jeudi 26 mai 2011
Au revoir Strasbourg!
I leave for the airport in ten minutes, but I just wanted to make one last post from France. As you may or may not be aware, there are many trips I made and pictures I have taken still waiting to make their debut on this blog. So I plan to keep updating the blog with pictures and stories from my trips over the next few weeks. So check back in! Until then, here's one last pic from France. Ok, make that two! My French doggie, Eliott, and a view from a hilltop surrounded by vineyards.
dimanche 8 mai 2011
Of Cars, Trams, and Trains
or
A Trip to Nancy
But first, a side-note. Happy Mother's Day to the most amazing mother ever. She works hard and self-sacrifically to make sure the household runs smoothly, and she still had time to homeschool five children at once, and now to keep up on all the details of our lives away from home. She is truly a wonderful example of a godly, wise, and loving woman. And besides all that, she's just plain beautiful! I am so thankful God gave me her as my mother. I love you, Mom, and I can't wait to see you soon!
(And as a bonus, you get to see my handsome father, too!)
This weekend I went to visit my uncle and his family in Nancy. So Friday afternoon I left my French class early to catch the tram which goes to the train station. I arrived just in time for the doors to close in my face, so I had to wait for the next one, seven minutes later. Thus, I arrived at the train station with about five minutes to buy my ticket and get on the train. First attempt to buy ticket from the machine - unsuccessful. I failed to remove my bank card from the machine fast enough causing it to be mightily displeased with me and cancel the transaction. Second attempt to buy ticket from the machine - successful. But it was now 12:18 and my train left at 12:19. I grabbed my ticket and started to run, my heavy backpack bouncing unwieldely on my back. I ran up the steps to the track and jumped on the first train that presented itself to my view. Happily for me, it was indeed the train to Nancy! As I sank into a seat, the train pulled out of the station.
So the last time I visited Nancy in March, my aunt offered to teach me how to drive stick shift, but at the time I didn't have my driver's license with me, so we decided to wait until next time. When my aunt picked me up from the train station this time, she mentioned the subject again and said she would take me to Cora (the equivalent of Walmart) after it closed Friday night and let me drive in the parking lot. Well, the happenings of the rest of the day caused that plan to fall through. So Saturday morning, Tante Elia says, oh, I know! There's a nice quiet road near here - I'll just take you there. So off we go in the car and presently she pulls off the road just before a stoplight. Time to switch! I walk around the car halfway terrified. I hadn't driven in 4 months. My mom had showed me how it worked and let me drive around in a little parking lot and on a driveway when she visited back in February, but that had been 2 months ago. So I sat down, buckled up, scootched the seat forward, put the car in 1st, and....oh joy! successfully pulled onto the road and turned the corner without killing the engine! woohoo! We made it to our destination, a nursery to buy mulch, and then we headed back. I navigated four gears without major (note "major" not "no") problems until we arrived at a stoplight, where I dutifully stopped. Attempts to start again were not very successful, though we did eventually get going, turned the corner, and had to stop again. And I again killed the engine. And again. Happily, though, the last time I had to stop, I managed to start again successfully! And now I can drive stick shift. Which makes me very pleased with myself. :-) I'm glad my aunt was courageous enough to take me out!
Saturday night, my aunt, uncle, and the two youngest boys escort me back to the train station with about 20 minutes to spare. I buy my ticket and sit down to wait for the track of departure to be posted. After just a few minutes, it appears, so I gather up things and head down the stairs. Arriving at the track, I am preparing to enter the train when a woman appears at the top of the steps onto the track (you have to go down and then back up again) and asks, "Is this the train for Strasbourg?" Me: "Um, yes, I think so. That's what the screen right there says." I climb aboard and pick a seat in the empty train and settle in. A few minutes later, a 14 year - old boy comes past with his grandmother and pauses to say, "Excuse me, madam, is this the train for Strasbourg?" Me: "Um, yes, I think so. It says so on the screen out there." Presently, a woman comes and sits across the aisle from me. I idlely watch her settle in. She looks up, sees me, and then asks, "This is the train for Strasbourg, right?" Me: "Yes, I think so." So what I want to know is, is there something about me that says, "I am a human train time table. Please ask me where this train goes." Or in my coral shirt and denim skirt, do I somehow resemble the SNCF conductors, who wear purple and grey? Happily for all of us, at the end of an hour and a half, the train arrived in Strasbourg.
I arrived home to find Eliott all by his lonesome and mightily sorry for himself. I was busy brushing my teeth when Françoise got back, female friend in tow. Awkward, yes? "This is Mary, who is brushing her teeth," laughed Françoise. "Bonsoir," I mumble. "Well, I'm going to take Eliott for a walk now," says Françoise. "I already walked him," I endeavour to articulate. "You walked him already? Thank you so much!" responds Françoise. And then hugs me...me with my mouth full of toothpaste and a toothbrush sticking out the side. Well done, Mary! Way to look like an intelligent, graceful, well-adjusted American student.
If you need me, I'll be busy digging a hole in the ground.
A Trip to Nancy
But first, a side-note. Happy Mother's Day to the most amazing mother ever. She works hard and self-sacrifically to make sure the household runs smoothly, and she still had time to homeschool five children at once, and now to keep up on all the details of our lives away from home. She is truly a wonderful example of a godly, wise, and loving woman. And besides all that, she's just plain beautiful! I am so thankful God gave me her as my mother. I love you, Mom, and I can't wait to see you soon!
