classes finally!

It is with great pleasure that I can finally say that I know what classes I will be taking this semester. It was very weird to be in a position where I not only did not know what classes I would be taking but also not knowing when they would be.

On Monday we took a placement test which mostly tested our knowledge of grammar, written expression and comprehension. Yesterday (Friday) we found out the results. There are 6 levels of French at CIEF ranging from beginner to intermediate to advanced, with the last being mastery, and I found out that I was in 5 which was a level higher than I thought I would be and therefore immensely pleases me. 

Practically it means that I'll be a lot busier than my fellow UNH students. I have 6 French language classes, each of which is 2 hours long, a 3 hour French Civilization course and then as much as 8 hours of culture classes a week. When totaling the possible hours (23) it's quite daunting but nevertheless I'm quite excited. If I have six hours of class a week where I specifically work on my French, I'm quite sure that by the time June rolls around I'll be at the very least competent!

The Place Wilson (where I live) kiosque at night.

The 6 French classes I will be taking are:

1. Expression techniques
2. Oral Expression
3. Written Expression
4. Oral Comprehension
5. Written Comprehension
6. Grammar

The culture classes that I am interested in taking. I may take all of the culture classes but at the end of the semester can choose three classes that I will take exams for. Each of these classes only takes place every two weeks, so while it looks like a lot of different subjects, I'd only be really taking three culture classes this semester.

1. Contemporary French History - Social and cultural history of France after 1945 to the present
2. Political Panorama - France in Europe and the world in the 20th century
3. Art History - Art from 1910 to 1970
4. Literature - French literature in the 20th century
5. Philosophy - pretty self explanatory...I'm not convinced on this one
6. The vine and the wine

Lastly, despite the fact that I'll have quite a load I do get Mondays off which is most important because it means I'll get three day weekends and an extra day to travel on the weekends. Immediately it means that the bus strike on Monday won't effect me because I won't have to take the bus!