Despite going to a concert last night, I did wake up long before noon, so I came back to the university today to enjoy a little tranquil Internet time, and of course to post the answer - it's in the comments of the preceding post.
French is beautiful but it can sometimes be annoying. Here's a paragraph from last night's program, desribing the accomplishments of Christophe Coin, director of l'Ensemble Baroque de Limoges:
Egalement professeur, Christophe Coin est chargé des cours de violoncelle baroque et de viole de gambe au Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris et à la Schola Cantorum de Bale. Il participe tous les ans aux Acamédies Internationales de Granada et d'Innsbruck et donne des masterclasses dans différents conservatoires français.
That's nearly English. You can understand it. Here's what I want you to notice:
Egalement professeur, Christophe Coin est chargé des cours de violoncelle baroque et de viole de gambe au Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris et à la Schola Cantorum de Bale. Il participe tous les ans aux Acamédies Internationales de Granada et d'Innsbruck et donne des masterclasses dans différents conservatoires français.
You see, they can't just say "Christophe Coin directs baroque violoncello courses..." - they have to say "Christophe Coin has charge of courses of baroque violoncello..." I could have dug up a more extreme example.
Let's face it, French is wordy. It has lots of ofs, and lots of passives: e.g., the above verbal construction est chargé de (has charge of) instead of simply dirige (directs) or enseigne (teaches). Furthermore, a French person will often repeat the same phrase two or three times for no apparent reason... maybe for emphasis, maybe to taste again those words he (or she) so masterfully strung together. Didn't you know it's elegant to speak and write like that?
In English, you're guilty of murder before the WEP (written expression police) if you say something like this:
This girl, whose brother plays on the highschool soccer team with my brother, plays the piano.
But that's how you do it in French.
Culture experts and culture books always told me that conversation is an art for the French. I think maybe they just like words, spoken or written.
No doubt that French is a little wacky, at least to an English speaker. But I'm going to miss it. J'adore cette langue.
Saturday, May 20, 2006
Friday, May 19, 2006
Beloved Friday
I was thinking about going to Paris this weekend (doesn't that sound great?.... 'oh, maybe I'll run up to Paris on Saturday'), but changed my mind just a few hours after a friend lent me the metro map. Just too tired. Every evening has been occupied: opera, Bible study, cinema, tonight a baroque concert that I very much want to attend, and I just don't feel like getting to bed around midnight and getting up before 5 a.m. to get ready and take the train.
Important notice: tomorrow Ardith moves to her new house! Everyone should wish her a happy moving day. My family will be heading down to help her out, so she'll have her own personal moving van and her own personal crew of workers to cart all those millions of books and DVDs she's collected.
Oh, my brothers and sisters will never believe this, but just guess what I ran into on television last Saturday night! I'll give you all weekend, unless of course I happen to wake up before noon tomorrow.
Important notice: tomorrow Ardith moves to her new house! Everyone should wish her a happy moving day. My family will be heading down to help her out, so she'll have her own personal moving van and her own personal crew of workers to cart all those millions of books and DVDs she's collected.
Oh, my brothers and sisters will never believe this, but just guess what I ran into on television last Saturday night! I'll give you all weekend, unless of course I happen to wake up before noon tomorrow.
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Education à la française
A while back Daddy sent me the link for this article (two-page from NYT, you may need to sign up to read) which discusses the state of higher education in France. You might be interested in reading it if you haven't already.
My personal observation and discussions with French people agree with this article. I'll run the risk of sounding like a typical American and French-basher to say that French education would scare me away from living in France - especially with a family. From the age of five or six on, French children have to make school their career if they want to succeed. Problem: there is no guarantee they will succeed, if success equals obtaining a job (notice the lack of modifiers for this last noun, such as 'rewarding', 'well-paying', 'interesting', etc.)
But what else do you expect when you have free university education? Apparently, some people expect a lot, such as this fine fellow: At Nanterre, Alexandre Frydlender, 19, a second-year student in law and history, complained about the lack of courses in English for students of international law. But asked whether he would be willing to pay a higher fee for better services, he replied: "The university is a public service. The state must pay."
I'm sure he meant to say, "The university is a public service. The citizens must pay. Let's raise the taxes!" Which will include him too... unless he prolongs his nearly-free education indefinitely. There's a French expression that hits the nail on the head: vouloir le beurre et l'argent du beurre = to want the butter and the butter money - that is, wanting to have at the same time the butter and the money one would receive for selling it. Except, obviously, you can't have both. I'm thinking that free education and quality education may be another such case.
To study is a right, not a privilege. What do you think of that? (I'm especially anticipating the comments of my brothers and sisters - especially my younger brothers and sisters - okay, so all my brothers are younger than me anyway...)
My personal observation and discussions with French people agree with this article. I'll run the risk of sounding like a typical American and French-basher to say that French education would scare me away from living in France - especially with a family. From the age of five or six on, French children have to make school their career if they want to succeed. Problem: there is no guarantee they will succeed, if success equals obtaining a job (notice the lack of modifiers for this last noun, such as 'rewarding', 'well-paying', 'interesting', etc.)
