The Next Big Thing

So as previously mentioned in this blog, my next step in world travels is to be an English language assistant at a high school in Eastern France in the city of Besançon. The basic story behind the job is this: the French government decided that it wanted to improve the quality of their foreign langauge education programs at all levels (primary through high school), and so they came up with this program where native speakers of English (from the US, Canada, England, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, etc) would receive a work visa and a living stipend to come and assist in the already existing English classes (and for some of the primary schools, the foreigner would actually be the teacher for the class). This means my job is to work in a high school and work in collaboration with the school's english department to create activities, and teach sections of their classes. In exchange I get enough money to live off of (roughly 800 euro/month, after taxes) and a visa to live in France for a year. There are similar programs for Spanish, German, Italian and maybe Chinese?

So, I decided that after my time in Guinea, I wanted some time to live in France and really be immersed into the langauge so that I could iron out the kinks in my West African French, as well as have a job aborad while I apply to graduate schools. This program's dates worked perfectly with mine so that I start right after Peace Corps is over, and end right before the programs I'm applying for begin (Secondary School Chemistry Education Master's programs in New York City).

So that's it, my next big thing in a nutshell. Now for the specifics: I requested Besançon academie (school district) because it would place me somewhere near the German, Swiss and Italian borders with France, and because this region lies in the Jura Mountains which make it very hilly, and good for outdoorsy things like hiking, camping, etc. I also like the fact that despite being a relatively large city, virtually nobody outside of France has ever heard of Besançon, and so it won't be as full of tourists as some of the other big cities in France would be. I was lucky enough to be assigned to a school in the city of Besançon (rather than in a small town out in the country somewhere), and was even offered pretty cheap housing by my school.

I will be teaching at Lycée Victor Hugo (Victor Hugo High School) in the Planoise neighborhood of Besançon. This part of town is about a 10 minute bus ride from downtown, and apparently there is a bus stop right next to my apartment (which is on the school campus).

And since I promised pictures (let's see if I can have at least one for every post from now on), here are a few to show where Besançon is, and what it looks like:


Besançon in Europe.


Bird's Eye View


Street View

For more pictures, check out this photographer's Gallery (the last picture is from this site).