So Annick and I were invited to dinner at one of her friends houses. If there is one thing I've learned is how gracious hosts the French are. Highlight of the night was that she had a piano: after some persuasion I dusted off 3 months of dust and somehow made it though some songs. Just as we were leaving, her son (Antoine) was coming home. After our 30 second conversation, he invited me out for a drink the next day which I jumped to take him up on. I met him and a friend for dinner on Monday. After an hour of them obviously talking slowly for me, I asked them to speak normally. Trying to loose the silly American, they talked in rapid, highly slanged French and were very surprised when I followed (or at least so they thought: a well placed guess goes a long way). They settled into what seemed like a normal pace and I was very pleased that I could be a productive member of the conversation.
So with cheating the SNCF out of so many days on my rail pass I realize I hardly have enough days to use all of them. With Debbie doing such an excellent job showing us the area, there was hardly anything else I wanted to see. Then I remembered something that I learned about in French class:
Le Viaduc de Millau. Ill include explanations from several sources:
French Book: One of the greatest architectural works of the new millennium and a great source of national pride for the French.
Debbie: Something in the region that is way to tall to consider visiting much less driving on.
Annick: A really useful bridge out in the middle of nowhere that helps me get to my sisters house
Bruno: What? [After showing him a picture] Is that in France?
After the overwhelmingly positive response from the French, I looked into getting there.
Here's the timetable I worked out that the lady at the tourism office called "inconceivably possible" (quick note here: I wasnt sure if this was a testament to how perfectly these times matched up or how crazy it would be to try it. I decided to go with the former):
Class ends 11h30, Leave Montpellier 11h57, Get into Millau at 15h03, Tour bus leaves at 15h30, gets back 17:30, Train leaves Millau 17:46, get back into Montpellier 20:35.
Readers will kindly consider two factoids: The train station and bus station are .5km apart, the next train back to Montpellier left Millau at 5:40AM (so we would have gotten back for class, but not happily).
I asked the rest of the group if they wanted to come. In hindsight it was probably stupid to ask a group of 16 girls if they wanted to spend 6 hours on a train to see a big bridge or go to one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. I got 1 taker.
Katie and I executed the timetable perfectly (and even found time for some lunch). The trip was made much better by our musical exchange (which approximatly doubled my iTunes collection).
When we finally got to Millau, the air was light: light enough to easily take the deep, greedy breaths that make us realize how little of our lungs we actually use (que all readers taking a deep breath) (much like the breaths after a 2k except slower and much more enjoyable). The city seemed nice enough, and our tour guide was awesome, "Welcome aboard the tour bus for the Eiffel Tower....no?" and the bridge was totally worth the 6 hours on the train. It measures 2.5 km long, 35m across, 343m tall (cool number trick: # of pillars=7. ^3= 343) and is thus the tallest bridge in the world.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
Le Tour de France
Old lady with the grocery cart: Get On the BUS!!
It was going to be a close one. I had never missed a train in France but if this lady took more than 2 minutes (it was about that) I was going to. We pull up to the train station and I check my phone. Missed it. 6:43 for a 6:42 Train. I mope into the train station just to hear (in French) "The Train to Toulouse is departing from track A" it was running late! I sprint to the track and I get my arm stuck in the door making the conductor re-open the door.
I get to Toulouse and meet up with Mike. The Plan: I was meeting up with a UGA PhD student (Mike) his wife (Alicia) and their 1 year old son (Emmett). They were going to rent a car and we were driving to see the Tour de France.
Along the way we stopped in Montségur.
Slept on a tarp I borrowed from Annick in a beautiful Campground.
Staked out the tour at the top of the first really small hill.
A parade precedes the tour where scantily clad women throw free stuff at the spectators from funny cars. Emmett liked that part.
Here comes the....There they go.
I got sun burned really badly.
It was going to be a close one. I had never missed a train in France but if this lady took more than 2 minutes (it was about that) I was going to. We pull up to the train station and I check my phone. Missed it. 6:43 for a 6:42 Train. I mope into the train station just to hear (in French) "The Train to Toulouse is departing from track A" it was running late! I sprint to the track and I get my arm stuck in the door making the conductor re-open the door.
I get to Toulouse and meet up with Mike. The Plan: I was meeting up with a UGA PhD student (Mike) his wife (Alicia) and their 1 year old son (Emmett). They were going to rent a car and we were driving to see the Tour de France.
Along the way we stopped in Montségur.
Slept on a tarp I borrowed from Annick in a beautiful Campground.
Staked out the tour at the top of the first really small hill.
A parade precedes the tour where scantily clad women throw free stuff at the spectators from funny cars. Emmett liked that part.
Here comes the....There they go.
I got sun burned really badly.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Le jour de la pris de la Bastille
Today was one of my favorite days in France.
We didnt have class in the morning, so I was able to sleep in till 9 and go for a run before it was to hot. I discovered that there is a vineyard about 20 feet outside my window. I actually ran on the roads today ( I usually stick to the trails next to the tram stop) so I drew about 5 awkward looks a mile (made exponentially worse by the fact that I had to stop and stretch out my back who was acting up). I've decided to run the Thanksgiving Day Marathon this year. If anyone wants to join Derek and I in our quest for fitness please do, I really need some training partners.
After I got back from the run, I showered off and ate lunch with the family. Hugo invited me to go rock-climbing with him, his brother (Jonathan), and Jon's girlfriend (Celine). I knew there was a rock gym not far from the house, so I signed on for a quick trip.
I'll take this opportunity to explain two things that are important but not redly obvious:
1. When I arrived in Montpellier, Hugo had just returned from the French National Gymnastics competition where he had placed 7th. Thus, Hugo is jacked. He's one of those people who can flex muscles you didnt even know existed. This is made exponentially worse by the fact that its really hot here, no one wears shirts during the day in my house and I'm in the worst shape since 7th grade. Jon is well past his physical prime compared to Hugo, as he sports a mere 8-pack (to hugo's 12 pack)
2. Hugo, Jon, and Celine got back a week ago from a month long vacation in Vietnam. What I didnt learn until the car ride with Hugo was that it was to climb cliffs on the Vietnamese coast.
With these to trinkets in the back of your mind, imagine my chagrin when we hopped in the car and drove an hour to Pic Saint Loup. As we approached the wall with our gear (oh yea, bad sign #3, they all owned fitted harnesses, as well as numerous climbing accouterments) I started to sweat a little. Ok, its obvious I cant keep up with Atlas et Brother over there, but luckily we were with Celine, a 5', petit, soft spoken girl: surely I can keep up with here. No sooner did I think this than Celine lit a cigarette, chalked up her hands, and said "Let's do this bitch. " (excuse her French).
This seems like the appropriate time to note that this was not BSA safe-climb regulated top rope belay climbing. No we were Lead Climbing: there were metal rings along the route which you had to carabiner then run your rope through the 'biner.
All this being said, as a proud climbing merit badge holder, I feel like I held my own. Granted I didnt get to the top of any of them, but at least I didnt burst into tears like one of the group who was on the other face. I was very obviously the worst of the group, but they blamed it on my tennis shoes (they all had personalized climbing shoes) I think there might be two other reasons (each of Hugo's biceps).
After 5ish hours of climbing we came back home, ate dinner, and I had to quickly leave to go see the Fireworks for the 14th of July or Bastille Day.
Other than not having work and going and seeing fireworks, Bastille Day isnt at all like the 4th of July. Whereas we are celebrating signing a document liberating us from a common enemy, Bastille day was a dark day in French history with lots of death and anarchy. On a related note, their national anthem is hardcore. La Marseillaise actually has the line "May the unpure blood water our furrows."
We took a bus over to a large open area where we could see the fireworks and they were fantastic. Maybe the best firework show that I've ever seen. As the firework show ended everyone burst into applause and I was left with that warm tingling sensation you get after a great meal.
Slowly everyone came back to the real world and our attention shifted to the long line of buses waiting on the street. Our sentiments quickly shifted from patriotic to lord-of-the-flies-esque as thousands of people flocked to the buses. I think Jamie put it best: it was like trying to get on a life boat while the Titanic was sinking. After 3 hours of fighting mob-mentality, 2 buses and a tram later I was home.
We didnt have class in the morning, so I was able to sleep in till 9 and go for a run before it was to hot. I discovered that there is a vineyard about 20 feet outside my window. I actually ran on the roads today ( I usually stick to the trails next to the tram stop) so I drew about 5 awkward looks a mile (made exponentially worse by the fact that I had to stop and stretch out my back who was acting up). I've decided to run the Thanksgiving Day Marathon this year. If anyone wants to join Derek and I in our quest for fitness please do, I really need some training partners.
After I got back from the run, I showered off and ate lunch with the family. Hugo invited me to go rock-climbing with him, his brother (Jonathan), and Jon's girlfriend (Celine). I knew there was a rock gym not far from the house, so I signed on for a quick trip.
