So the 10 km race was today... and I did it!! I finished in 55 mins, 56 seconds. I'm super happy with that time for my first race, especially since I was pretty sure it would take me about 70 minutes. I was definitely tired by the end but it was SO worth it!! The atmosphere of the race was awesome and I actually really enjoyed running with so many people... quite the change since I usually run alone. I'm not sure how many participants there were in total (there were 2 races: 10km and 20km) but I was number 7749, so quite a few! In my age category for the 10km, I came in 176th out of 520... : ) I now have a fun medal to take home with me and Sher took some pictures and a video of the start of the race, that I will put up here once she sends them to me. I have NO IDEA what I look like when I run so if they're hilarious... tant mieux but don't laugh too hard lol.
Tomorrow is the beginning of week 3 of classes. So far all is going well, one of the profs is crazy and no one likes her but we'll live. I have my first assignment due on Wednesday so that's... ugh... fun? Maybe not. We were warned before leaving Canada that the marking system here is pretty different from at home and that a 14 out of 20, for example, is considered to be good. It's gonna take some sucking up of my pride to accept that as being good, and to realize that I might not even get that, so hopefully perfectionist me will be able to handle that without too much difficulty. : P
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Classes!
Alright, so things are picking up here now. I have now officially survived my first week of classes here in France! All of the classes seem to be really interesting, and matches up pretty closely with what I did in my DLS classes in Ottawa. PS: not really sure why, but it seems that the longer I'm here in France the more I miss Ottawa. Maybe because things are so similar school-wise? Apparently I have un petit accent québecois (somewhat of a Quebec accent). Kind of bothered me at first just because it meant that people could pick out right away that I'm not from here but really there are lot of things that make it pretty obvious. And they all say that my accent is charmant, so whatever : P
To describe my classes a little more, everyone in the SODILANG (Sociolinguistics and Didactique (teaching) of Languages... roughly) Master 1 program (all 22-ish of us... it's a pretty small group, again like DLS in Ottawa... aww I miss you guys!!), we all take the same courses together. No choices as far as when the classes are offered which makes things a lot more simple. For Sher and I, and the guy, Dimitri, who is going to be coming to SFU in January, we aren't required to take all of the 9 courses since we have a full year after this semester. So we have 7 required courses but we are allowed to register in more if we want. I am going to register in the classes that I have to take plus one other one that I find to be really interesting. Shannon: in that class we're doing a unit on Simulations Globales... the prof made me try to explain it to the class... lol. I'm also going to show up to the other classes that are optional (except for a research one because, well, honestly it sounds boring plus it would be a fourth class with the teacher here that nobody likes. She's... special. Really hard to follow, jumps from topic to tangent to random topic and I guess she could tell that we didn't really appreciate her much because at one point during class she says, out of nowhere that she doesn't care if we like her or not, she's just there to teach us and it's the subject matter that counts.... we all just looked at each other like wtf??!!! So ya...) But... this is also for Shannon lol... going to either just attend or actually register in another optional class: Multimédia. Ya, and get this: went to the first class on Friday, and LEARNED stuff!!! Not exactly Dudley's class huh? I'm hoping it'll be a mix of my Dudley experience and yours... ie learn something but not ridiculously full of forums : P So far the prof hasn't even mentioned forums so I'm thinking I'm in the clear haha.
So ya, everyone in the program is really nice and it's a total mix. Not many, only about 3 people plus kinda me, did their degree in FLE (français langue étrangère - french as a foreign language)... PS pronounced flugh here (rhymes with ugh like ugh I dont want to do that lol)... no FLS or DLS here. I've learned the difference, sort of, between FLE and FLS - the S being second ... I won't bore you with the details here but it's interesting since I've only ever used langue seconde... basically because its Canada and since French is an offical language its not foreign ie étrangère so therefore seconde lol... oh god I am such a freak sorry guys!!)
Right so people in my class... lol how about those tangents? ... About half of the class is French francophone but there are a number of us that are not from here. Obviously Sher andI from Canada, Xiao from China, Tina and Solvenja (I think...) from Germany, can't-remember-her-name from Russia, and four people from Algeria (their names are hard to pronounce... Nassima is the girl but then there are 3 guys and I have no idea of their names... I'll learn them soon hopefully!) So it's definitly a mix of people which is awesome.
