This week was my last time with the second graders. I am so impressed with the English language development of these students after only two years of studying the language, and I hope they continue to read and bring English books to school! The language focus this week was the 5W question words: Who? What? When? Where? Why? To help students use these words, I projected a picture of the inside of a house (complete with people doing household activities in various rooms and animals) and had students come to the board for a dialogue- posing and responding to questions using the words: who, what, where. After asking questions about the house, I projected a calendar filled with events to assist students in understanding the use of "when" in a question.
Today I went on a field trip with the first graders to the Opéra national de Lorraine. We saw a small concert of Vivaldi's Quatre Saisons (Four Seasons) with other elementary schools in Nancy. The concert was in small pieces, so that the presenter could explain to the students what parts represented what season. The students were surprisingly well-behaved during the concert because it was interactive, but walking back to school after the trip was another story. Who would want to go back to school after going to the opera?
This past week I worked with the second graders, who were fresh from collecting chocolate eggs over the Easter holiday. Consequently, the vocabulary of the week focused on Easter and spring-themed words, such as "bunny", "chick", and "nest." I showed pictures of the annual White House Easter Egg Roll to the class, but obviously the students were more impressed by the pictures of colorful plastic eggs filled with candy. In geometry, the students have started learning how to identify angles, right angles, sides, and equal sides in various shapes. In math, students started to write basic multiplication sentences (without solving the problem.)
This evening the foyer where I live invited a chef and his family to show residents how to cook la cuisine végétarienne (vegetarian food). Vegetarians can have difficultly living in France because food (especially meat) is such a huge part of the French culture. The French have the expectation that you will eat what has been prepared and served to you, and restaurants will rarely allow special orders. I thought it was a neat idea to have a vegetarian chef come to they foyer to demonstrate a cuisine that many French people do not know. The meal we had was vegan because the chef only used non-animal products in his recipes. In addition, the meal had an Asian influence- tofu was incorporated in nearly every dish. The chef allowed people to assist him in cooking and we ate through several courses...
Salade aux choux rouge au vinaigre d'umeboshi (Red cabbage salad dressed in umeboshi vinegar) and Pâté de tofu (Tofu spread)
Steak de tofu (Tofu steak) served with sauce tahin (sesame seed sauce) or sauceshoyu (soy sauce)
Curry d'épinard au tofu lactofermenté (Tofu with curried spinach)
Mousse au chocolat végétalienne (Chocolate mousse)
Tapioca au lait de soja et lait de coco (Coconut tapioca)
I don't think I'll ever be able to recreate these recipes, but the food was delicious and filling! Yum!
This past weekend-over the Pâques (Easter) holidays- some friends and I decided last minute to go on a trip to Bretagne (Brittany) with the Erasmus Student Network in Nancy. We took an overnight charter bus from Nancy last Friday at 11 pm and arrived in the lovely city of Rennes around 9:15 am the next morning to begin our Brittany journey.
Rennes: On Saturday, we spent the whole day in Rennes and began our exploration of Breton history and culture.
L’église Saint-Aubin
La galette- This is a regional dish, which is essentially a savory crêpe. The crêpe mixture is made from sarrasin (more commonly referred to as blé noir and known as buckwheat in English).
Cathédrale Saint-Pierre
Recruitment poster during World War II at the Musée de Bretagne.
Hôtel de Ville
Opéra de Rennes
What a magnificent chocolate display at a store! Unlike in the U.S., French children actually hunt for real chocolate eggs during Easter (and not plastic eggs that have candy inside them).
Musée des Beaux-Arts
Mont Saint-Michel: The first part of Easter Sunday we got to spend in one of the most important pilgrimage sites in Christianity- the Mont Saint-Michel. Technically Mont Saint-Michel is in the Normandy region and not in Brittany, so be careful not to upset a Norman by saying that it is part of Brittany.
The voyage to the Mont Saint-Michel was meant to be very symbolic for religious pilgrims. They had to take a boat across the bay ("enfer" / "hell") in order to reach the Mount ("paradis" / "heaven").
The design of Mont Saint-Michel is also very representative of the feudal system in Medieval Europe: The abbey (the "Church") is situated at the top and therefore physically closer to God, and the ramparts represent the aristocracy and how they are suppose to protect the poor villagers.
Rooftops of the Mont Saint-Michel village
L'abbaye du Mont Saint-Michel (The abbey)
Saint Malo: The second place we visited on Sunday was the beautiful port city of Saint-Malo. Fun fact: Jacques Cartier, the explorer who claimed Canada for France, was from Saint-Malo! We really enjoyed walking around the ramparts of the city and the beach.
Dinan: We spent the rest of Sunday evening and Monday morning in the city of Dinan.
Basilique Saint-Sauveur
Vitraux (stained glass windows) in the Basilique Saint-Sauveur
Viaduc over the Rance River
Old town in Dinan
Château de Dinan
Château de Dinan
Every region in France has a distinct history, culture, and heritage and I'm grateful I had the opportunity to explore a little bit of Brittany this past weekend.
From last Sunday to today, there was a special cinema event throughout France called Le Printemps du Cinéma (The Spring of Cinema). This event happens every year in the spring. During this time, it only cost 3.50 € to see most movies at participating theaters. Needless to say, I took advantage of this offer since it normally costs around 7 € for students to see a movie, and I saw Lincoln, the recent Steven Spielberg movie. Since the film has been out for some time, I could only see it in a small theater and in English (which I didn't mind of course). I definitely recommend the movie for history buffs!
