Be Careful What You Wish For

Last year when I started my job with company x they paid for two weeks of intensive one on one French classes in Paris for me. The classes were good and I learned plenty but the problem with an anglophone trying to learn French in Paris is that so many people speak English it's difficult to apply what one has learned outside of the classroom. Or maybe I should say that it's easy to not apply what one has learned if she chooses to. So after those two weeks my comprehension improved tremendously and I was able to understand when my colleagues spoke in French but I continued to respond to them in English.

As dysfunctional as that system sounds it worked for a while and I was a happy worker bee. During this past spring I started toying with the idea of taking a two week holiday to the south of France and enrolling in another 2-3 week intensive French course. My plan was to sneak away without telling anyone where exactly I was going and to return speaking more French than I had previously. Around the same time, my colleagues that are in charge of external training and development told me that there was still training budget left over for the year and it could be used to some additional French classes if I felt so inclined.

That's when the wheels really started turning. I put it out there that I was intending to take some French courses anyway on my own using my vacation days and if company x was so inclined I'd be more than welcome to have them absorb the costs of my holiday training course especially since communicating more in French is listed as one of my objectives for the year. To my surprise they agreed and so at the end of October I will find myself enrolled in the Instituit du Français in Villefrance sur mer just east of Nice. Sounds lovely doesn't it?

Well not so fast. Because my manager doesn't want to feel as if the company's money is being tossed out of the window, as of yesterday I was told that my dysfunctional system that I've come to love and enjoy will cease to operate. Going forward all team meetings will be conducted 100% in French and my contributions will have to be in French as well and participation is not optional. This is probably the kick in the ass that I need but the anxiety that I'm experiencing isn't pleasant.

So stay tuned to find out if L'Étrangère Americaine let's this French nonsense get the best of her and packs her bags and moves back to New York or if she steps out of the way of her own growth and achievement...

The Man Giveth and the Tax Man Taketh Away

Yesterday when I got home from work I checked my mailbox as I normally do. Because I love getting mail I was excited to see several letters waiting for me in my mailbox. One piece of mail that caught my eye was wrapped in a blue plastic wrapping with the emblem of the Republic Francaise in the upper left hand corner. Curisous as to its contents I quickly ripped open the packaging en route to the elevator. After a quick scan I realized that what I was holding my hands was in fact nothing at all to be excited about.

What I held in my possession was my avis d'impot sur les revenues or more simply put my tax bill. Now, while I understand the importance of paying taxes and I'm more than willing to pay my fair share of them in order to reap the social benefits, when it comes down to it I'm less than thrilled to have to write a four figure check made out to Sarkozy (I jest the check was actually made out to the treasurer or something).

Since the day I started working I knew that this day would eventually come because unlike in the US no income taxes are withheld from my monthly check. Because of this, each month I would studiously put aside a portion of my paycheck into a separate account to cover this expense. However, as the balance in that account increased I became quite attached to it and the idea of such an untimely parting seems cruel and harsh. You see I just replaced my stolen iPhone with the updated 3GS, my summer holiday to Greece is rapidly approaching and a trip back to New York is in the works to celebrate my cousin's wedding. So while I generally love France and put up with their way of doing things, in this case I would much prefer to deal with my taxes the way I have in the US which is by getting a nice tax refund check several weeks after filing my tax returns.

Scrapping Cheese

My colleagues have been great at teaching me new French words and phrases and for the most part they have the patience of saints. However, most of what they teach me is usually quickly forgotten because the exchange oral only and I rarely get a chance to visualize the words to help the memorization process.

During lunch with my colleagues yesterday I asked one of them if I could have a taste of his dessert. His dessert was a tart au chocolat with a perfect dollop of chocolate goodness melted on the wrapping. Being the generous colleague that he is he agreed to let me have a taste and walked away to get a cup of coffee. By the time he came back I had already helped myself to the lonely dollop. Unaware of this he asked me if I still wanted to taste his dessert. My other colleagues responded to him in French and told him that I had already scraped the dollop off the side. The verb racler or to scrape was new to me and for a few moments lingered in my thoughts which is rare for me when I hear a new word. A few moments later after some mental gymnastics a light bulb went off for me. It was at that moment that I associated the verb racler with the cheese raclette. Raclette is typically eaten by melting it over a grill and then scraping off the melted portions and serving over potatoes. I mentioned this insight to my colleagues and they seemed both impressed and slightly amused.

