Surviving and Thriving: My TAPIF Journey of Unexpected Lessons

Settling in France

After about a week of settling in France, I realized my best option was to find a long-term Airbnb (check out part 1 here!). It was pricier than renting an apartment the traditional way, but my parents supported the idea. I wanted to be in the city center, close to the #3 bus line, and I absolutely needed a washing machine. Fun fact: in France, washing machines are often located in the kitchen or bathroom! Once I found a place, one of my TAPIF friends helped me move in with my million suitcases.

When we arrived, there it was: a green door with the address 111 Rue de Bourgogne. The "111" felt like destiny. I excitedly opened the door and climbed the narrow, creaky staircase. The air carried a faint mix of old wood and lavender as I lugged my 50-pound suitcase upward, each step groaning under the weight. With a roof finally over my head and the cobblestones of Rue de Bourgogne beneath my feet, I turned my focus to my next challenge: becoming “Miss Language Assistant” at the local high school.

The TAPIF Reality Check

TAPIF markets itself as a program where you assist teachers in their classes, so I didn’t prepare lesson plans before arriving. A lot depends on your académie, your school, and the teachers you’re paired with. I met my prof référent (prof ref for short), essentially my advisor for the program. He was kind, but teaching seemed to consume his life. This put pressure on me, as I wasn’t pursuing a teaching career. I was here for the life experience, but now I felt like I had to be the perfect assistant.

Life in Orléans

For context, Orléans is in the Centre-Val de Loire region, just south of Paris—a 45-minute train ride away. Coming from Chicago, Orléans felt suburban and quiet. The highlight of my week was going to Starbucks in Place d’Arc, the local mall. You can walk the entire city center in an hour. If you show me a picture on Google, I can tell you exactly where it is and how to get there. Despite the lack of excitement, I didn’t feel lonely. I often met up with the other language assistants—mostly Americans, with a few from the UK, India, and Latin America. We were all foreigners trying to figure it out together. Between running errands, planning lessons, or grabbing drinks, that’s how I spent most of my time in Orléans.

High School Adventures

I visited the high school around 5 p.m. before my first day. It looked like a typical public school. Wait—I lied. I saw a couple of students smoking outside. That’s when I knew I was definitely in France. The principal, whom my prof ref called the “headmaster,” made me laugh. “Headmaster” felt like something out of Harry Potter, not a regular French school.

On my first day, I was so nervous I felt like a transfer student. The kids wore Nike, Adidas, jeans, and hoodies—pretty much like American teenagers. But the girls? They didn’t carry backpacks. Instead, they all had chic office totes, like they were headed to a UN meeting instead of biology class. That was weird to me. What really shocked me, though, was the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. school day. It felt more like boot camp for teenagers, with algebra as a mental endurance test.

The first two weeks were just observation. Some teachers didn’t even introduce me. One student thought I was sitting in his seat and was embarrassed when the teacher scolded him and finally introduced me. Afterward, I started “working,” mostly leading small groups of 10-15 students. I alternated groups each week, which meant I only saw the same students twice a month. Building rapport was tough, but the girls would frequently greet in the hallways, which was sweet. I did however give a presentation of myself to a couple of the classes. It was actually really fun to have a slideshow with pictures and have the students get to know me, ask questions, and have a somewhat fun class period. This is also where I was able to assess their English skills. Most students had decent English skills but a few really struggled.

One thing to know for future assistants is to bring a usb flash drive with you - the last time I used one was in 2010. At least in my region, Google Drive is blocked from the servers. I stood in front of the classroom, a sea of expectant teenage faces staring back at me, only to realize my entire lesson plan was lost in the digital void, courtesy of the school’s ancient, glitchy servers. My heart raced as it dawned on me that I might have to wing it. "Welcome to teaching," I thought grimly.

