TDs and Job Interviews!

It hasn't been that interesting, so just one post this week. Mostly just info on a couple of job interviews I had this week and how horrifyingly hard my classes here are. Seriously, sometimes I think these professors look out at a class full of students and are thinking, hmmm... How can I scare the bejeezus out of them today? ooooh! I know, I'll talk nonstop for two hours in a completely disorganized way jumping from topic to topic making it impossible for them to take coherent notes! Won't that be fun! There's just a little taster for you guys. There's more to come!

So this week was my first week of TDs and literature courses. TD stands for Travaux Dirigés. Basically, it's one of two meetings you have for a class. The first one is called CM (Cours Magistral), and it's basically a lecture. Professor stands up in front of 100+ students and talks at you for one to two hours. My history CM is an hour, but my literature CM is two hours; just depends on the course. There's only one CM meeting for each course, so if it conflicts, you're pretty much screwed and you have to drop one of the classes. So then the second class during the week is your TD, which is a smaller group (about 30-50 students) and a different professor. This is where the actual "class" stuff happens. In my mind the best way to think of it is that the CM professor is like Santa Clause; he gets to stand up there, look pretty, and talk at you during that hour or two. He get's all the glory and plans out the syllabus. He doesn't take up any homework, never requires class participation, doesn't take roll, and doesn't really interact with the students in any way (unless one of them has the audacity to speak to him or ask a question, at which point he will do one of three things: attempt to ignore it, give the offender a withering look, or refer the offender to their TD professor). The TD professors are like Santa's elves. They do all the work, doing the lion's share of the actual teaching, grading homework, and lecturing about 50% more than the CM professor.

So anyway, this was my first week with all of my classes. I'm taking 18th century French History and 19th & 20th century French Literature at the Sorbonne. I'm also taking an Intro to Art History and a Writing Workshop from the Sweetbriar program. All of these classes are in French, taught by a real native-French speaking professor. My History CM is an hour long with a TD on a different day that's an hour and a half. My literature CM is two hours long with a three-hour TD. That literature class is seriously kicking my behind. Have you ever watched a documentary in a different language with your eyes closed? That's sorta what my first class was like. I understood about every 4th or 5th word and have very little knowledge of 19th and 20th century French history. So the professor is sitting there talking at us for two hours straight, jumping from topic to topic with the assumption that we have the slightest idea what he's talking about. Oh, and did I mention it's all monotone? This guy could give Professor Binns lessons. Seriously.

The TD was tough too, but honestly not quite as bad because mainly we talked about the difference between a Narrative History and Historical Fiction, and the different approaches to writing each, where they came from, why they're important, etc. Pretty much my Historical Imagination course from last spring boiled down to three hours. But so far the hardest part for me is not the content itself; it's the focus. Have you ever tried to pay attention in class and take notes for more than two hours? Now try doing it in a different language, when you only understand every 4th or 5th word. For me, it generally takes about 15 minutes to really get in the flow of my notes and comprehension so that I don't have to think so hard about what I'm writing down (all my notes are in French, of course; it's too hard for me to switch my brain back an forth, plus it's not good for my language development to be constantly translating everything I hear), and after those first 10 or 15 minutes, I can stay pretty well focused for about an hour or so. Once we hit the ninety-minute mark though, the struggle bus has rolled into the station. So a three-hour lecture with only one break can be pretty grueling. But I know if I keep at it and do as best as I can, it'll get better soon (ish?).

On a happier note, I have a couple of good job opportunities that have opened up in the last week. Here, there's a high demand for English-speaking babysitters. So I saw a couple of ads and got in touch with a few people, and finally heard back this week. The first family I heard from lives about 3 doors down from my apartment (I live at number 23, and they live at number 37). They are a French family with 2 boys, ages 2 and 5. They want their boys to speak both French and English like they do, so they're looking for someone to provide after-school care about 12 hours a week. If I got the job, I wouldn't be there to give them formal lessons, I'd just be there to facilitate their learning. I really liked this family because the Mom's English is not that great; we mostly spoke French when we met, while the father speaks really good English--I'm pretty sure he was educated in the UK, because he sounds completely British, barely a hint of a French accent. So there aren't any language barriers, but when speaking with them, they said it would be fine if I spoke French to the adults to practice. Haven't yet heard from them, but I'm really hoping I get the job. The second family I interviewed with is American, and they are mainly looking for someone to help out in the occasional evenings and possibly travel with the family during school holidays. They have 3 boys, ranging from 3 to 7. We talked for a while, and she pretty much hired me on a trial period. She said the next time they needed someone they'd call me, and if it worked out for everyone, would I be interested in maybe going with them to their vacation home in Switzerland for Christmas? So really hoping that one works out as well. I will let you all know as soon as I know.

So that's it for now! I'm still having a great time in Paris despite the fact that the constant cold is starting to get to me a little. Read, comment, share with your friends! And I really am that self-conscious, so a little validation here or there wouldn't go amiss...