Teaching abroad - American Village

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When I started telling people that I was going to go to Europe, naturally they asked me what I would be doing whilst away. So it was important for me to have an answer available. The basic script that I had rehearsed to explain this job I had landed in France was thus:

"I will be working for an American company that runs a language camp program in France. Pretty much I'll be teaching French kids English through ESL classes and immersion activities. I'm not really sure where I'll be working, they said in the interview that I'll likely be moved around different sites in countryside France."

Once satisfied with this response, people would ask me how I was feeling about the pending venture. My answer to this was easy:

"I can't wait. I'm just so excited."

My explanation for American Village did in fact make sense. But it barely did the job justice. What really happened when I went to France was I entered a whole new world of pure craziness, a total bubble life in this chaotic campsite living environment. And I totally loved every minute of it. The experiences I had at American Village were completely life changing. But I'll get to that in future blogs. For now, I will stick to the logistical explanations of my time teaching abroad.

I was based at two different campsites over my ten week contract. For the first week I was at Chateau d'Aze, located an hour or so north of Lyon in Aze. I then transferred to Tour de Buis for three weeks. This exceptionally isolated site was four kilometers from the nearest town, Cour-et-Buis, an hour or so south of Lyon. I was working the spring sessions of American Village and my colleagues were a variety of people from all around the world. Mostly Americans and Canadians (as a company titled American Village is likely to attract), but also people from France, England, Ireland and South America. In my ten weeks I worked with one other Australian and one New Zealander. The southern hemisphere accent was certainly very distinct in its rarity. Living and working together in such a close environment led to many strong friendships formed and many difficult goodbyes as the team changed regularly and we were transferred all around France.

The days at this job were long and intense. We worked six days a week, often working up to fifteen hours a day. Each week a new school group of children would arrive on Monday afternoon and leave on Friday afternoon. The ages and levels of English of the children varied drastically week from week. Sometimes we would have kids aged 7-8, other weeks they would 10-12, and over the Easter school holidays we had a whole mixture of kids from all over France, ranging in age from 7-14. As a teacher, I am used to being adaptable and flexible. This job provided these skills with a whole new meaning.

There is an important reason why I reflect on American Village feeling like a life away from reality. This is because one's personal identity literally changed. For a variety of reasons, we took on a nickname when working with the kids. Likewise, the children, upon arriving, would go through 'immigration' and choose an 'American name' to write on their new passport and be referred to for the rest of the week. These names could actually be anything. I was teaching classes of children with names like Convict, Roxy, Grumpy, Yolo, Pineapple, Owl...just to name a few.

This is where my name Milo comes from. When I was told me had to choose a name for camp, I didn't realise it would become such a prominent feature of my new identity. So I chose the name based on the drink that is purely an Australian thing. Working with mostly Americans and Northern hemisphere people, they thought I had just come up with a cool nickname, and it did get a few laughs when I explained what the name was actually from, and how I had just been craving a drink of milo at the time I was asked to choose a name. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoyed being Milo and taking on this new persona.

The team was divided into either ESL or Activities counsellors. ESL involved teaching English as a second language. We would divide the school group into four levels, level one having the lowest English skill base and level four being the highest, essentially conversational. Between the ESL counsellors we would take on a level and a classroom. As a team we would generate ideas and share thoughts on certain activities to implement in a classroom, but ultimately we worked on an individual level to accommodate the needs of our class each week. At this point I probably don't need to say that I preferred, indeed adored, being an ESL counsellor.

Out of my ten week contract I was an Activities counsellor for two weeks. Often counsellors were suited to one role or the other. I was definitely more apt at being a teacher, therefore my respect and admiration for effective Activities counsellors was paramount. Organising a group of fifty or more children is never a easy task, let alone explaining rules and instructions for a whole group activity in English to children whose first language is French.

Each day at American Village followed a theme. ESL classes and activities were able to use these themes as a springboard for ideas on what to do with the kids each day. Themes ranged from Discover America Day, American Athletics Day, Hit Music Day, Hollywood Day, and my personal favourite Wild West Day. Being very non-American, these theme days gave me a plethora of ideas and a chance to exploit some awful American stereotypes to unknowing French kids. Activities varied from baseball to making dream catchers and masks, talent shows called 'Who's the Best' to team building activities such 'Egg Drop', and creative activities teams inventing their own games such as the scavenger hunt type activity 'Oregon Trail'.

