Jane pays a visit to Paris!

Everyone finally arrived on Wednesday the 15th of July and we left early in the morning to check into our room at the aparthotel (that's cause it's extended stay...apartment/hotel, get it? Cute, huh? Oh, the French!). Rob, the professor in charge of the study abroad, was already checked in the day before, so he was there to greet us and help us check in. We then met for dinner that night at a Pizzeria and I had my first restaurant experience in France. I was reminded how much I love orange soda. In the States, the orange soda is very orange colored. While the Fanta in Europe is much lighter. In the states, the Fanta, Sunkist, whatever's your favorite is made with all artificial flavoring. In Europe, it's made with real orange juice! Mmmmm...many of you may have tasted Orangina...that's very much what the orange soda is like here.

The next day, my roommate was in town, so we hung out together. We arranged to meet at a Häagan Dazs near a certain stop on the metro. Unfortunately, when I got off, I realized that there were several metro exits and the one I exited at showed no Häagan Dazs nearby. So, I walked a little while until I found the Häagan Dazs at the next metro stop and no Jane. 45 minutes later, I was back around the right corner and down a small street to find a Häagan Dazs and my good friend Jane sitting with her friend Lena.

Jane and I decided to walk around the city until we planned to meet up with my classmates at the Palace at Versailles. The fountains in the palace gardens were going there only from 3 PM to 5:30 PM, so we only had a small window to see them. When we got there we waited in line for nearly an hour just to find out that the line was to get tickets to actually enter the palace and there was a separate line to enter the gardens. When we walked around to the side of the palace we discovered a line with nearly two people in front of us. Well done, Dan! It's okay, because we talked about the English language in line because we're teachers and we love talking about silly slang...plus, Jane said 'janky' and Lena wanted to know what it meant, so we talked about it and then used the word the whole time we were together! It was pretty all kinds of awesome.

So, with our little lne confusion, we didn't find my classmates, but we still made it into the gardens in time to see all of the fountains on and running, though we did hurry a little bit as it got closer to 5. We then arrived at the biggest fountain in the place and discovered that there would be a little show to music that we could watch at 530, so I saved us spots while the girls sought out a bathroom. They came back not having succeeded because they knew time was running out and they ended up taking a wrong jaunt out of the gardens so they had to show their tickets again. Regardless, we all got to see the fountains and decided it was the best ending to the fantastic gardens.

On the way back, we decided to go to Emily's favorite crêperie in France, Crêperie Beaubourg

Bastille Day!!

My first weekend in Paris was spent couchsurfing. Now, many of you may not know what this is. My roommate and I joined almost 2 years ago when we became roommates and it's been the best experience ever. Basically, you offer your couch for travelers to sleep on when they come to visit your city. It's a cultural exchange and through it we've met the most incredibly fantastic people from several different countries: France, Belgium, Singapore, Canada, Australia, The Netherlands, Sweden, Italy, Ireland, Germany, Spain, Turkey, and Texas ;-)
So, since I've hosted so many people, it was my turn to be hosted. Emily, Allen and I were hosted by this little French guy named Raphael who works as a computer programmer. He loves Anime, Japanese, and Improv comedy. He lives in a pretty cool neighborhood in Paris proper and we were able to enjoy all that Paris had to offer even though the program hadn't started and we were already in France.
The first evening was spent doing these preset walks that our professor gave us (we're required to do at least 4 of them by the end of the program). I saw the Eiffel Tower for the first time and got to eat a pain au chocolat (chocolate croissant) in France! Mmmmm....
But, the most incredible part of the whole trip was waiting on a bridge in eyeshot of the Eiffel Tower on the evening of the 14th of July and for the firewarks show. Bastille Day is the French National Holiday and they create an amazing 45-minute long fireworks display surrounding the Eiffel Tower. The fireworks even shoot off of the tower. It was literally the most incredible fireworks show I've ever seen! I shot some videos of some of it before my camera's battery died and posted them on Youtube.
The funniest part about hanging out with Raphael was when I told him he was the "bomb-diggity" His English wasn't bad, but he had a very thick accent, so when he asked what this word 'diggity' meant, it sounded a little like an Eastern Indian accent with an emphasis on every syllable in the word. It was hilarious. From the moment I said that word, he would use it over and over again for everything. We laughed so hard. Of course we explained to him that the word 'diggity' is not used very commonly in the states. Emily actually told him "There are only 5 people in the United States who use that word. One of them is Dan, the other 4 are over 50 years old." So I use silly words...

