STEREOTYPES – Volunteers at La Mission Locale de Lille

During my English workshops with La Mission Locale, I love to discuss topics that are relevant to everyday life and draw attention to reality.  I therefore find discussing stereotypes particularly interesting.  We all have stereotypes about different countries / people / cultures etc…. About everything! It is important to understand what these stereotypes are.  We can then consider which stereotypes are actually facts and which are generally just stereotypes of a large group of people where in fact only a minority are concerned.  This is where prejudice and racism can stem from. 

Considering this, I spent a lesson discussing with a couple of advanced learners what they thought were different stereotypes associated with certain countries.  It's important to remember that stereotypes can be positive and negative.  See what you think of the ideas below: (Note they are not necessarily their own stereotypes, but stereotypes that others may have)

France

• Suffer from depression and stress BUT this makes them stronger – They use the rage to progress in life
• Shy and quiet
• Never smile, particularly in the metro
• Always thinking about earning money
• Always talking about holidays

United States of America

• They are all XXL – they love cheeseburgers too much (or fast food in general)
• Have lots of guns on the street
• Always have money on the mind
• Think that they are the best in the world
• Have good movies but naturally because they have lots of money to achieve this
• Love basketball
• “The American Dream”

Australia (easily the most positive stereotypes)

• Lots of kangaroos
• Love surfing
• Have lots of jobs
• Active and dynamic due to business

England (naturally this was the easiest category…)

• Proud of their culture
• The island is the centre of the world
• Very cosmopolitan
• Romantic (this is inspired from Shakespeare…hmm)
• Rock n’ Roll lifestyle – make good music
• Hardworking
• Mr Bean
• They drive on the left and believe that it must therefore be the same in the rest of the world
• Love singing “God Save the Queen”
• Not boring
• Nice accent (!)
• Very posh and clean

What do you reckon to these?? Do you agree? Do you have others to add... Really interested to know !!!

Take care everyone :-D

Poetry..... in French !!!

I've got so many thing I want to say and do on here but I never seem to find the time doh !!! This is just a quick one to say I succeeded in writing my first French poem the other day... Ok don't judge the grammar, but it's the thought that counts ;-)

La solidarité de la rue

La solidarité de la rue
Comment je souhaite que j'avais su
C'est quoi cette folie qu'on vie ici
La solidarité existe? Mais apparemment, si !

La solidarité de la rue
Les yeux ouvert, j'ai éventuellement cru
Il regards mais il ne voie pas
L'homme invisible sur le terre; il est humain, il est là !

La solidarité de la rue
C'est cassé et ne marche plus; je n'avais pas su
Il n'existe ni le soutien ni les esprits ouverts
Faut sonner les réveils et entendre les alertes !

La solidarité de la rue
Il faut aider maintenant mais on ne l'a jamais cru
C'est chacun pour chacun dans ce monde
Mais on doit rester tous ensemble car ce monde, il est ronde !


Qu'est-ce que vous pensez?? What do you reckon?

Hope you are all doing great out there in the big wide world anyhow and take care ;-)

Story Time - EVS Lille Style

Every time I have an English Workshop, I try to make the exercises lively and interesting.  If the young people generally have a good level of spoken English, I will try to have them speaking amongst themselves as much as possible.  At the same time, I adapt what I do when I have established the general mood amongst the group.

Last week, I had an English Workshop with a group of 4 young women and everyone was really quite quiet, shy and tired, so I thought I would try a new activity; “Story Circle” I shall call it ;-) Haha.  I chose one person in the group, told them to start a story with anything at all and said that we would keep going around the circle one at a time until the story was “complete”.  1 hour and 15 minutes later, this is what we came up with (and yes, I did take part because it was simply too much fun... sorry for the editing by the way) :  ENJOYYYYY :D :D

Marie :           Once upon a time, there was a frog with very long hair.

Lucie :            The frog met a pink little horse in the forest.

