ICP

Side Note: I finally put photos up on facebook! So you can get a very small idea of what things are like here.

Anyway, here is the real reason for the post: My Gothic Art Class at L’Institut Catholique de Paris.

Yesterday, I was ready to go for my first lecture for gothic art. It started at 3 pm, and since my class before ended at 2pm, I felt as though I had to hurry while on the metro. I got on and stealthily checked my map in my purse. I was confident that I would arrive to class on time, as long as I walked fast (never a problem for me). I got out of the metro, checked the map (stealthily again, in my purse), and started walking. 10 minutes later, I realized that I had been walking the wrong direction. Awesome.

I walked back to the metro station and started walking in the correct direction. I finally arrived at my destination about 7 minutes later. I finally got there, walked into the building, and realized that I had no idea what to do. It was the equivalent of arriving on campus with a class and professor name, but no idea what building, what room, etc. I searched frantically for the art history department, but I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me. I walked through all the courtyards, climbed 3 different staircases, and got lost in a series of cloisters that all looked the same.

Eventually, I found the department of ‘history and letters’, on the second floor (but here called the first floor. You enter on floor zero). I went to the office, and saw the postings of classrooms. I found my class, found the classrooms for both my lecture and discussion section, and was generally feeling pretty good about myself.

That is where I should have known something was going to go wrong.

My class was located on the fourth floor (which is actually the 5th floor, considering the numbering system). I walked up there, and was about 5 minutes early for my class. The door was closed, and there was no one waiting in the hallway, so I took a deep breath and whipped open the door.

I was promptly stared at by the 60 students who were still in the middle of a lecture (that was not my class). I awkwardly apologized and closed the door, and went to go sit in the hallway.

I waited in the hallway, and eventually students started spilling out of all the rooms. I kept waiting for other people to be waiting by my room, but everyone just seemed to be congregating in the middle of the hallway. Which was not a huge deal, I just went over to hang out with everyone else. I met a few French students, none of whom were in my class, but all of whom were really nice. I walked over to the room at about 5 after, and it was completely empty, except for the professor who had been there for the lecture before. Then I realized that there was a middle aged man, who appeared to be waiting for the same class as me. He asked me what coursed I was waiting for, I told him, and he agreed that he was in fact, waiting for the same course. We went to talk to the professor, who told us that she had no idea who was supposed to be in the room after her. So, we walked down 3 flights of stairs to the office, to verify the room.

We had the right room number. So we went back up 3 flights of stairs to the room. At quarter after, we went back to talk to the secretary. Surprise, surprise. My class was cancelled because my professor had a previous commitment. Apparently this had been part of the morning announcements on Monday (when I was not there. So there was no way to have known).

So, it has been rescheduled to be before my first discussion section, which is this Saturday. After all that, the moral of the story is that I have class this Saturday from 8-11am. And apparently there is one really nice old guy in my class.

Wish me luck.

Gros Bisous,

Margarette