Placement Exams are Tomorrow!, but this is really about Rugby

I’m a little nervous about the placement exam. I really want to place well, which mostly means I don’t want to be in year 1 again. I’m sure I’ll at least place in year 2, but it’d fun to be in 3.

So, instead of focusing all my energy on reviewing for the exam, and reading the books I brought with me (don’t worry I being putting up reviews 🙂 ). I’ve decided to get rid of the “Stickie” I have all over my desktop of things I want to write about. Since I have the time, and I like how cathartic writing is- I’ve been stressed, not mentally, but physically, every muscle hurts and I can’t seem to really sleep. I know I’ll adjust to my new home soon.

First Stickie: This is in reference to my NRJ Music Award post. I generated a list, a rather short one of some of the French/francophone artists I saw. One of these artists is actually from a commercial, but the commercial played while I was watching the Awards so…same thing 🙂

• Mika
• Nolwenn Leroy : If I understood my host dad, she is from Brittany and the song she sang was in the local language, not French. He said she was like the country singers in the US, but French and a pop musician.
• Shy’M : I actually knew of Shy’M before the Awards. She’s a pop singer, and pretty big in France.
• Keen V
• Christophe Maye
• IRMA
• M. Pokora
• Corneille
• Elise Tovati
• Magic System: I think this is a rap group…not sure though. I only remember the image.

Of the course of the night I got hear my host mom sing “Sexy And I know It”…true story 🙂 and I was dismayed to discovered that my host sister is very familiar with “Beiber-fever”. Luckily, she doesn’t like him either so we both got angry when he got a Award of Honor- basically for just showing up. That being said, no American artists- except one guy from LMFAO showed up. So, they had a lip-singer act out some clips from the featured songs. I was pretty insulted by this. I mean, it is an award show, and there has to be some political pressure for them to show up..oh! wait Shakira showed up, but she’s not American and spoke French or Spanish the whole night. I was embarrassed for America, not sure why exactly, but I was. It’s not like France is some “little-country.” I don’t know…

Besides this there were two other things I saw a that made me question, reflectively, America.

• There was a music comedy/comedian(?).  It was about the French Revolution… I guess its still a very present realty for the French? I know it was important, but we barely even mention the Revolutionary War in America? Why not? Since we are so “Go America!” why don’t we constantly reference it? It is why we exist. I mean, its how we got our independence. I’ve only ever heard it mentioned in history textbooks…when I was in grade school.
• In a parfume ad the mention of “sois excessive” / be excessive, was followed by an image of women wrapped in an American flag. Should I be angry about this? It struck me as a blatant statement, but a true one. If you want to be excessive, act like an American. We buy too much, we eat to much, we want everything bigger, because bigger equals better. Big cars, big houses, etc. Why do we think and act this way? I haven’t answered this question yet.

Stickies Number Two: This note started last Saturday, my first day with my family. Over lunch, my family kept speaking with me and being incredibly patient with my inability to comprehend what was going on. We talked about religion, weather, food. They then took me for a walk to show me how to get to the main area of centre-ville. My host sister made it a point to show me where the services for Yom Kippur and Pesach are held. The whole day is a blur because I was in this daze of “I don’t really know what your saying, but I get the gist.” 🙂 lol Being tired is just this constant state of being… it’ll only get worse as I have more classes and things to do in French. yipee! ..seriously it’s exciting, and not.

