The students have resumed their blockade of the school. The banging of the dumpsters caused me to get out of bed me shortly before 7:00 this morning. Vanessa called Mme Tourret, the assistant principal, who said that there will be no classes next week. Vanessa and I have to attend a mandatory meeting at another school all day Monday, but after that, I am officially on holiday.
Today was boring and uninteresting. I pretty much ignored the students today. I've learned to tune them out now. At first, the chanting and the honking of horns by passing cars gave me a terrible headache, but it's just part of the background noise now. I decided to start doing laundry so that I can see everything I have and pack only those essential items to go home. My goal is one suitcase. I don't think I've ever gone anywhere for 2 weeks with just one suitcase, but I'm going to do my best to pull it off on this trip.
Bises,
Mlle. Alicia
Friday, December 12, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Strike Watch: Update 3
100 students from Lycée Charles Tellier took to the streets of Condé this afternoon. Escorted by the gendarme, they marched down Route de Vire carrying banners reading "Sauvons notre eduction" (Let's save our education) and "Lycéens en colère" (Angry high-schoolers). They blocked traffic on the 2-lane road for several kilometers.
Next they had a rally of sorts outside the administration building which is right below my bedroom window. When I stuck my head out to take pictures, they stopped listening to the principal's speech and started chanting my name. I didn't even get to listen to what was going on because I, the silent observer, became such a huge distraction. I really just wanted to watch...
If you look closely in the picture, you can see Mr. Duval holding the megaphone and turned around asking me to close the window. When he came back inside later, he joked about the fact that I have more success getting the students' attention than he does.
My one hour of work this morning had a full class of students and many students took the exam today, but the protesting seems far from over. I'll continue to keep you posted.
Bises,
Mlle. Alicia
Next they had a rally of sorts outside the administration building which is right below my bedroom window. When I stuck my head out to take pictures, they stopped listening to the principal's speech and started chanting my name. I didn't even get to listen to what was going on because I, the silent observer, became such a huge distraction. I really just wanted to watch...
If you look closely in the picture, you can see Mr. Duval holding the megaphone and turned around asking me to close the window. When he came back inside later, he joked about the fact that I have more success getting the students' attention than he does.My one hour of work this morning had a full class of students and many students took the exam today, but the protesting seems far from over. I'll continue to keep you posted.
Bises,
Mlle. Alicia
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Strike Watch: Update 2
Suzy came in tonight and said that there will probably be classes tomorrow because there is a practice test being administered for the graduating students' exit examination. Students will undoubtedly still be striking, but those students and teachers who wish to enter the school will not be stopped.
Vanessa just sent me an e-mail confirming that we will be having class tomorrow, which means I will be working. However, she doesn't know what we'll be going because there is no way to predict how many students will actually be in attendance and she expects things "will be weird till the holidays."
Bises,
Mlle. Alicia
Vanessa just sent me an e-mail confirming that we will be having class tomorrow, which means I will be working. However, she doesn't know what we'll be going because there is no way to predict how many students will actually be in attendance and she expects things "will be weird till the holidays."
Bises,
Mlle. Alicia
Strike Watch: Update 1
The student strike has continued. According to last night's news broadcast, things should be back to normal on Thursday, which is tomorrow. However, Suzy says it will be longer than that and told me about a student strike several years ago that lasted 3 months. The students in Vire don't plan to end their blockade before the weekend, though it could last even longer than that. It looks like our students will continue tomorrow, but I haven't yet recieved any official word.
The disgruntled students woke me up 6:45 this morning dragging dumpsters and trash barrels and crates and who knows what else to erect their barricade once again. Then some musically-uninclined individual began playing a brass instrument, maybe it was a trumpet. They lit fires in the barrels and hung out, just like yesterday.
I went to Vire this afternoon. When I left my school, there were no more than 20 students sitting around outside the gate, which makes me really feel like this could all just be a joke. They look like bums, sitting around trying to keep warm with their fires and their piles of trash. But Lycée Charles Tellier looks like Club Med compared to the disaster that is Lycée Marie Curie in Vire.
The students in Vire have completely taken over the school itself and they're trashing it. They're camping out all over the place, destroying things, creating large fires in front of the school. And the "supervisors" who are all university-aged students are helping them and giving them access to the building. At least the students can't get into Charles Tellier so their activities are relatively restriced. In Vire, they've blockaded all of the hallways, blocking any and all access to the classrooms and have students watching to be sure no one gets through. This works in part because of the assistance of the supervisors and also because the layout of the school is different from mine. Anyway, it's all madness and I'm angry with myself for not taking my camera to photodocument what I saw today.
