Il Faut Qu'on Fasse des Efforts!

By clicking on the title of this post, you will be taken to a blog on which is posted a video in which I am featured!

I’m going to warn you that I am LE TIRED, so if this blog at certain points makes no sense, please post your complaints in the comment box below. Your comment will be treated with strenuous care and great attention!

TODAY! Today was the day for me to start the big ole’ job in Evry, France! Every year, for as long as I have been alive, I have had a new adventure upon which to embark. Be it my first day of preschool, promotion Sunday at church, or simply the transition from my sophomore year at Baylor to my junior year at Baylor, each new adventure has had one common ingredient: the diarrhea! If you will walk with me a bit; I’m in the process of descending into the Métro at 7h00 when all of the sudden, WHAT!?!? This can’t be happening! I’m truly going to have to go home and miss my first day of work because of a sleepless night, too much anticipation, and (of course!) too much Nutella™! IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING TO ME? Thank goodness for me, but sad for those of you who find pleasure in reading about the painful suffering of others, today was NOT a runny day! Oops! I meant to say RAINY day! That’s it! Today was NOT a rainy day!

Contrary to the past, as I left Laruiane’s apartment this morning, I felt nothing. No fear, no anticipation, no reason for descending the train at Gare du Nord in order to pay 1€ to use the “clean” potty taunted me as I opened the gate of the apartment complex and looked for the shadow of the Eiffel Tower that had been unlit for over six hours. I tried to make myself realize that I was about to start the first day of the rest of my life, but the only thought that came to me was, “How am I going to manage to purchase a baguette this morning and still make it to Evry on time?” The question of being on time was certainly on the mind, but not a concern. I knew that if I ran into any problems in the Métro or couldn’t find the location of our meeting, I would manage and the French wouldn’t be surprised by my late arrival (considering the fact that even if late, I run the risk of being at least an hour early). I did have a little trouble finding the exact train because I had never made the trip to Evry from Laruiane’s apartment, but I did arrive with time to spare (9h05, 5 minutes after the meeting was scheduled to start, and still had to wait to begin for at least 30 minutes). As I sat and listened to the other assistants talk amongst themselves, I made began to make snide remarks under my breath about the fact that they were all speaking English in various international accents. I even texted Rachel to ask her to kill me.

If you read my blog while I lived in Caen, you remember that it itched me som’in ferce (bothered me) when the Anglophones insisted on speaking English and not taking advantage of the fact that they lived in France. Needless to say, this morning brought back many memories of my days in Cow Town, France (Caen). Nonetheless, I tried to seem as if I were a loner so that nobody would speak to me. Unfortunately/fortunately, the sweetest American girl from Rhode Island took her place to my left (the place to my right was occupied by my fancy new Baylor satchel). She didn’t say much except for a few French words here there. I thought that I might fool her into thinking that I was a language assistant from another country who didn’t know how to speak English by hiding everything with me that might suggest that I am American. Obviously, this didn’t work. She eventually discovered the truth and my cover was blown; thus began the English! And oh how magnificently and beautifully did it flow from the lips of my mouth! It was like Cactus juice in the Mojave Desert.

Disappointed in myself for having spoken English when I should have insisted that one practice French, I soon was dealt a blow!

As I spoke with this kind hearted American who calls herself Martha, I was quickly taken back to my first three weeks in Caen. If you have been a long time follower of cole-en-france, you know that the beginning was far from easy and rarely conducted in French! Martha, bless her little heart, spoke to me in French, discovered I was American, held a conversation with me in English, but quickly reverted back to French! I felt like a yoyo being thrown to the ground, only to be returned to the right hand. This young lady had been in France once before in a similar program as I, but unfortunately was not as successful with her friends in convincing them that French should be spoken as much as possible. Needless to say, she was a bit disconcerted and felt the need to return to France for a second round. I explained to her that I had been in the same situation, but discovered that in order to learn, you must make as many efforts as possible until successful. I didn’t tell her that I managed to piss off several people in the mean time, but simply tried to encourage her to expect the best from herself.

After having signed several documents and listening to some “very interesting” people give us some “very interesting details”, we were released for lunch. Naturally, I ate with Martha and spoke French all through lunch. She explained to me how she felt weird because she is all alone in France and still looking for an apartment and friends at the same time. I wanted to hug her and let her know that she would overcome and CONQUER la France, but I figured that might be awkward after only having met someone three hours before. She even mentioned that she had assisted one of these sappy reunions that the other assistants had planned in order that we might all come in contact and, OH MY GOD! SHARE OUR AMAZING WONDERFUL LIVES IN PARIS TOGETHER! As soon as she said that, I almost cried! Let me explain to you why:

First of all, all summer I had ignored every email arriving from any other English assistant. I knew that once I began relationships with these people that they would never go away. They would be to me the English speaking leaches thriving off of my freshly bathed skin. Therefore, I leaned heavily upon my contacts in France and landed on my feet with Francophones lined up to kiss my cheeks (face cheeks). Martha; however, has no such contacts in France and had to stoop so low as to going out with the other assistants! Ok, let’s stop here for a moment. Please note that I am fully aware of the amount of snobbery flowing from this post thus far! Also note that I am fully convicted of this snobbery! Shall we continue? I wanted to cry because all at once, I realized that I was looking at myself (only in the form of a girl from Rhode Island). There she was trying to make the necessary effort and taking anything she could just as I did one year ago. (flashback) Click on the following link: Il Faut Faire un Effort!

After enjoying lunch with Martha, we met back up with the other assistants to walk to a nearby school to see how things are run. WHAT A DINGER! It just so happens that we went to the school in which I will be teaching where the woman had no clue what to do with me when I visited her a month ago. Upon entering, the head of the school recognized me and immediately asked me to leave my information with her. She had tried to obtain it from the lady in charge of my file, but apparently they couldn’t decipher my handwriting well enough to write me an email to the correct address. Oh well!

During the afternoon session, a lady named Nathalie gave us a mock lesson in Russian just to show us how our students might feel when we begin to teach them English. It was very interesting and informative! I can see Nathalie’s passion for the students and hope to obtain the same level of consideration when teaching my students! I noticed that while introducing ourselves earlier in the morning, when asked why we wanted to become assistants, not one of us mentioned the children. It was all about our needs and how we could improve our lives with this experience. When this thought came to mind, I immediately realized that making an effort is so much more than watching out for you!

After our afternoon session, I rejoined the lady in charge of my school (I still can’t remember her name) and gave her my information. I also spoke with a girl from Canada who is distraught over the fact that she is all alone in this country and still has no place to live. She is currently living in a youth hostel, as is Martha’s situation as well. I tried to encourage this young Canadian (whose name I never knew) that although things are difficult in France, it is necessary to make an effort in order to succeed. There is little help from our employers concerning our daily lives; therefore, knowing how to make the necessary first steps is crucial! I have been bless with people like Magali, Lauriane, Abel, Charlotte, Stéphane, Rachel, etc…, but this is most certainly not the case for these other assistants. I have a broken heart for them, but don’t know what I can truly do for them other than be encouraging. I could offer to be best friends with them, but at the end of the day, I would not be able to give them the cultural experience that they need and disserve while living in France. They have friends with whom they speak English in their home countries, but I know from personal experience that the best thing for them would be to submerge themselves in the French culture and meet as many French people as possible! This isn’t an easy task, but as is with all necessary tasks, IL FAUT FAIRE UN EFFORT! (YOU HAVE TO MAKE AN EFFORT!)