This weekend I went to visit my uncle and his family in Nancy. So Friday afternoon I left my French class early to catch the tram which goes to the train station. I arrived just in time for the doors to close in my face, so I had to wait for the next one, seven minutes later. Thus, I arrived at the train station with about five minutes to buy my ticket and get on the train. First attempt to buy ticket from the machine - unsuccessful. I failed to remove my bank card from the machine fast enough causing it to be mightily displeased with me and cancel the transaction. Second attempt to buy ticket from the machine - successful. But it was now 12:18 and my train left at 12:19. I grabbed my ticket and started to run, my heavy backpack bouncing unwieldely on my back. I ran up the steps to the track and jumped on the first train that presented itself to my view. Happily for me, it was indeed the train to Nancy! As I sank into a seat, the train pulled out of the station.
So the last time I visited Nancy in March, my aunt offered to teach me how to drive stick shift, but at the time I didn't have my driver's license with me, so we decided to wait until next time. When my aunt picked me up from the train station this time, she mentioned the subject again and said she would take me to Cora (the equivalent of Walmart) after it closed Friday night and let me drive in the parking lot. Well, the happenings of the rest of the day caused that plan to fall through. So Saturday morning, Tante Elia says, oh, I know! There's a nice quiet road near here - I'll just take you there. So off we go in the car and presently she pulls off the road just before a stoplight. Time to switch! I walk around the car halfway terrified. I hadn't driven in 4 months. My mom had showed me how it worked and let me drive around in a little parking lot and on a driveway when she visited back in February, but that had been 2 months ago. So I sat down, buckled up, scootched the seat forward, put the car in 1st, and....oh joy! successfully pulled onto the road and turned the corner without killing the engine! woohoo! We made it to our destination, a nursery to buy mulch, and then we headed back. I navigated four gears without major (note "major" not "no") problems until we arrived at a stoplight, where I dutifully stopped. Attempts to start again were not very successful, though we did eventually get going, turned the corner, and had to stop again. And I again killed the engine. And again. Happily, though, the last time I had to stop, I managed to start again successfully! And now I can drive stick shift. Which makes me very pleased with myself. :-) I'm glad my aunt was courageous enough to take me out!
Saturday night, my aunt, uncle, and the two youngest boys escort me back to the train station with about 20 minutes to spare. I buy my ticket and sit down to wait for the track of departure to be posted. After just a few minutes, it appears, so I gather up things and head down the stairs. Arriving at the track, I am preparing to enter the train when a woman appears at the top of the steps onto the track (you have to go down and then back up again) and asks, "Is this the train for Strasbourg?" Me: "Um, yes, I think so. That's what the screen right there says." I climb aboard and pick a seat in the empty train and settle in. A few minutes later, a 14 year - old boy comes past with his grandmother and pauses to say, "Excuse me, madam, is this the train for Strasbourg?" Me: "Um, yes, I think so. It says so on the screen out there." Presently, a woman comes and sits across the aisle from me. I idlely watch her settle in. She looks up, sees me, and then asks, "This is the train for Strasbourg, right?" Me: "Yes, I think so." So what I want to know is, is there something about me that says, "I am a human train time table. Please ask me where this train goes." Or in my coral shirt and denim skirt, do I somehow resemble the SNCF conductors, who wear purple and grey? Happily for all of us, at the end of an hour and a half, the train arrived in Strasbourg.
I arrived home to find Eliott all by his lonesome and mightily sorry for himself. I was busy brushing my teeth when Françoise got back, female friend in tow. Awkward, yes? "This is Mary, who is brushing her teeth," laughed Françoise. "Bonsoir," I mumble. "Well, I'm going to take Eliott for a walk now," says Françoise. "I already walked him," I endeavour to articulate. "You walked him already? Thank you so much!" responds Françoise. And then hugs me...me with my mouth full of toothpaste and a toothbrush sticking out the side. Well done, Mary! Way to look like an intelligent, graceful, well-adjusted American student.
If you need me, I'll be busy digging a hole in the ground.
jeudi 5 mai 2011
My first solo dinner invitation!
So while I am here I am attending a presbyterian church, St. Paul's. It has bells, in a bell tower, which are rung long and loud at service time, and were chimed particularly long and loud on Easter morning, along with all the other bells in town. It was glorious. I was never beyond the sound of bells during my walk from house to church on Easter morning. Also, St. Paul's has not one, but two organs, both of which are used in the course of Sunday morning service. I have not taken pictures, because the church is only open for services, and I am not taking my camera to service. But here is their website with some pictures. Unfortunately, the virtual tour link is not yet up and running. http://stpaul-stbg.com/
While we have a glorious building, the theology of the church is slightly different from my own. Most notably, suffice it to say that there are female elders and that last Sunday we had a female substitute pastor. However, it was the best church I could find, so I appreciate the good and overlook the less than good.
One of the female elders, Mme. Chenigance, who is probably closer to 70 than 60, has been taking special interest in me, making sure to greet me every Sunday and being oh so warm and welcoming. She reminds me a little of Tante Elia, whom I am going to visit tomorrow! So Mme. Chenigance invited me to eat lunch with her and her husband this past Sunday. And I said, yes.
After the service, she drove me to their delightfully classic French farmhouse, built in the 1840s and situated in a little village 7 kilometers outside of Strasbourg. Now, it just so happened that May 1 was the French Labour Day, which meant that no buses or trams were running, which meant that Mme. Chenigance would have to drive me back again. I had a delightful afternoon with the Chenigances and one of their sons and his family. We had classic French meal - main course, cheese course, dessert course (homemade black currant sorbet topped with real whipped cream - deeeliceeeous!!), and coffee with chocolate course! We sat in the large typical French garden in the sunshine and talked. Mme. Chenigance and I (M Chenigance had broken his leg and could not accompany us) went for a pleasant meander around a hill outside the village. I talked with M Chenigance in the garden, while Mme. Chenigance went to the flea market taking place in the village with one of her daughters who lives behind them. Four of their 6 children live across the road behind their house. I met three of them. I also sightread for M Chenigance the first movement of a Mozart sonata, which I had slight acquaintance with. (And yes, I did just end a sentence with a preposition.) And then Mme. Chenigance proposed to drive me home.
