Today's Date: March 23, 2013
March 17, 2013 (Sunday continued)
Once Carnival ended, we met up with two of David's friends and headed to an Irish Pub to see how the French celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. It was so neat! Lots of orange, white, and green flags and posters littered the walls and ceilings. We crammed the eleven of us into a booth that was most likely meant to comfortably seat seven or eight (at most) people. We played a hand and sign game, "Thumper," and talked and hung out for around two hours. After a while, since it was around 9:30pm, we headed back to the Chateau to move into our rooms, unpack, hang out for a little bit in the clubhouse area, and went to bed to prep for orientation at the school, Bilingual International School of Strasbourg (BISS), the next morning.
March 18, 2013 (Monday)
Orientation began at the grade school. I was so impressed with everything. The bell system is enjoyable to listen to (musical chords), the principal made his best effort to speak clear English, but at times had to defer to one of the other four teachers in the room. This is his first year as a principal at BISS, but he was very competent and capable of interacting professionally and efficiently with us. We were welcomed, met our mentor teachers (one group of two and two groups of three Interns per mentor teacher), explored the grade and middle schools (all in one, old-fashioned, ornate building), walked to the high school (around a 10 minute walk), explored the handsome in-stone decorations, classic winding staircases, and tributes to various professors and leaders around the area. Once we were finished with the tour of the schools, we had some time before the boat tour that Isabella had scheduled for us, so we went shopping and ate at a local cafe--delicious, as always!
Eventually, we met up again to head over to the tour with Isabella. Mind you, it's been raining all day again and we have been walking to get everywhere; for me, this means being chilly, having soaking feet and water-logged bottom rims of my pants. From the moment we stepped onto the plastic-covered boat, I began to notice how the warm air was licking my fingertips back to feeling. I was dry now, I put on my headphones, and fought my instinct to slip into comfortable sleep as the soothing voice suggested I relax in my fabric-cushioned seat and turn my head from left to right to examine the intricate details that history has chiseled into these neighborhoods. It was a lovely boat tour, but unfortunately, I cannot say I was always successful--I am sure the picture Drew took of me will resurface sometime!
Following the boat tour, I got lunch groceries at Simply Market with the group, walked backed to the chateau, and enjoyed a wonderful dinner cooked by Jackie and Anna. As always, we spent the evening hanging out in the clubhouse room, Skype-ing and calling friends and family members, and prepping for our first day of teaching in the schools tomorrow.
March 19, 2013 (Tuesday)
The whole time at the school, I took notes about my impressions and experiences in the classroom. To wrap three-pages of notes up, the schools we are placed in are impressive at least. The students in Ms. VonRentzell's (my group's mentor teacher) classroom are respectful, intrinsically motivated, well-behaved, easily managed, and genuinely kind and welcoming. All classroom atmospheres are academic, but friendly. The class sizes are also incredibly small--six to twelve students per class, roughly. I am so glad I am able to see her classes. This experience is really encouraging my desire to teach; however, I need to keep in mind that this is not a public school, so the standards and expectations are much higher and have stricter consequences.
During a two-hour break around lunchtime, Anna, Jackie, and I went to a cafe in L'Petite France--Fou d'Cafe. This is the first place in France I have experienced with pink toilet paper! (Apparently there is more pink toilet paper in Paris.) I did not purchase a coffee of dessert this time, but I did fully enjoy the view of the river through the brick, rounded-top window.
Eventually, we made our way back to the Chateau (never lost--the tram and bus systems were easy enough to manage after the first two trips out). This evening was filled with mass chaos of logistics and planning the schedules for the rest of the time in France and Germany (We're going to Paris over Easter weekend and Munich the last weekend!). After everything wound down, we played cards in the game room by the clubhouse.
No comments:
Post a Comment