Bonsoir! It's 11PM on Wednesday night and I just got home from nearly two hours of sweaty, heart-racing, muscle quivering ballet. I haven't danced since high school, so I know what my body is supposed to be doing but I just can't quite contort myself into actually pulling it off.
But my abilities or lack thereof are not the point of this post. I'm more intrigued by the class itself. Yes, the language barrier was a minor problem. Keeping in mind that the class had nearly 30 students in it and that occasionally I just couldn't hear the instructions, I won't deny that sometimes I messed up simply because I didn't know such-and-such word. However, the actual ballet terms are all what I remember them to be (and all French, I'd like to point out): plié, tendu, rélévé, etc. The biggest struggle for me was adapting to the new teaching style, the number of students in the room, the speed with which instructions were given out, the routines that older students knew that I don't yet--well, you get the idea. The instructor could have been speaking English or Gobbledygook and I probably still would have done just as well or just as poorly as I did tonight.
I don't really know where exactly I'm going with this, but I'm hoping that when I start university classes on Monday I'll be able to apply some broader lesson learned. Of course, in my European history course it will make a difference if the professor speaks Gobbledygook, but no matter what troubles I have with the French language aspect of my classes I'm hoping to remember that starting any new class is like walking on a tight rope. On the first day, you never know the professor's temperament, the classroom routines that at first seem terrifying but eventually become normal, or what exactly your role as a student is in that specific classroom.
This is my promise to myself: I will remember that I still know how to be a student (even though I'm in France), that I still know how to adapt to a subject/professor/class (even if it's all in French), and that I will absolutely definitely struggle in the beginning (just like I would if it was all in English).
I hope my ramblings made at least a bit of sense. Hold me to that promise!
Bonne nuit, goodnight, au revoir.
It sounds like you have an excellent strategy in place for the first week: being kind to yourself, cutting yourself some slack, reminding yourself of all the strengths you already possess as a student (and an all-around awesome person.)
ReplyDeleteYou will do great!