Un mélange d'obsérvations

Let me begin by saying that, although I still think French keyboards are confusing and only recently figured out how to type the @ sign, they do have their good points -- it's annoying to have to memorize keystrokes or insert symbols in order to spell properly with accents!

Before my traditional "week in brief" update, a few more observations:

-This whole "no homework" business is starting to creep me out a little. I am fully aware that I shouldn't complain about having a light workload, and I also realize that things will pick up over the next few weeks as I begin giving my exposés (oral presentations) and writing papers. But still, I have only had one Arabic assignment over the course of the past two weeks, and that feels so strange to me. I know I'm supposed to study the vocab and review on my own, which I have been doing, but it's such a drastic change from Arabic at Georgetown. Much as I enjoy the additional free time, a part of me misses the nightly homework that had become so familiar!

-I mentioned in my last post that I was having difficulty understanding one of my professors because he speaks -- and often mumbles -- too quickly. Apparently I wasn't the only one having problems! One of the other international students (side-note: we are very pointedly referred to as "international students" here, NOT "exchange students". The idea is that we are still full-fledged Sciences Po students, with all the expectations which that entails, even if we ordinarily speak another language. It's inclusive; I like it.) talked to the professor after class last week, and he made a concerted effort to speak more clearly. Plus, I have discovered that direct sight lines drastically improve my ability to keep pace, so I moved to a better seat this week. Problem solved, I think.

-My host mother's two grandsons (my host nephews?) slept over last night. They are 8 and 5. I played "Chronicles of Narnia" with them and watched the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie this afternoon. As I've said before, some things translate across language and culture! If a 5 year-old boy finds some sort of stick lying around, he will inevitably turn it into either a sword, a horse, or a magic broomstick -- even if he calls it une épée, un cheval, or un balai. :-) However, there are definitely some differences. The worst thing that someone can say about a misbehaving child is that he or she is "mal élévé" (poorly raised). The idea is that a child's behavior reflects upon the parent; there isn't any direct translation for the word "naughty". You can be "disobedient" (désobéissant) or literally "mean" (méchant), but not simply "bad". I wonder what kind of psychological implications this carries...

And now for the update:

This week, I mainly focused on getting a handle on my classes, and as a result, I now feel much more settled. On Tuesday, I went to the Arab Institute in the afternoon. I visited the museum exhibitions, and then I remembered that they have a library. It turned out to be open to the public, so I wandered in and inadvertently ended up beginning research for my senior honors thesis. My tentative plan is to choose a female Algerian author (writing in French) and a female Maghreb author (living in France, of Algerian heritage) and conduct a comparative literary analysis of some of the social/political themes in their work. I ran this by my French major advisor at Georgetown, and she seems to think it's a good idea. If I begin my research this semester, especially making use of resources that I won't have at Georgetown, then I should be in good shape for next year.

Other than that, this week has been fairly uneventful. The weather hasn't been too great, meaning that I haven't been as inclined to go adventuring. This afternoon, I think I will take a walk to the Jardin des Plantes, though, and tomorrow I plan to go to church at the American (Episcopal) Cathedral -- it turns out the church I went to last time was actually the nondenominational American Church in Paris, located two stops away on the same bus line. Confusing!