Etre Cidéfien, c'est la belle vie

            I’m now into my second week at the Centre International d’Etudes Françaises (CIDEF), at the lovely Université Catholique de l’Ouest (UCO). It is truly an international program – although the majority of the student population at CIDEF is Asian, the current group of 452 students represents 33 countries from all over the world. It’s not uncommon to see nuns (some in full habit) throughout your daily studies, because they come to learn French as the language of their motherhouse. In addition to diverse cultural backgrounds, students arrive with varying levels of proficiency in French, some with only a handful of words, and others in their 4^th or 5^th year of language. Using a fairly bewildering system, CIDEF accommodates us all.

            The main entry to the UCO is banked by trees, from which you can hear birdsong whether the temperature is below zero (Celsius), or it’s a balmy spring afternoon. The site itself was first home to a University in the 1300s, although the current buildings date back to (I believe) 1875.  Much of the interior was recently renovated, and we now have walls and floors in greens, purples, and oranges. Once you get past the black ice on the drive, it’s quite a pleasant place to study.