Saturday, April 29, 2006
Joyeuse Anniversaire!
Happy 23rd birthday (yesterday) to my wonderful sister Ardith! and my sympathies to everyone who doesn't have her for a sister.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Salut
This comes to you from Leipzig! And that's all I'm going to write now, 'cause Doreen has a modem and I don't want to take up her phone line longer than necessary. Thankfully, the German keyboard is saner than the French version.
Bis samedi oder früher!
Bis samedi oder früher!
Friday, April 21, 2006
Adieu for a week
There, I added "Besançon" to the titles available under Photos on the sidebar. Let me know if you have problems viewing them. There are 3 pages total for this album, which unfortunately I had to title "Besanzon" because Photobucket is not very multilingual and doesn't accept the cedilla. I only added commentary where it seemed necessary (or amusing!). I'm sure you'd rather just view the pictures, and it takes a while to comment on 30-some photos.
Here's a very short video of the organ player in a cathedral at Besançon. Too bad I didn't catch any of the wilder parts.
Well, there is not much else to tell, except that I am shocked to discover what seem to be freckles on my hands - after one day in the sun at Besançon!
And tonight I leave around 11 p.m. on the autocar for Bremen. So I will say goodbye now before disappearing for a week... though I may have Internet access. We'll see. I'll take along my camera and absolutely flood you with photos when I get back. In the meantime, I wish you all a wonderful last week of April and much sunshine and pleasant weather, which has finally found its way over to Europe... what a pleasure to be hot again!
Here's a very short video of the organ player in a cathedral at Besançon. Too bad I didn't catch any of the wilder parts.
Well, there is not much else to tell, except that I am shocked to discover what seem to be freckles on my hands - after one day in the sun at Besançon!
And tonight I leave around 11 p.m. on the autocar for Bremen. So I will say goodbye now before disappearing for a week... though I may have Internet access. We'll see. I'll take along my camera and absolutely flood you with photos when I get back. In the meantime, I wish you all a wonderful last week of April and much sunshine and pleasant weather, which has finally found its way over to Europe... what a pleasure to be hot again!
Thursday, April 20, 2006
Of pictures and pedestrians...
Or maybe we'll switch the order of the day. First you have to hear about Besançon, then you get to see the pictures (not of Besançon...).
Yesterday I got up at the familiar comfortable hour of 6 a.m., so I could meet Tae at the train station around 9 a.m. By accident we made ourselves comfortable in a first-class compartment, which we realized after the conductor had come through to check our tickets. Maybe he didn't say anything because we were two of five people in the whole car. We rolled along toward the Swiss border, making multiple stops at little villages along the way. Besançon is situated about halfway between Dijon and Switzerland, an hour from each. Too bad there's no direct line that proceeds on to Switzerland, or we might have taken it!
Besançon is a lovely town, set among forested hills that are trying to become the mountains of the Jura a little farther east. There is a river that makes a large loop to enclose the city center, that is, all the interesting cafés and carteries and cobblestone or stone-paved streets. The architecture seemed much more German, although I'm not sure I can explain how... the 'squares' (which are roundish) were much more open, the buildings of lighter-colored stone. Tae said it resembled Strasbourg.
It was an absolutely lovely day, so we skipped the museums and didn't even visit the birthplace of Victor Hugo - but that wasn't our fault, it wasn't open. We visited a cathedral where an organist was wildly playing some interesting piece in the organ loft... I took a little video of part of it, a calmer part, unfortunately... stained-glass windows that made beautiful colored reflections on the stone beneath, and a general coldness that I think would kill me if I had to attend mass there every week.
We went back out in the sunshine and wandered down to a carterie, a little shop selling postcards and stationary; bought some postcards at about a quarter the price of some I saw here in Dijon, plus something else which someone may find in the mail someday, if I decide to send it... the shop closed at noon, and the owner unlocked and re-locked the door between the last two customers, which made Tae and I laugh (once we were safely out).
