Long week

This week has been a little brutal. I'm taking 7 classes here at Audencia, and while they're not terribly difficult, it's still a lot. We have had 2 classes every day, 3 hours each. So essentially I've been here from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. every day, with a 2 hour lunch break. Yikes! I guess we're spoiled at Fisher having Fridays off.

On the plus side, classes are going pretty well overall. We started accounting, which I was absolutely dreading given that I had so many problems with it last year, but I finally understand it! Our professor has really taken the time to explain the accounting process step-by-step, and he really makes sure that we understand everything before he moves on. It's also been beneficial for us that we have had accounting class every day. We don't have the chance to forget anything that we've learned, and I think that was one of my biggest problems with it last year. Two times a week just didn't cut it.

I've given several presentations this week-- one in International Business, one in HR, one in Accounting and a mini-presentation in Economics today. For whatever reason, all the nerves that got the best of me during presentations last year have just disappeared. It's great! My HR presentation was about recruiting and managing Generation Y, and it was very well received by my classmates. It generated quite a bit of discussion, and the topic comes up quite often in other classes now as well.

In addition to my normal classes, I just found out that I placed into the intermediate french class, so that will start next week. Two nights a week for 1.5 hours each night. I do feel like my reading comprehension is improving dramatically-- especially when it comes to reading restaurant menus :) As our team-building professor told us, learning occurs most when a need is perceived. I need to know what kind of delicious food I will be ordering each night, so I've learned how to read menus. I still need to work on speaking and writing, but it will happen in time.

Speaking of restaurants, I went out to dinner with Ivan last night. We found a great Greek restaurant and I had moussaka. I also had nougat with pistachios for dessert. Both were fantastic. After dinner we went to a local Irish Pub and had a few beers. It was nice to hear a few people speaking English in American accents... it's rare around here. It started pouring after a while, and the funny thing was, no one seemed to care. They just moved under cover and continued the night. It made me smile.

No big plans this weekend. Will probably go out with Ivan and some of his classmates tonight, as they all graduate tomorrow. I'm also planning to attend the graduation ceremony, as Ivan is the speaker for the MBA class.

Only other plans might include IKEA, as Leslie finally moved the big bed out of the apartment and left me with a futon. It's not very comfortable, so I've asked her for a mattress pad to put on top. She also took the heavy comforter with her, and I need a new one. If I don't hear back from her tonight, I'm just going to go to IKEA tomorrow, get what I need, and take the cost out of next month's rent. The situation is a little annoying, but I'm just learning to adapt. C'est la vie ici.