Jim is amazing and I think that one of his chief assets is his ability to network. He has brought in several new and wonderful people to our class . . .
The first was Ruel Tyson, a Religious Studies Professor from Chapel Hill. I was a little afraid of him in class because he was talking on a completely different level than I am able to think and I felt several steps behind. Our readings from last week were selected by him and all concerned judgment. I am not a philosophy person and I did not really enjoy the readings so I wrote about the reasons why I judged this material unappetizing, mostly because I had no great insight to share. So the whole class I was a little afraid that he would call me out as the idiot in the class who was unable to grasp the material or as the person who had insulted him by not liking his readings (it is almost always easier to be brave from a distance). However, at dinner, as always, such barriers are broken. It was grand fun to listen to him talk about all sorts of things: books, Yale Divinity School, Soren Kierkegaard, etc. And when I went to thank him for coming all the way to France at the end, he said "You're Taylor, eh? The major?" and that I brought up some interesting points and that he wanted to talk with me about the paper when we return to UNC next year. He pointed out something about myself that is pretty basic and probably obvious to everyone but me: I'm a one-on-one person. I guess that I'm kind of selfish in that I don't particularly like to share people or compete for attention. And I think that the best/deepest interactions/conversations happen when one isn't distracted. Not to say that I don't like groups of people often, but I also like that one-on-one time a lot. Maybe I'm just like everyone else in that. I just thought that it was an interesting observation, especially since he'd met me hours before. He also told me that I had a cameo face. I guess that means I should wear lots of turtlenecks? For dinner that night we had salad, coq au vin, cheeses, and a chocolate tart. My Aunt Elizabeth asked me about cheeses, so here goes: they taste real here. Kind of like the first time I tasted natural peanut butter (just peanuts) rather than normal peanut butter. Some are creamy, some are hard, some are sweet, some are "stinky" (but delicious). We had one covered in truffle and one covered in raisins. All have been wonderful; normally consumed with bread (except for the hardest ones). I just like cheese in general (especially as a semi-vegetarian) so I'm not as discriminating as I probably should be. Just know that French cheese is delicious.
Tuesday we had two new teachers: Maggie Chevallier for Europe and Economics and Veronique Assadas for Film History. Both are going to be fabulous. With Maggie's class, I am dragging up my memories of comparative government in high school and the origins of the EU. It should be a highly discussion based class and very practical - we might all go to Strasbourg together to visit the government of EU! Vero's class is going to be fabulous - I think that I just love arts appreciation classes in general. Plus, we get to watch Chocolat in that class! I am so excited! Definitely one of my favorite movies and one of hers as well, so I have a feeling that I'll like the plupart of films that she shows.
This morning we had our French placement test, which coincidentally was the same day as the first strike that I've experienced in France. I was lucky because I was alerted of the strike 45 minutes ahead of time and lucky because my host mother's boyfriend was able to drive me to the school (about an hour's walk). All of the other students in the program went to lunch together; I had fish with curry sauce, which was really delicious. Then some of us went to see "Bobby", which I really liked. I was distracted the first half by trying to locate a plot, but if one understands that it is trying to provide a snapshot of a time rather than one single plotline, it is fabulous. I highly recommend it. Then I did something terrible: I went food shopping at the local organic store. We are technically supposed to provide all lunches and 3 dinners per week for ourselves, so I bought some provisions: noisettes, chocolat, haricots, riz, et couscous. I know that I am supposed to immerse myself in the community and eat everything they eat, but I think that I am allowed to cook and eat Rachel-food when it is just me.
Love to all,
Rachel
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Busy Weekend . . .
I guess this evening concludes my first real weekend in France. Last week I was so tired and shell-shocked and valises-deprived that it didn't count.
Jim flew in a former student/TA of his, Zia. She has worked at about three different restaurants and is an expert on pastry (did you know that Americans use the unflavorful crisco to make pastry more flaky because American butter doesn't do the flakiness thing because it has a high moisture content because the butter-people use water as a filler? French butter has both flavor and flakiness . . .), but has recently graduated from Duke Law and is clerking in NY. So she showed us how to do some of that cooking stuff.
