third time's the charm.

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lapin lapin!

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installer! (presque)

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J'arrive!

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Paris, je t'ehhh......you're alright

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Old Ming, New Mission

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réfléchis

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04 October 2012

third time's the charm.

HEAR YE HEAR YE cross number 2 off my goal list because......I GOT A BIKE.  Angers has this wonderful program for all their residents that if you give them a copy of your ID, proof of lodging in Angers, and show that you actually work, you can rent a bike for up to 4 months fo' FREE (given that you agree to pay 200 euro if someone jacks it which seemed kinda pricey butttttt I'm not planning on having it stolen). 

I was so stoked about this that I showed up 45 minutes before the place opened to wait in line the day after I had proof of lodging from my new apartment. It wasn't until 30 minutes later that I realized there was a sign on the door that read "CLOSED MONDAYS".....Good one, France.  

So the next afternoon I returned with high hopes annnnnnnnd got shot down in the face by the guy at the front desk saying there were no more left that day. 

So THIS morning I arrived super early and, despite being the only person in line, continued to wait, determined to get my vélo! As I waited, I read the morning paper and checked out my horoscope....

I see what you did there, fate.
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01 October 2012

lapin lapin!

It is the first of October, and it officially feels like fall now that I have started school.  Today was my first day at Lycée Joachim du Bellay, the largest public school in Angers. I met most of the english professors last week when I dropped by, but this time I was actually interacting with the kids for the first time.  I was a little nervous at first, but the first class ("The Gifted", as my professor calls them....) were very talkative and friendly and spent the entire class period asking me questions and telling me about themselves.  They really liked hearing about my days playing the violin, learning about rap and hip hops artists, and hearing about where I had traveled in France. Apparently half of these students were focusing on musical instruments, and the other half on dance which is why they are labeled as "bright/The Gifted" (her words, not mine.)

 My second class also went well, although they were much more timid, and I had to leave about 10 minutes into class so they could take an exam.  My third class also went well, and I was doing a little more "work" (if you could call it that) going from group to group correcting business proposals that they were writing in english. I think the professor thinks I'm not strict enough when correcting their grammar.  But as a person struggling to master another language, I feel for them SO much.  I know from experience how incredibly awful it feels when someone has no idea what you're saying and when you really just cannot formulate a thought or feeling that, in your native language, would not be an issue.  I know it's my job to correct them and help them learn, but I feel so bad!

 Two things have stuck out to me thus far:
              1. Professors' accents.  Most of the english professors have such strong English accents and are so fluent in French that it is almost impossible to tell whether they learned english as a second language from a British instructor, or just have been an expat living in France for 40 years!  One of the professors noted my accent and warned me that I might have to repeat things a couple times before the students understand since they're used to hearing British accents. Honestly I was just happy that they didn't ask me to fake a British accent so that the kids would learn  the"Queen's English" properly, as they did with my sister when she was in Spain (still LOL-ing at that story).
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29 September 2012

installer! (presque)

PRAISE EVERYTHING HOLY After 6 days and 8 apartment visits, I have FINALLY found myself a place to live!!! 



No more are the days of staring lustingly at espresso cups and home decor waiting until I had a reason to purchase them!

FREE are my sweaters, pants, and t-shirts adorned with profanities from the confines of their vacuum-sealed prisions (FUCK SWAG, that means you!)!

No longer am I threatened by the potential of leading the  bleak life of a gypsy!

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25 September 2012

J'arrive!

I have finally arrived in Angers and am LOVING it thus far!

 Sunday night I took the TGV from Paris to Angers, which was WONDERFUL primarily because I knew it was the last time I would have to carry 100+ pounds of luggage toute seule. My couchsurfing hosts met me at the gare which I was SO grateful for, and they really have been such incredible hosts this whole time. 

 I keep thinking back t0 my vacation in Nice last spring, when two other American girls from my program (Bailey and Michelle) and I decided (and by that, I mean it was circumstantially forced upon us because we were all broke as a JOKE by that point in the semester...) to couchsurf instead of stay in a hostel. We were all a little weary about the idea but decided that between the three of us we could pretty much handle anything.  My favorite part about the whole ordeal was that along the way we had somehow come up with the motto "This is either going to be the greatest experience of our lives....or we're going to die" and just went with it. That kind of 'all-or-nothing' attitude made it by far one of the best vacations I have ever been on.  
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23 September 2012

Paris, je t'ehhh......you're alright

          I have officially arrived in Paris and am closing up what has been the longest 72 hours of my life thus far. I cannot believe that a mere 3 days ago I was throwing my bags in my car and running off to O'Hare, not sure if I would make it to France!  Luckily, after a flight to Detroit and 5 hour layover in one of the greatest airports I have ever been in (ACTUALLY...not kidding. It was impressive.), then a minor heart attck after misplacing my Grandma's ring and then a subsequent full-on heart attack after being the only person left on the standby list, I not only made it onto the flight, but got into first class, which, needless to say, was SWAG.  Ollie the Otter enjoyed the life of luxury as well, although his presence during my naptime made me painfully aware how out of place I was.  Although.....my plane buddy ordered the cheese plate for dessert and ONLY ate the cheddar so I pretty much just called it even on the 'embarassing things to do in first class' front right there.

