Friday, March 31, 2006
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
The new homeowner
Congratulations to my sister Ardith on her important milestone of buying a house!
I can't wait to come visit you. :)
I can't wait to come visit you. :)
Monday, March 27, 2006
Videos
Here are four of the other videos I took. Seems that the fifth has disappeared into infinity (no great loss). I should warn you that *two of the videos are from the second floor of H&M, so you will hear some background noise... including a little conversation I was having with another student!
Place de la Théatre 2
*Rue de la Liberté 1
*Rue de la Liberté 2
Rue de la Liberté 3
Place de la Théatre 2
*Rue de la Liberté 1
*Rue de la Liberté 2
Rue de la Liberté 3
Friday, March 24, 2006
More media...
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Breaking the law on Sunday [updated]
Sunday I went to church (what a shock). Afterwards mostly everyone stayed to talk a good half-hour or hour, as usual, and just like home. A group of church members was going out to eat at Flunch and they invited me to come along. I think it was partly in honor of Matt, an Iowan who has been here working for John Deere during the past two years, and who is leaving next week.
After a leisurely lunch, we headed back to the church (I was informed of what was happening about halfway through each stage), where finally everyone congregated to have coffee and tea and give Matt his going-away presents. Most of us ended up staying till about 6 p.m., talking and playing games and listening to Matt's new CD and looking through a book with pictures of France, his other present.
Sadly, Matt has to leave his BMW behind. So we were forced to take it out for a spin to make sure it was in selling condition. I came out to watch and they convinced me to get in. Jérémie was driving... he took us out on the interstate and up to 220 kilometers per hour... I could see the speedometer... you can make the calculations, but mine come out to about 137.5 miles per hour. Whew! It was pretty fun, especially since I don't have anything on my conscience 'cause I was a victim of circumstances, naturally.
[update]
Maybe I should explain that I had no idea these other young people planned to drive that fast. I was under the impression that it would be a short, normal ride to enjoy a nice car. I was safely sandwiched between two girls in the back seat. And they were wrong to speed. And if anyone has any questions, concerns, or criticisms, feel free to level them at me.
After a leisurely lunch, we headed back to the church (I was informed of what was happening about halfway through each stage), where finally everyone congregated to have coffee and tea and give Matt his going-away presents. Most of us ended up staying till about 6 p.m., talking and playing games and listening to Matt's new CD and looking through a book with pictures of France, his other present.
Sadly, Matt has to leave his BMW behind. So we were forced to take it out for a spin to make sure it was in selling condition. I came out to watch and they convinced me to get in. Jérémie was driving... he took us out on the interstate and up to 220 kilometers per hour... I could see the speedometer... you can make the calculations, but mine come out to about 137.5 miles per hour. Whew! It was pretty fun, especially since I don't have anything on my conscience 'cause I was a victim of circumstances, naturally.
[update]
Maybe I should explain that I had no idea these other young people planned to drive that fast. I was under the impression that it would be a short, normal ride to enjoy a nice car. I was safely sandwiched between two girls in the back seat. And they were wrong to speed. And if anyone has any questions, concerns, or criticisms, feel free to level them at me.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Thursday, Friday, Saturday
I am almost too original with the titles, hein?
[and almost too careless...]
My dear Prof. Schram came to spend a couple weeks in France. Last Thursday, Sarah and I spent most of the afternoon with her. We walked around Dijon and drank coffee and hot chocolate and enjoyed lots of talking and catching up. Brian (the George Fox student with our study abroad program) joined us for supper... which was absolutely delicious. I ate escargots for the first time. They looked horrible, little pieces of gray stuff in green liquid in shells. Everyone else had a good laugh at my face. The green liquid was actually butter with... garlic and some kind of green herb, and the snails were delicious, as long as I didn't think about eating snails. That was just the entrée. The main dish was a kind of fish with a mustard cream sauce and rice and some vegetables, and dessert was a chocolate cake with layers of chocolate mousse set on a little sea of creamy sauce and Chantilly... you know I'm just describing all this for Mommy's sake, don't you?