Alright, you knew you couldn't escape without postings about food. Friday Sarah and I wanted an early dinner, so we found a small cafe. The covers for the menus were handstitched and the menus themselves handwritten. I had a salad with lentils, tabouli, chevre, and my favorite: "caviar courgettes" - the cook did some amazing alchemy with asparagi! Plus a hot chocolate, which is the best that I've ever tasted. We got in a long conversation with one of the waitstaff and she told us that the store was owned by her family as well as much information about Dijon, etc. I definitely need to figure out how to make the asparagus and the hot chocolate somehow . . .
Saturday was more cooking, but we started out at the marche. Which was designed by Gustave Eiffel and is really beautiful. Jim treated us to lunch again. I had some unidentified fish (sandre) and a bite off of everyone's plate (mushrooms, scallops, some dumplingish thing with lobster sauce). My favorite thing was the desserts (wine-poached pear, raspberry charlotte, creme brulee, and the molten chocolate cake). Then Sarah and I went shopping a little bit for some warm necessities - she got long johns (I've been enormously thankful that I brought mine, as it has been pretty bitterly cold here) and I got a wool hat at the chapellerie. I know that it really is wool because it is both very warm and very itchy. Then, a part of our party assembled to meet for dinner. We had some four-day-old leftovers at my apartment that would be thrown out soon, so everyone came to my place for dinner and we ate those over some pasta. We also played a card game that Sarah had bought before going out to a bar (which was a new experience for me). It was fine and it is probably something I should do in the United States when I am old enough (next fall) just so I can check that off of my list of things that I should experience in life, but I can't imagine going out every weekend like a lot of college students do. I think that I'm the biggest homebody one can hope to meet. I didn't order anything except a Schweppes for a girl who wasn't feeling well although lots of people gave me sips of their drinks. Jim has served us lots of wine but I had never tried beer before last night. I actually liked it, probably because of the cherry flavoring.
Today I went to Mass with Natalie-the-TA and enjoyed it very much, even though I couldn't understand everything. I could understand the content of one of the texts (1 Corinthians 13) and tears came to my eyes. Before the next time that I go to mass, I'm going learn the Nicene Creed and the Lord's Prayer in French so I can at least say that with the other congregants. Even when I go to Catholic mass in English, I forget how to say all of the little different things and I never remember what my hand is supposed to do before the gospel, so I consider those two pieces the next step. There is a Protestant church not far from here and I would like to visit it just to see how it is different, but I do want to attend Notre Dame regularly, partly because it is nice to spend time with Natalie and Jim and partly to more fully immerse myself in French culture, which is mostly comprised of non-practicing Catholics.
Natalie went to meet the next visiting professor, Ruel Tyson, and I grabbed a quick quiche for lunch. As I was walking home, I bumped into the other UNC students, who were heading out to a wine festival. I'd never been to a wine festival, so I joined them. It was terribly chilly and I'm not knowledgeable enough to say what was good and what was bad, but it was just fun to walk around a little French town (I hadn't yet seen France outside of Dijon). Plus all of the drunk French people amused me. Plus I wanted to ride on a train. I sometimes think that I love trains even more than 3-year-old boys do.
I do apologize for all of these blow-by-blow entries . . . after my days become a little more predictable and these become even more same-y to read, I will reflect more in depth about general topics.
Love,
Rachel
Jim flew in a former student/TA of his, Zia. She has worked at about three different restaurants and is an expert on pastry (did you know that Americans use the unflavorful crisco to make pastry more flaky because American butter doesn't do the flakiness thing because it has a high moisture content because the butter-people use water as a filler? French butter has both flavor and flakiness . . .), but has recently graduated from Duke Law and is clerking in NY. So she showed us how to do some of that cooking stuff.
