Écosse, Alba, Scotland...

Because spending time in France for vacation, while potentially fun, can be rather tiring after a while, I am presently in Scotland. 'Twas a long, long day of travel with about 11 hours in all on trains (including a late train into Paris and the RER D not properly functioning!), but I was surprised with much warmer temperatures here than in France. And, despite the delays, everything went surprisingly well coming here (very fast and painless passage through Immigration, very friendly staff otherwise), so that puts me in an even better mood. Joy.

In all, I'll be in Edinburgh for four nights, after which point I'll head southward to Cardiff, Wales, for a few days... then London... then back to France. In all, I'm looking forward to this being a nice, relaxing vacation with lots of pictures taken and the ability to get lots of stuff for sending to the US and for sharing with people I like in Clermont-Ferrand. Like food.

Anyways, more will come later, but I just felt like making a quick update. With that, have a good week.

The Snow in France Falls Mainly... Somewhere

While, indeed, it is winter here in Auvergne, we haven't had any snow. That is, until this week.

On Monday, while there was a rather light dusting, it wasn't anything major; it seemed a lot like what one would have in North Carolina, if anything. Tuesday, however, brought with it a significantly greater amount: approximately 10 centimetres (4 inches). And it's still continued through today. In fact, as I type this post, snow is still coming down; not a deluge, fortunately, but still in a significant quantity. Yes, it does disrupt some things, like public transport (thus meaning students don't come to school), but, at the very least, the scenery can be very pretty.

Also, in strange things today, due to absences of many of the teachers I work with at my collège, I didn't end up working there today. Which made me sad; I really do like working there. In exchange, though, I got to meet with another group of BTS/sandwich course students who made me wish I could see them on a regular basis instead of the one class who doesn't like to open their mouths. Yeah, their level of English wasn't the best, but they tried! And that's the most important thing: being willing to try, and being open to taking chances. In fact, three of the students decided that they wanted to go to the UK for the Easter Vacation, and I'm rather happy. I'm not British, but I just love hearing about people travelling and people willing to get out and see the world, even if it is just a few hundred kilometres away from home. (Then again, here in France, a few hundred kilometres can easily put you in another country.)

The planning for the big trip to the UK is going well; I'm still trying to figure out what to do for the Wales legs, but I do have the train tickets and passes. This is a very good thing, so now I don't have to pay an arm and a leg for travelling within the UK. I certainly won't be driving, and buying the train tickets on the day of travel is really, really expensive there (unlike Germany, where, even on the day of travel, the ticket prices still don't go up too much, save for the express trains).

In between continuing the grad school applications and other fun things, I might get another post in soon on more of the behaviors of the wild Frenchmen. Though, on a positive note, I did submit my paperwork for my contract renewal, so, now, I just need to wait for the evaluation to be done and, after that, wait to hear back from them. Hopefully, I'll get a response from someone, school or CIEP, soon, because I really want to know what I'll be up to next year. I did get something from another school wanting me to apply to them, and we'll see how that works out as well.

So, with that, have a good rest of your week.

Let the Fun Continue...

The program I'm on in France allows U.S. citizens to participate twice, either in two consecutive years in the same Académie or two nonconsecutive years in either the same or different regions. Of course, for the second consecutive year, one normally gets placed towards the bottom of the queue for receiving an assignment (as the intention is to first give an opportunity to the people who applied for a first year over the people who are applying for a renewal), so it's not guaranteed. Which is why I'm applying to graduate schools (admittedly, though, not very hard... Minnesota and Florida State are the big ones for now) as a back-up plan.

However, I am applying for a second year in France. I know, I'm crazy, but there are several reasons:
1.) I like my job and I like where I'm at here in France. If I like the situation I'm in, why change it?
2.) Giving myself an extra year will allow me a bit more time to earn some cash and also to get some more experience working abroad, plus it'll also give me the chance to get the other test that many graduate schools in Physics want or require. It's a test that's only offered thrice a year, and, to be honest, it was impossible to get it done last year.
3.) Another year in France will give me more of a chance to improve my French, which desperately needs improvement.

