This week's adventure: trying to climb up a slightly muddy, rocky trail with lots of tree branches on a road motorcycle. Trail 1, Us 0.
It didn't seem like a really stupid idea when we set out. Impressively, we made it uphill with about only 100 meters left to go until nice flat asphalt roads. The trail was a bit squishy..and unfortunately, luck wasn't on our side. As we were taking a small turn, the tires of the motorcycle got stuck in some loose mud/rocks and we fell over sideways against a tree. We righted ourselves and immediately started rolling backward downhill. !@%$#%@
I got off the bike and helped R push the bike upright. As he tried to drive out of the mud, I stood alongside him with a log in my hand, ready to throw it behind the back wheel so he wouldn't slide backwards too far on the bike. After little progress, R and I gave up our uphill efforts and decided to retrace our route which meant we had to take the same steep trail down. It was no piece of cake! I decided to walk down while R rode down very carefully and as slow as possible. He went downhill first, with one hand on the brakes and one foot trailing the ground to keep in control. It was a long steep walk down...and I was impressed we had actually made it that far up on the road motorcycle. If we had been on a off-trail motorbike, we could have made the last hundred meters.
What kind of girl am I? One who doesn't freak out and panic!! I actually handled myself pretty well even though it was a scary situation and was able to help R get the motorcycle unstuck and down the forest trail. Miraculously, neither one of us are hurt..just bruised from falling twice. My souvenir from our adventure: a nice big bruise on my left knee.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Photo catchup
Photos from the past week. My friend J posing by le Valserine et Rhone with a box of petit French pastries. She didn't pose long...we pretty much finished it all in under ten minutes.
Standing on Mount Saleve with amazing views of Geneva below. We got lucky and captured a paraglider in the background. I would love to do it one day, when I can get over my fear of heights. I parasailed in Thailand and wasn't scared. It was so cool to watch the takeoffs and see them playing with the wind. Even though I can learn to steer and control how rapidly I descend, my fear of heights makes me hesitate. But perhaps next year.
The next few pictures are of Nyon, Switzerland.
Seyssel and Aix-les-Bains. Bought some guimauve framboise (housemade raspberry marshmallow) and brownies. The "brownies" in France taste like chocolate cake rather than the deep, chocolately, fudgey brownies I know and love. According to David Lebowitz (Chez Panisse's former pastry chef who now lives and bakes in France, it's because the French flour is more like cake flour than all purpose flour).
At the Fête des bucherons
Standing on Mount Saleve with amazing views of Geneva below. We got lucky and captured a paraglider in the background. I would love to do it one day, when I can get over my fear of heights. I parasailed in Thailand and wasn't scared. It was so cool to watch the takeoffs and see them playing with the wind. Even though I can learn to steer and control how rapidly I descend, my fear of heights makes me hesitate. But perhaps next year.
The next few pictures are of Nyon, Switzerland.
Seyssel and Aix-les-Bains. Bought some guimauve framboise (housemade raspberry marshmallow) and brownies. The "brownies" in France taste like chocolate cake rather than the deep, chocolately, fudgey brownies I know and love. According to David Lebowitz (Chez Panisse's former pastry chef who now lives and bakes in France, it's because the French flour is more like cake flour than all purpose flour).
At the Fête des bucherons
Monday, July 26, 2010
Saleve and Aix-les-Bains
It's been cool here the past week, a welcome respite from the heat. Tonight R and I stopped by the neighbors' house to have an apero. R has known them for so long that neither an invite nor a call is necessary, even though we haven't stopped by their house in almost 3 weeks. Like always, neighbor P brings out a bottle of something (which he generally has made himself) and we have to guess what it's made from. Tonight, we drank a dark caramel wine called muskat that the neighbor had bought in Spain. It was quite yummy but I had to dilute it with water and even then, it was still quite strong.
