Day Fifty-Eight
Yesterday Jihui and I had our presentation on Walt Disney. It was a pretty sick powerpoint, lol. I've got a lot of time on my hands and a lot of motivation when it comes to fun, creative projects. Wish we had more of these at WP, haha. It was a really fun presentation. Learned a lot about him, he has a very interesting biography. Also, we were the first group to present which gives some brownie points. Hopefully that helps because I totally said he was married at the age of 44 instead of 24...the French number system + public speaking = your brain cannot add up the words fast enough. lol
After class there was a movie showing for my program and they showed Freedom Writers in French = Écrire Pour Exister. The volume wasn't loud enough so it was really hard to understand without subtitles. Thankfully I'd seen it before so I followed along. Whenever I watch French television, I put the volume louder than usual haha. It's just so hard to understand! With subtitles, piece of cake. But without them, I'm lost in translation.
Today I'm all packed up and ready to fly to Germany! I'll be spending Easter weekend with my cousin Megan and her husband! Incredibly excited to spend this holiday with family and visit another place in Europe. I won't be practicing much of any French--I'll just make up for it when I get back. ;)
If you have a few minutes free, watch this video. Let's remember why today is Good Friday.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w39N3vHn1mQ
I won't be posting this weekend so here's one for Easter. His grace has delivered us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhoFEuw2GPA
vendredi 29 mars 2013
mercredi 27 mars 2013
Les Relations Internationales
Day Fifty-Six
Today I had my cultural classes again. In "actualités" (news), we were split into groups and had to design the front cover page of a newspaper. With a twist! For April Fool's Day (Blagues), the French newspapers put in a fake headline on the front page of the paper. So, we had to make up a fake headline amidst the authentic news stories. We had fun with that and in my group there was a guy who is a good artist for drawing caricatures/designs. Then a group did a presentation on an article concerning "le mariage pour tous" which is a pertinent current event debate in France. This past Sunday, more than 20,000 people gathered to protest against the adoption rights of homosexuals--on the Champs-Elysées. That's not allowed and it turned out to be violent with the police. In my francophone class, today we had an exam and I think it went fairly well for me. I haven't memorized dates like that since...history class freshmen year! Haha. After we discussed the importance of language and why man has the need to communicate. Interesting stuff.
I just came back from going to a friend's apartment and having KOREAN FOOD!!! There were five of us girls from class (deux chinoise, une coréenne, et une columbienne). It was so such a great time! Jihui cooked dinner for us and Hui made an apple tart! Jihui cooked dduk-bok-ee and korean pancake (don't know the word in hangul). IT WAS SO GOOOD! Like from the restaurant, which makes sense since her mother is a cook. Jeez! Loveeeeee it, haha. And then we had apple tart and turns out Elsa ALSO brought an apple tart...so we had to finish that! After an authentic Korean meal, two pies, and five cups of green tea--we went to the living room to relax and chat. We compared different things between our respective countries, talked about relationships, gave opinions, gave advice, etc. Almost 4 hours later, it was time to go home! I can't believe we talked non-stop almost as long as I have class each day! This is EXACTLY why I came here--to have these moments where I'm really engaged in the language with others. I told them we have to make this a weekly event and everyone pitch in to buy ingredients, haha. :)
P.S. I recieved my grade from last week's exam on compréhension écrite (written comprehension) and I recieved a 15.5/20! Why am I happy? Because anything over a 15 is considered an A according to the French grading scale! Weird--I know! But she did write "Très bon travail! Bravo!" haha. Just another aspect of the differences between the US and France.
Today I had my cultural classes again. In "actualités" (news), we were split into groups and had to design the front cover page of a newspaper. With a twist! For April Fool's Day (Blagues), the French newspapers put in a fake headline on the front page of the paper. So, we had to make up a fake headline amidst the authentic news stories. We had fun with that and in my group there was a guy who is a good artist for drawing caricatures/designs. Then a group did a presentation on an article concerning "le mariage pour tous" which is a pertinent current event debate in France. This past Sunday, more than 20,000 people gathered to protest against the adoption rights of homosexuals--on the Champs-Elysées. That's not allowed and it turned out to be violent with the police. In my francophone class, today we had an exam and I think it went fairly well for me. I haven't memorized dates like that since...history class freshmen year! Haha. After we discussed the importance of language and why man has the need to communicate. Interesting stuff.
I just came back from going to a friend's apartment and having KOREAN FOOD!!! There were five of us girls from class (deux chinoise, une coréenne, et une columbienne). It was so such a great time! Jihui cooked dinner for us and Hui made an apple tart! Jihui cooked dduk-bok-ee and korean pancake (don't know the word in hangul). IT WAS SO GOOOD! Like from the restaurant, which makes sense since her mother is a cook. Jeez! Loveeeeee it, haha. And then we had apple tart and turns out Elsa ALSO brought an apple tart...so we had to finish that! After an authentic Korean meal, two pies, and five cups of green tea--we went to the living room to relax and chat. We compared different things between our respective countries, talked about relationships, gave opinions, gave advice, etc. Almost 4 hours later, it was time to go home! I can't believe we talked non-stop almost as long as I have class each day! This is EXACTLY why I came here--to have these moments where I'm really engaged in the language with others. I told them we have to make this a weekly event and everyone pitch in to buy ingredients, haha. :)
P.S. I recieved my grade from last week's exam on compréhension écrite (written comprehension) and I recieved a 15.5/20! Why am I happy? Because anything over a 15 is considered an A according to the French grading scale! Weird--I know! But she did write "Très bon travail! Bravo!" haha. Just another aspect of the differences between the US and France.