Alright, you knew you couldn't escape without postings about food. Friday Sarah and I wanted an early dinner, so we found a small cafe. The covers for the menus were handstitched and the menus themselves handwritten. I had a salad with lentils, tabouli, chevre, and my favorite: "caviar courgettes" - the cook did some amazing alchemy with asparagi! Plus a hot chocolate, which is the best that I've ever tasted. We got in a long conversation with one of the waitstaff and she told us that the store was owned by her family as well as much information about Dijon, etc. I definitely need to figure out how to make the asparagus and the hot chocolate somehow . . .
Saturday was more cooking, but we started out at the marche. Which was designed by Gustave Eiffel and is really beautiful. Jim treated us to lunch again. I had some unidentified fish (sandre) and a bite off of everyone's plate (mushrooms, scallops, some dumplingish thing with lobster sauce). My favorite thing was the desserts (wine-poached pear, raspberry charlotte, creme brulee, and the molten chocolate cake). Then Sarah and I went shopping a little bit for some warm necessities - she got long johns (I've been enormously thankful that I brought mine, as it has been pretty bitterly cold here) and I got a wool hat at the chapellerie. I know that it really is wool because it is both very warm and very itchy. Then, a part of our party assembled to meet for dinner. We had some four-day-old leftovers at my apartment that would be thrown out soon, so everyone came to my place for dinner and we ate those over some pasta. We also played a card game that Sarah had bought before going out to a bar (which was a new experience for me). It was fine and it is probably something I should do in the United States when I am old enough (next fall) just so I can check that off of my list of things that I should experience in life, but I can't imagine going out every weekend like a lot of college students do. I think that I'm the biggest homebody one can hope to meet. I didn't order anything except a Schweppes for a girl who wasn't feeling well although lots of people gave me sips of their drinks. Jim has served us lots of wine but I had never tried beer before last night. I actually liked it, probably because of the cherry flavoring.
Today I went to Mass with Natalie-the-TA and enjoyed it very much, even though I couldn't understand everything. I could understand the content of one of the texts (1 Corinthians 13) and tears came to my eyes. Before the next time that I go to mass, I'm going learn the Nicene Creed and the Lord's Prayer in French so I can at least say that with the other congregants. Even when I go to Catholic mass in English, I forget how to say all of the little different things and I never remember what my hand is supposed to do before the gospel, so I consider those two pieces the next step. There is a Protestant church not far from here and I would like to visit it just to see how it is different, but I do want to attend Notre Dame regularly, partly because it is nice to spend time with Natalie and Jim and partly to more fully immerse myself in French culture, which is mostly comprised of non-practicing Catholics.
Natalie went to meet the next visiting professor, Ruel Tyson, and I grabbed a quick quiche for lunch. As I was walking home, I bumped into the other UNC students, who were heading out to a wine festival. I'd never been to a wine festival, so I joined them. It was terribly chilly and I'm not knowledgeable enough to say what was good and what was bad, but it was just fun to walk around a little French town (I hadn't yet seen France outside of Dijon). Plus all of the drunk French people amused me. Plus I wanted to ride on a train. I sometimes think that I love trains even more than 3-year-old boys do.
I do apologize for all of these blow-by-blow entries . . . after my days become a little more predictable and these become even more same-y to read, I will reflect more in depth about general topics.
Love,
Rachel
Thursday, January 25, 2007
More catching up . . .
Goodness gracious there is still more to tell . . . I guess that I'll start with Sunday?
I suppose that I could have gone to Mass in my four-day old airplane clothes/pajamas, but I chose not to. I slept a lot and then walked around Dijon with the dog, Valentin, for three hours. I walked to the University (about 45 minutes) and then just went wherever the dog wanted to go. So I circled around a bit. Which was fine with me because I still don't have a mental map in my head yet.