Lorraine :       They wanted to shopping in the next town.  They passed through the forest, when suddenly…

Jezabel :        They met a chicken who wanted to go with them.  They said yes because they knew that the more they were, the more they would laugh.

Amandine :    Along the route the chicken lost his feathers.

Rebekah :      The frog and the horse were hungry and saw that the chicken was ready to eat.

Marie :           The chicken proposed to his friends that they didn’t eat him but that they should look for food in the forest instead.  They decided to kill a rabbit and stole the fur of the rabbit for the chicken because he was cold.

Lucie :            The rabbit was too little for everyone to eat and the little pink horse wanted to go to Mc Donald’s with the fake rabbit (chicken) and the frog.  If 3 people bought food, there would be a sale in Mc Donald’s.

Lorraine :       Unfortunately, Mc Donald’s was closed so they decided to go to So Good for a coffee.  After a while, the chicken decided to go to the toilet and never came back.

Jezabel :        They called the chicken with a mobile phone and the chicken didn’t answer, so the frog went to the toilet and he didn’t come back either.

Amandine :    The little pink horse was very scared because he smelled the chicken burning and the frog as well (the French eat frog’s legs!).

Rebekah :      In fact, the little pink horse went to the toilet and saw a magic portal that made the chicken and frog disappear.  The smell was due to the movement in the magic portal.

Marie :           But the little pink horse was very clever and decided not to enter in the magic portal.  He called other friends (shouted “frienndddssss”) to help their friends.  3 ninja turtles appeared.

Lucie :            1 ninja turtle got lost on the way because he was hungry and wanted pizza. In the pizzeria, there was a second magic portal.  He found the chicken/rabbit and the frog in the pizzeria.

Lorraine :       Finally, the 3 other turtles and the horse decided to pass through the portal and arrived in the pizzeria.  After finding the others and eating pizza, they decided to go shopping.

Jezabel :        The problem was that some “people” wanted to buy computer games and others wanted to buy clothes.  They couldn’t agree on which shop. They were arguing.

Amandine :    They were shopping but became enemies. The ninja turtles were against the frog, chicken/rabbit and the little pink horse.

Rebekah :      Suddenly, the animals realised that they are not human beings and that they really wanted to be, so they returned to the magic portal.

Marie :           When they arrived in front of the magic portal, they found a magic book.  There were magic sentences to achieve their dreams.

Lucie :            They decided to change the world together and not to change themselves.  All the people became animals.  The problem of shopping was no more.

Lorraine :       They went back to the forest to do things that animals are used to doing.

Jezabel :        When they remembered, they opened the magic book again and they wanted to make a wish for the second dream.  The second wish was to open an animals shop in the forest, because everyone there were now animals.

Amandine :    They made it into a prevention centre against carnivores.

Rebekah :      For a while, it worked very well, but eventually the carnivores realised that they did not like the life of a herbivore and they revolted.

Marie :            The carnivores decided to open a shop of humans (they really wanted to eat human meat).  They cultivated humans for their meat, because the humans grew up rapidly.

Lucie :            A big war between the herbivores and carnivores began, but the carnivores had the magic book in their possession with one dream left.  They decided to change all the herbivores into humans and to make the biggest dinner of the year with all the friends to make fast food out of humans.

Lorraine :       But the vegetarian humans decided to free the humans in the human shop.  Altogether, they killed all the carnivore animals.

Jezabel :        They needed to dig graves for all of the carnivore animals because it wasn’t beautiful to have the bodies everywhere.  They cleaned the forest because there was blood everywhere because the killing was violent (yes the vegetarian humans KILLED the carnivore animals violently).

Amandine :    There was illnesses that developed due to so many dead bodies.

Rebekah :      The 4 ninja turtles, the chicken/rabbit, the pink little horse and the frog found each other back at the magic portal at the pizzeria in their human bodies.  They wanted to find a solution to go back in time, because they realised their mistakes with their wishes.

Marie :            They didn’t find a solution because it’s not possible to return in the past.  They decided to build a big spaceship with the remaining humans to escape the illnesses.

