French Experience ( tout en anglais)

French Experience ( tout en anglais)

Ok so, what people ask first when you say that you went on a trip to France ( from Barbados ) ?

I think I've made an inventory of 3 things : COLD, FOOD, LANGUAGE.

COLD
I've said earlier that this december 2011 was reeeeeeally not cold. Between 6 and 15 degres is an autumn or spring temperature. The winter actually got France in February. - 10 for weeks, with snow. Rohan had a narrow escape. A lot of homeless people died of cold in the street, as every winter.
And no, we don't stay stuck if we kiss outside, but yes we feel like we have no toes anymore after a walk outside, and we keep socks and jacket inside, in winter, in France

FOOD

After the Christmas we had a "normal" meal : Tablapizza (restaurant), to eat PIZZA !
You see, we don't eat ONLY weird things in France !!

Well... We do eat snails...
HE had some, I didn't !!

(left) First Crèpe a la Crème de Marrons. ( chestnut purée crepe)
Oh, yes it was also the first Rohan's minutes in this lovely french climate, so I had to feed him with something sweet and hot to warm him up.
(right) YES ! The French Burger!! at Quick ! The European equivalent of McDonald's.
But we missed the offer, it was a temporary thing. But i'm sure it was delicious

       

To sum it up, if I understood well Rohan's feed back, food here is quite good, the biggest differences are: - we don't use as much sauce, dressing, flavour addition of any kind as in Barbados. No ketchup, no greavy, no herbs, no frying. ( when I say "no" I mean "almost no" but compared to Barbados it can be called "no"). We eat the food, more "pure".
- We have no snacks items. Peanuts, chips, chocolate bars aren't a daily thing, aren't available in every shop, and don't exist in the kitchen.
- No snacks times. We eat at regular times ( I mean it's not a question of minutes, we are not freaks). Like breakfast is breakfast, lunch is lunch, then it's dinner, but there is nothing between. If you are hungry between, too bad, there is no early dinner, you wait until night time, past 7pm at leeeeeast to eat something. 
 (Yes Rohan you can smile at that because it's not exaclty what happened when you were there BUT it was vacation, so the rythm was different and we had a busy tourist programme, but still, wehad something very close to this french food-life style)

LANGUAGEMy mom is a FLE teacher, ahah what's that?
"Francais Langue Etrangere" = French as a Foreign Language. In France yes.
She works in an area where there are a lot of Immigrants. The kids are sent to school without knowing any french so she is there to take them in small groups to teach them.


At school all the children speak only french, and in this group they all speak different languages, so the only way to communicate between each other is to use french.

My mom used to be a teacher in pre and primary schools in "full" classes. Then she was Director for a few years. Most of the time in these special areas called "difficult" because of all the social issues, and violence problems associated with poverty, immigration and life in ghettos. Now she is this extra teacher that the Government adds to the staff in these schools classified as "having priority".
In other words she chose to put her attention on the ones having the most difficulties among those having the most difficulties, the most unfortunates among the unfortunates.
 I guess it's more challenging but also very generous,
I admire her a lot for that.

In the mean time these kids want to learn. Which isn't the case with the "regular immigrants but born in France" ones, who unfortunately turn to rebellion and delinquance, and take school for granted.

In the middle of very complicated life stories and situations the "almost not speaking french" ones have a strong motivation and desire for learning. Of course a transition, adaptation time is always necessary, many of them arrive mute and scared, like little birds who would have just fallen from the nest, and have to become accustomed to the new environement.

To teach reading, my mom uses a method that she's been working out for years of teaching.
After having gotten through the book she edited, anybody is able to read french.

I decided to take Rohan to my Mom's class to see how a french lesson for non french speakers could look like, and maybe to get some french as well, hehe. ( you see the disguised trap?)

Plus I've always wanted to see my Mom teaching, because I was in her primary school as a kid, and a lot of my friends got her as a teacher, so to me, they knew a side of my Mom that I didn't know, and that I've always been curious about. (She couldn't be a teacher, she was my Mom, I mean, Mommy is Mommy, she can't be taking care of other kids than me, it makes no sense. I had to see that.)

Below, Sali, 6, arrived from Tchetchenia 3 months ago.
Richard, 7, arrived from Romania 5 months ago.
Rohan, 24, arrived from Barbados 2 weeks ago.

Here is the end of the French Adventures for this year.
I hope you enjoyed it, you learned, laughed, understood.


Thanks to my Parents who have been there, perfect, fun, helping, generous, open, welcoming with the foreign boyfriend, making efforts, loving, supporting, as they've always been.
Thanks to my Love for coming and sharing my world.

I am very lucky.