But I'm not going to do the Germany-France two-step that I did last year. Simply put, the issue with the visas and residence permits arises again: I'd have to get an entry visa for Germany due to my stay in France, and that's a fun adventure requiring a trip to Paris or Atlanta (depending on where I'd be at the time). As much as I love Germany, it's probably not a good idea. Not to mention my passport is almost full, and I intend to do at least a bit of travelling this summer.

Speaking of this summer, I'm thinking of giving myself a self-birthday present with a trip out of the US. I'm thinking Canada, Mexico, or someplace in the Western Hemisphere this time, but definitely out of the US. But we'll see.

There and Back Again

It's been a long time since the last post, and a lot has happened in that timespan. Namely, I went to Paris, then back to the United States, and I finally came back to France ov
er the course of two weeks. And now it's back to work.

As most of you know, I went back to the US for the vacances de Noël (winter/Christmas vacation) because of the fun with my airplane ticket: it was cheaper to purchase a round-trip ticket to Germany and back from France back in May than it was to buy

a single one-way ticket. Accordingly, I decided that a quick return to the US wasn't a bad idea: I'd be able to drop some things off, grab any of the varying things I had forgotten in the US and realized would make my stay in France better. So, in all, it'd be a win-win.

So, on 16 December, I went up to Paris. After all, since I had to go to Charles de Gaulle Airport on the 19th and be there at an ungodly hour, why not arrive a few days in advance to do the sightseeing thing? And the stay in Paris was well worth it... I did most of the usual tourist activities, such as visiting Notre Dame, Sacré-Coeur, the Musée du Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, the Musée de Quai Branly, the Tour Eiffel, the Arc de Triomphe, La Défense... as expected, it was a lot of moving around, but it was also a lot of fun. The thing that made it even more fun was that most of the monuments offered free/reduced admission charges to young EU residents (of which I am one, and have been since July), the exception being the Louvre, and the cheap day-ticket available for under-25's on the weekends.

And, as they say, don't try to see all of the Louvre in one day: it won't end well. But don'

t just go straight for the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, and Winged Victory: there are a lot of other things to see. But I still preferred the Musée d'Orsay due to it having more of the things I really liked and despite its "no photography" rule that seems to be a recent innovation (it wasn't there the last time I went to said museum...

After the fun in Paris, it was time to brave Charles de Gaulle Airport, the bane of many

travellers. Naturally, it's not in the city of Paris, but getting there involves either an expensive train ticket or a long bus ride. I chose the bus ride because the bus went right to the terminal I left from; surprisingly, though, the whole process of getting through the airport was straightforward with few long lines. Granted, the passport control officer gave me an entry stamp instead of an exit stamp, but it wasn't too grave at that point. However, the terminal in question (Terminal 1) seemed rather barren; not a lot of shops or cafés available, especially once one made it through security.

Then came the nine hour plane flight. Yes, nine hours... it was long, and me sleeping on planes is a rare feat. We finally arrived at Charlotte-Douglas Airport and, unlike my experiences clearing Customs in Toronto, the officers were actually rather friendly and polite even after getting randomly selected for extra screening (though, fortunately, no unpacking and repacking my luggage was involved). Definitely a plus. After the fun of that, rechecking my bag, and going back through security, it was time to get on airplane number 2 to Raleigh. Fortunately, the second flight was a bit shorter: 50 minutes rather than several hours. Once I got on the ground, I went out, found my father, grabbed my bags, and then we got in the car for the hour-and-a-half car ride back to Stedman.

Break was, unsurprisingly, rather calm and relaxing. I got my driver's license practically as soon as I got back, so I'm now able to torment the roads both in the US and in France (with a translation of my license, of course). But, otherwise, not much happened... lots of eating, video games, spending time with family, playing Magic the Gathering with my brother and my mother's friend, taking pictures, and working on graduate school applications. With only 12 days on the ground in the States, though, the time went by very quickly and, before we all knew it, it was time to go back to France.

