Hey there, friends. Haven't died quite yet. Usual excuse of being busy/tired/lazy/forgetful. Just finished up a very demanding semester two weeks ago and have been enjoying the relative calmness that follows final projects, exams, and my year-end 60-page paper.
 
Calmness after the storm

So, what have I been up to? Well, there was a two-week break not long after my last post. Spent that working a bit on my mémoire, having a visit from Brittany, hanging out with friends, enjoying the decent weather (I think). To be honest, the last few months have melted together to form a general uni-computer-library-wine-sleep continuum, but I do remember April and May being particularly fun. My birthday was in there—you know, the one where I didn't age yet celebrated on three separate occasions, the elections (Go Hollande!!), some good dinners with friends, a Ben Howard concert, pub quizzes, weekly coffee dates, exams, some sleep, wine and chats on the canal, work, shopping, and many moments that have sadly blurred together. People leaving, people coming, and me staying cooped up in my apartment when not out doing aforementioned activities.

Nearly the entire month of June was spent in my apartment or one of two libraries. To finish this mother of a paper. My paper wasn't even that good, but damn if it wasn't the hardest thing I've had to do, oh, ever. I don't think I'm particularly cut out for academia. I mean, I do like learning. Reading, expanding my knowledge, enlightenment—all that jazz, sure. But when it comes to applying it and demonstrating that I've learned something by writing a paper..very much not my forte. There was one weekend not so long ago that I stayed up for three days in a row, more or less. I got two or three hours of sleep each night, and had to work 8 hour shifts the following days. It was really not fun or glamorous, it just sucked. Because I couldn't put off writing it any longer. I actually had to finish it. I finally turned in my beautifully plastic-bound paper two weeks ago. It wasn't a particularly proud piece of work, but I was glad to have something to turn in. I'm in a professional Master's program. So instead of writing a 100-page research paper, I have to do a translation of around 20 pages and then another 20-25 pages of commentary (in French), and then a bunch of bibliography annexes and a few translated pages of the website I chose. It's a doable project, but I spent far too long on my translation and not enough time on the commentary. Plus, I didn't have my French checked over to make sure it was 100% correct. My French is pretty good, but I will never have the fluidity of a native French-speaker. They are just so..flowery. So eloquent without trying. I get there—part way— but my native straight-to-the-point English sometimes gets in the way.

So anyway to finish up, I basically went into the jury hoping they'd let me improve it for the second jury session in September. I was happy to take their criticisms and suggestions, but I wanted more time. And since I wasn't that stressed about it, it really wasn't that bad. I got what I wanted—well, my whole program of five did—a later date in early September. They said my translation was pretty solid, and congratulated me on that, but said I should re-do parts of my commentary and add in some more translation theory. I walked away happy to have a few months to do what I know could be a better job. Because more than anything, I want to have a paper I'm proud of. Employers aren't afraid to ask to see something like this, and considering that I somehow half-assed my way through about 80% of my college classes, turning in papers that were acceptable but not great, I'd like to prove to my procrastinator self that I can do this. And also, my staying in France next year depends on me being in the second year of this program (which is not automatic), which depends on me getting a certain grade on this paper. So. There we are. I'm on break, kind of.

It's Monday and I have decided that my self-imposed vacation from schoolwork is over. I really must begin reading new material and re-doing my paper. I needed some time away from what I had before, anyway. Translation is tricky—you can always come back to it and find something you want to change. But it's good to sometimes take a little time away from it to get a better perspective. I went to the library today and copied some stuff to read. I also need to get stuff together before August begins because all the Parisians flee the city—including the librarians that man the libraries. I know it's holiday season but I do have trouble seeing the fairness of leaving us poor summer dissertation/mémoire/thesis writers with no place to study or look stuff up. Ruuude.

Some pictures, did you say? Oh, I've got plenty of those. So many you might not even want to scroll through all of them. But in case you do...


Paris Marathon in April

Pizza Hut. I indulge only when Americans like Brittany visit so we can share the judgement. 

Vote!


Back when the weather was nice...

Mémoire writing à la française

Birthday tarte

Birthday dinner

Sacré Coeur, hipster style

High school friend Katie comes to visit!

English friends Will & Duncan at pub watching England vs. Italy in Euro Cup (I was actually into the cup this year but stopped caring after the Dutch and English were eliminated)

Chipotle comes to Paris: defining moment in my life

Ben Howard. Really excellent guitar player.


These pictures are three hours apart. Welcome to a lovely summer in Paris.

So, there's more here if you're interested. I'm lazy and I'm sure you're bored. But I've been keeping busy, don't worry. Oh, final sad note: I will not be making an appearance home this summer. Suuuuuuuuper bummed out, really, really. But I can't afford it and it's doubly sad this year as my Grandma Vida is turning 100 (Mom's side) and there's a family reunion (Dad's side). Of course the chances of both these events happening again anytime soon are obsolete. My apologies for being so poor, everyone. I will instead be off to America's older bully but oh-so-charming cousin, England, for a few days to soak up some Anglophone culture. And I might pop in and see if I can steal Michael Phelps from the Olympics, or at least just touch his abs.

The one where I explain my life in pictures again

My iPhone is kind of like my third arm. I use it for its obvious phoning and texting capabilities and then the plethora of apps, mostly dictionaries. It's actually pretty useful for a translation student that has to take three metros to get to her uni. I will gladly take all negative comments for having one because did you know? Dictionaries are effing heavy! Amazing how a tiny little device can contain enough dictionaries for me to find words in five languages and conjugate tenses with such ease! The other thing I use my phone for is taking pictures, since I can't be bothered to haul around my heavy camera and lenses. It's sad, really, because I love photography. I would love to do it as my career, but photography has had to fall to the wayside as I explore other tracks that may actually pay my bills on a regular basis. So in absence of any new updates besides work, school, writing this long-ass paper, and sleep, I present to you, Rachel's life in iPhone photos in the last month.



