What is Teaching in France Really Like? TAPIF Diary #1
September, October, & November 2019
September, October, and November flew by as Jalen and I got settled in France and began working as English Language Assistants with the Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF). The last few months have been jam-packed with introductions, paperwork, appointments, and new experiences. We are finally getting into the swing of our work schedules and are really starting to know our way around Troyes! Here’s what we’ve been doing since the end of September.
September
We arrived in Paris early in the morning on September 26th at the Charles de Gaulle airport. By the evening, we had taken two trains to arrive in Reims and had been awake for well over 24 hours! We had to carry around our suitcases and backpacks everywhere we went, so by the time we made it to our Airbnb, we were exhausted!
We took a few days to explore Reims, get acclimated to the six-hour time difference, and prepare for TAPIF orientation. It was a great mini-vacation and I really enjoyed being with Jalen as he experienced France for the first time ever!
October
Orientation for TAPIF was on the 1st and 2nd of October. We left our Airbnb and set up at the Centre International de Séjour de Reims, where we were housed and fed us for the duration of orientation.
Over the course of a few days, we met the other language assistants in the Académie de Reims, spoke with administrators and teachers about the logistics of our jobs, got some insight on best teaching practices, visited the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Reims, toured the Mairie (Town Hall), and even had a glass of champagne at the Rectorat (Board of Education).
After orientation, we immediately headed down to Troyes, toured an apartment, and signed the lease! We were relieved to have a place to stay and to finally unpack the suitcases we had been lugging around with us everywhere.
Over the next few days, we got busy taking care of some essentials like opening bank accounts, getting public transport subscriptions, and buying French SIM cards for our phones. We also had fun attending a dinner party that my colleagues put together to welcome Jalen and I to France.
Our first few weeks of work were comprised of classroom observation and introductions. Jalen and I were able to meet most of our classes in our high schools and middle schools before the first school break.
As far as teaching on our own, our first lessons were meant to let our students get to know us and to help us find out a bit more about them. We also scoped out the teachers’ lounges, met lots of teachers from various disciplines, figured out how to use the printers, and started to get comfortable with our schedules.
The Vacances de la Toussaint – the first break of the school year – began on October 19th. We spent some time in Troyes getting to know the city but also took a trip to Clermont-Ferrand. Jalen and I visited the following places:
- Basilique Notre-Dame-du-Port de Clermont-Ferrand: Explored this interesting basilica and UNESCO World Heritage Site
- Centre Jaude: Shopped around in this large indoor mall
- Université Clermont-Auvergne: Took a peek at this public university
- Jardin Lecoq: Strolled around this beautiful garden teeming with plants and animals
- Musée Lecoq: Visited this unique natural history museum
- Cathédrale Notre Dame de l’Assomption de Clermont-Ferrand: Spent some time at this gothic cathedral made of volcanic rock
- Ciné Jaude: Watched the movie Fahim at this cute theatre
We had a great time hanging out in Clermont-Ferrand together and exploring a town that neither of us had ever visited before. It was a fun way to end our first full month in France!
November
As all TAPIF participants must, Jalen and I completed our mandated medical check-ups and chest x-rays. Following the online visa validation process, the Office Français de l’immigration et de l’intégration (OFII) summons each language assistant to a free medical appointment to ensure that they are healthy and not a risk to the country. Though we validated our visas at the exact same time, Jalen’s appointment was on Monday the 4th while mine was on Friday the 8th. In our academy, the appointments take place in Reims, the capital of the region, and since there isn’t a direct train from Troyes to Reims, we used BlaBlaCar, a carpool app, to get to and from our appointments. Thankfully, we are both healthy and our visits went off without a hitch!
For one weekend, our friend from college, Colleen – currently studying abroad in England – came to visit us! She flew to Paris from London and then took a train to Troyes. We picked her up from the station, showed her the Cœur de Troyes and the Cathédrale Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul de Troyes, and had dinner together at our apartment. The next day, we all headed to Paris and visited some of the must-sees, including the Galeries Lafayette, the Arc de Triomphe, and the Eiffel Tower. We also ate lunch in Paris and, of course, sat a café for a few hours. We had a great time catching up with Colleen and it was so fun to hang out together in France!
All in all, we had an exciting few months of travel and work and we’re ready to experience what the upcoming months hold! If you liked this article, click here to watch our video where we tell some funny stories about our adventure thus far. If you have any questions about what we’ve been up to or want to know more, leave us a comment!
Check out our TAPIF Recap video!
Check out our other TAPIF Diary entries!
- TAPIF Diary: December 2019
- TAPIF Diary: January 2020
- TAPIF Diary: February 2020
- TAPIF Diary: March 2020
- TAPIF Diary: April 2020
2 Comments
Marie
I love reading about your adventures! I can’t wait to see what the future holds for you both!
Jalen & Maria
Thank you so much for reading!