For me making that connection was key in helping me to visualize the new word and to commit it to memory in a place in my brain where it won't easily be forgotten. If only I could do that with every new word I'd be all set.

Former Language Assistants This One's For You

I just received the following job posting in my inbox for any former language assistants out there currently living in the DC area (or willing to move there):

Le service culturel de l'Ambassade de France à Washington recrute un assistant pour la Coopération éducative.

Cette personne aura la charge du programme des assistants de langue américains en France et assistera l'Attachée de Coopération éducative dans des tâches ayant trait à la promotion du français.

Le poste est à pourvoir immédiatement. Après une période d'essai de 3 mois, un contrat d'un an pourrait être proposé.

L'assistant devra être bilingue français/anglais. Le fait d'avoir participé récemment au programme des assistants en France est un plus, de même que toute expérience d'enseignement.

Merci de m'adresser par email votre CV ainsi qu'une lettre de motivation en français.

Catherine PETILLON

Attachée de Coopération Educative

Ambassade de France aux Etats-Unis

www.theworldspeaksfrench.org

4101 Reservoir Road, NW

Washington, DC 20007

Tél / Phone : (1) 202 944 6031

Fax : (1) 202 944 6268

Bon Courage!!

Endearing Myself to My Colleagues

I've been spending quite a bit of time with a certain male friend of mine watching the Olympics the past two weeks. Because France sucked most of the time my male friend spent a lot of time saying "oh putain" and as a result I've picked up the habit.

So I'm at work today and it's approaching 6:30PM and I want to wrap things up and head home but I can't because another colleague is working on a document that I need to update before heading home. So as the minutes pass I get more and more frustrated. It's gets to a point where I let out an "oh putain". I thought my sigh was inaudible but my colleague sitting across from me heard my exclamation and was obviously shocked. Shocked in part because I never speak French at work and probably even more shocked by my first forary into speaking French in the office. I tried in vain to prevent colleague #1 from sharing my comment with colleague #2 to no avail. Next thing you know the three of us are all laughing in our corner of the office. And that concludes lesson #1 on How to Endear Yourself to French Colleagues.

RTT

Like most foreigners that dream of moving to France I was enticed by the idea of "free" health care, 1.5 hour lunches, a 35 hour work week and 5 weeks vacation. Well it turns out that I don't get a 35 hour work week because of my job category and my colleagues don't really indulge in 1.5 hour lunches. However, there was one pleasant surprise that no one ever mentioned to me and it's the concept of RTT (Reduction du temps de travail). Basically, because we don't adhere to 35 hour work weeks at the firm we are entitled to an extra 10-11 days off during the year. And for all you math whizzes that adds up to 7 weeks of paid vacation per year. Holla.

In other news it took precisely 1 month of working with my French colleagues before any of the decided to invite me to lunch. Go figure.

On Working

So it's been almost a month since I started my gig at the company and I'm just getting around to posting an update. One of the main reasons for not posting sooner is because I've been completely exhausted and wiped out when I get home from work. My exhaustion is compounded by the fact that my friend John has been staying with me since the 17th of July. Add to that the numerous activities to partake in during the summer in Paris and you get very few blog posts from me.

A few things, I received my first month's pay last Wednesday and it was nice to see a sum that wouldn't be eaten up completely by my rent. Hooray for that. It was perfect timing as well because my bank account was very close to negative territory. Lastly, my office has a nice view of the Eiffel Tower from the terrace and an unlimited supply of Nespresso coffee the only thing that's missing is George Clooney.

Me Drinking Nespresso on the terrace

The view from the terrace

July 9th...

...is my official start date.

Some things that I'm looking forward to now that I'll be making a livable salary once again are:

1. Joining a gym
2. Taking yoga classes
3. Eating out a little more
4. Being able to purchase a 4€ bouquet of flowers from the marché and not have it feel like a complete and utter luxury
5. Moving to the type of Paris apartment that I've always dreamed of (we'll see)
   

Rejoining the workforce also has me a bit nervous as I'm not sure how and if I will be able to adjust from working 12 hours (and most recently 0 hours) to full time employment. I'm also a bit apprehensive about once again having to navigate the muddy waters of office politics with the added complication of cultural differences. I guess only time will tell how it all works out.

