What is Teaching in France Really Like? TAPIF Diary #6
April 2020
That’s a wrap! Our experience with the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF) has come to an end. The events of this past month were far from how Jalen and I expected our year of teaching to conclude, namely due to the COVID-19 outbreak which closed schools in France from Monday, March 16th 2020 on. Here’s how our last month with TAPIF played out.
April
The entirety of our time in April was spent in confinement, meaning we only left our apartment for the strict necessities.
Schools remained closed and while we weren’t asked to teach online classes, we did help out the English teachers by making audio recordings for their activities here and there. Though it was sad that we couldn’t say a proper goodbye to our students and coworkers, we are glad for the time we had with them. Gratefully, my colleagues organized a video chat to say goodbye and a few of my students emailed me some sweet parting messages.
Our TAPIF contract was scheduled to end on April 30th, but COVID-19 had other plans! Once the French government announced that schools would not open before May 11th, and keeping in mind that our visas expire on May 17th, Jalen and I decided to begin the search for flights back to the United States. As we watched flights from France to the United States become rarer and increasingly expensive, we booked a flight with Delta for April 28th. Unfortunately, on April 14th, our flight was cancelled. We scrambled to find a new flight and fortunately found one with British Airways for April 22nd.
We cleaned up our apartment, packed our bags, fastened together some homemade masks, and left for Paris on April 21st. After a bus, train, and taxi ride, we made it to the Hotel Ibis at Charles de Gaulle airport where we stayed the night.
The next morning, we headed to the deserted airport and made our way from France to England to, finally, the United States on two planes that were practically empty. Once we were on American soil, we were screened for COVID-19 symptoms and sent on our way. It was a long, strange day of travel and a decidedly unexpected way to end our TAPIF experience.
What’s Next?
We are so excited for the next step in our lives and know that our time as assistants will serve us for years to come. As you may have guessed, we will be returning to live in France soon – for our latest updates, keep up with us here on the blog, on Instagram, and on YouTube as we refine, finalize, and implement our plans!
As always, if you have any questions or want to know more, leave us a comment!
Check out our TAPIF Recap video!
Check out our other TAPIF Diary entries!
- TAPIF Diary: September, October, & November 2019
- TAPIF Diary: December 2019
- TAPIF Diary: January 2020
- TAPIF Diary: February 2020
- TAPIF Diary: March 2020
Check out our video to prepare to participate in TAPIF!
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