Roanne Party, Host Family Time, and Roanne Film Festival

On Friday, I baked banana bread for the first time! It turned out pretty good! The recipe I used was so simple and it didn't take much time at all to prepare. Recipe: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/bananabread

My banana bread! Looks a bit like a banana cake lol

On Friday night, we had Kim’s going away party at Jack and Camilo’s place. Some of our Lyon friends came as well, so it was a good group. During the party, Kate and I presented a little scrapbook that we put together for Kim. It was really nice to surprise her and she really appreciated it :).

On Saturday, I spent the afternoon with my host family and their friends. We had some delicious lasagna for lunch. For dessert, there were three types of pies: chocolate coconut, cherry, and lemon meringue. I tried the chocolate coconut and the lemon meringue- so yummy! After lunch, we all talked some more, and then went on a walk. 

On Saturday night, Kim, Jack, Camilo and I went to see a series of short films because there was an international animated film festival going on this week in Roanne. The title of this series of short films was called: La nuit de fantastique. There were ten short films which were by produced by people from different countries (France, Poland, Germany, England, etc). One of my favorites was about this man who woke up for work and got hit by a bus, died, but somehow time went back to the morning he (his ghost self), tried save his past self from dying. As he kept failing, he would wake up again and again, so soon there were about 5 of him trying to save the one before them. It was really cool and well made! I actually liked the majority of the films, but some were definitely more strange than others. 

Here's the cover of the program for the festival!

Inside L'Espace Renoir before the short films started!

On Sunday, I went to mass, and afterwards, the kids from church were selling little easter crafts that they made. They were chickens or rabbits colored with a few chocolate eggs inside! I bought one, because it was for a good cause and they were so cute!

Gotta focus and plan some lessons tomorrow,

Magdalena

Teaching Week 19: Teaching About The House and Prepositions- Also Featuring Some Yummy Food!

On Tuesday, I had a long day of teaching. In the morning school, I taught the students about prepositions and we read a little story called, “Where’s Spot?” which reviewed many prepositions. I also reviewed rooms of the house and had them glue labels on a house. In another class, the students asked each other questions in English and responded without looking in their notebooks. They had started preparing these questions/answers last week, and I could really tell that they had been practicing! One of the best feelings as a teacher is to see students learn and retain what you taught them :). 

In the afternoon, I had a yummy lunch, and this time I got a picture like usual. I had chicken, crab/tuna salad, hash browns, bread, cheese, and pudding for dessert.

Tuesday lunch

After lunch I had my two Skype classes. In the first one, I just continued to review the house. In the second class, I taught them about telling time in English. I taught them about using am and pm since we don’t really use military time much in the US. Before I started my lesson, I questioned the students on random things, such as the weather today. After I asked this question, they described the weather and then I told them about the weather in Roanne today. They were really confused about how I knew what the weather was like in Roanne… I wasn’t sure what was the cause of this confusion, but soon I got my answer. The kids had thought that I had been in the US all this time! Haha. They thought that I have been doing all of the Skype sessions from the US and that was the reason why I couldn’t always be there in person. After they realized that I lived here, they again wondered why I wasn’t physically at their school (because they are in a little town nearby). Well, I had to tell them that it’s not close by on foot… lol, and there are no buses that go there…

In the evening, I had my adult english class. We started off by continuing modal verbs (would, could, shoud, etc.) We did a few activities with that where they had to select the correct one to fill in the blanks. Next, we talked about the letter “i” pronunciation rules and exceptions. Then, we briefly reviewed all vowel pronunciations. At the end of class, we started talking about past, future, and present tenses of verbs. They started creating their own sentences and we will continue with that next week. Overall, I think that the lesson went well, and I hope that the adults are getting something out of this class.

When I got back, Kim cooked a delicious dinner for us! It was chicken, mushrooms, onions in a creamy sauce. Then, we had rice and carrots/peas on the side. Mmmmmm!

Yummy balanced meal

On Wednesday, I had three classes in the morning. I worked with half of the class and reviewed actions (swimming, jumping, reading) with them. They got in groups of three and then took turns telling the others to mime each action (swim, jump, read). Then, we played Simon Says with the actions and the kids enjoyed that game. Then, I did the same thing with the other half of the class. 

