So, this is a weird experience... I have never blogged in my life, but I thought I’d give it a go! I apologise now for the mish-mashed nature of this... once i’ve told you everything that’s happened in the last week, I can post chronologically and sensibly, not just have word-vomit and blurt everything in one post.
I’m Rebecca, MLES year 3 at the University of Bath, and I’m starting a 7 month stint as a language assistant in 3 colleges in the Charente-Maritime area of France, famous for their milk, boats and not a lot else. I’m getting used to being introduced as ‘la petite anglaise’ to everyone I meet; being short, stammering quit appalling French (which I’m hoping will improve) and looking only about 16 years old instead of my actual 20 are probably the reasons.
Despite the British Council insisting that I go to 3 colleges, resulting in two 60km round-trips twice a week without public transport (thanks for that, BC), I seem to have landed on my feet with everything else. I am teaching in a little commune called Courçon, which is located in the middle-of-nowhere, so relying on various teachers to take me and bring me back is not reassuring; in Surgères, a small town accessible by only 2 trains and 2 coaches each day, once again, relying on various teachers for lifts, and a school in what the locals describe as the “ethnic suburbs” of La Rochelle, which is a lot closer to where I live. La Rochelle and the surrounding area always strikes me as very comfortable, white and middle-class, so I was a little taken aback to hear the locals speaking with such disdain about the “ethnic outskirts”. The schools themselves are small but well equipped, with lovely teachers and pupils with a scarily good grasp of English!
I start teaching tomorrow, but until the Toussaint vacation (a 2 week ‘half-term’ at the end of October), I’ve been told I will just be observing lessons and talking over potential lesson plans with the teachers rather than teaching straightaway. I know a lot of people are being thrown in the deep end and being set to ‘real’ work straight away, but in some ways, however lazy it sounds, I’m quite glad I’ve got a few weeks to monitor class behaviours and teaching styles – and especially as I have 3 quite different schools, I’ll have a lot to plan and think about!
Ah, the all important subject of housing! I was lucky that I found somewhere before coming out here, on sites like appartager.fr and recherche-colocation.com, but was obviously taking a chance on them not being dodgy... so I’d recommend probably booking into a hostel then finding something, it just so happens that Lady Luck was smiling on me the day that i phoned Daniel and found this house! Double bed, 50 metres from the sea, all bills included, heated swimming pool... sometimes it doesn’t feel like I’m actually on my year abroad at all! I can’t believe how lucky i’ve been and i often feel guilty for having found it!
I’m sharing a house in a place called Angoulins-sur-mer, about 5km away from La Rochelle, with a couple in their mid-50s, retired and very parent-like, a French student called Cindy and an American language assistant called Caroline. Caroline and I live in the little sort of annex/cottage thing at the bottom of the garden; mine and Caroline’s rooms are joined by a shared bathroom, but we still have free run of the house and get all our food made for us! :) They also have a small motor boat that we got taken out in on Monday afternoon; it’s all a little surreal to be honest. The frivolities of boat trips and bike rides will diminish as I get into an assistant routine of getting up at 6.30am in order to get to my far-away schools.
Sunset from the terrace:
Daniel and Josiane, my new French parents, have been nothing but helpful since I moved in nearly a week ago. Their kids have grown up and moved away so i think they miss having dependants and people to fuss over, so they did a lot of research into what us assistants needed to do, what accounts we needed open and where we need to be; they have stacks of bus and train timetables, bank details and insurance forms etc. Yesterday we spent a whole day with Daniel, who took us to open our bank accounts at BNP Paribas (good accounts for assistants as they charge the least and let you take money out of non-BNP Paribas ATMs), then took me to my principal school in Surgères to sign my paperwork and get my attestation, then took us to the MGEN office to sign up for the Sécurité Sociale. I really have been so lucky in finding someone to help me do all the stuff that would otherwise confuse me!
Today is another sorting out day, I’m off now to La Rochelle en bus, to buy my 12-25 SNCF card (up to 60% train fare discounts, yes please) and a French mobile, because I can’t count the amount of times I’ve been laughed at when I’ve written my English mobile number down, complete with country calling code....
I found an old kettle just chilling out in one of the cupboards today which made me incredibly happy; I can make tea without boiling water on a stove. Josiane described my cup of tea as looking “like bile”, which was a lovely image. They just don’t understand such sophisticated culture!
I shall update this weekend with my first teaching experiences!
A plus tard xx
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