To interrupt my vacation tales with some ramblings ...
I'm driving myself nuts over this lectrice d'anglais thing. No, I have not yet submitted a single lettre de motivation. I kept asking different people to look at my lettre, and I was going to send them out today, but then I started revising my letter again, and so now I have to ask people to look at it again. I'm convinced that my letter is crap crap crap and they will take one look at it and hit "delete." I am applying almost exclusively to universities in the Paris area. While I had renewed hope that I might actually get a post there after reading Petite Anglaise (she got a lectrice post and was able to renew it because no one else wanted it), I have to be honest with myself here that Paris is the city the most in demand in France, and especially since my letters are going out late, I have very, very little chance of actually getting a post there. But I would really love to have a post in Paris. My new plan is to call all of the English departments I'm applying to before I send out the letter, ostensibly to ask who I should email it to but really to convince them that I'm charming and adorable and would be a great asset to their department.
Fat chance of that, right? :)
The street right across from the Gare du Nord has gotten a major face lift since the last time I happened to look at it. It used to be filled with mediocre brasseries catering to the people stuck there waiting for trains, but now it's really something! Of course there are still some mediocre brasseries, but there is also a kebab/pizza/crêpe place, an Asian traiteur, a Quick Burger, and even a McDonald's! It's almost becoming a real train station! I am always jealous of the other train stations in Paris that have so many restaurants and stores right around them. Gare du Nord is pretty bleak in comparison. Now we have a McDo!
Not that I ever eat there. But I take it as a good sign of better things to come. If only one of those great Indian places from down the road would open up a take-out stand, now that would be really great. Hot samosas while you wait for your train, yum-o!
P.S. I was a little disappointed that no one commented on the Goy store. Did no one else find that funny? Or are there just no other Jews reading my blog?
9 comments:
Good luck with the letter! And if you need another set of eyes again, feel free!
Also... hasn't there been a McDo and Quick outside the Gare de Nord for like... ever. It was definitely there when I first arrived this year. And I swear we went to that McDo at least once last year...
Now, you have me wanting Indian food! It's been too long since I've had some!
Are you really that tied to the Paris area? I am tied to the East so that limits my choices, but you could go all over the place! And my uni only just started now to kind of get into looking at applicants, so it's not too late. People could drop out so you may not hear until summer. Don't give up hope!
Definitly definitly call! Say you just wanted to verify that you're sending your application to the right person/department, and by the way, when do they plan on looking at the applications and/or making a decision? See if there's a list of current lecteurs and try contacting them to get the inside story. Here in Toulouse one of the universities listed all the English assistants with their email addresses and I emailed a few of them to find out how the hiring was done.
As for the cover letter, don't worry so much about the formulaic aspects of it, and just concentrate on sumarizing your experience and how you'd be a great addition to the staff. And like Andromeda said, people might drop out and they'll only contact you in the summer. I applied to the Institut Catholique here in Toulouse last spring and they said they didn't have any openings. Then I got a message in September saying someone was out on maternity leave and they needed a replacement. You never know how things might change!
Shannon - I don't think I've paid close attention to that road outside the Gare du Nord so far this year, so if they were there before I didn't see them. I have definitely never been to that McDo, so you must have been with someone else. There's a McDo by the Gare de l'Est, are you thinking about that one? Thanks for your help with my letter!
Andromeda - I'd like to stay in the Paris region because I already know people here, I guess I don't feel like uprooting and making new friends again. I think too that I would like to try living in Paris, just to see what it's like. Thanks for the encouragement!
L - thanks so much for all the advice! I will definitely call them now, and asking about other lecteurs is a great idea. Thanks for the encouragement!
PS - I showed my letter to more teachers today because of course I rewrote it again, and both were very positive about how good it was, so I'm back to feeling hopeful! Now I just need a bunch of people to drop out.
Oops... I met "we" as in the assistants of last year. And I've never been to the McDo by Gare de L'Est... or maybe. But anyway, I know the one by Gare de Nord has been there for quite awhile.
Glad that your letter is getting approval from the Frenchies!
Best of luck for the job!
And we _have_ to go to this resto near GdN that I have fallen in love with recently. Let me know when you are in town next.
ciao!
-A
Shannon - I know for a fact you've been to the McDo by Gare de l'Est. Anyway, enough rambling about McDo! I never go there in either country!
Animesh - thanks! I can't wait to try the new restaurant!
Let me know... I'll go, too!!
Well, no salt for me for 15 days, so I guess the Indian food thing will have to wait :-(
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