The Waiting Game

In a quick succession of posts...

I promise I will disappoint you with infrequent posts at some point and the only reason these last two are so very close together is because it took me so very long to write the first.

And so...

This is pure torture. I got my acceptance letter just 11 days ago and I am already getting seriously impatient for more information. I have been obsessively watching the rising prices of plane tickets and looking at different living options around the Orléans-Tours area. I am SO not good at not being able to plan things.

I take comfort in knowing that I am likely to be pretty happy wherever they stick me, as long as I'm in France and can get to a train station. So I guess I'm not stressing out so much about the lack of information and more about the lack of being able to do anything. The only other thing I'm worried about is the start-up money--plane tickets, initial rent and living expenses, visa, etc. For now I'm doing what I can to make sure I have work over the summer and trying not to lose my mind before I hear from my school(s).

If I am totally honest...

I am hoping to get something closer to Tours. I really love Tours and I believe there will be some students from my school there for the Fall semester (I think--maybe. UPDATE: There won't be. So sad...maybe I can convert some people into French majors before I leave? Not that my French professor needs any help. People change majors just to take more classes with her ALL THE TIME. She is awesome.). I would pretty much be in heaven getting to show first-timers everything around Tours and hopefully keeping them from getting lost for 4-6 hours on their second day there (definitely happened to me and my travel buddy and hence the blog name*).

In the realm of graduating:

I have the most intense senioritis. I am so sick of being in college. I know that there will be a day when I look back on these times with nostalgia and say "Oh to be in college again!" but that time is not now. I hate papers. I hate homework. I hate research. I hate projects. I hate sitting still in uncomfortable chairs and taking notes for hours on end. I am tired of furiously stuffing new information into my brain so that I can maintain my GPA. Oh mon dieu are there days when I have no control over which language comes out of my mouth and the French, Spanish, English, and Latin all fuse into one ungodly brain-slur of exhaustion. And while the uncontrollable subconscious translation of everything that I read in English into the last language I spoke to a professor may be an indication of something useful that will no doubt aid me in France (and breathe), for now it only adds to the over-taxation of my too-full brain. I am also really tired of the extra toll that studying takes on my back. I would really like to maybe not have to go to the chiropractor three times a week and I'm pretty sure that studying is the cause of at least one of those visits per week.

In the dark recesses of my memory, I know that I really love learning...but right now I would really like to sit in front of my television for a couple of days and melt my brains out.

All that being said, I am really going to miss the constant access to professors and friends. I'm going to miss staying up all night talking and hanging out with people when I'm supposed to be studying for a mid-term that I have the next morning. And at some point I'm going to miss my classes.

In the realm of wedding:

I am still at the point of "I just don't even want to have a wedding and can someone just hand me a piece of paper saying that we're married because that's the important part. Right???" Sam is there too, I think. We've both (okay, mostly I have) said various times that we wish we were more selfish so that we could just go get married on a beach by ourselves and then spend a week sleeping in a cabana with umbrella drinks. I don't know if that's just both of us already having so much to think about without wedding stuff, or if we're actually just mean people who don't love our friends and families enough to be excited (I'm pretty sure it's the first thing). But there will be a wedding...even if it's a pretty weird and small one. I have a dress. There's going to be cake...sort of. Everyone can breathe a sigh of relief and stop waiting for us to cancel it.

I'm not proof-reading this out of yet more rebellion toward academia. TAKE THAT, SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES!

*No seriously. We were fairly decent walkers especially considering that we're from Mississippi and walking is NOT a practical form of transport here. However, our wonderful professor had taken us on about a twenty mile whirl-wind tour of Tours that day and by the time we began the long (well thirty or forty minutes from the end of Rue Nationale) walk home, we were already really exhausted, thirsty, and hungry. We got SO lost. We forgot that there was another street between the street we were on and the street we lived on. We walked up and down a three or four mile stretch of road for couple hours before beginning to explore side streets. NO ONE knew where the street we lived on was located. My feet literally started bleeding at one point. We were both extremely dehydrated and had devolved to the point of ridiculous bickering and general crankiness. It was awful and it felt like we were lost for days instead of hours.

TAPIF: Application and Acceptance

So, part of the reason I finally broke down to write this blog is so that my fellow francophiles and anyone else interested in TAPIF might have an idea as to what this program actually entails--from application all the way to my last day as a teaching assistant. So here come the chapters...