Stay tuned.

Breaking News

Folks this just in, my FACC visa application has been officially approved. This means that very soon I'll be able to answer the age old question "when do you start working?" It gets pretty exhausting doing the typical French shoulder shrug and saying "I don't know." If all goes according to plan I'll be able to start sometime around the second week of July.

So how did I get here? Well back in November (yes you read correctly) after seeing a posting on the internet I applied for the job on a whim. Several weeks later in mid December I heard back from the company and had a phone screen. The woman on the phone wasn't so sure about me because my background didn't fit in exactly with what they looking for but they were interested in seeing a diverse selection of candidates so she would forward my resume along. After several rounds of interviews I was officially offered the position in February. I was thrilled and excited about the prospect of staying and working in Paris but it meant that I would have to potentially quit my teaching job early and I just couldn't do that to my students. At the time I also wasn't thrilled with the salary. Also, I wasn't satisfied with the salary offered (in retrospect the salary is very close to being on par with what I was earning in the US and one can say that the benefits are better). So in February I foolishly turned down the position.

Fast forward to April and my continuing search for a job in Paris. I wasn't getting anywhere and I noticed that the job offered to me by the company was still posted on the internet. At the encouragement of my friend and with my tail between my legs I emailed the company and said that I was willing to accept the position if they were still willing to hire me and as they say the rest is history.

My visa is being sponsored by the French American Chamber of Commerce (FACC) which has an International Career Development Program. The program has a bilateral agreement that sponsors highly skilled young people, ages 18 to 35 for their visas. Their requirements are not very stringent but as an American you would have to find the job opportunity on your own and then FACC works to get you sponsored and all of your paperwork in order. The only downside is that you are only sponsored to work in France for up to 18 months total. The FACC paperwork process is said to take between 4-5 weeks (my visa was processed in just under 4 weeks).

So what's the moral of this very long post? I'd like to think that the moral of the story is to stay positive and don't always listen to the naysayers because anything is possible.

Edit: And it doesn't hurt to have a little bit of luck on your side.

Surprise Surprise

On Wednesday I decided to use my return ticket to fly to New York City to surprise my family especially my sister. Normally, it's incredibly hard for me to keep secrets but because I decided at the absolute last minute I was able to pull it off. The reaction on my sister's face when she saw me was totally priceless. I'll be in town for about two weeks and then back to Paris for me. I've got one more surprise to pull off on Sunday and hopefully it's as good as the first.

I spent the day pampering myself getting my hair done with my mom, pedicure, shopping and massage. No, I didn't win the lottery I just thought it would be nice to take advantage of the weak dollar. I also hand delivered my application for the FACC program and was able to meet the person that would be handling my case on the US end. So now my fingers are crossed and hopefully everything will be wrapped up in 5 weeks or less.

In Limbo

It's been a while since I've written an update on my job situation reason being because there really hasn't been anything to write about. I've been waiting in limbo for weeks for the company to complete the necessary paperwork for me to proceed with my FACC sponsorship to no avail. There have been weeks I thought that the company changed its mind regarding the offer because I hadn't heard from them.

Fast forward to today...as it stands the company is a little hesitant about hiring me through the FACC program because my contract would have to be a CDD and can only be for up to 18 months however the company wants to offer a CDI contract. Now in my eyes this is a no brainer, sign me up through FACC, get me in as soon as possible and in the meantime try to find ways around the limitation. However, my future employer and I are currently running in circles trying to find a way for me to change my expired assistant CDS into a new salarié CDS.

So to make a long story short I'm in job limbo right now. While it may seem like an ideal situation and one that I should take advantage of I find that I'm very bored.

And So It Is

As of Wednesday my 7 month teaching contract has unofficially come to an end. Technically my contract is valid until April 30 but next week my schools will be testing thus no classes for me and after that is spring break. My last day was as uneventful as my first but I did have to fight back some tears as I left because believe it or not I really grew to like most of my students and I will miss them.

In other news the maternal unit is arriving in exactly 2 weeks and I'm not prepared at all for that visit. She'll be here for several weeks and I need to find creative ways to entertain her. If anyone has any suggestions on places we should visit in France or Europe please drop them in my comments box. Also, if anyone is willing to entertain her for me for a few days as well that would be greatly appreciated as well (I'd even be willing to pay a small fee). *

*Mom, I'm just kidding I would never pawn you off on the highest bidder. Actually, it depends on the price especially since my income was so low for the past 7 months.

