Sometimes you have to have things taken away from you in order for you to realize how meaningful they are.
For example, when my brother tried to protect me from teasing by hiding my blanket, I flipped my shit. I recognize now that he was just trying to toughen me up before I turned seven, but at the time it was a true tragedy. Nothing felt better than to finally have the blankie back in my arms again.
The adult version if this story concerns next year. I'll be doing a ma�trise, which is sorta kinda moreorless like an American master's. The difference is that in France, it's pretty much split into two years: the first year is all learning and testing and more learning and more testing, whereas the second year is all researching and writing and more researching and more writing. Essentially, what I am trying to say is that I will only have four hours of classes come next fall.
And yeah, that's because the rest of the time is supposed to be spent in the library. And sure, I'll still be working at the high school several days per week. But I thought to myself, wow! Only four hours of class time? Wait! That means I can intensively study Modern Standard Arabic and do a few hours of syrian/lebanese/palestinian dialectecal Arabic on the side!
(Of course that's what I thought.)
All of this was because I found the perfect program. I got very excited about it (10 hours of language instruction per week, all for only 200 euros a year! God bless France and their love of education!). Happy imaginings of me reading Arabic newspapers in cafe began floating through my head...
And then Beccarah told me that the deadline for foreign students was January 15.
Crushed. I was crushed.
So I wrote a nasty email to the head guy in charge of admissions and told him it wasn't fair to expect us to adhere to deadlines that weren't on the web site. I realize this argument is bunk to Frenchies because they don't give two shits about updating web sites (never mind that the information online was for 2002-2003), but I thought I'd use it as a weapon nonetheless.
And lo and behold! I can enroll in September. I just have to bring my French diploma along with me and they'll treat me like one of them.
Fluent Arabic, here I come...
I'm so excited.
I'm such a dork.
In a good way.
Right?
No such thing as being a dork in a bad way :D (or at least that's what i keep telling myself)