My (second) first impressions

I've had my first weekend in Angers! It started very nicely. Friday night, I went to my former host-mother's (Catherine's) apartment and had dinner. I got to meet the students that are staying with her now and see her and her good friend Jacotte again. When I walked into the apartment, it was like I was entering my second home. I have some wonderful memories from my first visit to Angers there, and it was really comforting to enter a familiar atmosphere. Of course, the dinner was delectable, and we did some catching up. It was such a lovely evening.

I started the weekend in a very French way - I went shopping at the Saturday market! You can get fresh produce, meats, breads, etc on Saturday morning. My intention was to help Catherine carry her groceries, but it turned out that she helped me pick out mine! I bought some zucchini, potatoes, apples, pears, eggs, and an onion. The vendors are so nice, and it challenges me linguistically because I hear so many different French accents at the market. I'm looking forward to going back next weekend.

Sunday I went on a trip with other students who live in the same student residence that I do to Brittany. An Italian student reserved a private bus to travel to Mont St. Michel and St. Malo - two cities in the Brittany region. We were able to fill it up with about 50 students, so the cost only came to be about 16 euros a piece. It was a very cost effective way of traveling! I had had the opportunity to travel to the two cities my last trip in France, and I found them to be just as charming the second time as I did the first time.

I really appreciated the trip because it allowed me to meet other students living in my residence. I'm surprised at how many international students are living in my building - we have Italians, Americans, Spaniards, Germans, Bulgarians, Belgians, and the list continues! The students I met are very friendly, and it's nice to have the faces in the building be familiar now!

The weekend came to an end quickly, and my classes started on Monday. I had 5 hours of classes, seeing 5 different groups each for one hour. I was so tired by the end of the day; I realized that I have to work up my teaching endurance again! The classes overall went well. There was one class of 27 students that was a little overwhelming; this group of students are in their first year here at the IPLV, so their language skills in English are not as strong. With a group so big, it was hard to give them the individual attention that they needed, which resulted in lots of whispering in French among the students. I've talked to the supervisor, and we've come up with a solution of how to decrease the class size - we're splitting the group in half and I'm meeting each group every other week. I think the conversations will be more fruitful that way.

It's funny to see the differences between the American school administration and the French administration. I am so used to having everything organized in advance. The schedule for universities in the U.S. seem to be set by the time students arrive. Here, they are still working on a schedule even after several weeks of the students being here. Sometimes it frustrates me, but then I remind myself that I am in a different country and that it's an experience for me work under a different kind of system. It's definitely teaching me flexibility and patience.

I also have the pleasure of taking a French class here through the CIDEF (the French language program for foreigners here at the Catho where I studied before). I am taking business French, a class that I have wanted to take since my first trip to Angers. I am learning a lot about the formalities and the basic functioning of French business. I think this new information will be very helpful for my future students.

Tomorrow, I get to have lunch with a Meredith alumna named Debra. She was one of the first lectrices here in Angers from Meredith. She met a British man during her stay here, whom she married, and now teaches English at the IPLV. I'm looking forward to chatting about the lectrice position, how it's changed over the years, and reminiscing about Meredith. I'll be sure to give you an update on that later this week.

Hope all is well with you in the U.S.! A bientot.