Traveling > Classes

Hello! It’s been a while since I’ve recapped what's been going on so I’ll try to recall this past week or so as best as I can. I’m not sure if I was clear from the start, but I am not attending a French university. Instead, I take all of my classes at my program’s “study center” with the other American students in my program. I feel I can accurately claim that I’m not attending “real” school. kind of a joke, sorry mom and dad. Though it may a joke work and grade wise, they have a strict attendance policy and it's kind of bumming me out. Classes are in full swing now and I am starting to see how the rest of the semester will go in each of them. My French classes are nothing special and pretty much all review. I like having easy French classes, it’s one less thing to worry about while I’m here.

My Memory and Commemoration class is awesome. I was not initially signed up for this class, however I’m so happy I switched. This class is a history class with a twist that teaches us about all of the historical landmarks around Paris and how they impact modern times. My favorite part about this class is the outings we go on regularly to each the sites we discuss. It’s a great way to see different parts of the city and a great way to break up three hours of classroom time.

Avant-Garde Art is an interesting class. Having no background in art history, I’m learning an incredible amount. The teacher is very nice and very French. Though his English is near perfect there are still some things that get lost in translation. It’s a fairly laid-back class and it’s fun to learn about world-renowned painters who lived and worked so close to home (my Parisian home anyways).

My 20th Century French Novel class will be the death of me. It is the most boring thing I’ve sat through in my entire life – including church, graduations, etc. Every Wednesday for about three hours I want to kill myself. Not only is my teacher completely monotone, but he also only lectures - there's no discussion. We are currently reading Marcel Proust’s “Swann’s Way” and I’m bored to tears. He talks for hours about aristocrats, art, music, and love. It’s going to be a long semester as far as that class is concerned.

Outside of class I’ve been trying to keep busy. My dad came to visit this past weekend before he went to work for a week in London. It was perfect timing because our Packers were in the Super Bowl. We found a bar that was broadcasting the game and ended up watching it with two other men we had met there. Kick off was at 12:30am Parisian time, but the extremely late night was well worth it. It was a great time, I’m so glad he was able to make the trip, and the Packers won!

I’ve got quite a bit of traveling coming up. Tonight I’ll fly to Spain with Hannah and we'll spend the weekend in Madrid and Toledo. Next weekend starts our winter break and we have the entire following week off of school. Sam, Hannah and I are doing a week in Italy. We plan to spend a day in Milan, four days in Florence, and three days in Rome. I am so excited for that trip! The weekend following that, I am taking a train to Strasbourg, France with Hannah and Jess for the weekend. Though I spent a couple weeks there years ago, I’m looking forward to going back. I will try to update about my Spanish adventures as soon as I get back. À bientôt!