Monday, Jim, the professor, treated us to breakfast at his place (pain au chocolat et croissants et Counter Culture cafe) and we filled out paperwork for the school. His apartment is old and beautiful, with a large renovated kitchen and lots of seating :). After breakfast and an introduction to the program and the university resources and Dijon, we went out to lunch, Jim's treat again. I had a chicken and cheese tartine (basically chicken and cheese on bread - kind of like a homemade pizza without sauce) and two kinds of wine. I promise that we do actually accomplish more things than just eating - we couldn't have actual classes this week because the French university forgot to send the bill to UNC, so UNC couldn't pay the bill! But next week we actually will have classes and placements tests and all sorts of unfortunate things like that. We next visited the university and learned our way around a little bit (it really makes me appreciate how lovely UNC is - because while Dijon is a lovely city, Universite de Bourgogne a Dijon is UGLY!) and talked about academic stuff. After Jim and Natalie left to do battle with the administration, all but one of the girls went shopping and then we headed to Jim's place for dinner (all right, maybe we haven't done much more than eat so far, but we will, I promise!). Preparation took quite a while, which was fine by me. I'd never seen a salad spinner before, but they are so fun and practical that I hope to purchase one when I return! I haven't really liked salad very much (the preparation - so much washing! - or the actual food itself), but French/Jim's salads are so good that I think that I will actually like them when I return. I do look forward to learning how to make all sorts, as they truly are good for you. We also had chicken (which I ate and enjoyed) and wild rice and a cheese course with *7* cheeses and a chocolate cake for dessert. There were also three different kinds of wine over the course of the night, which were also delicious. We arrived at Jim's at 5 to help with prep, started eating around 8, and finished after 11. Whatever else I eat during the week, Monday nights I will definitely eat well.
To be honest, I haven't really been wowed by my host mom's cooking. Perhaps it is because I have such a talented cook for a real mom. And perhaps because Jim spoils us with his wonderful dinners and restaurant meals. Nathalie (my-host-mom-not-the-TA)'s salads have been excellent and varied (my favorite has been tomatoes and hard boiled egg and olive oil and maybe balsalmic vinaigrette), but for the main course she usually just slams some meat down and some pre-purchased side dish. Maybe someone who actively enjoys meat would like the meat, but I kind of don't like it so much. One night, she served some very gristly and fatty ham. Another night, she took ground beef, fried it in butter, and then plopped it on our plates. I've been able to manage to eat about 1/3 to 1/2 of the meat that she serves, but it really does not appeal. The chicken and fish that I've eaten since putting the vegetarian thing on hiatus has been okay, but I guess this meat is just too rich for me. I think that after a little bit I'll tell her soon that I prefer chicken and fish or even meatless meals and maybe I won't have to eat as much ham. I had a delicious omelette the other night - made with pasta of all things! I think that the trick to the French omelette is not too much egg, a dash of milk, and various herbs that I have yet to identify. I need to find some good French vegetarian cookbooks so maybe I can cook a little bit for the family . . .
Although my host mother doesn't really cook very much, we do have a pretty traditional French meal every night. That means salade to start, then the plat principal, then some sort of fromage, then finally a dessert (fruit, so far). Sometimes one or more of these elements is missing, but that is the basic pattern. Plus bread on the side. And I mean this literally and figuratively. The French don't put bread on their plate, but on the tablecloth where it makes a big crumby mess. Don't ask me why. But they do.
I feel a little bit like I have stepped into a fairy tale. Every moment I'm like, wow, the French really do have excellent public transportation. Wow, the French actually do use "connaitre" and "savoir" in different senses. Wow, they really do have a basic framework to their meals. Wow, they really do put the bread to the side of the plate. Wow, that building is really old and people still use it. It's been a lot of fun.
