giggles and another annoying student episodes

I don't know if I'm a good teacher. Case in point: three girls had a case of the giggles on Friday afternoon in my 4pm class - ouch, right? Instead of sending them out in the hallway to get it together I gave them several warnings and then gave them a firmer reprimand after class. But any of the other teachers would have just sent them out. Instead I was trying to TEACH them English grammar and I don't think it stuck. Too often this is the case, (Frenchcoco tries to teach but fails pretty definitively) because I don't understand the French education culture here still, and I'm a big fat Newb to the profession. Also the fact that I waver too closely between being funny and likeable, and actually enforcing rules - the latter of which I think is actually more important as a teacher in France. There is much more of an open dialogue between students and teachers in the USA (especially in college) than in France, and by allowing or searching for that open dialogue in my classes with my students, it's led to a kind of misunderstanding in what my role is in the classroom. They're not used to it from their professors. And I'm not sure enough myself of what my role is to where I can reign them back in when they cross the line from being accessible to being inaccessibly lazy and indifferent. After the girls were reprimanded a third time, I lost my credibility for that afternoon class. I picked some of it back up after we spoke after class, but then tossed some of it to the wind when I spoke to them in French and incorrectly conjugated. No matter that they got the point of what I was saying and would hopefully do better next week, but I let MORE weakness show. A LION TAMER SHOWS NO WEAKNESS!! (see facebook post of what-teachers-do-pdf photo) I need to trade in my MeowMix for a bullwhip.

I beee busy

SNOW!! Finally! We have snow. The ever present dog shit is buried and forgotten beneath small mounds of snow and the world is pretty and clean and perfect in Rouen and the region of Normandie.

However. Not as perfect as to dump in buckets and thus cancel school tomorrow. Just perfect enough to be pretty and exciting. So I am now ending a period of 4 hours of preparation for the work week, and am still not finished. As of result of spending yesterday and today in Vernon with the family I'm a little behind on my duties but not terribly. Only terribly when you stop and think I have about a month left to study for the GRE also known as "that test I had no business signing up for when I'm no longer considering grad school" but hey, whatevs. So I'm behind.

Christmas at home was amazing and wonderful and a nice refresher for my English (!). However I don't know if I'd really like to do it again this next year just because the flight trajectory was terrifying. The pilot took us through the worst bout of turbulence I have ever experienced in my two odd decades of flying, over a period of about 6 hours. One of my worst nightmares come true. That and the fact that it's insanely expensive to fly roundtrip from Paris to LAX in December makes me hesitant already to sign up for another frightening flight. Especially when (God willing) I'm just going to move back 6 months thereafter in summer of 2013. Time shall tell!

Speaking of, I've been very adamant and certain that by finishing my work contract in 2013, I will have no reason to stay in France and can move back home as soon as possible to karaoke, Trader Joe's, and feminism. However.... I've been recently experiencing these bouts of happiness and ease with living in France. I sometimes think it could be nice here. 5 weeks minimum of annual vacation, beautiful countryside, centrality to other European destinations almost balances out the longing I feel for friends and family I've known my whole life and the conveniences home has to offer. It may also have something to do with my recent vow to try more French pastries. Up till now my mistake had been putting too much jam in my yogurt cups when I should have been packing on the pounds in the patisseries! D'oh!