In the second class, I had half the class at a time again. We made a mini book and I gave all of the instructions in English. The kids liked making the books so I will try to incorporate more of these into future lessons. In the third class, I took a small group of 4 students and they played “who is it?” with celebrity identity cards. One student would pick out a celebrity and the others would ask them questions in order to figure out who they selected. This activity helped them practice using “he” and “she.” 

After class, I went to my favorite bakery, and got a new treat! This one is called Guillaume-tell and it’s got Nutella inside! Mmmmm. The pastry was really flakey and crunchy!

Guillaume-Tell

On Thursday, I taught all four of my classes about prepositions. We went over the common ones with little pictures of a boy and a box. Then, we did an activity where they had to fill in sentences that described a picture with the correct preposition. Next, they read sentences and drew what the sentences described. This activity was all based on a cat and aquarium. Then, I had kids come up and draw, and afterwards, the others in the class described a certain drawing. The student that drew the picture would have to stand up. I did this for a few rounds, letting the kids choose whichever preposition they wanted to base their drawings on. Overall, it went well and I think the kids are retaining what they are learning!

Here are some pics of cats and aquariums from one of my classes! Preposition fun :)

One little boy gave me a little treat at the end of class, (he brought lots for his class because it was his birthday.) He is so sweet! :)

Candy Kabob

After my morning classes, Kate, Kim and I went to the high school for lunch! Second time this week, whoo! I had chicken, seafood rice, radishes, bread, cheese, and lemon meringue tart for dessert!

Thursday lunch

For dinner, I decided to try a Spicy Sausage and Mixed Veggie recipe that I found online. I modified it a bit by adding fresh veggies (green/red bell peppers, onion, and zucchini). It turned out really good! Here’s the link if you are interested: http://www.thekitchn.com/recipe-andouille-vegetable-amp-penne-skillet-recipes-from-the-kitchn-201033

Mmmmm sausage, pasta, and veggies

Tonight, I did some lesson planning so that I can get ahead for next week.

Happy that it’s already the weekend,

Magdalena

Party in St. Etienne and Baking Weekend!

This weekend I did quite a bit of baking, which I was pretty excited about!

On Friday, I decided to make something with the giant piece of pumpkin that was given to us by out neighbor Tim. He was going out of town, so he left us some random food so that it wouldn’t go to waste. At first I had no idea what to make, so I just ended up looking at pumpkin recipes online, and I came across one for pumpkin scones. I think they turned out pretty good and if you are interested in the recipe, here’s the link: http://fidelisblog.com/our-kitchen/ (you have to scroll down a bit to get to the recipe). 

pumpkin scone!

In the evening, Kim and I took a train to St. Etienne for a party at Joe and Daniel’s place. Kim and I came earlier so that we could have dinner at their house. We had a yummy salad, and sausage pasta dish! Kim and I brought a praluline for dessert and everyone thought it was yummy! The praluline never fails, lol. Soon, people started arriving, and it was so great to see the St. Etienne assistants :). It was nice to catch up with them, and I even met some really nice new people as well! I loved chatting with Sarah and Emilia! We had a pretty good conversation about sour candy, haha. Can you believe that they do not have sour patch kids in France?! French people are missing out…just sayin. 

Kim and I in St. Etienne!

Kim and I stayed in St. Etienne overnight, then Saturday afternoon, we took a train to Lyon to meet up with Clare.

Once in Lyon, we found Clare and headed off to Flam for some lunch. Their menu changed from the last time we were there. The prices are a little higher and now they only give you half of your Flam at a time… lol. It seems to me like it is more work for the servers, but oh well. I got a Flam with mushrooms and cheese, and it was Clare’s first time eating here!

Clare and I with our 2nd half of Flam

After lunch, we went and did some shopping. Then, we stopped by to listen to a concert for mental health awareness. They played some pretty good music, so we stayed for a while. Then, we took a train back to Roanne. 

One girl even played with her foot!

Once in Roanne, Clare and I got some groceries. Then, we baked some cookies! They were so yummy and simple to make. All it took was some butter, sugar, flour, and chocolate chips! 

