Just call me Miss Flexible!

So my travelling plans for the semaine de rattrapage have taken an entirely different turn as planned. I know have quite a bit of class to make up and I don't think it is smart to miss it, especially since I enjoy the classes I have to make up. So, I have decided to just go for a weekend trip with Vai, Brett and Tina to the Loire Valley and the to Paris. Although disappointed, Vai and I at least get to spend some time travelling together and I also get to make good on a promise to Kim, my boss at Bayer - take a picture with me in front of the Petit Zinc restaurant. So all in all I think it shall be good. And look at that, I am actually adapting to situations rather than pouting or getting upset...hehehe, just call me Miss Flexible from now on!!

Long time, no post

My typical schedule has been thrown out of wack by the manifestations, the cancelled classes and the still-closed fac (la faculté, which is what the French call the university). Hence the reason for less posts and mass emails; they too become late and less frequent.
Not that I am annoyed by the change or anything, it is more confusing than anything. I have walked more to school these past few weeks to only learn I have no class than anytime before in my life. If only there could be better communication – another prof, a messenger, a smoke signal, a notice – so we weren’t standing waiting for a teacher to show up for a half and hour until we finally figure there is no class.

I have never seen such political engagement as I have seen here. These French students have grit and perseverance; that is undeniable. Nevertheless, so does the government. If only both sides were a little flexible; stubbornness, pride and politics get in the way of a solution that satisfies both parties at least partially. On the other hand, it is a good demonstration and experience of French culture – for that reason I find it interesting. I just hope it doesn’t last too long, because although most of my courses are still running (the regular students don’t have class) my cinema class has been cancelled the past two weeks. It’s the make up that I am concerned about – I don’t want to have the semester extended, cause I want to have time to travel a bit before leaving in celebration of making it! Fingers crossed!!

I have travel plans for the next week, the semaine de rattrapage; however, these might change. Here is what I have planned out if all goes as originally intended:

March 30: take an overnight train to Tours
March 31: arrive at Tours, visit the Loire Valley
April 1: arrive in Paris after taking an overnight train and visit the capital of France
April 2: Paris encore, overnight train to Strasbourg
April 3: Strasbourg
April 4: Heidelberg, Germany
April 5: Luxembourg
April 6: Geneva, take an overnight train back to Perpignan

However, I think I will have to make up my literature class during the week of the semaine de rattrapage, so I will probably cut out the Heidelberg and Luxembourg daytrip and go to Geneva on the 4th, before taking an overnight train to arrive early in the morning to Perpignan. I will drop my stuff off at home and then head to school for my class. Let’s see what the future has in store…

Matchmaker, Matchmaker??? :S

Alright, I'm being set up on a whole new level. Seriously, I wouldn't be surprised if arranged marriage or marriage in general was the way my time here ended - and I am talking MY marriage. That is if I let these French people have there way with me; however, in the words of Alain, I am very independent and have my own ideas about things, so perhaps maybe not. :)

But lets backtrack for a second here: it seems in France, having a boyfriend is very important. When explaining that no, in fact we don't have boyfriends, never have, we are rewarded with looks of astonishment, surprise and just plain good ol'shock. Also laughter. And then they start planning...and oh, the plans:

1) Mme Teixido plans for us to go to a discotheque before we leave here. She keeps dropping names of different ones to us, and how her friend owns them and that we should go and find a nice French boy because it is a good way to learn the language. The funny thing is though, most of these discotheques cater to an age range that is not ours, but older. I'm not into a whole Celine Dion type affair, whether she is Canadian or not.

2) Our neighbours below us - they are wonderfully nice - but they have ideas. They think we need to be nicer to boys, instead of scaring them off. Not sure how we scare them off. Secondly, their friend was over yesterday and he knows a lot of young people, so they are going to invite over a bunch of young guys (some girls hopefully too) and have us come down and "meet" them. I feel like I'm being put on display, like meat or really nice pair of shoes. It should be interesting if it actually happens. The lady also said that she would take us on a tour of the town and show us where the good discotheques and pubs are...so we can go and talk to people and learn the "real" French.

And lastly, as an aside note on the genius of "Mel", while at the crepe night at my neighbours house, they offered us what they called "le cidre" which to me, meant cider. It might have been cider but it was alcoholic and I had accepted some. So I accidently drank alcohol, it was the most disgusting thing ever...when I went to drink the first sip, I smelt it...but I had to wash down the nutella stuck to the roof of my mouth from the crepe, so I had to drink it. I just thought you'd enjoy that bit....needless to say, I was unable to finish it!!