As his parting wish to us was "Bon appetit", it was obviously time for lunch. In one of those plazas, we found a lot of tables belonging to several different cafés, and discovered on the menu that the tarte du jour was raspberry - exactly what Tae had said she felt like eating! So of course we had to eat there. It was absolutely lovely to spend two hours relaxing and eating lunch in the fresh air and sunshine - almost perfect, except that there was a bus stop close by so the buses kept coming through. And then by the time we were ready for dessert, the tarte du jour was all gone. No problem for me, I had set my heart on chocolate and ordered a dessert that was a scoop of chocolate ice cream and a scoop of vanilla with chocolate syrup and chantilly (whipped cream) and a few slivered almonds sprinkled on top. Tae had decided to have coffee... except... when they brought my dessert, they brought another one just like it, only with coffee-flavored ice cream instead of chocolate... Tae being the agreeable person she is, she offered to take the dessert and skip the coffee.
Afterwards we set off to find the citadel and discovered we would have to climb to get there. So we spent about twenty minutes mounting steps and slopes to get up the hillside, and finally found ourselves within the walls of the citadel. Unfortunately, entrance to the ramparts (and the zoos) was payant, so I took some pictures and we headed back down. By the time we reached the city center again, we were thirsty and ready for a cold Perrier (a carbonated mineral water). And we walked around some more till it was time to head back toward the station.
Two interesting surprises. One was a mother and daughter fighting in the street, the girl shrieking "Laisse-moi!" over and over. Tae and I were both shocked. The other was almost walking into a girl from GBU, the group of Christian students that meets every Wednesday night. Her parents have a store here that sells religious books and also equitable commerce - I don't know how to translate that - that is, they sell products produced in other poorer countries. So we visited with them a little while.
By the time we got back to the train, we were very tired and ready to fall asleep.
And now the pictures. I did take pictures at Besançon but have not yet organised or downloaded them. However, if you look under the heading Photos on the sidebar, you'll find the title "Musée de Beaux-Arts". Because I am incredibly nice... or maybe because the U-Bourgogne system blocks the Picture-Trail site... or because I am incredibly lazy, you have the great privilege of viewing the photos directly on my account on the site - with the understanding that nobody's going to do anything to my account which is less incredibly nice. Scroll down to get to the photos. I added some commentary.
Tomorrow I will probably post more... however, this afternoon I have to go shopping for important things that I'll need for traveling in Germany, like a watch and dirt-cheap dark chocolate.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting up today's post and pictures for y'all, hope you enjoy them as well! A demain!
Yesterday I got up at the familiar comfortable hour of 6 a.m., so I could meet Tae at the train station around 9 a.m. By accident we made ourselves comfortable in a first-class compartment, which we realized after the conductor had come through to check our tickets. Maybe he didn't say anything because we were two of five people in the whole car. We rolled along toward the Swiss border, making multiple stops at little villages along the way. Besançon is situated about halfway between Dijon and Switzerland, an hour from each. Too bad there's no direct line that proceeds on to Switzerland, or we might have taken it!
Besançon is a lovely town, set among forested hills that are trying to become the mountains of the Jura a little farther east. There is a river that makes a large loop to enclose the city center, that is, all the interesting cafés and carteries and cobblestone or stone-paved streets. The architecture seemed much more German, although I'm not sure I can explain how... the 'squares' (which are roundish) were much more open, the buildings of lighter-colored stone. Tae said it resembled Strasbourg.
It was an absolutely lovely day, so we skipped the museums and didn't even visit the birthplace of Victor Hugo - but that wasn't our fault, it wasn't open. We visited a cathedral where an organist was wildly playing some interesting piece in the organ loft... I took a little video of part of it, a calmer part, unfortunately... stained-glass windows that made beautiful colored reflections on the stone beneath, and a general coldness that I think would kill me if I had to attend mass there every week.
We went back out in the sunshine and wandered down to a carterie, a little shop selling postcards and stationary; bought some postcards at about a quarter the price of some I saw here in Dijon, plus something else which someone may find in the mail someday, if I decide to send it... the shop closed at noon, and the owner unlocked and re-locked the door between the last two customers, which made Tae and I laugh (once we were safely out).
