(Day 46, Grenoble)
Hello there. One fabulous perk of this semester is that we revert to our pre-college days of a week off in February and a week off in April, which, like the good old days, occurs on my birthday. This next week we have off and some friends and I are going to Barcelona! We're leaving later today because we don't have classes on Thursday (school, what's that?). Next Friday I'm meeting up with my friend from William & Mary in Paris until the Tuesday, and then we're headed back to Grenoble. Pretty much, I'm not going to be anywhere where I'm able to write up my weekly blog post. Don't fret, or think that I've been taken. I'm just living la vida loca... or however you say that in Catalan.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Au ciné
(Day 42, Grenoble)
One of my absolute favorite things in life, regardless of my location, is watching movies. On my computer, on TV, at the theater, DVDs, VHS, BlueRay, I love movies. I'm no expert in the art of cinema or anything, I never feel as if I could personally take over for my history of French cinema professor should he take ill. My taste in movies isn't even all that great. I love superhero movies, Disney, and romantic comedies, but I love watching movies. When we were younger my friends and other family members used to make fun of the fact that my family went to the movies so often, and that's not something that has died down in France. I've gone to the theater quite often. While, unfortunately, only one of the movies I watched was in France, it's tons of fun. I saw Django Unchained (with French subtitles), Le monde de nemo (Finding Nemo, in French), The Master (with French subtitles), Happiness Therapy (Silver Linings Playbook, with French subtitles), and Les Misérables (with French subtitles). I also had French Disney movie night with my friends yesterday where we watched Les indestructibles (The Incredibles, in French with French subtitles). It was tons of fun, but it was ridiculous. Usually when we watch movies with French subtitles we read along and critique the inaccurate translations. Les indestructibles was unacceptable. At this point we know enough French to sort of figure it out, but the characters were saying different things than the subtitles which was driving us nuts. Given they were speaking fast and the subtitles were a solid summary of what was being said, but it was psycho. It was totally messing with my head which was awful. Eventually we were just quoting the movie in English ("I am your wife! I am the greatest good you will ever have!). I definitely am going to be watching more movies in French. It makes me feel wicked snooty when I can argue with the translations.
In other news, my friends and I leave for Barcelona in 4 days! It better be as warm as the Inferno as well. I just want to thaw out, that's all. I'm not asking for too much, I think. I've missed feeling my toes. Also midterms are this week. They don't count for a grade and are just offered to American students to see where we are knowledge-wise, but it's going to be helpful. The only grade that counts for these classes is the final exams, so, for the first time, I want to take my midterms.
Don't tell anyone though.
One of my absolute favorite things in life, regardless of my location, is watching movies. On my computer, on TV, at the theater, DVDs, VHS, BlueRay, I love movies. I'm no expert in the art of cinema or anything, I never feel as if I could personally take over for my history of French cinema professor should he take ill. My taste in movies isn't even all that great. I love superhero movies, Disney, and romantic comedies, but I love watching movies. When we were younger my friends and other family members used to make fun of the fact that my family went to the movies so often, and that's not something that has died down in France. I've gone to the theater quite often. While, unfortunately, only one of the movies I watched was in France, it's tons of fun. I saw Django Unchained (with French subtitles), Le monde de nemo (Finding Nemo, in French), The Master (with French subtitles), Happiness Therapy (Silver Linings Playbook, with French subtitles), and Les Misérables (with French subtitles). I also had French Disney movie night with my friends yesterday where we watched Les indestructibles (The Incredibles, in French with French subtitles). It was tons of fun, but it was ridiculous. Usually when we watch movies with French subtitles we read along and critique the inaccurate translations. Les indestructibles was unacceptable. At this point we know enough French to sort of figure it out, but the characters were saying different things than the subtitles which was driving us nuts. Given they were speaking fast and the subtitles were a solid summary of what was being said, but it was psycho. It was totally messing with my head which was awful. Eventually we were just quoting the movie in English ("I am your wife! I am the greatest good you will ever have!). I definitely am going to be watching more movies in French. It makes me feel wicked snooty when I can argue with the translations.
