Oyyyy, what to write first? The end of the week has been full of surprises. Kendra and I finished class on Thursday and decided to plan out some ideas for our end-of-February week-long break, and then wander around the shopping district for a while to window shop and find something yummy for dinner. I enjoyed the company of course, and we found several interesting places, including a huge bookstore (4 stories) that could probably be the equivalent of a Barnes and Noble. I can't decide if finding it was a good or bad thing. ;) Anyway, it took a while to decide on something to eat because neither one of us are incredibly decisive, but we finally settled on a comfy little Italian place on Rue Bressigny. The waitress thought we were a bit odd for sharing a pizza, but she was really kind and had the cook make it just a tiny bit larger for us anyway. One of the other customers was celebrating her birthday that day, and after everyone sang to her she was just beaming, and evidently so touched that she gave the traditional cheek-kiss greeting to every single person in the restaurant - including us American girls in the corner. :)
By the way, did you know that the French for window shopping literally means to "lick the windows"? Hehehe. It amused me, too. I also think that those of you who are "of age" should do a little research to find out why this sentence doesn't convey quite what the speaker intended: "I like France because they don't use preservatives like they do in the U.S." Yes, the key word is preservative.
Anyway, Friday was an interesting day for several reasons. First of all, I had to explain the connotations of 'queer,' the offensiveness of 'nigger,' and the proper use of 'howdy' in translation class. I don't think my professor is capable of asking a question and listening for the answer, which made it all the more interesting. He's also not able to say "howdy" without making a hand gesture to signify a cowboy hat. :P
The second reason I found it interesting was the fact that I experienced my first "contrôle" - or in other words, a big auditorium filled with lots of students taking two or three different tests that are then graded but don't actually count for anything in the end. Mine was a "Version" exam, which meant that I was given a 207 word text in English, in this case an excerpt from a book, and asked to translate it into French without the use of any aids. I discovered that I can find very creative ways of expressing ideas in a more roundabout way when I have no idea what the exact French vocabulary would be. It's kinda fun, actually. Anyway, we'll see how it turns out.
The third interesting occurrence of the day was my visit to "Espace Social Santé" - the health and housing office. I made an appointment with a doctor for today, and spent some time visiting with the nurse, who is one of my favorite people on campus. She genuinely shows an interest in you and shares whatever helpful information she can on any subject, whether it be local doctors or the upcoming concert of the Gospel choir that she thoroughly enjoys listening to. Anyway, the woman in charge of housing was slightly less friendly, but not rude. She informed me that it would be possible to change housing, but I would have to notify Jacqueline at least a month in advance or be obligated by French law to pay her that month's rent. Not a problem - that seems like common courtesy - but I started to get really nervous about talking to Jacqueline. I hadn't broached the subject of moving because I wasn't at all sure if it was even an option, and I didn't want to complain. At this point, though, I have two other options: a space with a family and a girl that I've already met that seems to offer a lively, friendly atmosphere and regular meals with the family that is only 15 minutes from the university (half the distance I have now) or a space with a woman and a Japanese student who will be leaving soon that is just 10 minutes from the university, with the opportunity for meals with her as well. I'm going to meet her in about 45 minutes, so maybe I'll know better then what I'd like to do. Speaking of which, I gotta run. Oh snap, it’s raining now. Grrrr.
No comments:
Post a Comment