First time for everything

including top ten lists

Top Ten Reasons I love being an English assistant in Lisieux
(in no particular order):

1.I feel like a celebrity – Everyone knows about America, and since I’m from so close to New York, I can use that as a reference point. The students love that, and constantly ask me if I know any celebrities. When I arrive at my schools, the kids are über excited to see me, especially at Michelet where I typically work but once a week. And when they see me on the street outside of school, it’s often like a celebrity sighting: “Oh mon dieu, est-ce que c’est Ashley? C’est Ashley! C’est Ashley!” they say in disbelief, and then when I talk to them they’re all flustered and don’t know how to act around me. It makes me feel super-cool. (Then I say things like super-cool and it resets the whole scale.)

2.The kids treat me with respect – I didn’t get that until Nathalie pointed it out to me, but they all call me vous as opposed to the familiar tu. I was worried the kids would think coming with me for a half hour would be a period to goof off and not study, but on the whole it’s the opposite.

3.The kids love me – and for a reason besides the sheer fact that I’m American. My role as assistant is to talk to them and to get them talking to me and each other. C’est tout. I don’t give them tests, and I don’t give them grades. Therefore, they have no reason to get mad at me every couple of weeks when exam time comes.

4.The English colleagues are awesome – they’re really my saving grace. I’d heard horror stories about how the French are uninviting not because they’re rude but because it takes a long time for them to consider someone their friend. So naturally, I was worried that I’d be hanging out with only the other English assistants. In fact, my time here has proved the opposite! The English assistant make their own plans for the vacations and weekends and usually, if it weren’t for my colleagues, I’d be doing things alone a whole lot of the time.

5.The non-English colleagues are almost as inviting – seriously. They talk to me, they come on excursions with us, they invite me to classes, they invite me on field trips. I’m so lucky.

6.It lets me live in France – Ain’t nothin wrong with that. I get to live in this great place with so much history it makes my head spin. And living here helps my French exponentially. I doubt many tourists have to open checking accounts, receive work instructions or apply for resident cards. All of that has its own specific language with plenty of new terms.

7.Instant Translations – Speaking of language, being an assistant is an awesome way to learn. Each time I say something to the kids that they get, they’re so excited to understand that they immediately translate it into French for the other students. Best way to learn.

8.I barely work – twelve hours a week, four vacations of about two weeks each. I have plenty of time to do all the things I wanted to do and never had the time for – I’m constantly reading classics, translating poetry, writing, collaging, painting. And, of course, traveling.

9.My region is awesome – I mean really. I’m not far from Paris or from the coast. I’ve got Caen, a lively university town, right next door. I’m within distance of Bretagne, which I adore, and Mont St. Michel. So hey, maybe Lisieux is not the best ville in the country, but I’ve got options pretty close by.

10.I don’t feel so far away from home – Much of the culture here is American culture. With the newest songs on the radio, popular Hollywood movies and TV series on the screen, and familiar products in the grocery store, I never feel removed from my culture. Celebrity gossip here is largely about Americans, so I’m never out of touch. It makes it easy to talk to the students about what I like and limits my homesickness to people and places, but not objects.