September 2009
19 posts
WatchI just had to add this video that I took during my orientation period in Tours. One afternoon we visited les jardins botaniques, where there were also various zoo animals. The animals were so cute—I mean, look at those roosters, and the goats! But just wait until the goat opens its mouth…
Picard
Alarm didn’t go off . Château de Vincennes . Exploring the 3rd
I. This afternoon with my History of Paris class, we visited the château de vincennes, the only military castle from the middle ages that is still standing in the city. It was ridiculous, really cool. Photos to come.
II. I decided to walk around the 3rd arrondissement (right next door to where I live) and came upon a store...
“Presty Women”
– Name of a cosmetics shop located in the Gare du Nord métro station
The Language Barrier
I have just washed my first load of laundry here in my home. Good thing I didn’t bring many clothes, because the washing machine certainly couldn’t hold them.
Today has been a day where I have really thought about my language barrier.
I have been studying French every year since seventh grade. In fact, it’s one of the few academic interests to which I have remained devoted.
...
Sociologie: un tiers américain
Lundi: Atelier d’écriture . Synagogue . Villes et espaces sociaux . Dîner
Monday was an arduous day, as I had forseen.
After my morning class through Sweet Briar, I ventured out to synagogue. I did my research online and decided to try out La Grande Synagogue de Paris in the 9th. Apparently, when they call it grande they mean it. On my way there I kept worrying: Am I not dressed...
Samedi soir Pancakes . wine . house music Dimanche Jogging . crepes
Oftentimes it is easy to complain about France. Things are small, expensive, cars and scooters refuse to yield for pedestrians (piétons), people sometimes respond to my french with english…
But in spite of these things, I really enjoy every day here. I just can not deny how lucky and grateful I am for this experience.
It...
Wandering around the 4th…
One month in and already I had to go recharge the minutes of my cell phone.
This afternoon I read a bit of Beaumarchais in front of the hôtel de ville…then went to the place des vosges for more reading, after exploring the marais even more. Being able to wander the streets of Paris during the day is a privilege. Tourists can’t take time to do this...
“My butt is on a briefcase.”
– Biki, in a jam-packed métro train around 7:45 PM
Histoire de paris à travers ses monuments, classe et voyage . Lying on the grass of the Tuileries . Thrifting in the 18th . Tea at Christina’s
This morning I had my first lecture/field trip of a class called “the history of paris...
Atelier d’écriture . Déjeuner dans les jardins de luxembourg . Littérature à Paris 7 . Dîner à la place des vosges avec Laura
I’m really excited that I just booked my first travel plans outside of France! I will be going to Brussels in the middle of October and staying with a foreign exchange student who lived in my house during my freshman year of college—her name is Manon....
“Ce qui nous affecte le plus est ce dont on parle moins
The things that most...”
– Préface du Mariage de Figaro | my rough translation
The quote doesn’t really apply to anything. It is in the third paragraph of the 30 pages of reading I have to do for literature class tomorrow. Really not looking forward to that…
Reflecting on my day, I now realized that there was a...
Alimentation
Bastille market . Cité de l’architecture et du patrimoine, gratuit grâce aux journées du patrimoine (architecture museum, free thanks to cultural heritage days)
This morning I went to the Sunday market that takes place at la Bastille. While I was there, I thought about all of the differences between French and American foods. Here are some points I have discovered so far:
Butter is more...
Am I hearing you correctly?
I don’t think I’m deaf…can someone get this country a microphone? Why do these people speak so quietly?
Rosh Hashanah
Tonight I went to my host mom’s sister’s house to celebrate Rosh Hashanah.
It was the most Jewish-Tunisian-French holiday I could have imagined.
Jewish: The volume of conversation. In my experience, the French speak very softly…but not this group. All statements were made loudly, but most were incomplete because someone else was finishing your thought for you in a louder...
“We just had two miserable hours, we deserve a happy one!”
– Charlie
It’s taken me three weeks in France to...