In other news, my friends and I leave for Barcelona in 4 days! It better be as warm as the Inferno as well. I just want to thaw out, that's all. I'm not asking for too much, I think. I've missed feeling my toes. Also midterms are this week. They don't count for a grade and are just offered to American students to see where we are knowledge-wise, but it's going to be helpful. The only grade that counts for these classes is the final exams, so, for the first time, I want to take my midterms.
Don't tell anyone though.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
EXERCISE!!
(Day 35, Grenoble)
Apologies for the silence. Not much has been happening over here. Yesterday my program went on an excursion to Lyon. It probably would have been wonderful had it not been cold and snowing, but it ended up just being a normal Saturday with a different backdrop. We took a bus from Grenoble to Lyon right into the center of the city to Place Bellecour. It's the center square of the city with a gigantic Ferris wheel and lots of shopping near by. We went on a tour of the city from there. Now maybe it's just my years of tour guiding experience, or maybe it was the awful weather, but it was a rather awful tour. We saw lots of small things and walked into allies and courtyards. At one point our guide brought us into a medieval store down an ally through a courtyard. It was the weirdest thing ever to see on a tour of the city. We ended up at the Cathédrale Saint-Jean in the city and then a few of us were dying of hunger and the need for bathroom so we peaced out. Lyon is apparently the gastronomical capital of France, and the pizza I had for lunch absolutely backed that up. I was so full for the rest of the day that dinner ended up being applesauce! We then hiked up to the Basilica in Lyon. The Basilica itself was closed, but we were able to go into the crypts and see a mass being held and a few very cool chapels.
Wait, I just remembered some earth shattering stuff that happened this week. On Tuesday it was surprisingly warm, so after classes ended at 3:30 my friend Nicole and I decided (honestly, I was coerced) to go up to the Bastille in Grenoble. It's across the river from my apartment and up a gigantic mountain, but Richard directed us to a 'faster' path up to the Bastille that included four billion stairs. It was a ton of fun walking up there and it took us a while because we stopped at every little platform to go adventuring. We did finally get to the top and decided we deserved a crêpe for our hard work. We decided to go back down the path we had used to come up when two thirds of the way down we encountered a locked door. We ended up having to go back up to the top of the mountain and then down the significantly longer path that lead out to the other side of the mountain. At this point it was also starting to get dark and by the time we got back to the river it had started to slightly rain. Nicole made me run to the nearest tram stop and then we went our separate ways. The point of this story, though, is that I did physical activity! And not just a once in a lifetime thing either, because I then climbed up to the Basilica 4 days later. Look at me, being all sportive. You guys probably wouldn't recognize me at this point!
Well one week until midterms, 11 days until Barcelona, and 20 days until Erin comes to visit in Paris!! Looking forward to what's to come!
Apologies for the silence. Not much has been happening over here. Yesterday my program went on an excursion to Lyon. It probably would have been wonderful had it not been cold and snowing, but it ended up just being a normal Saturday with a different backdrop. We took a bus from Grenoble to Lyon right into the center of the city to Place Bellecour. It's the center square of the city with a gigantic Ferris wheel and lots of shopping near by. We went on a tour of the city from there. Now maybe it's just my years of tour guiding experience, or maybe it was the awful weather, but it was a rather awful tour. We saw lots of small things and walked into allies and courtyards. At one point our guide brought us into a medieval store down an ally through a courtyard. It was the weirdest thing ever to see on a tour of the city. We ended up at the Cathédrale Saint-Jean in the city and then a few of us were dying of hunger and the need for bathroom so we peaced out. Lyon is apparently the gastronomical capital of France, and the pizza I had for lunch absolutely backed that up. I was so full for the rest of the day that dinner ended up being applesauce! We then hiked up to the Basilica in Lyon. The Basilica itself was closed, but we were able to go into the crypts and see a mass being held and a few very cool chapels.