But what else do you expect when you have free university education? Apparently, some people expect a lot, such as this fine fellow: At Nanterre, Alexandre Frydlender, 19, a second-year student in law and history, complained about the lack of courses in English for students of international law. But asked whether he would be willing to pay a higher fee for better services, he replied: "The university is a public service. The state must pay."
I'm sure he meant to say, "The university is a public service. The citizens must pay. Let's raise the taxes!" Which will include him too... unless he prolongs his nearly-free education indefinitely. There's a French expression that hits the nail on the head: vouloir le beurre et l'argent du beurre = to want the butter and the butter money - that is, wanting to have at the same time the butter and the money one would receive for selling it. Except, obviously, you can't have both. I'm thinking that free education and quality education may be another such case.
To study is a right, not a privilege. What do you think of that? (I'm especially anticipating the comments of my brothers and sisters - especially my younger brothers and sisters - okay, so all my brothers are younger than me anyway...)
Wednesday, May 17, 2006
A night at the opera
Yesterday after spending most of the day in class, I rushed home (well... walked at a good clip) and ate supper and got all dandied up in about three minutes for the opera. I had bought the ticket the day before with the special culture card for students that lets us get in anywhere for no more than 5,5 euros - provided there are places left. The opera was playing in le Théatre Vaillant, which is three minutes' walking distance. Extremely convenient!
My seat was in the third balcony. Maybe that explains why it got a little warm near the end. The only other problem was that, if I sit correctly in the seat, I'm just a little too short for my feet to rest on the 'floor', so near the end of two-and-a-half hours my knees were starting to tell me about it.
The opera was Eugene Oneguine, by Tchaichovsky, here's a little description in Wikipedia.fr. Sorry, my Google page is automaticcaly google.fr. I will leave it to you to translate or find the English or do what you like. The story was a little stupid, like all operas, but then that's just my personal opinion; and then it was a lot simpler than the storyline of Carmen, so it will stick in the memory better. The music was quite beautiful, but then what else would you expect - it's Tchaichovsky.
My seat was in the third balcony. Maybe that explains why it got a little warm near the end. The only other problem was that, if I sit correctly in the seat, I'm just a little too short for my feet to rest on the 'floor', so near the end of two-and-a-half hours my knees were starting to tell me about it.
The opera was Eugene Oneguine, by Tchaichovsky, here's a little description in Wikipedia.fr. Sorry, my Google page is automaticcaly google.fr. I will leave it to you to translate or find the English or do what you like. The story was a little stupid, like all operas, but then that's just my personal opinion; and then it was a lot simpler than the storyline of Carmen, so it will stick in the memory better. The music was quite beautiful, but then what else would you expect - it's Tchaichovsky.
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
What I did this weekend
Not too much, actually. Saturday I slept in a little and discovered that 10:00 a.m. on Saturday is a bad time for the post office, not to mention FNAC (where they sell all kinds of technology and DVDs and tickets for concerts). So instead I took the bus to Carrefour to stock up on dark chocolate (aren't I just like my mother?) and other cheap and handy snacks for those days - like today, what do you know - when we get theoretically 30 minutes break but between one class going late and walking between buildings and chatting, maybe 5 to 10 minutes to pause and munch something, and that's all the lunch break before 5 hours of class (if you're ridiculous like me and choose to follow all the courses).
Saturday afternoon I happily walked to the university for some free time on the Internet. It was still sunny. When I arrived, all the critical buildings (read: all the buildings providing WiFi access) were closed. It started raining. Fortunately I have learned by now to always carry an umbrella. I made up for it later that evening by going to see a Korean film which would have been good except it disappointed me excessively by forcing me to close my eyes during two scenes. I think I just don't trust movies anymore. I'll take a little break till the DaVinci code, which a friend and I are going to see sometime next week. She's read the book and I haven't.
Sunday I went to church as usual, and afterwards out to Flunch with three other friends from church. Then, because I've already been in France three months and haven't been proposed to by any dashing French guys yet, I decided to come along with them to the singles group. (Okay, that isn't all true - you can delete the middle part). It was a little conference on communication aimed at singles at least 30 years old, but there were some couples as well. But I think I was the youngest one there. Mostly it was two-and-a-half hours of discussion, so I'm glad I went because it was good practice for our controle de compréhension orale on Wednesday.
That evening a Swiss student arrived to stay for two weeks, so I had supper with her and we spoke mostly French and some German and English, and she tried to talk to me in Swiss German but I couldn't follow it very well... it really is different.
Saturday afternoon I happily walked to the university for some free time on the Internet. It was still sunny. When I arrived, all the critical buildings (read: all the buildings providing WiFi access) were closed. It started raining. Fortunately I have learned by now to always carry an umbrella. I made up for it later that evening by going to see a Korean film which would have been good except it disappointed me excessively by forcing me to close my eyes during two scenes. I think I just don't trust movies anymore. I'll take a little break till the DaVinci code, which a friend and I are going to see sometime next week. She's read the book and I haven't.
