Classes

Ahhhhh it is Saturday morning and for the first time since I have gotten here I have actually had a few hours to relax and get re-charged, it feels so nice!

So I started classes on Wednesday and they have gone really well so far.  Every day the schedule is a little bit different, but I basically have four classes while I am here.  Langue is the main class and it is dominated by grammar and oral comprehension.  The prof is probably one of the most beautiful woman I have every met in my whole life. (Other than my mom :-) )  She is also extremely patient and kind, and has a lot of passion for teaching French.  We then split up into smaller groups for Oral Comprehension; a graduate assistant plays games with us or asks us questions so that we practice speaking french.  French Civilization is a basic overview of the culture and politics of France, and finally there is a listening lab where we watch french skits and fill out worksheets.  Doesn't sound too bad at all right?  Wrong!!!  It is actually really hard because everything is taught in French!  There is not a single English word spoken or written in any text. In my class there are students from Zazakastan, Italy, Ireland, China, Japan, Philippines, and the Czech Republic.  So French is the common language instead of English, which is such a bizarre concept for me to wrap my head around.  The cool thing about it is that we are forced to speak French or not speak at all.  At my OSU class if I didn't understand something I would just ask in English, but now if I don't understand something I have to first figure out how to ask it in French and then understand what the prof or classmate is trying to explain.  It takes so much thought and concentration it is very draining.  Needless to say my French is improving rapidly and immensely - I have no other choice!