Chinese vs Spanish

In the quest to figure out what I want to do with my life, I fell in love with learning languages. I studied French in college, but really need to work on my grammar, so I am reading French everyday and basically loving every moment of it. But I really want to add a third language to my repertoire. So I was thinking Spanish. I already knew a few words and conjugations; it is so useful; and it is probably the most common foreign language spoken 'round these parts.

However, Latin based languages develop the more creative side or your brain, and Chinese, develops the more mathematical side. I speak a Germanic language, I have a working knowledge of a Latin one, but Chinese would open up my mind in so many different ways.

So I am out on a quest. Today I learned how to say the numbers zero through ten on an online podcast. I also learned the four different tones. And maybe, hopefully soon I will take a class, which I will probably really struggle with, but learn so much from. So who is with me? Learn Chinese??

This was one of my favorite places in France.

Recommendations and Regrets

I was at the grocery store shaking it up with Lynie, and looked over and saw those chapsticks that come in a little round ball. Let me just confess, I have always wanted one of those. All the cool girls have them, and once my friend got one, and wouldn't let me try it. And if you are anyone who is anyone, you have to have one, so I tossed it in the basket.

Number One: Who ever thought to take the convenient shape of chapstick and turn it into a bulky, awkward roundness, was cray cray. It fits quite awkwardly anywhere in my bag or my pocket, and its nicely just about nowhere. Plus, there is no graceful way to apply it. I can't glide it along my lips, I have to fumble trying to smush it against the corners of my mouth. Round chapstick should be a nogo.

Number Two: It last all about three seconds. Then I might as well reapply. In fact, I guess I could just hold it in the palm of my hand all day; that is the one place it kinda-sorta-not-really fits.

Number Three: I maybe just a little bit feel like a poser.

So if you are wondering, I wouldn't buy one.

On another note, this week I discovered the sweetest app evs. Duolingo. I am strengthening my French, learning Spanish, and I passed level one in German and Italian. This one, is worth it.

Number One: I am addicted. I just want to learn Spanish/French all night long. I love learning languages, and I love this app because it forces you to actually use what you are learning.

Number Two: I have studied in school how language is best acquired, and this app has the research in its pocket. It relies entirely on context clues, and does quite a superb job of scaffolding.

Number Three: It strengthens  listening, speaking, writing, and reading skills. Wow, that is pretty much the lot.

So if you want to learn some other language, or even if you are just bored, or even if you are as busy as superman, try the app. I am recommending it.

Les fleur-de-lis

Dans l’appartement de notre mère d’accueil, j’ai remarqué que le papier toilette a un motif intéressant. C’est un peu comme le fleur-de-lis. Après regarder beaucoup de choses historiques, j’ai commencé à voir les fleur-de-lis partout. De Plus, je ne pense pas qu’il est accidentel. Le fleur-de-lis est un symbole très important dans la civilisation française. Il était significatif dans le temps ancien et aussi aujourd’hui. Pour la France, le passé n’est pas seulement quelque chose qui a influence aujourd’hui. Le passé est quelque chose qui continue englué avec la tempe moderne. Les entreprises veulent les gens pensent qu’ils sont très bons, même royal. Donc, ils utilisent un symbole qui a ressemblance au fleur-de-lis. Ils ne veulent pas être royal, mais juste fraisent une allusion du roi.

France: Week Two

Okay, week two coming right up. This week was full of castles, rain, and missing lots of people aux Etats-Unis. Monday we took a small bite out of the Louvre. Right now they are doing something interesting with modern art, and every once in a while some old clothes would be thrown into the mix. The most interesting was a pile of clothes under a statue of a woman bending over. It looked like she was resting a huge mound of laundry. I am un peu mad that I didn't take a picture.

Other highlights include trying muscles (the food). They were actually way good. Here's a picture of my meal and the crepe I had afterward. And eating this seriously good pastry at a morning market under a bridge. We saw Napoleon's tomb which was pretty cool. It has it's own room and is surrounded my angles. Also, even though Napoleon purposefully broke the state of France away from the Catholic church, the place where he was buried used to be a church. And of course, there are still relics of such. So many buildings in France are just history build upon history.

We went to Sacre Coeur which is a catholic basilica, which I learned via internet is kind of like a cathedral with a badge of honor. That was way cool. We got to walk up all these steps before reaching the actually building, and then once we got inside, there was no talking and a lot of people were actually praying. It was a lot less touristy than the Notre Dame and other cathedrals I have been to.


Thursday, we caught a train to Loire Valley which was the center of France during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. After the renaissance started in Italy, Loire Valley was the first place it started in France. We visited lots of castles, but my favs where the gardens at Le Chateau a Villandry and Le Chateau de Chambord. The former probably had about seven different gardens and a wood for the King to hunt in. They were amazing as you can see. Before Louis the 14th and Versailles, the King had to contend a bit with all the nobles for his power, so he would travel around France staying in different castles. At Chambord, you can explore tones of rooms and floors and stair cases. I feel like CJ would have loved this place. Le Chateau de Chenoneau was also pretty cool because the entire thing is a bridge and the tour included the kitchens. Also, the main big room that was usually used as a ballroom was converted into a hospital for soldiers during WWII which is so crazy amazing.

