C'est la vie... of an English Assistant

I've realised that my blog posts are a little detached, and don't really give much of a real idea of what I normally do here. So here is a 'week in the life' of the only red-head in Bourg:

Monday
Only 3 hours of lessons, but unfortunately, working at 11, 2 and 4 doesn't leave much room for doing anything interesting in between. I usually use the time to plan lessons to free up bigger blocks of time later in the week. No early start on Tuesday to me means a night out on Monday, but some of the others have shown to be a little disinclined to go out in general. The two other Brits, my Russian flatmate and I have usually ended up in the same bar in Bourg, but a few issues involving some mecs a little too insistent on chatting me up (and there's really nowhere to hide in this tiny place..), a guy who described himself as racist (!) and the fact that my idea of a good night out doesn't really involve playing back-to-back games of pool with this kind of clientele have left me reluctant to continue the habit. Keep reading to see what the future holds for nights out in Bourg... but I don't have high hopes.


Tuesday
My day off! This week I went into Lyon to find out if I could take a course in the university; no luck, but I met up with a girl who was a French assistant last year for coffee and she gave me loads of great advice about France, the job and Lyon. I would advise any assistants past or present to send an e-mail out to all the addresses of past assistants that the British Council send out as I've met and spoken to some really lovely and helpful people (in French!) this way. It's called 'FLA Buddy Scheme', and I received the e-mail around mid-October. I did it because I was worried I wasn't talking enough French with French people, and it's really paid off!

Passarelle Saint-Georges, Lyon

I ended up doing a lot of aimless wandering after the girls I met went back to class, as the train I had planned to take was cancelled due to strike action with no replacement service... No idea how the French get to work on time in the morning!

Wednesday
Every other week I start work at 7.45am in town half an hour's walk away. Give me an Exeter 9am any day; walking to school when it's still dark is miserable! It's also my youngest class, so I really can't be tired, hungover or look like I just rolled out of bed (although sometimes the wind on the way there will do that for me anyway..) The flipside to this is that I'm free from 11am onwards, and that every other week I have another day off. This week I went to the Parc de la Tête d'Or in Lyon with a few of the other assistants:

When we got back we had a meal planned with another French girl I met through the FLA Buddy Scheme in Bourg. We had booked for nine but it ended up being only four! It's occasions like this that I wonder whether it's a case of the individual or the culture; I've certainly never been in the situation where someone cancels on a dinner which has been booked for anything other than unforeseen circumstances, but luckily the restaurant didn't mind and the four of us had a lovely evening speaking almost entirely in French.

On my days off I also usually like to take a walk around Bouvent lake, which is a good hike away but well worth it for the calmness. (I'm slowly but surely turning into my mother, aren't I...)

Thursday

Usually I have lessons 8am-5pm on Thursdays but this week my six hours were reduced to one due to various tests and absences, giving me time to... sleep and do nothing. Good one, Fiona.

In the evening, though, we went Bowling with the Lycée Quinet 'Amicale' (a kind of social society for teachers). I'm not the best bowler in the world (two strikes and two zeros.. what's wrong with me?) but it was good to get to know the teachers in a more social context, and I'm already noticing the difference in the staffroom; no more awkward break-times, I hope.


Friday
A busy but enjoyable one: every other week I have to make two separate journeys to Péronnas (the other school) with a class and a choir rehearsal in Quinet in-between. Technically I shouldn't really have time to go to choir, but if I leave ten minutes early and eat a sandwich en-route it works.

In the evening I have a rehearsal with L'Ensemble Vocal de l'Ain in town (Bourg inexplicably being the capital of its region). I auditioned just to fill some spare time but luckily for me they're a really good choir with a busy schedule which suits me to a T.
(If anyone was interested: the chorus parts of Mozart's Don Giovanni, Gounod's Requiem, Duruflé's Requiem, Fauré's Cantique de Jean Racine, César Franck's Les Sept Paroles du Christ sur la Croix and Duruflé's Notre Père.)

Friday is also, of course, an opportunity to go out, but so far early starts for travelling have put paid to anything particularly exciting.