Took a much-needed trip to IKEA and redid my room a little so it's not so cramped. Gone is my comfortable queen-sized bed that took up all my space, replaced with a much-less-comfortable futon that folds up in two seconds. Bed cover most definitely not my choice. I bought it off a colleague recently and, well, you take what you can get for 50€. Added some more storage, a rug, random crap. A little more versatile but let's not forget: I live in a closet.

Weather finally starting to warm up. Sunsets getting pretty again. I cannot wait for summer.

Bestie Caro eating her annual pineapple birthday treat at a Korean restaurant. I ordered the spicy Korean barbecue dish even though the waiter kept insisting that it was really very hot. Since French people are big babies their version of spicy is at the same level as mint toothpaste, I was like pssssh. Bring on the spicy. What I was not anticipating was my mouth being on fire. But just to prove to the waiter that I could, in fact, take the ridiculous level of spiciness, I ate it all. My stomach was understandably upset..worth it.

This is me trying to motivate myself to do well in school so I can eventually be the proud owner of a maroon passport. Obviously since I'm writing a blog instead of doing schoolwork this practice is not working as well as expected.

Never get sick of it.

Found while walking around..Iowa represent!



Helping my friend, Duncan, find an apartment in Paris. Ahh! I am so lucky my apartment basically fell into my lap. It is a battlefield out there! He finally signed on one last week, though. I think I'll just stay here in my cozy closet for the foreseeable future.


Salon du Livre: basically a giant expo of all the publishers in France, big and small. Like a giant bookstore, but there are also author signings, readings, workshops, etc. I had a free pass thanks to my translation program. It was cool to see so many books but a bit overwhelming. Not to mention the gobs and gobs and gobs of people.

My favorite store recently got the infamous Dutch chocolate sprinkles. Say no more.

New sunglasses! On a little walk around the city on a beautiful day..



Waiting for the metro at Gare d'Austerlitz

Nothing like fun like the past subjunctive of French!

Study food. Also, a heart attack.

See the wee little Sacre Coeur behind the chimneys?

Sushi before...

Sushi after.

Eating lunch in front of the Centre Pompidou

Taken to show my brother how gas stations are in Paris. Yes, that is one pump, yes that is right in the middle of the city. Yes, owning a car will make you broke in Paris. Last time I checked gas was over $8 a gallon (it's sold in liters).

Pretty.

Nishad from London was in town, had a bite to eat.

And last but not least, my friend, Malia, aka The Great Dane, left me last month. She's just arrived in Hawaii and I know she's living the life, but it's a little more sad, a little more quiet, a little less fun around here. On her last day before going to the airport, a few of us got together to wish her a classy, Parisian goodbye.




Lunch at an abandoned bus stop..I did say we were classy.





Savner dig, kælling.

/R

A call for productivity

School started again a few weeks ago and already the end of the semester is looming over me, when I will have to turn in the most important paper of the year. That I will then have to present in front of a jury. It's called a mémoire, I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but it's essentially a mini-thesis. Around 40-50 pages, it includes a translation of around 20 pages/30,000 characters. (They use characters in France--basically, the number of letters--which easily fixes students' clever "tricks" of double spacing, increasing letting, etc. Suffice to say, I would have failed out of my undergrad degree had I not used this to my advantage in the US.) In addition to the translation, also required: 30,000 characters of commentary, in French. This is the hardest part. Not so much that it's in French, although, naturally this is a concern. However, the bigger problem is the content. Knowing how to say things eloquently, with right terminology. Like any subject, translation has all kinds of its own jargon. I read grammar books like novels, but these are terms that go beyond the normal scope of grammar jargon. I have to look for, note, commentate different methods of rendering the translation from French to English, because as I'm sure you know, it's not just about replacing words. It's a whole game of transferring meaning, which can be represented in different ways..an example I like is the change of how English speakers see things versus French ones. So, where we would say lost property (ok, in AmE, lost and found, but follow my example..), the French would say objets trouvés (found objects). Where we see it as already lost, the French see it as found. Another few that I was just reminded of on my translation workshop on Friday :
The car does 15 miles to the gallon/ La voiture consomme 20 litres aux cent (The car consumes 20 litres to a hundred)
keyhole/la trou de serrure (the lock hole)
there's a smell in the air/ a smell hangs in the air/ l'odeur flotte dans l'air (the smell floats in the air)

Anyway, I love learning about these sorts of things, but when it comes to being a diligent student and writing long-winded graduate-level papers about them..oy. I am le lazy.  It's just that I have trouble doing things in advance when there's weeks and months ahead of me..I seem to only be productive under pressure, but I know that this paper is essential! imperative! to me getting into year two of my program, and I'd really like to do well. Or at least I need to have done my best so I won't beat myself up over it if I don't get in. I must be better or I'll find my ass kicked out of the country!

Which reminds me..I got my visa renewed!

Excuse the profanity, which I try to avoid in writing..but we're dealing with French bureaucracy, man. Definitely merited. I'm not throwing a "legal again!" party until I have said visa in hand. I can't pick it up until APRIL! Argh...akdjfaesdjfkajesrhweoifwtffrancelwkejlrkwje

This semester is much more hands-on. More workshops, less theory, fewer classes in English! I am continuing my German class but am losing hope in German.. I know I'll never be fluent unless I live in a German-speaking country, and it makes me frustrated because I'm really on the cusp between intermediate and advanced; I just need more time and concentration to really do something about it.

Alright well plenty, and I mean PLENTY of translations await me. And then work. And then sleep. And then work. And then school. And then translations. And then sleep. And then school. And then work. And then translations and work and school work translations work school translations social life...