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.
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
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