First a little about my program. The Teaching Assistant Program in France (TAPIF) is organized through the French Ministry of Education and hires recent grads to teach their mother tongue in France for seven months. Fast forward a year and half after my study abroad in Montpellier and it is this program that brought me back to France. My position is in three schools in Sainte Luce sur Loire, a suberb about 25 minutes from Nantes Centre. I will be working at both the nursery and elementary school levels, so my students will range in the ages of 3-10! I am extremely happy to be placed with des petis enfants, most of my time will be spent reading stories, teaching songs, and playing games! Not a bad way to spend seven months...
Check out TAPIF's cite if you're interested in applying for the 2014-2015 school year, http://highereducation.frenchculture.org/teach-in-france
A little bit about Nantes. (Maybe some other history lovers are reading this and the first thing you thought of were the Edict of Nantes, the dukes of Brittany, and the slave trade. If you did then you would appreciate my history freak out moments from my mid-morning stroll upon the ramparts of the Chateau des ducs de Bretagne).
Nantes is the sixth largest city in France and is located along the Loire River, in West France. It is the capital of the Pays de Loire region and the Loire-Atlantique department. Nantes is also culturally Breton, despite its separation from Brittany in 1783. In 2004 the Times named Nantes "as the most liveable city in Europe" and as of this year the city holds the title of European Green Capital. I am looking forward to exploring and getting lost in this historic, yet modern city.
Nantes is about a three hour train ride southwest of Paris.