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| The chef herself! |
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| just like from a korean restaurant, amazing! |
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| Hui and her homemade apple tart! |
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| Korean pancakes too?? YES! |
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| The girls! |
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| The outside of a city library! Wow, very aesthetically pleasing |
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| Lunch with Sakura this past Monday for some good Japanese food! |
mardi 26 mars 2013
Avignon et Les Bonnes Conversations
Day Fifty-Five
I didn't realize how long ago I updated. Some notable things:
I didn't realize how long ago I updated. Some notable things:
- Tried a "Korean" barbecue buffet in Lyon. But nothing about it was Korean--except that we had an individual grill on the table to cook the meat. All the food, soup, and sauces were either Chinese or Japanese. I was so excited on our way there, words can't express how dissapointed I was haha. Plus it was 24 euros. Eeeek! Most expensive meal I've paid for but it would've been well worth the cost for some good Korean food! Alas, it was not so. But the company was good. Went with my friends Elsa and Jihui from class and we talked for a long time about various things, mostly the food and also surprisingly religion! I told them I attend an international church and Jihui was interested in coming! Found out she lived in San Diego for three years in middle school and that it's easier for her to read the Bible in English than in Korean! Weird! But she told me that the Bible in Hangul (Korean language) is more traditional with formal words and harder to understand than in English. --Follow up: I brought her to my Bible study on Friday and so she was able to have fellowship and practice her English!
- Visited Avignon (town in southern France) just for the day on Saturday. I didn't even look at a map before buying my train tickets and came to find out it's so close to Marseilles!! But the ticket was so cheap--who would've known. This town is considered a UNESCO World Heritage site because of Les Palais des Papes there. I learned that for several decades in the 14th century, the Great Schism took place where there was a Vatican pope and an Avignon pope. The French pope resided in Avignon, in a grand palace. It's incredibly large and long ago much of the walls inside were covered with colorful murals--a few remain but are well faded over time. That was very neat to see. Also while there we visited an indoor market, Les Halles, where we saw a free cooking demonstration by a top chef of Avignon and had a free sample! That was cool because I was able to ask the elderly women watching what was going on and they were happy to chat for a while too.
- My host parents went skiing in the Alps this weekend so Anish and I had to cook, which was really fun! Sunday for lunch we cooked veal with spices, potatoes, and vegetables. Neither of us had cooked veal before but it turned out delicious, haha. Thank goodness! We had a good talk over our meal, once again the topic of religion came up. He is purposeful in all things. Anish comes from a Hindi background but when he was younger decided he couldn't follow Hinduism and so I asked him about that and he asked me about my Christian background. I am always open to learning about other religions and talking about different beliefs, so that was very cool. I'm not a Biblical expert or anything but I hope I was able to relate to him with sincerity the focus of Christianity--Jesus.
- If I am in Lyon on Sundays, I make at trip to the Sunday farmers' market along the river. It really does go on for several blocks and after walking back and forth to compare all the prices, I bought 7 large grapefruits, 3 cucumbers, and bananas for around 7 euros. The grapefruits here are sweeter than in the states and I know they're healthy--so I'm trying to eat one a day! :)
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| Elsa and Jihui at the restaurant with me |
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| chef at hard work! |
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| the final product! Fruit salad with sweet cream on top! |
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| Le Palais des Papes |
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| one of the chapels |
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| Le Palais des Papes in the background |
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| I can't imagine how beautiful it was back then! |
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| Bible study group filling Easter eggs for the kids next week |
mercredi 20 mars 2013
L'arc En Ciel
Day Forty-Nine
What a wonderful day! Worked out, got ready, had breakfast, did my devotional, some homework and headed to class. Since it's Wednesday, I had my news and francophone class again. News was very interesting. A group presented on nuclear energy and the recent protest in Paris where 20,000 joined hands and made a human chain in various points of importance within the city. They discussed their news article and then lead a class discussion, mind you all in French. It was really cool. Had a quick bite to eat (curry chicken wrap from Tasty Toast right across from the university for 2,90 euros) then went to francophone class which was a review on everything we've learned since we have an exam next Wednesday.
After class I quickly made my way to another classroom where my teacher set up a French movie screening with une dégustation afterwards (trying French cheeses and wines). The French movie (Les Saveurs du Palais) is based off a true story of Danièle Delpeuch (a self-taught cook) who became the personal chef of French President Mitterand for two years because he wanted simple country styled meals instead of the high cuisine he was surrounded by. Link to a NYT article about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/27/world/europe/culinary-battles-of-mitterrands-chef-go-from-kitchen-to-screen.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Then we had a wine/cheese tasting that was really good! Basically all of the cheeses were from cows (instead of sheep and goat--bleghhhh) so that was good! It was such good time of sharing some laughs and experiences with classmates. I really love them! Our class always has fun and we have some personalities who are so comical, lol. Everyone was taking pictures all over the place! On our way out of the university about to take our separate ways, we saw a huge rainbow (l'arc en ciel) in the sky!! And perfect timing, it's the first day of spring! :)
What a wonderful day! Worked out, got ready, had breakfast, did my devotional, some homework and headed to class. Since it's Wednesday, I had my news and francophone class again. News was very interesting. A group presented on nuclear energy and the recent protest in Paris where 20,000 joined hands and made a human chain in various points of importance within the city. They discussed their news article and then lead a class discussion, mind you all in French. It was really cool. Had a quick bite to eat (curry chicken wrap from Tasty Toast right across from the university for 2,90 euros) then went to francophone class which was a review on everything we've learned since we have an exam next Wednesday.
