So, I'm going to France. Contrary to popular belief (okay, not that popular...), Paris and France aren't the same thing; France is as big as Texas, and has the added advantage of actually being its own country. I was assigned to l'Académie d'Amiens in April, but since school districts are much larger than US county districts (Amiens's serves 421,000 students, and is one of the smaller ones), I didn't have a really clear idea of where I'd be going within the district.
Picardie (Picardy in English) lies in the northeastern corner of France. It's also eerily similar to my native north Alabama:
1. Lots of agriculture. And by that I mean it's the top sugar-beet producing region in the world (yeah, you can make sugar from beets. Cool, huh?). We grow a lot of cotton and corn in Alabama. But sadly no beets.
2. The largest city, Amiens, is only 136,000 people. Huntsville, AL is only a little bigger at 180,000.
3. I'm living in a small city (compare 28,000 to my native Florence's 36,000).
4. The people are supposed to be really nice. So I won't have to leave southern hospitality behind! :)
My city's name: Soissons. I'd never heard of it before, but the more I look at it the more I like it. It's small enough that I can get around easily (especially because it has buses!) but large enough that there's a lot to see and do--monasteries, a cathedral, basketball courts, and more. Plus it's only 1.5 hours from Paris by train and an hour from Reims by bus. If you don't know about Reims, it's the capital of Champagne. Enough said.
I got in contact with my school and found out a little more about my situation. I'm the only English TA at the high school, although there will be two others in other languages (one German and one Spanish). I'll be living at a boarding school (not the one where I work) with up to 5 other people. The rent was too low to pass up, plus it's really convenient, so I'll deal with sharing a bathroom and kitchen--it'll be just like my suite at Vanderbilt, except 85% cheaper. And I'll get to speak French there without being yelled at. Mark and Justin, I'm looking at you.
My job sounds really fun. There are nine English teachers at my high school so I'll be splitting my time between all their classes. It seems like I'll mostly be talking about American culture; I was told to bring my high school yearbook and to brainstorm words and phrases that are unique to my hometown in the US. I've already started the list: I was fixin to tell y'all what was on it but I reckon y'all can figure it out yourself. My contact person is also really nice. I'm getting more excited about going every day; I wish I didn't have a whole month and a half left.
I applied for my visa in Atlanta yesterday and everything went smoothly. Now, all that's left to do is wait. *Cue Jeopardy music* *Yes my mom is watching Jeopardy in the other room*
Picardie (Picardy in English) lies in the northeastern corner of France. It's also eerily similar to my native north Alabama:
1. Lots of agriculture. And by that I mean it's the top sugar-beet producing region in the world (yeah, you can make sugar from beets. Cool, huh?). We grow a lot of cotton and corn in Alabama. But sadly no beets.
2. The largest city, Amiens, is only 136,000 people. Huntsville, AL is only a little bigger at 180,000.
3. I'm living in a small city (compare 28,000 to my native Florence's 36,000).
4. The people are supposed to be really nice. So I won't have to leave southern hospitality behind! :)
My city's name: Soissons. I'd never heard of it before, but the more I look at it the more I like it. It's small enough that I can get around easily (especially because it has buses!) but large enough that there's a lot to see and do--monasteries, a cathedral, basketball courts, and more. Plus it's only 1.5 hours from Paris by train and an hour from Reims by bus. If you don't know about Reims, it's the capital of Champagne. Enough said.
I got in contact with my school and found out a little more about my situation. I'm the only English TA at the high school, although there will be two others in other languages (one German and one Spanish). I'll be living at a boarding school (not the one where I work) with up to 5 other people. The rent was too low to pass up, plus it's really convenient, so I'll deal with sharing a bathroom and kitchen--it'll be just like my suite at Vanderbilt, except 85% cheaper. And I'll get to speak French there without being yelled at. Mark and Justin, I'm looking at you.
My job sounds really fun. There are nine English teachers at my high school so I'll be splitting my time between all their classes. It seems like I'll mostly be talking about American culture; I was told to bring my high school yearbook and to brainstorm words and phrases that are unique to my hometown in the US. I've already started the list: I was fixin to tell y'all what was on it but I reckon y'all can figure it out yourself. My contact person is also really nice. I'm getting more excited about going every day; I wish I didn't have a whole month and a half left.
I applied for my visa in Atlanta yesterday and everything went smoothly. Now, all that's left to do is wait. *Cue Jeopardy music* *Yes my mom is watching Jeopardy in the other room*
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