Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Aujourd'hui, le français

Ah oui! Je n'ai pas du tout oublié la suggestion excellente de ma mère, qui me permet de partager avec vous un peu de mon expérience ici. Si vous avez des questions, vous pouvez les poser à maman, qui serait très contente de vous aider. Si vous préférez une approche plus anonyme, vous pouvez toujours consulter le lien que j'ai préparé pour vous - Babel Fish Translation. --Attention, il faut recopier le lien parce que le premier n'était pas tout à fait correct.-- Et enfin, parce que je suis très gentille, je vais faire une petite traduction le lendemain.

Aujour'dhui, c'est un autre jour assez facile... je n'ai que sept heures de cours, et une demi-heure d'une vraie pause parmi les cours. J'anticipe surtout les cours après cette pause (qui on nous donne pour arriver à l'autre batiment et très rapidement manger un petit gouter afin que personne n'évanouisse pas pendant les cours qui suivent) - Français Idiomatique, c'est-à-dire des expressions de la gastronomie française, et après les cours culturels de l'Histoire de l'Art et de la Philosophie.

Malheureusement je dois partir maintenant, c'est presque l'heure d'Expression Orale. Bonne journée!

Monday, February 27, 2006

Back to school

Vacation is over for the elementary and high school students, and for most college students (except we lucky ones in the CIEF program who get the campus to ourselves at the beginning of the year). I almost feel like I'm in school again too, after two weeks... at last some homework, just enough to polish off in a few hours each week. For once maybe I'll keep my resolution to stay ahead of the semester's workload. And have Sundays off?

By the way, you'll be kind enough to notice that the time zone on this blog is now correct.

Believe it or not, today marks the 29th day and beginning of the 2nd month in France. One down, about three to go. After the Study Abroad Briefing class, I was expecting all kinds of struggles just to survive in a different country. Let me list my trials for you. I live in a historic and semi-quiet part of the city center, where I can easily walk to nearly all the stores, the cinema and theater, and to the university each day. There's a good church to attend and someone to pick me up each week. There's a Bible study / student get-together for a small group of students every Wednesday night. Free museums to see. A kind and supporting family to stay with. Lots of good food. Good professors, friends in classes, one or two other Americans for moral support. And an Internet connection. :) Thank the Lord for all His blessings.

Sunday, February 26, 2006

Oh no

Much as I hate to admit it, this French keyboard isn't as close to civilized chaos as I thought. How can that be? Well, you know how when you're talking or reading or listening, not thinking too hard, your fingers tend to type out certain words as if on an imaginary keyboard? I have actually caught my right little finger wanting to hit an 'm', or my left little finger reaching for an 'a' instead of a 'q'. This despite the fact that I spend about 1 minute on a French keyboard for every hour on my laptop. Kind of frightening how the fingers have a mind of their own to learn, isn't it?

But, don't worry, they aren't so far gone that I want to try a long post... alors, à demain - till tomorrow.

Friday, February 24, 2006

Remembering

Grandpa's funeral is today. I would be grateful if you would remember Grandma and the family in prayer.

But what a comfort to know he's alive! Death has lost its sting.

Thursday, February 23, 2006

Way before April

There! I finished my taxes. Isn't the Internet a wonderful thing?

Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Grandpa fought the good fight, he finished his course, he kept the faith.

Now he is absent from the body and present with the Lord, which is better by far.

Sunday, February 19, 2006

Bonne dimanche

Internet on Sunday, I'm really getting spoiled.

I hear it's cold back in dear old Iowa. Over here, spring is trying to rain its way in. Sounds like it will rain all through my month of March. Oh well, for spring, I'll forgive the weather. Anyway I have an umbrella.

Whenever I try to watch the Olympics, all they're covering is skiing and hockey. It was so riveting last night that I finished half my homework for this week.

You know, one would guess that the French are generally reserved, but it's not true. Especially in sports. Especially the cast covering the Olympics. I WISH you could have heard those two announcers screaming in excitement yesterday afternoon! Oh, what do you know, the skiier who won gold was French...

