My first test, ouais !

I had my first test. Pretty easy, but the kind of stuff that I make stupid mistakes on.

Okay, so today I'm going to tell you about my opportunities, and I'll ask for your feedback (GIVE ME FEEDBACK OR I WON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE).

Things I'm definitely going to do:
Open a French bank account (this is difficult) with HSBC.

Get a Carte Imaginaire (A year-long pass to ride the Tram, Train, and Bus).


Things I'm considering:

Applying for Glimpse.org. This is something supported by National Geographic, and there are posters all over IES so we know it's legit. If you follow the link, you can see what it's all about.

Why would I apply for Glimpse: I think it would be awesome to get career training in writing and photography, and then I could maybe find a way to highlight the cultural differences AND similarities in Paris (and with a stipend I could travel to other parts in France and look more closely at the differences there). While Paris is extremely similar to larger American cities in many ways, there are some major differences that can trip up even the most seasoned French tourist, not to mention the unsuspecting tourists.

On the other hand, I could use the stipend to fund a short stay in French-speaking Africa (not Mali, since I've been there), and I could write about the impact of colonization in Africa, how they are (or are not) progressing after being liberated (or abandoned?), and how current French culture manifests itself in these francophone regions.

Why I would not apply for Glimpse: Looking at the lists of current 'correspondents,' it seems like almost all of them are based in foreign countries that are quite 'exotic,' where they are not at all normal students, where nobody would assume them to be natives at first glance. Paris versus Vietnam? Which would you choose? Which is more interesting? And finally, would my writing and photography be good enough for this program? I don't think it is. I wasn't even accepted to be an IES blogger!

And finally, my host mother has told me that I absolutely may stay in the apartment during Christmas and winter vacation. She offered to bring me along on her family vacation. If I agreed, I wouldn't be able to spend Christmas with Michelle (something we were counting on). I think I would probably be very homesick during Christmas, and being with a French family that I know à peine (I'm forgetting my English!) and not having any way of knowing what gifts to bring or the traditions... that might be really lonely. So I'm thinking I want to stay in the apartment and have Michelle come over for about a week around Christmas time, but then I would be missing a real French Christmas experience. What do I want to do? I could always have Michelle over just before or just after Christmas, except I don't know how long this Christmas family vacation would take!

In other news, I have half of my schedule completed.

"Why half?" you ask.

"Well, I'll tell you," I respond.

You sit down with your listening cap on, and I begin. "So I went to this meeting on Tuesday afternoon-"

"What kind of meeting?" you interrupt. But I stare you down until you slouch back a little bit. This is my story.

"I went to a meeting on Tuesday with Jeanne, the academic coordinator at IES," I continue. "She has an American husband who doesn't like French showers, and her kids are bicultural, and they don't understand why she is afraid of American showers.

"But I sat down in her office, and she said, 'Are you still taking the Theatre in Paris course?'

"'Yes.'

"'Are you still taking the Comic Strips and Society course?'

"'Yes.'

"'And Word and Image [author's note - this is an art and literature course]?'

"'Yes.'

"'And you haven't changed your mind about any of these?'

"'Um, no?'

"'Okay,' she said, 'And you're in the earliest Translation course. What are you taking to fill the rest of the required credits?'

"I responded, 'Well, I want to take some history courses at the Sorbonne... but do you know the schedule yet of those classes so I can sign up for them?'

"'No,' she said curtly, 'they haven't sent me their course hours yet, so you'll have to do something in the meantime. Why not sign up for some courses at the Catholic Institute of Paris (ICP) so, just in case you get the hours at the Sorbonne and can't fit any of those courses into your schedule, you'll still have the classes you need?'

"'Um, okay.' I said. So we went through the courses and signed up for two that are possible. She marked that I would prefer to take courses at the Sorbonne.

"'Anything else you need?' she asked.

"'I said, 'I do need to translate the course descriptions into English and send them to the History Department of my college to ask if they can accept any of them as my official History credits. Is there any way you could send me the description of the courses, even if we don't have the hours yet?'

"'Of course, I'll email it to you now,' she said.

So I went downstairs to the computer room to check my email. She had emailed me last year's course schedule... so I now have last year's course hours, but not their descriptions."

You listen and nod. "Yep," you conclude, "that sucks."

"So that is how I have half a schedule," I finish.

Meanwhile, leave me a message and let me know what you think of these things I may or may not do.