After class I quickly made my way to another classroom where my teacher set up a French movie screening with une dégustation afterwards (trying French cheeses and wines). The French movie (Les Saveurs du Palais) is based off a true story of Danièle Delpeuch (a self-taught cook) who became the personal chef of French President Mitterand for two years because he wanted simple country styled meals instead of the high cuisine he was surrounded by. Link to a NYT article about it: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/27/world/europe/culinary-battles-of-mitterrands-chef-go-from-kitchen-to-screen.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Then we had a wine/cheese tasting that was really good! Basically all of the cheeses were from cows (instead of sheep and goat--bleghhhh) so that was good! It was such good time of sharing some laughs and experiences with classmates. I really love them! Our class always has fun and we have some personalities who are so comical, lol. Everyone was taking pictures all over the place! On our way out of the university about to take our separate ways, we saw a huge rainbow (l'arc en ciel) in the sky!! And perfect timing, it's the first day of spring! :)
lundi 18 mars 2013
Food & Gifts
Day Forty-Seven
Just an average day this morning. I went to lunch at the same sandwich place before (Pomme de Pain) with Anish (again, the English boy who is also staying with this host family for studying French) and that was nice to talk in French and get to know him better. Then went to class and loved it, as always. With Ms. Ludvine (I won't ever get used to how people call professors by their first names), class literally flies by. It all depends on your professor. Then afterwards, came back right after class to help Anish make chicken curry! We have the option to make a typical dinner from our native countries for the host family. Since he's Indian, he made curry and I'm thinking of making a Korean dish, just because I don't think they'd ever try anything like it otherwise. Anyway, I helped him with that and it's funny--when you don't have the option to cook, you really really want to. So it was nice to help him out. I absolutely love curry and althought it wasn't the same to what I'm used to, it was still very good. It took longer than he'd expected so we didn't eat dinner until nine! But actually, this is not very unusual for the French. I have a friend whose host family eats at 8:30 every night! But that was cool because we talked about Indian traditions and they also asked about Korean traditions. Always nice to shed some light on Korean culture :)
Tonight I oovoo'd with my family and they recieved a box I sent them from Italy with gifts! I bought three authentic Italian leather brand-name purses for my mom, Bridget, and I and let them choose which ones they could have. The brand is Nicoli and it is based out of a town right next to Vicenza, Italy. I recieved the deal of a lifetime with my purchases and I think they really liked them, at least I could tell from my mom squealing when she saw them :) I refrained from telling them about the package so it would be a surprise and I'm glad I did--because it was worth it to see their shocked faces! I also made them read my 2-page letter beforehand, haha. Surprisingly, Bridget actually read it before opening the bags! I also recieved some good news about my upcoming summer at WP, so today ended on a very high note. Thank you Lord!! I don't know why, but You keep on giving.
Just an average day this morning. I went to lunch at the same sandwich place before (Pomme de Pain) with Anish (again, the English boy who is also staying with this host family for studying French) and that was nice to talk in French and get to know him better. Then went to class and loved it, as always. With Ms. Ludvine (I won't ever get used to how people call professors by their first names), class literally flies by. It all depends on your professor. Then afterwards, came back right after class to help Anish make chicken curry! We have the option to make a typical dinner from our native countries for the host family. Since he's Indian, he made curry and I'm thinking of making a Korean dish, just because I don't think they'd ever try anything like it otherwise. Anyway, I helped him with that and it's funny--when you don't have the option to cook, you really really want to. So it was nice to help him out. I absolutely love curry and althought it wasn't the same to what I'm used to, it was still very good. It took longer than he'd expected so we didn't eat dinner until nine! But actually, this is not very unusual for the French. I have a friend whose host family eats at 8:30 every night! But that was cool because we talked about Indian traditions and they also asked about Korean traditions. Always nice to shed some light on Korean culture :)
Tonight I oovoo'd with my family and they recieved a box I sent them from Italy with gifts! I bought three authentic Italian leather brand-name purses for my mom, Bridget, and I and let them choose which ones they could have. The brand is Nicoli and it is based out of a town right next to Vicenza, Italy. I recieved the deal of a lifetime with my purchases and I think they really liked them, at least I could tell from my mom squealing when she saw them :) I refrained from telling them about the package so it would be a surprise and I'm glad I did--because it was worth it to see their shocked faces! I also made them read my 2-page letter beforehand, haha. Surprisingly, Bridget actually read it before opening the bags! I also recieved some good news about my upcoming summer at WP, so today ended on a very high note. Thank you Lord!! I don't know why, but You keep on giving.
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| Spring is coming! |
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| Haha I love them so much and I think...they love me too (AND their Italian purses!) |
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| Anish cooking! |
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| Yummy curry! |
dimanche 17 mars 2013
Founders' Day
Day Forty-Six
March 16, 1802--birthdate of West Point. Yesterday, I celebrated founders' day with seven other cadets in Paris at the West Point Society Of Paris Founders' Day Dinner at the École Militaire. It's the French war college dated back in history (built at the end of the 18th century) where Napoleon Bonaparte attended! What a PHENOMENAL opportunity and blessing it was. We were with about 40 other people (old grads, old faculty, and spouses). The oldest grads were from 1963; they'll be at WP this year to celebrate their 50 year-reunion...wow! Another cadet and I actually helped lead the Alma Mater with one of them, a retired brigadier general who was in the Glee Club! What are the chances--three "glubbers" in Paris! Another surprise was that I met a fellow frog there! Spring Break for everyone back home is just now wrapping up and he was in town with another cadet. Again, what are the chances!!
