La Sorbonne (Part Deux)

My suspicions were confirmed.  I did absolutely terrible on the placement exam.  Well, I actually don't know what my grade was, but La Sorbonne found it fit that I was placed in Francais Elementaire, which is the level between beginners and intermediate.  At first I was a little upset, but then I found out I had the same class with 2 other CEA girls, one of which is my roommate, and when we all went to class together I had a mini revelation.  Obviously, no one understands and speaks French better than, you guessed it, the French.  They know what to look for and how to truly test proficiency in nonnative speakers.  So, I have decided to trust their judgment and enjoy this class to the fullest.  Yesterday's class was easy and enjoyable and I'm sincerely hoping this isn't just the case for the first day.  My professor is very nice and interactive.  We refreshed some basics, introduced ourselves (always fun), and had a dictation, which I seriously rocked.  Woot! It is a little intimidating, however, that the class is solely in French.  There is absolutely no English.  This is because not everyone is from the United States or English speaking countries.  Kaley, my roommate, sat next to a girl from Iceland and the guy in front of me was Chinese.  French is the only common language we all share, which is fascinating but a little tricky with learning, but I'm sure I'll get used to it. 

My class is from 9-11 AM and it isn't actually on the Sorbonne's campus.  I guess when I signed up for the program I pictured myself going to school in the Pantheon (which doesn't even have classrooms), so it was interesting to learn how the Sorbonne is set up in the Latin Quarter of Paris.   All of the university's buildings are spread out so I will be having class literally on the left bank in a building about 2 steps away from the Notre Dame.  It's beautiful and a central location!  I only have to take one metro line, which I am beyond thrilled about!  The way that this class works is the regular grammar component from 9-11 everyday for the first and last week of class.  Then, in the middle two weeks on top of the regular grammar class I have a phonetics class from 11:30-12:30.  It's actually really cool.  It doesn't start until next week but I'm assuming we'll go over pronunciation and vocabulary.  This gives me 40 hours of grammar instruction and 10 of phonetics, making that a grand total of 50 contact hours, which is the equivalent of 3 credits.  Yay!! 

So I've gotten a great start to my French class and then today there wasn't even any class.  It's Ascension Day, which is a French holiday.  No one had school last night so a bunch of us went out and hit up all the gay bars.  It was interesting...I'll spare you the details, but it was a total blast!  I think we're doing some shopping today.  I absolutely need to get to a Zara.  I actually just made up a wishlist of everything I want to do while I'm here in Paris.  I figure, if I have to do a lot of stuff after class then I'm going to have to be organized about it.  There are a lot of museums, gardens, and cafes on there, but I think I can do it.  I've seen the majority of major monuments for the most part, but now I want to go to Hemingway's favorite restaurant and see Debussy's grave.  Fun fact, actually.  The Parc de Montsouris was often frequented by Hemingway during his stay here in Paris.  I think that is so cool!  I walk the same path to the Metro everyday that Ernest Hemingway walked in the 1920s.  Somebody pinch me!