So, I've made it through my first week in the world of foreign academia. Here are my observations:

International Economics is taught by a man so unsure of himself that he actually added PhD to his name on the board halfway through the class once he realized nobody thought he knew what he was doing. It's too bad CEFAM has a very strict attendance policy (supposedly modeled after the American university systems) because the opportunity cost of going to class is three hours that would be more efficiently spent reading the textbook on my own... I made up that analogy based on the Economics classes I took four years ago, so at least I have a basic understanding of the subject to work with.

I am taking American History taught by a German in France, and this guy really knows his stuff. Being the only American in the class, people were eager to ask me all sorts of questions: Do you see Indians frequently? What is it like in Utah? Do you like George Bush? It's kind of funny what the foreign perspective of the US is, so this class should be interesting. My favorite part is Current Events- that Disney Channel girl's nude photos, the Iowa Senator's Airport Bathroom affairs and OJ Simpson's recent arrest have all made the list so far.

I hate French. I never liked the language to begin with, but when you get ten American students who have never spoken a word of French together in a small room and ask them to try to pronounce vowels that sound like gagging noises, things just get unbearable. I spent three hours this week learning my ABC's and my numbers- which, by the way, are completely ridiculous. The literal translation of the number 91 in French is this: "Four times Twenty plus Ten plus One". Unbelievable. However, hopefully by the end of this trip I'll be able to at least properly order a bottle of water. I'm already noticing that I understand the language a little bit better than when I first got here, and our teacher Fabienne promises that our French lessons will be practical rather than grammatical.

I am also taking a French culture class- field trips will be involved- and a Consumer Behavior marketing requirement, but neither has been eventful enough to mention in detail just yet. CEFAM is supposed to prepare their students to study or work abroad in the US, so their curriculum and policies are intended to model those of American schools (which is why our classes are in English). It is interesting how the French teachers and students perceive our universities if they have never been there- teachers lock the doors 3-5 minutes after class begins and will not let anyone in if they arrive late. Attendance and participation are expected 100% of the time and typically count for about 20% of the final grade; the other 80% are strictly midterm and final exam grades. The French students all believe that this is how things work in the US... unfortunately for them, they also firmly believe that they will come to America and quickly make millions while maintaining their standard 35-hour weeks and getting 33 paid vacation days. Anyway, it looks like this semester will be interesting and enlightening beyond my standard classroom education.

And now, I'm off to Barcelona for a long weekend to immerse myself in some Spanish (because I like it better).