Saturday

So far we've used our Saturdays to go to Annecy and Lyon, with more plans for travelling in the pipe-line (including a festive Paris trip in December). Again, Saturday night is for going out, and we've managed to have one successful night out in Bourg on a Saturday (following a disastrous one in Lyon) involving the almost authentic Irish 'Pub', flaming shots and great company. Hopefully more like that to follow!

Sunday

As you might have already known, or read here, the 'day of rest' is very restful here in France. So far - apart from that one time we went to the rugby and the cinema - it's been an opportunity for lie-ins/hangovers, lesson planning and laziness which is gratefully received by my lazy alter-ego, but I'm sure after the holidays I'll be back on form with not a moment spare - or so I hope.

France does have some good music..

..and you know you're in a fantastic mood when you have this in your head.

Perks of the job; kids are hilarious

Even though most of my pupils are 15+ they still come out with some funny and brilliant things. Here are the highlights of my teaching career (lol) so far:

1. My usually sullen TSTG class getting seriously competitive over a game of articulate.

2. The kids in the collège playground playing three-player ping pong. (It involves running round the table, if you can try to picture it.) Brilliant idea.

3. The two girls who still always say hello to me even though I only take them once every four weeks.

4. The boy who didn't know how to say "I'm supposed to go back and send someone else in after 20 minutes" in English so instead laboured on alone, telling me about immigrant communities in Britain, for the whole hour-long lesson.

5. The looks on my 4ème's faces when I told them about Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

6. The boy who asked if I'd ever been to Aberystwyth, and the fact that the teacher didn't know where that was.

7. Doing pronunciation exercises when the teacher doesn't tell me what topic to cover: 'TH TH TH TH TH' 'H H H H H H'. Just like choral warm-ups, but they find it hilarious. 

8. The girl who, after much deliberation, replied 'Wales' when I asked her to name any country in the UK.

9. The trouble-maker in 3ème who shocked everyone by saying he wanted to join Homework Club. It later transpired that he didn't know what 'homework' meant.

10. The super smart sixteen year old in my Terminale Science who brought up punk rock in my 'What's Great about Great Britain?' class. Ten points to Gryffindor.

Annwyl i mi

Photography from Andrea Paz

This week I'm hoping I started a trend with my three course traditional Welsh meal of Glamorgan sausages, lamb and mint sauce, and Welshcakes followed by drinking games (non Brits absolutely horrified by the dirty pint in ring of fire) and general merriment. A few people have asked me for recipes, so here goes:

SELSIG MORGANNWG / GLAMORGAN SAUSAGES

Not actually sausages at all, but more like a slightly lighter, cheesy version of stuffing.

      

Photography from Andrea Paz

Photography from Andrea Paz

Makes 8

175g breadcrumbs (I just used a packet and that worked out fine)
150g Caerphilly cheese (obviously doesn't exist in France; I used feta)

Half a leek, finely chopped (or a third if you're using enormous French poireaux!)

Small handful chopped parsley 

½ tsp of thyme

2 eggs, beaten

1½ tsp Dijon mustard (you can get it very cheap out here, but English mustard is fine too)

Milk as required (no more than a few tbsp)
Oil
Black pepper to season (the cheese will already be quite salty so no need for more, to my taste)

1. Mix together 150g of the breadcrumbs in a bowl with the cheese, leek or spring onion, parsley, thyme and freshly ground pepper, blending well. 

2. Beat the eggs with the mustard. Set aside 2 tablespoons of this mixture and stir the remaining egg mixture into the breadcrumb mixture. If it seems a little dry add a touch of milk to help bind it together without making it sloppy. 

3. Divide the mixture into eight and shape each portion into a sausage about 2.5cm thick. Put the reserved egg and mustard mixture into a shallow bowl and spread the remaining breadcrumbs onto a plate. One by one dip the sausages into the egg mixture and coat in the crumbs. If you have time, chill the sausages in the fridge for at least half an hour to firm up. 

4. Heat the butter or oil in a frying pan and fry the sausages briskly for about 5 minutes until brown, then reduce the heat and fry for a further 3-4 minutes.

(based on recipe from uktv.co.uk/food)

CIG OEN GYDA SAWS MINT / LAMB AND MINT SAUCE

A.K.A how to make a traditional British Sunday dinner on Tuesday, in France, with only two electric hob spaces and what we like to call the 'easy-bake' oven (cf. right hand picture of the starter).