Probably too much rich food, because I didn't sleep much that night. The next morning Prof. Schram and I had some one-on-one time over hot chocolate in a café, which was very pleasant and - what should I say - re-enforcing? Then she walked to the university with me to attend the Grammar class with Sarah and me.
Saturday morning I did homework and said au revoir to Prof. Schram. While I was cleaning up my dishes from lunch, Mme. Josianne (my host mom) asked if I had another name. No, just my middle name, which is Louise. Ahhh! Louise! She and M. Albert much preferred Louise... the sound in French and the stereotype behind the name are apparently more gentle and suited to me - according to them. So now I am Louise. The droll part is that the meaning behind the names is quite the opposite!
Saturday afternoon I went to the museum, taking my own sweet time, as usual, till the demonstration against the CPE started and disrupted my museum atmosphere. Oh well, I would never have finished that day anyway. I got some pictures of that one, as you see from the previous post. Incidentally, my professor mentioned yesterday that it was a national syndicat which came to Dijon to demonstrate. So I guess it was on the national news. I didn't catch it, though I listen to the radio almost every day.
And there were two other demonstrations, one later that evening and one yesterday when I was returning from class, but I'm not sure what they were about. Not the CPE, I think.
Then I went to see a movie, and stupidly forgot my culture card, so I couldn't get the student rate of 3,50 euros, so I took a long walk instead, which was very pleasant because spring is finally here.
And now I'm running out of time again, so I'll have to explain about Sunday and the 137.5 miles per hour tomorrow.
Hopefully you can't dredge up too many errors in this un-proofread post. A demain.
[and almost too careless...]
My dear Prof. Schram came to spend a couple weeks in France. Last Thursday, Sarah and I spent most of the afternoon with her. We walked around Dijon and drank coffee and hot chocolate and enjoyed lots of talking and catching up. Brian (the George Fox student with our study abroad program) joined us for supper... which was absolutely delicious. I ate escargots for the first time. They looked horrible, little pieces of gray stuff in green liquid in shells. Everyone else had a good laugh at my face. The green liquid was actually butter with... garlic and some kind of green herb, and the snails were delicious, as long as I didn't think about eating snails. That was just the entrée. The main dish was a kind of fish with a mustard cream sauce and rice and some vegetables, and dessert was a chocolate cake with layers of chocolate mousse set on a little sea of creamy sauce and Chantilly... you know I'm just describing all this for Mommy's sake, don't you?
Probably too much rich food, because I didn't sleep much that night. The next morning Prof. Schram and I had some one-on-one time over hot chocolate in a café, which was very pleasant and - what should I say - re-enforcing? Then she walked to the university with me to attend the Grammar class with Sarah and me.
Saturday morning I did homework and said au revoir to Prof. Schram. While I was cleaning up my dishes from lunch, Mme. Josianne (my host mom) asked if I had another name. No, just my middle name, which is Louise. Ahhh! Louise! She and M. Albert much preferred Louise... the sound in French and the stereotype behind the name are apparently more gentle and suited to me - according to them. So now I am Louise. The droll part is that the meaning behind the names is quite the opposite!
Saturday afternoon I went to the museum, taking my own sweet time, as usual, till the demonstration against the CPE started and disrupted my museum atmosphere. Oh well, I would never have finished that day anyway. I got some pictures of that one, as you see from the previous post. Incidentally, my professor mentioned yesterday that it was a national syndicat which came to Dijon to demonstrate. So I guess it was on the national news. I didn't catch it, though I listen to the radio almost every day.
And there were two other demonstrations, one later that evening and one yesterday when I was returning from class, but I'm not sure what they were about. Not the CPE, I think.
Then I went to see a movie, and stupidly forgot my culture card, so I couldn't get the student rate of 3,50 euros, so I took a long walk instead, which was very pleasant because spring is finally here.