Wait, I just remembered some earth shattering stuff that happened this week. On Tuesday it was surprisingly warm, so after classes ended at 3:30 my friend Nicole and I decided (honestly, I was coerced) to go up to the Bastille in Grenoble. It's across the river from my apartment and up a gigantic mountain, but Richard directed us to a 'faster' path up to the Bastille that included four billion stairs. It was a ton of fun walking up there and it took us a while because we stopped at every little platform to go adventuring. We did finally get to the top and decided we deserved a crêpe for our hard work. We decided to go back down the path we had used to come up when two thirds of the way down we encountered a locked door. We ended up having to go back up to the top of the mountain and then down the significantly longer path that lead out to the other side of the mountain. At this point it was also starting to get dark and by the time we got back to the river it had started to slightly rain. Nicole made me run to the nearest tram stop and then we went our separate ways. The point of this story, though, is that I did physical activity! And not just a once in a lifetime thing either, because I then climbed up to the Basilica 4 days later. Look at me, being all sportive. You guys probably wouldn't recognize me at this point!
Well one week until midterms, 11 days until Barcelona, and 20 days until Erin comes to visit in Paris!! Looking forward to what's to come!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
I now have holes in my body.
(Day 27, Grenoble)
Alright, so I have no big social commentary for today or crazy thought that has been eating at my insides for months on end. I'm sure I can pull one out if you'd prefer! The big thing that happened this week...
February, or at least February 6th is the month of crêpes, which is fine by me! Both of these foods are connected to assorted religious holidays: the galettes go with the Epiphany and the crêpes go with la Chandeleur/the presentation of Jesus at the temple. Therefore, I'm eating these foods for the rest of my life on religious grounds and so should everyone else. Even if it's not your religion, just eat the foods anyway. They are absolutely delicious!
Alright, so I have no big social commentary for today or crazy thought that has been eating at my insides for months on end. I'm sure I can pull one out if you'd prefer! The big thing that happened this week...
... I finally got my ears pierced! I know this may not be exciting for some of you, but it should be known that I'm rather terrified of needles and I have an unacceptably low threshold for pain (like, I see something drop on the floor and cry out in pain). This has been a multi-year process but very worth it. How many people do you know who can say they got their ears pierced in France? It was quite the experience, let me tell you. I went with a couple of my friends to a Claire's on la Grande Rue in Grenoble. I figured tons of small children get their ears pierced at Claire's stores in the US, it must be acceptable to get them pierced at one in France. (And it was either that or a rather sketchy Body Piercing place on some side street. Seemed safer.)
So I'm sitting in the chair with my friends next to me trying to describe that it's fine and what will happen. NO. I need to never know what is going to happen to me. If it's a shot, surgery, or anything DON'T TELL ME. I'll just over think it, blow it up to unrealistically terrifying proportions, and die on the spot. While they're trying to 'calm me down', the very nice young woman is speaking to me in French while simultaneously training someone on how to do the ear piercing. I've pierced enough doll ears at work to know that trainees aren't always comfortable piercing. Now I'm adding the possibility that some unexperienced French woman is going to pierce my ears on to the pile of other things freaking me out. I sign my life away (in French) and then sit silently, simultaneously clutching the arm of the chair I'm sitting in and the Euro coins in my pocket. Honestly, the whole piercing thing wasn't so bad. It mostly just felt someone was stapling me. A beautiful wave of nausea kicked in immediately after however and didn't wear off until we were on the tram towards campus. Over all, everyone that knows how long this has taken is giving me nasty 'I told you so' looks through the computer, and everyone else should feel no regret skipping that whole paragraph. It was fine; it all happened in French; I'm still not 100% sure what I signed away to; and my ears are very sparkly.
I also haven't spoken much about the food here recently. From what I gather from my experiences, France loves food and gastronomy so much that they have a different food for each month. Januarys are for Galettes de Rois, these magical, beautiful pastries with this almond thing inside. I don't know, but it's great. There is a prize hidden inside and who ever gets the little token is the King and gets a precious gold crown. I won the one time we had one with my host family, which was wicked exciting!!
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