A few exciting events marked this past week
On Friday I finished my first week of the 2nd session of French classes. R is not taking this session. Now that I have my resident permit sticker, I'm taking the train into Geneva everyday. The ride from my town into the center of Geneva takes 25 mins; if I catch the 8:04h train I'm in Geneva at 8:26h. The train is silent, comfortable, with bathrooms in each car. The only downside is that they don't sell food for such a short ride.
My classes are going well—I tested in B22 but after 2 days, I decided to change into a lower level class, B17, where I could learn more grammar. Every night my head is filled to the brim with new vocabulary, grammar, French songs, French idioms. Tonight I had a lot of homework, so I did it on the train ride home but on most days, I just sit back and look at the landscape past by.
After class on Friday, I hurried home to see my friend J who was visiting for a day. The visit was too short, but the weather cooperated and we had a great Friday and Saturday together. It was so cool to see her in my house in France. Now she knows exactly where I cook, sleep, and garden. She's my first visitor from Boston, and she even brought some pieces of Boston with her. Namely, my mail, a jar of peanut butter, and a can of baking powder. Before I arrived R had given her the grand tour of the house. When I got home, we immediately started talking about what to make for dinner and decided on a BBQ and Vietnamese summer rolls, one of our favorite foods to eat. Cooking together again reminded me of all the times we had in Boston.
On Saturday morning R and I took J to Mount Saleve, a French mountain overlooking Geneva. From the peak, there are stunning views of the city and jet d'eau. We drove up to the peak but another cool option is the Teleriphique cable car. In retrospect driving up was a great idea since the cable car is super steep and neither J or I like heights much. Saleve is a really popular place for paragliders—apparently, people from all over Europe come to Saleve to paraglide. After Saleve we drove to Nyon, a beautiful town on Lac Leman. R and I had driven by it many times, but this was the first time we had stopped to really walk around in it. J's husband's company is opening an office in Nyon and it would be really great if they could move here. But in reality if Julia and Mike move back to Europe, they would probably move closer to Germany where her family and friends live. After a nice afternoon in Nyon, we said our goodbyes at the train station and she was on her way back to Germany. I held in the tears until after she boarded and got a seat. I love hellos but I'm not so good at goodbyes. I have to plan a trip back to Boston soon.
Sunday turned out to be beautiful too. Back home in Boston, I had a huge framed print of Aix-les-bains and on Sunday, we drove there, stopping at several towns on the way. It was a bit surreal...I've always wondered what the place looked like..and yesterday, we had dinner there. Aix has a beautiful lake framed by cascading mountains—the farther the mountain, the darker it is. I'm not sure my camera did Aix justice, but I will try to post the pics tomorrow night.
A few exciting events marked this past week
On Friday I finished my first week of the 2nd session of French classes. R is not taking this session. Now that I have my resident permit sticker, I'm taking the train into Geneva everyday. The ride from my town into the center of Geneva takes 25 mins; if I catch the 8:04h train I'm in Geneva at 8:26h. The train is silent, comfortable, with bathrooms in each car. The only downside is that they don't sell food for such a short ride.
My classes are going well—I tested in B22 but after 2 days, I decided to change into a lower level class, B17, where I could learn more grammar. Every night my head is filled to the brim with new vocabulary, grammar, French songs, French idioms. Tonight I had a lot of homework, so I did it on the train ride home but on most days, I just sit back and look at the landscape past by.
After class on Friday, I hurried home to see my friend J who was visiting for a day. The visit was too short, but the weather cooperated and we had a great Friday and Saturday together. It was so cool to see her in my house in France. Now she knows exactly where I cook, sleep, and garden. She's my first visitor from Boston, and she even brought some pieces of Boston with her. Namely, my mail, a jar of peanut butter, and a can of baking powder. Before I arrived R had given her the grand tour of the house. When I got home, we immediately started talking about what to make for dinner and decided on a BBQ and Vietnamese summer rolls, one of our favorite foods to eat. Cooking together again reminded me of all the times we had in Boston.
