Eiffel for Paris: It’s (Christmas) Party Time…Excellent…

I was invited to participate in both of my schools’ Christmas parties! It was so nice to be included, and each one was special in its own way...

The first party was at Ecole Alain Fournier and the party began late and ended early (the next morning!) One of the teachers is from Bretagne (Brittany) so he brought fresh oysters for everyone to enjoy. The rest of us provided all the other potluck elements to share. There was wine and champagne in abundance, little challenges on pieces of paper (my challenge was to imitate a rooster…which, funnily enough the “sound” a rooster makes varies significantly from country to country…they got a kick out of the US version!), and the music played on and on all night. Practically everyone was dancing at one point or another! I was originally planning on leaving only one hour after arriving – my train schedules have been compromised lately due to track work each night. I was rather disappointed because I really didn’t want to leave. Cindy, one of the teachers I work with, proposed that I stay on her sofa because she lived just around the corner. She was so generous to do that and I was only too happy to accept her offer! Her little 5-year old son stood next to the sofa the next morning, wondering who I was. We talked a little and the next time he saw me (some 10 days later), he asked if I had slept well – so cute!!!

The party at Ecole Alésia was a little more subdued, but still just as lovely! The menu included another potluck theme. Everyone enjoyed sitting around the faculty room table and catching up and conversing about n’importe quoi (this, that and the other). It was nice to talk with teachers that I only see in passing, and meet others that have worked at the school in the past, but come back for special events like this one.

The teachers I work with at both schools are wonderful. I work with eight different classrooms, but have met almost everyone who works in each school, down to the gardiennes and the femmes de service. I have enjoyed getting to know them all over the past three months – I can’t believe how quickly the time has flown by! I can tell the next few months are going to go even faster…