          So after like 18 hours of traveling (which was actually 25 if you count the time change, which I do because it sounds more impressive......) I landed safely in the Charles de Gaulle airport and, after pacing back and forth a couple of times, finally resorted to asking for directions (in French) with a clear and follow-able response (in French).  I was so happy that the woman didn't have to ask me to repeat anything or answer in English, and it gave me just enough confidence to be able to make the whole trek into Paris by myself sans iPhone or phone in general. After getting into Paris, I dodged all the haters on the metro who apparently did not enjoy my oversized hot pink duffel bag (courtesy of the one and only Eileen O'Connor) and eventually made it to Alex's friend Adib's apartment. Adib was wonderful and got a café with me to help keep me awake, which I did!! (until about 8 pm at which point I passed out for 14 hours).
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Location: 14e Arrondissement, Paris, France

19 September 2012

Old Ming, New Mission


 Well here I am again. I have tried to re-start this blog multiple times but I don't really know how to introduce what I'm doing or even know what I want to say, but I feel the need to write something now to get myself motivated to keep this blog for the next seven months.  I don't really feel like discussing what coincidence/act of God led me to this place in my life, nor do I feel like anyone wants to hear me retell the last year and half of my life post-Grenoble/pre-Angers, so I will just proceed with my goal list segue that I thought was pertinent and relatively amusing.

As I was packing yesterday, I ran across my school supplies from when I studied in Grenoble, and therefore also found.....MY GOAL LIST.  My goal list for Grenoble is kind of funny to me because I'm not usually one to lay out specific goals for myself.  I'm not entirely sure why I felt so inspired to start one when I was leaving for France but.... ANYWHO, as you can imagine, not many of these got accomplished, but here they are:
              
                1. Ride on the back of a Moped
.....REALLY? This was my NUMBER ONE goal?!  I think in my fantastical little mind I was picturing myself as a brunette version of Lizzie riding around Rome clutching to my wonderfully semi incognito Paolo (if you don't get this reference, you don't deserve to be my friend). Needless to say, it didn't happen, and therefore will remain on my list.

                2. Have a dream in French
I've heard before that if you have a dream in a foreign language, that means you'll never lose your ability to speak it. Well, about halfway through my semester in Grenoble, I DID have a dream in French.  Unfortunately, the dream entailed my host mother calling me stupid but ERRONEOUS.....I understood it. ACCOMPLISHED.

               3. Kiss a French man
Although I'm a little hesitant to call anyone around my age a "man".......ACCOMPLISHED.

               4. Be classicly "French" somewhere (wear a beret, hold a baguette, smoke a cigarette)
What was I even going for with this? Not accomplished.

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18 May 2011

réfléchis

          This is it.  Although I cannot say I have been the most faithful to this blog, I am glad that I wrote as much as I did.  This little chunk of cyberspace will be my favorite souvenier of the best semester of my life thus far.  Although I did not go into complete detail with everything, I was honest with all of you, and to myself.  I am so lucky to have had this experience.  I have loved every minute of it (although I may have not known it at the time...) and have learned so much about the world, the French language (some other languages too), new cultures, and myself. I can't really sum up everything I've learned in the last semester, so I will try to jot down some thoughts and lessons from this semester that I will really attempt to carry with me through my journey home and beyond.


  • Be thankful for your ability and ease to express yourself.  It doesn't come that easy to everyone.
  • Less talking (especially about yourself). More learning. More listening. More loving.
  • Cultures are all very different and they define much more about ourselves than we like to believe.
  • TRY. Try very hard and have confidence and you can accomplish almost anything.
  • Never forget those who are important to you, and on that note, never fail to constantly remind them of how important they are.
  • Life is a series of changes; ups and downs, phases of friends, change of place, change of emotions; take everything with stride.  What is tangible now may not exist in the future, but life goes on nonetheless. 
  • Each and every single thing that happens to you has a hidden lesson, and thus the potential to change your life.  It's your choice whether or not you profit from it.
  • People are generally good, but that gets hidden by the fact that people are generally selfish.


          Bags are packed (almost), gifts have been bought (for the most part), and goodbyes have been said (almost all...).  The only thing that stands between me and home is time and airport security.  I can't believe this is happening. I can't believe this semester is over. Where do I go from here? On verra.


ming.
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