Holiday Blog from Kelly in Deauville

Happy New Year from Deauville! It’s hard to believe that it’s been three months since Kira and I arrived. Time is truly flying by! A lot has happened since my first blog post. We’ve settled into our routines here and got to experience Christmas and the festive season in France, as well as share American holiday traditions with our students. 

In the weeks leading up to Christmas, I was tasked with teaching my students the classic American Christmas song, Jingle Bell Rock. The older students performed it on the main square, the Place Morny, in front of the mayor as part of the celebrations to mark the start of the holiday season in Deauville. Two of the students were even picked to “flip the switch” to light the Christmas tree at the center of town. It was gratifying to hear the kids singing the song at recess and listening to it outside of English class! 

In addition to jingle bell rockin our way through December, we also wrote letters to Santa and Christmas cards in English. The students had fun writing out their lists in English and were happy to learn that the English word for Playstation is indeed Playstation! The last week of school, I somewhat took on the role of a Grinch, by giving my older students an assessment (at the request of their teachers). Though by no means perfect, it was a good way to wrap up before vacation, and I was happy to see how much students had mastered during our unit on family. 

Outside of the classroom, I joined the local football (soccer) club, AS Trouville-Deauville, and play for the senior women’s team. We won the first two matches in which I played, and I’m looking forward to starting up again after the winter break. It’s great to meet people outside of school and to feel like I’m part of the broader community. 

The last week before winter break, a friend from the University of Kentucky came to visit. We spent Christmas together in Deauville and traveled to Croatia the week between Christmas and New Year’s. We visited Split and Dubrovnik, and both were beautiful. It was fun to be in tourist mode and a different experience to visit a country where I don't know a single word of the language!

Deauville is certainly quieter now after the holidays. There are far fewer tourists on the weekend and most of the vacation homes in town are closed. Though I enjoyed the energy during the holidays, there’s something peaceful about the quiet streets and empty boardwalk of January. Unfortunately, I started the second week of the new year with a positive Covid diagnosis so have had to quarantine at home this past week. Fortunately, I don’t have any symptoms, and I’m looking forward to going back to school next week! 

À bientôt,

Kelly