I'll take this opportunity to explain two things that are important but not redly obvious:
1. When I arrived in Montpellier, Hugo had just returned from the French National Gymnastics competition where he had placed 7th. Thus, Hugo is jacked. He's one of those people who can flex muscles you didnt even know existed. This is made exponentially worse by the fact that its really hot here, no one wears shirts during the day in my house and I'm in the worst shape since 7th grade. Jon is well past his physical prime compared to Hugo, as he sports a mere 8-pack (to hugo's 12 pack)
2. Hugo, Jon, and Celine got back a week ago from a month long vacation in Vietnam. What I didnt learn until the car ride with Hugo was that it was to climb cliffs on the Vietnamese coast.
With these to trinkets in the back of your mind, imagine my chagrin when we hopped in the car and drove an hour to Pic Saint Loup. As we approached the wall with our gear (oh yea, bad sign #3, they all owned fitted harnesses, as well as numerous climbing accouterments) I started to sweat a little. Ok, its obvious I cant keep up with Atlas et Brother over there, but luckily we were with Celine, a 5', petit, soft spoken girl: surely I can keep up with here. No sooner did I think this than Celine lit a cigarette, chalked up her hands, and said "Let's do this bitch. " (excuse her French).
This seems like the appropriate time to note that this was not BSA safe-climb regulated top rope belay climbing. No we were Lead Climbing: there were metal rings along the route which you had to carabiner then run your rope through the 'biner.
All this being said, as a proud climbing merit badge holder, I feel like I held my own. Granted I didnt get to the top of any of them, but at least I didnt burst into tears like one of the group who was on the other face. I was very obviously the worst of the group, but they blamed it on my tennis shoes (they all had personalized climbing shoes) I think there might be two other reasons (each of Hugo's biceps).
After 5ish hours of climbing we came back home, ate dinner, and I had to quickly leave to go see the Fireworks for the 14th of July or Bastille Day.
Other than not having work and going and seeing fireworks, Bastille Day isnt at all like the 4th of July. Whereas we are celebrating signing a document liberating us from a common enemy, Bastille day was a dark day in French history with lots of death and anarchy. On a related note, their national anthem is hardcore. La Marseillaise actually has the line "May the unpure blood water our furrows."
We took a bus over to a large open area where we could see the fireworks and they were fantastic. Maybe the best firework show that I've ever seen. As the firework show ended everyone burst into applause and I was left with that warm tingling sensation you get after a great meal.
Slowly everyone came back to the real world and our attention shifted to the long line of buses waiting on the street. Our sentiments quickly shifted from patriotic to lord-of-the-flies-esque as thousands of people flocked to the buses. I think Jamie put it best: it was like trying to get on a life boat while the Titanic was sinking. After 3 hours of fighting mob-mentality, 2 buses and a tram later I was home.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Lyon
A few general comments before the Lyon post:
1. It has been brought to my attention that The Purple Rhino appears to be pink. While you may think he is pink through perception, I know he is Purple through belief.
2. I just finished my final project for my class on the Midi: a video on Ratatouille. If you want to know anything about this typically southern French dish ask someone else because Im tired of talking about it. Kidding.
3.My tennis shoes just (slightly) broke. Im hesitant to tell Annick in fear that she might send me into the garden with a bottle of mustard and figs.
4. I'll be darned if my jeans are as good as new
This Saturday I went to Lyon by myself. 4am Wake up. 6:15 Leave Montpellier. 8:45 change trains in Avignon. 10:16 Arrive in Lyon.
I met a girl through Debbie who did the UGA en France last year and who lives in Lyon now. She did a Spring semester at University of Lyon III, the very program I went to check out. She was gracious enough to show me around and invite me to dinner at her apartment with her French boyfriend. We walked through the old city (its the stereotypical French city idea), walked around the University (literally, it was closed). Seeing at it was about 37C (99F) with no wind, we returned to the apartment for conversation and cold drinks.
I didnt really like Lyon, dispite being the 3rd biggest city in France (after Paris and Marseilles) it seemed kinda dead. Maybe it was the heat, but I didnt leave Lyon didnt leave Lyon dying to go back as I expect I will Montpellier. Speaking of leaving Lyon....
My return train was a TGV with a change in Valence. 2 hours. The train to Valence was running late so I would have missed my connection. I told the SNCF guys this, and they said no problem. They gave me a 1st class ticket for the direct train (there were no 2nd class so that's why i didnt buy one originally). Train 5020 leaving from tracks J...IN 3 MINUTES. I sprint to the tracks and get on just as the doors are closing. I find my first class seat and send a celebratory test just as I hear the announcement "Welcome aboard Train 5021 direct to Marseilles France." This train was running late and the correct train was behind it on track J. Due to technical difficulty, the train couldnt use the TGV tracks: bad news we werent going as fast, good news the train was stopping before Marseilles. I get escorted off the train at the first stop: Valence. Because we wernt on TGV tracks, I found myself in Valence TER (two completely different train stations) after a 5 minute arguing match with the Controller (on the bright side GREAT french practice) I got a bus ticket to Valence TGV. 30 minutes on the bus playing the most grateing Romanian Techno imaginable and I arrived at Valence TGV, secured a ticket for the next train to Montpellier. Train pulls up, "where does this train go?" "montpellier". Sucre! Get on the train. Controller walks up, I give him my ticket. "Sir, you dont have the right to be on this train." "Excuse me?" All the trains were running late because of the aforementioned TGV track problem. I had actually caught the train before the one I got the ticket for. Luckily the train was empty, the controller was reasonable, and the first stop was Montpellier. I pull into Montpellier at 11:35. 3 hours behind schedule.
My favorite part of this whole thing: I my train reservation upfront and planned on using a day on my eurorail pass. However, throughout this whole ordeal, they didnt check my Euro-rail pass and thus I didnt loose the day. Total cost of the whole day: 6 euro. Im pretty sure I got more than 6 euro worth of tickets (7 in total).
I know that was a giant confusing mess. Let me know if anything need clarification.
Tomorrow is Bastille Day (French Independence day), no class, only frivolity and fireworks.
1. It has been brought to my attention that The Purple Rhino appears to be pink. While you may think he is pink through perception, I know he is Purple through belief.
2. I just finished my final project for my class on the Midi: a video on Ratatouille. If you want to know anything about this typically southern French dish ask someone else because Im tired of talking about it. Kidding.
3.My tennis shoes just (slightly) broke. Im hesitant to tell Annick in fear that she might send me into the garden with a bottle of mustard and figs.
4. I'll be darned if my jeans are as good as new
This Saturday I went to Lyon by myself. 4am Wake up. 6:15 Leave Montpellier. 8:45 change trains in Avignon. 10:16 Arrive in Lyon.
I met a girl through Debbie who did the UGA en France last year and who lives in Lyon now. She did a Spring semester at University of Lyon III, the very program I went to check out. She was gracious enough to show me around and invite me to dinner at her apartment with her French boyfriend. We walked through the old city (its the stereotypical French city idea), walked around the University (literally, it was closed). Seeing at it was about 37C (99F) with no wind, we returned to the apartment for conversation and cold drinks.
I didnt really like Lyon, dispite being the 3rd biggest city in France (after Paris and Marseilles) it seemed kinda dead. Maybe it was the heat, but I didnt leave Lyon didnt leave Lyon dying to go back as I expect I will Montpellier. Speaking of leaving Lyon....
My return train was a TGV with a change in Valence. 2 hours. The train to Valence was running late so I would have missed my connection. I told the SNCF guys this, and they said no problem. They gave me a 1st class ticket for the direct train (there were no 2nd class so that's why i didnt buy one originally). Train 5020 leaving from tracks J...IN 3 MINUTES. I sprint to the tracks and get on just as the doors are closing. I find my first class seat and send a celebratory test just as I hear the announcement "Welcome aboard Train 5021 direct to Marseilles France." This train was running late and the correct train was behind it on track J. Due to technical difficulty, the train couldnt use the TGV tracks: bad news we werent going as fast, good news the train was stopping before Marseilles. I get escorted off the train at the first stop: Valence. Because we wernt on TGV tracks, I found myself in Valence TER (two completely different train stations) after a 5 minute arguing match with the Controller (on the bright side GREAT french practice) I got a bus ticket to Valence TGV. 30 minutes on the bus playing the most grateing Romanian Techno imaginable and I arrived at Valence TGV, secured a ticket for the next train to Montpellier. Train pulls up, "where does this train go?" "montpellier". Sucre! Get on the train. Controller walks up, I give him my ticket. "Sir, you dont have the right to be on this train." "Excuse me?" All the trains were running late because of the aforementioned TGV track problem. I had actually caught the train before the one I got the ticket for. Luckily the train was empty, the controller was reasonable, and the first stop was Montpellier. I pull into Montpellier at 11:35. 3 hours behind schedule.
My favorite part of this whole thing: I my train reservation upfront and planned on using a day on my eurorail pass. However, throughout this whole ordeal, they didnt check my Euro-rail pass and thus I didnt loose the day. Total cost of the whole day: 6 euro. Im pretty sure I got more than 6 euro worth of tickets (7 in total).