When I entered my room, I was quite surprised to observe that it was 6:20. I had been there almost 6 hours!
I'm off tomorrow to visit my uncle for the weekend. I am excited to see them again! And have access to a piano.
Bon week-end!
While we have a glorious building, the theology of the church is slightly different from my own. Most notably, suffice it to say that there are female elders and that last Sunday we had a female substitute pastor. However, it was the best church I could find, so I appreciate the good and overlook the less than good.
One of the female elders, Mme. Chenigance, who is probably closer to 70 than 60, has been taking special interest in me, making sure to greet me every Sunday and being oh so warm and welcoming. She reminds me a little of Tante Elia, whom I am going to visit tomorrow! So Mme. Chenigance invited me to eat lunch with her and her husband this past Sunday. And I said, yes.
After the service, she drove me to their delightfully classic French farmhouse, built in the 1840s and situated in a little village 7 kilometers outside of Strasbourg. Now, it just so happened that May 1 was the French Labour Day, which meant that no buses or trams were running, which meant that Mme. Chenigance would have to drive me back again. I had a delightful afternoon with the Chenigances and one of their sons and his family. We had classic French meal - main course, cheese course, dessert course (homemade black currant sorbet topped with real whipped cream - deeeliceeeous!!), and coffee with chocolate course! We sat in the large typical French garden in the sunshine and talked. Mme. Chenigance and I (M Chenigance had broken his leg and could not accompany us) went for a pleasant meander around a hill outside the village. I talked with M Chenigance in the garden, while Mme. Chenigance went to the flea market taking place in the village with one of her daughters who lives behind them. Four of their 6 children live across the road behind their house. I met three of them. I also sightread for M Chenigance the first movement of a Mozart sonata, which I had slight acquaintance with. (And yes, I did just end a sentence with a preposition.) And then Mme. Chenigance proposed to drive me home.
When I entered my room, I was quite surprised to observe that it was 6:20. I had been there almost 6 hours!
I'm off tomorrow to visit my uncle for the weekend. I am excited to see them again! And have access to a piano.
Bon week-end!
vendredi 15 avril 2011
Winter in Strasbourg
Two months ago there was a light snow that stuck for about a day, so I went out and took pictures of Strasbourg with snow. A couple of Sundays ago I went and took a bunch of pictures of flowers at Parc de l'Orangerie, five minutes from my house. So here's a little of winter for your enjoyment. Spring when I return!
This is the view from my window. Rue Berlioz across the way. And I, in case I haven't mentioned it before, live on Rue Beethoven. :-)
Um, I believe that's my church, St. Paul's, behind the trees.
This is next to the river, l'Ille, looking in the direction of the cathedral, though you can't see it.
This is from the same spot, but looking the other way. That church is definitely my church. This is looking back the way I walked from my appartment.
This is much later - I wandered through several streets, not thinking to take pictures, just enjoying the wandering and knowing which direction I still wanted to head. Since I didn't have much of a sense of direction when I got here, that is a huge accomplishment for me.
This is in an area called Petite France, which looks more German than the rest of the city and is fairly touristry. Not many tourists today, though! This is a bridge with a guard tower. One way down the river was industrial and ugly. The other way looked back the way I came. I froze my hands trying to get these shots just the way I wanted them.
This is looking down the river the direction I came from.
A little wandering later into Petite France, this is a typical house from that area. German-looking, isn't it?
Now I am approaching a dam, in a pretty quiet area, at the time. This wall, covered with snow, between me and the river fascinated me. So I took several photos, experimenting with different foci. Froze my hands, again.
This is where I was standing to take those pictures. I love little gateways going who knows where.
I think I liked the ivy climbing this house.
And finally, water rushing through the dam. It was a little scary on that cold, overcast day, standing on a rickety wooden bridge watching that water rush out. But, you'll be glad to know, the bridge did not collapse and on a sunny day, it's not scary anymore.
Hopefully, when I get back from spring break travels I can get out and take pictures of Strasbourg with green trees. I'm heading off to Nice, then Florence! I'll be back Saturday. I'm here for Easter morning church service, and then I'm off to Prague for a week! yay for cheap tickets to less-touristry cities! :-)
A bientôt!
mardi 12 avril 2011
Mardi! (Tuesday!)
This is the corner of my desk right now:
The card - well, that came from Mommy about a month ago along with stickers for my keyboard, so I can see where things are in the French layout. It's a pen sketch of Yellow Narcissus in her room. Every time Françoise comes in and straightens my room, I have to fish out of the little pile of papers on my desk and re-erect it in its place.
The lamb with the goofy smile - that's from Françoise. She found it at the market down the street on Saturday and gave it to me to remember Easter in France. I've decided to class him in the category of appealingly ridiculous. I'm thinking of naming him Stanley, but I'm open to suggestions!
Saturday was delightful - sunny, but not too hot or too cold. I went for a picnic in the park nearby with Amelia. Françoise lent us a blanket and a cloth hamper to carry stuff in and we stopped at the market first, buying plums, olives, cheese, bread, and a little meat. We had ice cream bars afterwards and then stayed there for about 5 hours altogether, including a little stroll at the end. To make up for being out all day Saturday, I was a hermit on Sunday, except for church and a little stroll with Sam. She had to take pictures with a paper cutout of a girl around Strasbourg for the school project of a girl back in PA. So I was the photographer. We celebrated with gelato afterwards. And no, I don't eat icecream or gelato every day.
