Monday, May 07, 2007

ew

I just went to the kitchen to get a glass of water and when I revenired my room it smelled like I had been sweating du bellay all day. As it should, because I have.

Friday, May 04, 2007

There is not just one type of french,

All the credit goes to my chateau friend:

I was thinking you should say something bout the different levels of language you use when you're on exchange
like,
1: sweet slang to impress hos so they sleep with you
2: impressively subtle and intellectual banter you use when trying to convince french red tape pushers to cut a corner so you don't get deported due to a slight lack of paperwork
3: absolutely appalingly accented, barely comprensable ruses you pull on the po-po when they're trying to pop a cap in yo ass for being drunk on the streets or when you don't pay for your metro ticket
4: the french you look up in your dictionary when you're doing an assignment because there aint no way in hell you actually could have pulled that shit without a combination of wikipedia.fr, french speaking friends, and roget's extended edition french/english dictionary plus grammar guide

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

we will call this down, then up

I was so brutally depressed today when I found out one of my exams will be oral. I suck at french. I can't do this. I will be too nervous. My french is shit. I don't know enough. I will make too many mistakes. I can't.

I couldn't concentrate in class. All I could think about was how I have wasted my whole semester because I could not, absolutely could not do this exam. My only solution was to drop the class. I guess that wouldn't be so bad…

But then I found out we can do a final exposé for a different class and I felt a little bit better. Then I had some nice mail waiting for me when I got home. I felt bit more better. I thought to myself, 'a little hard work never hurt anyone.' I can do this. I can.

Tuesday, May 01, 2007

I am an expert on the following because I have witnessed it 3x in the past weekend

It's pretty sweet when the sky prepares to unleash hell and storm all over Lyon. First the normal stormy things happen, like clouds roll in, distant lightning and thunder. But then it starts getting really windy and all this pollen and other random little shit starts whirling all around. Everyone starts hurrying. Parents cover their babies' cute faces and good boyfriends let their girlfriends nuzzle their heads in their shoulders. Everyone starts sniffling and sneezing and wiping their eyes. If you have sunglasses you wear them. Hurry hurry hurry before it starts to pour! And if you get caught in the storm, the biggest raindrops you have ever seen will rain on you. Then you are wet and still trying to get all that crud out of your eyes and your throat and it is brilliant.