In my last post, I briefly mentioned my acceptance into the Teaching Assistantship Program in France (TAPIF) for the 2020-21 year, and I’m excited to announce that I have an update regarding that program. For those of you new to my blog, TAPIF is a program run by the French government employing English assistants de langue (language assistants) at public schools across the country every year for about seven months at a time (October-April). It’s definitely a unique opportunity, and I’m excited for it to be the first thing I do after my graduation in June.
After weeks of waiting, I finally received my arrêté de nomination (work contract) which confirms my appointment and lists my placement. They only placed me in one high school out of a possible three, which should be relatively easy to manage. My school is Lycée Jean-Baptiste Dumas, and it is in the small town of Alès about 40 minutes north of Nîmes. To be frank, I think I would have preferred to be in a larger town such as Nîmes, but Nîmes is quite close and I can always live in Nîmes and commute if I want to (I’m told many assistants in Alès do that). For now, however, I’m choosing to live at the school’s dormitory in Alès since it is only 6€ a night and will be convenient. It’s a smart option for the time being and I can always change my mind in the future!
This brings me to my next point, which is that I’ve already been in contact with my school. To my relief, everyone seems nice. My professeur référant (teacher supervising me) and the school principal both seem fairly excited to meet me and have already expressed gratitude at having me at their school as an English language assistant. This is good considering I’ve heard from past assistants that the profs supervising assistants can be a hit/miss.
Anyway, I’m leaving for the program rather soon on the 20th of September. Concerning the current travel restrictions on Americans, I can legally enter France, but not from the USA and not as a U.S citizen. In addition to my American citizenship, I’m a Polish citizen and can enter France using that citizenship. But, since I’m coming from the states, I have to enter the Schengen area through Poland (sounds sketchy, but this is what I was told to do by a French consular officer). Thus, I’m flying to Warsaw, where I will be at an Airbnb for three nights before flying to Montpellier, France on the 24th. It’s a roundabout way of getting to France, for sure, but at least I CAN Europe enter without too much added stress. Other non-EU citizens (including Americans) are taking part in the program as well, but they have to get visas, a normally stressful process that is even more stressful during a pandemic.
Now the decision to partake in the program wasn’t a straightforward one to make. Normally, when making this kind of decision, I’d worry over things like being away from my family and friends for so long, finding community, being accepted into a foreign culture, my mental health, supporting myself financially, etc. I still worried (and am worrying) about all of those things, but these days there is the added stress of a global pandemic which, aside from the health concerns, also exacerbates all the former. It’s crazy stressful to think about, especially since France’s COVID-19 cases are currently on the rise. That there has been a fair amount of assistants de langue turning down their offers and being vocal about doing so on social media has not helped either (although it seems that most folks are going through with the program). Yet, despite this, I’ve still decided to go.
It really came down to making the best decision for me. I had to think long and hard about that, and found myself constantly questioning my decision for days. Yet, talking it all out with my friends and family was helpful. And, as it turned out, my friends and family were overwhelmingly supportive of me going. I also created a pros and cons list, which really helped me think through and visualize how many more pros there STILL were for me going through with the program.
Personally, I couldn’t afford to put my life on hold for however long this pandemic will last. I just graduated from college, I am 24, and I want to take my next steps. I’ve wanted to live in Europe since I was 14, and while I don’t know if I’ll stay in Europe after TAPIF, it’ll let me see if that’s what I want to do. Being in France will also allow me to more easily explore graduate school opportunities in Europe, where programs are significantly cheaper than in the U.S (I might also be eligible for even lower rates because of my Polish citizenship). Through TAPIF, I’d also have the chance to network with people in Europe and to see where those connections lead me. Finally, being a teaching assistant will expose me to the teaching profession, and I’ll be able to see if that is something I’d like to do.
I’d even have better and more accessible health care in France. For my entire life, I was on my mother’s insurance plan, which was fairly comprehensive. However, unfortunately, my mother was laid off due to COVID and now we’re both on the limited state plan. But France, like most highly developed countries, has a comprehensive universal health care system, which I’d get access to through TAPIF. And, even without health insurance, seeing a doctor for a basic checkup in France costs about 20€ anyway, as opposed to the $300-600 in the states.
As for staying in the U.S, I will have no option but to live at home with my parents, which feels like regressing to me (although that is not the case for everyone!) and would be worse for my wellbeing. Housing is very expensive in the U.S at about $1200/month for a studio in my hometown of Federal Way, WA. Yet, in France (maybe not Paris) it can be relatively cheap at about 400€/ month for a studio in places like Alès or Nîmes. There are also government aid help programs for low-income folks (like assistants de langue), that can lower that rate by hundreds of euros. As for work, the economy is currently tough everywhere and TAPIF is a job. Additionally, there are especially limited beginners options for humanities majors in WA, thus I’d have to work minimum wage for a while. I also don’t feel ready to explore graduate school or other professional opportunities in the U.S because I have the perfect chance to explore those opportunities in Europe as a young person with no serious commitments. When else will I be able to do that, if not now?
There are, of course, many uncertainties that I may face in France. For instance, I will teach students in-person in schools, which might expose me to COVID, but so would working at Fred Meyer. And I’d only work 12hrs/week in France vs 40hrs/week stateside. Another worry is that France goes into lockdown again, and, as their lockdown was much stricter than here, I would be stuck inside. But, last year France still paid assistants through the lockdown, and I have the savings to take me back to the states (or Poland where I have a family) if things turn for the worst. There are also the smaller worries, of not being able to travel, things being closed and it being more difficult to make friends because of social distancing. All of those things are unfortunate. However, I don’t think they make or break the program, and other assistants will be in the same boat as me, so there will hopefully be solidarity in that (but I will keep you all updated on how I figure out my social life over there).
Ultimately, even with an ongoing global pandemic, going to France is what is best for me right now. I WILL wear my mask, carry hand sanitizer, and socially distance when possible, but I can’t afford to miss this opportunity. Yes, it is riskier to be doing TAPIF right now. However, moving abroad is always risky, and just because there’s a pandemic doesn’t mean that it still can’t be a highly rewarding thing to do. COVID won’t be going away anytime soon, and the repercussions of COVID will be around for even longer. It could be years before things get back to normal, and frankly, I don’t have that time, and so I have to make due. It has to be a personal decision, but sometimes at the end of the day, even when things aren’t ideal, you just gotta go for it.