I finally have my carte de séjour! A carte de séjour is a kind of residency card that allows me to stay in France and make an honest living without resorting to underhanded means of supporting myself, such as transporting contraband, or promoting Céline Dion concerts. Unfortunately the photo on my carte de séjour is awful. You see, in France, you are not allowed to show your teeth in photos used for official documents. I took this to mean I couldn't smile; this isn't true at all. I've since learned that it is quite possible to smile without showing your teeth, or at least to have an agreable expression. Suffice it to say that the expression I have in the photo is anything but agreable. With my current carte de séjour photo, I think my presence in France is actually less legitimate. I may well have to turn to a life of crime to match my newly minted identification. Sorry mom.
(Please note that I have chosen not to include a picture of my I.D. for reasons of security, and not because of any embarrassement it might cause me.)
Friday, March 13, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Adonis I am not
Yesterday, before going to bed, my stomach started aching pretty badly. I tried to think of what I might have eaten to upset it, but couldn't come up with anything. Then I remembered that two days ago, on a whim, I had done thirty push-ups in the living-room of a friend, leaving me with an incredibly sore chest. Could it be that my abdominal muscles had, as well, united against me in painful protest? Could it be that during my weeks of sloth and lethargy they had grown accustom to their state of repose? In a word: that is absolutely the case. Due to my lack of daily exercise my abs had become sore to the point of painful cramping, which I was able to alleviate only by sleeping on my stomach. I am so ashamed.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Flu and Bronchitis or From Scylla into Charybdis
I just recently recovered from the flu. It was a tenacious flu that didn't want to relinquish its grasp. And when it finally did give in, it left me with a nasty bronchitis. When I eventually went to the doctor, he told me, "vous avez une bronchite qui s'est bien prise," which, loosely translated, means: "your an idiot, and you should have come in to see me days ago." But, three packages of amoxicillin later, I'm back on my feet and back at school with nothing but a lingering cough (which I use shamelessly to garner sympathy).
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Christmas in France
Christmas in France was great! I left for Rennes with Maëlle and her family on Christmas Eve. When we got to her Aunt's house, everybody said hello and talked for a bit, and then we sat down to the réveillon de Noël. This is a traditional family meal eaten on Christmas Eve that lasts for five or six hours. The meal started at nine o'clock in the evening and finished at three in the morning. We ate course after course after course which included foie gras, stuffed clams, pigeon, white wine, red wine, champagne, and eau-de-vie. (Keep in mind this was over six hours, just in case some of you had visions of me dancing deliriously on tabletops.) Finally we all went to bed around three thirty in the morning. The next day we got up in time for another long meal on Christmas Day (this one was only five hours though). Later that evening we drove back to Maëlle's house in Nantes and exhanged gifts. Everybody was really tired Christmas night, but it was all worth it. Here are some pictures:
Christmas hat picture!
Stuffed clams. They were really good!
Maëlle took this picture so my mom would have proof that I am eating my vegetables.
This is a shirt that Maëlle gave me for Christmas. It is a cross between a dress shirt and a polo.
I hope you all had a good Christmas. Happy New Year!
Christmas hat picture!
Stuffed clams. They were really good!
Maëlle took this picture so my mom would have proof that I am eating my vegetables.
This is a shirt that Maëlle gave me for Christmas. It is a cross between a dress shirt and a polo.
I hope you all had a good Christmas. Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Up-hair
This Christmas I will be in Rennes with a friend of mine (Maëlle) and her family. We are staying at her Aunt's house the 24th and 25th. Then, on the 28th I'm leaving for Chambéry in the French Alps to do some skiing! I haven't been skiing for quite some time so I am really looking forward to it.
On a different note, I fear that there are some who have not yet seen the glory of Craig's beard. This saddens me, so I have decided to post a picture on my blog:
...glorious. This picture has inspired me to write a sonnet entitled "Craig's Beard: an apologia"
Behold the man, a bushy bearded one,
who dares to wear his pride upon his chin,
with towering hair atop expressly done
so as to imitate a dorsal fin.
