Tips for Future Académie Nancy-Metz Assistants

Tips for Future Académie Nancy-Metz Assistants:

1. Packing:

• It rains regularly in the Lorraine region, so I highly recommend packing a raincoat, umbrella, and rain boots. 
• Winter is cold in Lorraine and it can snow, so pack a winter coat, warm clothes, and boots. It is also a good idea to bring long johns as well, especially if you plan to go skiing in the Vosges sometime.
• If you are able to, it is a good idea to bring your student ID card or purchase an ISIC card from your university before you go abroad because you get discounts all around France at movie theaters, museums, and other cultural sites with a student card.
• Make many many many copies of important documents that you need to bring or that you receive once in France. The French love copies, and chances are that you will need to turn in something multiple times.

2. OFII Appointment:

• If your OFII appointment is in Nancy, it is fastest to take the tram to the last stop (CHU Brabois). It is best to arrive early to your scheduled appointment! Be prepared to spend all day for the appointment(s) because you have to leave the hospital complex to go to the doctor’s appointment and then go to the OFII office near Place Stanislas in the center of town to finally have your visa validated. 

3. Initial Paperwork: Should I take the mutuelle on top of the social security?

• You have to decide what is best for you. The mutuelle covers what social security does not, and you get three months free when you first sign up. Therefore, you only pay for four months of it while in France. You never know what might happen, and something probably will happen to someone in the group. Be covered!

4. Teaching Resources:

• Consider reading some pedagogical books before you come to France, especially if you have never taught before. I recommend reading books on teaching English to non-native speakers. You only receive a week of training before you are in the classroom, and most of that week is handling paperwork.
• For primary school assistants: Consider bringing children’s books with you and do some research on fun and simple children’s songs and games. I highly recommend books by Eric Carle because he is easy to understand and covers a variety of themes that you will teach. 

5. Tutoring:

• If you are interested in giving private English lessons or finding private French lessons, http://www.annonceetudiant.com/ is a good site to use. 

6. Traveling:

• I highly recommend purchasing a Carte Jeune from SNCF as soon as you arrive in France, especially if you plan to take the train outside the Lorraine/Alsace region a lot. The card easily pays for itself within a couple of trips. I also recommend joining the SNCF fidelity program because it is free, and once you have ridden certain trains ten times you get a 10% discount on one future ride (and 20% discount on a future ride after riding twenty times).
• SNCF offers non-refundable, non-exchangeable discount tickets online for TGV travel around the school vacations for those with and without a Carte Jeune, but you want to make sure you reserve your seat early before those offers expire. Check out http://www.voyages-sncf.com/ often to check out the deals.
• Consider using http://www.covoiturage.fr/ to get to your destination because it is probably cheaper than taking the train.
• Where/when to travel in France?
• Many museums all around France are free to the public the first Sunday of every month, take advantage and visit these museums!
• During the winter holiday season (end of November-December), I highly recommend checking out the Christmas markets in Strasbourg and Colmar, or in Germany! The Alsace region and Germany are very easy to get to from Lorraine. The Festival of Lights in Lyon in early December is a great opportunity, but be sure to plan this trip well in advance because the entire city gets booked. The Nice Carnival that runs from early February through early March is also quite the experience. 

Tips for living in Nancy:

1. Read the Nancy survival guide written by ESN Nancy. The guide will introduce you to the Nancy and the Lorraine region and has great resources. Even though you are not an international student, the majority of the guide is useful for young people new to Nancy.
2. Participate in ESN Nancy events and trips. ESN Nancy is part of the Erasmus Student Network whose mission is to welcome and integrate international students into life in Nancy. The organization plans local events and weekend trips throughout the school year at a modest price, and even non-Erasmus members can sign up for the trips (but you should contact ESN Nancy in advance to see if you have to wait in order to allow Erasmus students the opportunity to sign up for the trips first). 
3. Where can you practice French or other languages? Café des Langues at Pub Le Mac Carthy (6 Rue du Guerrier de Dumast, 54000 Nancy) every Thursday evening is a great opportunity. Café des Langues welcomes people to come and practice speaking any language. Many international and French students participate in this language exchange, so it is a wonderful way to meet people. Join their Facebook group for the latest updates.

Living at Résidence Les Abeilles (in Nancy)

 Pros:

1. If you are under 25, Les Abeilles is very affordable with the CAF/APL supplement. For the 2012-2013 year, I paid about 60 € in rent each month (with WiFi). You pay the rent at the reception by the tenth of each month for the previous month. (i.e. You get billed for October at the end of October, and then you have to pay October rent by November 10.)
2.  Les Abeilles completes and turns in the CAF/APL paperwork for you, but you will still need to provide CAF with a translated birth certificate with an apostille, your validated visa with the OFII sticker, and a “bulletin de salaire” for November later on. Les Abeilles can turn in those documents to CAF on your behalf when you get them, but I recommend walking them directly to CAF since the CAF office is only about a ten minute walk from the residence so that you can be certain CAF received your documents.
3. Although Les Abeilles is essentially a dormitory set-up, you do get your own private room and will only share a bathroom with one other person. The room comes with a bed, closet, night stand, some sort of shelving unit, and a desk with a chair. The only annoying aspect of the bathroom is the shower- Les Abeilles has a water conservation mechanism that only allows for a couple of seconds of running water at a time, so you have to constantly press the water button while showering.
4. Les Abeilles has a laundry facility with two washing machines and one dryer. It costs 3 € to wash your clothes in the washing machine, but the machine dispenses detergent into your laundry automatically. No need to buy laundry detergent!
5. Les Abeilles provides and washes your bed sheets every two weeks for you. This service is part of your rent each month, and you cannot opt out of this service. Even if you do not have them take your sheets, you are still charged for the service.
6. Les Abeilles tries to provide social activities for residents. Each week there is usually a night where Les Abeilles will provide some food (like crêpes or pizza) in the cafeteria so that residents can mingle. The social coordinator also tries to arrange for small field trips on the weekend (usually one trip a trimester).
7. The Les Abeilles location is excellent for a young workers’ foyer. It is about a ten minute walk to the Nancy train station and is close to the Garenne tram stop as well. It is about a ten to fifteen minute walk to the city center or old town. There is a Carrefour Contact about five minutes away as well for all your grocery needs.

Cons:

1. While the Les Abeilles WiFi is affordable (an extra 8 € a month), the service is very spotty. The WiFi is very slow in the evening since everyone is using it. Depending on your room location, you get a weak or strong signal. You have to get a new password each month. Sometimes the WiFi completely goes down for an evening. If this happens on a weekend, the WiFi does not get fixed until Monday. The only option for better Internet service is for you to go out on your own and pay for a USB modem, which costs more and has data limits.
2.  As can be expected with any accommodation, you need to be prepared to pay for the security deposit (caution + annual adhesion fee = about 400 €) and for September rent in full (about 410 €) when you first arrive at Les Abeilles (even if you arrive at the very end of September). The CAF/APL supplement will not cover September rent either. You can get your caution back at the end of your stay with Les Abeilles if you have not damaged your room.