This week was methodology class which is less helpful than I thought it would be, mostly because our teacher believes in learning by trial and error. So instead of showing us an example of the various assignments required at Sciences Po and then letting us practice them, she just tells us vaguely about them and has us try to figure it out for ourselves. They are very picky about what is included in each assignment, and even the things that are similar to stuff in America, have different requirements. For example, in a research paper in France, you don’t state your thesis in the introduction. You present the question you are trying to answer, like you would in America, but instead of then saying what answer you are going to prove, you instead just explain how you will examine the question. If you put a thesis statement the professor says you have already reached your conclusion so there is no point for them to read the rest of the paper. And they make you “define the terms” as the first step of basically any assignment. It’s a hard adjustment because you’ve been practicing writing papers the American way for the last ten years, and suddenly you have to change the whole way you go about it. Plus, I’ve always been very good when it comes to writing papers, and now I’m at the bottom of the curve. It’s a little disconcerting. I just hope the professors have a little compassion on the international students, although I’ve heard that usually isn’t the case.
Saturday my internet decided to go out for no apparent reason. Seriously, I had checked my mail and facebook and done a few other things online, I went and washed some dishes, and came back to look something up and...no wireless. The screen of the modem box had lines going around instead of the time, so I knew that meant it was trying to synchronize. It would look like it was fixed for a few minutes and then go out again. I tried rebooting like I had to do the first time. I tried it about 6 times, and no luck. I am so spoiled by having internet access 24/7 that when I have to go without it at home for a bit it seems like the end of the world. In America it would have been annoying and I wouldn’t have been pleased, but here everything is 8 times harder to fix than at home, so I was really not a happy camper. But it did give me a chance to do some stuff I haven’t taken much time for, like writing letters and reading.
I started reading Hemingway’s "A Moveable Feast". Ever since I first heard his quote about Paris many years ago I’ve wanted to read his account of the city, so I bought it before I left to come here. It’s my first Hemingway, and I have to say, so far I’m a fan. He has a very unique writing style and the book is an easy read. I think it’s good I didn’t have any expectations going in, because if you are expecting a story line, or a really cohesive grouping of stories, you’ll probably be disappointed. I’m not sure if I’d like it as much if I didn’t know Paris, but because I know many of the streets and places he mentions and much of the way he describes the city still holds true, I have really enjoyed it. I’ll reserve my final opinion of the book until I finish it.
I don’t feel like I’ve been in Paris at all today. I got up and went to church which is out in the suburbs and is peopled mostly with American expats and other internationals, so being out there you really don’t feel like you’re in Paris, or France for that matter. And then afterwards, Glenn wanted to go to lunch in Chinatown so he could take us to a restaurant there that he likes. It was providential because I had just been thinking during the service that I could really go for some Chinese food. We decided to take the RER (local train system) into the city instead of the bus and the metro because it’s faster. We just missed one train, and so were standing on the platform when they announced on the loud speaker that there was an “interruption of traffic on the line because of a serious incident involving a traveler.” This is a pretty common announcement on the metro, and I guess the RER lines too, and I had never really paid much attention to it. I just always assumed that people were stupid and got hurt or something. I was mentioning how often that happens on the metro, when Bethany explained to me that saying a “serious traveler incident” is their way of saying someone committed suicide without actually saying it. I remembered hearing that many people kill themselves by jumping in front of a metro car or train, but I had just never put two and two together. So that was a pretty disturbing revelation, especially because I’ve heard so many of those announcements. I would hate to be a metro driver because I would always be afraid that someone was going to jump out in front of my train. Anyway, so that was somewhat upsetting, and on the more selfish side, it meant that we ended up waiting for a really long time for a train to come, so it would have been faster to take the bus.
Chinatown in located in the 13th, which is basically on the total opposite side of Paris from where church is. So even once we got into the city it took us a long metro ride to get out there. When we were leaving the metro, Glenn joked “Once you go up those stairs, you will no longer be in Paris.” He really wasn’t kidding. It was like we had taken a bullet train to Asia. That is one area of Paris where I have no hope of blending in. All the signs are in French and Chinese, and I’m suddenly really really tall. I was kind of wishing I hadn’t worn heels. It helped that three of the people in our group were from Singapore and another is an American of Chinese heritage. Ordering at the restaurant was interesting because the waitress was speaking Chinese to those at our table who spoke it, and then she’d switch into French for us, but her French was so heavily accented that I almost couldn’t tell the difference. I ordered some spicy fried chicken and steamed rice which was really good, and pretty cheap. It had taken us so long to get there, and then it took a long time to eat, so it was four in the afternoon before we got done.
