La rentrée

Monday was my first day of class in a real French University with real French students. Right now, I will say (tentatively) that it went well. On the plus side, two different French girls asked me if they were in the right place for Littérature Classique. I count this as a win because a) I looked French and b) I looked like I knew what I was doing. However, my first lecture was very difficult. The professor talked very quickly and did not articulate particularly well, so it took all of my brain power just to listen and follow what he was saying. In the end, I hardly got any notes down because it took too much effort just to listen and comprehend, let alone worrying about the phrasing, spelling, and organization of notes. But I did follow everything he was saying. So overall, it was another win.

This morning, I had my first discussion section for this class. When the French say discussion section, what they actually mean is a three hour lecture for 50 people as opposed to 300. And it started at 8 a.m. To top it off, I could not just roll out of bed and rush off to class. I live a half hour metro ride away from the first and second year building at Malsherbes and wasn't sure of the classroom! So, I arrived at the building at 7:30. Thankfully, this building is arranged logically, unlike the mess formally known as the Sorbonne proper, and all classroom-searching went smoothly.

As for the class itself, I sat closer to the front where it was easier to hear the professor (who spoke much more clearly than the last one), and I was actually able to get some good notes! They're not perfect, and I've been doing a lot of verifying online, but overall, it went very well. However, I am a little worried about our assignments. Our grade is based on two in-class essays and an oral presentation. Both of these tasks are quite daunting given the fact that I write much slower than the average French student, I like to have both at dictionary and grammar book beside me as I write, and, it's even harder to speak eloquently (especially under pressure) than to write eloquently in French! Hopefully after a couple weeks I'll get into the swing of things, and with some practice, neither assignment will eat me alive.

Tomorrow I'm looking forward to sleeping in, then art history at the Louvre! Bonne nuit tout le monde!