After spending so much time with Jim, Natalie-the-TA, and the other students on Monday, the next two days were signficantly more quiet. I got my luggage on Tuesday, which was a terrific thing, so I spent my time unpacking, changing clothes at long last, navigating emails, posting blog entries :), working on the zillions of applications that are due in the next little bit, watching the snow, taking pictures, doing my homework, reading, napping, talking with my host family when they are in, and making a little simple food for myself. Its been a while since I spent that much time by myself, and it was really nice. At home, I try to spend time with my family and at school, there are always classes, meetings, people in the lounge :), and people in my room. All of these are fabulous and worthy pursuits, but it is also nice to have some time by myself and retreat a little bit. In the months leading up to the program, I was really afraid of spending this much time by myself because I thought that I had forgotten how to be alone since I never really was, so it has really been a pleasant surprise that I've enjoyed myself.
We (Jim, Nat-the-TA, and the students) all reunited today to run some errands: picking up discount cards for the bus and train as well as purchasing cell phones. Plus a two-hour lunch of course :-P. I had a vegetable and cheese and pine nut crumble, salad, tarte chocolat, and a tea scheherazade (which I mostly got for the name). We all shared our food and desserts and everything was wonderful. It was good to get some decent food after tramping about in the cold - it has really been chilly and I am without a hat or mittens (been using scarf/pockets as substitutes). I was foolish enough to not check the weather and then walk outside with wet hair, which promptly froze in the cold morning air. Je vais aller au marche demain acheter un peu de laine alors je peux trichoter ou crocheter un chapeau et des moufles toute de suite. http://www.freetranslation.com/ :).
Whew, I think that I'm finally caught up, eventswise at least. I will post musings about family, alcohol, the French people, and other stuff after I am done with some of my other work. Like reflecting on Kant. Who literally did put me to sleep yesterday morning :(. I can see why Madeleine L'Engle reads German philosophers when she is plagued by insomnia . . .
Love,
Rachel
I suppose that I could have gone to Mass in my four-day old airplane clothes/pajamas, but I chose not to. I slept a lot and then walked around Dijon with the dog, Valentin, for three hours. I walked to the University (about 45 minutes) and then just went wherever the dog wanted to go. So I circled around a bit. Which was fine with me because I still don't have a mental map in my head yet.
Monday, Jim, the professor, treated us to breakfast at his place (pain au chocolat et croissants et Counter Culture cafe) and we filled out paperwork for the school. His apartment is old and beautiful, with a large renovated kitchen and lots of seating :). After breakfast and an introduction to the program and the university resources and Dijon, we went out to lunch, Jim's treat again. I had a chicken and cheese tartine (basically chicken and cheese on bread - kind of like a homemade pizza without sauce) and two kinds of wine. I promise that we do actually accomplish more things than just eating - we couldn't have actual classes this week because the French university forgot to send the bill to UNC, so UNC couldn't pay the bill! But next week we actually will have classes and placements tests and all sorts of unfortunate things like that. We next visited the university and learned our way around a little bit (it really makes me appreciate how lovely UNC is - because while Dijon is a lovely city, Universite de Bourgogne a Dijon is UGLY!) and talked about academic stuff. After Jim and Natalie left to do battle with the administration, all but one of the girls went shopping and then we headed to Jim's place for dinner (all right, maybe we haven't done much more than eat so far, but we will, I promise!). Preparation took quite a while, which was fine by me. I'd never seen a salad spinner before, but they are so fun and practical that I hope to purchase one when I return! I haven't really liked salad very much (the preparation - so much washing! - or the actual food itself), but French/Jim's salads are so good that I think that I will actually like them when I return. I do look forward to learning how to make all sorts, as they truly are good for you. We also had chicken (which I ate and enjoyed) and wild rice and a cheese course with *7* cheeses and a chocolate cake for dessert. There were also three different kinds of wine over the course of the night, which were also delicious. We arrived at Jim's at 5 to help with prep, started eating around 8, and finished after 11. Whatever else I eat during the week, Monday nights I will definitely eat well.
