What to Expect as a Primary English Assistant : 8 Questions and Answers

After my first TAPIF placement in Chambéry, I noticed that much of the TAPIF blogging community focuses on assistants in secondary schools. This is completely normal, as there are far more people placed at the secondary level! There are many commonalities between the expectations and experiences of primary and secondary assistants; there are also many … More What to Expect as a Primary English Assistant : 8 Questions and Answers

Primary Assistant FAQ

In my time obsessively stalking all TAPIF blogs past, current and future, I’ve noticed the prevalence of secondary assistants across the interweb. It makes sense: there are way more of them! There are commonalities between the expectations and experiences of primary and secondary assistants, but seeing as most of the info out there seems to be geared towards the secondary level, I want to share some ideas that will be specifically helpful to current and future primary assistants, as they can be very different jobs. … More Primary Assistant FAQ

The Waiting Game: making it through the long summer before TAPIF

April 1st, 2015: I woke up in the morning to a text from my friend Giulia: Attention aux poissons sur ton dos! I arrived at school and every child had a little paper fish on their desk that they “sneakily” tried to tape on people’s backs. In France, April Fool’s Day is Poisson d’Avril, and … More The Waiting Game: making it through the long summer before TAPIF

Five Things to Do With Your Free Time Instead of Travelling

A few weeks ago, a fellow TAPIF assistant and blogger, Anne à l’aventure, published a post about reasons NOT to travel, which got me thinking… It may not be a popular opinion, especially in the Instagram Age where #wanderlust is the most noble of ambitions, but I am increasingly coming to terms with the notion that … More Five Things to Do With Your Free Time Instead of Travelling

Trip to the Embassy!

Last week, I completed another step in my journey towards France: The Visa Appointment. I’m very lucky because I live so close to my regional consulate. The same consulate also serves people from DC, Virginia, Delaware, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Maryland, so some people have to make full day trips, while I just missed a … More Trip to the Embassy!