On Saturday morning R and I took J to Mount Saleve, a French mountain overlooking Geneva. From the peak, there are stunning views of the city and jet d'eau. We drove up to the peak but another cool option is the Teleriphique cable car. In retrospect driving up was a great idea since the cable car is super steep and neither J or I like heights much. Saleve is a really popular place for paragliders—apparently, people from all over Europe come to Saleve to paraglide. After Saleve we drove to Nyon, a beautiful town on Lac Leman. R and I had driven by it many times, but this was the first time we had stopped to really walk around in it. J's husband's company is opening an office in Nyon and it would be really great if they could move here. But in reality if Julia and Mike move back to Europe, they would probably move closer to Germany where her family and friends live. After a nice afternoon in Nyon, we said our goodbyes at the train station and she was on her way back to Germany. I held in the tears until after she boarded and got a seat. I love hellos but I'm not so good at goodbyes. I have to plan a trip back to Boston soon.
Sunday turned out to be beautiful too. Back home in Boston, I had a huge framed print of Aix-les-bains and on Sunday, we drove there, stopping at several towns on the way. It was a bit surreal...I've always wondered what the place looked like..and yesterday, we had dinner there. Aix has a beautiful lake framed by cascading mountains—the farther the mountain, the darker it is. I'm not sure my camera did Aix justice, but I will try to post the pics tomorrow night.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Rendez vous success
Yesterday I passed my interview with OFII and left with a brand new resident permit sticker. Youpie! With this residency permit affixed next to my Visa, I'm able to legally live in France and get a French bank account, etc. And I can legally travel in and out of France for the next year (or during the validity of my French Visa).
Before moving abroad I read stories about other peoples' nightmare experiences with French officials while trying to secure a visa or residency permit. With this in mind, I expected a lot of paperwork and encounters with unpleasant bureaucrats. Today I was also afraid I'd have to return at another date if I didn't have everything they wanted on the day of the interview.
On the contrary the two officials I met yesterday were very friendly and professional. The medical exam was a breeze. The doctor asked me questions about my health and my family's medical history. He took my blood pressure, weight, height; he listened to my lungs and heart. He tapped around to make sure my organs were in place. To my surprise, I did not have to disrobe or get a OB/GYN kind of exam. I had been prepping myself to disrobe in front of him and whoever happened to be there at the interview. Apparently, in France, doctors do not leave you alone to disrobe. They don't give you a drape cloth or tissue thin robe to wear either. You are expected to undress in their presence which seems a bit awkward to me but then again Europeans think Americans are prudes. Today's doctor also asked to see my vaccination papers and chest xrays even though the letter from OFII said I only needed to bring them if I already had them. Since I did not have them, I was unable to produce them for him. Thankfully, he was nice and took into account of the fact that I was American (and would have been vaccinated appropriately during childhood and beyond) and that tuberculosis is nearly non-existent in the U.S.
It was a beautiful drive to Bourg-en-Bresse. The heat and humidity has disappeared for now—it was all sunshine and blue sky. On the way to Bresse, we drove past fields upon fields of sunflowers saluting the sun. On the drive home we stopped in Cerdon and visited a cave to taste some of the rosy champagne-like wine. The vitner was incredibly nice and funny. Like many French, he is living the dream and is passionate about his work. I took a bunch of photos of the cave and the sunflower. As you can see in the photos below, the vineyards are set in the mountains.
Even though it's been hot, I've been cooking after getting home from a long day of classes: pad thai with shrimp, marinara with meatballs, chilled cucumber soup (no heating required for that, thank goodness, and tonight, I'm marinating some Chinese red roast pork to grill tomorrow. If there's any leftover roast pork, I will use it to make fried rice. R is a good eater and not overly picky, which is great, because I get to cook and experiment as much as I like. He is such a love, eating everything I make, even recipes that don't come out quite right. For instance, pork Morrocan style with honey and olives. I knew it was a bad combination in the middle of the cooking process but I couldn't turn back or throw it out. I tried a little at dinner, but god bless his heart, R tried at least half of it.
