Monica Loveley (’05) writes from Guyane: “I’m working right now in Cayenne, French Guiana, the capitol of the only French department in South America. I teach English to students from ages 10 to 21, mostly children of immigrants from Suriname, Brazil, Haiti, Dominica, British Guyana, and the metropole. Here is complete immersion in the French language, in a culture and a place completely its own. Every day I wake under my mosquito net and my first thoughts are in French; I get out of bed and I sweat; I go to school and I sweat; I leave school and the steering wheel of my car burns my hands and so I drive with my fingertips, dodging students and bikes and trucks blasting reggae as I careen through the vibrant pastel slums. I love the work I’m doing here and only wish I had more. In my inordinate amount of free time I’m learning Portuguese and travelling as much as possible, having just gotten back from spending a week in Paris, and spending three weeks in the Dominican Republic and Guadeloupe before arriving in French Guiana in late September.”
This is set to increase to 30 phone tracker in september this year.
Drew Johnston (’05) is spending seven months in 2005 and 2006 as an “Assistant de Langue Vivante” in the French overseas department of Réunion, a tropical island located 500 miles east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. He works 12 hours a week in a high school and middle school with small groups of nine to fifteen students. Réunion is an island rich in both culture and natural wonders, including the most active volcano in the world. When Drew isn’t at work, he spends his time on the beach, taking hikes in the mountains, and learning all there is to know about the island’s unique cuisine. Applicants to this program can request to be placed in any department in mainland France or in any of its four DOMs (Réunion, Guadeloupe, Martinique, or French Guiana). Information on the program can be found on the French embassy website at: http://www.info-france-usa.org/visitingfrance/teach.asp. Anyone interested in taking advantage of this opportunity should also feel free to contact Drew at drewconnerjohnston@gmail.com if they have any questions or concerns.