their math lesson for today, which consisted of the Rallye Mathématique, a sort of math contest a bit like Academic Decathalon that schoolchildren in France participate in. The teacher gave them six problems to do which were something like mathematical logic puzzles, and they had 30 minutes to work on them however they chose. At the end of the thirty minutes, they wrote their solutions on posters and put them on the board and then sat on the floor and started to discuss them. They did all of this with no intervention from the teacher - he sat in the back with me and told me more about the class and the Rallye in general. He only stepped in when they seemed to need someone to moderate their discussion.
The discussion was interrupted by recess, during which time I went to the teacher's lounge, which overlooks the playground, to have coffee and meet the other teachers. They were interesting people, and we communicated as best we could in my very limited French and their limited English. I was trying to learn more from the teachers about how the school day was structured, and one explained it as "a very long day". I decided not to tell them about my 12-hour days as a high school teacher!
After recess, the mathematical discussion continued, and it was very interesting. I tried to ask some guiding questions, but my French is so poor it was difficult. The teacher could generally translate, though, and he seemed very excited that I (a math professor all the way from America) was helping teach his class!
The school itself was a poor one, with paint peeling from the walls and not enough books or calculators to go around, but the children were enthusiastic and sweet, and the teachers were good. I know I was observing the very best teachers, but I was truly impressed by their skill and knowledge.
That afternoon, I took the tram back to Silvana's flat and we had a quick dinner and went to see The DaVinci Code at the movies. It was better than I expected, considering that the reviews haven't been so good. Silvava is really nice and I had the feeling that night of being out with a friend, which was lovely.
I'm running out of time, so I'll keep this description of Friday's activities short. I spent the morning watching the teacher candidates at the IUFM presenting their final projects. It was interesting, but hard work for me because my French is not very good. Fortunately, I can read quite a bit, so I could follow their slides, at least. We were supposed to have a picnic in the mountains, but it was too cold so we had our picnic in a classroom instead. After that, we drove up into the mountains to a hydroelectric plant for a tour and a visit to their museum. 80% of France's power is from nuclear plants, but the remaining 20% comes mostly from hydroelectric plants in the Alps. The drive was gorgeous, up through a narrow valley on a road that wound through little villages along the way, and up to a beautiful blue lake. The plant was interesting and I learned a lot about how electricity has been made during the last 150 years.
After the tour, everyone went their separate ways for the weekend. I went back to Anne's house to have dinner with her and her husband. She gave me a tour of the supermarket, which you'll know is an interesting thing to do if you've ever travelled. I bought some chocolates and a few other things I will have trouble fitting into my suitcase, and a shopping bag with the supermarket's name on it.
A side note: in many countries, it's typical for people to bring their own bags to the grocery store. There also isn't someone to bag your groceries - you do that yourself. So people bring a market bag with them, and now I have one from Carrefour to take shopping with me at home! Anne (who lived in Austin for a year) said that if there are any French people in Central Market and I am carrying thaht bag, they'll find me!
Dinner was great fun, and very good too. I helped cook, and learned how to make chocolate mousse and salad dressing! Anne and her husband are very nice people, and since they've lived in Austin, we could talk about things around town. They made some suggestions for places we should take the French exchange students next spring, like to certain museums, a cattle market, and an oil field. She also suggested we take them to Fredericksburg, which I agree would be a lovely trip for them.
I slept in this morning and haven't done much of consequence today. I had lunch with Silvana and her daughter Estelle, and watched Silvana start dinner for tonight. She's invited some friends over, which should be interesting. We went and had coffee with a woman whom Silvava said was like a mother to her, a lovely old lady who has to be one of the most charismatic and spunky woman of 73 I've ever met. She'll be at the dinner party tonight, so I'll get to know her better.
And that was my week, more or less! I may have time to post again Monday, since this is a holiday weekend. I'll be visiting schools again on Tuesday and then home on Wednesday morning, so it's coming to an end. I'm so, so glad I did this, though, and I hope to have a chance to do it again. It's been a fantastic experience so far!
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Date: 2006-06-03 06:01 pm (UTC)