And now I'm running out of time again, so I'll have to explain about Sunday and the 137.5 miles per hour tomorrow.
Hopefully you can't dredge up too many errors in this un-proofread post. A demain.
Monday, March 20, 2006
Almost live
Saturday I was wandering through a museum when shouts and drum beats came to my ears. So much for the museum. I went and got my camera to take the following pictures of the demonstration against the CPE, 18/3/06 (that date is French). Sorry I don't have the time to dream up an exciting commentary!
These four photos are at la Place de la Libération.
These two at la Place Saint-Michel. (I was trying to get around behind so I could cut across some back streets and take other pictures)
These two are of the oncoming horde down la Rue de la Liberté, a main street through the city center. (see, I got around them!)
And I went up to the second floor of H&M just to get this slightly better view for you, oh, and this one too.
And one more from the street.
I also took some video with sound, which I'll try to make available soon... if I can figure out how.
These four photos are at la Place de la Libération.
These two at la Place Saint-Michel. (I was trying to get around behind so I could cut across some back streets and take other pictures)
These two are of the oncoming horde down la Rue de la Liberté, a main street through the city center. (see, I got around them!)
And I went up to the second floor of H&M just to get this slightly better view for you, oh, and this one too.
And one more from the street.
I also took some video with sound, which I'll try to make available soon... if I can figure out how.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
The weekend
I slept in till 9 a.m. on Saturday. That was lovely. Then I waited an hour for one of my eleven-year-old host sisters to finish in the bathroom (hmm... some things never change). Unfortunately, when it was my turn, I forgot to make sure that the water was turned back on to full force - as my host mom had cut it off to speed her daughter up. It was just like home when we were without water the few days before I left.
In the afternoon I went to a mosque in Dijon. (My topic for the Oral Expression presentation is the Muslims in France.) The Al-Khir Mosque is a little white building with a green roof, and a little white minaret with a green top, set back from the road in an open space between apartment buildings. It was a sprinkly afternoon. I arrived just as several men were coming out from prayers, including the one who works in the library - I had telephoned him the week before. We were able to fix my interview with the president of the mosque for Monday morning of the next week.
Then I took a nice long walk down a tree-lined street. I like to walk off stress, excitement, and overactive thoughts.
That night I talked to Mommy for a whole hour - of course, it was her afternoon - which was lovely!
Sunday morning around 9:40 I walked to la Place Saint-Michel - Saint Michel, incidentally, is that 'magnificent building' of which I took a photo - for my ride to church. After church I went with some other 'young' people (that is, I think, between 20 and 40) for lunch, which was crepes. There was a nice little griddle in the middle of the table, with exactly 6 little circles for the crepes, perfect for the six of us. Our host kept adding a little batter as we flipped and removed our crepes, which we could fill with things like cheese, ham, dried tomatoes, dried olives, odd little pieces of fish, etc. It was very pleasant. And I met someone else from Iowa! A man from Ottawa (I think) who has been working here around two years for John Deere, and is soon to return.
Sadly, I had to leave right after lunch, but happily it was for a good reason... to meet one of my classmates for a drink in a bar and a violent movie.
Wouldn't it be fun to stop the story there?
Sundays there is not much open. So after we'd bought our tickets (just in case there was a rush later), Tae and I went looking for a place to drink something hot, but the first place we found in ten minutes was a bar. So we went in and had some hot chocolate. The bar was pretty quiet. Nobody was drunk, and it wasn't too smokey. There was a large-screen TV in the back. I think the bars here must be a little different, or maybe Sunday afternoon is the right time to go.
