on culture, commencing work, and celebrating Canadian Thanksgiving in a foreign country

I feel so very fortunate to live not only in a "major" city in France (the pop. here is only about 100,000, and about 450,000 including the surrounding area...but Nancy is still considered one of the "larger" cities) but also to live right in the heart of it. More and more my roommate have realized how lucky we are to have been placed here, how convenient it is (but also a burden depending on the time of day...clock chimes and downtown demonstrations to name a couple). All the important cultural events that go on here take place a mere steps from our apartment...right now the Jazz festival is going on, the Fine Arts Museum is right on Place Stan, we're close to 2 rec centres, historical buildings, the central Market, and as we realized last Thursday, the Opera House! Yes, we are nicely nestled in the cultural heart of La Ville en Or ("the golden city"). Kerstin and I had the opportunity to go to our first Opera here in Nancy. The Opéra Nationale de Lorraine is right in Place Stanislas, and we went last Thursday to see Dvorak's "Rusalka". The Opera Company has a great offer for those of us under 26. If you show up 15 minutes before the show, you can buy remaining seats for only 8 euros! Bargain! So dressed in our best we proudly walked up to the ticket window to request the cheapest seats on the house, readily available for those of us with little extra money to part with. The show was fantastic...a modern twist on an old tale, but beautifully done nonetheless. The opera house is lavishly decorated with gold and glass and fancy chandeliers, with plush red velvet seating inside the hall. Unfortunately we were seated in the 1st gallery (4 floors up) and way in the back, in a box. We weren't surprised...you can't get much for 8 euros these days. So we only got to see half of the show during the first act. However during the first intermission the row in front of us disappeared, so we happily stole their seats and could now see 3/4 of the stage. Again during the second intermission, the first balcony row left (apparently no one was expecting a Czech opera with French surtitles?) so again we switched places and were able to see the entire stage...when leaning over at the right angle. And when the show was over (2.5 hours later), we got to walk snootily by all the taxis parked outside, and 3 minutes later arrived home. Ain't life handy!
We got a different taste of French culture on Saturday when we went to MJC Pichon, one of the rec centres, to watch an improvisation group perform. It was extremely funny and witty, although sometimes a little hard to follow with their rapid-fire french and use of colloquialisms, but very enjoyable nonetheless (and only 4 euros!)

In other news, the day finally arrived when I was to start what I've come here to do: teach teenagers to speak English. Yesterday was my first "official" day of teaching. I've been observing classes for almost 2 weeks now and have a pretty good understanding of the different classes, their subsequent curricula and upcoming exams, and English levels. It's been fun standing in front of the classes and having them ask me every question under the sun. So yesterday I got a taste of what my job actually entails. My first class was with a group of Secondes (equivalent of Gr. 10). I had 2 groups of 4 for a 1/2 hour each in a little classroom next to the actual teacher's. It being Canadian Thanksgiving, I had prepared a little text on the holiday and we got to talk a bit about what Thanksgiving in Canada is. The students knew a little bit about American Thanksgiving (although one student seemed to think that a common dinner item was escargot...) It was a fun hour, the student's have an alright grasp of the language and are at least enthusiastic to try speaking. My second hour I had a group of 4 Terminale STG students (Grade 12 in the more business-streamed section). These students are preparing for a very difficult final oral exam in April, they're given a picture or cartoon and have to analyze it and talk about it for 10 minutes. My Responsable who teaches the class gave me a political cartoon about violence and gun use in American schools to work with. I could barely get any of them to speak for more than 10 seconds! It was a bit like pulling teeth to get answers out of them (or as the French say, "peddling in the mud"), but they were at least trying and I think they got something out of the hour they were in there...overall I think their confidence in speaking English is very low and they're scared of making mistakes, something, I've noticed, has to do with the way teacher's deal with the students. I'll come to that in another post. However, it was a very successful first day, and I was thrilled to hear from my Responsable that one of the students absolutely loved my lesson and everything they learned, and very much enjoyed trying to get used to my funny accent. I was grinning from ear to ear! Overall, in the 3 classes I've had the past 2 days, I've really enjoyed it...the hour has flown by, the students are extremely nice and respectful and do put forth an effort, as timid as they are. A great start to the year, I hope things continue this way...perhaps a bit early to tell, but from what I've heard from all the teachers and last year's assistant, that's pretty much how it always is! Lucky me :)

Which brings me to...Thanksgiving! Now, I've spent Christmas away from home before, but this would be my first Thanksgiving, sans famille. I decided, being the lone Canadian in my neck of the woods, that I would share this fantastic face-stuffing holiday with some friends, so I invited, along with Kerstin, 3 American and 1 Scottish assistant who all live in and around Nancy. Unfortunately one girl couldn't make it since trains weren't running thanks to all the strikes going on in the country at the moment. However despite being one short, we had a fabulous evening eating, drinking, and speaking French. I made a very tasty guacamole appetizer followed by a greens and quinoa pie, mashed potatoes, greek salad, and of course, baguettes and cheese. And wine. I was also very proud of myself for baking my very first ever pumpkin pie, which turned out to be very tasty, AND which I made completely from scratch...apparently pureed pumpkin in a can does not exist in France, so yes, I bought a pumpkin, and pureed it myself. With a hand mixer! Overall it was the best Thanksgiving in France I could ask for...good food, and great company! I was so glad I could share it with some friends :)

wow that was a long post...