Madame Trés chic and The Absent Minded Professor

I have a new French teacher.  She is about as different from my last teacher as possible.  My last teacher, Monsieur George, (now read that again and this time with a French accent!) was from Romania.  He has a PhD in Philosophy, il est tres intellegent.  He is what I would refer to as an absent minded professor.  Brilliant!  Scattered!  Slightly awkward.  He was a good teacher for me because I think linearly.  Is that a word?  I could follow him in the book! He focused a lot on grammar and conjugations and wrote everything on the board for us to note if we wanted.  He was covered with chalk dust by the end of the class and occasionally got frazzled because he  had so much in his head that he wanted to get out.  I enjoyed his class and hopefully I learned some French.

My new French teacher, Madame José,  (again, with a French accent) is the epitome of a French woman.  She is petite, elegant, animated (ok, that might not be typical), and trés chic!  She is always dressed impeccably.  Heels, skirts, lovely blouses and sweaters, lipstick....always. Her hair is pulled up in a slightly messy yet elegant chignon, with matching jewelry and the occasional scarf tied to perfection, the way only French women can tie a scarf!  Is it genetic?  How do they do it?  I feel so large and pedestrian sitting next to her!  Maybe it is my blue jeans! She sweeps into class with a cheerful, "Bonjour!"  From the minute she enters the class until the class is over she is chattering in French.  She rarely writes anything on the chalkboard.  Mechanics are not the emphasis yet, maybe she assumes we already know it. The conversations in class are personal....  "Describe your dream house, what did you do last weekend, have you been to Paris, what did you do there, tell me about your family....all in French and in the correct tense!" The textbook is a secondary tool used for reference as opposed to the class guide.  She has a real French accent, not a Romanian French accent.  She is merciless when it comes to pronunciation!  Yikes!  I am sooo in trouble here.  She definitely has everyone speaking which I am thinking is a good thing.

I think between Madame Trés Chic and Monsieur Absent Minded Professor I  might just learn some French.  If I'm lucky maybe I'll learn how to dress too!