It was going to happen at some point. I was always going to find myself with writer's block and neglect my blog for a few weeks. In all honesty, the Alsatian countryside hasn't been providing me with much inspiration recently and things have just been trundling along at work without much to report. I did hit the week nine wall last week which resulted in me writing a long, ranty post about how work is rubbish and my town is narrow-minded and chavvy. But I'm past that now and although I'll keep my rant stored on my computer as a reminder that it is therapeutic to get it all out sometimes, I won't put it on here because it would give the impression that I have sunk into a deep pickle and that I'm on the verge on developing dependency problems. Which just to reassure you, isn't the case at all, and without wanting to tempt fate, I've been having a really enjoyable time during the last few weeks!
The week nine blues were always going to rear their ugly head and in hindsight I should've been a lot better prepared. The longest I ever did at university before coming home was eight weeks, after which I was desperate to go back for some home comforts and a change of scenery. In Italy, I was horribly homesick in week nine because I was far enough into my trip that my surroundings were becoming too familiar and no longer exciting, while I was far enough away still from the end of my stay that home felt a long way away. Alas, the same happened here. I shan't dwell though, because now that week nine is over, I feel like I'm on the home straight- only two and a half weeks until I can touch down on English soil :)
We have been spending our weekends browsing art galleries, antique shops and the local pubs, baking brownies (hello, procrastibaking) and doing some arts and crafts to prepare for Christmas! The last three weekends have been fantastic and although we haven't travelled that far, I feel like I'm getting to know my local area much better and discovering what my region itself has to offer, instead of just using it as a base to get to other places. This weekend just passed, I went to Strasbourg to see the Christmas lights being switched on in the self-proclaimed "Capital of Christmas". I joined a few of the other other assistants in the area to watch the show, which featured people dressed as giant marshmallows and some completely un-Christmassy French country music, and have a browse around the first stalls to open in the world-famous Strasbourg Christmas market. We all joined in with the countdown to the lights going on, but everyone was looking towards the giant tree and we completely missed the rest of the lights, which it turns out were actually behind us and the tree was lit up layer on. The tree is apparently the tallest Christmas tree in Europe and when lit up at nighttime is spectacular, if a bit precarious in the wind. Despite the freezing temperatures (it was literally minus 2), and it being the most politicised event I've ever stumbled across (someone important from the Croatian government did a speech thanking the EU for welcoming them into the organisation and they projected the national flags of France and Croatia onto a government building while All You Need is Love played loudly in the square), I couldn't help but feel festive, and thankful that Alsace is arguably one of the very best places in the world to spend the run up to the festive season!
The next day, my housemates and I braced the horrible temperatures again to visit the Mulhouse Christmas market. It was't too crowded so we had a nice walk around and I managed to get a bit of Christmas shopping done while enjoying a mulled cider and a roasted chestnut crêpe!
The next day we continued our tour of the local marchés de Noël with a visit to the Issenheim and Guebwiller offerings. They weren't quite as impressive as Strasbourg and Mulhouse, but it was nice to have a walk around the town and see some of the local Christmas traditions. We followed our four markets in one weekend with a delicious Christmas dinner while watching a festive film and sharing a bottle of Alsatian champagne to finish off a great weekend and celebrate the start of the Christmas countdown!
In terms of work, I'm actually thoroughly enjoying my job. The lack of organisation in the schools and sometimes being treated like supply teachers by the profs isn't ideal, but when I'm in a lesson and can just focus on the teaching, I love it. I really never expected to enjoy teaching as much as I do! It's such a rewarding job, and for every cheeky little kid who messes around in class, there are several of his or her classmates who are genuinely motivated and hardworking. When I see them using something that I have taught them, or when you explain something that they have never understood before and you see the moment of recognition on their faces, it feels really lovely and I do feel so lucky to have a job that I love.
I'll make this a short one because lesson planning awaits. I'm sure that these last few weeks before the holidays will throw up some good blog-writing material as I have trips planned to Strasbourg and possibly Basel or Freiburg for my last two weekends here, and I intend to make all my lessons from next week onwards about Christmas, so pop back soon! And thank you to all of you faithful readers who stick with my blog even when I don't, you're awesome :)
Love to you all, Alice x
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