It was the fanciest dinner I've ever been to. I should've taken a picture of the table-set up. I had three pairs of each utensil, all arranged around my plate. I had three glasses (white wine, red wine, and water) and learned the larger one was for water. It kicked off at 7 with an apéritif (small finger foods and a drink) where we socialized and that probably lasted at least an hour and a half! It was really cool to meet with all the different people in attendace, plus it was great to catch up with the other cadets! Many of the old grads are retired now and working in Paris with various civilian jobs. Several of them having French wives, so we spoke both English and French during our social hour. Everyone was incredibly sweet and the entire evening was a great experience. There were remarks made by both the oldest grad and the youngest grad in attendance, plus the guest speaker Général Beau (the dean of École Militaire). There were four courses: a vinegared fish dish as the l'entrée, an amazing chicken dish as le plat, fromage (cheese), and le dessert ( french toast with vanilla ice cream and caramel). What a schmancy meal! It was forty euros!! Thankfully, the cadets were guests of the society so they covered that charge. Everyone there had such a distinguished career! It was such an honor to be in their presence. I had the privilege of sitting next to the Défense Attaché for France!! What an incredible job to have! He's the military advisor for our US ambassador to France. A lot of responsibility but the colonel was brilliant, so I can imagine he's very deserving of the position. He was a FAO (Foreign Area Officer) before this and so I talked to him about that and heard his two cents of advice. The dinner was almost 3 hours long and the entire table was filled with interesting people! On my other side was a grad from TX, the Attaché's roommate back in their days at WP, who was visiting town on a business trip! They joked on each other the whole time. It's humbling to see that someone so distinguished is also just an ordinary human--sometimes I have to be reminded of that. All I can say is...wow. I am always astounded by the blessings God has given me. Praise Him!
That night, the members of the society hosted cadets at their apartments so we wouldn't have to worry about lodging, which was very appreciated. Traveling to Paris for a dinner was 80 euros but well-worth the price. I was surprised that I managed to take the train and Paris metro by myself and actually knew where I was going too!
Overall, an unforgettable weekend.
March 16, 1802--birthdate of West Point. Yesterday, I celebrated founders' day with seven other cadets in Paris at the West Point Society Of Paris Founders' Day Dinner at the École Militaire. It's the French war college dated back in history (built at the end of the 18th century) where Napoleon Bonaparte attended! What a PHENOMENAL opportunity and blessing it was. We were with about 40 other people (old grads, old faculty, and spouses). The oldest grads were from 1963; they'll be at WP this year to celebrate their 50 year-reunion...wow! Another cadet and I actually helped lead the Alma Mater with one of them, a retired brigadier general who was in the Glee Club! What are the chances--three "glubbers" in Paris! Another surprise was that I met a fellow frog there! Spring Break for everyone back home is just now wrapping up and he was in town with another cadet. Again, what are the chances!!
It was the fanciest dinner I've ever been to. I should've taken a picture of the table-set up. I had three pairs of each utensil, all arranged around my plate. I had three glasses (white wine, red wine, and water) and learned the larger one was for water. It kicked off at 7 with an apéritif (small finger foods and a drink) where we socialized and that probably lasted at least an hour and a half! It was really cool to meet with all the different people in attendace, plus it was great to catch up with the other cadets! Many of the old grads are retired now and working in Paris with various civilian jobs. Several of them having French wives, so we spoke both English and French during our social hour. Everyone was incredibly sweet and the entire evening was a great experience. There were remarks made by both the oldest grad and the youngest grad in attendance, plus the guest speaker Général Beau (the dean of École Militaire). There were four courses: a vinegared fish dish as the l'entrée, an amazing chicken dish as le plat, fromage (cheese), and le dessert ( french toast with vanilla ice cream and caramel). What a schmancy meal! It was forty euros!! Thankfully, the cadets were guests of the society so they covered that charge. Everyone there had such a distinguished career! It was such an honor to be in their presence. I had the privilege of sitting next to the Défense Attaché for France!! What an incredible job to have! He's the military advisor for our US ambassador to France. A lot of responsibility but the colonel was brilliant, so I can imagine he's very deserving of the position. He was a FAO (Foreign Area Officer) before this and so I talked to him about that and heard his two cents of advice. The dinner was almost 3 hours long and the entire table was filled with interesting people! On my other side was a grad from TX, the Attaché's roommate back in their days at WP, who was visiting town on a business trip! They joked on each other the whole time. It's humbling to see that someone so distinguished is also just an ordinary human--sometimes I have to be reminded of that. All I can say is...wow. I am always astounded by the blessings God has given me. Praise Him!
That night, the members of the society hosted cadets at their apartments so we wouldn't have to worry about lodging, which was very appreciated. Traveling to Paris for a dinner was 80 euros but well-worth the price. I was surprised that I managed to take the train and Paris metro by myself and actually knew where I was going too!
Overall, an unforgettable weekend.
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| How to survive a 5-hour train ride |
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| 6 semester abroad cadets and two extra cadets visiting! |
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| Frog reunion! |
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| L'Arc de Triomphe! |
vendredi 15 mars 2013
Good French Cheese = Raclette
Day Fourty-Four
Yesterday I was invited to have dinner with a young married couple from church (Kate is my weekly running buddy). We had raclette, which is a pretty heavy meal typically eaten in the winter. The name comes from the type of cheese that is heated and eaten on potatoes, meat, and vegetables. Very cool, VERY delicious! I think I had 3 baked potatoes and...countless raclettes haha. Included is a picture to make more sense of it. It's not like anything I've had before, and I heard you can't find this cheese in the states. I really hope that's not true! It was a really fun time of fellowship and another girl (Rachel) was eating there as well. She's really sweet and is here to teach English for a year. We then made apple crisps, while I prepared my Andes Mint cookie dough for the next day. Then played a card game-Phase 10-which is really fun and could probably take hours with a large group. Then headed back to chat with my good friend Christina. We haven't oovoo'd in a very long time so that was much needed!
