Destination Marseille

Over the course of the 2014-2015 academic year, I will be teaching English as a foreign language in three high schools in Marseille. This is my first time in the south of France, and I am looking forward to practicing and improving my French here, exploring the region and helping teenagers learn English.

Vieux Port

I have decided to participate in a teach abroad programme so as to better develop my language skills, which will be crucial in the future should I become a foreign correspondent, or work in the media abroad, as well as to expand a number of associated skills, such as reacting to changing circumstances (who knows what will happen in a classroom full of adolescents?), working across language barriers (a daily task in global media), and making important decisions (leading a classroom will certainly provide an ever changing environment to control).

As for the city itself, Marseille has become renowned as the centre of French crime and poverty over the previous decades. With a long history of immigration, segregation and problems resulting from the Algerian crisis of the 1970s that still resonate here today, Marseille is a melting pot of different people, different societies, different traditions and different cultures.

However, I remain positive that the cosmopolitan mix of such a large number of social groups will provide an unparalleled Mediterranean experience during my time here.

Over the course of the year, I will update this blog with musings from my teaching, tips from my travels and comments on culture.

So far, I have been able to visit a couple of the major tourist sites and work my way around the town. Certainly, it is easy to see why some of the myths around Marseille have sprung up and captured the local imagination. Amongst a host of well-to-do south of France cities, Marseille is very obviously loud and conspicuous, as evidenced by its inhabitants and its buildings.

Notre Dame de la Garde

City planning certainly bears little resemblance to the uniform boulevards of Paris. Instead, each arrondissement appears to have its own feel and distinctive personality that change frequently.  Within moments of walking down a huge thoroughfare, you could be on cramped side streets, where buildings jut out, graffiti is scrawled over ever surface and you are beeped at from mopeds driving the wrong way along a one way system (apparently accepted behaviour). Buildings are generally old, with no modern skyscrapers or business districts. The tile roofs are quite ramshackle and there is no overall sense of flow.

Notre Dame de la Garde Interior

Having said that, the view from Notre Dame de la Garde – a huge basilica overlooking the city – renders these points moot and paints Marseille in a warm glow under the Mediterranean sun. Notre Dame itself is a glorious building and a testament to the dedication of its architects, who did not allow the isolated and difficult hills of Marseille to become an obstacle in the construction of this mammoth cathedral.

The interior is lavishly decorated in an appropriate sea theme, with cupolas representing sea voyages from both biblical stories and myths. Walls are covered in paintings and pictures that relate to the sea and wooden figures of ships hang from the ceiling. A visitor is made instantly aware of its unique position as the church that looks out over the port of this city, the oldest in France. A top the bell tower, a statue of Mary and child stand keeping guard, and many people in the town visit the church to ask for her protection and to give thanks.

Palais Longchamp

Elsewhere, the Palais Longchamp is one of only a few public gardens in the city centre. It was constructed in order to commemorate the building of a canal into Marseille, and in keeping with this heritage, the main façade of the ornate building is dubbed the “Chateau d’eau” (Water Palace), with several fountains, lakes and basins.

Of course, the generous climate in Marseille means that September is still very much summer (especially for a Northerner), so the beaches in the 8^th arrondissement have also been a highlight, with different stone and sandy beaches, shops, restaurants and water sports.

That’s all for now. I will update the blog as much as I can with work commitments, and hopefully talk a little about my experiences throughout the year.