'Lille' bit of rain didn't stop the adventures!
How am I already over halfway done??? The time is FLYING by and I continue to be amazed by how much I continue to learn and discover each day! The students have gotten used to my accent now, which has helped as I am now teaching every subject except for French (since I make some of the same mistakes that my students do). I have also tried out some new attention getters and strategies to encourage the students to work together more, which have worked extremely well. I am lucky to have a cooperating teacher who is open and willing to adapt (within reason) to let me take over and learn as much as possible too. She adds in commentary to support what I am saying as well, so I truly believe we make a great team!
Although there are challenging students and situations in my classroom, they have pushed me beyond my comfort zone to allow me to think in creative ways, so I am truly grateful for them. There is one boy that is constantly being talked about among the teachers because he is "challenging" behaviorally and academically. He is new to the school this year, so everyone is still trying to figure him out since it is clear that his home life is not easy or supportive. As a result, on Tuesdays I have been working with him individually during lunch time on the months of the year, after realizing that he did not know them (in fourth grade) even when he was asked to share them in his native language, Arabic. I created individual cards for him to manipulate and color-coded references for him to learn the months of the year and apply them to other contexts. This past week, after a difficult Tuesday morning for him behaviorally, when it came time for our meeting at lunch, he ran up to me with excitement saying, "J'ai envie de travailler avec vous sur les mois de l'année!!!" ("I can't wait to work with you on the months of the year!") This moment meant so much to me because it showed that he was interested in working together and that he had confidence in what he had learned. Although his hard work and excitement has not carried over throughout the whole day yet, I couldn't help but be thrilled at this small success that shows that he enjoys learning and being at school. Students, like him, give me purpose for teaching and make me optimistic for their future!
On another note, since I don't have school on Wednesdays, I decided to head to Lille, which is a town that is an hour north of Paris by train, Tuesday night through Wednesday evening. One of my friends from American Village camp in France this summer, Jelly (or Fanny), was kind enough to let me spend the night at her appartment and show me around the city on Wendnesday. Although it rained for most of the day, it was still a beautiful town that was very festive with the lights and marché de noël (Christmas market) that was going on. My favorite part was Vieux Lille, which had old stone roads and many cute (and expensive) boutiques. We enjoyed a great, traditional meal of northern France together at Les 3 brasseurs. I had a flammenkueche, which is like an oven roasted pizza, with 3 cheeses since Lille is known for their strong cheese. Later, I tried a chocolate merveilleux, which is a traditional dessert from the north. Although I enjoyed the chocolate, it was far too sugary for me, so it is not something that I would order again, but it was great to try it!
After a busy school week, I stayed pretty local for the weekend. In order to end the school year a little earlier, it is mandatory for schools to have four days of school on Saturday mornings. As a result, this Saturday, we had school for three hours in the morning. However, there was a marché de noël with a school mass, so it was not a traditional "jour de travail" or "work day." It was great to see the kids in a little more of a relaxed setting and start of the Christmas season festivities together.
On Sunday, Claire and Xavier took me to the Abbaye de Royaumont, Château de Chantilly, and Sainlis. We started with a tour around the abbey, which was interesting and "tranquille". Then, we went to a town nearby, called Chantilly, which is the town that chantilly (whipped) cream was named after. The town is well-known for horse racing and the Domaine de Chantilly, which is a beautiful castle surrounded by water. As the sun set, we visited a medieval town, called Sainlis, which was festive and quaint. There are two beautiful churches and as we were wandering around the streets, we ran into another marcheé de noël with music and several Christmas stands. It was truly a wonderful way to end a great, relaxing weekend!