Tonight is the first of two Strasbourg university orchestra performances. We're playing Copland - Billy the Kid, Dvorak - New World Symphony (mvts. 1 & 2), and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. We're not the best orchestra ever, but I'm beginning to get excited about these concerts. The rehearsal with the soloist went fairly well last night. It was somewhat amusing as he is German and doesn't speak French. So he would stand up behind the piano and talk energetically and passionately about something he wanted to happen, and then our conductor, Corinna - who is also German, but speaks French, would have to translate. The second one is tomorrow evening - 5 euro admission, if you want to come!
Bonne journée!
The card - well, that came from Mommy about a month ago along with stickers for my keyboard, so I can see where things are in the French layout. It's a pen sketch of Yellow Narcissus in her room. Every time Françoise comes in and straightens my room, I have to fish out of the little pile of papers on my desk and re-erect it in its place.
The lamb with the goofy smile - that's from Françoise. She found it at the market down the street on Saturday and gave it to me to remember Easter in France. I've decided to class him in the category of appealingly ridiculous. I'm thinking of naming him Stanley, but I'm open to suggestions!
Saturday was delightful - sunny, but not too hot or too cold. I went for a picnic in the park nearby with Amelia. Françoise lent us a blanket and a cloth hamper to carry stuff in and we stopped at the market first, buying plums, olives, cheese, bread, and a little meat. We had ice cream bars afterwards and then stayed there for about 5 hours altogether, including a little stroll at the end. To make up for being out all day Saturday, I was a hermit on Sunday, except for church and a little stroll with Sam. She had to take pictures with a paper cutout of a girl around Strasbourg for the school project of a girl back in PA. So I was the photographer. We celebrated with gelato afterwards. And no, I don't eat icecream or gelato every day.
Tonight is the first of two Strasbourg university orchestra performances. We're playing Copland - Billy the Kid, Dvorak - New World Symphony (mvts. 1 & 2), and Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. We're not the best orchestra ever, but I'm beginning to get excited about these concerts. The rehearsal with the soloist went fairly well last night. It was somewhat amusing as he is German and doesn't speak French. So he would stand up behind the piano and talk energetically and passionately about something he wanted to happen, and then our conductor, Corinna - who is also German, but speaks French, would have to translate. The second one is tomorrow evening - 5 euro admission, if you want to come!
Bonne journée!
vendredi 1 avril 2011
Friday!!!
It's Friday and today is full of good things. First, despite the dire forecasts that today would be mostly cloudy, the sun is only slightly obscured by fluffy white clouds and I was actually rather warm after my walk home in the sun. Second, for lunch I heated a fresh croissant with camembert and ham (from Tuesday market) in the microwave. It was delicious, even if the cheese did make a little mess. Third, I get to gloat over the fact that it's currently below freezing back in Springfield with snow expected tonight, while it is 65 degrees here. Fourth, I saw the hugest tulips ever today, but I didn't have my camera with me. :-( They were about the size of teacups in a pinkish-red color. And finally, I am filled with the expectation of a delightful day tomorrow! We're taking a BCA fieldtrip to Mulhouse and Thann, including a possible picnic. In Mulhouse we will revel in cars at the car museum and then in Thann we will hike up to a ruined castle/vineyard, which is where the picnic might take place.
In the meantime I will attempt to work on my paper due on Wednesday without letting it obscure the joy of today.
And as a final addendum, I wish to say that if you have any objections to my spelling or my grammar, I do not wish to hear them. It's very difficult to switch back and forth from English grammar and spelling to French. ok? ok.
A bientôt!
In the meantime I will attempt to work on my paper due on Wednesday without letting it obscure the joy of today.
And as a final addendum, I wish to say that if you have any objections to my spelling or my grammar, I do not wish to hear them. It's very difficult to switch back and forth from English grammar and spelling to French. ok? ok.
A bientôt!
mercredi 30 mars 2011
New words!
I forgot to mention in the previous post two cool new words that I learned today.
1) Feignant!! which means, loafer!!! or in more modern terms, lazy bones!!!
2) époustouflant = breathtaking
C'est tout!
1) Feignant!! which means, loafer!!! or in more modern terms, lazy bones!!!
2) époustouflant = breathtaking
C'est tout!
A tempermental spring day in Strasbourg
Bon soir à tous!
Today I felt just like I was back in Ohio. The weather was predicted to be sunny, but when I opened my apartment door, it was gloomy and smelled like rain. At lunch time, I went out to get bread and it was drizzling. Two hours later the sun was shining invitingly outside the classroom window. Another two hours passed and the sun disappeared abruptly behind a cloud, where it sulked for another couple of hours. Whereupon, it came out and shown merrily for another little while, before disappearing from sight below the horizon.
In other news, my mother tells me I take this blog to seriously and shouldn't be afraid of writing short posts without pictures. Thus, thank my mother for this post.
Today, I got the grade and evaluation back from my conversation test and was frustrated by the grammar problems I was aware of and the pronunciation problems the teacher told me about. Further, we have been learning about the nasal vowels in French in pronunciation class this week. The "an" nasal vowel gives me the most trouble. So I have devised a solution. I now pace the streets of Strasbourg with a glazed look in my eye, my mouth slightly open as I practice my "ans" and the other two nasal vowels. I hurry along, staring at the ground and muttering to myself as I practice little conversations using the conditionnel, the conditionnel passé, the subjonctif, the passé composé, the plus-que-parfait, the passé recent, the imparfait, the futur simple, the futur proche, the futur anterieur. Oh, yes! and every now and then, the present tense as well. So if you next hear of me from the French insane asylum, you'll know why.