Today did the usual but I went out to have lunch at a sandwich place--their "sandwich" is a mini-baguette with meat, cheese, and vegetables in it. With a strawberry tart and water. I LOVE FRUIT TARTS! lol. But since it was rush hour during lunchtime, I asked an elderly woman if I could sit at the same table as her and she said it was fine. Then, I decided to start a conversation and we talked for 30 minutes! She was so sweet and was like "Oh, you're just talking to a French grandma!" and we talked about my impressions of the French (everyone's nice but I've noticed they're more reserved than Americans) to which she agreed and said that she would attribute that to our different education systems. In the US, students are encouraged to voice their opinions in discussion and have a two-way conversation with the teacher. However, I learned that in France it's not the same. It's a lot more rigid and more lecture-based where it's predominately the teacher speaking to the students, not discussion-based. That made a lot of sense. She also talked about how when she visited the US and got lost in NYC, someone immediately was willing to help point her in the right direction. I didn't have the heart to tell her that she was really lucky because that's not the typical scenario in NYC, lol. She also explained how the sandwich I was eating is the French version of fast food (literally food prepared quickly, without the unhealthy connotation we associate with the term fast food). And that McDonald's is acting as a colonizing force in France with its unhealthy food. I agreed and said that I am not going to eat McD's here because I can have that at home and I want to eat as much French cuisine as I can, to which she was very pleased. But yeah, it makes sense. It's impeding on the eating habits of the younger generation around the world. I'm dissapointed when I see McD's in a foreign country--is that bad?
Then had class and afterwards, I was literally running around trying to do everything in a short time-span. I walked to Amelia's to borrow her little carry-on suitcase for my upcoming weekend in Paris, ordered my train tickets online, printed my tickets at the SNCF boutique (the train line has little boutiques around the city where you can print out your tickets/talk to an employee), dropped off my suitcase, then made my way to Bible study. We had some amazing lasagna/regular pasta dish that was seriously...unbelievable! I need the recipe. I baked the cookie dough I had frozen over night since the oven at Katie's apartment destroys cookies--French ovens are very different from those in the US. The cookies were a HIT! Love ittttt :) They're my favorite and it was nice to bake! Now I'm about to head to bed after having a nice video chat with my parents! I can't WAIT for them to visit. Now I have to just plan out our entire perfect week in France together--no pressure--to show them all that I can of this lovely country!
Yesterday I was invited to have dinner with a young married couple from church (Kate is my weekly running buddy). We had raclette, which is a pretty heavy meal typically eaten in the winter. The name comes from the type of cheese that is heated and eaten on potatoes, meat, and vegetables. Very cool, VERY delicious! I think I had 3 baked potatoes and...countless raclettes haha. Included is a picture to make more sense of it. It's not like anything I've had before, and I heard you can't find this cheese in the states. I really hope that's not true! It was a really fun time of fellowship and another girl (Rachel) was eating there as well. She's really sweet and is here to teach English for a year. We then made apple crisps, while I prepared my Andes Mint cookie dough for the next day. Then played a card game-Phase 10-which is really fun and could probably take hours with a large group. Then headed back to chat with my good friend Christina. We haven't oovoo'd in a very long time so that was much needed!
Today did the usual but I went out to have lunch at a sandwich place--their "sandwich" is a mini-baguette with meat, cheese, and vegetables in it. With a strawberry tart and water. I LOVE FRUIT TARTS! lol. But since it was rush hour during lunchtime, I asked an elderly woman if I could sit at the same table as her and she said it was fine. Then, I decided to start a conversation and we talked for 30 minutes! She was so sweet and was like "Oh, you're just talking to a French grandma!" and we talked about my impressions of the French (everyone's nice but I've noticed they're more reserved than Americans) to which she agreed and said that she would attribute that to our different education systems. In the US, students are encouraged to voice their opinions in discussion and have a two-way conversation with the teacher. However, I learned that in France it's not the same. It's a lot more rigid and more lecture-based where it's predominately the teacher speaking to the students, not discussion-based. That made a lot of sense. She also talked about how when she visited the US and got lost in NYC, someone immediately was willing to help point her in the right direction. I didn't have the heart to tell her that she was really lucky because that's not the typical scenario in NYC, lol. She also explained how the sandwich I was eating is the French version of fast food (literally food prepared quickly, without the unhealthy connotation we associate with the term fast food). And that McDonald's is acting as a colonizing force in France with its unhealthy food. I agreed and said that I am not going to eat McD's here because I can have that at home and I want to eat as much French cuisine as I can, to which she was very pleased. But yeah, it makes sense. It's impeding on the eating habits of the younger generation around the world. I'm dissapointed when I see McD's in a foreign country--is that bad?
Then had class and afterwards, I was literally running around trying to do everything in a short time-span. I walked to Amelia's to borrow her little carry-on suitcase for my upcoming weekend in Paris, ordered my train tickets online, printed my tickets at the SNCF boutique (the train line has little boutiques around the city where you can print out your tickets/talk to an employee), dropped off my suitcase, then made my way to Bible study. We had some amazing lasagna/regular pasta dish that was seriously...unbelievable! I need the recipe. I baked the cookie dough I had frozen over night since the oven at Katie's apartment destroys cookies--French ovens are very different from those in the US. The cookies were a HIT! Love ittttt :) They're my favorite and it was nice to bake! Now I'm about to head to bed after having a nice video chat with my parents! I can't WAIT for them to visit. Now I have to just plan out our entire perfect week in France together--no pressure--to show them all that I can of this lovely country!
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| FOUND AN ASIAN STORE!!! |
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| I could've saved my parents a lot of money if I had known this store was here... |
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| Raclette! The cheese cooks and when it gets bubbly you know it is ready. Then, it just slides right off the littlep an onto your nicely made plate (if you're a pro) |
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| Well that's sideways..but you get the point |
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| This one too. |
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| This picture will stay big to emphaisze how AMAZING it was to bake! |
mercredi 13 mars 2013
Théâtre
Day Forty-One
This morning went to my French culture classes (news/media and francophone). Both were very interesting. For the first class, we went over caricatures and political cartoons (same teacher, so a little bit of repeat but still a lot of fun) and then there was a group who did a presentation on the current horse meat scandal in Europe (where horsemeat was advertised as beef and sold to restaurants/consumers). 50% of our grade is from our presentations and 50% from our participation/homework. These presentations should take 10-15 minutes in groups of 3-4 people who present a current event news article and then lead a discussion afterwards. Well, having SS357 (International Relations) a year ago helped my confidence in preparing for current events-based discussions but this'll be interesting to do in another language! In the francophone class, we learned about the OIF (l'organisation internationale de la francophonie) which acts as a network connecting all of the francophone countries/territories together and the founders. The "grandfather of francophone" is Léopold Senghor, the first president of Sénégal after it gained independence. It's cool because in SS366 (Comparative Politics), I wrote about Sénégal for the my 15-page paper and about whether it really is a democratic government--so I read up a lot on Senghor. It's always nice to see that you actually retain something from a previous class, lol.