Afterwards some went home, but I went with a few others to Tang Freres (Tang Brothers), which is a big Asian supermarket around the corner. Compared to regular grocery stores the prices were pretty good, of course it’s all Asian food which I’m not sure I know enough about to know what to buy. I did get some canned leeche because when Meiwa brought it to Bible study it was really good. I also got some canned mango, sweet rice milk, and bananas. I definitely want to go back and look around more on a day when it is less busy because the place was a zoo, but it’s good to know that basically everything in Chinatown is open on Sundays. It was a pretty cool afternoon, and was certainly a change from the rest of Paris, but I was very grateful for my Asian companions who could explain stuff and make me not feel as much out of place.
It was, however, a long afternoon, and I was quite tired from carrying heavy canned goods all the way across Paris. I had to take 3 metros and then walk home uphill in heels. I need to plan better for all contingencies when I get dressed for church I guess. And when I got home, the internet had not begun to work again, so I read some more Hemingway and took a Sunday evening nap. After which I ran down to the ATM to start withdrawing to pay rent for next month, and stopped by the little market for some essentials, and then made myself a Nutella banana sandwich, which I highly recommend.
Hope you have a blessed day!
Lyndsey
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Course registration, in any language, is still stressful
(written Sept. 17th)
I’m sitting here in my arm chair, looking out of my window at the tip of the Eiffel Tower sticking up above the slanted rooftops. It is raining for the first time since I arrived. Not really raining raining, but dripping. It’s that sort of tentative, tapping drizzle that is so synonymous with winter in Paris. I kept hearing this weird tinking noise but couldn’t figure out what it was even though I was looking out the window, because that’s how small and sporadic the drops are. The somber evening sky seems to melt into the city because it is nearly the same color and the roofs. I had to turn on a light earlier than usual today because of the clouds. Like many Parisians (at least the ones that live around me), I basically just use natural light as long as I can during the day. They’re big fans of natural light here. I don’t know if it is because of the energy costs, or if it just seems more normal for a city that has existed for centuries without electricity. Whatever the reason, I fit in well, not because I’m trying to live like the French, but just because it’s an acquired family trait. At UF my roommates used to come home in the afternoons and ask me why I was sitting in the dark- lol. Fortunately I am blessed with great light up here in my little apartment.
Wow that was a really long digression about light, for which I apologize. And all that just to say that it is raining and I am looking out the window. ANYWAY... today was supposed to be the first day of my methodology course where they are supposed to teach us how to be French students and do schoolwork the French way. However, it was also the day for fall course registration online. So I don’t know why the geniuses at Sciences-Po didn’t say, “Hey, everyone is going to be registering for classes at 10am, why don’t we cancel orientation classes?” But they didn’t, so technically I had to skip class this morning to stay home and register for the fall which is slightly more important. I was nervous about class registration just because it’s challenging enough at home with everything in english and a familiar system that I know how to work and what I need to sign up for. Sciences-Po is notorious for having websites that are less-than-user-friendly, so I was a bit worried about figuring it out. And that meeting we had last week wasn’t very encouraging either. So I got up early and had my list all laid out of my first choice classes and all the back-up choices and was ready to login at 10 on the dot.
I got logged on and entered the registration area and found and enrolled in my first choice class. It’s an elective class in french that meets 2 hours a week and is about the role of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) in International Relations. Then I went to enroll in my big lecture class in french. For a main lecture you have to enroll for the lecture class and a discussion section at the same time. So I select the lecture and pick the section I want and click enroll and it comes up with an error message. Next to the lecture class is says I can’t register for it until I pick a discussion section, and next to the discussion section it says I can’t register for it until I pick a lecture class. Huh?! I already did that. IT’S ON THE SAME SCREEN! So I don’t know why it’s being dumb, so I try again... same message. I try again...same message. Now I realize that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. But since I figured it had to be a computer problem I was hoping it would magically begin to work. I decided I should waste any more time until I had the rest of the classes I needed, so I went and signed up for my one class in English that is about contemporary French Foreign policy (I’ll save the white flag jokes for another day). And then enrolled in my back-up french lecture class since I couldn’t get the other one to work, after which I tried one final time and...it finally let me enroll in my French lecture on the Middle East. I was relieved to have gotten all three classes that I wanted, and went to sign up for my French language class when I realized that they had me listed for the wrong French level. I didn’t know what to do at first, but I remembered the words of the guy at our meeting last week “No matter what happens, register for a class, and then we can try to fix it later, but there’s not a lot we can do if you don’t sign up for something.” So I registered for a level 2 class which meets twice a week, and then sent an email to the language department about the error because that’s what the FAQs on the website said to do. I assumed they wouldn’t get to it until the next day or two and then they’d fix it after the fact.
