Alors, ça sera tout en français. Si vous ne parlez pas français... ça c'est trop mauvais pour vous...
J'ai une petite amie maintenant, et oui, elle est française mais elle parle anglais aussi. Je sais que elle me dira tous mes erreurs ici.
Nous irons à Bruxelles le weekend prochain. Il sera incroyable (et délicieux). Elle apprend comment les americains peuvent manger! Je suis toujours "ungry" comme elle la dit. Elle oublie le "h" quand elle la dit. Haha
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Classes
I had the epiphany yesterday that all I really do on this blog is bitch about my classes so I thought I would go into some details:
connaisances des civilisations- This is an Arab-Islamic Civilization Class. It's really interesting actually. So far we've discusses the Prophet Mohammed, the Four Caliphs and the founding of the Omayyad Empire under Muawiya I.
French History for international students- Pretty self-explanitory. It's pretty easy since we're all foreign he uses pretty simple sentences and speaks at an understandable pace. We're currently in the Middle Ages and just learned about Philip II and the Third Crusade
Geographie de la Maghreb- Pretty self-explanatory. We're studying Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia mostly. Pretty interesting class.
Histoire contemporaire- WORST CLASS EVER. We are learning about the economic development of France from 1870-1940. I don't understand anything as oftentimes the class uses industrial terms that I just don't know. That and the class is FOUR HOURS LONG.
Français- that's all it's called but this is a basic French Lit. course. I don't mind it so much but it's hard to read the really long passages and understand what their basic meaning is, much less do an in-depth analysis.
Thème- A French -> English translation course. Good for a couple of reasons. One being that Mme. Bray speaks a lovely form of the Queen's English during the class... i.e. I understand every word she says.
French for international students- Have only had this class once so far, but it seems very very simple.
Geography of France for international students- This class hasn't actually started yet but it will commence next Friday (ugh). Should be interesting/easy. Go Dirt!
connaisances des civilisations- This is an Arab-Islamic Civilization Class. It's really interesting actually. So far we've discusses the Prophet Mohammed, the Four Caliphs and the founding of the Omayyad Empire under Muawiya I.
French History for international students- Pretty self-explanitory. It's pretty easy since we're all foreign he uses pretty simple sentences and speaks at an understandable pace. We're currently in the Middle Ages and just learned about Philip II and the Third Crusade
Geographie de la Maghreb- Pretty self-explanatory. We're studying Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia mostly. Pretty interesting class.
Histoire contemporaire- WORST CLASS EVER. We are learning about the economic development of France from 1870-1940. I don't understand anything as oftentimes the class uses industrial terms that I just don't know. That and the class is FOUR HOURS LONG.
Français- that's all it's called but this is a basic French Lit. course. I don't mind it so much but it's hard to read the really long passages and understand what their basic meaning is, much less do an in-depth analysis.
Thème- A French -> English translation course. Good for a couple of reasons. One being that Mme. Bray speaks a lovely form of the Queen's English during the class... i.e. I understand every word she says.
French for international students- Have only had this class once so far, but it seems very very simple.
Geography of France for international students- This class hasn't actually started yet but it will commence next Friday (ugh). Should be interesting/easy. Go Dirt!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Amsterdam
So Amsterdam is... interesting. And shameless.
I ventured up to Pays-Bas (literally, Low Countries) for the weekend with Maggie, Randi, AnnMarie, Jose, and Jordan. We took a two hour train ride to Anvers (Antwerp) and then changed trains for another two hour ride to Amsterdam. Once we got to Amsterdam Centraal I navigated our way to our hostel, which was a pretty interesting experience. Didn't feel as shady as you might expect.
As for the trip I want to say that all the rumours about this city are true. Our group hit up one of the MULTITUDES of coffeeshops the first night (no I did not partake). I also did not meet anybody who didn't speak English. Their accents are definitely better than the French as a whole.
The next day I woke up and ran for about half an hour. It was pretty quiet once you got away from the city center (the touristy part) and the canals and houses were absolutely beautiful. The Netherlands definitely has its own style of architecture so it was pretty refreshing to see something new.
Afterwards, I went back to the hostel and then Randi, AnnMarie and I went out and walked around for awhile. We ended up visiting the Anne Frank House, which, although interesting, seemed like there wasn't much to it but capitalized on tugging heartstrings because of the Holocaust. Was definitely glad I saw it though and I know the girls really liked it (Maybe I'm a heartless bastard). We then walked around some more and then that night we decided to go for a walk through the infamous Red Light District. It was... enlightening... to say the least
The next day we headed home- got back to Lille around 2200.
Overall I didn't care for Amsterdam. The rumors about the city are all true and if you are into sex, weed, and/or touristy crap then this city is for you. It was a beautiful city but it just didn't have what I was looking for in a visit. Glad I went though- checked the box and drove on.