Lucie :            When the 21^st of December arrived, a big catastrophe on the Earth killed everyone, but the spaceship was in another galaxy at this moment.  They could see the news and television.  They were now homeless in space, like a star.

Lorraine :       They arrived on a new planet and they decided to create a new world without violence, where everybody could live in peace for the rest of their lives.

Peace of Mind

Just a very quick update … Isn’t it amazing how when life can get really hectic and all over, that you can find peace in the simplest of things ?!

Sunday morning I woke up, grabbed my camera (SLR), and went straight out into the sun.  I was snap happy for an hour, just in my own little world, and wow I got some good shots… so pleased !!! It set me up for the rest of the day … A great afternoon spent with friends and an early night… Bliss J

My project at La Mission Locale de Lille is going great as well.  I’m getting involved in plenty of things and keeping busy.  I’m taking lots of English classes too ;-) My French is also coming on leaps and bounds, although there are some rules I find so difficult to get my head around.

For example, when writing in the past tense, to conjugate a verb with avoir (to have), you will have the normal endings to the conjugated verb unless there is an object in the sentence before it that it needs to agree with (and this rule doesn’t apply to être – to be).

So, we can say “On a choisi les 2 thématiques” with the normal conjugation, but if we say “Les 2 thématiques qu’on a choisies” you see the extra ES added.  French language is crazily complicated !!!  Gotta love it though :-D Hope I explained that right / Understood what was talking about !

Oh and by the way, I'm so excited ... mum, dad and Ben are arriving in 3 weeks for a week holiday ..... OH YEAH ... nearly 6 months since seeing my mum and brother !!!

Mum and Dad here in 2011 :-)

Anyhoo, I’m going to head off in a minute… Time for my support session where I help volunteers to prepare their CV’s and motivation letters in English.  Then on to babysitting… Then on to La Ducasse ….. Ahhhh and breathhhhhh :-D :-D

Keep smiling everyone !!!!

Volunteering Changes Lives

I woke up this morning with a smile on my face … I may have been ill and with the knowledge that I would work 3 different jobs in one day, but my oh my, I know when to appreciate what I’ve got ! Within the space of 5 months, I have managed to slowly settle in and am now comfortable, knowing I have enough money to buy great food, treat myself now and again, and put a bit aside (skiing oh yeahhh).  It’s a nice yet strange feeling (but trust me, I have to work hard for it) !

I know that some people may frown upon doing over a year of volunteering following achieving a good university degree, but it can be so fulfilling.  As a volunteer, you know that what you are doing will be beneficial to your future, and at the same time you learn to find motivation not from the money that you are paid, but from the personal achievements throughout and the ability to help others.

A great example of how it can benefit your future is how another volunteer with Service Civique this week signed a permanent contract with an association that works with European mobility… Exactly the same project that we have both been doing with our respective Mission Locale’s.  She will begin on Monday, how amazing is that?!… With motivation and passion, volunteering really can be a first step on the ladder towards a fulfilling career !

In terms of my voluntary project, I’m really enjoying it.  I’m constantly in contact with different young adults who would like to volunteer abroad, as well as people from other organisations.  For example, yesterday I went to Aniche, a town South of Lille, for a mobility forum.  I was there with La Mission Locale de Douaisis and we had a stand where we were promoting European Mobility.  I talked about my experiences and described what the European Voluntary Service can offer.  I’m a direct example of how it can open up doors to moving to another country J

As well as this project, I’m still loving working in La Ducasse (a busy restaurant here in Lille)… You can never get bored and the team is great ;-)  I have also started a few hours of babysitting a week … Yes I do sleep now and again ;-)

I hope everything is going well for everyone and always keep smiling … When you smile at the world, the world smiles back !!! :-D

The stand at the forum with Fabienne who works at La Mission Locale de Douasis

The team of young volunteers including me (far left)

A presentation the same day of the emergency services

Again the presentation as they are cutting open the car !!