En route to school, we also drive by fields upon fields of sunflowers. In French they are called turnesols because they turn in the direction of the sun at different times of the day. Isn't that just beautiful and poetic? The tournesols are turned into cooking oil, tournesol margarine, and probably other things too.
Before moving abroad I read stories about other peoples' nightmare experiences with French officials while trying to secure a visa or residency permit. With this in mind, I expected a lot of paperwork and encounters with unpleasant bureaucrats. Today I was also afraid I'd have to return at another date if I didn't have everything they wanted on the day of the interview.
On the contrary the two officials I met yesterday were very friendly and professional. The medical exam was a breeze. The doctor asked me questions about my health and my family's medical history. He took my blood pressure, weight, height; he listened to my lungs and heart. He tapped around to make sure my organs were in place. To my surprise, I did not have to disrobe or get a OB/GYN kind of exam. I had been prepping myself to disrobe in front of him and whoever happened to be there at the interview. Apparently, in France, doctors do not leave you alone to disrobe. They don't give you a drape cloth or tissue thin robe to wear either. You are expected to undress in their presence which seems a bit awkward to me but then again Europeans think Americans are prudes. Today's doctor also asked to see my vaccination papers and chest xrays even though the letter from OFII said I only needed to bring them if I already had them. Since I did not have them, I was unable to produce them for him. Thankfully, he was nice and took into account of the fact that I was American (and would have been vaccinated appropriately during childhood and beyond) and that tuberculosis is nearly non-existent in the U.S.
It was a beautiful drive to Bourg-en-Bresse. The heat and humidity has disappeared for now—it was all sunshine and blue sky. On the way to Bresse, we drove past fields upon fields of sunflowers saluting the sun. On the drive home we stopped in Cerdon and visited a cave to taste some of the rosy champagne-like wine. The vitner was incredibly nice and funny. Like many French, he is living the dream and is passionate about his work. I took a bunch of photos of the cave and the sunflower. As you can see in the photos below, the vineyards are set in the mountains.
Even though it's been hot, I've been cooking after getting home from a long day of classes: pad thai with shrimp, marinara with meatballs, chilled cucumber soup (no heating required for that, thank goodness, and tonight, I'm marinating some Chinese red roast pork to grill tomorrow. If there's any leftover roast pork, I will use it to make fried rice. R is a good eater and not overly picky, which is great, because I get to cook and experiment as much as I like. He is such a love, eating everything I make, even recipes that don't come out quite right. For instance, pork Morrocan style with honey and olives. I knew it was a bad combination in the middle of the cooking process but I couldn't turn back or throw it out. I tried a little at dinner, but god bless his heart, R tried at least half of it.
En route to school, we also drive by fields upon fields of sunflowers. In French they are called turnesols because they turn in the direction of the sun at different times of the day. Isn't that just beautiful and poetic? The tournesols are turned into cooking oil, tournesol margarine, and probably other things too.
Le Tour de France, Le Coupe du Monde, et le 14 de juillet
It's the last week of classes and my classmates and I have been doing exposés, or presentations, in French. Yesterday I donned my Red Sox cap to talk about Boston, my hometown. In my research, I stumbled upon this interesting tidbit: the Bostonian accent resembles the one found in Lincolnshire, England, because the Puritans came from there. At the end, there were lots of questions about Boston, and a request to hear the famous accent. I obliged with "I pahked my cah in Hahvahd yahd to get a wicket good cupah clam chowdah but the weahd chowdah guy was lookin at me funny and I had no idear why."
This weekend we watched Le Tour de France (live, as in we were there when Lance passed by, however, they were going so fast that I wasn't able to pick him out from the crowd) and Le Coupe du Monde (live streaming, as in we were watching it from Pickwick's Pub with about a million other fans).