I ventured up to Pays-Bas (literally, Low Countries) for the weekend with Maggie, Randi, AnnMarie, Jose, and Jordan. We took a two hour train ride to Anvers (Antwerp) and then changed trains for another two hour ride to Amsterdam. Once we got to Amsterdam Centraal I navigated our way to our hostel, which was a pretty interesting experience. Didn't feel as shady as you might expect.
As for the trip I want to say that all the rumours about this city are true. Our group hit up one of the MULTITUDES of coffeeshops the first night (no I did not partake). I also did not meet anybody who didn't speak English. Their accents are definitely better than the French as a whole.
The next day I woke up and ran for about half an hour. It was pretty quiet once you got away from the city center (the touristy part) and the canals and houses were absolutely beautiful. The Netherlands definitely has its own style of architecture so it was pretty refreshing to see something new.
Afterwards, I went back to the hostel and then Randi, AnnMarie and I went out and walked around for awhile. We ended up visiting the Anne Frank House, which, although interesting, seemed like there wasn't much to it but capitalized on tugging heartstrings because of the Holocaust. Was definitely glad I saw it though and I know the girls really liked it (Maybe I'm a heartless bastard). We then walked around some more and then that night we decided to go for a walk through the infamous Red Light District. It was... enlightening... to say the least
The next day we headed home- got back to Lille around 2200.
Overall I didn't care for Amsterdam. The rumors about the city are all true and if you are into sex, weed, and/or touristy crap then this city is for you. It was a beautiful city but it just didn't have what I was looking for in a visit. Glad I went though- checked the box and drove on.
Monday, January 23, 2012
The rumors are true
I will start out by saying that the city of Amsterdam has NO sense of shame whatsoever.
More to follow tomorrow when I have time and am not tired.
More to follow tomorrow when I have time and am not tired.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Ce le weekend! Almost...
I realized I haven't updated this too much recently. Pretty routine week so far...
I was late to my Islamic Civ class on Monday, but here you don't get in trouble so that's cool. Most of my classes have been a little easier to understand as well. Bought some shoes, and a sweater thing. Not sure how to describe it.
I've done some crossfit, lifted, and ran some as well. Nothing as interesting as my run on Saturday though I'm afraid.
I still love kebabs ever so much. No class tomorrow so hopefully I'll go out tonight... maybe eat some more after hitting a bar or two.
Avez-vous des questions? Non? Super...
I was late to my Islamic Civ class on Monday, but here you don't get in trouble so that's cool. Most of my classes have been a little easier to understand as well. Bought some shoes, and a sweater thing. Not sure how to describe it.
I've done some crossfit, lifted, and ran some as well. Nothing as interesting as my run on Saturday though I'm afraid.
I still love kebabs ever so much. No class tomorrow so hopefully I'll go out tonight... maybe eat some more after hitting a bar or two.
Avez-vous des questions? Non? Super...
Sunday, January 15, 2012
La marché et dimanche
I didn't go out last night so I was able to wake up at a reasonable hour (9h45). I got up and headed out to Wazemmes, which is the cities Arabic quarter, to visit the open-air market.
All and all it was pretty neat. They were selling EVERYTHING, fruits and vegetables, clothes, shoes, candy, fabrics, etc. You could even buy a whole roast chicken (which smelled SO GOOD). I bought some bananas to keep in my room and had a cup of soup from one of the food vendors because it was pretty chilly and the soup warmed me up nicely. After wandering around a bit I headed back home and relaxed a bit before walking down Rue Royale and into Vieux Lille to explore a little bit. On my way back home I went into Printemps, a French department store, and looked around in the men's section for awhile. I almost bought another cashmere sweater but most everything was either expensive as hell, or on sale but XXL (or the appropriate size and gray). I may go check out the Lafayette this next week and see what they have.
Otherwise, another quiet day. I took the day off from working out and am going to lift tomorrow. Tonight will probably be dedicated to working on my translation for Madame Bray due Thursday so I can go over it with my French partner.
All and all it was pretty neat. They were selling EVERYTHING, fruits and vegetables, clothes, shoes, candy, fabrics, etc. You could even buy a whole roast chicken (which smelled SO GOOD). I bought some bananas to keep in my room and had a cup of soup from one of the food vendors because it was pretty chilly and the soup warmed me up nicely. After wandering around a bit I headed back home and relaxed a bit before walking down Rue Royale and into Vieux Lille to explore a little bit. On my way back home I went into Printemps, a French department store, and looked around in the men's section for awhile. I almost bought another cashmere sweater but most everything was either expensive as hell, or on sale but XXL (or the appropriate size and gray). I may go check out the Lafayette this next week and see what they have.
