In about 2 and a half hours, I'll be train-bound for Nice!
and since I know perfectly well that I'm going to come back with loads of pictures, I figured it was about time that I uploaded the ones I've taken in the past month. There really aren't that many...and I feel as though I should explain the "Revolt of the Mannequins." It was an art project that the national puppetry school (or something like that...) put together in store front window. The thing that I didn't realize at first was that they changed every night. Over the course of a week, they told stories. they are also...creepy. very, very creepy. but amusing, all the same.
l'histoire continue
à+!
23 February 2008
18 February 2008
hmm...I seem to be lacking a witty title today
Well, I'm afraid I don't have *that* much to write about as of late! The semester has truly picked up in terms of work - a 4-5 page paper for Religion, a 10 page paper for Art, and of course my 25-30 page IS for Wooster. Basically, I'm going to be writing. a LOT. toute en français, of course. Fortunately, I'm starting to settle into a work routine pretty well...with plenty of fun in between, of course =D Like my SUAPS courses, for example.
There's my salsa class from last semester that is SO fun, mainly because we're finally getting into more complicated moves, and the class is *almost* an even ratio of men and women! granted, it's frustrating when the names of the moves are all in SPANISH...I get so lost half the time, but I me débrouille (manage) and hope that my partner knows what the heck he's supposed to do!
There's a class called 'les danses de la société" society dances, better known as ballroom! We do lindy hop, salsa, waltz, chacha...it's great. granted, it's MUCH more uneven as far as the male/female ratio goes, but there are 2 other IES students, so when we don't have someone to dance with we just chat and make fools of ourselves having fun!
and then there's the wild card class-gym douce. 'soft gym'. we were under the impression that it would be almostkindasorta like yoga. ish. we get there the first day and it was...not yoga. we ran around like idiots, skipping and hopping along to essentially elevator music. we did a little bit of stretching (thus I was still under the impression that it might be like yoga...) and then we were told to partner up. and gave each other massages. and we do this every class. so essentially, it's just an hour and a half of running around to warm up and then getting and giving massages. it's pretty much fantastic...so those of you who already know my massages? they've only gotten better =D
oh and on saturday...I'm going to Nice with Jenan and Kim - I'm kind of crazy excited!! It's the Carnaval...which is essentially like our Mardi Gras celebration. well, sort of. We got tickets for three parades, one of which is apparently a HUGE flower parade where the people on the floats shower the crowd with flowers. Needless to say, I'm crazy excited! And I bought a big floppy black sunhat - only appropriate for une promenade sur le promenade des anglais, à côté du côte d'azur - a walk along the boardwalk next to the Riviera.
à+!
ps - to whomever left me a nice comment on my last post...who are you?! all it says is anonymous =(
There's my salsa class from last semester that is SO fun, mainly because we're finally getting into more complicated moves, and the class is *almost* an even ratio of men and women! granted, it's frustrating when the names of the moves are all in SPANISH...I get so lost half the time, but I me débrouille (manage) and hope that my partner knows what the heck he's supposed to do!
There's a class called 'les danses de la société" society dances, better known as ballroom! We do lindy hop, salsa, waltz, chacha...it's great. granted, it's MUCH more uneven as far as the male/female ratio goes, but there are 2 other IES students, so when we don't have someone to dance with we just chat and make fools of ourselves having fun!
and then there's the wild card class-gym douce. 'soft gym'. we were under the impression that it would be almostkindasorta like yoga. ish. we get there the first day and it was...not yoga. we ran around like idiots, skipping and hopping along to essentially elevator music. we did a little bit of stretching (thus I was still under the impression that it might be like yoga...) and then we were told to partner up. and gave each other massages. and we do this every class. so essentially, it's just an hour and a half of running around to warm up and then getting and giving massages. it's pretty much fantastic...so those of you who already know my massages? they've only gotten better =D
oh and on saturday...I'm going to Nice with Jenan and Kim - I'm kind of crazy excited!! It's the Carnaval...which is essentially like our Mardi Gras celebration. well, sort of. We got tickets for three parades, one of which is apparently a HUGE flower parade where the people on the floats shower the crowd with flowers. Needless to say, I'm crazy excited! And I bought a big floppy black sunhat - only appropriate for une promenade sur le promenade des anglais, à côté du côte d'azur - a walk along the boardwalk next to the Riviera.
à+!
ps - to whomever left me a nice comment on my last post...who are you?! all it says is anonymous =(
09 February 2008
*blinks* where'd the week go, exactly?