As far as course work, it's going to be pretty intense with presentations (ahh!) and readings but true to DLS form... NO EXAMS YAY!! In class devoirs sur table (basically written tests) at the end but nothing in the actual exam time frame so yay yay yay!
So that's school. Today (Saturday) Sher and I got internet!! It's a funky little USB Key that basically gives wireless internet. Not overly expensive (and we get the first 2 months at half price) but it's limited to 1GB per month for the price we pay and then we have to pay per MB after that so that makes things a little less yay. Buuuuuut it means so more Macdo nights which is a SUPER YAY and will be incredibly helpful for looking up little things for school, etc.
On a not so fun but kind of stupidly funny note: something's really messed up with the mail system (or lack of it) here. Sher and I went together to the Post Office here just over a week ago and set up a bank account there... everything was done for us both at the same time. Ok, got it? Same thing, same time, same address, same everything... since then she has received at least 5 things in the mail from them (documents that we need, a notice for her to go pick up her bank card)... me: nothing. I went with her to pick up the card and we asked there if there was any chance that I had a package (ie card) there too and yup, sure enough it was there. But my pickup notice was never delivered to me, we went downstairs last night (the courrier is kept with and sorted by the nightshift security people... dont ask, it's too weird) and nope, nothing for la petite canadienne dawson. So I'm going to have to figure out what's going on with that. However, the nightshift guards downstairs are tooooooo freekin hilarious! Sher and I spent a good 15 mins or so chatting with them last night. They LOVE that we're canadian. The old guy calls us his cousins because canada is like family to france lol. Apparently he watches all these reports/documentaries on Canada, so he was joking with us about Cariboo and Beavers (oh god Bear, beavers ahahaha) and what not. The other guy that was there actually listens to Radio Canada lol. The old guy kept saying tabernak câlice!! Sher and I were both like, ooo you can't just say that like that lol... it doesnt mean much to people here but being from Canada it's hard not to look around to see who heard him say that lol. It's like out of nowhere just shouting out FUCK SHIT!!! Ya... not likely to go over so well. But we knew he was just doing it to be funny ... and really it was so hey lol.
Anyway, I'm sure this only took you a sweet couple of days to finish reading (no comment on your reading skills ... ahem... more on my randomness and amazing tangent jumping skills). Can you tell it's been a while since I used English? I need to get it all out in one very long shot. Time to go cherche my laundry and hope I didnt put too much soap... it has a tendancy of going everywhere... : S
Ciao guys... miss you!!!
To describe my classes a little more, everyone in the SODILANG (Sociolinguistics and Didactique (teaching) of Languages... roughly) Master 1 program (all 22-ish of us... it's a pretty small group, again like DLS in Ottawa... aww I miss you guys!!), we all take the same courses together. No choices as far as when the classes are offered which makes things a lot more simple. For Sher and I, and the guy, Dimitri, who is going to be coming to SFU in January, we aren't required to take all of the 9 courses since we have a full year after this semester. So we have 7 required courses but we are allowed to register in more if we want. I am going to register in the classes that I have to take plus one other one that I find to be really interesting. Shannon: in that class we're doing a unit on Simulations Globales... the prof made me try to explain it to the class... lol. I'm also going to show up to the other classes that are optional (except for a research one because, well, honestly it sounds boring plus it would be a fourth class with the teacher here that nobody likes. She's... special. Really hard to follow, jumps from topic to tangent to random topic and I guess she could tell that we didn't really appreciate her much because at one point during class she says, out of nowhere that she doesn't care if we like her or not, she's just there to teach us and it's the subject matter that counts.... we all just looked at each other like wtf??!!! So ya...) But... this is also for Shannon lol... going to either just attend or actually register in another optional class: Multimédia. Ya, and get this: went to the first class on Friday, and LEARNED stuff!!! Not exactly Dudley's class huh? I'm hoping it'll be a mix of my Dudley experience and yours... ie learn something but not ridiculously full of forums : P So far the prof hasn't even mentioned forums so I'm thinking I'm in the clear haha.
