jeudi 8 juin 2006
Uncommon thread
It's funny that I now have a chance to get on here to write something just when Blogger shuts down for maintenance. Well, classes are finishing up and I have four exams to go through today and tomorrow. After that, I am off! I don't know what my plans are for Montréal while I'm there but I would like to go to La Ronde. Other random thoughts along the lines of Michelle:
1. Reading Mara's blog has made me realize how much I miss books in general. I have had dreams of my bookshelf while I've been here. And it's a small world after all - there's a girl in my class who was in her Bible study group (all the way on the other side of the country!) :)
2. Typing on a French keyboard is something I am getting used to but it takes me twice as long to get anything written. I practised on my English keyboard at home but it's actually different when there are extra keys.
3. I am terrible at predicting the weather. It's a good thing I am not a meterologist. A couple of times now I have been caught in the rain and wind without a coat as well as baking in the sun because I did bring one.
4. I just learned yesterday where the 3-hole punch is at my university. Three days before the end of the course. Now I feel silly for lugging around tons of unpunched paper, scared that they would fall somewhere.
5. Reading Leviticus has given me a new awe for the holiness of God. Reading Numbers has made me realize that were it not for the intercession of Moses for the Israelites, they would have been wiped out time and again for their sins. What a heart Moses had for his people.
6. Not cooking at all this past month has made me really appreciate mothers who spend time in the kitchen everyday preparing culinary delights so that their family can savour a new feast together.
7. The nicest thing about taking classes in a hotel is that there is a chipper doorman to greet us everyday, although he hasn't been present lately and that makes me a little sad. Speaking of chipper, I frequently see squirrels and chipmunks when I walk to class.
8. The title of this entry originally made no sense, showing how my English has deteriorated over the weeks that I've been trying to pick up French. I think all my language learning attempts cancel each other out though as I now think in a mixture of three languages. Oy, adventures in words.
9. I am in a wedding next week! I can't believe that my friend is getting married in a few days! I remember lunches spent at Pizza Hut talking about boys and now she will married. Another one of my friends whom I used to have these chats with is also getting married at the end of summer, leading me to believe that someday, these conversations could become reality.
10. Because Blogger goes to French by default on the school computers, I am unable to check my spelling on here. Not that I rely on the checker, but it's always funny to see the word «blog» appear as a misspelling. I think I'm getting better at figuring out what button to press though.
11. When I get back home, I will have eighteen books waiting for me at the public library. Some of the ones I'm really anticipating (sorry, no links):
- The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order (Samuel P. Huntington)
- Is the Reformation Over?: An Evangelical Assessment of Contemporary Roman Catholicism (Mark Noll)
- Jesus in Beijing: How Christianity is Transforming China and Changing the Global Balance of Power (David Aikman)
- The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World (Alister E. McGrath)
12. Thanks for still linking to me even though I've been away for a month :) And for reading this, bien sûr.
Libellés : books, French, travel
vendredi 2 juin 2006
A distant echo
Finally, a chance to write on here. This past month has probably been the worst for updating in the almost three years I've had this! At the same time, I have not kept up with what's been happening to anyone, so I have a lot of archives to go through when I get back!
I can remember the first day that I spent in Québec City and how I was already counting down the days until I could go back to Montréal - I'm hitting the single digits now! Looking back after a month, I suppose I have had an enjoyable time here. I've experienced the shock of dorm life and I've learned to be very grateful for every morsel of food that comes my way. For the first time ever in my life, I have been able to read my Bible in the mornings when I get up rather than just before I fall asleep with the worry that I will end up crumpling some pages (but out of habit, I can't not go to bed without reading it either).
Along with this quick update, I should mention that my French classes have been going well. Learning another language has definitely kept me humble as there are many days where I cannot even communicate on the simplest level. It's the worst when my professor calls on me during one of my staring-off-into-space moments in class (I don't think I ever used to do this!).