Then came back and met up with Sarabeth, a friend from the international church, to go on a run. Then rushed to shower and grab dinner before meeting my francophone class in Place Bellecour to watch a theatre performance on language. It was a 1.5 hour show on poems from around the world, spoken in probably 15 different languages, with a few songs included in French and was performed by fellow students from various universities/acting programs in Lyon. It was pretty cool. I'll admit that I nodded off a couple of times when there were languages being spoken that I had no idea what they were saying so I couldn't follow the acting, the theatre was dark, and it was past 2200. Not my fault! But it was still cool and gave me a chance to speak a lot of French today because on the bus to & from, there was a lot of time to kill so we had lengthy conversations. :)
I'm so excited for tomorrow! Having dinner at a couple's house from church and then going to bake Andes Mint cookies for Bible study on Friday! YESSSSSSSS!!!! I absolutely LOVE these cookies, and can't tell my mom thank you enough for sending the cake mix and mints in a care package!
This morning went to my French culture classes (news/media and francophone). Both were very interesting. For the first class, we went over caricatures and political cartoons (same teacher, so a little bit of repeat but still a lot of fun) and then there was a group who did a presentation on the current horse meat scandal in Europe (where horsemeat was advertised as beef and sold to restaurants/consumers). 50% of our grade is from our presentations and 50% from our participation/homework. These presentations should take 10-15 minutes in groups of 3-4 people who present a current event news article and then lead a discussion afterwards. Well, having SS357 (International Relations) a year ago helped my confidence in preparing for current events-based discussions but this'll be interesting to do in another language! In the francophone class, we learned about the OIF (l'organisation internationale de la francophonie) which acts as a network connecting all of the francophone countries/territories together and the founders. The "grandfather of francophone" is Léopold Senghor, the first president of Sénégal after it gained independence. It's cool because in SS366 (Comparative Politics), I wrote about Sénégal for the my 15-page paper and about whether it really is a democratic government--so I read up a lot on Senghor. It's always nice to see that you actually retain something from a previous class, lol.
Then came back and met up with Sarabeth, a friend from the international church, to go on a run. Then rushed to shower and grab dinner before meeting my francophone class in Place Bellecour to watch a theatre performance on language. It was a 1.5 hour show on poems from around the world, spoken in probably 15 different languages, with a few songs included in French and was performed by fellow students from various universities/acting programs in Lyon. It was pretty cool. I'll admit that I nodded off a couple of times when there were languages being spoken that I had no idea what they were saying so I couldn't follow the acting, the theatre was dark, and it was past 2200. Not my fault! But it was still cool and gave me a chance to speak a lot of French today because on the bus to & from, there was a lot of time to kill so we had lengthy conversations. :)
I'm so excited for tomorrow! Having dinner at a couple's house from church and then going to bake Andes Mint cookies for Bible study on Friday! YESSSSSSSS!!!! I absolutely LOVE these cookies, and can't tell my mom thank you enough for sending the cake mix and mints in a care package!
mardi 12 mars 2013
Bittersweet
Day Thirty-Nine
Today was a bittersweet day. Had my first rude interaction with a French person (the rudeness was not from me). I promise, everyone is so sweet and friendly here but today I saw a side of someone that surprised me. That's about as far as I'll go with that. I will go on paying my respects but will definitely be more reserved from now on. There's days like this when I really miss the comfort of home and family in the states. Then had class and yet again, it was great! But towards the end, we recieved another lecture from our teacher--and it was totally deserved. Our teacher asked a question and I honestly didn't even hear her say it because so many people in the class were talking amongst themselves. So then she was waiting and eventually sat down at her desk until we were quiet. I got the hint and tried to get some people's attention but it was so bizarre to me. It doesn't matter that we're a class of people from all different cultures--in no country is it normal to disrespect the teacher by having side-conversations. Actually, that doesn't even apply to the classroom. That's for any situation where someone is investing their time to help you, you respect their efforts and give them your attention. There was a whole group of people speaking Korean in the class too! We're in class to learn French, wait until our break to speak whatever language you want. When we quieted down, she told us all to close our books and made the paper handout we were goign to do as a class a pop-quiz that she collected. And of course, people were talking during that too. Huh? It was beyond me. Eh, just a quick rant. But it was very hard for me to have patience with those who kept talking, just from my own upbringing and also going to West Point. But still, I would assume this is something taught in every culture--respect for authority. During the break, my teacher talked to me about West Point and was interested to learn a little more. When she asked me why I'm learning French, I explained that every cadet has to take a foreign language for at least two semesters and that I fell in love with it because it's a beautiful, romantic language and also because I'd like to work in Africa one day. Since French is a predominant language in much of Northern Africa, it just made sense. I found out she worked in Senegal for a year! I'll have to ask her more about that sometime.
