L'Histoire et Les Autres

"Le roi de France a tous les pouvoirs..."

It's neat to learn about French history in French. Having been here for two months I often get to the point where I am listening to French and I forget that I am listening to it. (This is only in class, though; the language becomes too casual and rapid outside of the university.) I posed the following today: "Can we actually say that Louis XIV considered himself the Sun King because the Sun is the center of the universe? At this time people thought the Earth was the center of the Universe, correct?"

This was in opposition to a reason another student gave as to why Louis XIV designated himself the Sun King. I thought this was a great question, but I secretly felt pretty stupid after proudly stating "Copernicus" and "Galileo" were the most prominent individuals who thought the contrary. (In France, they say Coper-NEEK and GalEELAY...)

At this point, the class is becoming a little family. We have class together 18 hours a week, so it was bound to happen eventually. Surprisingly, I have actually excoriated my fear of appearing intelligent. The English speakers ask me for help and the people who speak English as a second language always ask me how I do on tests. I am finally learning that it is OK to sit up front and be an active participant in class. Those who do not care about class or hold me in low-esteem as a result of my success are not worth my time.

I am afraid that my credits will not be transferred the way I had hoped. My adviser in the French department did not seem very pleased that I did not talk to her before I left the States. I did not realize you had to talk to more than one adviser so I only talked to Dr. Roberts. It would make more sense to me if a committee decided which credits to award, mais bon...

Laura and I leave for 9-10 days tomorrow and I do not know if we shall have internet. Also, if you read this blog, please leave a comment if you don't mind. It'd be nice to hear from you.