That's enough English for today.

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Saturday

Well, like all good and productive college students, I slept in this morning till 8:00 a.m. (which is really sleeping in after 6:30), then headed to the university for that much-cherished Internet connection, only to discover that, yep, La Maison de l'Université also closes during vacation. (Don't ask me why the French have two weeks of Christmas Break and then two more weeks a month later... maybe it's a good way to combat winter depression). But today the connection at my host family's house is working! and as they're gone I can use the computer. However, since the Olympics are on and I haven't seen anything all week...

Friday, February 17, 2006

Part two

There's just a little more travel adventure to relate.

Thanks to Catey and Drew, who noticed some specials on SNCF passenger rates, and thanks to my debit card, I was able to get a first-class train ride from Paris to Dijon. Only whoever set the inclination angle for the seat backs clearly went for looks and not for comfort. Not quite enough to sit up, but not quite enough to really lean back. That said, it was all I could do to keep from dozing off for more than 10 minutes at a time. I wanted to see the countryside and I wanted to be ready to depart, but it was a losing battle.

My host mom was supposed to meet me at the station, but when I got off, I had no idea where to look for her... seemingly miles of endless trains and people getting off and getting on, sometimes an occasional horde of children. I tried asking someone where the station was and didn't quite understand the answer, but it sounded like I was supposed to go down those steps? How ridiculous was that? It seemed like that would be a metro rather than the actual station. But, nope, when I finally heaved up the courage to lug my baggage down the steps (trying not to think about getting back out again), I discovered he was right... however... it only took me another fifteen minutes of hunting around to figure out where I was supposed to wait, and by then maybe I had completely missed Mme. Cescutti... but no, just before I completely believed that, she appeared.

It was a rather pleasant surprise to discover that my bedroom was actually two rooms that had been joined together and included two beds. Didn't take me long to settle into my refuge, and such a relief to fall into bed that night. And I thought it was luxury to have a single-bed room to myself last spring at home!

Well, the hour of Grammar draweth nigh. Enjoy your weekend!

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Proof that I flew to France

Grandpa seems to be doing better. Mommy has been keeping everyone up to date, so I'll send you over to her site for the latest (if you haven't been there already).

By the way, for that link, I accidentally discovered a new way to select text with this thing: click the mouse at the end of the text you to select, then move the cursor to the front, press Shift, and then hit the mouse again. Presto bingo!

I don't really feel like jabbering on about my life while Grandpa's in the hospital and other important things are going on, but I guess that's the point of this blog, especially right now. Anyway, I should tell y'all about the trip over here now, while I'm running on 1 hour of sleep, because...

... That fateful Saturday morning, no surprise, I woke up in Ardith's apartment with 2 hours of sleep under my belt, far from ideal but I wasn't expecting ideal. We left in the rain, a lovely gloomy start. I was tremendously excited but this excitement steadily plunged as Chicago approached. Stopping for lunch at Subway wasn't long enough and the next thing I knew, Ardith was deserting me on the border of O'Hare security, telling me not to have too much fun in France. Was she kidding? France was the last place I wanted to be just then. I had said goodbye to Daddy the week before, then to the kids when Mommy and I left for Ardith's, then to Mommy at Ardith's, but this was it. No more Hoyts for four months and everything after this would be new and I didn't know how I was going to survive.

It was a lot of sitting, but excitement over the first plane ride balanced that out. I had to wait 1.5 hours to board the first flight, then we were a little delayed getting to the runway. Whoa! When we were finally taxi-ing into takeoff position in a string of planes, I could hardly contain myself, thrilled and about 77% sure that the technology would never make it and we were all going to die. Of course, it was a rainy day so not much to see of Chicago, though I had a window seat. Every time the plane banked (especially to my side) I braced myself for a downward spiral, but it was fun. Daddy and Mommy, you were right: take-off and landing are the most fun (take-off a little more so).