To be honest, I haven't really been wowed by my host mom's cooking. Perhaps it is because I have such a talented cook for a real mom. And perhaps because Jim spoils us with his wonderful dinners and restaurant meals. Nathalie (my-host-mom-not-the-TA)'s salads have been excellent and varied (my favorite has been tomatoes and hard boiled egg and olive oil and maybe balsalmic vinaigrette), but for the main course she usually just slams some meat down and some pre-purchased side dish. Maybe someone who actively enjoys meat would like the meat, but I kind of don't like it so much. One night, she served some very gristly and fatty ham. Another night, she took ground beef, fried it in butter, and then plopped it on our plates. I've been able to manage to eat about 1/3 to 1/2 of the meat that she serves, but it really does not appeal. The chicken and fish that I've eaten since putting the vegetarian thing on hiatus has been okay, but I guess this meat is just too rich for me. I think that after a little bit I'll tell her soon that I prefer chicken and fish or even meatless meals and maybe I won't have to eat as much ham. I had a delicious omelette the other night - made with pasta of all things! I think that the trick to the French omelette is not too much egg, a dash of milk, and various herbs that I have yet to identify. I need to find some good French vegetarian cookbooks so maybe I can cook a little bit for the family . . .
Although my host mother doesn't really cook very much, we do have a pretty traditional French meal every night. That means salade to start, then the plat principal, then some sort of fromage, then finally a dessert (fruit, so far). Sometimes one or more of these elements is missing, but that is the basic pattern. Plus bread on the side. And I mean this literally and figuratively. The French don't put bread on their plate, but on the tablecloth where it makes a big crumby mess. Don't ask me why. But they do.
I feel a little bit like I have stepped into a fairy tale. Every moment I'm like, wow, the French really do have excellent public transportation. Wow, the French actually do use "connaitre" and "savoir" in different senses. Wow, they really do have a basic framework to their meals. Wow, they really do put the bread to the side of the plate. Wow, that building is really old and people still use it. It's been a lot of fun.
After spending so much time with Jim, Natalie-the-TA, and the other students on Monday, the next two days were signficantly more quiet. I got my luggage on Tuesday, which was a terrific thing, so I spent my time unpacking, changing clothes at long last, navigating emails, posting blog entries :), working on the zillions of applications that are due in the next little bit, watching the snow, taking pictures, doing my homework, reading, napping, talking with my host family when they are in, and making a little simple food for myself. Its been a while since I spent that much time by myself, and it was really nice. At home, I try to spend time with my family and at school, there are always classes, meetings, people in the lounge :), and people in my room. All of these are fabulous and worthy pursuits, but it is also nice to have some time by myself and retreat a little bit. In the months leading up to the program, I was really afraid of spending this much time by myself because I thought that I had forgotten how to be alone since I never really was, so it has really been a pleasant surprise that I've enjoyed myself.
We (Jim, Nat-the-TA, and the students) all reunited today to run some errands: picking up discount cards for the bus and train as well as purchasing cell phones. Plus a two-hour lunch of course :-P. I had a vegetable and cheese and pine nut crumble, salad, tarte chocolat, and a tea scheherazade (which I mostly got for the name). We all shared our food and desserts and everything was wonderful. It was good to get some decent food after tramping about in the cold - it has really been chilly and I am without a hat or mittens (been using scarf/pockets as substitutes). I was foolish enough to not check the weather and then walk outside with wet hair, which promptly froze in the cold morning air. Je vais aller au marche demain acheter un peu de laine alors je peux trichoter ou crocheter un chapeau et des moufles toute de suite. http://www.freetranslation.com/ :).
Whew, I think that I'm finally caught up, eventswise at least. I will post musings about family, alcohol, the French people, and other stuff after I am done with some of my other work. Like reflecting on Kant. Who literally did put me to sleep yesterday morning :(. I can see why Madeleine L'Engle reads German philosophers when she is plagued by insomnia . . .
Love,
Rachel
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Catching up - a lot!
Dear all,
Hurrah! An update! I will try to tell you all that has happened in the past week while also keeping it brief enough to be interesting. Please skim as this will be long!
