French class

A bit of Megativity to start your day ...

Stop telling me French is easy to learn, that I just have to immerse myself – how? When? Don’t they get it – I live here ALONE. Work is in English (except when the team talks to each other in French, which is more and more often now, but when they do so, it is to the exclusion of English speakers). My cable box for TV isn’t working so I cannot watch that. If I have the radio on at home, it is classical or jazz, not talk/words. When I go shopping (rarely), I don’t have to talk to people – everything is automated in life ; and besides, I can get through the basic pleasantries and mindless shopping banter.

If the people who make these comments to me (‘aren’t you fluent yet?’) take the time to speak to me like a 5-year-old as I do to them in English, maybe I’d be trying. Or if they’d at least speak slowly and clearly.

Meanwhile, in French lessons, do the various instructors insist on :
(1) saying things like ‘there isn’t the same expression in French, you cannot say that’ (for learning things like on/off, in/out, etc.) Duh sh!t. I know it’s a frickin’ different language, that’s why I’m trying to learn it. I’m just asking you how I would say ‘turn the lights off’ and what would I use for ‘off’ – I’m not expecting a frickin’ literal translation, and I most certainly do not need you talking down to me like I’m a 7-year-old trying to grasp multiplication tables.
(2) talking loudly (there are only 3 of us in the small room). I’m not some 3-year-old or Gen-Y’er who needs constant stimulation or excitement.
(3) interrupting me after every word I say when I’m trying to convey a thought/sentence. By the time I’m half-way through with said sentence/thought, I’ve forgotten the point because of all the interruptions. Then the instructor gets a bit put off when I cannot repeat the phrase correctly. Just let me complete the phrase first!
(4) thinking they know what I’m going to say and thus try to ‘help me’ finish my thought when in reality, they are completely off base. Let me finish my thought/idea first, then correct me. You are not clairvoyant.
(5) correcting me when I use a word incorrectly when only 10 minutes before you told me to use it that way! I know, I have it WRITTEN in my notebook, i.e. using ‘devant’ for behind (as was originally instructed) when it really means ‘in front’ (but, and get this, it only means that a person is ‘in front’ of you when the person’s back is to you, otherwise, if a person is ‘in front’ of you and facing you, it is ‘en face de’). The instructor said behind=devant but then tried to pass it off 10 minutes later as my stupid mistake / miscomprehension.
Look, I know teaching is not easy and that everyone learns differently, but when all of this happens in one class, on a Monday evening, it’s a bit much.

And, to top it off, we were in the children’s room. i.e. bright blue carpet, one bright orange wall, one bright yellow one, one lime green ; a lime green table/chair set ; my colleague wearing a bright red shirt. Cripes. No wonder I was developing a headache. Thanks much (honestly) for offering to switch to a normal room for the last 45 minute session ; but, if I say no thanks, I’ll be fine, STOP ASKING ME. You only make it worse when you continuously ask.

Briefly

London show was way better than the Paris one. Somewhat disappointing, actually, more than somewhat :(

Fins to the left !

Just a few more hours to wait until the Buffett concert at La Cigale in Paris tonight :)

We are the people our parents warned us about!

Random thoughts

Some random thoughts I've been compiling the past two weeks (my apologies if any are repeats) :

--If it is Monday and I say "next weekend I am going to Boston", what do you think? Do you think 5 days from now or 14? In France/French, they think 5 days (i.e. le week-end prochain), as in this weekend. It was confusing enough when we expats got to the Paris office, so we overcompensated by always using dates. But now, we're getting ourselves confused with using "next" - is it this or next, or next next?

--One colleague gets Le Monde every day at work. But it is in his corporate mailbox by 3 p.m for the next day - how can they write, edit, layout, print, publish and distribute the next day's paper by 3 p.m. the preceding day?

--I am always amazed by people who go on holiday and then return all gung-ho, ready to work 12 hour days and are excited about work. Sure, I return from vacation all rejuvenated, but not necessarily raring to be back at work.

--I keep trying to figure out what to do with my life when this stint is up. I thought, gee where would my current zip code put me in the US? Turns out, Denton Texas. Time to think up a new moving location strategy.