This week France celebrates its national holiday—Americans call it "Bastille Day" but the French refer to it as "Fête nationale" or le quatorze de juillet. Yesterday Paris hosted une grande procession/parade sur les Champs-Elysées. The French officers' uniforms were beautiful and meticulous, nary a thread or feather out of place. The parade is a veritable display of military power—and also a synchronized military fashion show of blue feathers, ebony black, crisp whites, and blood reds. Zarkozy on the other hand...he would look better with a smile on his face every so often. In a historic moment this year France invited its former colonies in Africa to participate in the grande défilé in Paris—thirteen out of the fourteen former French colonies accepted the invitation, including representatives from Niger who added a little bounce to their march. This YouTube video shows parachuters presenting President Nicholas Sarkozy and other eminent heads of state with thirteen flags (one from each of the 13 participating countries).
This weekend we watched Le Tour de France (live, as in we were there when Lance passed by, however, they were going so fast that I wasn't able to pick him out from the crowd) and Le Coupe du Monde (live streaming, as in we were watching it from Pickwick's Pub with about a million other fans).
This week France celebrates its national holiday—Americans call it "Bastille Day" but the French refer to it as "Fête nationale" or le quatorze de juillet. Yesterday Paris hosted une grande procession/parade sur les Champs-Elysées. The French officers' uniforms were beautiful and meticulous, nary a thread or feather out of place. The parade is a veritable display of military power—and also a synchronized military fashion show of blue feathers, ebony black, crisp whites, and blood reds. Zarkozy on the other hand...he would look better with a smile on his face every so often. In a historic moment this year France invited its former colonies in Africa to participate in the grande défilé in Paris—thirteen out of the fourteen former French colonies accepted the invitation, including representatives from Niger who added a little bounce to their march. This YouTube video shows parachuters presenting President Nicholas Sarkozy and other eminent heads of state with thirteen flags (one from each of the 13 participating countries).
Friday, July 9, 2010
Busy, busy comme une abeille
Bon vendredi! R and I finished the 2nd week of French classes today with 1 week remaining out of our 3 week session. I've been occupe comme une abeille! Learning a new language is hard work and fun at the same time - there's so much to learn and I'm like a sponge, absorbing everything in and outside of class. The world is my classroom.
At school, we've quickly shed our initial trepidation, and everyone (myself included) is speaking with more ease...though not always with the same graceful rhythm or pronunciation of the French/French-speaking Swiss. The students/teachers are serious about learning...so it's not always fun and games, but we're often laughing together while doing role play/oral exercises. Other times, especially in my phonetique and pronunciation classes, we are working the muscles in our mouths, jaws, lips and tongue to make French sounds and it's pretty hilarious to hear a whole class in unison try to make the 4 nasal sounds of "an", "in" "on" and "un". Or when one of my classmates brayed like a donkey in pronunciation class when she was asked what sound a donkey makes in her native Greek. A theatre student by training, she gave it her 100% and it was the best darn donkey I have ever heard in my entire life.
At the end of the day, I am super tired and my brain is buzzing with new vocabulary, grammaire, tips from my phonetique classes, or French idioms (like busy as a bee and strong as a Turc or as tall as 3 apples..meaning, not very tall at all).
The biggest progress I've made is that I can now formulate sentences using a few verb tenses! I'm super excited I can finally communicate in French...albeit a bit slowly and with poor pronunciation. This weekend, I have to work on an expose - basically a 5 minute speech about a theme of my choosing to present to the class next Tuesday! Wish me luck..I'm either going to write about Boston..or about what I like about living in France.
I don't know about your neck of the woods, but SUMMER is ripe here. We're having a canicule - a heatwave of 30+C (which is 90+F) this week. Thank goodness for 3 things to beat the heat: 1) climitasation in some classrooms at UNIGE 2) free cold eau potable at most fountains in GVA 3) the huge, clean municipal pools close to our parking spot in France. Twice this week after school, R and I spent the afternoon at the outdoor pools. J'ai saute dans l'eau et j'ai nage! There are 3 pools, a tall slide, ping pong tables, mini golf, and lots of green park where we can lay in the shade. I tried the water slide twice...you climb up the stairs, sit your butt down, and then weeeeee!!! I thought I was moving fast, but apparently, I was slow..the little kids were zipping along but I was happy to be going at my pace. I heard it was hot in Boston too - and my nephew Isaac swam for the first time by himself!
