The First Day of Class

With every new experience or environment comes a period of adjustment, and never is that more true than the first day of classes in a French university... for an American student.  That day was today, and the adjustment was tough and will probably take a fair amount of time.  I am taking two classes at Sciences-Po (the shortened name for l'Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Toulouse), both in the political science/law department.  My one class for the day, "Gouverner en Europe: du droit européen au droit communautaire"("Governing in Europe: from European Law to Community Law") started at 8 a.m. and was two and a half hours long.  Now, I am used to the classes at Dickinson, which started at 9:30 or 10:30 and lasted either 50 minutes or 75 minutes.  But two and a half hours?  And completely in French?  You would have to be crazy to put yourself through that, and I suppose I am a bit.  But it actually wasn't as bad as I had thought.  I understood the professor better than I expected, and there are one or two other Americans in the class; we plan on collaborating with notes, etc.  I will also try to make a French friend or two -- they are usually very willing to help American students.  One of the biggest academic adjustments I have to make is to the size of my classes.  My class today is in a massive lecture hall with over 150 other students.  My biggest class at Dickinson was 36 students.  As you can expect, there is little to no connection with professors in France, and the typical format is for the professor to lecture for the two, two and a half hours, and then the students leave.  There is no question and answer, no discussion.  My other class here at Sciences-Po, "Socio-histoire des idées politiques, XIXeme - XXeme siecles," ("Socio-history of Political Ideas, 19th to 20th century,") will probably be the same way.  This is actually an indication of one of the biggest problems with the French education system.  There is a high unemployment rate (hovering around 11 percent) because many students aren't going to college, or don't take it seriously.  They don't take it seriously because they have little incentive to learn -- the professors aren't engaging and the classes are long and tiresome. Now, this isn't meant to bash the French education system, because not all professors are boring and not all classes put you to sleep, but it is a common thread in much of the system.  I'll be able to report more about the classes later in the week.

On a more interesting note, yesterday I went with my host's son, Guillaume, to watch a Toulouse rugby match at a local pub.  Rugby is very popular in France -- probably second to soccer -- and the Toulouse team is very good.  Last year, they were the top ranked team in France, and in 2010 they won the Heineken Cup, making them the top ranked team in Europe.  I knew almost nothing about rugby, but Guillaume and his friend explained the rules.  It is actually not as much like American football as people tend to think.  The play is much more fluid and consistent, and, although they wear minimal protection, there are fewer injuries.  Rugby values brawn as much as the NFL does, but it values precision and finesse in all the positions, not just at quarterback or running back or wide receiver.  The spectators at the bar (which was Irish themed) were very passionate about the team, and I found myself getting really excited with them.  Now that I know the rules more or less, I'm hoping to go to a game and really become a real fan.

Right now, the hardest thing about being abroad is simply making the adaptation to another culture.  I need to think so much more about what I say and what I hear, and each action may or may not be a social faux pas -- overall, I must be much more careful.  Luckily, this will all come with time.  Tomorrow, I have one of my classes at the Dickinson center, and some orientation as well.