School

Hello blogosphere

This blog entry will focus on my university experience so far. And actually, more on the other students than anything we have learned (which hasn't been all that incredible yet. Apparently America does a good job teaching (at least me) how to write outlines, prepare for essays, etc. Because some people didn't understand sub-points...)

Anyway!
I am (finally) registered as a student at the Universite de Rouen, in the DELF/DUAF program for non native speakers. My schedule has 10 hours of class a week, however due to my work schedule which is entirely inflexible I am only able to attend about 6 hours a week. There are anywhere between 12-20 people in my class at one time, tending toward about 15 on a normal day. I have never been in such a vastly diverse group of people. Here are some of the other students I have met:
Marjea is a 41 year old mom from Brazil (who looks like she is about 20). She is here because her husband works here, and has been in Rouen for about 2 years so far, I think. Her accent is incredibly strong but she is really sweet.

Julianna is also from Brazil here with her husband. She is 27 and used to be a lawyer. As you can imagine, its impossible to find a job as a lawyer in a country where you cant speak the language very well.

Katrina (or Katherine, I didn't catch it) is from Alaska! She has been here for three years with her husband, who is French Canadian and plays for Rouen's ice hockey team. She and I had a great conversation about how frustrating the whole French system can be for Americans.

Charisse is from Texas and is here studying art history. She has already been to University in Paris and then obtained her masters in Scotland.

Nazar is from Baghdad and has been here for a couple years. He is studying chemistry and wants to be some sort of chemical engineer.

Nicolai is a 37 year old man from Bulgaria. Like me, he hasn't been here all that long. He and Nazar chat a lot because Nicolai is some sort of chemical engineer too.

Naha is a young woman from London, who wears some sort of headscarf, I assume for religious reasons. I have not yet been able to talk with her all that much.

Hilzam and Patrezeus are both 19 and from Indonesia. I have had a couple of good conversations with Hilzam, revolving mainly around how French people cannot handle spicy food AT ALL. He seems to be quick to laugh and smile, like me, so I think we will get along well.

Ioanna (yo-anna) is from Romania. She is 24 and has been in Rouen for 4 years. She came to university and met her boyfriend, Omar, with whom she currently lives. She is nice and we have had lunch together a couple times. She shared her cookies with me and I gave her an American dollar, which she said she had never actually seen before.

Tao is a nice guy from China, who has also been here a couple of years, and has a friend from Ohio.

Tu is from Vietnam and speaks in short, quipped sentences.

There is a woman from Japan, who works in a boulangerie/patissrie (bakery/pastry shop).

Elizabeth is from Mexico and needs to be able to give a dissertation or some sort of presentation in French. She is friendly and seems to be running around a lot whenever I see her.

Adela is from Spain, and is here with her family. Her husband now works here, and she used to be a lawyer.

I am really enjoying my class time, even though it means no naps. While the material hasn't been exactly stimulating so far, we did get to play a poor man's version of taboo, and have been able to talk with one another, which is nice. It also feels like I am doing something for myself during the day, something not centered on taking are of the kids, and this feels good. One needs to be able to care for oneself, in addition to caring for others.