R and I have colorful plans this weekend - what about you?
1. I will sleep in both days as much as possible on my new mattress! And I'm hoping to tend to my garden..R saw a few green tomatoes today. I'll also keep in touch with my family - my 97 grandmother broke her hip this week and just had surgery. She's awake but not quite alert yet and unfortunately, she's at the age where her short-term memory often fails her. So she will sometimes wake up and forget why she's in the hospital.
2. The Tour de France is passing by this Sunday on their 8th TdF stage! R and I will be dressed in yellow and will be supporting Lance and the hot Spanish one (or at least I will be. Heheh.) I can't wait - so excited! I'll be thinking of you Steven + Yoshie - who's your favorite rider? I will try to take a pic of him speeding by.
3. World Cup finals on Sunday: NL vs ES. We'll be sporting our oranje again and hoping for the first Dutch World Cup ever.
Lastly, here are some pictures from the past week or so. Enjoy! And keep cool.
The vide grenier (flea market) with 200+ tables in our little ville. R and I bought 3 copper pans, 12 DVDs, and an old leather briefcase for a great deal!
Picture of one of the cheese stations at the Fete de la fromage a few weekends ago. I sampled beaucoup de fromage...comte, reblochon, and more. So good!
At school, we've quickly shed our initial trepidation, and everyone (myself included) is speaking with more ease...though not always with the same graceful rhythm or pronunciation of the French/French-speaking Swiss. The students/teachers are serious about learning...so it's not always fun and games, but we're often laughing together while doing role play/oral exercises. Other times, especially in my phonetique and pronunciation classes, we are working the muscles in our mouths, jaws, lips and tongue to make French sounds and it's pretty hilarious to hear a whole class in unison try to make the 4 nasal sounds of "an", "in" "on" and "un". Or when one of my classmates brayed like a donkey in pronunciation class when she was asked what sound a donkey makes in her native Greek. A theatre student by training, she gave it her 100% and it was the best darn donkey I have ever heard in my entire life.
At the end of the day, I am super tired and my brain is buzzing with new vocabulary, grammaire, tips from my phonetique classes, or French idioms (like busy as a bee and strong as a Turc or as tall as 3 apples..meaning, not very tall at all).
The biggest progress I've made is that I can now formulate sentences using a few verb tenses! I'm super excited I can finally communicate in French...albeit a bit slowly and with poor pronunciation. This weekend, I have to work on an expose - basically a 5 minute speech about a theme of my choosing to present to the class next Tuesday! Wish me luck..I'm either going to write about Boston..or about what I like about living in France.
I don't know about your neck of the woods, but SUMMER is ripe here. We're having a canicule - a heatwave of 30+C (which is 90+F) this week. Thank goodness for 3 things to beat the heat: 1) climitasation in some classrooms at UNIGE 2) free cold eau potable at most fountains in GVA 3) the huge, clean municipal pools close to our parking spot in France. Twice this week after school, R and I spent the afternoon at the outdoor pools. J'ai saute dans l'eau et j'ai nage! There are 3 pools, a tall slide, ping pong tables, mini golf, and lots of green park where we can lay in the shade. I tried the water slide twice...you climb up the stairs, sit your butt down, and then weeeeee!!! I thought I was moving fast, but apparently, I was slow..the little kids were zipping along but I was happy to be going at my pace. I heard it was hot in Boston too - and my nephew Isaac swam for the first time by himself!
R and I have colorful plans this weekend - what about you?