After this change some see him as a brute
and mothers come accost him in the square
"thou fiend, thou villain, man of ill repute!
What devilry hide you beneath such hair?"
O how much ridicule has this man borne
by those who see as folly facial hair?
would he be less a man if fairly shorn?
a man of lesser force his chin laid bare?
Ah! surely not for strength comes from within
nevertheless a beard is not a sin.
Merry Christmas!
Joyeux Noël!
On a different note, I fear that there are some who have not yet seen the glory of Craig's beard. This saddens me, so I have decided to post a picture on my blog:
...glorious. This picture has inspired me to write a sonnet entitled "Craig's Beard: an apologia"
Behold the man, a bushy bearded one,
who dares to wear his pride upon his chin,
with towering hair atop expressly done
so as to imitate a dorsal fin.
After this change some see him as a brute
and mothers come accost him in the square
"thou fiend, thou villain, man of ill repute!
What devilry hide you beneath such hair?"
O how much ridicule has this man borne
by those who see as folly facial hair?
would he be less a man if fairly shorn?
a man of lesser force his chin laid bare?
Ah! surely not for strength comes from within
nevertheless a beard is not a sin.
Merry Christmas!
Joyeux Noël!
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Pictures
Maëlle sent me some pictures from the big family gathering last Sunday, so I decided to post a few:
This is during the aperatif. I am reaching for one of several helpings of pistachios. Man! do I like pistachios!
I guess there were five children. Plus the baby who isn't in the picture (I told you they don't stop moving!)
And here's the baby. In this picture he is enjoying a cube of cheese.
This is during the aperatif. I am reaching for one of several helpings of pistachios. Man! do I like pistachios!
I guess there were five children. Plus the baby who isn't in the picture (I told you they don't stop moving!)
And here's the baby. In this picture he is enjoying a cube of cheese.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Sunday
Alas! I am so ashamed. It's been almost a week since my last post, so in order to make it up to you I am going to make this one extraordinarily long and wordy:
Two days ago, Maëlle's family invited me to a big family dinner in Nantes. I was, of course, very happy to accept this invitation. Everybody arrived at the Trévedy residence around twelve or twelve-thirty: aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, etc. In all there were fourteen adults and several children (I wasn't able to count the children; they are constantly moving, which inhibits my calculatory faculties). The dinner started with an aperatif; everybody had a drink and there was paté, pastachios, and other savoury snacks. Then we moved on to the entrée: two kinds of fish with white wine. When we got to the main dish I was already well on my way to being full (to be honest I had been eating a lot of really good bread, which had come with every course thus far). the main dish was chicken with fried balls of mashed potatoes and red wine. The cheese came next. In anticipation of dessert, I had wisely decided to take only a very small portion of swiss, but then I was taken in again by bread! arrg! Then we arrived at the dessert, which consisted of a variety of cakes and sparkeling wine . I had a modest slice of chocolate cake. Finally we had coffee at around six in the evening. Afterward, everybody went on a walk except me. I promptly went upstairs and took an hour-long nap.
Two days ago, Maëlle's family invited me to a big family dinner in Nantes. I was, of course, very happy to accept this invitation. Everybody arrived at the Trévedy residence around twelve or twelve-thirty: aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, nieces, etc. In all there were fourteen adults and several children (I wasn't able to count the children; they are constantly moving, which inhibits my calculatory faculties). The dinner started with an aperatif; everybody had a drink and there was paté, pastachios, and other savoury snacks. Then we moved on to the entrée: two kinds of fish with white wine. When we got to the main dish I was already well on my way to being full (to be honest I had been eating a lot of really good bread, which had come with every course thus far). the main dish was chicken with fried balls of mashed potatoes and red wine. The cheese came next. In anticipation of dessert, I had wisely decided to take only a very small portion of swiss, but then I was taken in again by bread! arrg! Then we arrived at the dessert, which consisted of a variety of cakes and sparkeling wine . I had a modest slice of chocolate cake. Finally we had coffee at around six in the evening. Afterward, everybody went on a walk except me. I promptly went upstairs and took an hour-long nap.
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