Bises,
Mlle. Alicia
The disgruntled students woke me up 6:45 this morning dragging dumpsters and trash barrels and crates and who knows what else to erect their barricade once again. Then some musically-uninclined individual began playing a brass instrument, maybe it was a trumpet. They lit fires in the barrels and hung out, just like yesterday.
I went to Vire this afternoon. When I left my school, there were no more than 20 students sitting around outside the gate, which makes me really feel like this could all just be a joke. They look like bums, sitting around trying to keep warm with their fires and their piles of trash. But Lycée Charles Tellier looks like Club Med compared to the disaster that is Lycée Marie Curie in Vire.
The students in Vire have completely taken over the school itself and they're trashing it. They're camping out all over the place, destroying things, creating large fires in front of the school. And the "supervisors" who are all university-aged students are helping them and giving them access to the building. At least the students can't get into Charles Tellier so their activities are relatively restriced. In Vire, they've blockaded all of the hallways, blocking any and all access to the classrooms and have students watching to be sure no one gets through. This works in part because of the assistance of the supervisors and also because the layout of the school is different from mine. Anyway, it's all madness and I'm angry with myself for not taking my camera to photodocument what I saw today.
Bises,
Mlle. Alicia
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Strikes, Strikes, and More Strikes
But before I discuss the strikes, let's talk about my weekend. Well, I'll tell you about Sunday because Saturday was just another day of nothingness. Though it was nothingness with internet access because I now have Wi-Fi in my living room, kitchen and entryway.
Anyway, I got up early Sunday morning and couldn't figure out what to do with myself. I ate some cereal, took a shower, paced back and forth and then pulled out my bus schedule. There was a bus going to Caen at 11:38. Which was perfect because I'd be hungry for lunch by the time I'd arrive in Caen. So I cleaned the kitchen, grabbed my bag and set off.
I had no idea where I was going and was just prayed that Caen really was as small as I thought. I was already familiar with the city, but I had never been by myself so I was in for a bit of an adventure. I took a chance and got off at a stop I didn't know. As I walked up the block, I found a temporary ice skating rink set up in the square next to Caen's theater. And in this same square I found a little restaurant that had seating on a second level overlooking the square. PARFAIT!
After lunch, I figured I'd walk and see what I found. In my mind, I was looking for the Marché de Noël (Christmas Market). I was determined to find it on my own without asking anyone for directions. And God wanted me to do it, which is why I turned the corner out of the square and ran right into the market a couple blocks away!
The Marché de Noël in Caen is not nearly as big as its counterpart on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, but it served its purpose. Sadly, I didn't get to meet Santa. I really want to meet a French-speaking Santa, but I guess I'll have to wait on that.
After shopping, the trick was getting back to the main bus terminal at the train station. Buses in the Calvados department don't run very frequently, usually 2 or 3 times in the morning, and the same in the evening. On Sundays and holidays, there is one in the morning and one in the evening, and not all stops are included. Looking for the train station was interesting. I took a scenic walk. I thought I was lost, but I actually had a pretty good idea of my location at all times. I found the Holiday Inn, which is right next to the race track, crossed the river near where Maman and I stayed in September, and took a back way around to the train station. Yay for excercise! The bus left Caen at 5:00, arrived in Condé at 6:05 and I was back in my apartment by 6:30. It was dark when I came back to Condé so I got to see the town lit up in its Christmas decorations for the first time.
Now, back to the strikes...
The French have a culture of striking, unlike anything I'm used to in the United States. Unions have an interesting industrial control in America and they have organized protests, like the grocery workers' strike of 2003 and the infamous Writers' Guild of America strike that interrupted out entertainment for most of the last TV season. In France, striking is a bit of a lifestyle and it seems that the protests are just beginning right now.
I already mentioned the teachers' strike a couple weeks back. Last Friday, almost all of the Seconde (10th grade) students failed to show up for class. On Monday, there were large numbers of students missing from other grade levels and there were signs about General Assembly meetings posted around campus. The students ended up taking a vote and decided to have a blockade of the campus.
The students are protesting reforms to the education system, which would make sense if any of them could actually articulate the issues at hand. It seems more that they are just looking for some time off school. I had some Terminal (seniors) students tell me yesterday that they weren't participating because the strikes were baseless. That's when I decided it wasn't worth paying attention to.
So the blockade occurred today and we were one of the last schools to have one. The students gathered together and blocked all of the entrances to the school so that teachers couldn't get on campus. Which left the principal, vice principal, support staff and me already in the school this morning in anticipation of the event. We had to keep all of the doors locked at all times today so that the students couldn't get in. I watched for about a half hour and then decided my time was better spent in bed. I clearly couldn't leave campus and there was nothing to do in the school.
