I have 15 minutes before I need to go read to the ladies at the retirement home. Let’s get a blog post out by then so I am not bombarded by insults and requests any longer.
In light of the exam I just took, I am going to postpone stories of wandering the gardens of Clos Lucé and staring down gargoyles in Blois for another day. Instead, I am going to answer my readers’ most pressing question: do I actually go to class here?
Indeed I do. I am currently taking 18 credit hours but Notre Dame likes to pretend that three of those don’t exist so I am only getting credit for 15. Thanks again ND. To give you a run down:
-Langue (language and grammar)-so long, so many days.
-Socio Étude Culturelle (French culture studies)-Want to know all the presidents of the fifth republic? I don’t know if I can even name the last five presidents in American (jokes..I think.)
-Histoire de France (French history)-for some reason I am loving history. I’m pretty sure I’ve told every person I talk to this random fact but: once you’re guillotined you retain consciousness for 10 seconds. Weird stuff.
-Molière-Molière was a French playwright and I am binging on his plays for a semester. He is a rather funny fellow but this class is only once a week for three hours so it can be a little brutal for those of us who don’t have an attention span that long.
-Traduction (translation)-holy moly there goes my GPA. This class is practical and I really like it but SO CHALLENGING. To illustrate how challenging it is let me provide the grading scale for this class (out of 20 points)
20-reserved for God
19-reserved for Jesus Christ
18-reserved for the Virgin Mary
17-reserved for my professor
16-this is what you can get if you turn in an absolutely perfect paper (good thing I have no idea what that looks like). For us mere mortals, we’re in the 8-13 zone. Not good my friends.
You all probably think I am being sassy right now, but no. This exact chart is in my notes which I copied verbatim from the lips of my professor. So why isn’t the scale just out of 16 points? I don’t know. Why is my professor only one less point from the Virgin Mary? I don’t know that either. But welcome to France my dear readers!
The other thing that is much different than my quaint home under the Dome is the scheduling of classes. For example, if you are registering for classes (DARTing if you will), classes tend to be MWF (psh who takes Friday classes??—So MW for Arts and Letters) or Tues/Thurs. This makes life simple and you can get into a routine fairly easily. Then you come to France, and there is no rhyme or reason for when any of your classes are scheduled. Case and point:
Langue: Mon/Tues 9:00-11:00am, Thurs 10:00am-12:00pm
Socio-Etude: Mon 1:30-3:30pm, Fri 1:30-2:30
History : Thurs 1 :30-3 :30pm, Fri 2 :30-3 :30pm
Moliere : Thurs 3:45pm-7:45pm
Translation: Mon 6:00-7:00pm, Wed 8:00-9:00am
So things are a little haphazard here. In addition, we don’t know when/where our finals are until the week of finals. Our professors just decide…eventually.
Final notes on my education here: in general, my classes aren’t that challenging, mostly because the professors are teaching to students who speak approximately 12 different languages. I think we have it quite a bit easier because English words often resemble French ones, but the Asian students (who compose a large majority of our program) have very little to work with. [Side note: please pray for all the Japanese students here who cannot get in contact with their families or who have received terrible news.] However, I am learning a lot about different cultures which is a really great experience. I also am adjusting to having class on Fridays AND before 10:00a.m….it’s like I’m no longer an Arts and Letters major.
I am also forced to use the language everyday in all my classes, with my host family, in shops and restaurants, etc. so I am improving greatly which is what I truly came here to do. And if all else fails, I am learning a lot about French food through my own studies so all is not lost. Bon appetite mes amis!
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