So I left Thursday. I was rerouted, so I didn't end up flying with the girls that I thought I would fly with, but I did end up with another student in my program, Salem, which was fabulous. I think that I even slept a little bit, amidst reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, one of my favorite new books that I recommend to everyone. I hadn't been on a plane that big since flying to and fro from England (actually, I don't think that I've even left the country since England in 1997!) so it brought back some old memories. I always love looking out the window at the countryside - and that was especially fun flying over France.
We arrived in Charles de Gaulle, which looks a bit older than most airports that I've been in. My favorite part was the escalators in the tunnels - it made me think of the staircases in Harry Potter! Maybe they were J. K. Rowling's inspiration? My least favorite part was the airport not having my luggage :-(. Although the lady at the desk spoke English, it was great to have Salem, a French minor, by my side for language and moral support. The TA for our program, Natalie Halbach, welcomed us as we headed out of the airport and helped us navigate through I'm-not-entirely-sure-how-many subway stations until we got to the TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse - Major railstation connecting cities all around Europe) station for Dijon. I think that all of us slept for at least a little bit during the trip from Paris - I have fleeting impressions of lots of grafitti (I hope that is spelled right) around the city and later on fields with unidentified animals in them (either sheep or cattle - they were too far away to tell).
My host mother, Nathalie, met me at the train station and she is a very very very fashionable French lady, let me tell you. She doesn't speak any English, which is good because it forces me to practice and use my French. She's had other students before with even less French than I, so she has experience explaining things slowly with little words :). Her house is equally fashionable, after I find the cord that will let me upload my photos to my computer, I will post photos. I was feeling a bit intimidated (especially since all that I had to wear for an indefinite period of time was my shabby-but-comfortable airplane clothes) until the sixteen-year-old son Maxime came home. The first thing that he did (after greeting me in the French way, with a kiss on the cheek) was to put on MTV! So although I never watched it in the states, now I have seen "Pimp my ride", "Les stars petent les plombs" (I have thus far been unable to locate a translation - the show has something to do with a hidden camera), and "Parental Control" in French! I was surprised by the amount of English/American culture in the media here - especially in the advertisements. There was one ad for "Sims Deux" and a music video that used the Pink Floyd song "We don't need no education" to tell people that they don't need to know much to save the environment.
Nathalie has been really helpful and supportive - she has let me tag along on her errands around Dijon and went with me to research getting a cell phone. We went to get a map on the first day, which has proven invaluable during my wanderings about Dijon.
Now it is time for le diner - I'll write more about my musings later!
Love,
Rachel
Hurrah! An update! I will try to tell you all that has happened in the past week while also keeping it brief enough to be interesting. Please skim as this will be long!
So I left Thursday. I was rerouted, so I didn't end up flying with the girls that I thought I would fly with, but I did end up with another student in my program, Salem, which was fabulous. I think that I even slept a little bit, amidst reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan, one of my favorite new books that I recommend to everyone. I hadn't been on a plane that big since flying to and fro from England (actually, I don't think that I've even left the country since England in 1997!) so it brought back some old memories. I always love looking out the window at the countryside - and that was especially fun flying over France.
We arrived in Charles de Gaulle, which looks a bit older than most airports that I've been in. My favorite part was the escalators in the tunnels - it made me think of the staircases in Harry Potter! Maybe they were J. K. Rowling's inspiration? My least favorite part was the airport not having my luggage :-(. Although the lady at the desk spoke English, it was great to have Salem, a French minor, by my side for language and moral support. The TA for our program, Natalie Halbach, welcomed us as we headed out of the airport and helped us navigate through I'm-not-entirely-sure-how-many subway stations until we got to the TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse - Major railstation connecting cities all around Europe) station for Dijon. I think that all of us slept for at least a little bit during the trip from Paris - I have fleeting impressions of lots of grafitti (I hope that is spelled right) around the city and later on fields with unidentified animals in them (either sheep or cattle - they were too far away to tell).