Chocolate marbly cookie

That evening, we all watched a french movie together called: A la Folie, Pas du Tout. I actually saw this movie when I was in French club back in high school. It is about a girl who believes that she is in a relationship with a doctor, but as the movie shifts to the doctor’s perspective the truth is revealed. As I was watching this movie, I realized that it took place in Bordeaux! It was cool to see places where i had been not too long ago! :)

On Sunday, I went to mass, then Clare and I watched a movie called, Hors de Prix, which was about two people, a guy and girl, who had sugar momma/daddy and they ended up bonding over their common situation. 

Then, we baked profiteroles! They were very yummy and it was the first time that either of us attempted to bake them. We were so proud! We baked them, then made the filling, piped the filling, and even melted nutella and drizzled it on top! They turned out really good!

Here's the recipe I used: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/26931/profiteroles

Homemade profiteroles

On Monday, I did some lesson planning, and grocery shopping. 

Ready for my week at the schools,

Magdalena

Teaching Week 18: Review, St. Patrick's Day, and Disclosure Concert

So on Monday, I just ran some errands in town. I walked by these nice flower pots that I had never noticed before. Seeing the flowers reminded me that spring is practically here! 

Pretty flowers 

Monday night, Kate, Kim, and I went over to Jack’s and Camilo’s place to hang out. Then, we decided to go to a nearby irish pub because it was St. Patrick’s day! They even gave out hats to celebrate the occasion.

Happy St. Patty's day from France!

Tuesday was my first day back at work after the holidays. Today was mostly review in my classes. I taught the oldest kids furniture using a worksheet. I reviewed the rooms of the house with the younger kids by having them mime actions and the others would guess where they were using complete sentences. The student would come up and mime something, then ask, “Where am I?” and the students would answer, “You are in the _________ (room).” The kids really like this game, lol. With another class we just reviewed how to ask lots of general questions in partners such as, “What’s your name, how old are you, When’s your birthday, do you have any brothers or sisters, etc.” 

In the first Skype class, I reviewed rooms of the house with the same miming game and I also had them write the rooms of the house as I spelled them in English. In the second Skype class, we reviewed everything we have learned so far, and I checked their understanding by asking them tons of questions relating to a lot of different topics such as sports, school supplies, clothing, body parts, food preferences, colors, the date, their age, the months of the year, the alphabet, names of friends and family, etc. 

I had lunch at the cantine with Kim and Kate as usual, but my phone died before I could take a picture! It was a very delicious lunch as usual! I had fish, bread, couscous, pasta, lentils, cheese, and a chocolate eclair for dessert! Sooo yummy!

On Wednesday, I showed my classes a powerpoint presentation on St. Patrick’s day, along with a clip of the St. Patrick’s day parade in New York. The kids thought it was really interesting, and the boys all had funny reactions to the guys wearing kilts, lol. I also gave them a word search to complete with the St. Patrick’s day vocabulary. The kids really enjoy word searches!

After class on Wednesday, I went to the bakery for bread and a little treat. This bakery is the best, so I like to try something from it every once in a while. I tried a pain au praline this time, and it was pretty good!

pain au praline

In the late afternoon, Kate, Kim, Jack, and I headed to Lyon for the Disclosure concert! We were so lucky to get tickets because it was a sold out show! We arrived pretty early in the evening so we hung out a bit at the parc de la tête d’or. It was fun just hanging and chatting.  Later on at the park, we met up with more of Jack’s friends who were also going to the concert. It was nice to meet more assistants in Lyon! 

pretty park

Around 8ish, Kate, Kim, and I decided to go to the venue. There was a long line to get in so we got in line and just talked to pass the time. After a few minutes, I was surprised to see one of my friends right in front of me!! It was my friend Anna, who I had met at UGA! She heard my voice and came to say hello! It was so great to see her again and we ended out together during the concert :). The concert in general was really good and I am so glad Kate introduced me to their music!

Anna and I at Disclosure!

Kate and I at Disclosure!

Disclosure!

Disclosure

After the show, we ended up spending the night at Anna’s and I am so thankful that she let us stay the night at her place!

Thursday morning, I took a train back to Roanne, because I had to work. The train came in on time, and I made it to school perfectly fine. I taught the little kids about how to describe hair (length and color), eyes (color), and colors of clothes. I taught the third class the months of the year with the months of the year macarena :). The kids really enjoyed it and I really believe songs and actions help the kids learn. 

Then, in my afternoon class, I taught them pieces of furniture, then showed them the presentation about St. Patrick’s day, then the parade video, and then they completed the word search.

