l'education

After my first week in France, the harsh reality set in that my true purpose for being here is, in fact, to study. But now that I've gotten through the first week I feel ready to learn me some French.

I am taking six classes in French - Advanced French for Foreign Students, English to French Translation, French Geography, French History, Introduction to Mythology and Study of Modern Art. They are not easy.

As for classes in English, I've got five of those; Britain in the World, American Civilization (the classes I'm taking cover specifically America in the Fifties, our judicial system and our higher education system), British History, English Literature and Religious Drama.

The French system for registering and scheduling classes is, by American standards, utterly insane. Classrooms can change at any time so you have to check the location every day. To sign up for classes, we all piled into a big room with the schedules posted on the walls and you just have to shove your way around to see them. It didn't help that the names of the courses didn't always match those in the course catalogs we were given.

Oddly, their way of teaching is much more efficient than what I'm used to. There generally are no required textbooks, and the "recommended" books are in the library. The teachers lecture on everything you need to know, but that means you have to go to class and take good notes every day (I usually leave an hour and a half class with four pages of notes).

But professors don't have office hours and they don't give you any contact information, nor their first names. Classes seldom start on time. People can usually tell just by looking at you that you're not French.