The Best Week Ever!

Last time we talked was day one of my four-day "English camp." Well I'll tell you, I had a blast! First of all, it was really great waking up and going to work at a normal time, not 11:00 or 2:30 like I often did during my regular job. It was equally great getting out at noon. It was like subbing for half a day kind of! Yes. That's exactly what it reminded me of! It was really nice to get done early and still have pretty much the whole day to get things done. I started each day the same way. We did tongue twisters, word puzzles, a song, and three rounds of Scattergories (shout out to Michelle Grutzik!). It was interesting to see what some of the kids came up with in Scattergories. One of the categories one day was "beers." While all the girls in the class had written nothing, the boys rambled off a whole list starting with that letter. Made me laugh, really. And sometimes I got confused when the category asked for some kind of proper noun. The kids would say it either the French way, which sometimes I didn't know, or the English way with a French accent. So whenever I asked them to repeat, they'd get all flustered and embarassed. It was so difficult explaining the reason that I was having trouble misunderstanding. For example, one kid was trying to talk about the country Georgia. But he hept saying "Géorgie." So first of all, since he was supposed to be speaking English, I thought I simply couldn't understand. I wasn't thinking in French mode. Second of all, there's a state called Georgia and a country called Georgia. Then when I asked which he was talking about, he just kept repeating it. (And yes, he knew there was a state because I wrote it on the board with USA behind it.) PEOPLE! You've been learning English since you were like 8 years old. Really? Sorry, but grow up and tell me you don't understand. In regular class I wouldn't have cared so much, but this was a week these kids signed up for. That kid in particular barely smiled and looked at me like I was constantly asking too much of him. I really think his parents forced him to come.

Anyway, moving on...

Tuesday was my favorite day. We sat in a circle and played some listening games, told stories, and played telephone. We made a story about visiting a zoo, seeing a baby in a pond with a bag, some monkeys with a camera, and a pony that died in a hospital. Oh, and I just remembered. Our original attempt turned out pretty bad. The first kid said "A." Second kid said, "black rabbit." And I stopped him and reminded him he could say only one word, so he chose "black." The third kid said, "man." Oh great. I knew it was going to be bad. It continued into a story about a black man chasing a rabbit because he was hungry or something. Random!! We had extra time at the end, so we told a story in French, too. It was way fun for me to listen to them, understand them, participate, and be understood! We told a story about a birthday cake made out of pasta (that was my word, so I greatly influenced the storyline!) that was for someone's grandpa, who died.  I VERY rarely say anything in French to my students, and when I do, it's never a whole sentence. I guess this was no different since each person was only allowed to say one word at a time. But I figured these kids, the motivated ones who try hard, deserve to get some French out of me. :)

After school that day, I went shopping and planned lessons outside at a café/bar in the gorgeous sun. It was fabulous.

Thursday was my next favorite day. At the end, we sat in a circle again and played a game THEY suggested. It's popular in France. We all wrote down the name of a person on a post-it and stuck it to someone's forhead. We had to ask questions to guess who we were. And, surprise surprise, I was Barack Obama. Among the rest of us, there was Bob Dylan, Jesus Christ, Louis XIV (that was the one I wrote!), Will Smith, Pumba, someone I didn't know the name of but who is in the Astérix cartoons, and the last girl's post-it had her own name on it! It was really fun. We didn't finish before noon, but they wanted to stay and finish, so we went over! I'm so glad I ended on a good note. Needless to say, I LOOOOVE circle activities.

And that was my last day of work. It's so weird. I have no obligations right now. Nothing I HAVE to do.

Thursday after school, I packed my bag, cleaned my room a bit, and headed to the train station to go to Besançon. When I got to the station in Lure, Fabienne was there with her two sons! It made me way happy to see her. She and the boys were going to Belfort, a 20-minute train ride, and back. Just to take the train. Her kids were soooooo excited. I mean SO excited. For the younger of the two, who is only three years old I think, it was his first time on a train. It was so adorable watching them be so excited So I sat with them on the train since I had to connect in Belfort anyway. It was adorable listening to Eloi point things out that he saw outside. It's so weird to hear a 3-year-old speak French with no hesitation. I told Fabienne it would take a US student three or four years in school to learn to say what he just said. (Depending on your school, I suppose.) That was a great way to start the greatest night ever.

The whole train ride, which took a total of about three hours, was beautiful. I love riding the train. And this was a great ride because I was SO excited about what was to come. Upon arriving in Besançon, I found my way to Rachel's apartment. She's another language assistant. But I literally just dropped my stuff off and headed out.

Where to you ask? To see the greatest French singer of all time (in my opinion), Christophe Maé! That night I went to see him in concert all by myself. I've never gone to a concert alone before. But you know, it was really fun. I mean it's always fun with a friend, but I've learned how to enjoy things like that by myself. And it was an awesome concert. There were people there of all ages. It was nice not to be surrounded by a bunch of 13-year old teeny boppers (of which I was one at one time. I realize). Tons of kids, tons of teenagers, tons of adults. Boys and girls. Men and women. I sat next to an 8-10-ish year old boy who was there with his mom. On the other side of me was an empty seat, but then was another young boy and his family. Behind me were three adult women and two girls probably younger than 10. But they knew every word to every song. In front of me was a girl about my age, her boyfriend, and her younger sister (probably) who was about 15. And I saw old men, too. AHHH Christophe is just so great. Everyone loves him! Here's a picture I took of the fun going on:

The whole concert was really awesome. The crowd was singing the whole time, and I could hear the little girls behind me singing every word. Absolutely adorable. Talk about a family show. He did a lot of asking us to stand up and jump and wave our arms and clap and all that. And it was just so fun. Really. Probably my favorite thing I've done here so far. I think I'm in love with Christophe Maé.

It was really the best day ever. I just can't say that enough.

Friday I woke up at Rachel's and headed out to see Besançon. Well, I'd been there before, bu not really to visit. Just for work-related things. So this time I went to the citadel, where there are lots of animals and museums to see. It was sooooo hot out. I finally decided it was time for the tank tops.

This is the zoo at the citadel.

I love the scenery in Besançon. It reminds me of Eau Claire a little bit.

I need to get in the sun so I can get my shoulders tan. Where's my pool when I need it?!

Kids (and adults) playing with fish!

Springtime in Besançon!

Today was another super productive day. I got out of bed around 9. On a Saturday. I went to the bank, two grocery stores, and my favorite bar/café for coffee and a book. I also managed to prepare food for tomorrow and make soup for dinner tonight. It's been a fantastic week, I must say. Thank you, France!