I know that was a giant confusing mess. Let me know if anything need clarification.
Tomorrow is Bastille Day (French Independence day), no class, only frivolity and fireworks.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Oh Purple Rhino, touch me with your plumb point and guide me to something cool
After getting back from Paris on Thursday night, we took 2 days to sleep and reduce the swelling in our feet.
Aboard another mini-bus, into the valley of the Midi drove the brave twenty . First stop, Pont Du Gard. Built in '54, 0054 that is. The story goes as such. The architect tried to build the bridge a couple of times (I built a bridge, it sank into the swamp. I built a second, it sank into the swamp. I built a third, it burnt down, fell over, then sank into the swamp) so he made a deal with the Devil that if he helped build it, he would lay claim to the first soul to cross it. The next day the aqueduct was complete and a mouse scurried across the bridge, giving it's soul to the devil. Im guessing this is why no one wanted to win the inaugural run over the Cooper River bridge.
After that we went to some Abby because of the lavender fields in front of them. A collective "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" was had by every girl present.
We then went on to some Cathar stronghold, really cool.
Finally, we hit up a Church where Raymond VI served his penitence for the death of Pierre de Castelnau.
Positives: Fo Free
Negatives: approximately 95 degrees the whole time, I woke up late and skipped breakfast and we didnt eat lunch until 3PM, and I'm crevé.
Wednesday after class we went to Arles. Lauren and I went off looking for a photography exhibition (the symbol for which was a Purple Rhinoceros). We joked that we didnt know where it was but the Purple Rhino would guide us. After "following the gospel of the purple rhino" we stumbled upon the Espace de Van Gogh (the french pronounce the second "g" btw). It was beautiful (the flower pictures on the Picasa), augmented by the fact Lauren, haven worked in a plant nursery knew every flower. By the grace of the Purple Rhino we found the exposition. 35 Euros? Holy Purple Rhino that's expensive! We rocked the free brochure area instead. Some guy took Laurens picture, and I must have scowled at him because he apologized and asked my permission. We talked for a little and then headed out.
[excited whisper] "...Lauren!"
[slightly peeved] "What Matt?"
[openly ecstatic] "We found the purple rhino!"
And there he stood, in all his mauve majesty. After a few touristy photos, we waded in the fountain (bet part of Arles as it was hot anything) and then headed over to the Colosseum.
We then watched a Course Camargese, ( you might be more familiar with its better known Spanish cousin the Bull Fight). But in this one they dont kill the bull. Instead they try to grab a ribbon tied in between the horns (what some boys will do for attention). Watch the video on Picassa for a better impression, but it mostly involved running right at the bull until it chases you, then running for your life at the wall and jumping over. Sometimes the bull follows. I really enjoyed it (Carmen background music and all). Im not sure if Arles was my favorite city, but its been the excursion I've had the most fun on!
Aboard another mini-bus, into the valley of the Midi drove the brave twenty . First stop, Pont Du Gard. Built in '54, 0054 that is. The story goes as such. The architect tried to build the bridge a couple of times (I built a bridge, it sank into the swamp. I built a second, it sank into the swamp. I built a third, it burnt down, fell over, then sank into the swamp) so he made a deal with the Devil that if he helped build it, he would lay claim to the first soul to cross it. The next day the aqueduct was complete and a mouse scurried across the bridge, giving it's soul to the devil. Im guessing this is why no one wanted to win the inaugural run over the Cooper River bridge.
After that we went to some Abby because of the lavender fields in front of them. A collective "awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww" was had by every girl present.
We then went on to some Cathar stronghold, really cool.
Finally, we hit up a Church where Raymond VI served his penitence for the death of Pierre de Castelnau.
Positives: Fo Free
Negatives: approximately 95 degrees the whole time, I woke up late and skipped breakfast and we didnt eat lunch until 3PM, and I'm crevé.
Wednesday after class we went to Arles. Lauren and I went off looking for a photography exhibition (the symbol for which was a Purple Rhinoceros). We joked that we didnt know where it was but the Purple Rhino would guide us. After "following the gospel of the purple rhino" we stumbled upon the Espace de Van Gogh (the french pronounce the second "g" btw). It was beautiful (the flower pictures on the Picasa), augmented by the fact Lauren, haven worked in a plant nursery knew every flower. By the grace of the Purple Rhino we found the exposition. 35 Euros? Holy Purple Rhino that's expensive! We rocked the free brochure area instead. Some guy took Laurens picture, and I must have scowled at him because he apologized and asked my permission. We talked for a little and then headed out.
[excited whisper] "...Lauren!"
[slightly peeved] "What Matt?"
[openly ecstatic] "We found the purple rhino!"
And there he stood, in all his mauve majesty. After a few touristy photos, we waded in the fountain (bet part of Arles as it was hot anything) and then headed over to the Colosseum.
We then watched a Course Camargese, ( you might be more familiar with its better known Spanish cousin the Bull Fight). But in this one they dont kill the bull. Instead they try to grab a ribbon tied in between the horns (what some boys will do for attention). Watch the video on Picassa for a better impression, but it mostly involved running right at the bull until it chases you, then running for your life at the wall and jumping over. Sometimes the bull follows. I really enjoyed it (Carmen background music and all). Im not sure if Arles was my favorite city, but its been the excursion I've had the most fun on!
Matt the handy man
So there I stood in the kitchen in my under ware, rubbing half an onion on my jeans. Let me explain.
Recently Annick discovered that I am not completely incompetent. It all started when my tram closed for construction, so now I have an 1 hour tram/bus/tram/walk to class. So I asked if she had a bike, in fact she had three, none of which were close to working. after sawing through the chasis of one, completely reconstructing the brake lines, and other small adjustments, I made a Frankenstein of a bike. Impressed by my handy work, she showed me a fountain she bought a few months ago. Some light plumbing and drilling and we now have a working fountain. Install a hose? Done. Build a table from lumber? With cross supports and everything.
After all of these home improvements (all done in 2 days I might add), Annick returned the next day with my reward. A DESK FAN!!!! (for those of you out of the loop, its in the 100's here and there is no air conditioning) lovelovelove it/her.
As I was putting it together, Annick commented on the whole in my jeans (which developed before Paris, I sewed it together, and it re-tore above the mend). "Surely if we can do all of these home improvements we can mend your jeans!" I bought a self-adhesive patch (the iron-on ones) and we ironed it on. Unfortunatly we also left an iron-sized burn mark on them. After a quick google search, Annick was convinced that Onion juice removes the "burnt color". I didnt even try to argue. So there I found myself, rubbing an onion on my jeans.
Classes have been going well. We've been learning about supply and demand curves in French. Im the only Econ-major in the class (including Jean the Professor) so that's fun. Annick's two sons came back from Vientam this week, so we went over their house to a picture party. Im pretty sure her other son thinks I'm stupid: with his head in the fridge, he says something in French apparently it was at me, (i have difficulties in this situation in English) I ask him to repeat. He leans forward, stares at me "EST..-CE... QUE... TU... AIMES... LA... FRANCE?!?!?!" note to self, speaking louder does not aid comprehension.
My train to Lyon leaves at 6:15 tomorrow morning...ugh
Recently Annick discovered that I am not completely incompetent. It all started when my tram closed for construction, so now I have an 1 hour tram/bus/tram/walk to class. So I asked if she had a bike, in fact she had three, none of which were close to working. after sawing through the chasis of one, completely reconstructing the brake lines, and other small adjustments, I made a Frankenstein of a bike. Impressed by my handy work, she showed me a fountain she bought a few months ago. Some light plumbing and drilling and we now have a working fountain. Install a hose? Done. Build a table from lumber? With cross supports and everything.
After all of these home improvements (all done in 2 days I might add), Annick returned the next day with my reward. A DESK FAN!!!! (for those of you out of the loop, its in the 100's here and there is no air conditioning) lovelovelove it/her.
As I was putting it together, Annick commented on the whole in my jeans (which developed before Paris, I sewed it together, and it re-tore above the mend). "Surely if we can do all of these home improvements we can mend your jeans!" I bought a self-adhesive patch (the iron-on ones) and we ironed it on. Unfortunatly we also left an iron-sized burn mark on them. After a quick google search, Annick was convinced that Onion juice removes the "burnt color". I didnt even try to argue. So there I found myself, rubbing an onion on my jeans.
Classes have been going well. We've been learning about supply and demand curves in French. Im the only Econ-major in the class (including Jean the Professor) so that's fun. Annick's two sons came back from Vientam this week, so we went over their house to a picture party. Im pretty sure her other son thinks I'm stupid: with his head in the fridge, he says something in French apparently it was at me, (i have difficulties in this situation in English) I ask him to repeat. He leans forward, stares at me "EST..-CE... QUE... TU... AIMES... LA... FRANCE?!?!?!" note to self, speaking louder does not aid comprehension.
