Wii - The Bridge Between Nations

My weekend has been thoroughly enjoyable thus far. It seems to be passing fairly quickly as well. The next four months will be over before I know it.

Friday night, Anne-Sophie made crepes for the whole family. The batter was poured onto this hot plate, and then we put either ham and cheese, fried egg, or nutella and bananas on top of it. They were delicious! I've never seen a plate like this either. Usually, most restaurants use a giant plate and most people I know would use a skillet.

Saturday, Julia invited me to see the remains of an ancient Roman theatre. Performances are still held in this space, and it would a great spot to have a picnic once spring arrives. To be able to sit in a space that is over one thousand years old and look out over the city was breathtaking. We spent a while just sitting in the stands. After that we visited the museum that is located in the hill and showcases Gallo-Roman artifacts found specifically in the Lyon area. I saw a lot of tombstones. Those were interesting because the epitaphs were written in great detail, usually indicating the immediate family of the person who died as well as their occupation and sometimes where they lived. Each floor had a mosaic, usually describing a story from Roman mythology. Other artifacts included: bronze age weaponry, bracelets, statues of political/mythological figures. I also learned that there is evidence that a human presence existed before Roman rule in the plain of Vaise, which is northwest of Lyon.

After dinner Saturday night, I played Wii bowling with Anne-Sophie, her boyfriend, and Julia. I won the first game by getting five strikes, three of them consecutively. At this point it was around 10:30, so I was getting a little tired. However, Anne-Sophie's boyfriend insisted that he have the opportunity to seek revenge. So I stayed one more round and beat him by one point. Even though everyone is always speaking fast French at me, playing with my host family on the Wii feels familiar. And I'm good at it, which helps. When I mess up they tease me, and when I'm doing well I gloat a little.

Today I'll be seeing my American movie, and probably studying for most of the day. C'est la vie.

Silver Lining

Today was my first Tae Kwon Do class. Let me tell you, I definitely needed the workout. The class was kept moving for the entire two hours: doing kicking drills up and down the mat, running, stretching, and basic techniques. Next time I'll eat a real lunch before I go. I almost passed out twice which I assume is from a lack of energy due to not eating enough. However, I am still alive and not in the hospital. Also, the headache I've had for the past two and a half weeks is gone, at least for the moment. Pretty happy about that. I'm 100% sure that I'll wake up tomorrow in pain, but I only have one class and the rest of the day to read.

Yesterday I met Julia for lunch. She doesn't speak much English and I don't know any German, so we completely rely on French to talk to each other. I still have problems understanding exactly what's being said but with repetition I can usually get the gist of any question or story. She's even become my translator at dinner. My host parents speak fast French and she translates it into slow French for me. I've almost stopped speaking English completely at dinner, and I suppose that's the first step to becoming fluent. Woo!

Anecdotes

The past two days have been nothing but classes. This week I actually have all of my courses at their regularly scheduled times. Plus, Tae Kwon Do starts on Thursday. My host mother says I need to make French friends, so maybe that will help.

I've decided to make at least two trips to Theatre de la Croix-Rousse to see A Comedy of Errors done in French in March as well as Le Vrai Fiancee in April. Seats for students are 15 euros at most, which in my opinion isn't bad for seeing a professional production.

Tomorrow I'm picking up some books for my foreign literature class. The weekend looks like it will consist of studying and going to see a movie called "The Way Back." It stars Ed Harris and only has a limited release in the US. I may alternate between American and French movies each time I go to the cinema, or whatever looks interesting at the time.

Weekend Experiences in Lyon

Thus far, my weekend has been fairly relaxing. Yesterday I went to see a movie at the cinema near Bellcour. The film I decided on was called Les emotifs anonymes or Emotional Persons Anonymous. It was about two neurotic chocolate makers who fall in love when the woman takes a job selling the chocolate of the shop that the man owns and runs. The woman also randomly sang the French version of the Sound of Music song "Confidence in Me" which was interesting. Shockingly enough, I understood what was happening. Also, when I purchased my ticket, it came with an offer for a reduced price ticket to see a movie next week. Definitely going to take advantage of that.

Today I decided to take a trip to Vieux Lyon. I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do once I got there, but I managed to stumble upon a miniature museum. It was four floors and about eight rooms, so I went through it fairly quickly. There was a lot of interesting exhibits. For example, the museum showed different rooms done by a man named Dan Ohlman. He created miniature libraries, lofts, and various scenes. They were very detailed and well done. I envy people who have that much control over their hands.

On my way back to the apartment, I walked through an open-air market. It smelled fantastic. There were booths selling fruits, vegetables, and normal market-type foods. But there were also booths for roasted chickens, dumplings, and huge blocks of cheese. I really wanted to get something, but I was so overwhelmed that I just walked through and looked at everything. Next time, I will pick something up.

Overcoming Anxiety

Yesterday was freezing. Actually, it's been freezing temperatures all week. Not that I should complain, because if I were home I'd be buried in snow. The point is, despite the cold, I decided to make a trip to the outside world. I went to Pizzeria Napoli for lunch. I successfully ordered a limonade, which tastes like Sprite, and a Pizza Margarita, which consisted of tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and olives. It was delicious, and I'm definitely going back. Unfortunately, I sat at the table right next to the register. Everyone was lined up behind where I was sitting, and it took some getting used to. I also managed to catch the attention and acquire the business card of an insurance salesman. Strange.

I also had to make dinner for myself last night. I decided to make scrambled eggs with ham and cheese. I'm still not quite sure what the name of the cheese is. I'll try to remember when I write my next post. I also unloaded the dishwasher, and, surprisingly enough, put everything back in the right place.

"Fear Not the Obstacles In Your Path"

I watched Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? tonight for free at the Lyon 3 campus. It was the original English with French subtitles. There were about 15 other people there and none of them had ever seen the movie before. It was pretty sweet. And because I saw the movie today I wanted to quote it again.

I won't have class again until next Monday. Today I decided to go to the library and check out some books for my cinema class. I have a feeling that I won't understand that much of the lecture. So taking notes about the topics we're supposed to cover should help when the final exam comes around.

Tomorrow I'm going to eat at a Chinese restaurant for lunch and make my own dinner again. Those might actually be adventures worth reporting.

Subject to Change

Yesterday was my first day of class. Since I only had one, it was a pretty chill day. I bought a bilingual copy of Macbeth and a nutella crepe from a street vendor. Life is swell.

Today was way crazier. I had three classes today, all of them taught in French. Foreign literature, theatre (studying plays), and cinema (in order of my schedule). So the first class wasn't so bad. We're lecturing over Robinson Crusoe, so I need to find a copy of the book. I'm sure the bookstore where I found Macbeth would have it, otherwise I have no idea where I should go. Then I got lost.

Here's the deal. I thought I had cinema second and theatre last so I went to the room where cinema was supposed to be. It turned out to be a sort of philosophy class taught in English. Way confusing. So I went to the International Affairs office and eventually a couple of the staff helped me locate where I could find the postings for the room and time of each of these classes. So I went to theatre with an hour left in lecture. I think that will be my best all French class, as the professor speaks slowly and the material I walked in was review from what I learned in Intro to Literary Analysis last semester. In cinema, the professor talked at lightning speed and I only caught about a third of what he said. That's probably going to be my hardest course.

Because I had a massive headache after my classes ended, I decided to drop my fourth French class in favor of a SELF course. I'd like to be challenged while I'm here, but I would also prefer to keep my sanity and emotional health in tact. That class will be tomorrow. My courses for Thursday and Friday start next week. Life should be getting pretty interesting by the end of the month.