To the teachers and children of Sandy Hood Elementary

     As a follow-up to my previous post, which I wrote last week, I just wanted to write a little something about the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newton, CT this week. Even though my teaching assistantship did not end up going as I would've hoped, when I heard the news from a friend all I could think about were the over 120 kids that I've worked with. I saw their faces in my mind, along with the numerous others who run around the school yards of this world. It's been interesting to read coverage from the French perspective, since personal firearms are illegal in this country. I've found some of the French comments offensive because people are so focused on the firearms issue that they fail to see the human side of this tragedy. After working alongside dedicated teachers, in tough school situations, who still have their students' lives and interests at heart on the worst of teaching days, I can't help but think only of the children, teachers, and families affected by these past days' events. If you're writing Christmas cards and getting ready for the holidays and feel moved to write a letter of sympathy and/or support to the school, their address is listed below. I hope you will. 

Sandy Hook Elementary School
12 Dickenson Drive
Newtown, CT 06482

If we were having coffee (at La Fiancee of course)...

 
     If we were having coffee, I would need to dominate the conversation with some updates. Only a few, I promise.
   
     If we were having coffee, it would be in my coin- or neighborhood- at the best little cafe in Toulouse. La Fiancee, of course. Our coffee date may even be over Sunday brunch, which La Fiancee just started having three Sundays ago. So far we've been spoiled with black truffle ham and brie sandwiches, terrine de foie gras, and some pretty stellar fromage blanc a la vanille with raspberries on top. Let's not even mention their new muffins and simply delicious cookies. Oh, and they just happen to make the best cappuccino in town as you may recall. I've developed a love for their mocha lately, too. I adore the owners, Olivier and Arnaud, or "the boys"as I like to call them. The cafe is so close to my apartment that I go every day. Actually.

My favorite Frenchies.

     Other than cafe news, the first thing I have to tell you is that I left my job. My job within the French school system has been shaky, at best, from the start, and after much consideration I decided it was time to move on.  

     For personal and family-related reasons, I stopped working last week. Firstly, my students did not really see me as their teacher and thus treated me with little to no respect, depending on the day. Constant conversations and snide comments about American culture were constant, but an off-hand comment about the Cajun Night Before Christmas was the last straw for me. Don't mess with the Cajuns. In all fairness, an individual student may have seen me once or twice a month for an hour. Sure, we had fun talking about Halloween and Thanksgiving, but I worked with so many kids that I barely even knew their names. There was no hope for me giving any one student, class, or school enough attention to really affect their English level. 

     While I absolutely love Toulouse and cherish the connections and friends that I've made here, I cannot justify the means to the end. If the end goal was to live in France, on my own, and to practice my French while gaining valuable post-graduate life and work experience, all of those things have happened in spite of the real reason why I am here. Teaching. 

     On a more positive note, I had some great classes with kids who were truly interested in America and what I could tell them about life in the States. I was also warmly received in each of the three colleges where I worked, and I still enjoy teaching despite the myriad obstacles thrown in my path. I hope to do more in the future. 

     I will miss the friends that I've made here most of all. In the past month, I travelled to Paris with my two assistant friends to celebrate a birthday, and the three of us have added a Quebecoise into the mix since then. The four of us have recently had some great soirees making fondue and ravioli, trying out local wine bars, going to ballets and movies, taking a day trip to Lourdes, going shopping at the Sunday market, teaching each other French and English, and genuinely enjoying all that Toulouse has to offer. 

     Before we go you go, you may be interested in my plans now that I'm jobless in a foreign country. Mike is headed across the pond for Christmas in exactly one day. We have the pleasure of spending some time in Toulouse and Paris. We even have time to throw a day trip to Amsterdam in there. I can't wait to see him! We both fly back to America on January 1st, so I'll start the new year off in a new country, my country, with a new path. I am enrolled in a yoga teacher certification course in Lafayette, LA, and hopefully I'll have a job or two on the side. As for infinity and beyond? We may need more coffee. 

Here are some pictures from the last month, with more to come and posts to follow. 

Overlooking the city of Albi.

Statue of St. Bernadette in Lourdes.

Statue of Mary at the grotto in Lourdes.

Thanksgiving dinner! We even had a real turkey.

In front of Paris' Hotel de Ville.

Fondue night for Joanna's birthday.

La Fiancee's first ever brunch. Nom nom.

Paris' Tuileries Gardens pretty in pink.

Homemade ravioli with salmon and spinach.

Homemade ravioli layered into lasagna and topped with cheese? It happened.

Toulouse's marche de Noel (Christmas market) with Eugenie, our resident Quebecoise.

View from my window.

La Ville Rose at sunset. 

     

     

 

Mot du jour Monday

Link. 

   
     I hope you aren't grumpy with Christmas fast approaching, but grumpy- or grincheux, grognon- is in fact the first word my finger hit in the dictionary. Grincheux has the word 'Grinch' in it, so let's stay away from that and go for the joyeux- happy- part of Joyeux Noel.

Mot du jour...because it's Monday and I remembered.

     Today's word is estival, which means summer. Most of the time you would use ete for summer, but I like the way this word rolls of the tongue. It sounds kinds of Spanish, actually.

     It's starting to get pretty chilly in Toulouse. Even though Louisiana summers are intensely hot, this cold weather always gives me an envie for summer days in New Iberia filled with porch sitting, good books, prosecco, and bare feet. Have a lovely week!

Mot du jour...because I forgot one on Monday.

     Occupé(e) means busy, and I've been quite busy lately with my now full school schedule. Classes are going well as is life in Toulouse. This week alone I've gone to the ballet, made homemade ravioli, gotten my butt kicked at a French exercise class for the first time, and gone to see the Toulouse Christmas market and over 20km worth of lights! I have a few France/French-related posts coming your way soon!