1. I will sleep in both days as much as possible on my new mattress! And I'm hoping to tend to my garden..R saw a few green tomatoes today. I'll also keep in touch with my family - my 97 grandmother broke her hip this week and just had surgery. She's awake but not quite alert yet and unfortunately, she's at the age where her short-term memory often fails her. So she will sometimes wake up and forget why she's in the hospital.
2. The Tour de France is passing by this Sunday on their 8th TdF stage! R and I will be dressed in yellow and will be supporting Lance and the hot Spanish one (or at least I will be. Heheh.) I can't wait - so excited! I'll be thinking of you Steven + Yoshie - who's your favorite rider? I will try to take a pic of him speeding by.
3. World Cup finals on Sunday: NL vs ES. We'll be sporting our oranje again and hoping for the first Dutch World Cup ever.
Lastly, here are some pictures from the past week or so. Enjoy! And keep cool.
The vide grenier (flea market) with 200+ tables in our little ville. R and I bought 3 copper pans, 12 DVDs, and an old leather briefcase for a great deal!
Picture of one of the cheese stations at the Fete de la fromage a few weekends ago. I sampled beaucoup de fromage...comte, reblochon, and more. So good!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Happy 4th of July!
I'm writing this after a simple breakfast of fresh eggs (mine is simply fried while R's is soft-boiled) with baguette and terrine de campagne. My Japanese friend and her family came over to our house yesterday for a BBQ and while I told her to just bring herself, she brought us presents of fresh Japanese vegetables from her garden and 2 fresh eggs that her hens laid yesterday. Both the vegetables and the hens are grown organically. I have yet to see the garden or the coop - but maybe on my next visit.
This is the second time ever eating les oeufs frais. My first fresh egg experience was quite memorable..it was in 2000, while visiting my great uncle's house in Sydney, Australia. It couldn't have gotten more local as I collected a few eggs from the coop myself, where my great uncle kept half a dozen or so hens and a rooster. Can you tell the difference between store-bought and free-range chickens? First, the free-range eggshells are a bit sticky; the yolks are incredibly yellow and rich tasting; and the taste...amazingly fresh, and sunny, if sunshine can be tasted!
This is the second time ever eating les oeufs frais. My first fresh egg experience was quite memorable..it was in 2000, while visiting my great uncle's house in Sydney, Australia. It couldn't have gotten more local as I collected a few eggs from the coop myself, where my great uncle kept half a dozen or so hens and a rooster. Can you tell the difference between store-bought and free-range chickens? First, the free-range eggshells are a bit sticky; the yolks are incredibly yellow and rich tasting; and the taste...amazingly fresh, and sunny, if sunshine can be tasted!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Je parle français
I just finished my first week of intensive French language classes at the University of Geneva—a sorry excuse for not blogging, but it's true, as I recall below.
After Monday's placement exam—much to my surprise—I was placed into level B1, lower intermediate French. How did that happen?? In any case, I am absolutely loving my classes. My teachers are terrific and passionate about teaching and the classes are a small size (around 18 in my morning cours de langue class but more in the lecture-style classes).
UNIGE's approach is full immersion into the French language by any means possible, be it grammar, literature, culture, cinema, or song. The program is 3 weeks long, with the possibility of taking an additional six weeks afterward. The days are long, as I'm up by 6:30h so I can arrive by 9:00h. Classes generally wrap up around 16:00h, but touring walks of Geneva or excursions could keep one occupied until 20:00h.
A sampling of my classes at UNIGE this session: cours de langue, grammaire intermédiare, prononciation laboratoire, two different pronunciation classes (with a teacher), cours de la suisse histoire, communication orale, stylistique grammaire, and chanson francophone. Among the songs we sang today were Le Parapluie and Les Petits Papier today (below).
This particular Wednesday R and I didn't get home until 23:00h. After class we had dinner at CERN with R's friends, a very vivacious older couple who are frequent visitors to world-renown physics research center. The husband, an older gentleman most likely in his 70s, is a pretty well known professor of Physics at NYU. For work, said professor and his wife travel to CERN every year to collaborate with other leading scientists.
