First Day of Class!

So today was my first day of class and I was freaked! I had no idea what was going to happen. I walked over there early and couldn't find the place we were supposed to be at. They had changed the room and told no one, and of course I looked like an idiot trying to find out where I needed to go. I found another lady who was going with me as well so we tag teamed it and figured it out. After going in, they discussed the prices of classes, schedule, and some other business. I placed into FLE 3, and the highest is 4! I was very proud of myself and I guess I know French better than I thought. I was very surprised at this, but I feel a little more confident now. Kristen and Jacques are also in FLE 3 with me so it will be nice to have friends! We get the forms for registration and after this meeting, Kristen and I sit down to fill them out and get WAY confused. There was stuff about insurance, degrees, all this information we had no idea about. We decided it was best to leave it alone, e-mail our higher powers, and go to lunch. It was SO nice to have a real meal and be around other people. We ate and had about a two hour break before class. I will have class Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Monday I go from 3:30-6:30, Tuesday from 2:00-6:30, and Thursday I go from 9:30-11:00 and 2:00-6:30. I am taking "Pratique d'oral, societe francaise, methodolgie universitaire, langue, techniques d'expression, phonetique, comprehension de l'oral, comprehension de textes, and pratique de l'ecrit". Of course there are accent marks there, but I do not know how to do that on the computer yet :) My first class went well. We did an introduction activity that was typical of any first day. I had a South Korean partner named Martial who was 25, liked the color black, and actually had his birthday today. I also became the running joke of the class and the day because I said where he lived. I got really excited because he lived in my building so I thought, "New Friend! Yay!" but the class thought "stalker". It was quite entertaining, and I guess everyone knows who I am now. Next was my societe francaise class. We took some quizzes on French history, politics, cinema, science, and the like. I knew nothing and felt oh so smart. Jacques was a know-it-all but would claim he knew nothing so he got to be the joke of this class. Kristen and I felt it was adqeuate to make educated guesses which worked out just fine....ish. We then were given a map of France and had to label different cities and then ALL the provinces, and there are like 30. That's my homework and Google Maps is going to become my friend shortly.

After class, Jacques asked Kristen and I if we wanted to go get coffee with Lelani and Jacques. I've noticed that the French drink coffee like Americans drink pop. It is a social thing, and it is done before meals, after meals, with meals, whenever! It can come in teeny-tiny cups or big ones, and there are even coffee vending machines! Crazy, but soon to become my best friend I am sure! We said yes and went to this palce called "La Royalty" (I think) and enjoyed hot chocolate and good conversation. I will be going to my first ever rugby game this weekend! I am excited! We also talked about planning trips and horror hostel stories. A couple hours later it was time for dinner and we went to a buffet called Buffet du Monde. It was very good! I wasn't sure what some of the stuff I ate was, but it was very good. I was a tad adventurous and am going to make it a priority to try new things each time I go out. We all shared a bottle of red and white wine. The red was good but the white was SO much better. I am just a white wine drinker I guess. Of course, coffee followed after all this! Time flew by so fast, and the next thing it is 11:00 and we are just leaving. As we walked out, we heard cows being slaughtered. It was sad, but interesting because I have never seen the type of place where it happens, much less hear the sounds of the cows.

Today was a very good day. Classes will be good, and I feel much better talking to people in my classes because we are all on the same level. In the classes we can only speak French, and so regardless of if it is good or not, I have no choice but to talk to the other students in French. I am surprised by the amount of Korean and Chinese students in my class. Out of the 30, about 25 were Korean or Chinese. Obviously I do not know any Korean or Chinese so French sounds pretty good most of the time. Although I don't quite understand all the teacher is saying, I know it will click after a few weeks of class, and I can catch on for the most part. I am beginning to really like it here :) It is going to be wonderful and I am excited to see what else this week brings!

lovelovelove,
Teryn