le mot "gones"

Went to Lyon today!  One of the teachers I work with offered to take me and a couple fellow assistants for the day.

In French, "les enfants" means "the children."  You can also say "les gamins."  People from Lyon say "les gones."  Weird.  After looking up the correct spelling of "gones" I found this: How to Speak Lyonnais.  Apparently, they use a lot of different words.

Amphitheatre in Lyon

New statue of Pope Jean-Paul II

Basilique Notre Dame de Fourvière

Had a Salade Lyonnaise (lettuce, lardons, poached egg, croutons) for lunch.

A lot of the restaurants have "Bouchon" in the name in Lyon.

My attempt at "playing with perspective."

le mot "châtaigne"

I went to a chestnut festival today in Privas.  There were many variations of chestnuts for sale: roasted chestnuts, jars of chestnut butter, crepes with chestnut butter, chestnut jam, chocolate-covered chestnut paté, raw chestnuts, jars of chestnuts (plain or soaked in cognac), chestnut flour, little cakes made from chestnut flour... Oh, and of course, there was a booth where you could taste test horse meat.

So, a fellow assistant and I walked up to try it.  It was good... I don't think I could tell the difference if you gave me beef or cheval (horse).  So then, a journalist walked up and started interviewing us about horse meat and then the market.  I'm not exactly sure what I said... something about fruits and vegetables being cheaper here in France.  Then she asked us to try another piece of horse meat and she took our picture.  Long story short, I'm pretty sure we're going to be in the Privas newspaper next week.  She said she's going to mail us each a copy!

A picture of a journalist taking a picture of me.

Along with some horse meat grilling in the background.

This was across from the horse meat stand.

This was the activity for kids...making little characters out of vegetables!

le mot "babacool"

This morning, I went to the weekly market, and what did I find??

Kakis!!

I looked it up on Wikipedia, and it is, in fact, a type of persimmon.  I hope they are in season for a few more weeks!

I had mentioned to a teacher I work with that I was looking for a guitar to buy/borrow while I'm here in France.  She emailed me last week to say that her husband is a luthier, and they had a guitar for me to borrow.  She also mentioned that her daughter was coming home for fall break and wanted to practice English with a native speaker.

So, today I met up with her daughter at a cafe.  She goes to college in Lyon, and I'm going to Lyon for the day soon, so I picked up some travel tips.  She also mentioned that the Drôme department is known for being "babacool."  Babacool means hippie, laid-back, there are a lot of music events, it's the first department to go organic, etc.  You know, babacool.

She also told me about the different French TV stations.  I looked up the channel TF1 online when I got home and watched part of an episode of MasterChef.  It was pretty easy to understand, and it was kind of funny to watch the contestants get upset in French.  They also have several versions of Les Experts (a.k.a. CSI, dubbed in French), as well as Danse Avec Les Stars.  I plan on watching the entire season of MasterChef.

Anyway, today was a very productive day.  Finally got some kakis and a guitar!

le mot "boîte de nuit"

I recently learned the term "boîte de nuit," which means nightclub.  Today, I stopped by H&M.  I was looking around, and a mom and a teenage daughter walked by.  The mom pointed at some of the clothing and said, "Je ne l'aime pas trop.  C'est trop boîte de nuit."  (That's too nightclubby).

Went to a restaurant in town tonight that was highly recommended by one of the teachers here.  It just so happens to be across the street from where I live.  I went with the three other language assistants here.  When you open the menu there are three pages of different types of "Criques."  None of us new what that was, but we asked the waiter, and then everyone understood it except me.  Ha.  The waiter said it was a galette/crepe with potatoes plus the ingredients that you choose.  I almost chose the Lily (ham, pineapple and cheese), but instead opted for the Polo (ratatouille and an egg).  The other assistants chose the Oliver Twist and the Croquette.

So, it turns out, a "crique" is hashbrowns with whatever ingredients you chose on top of it.  There are about 50 variations on this theme, and it was good!  I will probably be back..... as it is across the street.

