It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

With only two more days of exams remaining, my first semester here in Montpellier is sadly coming to an end. I can’t believe how quickly time flies or that it is almost Christmas! It doesn’t feel right to be less than two weeks from Christmas and to be walking around in a sweater or sweatshirt. No snow, no blustery winds, no ice storms—how bizarre!! Here in sunny Montpellier, they have tried to bring some of the magical excitement of winter to us. There is a Christmas Market in the Place de la Comedie, complete with roasted chestnuts, hot spiced wine, and grilled escargot sandwiches. They have also set up an ice-rink and a ski area for children!! To personally get into the Christmas spirit, I recently took two cooking classes to learn how to make “Bûche de Noel”, a traditional Christmas dessert here in France. The class was a success and the buches came out beautiful! Also, two weeks ago I traveled to Lyon where I was able to see a Light Festival. It takes place in Lyon every year on the weekend of December 8th. It is a festival in honor of The Virgin Mary in gratitude for all that she did. It has been quite an interesting couple of weeks! This Wednesday I will start my long vacation travels to two towns in Germany, Strasbourg, Paris, Beaune, Lyon, Nîmes, Avignon, Arles, Nice, Monte Carlo, and back here to Montpellier. I will be sure to take many pictures for everyone! Happy Holidays to all and I will speak to you next year!

CHRISTMAS MARKET

Ice-skating rink/Ski area for the little ones!

My favorite hot cocoa stand--shaped like Santa

Tacky hat stand/Christmas market

COOKING CLASS

Ellen and Leah hard at work/Leah and I snacking and hardly working

Leah and I spreading chocolate deliciousness/Ellen rolling

Our instructor getting one of the Buches out with FIRE!/The three proud cooks

Buche d'expresso/Buche de chocolat marron (chocolate chestnut)

Buche de chocolat macaron (Chocolate and macaroon cookies)/Buche de pistache et cerises (pistachio and cherries)

LYON

Bookstore lit up/Cathedral lit up/Chestnuts roasting

Manifestation Station!!

In the hopes of procrastinating and escaping from studying for finals, I have decided that it is time for another blog post! I entitled this blog "Manifestation Station" because 'tis the season for strikes and demonstrations here in France! In this past week alone, we have had at least three here in Montpellier. They can range from HUGE (example: the tram drivers and bus drivers were on strike for an entire day after an incident of an assaulted bus driver. No public transportation was available all day AND it was pouring rain here!!!) to minimal group gatherings and chantings together, usually finishing within an hour. Today there was a very large parade and pep rally including most school-age children, their parents, and teachers. Nicolas Sarkozy has been focusing on the economic crisis and taking away from the already-suffering school system here. The French teachers and parents are not pleased with the situation and, thus, the grand demonstration today. The pep rally part lasted roughly an hour and a half and sounded like mostely cheering, yelling, and clapping--I watched from a distance even though I knew that it wouldn't get dangerous with such a large presence of children. So, as I stated earlier, it seems as though the holidays are when everyone tries their best to be heard here as each day brings a new strike and cause.

--ANSWERS TO FRENCH CLASS QUESTIONS--
1.) I am sorry that I didn't explain the IMLS office very well in my last blog. The IMLS stands for "Institut Méditerranéen de Langues et Services." I am studying here in Montpellier through my university, which has selected to work with the IMLS. It is an institute that organizes foreign exchange students coming to Montpellier. By "organize", I mean that they place us with our host families, help us enroll at the french university here, show us around Montpellier our first week, and organize fun weekend excursions. Their office is right down the street from where I currently live and this gives me easy access (and free, might I add) to internet, which I don't have available at the apartment. So it is thanks to the IMLS that I can access the internet as often as I do and that I have been able to meet my great new friends here in Montpellier. They also organize English-language conferences and classes, but I don't know too much on that subject.
2.) The grading system here in France is based on a 20-point system, but getting 20's is practically unheard of. Even grades of 15 or 16 are considered excellent. It has been a bit bizarre having to change my expectations for myself and the grades that I get here. I will be interested to see how all of my grades and credits transfer when I return to the United States. I will be able to be more detailed after I receive my final grades, since the majority of my grades are based on my exams this week. I have had a couple of homework assignments and tests during the semester, but a HUGE portion of my grades are based on one little exam!!! Speaking of which, it is time that I return to my studies! Best wishes to everyone back home!!

An African Adventure!!