Someone forgot to adjust the time on either my print-out itinerary or the ticket, becuase I was positive I would miss my connecting flight, and that was before I knew how much walking lay ahead. Well, I got there with half an hour to spare. Whew. I'd thought about getting along without my luggage in Paris, but not about my luggage getting along without me.

A slightly bigger plane with two aisles (first was a Boeing 737, second an Airbus - 300?). Again a window seat, but this time someone arrived to sit next to me, a French lady just across the aisle from her husband. She must have been a seasoned traveler because promptly after takeoff she had settled down with the pillow and blanket provided and slept for probably 7 of the 8 hours. So I didn't take anyone's good advice and get up to stretch my legs and iron out the blood clots. 9 hours (if you count all the pre-takeoff, etc.) is a long time to be stuck in one seat, but the seats are just big enough to maneuver around a little. I rather wanted to eat the chicken instead of the pasta for dinner (not that either would have been gourmet)... "Chick'nor pasta?" "Chick'nor pasta?", but figured the carbs had more sleep-punch than the protein, and it wasn't bad, especially the yummy cream dessert. Slept maybe an hour, hour and a half, maybe a little more if you could dozing. The next morning I shot a couple photos since I knew Mommy would never forgive me or let me back into the will if I didn't get something on the plane, which photos I have yet to post but maybe this weekend I'll get around to remembering to download them into the laptop... things having been so hectic around here with no homework and all.

Oh goodness, that is way too long of a post about nothing important. So we landed in Paris and I got out and stumbled through getting my baggage and passing Customs (literally, nothing to do) and was just set to go under completely when Tiffany's arm came around my shoulder. Tiffany and Catey were truly wonderful to pick me up at the airport, and Drew (Catey's husband) made some truly excellent egg-cheese-sausage crepes, and they saw me safely onto the train to Dijon.

And I think that's all for today.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Coming soon

Yesterday was a long day of classes... 7 hours, in fact, 5 of them in the same amphitheater. It made me nostalgic for the 9 hours of sitting in a plane en route to France. I never told y'all much about the trip, did I? Maybe there will be time tomorrow.

I apologize deeply for not being able to set the exact time for each post... for a long time, Blogger's been refusing to let me do that. Just so you know I'm not one of those insane people who are online at any and all hours of the night.

Tuesday, February 14, 2006

While you're all sleeping...

Don't forget to pray for Mommy and Ardith as they travel to Indiana to see Grandpa and family. And of course you can pray for Daddy's work, and for the kids' survival.

I have to remember that they haven't left yet, even though it's nearly 10 a.m. here. You all are 7 hours behind me, so I guess it's around 3 in the morning. All sane people should be in bed (that doesn't mean you have to be asleep).

Monday, February 13, 2006

Good things

First, sounds like Grandpa's holding his own!

Second, last night I tried the France TeleCom card and what do you know, it worked! (But not on the cellphone) So I enjoyed talking with Daddy and Mommy.

Third, my French Bible finally arrived. Actually, this happened last week, but I wanted to wait till I could explain the Story of La Grande Poste in Dijon. Early one morning I heard the doorbell ring, but I was just finishing in the shower... what could I do? Later Mme. Cescutti (my host mom) brought me a note for me to pick up a package. I didn't read it too carefully, or I would have noticed that the earliest pickup time was 5 p.m. two days from then. Go figure. So I went the next day, before 5 p.m., and the man explained that it wasn't there at the moment but I could try coming back that night after 5 p.m. .... possibly it would be there then. So I tried. And they couldn't find it. So I tried the next day. (The post office is open at least till after 6 p.m., I discovered) A new set of people disappeared in two directions and couldn't find it. I explained that it would be from the United States. Oh, what do you know, there it was, a little package right in my own sight on the end of a rack. Whew. Thanks, Mommy.

Fourth, today was our first day of class and, to celebrate, it snowed! Big heavy wet flakes. No wonder everyone was carrying umbrellas. In class, our professor went over the assignment for a different class tomorrow. Maybe next week we'll get around to Written Comprehension (every class meets just once a week).