My train to Lyon leaves at 6:15 tomorrow morning...ugh
Friday, July 2, 2010
Paris (for realsies)
Im sorry for the delay, everything seems to be moving at lightspeed now that I realized I only have 3 weeks left!
Paris
Sunday
So we arrive in Paris, after a 10 minute walk through the underworldesque temperature, we get to the (even hotter) tram. That takes us to our stop right by the University of Paris, and our 3 star hotel. Seeing as the we were four to a room I didnt have much choice as to who I was rooming with. Team Y-Chromosome (Seth, JD, Jean (the Buisness French Prof who just got in) and I) was stationed on the 5th floor (6th in American terms; dont ask how that works). The lift was approximately the size of that closet my parrents stuck me in at our Family Beach Renion that one time ("Oh no Matt, its just a bedroom for super-special people"). In other words, 1 person and their bag could not fit in it. That's Paris for you.
We arrive at 2, get settled in and go for a walking tour at 3. Some highlights included our first view of the Eiffel Tower, The Musee D'Orsy (Impressionist stuff, see Tuesday), and the Louvre (kinda). Little antidote: as we were standing behind the National Assembly (french House of Reps) and Keneth is talking about the importance of the building and how its historic and such. All the girls are looking kinda bored; they're all circled around him, hands on their hips taking deep laborious breaths. Then the other teacher (Viley)(sp?) interrupts him, points at the building across the street and says "Prada National Headquarters." A flash of action left Kenneth in a cloud of dust, holding handbags, and looking rather defeated as the girls magically transported to the other side of the road and produced cameras out of thin air.
At night we walked to Notre Dame (about 5 minute walk) and ate the best ice cream of my life. Creamy, sweet, rich, flavor. I went for 3 scoops of Coffee, Honey Nugat, and Cacao Whiskey. I cannot describe the latter in words, just a primordial groan of satisfaction.
Monday
Our Paris through film class ran (more realistic than first evident), from 9-1 every day and we sightsaw in famous places that movies were filmed. Cool class huh?
First of the 3 tours (not to mention the sunday one) was Kenneth's. He knows a rediculous amount about Paris and it was awesome to hear all the little stories, facts, and trinkets that he had as we saw the Seine, 7th Bridge, Lovre, Gardens, Place de Concords, Opera, Royal Gardens, Halles, Pomplidou. You will notice that this list is much longer than any of the others.... Kenneth got a little excited and walked us into the ground. On the verge of mutany, he let us depart from Notre Dame with the afternoon ahead of us. Jia, Lauren and I decided to go see the Opera from the inside. I got us lost, and by the time we got there, it closed in 5 minutes. Alas, an afternoon wasted.
Tuesday
's walk was with Debbie, where we saw Monmartre (the only place in Paris with hills). Which includes Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge as well as a large portion of the film Amile. Fun story, I didnt know Moulin Rouge was real until this trip...oops. Its real; promise.
The I took the afternoon by myself (didnt want to get anyone else lost) and went to the Musee D'Orsy which was awesome. Better than the Louvre in my opinion. It's filled with impressionist paintings including Monet, Manet, Degas, and my favorite, Jean Baptist Camille Carot. I then walked on over to Notre Dame, was herded like cattle through the inside, then spent 2 hours people watching. Without ranting, I would like to say this: if you're every in another country, please try to blend in; that's not to say you have to denounce your Americanism and become fluent in the language, but please try to not yell in english across the entire plaza infront of Notre Dame to your friend/spouse on the other side about your plans for lunch. Im off it.
I then took Dinner on the Seine with JD Ruthie and Seth. It was fantastic. No restaurant can beat that cheese and ham sandwich. Also, Im pretty sure Im in about 6 gagillion tourist photos of Paris from their dinner cruise.
Wednesday
It was our free day so Jean and I went to the Louvre. This was probably my least favorite thing I did in Paris; I saw the Mona Lisa (from afar), Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo (I mean I also saw tons of other stuff but, those were the highlights). I wish I appreciated art more, I feel like being an educated person I should...who knows maybe its an aquired taste. We then went over to the Cemitary Pere Lachaise (who is actually Santa's evil brother who comes and kills kids if they're bad for Christmas; makes getting coal look like a good thing [in fact with our current energy crisis I'm going to ask for coal for christmas {goes better in a stocking than crude oil}]) We saw the guy who translated the Rosetta Stone (he did it in 1 night! reminds me of finals week) and Oscar Wilde's tomb. OW's was covered in lipstick, apparently its a big thing to red-up and give him a big wet on right on the tombstone...?
We then hustled over to the Champs de Mars (the greenspace in front of The Eiffel Tower) for dinner, and took a ride on the Bateaux Mouches (which btw is only 1 letter away from being the "Ugly Boats"). Talk about a role reversal, we passed by our last night's dinner location. A hour-long walk back and some more glorious ice cream rounded off the night.
Thursday
was a short day. We walked the Arc de Triumph, Champs de Lycee, Boutiques, Grand et Petit Palais with Villay (sp?). I then climbed the Arc de Truimph, and made my way back over to see the Opera (which was awesome). A round of "Music of the Night" under my breath, and then I headed over to the train station to come back.
Paris
Sunday
So we arrive in Paris, after a 10 minute walk through the underworldesque temperature, we get to the (even hotter) tram. That takes us to our stop right by the University of Paris, and our 3 star hotel. Seeing as the we were four to a room I didnt have much choice as to who I was rooming with. Team Y-Chromosome (Seth, JD, Jean (the Buisness French Prof who just got in) and I) was stationed on the 5th floor (6th in American terms; dont ask how that works). The lift was approximately the size of that closet my parrents stuck me in at our Family Beach Renion that one time ("Oh no Matt, its just a bedroom for super-special people"). In other words, 1 person and their bag could not fit in it. That's Paris for you.
We arrive at 2, get settled in and go for a walking tour at 3. Some highlights included our first view of the Eiffel Tower, The Musee D'Orsy (Impressionist stuff, see Tuesday), and the Louvre (kinda). Little antidote: as we were standing behind the National Assembly (french House of Reps) and Keneth is talking about the importance of the building and how its historic and such. All the girls are looking kinda bored; they're all circled around him, hands on their hips taking deep laborious breaths. Then the other teacher (Viley)(sp?) interrupts him, points at the building across the street and says "Prada National Headquarters." A flash of action left Kenneth in a cloud of dust, holding handbags, and looking rather defeated as the girls magically transported to the other side of the road and produced cameras out of thin air.
At night we walked to Notre Dame (about 5 minute walk) and ate the best ice cream of my life. Creamy, sweet, rich, flavor. I went for 3 scoops of Coffee, Honey Nugat, and Cacao Whiskey. I cannot describe the latter in words, just a primordial groan of satisfaction.
Monday
Our Paris through film class ran (more realistic than first evident), from 9-1 every day and we sightsaw in famous places that movies were filmed. Cool class huh?
First of the 3 tours (not to mention the sunday one) was Kenneth's. He knows a rediculous amount about Paris and it was awesome to hear all the little stories, facts, and trinkets that he had as we saw the Seine, 7th Bridge, Lovre, Gardens, Place de Concords, Opera, Royal Gardens, Halles, Pomplidou. You will notice that this list is much longer than any of the others.... Kenneth got a little excited and walked us into the ground. On the verge of mutany, he let us depart from Notre Dame with the afternoon ahead of us. Jia, Lauren and I decided to go see the Opera from the inside. I got us lost, and by the time we got there, it closed in 5 minutes. Alas, an afternoon wasted.
Tuesday
's walk was with Debbie, where we saw Monmartre (the only place in Paris with hills). Which includes Sacre Coeur and Moulin Rouge as well as a large portion of the film Amile. Fun story, I didnt know Moulin Rouge was real until this trip...oops. Its real; promise.
The I took the afternoon by myself (didnt want to get anyone else lost) and went to the Musee D'Orsy which was awesome. Better than the Louvre in my opinion. It's filled with impressionist paintings including Monet, Manet, Degas, and my favorite, Jean Baptist Camille Carot. I then walked on over to Notre Dame, was herded like cattle through the inside, then spent 2 hours people watching. Without ranting, I would like to say this: if you're every in another country, please try to blend in; that's not to say you have to denounce your Americanism and become fluent in the language, but please try to not yell in english across the entire plaza infront of Notre Dame to your friend/spouse on the other side about your plans for lunch. Im off it.
I then took Dinner on the Seine with JD Ruthie and Seth. It was fantastic. No restaurant can beat that cheese and ham sandwich. Also, Im pretty sure Im in about 6 gagillion tourist photos of Paris from their dinner cruise.
