France update

I talked to YS this morning. He sounded really down. No wonder I was in a bad mood yesterday. I honestly think I can sense when things are not going well for him. No, it's not the girl thing. That's not even an issue any more. He did really poorly on the presentation he had to give - the lowest grade in the class - and he's really upset about that. He had to give a 10-minute presentation in French to his class. It had to be on some aspect of Alsatian culture. He chose to do it on beer. He went to the internet station at the hostel to print out some of the stuff he needed for his presentation, and the printer was broken, so he ended up not even having everything he needed. Apparently, according to his professor, he used English too much, (he said he said "right", "yes", and "okay" when he'd get stuck), his presentation wasn't well organized, and he didn't conclude it very well. He gets really nervous when he speaks before a group (he doesn't take after me at all in that area), and having to speak in French just amplified the problem. He was supposed to memorize this speech, too, in French, with just one semester of French under his belt. He thinks teh professor is expecting too much of a beginning French student. Though he can understand a lot of French, he is still a beginner, and there is a lot of vocabulary he simply doesn't have yet. He has been struggling a lot, and his professor, according to YS, doesn't do much translating for the beginning kids. They went to the EU headquarters yesterday, which he said was amazing, but the guy giving the tour gave it all in French, with such complex language that even the advanced students had problems. And then they were tested on things they learned. It didn't go well.

Additionally, he is actually missing home and the mundane aspects of college life in his dorm. In a week he will be in Paris with a professor who will be speaking English, seeing things he's only seen in photos - the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, the Louvre. I think things should improve a lot then. On the other hand, they do have a hefty workload with that professor, so who knows. Curiously, he said there is "nothing to do" in Strasbourg. He and a few fellow students went out last Friday in search of a disco or some place fun to hang out, and found nothing. They did end up at a Greek restaurant, and had some great food, but no dancing, no night life, which surprised them. I assured him that would be quite different once they hit Paris, but he heard the same thing about Strasbourg when they were in Saverne, so he isn't holding out any hope that Paris will be better. Of course, we all know it will be amazing. Not only that, but my understanding is that a lot of people speak English in Paris, so he won't be quite so limited in communicating with people.

I think the bottom line is, he's tired, he's frustrated with his grade thus far (this is the language portion of the course, so it's ALL about speaking and understanding French), and he misses home and his computer. His professor did say that every student would get depressed at some point; that the struggle to communicate, and the homesickness would affect them all eventually. Maybe he's hit that point. He's really frustrated with not being able to get online when he wants and post photos, email, etc. He did say he and the other two guys walked to Germany on Saturday. Yes, walked to Germany. It was a 45-minute walk to the Rhine, so off they went. They ended up in a hailstorm and got soaked to the skin, but they walked to Germany. I have no idea what they did once they got there - if they just turned around and walked back or what - but that was his Saturday outing. Tomorrow is the Heineken brewery, which he said he is not even looking forward to now because he doesn't think he'll understand half of what the tour guide says, and also the Parliament. I think they leave for Paris on Saturday. He is looking forward to getting a new professor, seeing some sights in Paris, and hopefully having more interesting days. The weather hasn't helped - it's cold and rainy right now. So, send some prayers, good thoughts, whatever his way.