Bonjour! My name is Katherine and I am one of the 4 English
Language Assistants that have the honor to work in Deauville for the year. I
arrived about two weeks before the “Touissant” (All Saints Day) vacation which
was my observation period. I appreciated having this period since not only is
this a new school to be working in but there’s a new culture for me to learn!
While I’ve been fortunate enough to have spent time in France through previous
Sister Cities programs, I have never worked in a primary school in France
before which has culture differences of its own. One of the differences here at
school is as simple as lining up. When I was little, I loved the book Madeline
by Ludwig Bemelmans. In the book, the girls line up “in two straight lines.”
Well just like in the books, the kids here line up two by two or “deux par
deux” instead of single file. I have seen the little ones holding hands with
their line buddy on the regular which is super cute to see. Another difference
comes from the food culture being important in France. While I still on
occasion hear kids complaining about the food at the cafeteria, I’m not
convinced it can compare to what I grew up with. First they are served an
"entrée" which is typically a vegetable of some sort. Second they get
the "plat" which so far has been a meat and a grain. Third is the
cheese course. Then last is the dessert course which may be a piece of cake or
a piece of fruit. They aren’t given the food all at once. Each course after the
entrée, the lunch ladies will come around and serve each student the food.
Students have the option to go home for lunch or eat at school. No one brings
their lunches to school here - if they are eating at school, they eat the
cafeteria lunch. Of course students with dietary restrictions are accommodated
for.
During the Touissant vacation I spent time settling into
Deauville and was fortunate enough to get to spend time with friends and my
french family. I participated in the Sister Cities exchange program in 2015 and
have been so fortunate having friends from then as well as with my french
family that I was paired with- they truly feel like family at this point.
After the Touissant vacation I started teaching and we
launched into incorporating Thanksgiving and Christmas into our curriculum.
There were lots of hand turkeys, and saying what we are grateful for. In the
after school program (APE), the English teachers lead “English Club” that the
students can elect to take. During English Club, I got to talk about
traditional Thanksgiving foods with the students and show pictures of my family
celebrating Thanksgiving in Kentucky. Once Thanksgiving ended, we were full steam
ahead for Christmas. Part of this was due to a big city event which was the
lighting of the Christmas lights! Every year the students in Deauville perform
a few songs and then the mayor will choose one of them to press the button that
turns on all the Christmas lights of Deauville. This year they had one song in
French and three in English. It was super cool to see them get to perform the
English songs that they had been working hard on in front of the mayor and the
town. They did a great job!