Also today, I confused futur anterieur and futur proche and got the whole grammar class in trouble. Yes, I'm just that talented.
And finally, today we went to the hospital. What, you may be asking yourself, were we doing at the hospital? We were seeing the oldest cask of wine, with wine in it, in the world located in the wine caves beneath the Strasbourg hospital. It dates from fourteen hundred and seventy-two, before Columbus sailed the ocean blue. It is a Riesling, but because it's been in the oak cask for so long it is now a beautiful, rich amber color. We were priviliged enough to be allowed to sniff the huge cork from the cask and then to be shown the huge glass bottle containing some of the wine. There were also some other interesting casks (and we're talking biiiggg - around 26,000 liters big), but not half as exciting. For example, there was a cask that had been a wedding present and was inscribed with the year of the wedding, the name of the gentleman, and the initials of the lady. They had to look in the city records to find the name of the lady. Also of interest were a couple of casks that were egg-shaped on one end and a perfect oval on the other. Each strip of wood has to be carved a different shape to make that work, so it's a difficult feat to accomplish. One of these casks dates from Louis XVI, which means it was inscribed with his name and the fleur-de-lys. So during the revolution, some people came through and etched off all the inscriptions, but, according to our guide (who was quite the character), they didn't know enough to etch off the fleur-de-lys. So, the fleur-de-lys is still there, for our full enjoyment.
There are wine caves underneath the hospital, because back in the Medieval period, when people couldn't pay with money, they payed with a little bit of their vineyard. And you need somewhere to store the wine from the vineyard, so....
You know, maybe the French insane asylum in Strasbourg, at the hospital of course, would not be such a bad place to be. I mean, with the wine caves right there.... Apparently, back in the day when water wasn't well purified, they gave the invalids in the hospital two (2) liters of wine per day.
Bon nuit!
Today I felt just like I was back in Ohio. The weather was predicted to be sunny, but when I opened my apartment door, it was gloomy and smelled like rain. At lunch time, I went out to get bread and it was drizzling. Two hours later the sun was shining invitingly outside the classroom window. Another two hours passed and the sun disappeared abruptly behind a cloud, where it sulked for another couple of hours. Whereupon, it came out and shown merrily for another little while, before disappearing from sight below the horizon.
In other news, my mother tells me I take this blog to seriously and shouldn't be afraid of writing short posts without pictures. Thus, thank my mother for this post.
Today, I got the grade and evaluation back from my conversation test and was frustrated by the grammar problems I was aware of and the pronunciation problems the teacher told me about. Further, we have been learning about the nasal vowels in French in pronunciation class this week. The "an" nasal vowel gives me the most trouble. So I have devised a solution. I now pace the streets of Strasbourg with a glazed look in my eye, my mouth slightly open as I practice my "ans" and the other two nasal vowels. I hurry along, staring at the ground and muttering to myself as I practice little conversations using the conditionnel, the conditionnel passé, the subjonctif, the passé composé, the plus-que-parfait, the passé recent, the imparfait, the futur simple, the futur proche, the futur anterieur. Oh, yes! and every now and then, the present tense as well. So if you next hear of me from the French insane asylum, you'll know why.
Also today, I confused futur anterieur and futur proche and got the whole grammar class in trouble. Yes, I'm just that talented.
And finally, today we went to the hospital. What, you may be asking yourself, were we doing at the hospital? We were seeing the oldest cask of wine, with wine in it, in the world located in the wine caves beneath the Strasbourg hospital. It dates from fourteen hundred and seventy-two, before Columbus sailed the ocean blue. It is a Riesling, but because it's been in the oak cask for so long it is now a beautiful, rich amber color. We were priviliged enough to be allowed to sniff the huge cork from the cask and then to be shown the huge glass bottle containing some of the wine. There were also some other interesting casks (and we're talking biiiggg - around 26,000 liters big), but not half as exciting. For example, there was a cask that had been a wedding present and was inscribed with the year of the wedding, the name of the gentleman, and the initials of the lady. They had to look in the city records to find the name of the lady. Also of interest were a couple of casks that were egg-shaped on one end and a perfect oval on the other. Each strip of wood has to be carved a different shape to make that work, so it's a difficult feat to accomplish. One of these casks dates from Louis XVI, which means it was inscribed with his name and the fleur-de-lys. So during the revolution, some people came through and etched off all the inscriptions, but, according to our guide (who was quite the character), they didn't know enough to etch off the fleur-de-lys. So, the fleur-de-lys is still there, for our full enjoyment.
There are wine caves underneath the hospital, because back in the Medieval period, when people couldn't pay with money, they payed with a little bit of their vineyard. And you need somewhere to store the wine from the vineyard, so....
You know, maybe the French insane asylum in Strasbourg, at the hospital of course, would not be such a bad place to be. I mean, with the wine caves right there.... Apparently, back in the day when water wasn't well purified, they gave the invalids in the hospital two (2) liters of wine per day.
Bon nuit!
vendredi 25 février 2011
A Trip to Metz
Since last Friday I have been on break. So Sammi and I decided to take a day trip on Thursday and settled on Metz (pronounced Mess). We were to meet at the train station at 9:30 to buy our tickets for the 10:03 train. I left the house late, hurrying to the bus station, where in my hurry I got on the first bus that came...which was not the line I wanted. Realizing my mistake I got off at the first stop and hurried back to the first bus stop, arriving just in time to catch the right bus. Happily, our train was delayed and we were still able to make it. Strangely tired at 11 in the morning, I slept the whole train ride.
Looking towards the stained glass window at the back of the church.
