Oh, What a Day...

So the ever-looming nightmare - the SFS proficiency exam - finally struck today with full strength - between 11:35 and 12, I was barraged with questions on an article that somehow managed to cover just about everything in French politics - retirement age, social security, the Madame Bettencourt affair, the economic crisis, the Greek crisis, international relations, and a random part about a plan to tell parents to tell their kids not to walk at night (?). Craaazzzyyy. I was asked detailed questions about such things like tax loopholes and the progressive tax system and was forced to explain something nearly impossible to explain in English - the crash of the housing bubble in the US and how it affected unemployment in France. Wow.
And the funny part is: I think I held my own. Aside from not knowing what "bouclier fiscale" meant (which translates literally to "tangled money" but means "tax ceiling") and taking a long time to wrap my head around the fact that they were seriously trying to get me to explain the specifics of the global financial crisis, I think I did pretty well. I gave a pretty stellar summary at the beginning and held my own (it was mostly my wit that pulled me together haha) during the questioning period. And seriously - if I don't pass because I didn't know what "bouclier fiscal" meant or what the IPF is (a tax on rich people), then that's just nuts.
I should hear the results tonight via email! Thus the constant computer-checking begins...

In other news, after lunch, I went on my semi-spontaneous day trip (absolutely FREE, and thus the best kind of trip) to the nearby towns of Angers and Saumur. Overall, a lovely experience, though I didn't have time (or the desire to pay 10 euros) to enter the chateaus at each of these places, so I guess I didn't truly experience the two places. But oh well - it was a nice break!
Saumur was my first stop and reminded me a lot of Amboise, except with less people and not quite as cool. It was very nice, however - I walked up a good-sized hill to the chateau overlooking the town and the Loire river - but again, didn't go in due to time and money constraints. The rest of the town was nice as well - particularly the town hall (le mairie), which had similar architecture to Chambord, the most famous chateau in the area.
Angers was the former capital of the state of Anjou, which hit its stride close to same time as Touraine - 13th, 14th century. The town itself reminded me a lot of Tours - around the same size - about an equal amount of attractions, etc. However, I think Angers (pronounced Ahn-jair) might be slightly prettier, as there were roses everywhere and less ugly grey-white buildings. There were also some tremendous gardens and parks, many of which I didn't even get to see but they look cool in photos.
In other news, I got an interview for a fall internship in DC with the Stimson Center - which i have to do Friday night at 8pm! Inconvenient time, but good news nonetheless!
So depending on the results announced tonight, I may be having a celebratory drink with the rest of the test-takers tonight in Place Plumereau!

Proficiency Exam Tomorrow!!

Ahhh! It's just one day away: the light at the end of the tunnel - the test that could lift a great weight off my shoulders - the School of Foreign Service language proficiency exam in French. At 11:15 tomorrow, it will be just me, Professor Spielmann, and an article - and for 20 minutes I have to talk about the article, answering questions about French politics, society, etc. and formulating arguments in response to the article.
Well, the weird thing is...I'm not really nervous. I figure this: I have been in France for 6 weeks now and have been speaking it almost every day for most of the day and have been reading Le Monde (French newspaper) every day - so there's not really much more I can do. Plus, I am thinking maybe the test will be easier because it is monitored here by a professor who normally doesn't monitoring them and is rather relaxed and easy to understand. So on the whole, not too stressed. But only time will tell how I will do...
After the test, since I have the afternoon off and a bunch of free train tickets remaining, I have decided I will be visiting the nearby towns of Saumur and Angers. Not sure why i picked them - but they both have large chateaux and a good deal of nice churches and whatnot. Since I only have less than a week in Europe left, I might as well take advantage while I can, eh?
On that note, I am also planning the final few days of the trip, when I will be in London from July 31-August 3. I just booked a hostel near Waterloo station (unfortunately not the station I get into from Paris on the Eurostar, so a connection is necessary) and am in the works of planning a day trip up to Oxford University to visit Chi, Brendan, and compnay on August 1. Also, David was kind enough to offer a place to sleep for August 2 with his uncle in Chapham Junction, so the two of us will hopefully have a little last hurrah (pub crawl, maybe? haha) that night before my flight the next morning out of Gatwick Airport.