(those of you who are reading because you love me or because you're a commiserating assistant and don't care about application details feel free to skip to the next post)

I. We have no idea what you're doing with your life. Is "TAPIF" code for selling yourself for baguettes out of a Parisian sewer?

Despite the famously low pay-grade, I can almost certainly assure you that I'm not that desperate for baguettes yet...brioche may be a different story, but we'll talk about brioche later (there's going to be so much brioche). TAPIF=Teaching Assistant Program in France. The program is sponsored by the French ministry of education and as an U.S. citizen all my paperwork goes through the Embassy of France in Washington, DC. So, what does that mean? I know. I've still told you nothing useful. Basically, I've applied (and been accepted,  yay!) to assist in teaching English in France. 

I, specifically, will be teaching primary school kids somewhere in the Académie d'Orléans-Tours (this is one of the bigger French school districts). It will be a little while until I find out in which city I'll be. You receive your specific school assignments only after you've confirmed your participation in the program and every one in France has had some time to pull their hair out trying to get 1000 foreigners placed in public schools throughout France and "Outre Mer"s (overseas departments like Martinique or Réunion). 

So more generally, my placement is obviously one of many possibilities. When you apply to TAPIF you'll be choosing académie preferences and grade level preferences. You'll be teaching at up to three schools in that region for a total of 12 in-class hours. However, none of your choices are guaranteed to be your actual placement if you're accepted into the program. I got lucky and ended up with everything I asked, but you could end up in a completely random school teaching middle-schoolers even if you wanted to be Nice teaching 5 year olds. Although, they DO say that it is likely that you'll receive at least one of your preferences. So if a 7 month mystery job in an unknown part of France--unknown to you, they aren't sending you into the wild...probably--anyway, if that sounds like fun times to you then we'll move on to the next thing...

II. What about that application?

1. TIME: This year, applications were due on January 15. START EARLY! In my case, there were a ton of documents to collect before I could finish my application and even without those documents the application took foooorreeevvveeerrr. Especially, if you are thinking of applying and do not have a passport/your passport is old/you have less than two blank pages in your passport, you should get a move on as soon as the application is available AND you should get/renew that passport immediately. I was able to complete my application within a few weeks because I had a passport and none of my paperwork went missing, but I do not recommend waiting until a month before the deadline. Give yourself lots of time. 

2. RESEARCH: First of all, research the job. If getting paid peanuts for working 12 hours a week (sans prep time) and having a ton of empty hours in a foreign country freaks you out, don't apply. I have a friend that didn't apply because the whole idea of her wandering around by herself looking for an apartment in a mystery city made her mother burst into tears--that's another thing you might want to consider. Secondly, research the académie regions. Guess what, the mountains, they're REALLY cold--if you're prone to death by pneumonia, you might want to request somewhere a bit sunnier. Also, like the US, the regions contain some wildly different cultures (okay maybe not quite as wild as somewhere like Spain but you get the drift). I'm going to be in the wine valleys--it is a wonderful place surrounded by countryside and castles with the slow-moving Loire river running throughout. But maybe you're more of a Parisian? Or maybe you would like to go snorkeling in Guadalupe in your free-time? 

3. REQUIREMENTS: These are available on the website (www.tapif.org). Basically, you need at least a B1 proficiency in French (able to hold conversations on familiar subjects in French with native speakers, etc). They like French majors, but it isn't technically a requirement. They also prefer that you've traveled a bit. This is just to make sure that you actually enjoy experiencing a different culture and are open to sharing your own. Stuff like teaching experience will, of course, help your case. You will need a personal reference and some proof of your proficiency level (that can be a reference from your French professor or the results of an official proficiency test). In addition you'll be writing a short personal statement about why you're applying for the program. This has to be written in French without the help of anyone else. They're using it to get an idea of your proficiency as well as to decide whether or not you will be motivated properly for the job. You will also need paperwork like a scan of the first two pages of your passport, transcripts from any universities you've attended, etc. Do not attach anything they don't ask for (e.g. a résumé). There is also an application fee. I think mine was around $40. Getting the application in early will save you a panicked rush near the due date, but it won't make you more likely to get the job. So if you're just now deciding to do this two weeks before the deadline, don't give up. As long as you get it done before the deadline, you stand as much a chance as everyone else. Again, all of this is on the website. Read the instructions thoroughly and you should have no problem.

