The Big CHANGE

After spring break we started over with new professors. I am no longer with my beloved Claude - he has to get surgery done on his shoulder and is not going to be here for awhile!!

So, the group has switched it up and we are now with Gisele - a funky, very french, crazy jewelery woman who is genuinely interested in discussion. Seeing as we are here to speak french (what?!) I will take discussion over grammar any day!! She is definitely not Claude, but I have to keep telling myself that. A bunch of the people in class don't like the way she teaches - she is used to teaching a class below us.

Also we have "acquired"
a Swiss German (she is actually just Swiss, but speaks Swiss German, so therefore, she is different?!)
a Russian
two "petite mexicans"
to go along with our group

It makes for an interesting dynamic to have other nationalities than Americans in the room!

I did have a happy moment the other day at dinner while we were sitting around. There were about 5 nationalities sitting at this table. A friend of mine was trying to explain something to a Russian in English and I said it in French, it made sense, and we had this moment of connecting through French. It was actually pretty cool because I don't speak German, Spanish, Russian, Norwegian, or Italian and haven't even heard of Swiss German until now but we do all have that common language of French while we are here.

As for classes they are going quite well. I'm enjoying my French Civ class a lot - learning about the different regions of France. I really really really want to go to the Loire Valley and take a hot air balloon ride through the region and see the chateaus! I might just make that happen in the next few weeks! Art class we got a new professor which has made going to the class a lot more bearable! She is much better than the other one, so I'm enjoying the class a lot more - even though I know nothing about art history.