Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Spring Catch Up

Désolée, sorry, lo siento for the delay in posting. I did not realize it had been so long since I posted! I have much to recount, many photos to share.

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It doesn't help that the weather has recently felt like a throwback to April. Coats and umbrellas haven't been far from hand recently. Guess it's payback, because April was unusually warm and mostly rain-free. So much that parts of France experienced droughts. It just hurts more when it's summer (almost) and I have to dress in layers!

I'll start out by saying that I sadly did not get accepted into the translation school that I spent this spring studying for. I had my reservations the weeks leading into it after hearing (again) from people that it was quite difficult and very competitive..but I wasn't about to just ditch it all together. I studied s'more, took some deep breaths, told myself it'd make me stronger or something like that. There were an insane amount of people there, I'd say at least 400-500. Although I am notorious for badly estimating large groups of people..let's just say it was an entire auditorium that had two levels. Totally filled. The list came out the next week and I was not on it, but I definitely wasn't the only one. Ah, well. C'est la vie.

I had a wtf-am-I-going-to-do-with-my-life day, but it was short-lived since I felt out some Plan B's in the weeks prior. I will be applying to a few other translation programs this fall at three universities. France has two sessions to apply to university--one now, in late May/early June, and one in mid-September. I would have liked to just get it over with and apply now, but nothing is ever that easy in La France! I have to take an official French test to prove my level. That's right, after living here for 3something years I have yet to prove I indeed speak French fluently. Quelle galère..(what a pain)

And so that is what I will be doing this summer, among other things. Paying 90€ for someone to write down on a piece of paper that I have a level worthy of a French/English translator-to-be. (Last year, I got lucky as my university had their own, free French test. Sadly they did not provide any kind of written proof that I took it. OF COURSE!)

Although September will be a little stressful (I could easily find out I'm accepted the week before classes begin), at least I have the summer to study a bit and relax. For the first time since last fall, I read a book that wasn't Communications/Translation related. It was glorious.

In between studying, sleeping, teaching English, working at a restaurant and watching my kids, I did have a pretty good spring. Brittany came up to visit at the end of April and all I can say is that we had an epic weekend. The weather was beautiful, café and pub terraces were filled with people, friends joined up, laughter was had..it was fun. We went vintaging, drank some wine and/or coffee in between, stopped by the bookstores since, well, we always do. The next day we went to Lille, a little town an hour north of Paris by TGV. I'd been told it was very up-and-coming and cute. Carolina came along and it was a really great day. Lille is highly recommended to anyone visiting France! I wish I had money, I'd invest some there! Lots of old houses being renovated, cute cobblestone streets, interesting French/Flemish architecture, a huge plaza, tons of shops, two train stations.. it's only going to improve in the coming years. If I wasn't so attached to Paris, I'd really consider living up there. I couldn't believe how much cheaper it was than Paris! For the rent of a small 15-20m2 studio here, you could have your own 70m2 apartment there..

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It was good to be reminded that Paris is not synonymous with France. I think a lot of people, myself included, fall into this trap. I love Paris and will always have a strong emotional bond with it, but there are so many other little towns and cities that deserve some lovin'!

Alright there is more to say..I had a birthday in there, you know! But lunch with a friend awaits!

I finally got a new lens for my camera--perfect for long summer days and (hopefully soon) warm weather.

A plus!

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