an american in paris

i realize that i need to do a better job of updating this thing, so bear with me. lest one get bored with too much information at once, i'll try to space it out a bit.

i know at least one person has asked what day to day life is like here, particularly teaching. so i'll tell you. i teach 12 hours a week, though the one hour commute as well as lunch breaks at school means i'm "at school" for 21 hours each week. and it's all contained in tuesday thru thursday. mondays, this semester, are reserved for translating letters for a non-profit organization called PLAN France that functions in child sponsorship in the developing world. And depending on what time I get up and get going, I've also time to run errands or go to the park or a museum. Then Monday evenings i give an english class at a chinese church in the 13th arrondissement. As for fridays, i've decided this semester to use fridays for lesson plans, trying to be more proactive in preparing for lessons and therefore not leaving it till monday and the day before a given day of teaching.

as for lesson planning, that has been my least favorite part of my existence here in France. i've felt quite lazy about it, but the consequence of poor planning is a stressful feeling of trying to have material to discuss or activities for students while, in fact, i'm just praying for the end of the day to arrive. it's difficult to know what my role really looks like, here as a teaching assistant; while the job description is to help facilitate conversation and improve the english-speaking skills of the students, the teachers insist that the more important reason for me being here is to have fun. so you can imagine that it's difficult to remain motivated without grand expectations. not only that, but there's really very little supervision or accountability in the program, either from the school or from the Fulbright program. what i hope to achieve is a balance between relaxed enjoyment of life abroad and a realistic attitude of what i may expect to accomplish as a t.a.

the other considerable difficulty in life abroad at this point is the transition from school(kindergarten to university) to professional life. i am unaccustomed to not living in close proximity with peers or having daily contact with them. the size of paris and the dispersion of assistants and other friends throughout the city is an obstacle to daily and/or regular interaction. it seems that building friendships is a lengthier process, given what little amount of time with people is prescribed by my existence here. while i live with roommates, they remain roommates and not entirely friends; that's not to say that we don't hang out, go to movies, talk quite frequently. but the relationships at home haven't been my main target. instead i've developed closer friendships with a few assistants, in particular, as well as several people from school and the churches i've attended. but with Paul, for instance, a New Zealandish friend from church, i see him consistently only once a week; others i may see twice a week, but in comparison to living with friends in a dorm or spending time daily, this feels like a drought. part of the difficulty comes in the fact that i have oodles of free time, while most people who have jobs, and students, especially advance students, are much busier and/or tired when the day is done. NEVERTHELESS, i have seen progress in friendships, and i'm very glad for those whom i count as friends.

what do i do for fun?, one might ask. at least once a week i have a friend or two over for dinner, though my limited menu means i can't have the same person over too frequently!! i also meet up with people at a cafe or a happy hour several times a week. on the weekends there's often an assistant gathering of some sort; last night i went to a housewarming of a British assistant friend, which turned out to be quite the culturally educational experience. i found myself struggling to not speak with a British accent, despite being told that the only thing more annoying than an American accent is an American trying to use a British accent. and this saturday and last, i got my weekly exercise playing American football on the lawn of Invalides. ball games are strictly prohibited, as the sign indicates, but it doesn't stop the plethora of soccer games played all weekend. and it sure as heck didn't stop us. last saturday we played in the rain and mud, 5 Americans and 5 internationals. it turned out to be my most memorable experience in Paris yet, as well as my dirtiest.


today i played with three American from church as well as some Marines stationed in Paris. both this week and last, we were the subject of not a few photographs by perplexed onlookers, including a full bus-load of tourists at one point. unfortunately for the field, it was a mudhole after last week; fortunately for us, the local police weren't around to stop us.

i forgot to mention that an important aspect of my life here so far is my involvement with a bilingual church, Vintage. while an actual church service is only held once a month, we meet weekly in groups in different parts of the city. i'm part of a "Table" group on the left bank(south), a mere 10 minute walk from my apartment. on Sunday mornings we share a meal together and chat and sometimes play teeball in the nearby park. thursday evenings we have a discussion group, as well as dinner. i realized the other day that there is something altogether different about being a part of a community in someone's home; while i enjoy the people at another church i've attended, there's an evident difference made by spending two days per week in someone's home at Vintage. not to mention the family in whose home we have our group has four kids, including an 18-month old, Charles, cute as he can be. he's honestly a highlight of my week.

that's certainly enough for now, but i hope to update again upon my return from Rennes this week, where i'll be heading tomorrow for a conference of the Fulbright grantees. i hope it proves relaxing.

all the best to everyone, check back very soon.