Photography from Andrea Paz

Serves 8 (as part of a three course meal; bigger appetites might want more!)

8 lamb cutlets

16 small new potatoes

500ml cider or white wine vinegar

85g sugar

10g chopped mint leaves

Vegetables as desired (I used frozen petits pois and the left-over leek)

Salt, pepper and garlic to season (I used garlic granules as we had nothing else, but you might prefer to use the real thing!)

1. Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a heavy-bottomed pan and bring to boil. Allow to simmer at a fairly high temperature until syrupy. (This took a fair while on the electric hob!) 

2. Meanwhile, par-boil the potatoes (until you can stick a fork in). I cooked the peas in the same pan due to lack of space.

3. Prick the potatoes with a fork, season with lots of salt, pepper and garlic, then place in the oven at about 200°C/180°C for fan oven ('9' for not so easy-bake...). Roast for about 20 minutes or until golden-brown. 

4. Leave the sauce  to cool for 5 minutes before adding the mint, mixing, and allowing to cool further to room temperature.

5. Fry the lamb to taste - three minutes each side will do for a good medium rare, but a little while longer is needed if you want it "vraiment mort" as my flatmates requested!

6. Decant the sauce into a jug (or in the absence of which, a small bowl) and serve the meat and potatoes with vegetables. 

PICAU AR Y MAEN / WELSHCAKES

Classic and well-loved Welsh delicacy. Eat plain as a snack or with raspberry jam and cream (I mixed some sugar into crème fraîche) for dessert.

Makes 16

225g plain flour

85g caster sugar

½ tsp mixed spice

100g butter cut into small pieces (plus extra for frying)

50g currants

1 egg, beaten

splash milk

1. Mix the flour, sugar, mixed spice, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a bowl. 

2. With your fingers, rub in the butter until crumbly. Mix in the currants. 

3. Work the egg into the mixture until you have soft dough, adding a splash of milk if it seems a little dry.

4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured work surface to the thickness of your little finger. Cut out rounds using a 6cm cutter, re-rolling any trimmings. (Lacking a rolling pin or cutters, I just formed them in my hands: worked fine, and less mess!)

5. Grease a flat griddle pan or heavy frying pan with lard, and place over a medium heat. Cook the Welsh cakes in batches, for about 3 mins each side, until golden brown, crisp and cooked through.

(based on a recipe from bbcgoodfood.com)



Here's looking forward to the Spanish, Bavarian, Turkish, English, Scottish, American, Russian and Chilean offerings!

The Job

Sorry for the radio silence this last week - I'd like to say I've just been too busy, but I think laziness might also play its part. So, amongst some interesting nights out (everything is so expensive), yet more bureaucracy woes, choir rehearsals and a shock induction into clothes shopping in France (EVERYTHING IS SO EXPENSIVE!) I actually did some work this week.

After some confusion where everyone in the English department seemed to think I would have training on Monday afternoon - even after my frequent assertions that it was definitely only in the morning - students were informed that my Monday 16h was cancelled. I, however, was not.

False starts aside, this meant that my very first day ever in a 'proper' job was Thursday: 8h-17h. I was prepared, and everything went smoothly, but even so, a few things really startled me. Firstly the difference between each class, despite them all being in the same year group, was huge: I taught the same lesson three times in a row and the first class were clever but mute, the second were enthusiastic but inaccurate, and the final group looked so bored I changed the topic. There was also an overwhelming difference with regards to class size. I knew smaller was supposed to be better but I had no idea that five students from a 'technical' (less academic) class would talk so much more than ten from a 'science' or 'literature' class!

Unfortunately it will continue to be like this, as my classes rotate meaning I will only see each group once every four weeks making it impossible to build a rapport. Another few things I'll just have to get used to.

So this is what the French do on Sundays...

Determined to do something productive with our Sunday (despite everything in the whole of France being shut) we took an English teacher's suggestion to go to a local rugby match: USBPA (Bourg) v. Lille.

'Poulet de Bresse': team mascot and local dish. 