Otherwise, another quiet day. I took the day off from working out and am going to lift tomorrow. Tonight will probably be dedicated to working on my translation for Madame Bray due Thursday so I can go over it with my French partner.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Finally, a good run
There are many things I could talk about for the past few days. Classes, going out in the evenings, what I randomly do during the day, how much I LOVE KEBABS- BUT I'm just going to talk about my run instead.
Alors,
I went out for my run today knowing that I wanted to do something farther than my previous attempts. SO, with a sort of general plan in mind I headed out and headed over towards Lambersart (Google maps- use it).
Crossing the river into Lambersart I ended up on Avenue de l'Hippodrome. It's a pretty neat little street that's very aesthetically pleasing I found. I followed the Avenue all the way to the end and ended up crossing over Rocade Nord-Ouest. I kept on Rue Gustave Eiffel/Rue de Lambersart for a little bit after that.
By this time I was getting out into the farming areas just outside the metropolitan area. I went as far as I could with what resembled a walkway next to the road but eventually arrived to a point where I decided not to continue. Looking at google maps I will probably just brave the shoulder next time if I want to go farther.
BUT I turned around and headed back in. However instead of heading back the way I came I cut in towards Lambersart Centre and turned onto Rue de Verlinghem.
My decision paid off because I ended up passing by a cemetery. Upon further inspection it turned out to be a cemetery for German soldiers from World War I. I stopped my run at this point (~35 minutes) to take a quick look. Over 5000 German soldiers were buried there. I always find war cemetery's like that very powerful and somber at the same time.
Continuing on I kept running through Lambersart. I reconstructed what I THINK I did on my run route. I ended up coming out again at Av. de l'Hippodrome and ran down that aways before turning off on Avenue du Maréchal Foch. At this point things become hazy on what exactly I did but I sort of scurried through Lambersart trying to find a good route back in Lille Centre. I eventually found my way back across the river and into Lille proper.
I came into Lille and found myself on Rue Royale. I ran by a large church which I will return to inspect tomorrow or at a later date. One of the street signs also denoted that I was near the birthplace of General Charles de Gaulle. I will most definitely have to go take a look at that in the near future as well.
However, I continued on Royale into Vieux Lille and eventually came out on Bd de la Liberté and headed home. Was an awesome time and I got to see a lot of new places.
Of course, this was only a tune-up for my grand scheme. I think in the next couple of months when the weather's nice and I'm feeling particularly good I'm going to RUN TO BELGIUM. Seriously. The border is only like 8-9 miles away and I think it'd be pretty cool to run to the border and cross over before coming back.
And then I found five Euros. Not really, but I'm amazed if you read this far.
Alors,
I went out for my run today knowing that I wanted to do something farther than my previous attempts. SO, with a sort of general plan in mind I headed out and headed over towards Lambersart (Google maps- use it).
Crossing the river into Lambersart I ended up on Avenue de l'Hippodrome. It's a pretty neat little street that's very aesthetically pleasing I found. I followed the Avenue all the way to the end and ended up crossing over Rocade Nord-Ouest. I kept on Rue Gustave Eiffel/Rue de Lambersart for a little bit after that.
By this time I was getting out into the farming areas just outside the metropolitan area. I went as far as I could with what resembled a walkway next to the road but eventually arrived to a point where I decided not to continue. Looking at google maps I will probably just brave the shoulder next time if I want to go farther.
BUT I turned around and headed back in. However instead of heading back the way I came I cut in towards Lambersart Centre and turned onto Rue de Verlinghem.
My decision paid off because I ended up passing by a cemetery. Upon further inspection it turned out to be a cemetery for German soldiers from World War I. I stopped my run at this point (~35 minutes) to take a quick look. Over 5000 German soldiers were buried there. I always find war cemetery's like that very powerful and somber at the same time.
Continuing on I kept running through Lambersart. I reconstructed what I THINK I did on my run route. I ended up coming out again at Av. de l'Hippodrome and ran down that aways before turning off on Avenue du Maréchal Foch. At this point things become hazy on what exactly I did but I sort of scurried through Lambersart trying to find a good route back in Lille Centre. I eventually found my way back across the river and into Lille proper.
I came into Lille and found myself on Rue Royale. I ran by a large church which I will return to inspect tomorrow or at a later date. One of the street signs also denoted that I was near the birthplace of General Charles de Gaulle. I will most definitely have to go take a look at that in the near future as well.
However, I continued on Royale into Vieux Lille and eventually came out on Bd de la Liberté and headed home. Was an awesome time and I got to see a lot of new places.
Of course, this was only a tune-up for my grand scheme. I think in the next couple of months when the weather's nice and I'm feeling particularly good I'm going to RUN TO BELGIUM. Seriously. The border is only like 8-9 miles away and I think it'd be pretty cool to run to the border and cross over before coming back.
And then I found five Euros. Not really, but I'm amazed if you read this far.
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