i AM here for academics...BLAH.

H'okay. So. (Bahaha, if you understand this reference, congratulations!!!! If not...tant pis!)

Phonetics: I actually kinda like this class. While translating some words into API (IPA for you English folks), I did find it a little difficult, but not terribly so. It's a challenge that I can accept. I have only had the Theory part of the class, so I have no idea what Lab has in store tomorrow afternoon. I can't ever remember my professor's name, but she's nice. :)

History of France: M. Charbonnier (could you get any more French than that name???) has a very interesting pitch (I hope that's the right word), but he's nice and a little funny, too. I don't want to fall asleep during his class, so it's not all that bad. As for today's class, if you want to hear a funny story about what I did, ask me. (Not necessarily approved for all readers...) We've been learning about La Révolution Française. Typical, of course. Today we pretty much ended class with the king being decapitated. YAY! Way to end on a high note, M. Charbonnier!

Contemporary World Politics: I've only had this class once and have it tomorrow morning, but I LOVE IT. LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT. The professor is dry and speaks a little monotonously, but if I remember correctly, he did something important in the French government during de Gaulle's presidency. Booyah - you gotta admit that's cool. I took a lot of notes last time, but it was worth every single word. So interesting!! :)

Literature: I hate this course with an undying and actually proliferative passion. This course makes me want to bash my head against a wall. The professor's voice annoys the hell out of me and even more annoying is when she "looks" at the class, she actually looks just above everyone's head. That is one of my biggest pet peeves for professors. If you're talking to me, look at me, idiot! (Sorry, moving on.) Le Silence de la Mer by Vercors is the first book we're reading. I have read two paragraphs on the first page. I looked up over a dozen words, put the book down, and started to cry...profusely. I still have no idea what I read, and I still have no idea how I'm going to survive this course. If push comes to shove, I'll make Ani tell me everything. (Ha ha just kidding - don't go crazy and send me to Honor Council, you nutso people!) I'll read it...if I can actually understand anything I've read. Hmph. It's only going to get harder from here. *hangs head low and whimpers*

French slang: So far, very interesting. We've only had class once (since it's only a credit hour), but I feel like I've already learned a few things. We're actually reading a book for VOCABULARY and NOT to ANALYZE it. Freaking awesomeness to the max, people. The MAX.

And last but not least - Langue: So far, I love this course and I think the professor is freaking amazing. So nice, so helpful, so funny. 2 hours of that class at a time doesn't bother me at all because she always keeps things going. We've been analyzing (mostly for vocab) "Le Slam" and eventually we're going to have a sort of vocabulary test because she has given us 10 million synonyms for the words we didn't quite know within the text. And she says she has a near perfect memory, so she's going to know exactly what to put on the test. Silly, Madame. So far (and I hate to say this), she's climbing quickly up the likability charts for French teachers/professors. Madame Allison is still number one, but Madame Florence is most certainly going to give Allison a run for her money. (Allison, si tu lis cela, ne me tue pas!!! Je t'aime encore, je te jure!!!) I'll tell you about the dossier (paper) that I have to write next time.

I'm tired and my eyes are getting all sticky, which means I need to sleep soon. :)

Je vous aime beaucoup!!! I still have lots to tell, but I'm just so darn tired.
A plus tard,
JH