An hour or so later I went back on to double check my schedule and I had an email from the language department saying- the problem has been fixed, you are free to enroll now. Well that’s all well and good, except that registration had been open for 3 hours and all the reasonable sections of the classes were already filled. The only level 3 French class was Friday afternoons. I had been so excited to have Friday’s off so that I could use the long weekend to travel, so I was pretty dang annoyed that because of their error my schedule was all messed up. But after much ranting, and some reflection, I decided that I would rather have a class that wasn’t a struggle for me, and have my Friday’s off, than to take the level 3 class on Fridays. Since I am taking other classes in French, it’s not like I won’t be improving my language abilities. So that’s where I left it. I’m sure it’ll all work out fine.
Take care!
Lyndsey
I’m sitting here in my arm chair, looking out of my window at the tip of the Eiffel Tower sticking up above the slanted rooftops. It is raining for the first time since I arrived. Not really raining raining, but dripping. It’s that sort of tentative, tapping drizzle that is so synonymous with winter in Paris. I kept hearing this weird tinking noise but couldn’t figure out what it was even though I was looking out the window, because that’s how small and sporadic the drops are. The somber evening sky seems to melt into the city because it is nearly the same color and the roofs. I had to turn on a light earlier than usual today because of the clouds. Like many Parisians (at least the ones that live around me), I basically just use natural light as long as I can during the day. They’re big fans of natural light here. I don’t know if it is because of the energy costs, or if it just seems more normal for a city that has existed for centuries without electricity. Whatever the reason, I fit in well, not because I’m trying to live like the French, but just because it’s an acquired family trait. At UF my roommates used to come home in the afternoons and ask me why I was sitting in the dark- lol. Fortunately I am blessed with great light up here in my little apartment.
Wow that was a really long digression about light, for which I apologize. And all that just to say that it is raining and I am looking out the window. ANYWAY... today was supposed to be the first day of my methodology course where they are supposed to teach us how to be French students and do schoolwork the French way. However, it was also the day for fall course registration online. So I don’t know why the geniuses at Sciences-Po didn’t say, “Hey, everyone is going to be registering for classes at 10am, why don’t we cancel orientation classes?” But they didn’t, so technically I had to skip class this morning to stay home and register for the fall which is slightly more important. I was nervous about class registration just because it’s challenging enough at home with everything in english and a familiar system that I know how to work and what I need to sign up for. Sciences-Po is notorious for having websites that are less-than-user-friendly, so I was a bit worried about figuring it out. And that meeting we had last week wasn’t very encouraging either. So I got up early and had my list all laid out of my first choice classes and all the back-up choices and was ready to login at 10 on the dot.
I got logged on and entered the registration area and found and enrolled in my first choice class. It’s an elective class in french that meets 2 hours a week and is about the role of NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) in International Relations. Then I went to enroll in my big lecture class in french. For a main lecture you have to enroll for the lecture class and a discussion section at the same time. So I select the lecture and pick the section I want and click enroll and it comes up with an error message. Next to the lecture class is says I can’t register for it until I pick a discussion section, and next to the discussion section it says I can’t register for it until I pick a lecture class. Huh?! I already did that. IT’S ON THE SAME SCREEN! So I don’t know why it’s being dumb, so I try again... same message. I try again...same message. Now I realize that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. But since I figured it had to be a computer problem I was hoping it would magically begin to work. I decided I should waste any more time until I had the rest of the classes I needed, so I went and signed up for my one class in English that is about contemporary French Foreign policy (I’ll save the white flag jokes for another day). And then enrolled in my back-up french lecture class since I couldn’t get the other one to work, after which I tried one final time and...it finally let me enroll in my French lecture on the Middle East. I was relieved to have gotten all three classes that I wanted, and went to sign up for my French language class when I realized that they had me listed for the wrong French level. I didn’t know what to do at first, but I remembered the words of the guy at our meeting last week “No matter what happens, register for a class, and then we can try to fix it later, but there’s not a lot we can do if you don’t sign up for something.” So I registered for a level 2 class which meets twice a week, and then sent an email to the language department about the error because that’s what the FAQs on the website said to do. I assumed they wouldn’t get to it until the next day or two and then they’d fix it after the fact.
An hour or so later I went back on to double check my schedule and I had an email from the language department saying- the problem has been fixed, you are free to enroll now. Well that’s all well and good, except that registration had been open for 3 hours and all the reasonable sections of the classes were already filled. The only level 3 French class was Friday afternoons. I had been so excited to have Friday’s off so that I could use the long weekend to travel, so I was pretty dang annoyed that because of their error my schedule was all messed up. But after much ranting, and some reflection, I decided that I would rather have a class that wasn’t a struggle for me, and have my Friday’s off, than to take the level 3 class on Fridays. Since I am taking other classes in French, it’s not like I won’t be improving my language abilities. So that’s where I left it. I’m sure it’ll all work out fine.