In the afternoon, on Saturday, the game was on!…no, to all you Americans this does not mean football. Even better- RUGBY!!! Apparently Toulouse’s team is one of the best. (I have no way of validating this, so I’m just gonna agree. I mean they won the game…I’m pretty sure. 🙂 ) I had never actually watched Rugby before. I mean I knew of it, and I knew it was a full contact sport…but I mean this was ridiculous. All I remember thinking was a)if they wore helmets they wouldn’t be able to gather like they do to start-off the ball [forgive the lack of technical terms, I have no idea what was going on…it looked like they needed to put the ball back into play. So they gathered over a line/cross area and would lock arms and bodies Spartan style and then the teams, literally head to head, appeared to be using brute force to push the other one. Somehow a ball got into the middle of this interlacing pile, and I don’t know what they did with the ball. It was impossible to see.] and b) I kept thinking”How is this French? This is so machismo!” I mean you sort of expect this sterotypical Frenchguy attitude, you know the one with the coffee, cigarette, likes to read and think but not get kicked in the head…but no!! They made sure to get a picture of the guy getting his nose kicked in…complete with the sickening amount of blood that gushed from his face. And then of course the slow motion kick(? it was more like the side of this guy’s head got ran into and then stomped on)..this guy had to have a severe concussion and neck damage. ITS AWESOME!!!! 🙂 I loved it. What was even cooler was that there is this local Irish Pub that is owned by a former Rugby player so he has an outdoor area that he fixes with a TV and it was over flowing with guys drinking beer and watching the game. How refreshing… Frenchmen have machismo too. It’s nice when you realize that stereotypes aren’t entirely true. It is true that Frenchmen have more style sense, but this apparently does not effect their ability to adore violent sports. I need to find out more about this sport.

First Week in Pictures

This gallery contains 49 photos.

I’m Exhuasted

I just finished writing an entire journal entry in French… its a requirement, from here on out its only French. I think I prefer listening to French, writing it is harder. And now, because my brain is ready to do nothing I’m going to try to study grammar- yeah for the upcoming exam! 😛 But I’m going to be doing a bit of updating on my blog first…and listen to Dispatch, yes, Dispatch 🙂 Listening to Dispatch, eating cough drops and pretending not be sick as a dog…I wonder if the French have this expression too?

Almost a Week In

Navigating Toulouse: The Impossible Accomplished

A few days ago I posted about learning how to navigate Toulouse. The first thing to say is…I’m pretty sure I’ve never navigated anything successfully before in my life. I’m 21, I’ve lived in the same city my whole life and it’s only within the last 2 months I’ve started recognizing that certain main highways are circles around Cincinnati, while others go through the circle, etc. I still get lost 3 out of every 5 times I travel home.

Last summer, I was able to avoid getting lost after my first day of walking home from the marche. I could navigate by land marks pretty well. Pau was small enough that any landmark stood out. So, needless to say I was a bit concerned about getting lost in Toulouse. Toulouse is much bigger and therefore, in my mind, is more dangerous. (That being said my host-mom assured me today that I could walk home at 12am and not have a problem. “C’est quartier- pas dangereux!”…the shorten version after I didn’t comprehend the extended one.) However, after our Tour of Toulouse with Eric on the 26th, I feel better able to navigate this city than Cincinnati. (The grid-like pattern of American cities is supposed to be easier, but after our history lesson – see below -I understand why I don’t understand squares, or at least I’m questioning their validity.)

The History of Toulouse, regarding streets

…coming soon (I haven’t finished writing it out)…

Four Main Access Roads

There are four main access roads in Toulouse (centre-ville). All of them run North-South. I don’t know all of their names, because I couldn’t see on Eric’s map and when I walk them, I’m not able to identify them as “major” roads.

BUT!!!

Two roads in Toulouse are easily identified as main roads for Americans because they are wide, with multiple lanes, and straight (easily comparable to American roads). These roads are rue d’Alsace-Lorraine and rue de Metz. Alsace-Lorraine is a major access road, it runs North-South. rue de Metz is a major road that crosses La Garonne river, thus it runs West-East. These two roads intersect each other. So, you get on one of these and follow the guidelines below and you’ll find your way.

Important Things to write down in a small notebook and always have on you

Street plaques: Aren’t just pretty, they have meaning.

• yellow plagues: indicate that the street is parallel to the river (La Garonne), thus they run North-South
• white plaques: indicate that the street is perpendicular to La Garonne, thus they run West-East

How do you know if you are heading North/South or West/East on any given road? The French have that covered too:

• on “yellow” streets, the building numbers, when they go up you are heading North ; thus, when they go down, you are heading South
• on “white” streets, when the building numbers go up, you are heading West; descending numbers means West

 

coming soon! a PDF of a simplified map of Toulouse, which emphasizes the main roads and landmarks.

