September 27, 2007

September 27, 2007

Quite a bit has happened since the last time I wrote!

I started teaching last week. I have over 300 students per week. I teach 8 classes of Masters level English, 6 classes of “Professional License” level (These are students that have chosen to complete a 3rd year of university before moving on to get a job or deciding to start a masters program.), and 2 classes of general English for Chinese students that are studying here in France. It certainly makes for some interesting lesson planning.

I am in charge of the students’ spoken English. The good thing is that it is a conversation class, so I won’t have a lot of papers to grade! I expected some sort of guidance as to what exactly I was supposed to teach from my coordinator, however, his instructions were, “ Get them to speak.” So, the first day, I had them introduce themselves, tell me what they did last summer and one interesting fact about themselves. Apparently, the word ‘interesting’ posed a problem, because I had several responses that were, “ I am interesting by…” So I had to tell them the difference between “I am interesting” and “I am interested in.” You never know what will cause problems for other people. I also had them name 3 differences between France and the United States. This made for some interesting discussions about stereotypes. Things like, “Americans drive big cars. Americans eat a lot of fast food.” I also had them name 3 things that a tourist might do in Clermont-Ferrand. I was hoping to kill two birds with one stone by getting suggestions from them for me while still working on their English. However, I have done most of the things that they suggested. Then, I had them introduce one of their classmates to the rest of the class by naming 5 things about them. They had a problem understanding the concept of working with a “partner.” Some of them thought that they were supposed to talk about their boyfriend or girlfriend, so we had to have that discussion to clear things up. One person claimed that one of their partner’s hobbies was “pimping his ride.” I opted not to explain that one to the class. To end the class, I introduced an idiomatic expression for them to try to figure out. I wrote, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.” I thought it would be good for them to try to figure the phrase out, but it was also applicable to the class. Overall, I think the first day went well, but I am going to have to be extremely organized.

I had my first chamber choir rehearsal this week. Our rehearsals are held in one of the schools near my apartment. It looks nothing like a school, however. It’s more like a castle or a really old home that just happens to be a school as well. I wasn’t sure I was even in the right place, until I saw the director open the very large gate. We have just one concert this semester in December. Here is what we are singing:

“O Magnum Mysterium” by Thomas Luis de Vittoria
“In dulci jubilo” by Samuel Scheidt
“Afferentur” by Anton Bruckner
“O Magnum Mysterium” by Francis Poulenc
“Hodie Christus Natus Est” by Francis Poulenc
“O Magnum Mysterium” by Giovanni Gabrielli
“Tota pulchra es” by Anton Bruckner

We are also singing songs by Bennett and Mendelssohn that haven’t arrived yet. He has me singing soprano. I feel so vocally out of shape, but I survived the first rehearsal, so it couldn’t have been all that bad. I am temped to warn him that there is no volume control once you go past a certain pitch, but I’m sure he’ll find that out on his own.

I am still trying to finish all of my paperwork. I had an appointment today with the Prefecture. I am definitely learning the fine art of the argument. You have to fight for every little thing and insist that you know what you are talking about. Otherwise, they will screw you over. I am also still trying to register for classes. Apparently, I was sent to the wrong department, so I had to start all over again. I went to visit the International Relations office, and they sent me to the exact same person that I went to the first time. Only this time, I had a note from their office. I explained my situation in exactly the same way as I did the first time. Who knew that a handwritten note on a pink piece of paper could be so powerful? I am now on the right track. However, I have to be officially accepted into their masters program before I can take classes, which started last week. So if I ever even get to take these classes, I will be behind. They have to do an analysis of my transcript to determine what classes to try to get me into. We shall see if it works. I did find a music and literature class, but it is an undergraduate level course. It’s just a survey course, but I am going to try to keep going, because I think it might help me find my thesis topic.

I helped my friend Emily to do her blonde highlights, however it turned out to be a disaster. It turned out orange. So she had to make a very expensive trip to the hairdresser to fix the damage, and there are still orange spots. That’s why I am glad that my hair is all one color. You can’t go wrong with brown.

I hope to be planning a weekend trip soon. We are hoping to go to Switzerland, Luxemburg, and Spain this semester, but I will just have to see how far I can stretch the money and my free time.
That’s all for now, but be prepared for more crazy teaching stories!