Somehow, it's already the weekend. The END of the weekend. I don't know where my time goes...granted, part of it is because I was sick this week. That never helps. But all the same...I've been back for almost a month already! I only have a little over three months left with all my Nantais friends...and only 4 more in France. Granted, perspective is everything: when I started college, three or four months felt like FOREVER. now...I find myself saying only.
Part of it is the fact that I have no balance right now. I've been spending the past three weeks going to class, of course, but not doing much work outside of class. I just haven't had much! except, of course, the Junior IS looming over my head. I was about to email my adviser at the beginning of the week to tell her what I was thinking and get some feedback, but then I got sick. and then she emailed me first with deadlines and assignments -time to face the IS music! but it just made me panic a little...I need to get moving on it. and the weather is doing some crazy things here...one day it's horribly disgustingly rainy and cold and the next it's sunny and 60. When it's that nice out, I start to think that it's March, April in NY or OH, which is also what created this minor panic/anxiety feeling today. The weather is tricking me into thinking it's later in the semester than it really is!
I think the reason I'm so freaked out by the idea of the end of the semester is because I love it so much here. I have an amazing group of friends. I feel comfortable in this environment. I'm a lot more comfortable with my French and it's incredible the difference it makes. I'm settled, and the idea of moving again really unbalanced me, mentally. and yet, to be completely contradictory, I had such a bad case of home/woostersickness this weekend. Part of it was the fact that Winter Gala was last night...while I didn't go my freshman year, I had so much fun my sophomore year, and now I missed out on it my junior year. it's all about tradeoffs, I understand that (I get to live my French dream!) but it doesn't stop things from being difficult every now and then. especially when I'm tired.
hopefully I can get a good night's sleep and feel less anxiety-bordering-on-panic in the morning.
Part of it is the fact that I have no balance right now. I've been spending the past three weeks going to class, of course, but not doing much work outside of class. I just haven't had much! except, of course, the Junior IS looming over my head. I was about to email my adviser at the beginning of the week to tell her what I was thinking and get some feedback, but then I got sick. and then she emailed me first with deadlines and assignments -time to face the IS music! but it just made me panic a little...I need to get moving on it. and the weather is doing some crazy things here...one day it's horribly disgustingly rainy and cold and the next it's sunny and 60. When it's that nice out, I start to think that it's March, April in NY or OH, which is also what created this minor panic/anxiety feeling today. The weather is tricking me into thinking it's later in the semester than it really is!
I think the reason I'm so freaked out by the idea of the end of the semester is because I love it so much here. I have an amazing group of friends. I feel comfortable in this environment. I'm a lot more comfortable with my French and it's incredible the difference it makes. I'm settled, and the idea of moving again really unbalanced me, mentally. and yet, to be completely contradictory, I had such a bad case of home/woostersickness this weekend. Part of it was the fact that Winter Gala was last night...while I didn't go my freshman year, I had so much fun my sophomore year, and now I missed out on it my junior year. it's all about tradeoffs, I understand that (I get to live my French dream!) but it doesn't stop things from being difficult every now and then. especially when I'm tired.
hopefully I can get a good night's sleep and feel less anxiety-bordering-on-panic in the morning.
04 February 2008
does anyone remember the childrens book....
"Nobody Cares About Me"? I do. it's a Seseme Street book in which Big Bird gets jealous when his friends get sick and everyone pays attention to them and nobody pays attention to him. He pretends to be sick to get attention and in the end actually gets sick (and of course everyone lavishs attention on him). However, he quickly learns "It's no fun being sick!!" I used to say that all the time when I got sick when I was little.
so, time for a little regressive pull...it's no fun being sick! I woke up yesterday with a REALLY scratchy throat and thought it was just because I had been out and about until 2.30 dancing and therefore screaming to be heard in the loud Havana Café. Of course, Bri and Andrea and I then had a sleepover that resulted in staying up talking until 6 am...and sleeping until noon. I thought it was just fatigue/a hoarse voice...nope, not so much. time for my annul end-of-january cold.
ah well...tant pis. (too bad)
I think it's just my body's way of reminding me that I don't usually go out this much during the week (or that late during the weekend!) so I think it's time to relax and sleep a little bit extra =D (ergo I dont think I'll be updating much this week!)
à +
so, time for a little regressive pull...it's no fun being sick! I woke up yesterday with a REALLY scratchy throat and thought it was just because I had been out and about until 2.30 dancing and therefore screaming to be heard in the loud Havana Café. Of course, Bri and Andrea and I then had a sleepover that resulted in staying up talking until 6 am...and sleeping until noon. I thought it was just fatigue/a hoarse voice...nope, not so much. time for my annul end-of-january cold.
ah well...tant pis. (too bad)
I think it's just my body's way of reminding me that I don't usually go out this much during the week (or that late during the weekend!) so I think it's time to relax and sleep a little bit extra =D (ergo I dont think I'll be updating much this week!)
