I'm now in my second week of classes and so far really enjoying them. They are much more independent and there are definitely less small assignments to turn in here. The professors are very nice but also less likely to come to you/ask if you need help as much as the professors back in the states. The University of Nantes is a very nice campus not far from my house. I really like the feel of it. It's not only in a new country, but it is also just a much bigger school than Lutehr. I'm taking French Grammar and Composition, French Writers and Foreign Nations (19th and 20th century,) Translation (at the University,) a teaching internship and a theatrical production. I also tried out a few History lecture courses at he University but happened to be in the ones with the professors who spoke extremely fast so I decided not to keep them in my schedule. Also, the teaching internship and theatre are going to take up a lot of time and I want to get started on some research for my senior project in the libraries here so I think a bit lighter semster as far as actual courses will suit me well. For the teaching internship I will spend 4 to 5 hours per week working with an English teacher as a teaching assistant. As I understand it I will be teaching lessons on different American cultural topics of my choosing. I do not have my placement and am not exactly sure what it will entail, but I'm really looking forward to it. The theatre course (aka French play rehearsals) looks lilke it is going to take a lot of time, but I think it will be a very good production in the end. The man directing it is a bit intense and expects a lot of us.. right away. It's good for me- causing me to break out of my shell a bit. The play is called Portrait de famille by Denise Bonal. It's a fairly recent play (written in the 90s, I believe) about a woman, abandoned by her husband, who has to deal with her 3 grown up children who don't really help out with anything or appreciate her (oldest son who is suicidal, younger son who is very into himself is in love with a young Kabyle woman, daughter is a bit of an airhead and (I think?) pregnant. There is also a neighbor who's black and with whom the kids have a lot of racial tension, but the mother kind of likes. Anyways, I don't completely understand the whole plot yet but there's a brief synopsis. My role is the mother (or one of them I should say) Because there are more people than characters in the play, most of the roles are at least doubled (some parts trippled or quadrupled) and there are going to be 2 identical stages that the focus will switch between throughout the play. I don't completely understand how that's going to work either, but it sounds very interesting, quite artistic how the director has split up the roles. I will keep you updated on how the play is coming together. We have rehearsal about 5 hours per week. The production is December 8th.
I am also getting used to the tram/bus system and can pretty much get around to anywhere I want/need to now(sometimes with the help of a map : ) I went to church this past Sunday in the very south part of Nantes (not technically Nantes anymore.. Reze) I have found that church services are different here than back in the states, but this one was pretty close to what I'm used to back in Winona. It was very lively; lots of people of/around my age; and a missionary family that my church in Winona sponsers goes there. I had lunch afterwards with this family. I plan to go back to Reze this Sunday!
Upcoming things I'm looking forward to:
1. Tonight the first dinnner/meeting of AGAPE- a christian "Campus pour Christ" organization at the University
2. weekend trip to Mont St. Michel and St. Malo this Saturday
3. 3 friends from Winona, who are traveling Europe for 2 months, will be in Nantes in about a week.
4. Just booked flights for a weekend in November in Geneva
Sorry if this post is a bit sporadic or doesn't make sense... I'm finding that forming sentances in English is a bit more difficult when my brain is in French mode so much of the day.
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