Wednesday
It was our free day so Jean and I went to the Louvre. This was probably my least favorite thing I did in Paris; I saw the Mona Lisa (from afar), Winged Victory, and Venus de Milo (I mean I also saw tons of other stuff but, those were the highlights). I wish I appreciated art more, I feel like being an educated person I should...who knows maybe its an aquired taste. We then went over to the Cemitary Pere Lachaise (who is actually Santa's evil brother who comes and kills kids if they're bad for Christmas; makes getting coal look like a good thing [in fact with our current energy crisis I'm going to ask for coal for christmas {goes better in a stocking than crude oil}]) We saw the guy who translated the Rosetta Stone (he did it in 1 night! reminds me of finals week) and Oscar Wilde's tomb. OW's was covered in lipstick, apparently its a big thing to red-up and give him a big wet on right on the tombstone...?
We then hustled over to the Champs de Mars (the greenspace in front of The Eiffel Tower) for dinner, and took a ride on the Bateaux Mouches (which btw is only 1 letter away from being the "Ugly Boats"). Talk about a role reversal, we passed by our last night's dinner location. A hour-long walk back and some more glorious ice cream rounded off the night.
Thursday
was a short day. We walked the Arc de Triumph, Champs de Lycee, Boutiques, Grand et Petit Palais with Villay (sp?). I then climbed the Arc de Truimph, and made my way back over to see the Opera (which was awesome). A round of "Music of the Night" under my breath, and then I headed over to the train station to come back.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Not so Final Exams
Just finished my second of two finals. My final for Le Midi (20%)was yesterday and went pretty well, my Convo class' final (60%) was this afternoon..... on verra. I still have my final project in Le Midi, 8 page paper for my Paris through film class, and whatever my Business French class requires. All that being said, Im done with 2-a-day classes. All throughout July I will be done at 11:30. Let the relaxing in the South of France begin! But first: Paris. We leave on Sunday. Get pumped. In preparation, Debbie got us all personalized book gifts (turns out she is nice, despite what she says), mine was some wine literature. Hopefully I wont remain wine ignorant with all these people helping me. Movie night tonight. Anyone seen "Paris, Je t'aime"?
Below are my notes on L'Auberge des Lices (the Carcassonne Restaurant), I understand these arnt cohesive, but if you want to know what I ate...
Entree
Ratatoulli served cold, pressed into 4" circular mold 1/2" high. Topped with 4 anchovies layed perpendicular to the top of the plate. Grape/cherry tomato halved. One face down, one leaning up against the other with green cavear place on the left. Fresh radish flowered on right/top, fanned cucumber on the bottom right. A black olive tapinad in four lines forming a square in which the circle was inscribed. Slightly under-salted. Well cooked, still firm but not crunchy. The anchovies and tapinad overpowered the vegetables in proportions. The freshness of the Cucumbers didnt mesh with the rest of the plate.
Plat Principal:
Entrecote: I wasnt impressed with the cut of meat. The meat was unevenly cooked. a 1" disc of dijon butter on the steak. Served with eggplant and chive compote/ medly. over-salted and way to overpowering by itself. Paired with the stake it worked. The star of the meal was a potato souffle served in a 4" cube. The cheese was unidentifiable yet satisfyingly strong and creamy. At the head of the plate, a cherry tomato with the pristine leaves still attached. It seemed tagged on.
Dessert: Soupe de Fruits. A assortment of: strawberries watermelon, pears, apples, pineapple, cherries, and grapes served with a mango sorbet. Very refreshing and the sorbet was delicious.
Wine: a Cabernet Franc from Tentation. 2008. Soft mouth feel without clinging to the sides of your mouth. Mellow red fruity flavor with tanic after-tones.
Coffee.
Awesome meal, if you're every in Carcassonne definitely try it. People say the Casoulet is great, if you're into that kinda stuff.
Below are my notes on L'Auberge des Lices (the Carcassonne Restaurant), I understand these arnt cohesive, but if you want to know what I ate...
Entree
Ratatoulli served cold, pressed into 4" circular mold 1/2" high. Topped with 4 anchovies layed perpendicular to the top of the plate. Grape/cherry tomato halved. One face down, one leaning up against the other with green cavear place on the left. Fresh radish flowered on right/top, fanned cucumber on the bottom right. A black olive tapinad in four lines forming a square in which the circle was inscribed. Slightly under-salted. Well cooked, still firm but not crunchy. The anchovies and tapinad overpowered the vegetables in proportions. The freshness of the Cucumbers didnt mesh with the rest of the plate.
Plat Principal:
Entrecote: I wasnt impressed with the cut of meat. The meat was unevenly cooked. a 1" disc of dijon butter on the steak. Served with eggplant and chive compote/ medly. over-salted and way to overpowering by itself. Paired with the stake it worked. The star of the meal was a potato souffle served in a 4" cube. The cheese was unidentifiable yet satisfyingly strong and creamy. At the head of the plate, a cherry tomato with the pristine leaves still attached. It seemed tagged on.
Dessert: Soupe de Fruits. A assortment of: strawberries watermelon, pears, apples, pineapple, cherries, and grapes served with a mango sorbet. Very refreshing and the sorbet was delicious.
Wine: a Cabernet Franc from Tentation. 2008. Soft mouth feel without clinging to the sides of your mouth. Mellow red fruity flavor with tanic after-tones.
Coffee.
Awesome meal, if you're every in Carcassonne definitely try it. People say the Casoulet is great, if you're into that kinda stuff.
Monday, June 21, 2010
What a Wonderful Day to Besiege a City
So I briefly went surfing around the blog-o-sphere today to see how Matt in France stacks up against other blogs. They might have cooler layouts, profound messages and correct grammar, but I have a photo of a cow wearing a beret. (I also have others of things Im talking about in the blog, but for those you have to check the last post and go to Picasa)
As alluded to, we went to Carcassonne on Saturday. It was really really cool. The gloomy, overcast sky as we approached the walls of this Medieval city made us (or at least me) feel like a perfect day to besiege a city. Our train dropped us off in the "New" city (its only like 400 years old) and we had to walk up to the old walled city. I couldn't help but imagining being back in the day, on a horse, with armor on, and someone yelling attack. Seeing as the city is on top of a very steep hill, in encompassed by a 15 foot wall, and Im just generally a nancy-boy, that order would quickly be followed by "Run Away!!!!" Just upon getting in the city we churched it up. Not really my thing, but it was a cool church and there was a Russian vocal quintet that was quite good.
Next we lunched. Dr. Bell told us she knew a good restaurant, and if there's one thing I learned on this trip, it's listen to DB when she talks about food. I took extensive notes on the meal and even tried my hand at being a food critic; unfortunately, the only piece of paper I had was the back of my homework i had to turn in today. Ill be sure to post it when I get that back. All I'll say now is: "BON"
After the 2hr lunch, we decided to take the Museum of Torture. About as pleasant as it sounds. Sometimes I find the atrocities against humanity incomprehensible, and this museum was truly a testament to the damages of hate and intolerance.
We left Carcassonne after some light meandering.
Enough of the heavy stuff, and time for a new "In France" feature: How to ________ like a Frenchman.
Every post, Im going to pick something I've learned how to do like a Frenchman and explain it.
How to Strike Like a Frenchman
The short answer would be prolifically. The tramway workers strike every weekend, but its not a "Everyone get your picket signs, we're going to hold this city at it knees by denying it tram service", its more of a "half of us will strike from our houses while the trams operate but less frequently." When I tried to explain to my host Mom that their annual wage-loss exceeds what they are demanding out of the strike.... well lets just say it got lost in translation. Annick herself is striking tomorrow because the retirement age was raised from 60 to 62. She doesnt know where the assemblance will be, but she already has an plans to go out with her friends. Even the French soccer team went on strike (my original idea was "How to be a fair weather soccer fan like a Frenchman") from practicing DURING THE WORLD CUP. Still angry.
Sunday we went to Saint-Guilhem le Desert. I think this wins coolest experience in France (so far). As we walked into this beautiful small town, I noticed there was not to much to do, but by hazard, I noticed some ruins on the top of the mountain. The man at the Tourism office said it would take 1.5 hours each way. I had 2 hours until the bus left. Bring it. I start at breakneck speed up this mountain. With a little help from other hikers, I found the little path that led there. (This is where Dr. Bell and anyone associated with UGA insurance should stop reading) and the sign that said it was closed. About 5 minutes down that path, the shrubs start to get a little more dense, but I endure. (This is where Mom should probably stop reading). Then the path stopped, so I dropped my pack and kept on going. After a few minutes of bushwacking, I decided to turn back, found my pack, took out my waterbottle for a drink. Behold the ruin, about 20 feet from where I had set my pack. It was spectacular from the top, the pictures dont come close to doing it justice.
Next we went to this cool cave. It was Way too touristy for my taste, however the lightshow (especially the music) was AWESOME (sarcastically, check out the video on Picasa) Yazz and I were super-disappointed that DB didnt let us go back through a second time.
Yesterday was the Montpellier Music Festival. It occurs in every French city on the summer solstice. It was really really cool. Bands everywhere; literally everywhere. I was a little bummed that it was on a Monday (class the next day) but it was really culturally relieving that such a huge event (the streets were packed) could happen on a Monday.
