November 9, 2020

Monday

My second week in schools! I felt a lot more confident as I started the day. I had my basic routine down. Make my double coffee, eggs, and apple for breakfast. Shower, find an outfit, match my mask, and head out the door. I made it to the bus stop early and was able to listen to my favorite podcast while I waited. I’ve finally figured out how much a bus ticket costs (3.40 euros) so I was able to hop on with ease.

I got to school at 9am so I could take care of hiring paperwork and print out my worksheets. The teacher I was supposed to work with was absent because she was in contact with someone who had COVID, so I didn’t see her classes. Instead, I worked with another teacher’s 5ème classes for two hours. They were super rowdy. We had to yell over them and it was really difficult to get them through the presentation I had prepared. One girl that I met the week before made my day when she presented me with an acrostic poem of my name in English. See below.

I ate with Christel at lunch. There was yogurt, a choice of fruit, the main plate was meatballs and vegetables, and bread. After we ate we went to work with the garden club. The kids were clearing land for the garden and planting bulbs. They seemed to really enjoy it. We all wore high rubber boots because the ground was muddy.

After lunch, I would usually be in another English class. However, I spent the hour with a 6ème French language class. The kids were starting to read the Harry Potter books. They were all extremely excited, because they were being sorted into houses or “les familles” that afternoon. Only one boy got a house he didn’t like, but his housemates cheered him up by nominating him for “house master.” The teacher invited me back for other classes if I was interested. I think I might try to find a copy of Harry Potter so I can read with them.

I visited another new class after this one. It was a 3ème English class. I couldn’t get my presentation to open because of poor cell service, so it was an uphill battle. They did not care about speaking in English. There were two boys who refused to be quiet the entire lesson. It was so frustrating because they were distracting others. I felt like I was having to force people to participate. We went through information about Michigan and the United States together, but there was still a lot of time left. I tried to teach them about American politics, but I don’t think they fully understood. It was difficult, because I am not allowed to speak French with the students, but I also don’t know how much English they actually know.

Finally the end of the day, I had the kids from the 3ème euro class who are the best in the school. We split the group and we introduced Michigan and the 4th of July. It was so much easier to talk with them. Just having a smaller group made things so much more manageable. The children could hear each other and they could help each other with English language formation. I really preferred this. We had time for them to ask extra questions and to get to know each other better. It was a good way to end the day.

Mme Petit picked me up from school to go to see the apartment she was offering. This place was in Anthon, which is somehow smaller than Crémieu. I actually thought it was a good deal 400 euros a month including wifi, utilities and occasional rides to school. They are a retired couple with a huge house on the river and the area I am going to be living in was an apartment where her mother stayed in the last years of her life. I am worried because the town is so small. I hope I will be able to travel to Lyon after confinement. Hopefully having a place will allow me to open a bank account more easily.

I was so exhausted when I arrived back at the apartment I fell asleep for a few hours, made pasta, and went to bed.