La fin d'une expérience inoubliable !
Where do I begin? My last week at school was magical, yet bittersweet. After a challenging week before, I was unsure how this last week would go; however, it could not have ended on a better note! Contrary to what one would think, my students were actually more calm and focused during the last week up until the last day, which allowed us to finish up any units that I started and integrate some art and music lessons related to Christmas.
On the Thursday before break, there was a “spectacle” that the mayor of Orgeval organized for the students as a little Christmas present. What I found interesting is that, in France, the mayor of the town declares events or shows that students attend, rather than the director of the school. As a result, for this spectacle, there was a magician who was brought into a local building to put on a show for the children in the public and private schools in town. The teachers and the director at my school had absolutely no details about the show beforehand, so we just left the afternoon open, which was good since it did take up most of the afternoon. I thought it was a great show and the magician did a great job of incorporating the children, teachers, and providing a good variety of tricks.
On Friday, I was completely spoiled by the children and teachers at my school. To begin, the teachers were extremely generous and gave me a beautiful French scarf and earrings, which I will cherish forever since it serves as a great reminder of my experience teaching. In addition, the teachers brought in champagne for lunch (only in France!) to celebrate my time at the school and Christmas break. Even though I talked to my students about heading back to the states, before Friday, I wasn’t sure if they realized that I would be leaving permanently. However, on Friday afternoon, when it came time to sing Jingle Bells (which I taught them) and dance along to the “Just Dance Karaoke” version, every student was up and dancing together. After the song ended, I sent them good wishes for the holiday season and thanked them for welcoming me in their class. Then, I gave them a candy cane (bought in the U.S.) to enjoy since they are extremely difficult to find in France and most French children have never tried them. As I began handing them out, they started chanting and clapping “Madame Heniff, Madame Heniff, Madame Heniff… “ I was not sure what was happening at first, but then I realized that was their way of thanking me. When the bell rang, they all came running up to me and gave me a massive group hug. I was nearly brought to tears with how sincere they were and I was reminded how valuable positive relationships are with students. I will definitely be sending messages and skype-ing with them in the spring! There was even one boy that asked for my address so that he can send me cards and notes.
After school, the week of travels with my family began with a delicious dinner of galettes and crêpes with my family, French cousins, their American grandma, and my aunt. On Saturday, my family, aunt, and I left for a weekend trip to Normandy. We started with a stop at Honfleur, which is a cute port town that my sister and I loved when we went to France with our high school together. Since it was Saturday, the streets were filled with markets, which made the town even more enjoyable! After a few hours there, we continued driving to Mont St. Michel, which is an island that is accessible by bus. We stayed overnight on the island to experience the true “island” effect with the high tide and lights. Although the island was pretty empty since it is off-season, the experience of staying on an island was completely magical. On Sunday, we went to Pointe du Hoc, Omaha beach, and the American cemetery. The cooler temperatures and wind when we were there made it special since these were the conditions on D-Day. Although this was not my first time there, it was still a very powerful and eye-opening experience to be on the sights where so many Americans fought bravely for our country and lost their lives.
Then, for Christmas eve, we met up with our French student, Ségolène, for lunch and invited her to join us for Christmas dinner with her boyfriend, which she was pleased to do. In the evening, we went to a friend of Beth’s house for MANY appetizers and desserts, which were delicious! Following that, we went to the American Cathedral in Paris for Christmas mass, which was beautiful. On Christmas morning, we walked around the parks of the Château de Versailles and took a petit-train so that we could see even more, since the parks are so huge. For Christmas dinner, there were 14 of us, so it felt like a true Christmas dinner with a bigger group of family there, which was great! Beth and her entire family did an incredible job preparing a delicious French meal of foie gras, venison, vegetables, cheese, bread and amazing pastry desserts! In France, the meals start later and go longer, so we did not finish the meal until midnight, which was really surprising to my family since this was their first time experiencing a big holiday meal in France. As a result, the next day, we got started a little later, but we still took a short trip to Chartes to visit the cathedral and town, which was very nice!
The next two days we spent around Paris, so I was the “tour guide” as we used the public transportation and explored the city that I have been traveling in. We visited Notre Dame Cathedral, the Latin Quarter, le Marais, Champs-Elysées, Musée d’orangerie, went inside the Eiffel Tower, and took a sightseeing boat tour along the Seine river at night. There is so much to do in Paris, so it is impossible to see or do everything in two days; however, my family was very content with what they saw. On our last day in France, we went to St. Germain-en-Laye, which is one of my favorite towns nearby because it home to a beautiful château and many cute shops. In the evening, we had Claire, Xavier, and Beth over for some aperitifs (appetizers) to see them one last time before leaving and share about our Christmas travels.
This experience has inspired, amazed, challenged, and changed the way that I view the world and I could not be more thankful for all of the people in my life that made this possible! Until the next adventure! Au revoir ma belle France !