As his parting wish to us was "Bon appetit", it was obviously time for lunch. In one of those plazas, we found a lot of tables belonging to several different cafés, and discovered on the menu that the tarte du jour was raspberry - exactly what Tae had said she felt like eating! So of course we had to eat there. It was absolutely lovely to spend two hours relaxing and eating lunch in the fresh air and sunshine - almost perfect, except that there was a bus stop close by so the buses kept coming through. And then by the time we were ready for dessert, the tarte du jour was all gone. No problem for me, I had set my heart on chocolate and ordered a dessert that was a scoop of chocolate ice cream and a scoop of vanilla with chocolate syrup and chantilly (whipped cream) and a few slivered almonds sprinkled on top. Tae had decided to have coffee... except... when they brought my dessert, they brought another one just like it, only with coffee-flavored ice cream instead of chocolate... Tae being the agreeable person she is, she offered to take the dessert and skip the coffee.
Afterwards we set off to find the citadel and discovered we would have to climb to get there. So we spent about twenty minutes mounting steps and slopes to get up the hillside, and finally found ourselves within the walls of the citadel. Unfortunately, entrance to the ramparts (and the zoos) was payant, so I took some pictures and we headed back down. By the time we reached the city center again, we were thirsty and ready for a cold Perrier (a carbonated mineral water). And we walked around some more till it was time to head back toward the station.
Two interesting surprises. One was a mother and daughter fighting in the street, the girl shrieking "Laisse-moi!" over and over. Tae and I were both shocked. The other was almost walking into a girl from GBU, the group of Christian students that meets every Wednesday night. Her parents have a store here that sells religious books and also equitable commerce - I don't know how to translate that - that is, they sell products produced in other poorer countries. So we visited with them a little while.
By the time we got back to the train, we were very tired and ready to fall asleep.
And now the pictures. I did take pictures at Besançon but have not yet organised or downloaded them. However, if you look under the heading Photos on the sidebar, you'll find the title "Musée de Beaux-Arts". Because I am incredibly nice... or maybe because the U-Bourgogne system blocks the Picture-Trail site... or because I am incredibly lazy, you have the great privilege of viewing the photos directly on my account on the site - with the understanding that nobody's going to do anything to my account which is less incredibly nice. Scroll down to get to the photos. I added some commentary.
Tomorrow I will probably post more... however, this afternoon I have to go shopping for important things that I'll need for traveling in Germany, like a watch and dirt-cheap dark chocolate.
I thoroughly enjoyed getting up today's post and pictures for y'all, hope you enjoy them as well! A demain!
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Second try
That is, my second try in getting this post published before the Internet decides to go under again!
It's a beautiful day, so don't expect too much today... the blue sky and sunshine and sound of a mower are calling me to hurry back outside! When I get back I think I'll take a nice, long walk. There is a long, tree-lined street with stretches of pavement and gravel on either side for pedestrians and bike-riders, and if you follow it far enough, you come to a park full of tall trees that are just beginning to burst all over with leaves. The system of paths is a little too regular and British for my taste, but that's nothing compared to the joy of being surrounded by green!
Finally, all the details for the trip seem to be cleared up. I may repeat the whole sad story when I get safely back. Who knows what exciting new developments may turn up in the meantime?
I did find out that it's not a plane I'm taking... it's an autocar (that is, a bus)... just another delightful incident in the history of Sharon's Stupidity... maybe that explains why the trip takes
some 12 hours during the night? I can imagine sleeping in a bus, I think... I hope. As long as it takes me to Germany.
Last Saturday my host mom wanted me to try using the bread mix she had bought with their bread machine. I decided it would be easier to do it by hand, which it was. I enjoyed kneading bread again, after two and a half months. Despite the mix and an oven that circulates heat much better than ours, the bread turned out! Now she would like to learn how to make bread from scratch. This will be fun!
Tomorrow Tae (a friend from class) and I are going to Besançon, an hour away by train. It's supposed to be a beautiful city with historic buildings. If the weather is as lovely as today, we'll have fun walking around and exploring.
I simply cannot sit on a chair indoors anymore! But, to make up, hopefully I will be posting links to lots of pictures in a few days, Thursday or Friday, when I make it back here.