I cut my hand on a blade of grass when I was trying to sit down to look
at some swans. #hardlyfe

This bed is actually one of the beds we slept on.

Oh I almost forgot. We slept overnight in a for real actual castle. It has been converted into a museum by day and a hotel by night. It was pretty sweet, and the couple who own it were very nice. Can you imagine? Hey honey, let's buy a castle. We can live in it and make it a hotel to make some money. Some people are just living the dream. (Like me, only I am living my own dream.)

Back in Paris we went to a Brocant on Saturday. A Brocant is basically an antique flea market, and it was way awesome. There were so many, like so many old things. My parents would have absolutely loved it. So in memory of them, I bartered in French and got some really great gifts for people, especially for my mom. She is going to be loving her life come Christmas time. The Brocant was definitely one of my favorite things yet, but it also made me really miss my family. There are so many things here that I just wish they could experience with me. Things I know they would love.

That night was the night of the museums where all the museums in all of Europe are free. Since we go to museums all the time for class, we decided to go the the science museum, which is supposed to be the biggest science museum in all Europe. It was cool, but it would have been out of the planet cool if I was in elementary school. I could have written some of these panels. There were a few exhibits for for adults, but I am just going to say, I think the science museum in San Diego might have this one beat.

Now today, is Sunday. We went to church, were I understood a bit more than last week, especially the lesson on the plan of salvation. And we stopped by another cathedral and made some really good tuna sandwiches, which also reminded me of home and made me miss the people there, especially this one kid I know. Tonight we will have dinner with our host mom, and get ready for another week of Frenchy France. Goals for this coming up week: Speak more French, get better at speaking French, talk to more French people, and buy a pastry from the patisserie by our apartment.

Napoleon's Tomb

The wood's of the King aka my wood because we have that genealogy
trail right?

My poor shoes are taking a beating, they are
tearing themselves into pieces. Going to last
four more weeks?

Some real stagecoaches that were never used. They were part of an
inheritance. 

La Sculpture en Bois

Dans le château de Chenonceau il y avait une porte avec deux symboles découpés. Un était pour l’ancienne loi et l’autre était pour la nouvelle loi. L’homme dans la première sculpture en bois, pour l’ancienne loi, avait les yeux bandés. L’autre, pour la nouvelle loi, tenait une lumière. La porte a représenté la bible, mais c’est intéressant aussi pour l’amélioration entre le moyen âge et la renaissance. Dans l’Évangile de Jésus Christ, nous croyons à l’apostasie et la restauration de l’Évangile. C’est quand la vérité est revenue dans la terre.  Les apostasies et les restaurations sont un motif dans l’histoire. Bien que l’Évangile ait commencé aux Etats-Unis, l’histoire est ici, en France, aussi. Quelquefois, je pensais que la France comme une place séparée parce que l’Évangile est très petit. Mais, nous avons beaucoup de histoire partagée.

Stratifié avec l'histoire

Tout le Val de Loire a au beaucoup de l’ancienne et le moderne. C’est un endroit très historique, mais parce que les gens l’utilisent aujourd’hui, on fait l’histoire encore. Chaque château était stratifié avec l’histoire de chaque époque. Par exemple, le jardin au château de Villandry est utilisée aujourd’hui cultiver les légumes. Le château que nous avons passé la nuit est utilisé encore pour quelque chose de pratique. C’est un hôtel. Dans le livre Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t be Wrong, les auteurs parlent du mélange entre l’ancienne et le moderne, les vieilles choses et les choses nouvelles. Ce n’est pas la même chose du Français, mais ils n’ont pas deux choses différentes. Le mélange de l’ancienne et le moderne que j’ai trouvé le plus intéressant était la galerie de l’art moderne dans le château de Chambord. Un jour, ce là pourrait être dans le livre d’histoire.

Les Voitures

Le périmer jour quand je suis arrivé au Neuilly Sur Seine et j’ai rencontré ma mère d’accueil, ce soir, nous avons conduit à Paris ensemble. Il y a les différences entre les Etats-Unis et la France qui sont évident ou simple. Par exemple, après que j’ai voyagé en France, j’ai su des petites voitures en Europe. C’est une différence simple. Mais, quand nous avons conduite ce soir-là, j’ai remarqué qu’il n’y a pas les lignes dans la rue dans le rond-point. Les voitures conduisent partout. Par mes yeux, il n’y a pas d’ordre. Mais aussi, dans une rue, souvent, les voitures conduisent partout ou. C’est fou à mon avis. Les règles de la rue sont une différence culturelle. Mais aussi, les voitures sont très prudentes des gens. Aux Etats-Unis, si une personne marchait devant d’une voiture, il écraserait. Mais, aujourd’hui, j’ai vu une voiture s’arrêter pour une personne quand c’était la tour de la voiture.