After that incident, we all left the classroom to go take pictures in the city. What I mean by that is last week the class went on a field trip to a photo exhibition. So after that, our teacher split the class into groups and gave us one French word that we had to capture in a photo in Lyon. We brainstormed yesterday and today were given time in class to go take these pictures. It's a pretty difficult assignment for some pictures (had to be creative for some groups with interpretations). Mine was super easy: bouquet. The other nine words were: coup de foudre (love at first sight), atelier (work of an artisan who designs/makes everything by hand), protéger, unique, cachet (a seal on a letter, for example), voilà, vis-à-vis (face to face), savoir-faire (know-how). Each of these words have several different definitions which we discussed. Funny how words grow new definitions over time. I loved the assignment so much, I asked my teacher for the definition handouts on the other 9 words so I could do this assignment with all the photos on my own. When I was exploring yesterday, I found a perfect example of coup de foudre in a store window! Here's to the start of my photo portfolio de dix mots! :)
After class I met up with Amelia to go out for dinner and we found a nice Chinese restaurant with great food for great prices! That was nice and then worked on some homework. Next week I'm going to have my first exam--need to prepare. Now about to head to bed.
Today was a bittersweet day. Had my first rude interaction with a French person (the rudeness was not from me). I promise, everyone is so sweet and friendly here but today I saw a side of someone that surprised me. That's about as far as I'll go with that. I will go on paying my respects but will definitely be more reserved from now on. There's days like this when I really miss the comfort of home and family in the states. Then had class and yet again, it was great! But towards the end, we recieved another lecture from our teacher--and it was totally deserved. Our teacher asked a question and I honestly didn't even hear her say it because so many people in the class were talking amongst themselves. So then she was waiting and eventually sat down at her desk until we were quiet. I got the hint and tried to get some people's attention but it was so bizarre to me. It doesn't matter that we're a class of people from all different cultures--in no country is it normal to disrespect the teacher by having side-conversations. Actually, that doesn't even apply to the classroom. That's for any situation where someone is investing their time to help you, you respect their efforts and give them your attention. There was a whole group of people speaking Korean in the class too! We're in class to learn French, wait until our break to speak whatever language you want. When we quieted down, she told us all to close our books and made the paper handout we were goign to do as a class a pop-quiz that she collected. And of course, people were talking during that too. Huh? It was beyond me. Eh, just a quick rant. But it was very hard for me to have patience with those who kept talking, just from my own upbringing and also going to West Point. But still, I would assume this is something taught in every culture--respect for authority. During the break, my teacher talked to me about West Point and was interested to learn a little more. When she asked me why I'm learning French, I explained that every cadet has to take a foreign language for at least two semesters and that I fell in love with it because it's a beautiful, romantic language and also because I'd like to work in Africa one day. Since French is a predominant language in much of Northern Africa, it just made sense. I found out she worked in Senegal for a year! I'll have to ask her more about that sometime.
After that incident, we all left the classroom to go take pictures in the city. What I mean by that is last week the class went on a field trip to a photo exhibition. So after that, our teacher split the class into groups and gave us one French word that we had to capture in a photo in Lyon. We brainstormed yesterday and today were given time in class to go take these pictures. It's a pretty difficult assignment for some pictures (had to be creative for some groups with interpretations). Mine was super easy: bouquet. The other nine words were: coup de foudre (love at first sight), atelier (work of an artisan who designs/makes everything by hand), protéger, unique, cachet (a seal on a letter, for example), voilà, vis-à-vis (face to face), savoir-faire (know-how). Each of these words have several different definitions which we discussed. Funny how words grow new definitions over time. I loved the assignment so much, I asked my teacher for the definition handouts on the other 9 words so I could do this assignment with all the photos on my own. When I was exploring yesterday, I found a perfect example of coup de foudre in a store window! Here's to the start of my photo portfolio de dix mots! :)
After class I met up with Amelia to go out for dinner and we found a nice Chinese restaurant with great food for great prices! That was nice and then worked on some homework. Next week I'm going to have my first exam--need to prepare. Now about to head to bed.
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| I found the Lyon version of the "Stairway to Heaven," I'll have to try it out |
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| Bouquet 1 |
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| Bouquet 2 |
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| Bouquet 3 |
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| Look what I walked by today! Four actors practicing their performance in the courtyard of a church |
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| coup du foudre. I couldn't stop thinking of how perfect it was, that I asked the store owner if I could take a picture of the work (worth 220 euros, I'm pretty sure) |
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| There are bookstores with ancient books, so cool! But so expensive. |
dimanche 10 mars 2013
Back Home in Lyon
Day Thirty-Seven
Amelia and I made it back to Lyon! What a worthy accomplishment :) Back at the house, I was a chatterbox all throughout dinner and it was AWESOME! My host mom absolutely loves Italy and so I was recounting to her and my host dad the things I saw and what I found interesting. They even had visited the same medieval city I visited in Tuscany! I kept forgetting the passé composé conjugations of verbs but they would help in making corrections and I was able to have the longest conversation yet with them tonight. How awesome! After a week of only hearing French from other tourists visiting Italy, that's pretty great I'd like to think. It's also nice to think that I can be funny in French--and not just from my pronunciation but from the actual content of what I'm saying. There's hope!
Now, my day in the Tuscan region. We visited San Gimignano and Monterrigioni. The first is a medieval town that originally was comrpised of 75 towers (14 remain) and is still intact only because the Medici family back in the day didn't find it worth transforming into the Renaissance styled architecture/urban set-up because it wasn't that impressive of a small town. But good for us--because it's amazing! Only the rich could afford to have these towers built for themselves and on the ground floor would be their shop, rooms would be above, and the kitchen would be at the top floor (to avoid a possible fire trapping them from below). Because this town was in the middle of Rome and Florence, there were a lot of battles going on. So, the rich could afford some personal protective measure within the town's defensive walls. Very interesting. The second place we visited was an incredibly small village that was enclosed within medieval defensive walls as well and just like the other town, was atop of a hill with a great view of the Tuscan country--if only it was warm enough for the vineyards to be in season!! Regardless, it was breathtaking. I'm getting tired for bed so I won't go into any more details--just check out my facebook pictures.
