March madness: the basics
This is a preliminary post, because I just wrote a complete one and my computer rebooted unexpectedly. So here's a bit of an update on my last two months.
After a relatively empty fall semester, I decided to schedule a much tighter one for the spring. I'm taking four academic courses, auditing one, and taking an art class; I'm also babysitting and working as a Hebrew School teacher. All the same, I've been trying to fully experience what the city has to offer.
After a full semester in Sorbonne classes, I decided I wanted to challenge myself more this semester. I'm taking five classes: two at the Sorbonne, one at the Institut Catholique, and two with the AYA program at Reid Hall. The Institut Catholique is a private university which offers classes on religion, for the reason that France is strictly secular and will not use public money for religious purposes. (It's interesting to see how this contrasts with the US; one result of this "laicite" is the ban on head scarves in public schools.) Besides religion, it also has very good philosophy and political science departments, and has a more American-style feel with smaller classes and more teacher-student interaction. I'm taking a class there called "History of International Relations since 1945", with an excellent teacher who also teaches at Sciences Po, France's grande ecole for politics. It's been a very compelling class, and has introduced me to a subject I really don't know much about from a non-American perspective. Actually, I'm preparing a presentation on the results of 9/11 from a French perspective; it's a good exercise in changing my point of view. At the Sorbonne, I'm taking a class on Impressionist art history; this is absolutely the best place to study it, and I'm enjoying my free admission into the Musee d'Orsay. I'm also taking a translation class with French students in the English department; we translate from French to English and English to French. It's harder than I thought; think translating a passage from "Lolita" into French and trying to keep the poetry and connotations, or a hymn, preserving the rhyme scheme and level of language. Still, it's nice to have the other kids in the class, and even the teacher asking me what sounds natural to me as a native English speaker. Finally, at Reid Hall, I'm taking the continuation of the French Cinema class (I'm auditing it) and a class on the Fifth Republic and French political history, which is coming in handy as the presidential election gets closer and closer.
I'm also painting for six hours a week at a private atelier (studio) near the Pere Lachaise cemetery, for the full French art experience I've been hearing about in my art history class. There are about 30 regulars, mostly French, but also some Japanese and Americans who are passing through or live in Paris, including four other American college students. Everyone comes in when they want to, and can choose to paint the model who poses nude for four hours a day (the model changes each week) or the two still lives, while a teacher comes around and gives suggestions. Although I'd had some life drawing experience before, I just started oil painting. That too is harder than I expected, but definitely rewarding. Like an essay, you're never really finished with an oil painting; you can always add more detail, or paint over indefinitely. I'll post some pictures later of some of my work.
I'm also working, which has been liberating. I'm still babysitting for Chiara, the daughter of the American jazz singer. In February, I joined an American synagogue here, and it turned out that one of their Hebrew School teachers had just moved away from France and they needed a new one. I went to Hebrew High School through 11th grade and attended a teacher training program senior year, so I was qualified, and they hired me to teach sixth graders and take care of 3-6 year-olds. Luckily, the classes are in English, not French. For the time being, I'm working with another teacher, but in a week or two I'll be handling the classes entirely on my own. It's a challenge, but I love the kids.
More specifics coming soon!
After a relatively empty fall semester, I decided to schedule a much tighter one for the spring. I'm taking four academic courses, auditing one, and taking an art class; I'm also babysitting and working as a Hebrew School teacher. All the same, I've been trying to fully experience what the city has to offer.
After a full semester in Sorbonne classes, I decided I wanted to challenge myself more this semester. I'm taking five classes: two at the Sorbonne, one at the Institut Catholique, and two with the AYA program at Reid Hall. The Institut Catholique is a private university which offers classes on religion, for the reason that France is strictly secular and will not use public money for religious purposes. (It's interesting to see how this contrasts with the US; one result of this "laicite" is the ban on head scarves in public schools.) Besides religion, it also has very good philosophy and political science departments, and has a more American-style feel with smaller classes and more teacher-student interaction. I'm taking a class there called "History of International Relations since 1945", with an excellent teacher who also teaches at Sciences Po, France's grande ecole for politics. It's been a very compelling class, and has introduced me to a subject I really don't know much about from a non-American perspective. Actually, I'm preparing a presentation on the results of 9/11 from a French perspective; it's a good exercise in changing my point of view. At the Sorbonne, I'm taking a class on Impressionist art history; this is absolutely the best place to study it, and I'm enjoying my free admission into the Musee d'Orsay. I'm also taking a translation class with French students in the English department; we translate from French to English and English to French. It's harder than I thought; think translating a passage from "Lolita" into French and trying to keep the poetry and connotations, or a hymn, preserving the rhyme scheme and level of language. Still, it's nice to have the other kids in the class, and even the teacher asking me what sounds natural to me as a native English speaker. Finally, at Reid Hall, I'm taking the continuation of the French Cinema class (I'm auditing it) and a class on the Fifth Republic and French political history, which is coming in handy as the presidential election gets closer and closer.
I'm also painting for six hours a week at a private atelier (studio) near the Pere Lachaise cemetery, for the full French art experience I've been hearing about in my art history class. There are about 30 regulars, mostly French, but also some Japanese and Americans who are passing through or live in Paris, including four other American college students. Everyone comes in when they want to, and can choose to paint the model who poses nude for four hours a day (the model changes each week) or the two still lives, while a teacher comes around and gives suggestions. Although I'd had some life drawing experience before, I just started oil painting. That too is harder than I expected, but definitely rewarding. Like an essay, you're never really finished with an oil painting; you can always add more detail, or paint over indefinitely. I'll post some pictures later of some of my work.
I'm also working, which has been liberating. I'm still babysitting for Chiara, the daughter of the American jazz singer. In February, I joined an American synagogue here, and it turned out that one of their Hebrew School teachers had just moved away from France and they needed a new one. I went to Hebrew High School through 11th grade and attended a teacher training program senior year, so I was qualified, and they hired me to teach sixth graders and take care of 3-6 year-olds. Luckily, the classes are in English, not French. For the time being, I'm working with another teacher, but in a week or two I'll be handling the classes entirely on my own. It's a challenge, but I love the kids.
More specifics coming soon!
posted by Abby | 5:01 PM
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