Take care!
Lyndsey
A 26 Year-Old Polish Woman
Sunday morning I woke up and got dressed and put on my trench coat, but when I got outside it was like the middle of summer. It was clear and warm and by the time I got to the bus (I had to walk really fast because I was running late and didn’t want to miss the 10:50) I was really wishing I hadn’t chosen this particular day to wear my sweater vest. I made the bus with 3 minutes to spare, panting, and ran into my friend Glenn from Singapore who is really involved in the young adults group. We had a nice chat on the way to church in which I learned some interesting things. According to Glenn, I look like a 26 year old Polish girl. Well actually he added that I could probably also pass for German or Italian or something else European but that he never would have guessed that I was American, or that I’m 21. I guess that explains why, when I was talking to the desk clerk at my hotel that first day, I made some comment and he said “You’re Italian right?” I don’t know how you can really look “American”, but evidently it’s possible, and I don’t. I didn’t realize I looked that old, but I asked some Americans later and they agreed, so there ya go. Anyway, Glenn and I also discussed how Asians look so much younger in comparison to westerners, so people always think Glenn is much younger than he is, but Asians can always guess his age.
At church it was their annual ministry fair. Emmanuel isn’t very large, I’m not sure what average attendance is but I would estimate 125-150 split between two services, plus a smaller French congregation of about 30-40. But for a church of its size, it has a ton of ministries and does a lot of outreach. I officially signed up to go on the church retreat the first weekend in October, and to help take care of the kids so I can go for free. Ruth, who helps with the young adults ministry, came over to ask me how well I speak French. It hadn’t occurred to me, but since both the English and French congregations are coming, we’ll possibly have both English and French speaking kids. I think my French is good enough to manage, although it is hard enough to understand little kids when they are speaking your native language, so I can’t make any promises when it comes to understanding little French kids. But I’ve learned that kids are kids no matter what language they speak, so I don’t think it should be too hard.
After church a bunch of the young adults decided to go grab lunch. Some didn’t want to go all the way into the city, so we walked down the street to a little Italian restaurant. There ended up being a pretty large group of us and it was a lot of fun. I just had plain cheese pizza because it was safest. The French put some realllly bizarre things on pizza. Case in point: Bethany, an American who has spent a lot of time in Paris, and is now here for a few months working for an IT company, decided to order the house specialty pizza. The menu said it was pizza with ground beef and fries. When I read the description I asked if she thought that meant the fries came on the pizza or on the side. We decided it must mean on the side because who in their right mind would put french fries on a pizza? The French, that’s who. They brought out her pizza with a pile of french fries in the middle of it. It was one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen. I didn’t want to seem like a tourist, but I had to take a picture of it. Go see for yourself. And then order some Dominos and be glad you live in America where people don’t put goat cheese and fried eggs on pizza.
a bientot mes amies-
Lyndsey
At church it was their annual ministry fair. Emmanuel isn’t very large, I’m not sure what average attendance is but I would estimate 125-150 split between two services, plus a smaller French congregation of about 30-40. But for a church of its size, it has a ton of ministries and does a lot of outreach. I officially signed up to go on the church retreat the first weekend in October, and to help take care of the kids so I can go for free. Ruth, who helps with the young adults ministry, came over to ask me how well I speak French. It hadn’t occurred to me, but since both the English and French congregations are coming, we’ll possibly have both English and French speaking kids. I think my French is good enough to manage, although it is hard enough to understand little kids when they are speaking your native language, so I can’t make any promises when it comes to understanding little French kids. But I’ve learned that kids are kids no matter what language they speak, so I don’t think it should be too hard.
After church a bunch of the young adults decided to go grab lunch. Some didn’t want to go all the way into the city, so we walked down the street to a little Italian restaurant. There ended up being a pretty large group of us and it was a lot of fun. I just had plain cheese pizza because it was safest. The French put some realllly bizarre things on pizza. Case in point: Bethany, an American who has spent a lot of time in Paris, and is now here for a few months working for an IT company, decided to order the house specialty pizza. The menu said it was pizza with ground beef and fries. When I read the description I asked if she thought that meant the fries came on the pizza or on the side. We decided it must mean on the side because who in their right mind would put french fries on a pizza? The French, that’s who. They brought out her pizza with a pile of french fries in the middle of it. It was one of the strangest things I’ve ever seen. I didn’t want to seem like a tourist, but I had to take a picture of it. Go see for yourself. And then order some Dominos and be glad you live in America where people don’t put goat cheese and fried eggs on pizza.
a bientot mes amies-
Lyndsey
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