Times have changed

So my second last day (and thus my last last day) was in Marly.  I always remember it being a really fun and carefree time where I could have friends sign my yearbook or watch movies with the class with popcorn and coke~crazy stuff that would never fly in September at school.  The French students take the last day of school to a whole new level (but I have a suspicion that it's the same in the US).  When I arrived at school, one of my classes was in the library throwing an unbirthday party for their teacher with cake, candy, soda, and presents.  They were excited to see I had arrived early and had even prepared for my unbirthday as well.  Look at the fun gifts I got~

A box of fancy chocolates~they are in the fridge so they don't become one big glob of ganache goo in our summer heat.

A charming orange necklace that went well with my blue top for the last day of school.  So cute and so unexpected.  I've really been spoiled.

After the impromptu birthday fete (where we sang in both English and French), I spent some time chatting with Lucie and Marion (like Maid Marion in Robin Hood) about their summer vacation plans.  As for "class" time, I barely made it through a short explanation of Independence day in the US, showed the cartoon (scroll to the next entry to enjoy) on my laptop, and handed out word searches and paper hearts for their own fun.  A number of students wrote me notes on what they loved about learning English~I've tucked them all away so that I can read them later when I really really miss them.  Little Pauline took a bunch of pictures; hopefully she'll send some my way...

For the rest of the morning it was all fun and games.  We listened to the Black Eyed Peas, Michael Jackson, and (surprisingly) the Eurythmics.  Who are these kids?  They brought all kinds of board games, but the rooms were dominated by DS and PSP players.  Many a child snapped a photo of me with their little hand held gaming devices~I must be getting old; when I was a kid Gameboys didn't even have color screens... I tried to stick with the kids who wanted to draw or play games that didn't involve batteries.  I spent the better part of my morning playing Qui est-ce? (better known as Guess Who? in English) with Quentin, Anne-Sophie, and Lea.  What a great game for beginner foreign language students.  If I ever become a French teacher in the US, you know what we are doing Friday afternoons...

Friday was a super fun day~it felt like Camp Nowhere because the teachers were having their own fun elsewhere in the school.  I'll never forget how much fun we had~I'm going to miss my little frenchies.  Hopefully they'll all get on facebook, drop me a message, and when they are grown up, they can visit me in America.  That'd be a dream come true.  In the meantime, I'll just make sure to visit them in September at their schools (minus all my soon-to-be middle schoolers) before we depart for good for home.  Le sigh~what a difficult job, but what a good job...

C'est la vie...

In an exceptional moment where life surprises me with such a unique encounter, I rarely have my wits about me to speak a word.  Today I was witness to a conversation which I could not have anticipated so I just sat and absorbed all I could take from it.  It all started this morning.  I went into school early to finish administering the oral portion of a standardized test with one of my fifth graders.  It only took a few minutes, and I was grateful when Marie Odile invited me to have a coffee with her before the whirlwind of lessons consumed the rest of my day.  She's an administrator at the school and one of my favorite people with whom I work.  Not long after we were seated with mugs in hand, Madame Corny (our school's principal) requested if a 4th grader could join us.  As a child it would have been quite a privilege to be hosted by adults in the forbidden teachers' lounge.  Something unfortunate had occurred with Alexandre to afford him this opportunity.

Last weekend Alexandre's grandmother died.  I learned this before I even learned his name.  He's not one of my students because his teacher instructs English quite well despite being French.  Before long I discovered that Alexandre has a 17 year old brother and a 5 year old sister.  He had been excused from class because he was overwhelmed by the sadness and grief of losing his "mami".  She was 80 years old.  His parents had insisted on him attending school today as he would be absent tomorrow for her funeral.

I was struck by two things.  The first being that Alexandre, who is probably 9 or 10 years old, was so close and knew so much about his grandparents.  At some points, I believed I was close with my grandparents.  It's complicated for me; divorce in my family has yielded more grandparents than a Piccadilly cafeteria could.  In truth, I've known 5 grandmothers, 1 great-grandmother, and 4 grandfathers.  As we speak (or rather, as you read), there are likely to be more because I have never met my father's current wife.  Some may suggest that marriage simply does not a family make.  This is beside the point that I really want to focus on.  All I'd really like to say is that I've had 10 opportunities to be close to one grandparent yet have never had the kind of relationship which little Alexandre seemed to share with his grandmother.  Though I don't envy his loss, I do envy that special kind of love between grandparents and grandchildren.

A second aspect resonated with me.  As I was made mute by the seriousness of the conversation, I listened attentively to all that Marie Odile said to comfort Alexandre.  Each time Alexandre spoke and a new wave of tears began streaming down his face, she aimed to prevent him from really crying.  This is not to say she was unkind to him.  Rather she spoke to him as if he was much older.  She asked good questions about his grandmother, and while he answered, she said, "c'est la vie."  Marie Odile repeated phrases like "80 is a good age" and "there's a certain age when it's normal to expect/anticipate death" or "she lived a full life".  The last expression has a way of sounding lovelier in French {elle a bien vécu}.  To my astonishment, she went on to tell Alexandre that one day his mother would die, his sister would die, each member of the family would die.  It's simply a part of life.

I'm not sure if I would have approach the situation with such a realist perspective.  I'd rather scoop up Alexandre and let him cry and talk about his grandmother.  I'd hope to tell him that what he learns in his religion class is important because if what the Bible says is true, then there need not be any fear of death.

A brief time out~I am aware that a number of my friends who read this blog are not Christians.  I'm not trying to pull a fast one on you and force my religion on you.  If you'd rather avoid the Jesus talk, please feel free to scroll on below where I have much to share in the Show & Tell portion.

God has a special way of promoting certain themes in my life when it seems he wants me to understand something.  Alexandre's loss has helped me synthesize some of my reflections on what has been coming up in Bible study, church, and devotion time.  A couple of weeks ago, I would have told you that the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ were complicated to explain.  Thankfully, our friend Steve said that it's not complicated, but it is complex.  What Christ achieved was immense, and for me, life altering.  Early in my faith I understood that he died for my sins; that is, he took the punishment for all the wrong I've done and will do in my life.  I have but to believe in him and repent to not be condemned to death.  I also knew that by God's power to resurrect Jesus' life, death had been defeated.  If I can trust that Jesus came back to life, I am free to believe that God can even give me a new life.  Sorry for Gospel 101; I know many of you get this already.

What I'm only now fully starting to learn is how this fits with the fall of man and our natural state.  Before Adam and Eve sinned, God told them that if they ate from the tree of knowledge of good and evil they would surely die.  The serpent convinced them that this was not true; instead they could eat from it and be like God.  God had not lied.  In their disobedience, they sinned.  The consequences for sin is death.  Ever since that day, we have been born into a state where we cannot help but sin, and thus according to God's judgment we deserve death.  There you have Cliff's notes on Genesis 1-3.

