SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS

So one of the biggest perks of being an English teaching assistant in France (besides the incredibly high salary, free shoes, and privilege to work only with the students that are members of Mensa-France) is the opportunity to chaperone field trips.

Last week I went to Thoronet Abbey, one of the Cistercian Abbeys of Provence, and today I got to go to Dignes-les-Bains on a geology field trip.  We had great weather for hiking up a mini-mountain in the Alps, it was very sunny and not too hot (!!! Yes this is really my life).  I listened to the teachers talk about geology and tectonic plates and plankton and fossils and I am proud to say that if you put me in a French high school science class, I am confident that I would ace it.

High school field trips in France are NOT the same as high school field trips in the US.  For one thing, if you live in Paris you get to go to art museums and see real Monets and Picassos.... compared with visiting a former plantation in southern Maryland, France definitely wins out.  For another thing, ON BOTH FIELD TRIPS THAT I HAVE ATTENDED, I have had the opportunity to have either an apéritif or digestif.  On Tuesday I had pastis to go with the olives that the students shared, and last week I had an apricot brandy (gross) after dessert.  Yes, as a person responsible for children's lives while on field trips HIKING IN THE MOUNTAINS I have had the opportunity to drink with my colleagues.  This is sooo un-American.

The kids that I went hiking with are a chatty; easygoing, and honest group of high school seniors.  When I asked Ophélie if she thought that the fossils were interesting, she responded "No!"  Two of my other students informed me that they wanted to go to English-speaking countries after they graduate to improve their spoken English.  "Great!" I encouraged them, adding that that is the best way to get better - immersion.  With my support, they ventured further: "We will stay at your house for two months next summer!"  I laughed, thinking it was a joke, but they were serious ... "Can we?"  Surprised, I said the first thing that came to mind: "You have to ask my mom!"  They laughed, and continued: "We will take a picture of us, and she will see that we are good-looking, and she will say yes!"  I laughed..... But they really were serious. They showed me the picture, and I told them that if they write a little paragraph about who they are and asking to come, I would forward it to my Mom.  I know she's always wanted French high-school pen pals....

Until the next time,
xoxo
SAMANTHA