Paris Journal: School (Interview with Ella)

 

How is your school in Paris different from your school in Charlottesville?

The teachers are stricter, we’re studying harder subjects, and we get more homework, even on weekends and vacations. But we get more vacations. We have different teachers for different subjects, even a teacher for theater.

 You go to a bilingual school. What does that mean?

Most of the day is in French. But there’s an hour of English class every day, where we’re  mixed with French kids. Because we’re in Adaptation, the gym teacher also speaks to us in English.

 What’s adaption?

Adaptation is a class for people who are new to France. They go in it for a year to learn French. After a year they go mainstream.

 Do kids in Adaptation know how to speak French at all in the beginning?

A lot of Adaptation kids have one French parent and they speak French at home but they didn’t live in France before so they don’t know how to write French. Also, a lot of kids studied French before they came to France, like me. So people do know French, but not really well, and they are at very different levels.

 Are you in top, bottom, or middle for French?

I am in the slight top, but in math I am one of the worst. In English, I am the best, along with the two other Adaption kids in that class.

 Do you like your teachers?

I really love my French Adaptation teacher. She is so kind but she is also strict, so she makes sure people do their work, and we learn a lot of stuff that way.

 Do you ever go on field trips?

We go on field trips every month, but this month we’re doing three: to the Louvre to see Raphael, to a play, and to the National Assembly. The field trips are in French so they’re hard but I understand enough to have fun.

 How is your schoolwork different?

It’s harder! We have to memorize poems, write with fountain pens, and underline math problems with a ruler. We have to write in cursive and it’s supposed to be very neat. My report card had a whole separate category for handwriting for each subject. As you might expect, I did very badly. We barely did any handwriting in the U.S.

 How is the school cafeteria different than in the U.S.?

It has way better foods, like steak frites, cordon bleu, couscous with vegetables, roast chicken with rice, pasta with fish brochettes, and so on. For sides, there are little desserts, like chocolate mousse and fruit compotes. There are also little appetizers with salami and pickles, pâté, lentil salad with vegetables, and so on. We have a bread basket and a carafe of water. We also have tables and chairs that are set up likea real restaurant. Every day you get to choose from a variety of foods, which are always different. We get a long time for lunch, and after you finish eating, you get to go into a miniscule playground. We usually play a vicious game of soccer, which turns into tackle-to-get-the-ball. We also play tag and there are so many people in the playground, sometimes by mistake you get punched in the eye (I know from experience).

How do you get to school?

We take the Metro.

 Have you had a school vacation yet?

We had a two-week holiday for All Saints Day. I went to Aix-en-Provence, in the south of France.

Is there anything that you miss?

I miss being able to use pencils. I miss peanut butter and bacon. I miss everybody speaking English. I miss Halloween. I miss Thanksgiving. I miss large Christmas trees. I miss the community of a small town. I miss the Downtown Mall in Charlottesville, where we always ran into people we knew. I miss living in a big house. I miss climbing trees. I don’t miss riding in a car. I miss my friends, but not as much as at the beginning of the year, because I have friends here now, too.