This first week has been pretty crazy- so much going on and so much that's new to get used to. I've been very lucky, however, people have been incredibly friendly towards me, whether it's the teachers at the school, or the girls who i'm living with, or even my landlady (who's been sympathetic to the fact my Comenius grant got messed up and only arrived yesterday!). I've felt very welcome here very soon, and although it is a very small place and there isn't an awful lot to do, I appreciate the amount of French I've been able to speak. Most people here don't speak any english, or a very minimal amount, so all the conversations I've had have been in French. I only speak English whilst I'm teaching, and then I have to do a lot of on-the-spot translation into French so the kids understand; they really don't speak much English. I guess that's to be expected though- especially considering the teachers don't speak English much themselves. Plus the end of this week I had to help out in a French reading and comprehension class, which was pretty tricky, because I had to try and help the little French kids in their own language, explaining words I didn't fully understand myself... It's pretty challenging but I do love seeing the kids achieving something themselves.
I've also been shocked by the differences between the French and the English education systems- here kids start school, proper school, at 2 YEARS OLD! It seems insane, and (as far as I can tell) they have a full school day like the other children in the school. Some of them do have a nap in the afternoon I think, and some do go home at lunchtime. They have been the trickiest children to teach, as most of them sort of look at me wide-eyed, saying nothing, either in French or English!! I've had to try lots of different techniques to get them to say anything- songs, reading them a book with flaps, and they've still been pretty quiet. I guess they just have to get used to me. The other thing that's very different about the system here is that the children are very used to everything being incredibly formal- no games, no fun, just sitting down, listening and writing. That's pretty difficult to get used to and the kids have a lot of unused energy, so they do get told off a fair amount for 'messing about'. I'm going to try and break down that formal aspect and get the kids to have fun with English, because i reckon that's one of the best ways to learn. I have many games, songs and activities up my sleeve- i'll let you know how they go!
I'm appreciating something which is great about France too- despite what I thought last time I came here, it isn't too bad for vegetarians... in comparison to Russia!! They have houmous, lentils, couscous, quinoa, tofu, pulses, all in my local supermarket. The only downside is that to get quorn I had to go to Belgium (don't worry, only 20km down the road). Plus, in Belgium, I found proper alpro soya milk, heinz beans, speculoos and speculoos spread and really cheap proper belgian waffles. I'm also benefitting from some pretty cheap accommodation- only around £240 a month for my room with a kitchenette and shared bathroom, which includes electricity, heating, water, all the bills. The only downside is that the internet is a bit of a minefield but *fingers crossed* i've got it figured out finally!
The only thing I've gotta sort out now is trying to find something to do with all my time (I have wednesdays and thursday afternoons off, and the girls in my house go home every weekend) so I need to find some friends/ activities... this may be harder than it sounds considering the population of this tiny 'town'!! I did go to a choir with a lovely teacher from my school this Friday (the same one who gave me a lift to Belgium) which was good fun- although most of the songs were 80s french hits... and they sing without music so it was pretty tricky!
All in all, I'm having loads of fun, and living here really is a very interesting experience- and very different to the one I had in Petrozavodsk!
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