During dinner the couple happily recounted how R had saved them many years ago. One winter long ago, the professor was cross-country skiing in the mountains of Lelex (probably backcountry trails with not that many people around) when he fell and dislocated his collar bone. Unable to drive to the hospital himself, his wife walked down to find help, flagging down R who stopped and offered a ride back to where the professor was. Not only did R bring them to the hospital but he also stayed to translate since they do not speak much French. ♥
On Friday evening R and I dressed in orange to attend our friends' World Cup party—can you guess what orange represents? Even though we got lost and missed NL/Brazil game, we arrived just in time to hear unbelievable news—that the Netherlands had miraculously defeated Brazil 2 to 1. Our friends and their friends are really nice..and again, super international. I met a woman from South Africa who I might be going to salsa classes together some time in the future.
We spent the evening talking, drinking and finished by watching the Ghana/Uruguay game. To my utter disappointment, Ghana was robbed of their win. If you watched that game as well - what do you think? What the hell with the red card at the end? I think that should have been an automatic goal for Ghana. I was heartbroken for the player who missed the penalty kick.
Are you following the World Cup? Have you ever learned a new language before, and what is your learning style? Tomorrow, I'll write about my football experiences in my own backyard today. Literally in my own backyard with my new Japanese friend and her family.
Bonne nuit mes amis. À demain!
After Monday's placement exam—much to my surprise—I was placed into level B1, lower intermediate French. How did that happen?? In any case, I am absolutely loving my classes. My teachers are terrific and passionate about teaching and the classes are a small size (around 18 in my morning cours de langue class but more in the lecture-style classes).
UNIGE's approach is full immersion into the French language by any means possible, be it grammar, literature, culture, cinema, or song. The program is 3 weeks long, with the possibility of taking an additional six weeks afterward. The days are long, as I'm up by 6:30h so I can arrive by 9:00h. Classes generally wrap up around 16:00h, but touring walks of Geneva or excursions could keep one occupied until 20:00h.
A sampling of my classes at UNIGE this session: cours de langue, grammaire intermédiare, prononciation laboratoire, two different pronunciation classes (with a teacher), cours de la suisse histoire, communication orale, stylistique grammaire, and chanson francophone. Among the songs we sang today were Le Parapluie and Les Petits Papier today (below).
This particular Wednesday R and I didn't get home until 23:00h. After class we had dinner at CERN with R's friends, a very vivacious older couple who are frequent visitors to world-renown physics research center. The husband, an older gentleman most likely in his 70s, is a pretty well known professor of Physics at NYU. For work, said professor and his wife travel to CERN every year to collaborate with other leading scientists.
During dinner the couple happily recounted how R had saved them many years ago. One winter long ago, the professor was cross-country skiing in the mountains of Lelex (probably backcountry trails with not that many people around) when he fell and dislocated his collar bone. Unable to drive to the hospital himself, his wife walked down to find help, flagging down R who stopped and offered a ride back to where the professor was. Not only did R bring them to the hospital but he also stayed to translate since they do not speak much French. ♥
On Friday evening R and I dressed in orange to attend our friends' World Cup party—can you guess what orange represents? Even though we got lost and missed NL/Brazil game, we arrived just in time to hear unbelievable news—that the Netherlands had miraculously defeated Brazil 2 to 1. Our friends and their friends are really nice..and again, super international. I met a woman from South Africa who I might be going to salsa classes together some time in the future.
We spent the evening talking, drinking and finished by watching the Ghana/Uruguay game. To my utter disappointment, Ghana was robbed of their win. If you watched that game as well - what do you think? What the hell with the red card at the end? I think that should have been an automatic goal for Ghana. I was heartbroken for the player who missed the penalty kick.
Are you following the World Cup? Have you ever learned a new language before, and what is your learning style? Tomorrow, I'll write about my football experiences in my own backyard today. Literally in my own backyard with my new Japanese friend and her family.
Bonne nuit mes amis. À demain!
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