My next project is to get access to French TV (that works).  There's a TV in the shared kitchen.  The DVD player works, but the TV doesn't pick up any channels.  Honestly, I was looking forward to watching French TV... I feel like it would be a good way to pick up common conversation words.  Will keep you posted!

le mot "téléphérique"

Just got back from a five-day trip!  Friday through Tuesday in Valence, then Grenoble, then Autrans.

Our second (and final) teaching orientation was on Monday and Tuesday, so several other Drôme assistants and I decided to go a couple days early to visit Grenoble.  I'm hoping to visit again soon because it's only 1.5 hours away by train.

On Saturday, a couple of us rented bikes and explored the city.  Their bike system is AMAZING!  It was only 3€ for 24 hours.  If you live there, it looked like it was only 15€ per month.

Grenoble seemed to have a lot of Asian restaurants.  On Saturday night, I went to a Chinese/Vietnamese/Thai restaurant with an Italian, a German and a Spaniard.  At one point, we started naming everything in our languages and also in French.

Me: Fork, Spoon, Knife, Chopsticks

Spaniard: Tenedor, Cuchara, Cuchillo, etc...

(By the way, French for chopsticks is "les baguettes.")

The next day, we rode bikes again and went to an outdoor market to get food for the picnic planned for later that day.  I saw an orange fruit that looked like a tomato called "kaki" and decided to buy some.  I'd never heard of it before, and unfortunately they all got smushed into "kakisauce" before the picnic, so I still have no idea what it is!  Maybe next time.

Bike ride courtesy of Métrovélo!

(I believe the aforementioned kakis are in the process of being smashed in that green bag.)

Later that day, we returned the bikes and took le téléphérique to the Bastille above Grenoble.  It was a little scary, but definitely worth it!  Once you get to the top, there's a great view of Grenoble, and then you can take a tunnel and walk through the mountain.

Before...

During!  Trying to stay busy to forget where I am at this moment.

At the top! with my fellow villagers.

Path to the mountain

Looking Up

Looking Down

Not exactly sure where this tunnel is going; luckily there was a light at the end of it.

Went to a pizza restaurant for dinner, and met the other table of people there who happened to be assistants in nearby towns (Montélimar and Pierrelatte), and got drinks with them after.  Ended up being a group of about 18 people!

Now the part about orientation.  Usually, the orientation takes place right when the assistants arrive in France.  This year, it should have been on October 3 and 4, but the rumor going around was that the meeting space wasn't available, so they scheduled it two weeks later on October 17 and 18.  On Monday, the first day, all of the assistants in the Académie de Grenoble (approximately 275 of us) gathered in the auditorium of the district office and listened to various administrative details.  Some of it was useful, but honestly, most of it was not because we've all been here for two weeks and have already opened a bank account, applied for social security and sent in our OFII papers (I'm still not exactly sure what that last thing is.... but I know I've done it!)  The speaker also went through the organization of the French educational system.  On one of the slides, he even went through a list of all of the people who work at a school (nurse, janitor, secretary, etc.  I suppose it was a good French vocab lesson!)

Anyway, at 4 p.m., we all boarded buses to go to Autrans, a small town in the mountains.  It was a 50 minute ride, and they dropped us off at a summer camp.  Six people to a room.  No locks on the doors.  If you need more water at the dinner table, get it from the nearby bathroom sinks.

This photo doesn't really do it justice, but they dropped us off at the camp, and we had free time until dinner at 7:30.  I would say more than half of the 275 language assistants walked into town where practically everything was closed at 5:30.

Taking over Autrans

The next day, we had our education sessions.  I was in the Drôme/Ardèche primary group led by two French teachers.  They gave us a lot of tips, and since we're primary school assistants we got to go outside a lot and play games.  We also practiced techniques for leading workshops of French English teachers, since several of us will be leading conversation groups as part of our work contracts.

Overall, it was a fun trip!

that I picked up a Chicago accent at some point over the last three years

Today, I went to the big city and met up with some fellow language assistants.  We were talking about the upcoming Grenoble region orientation, and I said I thought it was funny that the organizers didn't tell us too much, but they made it very clear on the info sheet that we are supposed to bring socks and towels.  Another assistant goes, "Sacks? Like... bags?"