I want to put this in other words.  When God created Adam and Eve, he intended for them to live forever in relationship with him.  As soon as they had corrupted themselves, they were bound to perish.  Not to get all dorky, but I loved taking biology at Tech.  One of the things important about plant life and the biosynthesis is the production of ethylene~a hormone which can yield many plant responses.  External triggers (like the changing of a season) can prompt a plant to release this gas.  As ethylene is a ripening agent, it speeds up the shelf life of a fruit, for instance.  It hastens the changing of the leaves on a tree in autumn.  It's a catalyst for plant maturity.  The tricky thing about ethylene is that it affects neighboring plants.  As they say, one bad apple spoils the bunch.  In truth, it's more like one super ripe banana will wipe out your whole crisper.  How does this relate to our first parents?  It is to say that ethylene to me is biology's illustration of sin.  The plant is always able to produce it, but an external factor can provoke the production of ethylene prematurely.  Once it is released, it can spread easily to the individual plants living closest to the original producer.  In the same way, Adam and Eve were always capable of sinning; however, they didn't until they were both tempted.  Eve sinned first, and Adam, being her closest companion, readily accepted the same sin.  It's not a direct parallel, but I like the comparison.

To take the analogy further (if you can bear it), it is like we are living in a perpetual late fall/early winter in terms of sin.  So long as plants are releasing ethylene in this season, there will be no new growth on a tree, shrub, porch planter, etc.  Similarly, so long as there is sin in our lives, there can be no new life in Christ.  We are born into this state~ into a world where life seems to mature too quickly and end abruptly in death.  As Marie Odile said, c'est la vie~that's life.  She, along with many others, accept that this is how it must be.  There is no changing it.  One can easily see how openly death is embraced in French literature~ though not exalted or praise, no French classic is complete without death.

I see vividly now that it need not be this way.  It certainly is not permanently Fall for me.  In the same way that scientist have discovered Aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), Aminooxyacetic acid (AOA), and silver ions can inhibit the effects of ethylene, God has given me his Holy Spirit to prevent me from sinning in my own life.  The Holy Spirit preserves me despite external provocations which tempt me to sin.  Because I accepted what Jesus did and believe in him, the Holy Spirit is a gift who guarantees I have been sealed to eternal life with God~ just as it was meant to be from the beginning.  Cue victorious music!

What a tangent (just to keep it dorky~ what a Sin X/Cos X)!  I wish I knew little Alexandre well enough to tell him that death doesn't have to be the end.  In a great many ways, it will be wonderful to be free of the sorrow in this world and enjoy the splendor of an uncorrupted life with a caring God.  It will be a beautiful thing.

(phew... *deep breath*)  And now, time for SHOW & TELL!!!!  It's still a grade school classic.

This has nothing to do with student art, but how magnificent is cookie dough with real Reese's Pieces and real Nestle chocolate chips.  Thank you Hamiltons for our package full of quality American goods!

This is Ali's first contribution to my private collection.  I believe it's part human & part penguin on a strict diet of broccoli.

Yikes! Anne Geddes has a French division?!?  Marina surprised me with this little postcard last Friday.  It frightens Kyle...

Return to sender~ apparently Marina considers me her 2nd teacher.  They say 1st is the worst...

The artful Yeliz never ceases to amaze me with her drawing skills.  What the heck is a Magpie?

Apparently Thursday, April 29th was a big day in Marina's world.  The guy thinking of the letter "c" has a perfectly round head.

I've only had 5 work days since the vacation, and the children have already filled my bulletin board.  It's good to be the 2nd teacher after all.  I hope you are having a lovely day where ever that may be.  Happy May!  I hope you are having some warmer weather than I have.  I wore my winter coat to school today.  Never in a million years did I imagine there was a day in May on this Earth that would be this cold (except for maybe the Southern Hemisphere... )  A plus!

Toplessness~not just for French beaches any longer!

Well, despite being able to attend Bible study Thursday night and work Friday morning, my health finally got the better of me Friday afternoon while walking to the grocery store with Kyle.  I believed an ear infection was causing me to feel lightheaded and woozy.  I felt totally fatigued as if all my strength had been wicked out of my body by a dementor. Oddly enough, I was still in good spirits and seemed more amused by confused state than anything else.  Poor Kyle became terribly worried because I was off and completely out of it.  He called my mom the moment we arrived back to our apartment for some advice.  It was determined that we'd best see the doctor asap!  At this point, most doctors offices had closed for the day leaving the hospital as our only option.

However, many of you know that France has socialized medicine and even the emergency room (called centre d'urgence) is full of French people with the French work ethic (that is to say, very little to no dedication to being efficient).  It was rather calm and there were a few friendly folks holding out for their turn to see a doctor in the waiting room.  We passed more than two hours together before Lea Amilton was summoned by the nurse.

The nurse did a few of the normal things~she took my temperature, checked my blood pressure, and recorded my symptoms in my newly made file.  However, being quite a doctor's office/emergency room aficianado as well as having worked in a medical center made me acutely aware of some missing factors.  They didn't weigh me or check my height though that is not too strange.  They didn't ask me about any medical conditions I had, any current medications, any allergies to medications, anything about smoking or drinking, or really any thing about my medical history.  Not to be too gross (especially for the male readers), but they asked nothing about my "lady days".  This is Medicine 101, people.

The nurses next move came as quite a shock.  I had come in with all sorts of trouble with my head.  My head is the problem, and yet she insisted in derobing all from the waist up and putting on a blue medical gown. You know, the kind that reveals your behind if unfortunate enough to be admitted for a longer stay at the hospital.  I guess it's simply the French way to insist that women take off their shirts whenever possible.  Similarly my only other visit to a doctor's office in France was for immigration.  All immigrants are required to get chest x-rays to ensure we're not going to infect the population with TB.  I've had a chest x-ray once before at Georgia Tech during my orientation (FASET for my gtg friends out there).  Somehow my TB test results hadn't made it into my medical report to the school; and I couldn't register for classes until they knew my lungs were pristine.  It was an altogether different procedure in France than it was in the U.S.  In the U.S. they are very kind and modest; you go into the room by yourself, someone tells you how to stand as they snap the picture then you are released to cover back up.  In France, you go into a big room with a nurse or two.  They make you press the top part of your body on what appears to be a large glass panel while holding your elbows out like your doing the Chicken Dance.  It's quite miserable and awkward.  The dignity of the patient seems like a low priority here.