A new development: A Kissing Complex :S

I have no idea where the invention the whole double kiss greeting came from. I am considering asking my profs. It is a source of great perplexity that is constantly increasing. Perhaps it is a product of my conservative tendencies and cultural upbringing – the form of greeting is a hand shake generally. And the handshake is a beautiful thing showing both acknowledging in a friendly manner someone and at the same time, maintaining one’s personal space. Nevertheless, here in France, all of this wonderful reason is thrown out the window. Personal space invaded, strangers are more friendly with each other than I have been with some of my closest friends. The result: the double kiss as form of greeting with all – strangers, friends, families.

I have now kissed more people in the past 2 months than I have ever before in my entire life. I thought at first it was only something they did upon initially meeting someone…I was wrong. And now, I am forced to become a kissing machine. And worst of all, you have to kiss people that are creepy or make you uncomfortable, and in truth, would just like to run from in the opposite direction.
Case #1: Christophe. He lives in our apartment building and he is friendly but creepy (actually the textbook definition). The things he says sometimes makes my stomach quiver and gives me goosebumps all over. Nevertheless, he never ceases to do the double kiss everytime he arrives and leaves. YUCK! The worse part is, he used to live in the States so he knows this is not part of our culture and yet, he continues. Now, I’m sure you guys are wondering if he is hitting on us; I can say for sure that he is not, because he is gay. Katelyn and I hide from him because that way we avoid talking to him and doing the “bises”.
Case #2: Strangers – big and small. Who kisses someone upon first meeting them? Enough said there.

As a result of this experience, I will not only come home with better French (fingers crossed [A]), enriched with culture and experience, and a complex – I will probably never want to embrace another person again in any form or manner except my family. :S

Completely enamoured with Coilloure

This is a place, not a guy...just thought I'd say that straight up so that I didn't get some of you people excited for gossip. But Coilloure is still a wonderful place, and if you remember, I went to it back when I had first arrived in France (it was where the sea was and the military people). Anyways, there was an excursion this past weekend organized by the faculty and I went again...cause I love it that much. And I was stunned at the beauty all over again.

I don't exactly know how to explain it but something just resonates well with me there. There is something to be said about the rhythm of the waves and the sound they make as they crash upon each other or the rocks; it just kinda sets something astir within me and I feel wonderful and sad all at the same time. But if you watch them, you see that big waves are the key to a clear view of the tresures the sea beholds, you just have to catch it at the right moment, when it is building itself up before colliding with other waves or shore. And there is the spray in your face and the wind tickles my hair and whips it about my face. The rocks, albeit cold, are comfortable enough to sit on and stare out into the horizon. Finally, the sunlight drifts in and out with the movement of the clouds, but when it's rays shine down, it is a moment of complete warmth and the natural splendour around me is illuminated. It is breathtaking...

My reputation, My love...

Alright, as we all know, I love chocolate...ardently. It is a part of my daily living, kinda like clothes and brushing my teeth. Nevertheless, here, my infatuation for this rich substance of deliciousness is somewhat extraordinary and confusing to my fellow classmates. My reputation is that of the girl who consumes chocolate copiously. And to top it all off, I am doing my dossier for my French civilisation class on "Le chocolat".

I get questions of why chocolate, or where did this love and need come from. Is it a Canadian thing, b/c all three of us Canadian girls eat it; nevertheless, it is them that eat it because they around me, otherwise they can live without it. They see me as this sort of weirdo with the power to convert anyone into a choco-holic, or something along those lines I think. HAHAHA!!! Maybe this is my crowning moment and I can finally get a super cape and a tiara! I don't mind though, it gives me opportunity to use my French as I explain the "Melness" that is behind this trait. Furthermore, it also provides me with free bits of chocolate here and there when my classmates bring chocolate to class and offer it to me, because they know I will appreciate it.

And why this diatribe on chocolate...well let me tell you, I started my research today and I have never read more fascinating information before. Chocolate is healthy in fact, and the darker it is the better for you. It also has a very interesting and complicated history and a diverse economic market on a whole bunch of levels. It is truly mind-boggling how this little treasure of delectableness is in fact part of a process much more complex.

But in order to not bore you any longer, here are a couple of quotes that I enjoyed when researching:

1) Each day, I eat the three nutritious elements indispensable to one's health: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate and cacao. - Debra Tracy

2) Do not believe that chocolate is the substitue for love...Love is the substitute for chocolate. - Miranda Ingram.

Now, go eat some chocolate...Bon appetit!!!

Literary Genius, ha; more like, Literary Obsessed

Well, after my big trip, I had to come back and read Dom Juan, a play by Moliere for my literature class this morning. It was a very quick, easy and unpainful read (I suppose that is the only good thing that came about reading Proust...everything else in comparison is enjoyable b/c it is not PROUST!)

