Today, I volunteered to chaperon P’s school sortie (field trip) to a live theatre production. It was probably my most harrowing experience since landing in Paris. Our trip, which included long walks to and from the metro down busy Paris streets, a metro transfer through a VERY crowded station, and the loading and unloading of the trains on crowded platforms. With 4 chaperons and 30 kids, our journey didn't exactly scream safe to me. City kids! I can’t imagine any Canadian school assuming this kind of liability, but it worked. P’s maitress was incredibly calm throughout the entire ordeal. I was sweating buckets.
I took it as a good sign that P even asked me to chaperon. As someone who enjoyed misbehaving at school, I never wanted my parents to come on class trips. One of P’s biggest issues at school this year was that she didn't want anyone to know that she didn't speak French. I reminded her that "I don’t speak French very well myself” and she responded “you can come, as long as you don’t speak English”. I tried my best to not “out” her, but many of the kids immediately approached me and asked if I was English (they've always known). Some of the boys made fun of my accent.
Our destination, Le Pantoufle (the slipper), was a children's play about the thoughts and experiences of baby in his mothers womb represented by the slipper.
It was not what you would typically expect for a kids play. It was quite arty in its themes and staging, with a relatively high production value. At the end the “baby”, played by a 50 something year old man, strips down to a naked suit, labia defined and all, to discover HE, was in fact a baby girl.
The "safe" voyage across town, coupled with the "questionably age appropriate" content of the play left me feeling a bit uptight and uncosmopolitan - the French arts never cease to surprise and impress me!
I took it as a good sign that P even asked me to chaperon. As someone who enjoyed misbehaving at school, I never wanted my parents to come on class trips. One of P’s biggest issues at school this year was that she didn't want anyone to know that she didn't speak French. I reminded her that "I don’t speak French very well myself” and she responded “you can come, as long as you don’t speak English”. I tried my best to not “out” her, but many of the kids immediately approached me and asked if I was English (they've always known). Some of the boys made fun of my accent.
Our destination, Le Pantoufle (the slipper), was a children's play about the thoughts and experiences of baby in his mothers womb represented by the slipper.
It was not what you would typically expect for a kids play. It was quite arty in its themes and staging, with a relatively high production value. At the end the “baby”, played by a 50 something year old man, strips down to a naked suit, labia defined and all, to discover HE, was in fact a baby girl.
The "safe" voyage across town, coupled with the "questionably age appropriate" content of the play left me feeling a bit uptight and uncosmopolitan - the French arts never cease to surprise and impress me!
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