It's a beautiful day, so don't expect too much today... the blue sky and sunshine and sound of a mower are calling me to hurry back outside! When I get back I think I'll take a nice, long walk. There is a long, tree-lined street with stretches of pavement and gravel on either side for pedestrians and bike-riders, and if you follow it far enough, you come to a park full of tall trees that are just beginning to burst all over with leaves. The system of paths is a little too regular and British for my taste, but that's nothing compared to the joy of being surrounded by green!
Finally, all the details for the trip seem to be cleared up. I may repeat the whole sad story when I get safely back. Who knows what exciting new developments may turn up in the meantime?
I did find out that it's not a plane I'm taking... it's an autocar (that is, a bus)... just another delightful incident in the history of Sharon's Stupidity... maybe that explains why the trip takes
some 12 hours during the night? I can imagine sleeping in a bus, I think... I hope. As long as it takes me to Germany.
Last Saturday my host mom wanted me to try using the bread mix she had bought with their bread machine. I decided it would be easier to do it by hand, which it was. I enjoyed kneading bread again, after two and a half months. Despite the mix and an oven that circulates heat much better than ours, the bread turned out! Now she would like to learn how to make bread from scratch. This will be fun!
Tomorrow Tae (a friend from class) and I are going to Besançon, an hour away by train. It's supposed to be a beautiful city with historic buildings. If the weather is as lovely as today, we'll have fun walking around and exploring.
I simply cannot sit on a chair indoors anymore! But, to make up, hopefully I will be posting links to lots of pictures in a few days, Thursday or Friday, when I make it back here.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
One day to go
I type this from the well-beloved Wi-Fi space of La Maison de l'Université, where I can gaze out the window at beautiful and delicately nuanced gray skies, with my winter coat still on, after being indoors for nearly an hour... No wonder the French don't walk around smiling. Who would after such a long winter? I finally found the perfect word, frileuse (fem. form), an adjective meaning "who fears the cold and is very sensible to it". You will not hear a word of complaint from me all year long no matter how hot and sunny it is. Don't worry, I'm not risking much in saying that because the semester in Argentina starts right along with their winter.
But I should stop complaining because, apart from the weather, life is good. How could it not be with two weeks of vacation looming up?
Today our course of Written Expression was quite easy. We spent most of the two hours writing a page of dictation and then correcting it. That said, easy classes are not always the best when you have been up till about midnight the night before. I went to see Ice Age II with the group of Christian students that meets every Wednesday night. It was funny, not quite as good as the first, and now I would like to see it in English since I didn't catch all the little jokes. The two opossums are perhaps the most annoying animated creatures ever. Afterwards we went out for a drink. Don't worry, I didn't order a beer, just a peach juice, which was delicious after not much dinner. No, they didn't have anything normal like a hot chocolate... lots of alcoholic beverages and a couple of gigantic shake-like drinks.
I think I will head off to the library so I can concentrate on writing the fourth dissertation, which is due the first week after vacation.
But I should stop complaining because, apart from the weather, life is good. How could it not be with two weeks of vacation looming up?
Today our course of Written Expression was quite easy. We spent most of the two hours writing a page of dictation and then correcting it. That said, easy classes are not always the best when you have been up till about midnight the night before. I went to see Ice Age II with the group of Christian students that meets every Wednesday night. It was funny, not quite as good as the first, and now I would like to see it in English since I didn't catch all the little jokes. The two opossums are perhaps the most annoying animated creatures ever. Afterwards we went out for a drink. Don't worry, I didn't order a beer, just a peach juice, which was delicious after not much dinner. No, they didn't have anything normal like a hot chocolate... lots of alcoholic beverages and a couple of gigantic shake-like drinks.
I think I will head off to the library so I can concentrate on writing the fourth dissertation, which is due the first week after vacation.
Monday, April 10, 2006
Various news
The Internet is incredibly slow today. I actually have to wait for a page to load.
More importantly, the CPE is soon to die! I won't bother putting up a link; you can easily find all the news you want on any major news site; for English, try the BBC and New York Times.