So, on New Year's Eve, with my father and my evil brother, we took the three-hour trip to Charlotte again. This time, my flight plan was an hour-long flight to Atlanta, a five-hour layover, and then eight hours to Paris. This was a rather uneventful trip, if not particularly boring... the Atlanta airport at least had reasonably inexpensive places to eat, but not many. We got into Paris a bit ahead of schedule, but finding the RER station was rather confusing due to the fastest route there being blocked off for some unknown reason (while the RER to the city is expensive, quite frankly, I was tired and didn't want to have to deal with the bus again). From there, I then took the RER and Métro to the train station and, after even more waiting round, got on the train to Clermont-Ferrand, arriving there late on the first and deciding to crash pretty much immediately.

In all, the trip back to the States was a good idea despite not having much time on the ground there. I did get a lot of stuff to give out to my students and the teachers I work with, not to also mention some more stuff for show-and-tell (like a North Carolina flag). And now it's time to start planning the next trip... I'm thinking the UK. Or Turkey.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

The month of December has arrived, and with it come all the fun things that Christmas in France entails. All throughout Clermont-Ferrand, once can see workers busily setting up lights galore, a pretty Christmas tree, a Ferris Wheel, a Christmas Market near the Place de la Victoire... the season officially starts on 3 December, so there'll probably be some pictures then. Also, over in Lyon, the Fête des Lumières will be next weekend (note to self: avoid Lyon on those days. Go earlier in the week, maybe next Wednesday, or right before I head up to Paris). Students are getting eager and anxious to go on vacation.

And I'm getting ready to head back to the US for the break... which means I have a few more things to do. Like book my return ticket to France... oh, wait, I have! I fly back to France on the 31st of December and back to North Carolina on the 1st of May, but plans are subject to change. At the very least, though, my stay in the US has the added benefit of allowing me to go on a bit of a shopping spree and acquire some things both the teachers and the students might like. So that's definitely a bonus.

However, today also marks the day when I'm now a French resident! Or at least until 1 May. After 56 days of headaches, waiting around, teeth gnashing, and lots of phone calls, I was able to run to the OFII (Office Français de l'Intégration et de l'Immigration) here in Clermont-Ferrand, give them my medical certificate and a few other papers, and walk out of the préfecture building with a nice, shiny sticker to validate my visa and allow me to stay in France until the 1st of May. I might be able to get permission to stay a bit longer, but, right now, that's the date I'm working with.

In all, work is generally going very well here. Other than the one class I have who doesn't seem to talk, either out of fear, volition, or a dislike for the assistant (hopefully not the last of them), all of my classes are great. Of course, there are always the students who don't seem to want to talk, but one group seems to be opening up a lot more and I'm now getting everyone to talk, whether it be in French mixed with English, English mixed with French, or English outright. That makes me really happy. And, of course, the teachers are also great, especially the ones at the collège: there are fewer of them, but they're almost all very friendly and very willing to put up with me butchering the French language.

So, with that, have a good rest of your week and a good start to your Christmas/holiday season.

The outsider looking in

Being taught in schools in one country definitely gives one an interesting framework through which one views the system in another country. And, having worked here for two weeks now, I've been paying a lot of attention to how the schools here work, some of the aspects of the system here in France stand out more prominently than others.

• Bell rings for a game of musical rooms- at least in the US, with most primary and secondary schools that I've seen, the usual is that the teacher remains in the same room while the students move from one room to another as needed. There are some teachers who were "nomadic", at least at my high school, who changed rooms, but those were infrequent and the rule was that teachers had their own rooms.
  Here, not so. None of the rooms are permanent, so it's a bit more like university in the US and UK: both the students and the teachers switch rooms frequently. Therefore, the "room" for the teachers is the salle des professeurs, analogous to the teacher's lounge in the US. And at both my collège and lycée, it's a rather nice little room: coffee/beverage vending machines, some snacks, computers, and the mailboxes. So, naturally, most of the teachers are in here when they don't otherwise have classes. (Or if they're not smoking a cigarette.)
• University-like scheduling- Unlike the standard in the US, where one meets for fixed periods at fixed times throughout the week, that's not what happens here. Most students will see a teacher for two to three hours per week for a total of about 30 hours of classes per week, and the teachers, accordingly, are assigned to work not the same hours. Not to mention there's a nice two-hour lunch break and several pauses de récréation throughout the day, so the students, unlike in US middle and high schools, aren't running from 8:30 to 3:30 with only a 30 minute break. In a way, it's also nice for the teachers.
• Wine for the teachers- How else would they get through the day? Okay, I know, not all of them drink it, but teachers can have wine with their meals here at the lycée. As I explained to one of the teachers I'm working with, that'd be a huge no-no in the States. Part of it, of course, comes in that most teachers drive to and from work, and the other part is that people in the US are very strict about enforcing the drinking age and prohibiting access to alcohol by people under 21, so it's slightly illegal (at least) to bring alcohol to a high school.
• Stuck together like glue- In the States, the same group of students doesn't take the same classes after elementary school: you pick your schedule and you move around. Here in France, though, it seems like the same groups of students, all chosen based on the classes they take and their degree program, move together throughout the school day for their classes.

