Monday
Peeling myself up and out of bed felt like a Herculean feat. I got a ride into school with Mme Bodet, her son, and his friend. I was there about an hour early so I grabbed a coffee from the little machine and sat down to read my new book Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis. I’m excited to get through it and see what she has to say.
My first classes were working on how to describe a photo in English. I decided to share some photos from my summer in Ann Arbor and the different nature trips I was able to take. (I’ll share some of them below.) Students talked about what was going on in each photo and described the colors and objects in each photo.
My next groups were talking about using personality traits to describe others. My presentation included Ursula, Mulan, and Olaf. We watched short video clips of each character and then would move on to a picture of them where I would write all the words we would use to describe them. The kids love when I play videos, so I think I’ll have to use one each week. It’s good to practice their listening skills!
I was really frustrated with one of my 6ème groups on Monday. There were five boys who sat in the back and wouldn’t stop talking. My head was pounding and I asked them multiple times to be quiet throughout the class. I gave them one last warning and had them write their names down for me so I could talk to the teacher later that day. Another boy approached my after class to tell me they had been insulting me in whispered voices when I turned around. When I spoke to the teacher she promised they would not be attending my class in the future and that she would write home to their parents about their behavior. I feel bad that they won’t be able to come to class anymore, but honestly it is a bit of a comfort because everyone else in the class is so nice. There’s a little girl in the same class who waves hello to me every time she sees me in the hall and tells me she loves me. It warms my heart.
At lunch I ate with the Italian and German teachers. They were both really nice and it turns out this is everyone’s first year at the school. The Italian teacher is closer to my age and told me she wants to travel around the country with me! I’d love to do it, but I really need to practice either understanding her Italian accent or my Italian!
My final class of the day was the 3ème Euro class. They’ve been working on the United Nations Sustainability Goals for their exchange with the Spanish and the Italian students. We finished the questions and then started brain storming ideas for their Christmas cards. We listened to the iconic Mariah Carey song to finish up the day.
I rode the bus home, completely exhausted. I collapsed on my bed as soon as I got back and fell asleep immediately. I slept for four hours, got up to eat and watch some TikTok, and fell asleep for the night. It was perhaps the most tired I had ever been. I struggled throughout the day to speak French and felt like I had regressed to where I had been in my language skills when I first arrived. It was so frustrating.
Mary-Est-En-France 