It is finally February here in Deauville and it never ceases to amaze me how quickly time flies! Currently we are all on vacation during our winter break, with each of us going to various parts of France and Europe to explore. Since last month, all has been going well, following our lesson plans, getting into the groove of things with our classes and after school activities.
One thing I wanted to discuss is what a TA might do outside of classes and other various TA duties. To be honest, there isn't nearly as much free time as one might think there is in your typical week: between lesson planning, teaching, APE (after school activities) and the planning you do for that, and other duties such as English Circle or TOEFL help, there's certainly plenty to do. However, there are certain things you can do outside of work. Two things I do are sing in the Trouville Choir and also I'm active in the contra dance (a type of folk dance) community in Paris.
In my undergrad I studied both French and also Vocal Performance, and so when I got here I asked if there was a local choir I could join- choirs are a great way to make new friends and also practice your language with some specialized and not so specialized vocabulary. The Trouville Choir is directed by Laura Rabia and they sing in multiple languages (especially in French and Latin), but the choir is open to many types of singers. We meet 2 times a week normally, and on occasion we'll also have outside of rehearsal get togethers to celebrate the new year or something. We also host several concerts throughout the year in various towns.
As for the contra dance activities that I do, that is something I've done for several years in the states and I've continued here in France. It's not as popular here as in the US, but folk dance in general is a very thriving community and another great way to meet new people and make new friends. Here in France I've helped instruct some dances and lead a workshop.
In my normal day to day downtime, I often do a lot of reading and watching of netflix (gotta love the netflix), or sometimes I'll just go out and walk about town or on the beach. Also, if you like to read, invest in an E-reader, but we also have a very interesting collection of regular English books and novels that have been left here over the years in case you don't have an E-reader.
Well, that's about all for now, until next time!
