School

I'd like to describe a regular school day for me, but there is the sole problem that my schedule changes so much from day to day that it's difficult to describe concisely! In fact, the scheduling is one of the biggest differences I've noticed between the two high school systems. In the US, the starting bell rang at 8:00 and the end bell rang at 3:00, give or take a half an hour. There was an hour (or less) for lunch, and a few ten minute breaks. The afternoons were yours to fill, with friends, extra-curriculars, and homework.

Here, however, things stretch on a little bit longer at school. Today, for example, my school day started at 10:00 am and finished at - wait for it - 6:00pm! However, I had a good two hours for lunch, and one free hour during the afternoon. (This free hour was another new phenomenon for me, since it was due to a teacher's absence. Rather than having substitute teachers, class is cancelled in a teacher isn't there). To be honest, my mind signs out of school any time after 4 o'clock, and I spend my evening classes just trying to keep my mind on the sound of the teacher's voice, let alone understanding what they say. Thankfully, Tuesday is the only other day I have class untill 6:00. On Monday and Friday I finnish at 4:00, and on Wednesday, I only have class from 11:00 to 12:00. The most bizarrely scheduled class is my Litterature class, which I have for two hours in the morning... on Saturday!

We had learned in French class at home that school days in France last far longer than school days in the US. I had always thought that, as a result of this, French students spent longer time in class than their American counterparts. However, I did the math the other day, and it turns out that the long days are mostly due to the long lunches and a number of hour long breaks in between classes.

While I can't say that I enjoy being in class at what used to be my dinner time, on the whole I don't mind this leisurely approach to scheduling. It gives me more opportunity to spend time with my classmates and ask questions about the homework I don't understand. I'm especially lucky to have a classe full of friendly and interesting people. It was easy to become friends with most of the students in my classe, since nearly a quarter of them were ready to take me under their wing on just the first day.  Because we have same schedule, my classe spends the breaks more or less together, which is an excellent opportunity for me to practice my french slang  and meet anyone and everyone who joins us.

Another aspect of French high school life I've noticed is the lack of extracurriculars. Whenever I ask someone about the sports or hobbies they participate in, they will tell me that they did basketball/tap dancing/flute/etc, until a year or two ago. Most of them found it too difficult to juggle school and another activity, and so stopped the activity. The way I see it, this is both a loss in terms of being able to do what you're passionate about, and a gain in terms of not putting too much pressure on students to over-perform. In fact, though may only be because it's the beginning of the year, I have yet to see any students stretched as thin as many of my friends were at home.

The format of most of the classes is lecture oriented. The class listens to the teacher and takes notes on the information, which they will have to memorize to be prepared for the ever-looming BAC, the high-school exit exam. The hardest thing for me to learn hasn't been the content presented in calss, but rather the system used to complete the work. For example, today I learned the mysterious colored coded strategy which the other students have been using to take notes since elementary school. As my friend explained to me,

"The red pen is for titles, the green pen is for subtitles and corrections, the blue pen is for writing."
"And the black pen?"
"The black pen is for when you forget your blue pen. But you can also use other colors if you want."

I don't know if I'm bold enough yet to write my notes in purple, but I am getting more comfortable with the language and the work with every passing day. It seems like everyday I have another small success- today I answered a question for the first time in class. If I can already follow and take notes on a lecture about the rise of the US as an dominant economic power, I can't wait to see how much French I'll learn in another month!

The other biggest difference is the teachers' distance from the students. Most are helpful in explaining anything I don't understand, but they also command a respect and a distance from the students which I'm not used to. In class, we all wait to sit down until the teacher gives us permission. While I appreciate the silence and efficiency in the classroom, I am also easily intimidated by the sterner teachers among them- I have found that French teachers are not afraid of telling their students that they're wrong.

While my classmates are spending most of their time studying, I am free to pursue as mant other interests as I like. (It's nice to have already graduated from high school). Yesterday, I went to the first Wednesday intermural volleyball practice. While I've cleary got a lot to learn baout volleyball, I also really enjoyed it, and plan to be back next week. In addition, I'm hoping to find dance classes in town which I can go to. As I become accustomed to living here, I'm ready to get involved with as many different things as I possibly can!