Paperwork and Logistics, Oh La La!

I am have now arrived at the "pain in the butt" part of preparing to go to France next year. I had heard the paperwork was annoying, but I can definitely tell that I will be staying quite busy the next few months. TAPIF assistants received directions to fill out 4 copies of a form that our academies will use to get us work contracts so that we can legally work in France. Once the work contracts are sent to us over the summer, we will be able to apply for long-stay visas so that we can legally work and live in France for up to 12 months. The part that is annoying about all this is that they recommend that we book a visa appointment with the consulate soon and it is supposed to be at least a month before we plan on leaving so that we ensure our visas arrive before we are set to leave. However, you can't get a visa without the work contract and I have NO idea when they will send me the work contract. Apparently it is sometime between June and August. I'm just going to have to book mine for earlyish August and hope my contract arrives before then.

Also, since we don't know when the visas will arrive, the program recommends that we refrain from buying plane tickets until we at least have the work contracts. I know that is probably the safe thing to do, but it made me nervous waiting so long to buy it when the prices could go up a ton. Therefore, I ignored the recommendation of the program and went ahead and bought my tickets. I will be leaving for France September 26th and returning December 17th for Christmas break. Since we are supposed to start teaching October 1st, I'm not terribly worried about the visa not coming in time. I think the date I picked is late enough in September that it won't be a problem. There is also a lot I need to do when I get there (find a place to live, open a bank account, etc.) so I want to make sure I have a few days to settle in before I begin work. It definitely feels good to have at least one thing all figured out! A lot of other assistants seem to be buying their plane tickets now as well so I do not foresee any issues.

For anyone who plans on visiting me next year, here are the breaks I have:

1. October 22 - November 2
2. December 17 - January 3 (I will be coming home for Christmas)
3. February 11 - February 26
4. April 7 - April 22
5. April 30 (my last day) -

There are some of the places I want to visit:

• Ireland
• Scotland
• Spain
• Portugal
• Morocco
• Egypt
• Many places in France!!!

If you plan on visiting, start thinking about when you might like to come and where you might like to go.

I'm Back!

Since I will soon be going to France again, I thought I'd start getting in the habit of blogging so that my friends can see what I'm up to in the land of crepes, chateaux, and strikes. No, I am not going until October... but you can't blame me for being excited and starting a few [read: 6] months ahead.

Some of my more loyal followers may realize this isn't the same blog I had last time. Though I would have liked to continue where I left off after I studied abroad, I somehow got locked out of my account so c'est impossible.

I just got accepted to be a teaching assistant in France, which means that I will spend 12 hours a week, for 7 months, teaching English lessons to French high school students. Admittedly, 12 hours a week does not seem like much, but it will give me plenty of time to explore the town and travel a lot. I will be teaching in the Académie de Nantes, which is where I studied abroad. French académies are very large, however, so I will not necessarily be teaching in the city of Nantes. French school districts cover large regions and there are many positions in smaller cities and towns in the region. I will not find out exactly what town I'll be in until this summer, so I could really be anywhere in the district. I've heard horror stories of assistants getting placed in tiny rural towns in the middle of nowhere with no form of transportation and no other assistants. I'd prefer being in a city, but I do think being placed in a smaller town would make the experience more authentic. I wouldn't mind it as long as there is at least one more assistant and decent transportation. No matter what, I will still be in France! 

I also discovered that this 7 month period includes many different breaks. There is a 2 week break at the end of October, 2 weeks for Christmas, 2 weeks around February, and 2 weeks in April! Plan your visits accordingly.