Then, went to Auchan, the huge Walmart-type store near Valence.  A British assistant showed everyone her favorite French candy that she was buying.  Then, I asked....
Me:  Oh, are they like Dots?
Her: Dats?

So, yes, apparently I have a Chicago accent.

Also, in case you were wondering, they sell Nutella in France.

Another funny thing today.  This is what the person sitting across from me ordered.  Ravioli is a pizza topping!

le mot "expires"

I started teaching today!  All of the kids were really great.  Highlights of the day:

In the CP class (6-year-olds), we worked on What is your name?, How are you?, I'm fine, I'm happy, I'm sad and I'm tired.  Here is an exchange I had with a young boy, let's call him Baptiste.

Me: What is your name?
Baptiste: Fine.
Me: No.  My name is Rebecca.  What is your name?
Baptiste: Happy.

Also, in that class, a little girl came up to me and said "Oh, tu parles bien l'anglais!"  (You speak English well!)

It was funny because at the workshop last week, the language assistants had to give a short presentation about what we would do on the first day.  After I presented mine, one of the French teachers said, "You are going to have kids who say, Oh! I have a cousin who is named Rebecca! and things like that, but you have to keep them focused."

She was right.  After I introduced myself to the 6-year-olds, they raised their hands and had a lot to say:
"My cousin speaks English and German."
"My mother has already been to the U.S."
"I think that Rebecca lives in Lyon and that she comes here to teach us and she goes back to Lyon." (or something like that.)
"I've been to Germany." (Actually, there was a lot of talk about Germany.... not exactly sure what I said!)
"Oh, she came from England."

I think they might end up being my favorite class.

The CP kids were great, and the CE2 (8-year-olds) kids were funny, too.  Basically today, for all 5 classes, I did the same presentation about Chicago.  Showed them a photo of Lake Michigan and skyscrapers, Chicago pizza, and then the Cubs and White Sox.  The CE2 class asked me a lot of questions.  Then one girl (in French) goes, "Can you say all of the animals in English?"  I said, "All the animals??"

So then, everyone's hands shot up.
"Comment est-ce que tu dis zèbre?"  "Zebra."
"Comment est-ce que tu dis serpent?" "Snake."  [unexplained laughter]
"Comment est-ce que tu dis cochon?" "Pig."
"Comment est-ce que tu dis lion?"  "Lion."
Until finally the teacher said "Okay, stop with the animal questions..."

It reminded me of that scene from Love Actually when the British guy goes to Milwaukee and the American girls have him pronounce different words...Ha.

Tonight, I went to yoga where I learned the word expires (pronounced: ek-speer), which means exhale.  It was also a good review of body parts (genoux, tête, pieds....thorax?).  It was a pretty low-key class, and I think I'm going to join for November and December.

When I was first assigned to a small town, I wasn't sure if I would like it or not.  So far, it's been fun, and it seems like everyone knows one another.  The Spanish teacher I had had dinner with last week (see previous post) was at the yoga class, the woman who drove me home from the school today said that her son is in one of my classes at the other school, and the brother of the boyfriend of the language assistant who I went to yoga with works at the lycée where I live.  Six degrees of separation?  More like deux in Crest!

Also, if you would like to feel like you are in France listening to the radio, just listen to this song and this song on repeat.  :)

Sidenote:  I thought this was funny today.  La directrice (prinicipal) of the school gave me a bilingual book to look over and use in the next class.  It's called Silly Lilly and the Four Seasons, and when you flip the book over, it's Mimi Cracra et les Quatre Saisons.  There are four short stories (one for each season) that are about 6 pages each.  The illustrations of both books are exactly the same, except for the one about summer.  Once again, ALL of the illustrations are exactly the same except for these couple pages.  Hmm.. can you tell what's missing?

le mot "virer"

Yesterday I learned that the word virer means "to transfer."  I successfully opened a bank account here, but I realized I didn't have any money it.  So, yesterday I learned virer (to transfer), un virement (a transfer) and un distributeur (ATM) because I had to contact my bank here, and then I had to call my bank in the U.S. via Skype a couple times to figure out how to do it.  I should know on Monday whether or not it worked out!

