A Day In the Life

Since I was an elementary student in a French immersion school, I have wanted to study in France.  Living in Rennes has given me this opportunity; a chance to become more independent, all while experiencing French culture and speaking French.

Most of my weekdays are pretty similar, filled with classes and homework.  Wednesdays, however, are unscheduled allowing me the opportunity to soak up my surroundings.  Despite having a free day in Rennes each week, Thursdays are definitely my favorite day!

My teaching practicum is on Thursdays which is why I particularly enjoy this day.  Once a week I teach English to ninth graders at a local middle school.  It’s an American literature class, so the students’ English levels are pretty high which gives me all the more freedom to incorporate rich content into my lessons, staying within the host teacher’s parameters, of course!  After my teaching practicum in the morning, I take the metro home to prepare for the rest of the day.   More often than not, my host dad is at home for his lunch break when I arrive allowing us time to debrief about our day.

There are a lot of people living in my host family’s house.  In addition to my fantastic host parents, their son, who is my age, lives at home.  There is also a student from China as well as an older French student who is studying in Rennes for her job living with us for the semester.   There’s always some action in the house and I love it!

After gathering my things, I watch the news with my host dad before heading out the door to meet some American friends for lunch at the University’s cafeteria.  Navigating the French cafeteria is an event in and of itself!  It’s always packed with French students who just got out of class.  Somehow, we always make it through the lunch line without dropping our trays!

After lunch, I head over to the CIREFE cafeteria, which is more like a break room than a traditional cafeteria.  I work on schoolwork until my 4:00 class.  The biggest difference between classes here and at home, I’ve noticed, is that classes start significantly later here.  I have four classes during the week that run from 4:00 until 6:00!  My French History class on Thursdays, though, makes the time fly.

When class is over, I take the metro and the bus home to an empty house where I finally have some quiet time.  At around 7:30 or 8:00 in the evening, my host mom calls up to me to come and eat with the rest of the family.  My host mom loves to cook, so there’s always a tart in the oven.  The family dinners are very similar to mine at home.  Everyone in the house comes together and bonds over the freshly cooked meal.  My host mom is sweet enough to tell us that if we don’t like the food, we can always go in the kitchen and make something else for ourselves.  Luckily I never have to worry about that because there hasn’t been a meal I haven’t liked yet!

Thursdays are the night to go out in Rennes, so sometimes I head out the door after dinner to meet up with some friends to “boire un verre” as they would say here!  Otherwise, people start migrating to their rooms after dinner to work on homework, or to work on the computer, or to watch TV or the news.  Typically, I bring my homework downstairs to stay in the action of everything.  Later in the evening, I make myself a cup of tea and take it upstairs to drink in bed while I watch an episode of ‘The Office’ to top off another day in Rennes!  That’s when I start thinking about and looking forward to a weekend excursion or the upcoming vacation!

There is always something to look forward to here in France, and soaking in each day’s activities is so rewarding.  Il faut profiter de la France!

Jennifer Sticha, St. Olaf College