I heard noise and smelled smoke at some point. When I looke out my window, there was a large fire burning in a trash can. Some students had megaphones and were chanting. Others carried a large white banner that read "LYCEENS EN COLERE" (Angry High Schoolers) in large black marker. There was a man, I'm assuming a reporter, taking pictures of it all. But for the most part, the kids just hung out, made out, and sat around in cars all day.
In the late afternoon, the students abandoned their posts at the two back gates, which allowed me to exit the campus if I so chose, so I took a walk. They didn't acknowledge me as I walked past, so I there was no point in engaging any of them in conversation. And that was about the whole of the day. I'm sure tomorrow will be business as usual, as if today never even happened. Knowing what would take place, all of 4 teachers even bothered to show up today. One teacher told me the students only do this because it "makes them feel like adults." It'll be interesting to see if it has any effect on the proposed reforms.
Bises,
Mlle. Alicia
Anyway, I got up early Sunday morning and couldn't figure out what to do with myself. I ate some cereal, took a shower, paced back and forth and then pulled out my bus schedule. There was a bus going to Caen at 11:38. Which was perfect because I'd be hungry for lunch by the time I'd arrive in Caen. So I cleaned the kitchen, grabbed my bag and set off.
I had no idea where I was going and was just prayed that Caen really was as small as I thought. I was already familiar with the city, but I had never been by myself so I was in for a bit of an adventure. I took a chance and got off at a stop I didn't know. As I walked up the block, I found a temporary ice skating rink set up in the square next to Caen's theater. And in this same square I found a little restaurant that had seating on a second level overlooking the square. PARFAIT!
After lunch, I figured I'd walk and see what I found. In my mind, I was looking for the Marché de Noël (Christmas Market). I was determined to find it on my own without asking anyone for directions. And God wanted me to do it, which is why I turned the corner out of the square and ran right into the market a couple blocks away!
The Marché de Noël in Caen is not nearly as big as its counterpart on the Champs-Elysées in Paris, but it served its purpose. Sadly, I didn't get to meet Santa. I really want to meet a French-speaking Santa, but I guess I'll have to wait on that.After shopping, the trick was getting back to the main bus terminal at the train station. Buses in the Calvados department don't run very frequently, usually 2 or 3 times in the morning, and the same in the evening. On Sundays and holidays, there is one in the morning and one in the evening, and not all stops are included. Looking for the train station was interesting. I took a scenic walk. I thought I was lost, but I actually had a pretty good idea of my location at all times. I found the Holiday Inn, which is right next to the race track, crossed the river near where Maman and I stayed in September, and took a back way around to the train station. Yay for excercise! The bus left Caen at 5:00, arrived in Condé at 6:05 and I was back in my apartment by 6:30. It was dark when I came back to Condé so I got to see the town lit up in its Christmas decorations for the first time.
Now, back to the strikes...
The French have a culture of striking, unlike anything I'm used to in the United States. Unions have an interesting industrial control in America and they have organized protests, like the grocery workers' strike of 2003 and the infamous Writers' Guild of America strike that interrupted out entertainment for most of the last TV season. In France, striking is a bit of a lifestyle and it seems that the protests are just beginning right now.
I already mentioned the teachers' strike a couple weeks back. Last Friday, almost all of the Seconde (10th grade) students failed to show up for class. On Monday, there were large numbers of students missing from other grade levels and there were signs about General Assembly meetings posted around campus. The students ended up taking a vote and decided to have a blockade of the campus.
The students are protesting reforms to the education system, which would make sense if any of them could actually articulate the issues at hand. It seems more that they are just looking for some time off school. I had some Terminal (seniors) students tell me yesterday that they weren't participating because the strikes were baseless. That's when I decided it wasn't worth paying attention to.
So the blockade occurred today and we were one of the last schools to have one. The students gathered together and blocked all of the entrances to the school so that teachers couldn't get on campus. Which left the principal, vice principal, support staff and me already in the school this morning in anticipation of the event. We had to keep all of the doors locked at all times today so that the students couldn't get in. I watched for about a half hour and then decided my time was better spent in bed. I clearly couldn't leave campus and there was nothing to do in the school.I heard noise and smelled smoke at some point. When I looke out my window, there was a large fire burning in a trash can. Some students had megaphones and were chanting. Others carried a large white banner that read "LYCEENS EN COLERE" (Angry High Schoolers) in large black marker. There was a man, I'm assuming a reporter, taking pictures of it all. But for the most part, the kids just hung out, made out, and sat around in cars all day.
In the late afternoon, the students abandoned their posts at the two back gates, which allowed me to exit the campus if I so chose, so I took a walk. They didn't acknowledge me as I walked past, so I there was no point in engaging any of them in conversation. And that was about the whole of the day. I'm sure tomorrow will be business as usual, as if today never even happened. Knowing what would take place, all of 4 teachers even bothered to show up today. One teacher told me the students only do this because it "makes them feel like adults." It'll be interesting to see if it has any effect on the proposed reforms.