The Braderie of Lille

Every day is different

A challenge in its own right

New things to be learned

Fresh paths to be taken

Sometimes wrong, but often right

The weekend gone by

Came the braderie to Lille

The biggest flea market in Europe

2.5 million People passing through

“I’ll take it for 4€”, “Ok, it’s a deal”

My wonderful dad arrived

Thursday morning, excited yet exhausted

What an amazing time was to be had

Little did he know

All his emotions would be tested

We laughed and we cried

We frowned, yet in wonder and disbelief

We shared incredible times

Photographing our way through the weekend

I imagine on Tuesday that his bed came as a relief

The nights I worked full speed ahead

In the restaurant that is La Ducasse

Hungry tourists demanding their share of mussels

Along with gallons of beer

I wondered how long they could last

During four days I lived a split life

Balancing love and work evenly

Profiting of every minute with loved ones

Yet committing to work with a passion

Not a feat achieved easily

Now I can breathe a sigh of relief

Structure will return back in to life

The overwhelming effect of the braderie withdraws

I can again, cosy and relaxed at night

To sleep seven hours, what a surprise!

But most importantly, thank you dad

For your incredible presence across the border

In our lives here in Lille you touched many

Here’s to October with you, mum and Ben coming

When everything will be in more order.

So happy when dad arrived :-D

Rue de Bethune (main pedestrian shopping street) in the Braderie

Dad all smiles ... His t-shirt attracted plenty of attention :-)

The Braderie was even outside La Mission Locale !!!

Heatwave

It’s been so damned hot … I never NEVER expected to see temperatures reaching 37 degrees in Lille but trust me, it did!!  Now it's nicely levelled out in the 20's with the odd bit of rain (strangely refreshing).  Hopefully it will hold out during this weekend (the braderie).  The braderie is the biggest flea market in Europe... wow! And I'll be working in the restaurant... our body's are going to hurrrrtttt.

Two weeks ago I was in Paris, and the heat was astounding.  It was 37 / 38 but with the added humidity of a huge polluted city, it was uncomfortable to say the least… Certainly no sunbathing hehe.  Saying that, I had a great time there seeing a friend I met in Lille last time I was here.  Imagine sitting on a quayside with friends until 2.30am, in strappy tops because it’s such a nice temperature… Reminded me of Barcelona!

Quayside in Paris

Other than that, I had a great holiday.  I spent it mainly at home (Villeneuve d’Ascq next to Lille), and really made the best of loooong sleep ins, lots of sports, good company and very healthy eating.  Trust me it does a lot of good to spend 2 or 3 weeks focussing on your body.  I’ve started losing weight and feel much healthier... you can never underestimate how good that can make you feel.  I have also started playing basketball now and again, jogging, swimming, use my scooter a lot and just bought roller blades! Naturally the roller blades are the most fun (though the diving board at the swimming pool comes pretty close).  I even did some gymnastics and capoeira in the park …

I started back at the restaurant a week and a half ago and la Mission Locale a week ago.  It’s taking a while to get my mind back in shape but it’s going well.  At La Mission Locale, I met two young people last week who are searching for long-term voluntary projects, and who would like to leave in January.  For this they have to find a project by the 1^st October (there’s really tight deadlines), so I’m helping with CV’s and motivation letters, as well as the general research.  The database can be tricky seeing as it’s all in English.  What you have to remember is that the majority of the people writing the project descriptions are not usually native English speakers either, so trying to translate in google translate (or such like) is not always effective.

Right now I'm ridiculously excited because my dad will be arriving in Lille in around 18 hours.  His big adventure will involve checking out the braderie (and lots of photos ;-) ).  I know we will have a fab time (but by Monday we will be exhausted hehe).

Will update you after the braderie .... there are no words to describe the crowds and the atmosphere ... maybe the photos will demonstrate !!!