Then the nurse proceeded to tell me the doctor would be in shortly, and left me to sit in my little room for 2 hours by myself.  Sorry, no husbands allowed.  Don't you know that visitors aren't allowed in the emergency room.  I spent the better part of that time thinking of the ridiculous name of the emergency room (centre d'urgence), as there is nothing urgent about what they do.

To add insult to injury (or rather headache), I overheard the nurse mention to some unknown person outside my room that I was British and didn't speak French.  Hello, we had just carried on a whole conversation in French, lady!  I admit that I didn't have the words "lightheaded" or "bleed" in my vernacular, but I substituted those with "feeling like I will faint" and "my body dispenses blood" with a gesture that implied gushing.  I'm sure it sounded silly, but not as silly as a Brit.  That's just rude.  I'm all American.  By the way, my room doesn't have a door; I can hear you through my shower curtain, nurse....

So I endured those hours humming old piano songs I learned in the Suzuki method books to the rhythm of an old woman's heart monitor.  She had fallen and didn't seem to know where she was or what they were doing to her.  It was certainly sad to overhear.  I prayed.  I worked up the nerve to ask if Kyle could be with me (as there was a chair in my tiny room that obviously wasn't for the doctor).  I was scolded by the nurse saying that she already said no.  I thought about my family.  I thought about how I found the hospital and doctors in Spain so much better in light of my miserable situation in the French hospital.  I thought about why I didn't feel good and tried to come up with some vocabulary from the depths of my memory to express myself better to my physician.  I thought about that night in the ER with my family where they said when the night was over, I could have chocolate ice cream and watch the Olympic opening ceremonies.  And that's exactly what we did that night.  I thought about how I could try to sneak out to the waiting room to get my copy of Jane Eyre from Kyle so I wouldn't feel so bored or lonely.  Wearing the cloth gown and feeling super cold and vulnerable prevented me from being so bold.  I thought about the theories I read about Lost and how the show might conclude.  I wished I could tell Kyle that I hadn't been treated yet and he should go get some food because we missed dinner entirely.  It was a unique and unexpected time of reflection. 

Miraculously the doctor came a few minute before 11pm.  I started feeling bad around 4 or 4:30pm and finally we'd get to the bottom of it.  He requested that I make the most of my hospital gown and lose my pants and shoes.  We talked about my symptoms; he checked my heart and eyes and ears.  We did a neurological exam to rule out anything more serious.  He made me laugh when he tried to explain ulcers to me in baby french and then in English~his pronunciation of stomach sounded like stomashe.  Ultimately, he found nothing serious wrong with me.  I couldn't believe it was not my ears.  I am the queen of ear infections and mysterious hearing loss and other things I should probably not discuss for modesty's sake.  The doctor wrote me a prescription for each of my symptoms~goodbye pain, goodbye vertigo, goodbye nausea.  I was allowed to put my clothes back on and given some medication to take immediately.  They released me to the waiting room where I had nothing new to share with Kyle.  It's a mystery.

I don't know what to take from the experience.  It just seemed miserable because I still don't feel great and I have medicine to treat my symptoms.  We'll have to go to the doctor again on Monday to see if there is somebody who can get to the root of the problem.  Don't you know I'm thrilled about seeing another physician hot on the heals of this spectacular waste of time in French medicine.  The one thing it indicated to me was that everything I fear about socialized medicine could be reality.  Sorry French citizens~you, too, shall be responsible for paying the expenses from my useless hospital visit.  I promise to try and take care of myself for your sake until I return to my homeland.

Sorry, this was a vent entry~a ventry, if you will.  There are plenty of good things going on.  For instance, yesterday I finished administering the standardized test at one of my schools.  My student Quentin (made popular by his drawing of a tiny version of him and a giant version of me) surprised me greatly.  They were required to ask at least 4 questions in English for me to respond to.  His last question:  Do you have a boyfriend?  I nearly fell out of my chair laughing and in shock.  I did not teach him that.  Someone has been studying English outside of class... In other good news, we have a large group of friends coming to stay with us for the next few days.  It'll be quite a treat.  I'm on vacation for two weeks and can relax a bit.  In a week Kyle's parents, brother, and sister are visiting.  There's plenty to be happy about and plenty to be thankful for.  Though not in the best of health, I certainly am happy.

This is a promise that there will be photos in the next entry as well as some nice stories.  I hope all is well with you wherever you are.  If you feel inclined to pray, please pray that we get an answer about why I don't feel well.  Thanks friends.  A bientot....

Sick of being sick

Today is like any other day.  I went to bed last night with the hopes of fulfilling my domestic duties~sweeping, doing dishes, putting away groceries/organizing the fridge (after Kyle does the shopping), cleaning the bathroom, and beating the rug.  Laundry is usually in the mix on Wednesdays, but it's an every other week activity.  Upon waking up this morning, I knew before I was fully conscious that these household chores were unlikely to be fulfilled (as well as my QT with Billy Blanks...)  Good morning sinus headache from the depths of Hades.  Tylenol, Sudafed, a hot shower, two cups of coffee and still no relief.... I'm not sure if it's a blessing or a curse, but these headaches almost always miraculously strike on my days off.  It's perfect because I've only missed one day of school for a headache~what are the odds?  However, it's a terrible way to pass the free days.

One of my main employments of time on these days is distracting myself with various things.  I'll listen to talk radio or enjoy an Office marathon.  It gives me ample time to read (though reading doesn't always quite distract me from the throbbing percussion occurring in my cheekbones).  I believe I need a new method...

Today I blog to distract.  Today I wanted to share something a little different about life in France.  After interning at CCF and then working with a Christian non-profit health organization and a Christian shop dedicated to helping artisans in the third world, it was very easy for me to see in what ways God chose to use me.  I believe I needed these jobs to keep my focus on God when I was working.  In a way it was easier~I could talk openly about my faith and pray or read my Bible at breaks or with my co-workers and it was entirely acceptable.  Even on the challenging days, I always had the support of a Christian community.

For months I was perplexed by how this job could yield anything for the Lord.  Unlike babysitting or nannying, I can't build close relationships with my students.  That would be a challenge in and of itself; there are more than 100 of them.  On top of that, I want to maintain some of the professionalism and boundaries that teachers need to have.  I believe now that my role in the little ones' lives is very subtle, but it can be significant.

I've become a moment seeker.  Little moments where I can learn something about a child I didn't know before, treat them special, or encourage them to imagine big things.  They spend so much time under the thumbs of their teachers whose knee jerk reactions to any situation is to yell and perhaps humiliate the children.  I'll share with you what happened this week.

