I haven’t written a blog post for so long, but now that i’m back here in Besançon i’m excited to be writing it again! The main reason I didn’t post anything was because the run up to Christmas was really busy for me. In the four weeks before I went back to England, my parents visited, I went to Strasbourg, I went to Paris and Disneyland and I was really enjoying the Christmas atmosphere of a cute French city like Besançon. While I would love to write about each of those things in more detail and tell you how much fun i’ve had, it would take me all day and I don’t want to bore you.
But I will just quickly mention that Strasbourg is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen! I would definitely recommend going there for the Christmas markets if ever anyone is thinking of going somewhere in Europe for a cheeky weekend before Christmas!
Being home for Christmas was lovely, though it went way too fast. Getting to see all of my friends and family was so nice after being here since September. But on 2nd Jan it was back to reality as school started on 3rd Jan and I had classes at 8am. I was welcomed back by the typical Franche Comté weather as it was freezing and snowing! Being back at the schools has been surprisingly enjoyable and I can’t believe i’ve finished my second week back already! Some of my classes changed but most of them stayed the same which has been nice because i’m really getting to know some of the students now.
Last weekend, I managed to fit in a last minute weekend to Paris with my friend Gemma from Sixth Form. It was nice to do some sight-seeing because last time I was in Paris we were mainly at Disneyland. Also a heads-up to anyone going to Paris soon or planning a trip, if you are under 26 and member of the EU most things are free! (smh all u brexiters). We couldn’t believe it, but other than paying for the Eiffel Tower, everything else we did was free. We only went for the weekend so we managed to fit in Versailles, Le Louvre, Arc de Triomphe (which were all free with ID) and Notre Dame (which is free anyway). I think my favourites were Versailles and L’Arc de Triomphe because i’ve never been to either before and at Versailles my history heart was beating.
I’ve been so excited to write this next part because i’m so happy and sad about it. Anyway, yesterday was my last day working with my favourite class at Collège Lumière. Unfortunately, because I only work there for 4 hours a week, my timetable has to change in order to give other classes a chance to work with me. But this little class of 4eme (13-14 year olds) are the only class I have had right from the observation period at the start of October until now. I was really sad about it so I planned a fun lesson on the Royal Family and added some games and sweets. However, when I got to the class, I was only given 25 minutes to teach as they had planned a ‘surprise‘ for me as well. The surprise was a French tradition called Galette. This is a sort of pie/cake/tart thing and it tastes like a normal cake. They cut up the cake and everyone gets a slice. However, in one slice there is a small item (ours had a little marble rectangle and a small chicken) and whoever bites into this is given a crown as they are the Queen for the day! They were so excited that they brought 2 galettes and they made sure that I won one of the crowns. They also showered me with sweets and gifts and it just made me realise how lucky I am to be working in such a nice school. It’s so rewarding to know that they love having me in their lessons and I really am sad that I won’t be working with them anymore.
I even went into their class this morning at 10 am (even though I don’t work on fridays), because one student had left his galette at home yesterday! So this morning we had another slice each and they made sure I won the crown again. They even wanted me to finish yesterday’s lesson on the royal family so they could play more games with me!
Now one of my resolutions is to not leave it so long before I write a blog post again!
Bisous x
Emily x
Besançon 2016-2017 