My host mother, Nathalie, met me at the train station and she is a very very very fashionable French lady, let me tell you. She doesn't speak any English, which is good because it forces me to practice and use my French. She's had other students before with even less French than I, so she has experience explaining things slowly with little words :). Her house is equally fashionable, after I find the cord that will let me upload my photos to my computer, I will post photos. I was feeling a bit intimidated (especially since all that I had to wear for an indefinite period of time was my shabby-but-comfortable airplane clothes) until the sixteen-year-old son Maxime came home. The first thing that he did (after greeting me in the French way, with a kiss on the cheek) was to put on MTV! So although I never watched it in the states, now I have seen "Pimp my ride", "Les stars petent les plombs" (I have thus far been unable to locate a translation - the show has something to do with a hidden camera), and "Parental Control" in French! I was surprised by the amount of English/American culture in the media here - especially in the advertisements. There was one ad for "Sims Deux" and a music video that used the Pink Floyd song "We don't need no education" to tell people that they don't need to know much to save the environment.
Nathalie has been really helpful and supportive - she has let me tag along on her errands around Dijon and went with me to research getting a cell phone. We went to get a map on the first day, which has proven invaluable during my wanderings about Dijon.
Now it is time for le diner - I'll write more about my musings later!
Love,
Rachel
I am here! And my things are too!
Dear all,
Sorry to be so long posting something - my bags were lost (I just found a tag inside one that said that it was inspected according to federal law - I've heard that since that law was passed that the amount of lost luggage has skyrocketed) and arrived approximately half an hour ago (hurrah hurrah hurrah)! Including my adaptor, which meant no computer access. But they are here now and I managed pretty well for five days with what was in my carry-ons. I will give a nice long post in a little bit to talk about everything that I've been up to - with pictures because my camera arrived here also (!) - but first I want to change and unpack a little bit. Oh how I long to change clothes!
Love,
Rachel
Sorry to be so long posting something - my bags were lost (I just found a tag inside one that said that it was inspected according to federal law - I've heard that since that law was passed that the amount of lost luggage has skyrocketed) and arrived approximately half an hour ago (hurrah hurrah hurrah)! Including my adaptor, which meant no computer access. But they are here now and I managed pretty well for five days with what was in my carry-ons. I will give a nice long post in a little bit to talk about everything that I've been up to - with pictures because my camera arrived here also (!) - but first I want to change and unpack a little bit. Oh how I long to change clothes!
Love,
Rachel
Monday, January 15, 2007
Bienvenue!
Dear all,
Welcome to this blog! This is my attempt to document my semester in France. I am just learning how to take and post digital photos so I hope that my early attempts amuse you. For the people who don't know, the gentleman in the picture is my adorable baby brother making his confused face (as he very oftend does).
If you're wondering about the title, "UNCBabushka" is my screen name. "UNC" because I attend the most amazing school on the planet and "Babushka" because it means both "scarf" and "Grandmother" in Russian. And I do so love to knit and I do exhibit many grandmotherly tendencies, particularly around my residents. Plus, all of my mom's family is from Eastern Europe so this is a slightly odd way to pay tribute to them.
Other ways to keep in touch besides this blog and instant messaging include my email address taylor.rachel.e (at) gmail.com, my skype account (taylor.rachel.e) (talking like phone but online - webcam component as well), and my snail mail address:
Rachel Taylor
Chez Nathalie Monnoyeur
4 Rue Mably
21000 Dijon
France
Departure for is this Thursday around 3ish. I have all of my clothes packed (and by all my clothes I really do mean ALL of my clothes - see photo) but I am still getting some of my "fun" things taken care of. Like purses. And books. And journals (thank you other-half-of-Team-Rachel). And knitting needles. And passport/visa. And laptop. All of those essentials.
My week will be wrapping up some loose ends - mailing some very late Christmas presents, going to Chapel Hill to endorse a check (glad that I got that memo the Friday BEFORE I went to France), lining up some summer stuff, reading, knitting, watching movies, cleaning my room, reviewing French, spending time with family, etc.
Maybe after I pick up a little more French this blog will be bilingual?
Love,
Rachel
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