the day i got 100 passports

French media mail will be thanking me because I already have more books than I could possibly bring back to the USA.

Can I just say that the SPCD in Vichy is exceeding my expectations by so much. First, and most importantly, it is organized as all. It makes Carre International (where I got my degrees last year) look like it was organized by chimps. Seriously. I've been told from day one exactly which parcours I'm in, which professors I will have, which room I'm in, how to access our online platform, everything. Not once has a professor been unprepared or even uninteresting. I have a bunch more classes lined up and I hope that continues.

But what I appreciate the most is that everything I'm learning is practical in class. We spend very little time on theory and much more time on methods of implementation for our very diverse students' levels. Plus, we practice every worksheet and every game so we know how our students will feel.

I just finished my first year teaching and haven't had a real training yet because NJEA was cancelled last year. But I hope they are all like this because I'm learning so much.

New grammar books for my students plus 100 "passports for learning" that I will be using forever.

I'm most excited about the book in the middle, "Les Bulles de la France," which is a collection of Bandes Dessinees. The publisher asked a French comic to make a certain number of strips per theme. Then made educational worksheets out of each strip. It's super adaptable per level and authentic too!







Plus, I'm loving being a student again. Seriously, if I could be a student forever, I would be. Today our group had to do a group exercise where we pretend we decide to buy a house and we have to determine rooms, budget, chores, etc. Guess which group decided to sacrifice a second bathroom to install a jacuzzi and to add 50 euros a week to the budget for our party fund?

En stage

Some highlights of Vichy and the stage (teacher training) so far. 

-Vichy is so small that even when I got completely lost in town last night I managed to find my way and it only took me a half an hour. 

-My host family is wonderful. Super patient, welcoming, and good cooks. Plus, they have an adorable one-year-old and a super animated seven-year-old who loves to talk about any and everything. 

-It takes me three minutes to get to class every day. 

-The classes are well-organized and interesting. Right now I am in a daily program addressing how to favor oral communication in classes. We learned plenty of activities and techniques and it is only day two. 

-My fellow French teachers are awesome! Although the grant was available to Americans, the University accepts people from all over the world. I find myself again in a "petite planete" where we can learn each other's cultures and techniques and practice our French together. I am impressed by how appreciated we all are to one another, and how we are seen as colleagues by the professor, and not as students. It's a nice distinction, to be a party in sharing and not just one expected to learn. 

And the one I'm happiest about: two days in and I already feel lighter in body and in spirit. My class is on the 6th floor and I force myself to take the stairs all the way up 3x a day. I meditate before bed at night. Vichy is known for its spas, and I am going to book myself an Ayurvedic rebalance later this week. Plus, no snacking. No gourmandises except to try something new. I can already tell it's going to be hard to leave. 

But, oh, not as hard as all that, cause in less than two weeks I get to reunite with my famille Normande!

Vichy!

Along the way to Vichy, I:

-Had my first nonstop flight since Semester At Sea.

Somewhere above the Atlantic.
OFK moment: when the fog on the ocean
looks like cake decorations.

-May have gotten another stomach bug from the plane food (veggie as it were).

-Got chauffeured around Paris (dude had a name card. literally).

Nice to see you again, Tour Eiffel! 

-Picked up grant money from a Western Union. It felt really strange.

-Spoke Spanish with an Aregetinian, 3 Brazilians, and a Chinese girl at the station.

-Got to know a super welcoming host family who took me on a tour of Vichy!

-Watched the sun go down at 9:55 pm.

Tomorrow, first day of teacher training. I'ma nerd out when I get my books.

What changes, what stays the same

So I came to the realization not so long ago that I don't live in France anymore.

I know that sounds crazy because at some point close to a year ago, I got myself on a plane, flew across an ocean, reunited with T and all my family and friends, and threw myself into the job hunt. Then I accepted my dream job, moved in with T, and settled down. So, yeah, I live in New Jersey again. And I'm here to stay.

From the moment I got home, I knew I had said goodbye to my town with a dozen cafes on every street, bookstores galore, and bartenders who knew me. I had accepted the fact that I would only see some of my dearest friends annually. And I was totally stoked to be back in the USA, land of the convenience store and home of the sprawling highway, where I could drive my car again! So much good here.

What I didn't realize AT ALL until this week was that France meant so, so much to my physical health. When I compare myself to where I was a year ago, I am ashamed and saddened. I am eating too much and I am participating in ZERO physical activity aside from when I am at work and the occasional Saturday fun activity with friends.

I gained ten pounds since the beginning of the school year and didn't quite understand why. But this is where I have to remember that I am not in France anymore. There, I (begrudgingly, sometimes, I admit) walked everywhere. Across town multiple times a day. Sometimes with heavy grocery bags in both arms. I ate better, whole foods. And a lot of friends, in what I have come to see as a very appreciated, very French type of criticism, raised their eyebrows at me if I ordered a heavy dessert after a heavy dinner, or exhibited any similar gourmande activity. I watched the way parents educated their kids about healthy eating and I listened to what they said for myself. I got slimmer, but more importantly, I got healthier.

Today, I am lethargic, unreasonably cold ALL THE TIME, cranky, and worst of all, lazy. It was a long, cold winter and I am over it.

I want Spring to be a time of healing. Because I have a lot of healing to do. So I am educating myself about how to eat the right foods when I need them. I bought a juicer. I am seeing a nutritionist. I am going to a gym. And I hope more than anything that I can get healthy again. Because I have been on this road many times and failed. I don't understand how the same me who has faced and overcome my fair share of challenges is the same person who cannot turn down a cupcake.

Friends, what have you done to keep you motivated as you got healthy? What am I missing? I am not sure I have ever had willpower. Where can I sign up for some of that?

Bienvenue, 2013!

2013 is here, and I am still having trouble processing how quickly it came.

Since I got back to the USA in June, I haven't given myself any time at all to reflect. A lot has happened. I didn't get the job I was interested in in May, but I did get one a whole lot better for me. After months of storage-unit managing and cable company date entering, I sent out a letter of interest on a whim one weekend, not feeling quite ready to start applying for my dream job (teaching French), but knowing that September was fast-approaching. After a phone call, an hour-and-a-half car trip, and the most important interview so far in my life, I was offered a job teaching French, and the whirlwind that is now my life began.

I moved in with T and two days later I was an equal parts nervous, equal parts excited Madame, full of hope and positive energy for this school year. Now the 12 part of 12-13 is already over, and there is still so much I have to teach my students!

True, school has taken over most of my time, but the whirlwind has also been full of catching-up time with friends, reading, marathoning television series while I bake and clean and craft, and spending every free moment with T. We've got 8 months to make up for.

In 2012, I toured 5 countries, met friends in each of them, made a new best friend and added more chosen family members, was reminded how awesome the people I know are, finished two French diplomas with pretty stellar notes, and nabbed my dream job. At the same time, I got to know myself a little better and became aware of all the things I want to work on to become a better person, friend, and family member.

In 2013, I want to keep up the healthy eating habits I have adopted for myself, but more importantly, I need to get back into running, yoga, and meditation. My health has taken a hit since September. It's time to sleep the right amount and get my body as healthy as possible. It's the only one I have.

This year, a lot less sarcasm, a lot less letting myself get annoyed. No more yelling at the Comcast people, for example. I want to be more tolerant, more appreciative of all those around me.

And, I think most importantly, better lessons that encourage and inspire all types of learners, not just learners like me. This is the biggest one, the one I can't stop thinking about, the one that is driving me. I know it could take years to master, but I want to get damn close in 2013.

Happy New Year everyone! What big plans are up your sleeves?