Le pays Basque, España and French family = AMAZING weekend!
What a week!! Another teacher in the school had to participate in an internship for the entire week and since there were no substitutes available, my cooperating teacher substituted in her class and I taught my class completely alone. Although I was a little nervous about this in the beginning, I was mostly excited because I knew that I would have the opportunity to take control of the classroom and gain more responsibility and experience. However, this week was much more difficult than I had anticipated. My patience, positivity, discipline, and confidence as a teacher were definitely tested. Unfortunately, the students completely took advantage of the fact that their main teacher was not in the classroom to provide the strict discipline that they were used to. Although I felt as though I was being extremely strict with them, while also keeping the routine that they were familiar with, it was clear that my perception of strict is completely different from the French perception of strict in school. As a result, I was forced to continually reflect on my classroom management and I was able to try out a variety of different methods to obtain and keep their attention. Although it was an extremely difficult week, I am proud to say that I overcame the challenges that came my way and when future challenges arise in the classroom, I can think back to this experience and find strength in any situation.
That being said, my travels this weekend were definitely well-deserved and INCREDIBLE! I took an overnight bus Friday night
to Biarritz, France, which is a town southern France along the Atlantic Ocean. The daughters of my host parents, Patricia and Marielle, live in a small town nearby, so when they invited me to come to visit them for a weekend, I gladly accepted! When I arrived Saturday morning, I wandered around Biarritz while Marielle finished working. Even in the winter, there were surfers and the beach town had a great ambiance with several boutiques and paths along the water. It was definitely refreshing to see the ocean and enjoy the “Pays Basque” (Basque country)! One thing that I learned this weekend is that people from this region are extremely proud of their culture that they attempt to disassociate themselves from the rest of France. They even have their own language, which is present on all of the signs in this region and their own cultural traditions that make them unique. On Saturday afternoon, we visited the town of Bayonne, which is a cute town with traditional French architecture. As we wandered the streets, we encountered a parade of carolers, musicians and children dressed in traditional Basque clothing with a distinctive scarf and hat. The ambiance was extremely festive and traditional, which I absolutely loved! I also sampled and bought chocolates as well since Bayonne is extremely well-known for their chocolates!
On Sunday, we visited Saint-Jean-de-Luz, which is another beautiful Basque town. Then, I was thrilled to be able to check off another country as we crossed the border into Spain for lunch! We enjoyed traditional tapas and calamari since we were right along the Atlantic ocean. It was excellent and very fresh! We also had a cup of coffee in a Spanish Palace, which had an incredible medieval feel!
After a refreshing weekend along the water, I am now energized for one final week at school and I cannot wait for my family to join me this week in France! It is crazy how fast the time has flown by, but I am so grateful for all that I have learned and experienced in my time here!