Then we went back for our movie, only to find the line overflowing across the street! Whew, good thing we'd thought ahead. The movie was De battre mon coeur s'est arreté. Mmm, it wasn't quite like the synopsis I read (not to mention the photo was in blue and white, so of course I didn't see the blood on his sleeve). Mostly I was curious to see this actor who had won eight Césars. Better yet, by the time Tae and I got up to the room where this particular movie was showing, the only seats left were in the v-e-r-y front row, about three feet from the screen (well... maybe a little more...).
After that I wound down with a long cold walk.
That's all the weekend, and that's all the time I have free to blog for now. I wish you all a happy Wednesday!
In the afternoon I went to a mosque in Dijon. (My topic for the Oral Expression presentation is the Muslims in France.) The Al-Khir Mosque is a little white building with a green roof, and a little white minaret with a green top, set back from the road in an open space between apartment buildings. It was a sprinkly afternoon. I arrived just as several men were coming out from prayers, including the one who works in the library - I had telephoned him the week before. We were able to fix my interview with the president of the mosque for Monday morning of the next week.
Then I took a nice long walk down a tree-lined street. I like to walk off stress, excitement, and overactive thoughts.
That night I talked to Mommy for a whole hour - of course, it was her afternoon - which was lovely!
Sunday morning around 9:40 I walked to la Place Saint-Michel - Saint Michel, incidentally, is that 'magnificent building' of which I took a photo - for my ride to church. After church I went with some other 'young' people (that is, I think, between 20 and 40) for lunch, which was crepes. There was a nice little griddle in the middle of the table, with exactly 6 little circles for the crepes, perfect for the six of us. Our host kept adding a little batter as we flipped and removed our crepes, which we could fill with things like cheese, ham, dried tomatoes, dried olives, odd little pieces of fish, etc. It was very pleasant. And I met someone else from Iowa! A man from Ottawa (I think) who has been working here around two years for John Deere, and is soon to return.
Sadly, I had to leave right after lunch, but happily it was for a good reason... to meet one of my classmates for a drink in a bar and a violent movie.
Wouldn't it be fun to stop the story there?
Sundays there is not much open. So after we'd bought our tickets (just in case there was a rush later), Tae and I went looking for a place to drink something hot, but the first place we found in ten minutes was a bar. So we went in and had some hot chocolate. The bar was pretty quiet. Nobody was drunk, and it wasn't too smokey. There was a large-screen TV in the back. I think the bars here must be a little different, or maybe Sunday afternoon is the right time to go.
Then we went back for our movie, only to find the line overflowing across the street! Whew, good thing we'd thought ahead. The movie was De battre mon coeur s'est arreté. Mmm, it wasn't quite like the synopsis I read (not to mention the photo was in blue and white, so of course I didn't see the blood on his sleeve). Mostly I was curious to see this actor who had won eight Césars. Better yet, by the time Tae and I got up to the room where this particular movie was showing, the only seats left were in the v-e-r-y front row, about three feet from the screen (well... maybe a little more...).
After that I wound down with a long cold walk.
That's all the weekend, and that's all the time I have free to blog for now. I wish you all a happy Wednesday!
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
apologies
Sorry, the weekend post will have to wait. I don't have time right now for two reasons. One, the Grace mail site was moving like molasses this morning. Two, I came to the university later than usual to avoid mixing with the students as much as possible. My host mom told me this morning that the news had announced a case of meningitis, a student in the Science Department. Not much risk, but why look for trouble? However, if our second professor is on strike this afternoon (the first one is in the CIEF program), you may yet see another post today!
Monday, March 13, 2006
Strike! - part two
That is, what happened last Friday. First of all, when my classmate and I set out to our civilization courses for the afternoon, we discovered that the building was locked because of the strike. Fortunately, we ran into some other classmates who weren't going to attend the afternoon courses but informed us that they had been moved to another building. We trekked over to this building, already ten minutes late, to find the professor trying to get the key to unlock the amphitheater for the course. So we waited with the other students in the hall.
Finally he had the key, he came and unlocked the room, and we all filed in. Tae and I had not yet sat down when the professor informed us, "Don't bother taking out your things, because it's useless. I'm on strike and cannot teach this course today."
