November 23, 2020

Monday

Today was one of those days where you wake up exhausted. I could feel the bags under my eyes. Naturally, I was running behind my usual pace. I heard a knock at the door at 8:30 and discovered Mme Bodet standing outside. She asked if I was ready to leave for school, the boys had to be there by 9. I had thought we were leaving at 9! Oof. I ran to grab my shoes and my bag (luckily I had packed it on Sunday) before hopping out the door.

We zipped through the countryside at that terrifying pace all European cars seem to have. A thick fog enveloped the rolling hills. The leaves of all the plants were crisp with frost. The temperature hovered around 30 degrees.

We piled out of the car and marched into school together. I went directly to the staff room while the boys found their friends. When the bell rang at 9, I marched confidently down the hall and found my class. I kept waiting for Corinne to arrive and to allow the students into the room, but she didn’t. I let them in and told them to sit down, only to have a male coworker approach me to ask if I was in the wrong classroom. He told me he teaches science at 9 in that room every Monday. I realized that in my morning haze, I thought it was 10am and that I had stolen another professor’s class! Whoops! Not my finest moment.

I apologized profusely and scurried down the hall to the staff room. It was empty, so I took the opportunity to try out the coffee machine. It allows you to choose a drink, your level of sugar, and your type of flavoring. I accidentally poured two straight espresso shots, but on my third try I was successful in getting a vanilla cappuccino (I did pour in my extra shots). I got to sit back and read the book I brought along! It was a great way to turn on my brain.

My book was on theme for the day. Both of Corinne’s 3ème classes were preparing for the oral exam on detective stories. They all have to be able to answer questions as detectives and witnesses at a crime scene. I took the opportunity to get a little creative. I had two students from each group come to the front of the room to act as detectives. Their job was to interrogate their classmates because they were all suspects in a murder investigation. By the end of the class, we would find the killer together. I had 4 groups at this level. Each had a different story. One said the victim Cathy Christophe was poisoned in her swimming pool by a jealous lover, another said that a Mr. V was killed by his boyfriend for money.

I thought it was interesting, both groups suggested that one of their classmates was in a homosexual relationship with the fictional victim of the crime. They all laughed at their classmate because they thought suggesting someone was gay was funny. I made sure to step in and confirm that we shouldn’t make fun of someone for being gay and that it is alright to be in a gay relationship. It felt strange seeing kids have the same conversations I saw in middle school, but instead I was able to step in and say something about homophobia.

I spent time with my two 6ème groups talking about Thanksgiving. These students are pretty young, so they really had no idea what it was. I had to explain the meaning of Native Americans and how they were different from the Pilgrims. I tried to explain that “Indian” is an outdated term for a Native person and I think they got it, so I was pretty proud! We talked about movie premiers on Thanksgiving and we watched the Frozen trailer (because it came out on Thanksgiving).

For lunch, one of the 3ème groups prepared a “Thanksgiving” meal. It was definitely a mix of the two cultures. We started with “carrot cake” that was more of a bread (but yummy). There was coleslaw, but I am not a fan. We had a small cheeseburger with a side of green beans. For dessert there was “pumpkin pie” that was more of a tarte with a custard dipping sauce. We finished with coffee. I sat with Christel, Corinne, another professor, and the two principals.

I ended the day with the Euro class. One group talked about the United Nations Sustainability Goals. I thought this was really hard for them and they didn’t seem very interested. However, they are preparing for a meeting with Italian students online where they will be talking about the goals in English. They second group is not as strong, so we talked about how to bake pumpkin pie. This was really hard for me because I hate cooking. I also have never been taught French baking vocabulary. A tough mix. We struggled through and one of my students offered to show me to the bus because we live in the same village. I hopped on my first bus ride with my card and headed home.

I had a few hours to chill before I went to the Bodet’s for dinner. I didn’t go Sunday night and when I climbed in the car this morning Mme Bodet made sure to ask me to dinner tonight. I guess I’m officially booked at 7:30pm, folks! We watched the news, had a glass of wine, and sat down at the dining room table. We had fried noodles with veggies and chicken. For dessert there was an apple crisp.

After dinner, Yanza told me that his class was taking a trip in March to Auschwitz. I was shocked! It’s so strange to hear someone, let alone an 8th grader, say that they would traveling to a concentration camp. This year the students are learning about WWII, so they’re taking a field trip there to gain a better level of comprehension. Daniel took some time to go over the basics of WWII with Yanza before he headed off to do some math homework.

I walked home to chat with friends and get ready for the morning.