And if you don't believe me, see for yourself.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Maison
- house, because I just realized I haven't shown you were I'm living yet!
So here you are! 3000 words worth of description!
So here you are! 3000 words worth of description!
Kitchen
Dining Room
Living Room
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Grève
- strike, because if the French want something, they'll make sure everyone knows it.
And what they want right now is to keep their retirement age at 60, instead of changing it to 62. It seems a bit trivial to me, but perhaps that's because I'm not 59 years old and seeing my oh-so-close retirement slipping away from me. There have been several protests in Bordeaux so far, especially in the large space in front of the social science university where I take some of my classes.
The main way I've been affected by this is by the public transportation. You see, when public workers go on strike, this includes the bus drivers and tram operators. Even though they still operate, they come much less frequently, and are therefore always full whenever they do come. Several times, I've been thankful for my small size - it makes it much easier to squeeze into the space between the tram door and the other commuters. Of course, squeezing isn't the only option - yesterday a guy literally pushed all of the commuters back so much that not only could he get on, but two members of his family could too.
And what they want right now is to keep their retirement age at 60, instead of changing it to 62. It seems a bit trivial to me, but perhaps that's because I'm not 59 years old and seeing my oh-so-close retirement slipping away from me. There have been several protests in Bordeaux so far, especially in the large space in front of the social science university where I take some of my classes.
The main way I've been affected by this is by the public transportation. You see, when public workers go on strike, this includes the bus drivers and tram operators. Even though they still operate, they come much less frequently, and are therefore always full whenever they do come. Several times, I've been thankful for my small size - it makes it much easier to squeeze into the space between the tram door and the other commuters. Of course, squeezing isn't the only option - yesterday a guy literally pushed all of the commuters back so much that not only could he get on, but two members of his family could too.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Efficace
- efficient, because why make up different words when you only need one?
Have extra cheese? Baguette.
Leading a symphony? Baguette de chef d'orchestre.
Burning incense? Baguette d'encens.
Defeating Voldemort? Baguette magique.
Eating hot pot? Baguettes chinoises.
Playing percussion? Baguette de tambour.
You know, if all French was this efficace, I'd have learned it much more quickly!
Have extra cheese? Baguette.
Leading a symphony? Baguette de chef d'orchestre.
Burning incense? Baguette d'encens.
Defeating Voldemort? Baguette magique.
Eating hot pot? Baguettes chinoises.
Playing percussion? Baguette de tambour.
You know, if all French was this efficace, I'd have learned it much more quickly!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Grande Roue
- ferris wheel, because even if I didn't go on it, it was still pretty!
Carnival! Bordeaux has a carnival!
And it's a legit carnival too. A large space in downtown Bordeaux was filled with things that I usually only see in fairs: games with stuffed animal prizes, roller coasters, and of course, a gorgeous multi-colored grande roue. But of course, French fairs have their differences from their American counterparts! Here are a few that I saw today:
- The abundance of claw machines. I believe there was at least one space in every row of carnival booths which housed at least ten of these things. There was much more variety in the types of prizes that could be won as well; who knew that there was a company that made plushies of hands flipping the bird?
- The types of food being sold. Of course I was expecting to see the crepes, but I've never seen plate-sized, holeless doughnuts before, nor churros being sold by the dozen in cones.
- The "scary" rides. In American scary-rides, they can show glowy faces, creepy skeletons, and even hire workers to jump out at you, but no matter what, they cannot touch you. In France, this is not the case. Holy smokes, there is nothing more startling than when you suddenly hear a chainsaw right behind you and it "slices" a line down your shoulder. Though it was funny afterwards, I cannot promise that there was no shrieking involved in this encounter.
Carnival! Bordeaux has a carnival!
And it's a legit carnival too. A large space in downtown Bordeaux was filled with things that I usually only see in fairs: games with stuffed animal prizes, roller coasters, and of course, a gorgeous multi-colored grande roue. But of course, French fairs have their differences from their American counterparts! Here are a few that I saw today:
- The abundance of claw machines. I believe there was at least one space in every row of carnival booths which housed at least ten of these things. There was much more variety in the types of prizes that could be won as well; who knew that there was a company that made plushies of hands flipping the bird?
- The types of food being sold. Of course I was expecting to see the crepes, but I've never seen plate-sized, holeless doughnuts before, nor churros being sold by the dozen in cones.
- The "scary" rides. In American scary-rides, they can show glowy faces, creepy skeletons, and even hire workers to jump out at you, but no matter what, they cannot touch you. In France, this is not the case. Holy smokes, there is nothing more startling than when you suddenly hear a chainsaw right behind you and it "slices" a line down your shoulder. Though it was funny afterwards, I cannot promise that there was no shrieking involved in this encounter.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Petit
- small, because I was not expecting St. Emilion to fit this adjective so well!
Last weekend, I thought I'd see if I was capable of traveling independently. Since some of my friends had already visited a nearby town, St. Emilion, and found it to their liking, I thought I'd check it out myself. By myself.
The verdict?
Yes, it appears I can travel independently, at least for a day-trip. However, I might need to plan a little bit better. When I got off the train, I was surprised to see that the station was in the middle of nowhere. No maps, no open office, nothing. So after the train left, all that was standing on the platform was me and three Korean doctors, who also appeared to have no idea what was going on.
So what do I do?
What I often do when I'm in France. Pick what seems like the most viable option, and try really hard to look like I know what I'm doing. In this case, it was walk down the biggest road and do it confidently. And you know what? This time, it worked for the best! Not only did I pick the right direction, but I'm pretty sure the Korean doctors were following me, even though they were two blocks behind.
Other than this initial confusion, my day trip in St. Emilion went pretty smoothly. The city was smaller than I anticipated, so I ended up leaving earlier than I'd planned, but it was overall a very cute little French village, surrounded by vineyards. When I was there, I climbed the bell tower, checked out some shops, did some wine tasting, and generally explored the entire (tiny) town. Though being by myself was a little lonely at times, it was nice to be able to set my own pace and change direction at my flight of fancy. And when I found that grassy clearing, I got to cat-nap in it as long as I wanted. Now that's when you know you're on vacation.
Last weekend, I thought I'd see if I was capable of traveling independently. Since some of my friends had already visited a nearby town, St. Emilion, and found it to their liking, I thought I'd check it out myself. By myself.
The verdict?
Yes, it appears I can travel independently, at least for a day-trip. However, I might need to plan a little bit better. When I got off the train, I was surprised to see that the station was in the middle of nowhere. No maps, no open office, nothing. So after the train left, all that was standing on the platform was me and three Korean doctors, who also appeared to have no idea what was going on.
So what do I do?
What I often do when I'm in France. Pick what seems like the most viable option, and try really hard to look like I know what I'm doing. In this case, it was walk down the biggest road and do it confidently. And you know what? This time, it worked for the best! Not only did I pick the right direction, but I'm pretty sure the Korean doctors were following me, even though they were two blocks behind.
Other than this initial confusion, my day trip in St. Emilion went pretty smoothly. The city was smaller than I anticipated, so I ended up leaving earlier than I'd planned, but it was overall a very cute little French village, surrounded by vineyards. When I was there, I climbed the bell tower, checked out some shops, did some wine tasting, and generally explored the entire (tiny) town. Though being by myself was a little lonely at times, it was nice to be able to set my own pace and change direction at my flight of fancy. And when I found that grassy clearing, I got to cat-nap in it as long as I wanted. Now that's when you know you're on vacation.
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