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Gettin' "schooled"...French style
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My friend, Eric, conveys his enthusiasm for the French university system.
The French university system is to an American student as rubber is to glue.
Ok, let me rephrase that. The French university is to this American student as rubber is to glue.
Sadly, though one might go into the 'study abroad experience' with as much openmindedness as possible, it's incredibly difficult to foresee those obstacles upon which you may stumble.
For me, some of these obstacles have been my courses at a French university here in Nantes, which shall go unnamed (I don't know exactly what I'm protecting, but still...).
Imagine, you've been an American college student for the past one or two years. You've grown accustomed to attendance requirements, small class discussions, the ability to email and visit your professor to discuss anything you may not understand in class, and you've even gotten used to the exorbitant price of books. You've been treated somewhat like a customer at a grocery store, picking and choosing courses to your liking, receiving help when you ask for it, and submitting complaints when appropriate that are treated with concern and attention.
Well, now you're smack dab in the middle of a cultural meltdown as you attend classes at a foreign university and nothing is making sense.
In defense of the French system, there are strong points that do not exist for Americans. French university students have so much pluck and purpose, working to find their classes, attend them, and independently study for one or perhaps two examens at the end of the year. There is an incredible amount of choice for French youngsters who are just finishing high school. For example, say I was a French student in my last year of high school. I could choose to:
- attend a technical college, which is very difficult to get into in France, and will almost certainly guarantee a job after graduation
- attend what is called a "prepratory" school to study to be a doctor or an engineer--these last for 2-3 years, and afterward, I would take an exam that would determine whether or not I could attend a bigger, better sort of graduate school to finish my degree
- attend a program to become licensed in business--"commerce," it's called in French--and become certified in Hotel Management or something of that nature
- attend what's called the "Fac," short for "Faculte," or our "American" equivalent of a university, to study one of those useless majors like English ;).
These are just some of the many options that are open to French students. The problem is that it is so difficult to choose, and often, if a French student changes his mind half-way through one option, he has to begin again at the bottom of another one, without any carry-over of credit or coursework.
For me, I'm struggling to understand the language, as my professors have no reason to slow down their speech for the two or three americans who are in the class (compared to the forty or fifty-some French students). I'm struggling with the lack of definition in the syllabi, which designate some sort of deadline, but nothing is really steadfast. I'm struggling with the cold air my professors have at the onset, having been used to this friendly, almost parent-like atmosphere the professors at Loyola try so ardently to create.
For now, I know I need to keep my chin up, and though this may seem like somewhat of a "rant" of a post, it's more so just to reflect on the true meaning of openmindedness. It's easy to say you're openminded--but the real test comes when you're confronted with systematic changes with which you have never dealt, and you have to do just that:
deal with it.
A la prochaine fois, mes amis. :)
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