French Education System

Let me explain how the schedule and school breaks works. For your schedule, like I said, that will depend on your placement and the teachers you work with. In the first half of the program, I LOVED my schedule. I worked Tuesday through Thursday and my classes were essentially back-to-back so I finished at around 1pm. This gave me long weekends, which I used to visit Paris nearly every weekend. I was lucky to have a friend there who let me crash at her place. We explored the city, went to restaurants, clubs, museums—you name it. She made my first three months unforgettable.

I wish I could’ve traveled more and there is this pressure to jet off to a new country every weekend, but the salary is not enough to fund weekly European trips and pay for necessities. I was happy though I liked my routine. Something that’s also important to know is how the French school system vacation/break functions. In France, they go to school for 6 weeks straight, have a 2 week break, and back to school for another 6 weeks. While you participate in the program, you will experience the October, December, and February break.

Lesson Planning as a Non-Teacher

I would try to get ahead with my lesson planning by creating lessons for the entire month. I don’t consider myself a creative person, or the type of person who is able to create engaging material, so I found it very difficult to create something new, entertaining, while also being able to learn for my students. ChatGPT was my best friend. It was definitely a learning process - to see what works and what doesn’t with one class so I then alter it for the next class. My colleagues either gave me free reign on the lessons or they had me follow their curriculum. It wasn’t enjoyable and it just felt like busy work for me creating these lessons and I preferred following the teacher’s curriculum. One thing I did enjoy was something my prof ref started for me called Lunch with the Assistant. I recommend you suggest this to your prof ref! As you can imagine, a small group of students had lunch with me once a week. It was really nice to have that one-on-one interaction outside the classroom. However, every week had to be a group from a different class so it was difficult to build a relationship.

Transportation in a Small Town

At this point, Christmas break was right around the corner. I was the only one from the TAPIF group to go back to the US for the holidays. While I was feeling FOMO from listening to their NYE in London plans, I was happy to go home. I missed my family and I was so eager to see them. But let me tell you - after Orléans, I cannot live in a city that does not have an international airport. I had a morning flight to Chicago from Paris - like 9am. BUT, I had to take the 5am Orléans-Paris train to arrive at 6am at the gare, and then either uber to the airport or take the RER (45 minutes from the gare to CDG). I was not going to take any chances so I took a Bolt and happily arrived at CDG. It’s definitely a journey.

The Mid-Year Shift

Then came January, and everything changed. My schedule was restructured: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, with long breaks between classes. I spent 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the school, unable to go home during breaks because it was a 35-minute bus ride. When I raised my concerns, my prof ref said, “You’re here to work,” and suggested I use the downtime to plan lessons. In case you don’t remember, Google and Google Drive were blocked on my school’s server. So what did I do? I downloaded Netflix series and movies to watch on my iPad.

Miscommunication became a regular issue. Teachers often canceled classes without notifying me, leaving me waiting for hours in the lounge, only to find an empty classroom. It was frustrating and made me resentful. I spent well over 12 hours a week in that building for nothing, watching time slip by. It felt futile, and my growing resentment only deepened my sense of isolation.

Even my social life in Orléans took a hit. My TAPIF group created a second group chat and didn’t include me. I felt like I was in high school again, watching them travel together through Instagram stories. The exclusion stung more than I expected even if it wasn’t malicious. In a foreign place where every connection felt critical, being left out of their trips and plans reminded me of how isolating the experience could be. By the start of the new year, it felt like Orléans—and France—was rejecting me.

Reflections and Moving Forward

As the program ended and spring arrived, I felt conflicted. I was eager to leave the teaching aspect of TAPIF behind, but I didn’t want to give up on France. I reapplied, hoping to be placed in Nice, but was assigned to Poitiers instead—a city even smaller than Orléans. That should have been my sign to return to Chicago, but I didn’t listen. What followed were the worst eight months of my life. Stay tuned—Part 3 is where the real story begins.

TAPIF tested my patience, creativity, and resilience in ways I never expected. How do you stay grounded when life throws you into the deep end? How have you turned life’s curveballs into opportunities for growth? Or send me your questions on TAPIF/Orléans :)