He did offer to take questions if we had them, and to email us the notes for that day's course.
I don't know. Maybe there's some policy about making strike announcements in the mere hall of the building.
Anyway, looks like some of our Tuesday and Friday afternoon classes will be out this week as well. The students are determined to beat down the CPE.
Tune in tomorrow for all the exciting weekend details!
Finally he had the key, he came and unlocked the room, and we all filed in. Tae and I had not yet sat down when the professor informed us, "Don't bother taking out your things, because it's useless. I'm on strike and cannot teach this course today."
He did offer to take questions if we had them, and to email us the notes for that day's course.
I don't know. Maybe there's some policy about making strike announcements in the mere hall of the building.
Anyway, looks like some of our Tuesday and Friday afternoon classes will be out this week as well. The students are determined to beat down the CPE.
Tune in tomorrow for all the exciting weekend details!
Friday, March 10, 2006
Strike!
Well, what do you know... no classes this afternoon, because our student professors are protesting the CPE (Contrat de Première Embauche - Contract of First Employment), like all the other good students and concerned young people. Tuesday was the first big demonstration day, yesterday the government passed the CPE, and Saturday - I think - is the next demonstration, after that we'll have to see if it really takes three strikes... or more.
In the meantime, I don't mind four extra hours in the day!
In the meantime, I don't mind four extra hours in the day!
Friday
Today is the first Grammar control. That means our first quiz. I think that means we spend the first hour of class reading a newspaper article and filling in blanks, answering questions, and otherwise 'grammar-in-context'. Sounds like fun to me! We haven't covered anything new so i couldn't really study for this.
Today is also the second long day of the week (the first is Tuesday). That means four consecutive hours of culture/civilization courses. I think today is Economy and French Song, which make a frustrating combination because the 'professor' for Economy is almost too hard to understand and the 'professor' for French Song too easy and slow (for 'professor', read 'someone still pursuing his or her studies'). Since it's Friday, this order is preferable. Anyway, it must be good exercise for the ears and brain, and I can always study my dictionary in between the remarks on French Song.
I mentioned that it snowed last weekend. Now it's raining again. Personally, I'm convinced that spring is finally going to break through and kick winter out the door... or maybe it's just my index fingers poking out the holes in my gloves. In any case, I haven't taken the bus to the university once, which I consider a personal triumph.
Thursday of next week my dear French professor at Grace arrives for a visit! Prof. Schram will be meeting with our two study-abroad programs here, the CIEF in Dijon and the Sorbonne in Paris. And of course also visiting France, and us. :)
Happy Friday to my brothers and sisters as they finish up their school for the week, and to Ardith and Daddy as they finish up their work for the week, and to Mommy as she finally gets to sleep till a sane hour tomorrow... which also applies to Daddy and Ardith, but not the kids because they will be up early to hit the computer games.
Today is also the second long day of the week (the first is Tuesday). That means four consecutive hours of culture/civilization courses. I think today is Economy and French Song, which make a frustrating combination because the 'professor' for Economy is almost too hard to understand and the 'professor' for French Song too easy and slow (for 'professor', read 'someone still pursuing his or her studies'). Since it's Friday, this order is preferable. Anyway, it must be good exercise for the ears and brain, and I can always study my dictionary in between the remarks on French Song.
I mentioned that it snowed last weekend. Now it's raining again. Personally, I'm convinced that spring is finally going to break through and kick winter out the door... or maybe it's just my index fingers poking out the holes in my gloves. In any case, I haven't taken the bus to the university once, which I consider a personal triumph.
Thursday of next week my dear French professor at Grace arrives for a visit! Prof. Schram will be meeting with our two study-abroad programs here, the CIEF in Dijon and the Sorbonne in Paris. And of course also visiting France, and us. :)
Happy Friday to my brothers and sisters as they finish up their school for the week, and to Ardith and Daddy as they finish up their work for the week, and to Mommy as she finally gets to sleep till a sane hour tomorrow... which also applies to Daddy and Ardith, but not the kids because they will be up early to hit the computer games.