Sunday I went to church as usual, and afterwards out to Flunch with three other friends from church. Then, because I've already been in France three months and haven't been proposed to by any dashing French guys yet, I decided to come along with them to the singles group. (Okay, that isn't all true - you can delete the middle part). It was a little conference on communication aimed at singles at least 30 years old, but there were some couples as well. But I think I was the youngest one there. Mostly it was two-and-a-half hours of discussion, so I'm glad I went because it was good practice for our controle de compréhension orale on Wednesday.
That evening a Swiss student arrived to stay for two weeks, so I had supper with her and we spoke mostly French and some German and English, and she tried to talk to me in Swiss German but I couldn't follow it very well... it really is different.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Caution
When walking on a French sidewalk, watch out for:
Gifts the dogs have left
Cigarrette smoke
When walking under trees, watch out for:
Gifts the birds leave (yep, one got me in Paris)
Crossing streets used to scare me. Now it's an adventure - let's see how soon I can cross and how often I can do it on a red no-walking sign. No, don't worry, I don't run (much of) any risks, but then it doesn't take anyone long to figure out that if you follow the signals for pedestrians, you are going to have to wait twice as much. The key is learning how the traffic lights and the pedestrian lights don't synchronize, and more importantly, how much of a time lapse you have at each intersection - because no two are alike.
I hear it's much worse in Greece. Some girls from my class who traveled there during spring break informed us that Greek drivers drive as if pedestrians don't exist - even if they're right in plain sight. I just thought you might like to know in case you're planning on visiting Greece soon.
[Intermission: if I am forced to cut this post short soon, it is the fault of some sharp continuous ringing sound that is about ready to puncture a very fine hole in my eardrums]
... Believe it or not, I was going to post this yesterday. The first ringing stopped, then one minute later an alarm went off for the fire drill. So we all had to exit, but fortunately I saved the post first. Then after ten minutes of waiting and chatting, I came back into the building only to discover that my Internet connection didn't work, as it occasionally has the quirky habit of doing if I disconnect and then attempt to reconnect soon after. Tant pis. Too bad.
Gifts the dogs have left
Cigarrette smoke
When walking under trees, watch out for:
Gifts the birds leave (yep, one got me in Paris)
Crossing streets used to scare me. Now it's an adventure - let's see how soon I can cross and how often I can do it on a red no-walking sign. No, don't worry, I don't run (much of) any risks, but then it doesn't take anyone long to figure out that if you follow the signals for pedestrians, you are going to have to wait twice as much. The key is learning how the traffic lights and the pedestrian lights don't synchronize, and more importantly, how much of a time lapse you have at each intersection - because no two are alike.
I hear it's much worse in Greece. Some girls from my class who traveled there during spring break informed us that Greek drivers drive as if pedestrians don't exist - even if they're right in plain sight. I just thought you might like to know in case you're planning on visiting Greece soon.
[Intermission: if I am forced to cut this post short soon, it is the fault of some sharp continuous ringing sound that is about ready to puncture a very fine hole in my eardrums]
... Believe it or not, I was going to post this yesterday. The first ringing stopped, then one minute later an alarm went off for the fire drill. So we all had to exit, but fortunately I saved the post first. Then after ten minutes of waiting and chatting, I came back into the building only to discover that my Internet connection didn't work, as it occasionally has the quirky habit of doing if I disconnect and then attempt to reconnect soon after. Tant pis. Too bad.
Friday, May 12, 2006
Germany
Oh, I bet you thought I was finally going to tell about spring break, didn't you? Actually the title is just to inform you that Friday about 25 minutes before class isn't the time to tell you about a week's worth of vacation, and I won't be here Saturday or Sunday. However, good news: I just realized how I can paste from an editor into here. In Edit HTML mode, not Compose mode. I guess that's the most obvious thing in the world, but hey - still a victory. Now if I want to post something extremely long or complicated, I can type it at home and post it whenever. How great is that!
Bon week-end, tout le monde!
Bon week-end, tout le monde!
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Exam training and other Thursday joys
This morning we spent our two hours of Written Expression doing just that - writing a dissertation, to practice for the final (and to get a grade). It was only five paragraphs: introduction, thesis, antithesis, synthesis, conclusion; so not too difficult. If the final exam is similar, it'll be a breeze. I even had five minutes to re-read and add a missing 'r' and fix a few words.
Afterwards, when I tried to boot up my laptop (wow - I almost forgot the word! - almost said ordinateur or portable), it seemed that my keyboard and 'mouse' had decided to take a vacation. That was pretty scary! But it was just being quirky. A nice refreshing little plunge into the darkness of computer unconsciousness fixed everything.
There is a lot of noise coming from the front of the building, the other end... I think they're having some reception, saw a lot of wine glasses set out earlier.
Well, I really don't know what to do with myself now that I have a whole afternoon and no homework to do for tomorrow. Maybe I will start studying for finals, after some other lightly pressing business. Of course, we do have those three controles next week in Oral Comprehension, Stylistics, and Grammar. And then the week after is the last week before finals. Incidentally, there will be another holiday that Thursday. I should find out what it is.