à +
01 February 2008
what a multicultural week!
Generally, when I don't update for the full week...it's a good thing. it means I'm incredibly busy =D the funny thing is, I feel like I don't actual DO much during the weekdays...but they always fly by. Yesterday, for example, I spent a solid three hours sitting in the second floor kitchen with my girls just...hanging out. it was fabulous =D
during the evenings, however, I seem to have too much to do! Monday night I was grumpy so I went to bed early, but Tuesday was Conversation Club and then a bunch of us went to Buck Mulligans for a drink afterwards. Wednesday was a Flamenco show at the Lieu Unique. Thursday was a rock concert at the fac, and now it's Friday already!
The flamenco performance was AMAZING. I'd never actually watched it live...it's impressive stuff. There were three men: the singer, the guitarist, and the dancer. They were an incredible trio, that's for sure. While the dancer was incredibly talented, it was the guitarist that impressed me the most. I don't know if any of you have actually watched someone play the spanish guitar, but it's unbelievable. Not only is there the fingerings for the notes and chords, but every finger moves on the right hand to pluck at individual strings. It was so cool to watch! The interesting thing is that even though I couldn't understand the words, I knew exactly what story was being told. During one song during which there was no dancing, I closed my eyes and let the story unfold. I could tell immediately that it was a sad story...one of separation. I thought maybe it was between two amants (lovers) but then realized that was right. I finally got the feeling that it was a child...somehow, the narrator lost/was losing a child. needless to say, I was near tears by the end of the song. At the end of the show I was talking with Kristin (who speaks spanish as well as french) and she said she nearly cried at one point as well. Especially, she added, during the song about his son. There was one song about the narrator's sorrow at watching his son growing up and losing the closeness they had when he was a child. At this point, I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at her. We eventually figured out that we were thinking of the same exact song. For me, it just proved the fact that there ARE ways to communicate beyond language.
Needless to say, it was a wonderfully spinechilling experience.
The rock concert at the fac, however...that was a whole DIFFERENT kind of experience! I won't say it was bad. It wasn't exactly my truc (thing), that's for sure, but it was definitely fun to people watch. French people are funny when they get slightly tipsy and start dancing at a rock concert =D granted, anyone is, but that's beside the point. It was just fun to be part of the fac culture!
Tomorrow is a Schubert concert...ergo my title of a very multicultural week =)
à+!
during the evenings, however, I seem to have too much to do! Monday night I was grumpy so I went to bed early, but Tuesday was Conversation Club and then a bunch of us went to Buck Mulligans for a drink afterwards. Wednesday was a Flamenco show at the Lieu Unique. Thursday was a rock concert at the fac, and now it's Friday already!
The flamenco performance was AMAZING. I'd never actually watched it live...it's impressive stuff. There were three men: the singer, the guitarist, and the dancer. They were an incredible trio, that's for sure. While the dancer was incredibly talented, it was the guitarist that impressed me the most. I don't know if any of you have actually watched someone play the spanish guitar, but it's unbelievable. Not only is there the fingerings for the notes and chords, but every finger moves on the right hand to pluck at individual strings. It was so cool to watch! The interesting thing is that even though I couldn't understand the words, I knew exactly what story was being told. During one song during which there was no dancing, I closed my eyes and let the story unfold. I could tell immediately that it was a sad story...one of separation. I thought maybe it was between two amants (lovers) but then realized that was right. I finally got the feeling that it was a child...somehow, the narrator lost/was losing a child. needless to say, I was near tears by the end of the song. At the end of the show I was talking with Kristin (who speaks spanish as well as french) and she said she nearly cried at one point as well. Especially, she added, during the song about his son. There was one song about the narrator's sorrow at watching his son growing up and losing the closeness they had when he was a child. At this point, I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at her. We eventually figured out that we were thinking of the same exact song. For me, it just proved the fact that there ARE ways to communicate beyond language.
Needless to say, it was a wonderfully spinechilling experience.
The rock concert at the fac, however...that was a whole DIFFERENT kind of experience! I won't say it was bad. It wasn't exactly my truc (thing), that's for sure, but it was definitely fun to people watch. French people are funny when they get slightly tipsy and start dancing at a rock concert =D granted, anyone is, but that's beside the point. It was just fun to be part of the fac culture!
Tomorrow is a Schubert concert...ergo my title of a very multicultural week =)
à+!
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