L'art dans le Louvre

Dans le Louvre quand nous regardions les sculptures du 17em et 18em siècle, je pensais que les œuvres de Puget étaient très intéressants. Souvent, il y a les sculptures de Alexandre Vainqueur écrasait beaucoup de gens et il jouissait de sa gloire. C’est intéressant parce que je pense qu’écraser les gens est un truc horrible. Mais, dans la sculpture, la scène donne toute la gloire à Alexandre Vainqueur. La même mentalité est exprimée avec l’histoire de Louis XIV. Bien que, aujourd’hui, au 21em siècle, le peuple ne sont pas opprimés, mais je pense qu’un gouvernement fort est évalué. L’état de France veut tous les citoyens sont unifiés et parlent la même langue (français). Ce n’est pas une mauvaise chose, mais les trucs comme l’académie française et les lois de contrôler les aliments régionaux sont très différents dans la démarche américaine.  Ce n’est pas la même du 17em, mais aussi ce n’est pas la même aux Etats-Unis, un pays avec une loi différente et avec l’histoire différent.

Summer en France

J’étais très surpris par toutes les choses américaines en France. Il y a beaucoup et plus que j’ai pensé. J’ai vu une fille qui porte une écharpe qui était le drapeau américain. De plus, je voyais beaucoup d’affiches avec les mots anglais. Parfois, il y a un astérisque et  les mots sont traduits en français. Aux États-Unis, beaucoup de gens ont les mots français dans leurs maisons, comme un paillasson qui dit « Bienvenue. » Mais, ma mère d’accueil a un paillasson qui dit « Welcome. » Je pense qu’il est plus intéressant quand il y a un mot anglais dans une phrase française. Il se peut que ce soit pour mettre l’accent sur ce mot. C’est une technique de publicité. Aux États-Unis,  beaucoup de filles aiment acheter les vêtements avec les mots français ou même avec une marque les mots français même si la marque n’est pas une marque de France. Il y a le même ici dans cette photo. Le français aime les vêtements avec les mots anglais.

Beurre en Bretagne

Madame Sprenger a dit qu’en Bretagne, il y a beaucoup de sorts du beurre.  Alors, j’ai acheté une tarte de la pomme à Saint-Malo. Elle est très délicieuse ! Mais, parce que le beurre est très différent du beurre aux États-Unis, beaucoup de temps, je confonds le beurre pour du formage. Pendant petit-déjeuner, j’ai mangé beaucoup de beurre dans mon pain, parce que je pensais qu’il y a du formage.  Pour me défendre, le beurre en Bretagne n’est pas le même du beurre aux États-Unis.  De plus, j’ai remarqué que Bretagne aime beaucoup leurs régionalismes. C’est probablement le même avec toutes les régions. J’ai vu cette carte postale qui parle du temps. Tout le monde parle de la pluie parce qu’ils sont fiers de Bretagne et ils sont aussi fiers du temps de Bretagne.

Give Me Twenty Days

Spencer from French

A few years ago in my French 201 class I met this kid named Spencer. He was funny and nice and a little bit different from what I would have expected. In French, every other second we pair up to talk aka practice our French, and he was always my partner because somehow we always sat next to each other. I liked him, thought he was pretty cool, and was pretty good at French too.

Then he stopped coming to class for a week, which is a big deal because in this four credit class, we were there every day. I got kinda a bit worried about him, but I didn't have his number to shoot him an are-you-okay-or-what's-up text. When he came back, I asked him where he had been (I asked him in French of course ;). He told me had gotten very sick and had been in the hospital all last week. Glad he was better, we got back to talking in French. Until he stopped coming again.

Was he okay? At the hospital again? Why didn't I ever get his number? It would have been perfectly reasonable to think that maybe he withdrew from the class. I mean, he had missed over a week, and French 201 is no springtime picnic. I hoped that had been the case, but I couldn't help but worry that something worse had happened. I hoped he was okay, but also realized that if he had passed away, I would not have even known. I would keep on living my life the same if he had dropped the class or if he had died. The thought bothered me, and I worried.

That was about two years ago. #tbt2011

The other day I was walking on campus, just thinking about nothing, maybe humming, and I saw Spencer. He was just walking out of a building, like he probably did every day, with his backpack over his shoulder and a beanie on his head like he always did way back in French class. I smiled so big at him, you probably wouldn't have been able to get the sunshine off my face. Of course, he didn't really remember me, so he gave me kind of a funny look, like "why are you so happy? I mean it is cool that you are happy, but you just look really happy and you are staring right at me." I was really happy. Just that feeling you get when you realize that someone you thought might have possibly been dead is alive, well, and breathing.

This slice of life had a cherry on top.