When I arrive at my Marly school, there is usually a woman and sometimes a man who stand at the gate looking into the school yard.  They don't look well to do; I assumed they were parents or grandparents of a student.  Yesterday I arrived in time to see who they were escorting to school~it was my autistic student Sammy.  Though all the other children were assembled into lines to enter the school, his parents lingered with him and both hugged him as if it would be a long time before they saw him again.  Long after he's made his way across the blacktop to the front door and then up the stairs to his classroom with his personal teaching aid, his parents wait at the gate.  This moment left such a strong impression on me.

Then there is Steven.  He's at the other school in the third grade class.  Though not a bad child or even a bad student, he constantly interrupts class with strange comments and behavior.  I spent some time talking to his teacher about him; I can tell she really feels overwhelmed with him sometimes.  She's met with his mother before to try and get some support from his home, but his mother is preoccupied with other things.  She is married to a man who isn't Steven's father; this man has two children of his own. Steven's big brother has serious behavioral problems and goes to a school for juvenile delinquents.  At home Steven spends all his time in his room watching television or playing video games and rarely interacts with his family.  Sometimes at night he wakes up and plays video games until it's time to wake up for school.  He comes to school completely exhausted and unprepared to learn (little less interact well with his peers).  I haven't thought of a good way to care for him (with the exception of prayer).

Enzo...I love Enzo (or as his friends call him "Zozo").  He has these tremendous ups and downs.  Some days he's into English and participates a good bit.  Other days, I practically have to arm wrestle him to get his notebook out and write the date and a sentence about the weather.  I couldn't find a good explanation for his behavior; there really aren't other students who are so unpredictable.  It all became clear when we started studying families this week.  I would ask the class to raise their hand if they had 1 sister or 3 brothers.  Then I posed the question, "Does anyone have a baby in the family?"  Enzo raised his hand.  How many babies, Enzo?  3!  Three babies... his mom just had triplets and now Enzo acts out in school every now and then for a bit of attention.  It would have been good to know this about him sooner.

Because I receive so many nice drawings and things from my students, I try to reciprocate.  Thibault asked if I would give him a picture of a cat and dog to color.  That's definitely an easy request to fulfill.  I held hands with Heloise in the hall way and twirled her like we were dancing.  I let Ugo teach his class a funny dance move to a song we were learning to sing.  Deborah and Yeliz stay inside with me instead of going out in the cold for recess and tell me about wanting to go to the U.S. to meet Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers, and Justin Beiber.  Bilal demonstrates his Michael Jackson inspired Moonwalk.  Julian, Edgar, and Auriana show me treasures they've found in English, and we have impromptu show and tell.  Guidelande impresses me with conjugations she's learning in her free time.  I wish I had more time to listen to them and encourage them.

My favorite class I taught this week was on animals with my third graders.  I decided to teach them the song There was an old woman who swallowed a fly.  I don't know what songs they teach children here, but there must not be very much nonsense or whimsy in them.  Of course if you can't recall this charming song, it's all about a woman who accidentally swallows a fly, and from there she swallows a spider to catch the fly.  Each time she swallows an animal, she must swallow another to catch the last.  So she consumes (in order) a fly, spider, bird, cat, dog, cow, and horse.  Then she expires.  Some of the children loved it while others were horrified.  Mateo asked if it really happened.  Then he asked if women could really swallow dogs whole.  From this moment forward, I am determined to present more songs and stories that get their little imaginations working.  Times a-wasting and childhood is too short not to indulge in fictional fun.  It's supposed to be magical and filled with belief in the impossible.  Though perhaps in my next lessons, I'll try to find some material where no one dies...

Though these interactions with the little ones doesn't explicitly communicated Christ's love for each and every one of them, I believe that God's Spirit is at work behind the scenes.  Perhaps one day when they are big, it'll occur to them that they once new a nice American teacher and decide it would be nice to travel to the U.S.  From there they happen to meet a Christian or get involved in a church or something.  I think of my friend Arnaud; he's a Frenchman I met on a mission trip to build houses in Mexico.  As a student at Georgia Tech, he got involved at CCF and made many Christian friends before moving home to France.  Maybe one of my students will grow up and experience something like he did.  I certainly pray that my time with my students honors God and that they would grow up knowing a love that surpasses understanding.

Arnaud and me in New Orleans

Livin' large and eating steak at Cattleman's

Arnaud and friends at the Alamo...For some reason Wakefield has a balloon hat...peculiar. I also was really into making that super dorky face at the time (see the last picture also).

Aslan must be coming....

Winter has started to subside a little.  It's so odd; just last Monday and Tuesday there was snow everywhere to the point where some schools were closed and buses stopped running (sadly, not any that permitted me a highly coveted snow day from school).  It's a veritable arctic tundra one minute only to be overthrown by glorious sunshine and warmth on Wednesday (by warmth, I mean above 0 degrees Celsius).  The nicer weather lasted through this weekend, and Kyle and I took a delightful stroll downtown.  Metz can be very pedestrian friendly so long as the weather permits.  However, it's been raining or snowing since November, so this was likely our first promenade since we lived in Atlanta.  Since we live out in the 'burbs, it's a good 2.5 to 3 miles to the downtown area where all the shops, restaurants, churches, and parks are.  Typically, we completely depend on the buses, but we are going to kick that habit as soon as the weather makes a commitment to do good.

Since the weather cannot be relied upon, Kyle insisted on buying me some new boots.  I brought some with me which are perfect for keeping my feet warm on the cold days but are irreparably ill-equipped for wet weather (suede was a bad choice!).  In my stubbornness, I insisted on keeping my old boots through winter out of wishful and unreasonable hopes that the sun would return full time by means of my pleas with God.  I'd much rather use our money for good things~like eating at restaurants or taking trips.  Plus, I don't even like boots all that much (with the great exception of my cowboy boots~a Christmas gift from Kyle a couple of years ago).  Give me a heel, flat, or flip flop any day over a boot... Girls of my height only wear the knee high boots with pointy heels to look more grown-up and taller anyways.  I'd rather embrace being as short and young looking in cute shoes.

My lame old boots surrounded by ice and snow....I'm sure Jack Frost nipping at my toes at this moment was less than appreciated.

Kyle eventually won out.  Whether he cares that my feet aren't soggy at the end of each day or that my lack of motivation to walk with the grocery store (due to my wimpy shoes) started to bother him, he convinced me that it was high time for some sensible footwear.  Thankfully the big government mandated sales last all of January and half of February, Kyle picked out a pair with me which were 50% off.  They'll definitely get me through the rest of French winter...

Behold...cowboy-inspired studded, gray boots

Any trip downtown is not complete without a visit to the Marche Couvert (indoor market).  I ought to take more pictures of it, but I got an excellent shot of Kyle...