I walked back home from school, and I was crossing the bridge, I noticed a lot of flags with twin cities written underneath them. There is even a twin city in Poland!

It's a city called: Legnica

As I was walking home, I ran into another assistant, Patricia, who I haven't seen in a while! We had a good chat and it was nice catching up. We talked about different places that we visited, and we realized that we both visited Bordeaux. It was great to talk to someone about this great city and it brought back my good memories from when I was there. I really hope I get a chance to go back to Bordeaux!

I was kind of tired when I finally got home, but I'm excited for the weekend!

Magdalena

Montpellier, Marseille, Aix En Provence

So, I had a relaxing day in Roanne on Tuesday, and on Wednesday morning, Kate, Kim, and I headed off to start our little South of France adventure in Montpellier!

After two trains, we made it to Montpellier, where we met up with Elyssa, Kate’s friend, who we stayed with for two nights. She was so nice and she showed us some cool spots around the city! There are some really pretty buildings here in Montpellier and lots of palm trees! Also, the trams here are very bright and colorful!

Buildings at the place de la Comedie

One of the many trams!

That evening, we made fajitas for dinner and they were delicious! Then we played this game called: tri-ominos which was pretty fun :)! Just like dominos but with triangles lol.

On Thursday, we walked around and explored the city even more! I saw a lot of nice buildings and more palm trees. There was a cool arc in the city as well.

Arc in Montpellier

pretty buildings and palm trees

Church in background and cute little touristy train

We went inside this church, which was an art museum inside! It was pretty cool!

Museum inside a church

Next we had a delicious lunch at the columbus cafe! I introduced the others to this place, and its delicious bagels and muffins. Then, we continued to walk around and enjoy the town.

Elyssa, Kate, Kim, and I

Then we made our way across town to this really pretty medical school! It looked to me as if it was a mixture of a castle and church!

Fancy medical school

That night, we went out to eat at this italian restaurant in this area that reminded me a lot of downtown disney. I had a ham and mushroom pizza. It was really good, but so filling! I even had a caramel panna cotta for dessert which was really yummy! After the meal, we went out to have a drink and to dance! 

Friday morning, we left Montpellier for Marseilles! It was about a 2 hour train ride. Once we arrived at the train station, we started looking for our hostel. I was excited, because this was my first hostel experience ever! But, the only downside is that it seems to be on a bit of a sketchy street. There were just men 

We stopped to ask someone for directions to the street, and soon realized that it was practically right across from the train station! This hostel was called, Vertigo, and I highly recommend it if you ever go to Marseille! The hostel is like a 3-5 minute walk from the station, the workers are so nice, and the room/bathroom were nice and clean. The only thing was that the road it was on was a little bit sketchy. There were just tons of older men sitting outside and sometimes they would try to get your attention with strange comments… It wasn’t too bad though because there were three of us, but I definitely wouldn’t feel very comfortable walking through there on my own. Anyways, after dropping off our bags, we went out to explore the town! I found that that Marseille had nice buildings as well, but overall Montpellier nicer ones. Marseilles had a nice atmosphere though and there were tons of different kinds of people wandering the streets!

Marseille

After some walking, we found a nice restaurant at the vieux port (old port- which is probably the most famous place in Marseille) where we had some lunch. Marseille is known for all things sea food so we all had some gambas (which to me look like giant shrimp). 

Enjoying some Gambas!

Gambas!

Then, we walked around until we found a cute ice cream shop! We took our ice creams to go, and ate them by the vieux port. I had white chocolate and nutella ice cream! It was probably the best ice cream that i ever had in my entire life :)!

beautiful weather and delicious ice cream = perfect

Pretty Vieux Port

After our ice cream, we headed back to the hostel to regroup and decide on what to do next. We ended up asking one of the workers what we should see, and he gave us lots of ideas! I wish we stayed longer so that we could see everything, but we only had one night here before our next stop.

Outside of our little cabin- we had a room with three beds and our own bathroom

Map with pink highlighter marks of the guy at the hostel showing us what we should see! 

We decided to walk along and see some more of the city after our little break. We saw some nice streets, a huge cathedral, and then the MuCEM- which is a museum of Mediterranean cultures. The interior of the museum was really cool! It was a mix of different kinds of exhibits. There were videos, paintings, and old tools/trinkets from the past. The museum terrace was also really nice and it overlooked the sea!