It is finally sunny and blue skies today! It was like that this morning starting before 6 a.m. when we were still in bed, then changed its mind during class, then finally improved again during lunch. Do you think we have finally turned the corner? Do you think I can finally mail my winter coat home? (well, I haven't worn it for over a week, guess it's safe)
This has been Thursday's pre-2:00 p.m. report. Y'all have a lovely day now! (And don't tell anyone I'm an American northerner saying that in France.)
Afterwards, when I tried to boot up my laptop (wow - I almost forgot the word! - almost said ordinateur or portable), it seemed that my keyboard and 'mouse' had decided to take a vacation. That was pretty scary! But it was just being quirky. A nice refreshing little plunge into the darkness of computer unconsciousness fixed everything.
There is a lot of noise coming from the front of the building, the other end... I think they're having some reception, saw a lot of wine glasses set out earlier.
Well, I really don't know what to do with myself now that I have a whole afternoon and no homework to do for tomorrow. Maybe I will start studying for finals, after some other lightly pressing business. Of course, we do have those three controles next week in Oral Comprehension, Stylistics, and Grammar. And then the week after is the last week before finals. Incidentally, there will be another holiday that Thursday. I should find out what it is.
It is finally sunny and blue skies today! It was like that this morning starting before 6 a.m. when we were still in bed, then changed its mind during class, then finally improved again during lunch. Do you think we have finally turned the corner? Do you think I can finally mail my winter coat home? (well, I haven't worn it for over a week, guess it's safe)
This has been Thursday's pre-2:00 p.m. report. Y'all have a lovely day now! (And don't tell anyone I'm an American northerner saying that in France.)
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
The day after (the big project)
I've decided to not organize all my photos till I get back. It's fun to do, especially adding commentary, but not when I have exams in two and a half weeks. That said, most of the semester's work is done, feels good to have a little loose time! Now, if it would just quit raining, I could happily spend hours and hours outside studying. They say we need the rain. I say it has been a very long winter and a very cold and rainy spring and we need some sun.
Today we would normally have three hours of class: two hours of Oral Comprehension and one hour of Stylistics; however, last week these courses were cut short due to our professor's doctor appointment. In fact, we didn't do any O. C., so we should get plenty of that in today's four or so hours. As long as it's not a controle day, the class is fun and interesting, especially since I just realized that I understand a lot more now than at the beginning of February.
Yesterday Sarah also gave her oral presentation - on elderly people in France. She visited a home for retired people where they had an 'American' day, and she discovered that the stereotype for Americans there was cowboys. Only the French say it very differently, in fact, I can't even recall it exactly to try sounding it out for you.
Then Bo (an American student in our class, William) became un Western for the rest of the day because he tried using 'Western' as an adjective to describe Western (versus Eastern/Asian) customs. But of course, a Western is a cowboy film - the adjective he wanted was occidental. Our professor had fun with that one, especially since he had us for the next class as well!
Bonne journée!
Today we would normally have three hours of class: two hours of Oral Comprehension and one hour of Stylistics; however, last week these courses were cut short due to our professor's doctor appointment. In fact, we didn't do any O. C., so we should get plenty of that in today's four or so hours. As long as it's not a controle day, the class is fun and interesting, especially since I just realized that I understand a lot more now than at the beginning of February.
Yesterday Sarah also gave her oral presentation - on elderly people in France. She visited a home for retired people where they had an 'American' day, and she discovered that the stereotype for Americans there was cowboys. Only the French say it very differently, in fact, I can't even recall it exactly to try sounding it out for you.
Then Bo (an American student in our class, William) became un Western for the rest of the day because he tried using 'Western' as an adjective to describe Western (versus Eastern/Asian) customs. But of course, a Western is a cowboy film - the adjective he wanted was occidental. Our professor had fun with that one, especially since he had us for the next class as well!
Bonne journée!
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
Happy Tuesday!
I gave my exposé today and it went WELL! Praise the Lord! 70% of the semester stress vanished around 11:45 a.m. today. Not to mention my professor thought it would be worth about a 16 (on the 20-French-perfection-scale).
It's late, so I hope you'll excuse me for skimping on this post and going home for supper, especially if I leave you with two pictures from vacation.
At Mareika's in Sandburg
With Doreen in Leipzig
It's late, so I hope you'll excuse me for skimping on this post and going home for supper, especially if I leave you with two pictures from vacation.
At Mareika's in Sandburg
With Doreen in Leipzig
Friday, May 05, 2006
Five minutes on Friday
Well, as usual, by the time I've gotten to the university and taken care of my other business online - which today was mostly reading the family's blogs, reading my emails, downloading everything too long to read, trying to track down a mailing address for the Deutsche Bahn in order to resolve this ticket story which I'll be delighted to recount to you once it's done - there isn't much time left to post.
No problem, there isn't too much to tell. This morning I finished copying the 4th dissertation that we have to hand in for Written Expression. Our professor moved the date from yesterday to today - today is actually Grammar. Grammar is just about my favorite class, maybe because it's the easiest and most varied.