Here, however, is a picture of the opera house. It's the part that sticks out a little in the middle. Note how most of the buildings in Metz are yellow.
A view of the cathedral from across the river. It is, by the way, a Gothic cathedral. If you look closely you can see some flying buttresses off to the left.
The yellow spire of another cathedral we could see over the buildings. We didn't go to see it, because I was beginning to feel not so well again.
Back at the train station!
Look! It's a red building!
A yellow building across from the train station, taken purely to show you more of Metz.
An interesting looking tower visible from the train station. Visible, that is, when buses were not busy blocking you view at the bus stop.
Wandering through the train station towards the exit we realized we had no idea how to get to the Cathedral, our one must-see stop in Metz. Right next to the exit there was a map of the bus lines and we found that a minibus ran to the major interests of the city, including the cathedral. The only problem? finding where the bus stopped. In due time, we found the stop, the bus came, and we arrived at the cathedral.
Unfortunately, it was a gloomy day in Metz, so the pictures of the cathedral are pretty dark.
A couple of shots towards the altar.
In the nave, looking upward. Apparently, according to Wikipedia (ahem), this is the 3rd highest nave in France, measuring 41.41m.
About halfway through visiting the cathedral I started to feel nauseous, so right after we stopped in a restaurant across the street to eat lunch. I ordered "Galette Bretonne", which was a heavier crêpe with melted cheese and ham inside, salad on the outside, and an egg, barely cooked in the middle.
After lunch I felt better, so we set off to see the opera house. Sadly, you can only tour the opera house if you've made an appointment ahead of time. We went back outside and tried to get into another church just across the square, which was closed and which I forgot to take pictures of.
The next train home wasn't until two hours later. I was feeling pretty ill and weak, so we decided to just stay at the train station. We wandered through a bookstore to pass some of the time. I was surprised to find P.G. Wodehouse and Austen here. I really fail to see how the French, of all people, could appreciate the patently English humour translated into French. I feel like a good deal would be lost in translation and in culture.
I slept the whole train ride home, feeling progressively nauseous and ill as we proceeded. Walking to the bus station in the rain and cold revived me a little, but in the bus, things just got worse. Thankfully, I made it to my bus stop and out the door, before throwing up next to a convenient tree. And from there I stumbled the one block home. Maybe we should blame the almost raw egg? I'm glad Sam was with me in Metz, though, because she took very good care of me!
And tomorrow, my parents arrive! Next post after I get back from traveling to Spain with them.
Salut!
mercredi 16 février 2011
Of papers and overreacting
This morning I turned in my first paper written in French. Thankfully, it was only 3 pages long, though those took me long enough to write! This is my new best friend.
In other news, on Wednesdays I have my French conversation class, which, as the title implies, focuses on speaking, rather than on the written grammar. Today we pretended that the world was going to end, but there was a shuttle that could take 500 people to a new planet. We each chose a profession and then argued for why we should be taken along to continue civilization on this new planet. I chose to be "une boulangére," a baker. I argued that life without good food is not life worth living. I argued that it would be pointless to save ourselves from the end of the world only to starve afterwards. And while it was only pretend, I was at the same time quite serious in my own mind. Thus, I was a little shocked when only 2 out of maybe 12 people voted to take me along.
These are the professions that were voted onto the shuttle: chemist (to invent new medicines), hair stylist, pilot, nurse, mid-wife, and doctor. Here are the professions left behind: lawyer (I had no problem with leaving the lawyer behind), baker (myself), une patissiére (maker of yummy French pastries. Seriously, what was wrong with these people???), butcher/hunter, postman, and philosopher. I personally voted for almost everyone, except the lawyer. But does no one else see a problem here? We took along professions to help us continue life, but nobody to make that life worth living, nobody to provide those "extras" that are the little joys in life, the little concrete tokens of God's grace and goodness to us. It's not just that I'm slightly miffed that I was left to die, it's that this little exercise seems to reveal a deeper problem in Western society in general. ok, ok, I know. I'm overreacting. I'll get off my soapbox now, before the rotten tomatoes and eggs start flying.
To end this post on a positive note, I have some more pictures!
À la prochaine!
lundi 7 février 2011
Faisant une promenade avec le chien
or, Taking a walk with the dog.
Mme. Merceris isn't feeling well tonight, so I offered to take Eliott for his late evening walk.
I walked along the main boulevard just down the block from our apartment, because it's well lit. It is also lined with trees, each surrounded by a square patch of dirt, and parked cars. What I want to know is, why does Eliott insist on walking next to the buildings? Aren't the cars interesting, too? I mean, the cars have been all over the city and must be far more exotic than the buildings, which haven't moved in years. And the trees, those must be covered with interesting scents, too. But no. He has to walk next to the building, and though I offer him dirt-surrounded tree after dirt-surrounded tree, he must do his business on the sidewalk. Nobody picks up after their dogs here, but it still bothers me. *sigh*
I know I promised a post with pics of Strasbourg and another one with pics of Nancy. They will come. But for now, a short post on the illogical whims of French beagles.
Bonne nuit!
Mme. Merceris isn't feeling well tonight, so I offered to take Eliott for his late evening walk.
I walked along the main boulevard just down the block from our apartment, because it's well lit. It is also lined with trees, each surrounded by a square patch of dirt, and parked cars. What I want to know is, why does Eliott insist on walking next to the buildings? Aren't the cars interesting, too? I mean, the cars have been all over the city and must be far more exotic than the buildings, which haven't moved in years. And the trees, those must be covered with interesting scents, too. But no. He has to walk next to the building, and though I offer him dirt-surrounded tree after dirt-surrounded tree, he must do his business on the sidewalk. Nobody picks up after their dogs here, but it still bothers me. *sigh*
I know I promised a post with pics of Strasbourg and another one with pics of Nancy. They will come. But for now, a short post on the illogical whims of French beagles.
