One of my favorite things about being in college is that I am able to choose classes that I really do enjoy. For example, I began taking French classes my first semester of college in order to fulfill the three-semester language requirement at McDaniel. I fell in love with the language because of my first French professor and the fun atmosphere of the class.
Each semester, I take at least one French course and even studied abroad in Dijon to fulfill a French major requirement. This semester, I am taking a French literature course. I was a bit nervous at first because it is an upper-level French class, but I knew that I needed to take this class in order to improve my proficiency in the language.
It is a very difficult class for me. I am always hesitant to speak and I am constantly nervous about making mistakes in my written assignments. However, it is an interesting course subject and I enjoy learning new words and definitions. Our assignment for the weekend was to watch the film, “Le Retour de Martin Guerre,” which translates to, “The Return of Martin Guerre.” This was the one homework assignment for the weekend and when I watched the movie, I was happily surprised that I could understand a majority of the dialogue.
Watching the movie and understanding the film made me think about how far I have progressed in French. If someone would have told me at the start of my freshman year that I would major in French, study abroad in France, and watch a film completely in French, I definitely would not have believed them. Whether you know exactly what you want to do in college, or are unsure of a major, you will find your home in a department at McDaniel.
Leanna–I didn’t know you studied abroad in France in addition to studying in Budapest. You’ll have to tell us more about it! 🙂