I spent today in the big city (Valence) with a couple fellow language assistants, where I went to the tourism office, walked around the outdoor market, ate a croque-monsieur, went to the park to look at the river, finally found some nail polish remover, and bought these pants:

France pants.

Photo from www.promod.fr

Haven't gotten buyer's remorse yet, but we'll see.

Part of my work this week has been to transcribe a few clips of children's shows.  Tonight, I did a couple of clips about weather from Sesame Street, and then a couple of Peppa Pig.  I'd never heard of it, but it's pretty cute. Plus, they say cute things like "ice lolly" and "tuck in."  I know that the French teachers are going to ask me what Americans say for "tuck in"... Dig in?  Bon appetit?

Grover from Sesame Street has such a weird voice... I wonder if the French kids will even be able to understand him... I had a little trouble!

le mot "sirop d'érable"

Purchase of the day!

Canada-flavored herbal tea (apple and maple syrup)

that you can visit the Tour de Crest for free if you can prove that you live in Crest

Lots of pictures today!  Today, the Spanish language assistant and I went to the Tour de Crest.  The Tour is the main tourist attraction in Crest. It prides itself on being the highest dungeon in Europe, and it provides an amazing view of Crest and the rest of la Drôme.

The first steps toward the Tour de Crest.

How cats are sold in France?  Placing them on your balcony with a sign that says "For Sale" and an email address.  Saw this on the way up the stairs.

A few more stairs....

Poem sculpture with perfect French handwriting.

The English guide to the Tour of Crest.  As you can see at the bottom of the guide, the Tour was "enriched with sound effects, etc." in 2003.  I'm glad I read this before I went in.  Every once in a while there would be pizzicato strings and ghost-type sounds.

Inside the Tour.  I am 95% sure this is just a sculpture.

The view from almost the top!

At the top, near the flags!

Even higher!

Overall, it was really interesting, and I'm planning to go back several times... it's free!

that a lot of paperwork is involved when moving to a new country

Monday and Tuesday I was at a two-day workshop for the primary school language assistants in the area.  On Monday, we observed a 3rd grade class.  They are learning Halloween vocabulary, so most of the class period was spent learning the phrase, "For Halloween, I dress up as a ____________."  The H sound is hard for them to pronounce, so the teacher exaggerated it a lot to get them to say "hhhh."

Tuesday morning we observed a 1st grade class.  At the beginning of the class, they crouch down and count "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10," and pop up and they're "in England," so they're allowed to only speak English.  At the end of the lesson, they crouch down again and count "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1," and it's back to France.  I might use that in my classes (if I can explain how to do it on the first day).  They're learning the words mother, father, and son through Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  They made a family tree of the Bucket family.  After that, the teaching assistants had a meeting and presented different songs that we might use with our classes.  (Anyone have any ideas?  Suggestions welcome!)

The second part of Tuesday was not so exciting.  They basically reserved the last three hours of the day to do paperwork!  I ended up having seven or so different folders of various copies of important documents.  Photocopies of my passport, visa, bank account, social security application, proof of address, official work contract, birth certificate and a translation of my birth certificate.  I did the translation of my birth certificate, and the French teacher who has been helping me corrected the errors I made.  There was just one that she didn't catch until after she printed it out.  On my birth certificate, it says that my dad's job was Grain Buyer when I was born.

(What I should've put on the translation) Acheteur de graines: Grain Buyer

(What I did put) Acheteur de la graine: Buyer of one piece of grain

Sorry, Dad, but I told the French government that you spent two years in Lubbock, Texas, trying to buy one piece of grain...

Overall, at the workshop we were told we're there to speak English, so ideally we shouldn't speak any French at all with the kids.  I'm going to try my best to do that, but it's hard to stick to English when you have a room full of 22 blank stares!

A few more days of observation this week, and I finally start teaching on Monday!