First day of Class

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  Paris, France
Wednesday, July 2, 2008

I thought my jet lag was over until I woke up on my bed at 11pm, where I'd been passed out for 8 hours. I'm so hungry, but apparently I can't use the kitchen after 8pm.

I had my first day of class yesterday. It was a great disappointment, as they had put me in the Advanced class judging by my written test. In fact, my oral skills are very poor, as they soon found out. They couldn't put me in a lower class, so I am going to skip the oral workshop and just start classes next week. I felt humiliated as I sat through the class, unable to contribute more than a few words. There were only 2 other people in the class, 2 middle age American men. As you can imagine, I didn't have much in common with them.

I came here to casually learn French at an easy and fun level and at the same time explore Paris and make friends with my class mates. I didn't want to feel stressed and out of my depth. It reminded me a little of my last semester of French at university (though it wasn't as advanced as the class I just did). Many of the people in the class had been learning French for 6 years, and I'd been learning it for about 4 months. It really doesn't help being put in a class that is higher than your level, as it is quite discouraging. I hope Monday will be different.

On the other hand, Paris is beautiful in Summer. The weather is perfect, hot, but not too hot - the sun is less harsh here than Australia. The streets are busy and cobbled, with lots of trees and stalls brimming with fresh food. I don't need to go to a supermarket, I can get everything from the markets near my apartment. Some of the apartment buildings have sculptures carved into the walls, such as naked ladies curled around windowsills. I'd really like to live here more permanently one day, and feel left out that I can't speak French yet. I'm going to meet up with Luis tomorrow for dinner and drinks, somewhere near the Centre Pompidou.

I'm getting a sore throat (as expected after the amount of stress and discomfort I've put myself through these past few days), so I am hiding away from Paris in bed, though I did bring cheese, a baguette and wine with me.

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