Bonne nuit!
jeudi 27 janvier 2011
Histoire du monde contemporaine
Most of the classes I am taking for credit are offered by the IIEF (l'Institut International d'Etude Français). Besides a quantity of language hours, in order to fulfill general education requirements, I am taking two politics/history courses: European Political Institutions and History of the Contemporary World. The first class of Histoire du monde contemporaine was on Tuesday. Apparently, we will be studying, more specifically, the decolonization of the world. As an introduction, we covered today why nations wanted to colonize. Reason number two: they wanted to proselytize (professor's word choice). At this point, we departed from history and the professor ranted about the what a terrible reason this was; how horrible it was to go "force" these people to profess our religion, to worship God our way. After all, according to Voltaire (and he agreed with Voltaire), all religions worship the same God, just different ways. We should have let the people alone to worship God their way. bah humbug! Unfortunately, I could say nothing, partially because I lacked the French to properly express myself, but more because professors here tend not to appreciate interruptions from the students. The students generally only talk when the professor asks a question.
I did take pictures on Saturday of the cathedral, but I don't have time to upload them right now. So to tide you over until I can get them up, I have a picture of Elliot. Mme. Merceris tells me that Elliot has quite taken to me, more so than he did for the last student. The proof? He likes to lie on my bed and be in my room with me. Perhaps, though, I'm just a softie and don't have the heart to kick him off the bed. With eyes like that, what can I do?
I'm taking the train to Nancy tomorrow to spend the some time with my cousins. The rest of the BCA group is coming Saturday morning and we will tour Nancy and a nearby village, St. Nicholas de Port, returning to Strasbourg in the evening. I guess I'll owe you two posts when I come back!
À bientôt!
I did take pictures on Saturday of the cathedral, but I don't have time to upload them right now. So to tide you over until I can get them up, I have a picture of Elliot. Mme. Merceris tells me that Elliot has quite taken to me, more so than he did for the last student. The proof? He likes to lie on my bed and be in my room with me. Perhaps, though, I'm just a softie and don't have the heart to kick him off the bed. With eyes like that, what can I do?
I'm taking the train to Nancy tomorrow to spend the some time with my cousins. The rest of the BCA group is coming Saturday morning and we will tour Nancy and a nearby village, St. Nicholas de Port, returning to Strasbourg in the evening. I guess I'll owe you two posts when I come back!
À bientôt!
jeudi 20 janvier 2011
Bienvenue à Strasbourg!
Welcome to Strasbourg!
We arrived last Tuesday morning, after negotiating both the New York and the Paris airports. New York was uneventful except for an enormous security line. Paris involved a seemingly endless (at 5:40 am) trek through the airport and a shuttle ride to a different terminal. Customs was uneventful and Alex, our program's Strasbourg director met us at the airport. We went to the hostel where we were spending the first night and dropped our bags off. Here's a pic of the room I shared with two girls from our group. I just stood in one spot and took a picture one way and then the other. The beds were comfortable; the food was barely edible. Surprisingly, they had fresh, unripened dates in the creme brulée I had for desert. It was a welcome taste from home my first night away, though the creme brulée itself wasn't that great.
Alex showed us around the city that first day, but very little sank in and I didn't have my camera. He treated us to tarte flambée, which is pretty much pizza minus tomato sauce, for lunch. Tarte flambée traditionally has cheese, ham, onions, and mushrooms on it, if I remember correctly. I was so exhausted I could barely eat. After that, Alex took as back to the Ciarus (hostel) and we all crashed.
In subsequent days Alex showed us more of the city, taught a history class in French about Alsace, and introduced us to the French university system. They are very last minute, posting schedules for classes less than a week before the semester. You have to go to the department offices to see the schedules - they aren't posted online. University is only 3 years, since their primary schooling lasts 17 years. And they don't really have liberal arts education - you study your subject only and your schedule is pretty much set for you in advance. Classes started this week and we've also discovered that they have a tendency to change rooms and schedules at the last minute.
I, unfortunately, usually forget to take my camera out with me, so I don't have any pictures of the city yet. But I plan to go out with my camera on Saturday and take pictures. In the meantime, here are pictures from my house and the BCA (my program) office space.
This is the room where we had orientation and class.
This is the room where we tend to hang out, because the protestant chaplaincy and a business school in the same building use the other room for classes, too.
Another view of the same room - it's the left wall in the above picture. My shelf is the upper left - we see the remains of a baguette in a paper bag, my gloves, my cup (provided by Alex), which is sitting atop a few piano books. There's a piano in the building I can practice one, so I keep my books at the office.
This is the view as soon as you walk in the door. My bedrooms is to the left, just before the table. Mme. Merceris' (my hostess) bedrooms is after the table to the left. The white door is a closet. The open door where you can see a bookcase is the sitting room. Bathroom to the right through the archway. Kitchen to the immediate right, before the desk.
Kitchen! We usually eat by the light of a lamp just to the left of the door (you can't see it), but I turned on the overhead for the picture. Refrigerator and a counter is around the corner to the right.
Sitting area! As you can see, Mme. Merceris prefers modern decor. She is an interior designer.
Bathroom(s)! The toilet is behind the door to the right, all else is in front.
Returning to my room, my bed, which is to the left of the door.
Voila the beagle! Elliot (pronounced more like eel-y-oat) investigating my violin.
A tail-wagging investigation of the camera case...