Fifth, I discovered to my great delight that although I only have to write exams for 4 hours (4 classes) of Culture and Civilization for Level 5 (as opposed to 2 for Level 4), nevertheless, if I want, I can attend all 8, and not do a lick of homework since they're all lecture! In other words, 20 credit hours' worth, homework for 16 hours' worth, with 4 hours thrown in for free. Who wouldn't pass that up? Here's the list:

Art History - impressionism
Contemporary History - France from 1945 to today
Theatre - a tragedy by Samuel Beckett
Philosophy - grand moral concepts of modern times
Literature - the 20th century
Political Panorama - European institutions and the great world systems
Economy - microeconomics and business economics
French Song - contemporary authors and interpretations

Bye for now. Love from France!

Saturday, February 11, 2006

. . . .

Please, please pray for my Grandpa -

http://iowahoyts.blogspot.com/2006/02/i-am-requesting-prayer.html

(I can't link the same way from this laptop.)

Friday, February 10, 2006

Result of placement test

Niveau cinq!

Level five. :)

(That's what everyone else was hoping for me, and so I guess that's what I was hoping for. I think it's the highest level we can test into).

Wednesday, February 08, 2006

More French Life

I don't understand why students major in French, travel to France to study, and walk around speaking their native language (be that English, Korean, or any other except French) with their friends. Glad I didn't come with a group. Now I'm glad I signed a contract to only speak French. Don't tell anyone, but if I visit friends in Germany or Spain I may have to break it. But not here.

No matter which level we test into, we all get to choose 4 hours (2 classes) worth of culture and civilization courses. Mine will probably be Art History, focusing on Impressionism, and Politics, an overview of worldwide political systems.

The cafeteria here is delightfully cheap. Lunch is 2.7 euros, as opposed to $5 at Grace. Now, at the current exchange rate of about 1.17 dollars to the euro, that translates to $3.16; and they give me 5 euros for lunch every day. Not to mention I don't need lunch money every single day. "Let's see how much money Sharon can save" will be a fun little project.

I already discovered the French version of WalMart - Monoprix. But nothing in France is that cheap. It's an odd combination: high prices, high unemployment, and everyone wants to buy good quality and dress a la mode - which gets terribly expensive. Then, there are 11-year-old girls carrying cellphones around with them at school.

Okay, it's time to leave the English world, get caught up on French news online, and go see if they're hiding my package somewhere at La Grande Poste.

Monday, February 06, 2006

High points

Today I walked to the university three times, just to get an Internet connection. It's only a half-hour walk one-way. Oh, umm, I suppose one of those times was to take the language placement test (which went extremely well, results to post on Friday), but the other two times were certainly for the Internet... more or less. The incredible physical struggles a human being will endure for the sake of freedom. Hooray for my American laptop and English keyboard and lovely wireless card (and thanks to Daddy too).

Believe it or not, it's been colder here than it was in Iowa when I left, but today improved.

My host family gave me a French planner, and now that I actually have things to do, I will spend some pleasant time with that tonight.

Ardith would be so proud of me. Last week while my host family was out, I flipped around the channels and (after a dutiful 15 minutes or so of news) ran head-on into an Enterprise episode dubbed into French. At least I think that's what 'dubbed' means, English mouths but French words which sometimes ran on after the mouths had finished. I think they were developing the transporter. It made me feel very much at home. Now they just need to update their transporter technology to real life, then I'll drop in later this week.

Till next time! (which should be sooner, now that I have a reliable Internet connection).

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Bonjour de Dijon

Hi. It's great to have Internet access again.

This comes to you from one of the computer labs in La Maison de l'Université at L'Université de Bourgogne in Dijon. They packed a lot of computers close together. Next time I will try the morning to see if it's less busy. As this French keyboard is just different enough to be annoying (A and Q switched, M where our ; ... this is zhqt it zould look like if I zerenùt pqying qny qttention to the difference: gorgeous; huh§) ... and as there is the occasional line of students who I assume are waiting to use the computers for more scholarly purposes than me, and as I want to to try catch up on a few emails, goodbye for now.

A bientôt
.