--Yes, it seems to be a universal problem....filling the copy machine with paper. I feel like I am forever putting paper into it, nevermind that I print 1% the amount that the guys down the hall print. I just went in to pick up a print job and one guy was staring at the display screen, then left. Ummm, 2 of the 3 paper try indicators were Red, showing 0 paper. And the dude just walked away. I'm going to go mental one of these days very soon.

--If you’re supposed to use hot water to wash your hands, how come most of the faucets in the women’s room are turned to cold?

--And speaking of hygiene ... the company has had all these meetings and studies relating to H1N1 and whether or not we can all work from home. But still the French insist on shaking hands every morning (or, if it is 3 p.m. and it's the first time they've seen you, then shake hands then) ; granted, it's better than the kissing. But seriously - GERMS. I know not everyone washes hands. So now, before the person even turns away I take out my hand sanitizer and use it in front of them, with a slight look of disgust on my face. One day I want to sneeze into my hand and then shake theirs. And never mind the interruption it brings to your work/concentration, to stop what you're doing to shake hands ; or that the other person will stand there in the hallway and wait with hand outstretched while you shift your papers, phone, pens from right hand to left.

--One of my neurosis is I like blue ink pens... Another one is that even if it’s a cheap, free, pen, I.want.it.back. So how did I ‘lose’ 2 pens and 1 pencil last week? I am sure when colleagues were at my desk and we were doing work, they walked off with them. And I think I know who, but how can I go take back a cheap, free, office pen? The kicker is the pens were from the London office and I like them. A lot. Ugh.

--The UK has a “Serious Fraud Office”? Seriously? That's the name, honest.

--When I read books where characters are in relationships, experience emotions, etc (i.e. all books), it makes me realise I have little of that, of close human emotion/contact and makes me feel more alone. I feel better when I read things like National Geographic (well, then I just hate humanity and weep for Mother Earth rather than myself).

--Yes, I actually feel like it is a minor victory, like I have done something to advance time when I am looking at the clock on my computer and it changes. Seriously. It was 13:52 and then it was 13:53 - all because I looked! Whew.

Thoughts

Some thoughts from church the past two weeks ...

This Sunday ... about the Pharisees (Mark 7 : 1-8, 14-15, and 21-23) and how while they were well respected, spiritual people, they focused too much on the rules and regulations, and not on the spiritual. This was also the subject of the UCC's Daily Devotional this week (Sept 2) ; as Kenneth L. Samuel wrote "The real consequence of majoring in conventions and missing the commandments is that while we uphold religious protocol, people suffer and even die through neglect of the essential commandments of God." (under the title Majoring in Minors and Missing the Majors).

So, who do you close yourself off from - people who are not clean or smell? people of a different political background? or economic strata? or zip code? or intelligence level? people who are unemployed? If you do this, but go through the motions of being religious, you're missing the point.

And I liked in the prayer today - when tired, ask for strength ; when anxious, ask for peace. And, I learned that Eucharist means "good grace" in Greek.

Last Sunday ... Ephesians 6 : 10-20. What are you battling? Battles are not 'out there' (in the world), but they are inside you. For any battle, you should wear the Armour of God : "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth...the breastplate of righteousness...the gospel of peace....the shield of faith....the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit....

And, a reminder from several Sundays ago... Life should NOT be about the pursuit of happiness, but rather finding the source of it. So .. .what did you pursue this week thinking it would bring you happiness, only to find you felt just as empty as when you started?

On a less spiritual note, but applicable nonetheless ...

--is it so wrong that immediately after the passing of the peace, before I touched anything, I got out my disinfectant gel and used it?

--why does it seem EVERYTHING in the announcements, messages in the sermons, goals, etc. are aimed toward families and children? This just alienates me as a member of the church. Yes, I recognize that younger generations are the future and that we must nuture them. However, there are many of us without children, who are not parents, and constantly hearing focused messages to those who are is annoying.