I've attached below a couple of pictures of the wall I decorated with posters and postcards in our office, as well as my little desk :D

Take care and have a great 2nd half of the week !!!! :D



My desk :-) I use the knife to stir my coffee hahaha



Ain't it pretty ? hehe



Chaotic Travel

The metro …. That thing that we all hate yet love at the same time! We spend so much time travelling every day on this hot, sweaty underground tube.  We complain constantly, yet it’s so blooming useful! So let’s consider the pros and cons.

Pro’s:

• Journey’s can be twice as fast
• It is so regular
• It’s really not expensive
• It allows time to enjoy your book (whereas normally you just wouldn't find the time)

Con’s:

• Hot and sweaty
• No one smiles … Life ain’t that bad … Come on now people ;-)
• It can feel expensive (yeah yeah I know I said it isn’t, but y’know…)
• It’s just no fun at night with drunkards
• People are ruuuuddeeeee

Haha even today, there were loads of free spaces so I took 2 spaces to myself.  An elderly lady gets on and insists on sitting next to me, purely so that I had to move my legs.  Then on the next journey, there was the moment where the obese person insisted that they could fit in between 2 people (which evidently they couldn’t…)… yes this also happened to me today.  It just heightens the sweaty hotness, and what’s more, you feel it would be rude to move, so you sit there wedged in lol.



Rant over.

On a happier note… I’m being very productive today here at La Mission Locale de Lille ;-) I have:

Lots of planning and research done = check. 

Lots of previous volunteers contacted = check

Eaten healthy (very important!) = check

Grammar workbook on the table (with intention of studying) = hopefully a soon-to-be check (though possibly uncheck at a later time … grammar is never fun haha)

5 a day keep the doctors at bay !

Living life day by day

Well there’s another month down and how quickly it is going (literally 2 months of my project are finished today) … no wonder 6 months was too short when I did my European Voluntary Service here !!

I’m really starting to feel like my French is improving massively now.  Just as a quick example … Last night I was in bed reading a book in English.  When I put that down, I started thinking in French just before I went to sleep.  It was so strange to realise that my head had flipped like that from one language to another.  When I think about it, I only speak English now when I’m teaching, typing online or skyping my family.  It has even reached a point where in English conversations I sometimes mix words up haha … That’s funny when that happens!

My Service Civique voluntary project is going really well as well now.  I have plenty of tasks to be doing with the project I am focussing on, and really it’s just that I’m trying to choose where to start! It’s so great being able to help other young people like me who just want that opportunity to experience something new abroad whilst learning another language.  I find the English workshops really fulfilling too, when they learn something new or gain in confidence in their speaking ability.

In terms of my living situation, that is all sorted out now too :D I will be living in a town called Villeneuve d’Ascq, just outside of Lille.  It’s only 20 minutes commute in to work and is next to a really nice park with lakes, so I’m happy ;-)

For now I’m going to head off and crack on with some work, before heading to Wattrelos, a nearby town, for a presentation at their Mission Locale this afternoon.  Anyhow, below I have attached some pictures of the lovely park … hope you enjoy and keep smiling ;-)

Already half way through the year !!!

So where is 2012 going?? I feel like we must still be in 2011 because I just don’t know where I’ve lost the time haha.  Although I have to say that 2012 has been pretty exciting, having lived in 3 countries in the space of 5 months ;-) But now I’m definitely settled in France for the foreseeable future.   I’m out of energy to move country anymore (and love Lille), although trying to find my own apartment here is zapping my energy too I have to say lol.

A recent excursion to Dunkirk :-)

At the moment on my project at the Mission Locale I’m really starting to get stuck in and have more and more tasks to do.  As well as delivering English workshops regularly, which seem to be successful and I really enjoy doing, I’m also going to be doing much more.  For example, to promote our European Service within the Mission Locale, I suggested that I create a blog for all the volunteers that I will manage.  It will include testimonies and pictures, as well as information about upcoming events etc.  I’m just starting the process but trust me, when it goes live I’ll let you know :D

Taking everything one step at a time !