There's more I could say, but learning French has affected my writing abilities in my own language so I'm going to keep this short. I hope that by the time I get home, my brain isn't as muddled as it has been for the last few weeks :)
samedi 13 mai 2006
In college again
I know, it's been a while since I've posted anything but it's been hard to find a moment to get on a computer, much less Blogger! I'm currently in Quebec City studying French and living the cruddy dorm life. I can now relate to the whole noodles and microwave dinners meal plan. I used to wonder what it was like to live in res, now I know that I was folle (crazy) - thanks Mara, I keep forgetting to match adjectives to the subject. One washroom per floor is a tad scary and not having pots and pans has rendered me nutritionally starved. Anyways, enough complaining. I hope to write of cheerier news on here soon :)
vendredi 28 avril 2006
Back and forth
In the craziness that is my life, I will be flying back to Montreal in just a few days! Things ended up working out for me to come back to Quebec for the first part of this summer so I'll be studying French up in Quebec City. I would have chosen Montreal simply because I can somewhat figure out my way around the city now but I've gotten away with speaking English much too often there. Being in Quebec City; now that will be a challenge!
* Too bad flight costs keep going up. At least the loonie is on the rise! Calgary housing rates are going through the roof. The Flames will need to win the next 2 out of 3 games. I'm going to miss seeing the playoffs while I study French. I pray that Southern Alberta will be spared another flooding season.
dimanche 21 août 2005
Spaghetti thoughts
I am about halfway through my paper, hooray! And I have the rest of today to get it finished before I submit my rough draft tomorrow. Even though it looks extremely daunting, I keep telling myself it's possible. Maybe it would be more possible if I got off the internet though :)
I just heard from some friends in Montréal, and knowing that I'll be back in school pretty soon means that I'm closer to seeing them all again. I'm hoping that I'll get to spend more time this semester learning French though. It is cool to think that I am able to understand more today than I did a year ago, especially since I can now watch French TV without feeling too miserable about my lack of understanding. It's amazing how much a language can leave you if you don't work on it. I've retained some vocabulary but grammar is pretty much out the door. I hope I don't lose my other languages when I live in Montréal next year.
And on a disconnected thought, I don't think I could stand it if I went to a church that used The Message as the Bible. Sure, it can be a good paraphrase of the Bible, but it is not the Bible. Some interesting thoughts have been brought up about this, so it looks like others out there are challenging its use. I have a New Testament copy which I got for $2, but I have never used it in devotional reading. I think I used it a couple of times when I worked with youth, trying to find an easier way to communicate certain thoughts, but I would find it hard to use on a continual basis. I'm glad it's there as a tool but I have hesitations about making it widespread within churches. Thoughts?
Libellés : books, college, French
vendredi 8 juillet 2005
Majorly slacking
I have honestly not kept up with learning French as much as I should be. I listen on TV when I get a chance, but I haven't had time to go through my old notes or anything. I need to make the time and set up a plan so I can follow through with this. It's too bad I always put things off or lose interest after a while. I remember going through a million phases when I was younger, but learning French is a must if I'll be living in Quebec.
In other news, I bought my first almost-household item! It's a tea maker from IKEA and it will be incredibly helpful for when I move next year :) Now that I am extremely excited about!
Libellés : French
lundi 20 juin 2005
Hearing but not listening
I have been listening to French almost everyday now since I got back from Montreal. But it seems I'm stuck on that point where I'm hearing the words but not registering its meaning. I guess I could say, Quand j'entends français, je comprends de certains mots mais je ne comprends pas le contexte. I'm used to hearing the Quebecois accent but it will take a lot more time before I can start putting sentences together. Right now, I suppose I'm developing my vocabulary - with the exception that my French-English dictionary doesn't contain a lot of the words that I have to look up. That's probably because it's a 1992 edition :)
Libellés : French
dimanche 12 juin 2005
Realistically speaking
Since I got back from Montreal, I've been immersing myself in French TV, radio, music, movies, sermons, and old class notes to help me retain what little of the language I know. I was talking with my best friend today and I realized how much I missed the city (judging by how much I spoke about it!). And even in church tonight, I kept thinking about the French church that I usually attend in Montreal. It's hard knowing that I'll be leaving everyone here but I have much anticipation about what God will do in my life there.