Some interesting tidbits about French movie theaters:
Butter or salted popcorn is not sold at movie theaters. If movie theaters sell popcorn, they will only have sweet popcorn. From my understanding, most European movie theaters will only sell sweet popcorn as well.
If you want to see a foreign movie in its original version (with French subtitles of course), you will have to go to smaller theaters. I have found that these small theaters are easy to find in Nancy, which I commend because it is more difficult to find theaters that play the original version of foreign films in the U.S. As to be expected in major theaters, foreign films are dubbed in French.
So just because I'm not Irish or in Ireland, doesn't mean my French students shouldn't enjoy la fête de la Saint-Patrick (St. Patrick's Day).
I worked with the second graders during this first week back from winter break. To introduce St. Patrick's Day vocabulary, I showed the class pictures from a St. Patrick's Day parade I went to in Florida- including a man dressed up as a leprechaun. In addition, I read the students the poem, "Don't Pinch" by Bruce Lansky. The class quickly learned why you have to wear vert (green) on St. Patrick's Day. In order to review sound words, I took out familiar sound words from several words in the poem and then the students had to figure out what sounds were missing and write them on their worksheet. During the last part of the lesson, students wrote sentences and illustrated what "lucky" is. I was very touched that some students wrote that being lucky is having a sibling or giving a present to your friends and family.
I started the festivities a little early- the whole school is celebrating St. Patrick's Day next Tuesday. Stay tuned for updates!
Bonne fête de la Saint-Patrick! Happy Saint Patrick's Day!
The second week of winter break took me to Royan along the Atlantic coast where I visited some family that live in the area.
Even though I had just come from Nice, I was really in need of some beach time.:
The Royan beach:
The Cabanes de pêcheurs (Fishermen's huts):
Saint-Palais-sur-Mer:
Saint-Georges-de-Didonne:
Boyardville:
Le Phare de Chassiron (Chassiron lighthouse):
The écluses à poissons (stone fishing traps) and a blockhaus (fortification made by the Germans during World War II) on the île d’Oléron:
La Cotinière:
Les cabanes ostréicoles (Oyster harvesters' huts) on the île d’Oléron:
Les Grottes de Matata (homes that were built in the beach cliffs):
The cathedral in Talmont:
Blockhaus on the Plage de la Grande-Côte:
Blockhaus on the Plage de la Grande-Côte:
Blockhaus on the Plage de la Grande-Côte:
Le pont de Pierre, Bordeaux:
Le pont Bacalan-Bastide, Bordeaux:
Monument aux Girondins, Bordeaux:
Cathédrale Saint-André de Bordeaux:
La tour Pey-Berland:
I really enjoyed my time this week in the Charente-Maritime region and visiting the city of Bordeaux. I saw that history is still very much alive in France. It was fascinating to see the German blockhaus that remain on the beaches. The Germans had constructed many blockhaus during World War II along the coast of France to prevent an Allied naval invasion, and today they serve as a solemn reminder of that war. It was also really neat to see various elements of the Charente-Maritime fishing culture.
Finally this weekend I got to be on the Côte d’Azur - the French Rivera! The Sun! The Mediterranean Sea!
While in Nice, I managed to see a lot of gorgeous sites...
The Baie des Anges
Cascade (waterfall) at the Colline du Château
View from Colline du Château
La cathédrale Saint-Nicolas
(A Russian Orthodox cathedral that opened in 1912 under the patronage of Czar Nicolas II.)
Every year the City of Nice has a grand Carnaval celebration- easily the biggest one in France. Carnival is essentially an extension of Mardi Gras, and is a festive time during Lent when people can dress up and make fun of each other. The modern Nice Carnaval has its origins in 1873, when the Nice painters Alexis Mossa and his son Gustav-Adolf Mossa introduced grotestque and spectcular parade floats to the city's festival.* There is a different theme each year for the Nice Carnaval- this year it was "Roi des Cinq Continents" ("King of the Five Continents"). Consequently throughout the Carnival parades, there were floats that represented the various cultures of the world. *Summary from http://www.nicecarnaval.com/en/carnaval/historique/origine.php
Highlights of the Bataille de Fleurs (Flower Parade):
The different floats were spectacular and very interactive. This is a video of the mechanical camel.:
The Flower Parade was so beautiful! The people on the floats even threw mimosas and other flowers out to the crowd!
Highlights of the Corso Carnavalesque Illuminé (Carnival Parade of Lights):
Although the Flower Parade was not really political or controversial, the Carnival Parade of Lights definitely made some political, economic, and social statements.
Video of the Chinese dragon breathing "smoke":
What the French think of the United States:
(In case you were wondering...yes, the fat Statue of Liberty is holding a Coke and has ice cream cones for a crown- while standing on a hamburger.)
Video of the mechanical dragon breathing "smoke":
The European leaders trying to stay afloat during this economic crisis:
The Académie française fighting the influence of Captain America (English) on the French language:
Surfing during global warming:
The world's dependence on oil:
The "World Wide Web":
The Nice Carnaval was very entertaining and amusing! Nice is the place for Carnival in France!
