how it all began

Il était une fois...

I really believe that this year was meant to be. In January, I received an e-mail from an English teacher at a French collège, or middle school. She was writing to ask me if I was interested in a "post-to-post" exchange for the next school year. That same week, I got an e-mail from Fulbright announcing that, due to a lack of qualified applicants, they had extended the deadline for exchanges to France to the end of February. (Normally the deadline is in October). It took me a day to realize that the Fulbright program and the one Nathalie suggested were one and the same. At the same time, my Spanish-teacher friend and longtime travel buddy Michael K. e-mailed me to say that he believed it was time I tried for a Fulbright again (my first exchange having fallen through in 2001). I took these events not as coincidence, but as a sign that I should at least explore the possibility of an exchange to France.

Wait, I need to back up a few months. It really all began at the end of October at the OFLTA Fall Conference, where Desa Dawson, our State World Languages Director, approached me and suggested I attend a session presented by Honorary French Consul Barbara Thompson to learn about an exciting opportunity with France. In her presentation, Barbara explained that the Académie d'Amiens, an academic region in the north of France, had approached Oklahoma with the idea of signing a "Memorandum of Understanding." Furthermore, Amiens was inviting a group of four delegates to France in December so that the MOU could be discussed at length. Secretly, I was hoping they'd ask me to go, but I didn't think I had a chance. There are so many qualified French teachers in Oklahoma.

Everything was quite tricky. The November elections were a few days away, and it was determined that they should wait until after Sandy Garrett was re-elected before approaching her about the possibility of an agreement. Once that was secured, Desa called me to ask if I was interested in being part of the delegation. The only catch was that I had to find funding for my airfare. Recognizing the importance of this opportunity, my school graciously picked up the tab! Things moved quickly after that - just few weeks later, I found myself in France with Desa, Linda Bahan from Del City HS, and Charlotte Jones from the K20 Center at OU!

We were met by Véronique Chabaud, who works at the Réctorat in Amiens. Véronique is in charge of international relations for the Académie. She took us to the FIAP Jean Monnet, an interesting dorm-like center where many students stay while studying in Paris. Chantal Manes, the English Inspector from the Réctorat, met us at the FIAP, and gave us the plan for the week. While in Paris, we had meetings at the Ministry of Education where we learned about the French school system, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where we learned about programs that support La Francophonie and the study of French around the world. Every where we went, we presented our hosts with Oklahoma-themed gifts, courtesy of the Alliance Française d'Oklahoma City and the Tulsa Global Alliance. We were also treated to a jazz concert one evening, and I was able to spend the first afternoon with Kathy & Damien, my friends who live just outside of Paris. They treated me to an afternoon of antique shopping at a brocante, and then to a raclette dinner at their apartment.

After Paris, Chantal drove us to Amiens, which is normally about 1.5 hours from Paris, but with the rain and the embouteillage, we were on the road for nearly four. Traffic jams aren't nearly as stressful when you have so much to talk about ! Once in Amiens, we were treated to our first of several delicious meals at the Hôtel Carlton.

In Amiens, we had a packed schedule. Véronique met with us to present the Académie, and then we lunched with Mme Golasziewski, General Inspector of the Ministry of Education before our big meeting with Mme Campion, Recteur of the Académie. During that meeting, we expressed our desire to move forward with the MOU, and extended an invitation to the French to come to Oklahoma in the spring. We had a hurried tour of the Cathédrale d'Amiens, a UNESCO world heritage site, and then strolled through the marché de noël before returning to the hotel for dinner.

Each evening, we dined with different community members. Our guests that evening were Amiens City Council members Mme Michèle Sagez and Mr Michel Boucher, who are in charge of international relations for the city and of the sister city program with Tulsa. They presented us with framed watercolors of the city.

School visits were planned for our remaining time in Amiens. Philip Simmonds, deputy DARIC, drove us to Hirson, which is about 6km from the Belgian border. At the lycée Joliot-Curie, we were greeted by the principal, the English teachers, and the librarian. After a photo for the local newspaper, we began our visit in typical French fashion - with coffee & pastries. We toured part of the school, visiting the library, language lab and teacher work room before going to the cafeteria. Our agenda said "lunch at the school,"which led us to believe that we were going to dine like the students do. Oh là là, were we ever wrong. We started with champagne and amuses-bouches, and then were treated to quite a meal. After Hirson, we went to Le collège les Frères le Nain, which sits atop the hill in the medieval town of Laon. Dinner that night was with Reggie & Maryse Hyatt, former residents of Tulsa, and Jean-Louis Mutte, who is part of the Franco-American Club in Amiens.

The next day, Linda visited a professional high school in Beauvais, and Charlotte met with a representative of the Université Jules Verne, while Desa and I took care of some business in town. Our final lunch was with the staff of the Rectorat who worked behind the scenes to make our visit a success. We then worked on drafting the MOU so that everyone's interests would be represented. Dinner at the Carlton again, where we bid farewell to our new friends. It truly was an incredible week, and I had a feeling that great things were yet to come...