Glossary

Académie: France is organized into about 25 “académies,” which are regions of authority within the school system. I'm working in the Académie de Nice. A map of France showing the different académies:

BNP: the French bank where I have an account

Bouygues: a French phone company

Helen: another English assistant in Grasse, from England

Katie: another English assistant in Grasse, from Scotland; one of my roommates

Leticia: a Spanish assistant in Grasse, from Spain; one of my roommates

Lycée: French word for "high school"

Marina (French): a French friend from Paris

Marina (Italian): an Italian assistant in Grasse, from Italy

Marina (Russian): a Russian assistant in the Académie de Nice

NIF: French financial identification number

Orange: a French phone company, where I got my prepaid SIM card

Quand même: this can mean lots of different things, but in this context the best translation is an indignant (jokingly in this case) “Honestly!” or “Really!”

If you’re interested, you can look here for examples of other uses: http://french.about.com/od/vocabulary/a/quandmeme.htm 

SFR: a French phone company, where I'm getting a monthly phone plan

TAPIF: Teaching Assistant Program in France

Virginie: the teacher who is hosting me until I find an apartment