Settling in....?

Bonjour, readers of America! I've been in Le Havre for a week now, so things are slooooowwwwwlllyyyyy starting to fall into place. I still don't have a set schedule or routine, but I can see one on the horizon. Since I last wrote, I made some friends, explored a bit, and got a taste of my working life here.

Over the weekend I ran into some other English assistants at the YMCA, so we organized a dinner in town and got to know each other better. It was fun, and obviously great to meet some people my age. So far, I've met assistants from the States, the UK, and Australia. I saw some of the same girls later in the weekend for a coffee by the beach. There, I had my first weird food experience when I accidentally ate a gizzard salad. I didn't recognize the word for gizzard in French, but I went for it anyway, because the waitress said it was yummy. When the plate arrive, it instantly became clear that I was about to eat gizzards. Which I did. And they weren't bad!

Monday we went to Rouen (the administrative capital of Haute-Normandie) for an administrative kind of day. I thought we were going to be trained in how to teach English. But no. We filled out paperwork all day. I'm going to get so good at filling out paperwork by the end of this; the W-4 won't know what hit it. For the moment, my paperwork appears to be complete, though I the French keep telling me that I can never be sure. Also it's become clear that I will be receiving zero training, which is part humorous, part horrifying.

Tuesday I FINALLY found out what schools I will be teaching at, and Janick (my contact) took Faye (assistant from Michigan), Nichole (assistant from California), and myself on a tour. We visited the 8 schools we will be working at (2 for Faye and myself, 4 for Nichole. Incidentally, it is explicitly against the rules to work at more than 3 schools.) More surprises for me! I have been posted at high-priority/low performance/bad behavior schools. Honestly, the worst thing about this is that the schools are in the banlieus which are a loooong commute from the city center. When Janick told me they were farther out, my first thought was that they were going to be very fancy, but then I remembered that that is not how French city planning goes. The biggest plus: so many West African kiddies! Tuesday night I was kind of a big stressball though, but a lot of that came from the many hours I was assigned as a teacher for "Sportsday." Aka gym. (Evidently, my roles in this project include shouting words like "run" and "jump" at a mob of crazy 10 year-olds. Really France? That's what you want to use me for?)

Today I did some observation in one of my schools, and I loved it, even though I will mostly be doing "sportsday" there. The staff was extremely warm and welcoming and excited to have us there. Except for the "sportsday" teacher. He seemed just as confused as I am about why on earth I was there to "intervenir" in such a subject. Incidentally, another teacher actually wants me to teach English with her, so I'm going to try and get my schedule changed around, despite Janick's best efforts to keep me in "sportsday." And she is putting a lot of effort into it.

My first reactions to French elementary schools are really positive from my one day in the classroom. The teacher we were with was super progressive and into group projects and learning for learning's sake, etc. and the interest the kids have in our presence seems promising. One brave girl came up to Nichole and myself and asked where we were from. When I said New York, her response was to gasp "Oh! La chance!" A-dor-a-ble. Another red headed girl was less brave, and simply turned around in her chair to stair at us. For over an hour.

Tomorrow I will do observation in my other school, which seems pretty rough around the edges. Afterwards, I head to Paris to get my LSAT on. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

A la prochaine!