l'Allemagne

As I write this, I am on a train headed for Mannheim, Germany – l’Allemagne. I haven’t written much this week because I am still sick from Ireland; it feels like what started out as a cold in Dublin has moved to my head. Jenn, our friend who met us in Dublin, has bronchitis and a sinus infection; I’m really hoping what I have isn’t a sinus infection, but I fear it might be. I really hope it moves out by the time I return for Ireland, because I really don’t want to have to go to the doctor and find out it’s a sinus infection only to have to try to explain that I’m allergic to penicillin.
On another note, the French countryside we are passing through is beautiful. And so different than Paris – we have passed field after field, first through flat plains and now through rolling hills. We’ve seen a couple of small villages, quaint groups of houses in similar pastels donned with red roofs, centered around the point of a church. A few rows ahead of us, there is a group of Germans who just cracked open some champagne and seem to be having a pretty good time. I think Devan and I are about to make some new friends. Glad we’re apparently on the party train.
The week, like all the others, flew by. This past Tuesday I went to meet the French high school students I will be teaching for the next month or so. Maria, also from Fairfield, is assigned to the same school so it was nice going in with a friend. We definitely were the new kids in town. It was weird entering a high school as an “intern,” for my etage, because it feels like not so long ago I was there. And really, it hasn’t been long. It only makes imagining anyone teaching high school students right after graduating from college more difficult.
We are working with three different classes in a Catholic, professional school. Our Catholic school is under contract, sous contrat, with the state – meaning, it is privately run and thus can teach the Catholic tradition, but it receives funding from the state and must follow state curriculum. This is an important part of the principle of laicite, which I mentioned briefly before. The first class we have is a small group of younger students, about eight or 10 ranging in age from 15 to 17 years old. They were selected for their proficiency in English and work ethic to be part of this class, a special course participating in a multinational project. They were especially excited when I introduced myself as a minor in Environmental Studies because their project is on sustainability in Europe. They want to learn English vocabulary on the subject – as they collaborate with England, Germany, and another country I can’t remember, their shared language is English. As they pointed out, and one of the issues we have discussed in our education class, is how France, Italy, and Spain – the Romance languages – are behind the rest of their European counterparts in their fluency in the English language (which I find their use of the word “bad” to refer to their fluency funny because from what I’ve experienced, the English of the French is so much better than the general French of Americans).
It is difficult to explain how amazing our first day was. The kids in the first class – and the other two as well - were great. I could tell they were nervous to speak in English, probably because Maria and I are native speakers, but they all eventually spoke out and were willing to make an effort even when they weren’t sure of the vocabulary for what they wanted to say. In the second two classes, with another teacher, the kids were a bit older, ranging in age from 17 to 20 years old. They had a more difficult time understanding us, and were rowdier in class. Some rightly refused to speak English at all. They are going to be a more difficult group to work with, I expect, but I still completely loved it. It was also odd; during the first class, three of the girls asked Maria and me if they could have our cell phone numbers. As Maria and I exchanged a look of uncertainty, the girls could sense we were uncomfortable and suggested Facebook instead. We agreed, unsure whether this was appropriate protocol, Maria gave them her Facebook page and we told them to search for me through her page since I don’t have an address. We didn’t think either their teacher or our professor had heard them ask, and we didn’t say anything.
But then, after the second class, our professor came up to us and we started talking. She was happy with how the classes were going, and we told her we were really enjoying the day. She then told us that one of the students had come up to her on his way out of class and asked her if he could take us out one day after class and show us around Paris, because “he even has a car.” And to my absolute shock, our professor enthusiastically told us she thought it was a great idea. I know we are only student teachers, but I still feel like in the states, this would be considered inappropriate. After she told us this, I didn’t worry about being friends with the girls on Facebook anymore.
I’ve never wanted to teach before but I have never considered teaching English as a second language, and I could now absolutely see myself doing so. It’s only been one session, and I should give it a few more before I am sure of such a thing, but if I do end up enjoying the entire experience like I anticipate, it certainly complicates things. At this point in my life, I want to be an international investigative journalist, live in New York City, go to law school, live in Paris, work as an editor/ publisher, and now teach English as a second language. Life decisions. Ugh. My problem isn’t that I don’t know what I want to do with my life; it’s that I know I want to do several things and I can’t figure out which ones I want most.
But for this weekend, I’m going to enjoy Germany. We are staying in Heidelberg, which I had never heard of but everyone we have mentioned it to who knows of it has raved about it. We should be at our train station in Germany in 15 minutes or so, so I am going to finish writing for now. By the time this is published, we should be all settled in. We are lucky to be spending the weekend with our friend Kristin who is studying here this semester. She was in Russia last semester, so I haven’t seen her since last year and I am really looking forward to catching up!
Goodbye for now. I’d say it in German if I knew – adieu? It’s the only thing I remember from The Sound of Music. The only other German word I think I know is krakenhaus, which I think might mean hospital. Maybe. Not exactly a solid base of German knowledge but maybe after this weekend I’ll be fluent. ;)

P.S. I hope I’m not jinxing myself here, but I have to brag – over a three hour train ride, my computer has lost only 30% of it’s battery life. My Dell never even used to last most of the 2 ½ Amtrak ride from Fairfield to Boston with a full battery. VIVA LA MACBOOK!