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Review
Oh yes, why I couldn't post yesterday. Well, I had plans to meet friends for dinner at 6 p.m., then a Bible study at 8 p.m., and I still had to re-copy (neatly) my dissertation due the next morning at 9 a.m. Everything did get done.
Sarah is another student here from my university, a French major, and so she arrived last October for an entire year. This week two of her friends (I know them a little as well) arrived during their week of spring break, and so we dined together last night, with another friend of Sarah's who is Korean but speaks a little English. This produced a delightfully interesting and somewhat confusing conversation of mostly English and some French: fast English, slower English, French to explain and translate, more French to order. No better exercise for the brain than attempting to be bilingual during two hours!
And finally, now that I have a little momentum, here are the first three pictures I took on the trip:
Sunday morning sunrise over the Atlantic.
The wing of the plane, just outside my window.
And the historic first photo of France!
That was thrilling, huh?
Sarah is another student here from my university, a French major, and so she arrived last October for an entire year. This week two of her friends (I know them a little as well) arrived during their week of spring break, and so we dined together last night, with another friend of Sarah's who is Korean but speaks a little English. This produced a delightfully interesting and somewhat confusing conversation of mostly English and some French: fast English, slower English, French to explain and translate, more French to order. No better exercise for the brain than attempting to be bilingual during two hours!
And finally, now that I have a little momentum, here are the first three pictures I took on the trip:
Sunday morning sunrise over the Atlantic.
The wing of the plane, just outside my window.
And the historic first photo of France!
That was thrilling, huh?
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Middle of the week
This is just a note to say that it's 16:40 (which I'm sure you wanted to know) and so I don't have time to post much today, which will be explained tomorrow. Enjoy your Wednesday. I know some of you are just getting up.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Super Snowy Saturday and Sunday [updated]
Yep, that's right - did I say spring was coming? - this weekend we got slammed.
Saturday I slept in till 6:30 because I was planning on using the Internet at La Maison de l'Université before it closed at noon. Then I looked out my window... then I looked out the door... then I decided it was a good day to learn some flexibility. It was the heaviest, slushiest, most-wet-possible snow without being rain and it was coming down pretty good. Nevertheless, I did venture out, to investigate the market (at my host mom's suggestion - "Go see all the cheeses"), then to the museum I had already visited, because somewhere in that building were a second and third floor for the contemporary art section and I hadn't gotten to that. So I figured out the floor plan around 11:00 a.m., just in time to find the sign informing me that the contemporary art section was closed from 11:30 till 1:45. Forget it, then, I like to wander at my own sweet will and pace through a museum... I'll come back another time.
Sunday morning we woke up to blue skies and lots of snow: heaped on the buildings and dumped on the cars and courtyards, no wind to sculpt and drift like in Iowa. All day there were people outside snapping pictures and children playing in the snow. After church, the +20-year-olds dashed outdoors for a snowball fight. I wish you could have seen the cars with a foot of snow on top. After a morning of sunshine, when we left church, whoosh slid a huge clump right down the windshield! Apparently this kind of dump is very rare in France, hasn't been seen in years.
Now, you will want to check this same post tomorrow because I plan to link some pictures. Sadly I didn't take any till Sunday afternoon, so don't expect anything very impressive. Add several inches of snow to compensate for the morning melting and you'll have a good idea. Incredible how I've avoided posting any pictures up till now, huh?
Stand by for the update.......
7/3/06, 9:56 AM Mardi (Tuesday)
And here are a few pictures from Sunday afternoon:
Our courtyard, from our doorway.
L'Hotel de Ville, that is, the courthouse, which used to be the palace of the dukes of Burgundy. La Place de la Libération, the 'square' (semi-circle) in front of it, is currently under construction.
