What is Teaching in France Really Like? TAPIF Diary #4
February 2020
We have once again reached the end of another month with the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF)! Jalen and I have been up to our usual activities: roaming around Troyes, travelling around France, and creating and implementing English activities for French middle and high schoolers. Keep reading to find out what we’ve been doing this month.
February
We spent the beginning of the month going to work at our respective schools as usual. Some of our lessons focused on tongue twisters, rhyming, Valentine’s Day, superlatives, and more. We are still enjoying teaching the students and they seem to like working with us as well.
February 15th kicked off the Vacances de Printemps, our second winter break that lasts until March 2nd. We spent the first weekend relaxing and preparing for Jalen’s family to come visit!
On the 17th, Jalen’s family’s flight landed in Paris and we headed to the Gare de l’Est to meet them and get them on a train with us to Troyes. We hung out at our apartment in the afternoon and then had dinner at one of our favorite cheap eats in Troyes, Five Pizza Original. The next day, we toured the family around Troyes, did some shopping on Rue Général Saussier, and ate at a great restaurant called l’Odyssée.
We all headed back to Paris on the 19th and packed as many activities as possible into our day-trip to the capital. We visited:
- Les Catacombs de Paris: Toured the Parisian catacombs
- Eiffel Tower: Viewed the Eiffel Tower from Le Trocadéro
- Champs-Elysées: Walked along this iconic avenue and admired the Arc de Triomphe
- La passerelle Léopold Sédar Senghor: Watched Mackenzie, Jalen’s sister, and her partner, Miles, add a lock to this bridge
- Jardin des Tuileries: Took a quick stroll through this beautiful garden
- Musée du Louvre: Though we didn’t make it inside, we appreciated the glass pyramids in front of the museum
We returned back to Troyes the same evening and planned for our final day together. On the 20th, we went to the McArthurGlen Outlet Mall, visited the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Troyes, and took pictures at the Cœur de Troyes. We said goodbye that evening, and Jalen’s family headed back home the next morning. We had a fun trip and enjoyed showing everyone what our life is like here in France!
We are currently having fun in Marseille for the remainder of our break and can’t wait to share what we’ve been doing here in our next TAPIF Diary entry. Until then, if you have any questions about what we did this month 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: March 2020
- TAPIF Diary: April 2020
Check out our video to prepare to participate in TAPIF!
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