Who knew I'd be a teacher?

45 Rue D'Aboukir...Home to ICB Europe

The entrance to ICB Europe.

It's not all hockey games, museums, and fabulous food for Mindy and I over here in Paris. Our visas from the French Consulate say "Working Holiday" on them and we are certainly working hard when we are not out having fun. Thanks to Corinne Beaton (the fabulous cook from my earlier post - A Real French Dinner...with a Canadian Twist), Mindy and I were able to be hired by a company called ICB Europe as formateurs d'anglais. In short, we teach english!!!

ICB Europe is a fantastic little company that caters to the english language needs of companies mostly in either the finance or high fashion industries in Paris. As a result, we have had the opportunity to work at companies like Societe Generale (one of France's largest banks) and Chanel (as in Coco Chanel) which has been quite an adventure. Needless to say, Mindy has been loving the work at Chanel and thinks that teaching the english words for lipstick, high heels, and fashion show is a fabulous way to spend time.

In all seriousness, teaching is a very demanding profession, but we have been enjoying the challenge. It has kept us busy and provided us with some unique opportunities to see different parts of Paris as we work all over the city. I have been teaching between 10 and 15 hours per week while Mindy has been working closer to 25 hours a week. This does not include prep time which usually takes up a few more hours for both of us each week. Our hours vary quite a bit from day to day as well and we have found the change from the regular 8 to 5 at the office job to be quite refreshing.

Some of the class rooms at ICB Europe

The space now occupied by the school used to be a theater before being renovated to its current condition. It is a great atmosphere to work in with staircases everwhere and lots of natural light.