I hope you enjoyed my manifesto,
A bientot
Friday, June 18, 2010
Lunch from Heaven
"Mega Superstar Kabob 2"'s kabob sandwich is one of the most delicious things ever made by mortals. There are new pirated pictures up. That is all.
http://picasaweb.google.fr/matt.passarello
http://picasaweb.google.fr
Thursday, June 17, 2010
The Birth of Picasa
So who knew I had a picasa account already? Huray for horizontal integration with google. Thanks charles for the Idea.
I dont think they are in any decipherable order. Sorry about that. Think of it like a puzzle mixed with where in the world is Carmen San Diego.
So yesterday as our Wednesday excursion we went to a chateau (oh wow Matt chateau in France how original). So we took the tram to the correct stop and there was a huge shopping mall. With a 5 minute walk we were at the Chateau de Flaugergue. The cool part of this place is a) it fit in our time budget b) it's still inhabited (and they have two daughters....might have to make a return visit) and c) they produce their own wine here in Montpellier. After a quick tour of the gardens and Chateau (it was about the size of 4030 Regency Lake. I motion we rename it "Chateau de Choquettesse") we tried their wines. Remember, swirl to smell, sip and spit? We learned to See, smell, swirl to smell, sip, and get really drunk (just kidding about the last part but we didn't spit here, bizarre). It was a good step towards total wine enlightenment but I wasnt a fan of the wine (all the bottle were screwtop for starters), so didn't add to the mini-cellar I have in my closet.
Grab-bag of thoughts:
the cats have accepted me as one of their own. As a result I woke up to a very large dust-mop on my face. Dogs rule.
I've decided to do my final project on cuisine, Im going to try to cook the same typical Midi dish (Ratatouille?) with 4-5 different host families and video tape it.
First wave of grades just got returned, A's on everything, maybe there's hope yet! Still have the final exams (60% each) in 1 week. Yikes!
Debating on whether to take up Emmanuel on his Paris dinner offer (see first post) what do you guys think? Meet the gay guy I met for 5 hours on a plane for a meal? Perhaps with a group of several people?
Also, who all is following this? Im trying to leave inside jokes for everyone I know is reading, let me know if you want to be included in the fun! (2)
This weekend is going to be very very tiring but hopefully very fun and educational. Carcassonne on Saturday (google it, its cool) and Saint-Gueomme de Desert on Sunday (sp?). Two full-day excursions, and both are already paid.
Shout out to the Passarello family reunion. Love ya'll and wish I could be there.
 |
| France |
I dont think they are in any decipherable order. Sorry about that. Think of it like a puzzle mixed with where in the world is Carmen San Diego.
So yesterday as our Wednesday excursion we went to a chateau (oh wow Matt chateau in France how original). So we took the tram to the correct stop and there was a huge shopping mall. With a 5 minute walk we were at the Chateau de Flaugergue. The cool part of this place is a) it fit in our time budget b) it's still inhabited (and they have two daughters....might have to make a return visit) and c) they produce their own wine here in Montpellier. After a quick tour of the gardens and Chateau (it was about the size of 4030 Regency Lake. I motion we rename it "Chateau de Choquettesse") we tried their wines. Remember, swirl to smell, sip and spit? We learned to See, smell, swirl to smell, sip, and get really drunk (just kidding about the last part but we didn't spit here, bizarre). It was a good step towards total wine enlightenment but I wasnt a fan of the wine (all the bottle were screwtop for starters), so didn't add to the mini-cellar I have in my closet.
Grab-bag of thoughts:
the cats have accepted me as one of their own. As a result I woke up to a very large dust-mop on my face. Dogs rule.
I've decided to do my final project on cuisine, Im going to try to cook the same typical Midi dish (Ratatouille?) with 4-5 different host families and video tape it.
First wave of grades just got returned, A's on everything, maybe there's hope yet! Still have the final exams (60% each) in 1 week. Yikes!
Debating on whether to take up Emmanuel on his Paris dinner offer (see first post) what do you guys think? Meet the gay guy I met for 5 hours on a plane for a meal? Perhaps with a group of several people?
Also, who all is following this? Im trying to leave inside jokes for everyone I know is reading, let me know if you want to be included in the fun! (2)
This weekend is going to be very very tiring but hopefully very fun and educational. Carcassonne on Saturday (google it, its cool) and Saint-Gueomme de Desert on Sunday (sp?). Two full-day excursions, and both are already paid.
Shout out to the Passarello family reunion. Love ya'll and wish I could be there.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Brain Vomit
Dont have time for structure or cohesion. Stealing Charles blog style. Is that enough citation to avoid copyright infringement?
Who'da guessed 7.5 hrs of class would be this exhausting. Current schedule: Wake, eat, class, eat, class, nap, eat, HW sleep repeat.
Wednesday went to nature lodge with TAs. Quite boring (sorry TAs). Were supposed to see flamingos. Didnt. Were supposed to read all the posters. Didnt. Were supposed to be astonished by its beauty. Wasnt. Was supposed to get better at French. Might have.
More class. Had our first quiz, Aced it. Turned in our first essay. Didnt.
Reading famous authors travel journals to learn about citys. This week Dumas. I like his French writing style. Might try to read 3 musketeers in French.....might.
French soccer game. Watched it downtown where there was a big screen (read: huge). Nothing really happened. Cant wait for a better game. Allez les bleus. Went out after that. Saw some creepy guys. Rule #1: if you dont want creepy guys to creep on you dont in your strong American accent ask if you can take a photo with them and then let them buy you a drink. Hopefully they learned that.
Saturday optional excursion to Aigues Mortes. Talked with Yazz (TA) in French all the way there. Usually can convey any thought and be understood when speaking French. Couldnt.
Got to AM, first thing river tour. Was told of the particular beauty of the country; other students saw it. Didnt. This post is sounding a lot more negative than I meant for it to. Im having a blast. Promise. Lunch. At bull cooked in wine. Pretty good. Nothing to extreme. Went art shopping with artsy girls. Cool paintings but au meme temp..... Crabby lady didnt let us on the wall around the city without paying. Others said it was the best part of their trip. Walked around more. Saw the salt mines from afar. Cool. Back on the bus. Half bus driver, half comedian. Unexpectedly took us to a wine emporium. Wish I was making more progress on the "become knowledgeable about wines" goal. Back on the bus. Yazz ran out of things to talk about. Wish I was a better conversationalist (across languages). Came home. Ate alone.
Sunday went to the beach. It was an awesome beach. Wish I liked the beach more. Dont worry mom, I wore sun screen. Got burned anyway. Dinner with Annick, she was late so I "cooked." Sauteed potatos and garlic and added left-over Ratatouille. It was ok but she was overly complementary. Homework. To much. How do they expect us to do anything but study? Easily 6 hours worth of work. Did it (granted poorly) in 3. Talked with parents. Going to only speak in French to the other students, even if they respond in English. Hopefully it will catch on and the others wont thing Im a giant tool. Might be too late. Might be the reason for my rambling.
Monday was long. Started bringing my lunch, saving money wherever possible. Ham sandwich with cheese and mustard 3 Eu for 2 days. Pas mal. Bought a french knife. Useful and a souvenir. Wait, do we say that? Souvenir?....Is it a good sign that I just had to google translate into English? Hello language fatigue, my name is Matt.
Im sorry about the last few minutes of your life I just wasted. As you might have guessed Im pretty fatigued, but you know what they say: "shut up". Also Im sorry that I havent taken any pictures while in Montpellier. Goal for the rest of the week: take 50 photos and create a flicker account. Someone hold me to it. I might try to come back and make the above rambling comprehensible. Might. If you want any clarification or further descriptions let me know and Ill be happy to oblige (we say that right?). Also, if this sounded at all negative I might just be following a "" journal style. That is to say: negative. I am having the time of my life and feel so blessed to be here. Shout out to SARC Lwt 4+ 3rd in the Nation. So proud of you guys. I'd like to think I played a small part, and you guys absolutely deserve it. Revel, it fades quickly to black and white.
Who'da guessed 7.5 hrs of class would be this exhausting. Current schedule: Wake, eat, class, eat, class, nap, eat, HW sleep repeat.
Wednesday went to nature lodge with TAs. Quite boring (sorry TAs). Were supposed to see flamingos. Didnt. Were supposed to read all the posters. Didnt. Were supposed to be astonished by its beauty. Wasnt. Was supposed to get better at French. Might have.
More class. Had our first quiz, Aced it. Turned in our first essay. Didnt.
Reading famous authors travel journals to learn about citys. This week Dumas. I like his French writing style. Might try to read 3 musketeers in French.....might.
French soccer game. Watched it downtown where there was a big screen (read: huge). Nothing really happened. Cant wait for a better game. Allez les bleus. Went out after that. Saw some creepy guys. Rule #1: if you dont want creepy guys to creep on you dont in your strong American accent ask if you can take a photo with them and then let them buy you a drink. Hopefully they learned that.