KHam and the big cheese

In other news, we're looking into a half-marathon in Metz in the end of April.  It would mean starting to train asap figuring out how to enter it.  Training would be simple because we have two tracks literally right outside our dorm.  It's all very contingent on weather...  I'm used to running in the mild winters of Georgia (*sigh*)  Perhaps I can master snow jogging.

The lay of the land

On a final note, I wanted to share the things that made me most happy this week.  The flower shop around the corner had a terrific deal of which my husband took advantage.  Euro 1,80 (about $2.50) for a bouquet of pink tulips for Valentine's day (and 3 year anniversary of when we started dating)!  I love that we get to enjoy nice things and be proud of not wasting tons of money on the finer things.  We are thrifty for sure, and living in France has only made us more keen to find deals.  

My workspace is much cheerier with mes fleurs-de-Leah (if you will...)

The second thing which brought me much joy occurred at school on Friday.  Typically, I'm the one intercepting notes much to the chagrin of my little students.  It just is so distracting; when I was their age I had way more tact in note passing.  My friends and I were even stealthy enough to have notebooks dedicated strictly to social topics; it appeared to our clueless teachers we were devoting a lot of attention to note-taking.  I marvel at what I could have learned when I was consumed with writing my friends notes about perfume, cats, candy, boys, music, and who knows what else in those spiral notebooks. Alas, this is all to say that Friday something quite spectacular happened.  I was the recipient of a note passed from one of my 4th graders named Aurelie.  She wrote 2 sentences (of which I'll share 1).  It made my day and now has it's place of honor on my bulletin board.  

Perfect English~ my name has no accent aigu and even has the "h" at the end.  The backdrop is an illustration by Miss Foo.

Hope you are having a lovely Sunday wherever you are (or a lovely any day depending on when you read this).  For any of my friends who have inquired about skype time, I'm very sorry I've not been around my computer as much.  I look forward to talking to my stateside friends soon.  Later!

Humors & Body Parts

Well, the more I teach the students, the more I marvel at how they stumble over some of the most humorous language mix-ups.  Typically they happen to say something along the lines of, "I am 10 toes" or "I don't like my beard" (none of them have beards...although there is one with a mustache...) While that makes me chuckle, their most hilarious English errors appeared on their last test covering feelings and anatomy vocabulary as well as the verb "to be".  Please enjoy these nameless children's responses:

Check out the answer to #6.  There must have been a glare on the chalkboard when he incorrectly recorded and memorized the word "sick".

This one forgot that subjects are followed by verbs.  I like to read them as questions; my personal favorite is again #6.  Is she in love?  It brings new meaning to being love sickness.

I saved the best for last~ #17.  I believe this is a combination of the words "toe" and "foot" or "feet" as the case may be.  Little did this student know that they stumbled upon anatomy vocab which I didn't teach. 

Giggling as I grade

In other news, today is Kyle's birthday!  I fully expect to write a little more about this day once it's complete; we haven't opened presents yet or had the fancy dinner out or eaten cake.  Yesterday, a package arrived from Kyle's parents with some pretty cool surprises!

Lots of candies!  Kyle loves Heath & Reese's

All the staples~plus some very funky PB&J + chocolate M&M's

Holy moly!  Candied bacon popcorn.  Be still my beating heart!  Yum!!!!

As if the plethora of overseas sweeties weren't enough, Kyle and I perfected a special edition of Chocolate Eclair cake.  It is his all-time favorite, and thankfully it is a no bake cake which is super easy to prepare.  We had instant vanilla pudding thanks to Kyle's parents.  Kyle whipped up some homemade imitation Cool Whip (emphasis on the "h" in whip for Anna) with his favorite Christmas gift~the immersion blender from my folks.  Is it imitation when it's homemade?  Anyways, I folded the pudding & whipped cream together and spread it over our butter cookies we found at the store.  The recipe typically calls for graham crackers, but I think our substitute will be quite good.  After layering the goods, we poured a delicious cocoa, butter, sugar, and some other good things topping all over the layers of cookies and pudding.  It's insane delicious...but we are saving it for after dinner.  Here's some pictures of the process....

Insta-pudding waiting for the milk!

Cookies, pudding, more cookies...bring on more pudding!

This photo came out funky...Kyle's working the chocolate topping.

Pre-butter chocolate...still so good!

Pouring very carefully!

Wowsers~talk about to the brim!

The perfect chocolate reflects our kitchen utensils.  A happy birthday treat indeed!

Since Kyle & I couldn't eat this all in a million bajillion years by ourselves, we are looking forward to sharing it with our Thursday night Bible study crowd.  Hopefully they'll like it, but how could they not?  On a greedy wife note~ if you get the chance please wish my sweet husband a happy birthday either on facebook or by email (kylebhamilton@gmail.com).  He would love it, and I would truly appreciate it.  A bientot!

Victory!

I successfully planted a pack of Christmas Tree Peeps in Antoine's backpack.  Perhaps he'll think a festive fairy intended for him to have a good day. 

His surprise treat which magically appeared in his book bag...hope he finds it before summer...

Big Girls Don't Cry

....or so says Frankie Valli and Four Seasons.  However, they never said anything about the boys.  Just as soon as I remedied the situation with the woeful Gauthier, I encountered an even more pitiful young fellow.  We played bingo for the first time with my second and third graders this week.  It was over ordinal numbers; they are a terribly boring topic to teach, but quite essential in composition of the date.  I gave my little one some incentive to try their hardest to win.  French children love competition more than American children; I believe it comes from an innate quality in the French to feel superior to those around them (not really, but it's a plausible theory...I love the French).  Anywho, the contest was further fueled by the introduction of prizes.  Out of my golden gift bag, I removed candy for the students who had the magic 5 answers aligned perfectly and declared "BINGO" exuberantly.  Naturally, we had some Kinder candy; it's all the rage for the kiddies here.  I also had a delightful treat up my sleeve (metaphorically speaking).  Kyle and I saved our Bonhomme de neige (i.e. snowman) Peeps from Christmas to give as prizes.  This may be gross to my readers, but it is an exotic American sweetie for all the little French children.  Plus, they come 3 in a pack; French candy makers are stingy with their goodies and make single servings very expensive.  But I digress....

The highly coveted prize...

