More than Mustard

It is hard for me to believe that July 8th marked that I had been back in the States for two months.  So much has happened and changed in these past months that quite often my time in France feels as though it were much, much longer ago.

Since May I’ve travelled throughout the US visiting many friends and family, which has been a real treat.  Of course it has been lovely being back in Massachusetts and I made sure to eat clam chowder, go to Fenway, and drink lots of Dunkin’ all within a week of being home.  Next, I was off to Maryland for McDaniel’s Commencement weekend and to visit friends.  While the drive may be 8 hours to get down there it’s completely worth it to see such fabulous people.  I then travelled to Texas and New Mexico for the 4^th and was so excited to see new parts of this country!  (Spending the Fourth of July with a certain Army officer was also pretty cool but that’s a different story!)  I travelled back down to Maryland once more, with a stop in Philadelphia, which was a much needed and relaxing visit with dear friends.  In July alone I was in 5 different states so while I may no longer be in Europe, it’s quite evident that I will always be on the move. (And I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way!)

Professionally, I accepted a World Language high school teaching position July 10^th  and could not be more thrilled.  After such a positive experience in France I feel confident that teaching will continue to be a challenging, fun, and fulfilling job.  I am beyond excited to share my passion for languages, different cultures, and travel with my future students.  As someone who has always enjoyed the academic world I am so pleased to continue working on the other side of the desk.

It’s quite surreal to think that just a few months ago I was feeling overwhelmed by the impending “unknown” waiting for me back in the States:  Where would I live?  Would I find a job?  What did I truly want to do?  Would transitioning back to the US be painful?  Little did I know what was in store!  I had a head start on dealing with reverse culture shock as I had already experienced it after returning from my semester in Paris.  That coupled with having such wonderful family and friends to come home to made transitioning back to the U.S. a lot easier than I anticipated.  I feel so blessed to have been offered a job so quickly and it is a major bonus that it’s in a field I’m passionate about.  As for my living situation I can say whole heartedly I am very happy to have Massachusetts be my home base once again.  After five years away I am excited to be in the Bay State for more than just a few weeks/months at a time! (But obviously I’ll be a frequent visitor of Logan and T.F. Green airports as I can’t stay in once place for too long!)

The best way for me to describe where I am right now is simply ‘content’.  My experience in France has given me so much, both personally and professionally, and I am eternally grateful for my time in Dijon.  When I return to France it will be a homecoming in its own right as there is no question that a big part of my heart will forever be there.

I look forward to this next chapter of my life and cannot wait to see what's next!  Thank you to all who read this throughout my journey- your love and support did not go unnoticed.

One final thought:
"Why not go out on a limb?  That's where all the fruit is."  -Mark Twain

Word of the Post: l'avenir -- the future

Last train to Paris

TGV- France's high speed train

I am typing this post on the train to Paris and Diddy’s “Coming Home” just came on shuffle. (How fitting the song is on the album “Last Train to Paris”?)  Even though I know that this is not my last train to Paris ever, it is my last one as a resident of Dijon.

Before getting on the train my landlady, Carmela, came to my flat around 11 to make sure the flat was ok, take the keys, and also help me with getting my luggage to the train station.  We took a taxi and had lunch before my 1:20pm train and she insisted on paying for lunch as a “final treat”.  Lunch with her was quite calming and it felt as though everything had come “full circle” as back in September she collected me at the train station when I first arrived and that night treated me to dinner.  My first and last meals in Dijon were with Carmela and it was cool to be able to reflect on the year with her, as she has been a great resource throughout.  After lunch we headed to the platform (as we ate at nice little café in the train station) where my friends who are still here were waiting to say good bye to me.  Carmela and I said our goodbyes (and she made me promise to e-mail her to let her know when I’m home) and as I was waiting on the platform with my friends I started to tear up.  It was all hitting me again that this was really happening.  The train arrived and they helped me lug my heavy suitcases (I forgot how awful it is to deal with 2 pieces of luggage, a tote, and an oversized handbag solo!) and waved goodbye to me from the platform.  Cue actual tears.  There they were waving, blowing kisses and I was a ball of emotion in my seat.  As difficult and sad as I felt about leaving, it proved even further just how much these people and this city have changed my life for the better and that is what makes goodbyes so hard. 

It’s so difficult to truly express how one can feel such sadness and such excitement at the same time.  As sad as I am to leave my friends here and this beautiful country I also have amazing people, and a lovely country, to come home.  A street near where my flat was called rue Alfred De Musset and I find one of his quotes the most fitting for this time:

“Le retour fait aimer l'adieu.” –Alfred De Musset

(The return makes one love the farewell.)