So ya, everyone in the program is really nice and it's a total mix. Not many, only about 3 people plus kinda me, did their degree in FLE (français langue étrangère - french as a foreign language)... PS pronounced flugh here (rhymes with ugh like ugh I dont want to do that lol)... no FLS or DLS here. I've learned the difference, sort of, between FLE and FLS - the S being second ... I won't bore you with the details here but it's interesting since I've only ever used langue seconde... basically because its Canada and since French is an offical language its not foreign ie étrangère so therefore seconde lol... oh god I am such a freak sorry guys!!)
Right so people in my class... lol how about those tangents? ... About half of the class is French francophone but there are a number of us that are not from here. Obviously Sher andI from Canada, Xiao from China, Tina and Solvenja (I think...) from Germany, can't-remember-her-name from Russia, and four people from Algeria (their names are hard to pronounce... Nassima is the girl but then there are 3 guys and I have no idea of their names... I'll learn them soon hopefully!) So it's definitly a mix of people which is awesome.
As far as course work, it's going to be pretty intense with presentations (ahh!) and readings but true to DLS form... NO EXAMS YAY!! In class devoirs sur table (basically written tests) at the end but nothing in the actual exam time frame so yay yay yay!
So that's school. Today (Saturday) Sher and I got internet!! It's a funky little USB Key that basically gives wireless internet. Not overly expensive (and we get the first 2 months at half price) but it's limited to 1GB per month for the price we pay and then we have to pay per MB after that so that makes things a little less yay. Buuuuuut it means so more Macdo nights which is a SUPER YAY and will be incredibly helpful for looking up little things for school, etc.
On a not so fun but kind of stupidly funny note: something's really messed up with the mail system (or lack of it) here. Sher and I went together to the Post Office here just over a week ago and set up a bank account there... everything was done for us both at the same time. Ok, got it? Same thing, same time, same address, same everything... since then she has received at least 5 things in the mail from them (documents that we need, a notice for her to go pick up her bank card)... me: nothing. I went with her to pick up the card and we asked there if there was any chance that I had a package (ie card) there too and yup, sure enough it was there. But my pickup notice was never delivered to me, we went downstairs last night (the courrier is kept with and sorted by the nightshift security people... dont ask, it's too weird) and nope, nothing for la petite canadienne dawson. So I'm going to have to figure out what's going on with that. However, the nightshift guards downstairs are tooooooo freekin hilarious! Sher and I spent a good 15 mins or so chatting with them last night. They LOVE that we're canadian. The old guy calls us his cousins because canada is like family to france lol. Apparently he watches all these reports/documentaries on Canada, so he was joking with us about Cariboo and Beavers (oh god Bear, beavers ahahaha) and what not. The other guy that was there actually listens to Radio Canada lol. The old guy kept saying tabernak câlice!! Sher and I were both like, ooo you can't just say that like that lol... it doesnt mean much to people here but being from Canada it's hard not to look around to see who heard him say that lol. It's like out of nowhere just shouting out FUCK SHIT!!! Ya... not likely to go over so well. But we knew he was just doing it to be funny ... and really it was so hey lol.
Anyway, I'm sure this only took you a sweet couple of days to finish reading (no comment on your reading skills ... ahem... more on my randomness and amazing tangent jumping skills). Can you tell it's been a while since I used English? I need to get it all out in one very long shot. Time to go cherche my laundry and hope I didnt put too much soap... it has a tendancy of going everywhere... : S
Ciao guys... miss you!!!
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
MacDo's... observations
So I spend a lot of time at Macdonalds here, simply because they offer free internet (although most of the time Sher and I are considerate enough to actually pay the ridiculous price for a bottle of water), and each time I notice some new interesting fact about MacDo's in France. I'm just going to keep adding to the list as I go along.
1. Other than the ordinary repulsive smells of fake food, the place is actually nice. Tables set out nicely, you can eat outside on the terrace... it doesn't really have the traditional cheap feel of Macdonalds in Canada.
2. Along with your Perrier, you can also buy beer. Yup, if a big mac and beer is your thing then just head to MacDo's and you're set. I have no idea if there's an age limit or what, I mean, this is France after all.