Last night a Swiss student arrived to spend a week studying French. My host mom told me to make her feel at home with some German. It's fun to try speaking German again, although very hard to transition between languages! The rest of the week should be interesting. Anyway, good preparation for traveling in Germany.
And since it's the last week before a vacation of as little homework as possible, bye for now.
More importantly, the CPE is soon to die! I won't bother putting up a link; you can easily find all the news you want on any major news site; for English, try the BBC and New York Times.
Last night a Swiss student arrived to spend a week studying French. My host mom told me to make her feel at home with some German. It's fun to try speaking German again, although very hard to transition between languages! The rest of the week should be interesting. Anyway, good preparation for traveling in Germany.
And since it's the last week before a vacation of as little homework as possible, bye for now.
Friday, April 07, 2006
It's Friday again
I hope everyone has had a lovely week. It has been a pretty good week here too, except that it's not warming up much. Wednesday I walked to the university in something between rain and snow, worse than both because it's wet and cold. Poor little hands. But they're fine since they are typing today.
Just one more week of class and then vacation! Most of my work before then will be two projects due soon after - a dissertation and an oral presentation. Today will be an especially long day, with six hours of class (but four of those hours are just lecture) and then at 6:30 I am meeting M. Cricri, whom I think is the president of the mosque at Chenove (one of the Dijon suburbs). That is for my presentation on the Muslims in Dijon. Then another interview next Wednesday afternoon with the president of the third mosque (I already met with the president of the first), who also happens to direct the association of the Muslim Youth in France and is, I think, the representative for Burgundy in the CFCM (French Counsel of the Muslim Religion), a counsel which supposedly represents the Muslims on the political scene... but I have yet to hear that it does anything useful. And tomorrow, hopefully, I will be conducting a survey at la Place François Rude to get the perspectives of French people. You can think of me - this project is a little intimidating, however quite interesting.
And I just finished reserving my train ticket for Germany, so now I can visit my two German friends: a graduate student who taught my first-year German class at Grace, and another graduate student who spent a year as a high school foreign-exchange student in the States and received Christ while attending our church. However, for some reason, the Deutsche Bahn site insisted on including "Iowa" after "Dijon" in the shipping address. Guess this is a good way to test the system!
The two latest successes? I can type my University of Burgundy password by memory now, and yesterday I survived eating a slice of quiche well-flavored with Dijon mustard.
Happy weekend!
Just one more week of class and then vacation! Most of my work before then will be two projects due soon after - a dissertation and an oral presentation. Today will be an especially long day, with six hours of class (but four of those hours are just lecture) and then at 6:30 I am meeting M. Cricri, whom I think is the president of the mosque at Chenove (one of the Dijon suburbs). That is for my presentation on the Muslims in Dijon. Then another interview next Wednesday afternoon with the president of the third mosque (I already met with the president of the first), who also happens to direct the association of the Muslim Youth in France and is, I think, the representative for Burgundy in the CFCM (French Counsel of the Muslim Religion), a counsel which supposedly represents the Muslims on the political scene... but I have yet to hear that it does anything useful. And tomorrow, hopefully, I will be conducting a survey at la Place François Rude to get the perspectives of French people. You can think of me - this project is a little intimidating, however quite interesting.
And I just finished reserving my train ticket for Germany, so now I can visit my two German friends: a graduate student who taught my first-year German class at Grace, and another graduate student who spent a year as a high school foreign-exchange student in the States and received Christ while attending our church. However, for some reason, the Deutsche Bahn site insisted on including "Iowa" after "Dijon" in the shipping address. Guess this is a good way to test the system!
The two latest successes? I can type my University of Burgundy password by memory now, and yesterday I survived eating a slice of quiche well-flavored with Dijon mustard.
Happy weekend!
Thursday, April 06, 2006
More live
What do you know... six videos of the manifestations on Tuesday the 4 April! Except three of them didn't upload, so here are the other three. They're a little longer than last time. Nobody's obliged to watch any of them. Just if you're interested.
If the camera bops around in one, it's 'cause somebody bumped me off my perch for a moment.
Place de la Théatre
Place Darcy 1
Place Darcy 2
If the camera bops around in one, it's 'cause somebody bumped me off my perch for a moment.
