Salut de la France 2015!

Hello and welcome to all potential and future teachers to the Deauville Program! Michelle and I (Rachael) are excited to keep you up to date on the latest goings-on of our teaching adventures in France. We decided to switch off each month on who will write our blog. This month—as you may have guessed—is Rachael's month, and I will be informing you about our first few weeks here in the lovely Deauville.

Since Michelle and I are both form Louisville, we decided to fly to France together so that we could share in any potential airport headaches together. We also decided to spend a day in Paris before we were due in Deauville. I did not fully appreciate this until we landed in Paris—my suitcase the only thing holding me up—and I realized I did not have to catch a train. We walked around the city and enjoyed a beautiful day before sleeping most of it away in our hostel. I felt much more prepared to make my way to the train station —Gare St. Lazare—the next day and to meet Ivan (our French supervisor) at the Deauville-Trouville station.

The first day we went to the house, picked out our rooms and were given the rest of the day to settle in and relax. Ivan took us to the bank the following day to set up French bank accounts, and we later met up with him at L'école Fracasse to meet the team members we would be working with this year and discuss our training and official positions. With that, we were given the entire weekend to explore and enjoy Deauville.

One of the gorgeous hotels in town, with a cow sculpture exhibition in front of it.
Welcome to Normandy.

Deauville is a small town, which makes pretty much everything within walking distance, and orienting yourself so as not to get lost takes no time at all. The city is well kept, and the buildings beautiful. We had to resist taking pictures of every single building, because they all look like they are out of a fairytale. It is located on the beach, which draws many tourists in the warm months, but its population greatly decreases in the winter.

Here is a picture from the beach on one of our first nights in Deauville.

We met with at the school again, Monday, to learn more about our responsibilities, some of which began the following day. Tuesday was the first day of school, and we began our work as les animatrices, meaning we assist during lunch and recess, and with after-school activities. As of now, we are paired with another experienced animateur/animatrice. We go with them and follow their lead at these times, and help monitor students. We also eat with the students at their tables, helping serve water and some of the food, before cleaning up.

Our training schedule changes each day, but we typically meet with Ivan in the morning at school, and then go with the midi team to help with the afternoon lunch and recess. There is usually a short break or another meeting with Ivan, and then we meet back up with the team to get ready for the after-school activities—A.P.E.

Our meetings with Ivan include talking about the French school system, learning about the different levels of English, looking at lesson plans, riding around in our car and seeing where we are supposed to get gas, etc. For the first three weeks we will train like this before our English classes officially start.

The following are items that you probably are curious about:

The House

One of the best perks about this program is that you are provided with a house. No need to scramble about trying to look for apartments. The house is walking distance from most places you will want to go, and is completely furnished. Rooms include: kitchen, dining room, living room, creepy basement, tiny courtyard, two bathrooms, washing machine, five bedrooms, and two storage rooms. Being in Europe, rooms are smaller than American standards, but we have found there is far more house than you could ever use. Utilities are paid for, and it comes with dishes, linens, oven, refrigerator, television, wifi, etc. We have only been here two weeks and it already feels like a home.

Our sweet little French house. How could we not be happy to live here?

The Schools

There are four teaching positions available, in addition to our work during lunch and after school.

L'école maternelle: Bernay
This is a position at the preschool. It is walking distance from the house, and like all the schools: adorable. We observed here one morning, and the kids were so excited to meet the Americans. We got lots of hugs and kisses and were happy to play games with them at recess. This position also comes with morning guarderie at Fracasse.

L'école Fracasse
There are actually two positions at Fracasse. This is also where you will conduct your after school activities, and your meeting point with Ivan. The first position teaches kindergarten, fist-grade and special education. The second teaches second, third and fourth grade. Fracasse is in the middle of Deauville, and beautiful. This is where you will spend most of your time during the training.

Here is a picture of Fracasse. Pretty much home-base for all things teaching.

St. Arnoult and Tourgeville
The final position actually works at two schools just outside of Deauville. This person naturally has the most access to the car—lucky for us it is no longer a manual. These schools are much smaller than that of Deauville, but run like well-oiled machines. The person in this position will actually teach all levels from preschool through fifth grade. It requires more organization and planning, but the schools you will work at are more than supporting.

In closing, I can say I am very pleased with my decision to come teach in Deauville. Each day I learn more about the city and my position in it, and am constantly welcomed by the people I meet. Our neighbor Patrick waves at us each time we pass his hotel, and the city invited us to attend the American Film Festival. We were welcomed by the mayor at city hall, and in a couple of weeks we will start conducting our English Speaking Circle with the city-employees.

We aren't even finished with September yet, but I can tell this will be a year filled with learning and fun.

Myself in front of the Marie. I told you the buildings are the stuff of fairytales.

Check back for more answers to your questions in the upcoming months! À la prochaine!