A little bit of France, A little bit of Pictionary
Vanderbilt is a cool school, man.
Just last week, my French 101b class met at our professor’s apartment for a french-themed dinner.
To be honest, I was a little caught off guard when she explained to the class that she would be opening her home and cooking for us simply because she wanted to. We weren’t even required to speak French at the dinner (Merci beaucoup, professeur)!
We arrived at her apartment around 7pm, and she had bowls of dried fruit and nuts set out as appetizers (NOTE: If you haven’t tried dried pineapple, go get some. Right now). Everyone eventually arrived, and we sat down to a dinner of coq au vin, baguettes, French green beans, and a delectable cheese course. For dessert, there was ice cream, madeleines, and apple pie. It was fannnnntastic.
After dinner, we all played a gritty game of Pictionary in our professor’s living room. There was a lot of bending of the rules, shouting, and general ambiguity of how Pictionary is played, but regardless, it was an absurd amount of fun.
The evening was such an amazing gift from our professor! Then again, her kindness really shouldn’t have been a surprise to me. The kindness the professors at Vanderbilt extend and the extra mile they all travel is truly remarkable. My French professor is certainly no exception. I used to hear horror stories about professors who didn’t care to know your name, just your grade, but I can’t think of a single professor I have had that didn’t show genuine interest in their students, and I’ve been in lecture classes with over 100 students.
Vanderbilt is a special place, French is a special language, and Pictionary is a special game.