A frontal view. :-)
Mme. Merceris had gone out without him; generally, she takes him along. He is heartbroken every time she leaves him, whining, howling, and sometimes barking. He's standing on a beanbag chair staring hopefully out the window, anxious for her return. Generally, after some coaxing and petting, he settles down next to me for several minutes, but then runs around the apartment whining and trying to find her. Repeat. She's had him all his four years of life, so he's fairly attached.
And finally, a picture from my first adventure. Amelia and I set out to explore the town and after visiting the cathedral and eating lunch, we got set out for the university. We got lost on the way, and though we're not entirely sure where we were, we're fairly certain we wandered through one of the two sketchy neighborhoods in town, Neuhorf. When we arrived on campus we set out to find a particular building Alex had shown us. We wandered for a long time before asking for directions. Turns out, we were right next to it when we asked for directions and had wandered past it a few times. But now, we will never forget where it is! We walked for upwards of 3 hours that afternoon and the walk home seemed like ages. Here's a picture of the building, complete with broken glass, which has now been replaced.
Presently, I shall persuade Amelia to let me take a picture of her so you can see who I wandered with!
If you persevered this far, you'll be glad to know that future posts will be shorter as I'll hopefully post often enough to cover a couple days at a time, instead of two weeks at a time!
À toute à l'heure!
We arrived last Tuesday morning, after negotiating both the New York and the Paris airports. New York was uneventful except for an enormous security line. Paris involved a seemingly endless (at 5:40 am) trek through the airport and a shuttle ride to a different terminal. Customs was uneventful and Alex, our program's Strasbourg director met us at the airport. We went to the hostel where we were spending the first night and dropped our bags off. Here's a pic of the room I shared with two girls from our group. I just stood in one spot and took a picture one way and then the other. The beds were comfortable; the food was barely edible. Surprisingly, they had fresh, unripened dates in the creme brulée I had for desert. It was a welcome taste from home my first night away, though the creme brulée itself wasn't that great.
Alex showed us around the city that first day, but very little sank in and I didn't have my camera. He treated us to tarte flambée, which is pretty much pizza minus tomato sauce, for lunch. Tarte flambée traditionally has cheese, ham, onions, and mushrooms on it, if I remember correctly. I was so exhausted I could barely eat. After that, Alex took as back to the Ciarus (hostel) and we all crashed.
In subsequent days Alex showed us more of the city, taught a history class in French about Alsace, and introduced us to the French university system. They are very last minute, posting schedules for classes less than a week before the semester. You have to go to the department offices to see the schedules - they aren't posted online. University is only 3 years, since their primary schooling lasts 17 years. And they don't really have liberal arts education - you study your subject only and your schedule is pretty much set for you in advance. Classes started this week and we've also discovered that they have a tendency to change rooms and schedules at the last minute.
I, unfortunately, usually forget to take my camera out with me, so I don't have any pictures of the city yet. But I plan to go out with my camera on Saturday and take pictures. In the meantime, here are pictures from my house and the BCA (my program) office space.
This is the room where we had orientation and class.
This is the room where we tend to hang out, because the protestant chaplaincy and a business school in the same building use the other room for classes, too.
Another view of the same room - it's the left wall in the above picture. My shelf is the upper left - we see the remains of a baguette in a paper bag, my gloves, my cup (provided by Alex), which is sitting atop a few piano books. There's a piano in the building I can practice one, so I keep my books at the office.
Now for a tour of my apartment! Mme. Merceris tends to keep the apartment at the level of mood lighting, using lamps instead of the overhead lights. She had taken the dog, whom you shall meet presently, out for a walk, so I took the opportunity to turn on all the lights and take pictures. :-) This is looking into my room.
This is the view as soon as you walk in the door. My bedrooms is to the left, just before the table. Mme. Merceris' (my hostess) bedrooms is after the table to the left. The white door is a closet. The open door where you can see a bookcase is the sitting room. Bathroom to the right through the archway. Kitchen to the immediate right, before the desk.
Kitchen! We usually eat by the light of a lamp just to the left of the door (you can't see it), but I turned on the overhead for the picture. Refrigerator and a counter is around the corner to the right.
Sitting area! As you can see, Mme. Merceris prefers modern decor. She is an interior designer.
Bathroom(s)! The toilet is behind the door to the right, all else is in front.
Returning to my room, my bed, which is to the left of the door.
Voila the beagle! Elliot (pronounced more like eel-y-oat) investigating my violin.
A tail-wagging investigation of the camera case...
A frontal view. :-)
Mme. Merceris had gone out without him; generally, she takes him along. He is heartbroken every time she leaves him, whining, howling, and sometimes barking. He's standing on a beanbag chair staring hopefully out the window, anxious for her return. Generally, after some coaxing and petting, he settles down next to me for several minutes, but then runs around the apartment whining and trying to find her. Repeat. She's had him all his four years of life, so he's fairly attached.
And finally, a picture from my first adventure. Amelia and I set out to explore the town and after visiting the cathedral and eating lunch, we got set out for the university. We got lost on the way, and though we're not entirely sure where we were, we're fairly certain we wandered through one of the two sketchy neighborhoods in town, Neuhorf. When we arrived on campus we set out to find a particular building Alex had shown us. We wandered for a long time before asking for directions. Turns out, we were right next to it when we asked for directions and had wandered past it a few times. But now, we will never forget where it is! We walked for upwards of 3 hours that afternoon and the walk home seemed like ages. Here's a picture of the building, complete with broken glass, which has now been replaced.
Presently, I shall persuade Amelia to let me take a picture of her so you can see who I wandered with!
If you persevered this far, you'll be glad to know that future posts will be shorter as I'll hopefully post often enough to cover a couple days at a time, instead of two weeks at a time!
À toute à l'heure!
Inscription à :
Commentaires (Atom)