This morning I also tried some 99% chocolate. Mmm! Lindt really makes it too smooth, not very strong in my opinion.
Tomorrow Anja (a student from the Netherlands) and I are taking the 15-euro Saturday train to Paris to see Montmartre and whatever else we have time for.
Monday is a holiday, so I may not post before Tuesday.
Bon week-end!
(yep, that's really truly French. If you say <<Bonne fin de semaine>>, "end of the week" literally, it means Thursday and Friday, not Saturday and Sunday.)
No problem, there isn't too much to tell. This morning I finished copying the 4th dissertation that we have to hand in for Written Expression. Our professor moved the date from yesterday to today - today is actually Grammar. Grammar is just about my favorite class, maybe because it's the easiest and most varied.
This morning I also tried some 99% chocolate. Mmm! Lindt really makes it too smooth, not very strong in my opinion.
Tomorrow Anja (a student from the Netherlands) and I are taking the 15-euro Saturday train to Paris to see Montmartre and whatever else we have time for.
Monday is a holiday, so I may not post before Tuesday.
Bon week-end!
(yep, that's really truly French. If you say <<Bonne fin de semaine>>, "end of the week" literally, it means Thursday and Friday, not Saturday and Sunday.)
Five minutes on Friday
Well, as usual, by the time I've gotten to the university and taken care of my other business online - which today was mostly reading the family's blogs, reading my emails, downloading everything too long to read, trying to track down a mailing address for the Deutsche Bahn in order to resolve this ticket story which I'll be delighted to recount to you once it's done - there isn't much time left to post.
No problem, there isn't too much to tell. This morning I finished copying the 4th dissertation that we have to hand in for Written Expression. Our professor moved the date from yesterday to today - today is actually Grammar. Grammar is just about my favorite class, maybe because it's the easiest and most varied.
This morning I also tried some 99% chocolate. Mmm! Lindt really makes it too smooth, not very strong in my opinion.
Tomorrow Anja (a student from the Netherlands) and I are taking the 15-euro Saturday train to Paris to see Montmartre and whatever else we have time for.
Monday is a holiday, so I may not post before Tuesday.
Bon week-end!
(yep, that's really truly French. If you say <<Bonne fin de semaine>>, "end of the week" literally, it means Thursday and Friday, not Saturday and Sunday.)
No problem, there isn't too much to tell. This morning I finished copying the 4th dissertation that we have to hand in for Written Expression. Our professor moved the date from yesterday to today - today is actually Grammar. Grammar is just about my favorite class, maybe because it's the easiest and most varied.
This morning I also tried some 99% chocolate. Mmm! Lindt really makes it too smooth, not very strong in my opinion.
Tomorrow Anja (a student from the Netherlands) and I are taking the 15-euro Saturday train to Paris to see Montmartre and whatever else we have time for.
Monday is a holiday, so I may not post before Tuesday.
Bon week-end!
(yep, that's really truly French. If you say <<Bonne fin de semaine>>, "end of the week" literally, it means Thursday and Friday, not Saturday and Sunday.)
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Herzlichen Gluckwunsch zum Gerburtstag!
Happy 15th birthday, Derek! (yesterday) I hope you don't mind that I thought you were 16 when I wrote the card?
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
La rentrée
In other words, back to class after two weeks of vacation and one Monday of Labor Day. Next Monday is another holiday - Memorial Day, I believe. A lady from my church told me that last year, both of these holidays fell on Sundays (always the 1st and 8th of May), so there were no extra days off. Personally, I prefer our system - spread out in the year and always on Monday - we are always guaranteed time to celebrate the holiday and reflect on the reason behind it. (of course, in the case of Labor Day, it's just a day of rejoicing in not working!)
I'm working on organizing my pictures from Germany... when that's done, I hope to bring you some vacation stories. However, till then and till next Tuesday there is plenty of work waiting for me... and tonight there's supper, so I'm sure you'll excuse me if I tell you that it's 6:45 p.m. and I still have a half-hour walk home and have not eaten much since breakfast around 7 a.m. and am getting pretty hungry...
Happy May!
I'm working on organizing my pictures from Germany... when that's done, I hope to bring you some vacation stories. However, till then and till next Tuesday there is plenty of work waiting for me... and tonight there's supper, so I'm sure you'll excuse me if I tell you that it's 6:45 p.m. and I still have a half-hour walk home and have not eaten much since breakfast around 7 a.m. and am getting pretty hungry...
Happy May!
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.
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!
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!
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.
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.
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.
But what a comfort to know he's alive! Death has lost its sting.
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
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.
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!
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.
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.
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).
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!
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.)
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).
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.
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).
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.
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.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Monday, January 23, 2006
The long hard road to Utopia
Some days my computer just doesn't make a lot of sense.
I wanted to print off extra copies of my flight ticket. Having discovered that, yep, my email program had performed its usual maintenance operations, and nope, it hadn't kept useful old emails like e-tickets, I tracked down the site that had issued the ticket and discovered that yes, they did indeed allow customers to log in and retrieve useful data like itineraries.