A day in Marseille!

The first full day we were in France we decided to use one of the days on our Eurorail pass and go see Marseille. When we told Raphael this, he thought we were completely nuts. Not in these exact words he said this "You've just come to Paris and instead of spending quality time in one of the most amazing cities in the world, you're wasting time on a train going all the way to the south of France just to go to the beach?" He was a little offended in his own Parisien way, and in all honesty he was wrong. We weren't just going to the beach, we were going to Chateau D'If. For those of you unaware, this is the site for the prison setting of the book The Count of Monte Cristo and Allen had recently read the book and really wanted to see the island.

So, away we went early one morning. We got there by 9:30 AM, we purchased ferry tickets for noon, found a beach within walking distance, and were on our way to spending the most perfect 9 and half hours at a beach town that one can spend. We laid out on the beach, swam a little bit in the chilly, clear waters of the Mediterranean, then took a little ride on a ferry to an island of the coast of France once used as a prison. There were dungeon-like rooms that were too dark to see down, and cavern-like rooms on the upper levels that must have been drafty and uncomfortable to say the least. There were even quarters for the priest and guards that would have been a little less unpleasant than the actual cells, but just the same, the whole Chateau was completely made of stone and quite lifeless to say the least. Despite this description, the waters around it were incredibly beautiful and the view from the top or really anywhere you could find a window was pretty amazing. It must have been torture sitting in there day in and day out without the possibility of enjoying the beautiful beaches and scenery just moments away.


Once we returned on our little ferry to the mainland, we returned to our little beach (which was much busier this time around) and laid out in the sun, swam, laid out, swam, and ate pain au lait with Nutella until it was time to catch our train back to Paris. We all forgot sun screen, so i bought some while I was there. Unfortunately it was too late and the sun had already done it's dirty work. We were all so sunburned that by the time the train ride was over, all Raphael could do was laugh at our foolish trek and ask why we all looked like red raccoons with the white skin surrounding our eyes where the sunglasses had been and our red noses and foreheads. We were peeling for days once that began, but it didn't matter. We had a great time. Sometimes, it's all worth the ride.

The heart of Provo, Utah

So, interestingly enough, I think this time around, I have explored more of Utah County (Provo) than I ever did when I lived here for 2 years and 8 months. In fact, Emily and Allen (the couple I’m staying with) fixed up one of their bikes and they let me use it to get to school every day. The miles were long and a little boring, though I don’t think it was too much further than my regular work commute. Though the mountains are incredibly beautiful in Utah, I think I prefer my work commute. Here’s the comparison: 8 miles with about 8 stoplights total, hills up and down both ways, but mostly flat vs. 4 miles with a stoplight for nearly every block (around 85 stoplights) with hills up and down and crazy NYC cab drivers, random car doors opening out of nowhere. What can I say? I’m a city boy at heart ;-)

So, being back in Utah allowed for some fun little visits with a random smattering of friends.
Of course Emily and Allen count, and I was able to spend a lot of time with them including visiting their respective families who live around the corner from them. The thing that I found funny was that they literally lived within a quarter of a mile from both of their parents’ houses and they always drove in their car to visit them. I’ve become such a New Yorker willing to walk everywhere ☺ We had a fun time playing “the bean game” on several occasions, and they always offered me food for lunches and they cooked me dinner all the time. They even let me borrow the car a few times to do some things or visit friends ☺ They’ve been great hosts!

