Meanwhile, I'm still getting used to my new surroundings and my new host family.
Malou, the Strasbourg-Holy Cross cultural coordinator, has been showing us different parts of the city and the campus all this week, along with trying to help us sign up for classes.
That, by the way, has been a nightmare. Back at College of the Holy Cross, signing up for classes is stressful, but here... there are actually no words for how absolutely ludicrous the course registration process is in France. It would be laughable if the outcome didn't effect my studies, but it does, so I'm certainly not laughing.
 |
| Le Palais Universitaire: one of the University of Strasbourg buildings |
In the U.S.A., college course registration is all done online, about two to five months before you actually start said classes. Here in France, though, that online process must be too mind-boggling because universities do it the old-fashioned way: there are three days where students shuffle from building to building with pen in hand to literally sign up with the department secretary for a class. As you can imagine, this process also features a lot of waiting in long lines, and a lot of students who missed the correct sign-up time.
I suppose this system would be passable if everything ran smoothly, but the problem is that students reach about 15 different snags along the way! So many departments (ie: the History department, the Theology department, the psychology department...) didn't have their classes and times figured out by the first day of sign-ups, so students were told to look online when those class offerings were worked out and sign up the next day. I mean, I'm a procrastinator too, but that is just ridiculous. Additionally, many of the literature classes (including one I signed up for) required you to have already read the book(s) before entering the class--but the classes themselves, along with these reading requirements, weren't posted online until a week or two before the classes even start! And I didn't see it until the day I was signing up! (That novel will definitely not be finished before I start the class. I might be 50 pages in, but that's the most I can hope for since I don't even own the book yet and the class begins Tuesday).
Aside from the nightmare of course-scheduling, my Holy Cross group has been all around Strasbourg. On Thursday afternoon, we dropped down to "super-tourist" status as we all took a bateau mouche ride (a boat tour) around the city canals. It was actually a lot of fun since I love being on the water and the history I learned about the old city was great, but in the sun, we were all roasting--it is still quite hot here!
 |
| Bateau Mouche tour! |
Another thing I did this week? One afternoon, I set off on my own to explore the huge park near my house: Parc de l'Orangerie. This was a fantastic discovery since the park is AMAZING. First, there is a free zoo in the park that I didn't have a clue existed until I accidently stumbled upon it. It's not a lame little zoo either--there are snakes, giant eagle owls, three separate monkey exhibits, flamingos, a lynx, and kangaroos!
Further on in the park, there is a huge lake with a waterfall at one end. After a little bit of exploring, I found out that you could climb up the hill and look out over the top of the waterfall! The park itself is so huge that even though there were literally hundreds of people there on the sunny afternoon I visited, there were times where I felt I was secluded in a nature reserve. There were flowers and fountains and tree-lined paths everywhere, along with woodsy running trails and giant playground. Orangerie might become my escape from busy city life (and from silly French course-selection processes)!
No comments:
Post a Comment