And so as the quote implies- it will only be a matter of time before I'm back in la belle France.

Word of the Post: le train -- the train

Présidentielle 2012

This year I get to experience two presidential elections as both France and the US will hold elections this year!  The French have their elections in the Spring and it usually consists of 2 rounds.  There are ten candidates for the first round and a final two for the second round.  The winner of the second round becomes the President-elect and takes office almost immediately for a 5 year term.  To catch you up to speed here are five things to know about this year's election.

On April 22^nd the premier tour, or first round, of the French elections started.  I was in Nice and as Alice and I were eating dinner in a trendy bistro the premier tour results came out.  The place had a TV behind the bar so we could see how each candidate did: Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP), the current President, and François Hollande (PS) were the top two candidates: Sarkozy gaining 27.18% and Hollande gaining 28.63%.  An alarming aspect of the premier tour was that the Front National (FN)’s candidate, Marine Le Pen, gained a 17.9% which was a record high for the party. (This is alarming because the Front National makes up the extreme right in France's politics boasting anti-Europe/anti-immigration policies that make the American extreme right look left.)

Once the premier tour results were in the remaining candidates, Sarkozy and Hollande, had just one televised debate, on May 2, before the seconde tour.  (Check out this BBC article article to read more on the debate.)

French election ballot

Today, on May 6, French citizens voted to either re-elect Sarkozy or change it up by electing Hollande.  It was my last night in Dijon and the few of us still here decided to watch the results and go to Place de la Libération as Hollande was the predicted winner and there were to be celebrations there.  We got drinks and sat outside at one of the cafés at Place de la Lib and watched as everyone celebrated Hollande’s win. (Hollande won 51.62%; Sarkozy 48.83%)  The atmosphere felt quite similar to the general feeling in the U.S. when Obama was elected: peaceful, happy, excited.  (Hollande even had a similar slogan “Le changement, c’est maintenant”.)  There was a stage set up for a band to play songs so everyone could celebrate the new President! “Hollande Président !” was chanted over and over in a similar way to hearing the crowds chant “Yes we can” when Obama won in 2008.

For me it was so perfect for the second tour to take place on my last night in Dijon; experience two of my passions (politics and France) simultaneously!

Word of the Post: la politique -- politics

Top 9!

As of today I am in the single digits for my time left in Dijon, France. So in honor of my 9 days left, I present to you:

Top 9 Things I am Most Excited for in the US:

Family

Friends

Sox/Pats/B’s/C’s

Iced coffee (Dunkin’ AND Wawa!)

Georgetown Cupcakes

Clothes/shoes not being outrageously priced

Mexican food

Significantly less smoking in public places

Singing in my car

Top 9 Things I Will Miss Most about France:

Friends I’ve made here

Fresh baguette/boulangeries

Being able to walk everywhere

SNCF/trains

Café culture

My students

My cool bank card with the European chip

Kinder/Haribo candy

Use of the 24 hour clock

Of course there are so many other amazing things I have to look forward to in the US, and just as amazing things that will be difficult to leave in France; but, one of the things I am most pleased about is the sense of balance I have gained this year in being able to love both countries equally.  When I say it's bittersweet to leave I truly mean it- in the best way possible!

Love for the Stars & Stripes and Le tricolore :)
(I took this in Nice, France)

Word of the Post: neuf -- nine

La Côte d'Azur

As a fabulous ending to my assistantship here, my contract ended in 2 weeks of vacation.  In order to take advantage of this time off, my friend Alice and I planned a trip to La Côte d’Azur.  In English we’d say the French Riviera but I like the story of how the name “La Côte d’Azur” came about as it was a man from Dijon that created it!  Dijon is located in the Côte d’Or (Golden Coast) department and was given this name due to the beautiful colors of the countryside and vineyards in the fall.  Well Stéphen Liégard, a writer and poet from Dijon, invented the term “Côte d’Azur” to replace “Riviera” (which us Anglophones still use).  Azur is a term meaning blue and the idea to use “Côte” stems from his roots in Côte d’Or!  (I am so very pleased to continue to find just how much Dijon and the Burgundy region have played such interesting roles in France and French history!!)

So, our trip started with an early train at 7:21am to Lyon with a connection to Aix-En-Provence.  However, our train got into Lyon late so we had to wait a little over an hour for a train from Lyon to Marseille and then Marseille to our destination: Nice.

We killed the hour of waiting in a café by the train station and ordered fresh squeezed orange juice. It was amazing! Making "lemonade out of lemons" or what? Haha:

Yumm!