Anyways, so today we arrive at class and Katelyn and I along with three other students were the only ones that actually read the play. As the prof is talking about everything, the difference between tragedy and comedy, theatre of the 17th century, preciosite and a whole bunch of other stuff during the period Moliere wrote in, us three Canadian girls are just sitting there, like we know this stuff, we want to discuss and ask our questions. So at the end of class I ask mine: Why was there fantastic elements in this play because according to the three unities and the rules of the time, you shouldn't have miracles being played out on stage? I learned that in my French lit class and I learned that in my Shakespeare class - apparently in comedy you can get away with it because it was considered a lower genre (the high genre being tragedy). Then, my prof is like: It seems that you guys know a lot of literature from your studies in Canada (cause we are always nodding or smiling about stuff in a we-know-this way). And all three of us at once right out a resounding "OUI!". I add for good mesure that we also study English literature too.

We may look like geniuses, but in truth we are just obsessed with reading and the ficitonal world in general!!!

Snaps of Scotland

Here is my first glimpse of the University of Glasgow; we went there because of the Tim Horton's commercial. It was nice from this view, but when you got closer not so much, cause all the architecture has been blackened by industry so it has sort of a melancholic feel to it.

And below, there is a picture of a Scottish dude wearing a kilt, he was the first one I saw. And then there was a group of them...I was impressed!!!


Here is a picture of me posing from atop the cemetary in Stirling; the landscape was beautiful I really really liked it. And look, no hat necessary that day!!!










And next, is the picture of me and Katelyn sitting on the royal thrones at Stirling Castle in the great hall - I don't exactly look regal, but that's because I was lugging around my huge backpack all day (it was something like 8 kg)!!! I'm going to come back with muscles :)








The next two are me on the volcano in Edinburgh during the snowstorm. It was wonderful though, I loved every moment.

London in pics...

Here is Vaithegi and me in a tree at the University Parks in Oxford. There were some guys behind us playing ultimate frisbee which was cool to watch, and in the spirit of picture taking, we decided to pose in the tree because it was pretty!
This is the "Tree of Life" at the British Museum and is a creation made by artists in Mozambique out of guns. In order to bring peace to their country, the government started the practice of giving tools to its citizens in exchange for their guns. They would get one tool per a gun. The government then took the guns and chopped them up into pieces so they could no longer be used. Using those bits and pieces, the artists built a tree and some animal figurines as a symbol of the peace this motion brought about for the nation. It is quite the creation to behold and in my opinion, one of the best uses of a gun that I’ve ever seen.
Here is me at Notting Hill posing with my wonderful hat head (hahahaha...a permanent do throughout this trip b/c it was cold). Katelyn and I tried to look for Hugh Grant's house in the movie, but no luck and no Hugh or Julia either! ;)
The British Library: here is a picture of one of the old manuscripts that I took before getting yelled at for taking pics...we weren't supposed to, but I didn't realize that until the guard very angrily told me. :S I apologized and then just looked and looked to my hearts content. As for the picture, it is a Coran from the Middle Ages.
And lastly, here is me in one of my many famous weird poses! I stripped off my coat and layers in order to take my picture wearing my "The best girls are Canadian shirt" in front of the Canadian Gate by Buckingham Palace and St. James part. Hahaha, I love how my patriotism just sort of kicked in against all reason!

London/Scotland: a brief resume

It feels long since I have been able to actually post something of significance...bascially, the past 10 days have been a hectic adventure of fun, fatigue and freaky happenings as all good voyages do. So, here is a list of all the places I visited and things that I did in order to keep it brief:

London:
British Museum, British Library (soooo cool), Picadilly Circus, Oxford Street, Covent Gardens, Notting Hill, Portobello Road (bought a necklace there), Buckingham Palace (not as splendid of Versailles), St. James Park (LOL, we people watched there, and lets just say Bimbo McPhee was rather entertaining), Parliament, Big Ben, Tower of London, Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Globe Theatre, daytrip to Oxford where I saw the University, town and markets...and soo much more.

Glasgow: not much to see here, but there was this cool necropolis which I definitely enjoyed; morbid yes, but seriously, one of the coolest and biggest graveyards I've ever been to.

Stirling: castle and another graveyard and the town...such a picturesque Scottish town, definitely enjoyed that place.

Edinburgh: climbed the big volcano in Hollyrood Park (the best part of that city), the castle, the Royal Museum, the Museum of Scotland, the Royal Mile, Parliament, the park...

And the best part...I saw my real Scottish person wearing a kilt...in both Glasgow and Edinburgh...I was sooooooo excited!!!! That's one thing ticked off my list....