That's just an introduction illustrating my perfectly logical approach to computers.
So I attempted to print the 4 pages of ticket (contrary to popular opinion, the world will not end in fire or ice but in paper), but for some reason, my computer couldn't quite load the page, and then couldn't quite get all the data sent to the printer before informing me that an error had occurred. The next time I tried to print, Compu informed me that I would need to add a printer. The latest printing ordeal must have been too traumatic, as it had wiped both printers from the system.
I tried giving Compu a brief nap by logging off. Jason advised restarting with a hard kick, which magically restored both printers and Compu's sanity.
But Jason informed me that it really wasn't my computer. "It's all because of Microsoft. Microsoft is the cause of all the world's problems. If Microsoft didn't exist, the world would be at peace... no wars, no fighting... and we'd all live together in harmonious brotherhood."
So maybe I should say, some days Microsoft just doesn't make a lot of sense.
I wanted to print off extra copies of my flight ticket. Having discovered that, yep, my email program had performed its usual maintenance operations, and nope, it hadn't kept useful old emails like e-tickets, I tracked down the site that had issued the ticket and discovered that yes, they did indeed allow customers to log in and retrieve useful data like itineraries.
That's just an introduction illustrating my perfectly logical approach to computers.
So I attempted to print the 4 pages of ticket (contrary to popular opinion, the world will not end in fire or ice but in paper), but for some reason, my computer couldn't quite load the page, and then couldn't quite get all the data sent to the printer before informing me that an error had occurred. The next time I tried to print, Compu informed me that I would need to add a printer. The latest printing ordeal must have been too traumatic, as it had wiped both printers from the system.
I tried giving Compu a brief nap by logging off. Jason advised restarting with a hard kick, which magically restored both printers and Compu's sanity.
But Jason informed me that it really wasn't my computer. "It's all because of Microsoft. Microsoft is the cause of all the world's problems. If Microsoft didn't exist, the world would be at peace... no wars, no fighting... and we'd all live together in harmonious brotherhood."
So maybe I should say, some days Microsoft just doesn't make a lot of sense.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Look out, Future, here I come
Well, this is it! One week from now I will be out of the country. Or maybe flying out of Philadelphia and just barely out of the country. One week from 9:45 A.M. tomorrow my plane will be landing in Paris. One week from tomorrow afternoon sometime my train will be pulling into Dijon, where I will study at the University of Bourgogne for four months.
Do you believe that? If so, you're doing better than me. Study abroad was always the distant part of college. Now suddenly it's here. But after eight years of French, I guess I'm ready for France. :)
Here's my year: France till early June, a month at home, Argentina from late July till early December, then home for another nice long Christmas break before one last semester and graduation (now that I really refuse to believe!).
My first plane ride's coming, yippee!
Do you believe that? If so, you're doing better than me. Study abroad was always the distant part of college. Now suddenly it's here. But after eight years of French, I guess I'm ready for France. :)
Here's my year: France till early June, a month at home, Argentina from late July till early December, then home for another nice long Christmas break before one last semester and graduation (now that I really refuse to believe!).
My first plane ride's coming, yippee!
Friday, January 20, 2006
Latest acquisitions
Want to see how many books you can get for $9?
Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand
50 Great American Short Stories (Hawthorne, Twain, etc.), ed. Milton Crane
The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
How to Write Science Fiction, Matthew J. Costello
*The Lennon Sisters: The Secret of Holiday Island, Doris Schroeder
A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen
*Heidi, Johanna Spyri
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, trans. B. M. Mooyaart
Germinal, Émilie Zola, trans. L. W. Tancock
*The Wrestler of Philippi, Fannie E. Newberry
Sue Barton, Visiting Nurse, Helen Dore Boylston
Emily Post on Entertaining, Elizabeth L. Post
*Captains Courageous, Rudyard Kipling
(*hardback)
According to my division, that's 64 cents per book.
I dare anyone to come up with a theme for this set!
Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand
50 Great American Short Stories (Hawthorne, Twain, etc.), ed. Milton Crane
The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
How to Write Science Fiction, Matthew J. Costello
*The Lennon Sisters: The Secret of Holiday Island, Doris Schroeder
A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen
*Heidi, Johanna Spyri
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, trans. B. M. Mooyaart
Germinal, Émilie Zola, trans. L. W. Tancock
*The Wrestler of Philippi, Fannie E. Newberry
Sue Barton, Visiting Nurse, Helen Dore Boylston
Emily Post on Entertaining, Elizabeth L. Post
*Captains Courageous, Rudyard Kipling
(*hardback)
According to my division, that's 64 cents per book.
I dare anyone to come up with a theme for this set!
Thursday, January 19, 2006
The state of today's university
I eagerly anticipate the culmination of my career as a college student- "identifying a location on a map". Only $80,000. Bet you never guessed inflation was that horrendous.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Current top three technological pet peeves
3. Sluggish Internet connection.
2. Phone menus, especially interspersed with ads and finished off by unavailable CSAs.
1. Clicking to complete an online application and confronting the following screen: The page you requested has expired. You will have to start over at the beginning. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Here goes for round 2 of #1.