I was also happy to be re-routed to Marseille so I could kind of claim I was in the city where the French national anthem came from. (The anthem is named La Marseillaise because the song was first sung in the streets of Marseille.)

Okay so being at the train station doesn't really count but whatever!

The train ride from Marseille to Nice was unbelievable—the train tracks are right along the coast and the view of the sea is fantastic!  Needless to say Alice and I were beyond excited to arrive in sunny Nice after 3 straight weeks of rain and gray in Dijon.  As we arrived in Nice and stepped off the train we were hit instantly with the temperature change and, as if that weren’t enough there were even palm trees in the station to greet us:

Nice-Ville train station

We chose Nice as our “home base” for the trip because it was in the middle of the other places we wanted to visit, it's a large city with a lot to offer, and because we had a recommendation from a friend for a hostel there.

As far as hostels go this is one of the better ones! Not expensive, so many amenities included, and a fabulous location near Old Nice, the city center, and the beaches.

Nice

The first thing we did after getting settled at the hostel was check out the pebble beaches! I have never seen the sea so blue:

But, there is much more to Nice than just its famous beaches.  Old Nice for example is home to many cafés, restaurants, government buildings, and more.  We had many lovely meals here, including:

Omlette niçoise

Salade niçoise

The famous flower market is also in Old Nice.  The market was fantastic- so many radiant colors in an already vibrant city it was sensory overload:

Lavender- specialty of Provence!

Aside from the flowers there were also fresh soaps being sold which are also a specialty of Provence:

While in Nice I was continuously blown away by the blue color of the sea along the pebble beaches.  We spent much of our time soaking in the sun and listening to the waves pound the shore.  We probably should have packed sunscreen as we both got burned! Ooops! A strong, cold wind called the Mistral was in full force which sometimes made us forget how strong the sun actually was!

Oh so blue!

Another great aspect of Nice is the Colline du Château, or Castle Hill.  An ancient castle used to sit at the top of the hill but now this spot also provides lovely views of the city:

Monaco

We decided to go to Monaco for a day trip and check out the land of our favorite drink.  (After all Alice is the one who introduced me to “the Monaco”).

We first  climbed up the to the Prince’s palace and saw the changing of the gaurds:

Palace

Blurry pic of the changing of the guards

And then to our surprise, Prince Albert drove by and waved:

Prince Albert's car!

He may be no Prince William but still cool to see a royal in real life!

Monaco is unbelievably perfect looking- the streets are so clean and every plant/garden is manicured.  Words don’t do it justice so have a look:

We wandered away from the palace and saw that many were hard at work setting up for the world famous Grand Prix!

Main stands

Fencing along the roads. I'll have to watch this year!!

We saw Notre Dame de Monaco where Princess Grace is buried:

And of course we had to see the Monte-Carlo:

We ended our time in Monaco in a posh bar overlooking the harbor where we of course, drank Monacos!

Antibes & Cannes

We decided to take another day trip, this time to Antibes and Cannes.  We saw a cool fort in Antibes from the train on the way to Nice so we wanted to check it out.  The fort’s name is the Forte Carré (Squared Fort) and we were given a tour throughout it.  Jacques, our tour guide, was really great and we learnt a lot!  An interesting fact about the fort is that Napoleon was once a prisoner there!  Not only was the fort a wealth of historical information, it provided beautiful views of the sea, mountains, and Antibes’ port:

The fort

Antibes' port from the fort

Part of the fort and the sea

View of the Alps from the fort
(or as Jacques said: "Sea, sun, and snow" haha)

After the fort tour we headed to Cannes to check out the site of the world famous film festival.  Before exploring too much we stopped for lunch where I had the best Croque Madame I’ve tasted since my first one in 2009:

Then we went to the film festival site:

And hung out on the sandy beaches:

The water was chilly!! (And yes, those are sandal tan lines on my feet)

While we had limited time in Antibes and Cannes they were both lovely in different ways but I prefer Nice out of the three.

For our last day in Nice we spent a lot of time at the beach.  We went to the market and created our own light lunch: fresh baguette, strawberries from the region, olives provençal, and goat cheese:

So. Good. 

What was so lovely about this, aside from the scenery, was that is was a true vacation.  We were well rested, relaxed, and simply there to enjoy this beautiful part of the world.  I left part of my heart in the Côte d’Azur and I know there's no doubt that I’ll be back there some day!

Word of the Post: le paradis -- heaven

My students

It is hard to believe but today was my last day of teaching- time truly has flown by!  My contract technically ends April 30^th but because the two weeks of Spring Vacation starts on the 23^rd I am finished for the year.  It was strange to lock my classroom door for a final time and actually hand in my school key but I am proud of the work that has been done in Salle J102.