Antoine is a second grader.  In truth I have no obligation to grade my second graders; they are merely along for the ride because their class is half third graders for whom I am responsible for all English education.  I didn't even instruct the second graders for the first month of school.  They had worksheets and other assignments while I focused all my attention on the third graders.  Not surprisingly, some of the second graders are less than eager to master numbers and such in English.  Antoine is especially disinterested in pretty much anything that occurs in school (not limited to foreign language).  He can even be fairly aggressive if you ask him something as simple as his favorite color.  You never know what you'll get with him, and yesterday was no exception.  Apparently when I revealed the rewards for the Bingo winners, Antoine became quite determined to succeed.... until he realized he wasn't equipped to play.  For the past few lessons, we have gone over ordinal numbers over and over.  We say them in funny voices, we write them, we mix them up and put them in order.  Antoine, however, spent these hours in his own world.  He colored, talked to himself, even got sent out of the classroom by his teacher for punishment.  In Bingo, I began calling out the numbers for the children to mark.  At each drawing, Antoine's dismay started to close in on him.  At first he looked helpless, than it sunk into wishful thinking ( circling things and showing me to see if it was right).  All of the sudden, Lucas shouted, "Bingo!" from the back side of the class.  That's when the big tears came rolling down Antoine's now rosy cheeks.  Insult was added to injury as Hugo was the second to shout that fateful word.  The boys collected the candy prizes, and Antoine's grief grew into loud sobs.  It was unrestrained sadness.  We continued to play even though there were no more prizes because for the other children it was just fun.  Thankfully with the help of Joelle, a teacher's assistant, Antoine was taken out of the class to calm down.

I just have to comment that in my other third grade class, it was a hit.  No children were bereaved by losing the game.  This story of Antoine makes me consider whether or not I did something wrong.  Though I've told this story in much detail, the emphasis is all mine.  Even though there is a competitive spirit to the games we play in school, we never play to mock the losing teams or students.  In truth, I think the lesson is for me.  I don't know about the home lives of my students, but sometimes I wish I did.  Antoine is little; probably only 7 or 8 years old.  Perhaps he isn't treated very kindly because of his behavioral problems.  I certainly see that his teacher has fits over him.  Little ones need to be treated lovingly.  Seeing how much a small treat means to him makes me want to do something sweet for him.  I think on Thursday when I return to his school, maybe I'll give him a candy at recess.  We still have some Sapin de Noel Peeps (i.e. Christmas trees)...One of these days, I'll go a whole month without bringing a child to tears.

In other news, we are only a week and a day away from Kyle birthday.  We are pretty pumped about that!  All presents have been purchased and wrapped by yours truly.  All that is left is the preparation of the famous Chocolate Eclair Cake.... please let there be graham crackers in the grocery stores!  Also, tonight we have a new small group led by Jack the British preacher at our church.  We are really grateful to have two small groups; we definitely didn't expect to find so many English speaking folks who are interested in studying the Bible.  Lastly, the new batch of Tech students arrived.  We hope to meet some of them and get to know them (which will be much easier because Kyle has 2 classes at GT this semester!).  Hope you are well!

Le sigh

Nothing to take you right out of the holiday mood like breaking a child's spirit in front of his peers.  Boy, I am down on myself.  A little fellow named Gauthier is a fifth grader at one of my schools.  He did miserably on his tests and his classwork was in disarray.  Going into the grading period, I knew it would be bad for him.  Now that we both are aware how challenging English is for him, I think he dreads seeing me more than ever.  Well, today I tried not to make them work too much since it's the last day before vacation.  I gave them two Christmas pictures to color.  In each one I asked them "What do you see?".  Since we've been studying parts of the body, the answers were "I see 5 eyes" or "I see 2 legs".  It ought to have been a piece of cake, but naturally the children forgot the "s" at the end of plural words.  I coached them along trying not to give the answer.  I also discouraged their peers from revealing the desired response because I wanted to see what they remembered and to hear complete sentences spoken.  After all, what good is an English anatomy lesson if you can't talk about it?

This brings us to dear little Gauthier.  On his turn, I asked him how many heads he saw.  I wanted to give him an easily remembered word since I knew he was struggling.  Last Tuesday we sang "Head, shoulders, knees, and toes" a million times so I was sure he knew this word.  To say that the cat got his tongue would have been an understatement.  I asked him if he understood the exercise, and he said he did.  I wasn't instantly reassured because he started to look frantic.  The poor little guy got really worked up; his peers Lou, Herve, and Jules started whispering the answer to him to try and throw him a lifesaver.  All our voices must have overwhelmed him.  His round little cheeks turned bright red and his eyes filled with tears.  I couldn't believe I had done this.  I felt so bad that I wanted to run to the nearest bathroom and cry too.  Leah Hamilton: English Assistant and Bully to 5th graders or Miss Leah: You'll Learn Vocab....Or Else!!!  Just when I thought I was getting better at my job, something brings me down to remind me that I'm not a real teacher.

I don't mean to be so blue.  This unfortunate event happened in my last class of this trimester.  I thought I'd be blogging about me in my kerchief settling down for a long winters nap.  When what to my wondering eyes should appear?  The sweetest little boy with eyes full of tears.... (did I mention I read "The Night Before Christmas" 7 times this week in my classes?)  It's not the end of the world, and I still have 6 more months to try to help Gauthier.  Oh bother...

In happy news, Kyle and I embark on our second excursion from Metz since we arrived in France.  We roll out to Strasbourg tomorrow; it has the best Christmas markets in France.  I'll save the details of the trip for when we return; I'll have plenty of pictures and more surprises from the trip....it's better this way.

I also wished to include some pictures from our lake.  It has almost entirely frozen over.  Alas, my camera was dead.  I used Kyle's camera which allowed me to take just a few snaps before promptly dying too.  I'm not quite sure I got the settings right...lighting is funky at sunset and I am no photographer.  Next time I'll have to just throw in a video of the ducks slippin' and slidin' every which way.  You can't be sad when you see that....For now, joyeux noel et bon vacance!

Sideways stories...

...from ecole de Jean de la Fontaine.  The original has a better ring to it.  So my big sister Katie requested a few more of the quirky stories and mishaps from my day to day life at school.  Here are a few gems I've been saving up:

1.  I teach a class that is part 2nd grade & part 3rd grade.  I'm only responsible for the 3rd graders, but the teacher is such a bum that she insists on me entertaining the little ones so she can take a break.  The attention spans of 2nd and 3rd graders are vastly different, and sadly the 3rd grader in the mixed class don't perform as well as my class composed entirely of 3rd graders.  It's a problem in the schools in small towns where there just are too many children in one grade for one class and yet not enough to form two classes.
  Occasionally I have issues maintaining order in this class, but one day I experienced a whole new type of distraction.  I expect the chit chat, throwing erasers, poking with rulers and such.  However, I was completely caught off guard when one of the second graders started...let's see...trouser coughing?  Some might call it "behind burping".  These were no childlike noises coming from this little fella; every child in the class was aware of his situation.  And it continued....to the point where I asked him if he was feeling ill.  He said no.  I couldn't discern whether he was proud or embarrassed.  It was a peculiar occurrence that I didn't want to dwell on.  So naturally the best way to cover it up was start singing the ever popular Nuvaring days of the week song.  Crisis averted!