Now, despite being Welsh I am no expert in the sport, having in the past only watched with a very vague idea of who's winning and what's not allowed. However, my knowledge was far superior to that of my German and American flat-mates who watched with bemusement and frequent questions, most of which, honestly, I couldn't answer.
The sport is apparently very popular in the area (so everyone knows what/where Wales is, hurrah!) and the crowds were so infectiously enthusiastic that I felt myself drifting towards native-esque Bourg support.

"I like the bit where they jump to catch the ball"

Rugby will never be my favourite thing, but it was a new experience for everyone - in varying degrees - and with student tickets at only €5 it was an exciting way of passing what is normally a rather dull day en France.

Afterwards, those of us who didn't take our 9am "training" quite so seriously (classic British students..) went to see a movie (again for a very reasonable €6.50 student ticket!)

Do Not Disturb, despite the title, is a thoroughly French movie (one has to be careful as dubbed English-language films are seriously annoying) about two men trying to overcome their heterosexuality in order to make an artsy 'erotic movie'/porno. It's an odd premise, and it cast a few raised eyebrows for us - perhaps prudish - Brits ("Why is she still walking around with no knickers on?" "That was annoying me too..") but it was simple, yet still absorbing, so absolutely perfect for language development.

On either a funny or infuriating side note, we got a quick McDonalds before the film (only thing that's open, remember!) and my request for a Happy Meal was met with a blank stare. Only when I asked for an 'Appee Meel' did the girl behind the counter confirm my order: 'Ah, Appee Meel!'
One thing I just cannot get used to is pronouncing English words in a French accent... at least, not yet.

Annecy

The famous Lake Annecy; well worth the ill-advised hike following road signs up a near-mountain*.

*not that mountain.

Our original intention was to go to nearby Macon, but apparently 'Macon' train station is nowhere near centre-ville (or anything at all interesting)... Despite this spanner in the works, our spontaneous decision to board the next train going somewhere vaguely interesting-sounding worked out fantastically. Macon can go suck it.

La Vie en Merde

La Vie en Rose: Upsides to living in France

Du pain, du vin, du snowboarding*

Les fêtes

Being a proper touriste

FOOD.

 *Not actually me... I'm better**

**I'm not.

Assistants go to Lyon!

This weekend two of my flatmates, a friend in Villeurbanne and I went into Lyon to sight-see in the rain. The train was fairly expensive (€23.40 for a return), so we plan to get the French equivalent of the young person's railcard before we go again! The journey took about 50 minutes, and we went into 'Perrache' rather than 'Part-Dieu' as it's closer to the centre.
It's a beautiful city, so we wandered around happily and aimlessly for a while before finding somewhere to eat. After walking past several seriously expensive bistrots, restaurants and cafés we got so hungry that we went into the next place that would feed us, according to the menu, for €6 a piece.

We took a chance on l'Epicerie, as none of us actually knew exactly what a 'tartine' was, but it's basically all that's on the menu. My guess was "something like a quiche?"; what arrived was essentially 'stuff on toast'... but brilliant stuff on toast. A few examples include smoked salmon with cream cheese and capers, a chicken and vegetable mix and, of course, various cheeses. But I know a toastie isn't anything to go on about. For us it was a combinations of some of the tastiest cakes we'd ever had, the traditional, yet seriously cool and very French décor and the fact that it was the cheapest place we'd seen by far in centre-ville that made us promise each other to go back. They also serve the cakes with cute little colourful sweets on the side, which honestly was the highlight of my French gastronomical experiences so far. (Rue de la Monnaie, next to the Théâtre des Ateliers, if you're interested. I marked it on my incredibly touristy map.) 

After lunch we took the funiculaire for 1 or 2 euros up to La Basilique de Fourvière (to the people who actually read this thing, the 'castle in the sky' from a few posts ago). It's a beautiful building, and worth the price of the hill-tram for the views once you reach the top, but the main church is having construction done at the moment, so it wasn't at its finest. I hope to come back, though, to watch a concert or hear a sung mass. They also put on open air shows at the Gallo-Roman theatres (also up on the hill above the city) which could be spectacular.

Maybe in a few months when we go into Lyon we'll feel like real locals, but for the moment I think it's okay for us to be wide-eyed tourists in such a truly fascinating place.