I also got to visit with my friend Deborah Ann. We first took a fun little walk by Provo's little creek. I remember that the last time I came it was dried up in many places because there was a drought. In the past few weeks before coming to Provo it had rained nearly every day, so the creek looked like a river. Here are a few shots of the waterfall

We met another day and I cooked us some lasagna. None of you except for Deborah Ann will be able to fully understand what I am about to say, and I'm certainly not one to toot my own horn, but it was literally THE BEST lasagna I have eaten in my life. I ate many a delicious lasagna cooked by short, pudgy pasta mammas IN Italy, but I kid you not when I say it was amazing. Imagine, if you will, that you're emaciated and stranded in a desert with nothing but sun, sky and sand in sight! You're parched because you are so thirsty and dry. Your skin is scorched and tender to the touch. You know if you don't get something to drink soon you will die, when suddenly there in front of you is the most amazing little oasis in the desert. You're certain it is a mirage, but you approach it anyway because you know you have nothing to lose. When you arrive at the flowing water, you instantly take a sip of the most refreshing and life-saving water you have ever sipped in your life. That is what it was like eating this lasagna. No exaggeration!

I went to Steve (my older brother) and Alicia's (his wife) and had dinner with my nieces (I have 3: Hannah, Ruby, and Katy). The best part of the night was being their jungle gym after dessert. They climbed all over me. Check out the awesome pictures we took together.

If you’ll notice their mouths are a little dirty. That’s because we were eating otter pops. I think my siblings and I used to have 10 a day when I was younger. We used to keep them in our extra freezer out in the garage and we’d sneak one after another. I saw history repeat itself as my 3 nieces and I went back not for just a second otter pop, but a third. Apparently, my youngest niece, Katy is also a movies star. She did a fairly large role in a film short that was shown at the Sundance film festival this past year, so we watched that as well. I’m very excited that they’ll be moving back to Alabama (where the rest of my family lives now), so I’ll be able to hang out with them again over Christmas holidays.

So, as for class, I’ve been having a really great time. We meet every day in the morning and again in the afternoon for our pedagogy and culture classes, and then 3 times a week for 45 minutes of our lunch break for our French conversation class. The pedagogy and culture class are two separate classes, though they’ve been treated as one and the same because we’re here to learn how to integrate teaching culture along with the language. So, here’s the plan. We’re going to take pictures and collect random cultural artifacts while we’re in France in order to show the cultural differences and similarities among the Americans and the French. Our final project will include several different lesson plans including the pictures and/or artifacts that we’ve taken and collected for those particular lessons. For example, I plan to take lots of pictures of clothing stores and how they function in order to create my own clothing store in the classroom so that I can teach students how to buy clothes. I will also take several pictures of random people in France and what they are wearing so as to show them to students using the pictures to teach clothing vocabulary, and so on.

So, now that you’re completely bored by the reasons I’m actually going to France, I am totally excited about it. In fact, I’ll be taking all kinds of random pictures in NYC to use for comparing and contrasting the different countries. I’ll even be spending several days in Italy to collect artifacts and take pictures there as well! ☺

My favorite part about being in Provo though was being able to see all the beautiful landscape that exists there. I was able to go hiking in several places and just enjoy nature. In NYC, Central Park gives me a nature fix, but nothing like Provo did. It was pretty awesome...check out the pics

French Teacher Institute

So, here it is...I've finally come back to my blog and here's the reason why. I'm going to France for the first time in my life, and I'm doing it through The BYU, my undergraduate alma mater. I will be posting hyperlinks to websites should there need to be further explanation or if you would like to learn more about the things I blog about here. Enjoy!

For those of you unaware, The BYU is the home of the Cougars and the quintessential Mormon University. There are a few others, BYU-Idaho and BYU-Hawaii, but here in Provo, I'm at the original, so I call it The BYU. For those unaware, there is a clear and structured Honor Code that must be followed while attending The BYU. Some of you may balk at the idea of having to sign such a thing to attend college, others may say that you would never do such a thing. I personally have made the sacrifice to shave my face every day in order to receive 9 graduate credit hours and go to France for a month all under $2000.