Salut!! I hope that everyone is doing well back home and that you have all recovered from your delicious Thanksgiving meals! I will be honest, it felt strange going to classes instead of being home to watch the Macy’s Day Parade and I certainly missed the delicious smells and tastes of Thanksgiving. The IMLS office (the office that is my home-base here) threw a Thanksgiving party for us. We all brought food but it was FAR from traditional—the corn that I brought was placed next to Ellen’s pancakes, a platter of French cheese and wine, an egg and ham loaf, 2 quiches, 3 dessert tarts, brownies, and sandwiches. It was one of the strangest Thanksgiving meals that I have ever had but it was just nice to be with my friends and their host families!
Last weekend, Friday through Tuesday, I traveled to Morocco with three of my friends. We stayed right in the heart of the old medina in Fez, the cultural capitol of Morocco. We stayed in a wonderful hotel where we were treated like queens! We spent the first days exploring the medina with our guide. We visited a ceramics school/workshop, the infamous leather tanneries, silk and carpet experts, and important monuments and buildings. The next day, we voyaged outside of Fez to visit five surrounding villages. On this day, we dined in a Jewish cave, visited a national park, and even fed monkeys! Our final night was dinner and a 2-hour show of traditional Moroccan songs and dance. The food was DELICIOUS and I will never again be able to eat a shish-kebab with as much contentment! The weather was fabulous—it only rained on Tuesday when we were leaving. It was the most magnificent trip—everything was so different from anything that I have ever experienced before. Also, the people were warm and welcoming. For example, I got a hug from the customs officer in the airport as he told me that I must return to eat more couscous. I loved everything about the trip and hope that you enjoy the pictures!

THANKSGIVING

The Thanksgiving Feast/Centerpiece


Four of us (Ellen was the Pilgrim and I the Native American)/The group minus Ellen


MORACCO

Me drinking traditional Mint Tea/The tanneries


The little monkey cleaning Leah/Me with my banana, afraid of touching the monkey


Ellen and I on our rooftop terrace/My view during lunch one day


Another view from our terrace/Me at the palace door



A courtyard with the mosque tower looming over the corner/Typical gate into the city


African countryside/The stray kitty that decided to plop on my lap for an hour


Hillside city just outside of Fez


The donkeys DO NOT stop!/Ellen and the ceramics man showing us how strong the pottery is


"The Blue House" (rooms are 2000 dollars a night!)/Our breakfast room


Salad Assortment--15 different veggies/My kebabs!!!!


Traditional tajine meal/Moroccan breakfast!!

To the French Classes

Bonjour à tous! I apologize again for the delay but I finally got some good weather here to take those pictures of signs, so they are attached below! There was a question about exactly what a pain au chocolat is like and here is my description…

LOCATION: every boulangerie or patisserie around
COST: less than 1€, depending on size (they do have a “petit pain au chocolat” for those desiring a mere taste, as well as a “maxi pain au chocolat” for those who REALLY love it!!!)
SIBLING: Croissant
BIGGEST FANS: children from ages 1 to 99
DESCRIPTION: flaky, croissant-type pastry, usually in the shape of a rectangle with 2 chocolate “puncture wounds” into which chocolate is baked. When warm and fresh, there are no words to describe its deliciousness.

And now onto the questions regarding my volunteer work. It ended up that I do my volunteer hours at a middle school instead of a high school because it was more compatible with my schedule. So with that much said, I will start with the challenges. I am happy to be at a middle school because the age difference is greater and thus it is a bit easier for me to take on the role of teacher and not simply a person to hang out with. However, like most schools, I have some trouble-makers who like to test me. One of the teachers recently shared with me that the students at this school are those who got kicked out of other schools and that this is their last chance at an education because nowhere else will accept them. I am CERTAINLY glad that nobody shared that tidbit with me before throwing me in front of them as a teacher because I would have been mortified! In general, we have a lot of fun together and they respect me. The classes that I teach have from ten to fifteen students each—1.) Attendance is not especially important to these students and 2.) Many are expelled for week-long periods for reasons that I don’t even ask. This is the first time that I have been thrown into the thick of teaching, completely on my own and without another teacher in the classroom...and I LOVE it!!! The students are certainly warming up to me and we are having some great experiences together!
I want to briefly touch on the grand difference between schools here and at home: the necessity of being average. Annie, the adorable English teacher who has become a great friend, has spoken to me in great depth about this necessity in French schools. What I mean by it is that here, if you aren’t average in your intellectual ability, school isn’t a great help. Classes are taught to a certain, pre-determined level and in an established manner. Rarely are individual learning styles or needs of students addressed. This results in those who have stronger knowledge or concept of subjects being bored and those especially challenged often fail. Also, RARELY are there classroom aids here. Inclusion practices are but a dream and most students with learning disabilities don’t receive adequate assistance. Finding teachers willing to stay after-school to help students is also difficult. Another interesting difference between American schools and French schools is that there aren’t school sports teams. If a child wants to play a sport here, he/she needs to join an association (which costs quite a bit of money) and play almost club-sport style. After seeing the education system here and speaking about it with teachers and students, I am certainly glad to have received an American education! I am sorry for how long this blog is but hope that my response answered your questions!

My street, "Rue Maguelone" (the sign below it is the name of the street in Occitan, a regional language that is a mix between Catalon from Spain and French from this area. It isn't spoken here but its influence remains as can be seen from the street sign!)







NOTE--I included a picture of the Tea Palace because tea has become quite the popular drink here over the years and MANY French prefer it to coffee now!