Saturday optional excursion to Aigues Mortes. Talked with Yazz (TA) in French all the way there. Usually can convey any thought and be understood when speaking French. Couldnt.
Got to AM, first thing river tour. Was told of the particular beauty of the country; other students saw it. Didnt. This post is sounding a lot more negative than I meant for it to. Im having a blast. Promise. Lunch. At bull cooked in wine. Pretty good. Nothing to extreme. Went art shopping with artsy girls. Cool paintings but au meme temp..... Crabby lady didnt let us on the wall around the city without paying. Others said it was the best part of their trip. Walked around more. Saw the salt mines from afar. Cool. Back on the bus. Half bus driver, half comedian. Unexpectedly took us to a wine emporium. Wish I was making more progress on the "become knowledgeable about wines" goal. Back on the bus. Yazz ran out of things to talk about. Wish I was a better conversationalist (across languages). Came home. Ate alone.
Sunday went to the beach. It was an awesome beach. Wish I liked the beach more. Dont worry mom, I wore sun screen. Got burned anyway. Dinner with Annick, she was late so I "cooked." Sauteed potatos and garlic and added left-over Ratatouille. It was ok but she was overly complementary. Homework. To much. How do they expect us to do anything but study? Easily 6 hours worth of work. Did it (granted poorly) in 3. Talked with parents. Going to only speak in French to the other students, even if they respond in English. Hopefully it will catch on and the others wont thing Im a giant tool. Might be too late. Might be the reason for my rambling.
Monday was long. Started bringing my lunch, saving money wherever possible. Ham sandwich with cheese and mustard 3 Eu for 2 days. Pas mal. Bought a french knife. Useful and a souvenir. Wait, do we say that? Souvenir?....Is it a good sign that I just had to google translate into English? Hello language fatigue, my name is Matt.
Im sorry about the last few minutes of your life I just wasted. As you might have guessed Im pretty fatigued, but you know what they say: "shut up". Also Im sorry that I havent taken any pictures while in Montpellier. Goal for the rest of the week: take 50 photos and create a flicker account. Someone hold me to it. I might try to come back and make the above rambling comprehensible. Might. If you want any clarification or further descriptions let me know and Ill be happy to oblige (we say that right?). Also, if this sounded at all negative I might just be following a "" journal style. That is to say: negative. I am having the time of my life and feel so blessed to be here. Shout out to SARC Lwt 4+ 3rd in the Nation. So proud of you guys. I'd like to think I played a small part, and you guys absolutely deserve it. Revel, it fades quickly to black and white.
Monday, June 7, 2010
The First day of Classes
I feel like today was just like every other first day of classes: exciting up until the actual act of sitting in class then realizing it's not as fun as you'd thought. This june I'm taking two classes: French 4120: Le Midi, and French 3010. The first class (a 9:00AM ugh) is a special topics class, the topic of this one is the geographic and cultural region of Le Midi. A slight misnomer, the midi encompasses the south of France (save Basque) and has an accent, cuisine, climate, and general state of being much different than the north. This class should be somewhat like my maymester course on Le Pays Basque. Everyone is taking this 2hr30 class and it's with Dr. Bell (our UGA Prof). After a 2hr30 lunch break (in case you haven't already realized they take lunch VERY seriously in France) we go to our "french" class (3010). This is the one where we actually learn french. This is with an instructor from the foreign language school (Accent Francais), and we're split in half (9 and 9) with a TA in each. Before we got here we took a written placement test, and we took an oral exam the first day; based on our performance on those, they placed us in one of the two classes. From what I can tell I'm in the more advanced group, (take THAT guy in Toulouse) but it kinda scares me. From what I can gather I am definitely the youngest member of our group and I think I'm the least advanced in my French studies. In this class and the other class I'm a little worried about keeping pace with these other more seasoned students. The idea of a 6 page term paper in French by the end of the month really scares me. I'll yield to Coldplay on this one and say "no body said it was easy, but no one ever said it would be this hard." I guess I'll just have to put that much more into it (and hopefully get that much more out?) Anywhoo, the afternoon class meets Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday. On Wednesday we go forth and conquer with the TAs (we go use French in the city). After June we start a completely different regiment; we'll get to that later.
Friday, June 4, 2010
The One Where He Travels A Lot
Wow, its been a whirlwind the last few days, rather than breaking apart by days, it might be easier to break it down by city:
St. John de Luz: As mentioned in the last post, after our stay in Larrau, we all loaded up into the VW Transporter (I unsuccessfully tried to get this to catch on as a nick-name for Dr.G) and drove to the beach town of St. John. Located on the Atlantic coast (picture above on right). Now comes one of those stories that make traveling worth it. We had a day to rest in SJL and Dr.G and I heard there was going to be some Basque singing in a square downtown so we decided to go check it out. Alas there was no singing there. We asked a street artist about it and she said there may be singing on the other side of the bay. What the heck, it's an off day. We walk up to the bay ferry just as its about to leave, and it drops us off on the other side. Just as we get off the boat, a full marching band pours out of a bar, lines up, and starts to play. What the heck, it's an off day. We follow these pide pippers (sp?) for a half mile to a giant circus tent. Just as we get there, another band starts playing, and waiters pour into the tent with trays of snacks, wine, and champagne. After about a half our of this, the band stops and directs everyone to another tent for the continuation of the fete. What the heck, it's an off day. Dr.G and I sit down to a four course meal of a potato and garlic salad, tuna, cheese, and apple pie. Through talking to the people around us we found out that we were crashing the town's annual party, and that in fact we were not crashing, but in telling the director of the "Party Committee" that we were American, had practically become the guests of honor. People came and said hello and made small talk after that including this cute French girl who asked if I wanted to dance. What the heck, it's an off day. It seems appropriate at this point to mention that all basque people seem to be born with this innate ability to dance. I tried to hold my own, but after two songs of being shown-up by everyone on the floor (including this 70 year old guy who kept flipping his wife [yes, like feet off the ground 180 flipping]), I decided to call it a day. Dr.G had made friends with some locals, so after a prolonged good-bye, we headed back to SJL. Not to bad for an off day.
Brassempouy: This was really and intermediate between SJL and Pau but it was pretty cool. There was this kickin church, and a cave where la dame de brassempouy was found. Turns out, much to Dr.G and our chagrin. They dont keep the real one there, it's in Paris. So the whole musee (and thus town) was for this replica.
Toulouse: I didnt spend much time in Toulouse, seems like a pretty cool city (picture to left). The two things I will talk about are the food. First, after getting excited about a hyped dish called Cassoulet, I was disappointed in its grandeur (the photo on wiki does it justice). Also, I got a pretty funny joke played on me: as I was walking along looking for somewhere to eat, I stopped and asked someone where a good, little known restaurant is. After going through several questions about the type of restaurant, he pondered for a moment and pointed me to a yellow building at the end of the street. It was a foreign language school. I was mad for a little then realized how funny it was. Instead, I pulled a Nick and grabbed a kabob and walked along the river.
Montpellier: Not much to report at this time. I arrived at montpellier around 2 yesterday got lost for 4 hours, at diner, got shown around, got a briefing on living in france, and ate diner tonight. Im glad that in our walking as a group, most people agreed that we should speak in French amung ourselves, both to pratice and to blend it. That should do great things for my French but it leaves you guys as my only English outlet. Rumor has it that tomorrow a big group is going to the beach, hopefully I wont be the only one not in a speedo. If you guys want to hear about anything Im not mentioning, please let me know!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Pret for la Fete
After the afternoon milking, the city held a Fete (French for party) in our honor. Starting at 7, we gave a brief presentation on our work in the city and appreciation of their acceptance. Then we went over to the indoor Pelota court for aparitif (think fingerfood), then meat(sausage, lamb, and thick cut bacon) on the grill. Then we sat around talking. I will include a travelers tip here: listen all the way until people stop talking when you ask what's in the bottle they're holding because L'eau=water, L'eau de vie= grappa. This minor blunder aside, the party continued with dancing, singing, limbo, skinning rabbits, and Pelota until 5 AM. T
I feel like up until now I've neglected to mention the French Students: through most of this experience there have been 7 talented master level historical ecology students with us. The three weeks we spend here are the beginning of a prolonged partner university program between the university of Pau and UGA. Step 2 is going to be their month long visit to UGA in Mid-august. We were sad to leave them on Friday but the beach town of Saint John de Luz beckoned.
I feel like up until now I've neglected to mention the French Students: through most of this experience there have been 7 talented master level historical ecology students with us. The three weeks we spend here are the beginning of a prolonged partner university program between the university of Pau and UGA. Step 2 is going to be their month long visit to UGA in Mid-august. We were sad to leave them on Friday but the beach town of Saint John de Luz beckoned.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Larrau
Once again sorry for the delay and banality of the title. For the past three days Ive been in a homestay in Larrau France (Thats a picture of the city). This city of about 200 people is in the Pyrannes and is one of the closest French cities to Spain (This picture was taking on the separating mountain). The family I stayed with are sheep milk and cow meat farmers and I took a three day first hand look into their lives. We were asked to keep a journal with our academic observations and learning. The following are lessons learned that didn't quite make the academic cut.....