'Salle' means classroom; J was the building; 102 the room number

I am very lucky in that my students this year were absolutely delightful.  They were willing to learn, participate, and truly tried to improve their English.  While the general atmosphere of the administrative/staff aspect of my lycée was not always ideal, it was most defintely made up for by the students!

I taught all three grades: seconde, première, and terminale:

-Seconde: The equivalent to the sophomore year, or 10^th grade, in the States.

-Première: The equivalent to the junior year, or 11^th grade, in the States.

-Terminale: The equivalent to the senior year, or 12^th grade, in the States.

As someone who had never seriously considered teaching as a profession I have to say I really enjoyed my time with each grade and group of students.  I’ve learned so much about communicating with people through teaching and I’m really grateful for that.  I taught all on my own, as opposed to with the main teacher like in some placements, and while at first it was a little intimidating I enjoyed the freedom to plan lessons and activities.  I’ve enjoyed being able to share my country and language, especially since they learn British English and more about the UK than the US.  I know in the beginning the students found my American accent a bit difficult, as they are used to British English, but you can only imagine how happy I was to hear them tell me that they understand American accents and phrases so much better after working with me.

A favorite lesson was when I taught about typical American high school life.  The students were so surprised by the schedule structure, the after-school activities, how accessible teachers are, Prom, the athletic fields/teams, school buses, graduation ceremonies, and so on!  They could not get enough of it and were surprised as to how realistic things like ‘High School Musical’ and ‘Glee’ really are.  (I did, of course, let them know that we do not randomly break out into song.)  I showed them pictures of my high school, graduation, Prom, sports teams, etc and they were so intrigued by it.  It made me realize how lucky Americans are, in that we generally have such a community-based high school experience.  In France, a high school is more similar to a university in the US.

Here are some major differences in French high school:
-Teachers do not have their own set room

-Not everyone is at the school the same time every day and schedules vary

-Teachers only have to be present for their class times and are hard to reach outside of class

-There are no sports fields on school grounds and while there are some “school” teams they are more similar to a club team in the US and not anything close to what we have in high school

-Students must greet the teacher and wait to be told they can sit down

-Teachers have a platform to stand on while teaching

-There is no systematic school email

-Very few to no after-school activities

-If a teacher is absent a substitute is not always guaranteed so teachers usually notify a class that it will be cancelled a week in advance if the teacher cannot be there

(And there are loads more but those are some of the most glaring differences)

During my last week of teaching students planned surprise goodbye parties to thank me for my time with them this year.  They brought in homemade chocolates, cakes, goodies, candies, and so much more- it was so thoughtful and kind!  The best part was when they told me I made this year really fun and taught them so many interesting things. While I have enjoyed working with them this year it is nice to know the feeling is mutual!

While my students expressed how much they have learned from me, I too learned so much from them.  This teaching experience has been one of the most challenging and worthwhile yet!

Word of the Post: étudiants -- students

The night I ate frogs' legs

I made a promise to myself that by the end of this year in France I would try frogs' legs and on Tuesday, the 10th, I finally accomplished that gastronomic goal.  As time here is quickly coming to an end, my group of friends, and fellow assistants, decided we needed to plan a goodbye dinner.  Le Clos des Capucines, a restaurant in the city center, has a nice menu serving Burgundy's specialties so we all agreed this would be a great place for our special meal.

The dinner started with an aperitif: Kir- the drink of Dijon! Then it was on to five courses of amazing food:

Course One: “Amuse-bouche” (a small pre-appetizer)

Jellied salmon

Course Two: Appetizer

Escargots

Course Three: Dinner

Cuisse de grenouille (Frogs' legs!) and yummy sides

Course Four: Cheese

Goat cheese, Epoisses, and a soft cheese

Course Five: Dessert

Vacherin au cassis (sorbet-cake with blackcurrant)

Throughout the dinner red wine and endless slices of baguette were enjoyed to compliment our meals!  To my surprise the escargots were a lot larger than any other time I’ve ordered snails but they were still delicious in their butter-parsely flavoring.  The frog legs tasted similar to chicken- I actually really liked them and would happily order them again.  It was fun to have a cheese course even if I’m not the biggest fan of cheese (unless it’s Camemebert, of course).  Dessert was simply delicious- I will really miss blackcurrant!  I loved how the entire menu consisted of the specialties of Burgundy- it was a nice way to truly enjoy this region.  But what I loved most is that having a five course meal is a rare and special- it’s not something I do very often and so I found it fitting to be sharing such a meal with people who have helped to make this unique experience all the more special.

Word of the Post: Bourgogne -- Burgundy