And I forget what this is, but it looks magnificent, doesn't it?
Add six inches of snow to this car to imagine what it was like in the morning. This one's a little better.
Another side of that magnificent building.
A street in Dijon (lots of fun to slush along in boots).
This is my street - Rue Vauban.
And this is the courtyard of our set of apartments, from just inside the gate.
And here's our apartment. Yep, all those windows belong to my host family! Home sweet home in Dijon, France.
Saturday I slept in till 6:30 because I was planning on using the Internet at La Maison de l'Université before it closed at noon. Then I looked out my window... then I looked out the door... then I decided it was a good day to learn some flexibility. It was the heaviest, slushiest, most-wet-possible snow without being rain and it was coming down pretty good. Nevertheless, I did venture out, to investigate the market (at my host mom's suggestion - "Go see all the cheeses"), then to the museum I had already visited, because somewhere in that building were a second and third floor for the contemporary art section and I hadn't gotten to that. So I figured out the floor plan around 11:00 a.m., just in time to find the sign informing me that the contemporary art section was closed from 11:30 till 1:45. Forget it, then, I like to wander at my own sweet will and pace through a museum... I'll come back another time.
Sunday morning we woke up to blue skies and lots of snow: heaped on the buildings and dumped on the cars and courtyards, no wind to sculpt and drift like in Iowa. All day there were people outside snapping pictures and children playing in the snow. After church, the +20-year-olds dashed outdoors for a snowball fight. I wish you could have seen the cars with a foot of snow on top. After a morning of sunshine, when we left church, whoosh slid a huge clump right down the windshield! Apparently this kind of dump is very rare in France, hasn't been seen in years.
Now, you will want to check this same post tomorrow because I plan to link some pictures. Sadly I didn't take any till Sunday afternoon, so don't expect anything very impressive. Add several inches of snow to compensate for the morning melting and you'll have a good idea. Incredible how I've avoided posting any pictures up till now, huh?
Stand by for the update.......
7/3/06, 9:56 AM Mardi (Tuesday)
And here are a few pictures from Sunday afternoon:
Our courtyard, from our doorway.
L'Hotel de Ville, that is, the courthouse, which used to be the palace of the dukes of Burgundy. La Place de la Libération, the 'square' (semi-circle) in front of it, is currently under construction.
And I forget what this is, but it looks magnificent, doesn't it?
Add six inches of snow to this car to imagine what it was like in the morning. This one's a little better.
Another side of that magnificent building.
A street in Dijon (lots of fun to slush along in boots).
This is my street - Rue Vauban.
And this is the courtyard of our set of apartments, from just inside the gate.
And here's our apartment. Yep, all those windows belong to my host family! Home sweet home in Dijon, France.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Mon avoine
Finally I found my oatmeal! After three different searches, there it was, hiding in a cereal box in the breakfast aisle at Monoprix. Funny, people don't eat a lot of horse food around here. They prefer chocolate and cookies, bread and jam. I'm glad that works for their stomachs.
If I eat something warm for breakfast, do you think I can stay warm during the day? My host mom told me the house is about 19-20 degrees Celsius, and we're lucky 'cause we're on the ground floor and right over the heating. Wait one minute while I hunt up a conversion site.
Ah-hhhh-hhh! No wonder... it's somewhere between 66 and 68 Fahrenheit! (And that's when the door isn't open for ten minutes while the kids and groceries come in)
By the way, I'm not complaining. On the contrary, I have my oatmeal.
If I eat something warm for breakfast, do you think I can stay warm during the day? My host mom told me the house is about 19-20 degrees Celsius, and we're lucky 'cause we're on the ground floor and right over the heating. Wait one minute while I hunt up a conversion site.
Ah-hhhh-hhh! No wonder... it's somewhere between 66 and 68 Fahrenheit! (And that's when the door isn't open for ten minutes while the kids and groceries come in)
By the way, I'm not complaining. On the contrary, I have my oatmeal.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Je n'aime pas trop la technologie, c'est-à-dire...