NRJ Music Awards

On tonight!! I’m watching with my family right now!!!

 

NRJ Music Awards – watch now! 🙂

Organic in France

A bit of information for anyone who likes or prefers to buy organic products and foods. “Bio” means the product is organic. Just learned today that “biocoop” is apparently the same concept as “co-op” in American English.

these are the products I bought when I landed

I’m with my family!

They are marvelous! And..they know about gluten and dairy issues! So, when I started listing the things I ate for breakfast they were confused. I was prepared to make a lot of compromises because dietary issues/specialty diets aren’t always conceived of in the same ways in different countries. This means that, thanks to their lovely “sans gluten” cookbook I’ll be able to eat a very gluten-light diet! 🙂 This is especially good for my anxiety.

I’m getting sicker, not better…pretty sure it has to do with nerves, anxiousness and all that jazz. The good news? I won’t have to buy Nutella (I promised I wouldn’t actually purchase it). My host-mother and host-sister, while they eat as organic as possible made a point to tell me that that still have Nutella. 🙂 I’ve lost weight in the few short days I’ve been here, so having something fattening will be a good thing. So, all is well! We have tings we are doing today (I’m not sure what, grocery shopping I think). It’ll be awhile until I get into a schedule of some sort, but hopefully I’ll get something posted at least once a day. Even if it is just a picture.

lavender is a local treasure

This is a gift from my host family. It came from a local shop that I’ll be visiting. 🙂

Tour of Toulose: Navigating France

There will be a longer post coming with more details, and pictures! I just wanted to check in and give a heads up of whats to come.

First Full Day in Toulouse 1/25/2012

Background to this posts format: During my study abroad with SIT I’m required to keep a journal/analytical notebook. I feel like this feeds into my whole blog-posts thing very well. I will try to replicate the visual aspects of my entries as accurately as possible in my posts.

• SIT = French
• Nice French lady w/Christine
• the magic of French
• fuzzy brain
• taking pictures
• buying body wash stuff

SIT is determined to make us speak, interact & live “French.” I write bitterly, but with appreciate. For example, its rientation right now, yet I’ve rarely heard English spoken from either Isabel or Julia (la directrice & a assistante…je n’sais pas si Julia travaille avec Isabel ou, si, elle es une directrice aussi.) Quand elles parlent l’anglais, c’est à donner (to give?) un mot vocabulaire. Ha! French…. 🙂 probably gramatically incorrect but I need to practice b/c since SIT is determined to only give us only French as a method of communication, our CSP is to be written in French! How do you say the equivalent of !Aiaiai! en Francais? I can’t write French. I mean I can… but I can’t think it. How am I supposed to write, at length, in a culture I don’t know? Luckily I don’t think its due until the last week. If things go as planned- & I’m [sure] SIT’s determination will see it does- then this might might not be as hard or intimidating as I feel it is currently. My bitterness is obviously not rooted in anger but in a trapped feel. Mind you I”m paying for, & wanting, this trapped feeling- but its not something I’m able to just accept. (Thank god for writing! Its so cathartic.) To give an example: Christine & I went to the store together this afternoon- I needed shampoo, etc- & we intentionally distracted ourselves in the book/kid’s section. I picked up this kid’s boo, I remember it from Pau. Its a series of some type. I picked up #1. As I thumbed through I realized that I was barely able to read it let alone comprehend it- a kid’s book! Probably for ages 4 & under. While walking on the street, I remarked to Caroline- earlier in the day, during the tour- on how cute French children are. We heard one speaking near us & within the same breath agreed that we should ask him to teach us to parler francais, b/c we sure don’t know that many words (yet). The final point being, it’s the end of day 1 & I’m already experiencing that that trapped feeling. This excited & terrifies me.

The next bullet is a short and sweet note that I wanted to make so that when I start loathing the French & their language in about trois semaine – je pense- I can read it & not get too depressed.

