The park next to the Metro Sévres-Babylone is not the prettiest one that I have visited, but it the closest to my class and so it has become the perfect place to come to relax on my crazy Thursdays. I have 4 classes today and each runs 2 hours so I am trying to soak in as much of Paris as possible between lectures. Fall has officially arrived here and the ground is covered with crunchy brown leaves—in contrast, the leaves on the trees are still green, I think they must die and fall off overnight because I do not see much “fall color”.
This park is next to the Bon Marché—the “designer” shopping center that I wandered into my first week amidst glares at my blue jeans—so the clientele of the park are very fashionable and mainly use it as a shortcut from one street to the next. There is a carrousel, as there are in most parks here, but on a gray weekday afternoon there are no children to keep it going. It is still staffed though and I wonder what one would be paid to sit in an empty park all day waiting for someone to slide into on to the back of Minnie or Mickey Mouse. It wouldn’t be a very exciting job, but I don’t think I would mind it.
Today is my long day my 2nd week of classes. Yes—this blog is going to describe my courses (since that is how I spending the majority of my time) so if it doesn’t interest you, you want to skip this one. J I am taking seven—all in English except for the French Language course. I absolutely love them all. I’m one of only a few international students taking all of my courses in English and have received criticism from some of the other students for this: my justification—I need these courses for graduation and am certain that any class I would take in French would not present me with a passing final grade. I am hoping that next semester I will feel more confident and be able to take one or two. The great thing about taking them in English though is that half of my class is comprised of French students and they are much more open to talk international students who speak the language. Also, the courses in English are widely considered to be much better/more interesting. Seeing as I am happy with them all, I agree!
I had my first exposé yesterday morning and presented with a French girl. When I arrived to meet with her on Monday morning, the first thing she said was “Ah, you brought your computer! Everyone told me that Americans always work on computers!” It turns out that I was the sole exception though as I had brought my computer for another class and had prepared on paper. It turns out that our methods of preparation (mine with a more historical and analytical perspective and hers with a more detailed, structured and rhetoric oriented one) combined perfectly and I think went really well. We’ll have to wait to find out. It was pretty cool to see what the differences in our educational backgrounds brought out. Even though I was the native English speaker, her vocabulary was much better then mine!
Each of my classes meets once a week for two hours and since I am taking 7 courses plus a sport, I have 16 hours of class time a week. This isn’t any more then back home but I’ve found that I have much less free time—the difference being that we are required to do much more background research on our own. We have obligatory readings for each course and then at least one presentation and essay during the semester. The real focus, however, is on the final which can range anywhere from an in-class dissertation to a 10 page research paper and usually accounts for at least 50% of your final grade in the course. In 2 of my courses, it accounts for 70%! To prepare for these, you are given a long list of recommended books and assumed to read a few of them, taking notes and developing theories. I think it is a good way to learn because in the end you are being tested on what you really understand, but it is also very time consuming—and for a girl who is in Europe for only one year, it is hard to say “no” to the Museé d’Orsay and instead go home to read about French Foreign Policy from 1870-Present.
BUT it must be done and so my adventures will have to wait for the weekends and 2-hour breaks between class….
The carousel just started for the first time in the hour that I have been here and I’m starting to really consider the profession of “carousel operator”—I think I would trade “the rise of Cardinal Richelieu” for Mickey Mouse—but just for one day.
This park is next to the Bon Marché—the “designer” shopping center that I wandered into my first week amidst glares at my blue jeans—so the clientele of the park are very fashionable and mainly use it as a shortcut from one street to the next. There is a carrousel, as there are in most parks here, but on a gray weekday afternoon there are no children to keep it going. It is still staffed though and I wonder what one would be paid to sit in an empty park all day waiting for someone to slide into on to the back of Minnie or Mickey Mouse. It wouldn’t be a very exciting job, but I don’t think I would mind it.
Today is my long day my 2nd week of classes. Yes—this blog is going to describe my courses (since that is how I spending the majority of my time) so if it doesn’t interest you, you want to skip this one. J I am taking seven—all in English except for the French Language course. I absolutely love them all. I’m one of only a few international students taking all of my courses in English and have received criticism from some of the other students for this: my justification—I need these courses for graduation and am certain that any class I would take in French would not present me with a passing final grade. I am hoping that next semester I will feel more confident and be able to take one or two. The great thing about taking them in English though is that half of my class is comprised of French students and they are much more open to talk international students who speak the language. Also, the courses in English are widely considered to be much better/more interesting. Seeing as I am happy with them all, I agree!
I had my first exposé yesterday morning and presented with a French girl. When I arrived to meet with her on Monday morning, the first thing she said was “Ah, you brought your computer! Everyone told me that Americans always work on computers!” It turns out that I was the sole exception though as I had brought my computer for another class and had prepared on paper. It turns out that our methods of preparation (mine with a more historical and analytical perspective and hers with a more detailed, structured and rhetoric oriented one) combined perfectly and I think went really well. We’ll have to wait to find out. It was pretty cool to see what the differences in our educational backgrounds brought out. Even though I was the native English speaker, her vocabulary was much better then mine!
Each of my classes meets once a week for two hours and since I am taking 7 courses plus a sport, I have 16 hours of class time a week. This isn’t any more then back home but I’ve found that I have much less free time—the difference being that we are required to do much more background research on our own. We have obligatory readings for each course and then at least one presentation and essay during the semester. The real focus, however, is on the final which can range anywhere from an in-class dissertation to a 10 page research paper and usually accounts for at least 50% of your final grade in the course. In 2 of my courses, it accounts for 70%! To prepare for these, you are given a long list of recommended books and assumed to read a few of them, taking notes and developing theories. I think it is a good way to learn because in the end you are being tested on what you really understand, but it is also very time consuming—and for a girl who is in Europe for only one year, it is hard to say “no” to the Museé d’Orsay and instead go home to read about French Foreign Policy from 1870-Present.
BUT it must be done and so my adventures will have to wait for the weekends and 2-hour breaks between class….
The carousel just started for the first time in the hour that I have been here and I’m starting to really consider the profession of “carousel operator”—I think I would trade “the rise of Cardinal Richelieu” for Mickey Mouse—but just for one day.
These are pictures from the park I run in:
The French are serious about their gardens: this means no dogs, no bikes, no picnics, no... :)
2 comments:
Lovely entry, I enjoyed how you began and ended with the park/carousel.
The system of classes there sounds interesting but stressful. How many credits does the average French student take? I liked how you described your classes (and wouldn't be opposed to reading all about each individual class ;) )
I will no longer be complaining about my Ethics workload. OK. That is a lie, I still will, but will think about you and how hard you are working :). I love you Cassie and I really hope I can Skype you soon!
x
Post a Comment