I really felt the other day’s run upon waking. My quads were screaming at me the most, but there were a few other sore spots. (Note to self: these are the muscles you don’t use when climbing stairs.) I convinced myself coffee would help and then further convinced myself that the best thing I could do was to get out there for another run. And it’s another lovely spring day – and no classes, so no excuses. I donned my workout gear and walked the lovely half-mile walk to le Jardin Luxembourg and had myself another nice little run, forgetting all about my quads. It worked!

So yes, yesterday was the last day of our Theatre course, so half the class went out for drinks in the evening! We had a great time – and most of us are quite happy to be done with that class. We talked about the Prof and strange ways. Most of us agreed about her, and we actually got three of the students in our group to admit they were her favorites — since they’re all fluent. It was all in good fun, but yeah, they knew.

On paper the theatrical class was exactly what I wanted and thought I needed, but in practice, not so much. La prof was a tyrant at times, to be honest. She is just NOT a teacher; she’s a director. Of plays. Obscure plays. And the materials we were asked to memorize were abstract at best with none of the dialogues being useful in everyday French. Not what I expected. So, I’m feeling a bit like Goldilocks, here, trying on all the different courses and not yet finding the perfect fit. Maybe by the time my journey ends, it’ll all make sense.

However, on my days off, I’ve had delightful encounters en français with so many people. For example, an older gent sat next to me on the bench outside of AF and struck up a convo with me. He didn’t speak English, but he was asking me about classes at Alliance Française. I was puzzled because this man clearly spoke French like a native. Then he shared that he had attended classes there 25 years ago, and was just reminiscing, wondering if it had changed. Yes, many changes. For one thing, there are interactive smart boards in every class, online classes are available, and they seem to always be developing new ways to teach and share language experiences whether it’s via theatre class, cultural events, or films.

And once again classmates are off to different places — two are heading to London together, one is going to America, someone’s mother is visiting, another is going home to Iran for two weeks. So much activity! The cafés let you sit for hours, just talking, and we all did just that with promises to meet up next month. Such a good group!

À bientôt!