When Christine and I went to meet the group dinner at the place du captiol we stopped & asked for directions. (Christine did the talking. I feel obligated to write that down. Keep myself honest.) The lady’s first responsed by asking- in French- if we wanted the directions in French or English. We were so happy to ask for the directions & even in writing I’m getting emotional at how kind it was for her to offer both & then actually give us (i.e. speak to us) in French! This is just such a sharp contrast to what I experienced in Pau when I was laughed at by a French woman b/c of my pronounciation. (Since, I’m pretty sure others will read this entry- I have speeck impediments. Not noticable in English, but I tutter in French a lot…at least a lot to me. This event was traumatizing mostly b/c my “bad pronounciation” wasn’t just my poor french, but coupled with my current inability to physically produce French phonetics.) Any who- what a nice lady! She probably doesn’t even know how much that simple question was appreciated.

“The magic of French” should be interpreted as “the magic of the French/France/…French?”

Im not sure why Americans glamorize the French & their culture. It seems paradoxical to the rhetoric I hear streaming from American news media: “Those anti-American French!” essentially. All I can say is th[at] we do. Not in the same way we fetish-ize the English, but we do/are fixated on the French. We love their countryside, their literature (we’d never actually admit this on a cultural level though), their fashion, their architecture, etc. Any person is automatically moved several points up on the “hot-scale” if they are French. In fact, from conversations I’ve had with American women European men are more desirable than American men. “European” when asked for details is generally “French” or French-esque. This bullet point isn’t actually supposed to be a critique of American-culture’s perspective of the French. My comments are merely efforts to understand my own mixture of feelings. I don’t consider myself a francophile by any means, but I can’t seem to avoid veiwing the French as glamourized people, coveted, desired. I made the comment while out with Christine that the people in Toulouse look “American,” but not really. I tried to explain what I meant by contrasting it with the people I remember seeing in Pau (these remembered people were “French”-French). Obviously, this made no sense & I realize that “American” isn’t what I meant. Here, the Toulouse-ians (I’m sure there is an actual term) – their faces– look different than what I remember from Pau. Here the faces, of the women especially, are fuller not so scrunchy & stretched. Also, Toulouse-ians seem more able to smile- not to strangers (that’s Americans who feel obligated to smile at strangers…weird when you consider our mantra ‘Stranger Danger’). When I observed them, over the last 30? hours, they smile more. Based on this alone, I’m inclined to like Toulouse more. I realize that the brevity of my time probably renders these observations pointless, but to me they are important. I left oulouse miserable & ready to return home. These are things I remember disliking about Pau-ians. Therefore, tonight, I was struck by this “magic du Francias” (I’m hoping this translates to “magic of the French”). Everything became shiny (my apologies to anyone who hasn’t seen Firefly, you’ve deprived yourself and need to watch it for your own good. ‘Shiny’ will explained when you pop it in the DVD player) all of a sudden, from the tiny dogs to an older couple speaking soft French to one another & holding hands. So, for tonight the French & Toulouse are shiny. 🙂

“Buying body wash stuff”: I felt like a hurdle was overcome with this minor transaction. I was able to request/ask for a baguette without faltering b/c this first hurdle had been crossed.

“Taking pictures”: I’m holding myself to my promise to take a picture a day. However, I hate feeling like a tourist. However, I love having pictures. However, I hate drawing attention to myself in this way. However, I need pictures. I have organizations expecting them.

This went through my head, & probably will continue to do so, everytime I touch my camera.

“Fuzzy Brain” oh, Fuzzy Brain, Where Art Thou?

This question should actually be a command telling my fuzzy brain to go away. Any one who has learned another language, or who is in a study abroad program, knows what I mean. Its this feeling that your brain is thinking, while your exterior ears are hearing something different than what your interior/brain ears are hearing because whats being thought by your brain is English & what your ears are hearing is not & what your brain is trying to do is comprehend both. This is one of those ailments that gets worse before better.