Peace out, Chambon Feugerolles

This is my last week of teaching in France - I have spent the past 6 months teaching English to elementary school students in Le Chambon-Feugerolles, a little town of 13,000 outside of St. Etienne, where I currently live. You can read more about St. E here.

The town is by turns picturesque, conveying a vaguely quaint, cozy feeling. My experience, however, has been far more complex than that.

(I see this house on the walk from my Monday morning school to my Monday afternoon school. I see its topsy-turvyness as a fitting metaphor for the absurdity I experience on a daily basis.)

Teaching has not been at all what I expected, and far more of a challenge than I ever realized it would be. I've been set adrift by many of my experiences, but I don't have the time to tell all the stories here. I am sad to say that my experience with teaching has been a negative one overall, although it hasn't been without its pleasant surprises, either. I am so very grateful to the teachers who have taken the time to get to know me and who made the effort to help me when I needed it.

French culture, and by extension, the children of France, remain enigmatic. France is a beast I still don't understand, and fully comprehending it is a feat I may never accomplish. On the other hand, I've certainly learned a lot trying.

In any case, that's all I've got to say on that. Peace out, Chambon-Feugerolles!

Andrenne