Vampires, Mummies & the Holy Ghost

Saturday I went to London for the day to do a tour of the UK Parliament building (Westminster Palace). Last summer I did a tour of Buckingham Palace, but had no idea that Parliament opened for tours during summer recess (Aug/Sept*). So I used some Eurostar points and went over.

Of course, the Tube lines and stations I wanted to use were closed for weekend maintenance, so I just took a cab from St Pancras ; and allow me to say - How Civilised! The cab drivers are nice and pleasant, they know EXACTLY where to go, they understand what you’re saying, they don’t drive like madmen, etc. Just driving along the streets in the morning was a treat.

I got to Trafalgar Square and went to the Starbucks around the corner for a chai latte - again, it felt great to be in a place where one can walk down the street with a take away coffee cup - from a major US chain - in a size larger than a thimble - and not feel like a pariah.

Blue skies, light breeze, crisp air, wispy white clouds, sun reflecting off Parliament. Perfect.

The tour itself was very good, and was detailed perfectly in my Blue Guide London book (thanks Norah!). You can do virtual tours on the Parliament’s website. (Since I haven’t spent serious amounts of time on the US government website, I don’t have a comparison ; but, I think UK’s site is really good.)

The intricacy in the details inside were great. In some ways the House of Lords is way ostentatious when compared to House of Commons (or from the opposite view, the House of Commons is pathetically drab). Either way, both have their charms. Photography inside was not allowed.

I was surprised that both Houses do NOT have enough seats for all Members. Where is the whole Representation in that?

After the tour finished, I crossed over to Westminster Abbey and took that tour. The Abbey was less impressive than I remember it being 15 years ago. It is 15 GBP to get in, and you get a headset to listen to for descriptions of everything. I found that those descriptions, and the whole headset thing, took away from the overall awe/peace that one would’ve otherwise felt. It definitely felt more like a museum / mausoleum than a place of worship. Every place on the floor and in the walls are stones either marking someone's gravesite, or an 'in honor' thing. A lot of them on the floor are nearly illegible because they have been walked on so much they have worn away. Photography inside was not allowed.

Both Parliament and the Abbey were MUCH brighter inside than I expected. Sure, I know part of it has to do with the fact it was a sunny day, but the sheer number of windows was impressive. From a distance, Parliament doesn't really look like it has a lot of windows, but from closer look it is nearly 50% windows I think.

Every time I see historical things like this, I am just amazed that none of them were bombed to ruins in wars.

After that tour, I had just enough awkward time before my train : meaning, it wasn’t really enough time to take a cab/tube to a shopping area, as the transportation aspect would’ve minimised shopping ; but, by going directly to the train station, I had a lot of time there.

Sure, St Pancras International has a lot of shopping, but the bookstore didn’t have what I was looking for and the food choices, while good, were not what I was craving. I think, too, by this point I was tired and ready to get back to Paris. So this just means more shopping when in the States in a few days, especially at Borders.

Good things about London :

--black cabs

--the parks - they are huge, and people use them, and you can sit on the grass, and they have great flowers

--less smokers in the street - you can walk behind a group of people and not be walking in a 2nd hand smoke cloud

--all the pubs - just the way they look, with beautiful overflowing baskets of flowers adorning the front

Bad things :

--air seems dirtier, even on a crisp fall day

--lack of trash bins on the streets (I know, it’s a safety thing)

--more crowded, just a lot more people

Overall, London feels like a city of purpose, energy, action. Paris is “pretty” (image focused), laid-back, and philosophical. If one were to use the historical, stereoptypical, gender descriptions - London is male and Paris is female.

I prefer London.

But, I find that weird because when I lived there, I never really feel like I fit in, or felt ‘at home’.

*So why do Americans in general complain that the French (and Spanish) take all of August off as holiday. US Congress is in recess, and UK seems to be as well. Sure ‘members work away from Westminster’ but one has to wonder...

Passing

Rest in peace Erich Kunzel.

"Erich Kunzel, the award-winning conductor who headed the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra since it was founded three decades ago and who won international fame through sales of more than 10 million recordings, has died at age 74"

Cincinnati Pops Tribute Website is very nice, too.