As the year progresses, I'll have more observations to add. Probably.

What's great is that the teachers here are very friendly, and it makes me want to spend more time with them. Especially at the collège, since I'm only there for one day each week... and not at all this upcoming week, as it's vacation time! Oh, yeah, and the French are serious about vacations: the normal rhythm here is 6 weeks on and 2 weeks off, it feels, with two months instead for the vacances d'été. Next week are the vacances de Toussaint, and they last until the 3rd of November (well, in any event, I go back to work on the 4th).

So, yeah, have a good week/weekend, and more stuff will probably materialize over break.

Qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons!

I've been here in the beautiful Auvergne region for about two weeks now, and I must say that I'm impressed. It's been a bit of an adventure, especially with a public transportation strike the first few days I was here, but it's otherwise been great so far.

Part of why I waited a bit to write some more is because I wanted to actually work with my students for the first time and see what I was working with. As I mentioned before, I'm working at a collège in a suburb of Clermont-Ferrand for 3 hours per week and the remaining 9 hours are at a lycée in the southeastern part of the city. I did meet the teachers (or most of them, at least) and many of the students, and it's going to be fun. The teachers are all incredibly nice, always willing to help (it seems) and friendly in general. In all, I'm working with six different teachers and a total of twelve different classes, each class for one hour per week and generally up to about 15 people in a class (so the sometimes large classes are split up).

At the collège, I'm right now working with students in troisième (3e), so they're all from 13 to 16 years old and preparing for the brevet, an examination given at the end of the year that determines what school they're best suited for at the lycée level. As for the lycée, I'm working with both students in seconde (2e) and post-baccalauréat students who are completing a technical program before licensure rather than immediately going to university. The system here in France is, needless to say, a bit different than that in the US, and one of the lessons I do have planned is a discussion about the differences between the educational systems and, really, how the US high-school experience is different from that in France. And, as I'm working a lot with the speaking skills of the students, talking about more "interesting" topics should help with sparking their interests and, really, getting them to speak.

As for the speaking, well... most of the students are very timid, it seems. I hope to get them to speak more, and it'll hopefully get better as time passes.

So, that's it really in a nutshell. Now for some quick tidbits/observations:

• Beer is sold in fast food restaurants, like McDonald's. Conversely, it's sold very rarely at those in Germany, from what I remember.
• Prices here in France are hit-or-miss compared to Germany. Sometimes, they're quite a bit cheaper (especially for food), but most of the time it's roughly the same price or a bit more. What's interesting, though, is that more food is taxed at the lower VAT rate here in France than in Germany (so, here, soft drinks are taxed at 5.5% rather than 19.6%, whereas they're subject to the full 19% in Germany).
• Getting around Clermont-Ferrand is a bit different: it's mostly bus-based, but there is a tram line that, conveniently, is right near where I'm currently staying. And tickets are a bit cheaper here compared to in Germany (and the UK, for that matter).
• House hunting is... well, different. The terminology is rather different, rules for renting are stricter for both ends, and the prices may or may not have charges (utilities) included. So it's really a case of looking very carefully at the fine print.

So, yeah, it'll be a good seven months, I don't doubt. And, with that, have a good rest of your week.