Frustration
So I'm sure that some (if not most) of you know that I am living in Switzerland and that I am currently taking a month long language training class. The class so far has been frustrating and has been filled with ups and downs. There is something about the professor that I don't like... Yes, there are of course good things about her- I am after all learning a lot.
But there's something else. I thought I had it pinpointed to one thing yesterday- but today I've realized that it's a couple of things.
The thing I realized yesterday: If you give her an opinion she disagrees with, she'll interrupt you or just plain talk over you. This happened quite a bit to a few of the newer students in class. One girl was giving an example of why being yourself was more important than how people perceive you at first glance- but before she could finish her statement, the teacher interrupted her and told her that she was wrong and was saying the opposite of her original remark. The girl, who wasn't finished with what she was going to say, tried to tell the teacher that she wasn't done explaining but couldn't because the teacher wouldn't shut the fuck up.
That happened a lot yesterday to various students.
Today though, I think I pin pointed another aggravation: I think my professor is slightly Anti-American.
Okay okay, that's a bold statement, and I normally don't make comments like that. Perhaps she's not anti-American so much as she is critical of the American culture. Yeah, I like that better. I of course could also be completely crazy and could be fabricating all of this in my head. I am the only American in the class... maybe I'm just really sensitive to any remark about the United States? I do wish there was at least ONE other person from the United States in there with me. That way I could tell if I was over reacting.
Her first comment which kind of ticked me off was about Michael Phelps. Allow me to explain. We were learning the Passive voice in French and I was asked to give an example ( Active voice would be "I drove my car" Passive would be "The car was driven by me"). I gave the example, "8 Medals were won by Phelps". Instead of just telling me I was correct, she felt the need to go into how Michael Phelps could be "doping" and that they're going to run a drug test on him and blah blah blah.
Seriously? You want to argue with me whether or not I think an AMAZING AMERICAN athlete is on drugs? Allez au diable. I'm proud of my American athletes! I guess she was just trying to create a discussion but.. I dunno.
The other thing happened today. At the very end of class she handed out a small comic strip/political cartoon. In the comic was a very fat man eating a very large sandwich and a small boy behind him holding his bowl up to the air catching the crumbs from the sandwich.
We all agreed that the fat man symbolized the richer countries who had everything and that the little boy represented the poorer countries who received very little. Then she asked for more explanation and someone finally said that the boy represented Africa. Then she asked who the fat man represented, and someone finally said the United States. I of course said I disagreed with this- I said that the man could also be the United States but I didn't think he represented JUST the United States. Then she pointed out the hat the fat man was wearing. It was a baseball cap worn backwards- something, she said, was very American. That's interesting, I've seen a ton of people from European countries wear their hats backwards (maybe copying Americans or because they're from the western world?)- but I get what she was saying ¬.¬
I guess this kind of ticked me off because she knew she was handing out a comic that criticized Americans.
I also don't know if I'm overreacting... Like I mentioned earlier, I'm the only American in the class- so it's difficult to tell if this is all in my head or if she's just picking on America because we're all over the place (news, films, books etc). Maybe I'm just getting really frustrated over nothing.
Oh- btw, if you would like to read about my experiences in Switzerland, go to
http://misstexswiss.blogspot.com
But there's something else. I thought I had it pinpointed to one thing yesterday- but today I've realized that it's a couple of things.
The thing I realized yesterday: If you give her an opinion she disagrees with, she'll interrupt you or just plain talk over you. This happened quite a bit to a few of the newer students in class. One girl was giving an example of why being yourself was more important than how people perceive you at first glance- but before she could finish her statement, the teacher interrupted her and told her that she was wrong and was saying the opposite of her original remark. The girl, who wasn't finished with what she was going to say, tried to tell the teacher that she wasn't done explaining but couldn't because the teacher wouldn't shut the fuck up.
That happened a lot yesterday to various students.
Today though, I think I pin pointed another aggravation: I think my professor is slightly Anti-American.
Okay okay, that's a bold statement, and I normally don't make comments like that. Perhaps she's not anti-American so much as she is critical of the American culture. Yeah, I like that better. I of course could also be completely crazy and could be fabricating all of this in my head. I am the only American in the class... maybe I'm just really sensitive to any remark about the United States? I do wish there was at least ONE other person from the United States in there with me. That way I could tell if I was over reacting.
Her first comment which kind of ticked me off was about Michael Phelps. Allow me to explain. We were learning the Passive voice in French and I was asked to give an example ( Active voice would be "I drove my car" Passive would be "The car was driven by me"). I gave the example, "8 Medals were won by Phelps". Instead of just telling me I was correct, she felt the need to go into how Michael Phelps could be "doping" and that they're going to run a drug test on him and blah blah blah.
Seriously? You want to argue with me whether or not I think an AMAZING AMERICAN athlete is on drugs? Allez au diable. I'm proud of my American athletes! I guess she was just trying to create a discussion but.. I dunno.
The other thing happened today. At the very end of class she handed out a small comic strip/political cartoon. In the comic was a very fat man eating a very large sandwich and a small boy behind him holding his bowl up to the air catching the crumbs from the sandwich.
We all agreed that the fat man symbolized the richer countries who had everything and that the little boy represented the poorer countries who received very little. Then she asked for more explanation and someone finally said that the boy represented Africa. Then she asked who the fat man represented, and someone finally said the United States. I of course said I disagreed with this- I said that the man could also be the United States but I didn't think he represented JUST the United States. Then she pointed out the hat the fat man was wearing. It was a baseball cap worn backwards- something, she said, was very American. That's interesting, I've seen a ton of people from European countries wear their hats backwards (maybe copying Americans or because they're from the western world?)- but I get what she was saying ¬.¬
I guess this kind of ticked me off because she knew she was handing out a comic that criticized Americans.
I also don't know if I'm overreacting... Like I mentioned earlier, I'm the only American in the class- so it's difficult to tell if this is all in my head or if she's just picking on America because we're all over the place (news, films, books etc). Maybe I'm just getting really frustrated over nothing.
Oh- btw, if you would like to read about my experiences in Switzerland, go to
http://misstexswiss.blogspot.com