Amelia and I made it back to Lyon! What a worthy accomplishment :) Back at the house, I was a chatterbox all throughout dinner and it was AWESOME! My host mom absolutely loves Italy and so I was recounting to her and my host dad the things I saw and what I found interesting. They even had visited the same medieval city I visited in Tuscany! I kept forgetting the passé composé conjugations of verbs but they would help in making corrections and I was able to have the longest conversation yet with them tonight. How awesome! After a week of only hearing French from other tourists visiting Italy, that's pretty great I'd like to think. It's also nice to think that I can be funny in French--and not just from my pronunciation but from the actual content of what I'm saying. There's hope!
Now, my day in the Tuscan region. We visited San Gimignano and Monterrigioni. The first is a medieval town that originally was comrpised of 75 towers (14 remain) and is still intact only because the Medici family back in the day didn't find it worth transforming into the Renaissance styled architecture/urban set-up because it wasn't that impressive of a small town. But good for us--because it's amazing! Only the rich could afford to have these towers built for themselves and on the ground floor would be their shop, rooms would be above, and the kitchen would be at the top floor (to avoid a possible fire trapping them from below). Because this town was in the middle of Rome and Florence, there were a lot of battles going on. So, the rich could afford some personal protective measure within the town's defensive walls. Very interesting. The second place we visited was an incredibly small village that was enclosed within medieval defensive walls as well and just like the other town, was atop of a hill with a great view of the Tuscan country--if only it was warm enough for the vineyards to be in season!! Regardless, it was breathtaking. I'm getting tired for bed so I won't go into any more details--just check out my facebook pictures.
vendredi 8 mars 2013
Vicenza
Day Thirty-Five
Started the day right, with a workout! Amelia and I worked out in the gym on-base and it was AWESOME! I go running in France, but today was nice to have a gym facility where I could do the rowing machine/bike cardio and get a really good sweat on! After that we went to the USO and did some baking for those returning from deployment. It was awesome. We baked a batch of cupcakes, brownies, and a whole cake. I love baking. If I had all day, I would've just stayed in there and baked up a storm! I can't wait to have my own kitchen to work on developing this hobby further. :) Then, we had lunch at the food court, Amelia was pretty stoked for some American food lol. We had Popeye's! You can't get fried chicken in France, lol. Then we went to the high school and I was able to talk to a few students who had applied/were interested in West Point. I was able to answer their questions and give them a contact for future questions. That was really nice. I love my school and I am more than happy to help anyone learn more about it. It was really weird, though, being in a high school. Too many memories of my awkwardness to be honest, lol.
We then made a trip to downtown Vicenza again to see the Teatre Olimpico--part of the reason why much of Vicenza is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Dating back to the 16th century, it's the last design of Italian architect Andrea Palladio and one of three remaining Renaissance theatres in the world. What a BEAUTIFUL work of art! The stage is the world's oldest surviving stage set--from the 1585 production of Oedipus the King. The design is trompe-l'œil, where there is the illusion of a longer set dissapearing into the horizon--look at the pictures and you'll see what I mean. The high school has their graduation here! WHAT?!?!? How amazing! The seats for the audience are still the same wooden seats too! Honestly, my pictures don't do it justice but here's so you can have a glimpse at the beauty. It's incredible, one of the top things I've seen in both France and Italy thus far.
Came back to the house and we had pizza! Mine was delicious :) I love lots of toppings: mushrooms, pepporoni, and onions. Also, last night we had homemade risotto! I don't remember if I mentioned that in the blog yesterday. It was sooooooooo goood! Tomorrow we have a very early morning heading to the Tuscany region to get away from the tourism cities and see the beautiful Italian country--I'm excited! Then Sunday we're headed back to France, it's bittersweet. This time with old family friends has literally been a Godsend, such a blessing.
Started the day right, with a workout! Amelia and I worked out in the gym on-base and it was AWESOME! I go running in France, but today was nice to have a gym facility where I could do the rowing machine/bike cardio and get a really good sweat on! After that we went to the USO and did some baking for those returning from deployment. It was awesome. We baked a batch of cupcakes, brownies, and a whole cake. I love baking. If I had all day, I would've just stayed in there and baked up a storm! I can't wait to have my own kitchen to work on developing this hobby further. :) Then, we had lunch at the food court, Amelia was pretty stoked for some American food lol. We had Popeye's! You can't get fried chicken in France, lol. Then we went to the high school and I was able to talk to a few students who had applied/were interested in West Point. I was able to answer their questions and give them a contact for future questions. That was really nice. I love my school and I am more than happy to help anyone learn more about it. It was really weird, though, being in a high school. Too many memories of my awkwardness to be honest, lol.
We then made a trip to downtown Vicenza again to see the Teatre Olimpico--part of the reason why much of Vicenza is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Dating back to the 16th century, it's the last design of Italian architect Andrea Palladio and one of three remaining Renaissance theatres in the world. What a BEAUTIFUL work of art! The stage is the world's oldest surviving stage set--from the 1585 production of Oedipus the King. The design is trompe-l'œil, where there is the illusion of a longer set dissapearing into the horizon--look at the pictures and you'll see what I mean. The high school has their graduation here! WHAT?!?!? How amazing! The seats for the audience are still the same wooden seats too! Honestly, my pictures don't do it justice but here's so you can have a glimpse at the beauty. It's incredible, one of the top things I've seen in both France and Italy thus far.
Came back to the house and we had pizza! Mine was delicious :) I love lots of toppings: mushrooms, pepporoni, and onions. Also, last night we had homemade risotto! I don't remember if I mentioned that in the blog yesterday. It was sooooooooo goood! Tomorrow we have a very early morning heading to the Tuscany region to get away from the tourism cities and see the beautiful Italian country--I'm excited! Then Sunday we're headed back to France, it's bittersweet. This time with old family friends has literally been a Godsend, such a blessing.
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| Phenomenal |
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| That's all real until the last archway |
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| The same wooden seats from the 16th century! |
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