2. Phone menus, especially interspersed with ads and finished off by unavailable CSAs.
1. Clicking
Here goes for round 2 of #1.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Sharon's Sleep Scale
This sleep scale (specially adapted for students) is in honor of all my friends returning to class this week, and in memory of my last and most pleasant semester, and in anticipation for jet lag. With this scale, you can determine how much sleep you got the previous night simply by exercising a little self-observation the next day.
For your convenience, I've included a precise and more concise sleep level assessment chart. Since the above warnings pertaining to large amounts of sleep are presently being debated in the scientific community, the following definitions take a more traditional approach.
Deprivation:
0 - Impossible
1 - Insufficient
2 - Skimpy
3 - Tolerable
Maintenance:
4 - Decent
5 - Normal
6 - Ideal
Health:
7 - Excellent
8 and above - Superb
Sleep well. Pleasant dreams.
0 hours: Completely insufficient. Feel wired but will not be standing after 11 a.m. Brain function sporadic at best and shuts down after noon. Not recommended for long term survival.
1 hour: Virtually equivalent to 0 hours.
2 hours: Marginal improvement over 1 hour. Adrenal system has received minimal rest required to continue functioning all day and often (unfortunately and by no means desirably true) all the next night. Brain capacity at functional most of day. Some homework potential. State sustainable for most of a week.
3 hours: As I have no experience with this particular category, I must call on other survivors to testify. I would tentatively hypothesize that the day-after experience of such a sleep level would fall more or less within the range between 2 hours and 4 hours. (This statement brought to you by COW (the Center for Overkill Writing), copyright 2006)
4 hours: Minimal level of optimal sleep. Feeling of semi-sanity and even a distinct sense of existence often prevail. Sufficient for all necessary activities, relatively cheerful demeanor and ability to focus on persons outside self. Continuing but supportable fatigue.
5 hours: Fully functional amount of sleep. Some drowsiness during after-lunch hours. Sanity and near-clearmindedness.
6 hours: Normal. Ideal for students. Person unquestionably alive.
7 hours: Excellent. Increasingly rare.
8 hours: Superb.
9 hours: Unsurpassable.
10 hours: Too much. This is twice the student's normal. Subject should keep hopping if desires to sleep the following night.
11 hours or more: If you sleep this much, you are clearly close to death from sleep-deprivation the rest of the week.
1 hour: Virtually equivalent to 0 hours.
2 hours: Marginal improvement over 1 hour. Adrenal system has received minimal rest required to continue functioning all day and often (unfortunately and by no means desirably true) all the next night. Brain capacity at functional most of day. Some homework potential. State sustainable for most of a week.
3 hours: As I have no experience with this particular category, I must call on other survivors to testify. I would tentatively hypothesize that the day-after experience of such a sleep level would fall more or less within the range between 2 hours and 4 hours. (This statement brought to you by COW (the Center for Overkill Writing), copyright 2006)
4 hours: Minimal level of optimal sleep. Feeling of semi-sanity and even a distinct sense of existence often prevail. Sufficient for all necessary activities, relatively cheerful demeanor and ability to focus on persons outside self. Continuing but supportable fatigue.
5 hours: Fully functional amount of sleep. Some drowsiness during after-lunch hours. Sanity and near-clearmindedness.
6 hours: Normal. Ideal for students. Person unquestionably alive.
7 hours: Excellent. Increasingly rare.
8 hours: Superb.
9 hours: Unsurpassable.
10 hours: Too much. This is twice the student's normal. Subject should keep hopping if desires to sleep the following night.
11 hours or more: If you sleep this much, you are clearly close to death from sleep-deprivation the rest of the week.
For your convenience, I've included a precise and more concise sleep level assessment chart. Since the above warnings pertaining to large amounts of sleep are presently being debated in the scientific community, the following definitions take a more traditional approach.
Deprivation:
0 - Impossible
1 - Insufficient
2 - Skimpy
3 - Tolerable
Maintenance:
4 - Decent
5 - Normal
6 - Ideal
Health:
7 - Excellent
8 and above - Superb
Sleep well. Pleasant dreams.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Mañana
Well, I was going to post about real life, but seeing as it's almost 11 PM, I think I'd rather read... especially since Daddy has tomorrow off. No need to get up at a decent hour and be a good, morally supportive daughter. But, in case any early risers in my family are alarmed on reading this, don't worry, unless you don't see me by 9 or 10 AM. Then you can worry.
I'd rather read, because Sanditon is waiting for me to return (in fact, if you like reading your computer screen, how about this), and because reading late will make me a perfect hypocrite, since I just informed my family that every minute of sleep before midnight is worth four after midnight. Hey, it's just self-adjustment for the next two nights of Pride & Prejudice.
I'd rather read, because Sanditon is waiting for me to return (in fact, if you like reading your computer screen, how about this), and because reading late will make me a perfect hypocrite, since I just informed my family that every minute of sleep before midnight is worth four after midnight. Hey, it's just self-adjustment for the next two nights of Pride & Prejudice.