2.  This next story involves the very same little 2nd grader.  While doing a matching activity, 7 students were asked to come to the front of the room to label each day of the week with a picture of school or a picture of home (to represent where they spend the days~lucky french kids are home Saturday, Sunday, and Wednesday).  When he was called to place his card next to the appropriate day, he turned toward a female classmate and laid a big fat smooch on her. Everyone giggled.  I was shocked.  I think there is something wrong with this kid, but all his shenanigans have been mostly harmless (even the little girl didn't seemed to bothered by his public display of affection).  He's an absolute nutter.

3.  I have two types of teacher's pets (or in my case, English teaching assistant's pets...kind of awkward to say...).  The first are the ones who like to stand next to me when I'm teaching.  Each time I enter their classrooms, they jump from their seats to ask me if they can be the privileged child who writes the date in English on the board.  The situation was only exacerbated by the introduction of writing today's weather on the board in addition to the date.  They also like to be able to select classmates to participate in certain activities.  I like these students for the most part, but I wish they would be kinder to their less avid English learning buddies.
  The second group of pets are creative and artistic.  Among the girls, it results in frequent drawings and gifts of candy or special paper (think Lisa Frank or Hello Kitty collectibles).  With boys it is a strange story.  They typically admit a crush (I am much younger than most institutrices/french teachers and very rarely discipline anyone).  Sometimes they try to hug me; I've instituted the high five rule when encountering the huggers.  One boy tells me lots of stories during recess.  One gives me origami surprises.  One braided me a plastic friendship bracelet.  Today I got something entirely new....

My french name is Léa~ fancy, huh?

This little number illustrates a large version of me and small version of my would-be 5th grade boyfriend who has a hairy pancake for a hand.  In his imagination, he is part pauper and part king (displayed in his tattered clothes and royal crown) or he is a homeless Bart Simpson.  From what I gather, he also updated my look to a flashy one strap top, a skirt, and some high-heel boots.  On top of that my new hairdo includes bangs and a side pigtail.  How did he know I was a child of the 80s?   All in all, this was the biggest surprise gift I have received to date.  I wonder if he'll still think so highly of me after I administer a super huge English test on Friday...

Alright...that's the latest and greatest from this side of the sea.  Brief good news updates~Kyle has become friends with a fellow named Peter who is a super smart Mechanical Engineering PhD student here.  He plays guitar and sings, so naturally Kyle had a new friend with whom he could play banjo.  Peter invited us to a Bible study too, so we are pretty pumped about that.  Did I mention that they won 50 euros in the GT Thanksgiving talent show?  (scroll down to the next entry for video)  Peter is already favorite.  On a final note, it's my mom's birthday eve.  It's a sad time not to be home because there is usually a Carrabba's dinner involved and lots of fun with the family.  Happy Birthday Mom!!!  Hope all is well in your world.  Hasta luego tios!

Oh so much to be thankful for...

 I am fully aware that today is the red haired step-child of American holidays, Black Friday.  It may not be acknowledged as a holiday, but it's a day dedicated to commercialism and consumerism like any of the highly revered and very traditional national celebrations.  I have to admit that is is a bit of a bummer to miss it.  It was one of my favorite days in my former retail career.  Shoppers are feeling festive and focused entirely on two things: finding the best gifts for loved ones and spending less than the sucker who bought the best gift yesterday.  At the end of the day, my former employer would show me on a nifty graph how Black Friday, Christmas eve, and Independence Day kept our shop afloat during the year.  It is a great time to appreciate a season of success for vendors and a season of giving for consumers.  Capitalism and clever marketing campaigns just aren't relevant in Europe (or at least France) the way they are back home.  I may be the only avowed lover of Black Friday...

I'll do a little Thanksgiving reprisal.  I had the distinct pleasure of educating all my students on the history of Thanksgiving for the first time.  Many had heard modern day traditions of turkey feasts and football fanatics; however, they were unaware of its origins.  My mom sent me a book in the mail that illustrated the whole thing from start to finish....with the exemption of the name of the king of England in 1620 who was persecuting the Puritans.  Turns out it was King James I~the very King James that the Bible translation is named for.  Anywho, it was a treat to fill the children's heads with images of the king sending spies to watch the Puritans, soldiers arresting lawbreakers, Puritans fleeing to America, the potential of pirates or hurricanes attacking the Mayflower, scurvy (they had never learned about scurvy before!), savage Indians, and a wild new world.  They loved the part where William Bradford and Massasoit bowed to each other and then kissed each others' hands...hilarity for children to imagine men kissing each others' hands.  It was really nice explain that the Pilgrims were able to cultivate so many crops that they could host a feast to thank God for delivering them through so many hard experiences (9 weeks at sea, a harsh winter in the few houses they could construct, and the deaths of half the people who made the voyage).  It was just as nice to hear what the children were thankful for.  Surely, there were a few oddball answers that kids always say like their Nintendo DS or their Michael Jackson cd (seriously...), but I loved that so many little ones appreciated their family, pets, educations, and homes.  Perhaps a story about a bunch of Puritans leaving behind everything they knew helped the kids remember how fortunate they are (even if they do have to live in France).  It was a great week at school.

In other school news, my little ones (2nd and 3rd graders) learned a song to help them remember the days of the week.  I needed a teaching tool because repetitions weren't helping them retain the days.  Alas, I resorted to using a song from an overplayed birth control medication in the states.  It goes a little something like this....



...I'm not proud of it, but it's working and the children love it!

Back to Thanksgiving~ Last night the student government at Georgia Tech Lorraine hosted a Turkey day potluck dinner.  It was terrific.  The dinner demographics provided a multicultural experience and international cuisine.  We had the essentials; stuffing, cranberry sauce, gravy, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, broccoli, and of course turkey.  There were also french treats; every dessert tarte you can imagine and quiche.  Chorizo made a surprise appearance from what I can assume was one lone Spaniard in the mix.  Last but not least, there were more Indian dishes than you could shake a stick at (none of which had names I could remember).  What else would you expect from a GT dinner?

Pilgrims and Indians didn't have Fanta

Kyle's plate~no worries Mom, we are not starving here!

Kyle, Phil, and I are happy~check out the turkey by Kyle's head!  Silly....

The program for the evening consisted of a talent show and then karaoke party.  Kyle and his friend Peter had worked up a little ditty in light of the Christmas season.  They competed against a pair of french dudes who sang Karma Police, an Asian fellow giving a lovely rendition of a James Blunt tune, and a couple of other french fellas with unique skills.  Please enjoy the videos...


Kyle & Peter rockin it out...aren't they lovely?