Another good BYU-ism has to do with the housing. The Honor Code clearly sets rules which students must follow with living situations. All housing must be approved by BYU (on- or off-campus). All of the apartments approved by BYU for student living (as long as they are not living with family) must have separate bathroom and bedroom space that can be closed off to kitchens and living areas, and no student is allowed in those areas if they are in the apt of a student of the opposite sex. For example, when I lived in the French house (on-campus), the females had to go back to their apartments in order to use the bathroom.

If you look at the floor plan, there is a door before you enter the bathroom or any of the three bedrooms. Not all housing had a door at this point, so an imaginary line was created that the opposite sex was not allowed to pass.

There was also a curfew one had to obey. I’ll simply let this large poster explain the rule. It was posted several places on campus, and I couldn’t resist taking a photo.

Finally, the best part about BYU will always be the Daily Universe. This is the daily newspaper put out by undergrad communications/journalism majors. It contains several student-written articles as well as Associated Press articles to fill up 8-12 pages of a regular-sized newspaper. There is often an editorials section where students are allowed to write in their opinions of things that have happened on campus. Here is a list of the pressing topics I’ve found therein:

• The large statue of a scantily clad Native American outside the BYU library – why doesn’t he have to follow the Honor Code?

• YouTube finally allowed on campus (it was previously blocked by BYU network access on campus)

• Sarah Palin quits! (literally at least one article a day for two weeks)

• Where to sleep on campus (there are snoozers everywhere!)

• The name of the “No Shhh! Zone” in the library (it’s a place in the library where you don’t have to be quiet)

• The “No snowball throwing” law (among other strange laws) in Provo (considered a misdemeanor if the intent is to throw it at someone, to hinder movement or to scare someone)

• Whether or not to join the boycott of Pepsi because of its support of the LGBT community

You can also see a plethora of ads for diamond rings, BYU housing and various food establishments. There are also ads for salesmen seeing as how all return missionaries are generally very good at going door to door. Bringing the BYU experience full circle, I will end my blog about The BYU with the following:

Please note the promises of these ads. One will help you find your spouse (Marriage Guarantee), the other will give you a new start so that your honeymoon never ends. Gotta love it!

Wait!! I can’t forget the Police Beat!! BYU Campus police allow the newspaper to publish all incidents reported to or otherwise handled by the BYU Police. Here are some of the gems (followed by commentary in parenthesis):

June 25: Graffiti was found at the bus stop next to the law library. The phrase “There are angels among us” was written in black permanent marker. (In NYC, graffiti has become an art…in Utah, it has become prophetic)

June 14: Two bikes were reported stolen on campus. The victims saw the stolen bikes in a photo on Facebook. The person in the photo was arrested because he had “control” of the bikes. (Wow, can you be any more blatant? I wish I could find my stolen bike on Facebook, but NYC thieves have an entire system of CHANGING the way the bike looks.)

June 24: A backpack was reported stolen from a women’s restroom in the library. A female was taking a nap with her backpack next to her and when she woke up it was gone. No arrests have been made. (I hate to say it serves her right, but…it serves her right! Use the backpack as a pillow, Dim Some!)

June 16: Someone reported seeing a man in the stadium with a rifle. The police responded and found out it was a grounds employee sent to eliminate pigeons with a pellet gun. Officers stopped him. The man was not able to shoot any pigeons. (Why can’t he shoot pigeons? Seriously! What is wrong with the world?)

June 18: Three children, ages nine, six, and three, were reported missing from their mother while on campus. The children had gotten separated and were found in their car by the Museum of Art. (What really happened…Mother needs to accomplish something quick on campus and leaves children in the car. Random stranger sees children in a car alone, calls police and once they arrive, so does the mother. Mother’s response, “Oh, officer, thank you for finding my children, I’ve been looking all over for them!” Buzz beep Mother unlocks door, gets in and drives away. Children are safe…for now)

June 24: Concerned people reported someone chasing a duck around Maeser Hill with a motor scooter. Officers responded to the call and told the person not to harass ducks. The person complied. (No comment)