The 10 Things I Learned Living with a French Farming Family
1. Dont Diss the Short Shorts
This was the first thing I learned while in Larrau, and it became apparent before I even officially met my host father. I was waiting for my family to show up when from up the hill, a lumbering 6'4" 220lbs (guesses) comes strolling up the hill in his comedicly short rugby shorts. Im talking this guy look like he could run down an antelope. Im talking this guy looks like he came right out of Harvard's 1980's rude and smooth crew (without the picture in front of me, he probably bears striking resemblance to either 5 or 6 seat). After checking it was not thigh high Thursday, I realized this guy was for serious and decided never to diss the short shorts. This lesson was perpetuated as this forty-year old man and his practically identical brother out-walked, out-lifted, out-milked, out-ate, out-played, and out-everything-ed me.
2.Always Eat Your Stick
For people left vaguely confused by the title, let me explain. The french word "prendre" litterally translates to "to take" but is also used as eat regarding food (every meal was a chorus of "prennez!". So you will understand my confusion when while sitting at the breakfast table, my host grandmother tells me "Il est necessaire de prendre votre batton" I was very confused until Michel handed me my walking stick. I also note that I was advised to take my "batton" (stick) not my walking stick; this is not an accident. Over the next two days, I used this stick not only to walk but to stop myself from cascading down a mountain, drive dogs (see #4), louisville slugger some cows (see #6), and most importantly tell a stampeding herd of 100 cows to stop. You might be saying, how would a 5' long stick help you do that? It didnt, but it was comforting to have something between me and the cows when Michel told me to get in front and stop the cows from running down the mountain.
3.Herding dogs are awesome... as long as your not a cow or sheep
During my stay with sheep and cow farmers, we had to herd a lot of sheep and cows; go figure. Helping us were three herding dogs. I have never met happier, friendlier, cuter dogs than these three; that is except when they're herding. For example one of them had two nose rings, and they're not just for fashion. It turns out he had killed too many sheep so they had to put barbed wire in he nose so when he bit them it would hurt him too... he still bit them. But these dogs were increadably fit (they dont ride in cars, they run beside them for miles), happy (all three never stopped wagging their tails my entire stay) and obedient....(huray for transitions)
4.How to drive
...dogs. This is probably the coolest thing I've learned how to do; let me explain. When herding the goal is to have the dogs do as much work as possible, and for this reason you have to learn to drive them. Drive? It works like this: you have your stick, and your voice; your stick is like the steering wheel, your voice tone is the clutch and shifter, and your words are the gas and break. In other words, you point the stick in the direction to go, either sound nice or angry, and tell them what you want, I was skeptical until I found myself on a mountain, standing still, and herding sheep through this dog. There was only one problem: they only speak Basque...
5.I dont speak as much Basque as I thought I did
Please wiki Basque because it's actually what this program is studying and thus rather important but in brief summary: The Basque Country is in the South West of France/North East of Spain, is seeped in history, and has its own culture and language. (they speak French fluently too but Basque is everyone's first language). It sounds like this odd mixture of the harshness of German or Russian and the morphemes of Elvish. It's all they speak to eachother, and the dogs. For those of you wondering why I thought I could speak Basque: I didnt. Even with the grandmother spoon feeding me every sound I struggled to pick up the language. Luckily they let me write down the dog commands phonetically on a 3X5, and so I managed.
6.There's no such thing as a "non-business end" of a cow
...
7. The French eat ridiculously well
For those of you who haven't been to France, both lunch and dinner are at least a three course affair. My meals with the family followed this general trend: Soup, Sausage/Pate/Cold Cuts, Hot meat dish, cheese, dessert. Everything except the bread and wine are made/produced in the house. Everything: pate(meat paste [its better than it sounds], sausage, eggs, meats, milk. The only negative comment I have is the portions...
8.There is no such thing as an empty plate or glass
They actually use the word "replenishable" instead of empty. I experienced this semantic difference first hand as they kept feeding me. One time I finished my plate, looked up to answer a question, and when I looked down there was more food on my plate. By the end I learned to guard my plate and glass at all times
9.What a Brebis is
It's a sheep literally, but my understanding of this word now spans beyond most peoples conceptualization. Through herding, milking twice a day, sponging (no not sponge baths, but putting a cylindrical sponge in female sheep), and artificial insemination, I now have a knowledge of that animal I could only dream of before this trip.
10.I should have brought my camera
Throughout this entire experience I wish I had my camera but its just not feasable to do what I have to and have a camera on me. Having hiked through a lot of American mountains, I feel confident in saying that this place is more beautiful than anything we have in the states. Every task is made interesting by the beauty of the mountains and novelty of the language. For anyone looking for a backpacking trip, foodie pilgrimage, or relaxing vacation, Larrau is the place to be.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
The First Post
I apologize for the ubiquitous title and kinda late posting, I've been typing these up as we go and didnt want to pay for internet. And Im sorry the pictures arn't working, they will be up ASAP.
Au Canada
Friday: Originally my incentive to fly through Montreal on my way to Paris was purely fiscal, but I realized soon upon arrival that it was the perfect transition into France living. For those of you who don’t know, Montreal is in Quebec Canada meaning there are two official languages (French and English). This may seem nominal, but to someone who has never been in a French speaking country (at least while I knew French) having a little warm-up was appreciated. All of the signs had both languages, but the most useful tools were things I typically consider relatively annoying and mundane: the final boarding calls over the loud speaker, and paying for things. The announcements were first broadcast in French, then directly followed by English, a convenient correction key for the want to be Francophone listening. Secondly, the $2.10 in Canadian money offered some interaction with the Quebecois cashers, and trying to maximize my word per dollar I bought the cheapest thing at three different stores. Did I need 3 packs of gum? No. Did I consider trying to buy a fourth even though I knew I didn’t have the money so I could see if I could talk my way out of the predicament? Yes.
After a lack-luster checking of my passport (he didn’t even turn it the right way) I picked up my complimentary copy of Le Monde (French newspaper) and stepped off North American soil for over 12 weeks. I had forgotten I was technically flying Air France until the in-flight dinner was served; it included the usual, generic chicken and grain hot dish, dinner roll, pâte, an ounce of gouda, a bottle of wine, a bottle of port, and UCGO (unidentified congealed green object)…. Wait, wine? Heeding Dr. Gragson’s jet-lag warning and not wanting my first bottle of wine to be plastic, I offered the wine to the guy next to me. His eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas; this is how I discovered I was sitting next to two Frenchmen.
Emmanuel and Michael (pronounced Mee’chelle) are two of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. Long story (like the whole 6-hour flight long) short, they’re two French bankers who live a block from the Arc de Triumpe and who love America. They were kind enough to speak with me in French the whole flight and thus kept me awake the whole flight practicing French. At the end of the flight, they gave me their email address and phone number offering to help me out of a tight spot and show me around Paris if I wanted. Who knows maybe I’ll ask them to take a group of En Francers out to an obscure restaurant at the end of June when we’re in Paris? The arrival and meeting the others went swimmingly, other than the airline loosing Mary’s bag!….
Rêved Up in Paris
Saturday: I thought of this really clever entry title, but really there isn’t that much to say. Our train got delayed until 5PM so we decided to do a (power) walking tour of Paris. Seeing as I didn’t sleep on the plane, this would be nearly two days without sleep so it was like walking through a dream. I got some cool pictures though. And Mary’s bag? got into Pau the next morning, so it ended up being a non-issue!
The Vineyard
Thursday: Today was the end of our three day intensive French lessons. They were really meant for the other members of the group who didn’t speak French before the trip. We’ve been eating lunch at the college cafeteria, does this sound like a two hour, three course, wine bottle event? It is. The past three days did bring two particularly noteworthy activities: The Chateau and The Vineyard.
The Chateau is really old (surprise!): the brick part was built by Richard the Lionheart to look over the ford over the river, the Henry IV expanded the tower into the chateau and eventually Napoleon III moved in for a summer. I learned all of this and some spiffy French jokes in the tour (given all in French mind you!). Luckily one of the French students who I befriended came with us and would explain anything I didn’t understand. It was cool to see the Chateau, but the highlight of the day was clearly eating fresh liver (gras) and sipping wine in an outdoor café while watching the sun set over the Pyrenees.
The highlight of the trip so far has been the trip to the Domaine Nigri Vineyard. This white wine producer seems to specialize in sweeter wines (according to the wife they go well with fish and cheese). We got a tour of the vines, cave (where they keep the barrels), bottler, and finished with a tasting of all their varieties. Just remember the 5S’s: Swirl to Smell, Slurp your Sip and Spit. Their 10 hectares makes roughly 110,000 bottles annually. So I left 109,999 left for the rest of the world.
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