Working 9 to 5

I should be getting ready for work but I'm going to post a little tidbit for ya'll. It's looking like I might be staying in France afterall. You see so far I managed to pull off the impossible. I found a French company that is willing to hire me, give me a CDI contract and pay me well above the minimum wage. Oh and did I mention that when I was offered this job in February I actually turned it down because I'm a little not right in the head? Last week I went "groveling" back to them with my tail between my legs and to my surprise they were still willing to hire me. Lastly, the job doesn't require me to speak a lick of French.

So now, I just have make my way through the immigration/visa process once more to get things finalized and I should be on my way to becoming a consumer once again. Did I mention that I have a mound of paperwork to fill out and that I need to translate my resume into French for the OMI even though I didn't need a French resume when I applied for the job? Anyway, wish me luck and keep your fingers crossed for me.

One last thing, I'm currently entertaining some guests and the maternal unit is arriving shortly which is why I haven't posted in a while.

And It's Back to Work for Me

After a lovely two week hiatus I head back to work tomorrow for my last six weeks. I cannot believe that my assistantship is coming to an end in six weeks. It seems like yesterday I was fretting over getting accepted to the program and then fretting over all of the administrative stuff. Knowing that I only have six weeks left is really leaving me stress filled and uncertain about my future.

On top of that I have a string of back to back to back visitors starting next Friday. Between now and the end of April there will only be one weekend which I will have sans visitors. As much as I am looking forward to seeing my friends and family members that plan to visit I am also stressing about it. Some visits will overlap and I'll have a lot of juggling to do. Additionally, having visitors usually entails doing touristy things and doing touristy things involves spending money. Oh and I'm just starting to roll up my sleeves and get into a good study routine and I know it will be disrupted with a constant influx of visitors.

Ah, what's a girl to do? I know that in the short term I need to come up with some lesson plans for tomorrow's classes or else I'm screwed.

Big Sister Blabber Mouth Spilled The Beans

So my big sister whom will henceforth be referred to as Blabbermouth has spilled the beans to my Maternal Unit that I'm considering staying in Paris for an undetermined amount of time after my contract expires. The thing is, subconsciously I knew that by telling Blabbermouth the news would eventually make it way to the Maternal Unit because that's just how things work out in my family. Now that I think about it I told my sister because I wanted her to do my dirty work for me.

So, now that I have decided that I want to stay in Paris it's going to be an uphill battle trying to figure out a way to do so and to earn a living. Last month, I was actually offered a job as Project Manager for a small consulting firm here in Paris but I turned it down. I'm kind of kicking myself now for turning it down but I had my reasons and at the end of the day I'm sure it was the right decision for me at the time. One of the reasons why I turned the job down is because I'm currently focused on getting all of my ducks in a row to go back to school. Finding the self discipline to study and fill out applications.

So there you have it universe my intentions in writing for the world to read and to hold me accountable to.

I Couldn't Have Paid for a Better Response

I had finished my lesson early with five of my 3eme students when the following exchange took place:

Me: "Why are you looking at me?"
Students: "Madam, because you are beautiful."

Here's the Other Thing...On the Teachers

A lot of assistants out there complain about how rude the other teachers in their schools are and I don't doubt that. But the thing is, I didn't go into my schools expecting my teachers to befriend me and to become my insta-bffs I actually had no expectations of my teachers at all. They have their own lives and their own social circles why should they invite in a complete stranger who may or may not speak their language (aside from it being the nice thing to do)? I was hired to do a job and that's the only expectation that I had. I think that by having such low expectations has saved me a lot of frustration and angst at the end of the day.

I barely speak to the other teachers at my schools aside from the English staff the reason being my French skills are crap. To my surprise one of the French teachers that I have barely spoken to at my school actually struck up a conversation with my in English the other day. He asked me about my vacation and proceeded to excitedly tell me about his American cousin that would be coming for a visit in the next couple of days. Today, to my double surprise he invited me to come to his cousin's poetry reading next week.

So what's the point of my rambling? Well my point is, that long ago I learned to lower my expectations of people and of situations. In doing so it becomes substantially easier to exceed my expectations in many instances and I find myself less disappointed with the human race as a whole.