As a team we also organised evening programs. These occurred after dinner and included campfire, Mission Impossible, Carnival, Spectacle, Get to Know Your Counsellor, and more. Often evening programs and activities would utilise Family Groups to encourage bonding and teamwork. Family Groups were essentially just a way to organise a large group of children in structured and orderly way. But like everything at American Village, it was done with creativity and hyper-enthusiasm. So each week we had a different theme idea for families based off movies or TV shows or books or complete randomness. For example, my families ranged from the Punky Penguins, Voldemort, Simba, J.K Rowling, Kanga (from Winnie the Pooh), Jefferson (as in the president) Funky Fireman, Toothless (the dragon from the movie) and more. We would either be 'co-parents' or a 'single parent' in charge of around 10-14 kids per session. As a 'family' we ate lunch and dinner together, had kitchen duty once a week, and participated in group activities

One more important element of each day at American Village was this crazy hour called Congress. This was essentially a variety show for the kids put on by us counsellors. For those who loved acting and being outgoing and silly, this was a amazing hour. For those, like me, who were more reserved and painfully awkward on stage, the hour could be a challenge.

Working with the theme of the day, we covered a lot of craziness in one hour. The general outline for Congress was this: good morning, aerobics, teaching a song, ESL moment (a chance for each class of kids to present something they made in class to the group), a skit following some storyline that made little sense, the Daily Challenge (a mini competition between kids, counsellors and teachers), and going through the daily schedule.

So that might not sound so crazy at first. Now imagine all of those things done in a hyper-creative way, counsellors going back and forth from backstage to change into costumes ranging from ladybugs to green dragons, cowboys and horses, astronauts and baseball players, to a bizarre ensemble of hippy tie-die clothes to lead aerobics in. Counsellor creativity meant that the props and costumes available were used to recreate characters such as Sauron, Harry Potter, the Green Goblin, The Joker, Fantastic Mr Fox, the Spice Girls and One Direction. The enthusiasm and enjoyment in the counsellors who revelled in this hour was infectious and wonderful to see. The kids, even if they didn't really understand what was happening due to a low level of English, would still always be smiling, cheering and clearly loving the madness that was unfolding before their eyes. I always knew I was a minimal contributor to this hour of Congress, and therefore always in awe of those counsellors who really bought the joy to this hour.

I developed a love-hate relationship with Congress. For someone who definitely is not made to be an actress of any sort, Congress to me felt like it was taking all my fears and insecurities and repressed memories of painful days at high school drama and putting them on display. But I soon realised that without Congress, the day would not be as functional and fun for the French kids. It was also a huge growing experience for me, learning to put aside that irrational frame of mind and remember to just have fun. Because after all, I was doing it for the kids.

In summary, a daily schedule went something like this: breakfast, ESL 1, recess for fifteen minutes, ESL 2, Congress, lunch, free time, activity 1, snack, activity 2, showers for kids/meeting for the counsellors, dinner, evening program, kids bedtime/counsellor meeting. Eventually us counsellors would get to sleep...but ultimately we learnt to function off little sleep and high energy derived from enthusiasm, passion, and coffee. I was not lying when I said the days were long.

So that was the rough outline of the week. Sunday and Monday morning we spent preparing and finalising everything for the session. Monday afternoon the kids arrived. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday were filled with all those elements that contributed to the most amazing week of these kids' lives. Then Friday would arrive and we would have a special American brunch (false advertising: it was normally at 9am) consisting of pancakes with maple syrup and bacon and eggs. Then we would have one ESL class in which the kids would make a special graduation cap, then we would have a graduation ceremony.

After this it was time for the counsellors to ascend to a celebrity status when the kids would want their hats signed by us and take multiple photos of us. After lunch and some free time, the bus came to collect the kids which led to bittersweet moments of children hugging us with tears rolling down their cheeks. It was in these moments that we realised just how much of an impact this intense week had for the kids, how those little things we had done really meant to the kids. It made the sleepless nights, draining meetings, and hours planning all completely worthwhile.

So if you've made it this far through reading about the experience of American Village, I would have to say well done. This job was honestly the most enjoyably challenging and chaotically amazing time of my life. Naturally, it isn't a job for everyone. Many people disliked the role with a passion for reasons of their own. Yet there were plenty of people just like myself; thriving off the intensity, the craziness, and revelling in the fun and joy of having a job where we got work and live in France and ultimately spend hours playing with children.

Because of this, during the best experience of my life I made some of the best friendships, forged some unforgettable memories, and learnt that it is possible to find people with an outlook on life and thirst for adventure just like myself. It was a beautiful environment to realise that I am not alone in the wanderlust that fuels my thoughts and decisions, that there are other people feeling much the same. It was just beautiful.

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Photos

Welcome to American Village
Site: Château d'Aine, Azé

Wild West Day
Because all cowboys and cowgirls live in Texas

Love from the kids
Seeing something similar to this each never got old, always appreciated

Mission Impossible
Evening program dress ups

Campfire
Monday fun day, evening program

Harry Potter
A particularly happy moment for myself as huge HP fan!

Comments

[Emma McKenna]

Can we use this?
Hi Milo! Do you mind if tweet a link to your blog post on our Twitter recruitment page?

[meeelooo]

Sure, no worries!