Well, for the next few weeks I'm back to working. It's a familiar routine from last year and I love it for that. Working on the beach and learning about the plants here on Beaver Island may never get boring. Looking out my window over Lake Michigan, I can see the moon rising. Tonight it's a beautiful royal pink. I wonder what causes it to appear so blushed.... Anyway, earlier while I was working on inputting data in the computer lab, Binney (my professor who I'm working for this summer) came in and called to us that there was a snake that had caught a frog. I jumped to my feet, leaving my excel spredsheet wide open on the screen, and went out to observe. I'll save the details (because I know some of my followers too well) but it was very cool. There was a solid group of about 8 bio-geeks talking and commentating for a good 45 minutes! Reason #317 why I know I'm studying the right field.
There are 38 more days until I fly out of the country. It still doesn't really feel like I'm going to be traveling, thousands of miles from home in just over a month!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Sunday, July 18, 2010
A Growing Closet of Black
Today marks 46 days until I leave for Strasbourg, France. So I decided to give this blogging thing a practice run. =) It's becoming really exciting, this adventure to Europe. I'm not sure if that's because the nerves I had have been overcome (unlikely) or because there is still a fair amount of time still before I leave. Either way, I'm welcoming this new outlook.
Up until the last few hours, I was extremely worried about leaving. A major player was the fact that I had not done exceedingly well in my college level French classes (M. Cohen turned me off to learning French, probably of no fault of his own) and had not spoken or listened much to the language since my last class winter quarter. I'm also anxious to meet my house family and find out what my living situation will be like. Will we get along? Will I know enough French to effectively communicate? How will I get to classes? How will I keep in touch with my family? All these I know will be answered smoothly once I arrive, but the unknown is still exhaustively exhilarating.
The cause for my sudden change in mood was listing to podcasts for learning French online. About a month ago, my mom introduced me to Coffee Break French. It's a beginning French level, but still a great refresher. Through listing to some of the lessons, they mentioned another podcast, this one covered more "spoken French" as the host walked around Paris and explained grammar on random posters or signs. The name was even catchy: Walk, Talk and Learn French (especially since my first experiences with French were in Conversational French courses. It is safe to say that I am now, once again, in love with the language (Take that M. Cohen!).
I've been going through my closet and trying to gather the clothes that I will pack as well as brain-storming what I think I need to get before I go. Surprisingly, most of my outfits are of dark, cool colors and/or black (which, as I'm told, is common in France because black especially is easy to match with). There were a few items that I found myself in need of, but overall I was quite proud of my closet's composure.
Just today, while out shopping with my sister, I finally found a good pair of black jeans (black pants are a must have in every French wardrobe). Now all I need are a good pair of black walking shoes and I know I'll be able to survive any check by the French Fashion Police. I've heard from a reliable source (who has recently returned from Paris) that scarves are all the rage right now. This is very exciting seeing as I have two boxes full of the decorative fabric strips that I can select from.
Well, I think that's a long enough post. Until I next have time (and internet access).
Up until the last few hours, I was extremely worried about leaving. A major player was the fact that I had not done exceedingly well in my college level French classes (M. Cohen turned me off to learning French, probably of no fault of his own) and had not spoken or listened much to the language since my last class winter quarter. I'm also anxious to meet my house family and find out what my living situation will be like. Will we get along? Will I know enough French to effectively communicate? How will I get to classes? How will I keep in touch with my family? All these I know will be answered smoothly once I arrive, but the unknown is still exhaustively exhilarating.
The cause for my sudden change in mood was listing to podcasts for learning French online. About a month ago, my mom introduced me to Coffee Break French. It's a beginning French level, but still a great refresher. Through listing to some of the lessons, they mentioned another podcast, this one covered more "spoken French" as the host walked around Paris and explained grammar on random posters or signs. The name was even catchy: Walk, Talk and Learn French (especially since my first experiences with French were in Conversational French courses. It is safe to say that I am now, once again, in love with the language (Take that M. Cohen!).
I've been going through my closet and trying to gather the clothes that I will pack as well as brain-storming what I think I need to get before I go. Surprisingly, most of my outfits are of dark, cool colors and/or black (which, as I'm told, is common in France because black especially is easy to match with). There were a few items that I found myself in need of, but overall I was quite proud of my closet's composure.
Just today, while out shopping with my sister, I finally found a good pair of black jeans (black pants are a must have in every French wardrobe). Now all I need are a good pair of black walking shoes and I know I'll be able to survive any check by the French Fashion Police. I've heard from a reliable source (who has recently returned from Paris) that scarves are all the rage right now. This is very exciting seeing as I have two boxes full of the decorative fabric strips that I can select from.
Well, I think that's a long enough post. Until I next have time (and internet access).
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