Place de la Théatre
Place Darcy 1
Place Darcy 2
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
This is not a post
I spent the morning re-polishing a dissertation, so please excuse the no-post today. Sartre will have to wait - he can afford it - I have something more current and interesting planned for tomorrow.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Pre-vacation
For some reason, April 4th does not appear among the dates of any of the Tuesday classes! So I guess that means we have the afternoon off, what a trial.
I neatly typed a nice little excerpt from Sartre's Les Mots, only to discover it won't copy onto this web page. I will write it out tonight to type tomorrow, along with my best attempt at the translation, which will in any case be better than Babel Fish's.
Today is another day of strike against the now-passed CPE. (Maybe that's why we don't have class... someone in the CIEF program is extremely visionary and knew this day was coming...) I don't know exactly what Dijon or its students have in the works. It's funny that the students of all but one high school in Dijon were protesting the CPE last week, and they went and blockaded the one high school left to prevent classes. Some middle school students are joining in. In any case, today is a good thing for my host dad. Even without any students, he has to get up at 5:30 and drive the two or so hours one-way (a little like Daddy!) to the college where he teaches - one of those formalities that I think they decided to pass today.
Please excuse me for not bringing more exciting and to-the-minute news reports. I'll try to visit Paris before all the fun is over! In any case, daily life continues and I have class in less than half an hour, so goodbye for now - happy Tuesday!
I neatly typed a nice little excerpt from Sartre's Les Mots, only to discover it won't copy onto this web page. I will write it out tonight to type tomorrow, along with my best attempt at the translation, which will in any case be better than Babel Fish's.
Today is another day of strike against the now-passed CPE. (Maybe that's why we don't have class... someone in the CIEF program is extremely visionary and knew this day was coming...) I don't know exactly what Dijon or its students have in the works. It's funny that the students of all but one high school in Dijon were protesting the CPE last week, and they went and blockaded the one high school left to prevent classes. Some middle school students are joining in. In any case, today is a good thing for my host dad. Even without any students, he has to get up at 5:30 and drive the two or so hours one-way (a little like Daddy!) to the college where he teaches - one of those formalities that I think they decided to pass today.
Please excuse me for not bringing more exciting and to-the-minute news reports. I'll try to visit Paris before all the fun is over! In any case, daily life continues and I have class in less than half an hour, so goodbye for now - happy Tuesday!
Monday, April 03, 2006
Monday again
It's April and I'm still wearing a winter coat. Is this right? Or am I just not drinking enough tea?
In any case, carry an umbrella with you all spring in France. Blue skies and sunshine can turn to rain in five minutes.
I didn't have much time to write last week because I was finishing up a dissertation and other homework which somehow disappeared from view last weekend. Now just two weeks of class till two weeks of vacation! Spring break and Easter break all packed into the loveliest time of the year. I bought my plane ticket to Bremen and this week will get my train tickets between Oldenburg and Leipzig.
Mommy, I had to save one of your posts to my desktop! because I was about ready to burst in the calm of La Maison de l'Université here... like the "fou rire" of Nicolas Sarkozy on a talk show that Canal+ was analyzing Saturday evening, to see if it had hurt his standing as a respectable politician...
Tomorrow I hope to bring you a little Sartre that I was enjoying Sunday evening.
In any case, carry an umbrella with you all spring in France. Blue skies and sunshine can turn to rain in five minutes.
I didn't have much time to write last week because I was finishing up a dissertation and other homework which somehow disappeared from view last weekend. Now just two weeks of class till two weeks of vacation! Spring break and Easter break all packed into the loveliest time of the year. I bought my plane ticket to Bremen and this week will get my train tickets between Oldenburg and Leipzig.
Mommy, I had to save one of your posts to my desktop! because I was about ready to burst in the calm of La Maison de l'Université here... like the "fou rire" of Nicolas Sarkozy on a talk show that Canal+ was analyzing Saturday evening, to see if it had hurt his standing as a respectable politician...
Tomorrow I hope to bring you a little Sartre that I was enjoying Sunday evening.
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