it's illegal to have swings in schools

Yes you read that right apparently it is illegal for french primary schools to have swings unless they have the proper safety equipment. I was talking to one of my teachers at the school and explaining how in New Zealand primary schools have swings, climbing walls, slides ect while in a French primary school the kids (except for the maternelle) just get a big slab of concrete with a hopscotch on it. The teacher explained to me that France is so safety conscience that they are not allowed to have swings ect unless there is the proper safety equipment, such as a gate ect all of which cost money...

I was talking to another school who told me that its only the little kids that need things such as a slide....I didn't tell her that at my primary school and intermediate (college) there were huge playgrouds

The school system is vastly different between France and New Zealand, the kids do a lot more work and are yelled at if they don't do the work properly. There is a dictee every morning and if you have not done your homework of the night before you have to do in in your break. I can see the advantages of this, it installs a good work ethic but I can also see problems, they seem to have too much work sometimes.

In terms of my experience of teaching two of my schools are great, the other one I am researving judgement on but I think it will be good. Questions I got asked

"what are your houses made of"
"do you like rugby"
does it rain a lot in nz
does it snow
are there apartments
why have you got a french name
have you been to a rugby game
was the earthquake scary

little kids are cute....

The first couple of weeks.

So I have been in France for about three weeks now, How time flies. Digne les Bains is a nice little town, if not a bit small...it's weird having nothing open after 6 on a Monday night, and irritating that the French think its a good idea to close banks on a Monday. Today I had my first day of observation at two of my schools. It was nervewracking. One of the classes was scary....the teacher just yelled at the students the entire time, stuff you would never hear in NZ...makes me wonder how I am going to be able to lossen the reins a bit when it comes to english...I mean part of learning a language is speaking it....

The other school however was great, the students were attentive, they listned they answered the questions. they seemed to really like english. Probably because the english teacher himself is really enthusiastic so they were great and they seemed to really enjoy what I made them do...hopefully it will last

Cultural differences I have observed

I have been in France for a week now, how time flies. I have just moved into what will be my home for the next few months. Its in an apartment building, with an intercom and everything and the apartment is on the top floor which made it quite difficult to drag my things up. Here I thought I would list some cultural differences between France and NZ that I have seen

1) The vous business. When you first meet someone that is seniour to you say vous, we don't have that in NZ. I have eered on the side of caution so have vouved nearly everyone I have met that I don't know...most of the time they saw "why are you vouing me...."

2) Ordering food- You know how in NZ you would enter a starbucks/ coffee culture ect and order at the counter and then sit down...not in France, in France the times I have gone out for coffee and lunch the server will come to you and take your order and you pay at the same time.

3)The supermaket. There are so many things I could say about this. I went shopping today and the supermarket I went to was massive and it sold clothes, so aswell as buying some groceries I brought two t shirts FROM A SUPERMARKET!!!! They are really pretty but its quite strange to see isles of clothing next to packaged cereal and the like. There is also the fruit and veges thing. What you do is that you put them on a scale, select from the picture what you have and then a ticket comes out- its quite clever actually.

4) Banking. Banking in France seems a lot more complicated than in NZ. At my appointment to open an account I got shoved all this paperwork, and they don't really have bank tellers. If you want to deposit money into your account there are machines for that, and you have to ask for an eftpost card you are not automatically given one.

5) Driving. France seems to be the land for road rage. Its dam scary crossing the road in Barcelonnette. First I have to contend with the different way the traffic flows and then there is the fact that drivers don't seem to care about zebra crossing, they will not stop!!!

One week to go

It is hard to believe that in one week I will be on a plane to France. My grandparents came down for four days and it was great to see them and I am very sad that I won't be seeing them for a long long time. Today I caught up with Aline, Julia and Adrien which was great and tomorrow I have a dinner with my friends to look forward too. I also brought a new camera:) its red and very very cool.
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Packing adventures

I started my packing today, and I know what you are thinking "what a twit she leaves in two weeks, there is plenty of time" but anyone who knows me knows that I do not perform that well under pressure so with the help of my mum we set about the task of sorting out what to take to France with me

23 kgs check in and 7kgs carry one is not a lot so some tough descisions had to be made... like what books to bring



as you can see by the amount of boxes (one bookcase is also yet to be boxed up. I have a lot of books. I managed to narrow it down to three books however:






Harry Potter et le Prisonnier D'Azkaban
Angelique et le Noveau Monde
Christchurch: An enchanted journey through the garden city. ( given to me by my workmate Michelle )

and since I have packed away most of my clothes do not be alarmed if I wear variations of the same outfit. The packing hell adventure is not over. I still need to buy another jacket, gloves and some more leggings and will probably repack again before I go

The stuff of life.

Ok, I will admit that I took this title from another blog...but I think it is appropriate title for this entry. The thought hit me as I was walking down to Lyttelton in order to go to the library to print out my TGV train ticket and photocopy my visa that earthquakes have become the stuff of life for me in Christchurch. I barely flinched as I felt the concrete shift beneath my feet, infact the thought crossed my mind that I finally knew what it felt like to experience an aftershock while walking.

The fact that earthquakes have become the stuff of life was reconfirmed once I got to the library and found the information professionals (no they are not librarians) and library patrons all in a discussion over the aftershock and looking at geonet to see the size of the latest one. So having established that earthquakes for me have become the stuff of life in Christchurch the question for me remains....when will earthquakes stop feeling like the stuff of life.

Also in terms of stuff... my packing has barely started, all it consists of at the moment is of me having put glassons/ farmers/ warehouse bags fill of stuff I have brought into my suitcase. I guess I should get onto actually starting to pack properly...although that would make everything seem more real and since there are still moments were the thought of leaving fills me with terror I might put it off a bit longer....

What I have done and what I have yet to do.

So seeing as I am now counting down the weeks (less than a month!) it might be a good ides to write a list of what I have done and what I have yet to do:


Things I have done

• I have got my visa( recieved in the mail today- valid for 9 months!)
• Got enough medication to last me my trip
• My plane tickets
• Contacted the schools
• Contacted the conseillère pédagogique
• My accomodation
• Started packing
• My TGV tickets for going to Aix

Things I have yet to do:

• Go to the dentist (dreading this with a passion)
• Print out my TGV ticket
• Finish packing
• Sort out which books I am bringing to France
• Change my money into Euros
• Create more lesson plans
• Brush up on my New Zealand facts

The next few weeks are going to be hectic and a bit stressful I think but I feel that I am definatly on my way. Having the visa, plane tickets, train tickets and accomodation sorted out is a weight off my mind.