Me: "Classe de neige? As in your upcoming three week field trip where everyone skis? We would just say 'snow class'. We don't have a word for that."
F.T.:"Really? So you don't have another name for it? It's just a literal translation?"
Me: "You mean the trip where the whole class goes on a ski trip for three weeks, you have classes in the morning, and in the afternoon everyone goes skiing, and the town pays for it?"
F.T. "Yes. The snow class."
Me: "Yeah, we definitely don't don't have a word for that."
Later that day, while teaching a "chorale" of 50 six and seven year olds "If you're happy and you know it"...
Me: (In french) Ok, first I'll say a phrase and then you all repeat. Here we go: "If you're happy"
Group: "Eeeef you Appy"
Me: "And"
Group: "Ant"
Me: You know it"
Group: "You now eet"
Me: "Clap your hands!" (clap clap)
Group (mass confusion, lots of clapping)
Me: "Okay, now let's sing"
Group: (singing) "Eeef you APPY an you nnnn itsa, (silence) (Clap Clap!)
Me: "Ok... good...? Now we can add Stomp your feet (stomp stomp)
Group: (Stomp stomp)
Me: "Great! Ok now I'm going to either say clap your hands or stomp your feet, and you have to listen and do what I said!"
Freah Teachers: "Wow! Listen well everyone!"
Me: "Stomp your feet!"
Group: (Clapping, Stomping, nose-picking)
Me: "Umm... good? Ok lets just sing"
French teacher: "Wait, how do you say this in English (Shimmies up and down)?"
Me: "Ummm...well, you could say - "
French Teacher: " --Get funky!" (does dance)
Me: "Yeah (?) Or shake yourself."
French Teacher: (Confused) "Shake youseff?"
Me: "No, no, shake... actually, just say 'shake your body'"
French Teacher: "Ok everyone, shake your body!" (Excitedly shimmies)
... Later that day, I was in the teacher's lounge and I heard the same teacher yell to her class as they lined up in the hall for recess, "Ok everyone, shake your body!" And 26 little six year old French children shimmied off to play outside.
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