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Tuesday, January 8, 2019

TA Andrew Coburn's December in Deauville





The month of December flew by way too fast. Now that we were in the full swing of things with vacations and holiday events quickly approaching, we kept plenty busy! While Deauville may be a small town, they don't skimp on holiday decorations and festivities. The season kicked off with a lighting of the entire town, including hidden light shows in different parts of the city. There was a little confusion amongst the TAs as to why the kids all the sudden started singing a song called "Noël Jazz", but it ended up they had to sing it at the lighting ceremony in front of the citizens before pushing the big red button to light up the town (it's now a house favorite). The festivities didn't stop just in town but continued to the school. The children worked for WEEKS on small crafts that they eventually sold at a school Christmas market where they raised funds for their class trips. I also worked with three of my classes to send Christmas cards to two elementary schools in Georgetown, KY, and Tulsa, OK. The exchange went off without a hitch and it was great to see how both cultures handled the objective. One of the Georgetown schools even learned how to say 'Merry Christmas' for their paired class!
      The best part about December was our second two-week vacation. For this one, the girls and I separated again. My first day I finally got to go to Omaha Beach and see the D-Day Beach and walk through the American cemetery. It was quite the eye-opening experience. I again returned to Lyon to spend Christmas with my host family and get another Frenchmas (French Christmas) under my belt. From Lyon, I left for Poland to catch the tail end of Polish Christmas festivities with a local friend and her family. I celebrated New Years there with a beautiful fireworks show, then headed back to Deauville for several days of rest. The girls left the Saturday that break began and headed on a 13-day adventure to Spain (Barcelona, Valencia, and Madrid). There they got to tour many well-known museums, and spend time in some much-needed sunshine and warm weather.
        December was a hard month with spending Christmas away from our family, but we were all grateful to spend it with our newly made/established families. We're all back to work now and even more ready than before for whatever comes our way this next month! 

-Andrew



Warsaw, Poland with one of my best friends, Magda.

Christmas with my favorite "sisters"!

Omaha Beach Sculpture