Saturday, October 8, 2011

La Petite Americaine

This was my first week of actual school and orientation. Mostly it was just being introduced to the class and telling them about myself. The looks on their faces when I said "I'm from Chicago" ranged from completely shocked to befuddled. Most of them have asked me if I'm a Chicago Bulls fan. That seems to be the only thing they know about Chicago. The students are great (so far), most of them look older than I do, and all of them are fascinated that I came from so far away to teach at their suburban school. During the introductions, I was asked a few strange questions and gave a few strange answers. So, some of my students think that I ran over Barack Obama's dog with a stolen car and had to flee the United States. Others think that I have six boyfriends. And others are convinced that I aspire to be a prison guard one day. The levels of English range from barely comprehensible to close to fluent. I also find it very interesting that I've been asked in the classroom about my political affiliations in the United States and also what my opinions are on certain issues. It's pretty taboo at home to ask these sorts of questions, so I've been put off guard a few times when these questions are coming from my students.

During one of my lessons, I was asked to help a girl correct her exam. The writing portion consisted of a political cartoon about illegal immigration and the paradox it poses for Americans. So, the girl I was helping has a sentence that went something like this "The potty tasks of the housekeeper were..." and "The other woman in the cartoon asks the housekeeper to do potty tasks". After a few seconds of befuddlement, I realized that the girl meant to write petty tasks. When I told her what she had written, she was mortified and explained to me that her friend had told her that "potty" meant small or unimportant. It was my first experience with mis-translation and it was quite amusing.

I've also overheard some of my students in the hallways referring to me as "La petite Americaine" (the Little American) or "Chicago". My name is very difficult for the French tongue to pronounce. When students were asked to write my name on the board, the majority of them wrote "Christine", which seems to be the closest translation to Kirsten that the French have. They've all been trying very hard to get the pronunciation right, but having them call me Mlle Crowhurst might be even worse.

In other news: I found an apartment and am rooming with a girl from Wisconsin. It's in the 5th arrondissement of Paris (which, from what I gather at the other teacher's reactions when I inform them of where I live, is a VERY coveted area). I'll write more about the location and post pictures of our new place as soon as we're 100% settled.

FWOTD: langue (n.): language

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