Got the Timetables (er, um....schedule is the american term i think)

Another blog yay!! Today was quite busy! I went to drop a packet off at the housing office, and the woman there was so sweet. She saw my last name and got all excited and proceeded to tell me (in French, of course), that she grew up in the town about 30 km away called "Rochefort", and she was so excited that my name is only spelled a little bit different :) She helped tremendously with that packet and stuff too. I guess I need to open up a local bank account.....even though I was told when I first arrived that is was OPTIONAL!! Oh well....I'll just get another HSBC one because it'll be easy to transfer money back at the end of the semester. I'll just use my travellers cheques to fund it..

Went into the city this morning because I actually needed TWO passport sized photos to give to them. The sheet said I only needed ONE, so I brought just ONE with me! Lucky for me, the Monoprix store in the city has a little passport photo printing kiosk (like those things in the mall with the curtains where you sit and the machine takes your photo!) Wish they had those back home!! Then I decided to go to the grocery store in the basement of Monoprix (the main floor is like a tiny Target) and I get some bagette bread because I ran out last night!!

Around 1:40, I heard giggles and a New Zealand accent outside my window, so I peaked out, and there were the girlies!! So I grabbed my aquarium ticket that the school gave us when we arrived and off we went to the aquarium!! It is so pretty!! They even had sharks :) I'll definitely go again some day. Maybe when I come back to visit La Rochelle with the family :)

Finished that at around 3:40, and we realized we'd better see if the "timetables" were up. It's not like at home where you find the class times online and register.....they just post a bunch of schedules on a window of your classroom building and yeah.....
We were overwhelmed to say the least, so we went upstairs instead to see if our results were posted yet from the placement test for our french for foreigners classes.... We were put into groups based on our level of French (don't know how that easy test was able to determine our skill level but okaaayyyy...) The groups are A through E, A being the most beginner, and E the most advanced. I am proud to say that I am in GROUP D!!!!!! Yayyyy!!!! Go Kelly! Go Kelly!! I rock :) So I have my regular French language classes on Monday and Tuesday from 5 to 7:30 every week. And then I will have another one on Thursday, which I get to choose :) There are 3 I can choose from but I have to go back Monday because I don't remember what they were! My choices I guess are all really cool and interesting :) The people in the lower levels have 2 options and they are like speaking practice and writing practice. I think I get a cool politics class or something. I have to check...

Then we went to the Lettres office to see about those regular university French classes. Apparently, there had been a meeting for the foreign students on Tuesday to sign up for classes, but we had never been told about it! So all we did was sign a pink sheet and put our emails and room numbers, and then the secretary put us randomly in a timetable group. (they have groups for the schedules so that there aren't too many people in each class) It's confusing but yeah. I need to discuss this with the British lady who works with the foreign students because I understand some of the schedule, but then other parts are like "what??!" Like, for one of my classes, we have 1 big lecture hall class a week, and then one other day a week we have smaller classes for that class....not sure how you know which class to go to!
But no classes for me on Friday!!!!!!
And one of my classes doesn't start until November 2nd, and classes only go for it until Nov. 16th. So yeah. That's right. 3 THREEEEEEE CLASSES!!!!!!!! Cool but very weird. And almost all my classes end in November. So what will I do with all my freetime?? I guess depending on what time and what days my other classes are at, I might travel :)

I was researching Germany because I want to go there (I've taken some German classes and would like to Minor in it if I can), and I found an ADORABLE little city I want to go to. Of course, I'm a sucker for really old places, so this is the town of Rottweil, in the region of Baden-Wurttemberg (where the Black Forest is). It's the region's oldest city and was built in the 1100s :) Woooo! I am really thinking about going there even just for a weekend. If not there, then somewhere else in Germany. Preferably southern Germany.

Tomorrow, one of the other gals from New York and I are going to meet with a sweet old French woman just to talk in French for an hour :) We met her at the foreign students get-together last night-the school has certain older people come so that we can meet them and have practice speaking French. I guess we're supposed to meet every week :) Cool!

That's all for now :)

I called Mommy yesterday and I called Gramma today :) All is well!

Love,
kelly

PS-Hug and Kiss Mocha for me!!