4. THE WAIT: January 12-April 1 was sheer and unadulterated torture. I can't even imagine what is was like for everyone that started applying when the application was first released. If you are like me, you will waffle back and forth between confidence and hopelessness the entire time. If you are lucky, you will occasionally forget that you're waiting for that fateful email and not spend your time obsessive-compulsively checking your inbox for an answer you know won't come until April. You will spend your time fearing that you'll be turned down. You may even spend your time fearing you'll be accepted (I had those days for sure). 

III. The answer:

In the end, when the acceptance email showed up in my inbox, all doubt was erased by the overwhelming excitement of being told I could go back my beloved Loire valley, France. I hope if you're waiting for your answer, that you get to experience that excitement too. However,  there are three answers you might receive. 

1. ACCEPTANCE. YAY!: Get ready for the incredible and super cheap wine, unparalleled carbs (and, you know, other food), and a ton of questions about New York and California--those were the only two places most of my acquaintances were aware existed when we met. You WILL need to let the embassy know if you intend to accept the position. This year I received my acceptance letter on April 1 (that made me a little nervous) and a response was requested by no later than April 20th. When you accept they'll send a confirmation email basically telling you to be patient and get your paperwork in order. I assume that April 21 will be the beginning of wait-list placement for all the positions that were either denied or did not respond. However, I don't know because I didn't get that letter. Which brings us to...

2. WAIT-LIST: You weren't denied and you probably had a pretty good application. There were just more qualified candidates out there. But don't lose hope yet! A lot of people decide they can't participate in the program after being accepted and it's possible you might receive one of their positions. If you're curious to know your position on the wait-list, you can email them (assistant.washington-amba@diplomatie.gouv.fr) and ask.

3.  DENIAL: I hope you weren't too set on France and if you were I'm very sorry. I recommend trying to get some more language and teaching experience and re-applying next year. Also, I'm pretty positive it was my references that really helped my application--so if you can find some really qualified people who think you're awesome, ask them to write those recommendations. There's so much you can do to up your chances for next year. So if you really think this program is for you, work at it and re-apply.

That's all I've got for now. I'm in the weird wait period between acceptance and actually knowing what the heck I'm supposed to do next. The TAPIF USA Facebook page has been informing all of the impatient, OCD, information-seekers (like myself) that we should be receiving information from our contacts in our specific school in June or July. And yes, it IS killing me to not know.

Also, I apologize for grammar, spelling, or information errors. As for grammar and spelling, I've been writing and re-writing French and English literature papers for so long now that I absolutely refuse to do much more proof-reading. I do genuinely apologize for my famously long sentences though. I can hear you all trying to breathe for me. Information: this is just everything I've gleaned and definitely doesn't replace doing the research for yourself (because things change and stuff). Hopefully, this is a pretty decent intro, but for all that is holy do not use it en lieu of the actual instructions. It is disgracefully insufficient for that.

Now you get real French brioche from Tours:

Quant à moi

Bonjour, all!

I guess I'm finally out in the blogosphere...is that still a word we use?

...Blogs blogs blogs...

Blogs are a complicated concept for me. Despite my background in literature and language, blogging has always seemed like such a presumptuous thing for me to do. I enjoy when other people blog and I read a lot of different blogs, but whenever I began to think about blogging myself, I always felt a certain hesitance. Do I really have enough to say for this? Well, yes--but half the forty billion thoughts running through my head on a daily basis are jumbled-up whims such as "I would like to drop this cup of coffee into the stairwell just because..." or "I wonder what would happen if I slapped this stranger across the face for no reason" or "*insert various impromptu songs about cats and tying my shoes*". Is that really blog-worthy? And if I could finally organize my thoughts into self-expression, how likely would it be that I would look back on these public declarations as the bane of my youth?

Et cetera.

Well bane or no, the time has come. Future me, you are a judgmental hussy with better things to do than hanging your head in shame at the silliness of your past self. Go drive around in your hover car and play with your genetically-engineered unicorn cats.

Really though, I'm here to recount my journeys. You may expect a mixture of material (because there's just no controlling my brain content sometimes): walk-throughs on what I'm doing for TAPIF for the curious or advice-less, rambling (that's just gonna happen), and, of course--for all of you who have expressed the desire to live vicariously through my French adventures--lots and lots of pictures of everything all the time.

Graduating, wedding planning, and preparing to move countries all at once?

I might...maybe...have this.

(Here. I got you a cat.)

[picture courtesy of me, you thieves]