Cool street in Marseille

Pretty Cathedral

view from MuCEM terrace

Overlooking the sea

Then, we continued walking and reached a little tower which gave us a nice view of the vieux port. There was also a nice view of the port in a spot near the tower.

Vieux Port

Later on, we had dinner back at the hostel, and then in the evening, we hang out in the bar and common area of the hostel. I really liked the atmosphere with all of the different people coming and going. Kate, Kim, and I (already quite an international bunch) were joined by the french worker, a russian guy, a belgian couple, and group of germans (who came in and out lol). We had a fun time together, and I even taught the french worker a bit of polish. I taught him how to say “I’m tired” as well as “hello” and a few other words. He was so interested in languages and he had a pretty good pronunciation. He noted all of these phrases and words on a piece of paper. Pretty soon after, a polish girl came in and asked him something. Once he found out that she was polish, he whipped out his paper and showed off what I had taught him, lol. She was pretty impressed with his pronunciation and he even pointed out to her that I was his teacher, haha. 

I just loved the atmosphere at this hostel so much and I didn’t really want to leave. If I am ever back in Marseille, I am going to try to stay there again!

Saturday morning, Kate and I took advantage of the 5 euro breakfast buffet. We had pain au chocolat, croissant, nutella, tea, and orange juice :). It was one of the best breakfasts that I ever had in France so far. Then we all said our good-byes to the nice hostel guys and headed off to catch the train to Aix en Provence!

We were thinking that at the train station, there would possibly be a place to leave our suitcases (like in a locker or something) but unfortunately there were not any at the central train station in town. We went to the Tourism office and asked around there as well, but no luck! So, if anyone needs a business idea, start up a baggage holding area for one day visitors, lol. I bet you would make a good amount of money because the lady at the tourism office said that people come through and ask if there is a place to leave baggage quite frequently.

Anyways, so we set off to explore the town! We saw nice buildings, fountains, streets, churches, shops, and cafes/restaurants. We also saw a fruit/veggie market, as well as a flower market!

Pretty Fountain in Aix

Pretty Aix

I really liked all of the outdoor cafe and restaurant areas! It was so nice to eat outside and have a drink outside. 

We all had a drink at a classy outdoor restaurant :)

Then, we walked around some more and had lunch outdoors at another nice restaurant. I had salad, steak, and fries. I don’t eat steak often, but I decided to give it a try. It was actually pretty nice, still a bit red inside, and I actually ate it (I used to eat just well done steaks, but now I am branching out).  

yummy lunch!

It was a little rough having our suitcases with us for the day, but we still managed to have a good time exploring the city :)

Next we did a little shopping. I got a postcard and some nougat (which is one of the things that is from this region) Then we visited another church, then we walked around some more. We saw more cool fountains which seem to be all around this town!

Sweets shop!

Later on, we had a drink in the afternoon at a nice outdoor area. Then, we had nutella crepes at another restaurant. We got to sit outside yet again and enjoy the nice weather and atmosphere of the city. Then we went to a specialty shop and got some calissons (almond shaped marzipan like candy) to try since they come from this city. 

There were so many people out and about! Aix is a very lively city! 

area where we had some crepes

Then we headed off to the train station, to catch a train to another train station in the city so that we could get the TGV. Little did we know, we needed to catch a bus not a train, so therefore, we had to find the bus station, and then the correct bus… It was a little stressful, but with the help of some random french people and bus worker, we figured out the right bus and ran for it! We luckily made it on the bus with a few minutes to spare! It was a close call, but we made it :). Then, the rest of the journey wasn’t very dramatic. We just took the TGV to Lyon, then another train to Roanne. We made it back saturday night!

I was so exhausted from the trip and I slept so well after all of those days of walking and exploring. We lucked out with the weather and I even got a slight tan from this trip :).

I had a great time with my roomies, and thanks to all of the nice people that made our trip so nice! Thanks to Elyssa for being a great host in Montpellier, and thanks to everyone at Vertigo in Marseille for the pleasant stay! :)

On Sunday, I went to mass and finally got in contact with the one polish family in Roanne. Hopefully I will be meeting up with them soon!

So I have one day off left, and then back to work on Tuesday!

Not ready for the vacation to end,

Magdalena