Francais est tres difficile?

Right so. I took a placement test over the summer to see what level I would be placed in if I ever decided to take a language. Up until recently, I didn't plan on it. Yes, it would be great and cool to know a second language, but I don't really consider myself a gifted linguist. I knew that it would be really tough. And I was right.

Anyways. So when I was considering changing my major to a double Linguistics and Neuroscience, I found out that a language was required! So I signed up for French. However, since this is the second semester, only French II was available. I had tested into that level when I took my placement test, and my advisor said it should be fine. Well yesterday I had my first class. And let me tell you. It was not fine.

In fact, it was really, really difficult and mortifying. I haven't really spoken any French for a good three  years, and yesterday I had to get up in front of the class and talk about myself. En francais. Ah! It was so hard! So I talked to the professor after class and told her I might have to drop French II and start anew with French I next semester. She  made me promise to stick it out for a few weeks and she assured me that I appeared to be at the level of everyone else in the class.

Stil though. I feel like a complete dunce in there. The entire class is conducted in French, and sometimes I don't have any idea what my teacher is asking me to do. It's an uncomfortable feeling for me. I'm not used to not understanding. I'm doing extra work though, and I hope that I'll be able to keep up in class. I really don't want to have to drop it, because then I will have a big, huge, gaping hole in my perfectly crafted schedule. That being said. I have to stop writing this blog and go learn about proper verb conjugations. Au revoir!

A New Year, A New Semester!

As the first month of 2012 reaches its midpoint, the Spring  Semester is just beginning, and I couldn't be more excited! As my mom so rightly put it before I left to come back to school:

"In college you get TWO first days of school...what could be better than that?!"

And she was absolutely so incredibly right. There is no day that I like better than the very first day of school - new classes, new teachers, new notebooks - it's all so magical! And in college you get two first days, one for each semester! Yay!

So tomorrow I start as a second semester college student. I can't believe it! A few months ago at this time I was a young, naive, nervous freshman. Now I'm much more seasoned and pretty much have the college thing down pat. Anyways. It's going to be a great semester. I can feel it.

My first class tomorrow is Honors Psychology. That's followed by French, which will be followed by a meeting with the Office of Residence Life for my RA application, and then my day will finish with by Human Senses Neuroscience class. I'm a little bit nervous for French tomorrow because I'm a little bit rusty...it has been a few years since I've done the whole foreign language thing. But I'm going to rely on my exceptional memory skills and hope that all of that vocabulary comes back to me!

I see now why they give college kids such a long break...it gives us time to reboot our brains and allows us to get excited about coming back to school. Because I love being home, but I was excited to be able to return to SU. I missed the Orange while I was away. :)