School Updates

Today Miette said "I like it here!" followed by a qualifier of "of course I still love Chicago and miss it too" but obviously she was showing some spontaneous contentment with life in La Rochelle. Kids will be kids. When the going gets rough, they won't like it here, and when it's good they'll love it. Miette has also informed me that she and a boy in her class (Antoine) are in love with each other. I said "Why are you in love and how do you know he's in love with you too?" and she gave me all these examples of how her gives her his marbles, leans back into her lap when they are sitting outside together etc. etc. Though it is kind of funny it is also so sweet. Too young to be self-concious about "love"... And also feeling close enough with her classmates to have that kind of attachment! I am so happy with how school is going for her.

Julian still has his ups and downs but we're definitely getting more ups. All the big girls at school love him to pieces. They are always trying to hold his hand, hug him and care for him. When the mamas come to pick up their kids and wait outside for the gate to be opened I spy on him playing in the courtyard and see what he's up to. It's great to get those litle snippets of how he plays because its so hard for him to tell me about his day, it all gets jumbled together with other days and times. Today had a slightly rough beginning but ended up going swimmingly. He was unhappy going for morning drop-off because he didn't want to stay for lunch (which he had to because i have a class to get to during that time) and then when we arrived at school I realized that I had completely forgotten about the field trip they were taking that day. I knew a new event on top of an unhappy drop-off would be a double whammy so I looked for Lili, the girl in the class that he "doesn't feel shy about" (his words) and asked her if she would stay with him, hold his hand and sit on the bus with him. She said okay and took his hand and he immediately was fine. The day went well, aside from not eating at the cantine again, and he told me he had another new friend, a boy that is always nice to him. Of course he doesn't remember the boy's name, but what are names anyway?! So I think he's finding friends and feeling more comfortable. Another good sign is that he is no longer chewing his sleeves! He had been coming home with his sleeve cuffs wet and stretched out from gnawing on them all day long and I haven't seen a wet sleeve in days.

As for me and school, The initial nervousness has worn off and the issues with some of the rowdier kids last week were already easier to deal with this week. I've been talking about Halloween all week- related vocabulary, telling how we do it in the States and a little history of the holiday. I included a picture of a princess in my Halloween flashcards figuring it's probably one of the most popular costumes for girls in the U.S. and someone asked why there was a princess- they were shocked to find out that we dress up in costumes other than witch, ghost, pumpkin, vampire, devil or monster! (They really got a kick out of hearing what Miette dressed up as in the past: hot-air balloon? house? flower? WHAT??) Halloween is sort of an a la carte holiday in France, some people do it but not all and I can't say I've seen a single decorated house anywhere. Miette has been hand making decorations for our house! Life is hard though, after my first 2 full weeks of work in the classroom, I have a 12 day holiday starting Saturday! Tough life, huh?