Bises,
Mlle. Alicia
Monday, December 1, 2008
Back to Condé and business as usual...
Happy December, mes amis!
Sunday was nice and peaceful. We had originally planned, once again, to go the Louvre, but once again, we changed our minds. Instead, we took our time getting dressed and took the Metro to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, which I was really looking forward to walking down, even in the rain.
When I was in middle school, my French teacher, Mme. V. (she was American and didn’t like how her full last name sounded when we spoke it in a French context, so we called her Madame V - pronounced "Vay"), taught us a song that I sang with Mary when we were in Paris years ago and also sang yesterday with Maman. The repeated line is “Il y a tous que vous voulez aux Champs-Élysées,” which means everything you want is on the Champs-Élysées. And it’s true. The Champs-Élysées is the most famous avenue in France, and probably in the world
At this time of year, every town inFrance Paris
Remember how I previously said that everything inFrance Paris Paris
After I made a stop for body cream at Sephora and found the menu at the Marriott to be less than satisfactory, Maman and I wandered down a side-street off the main drag and found a nice little restaurant to have lunch. We ended up spending the majority of the afternoon there. It was a nice leisurely meal. I tried to drag it out as long as possible, knowing that I would soon be returning toNormandy...
Caen Normandy
In honor of World HIV/AIDS Day, several students and teachers had a bake sale to raise money and also sold red ribbon pins. I took the picture to the right today because I never noticed the machine on the left before. I’m sure it’s been there since long before my arrival, but I noticed it for the first time today. I thought it was interesting that I noticed it on World HIV/AIDS Day, but I also found it strange to see one such dispenser in a high school. Don’t schools in the U.S.
Anyway, the day overall went by normally. Except for class from 2:00-3:00 this afternoon. I wasn’t aware until class was over, but a student in my class with Vanessa had some sort of stress-related fainting incident that resulted in severe hyperventilation and her being taken away by ambulance. I’m thankful that she wasn’t in the group of students assigned to me today. I had half of that class in another room with me for the period. I’m sure I would have handled the situation, though they didn’t clearly cover that topic at the stage, but it’s just always better not to be involved, right? The ambulance didn’t arrive until 15 minutes into the next class period, which of course affected the following lesson, but the educating must go on.
December arrived quickly and I'll be coming home in just over 2 weeks. Guess it's time to start Christmas shopping...
Bises,
Mlle. Alicia
Sunday was nice and peaceful. We had originally planned, once again, to go the Louvre, but once again, we changed our minds. Instead, we took our time getting dressed and took the Metro to the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, which I was really looking forward to walking down, even in the rain.
When I was in middle school, my French teacher, Mme. V. (she was American and didn’t like how her full last name sounded when we spoke it in a French context, so we called her Madame V - pronounced "Vay"), taught us a song that I sang with Mary when we were in Paris years ago and also sang yesterday with Maman. The repeated line is “Il y a tous que vous voulez aux Champs-Élysées,” which means everything you want is on the Champs-Élysées. And it’s true. The Champs-Élysées is the most famous avenue in FranceAt this time of year, every town in
Remember how I previously said that everything in
After I made a stop for body cream at Sephora and found the menu at the Marriott to be less than satisfactory, Maman and I wandered down a side-street off the main drag and found a nice little restaurant to have lunch. We ended up spending the majority of the afternoon there. It was a nice leisurely meal. I tried to drag it out as long as possible, knowing that I would soon be returning to
In honor of World HIV/AIDS Day, several students and teachers had a bake sale to raise money and also sold red ribbon pins. I took the picture to the right today because I never noticed the machine on the left before. I’m sure it’s been there since long before my arrival, but I noticed it for the first time today. I thought it was interesting that I noticed it on World HIV/AIDS Day, but I also found it strange to see one such dispenser in a high school. Don’t schools in the Anyway, the day overall went by normally. Except for class from 2:00-3:00 this afternoon. I wasn’t aware until class was over, but a student in my class with Vanessa had some sort of stress-related fainting incident that resulted in severe hyperventilation and her being taken away by ambulance. I’m thankful that she wasn’t in the group of students assigned to me today. I had half of that class in another room with me for the period. I’m sure I would have handled the situation, though they didn’t clearly cover that topic at the stage, but it’s just always better not to be involved, right? The ambulance didn’t arrive until 15 minutes into the next class period, which of course affected the following lesson, but the educating must go on.
December arrived quickly and I'll be coming home in just over 2 weeks. Guess it's time to start Christmas shopping...
Bises,
Mlle. Alicia
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