Here's the Thing...On Teaching

There's a lot of negativity out there regarding the experiences of many of the teaching assistants. I'm surprised that people continue to apply for the job given all of the bad stuff that is written. Based solely on what's written about it one might think that it's the absolutely worse job in the world. But here's the thing, depending on the day my students can either really impress me and make me proud or they can make me want to tear my hair out. On those days when they really annoy me I have a sort of feigned indifference towards them. On the surface I could care less if they smoked a lot of pot during their vacation, if a little ragamuffin calls me a bitch during class and so on and so on. I think the key is t not give them the reaction they are hoping for, I simply choose to ignore them and move on to the next topic at hand. Because at the end of the day I'm not going to let some punkass 14 year old get to me or disrupt my entire class. The other thing is, if they aren't engaged in the lesson that I'm teaching then I have failed them and not vice versa!!!!!

On the days when they are really engaged it can be pretty rewarding. Let's take Leslie as an example. Leslie in one of my 3eme classes and she barely participates in class yet she insists on attending my class not only with her actual English class but during her free period as well. Initially, I thought it "wow, how nice this girl really likes me and has taken a real interest in learning English." Turns out that self-centered view couldn't be further from the truth. Some of her best girlfriends happen to be in the other class and she sees it as an opportunity to catch up with them when she wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity. So as long as they aren't too disruptive in class I let them be for the most part. Last week when Leslie insisted on coming with my group during her actual English class I told her that I would not accept her because of her lack of participation. It didn't go over so well and she wasn't very pleased with me for the rest of the day. Throughout the day I heard her recounting the story to her friends about how I was so mean and how she didn't like me.

Today once again Leslie joined my class during her free period and to my surprise she actually participated, was very engaged in the lesson and even surprised me with her knowledge during class. I was shocked! I had practically written her off but today she really surprised me and made me proud and made my job worthwhile. To encourage such behavior in the future I made a point praising her after class. I am no fool however, I fully expect Leslie to be back to her old ways next week and if not it will be yet another pleasant surprise.

It Warms My Heart

I don't write much about teaching in the Paris suburbs often on my blog even though that's the primary reason why I'm in France in the first place. I guess most of the time there isn't really much to blog about in terms of teaching despite the fact that both of my schools are considered ZEP (zones d'éducation prioritaires) schools which means that the schools are essentially in poorer neighborhoods, the students come from immigrant backgrounds and they have low academic achievements. Teaching hasn't been a walk in the park for me but overall it has been a pleasurable experience for me and I think about my students even when I'm not in classroom with them and I get sad when I realize that I won't be able to see a specific class for one reason or another.

Today in one of my classes we did a worksheet to determine who has been naughty and who has been nice since it's the holiday season. After answering a series of questions we computed the values for each student and I picked the two students that ranked highest on the kind-o-meter to give them a prize. I almost had a riot situation on my hands when the other students realized that only two of them would be getting treats but a crisis was adverted. From the bag of treats both students picked a pack of Orbit gum (I figured since I will be heading back home soon I could spare a pack or two that was included in my care package that almost never came). I insisted that the kids not open the gum while they were in school as I did not want them to get in trouble for chewing gum while in class but Alexandre refused to listen to me (or maybe he just didn't hear me or understand my English). Before I could reprimand him I noticed that he was actually sharing his pack of gum with his classmates. So instead of reprimanding him I acknowledged his generosity in front of the entire class.

And while they may not speak perfect English and while they may be labeled "difficult kids" I walked out of my classroom today smiling brightly on the inside and out.

They Just Don't Pay Me Enough...

... to commute 2.5 hours home from work due to the transit strike
... to ride the crowded metro and witness fights due to the transit strike
... to spend Thanksgiving teaching students that just witnessed their classmate on the roof attempting suicide

Yes folks you read that correctly. This morning was definitely very interesting. Rest assured the student is safe and was rescued by the pompiers.

Now I can't help but ask myself the following questions:

1. How the heck does a student that should be in class end up unaccounted for and on the roof?
2. Why are students able to access the roof of the school building?
3. How is it that the teachers and administration don't have enough control over and allow them to go into the hall to witness such a tragedy?


Happy Thanksgiving to my friends and family back home in the good old US of A.