Whaddayaknow
Laura is so nice, she won't mind me passing on her link!
Betcha didn't know Shakespeare wrote Beowulf.
Betcha didn't know Shakespeare wrote Beowulf.
Let's dump Spanish
I was rather pleased to read this in the latest issue of U.S. News & World Report.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Gas and politics
It's not that I'm too busy or too lazy to post. I just forget. That's my excuse for posting on this Le Monde editorial three days late. But editorials don't die so quickly as regular news. I translated the last and most interesting paragraph for (those of) you (who don't read French). Here's the opening line to give you an idea of the rest: En obligeant l'Ukraine à accepter de payer cinq fois plus cher le gaz russe... Vladimir Poutine a certainement marqué un point . . . By obligating Ukraine to pay five times more dearly for Russian gas... Vladimir Putin has certainly marked a point...
First Tsarist, then Soviet, Russia has always been obsessed by creating around herself a buffer zone for protection from harmful influences. This kind of politics realized its apogee with Stalin and the creation of the "Socialist camp" after World War II. Mikhail Gorbatchev and then Boris Yeltsin had broken with this tradition by trying to integrate their country into a pan-European political system. Convinced that the disappearance of the Soviet Union is "the greatest catastrophe of the twentieth century", Mr. Putin is joining again with the politics of zones of influence. It isn't a good piece of news for Russia's immediate neighbors or for Europe as a whole.
First Tsarist, then Soviet, Russia has always been obsessed by creating around herself a buffer zone for protection from harmful influences. This kind of politics realized its apogee with Stalin and the creation of the "Socialist camp" after World War II. Mikhail Gorbatchev and then Boris Yeltsin had broken with this tradition by trying to integrate their country into a pan-European political system. Convinced that the disappearance of the Soviet Union is "the greatest catastrophe of the twentieth century", Mr. Putin is joining again with the politics of zones of influence. It isn't a good piece of news for Russia's immediate neighbors or for Europe as a whole.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
The French have us beat by 150...
...Bible verses, that is. When reading a French Bible, keep in mind that every Psalm has an extra verse. Verse 1 is the brief phrase introducing the Psalm in the English version (i.e. "A Psalm of David"). Just made this fascinating discovery tonight when trying to reconcile Pastor John's verse references with la Sainte Bible.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Fun things to do in an elevator
1. Whistle the first seven notes of "It's a Small World" incessantly.
2. Sell Girl Scout cookies.
3. Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside, ask "Got enough air in there?"
4. When arriving at your floor, grunt and strain to yank the doors open, then act embarrassed when they open by themselves.
5. Greet everyone getting on the elevator with a warm handshake and ask them to call you Admiral.
6. Meow occasionally.
7. Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce "You're one of THEM!" and move to the far corner of the elevator.
8. Leave a box between the doors.
9. Wear a puppet on your hand and talk to other passengers "through" it.
10. Start a sing-along.
11. Say "Ding" at each floor.
12. Say "I wonder what all these do" and push the red buttons.
13. Listen to the elevator walls with a stethoscope.
14. Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers that this is your "personal space".
15. Bring a chair along.
16. Make explosion noises when anyone presses a button.
Used by my sociology professor in class.
#4, #11, and #16 are my favorites! How about yours?
2. Sell Girl Scout cookies.
3. Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside, ask "Got enough air in there?"
4. When arriving at your floor, grunt and strain to yank the doors open, then act embarrassed when they open by themselves.
5. Greet everyone getting on the elevator with a warm handshake and ask them to call you Admiral.
6. Meow occasionally.
7. Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce "You're one of THEM!" and move to the far corner of the elevator.
8. Leave a box between the doors.
9. Wear a puppet on your hand and talk to other passengers "through" it.
10. Start a sing-along.
11. Say "Ding" at each floor.
12. Say "I wonder what all these do" and push the red buttons.
13. Listen to the elevator walls with a stethoscope.
14. Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers that this is your "personal space".
15. Bring a chair along.
16. Make explosion noises when anyone presses a button.
Used by my sociology professor in class.
#4, #11, and #16 are my favorites! How about yours?
Christmas break hours
Sorry for the posting lag. I was fighting the nasty cold, and have finally won back health, well-being, and sleep.
My schedule was already off since the only hours I really dropped off last week were generally after 5 or 6 in the morning. Now it's continuing with the annual Christmas Lord of the Rings viewing before Christmas break ends (at least for Jason and Kendra). Yesterday I ate breakfast at noon, lunch at 4:30, and supper at 7:30. Really an admirable arrangement! Sleep is the priority, of course, not food.
To make up for this horrendous blog lapse, another post will magically appear later on today.
My schedule was already off since the only hours I really dropped off last week were generally after 5 or 6 in the morning. Now it's continuing with the annual Christmas Lord of the Rings viewing before Christmas break ends (at least for Jason and Kendra). Yesterday I ate breakfast at noon, lunch at 4:30, and supper at 7:30. Really an admirable arrangement! Sleep is the priority, of course, not food.
To make up for this horrendous blog lapse, another post will magically appear later on today.
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