... cette stupide version d'AIM qui remplace mon article de Le Monde à propos de l'économie chinoise quand je n'avais que la moitié d'une phrase à finir, et quand je retourne, Le Monde a déjà changé sa site,
... un MP3-joueur (d'une petitesse ridicule) que je ne peux pas encore comprendre, meme après une séance avec les directions,
j'ai fini de me plaindre aujourd'hui, bonne journée.
... un MP3-joueur (d'une petitesse ridicule) que je ne peux pas encore comprendre, meme après une séance avec les directions,
j'ai fini de me plaindre aujourd'hui, bonne journée.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Ce que j'ai fait ce matin
Moi, je n'aurais jamais pensé que je pourrais avoir tant de difficulté en n'écrivant que trois paragraphes pendant un cours de deux heures. Bien sur, il y avait deux difficultés spécifiques: le travail avec une autre étudiante et les règles de notre professeur. Quand je suis seule, je peux très facilement écrire un minimum de deux pages par heure. Quand j'essaie d'écrire avec quelqu'un d'autre, surtout en suivant des instructions assez précises... c'est une autre histoire.
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Wednesday's headlines
Just to make you think there's something exciting in this post.
I think the French post yesterday worked pretty well, don't you? I skimmed the Babel Fish translation, which was accurate enough. No need to translate it myself, unless someone objects. Sorry, it was a hasty post and there were a few mistakes which prevented complete (more or less) translation (e.g. aujour'dhui - très mal!).
Isn't this super? Now I can post in French whenever I want. But we'll take today off.
Today's courses are Oral Comprehension and Stylistics. In O.E., we watch a brief news clip and try to write down every word (multiple playings, of course) - for three or four different clips. Then a longer segment where we must answer given questions, often looking for a particular word. I don't know which is more difficult, but I prefer the first; the second requires almost more attention, and isn't easy when you feel tired or sleepy... which occasionally happens in these darling little prefabricated buildings with primitive ventilation systems. You come in cold, soon warm up, eventually become quite warm, then the only way to cool off is to let in some frigid air through the windows. This is why everyone should have a little jolt of caffeine first.
Stylistics presents the differences between the spoken and written language. French has several different 'levels' or sub-languages, for example slang, standard, and literary. Very interesting. Revealing for conversation vs. written expression in any language.
And then tonight Brian (a George Fox student with our program) and I may try to take the bus and track down the Christian student get-together tonight... if it isn't snowing again, or all iced over. May the spring come quickly!
I think the French post yesterday worked pretty well, don't you? I skimmed the Babel Fish translation, which was accurate enough. No need to translate it myself, unless someone objects. Sorry, it was a hasty post and there were a few mistakes which prevented complete (more or less) translation (e.g. aujour'dhui - très mal!).
Isn't this super? Now I can post in French whenever I want. But we'll take today off.
Today's courses are Oral Comprehension and Stylistics. In O.E., we watch a brief news clip and try to write down every word (multiple playings, of course) - for three or four different clips. Then a longer segment where we must answer given questions, often looking for a particular word. I don't know which is more difficult, but I prefer the first; the second requires almost more attention, and isn't easy when you feel tired or sleepy... which occasionally happens in these darling little prefabricated buildings with primitive ventilation systems. You come in cold, soon warm up, eventually become quite warm, then the only way to cool off is to let in some frigid air through the windows. This is why everyone should have a little jolt of caffeine first.
Stylistics presents the differences between the spoken and written language. French has several different 'levels' or sub-languages, for example slang, standard, and literary. Very interesting. Revealing for conversation vs. written expression in any language.
And then tonight Brian (a George Fox student with our program) and I may try to take the bus and track down the Christian student get-together tonight... if it isn't snowing again, or all iced over. May the spring come quickly!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)