3. For the washrooms (free public washrooms are very hard to come by in France!), there's a code that you have to enter which is written at the bottom of your receipt. ie: buy something to get the code and then you can use the washrooms. Ya but, you really only have to ever buy something once, or maybe twice to get the gist of it, because the code is always the same. And not exactly easily forgotten either: 1234. So in case you find yourself in France, needing a washroom and not too far from a Macdonalds.... I wouldnt be surprised if it was the same in all of the locations lol.
4. They bring your food to you. Yups, service at a Macdonalds... what?! I'm not saying it's fine dining or anything though obviously... kind of reminds me of 60's diners where they'd be on rollerskates and bring your food up to your car or whatever.
1. Other than the ordinary repulsive smells of fake food, the place is actually nice. Tables set out nicely, you can eat outside on the terrace... it doesn't really have the traditional cheap feel of Macdonalds in Canada.
2. Along with your Perrier, you can also buy beer. Yup, if a big mac and beer is your thing then just head to MacDo's and you're set. I have no idea if there's an age limit or what, I mean, this is France after all.
3. For the washrooms (free public washrooms are very hard to come by in France!), there's a code that you have to enter which is written at the bottom of your receipt. ie: buy something to get the code and then you can use the washrooms. Ya but, you really only have to ever buy something once, or maybe twice to get the gist of it, because the code is always the same. And not exactly easily forgotten either: 1234. So in case you find yourself in France, needing a washroom and not too far from a Macdonalds.... I wouldnt be surprised if it was the same in all of the locations lol.
4. They bring your food to you. Yups, service at a Macdonalds... what?! I'm not saying it's fine dining or anything though obviously... kind of reminds me of 60's diners where they'd be on rollerskates and bring your food up to your car or whatever.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
À la recherche d'un trésor précieux (in search of precious treasures)
So... the residence that we're staying in here is, well, cheap VERY cheap and therefore kiiiiinda sketch. But again, very cheap so no complaints. However, on the sketch-note - no toilet paper to be found in the building when we arrived. Obviously a problem. So Sher and I were on a very single-minded mission to find some ASAP. We wandered all over town our first evening here hoping to find somewhere where we could get some tissue of some sort. But there are no 24-hour stores here (or at least not that we found) and our search for the night ended with me remembing the precious small amount of kleenex that we had taken from the plane. So the next day, on what turned out to be the wrong way to the university, it was all that we could do to restrain ourselves from mugging the guy walking down the street with what in his arms? Toilet paper. I have never looked so longingly after such a simple thing. We ended up stealing some from the washroom at the restaurant we ate lunch at and then FINALLY finding a supermarket where we were able to buy our own. So all's good now, mission accomplished - now if only the housing people would find us some pillows (i gave in and bought myself a cheap little thing but a real pillow would be amazing)!!
Today we went to FNAC (a store kind of like future shop) because Sher's new cell wasn't working. PS: my new number is 011 33 06 33 17 17 70. Text me, I'll text you back!
We also checked out the library and found out what we need to bring in to get a card... hopefully I can get that next week : ) Right now Sher and I are sitting in Macdonald's abusing their free internet... like we've done every night since we got here lol. There's no way for us to have internet in our residence so this is what we've resorted to. It stinks but hey, it's still France so they serve a small chocolate with your coffee.... things could be worse lol.
Today we went to FNAC (a store kind of like future shop) because Sher's new cell wasn't working. PS: my new number is 011 33 06 33 17 17 70. Text me, I'll text you back!
We also checked out the library and found out what we need to bring in to get a card... hopefully I can get that next week : ) Right now Sher and I are sitting in Macdonald's abusing their free internet... like we've done every night since we got here lol. There's no way for us to have internet in our residence so this is what we've resorted to. It stinks but hey, it's still France so they serve a small chocolate with your coffee.... things could be worse lol.
Friday, September 5, 2008
My France Address... please write, I miss you guys!
Résidences Universitaire Sanitas
Bd de la Lattre de Tassigny
B.P. 4130
37041 Tours Cedex
FRANCE
Bd de la Lattre de Tassigny
B.P. 4130
37041 Tours Cedex
FRANCE
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