One of the hardest things about it though is going to be eventually finding a job that doesn't require fluency in French. Pretty much every single job that deals with people requires French. It's going to have to be a God-thing that I will manage to find something in the end. I'm thankful that I have the chance to go over there at first as a student but after that stint is over, if I want to stay I will need a career. Maybe I'll miraculously pick up the language before I need to worry about this; one could always hope!
Libellés : French
jeudi 9 juin 2005
Language learning
I've taken French in school before and have done alright, but the language has never really "stuck" to me. So now I have six months to (re)learn it and to reach the level of being able to understand spoken French. I am going to try and make sure I listen to at least half an hour of French everyday, so that I can get used to the accent and the vocabulary. Sentence structure will have to come later. There is a French radio station that mostly broadcasts the news, and there are four French channels on cable. I listened to a sermon last night on the internet that my friend preached and I was able to understand a bit more than I probably would have my first time in Montreal a few months ago. Progress!
I'm wondering what the best ways to learn a language are, if it's mostly through books, media or interaction with people. It might be a mix for me. At least I have a measurable goal at this point, and a lot more motivation. Français, here I come!
Libellés : French
mardi 13 avril 2004
Je ne comprends pas
I've had a love of the French language ever since I was little. It was mostly because of my dad and his side of the family, who all speak French to some degree. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to cultivate this love and learn the language fully, since my dad did not see a need to speak French any longer. I guess being in a Western province renders it useless. I finally had the chance to take it in grade four and had the most wonderful teacher ever. I wrote letters to her for a few years up until I was in high school. After that, my elementary school lost the funding for French classes and they were no longer offered. In junior high, I faced the same situation. We did not have French at all and I think we were the only school in the city that did not teach it. I begged my parents to let me take private French lessons, which I thrived in and loved. I stopped because it was getting expensive and I no longer had the time to take both French school and regular school. After the lessons, I realized that I once put aside an application to go to a French immersion junior high school. I regret that to this day, because I could now be fluent if I hadn't have disregarded the application in haste. I was however, blessed to be able to go to a French immersion high school. Of course I couldn't take part in it, but I made a lot of friends in French immersion who enjoyed complaining to me about FLA (French Language Arts) all the time.
In high school, I was a pre-International Baccalaureate student. This meant that everyone in the program needed to learn a second language, either French or Spanish. That sounds great right? Well the catch was that you had to be at the intermediate IB level (requiring a minimum of six years in French instruction) to get into the French stream but you could be a complete beginner to get into the Spanish stream. Already deemed inadequate to get into French, that meant I was forced to go into Spanish, a language I've never desired to learn. To make the story short, I dropped out of IB altogether and was able to go into French at last. I took two years of it, but in the middle of my third year, I left halfway through. At the time, my skills in French were limited to written French. I could conjugate main verbs, understand some rules of grammar, and generally interpret what was in print. I just lacked the ability to comprehend spoken French. My third year, my teacher gave us marks on oral comprehension due to how well we understood French radio. If you've ever heard French radio, you'll know that they speak tremendously fast and that there is a lot of French slang used. That didn't exactly help me in the class because I had 95% on all of the written tests and 30% on the radio tests. I did better in physics than I did in French, so I finally dropped it to save my average. I'm glad I did but I hate that even to this day, I'm not fluent in French at all. Add to this the fact that I was supposed to go to Montréal twice this year and that both times the trips were cancelled. If I don't get into the film program, I will go to France next year for my missions work. Now that will be a trip that will not get cancelled, God-willing, if I stay at my college.
Libellés : French