You Has Bees the One for Me~this one is dedicated to Chandler Precious Creel in Germany



I keep hoping there will be a day here where I am not exposed to anything Michael Jackson... maybe 2010?


Kyle and Peter won the talent portion of the evening and brought home 50 big ones (well, 25 euros each!)  I'm beginning to love the banjo that brings home the bacon more and more.   The karaoke had a much bigger surprise in store for everyone at our wholesome holiday gathering.  Apparently the rented sing-a-long machine came with several catalogs included one where popular songs were set to videos of topless women.  We learned "PB" next to a title didn't mean peanut butter (it meant Playboy...yikes!!!).  Thankfully we were able to enjoy tunes the rest of the night with images from 1990 Disney World and American national parks.  My favorite rendition of a second rate pop hit was two Frenchmen who dedicated themselves to a very animated version of "Barbie Girl".  Loads of laughter...



The first time ever that this song was entertaining


At the evenings close, everyone pitched in to clean up.  I ever so grateful for the French guys who insisted on listening to "Call on Me" while we stacked chairs and rolled up table cloths.  It was the highly favored track of our intern year; we danced to it weekly.  Kyle teased me relentlessly for remembering all of the moves.  It seems he's reserves his brain to more purposeful things than a dance number with 12 other college graduates.  All in all it was a great night.  I'm grateful we had good friends and plenty of food to share a Thanksgiving meal.



A throw back to my interns...I'm getting all sentimental.


Hope you enjoyed this very video-rific edition of my blog.  I promise that now that I've mastered the method, I will calm down.  Happy Thanksgiving~the first Thanksgiving feast lasted for 3 days; isn't so great that Americans keep the tradition with days and days of left-overs?  I'm coveting all your turkey sandwiches...A plus friends and family!

Busy week....

We kept it busy and we kept it real this week.  From fulfilling our day to day jobs to laundry, paperwork, grocery trips, and Christmas planning, we are glad it is Friday.  As one of Kyle's french friends says, "I am TGIF!!"

Several things occurred in school this week.  It was the first time I had to turn up the discipline.  It was inevitable; the novelty of having a real Americaine in the class has worn off.  Surprisingly, it has resulted in a deluge of cute little knick knacks and doodles~perhaps a measure from my highly favored students to pacify the stern foreigner.  Thank goodness that when I'm strict with them I'm speaking English and not German...who knows what they'd be giving me? Stehen Sie auf!  Setzen Sie!  Then again, I probably wouldn't command much more authority in German either...

So crab shapes... that's what we always called the little fish pieces that were real crab flavor that you can buy at the grocery store.  It was a staple of my childhood.  Kyle and I found some here, and it is practically free it is so inexpensive.  We figured we'd give the small pack a whirl (20 crab shapes in all).  Well, using it before it goes bad has proved quite a feat.  Those things go forever and ever.  They have provided the key element in 3 great meals we've had.  A crab inspired quiche was consumed Sunday; we had some friends over, and it turned out to be pretty good.  On Monday and Tuesday we had a crustaceus sea bug inspired salad (we took the old tuna salad number and put a new spin on it).  Very tasty sandwich, indeed!  Lastly, tonight we are about to partake in Kyle's first crab bisque.  We thought we'd augment this little number with canned crab meat (which surprisingly is not very expensive either).  All that said, it is time for us to eat... and yes, it's the last of the crab shapes.  Bon appetit!

Back to school...

Today was my first day back to teaching English.  After discussing how my job was going with my mom last week, I have come back with a renewed sense of dedication and hopefulness for the next few weeks.  Happily, there are plenty of holidays coming to educate the wee ones about.  Since Halloween is such a non-event for the French, it'll be a a delight to Americanize the classroom for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Speaking of Christmas~ the city of Metz has already erected their enormous tree next to the train station.  The men on the cranes have been busy stringing lights and adorning the tree's branches with those classically Christmasy red orbs.  I'm definitely holding out on picture posting until the tree is complete....anywho, my typing fingers have wandered from school.  Here are a few highlights from my classroom today:

Moment 1~Each student has their own English notebook.  I had given them a little activity to write which element of nature/weather they liked (I like the sun or I like the snow).  They were to follow with an illustration of what they enjoyed most.  However, when I approached two girls, I found they were having a disagreement.  Finally one asked if I was American, and  I answer that I am genuinely American.  At that, she declared to her peer, "See, I told you she wasn't Canadian."  Then she followed with her next question; she inquired, "did you know Michael Jackson?"  Sadly, I disappointed them by responding that I didn't know him personally.  At this point, I was ready to check their progress on their assignment only to notice that there notebooks were closed, and the covers of their notebooks were filled with images of the late and great King of Pop.  Very peculiar for 9 year old French girls....

Moment 2~There is a 15 minute recess in the morning.  As the young ones were returning to their classrooms, I noticed two (different) little girls with books.  I thought to myself that these were exceptionally studious children for taking their assignment outside as an alternative to playing.  I got the opportunity to ask them what they were reading while climbing the stairs.  Much to my surprise, these weren't text books.  They were trading card collector books filled to the gills with pro-wrestling athletes (if you want to call them that).  I impressed my two students by telling my preference for Ray Mysterio, Jr. and that WCW wasn't the same after he took off the mask.  Although it was humorous, I am still asking myself how the worst of American pop culture finds the most precious little french girls.

Moment 3~My second class of the day is wonderful.  These students are fifth graders and are the most well-behaved class out of all seven that I teach.  Today there was just one little wrinkle in their typical pristine conduct.  I had the students copying weather vocabulary in their notebooks in English and in French.  I always try to check each notebook to make sure their are no spelling mistakes.  It is very common in France for the teachers to walk around the class, check the work, and make corrections to each child's work.  I like the personal attention. However, I believe it has led to a familiarity with some of the students because I have a bad habit of making comments that spark conversation which ultimately detract from the educational process (topics like pro-wresting and Thriller, just to name a couple...).  One little fella took the liberty of using my correction time to show me his sketches of a boy, girl, dog, and cat.  I noticed that the cat and dog had words on their foreheads: schat and schien. This translates in English to scat and sdog.  So rather than asking him to present his notes to me, I posed a question about the meaning of the "s" on the animals' foreheads.  His response: "Why, it's because they are super!"  It was adorable. (In case you were curious, his notes were already complete and perfectly copied.)

Sometimes I wish I weren't their teacher, but rather their babysitter.  I'd like to have them draw pictures and sing silly french songs and play outside more...but alas, that is not what school is for and I am paid to fill their heads with all things anglophone.  Plus, how unrealistic would it be to babysit 150 children from age 6-11?  Yikes...hopefully I'll have more funny accounts to report soon.  Oh, Mom~Sammy had a bad day today.  More prayers please!  A plus!