There are many other ideas we are working on, many of which are in the pipeline but truly in early stages, so it’s exciting to be able to contribute… Ok I’m quite sure that this year is gonna fly by too! Can you believe that I’ve already completed my first month here?! That’s one twelth of the time or 8.33% gone for any geeks out there …. I’m not a geek …. Honestly ….. Oh dam, you got me ;-)

As well as the Mission Locale, guess what, I found another job :D I was determined to have a larger income to live more comfortably, whilst meeting new people and improving my French.  I figured the best way to do this was to work in a bar or restaurant… And I found an awesome restaurant !!! It’s called La Ducasse and it’s on the busiest night-out street in Lille.  And you guessed it… it’s busy ! But I would recommend it to anyone coming to Lille as a great traditional meal out J The fact that it’s all traditional meals however means that the majority of the vocabulary I have to use is new, making it a huge challenge but one that I love so I don’t mind, and hey, I can sure as heck have a great laugh with customers. Check out the website:

http://laducasse.fr/

The only problem I have right now is housing … I’m determined that by the end of this month I will have my own place in the centre of town … So this could be a busy 2 weeks !!! The reason for needing to move is that the place I’m at now is not so….. desirable… and I didn’t particularly enjoy having a knife pointed at me the other night my a homeless child because I wouldn’t give her my pizza!! There’s something to add to my list.  Having been harassed in the ghetto in Florida before however was slightly more menacing… Either way, I value my life ;-)

So for now, I’m gonna carry on planning the blog and my English classes, and I shall update you soon … By which time I hope to have my own place :D :D :D

Take care everyone and keep smiling !!!

Back in France Land !!!

So maybe it’s true … I like to keep you on your toes ;-) I was in France, then England, then Poland, then back to England, and then BACK to France! Although let me assure you, for at least the following year I’m now nicely installed into life in France, and more specifically Lille!  It’s difficult that for the past year I’ve not been anywhere for longer than 6 months … I now admittedly would like some stability.

So a quick break down of how I ended up back in Lille… The short version is I came to visit friends for 5 days and during that time came to visit everyone at La Mission Locale where I did my European Voluntary Service, at which point Yves (the boss hehe) asked if I would be interested in coming back… Naturally I said yes, returned to England and waited upon news.  In the next week I had already had an interview lined up, got the job and the next day on the evening, was given the ultimatum … come to Lille the 24^th April for the interview… And just to make it clear how quickly this all happened… I visited Lille in April! I received news from Yves the 20^th April (!) and arrived the 24^th… Rather spur of the moment with all my luggage naturally, but a risk very worth taking all the same.

With all my bags ... how my back hurt ...

 So what am I doing here you may be asking? I am actually doing another voluntary project with the same organisation with a programme called the "Service Civique" (Civil Service).  Part of my project will involve helping to find projects abroad for young people who would like to volunteer with the European Voluntary Service.  For all those that are departing I will be helping with pre-departure training, including English conversation workshops.  I will also take part in promoting the European Sector of La Mission Locale de Lille where I am based, through the use of Facebook and other means, to ensure that young adults in the area understand the mobility opportunities that are available for them.

I have to say, although I was ready to leave England, leaving is never an easy thing to do.  Normally you need time to sort out your affairs, ensure you are all ready in terms of packing, seeing people etc and need to make sure you are in a completely settled state of mind… None of which I had / was hahaha.  I had 3 or 4 days for everything … Moving out of an apartment, booking tickets, seeing as many people as I could, organising where I would stay in Lille, going to the bank, packing and much more.  It was a rush but, as they say, sometimes in life you just have to “grab the bull by its horns”, because it’s your future!

With friends and mum before leaving

I managed a lovely leaving meal with family and a few close friends before leaving.  I had my parents and brother to see me off at the station.  It’s emotional and can be difficult not to see your family, that much is true, but needs must.  I am excited about the journey I’m now beginning in Lille and am so glad I made the decision to come back again!

Awwwww me and mum at the train station

Bye, bye England !!!

But didn't leave without a HUGE ice cream ;-)