One down, six to go
Alan arrived at DEFLE on Monday morning and read the e-mail and updated the blog. Yes - the wifi at home is definitely not working. I’ll get on to Wanadoo today, I hope. Then I went home to cram conjugaison, and especially those awkward verbs where you get the same word meaning two different things (e.g. je suis = I am / I follow). Those always come up in Grammar tests.
Then after lunch with the kids, back to DEFLE for the Compte rendu exam. The nervous tension was palpable in the atrium where everyone was gathered. As 13h30 approached we swarmed down to the lecture theatre and suddenly it was party time. A lecturer appeared with a camera to take a photo of us all. I took some, too. We took our scrap paper and our answer booklets and sat in alternate places in the theatre.
The examiner came in and read the text twice. It dealt with the ineffective French anti-smoking laws. We had to summarise it in 120 words and assign a title. I didn’t produce my best compte rendu ever, but I don’t think I will have failed.
(Thanks for praying, by the way. Though Saturday was early, late, long and cold, I have been fine today, though it is only 20h30 and I am LONGING for sleep!)
The invigilator was reading a book by Lawrence Durrell. After I had finished and put my paper on the front desk she asked me if I knew of him. I said I did (though I don’t think I have ever read anything by him) and asked her if she knew of his brother, Gerald Durrell. She did, having worked in Cameroon at one time. She said "but it’s not at all in the same style". Yes.
Pat was surprised not to have had any exams during her sessions today, though she did have to read her French version of "The Princess and the Pea".
Tomorrow we both start at 8h30 - I have a civilisation examination. Now there’s a concept to ponder!
Then after lunch with the kids, back to DEFLE for the Compte rendu exam. The nervous tension was palpable in the atrium where everyone was gathered. As 13h30 approached we swarmed down to the lecture theatre and suddenly it was party time. A lecturer appeared with a camera to take a photo of us all. I took some, too. We took our scrap paper and our answer booklets and sat in alternate places in the theatre.
The examiner came in and read the text twice. It dealt with the ineffective French anti-smoking laws. We had to summarise it in 120 words and assign a title. I didn’t produce my best compte rendu ever, but I don’t think I will have failed.
(Thanks for praying, by the way. Though Saturday was early, late, long and cold, I have been fine today, though it is only 20h30 and I am LONGING for sleep!)
The invigilator was reading a book by Lawrence Durrell. After I had finished and put my paper on the front desk she asked me if I knew of him. I said I did (though I don’t think I have ever read anything by him) and asked her if she knew of his brother, Gerald Durrell. She did, having worked in Cameroon at one time. She said "but it’s not at all in the same style". Yes.
Pat was surprised not to have had any exams during her sessions today, though she did have to read her French version of "The Princess and the Pea".
Tomorrow we both start at 8h30 - I have a civilisation examination. Now there’s a concept to ponder!
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