The Study Abroad Roller Coaster

Bonjour tout le monde!

So I figure now that I am nearly half way through my stay, it would be a good time to introduce a form of the so-called Cultural Adaptation Curve, which will give you some insight to my emotions over the past month and a half (I can't believe I've been here this long...).

An estimation of one's emotional state over time.  The higher up on the curve, the happier one is.
Picture taken from: Half the World Away
http://liveteachsmileayearintaichungtaiwan.blogspot.fr/2012/06/culture-shock-part-1.html

So the above diagram is a bit blurry.  Let me break it down for you.

Anticipation Departure: I don't think I need to explain this.  By now, most of you know how difficult it was to get my Visa.  Enough said.

Arrival Confusion: I think I'll actually touch up this subject briefly.  When I initially arrived in France, I was so tired from not having gotten a decent night's sleep in nearly 48 hours that I didn't know which way was up.  After a couple of days, it was absolutely exhilarating to be in Paris, but at the same time, I was anxious to meet my host family.  Then, when I arrived in Grenoble, the confusion truly set in.  I remember sitting at the foot of my bed, just staring at my luggage, thinking to myself: What have you gotten yourself into?

The Honeymoon: To be honest, I don't think the honeymoon period actually hit me for a week.  I had a rather difficult adjustment, because there were so many new things happening so quickly.  I was being thrown into the language, and I didn't exactly realize how little I had actually know.  All I knew was that I had a good base; a good place to start.

The Plunge/Initial Adjustment:  I'm not exactly sure when the plunge actually happened for me.  I wouldn't say that I had a drastic plunge, but more or less a series of mini-plunges, and I can't think of one time where I have been at an absolute low.  To explain this, I will simply outline the past week, and briefly describe my emotional states.

Starting happiness value: 100%

Saturday: This was of course the day I visited Annecy, and I was on cloud nine. I loved seeing a new city, eating new foods that I had never tried before, and seeing a festival from a different culture unlike anything I had seen before.  After eating myself into oblivion, I considered myself to be 100% content.
Happiness Value: 100%

Sunday:  For some reason, this past Sunday i was absolutely exhausted for no apparent reason, and I had started to feel sick.  Being sick at home is bad enough, but being sick far, far away from home is far, far worse.  That night, I ended up walking around the city aimlessly for hours, reflecting on my inner thoughts and writing.  By the time I went to bed Sunday night, I was physically drained.  Happiness value: 75%

Monday: And so Monday was as usual much better than I had expected.  Classes had started once more, marking the beginning of yet another week.  Everything seemed to be working out perfectly.  Happiness value: 90%

Tuesday Morning-Afternoon: Tuesday are always a particularly interesting case for me, because I have classes essentially for 9 hours straight.  At the start of the day, I am never optimistic for the day to come.  In fact, most of the time, I absolutely dread it.
Happiness Value: 60%

Tuesday Afternoon: Once I am finally done with my academic day, I rush home to get ready to run with the guys.  Every Tuesday, I run to the Bastille with a group of French guys in the evening, just when it becomes dark.  Before we begin, and even during the run, I find that I'm a bit more energetic, although still exhausted.
Happiness Value: 85%

Tuesday Evening: After running, we go back to the apartment and just talk and eat, sometimes without leaving until nearly 11 o'clock at night.  By the time I leave, I feel like I'm on cloud nine.  Cultural interaction with real people! Amazing!
Happiness Value: 100%

Late Tuesday Night/ Early Wednesday Morning: This is probably where my mind is going through the most turmoil.  I have drastic ups and downs, where I am either ecstatic to be in France, or upset knowing that I'm going to have to leave in... okay, so we're not going to think about that right now.  Never can I get a restful night's sleep on a Tuesday.
 Happiness Value: 70% - 100% (oscillating somewhere between these two values for hours on end)

Wednesday: Wednesdays I am typically exhausting, and have to wake up early to finish the homework that I didn't get a chance to do the night before.  Typically, I also have extensive homework assignments due on Thursday, making Wednesdays even longer.  Today, I spent four hours in a cafe working on homework.  Not cool.
Happiness Value: 85%

Now:  I'd like to say I am pleasantly content this Wednesday night, having made a lot of progress with post cards and such... But now, I'm exhausted, so it's time for bed!  Bonne soiree!

Mike     
  

 

Woops! It's Been a While...

Bonjour tout le monde!

I apologize for how much time has passed, and please forgive me for any faults that might occur in this post.  Although I posted here two weeks ago, I haven't writing in English at all since, so I almost feel like my English grammar is a bit rusty.  Now that's a weird thought!  As many of you know, I like to write novels in my spare time just for fun, so I decided to start writing one in French.  I am here to learn the language after all, and the only way I can do that is if I practice.  But anyways, that's besides the point.

The past two weeks have been very typical, but very busy.  Classes have started to pick up, and I have les examens blancs next week.  Yikes!  Okay, so maybe it won't be that bad.  Here, my midterms count for absolutely nothing, and I only have to take them in my elective courses.  These exams are simply to see if I am progressing, and to see if I have been going to class.  And no, for all of you out there who think I've skipped, I haven't missed one!  Anyways, as long as I score above a 12, I should be good to go!  Here is a rough estimate how how the course grades translate from French number grades to American University letter grades:

16 - 20 ~ A+
15 ~ A
14 ~ A-
13 ~ B+
12 ~ B
11 ~ B-
10 ~ C+
9 ~ C
8 ~ C-
7 ~ D
6 or less ~ F

*All scores indicated above are given out of 20 points.  For example, on my last homework assignment, I was given a 14.5/20.

Now having given you that brief insight, I guess I'll start to talk about the past couple of weeks!  Be warned though, I'm only giving everyone a vague outline.  For more details regarding the historical aspects, I'll be writing another entry in French so look out!

Two weeks ago, I visited Les Caves de la Grande Chartreuse in Voiron.  And for those of you who think I went underground to explore caves, well, it wasn't quite that.  In fact, I got to visit the distillery where Chartreuse is made by the Monks who live in the mountains.  Chartreuse is a very strong, sweet liquor which is made from over 130 different types of flowers, and is the only liquor to naturally retain its green color.  Pretty neat, huh?  There are two main varieties of Chartreuse: yellow and green.  Green Chartreuse is typically stronger, while the yellow variety is sweeter and less intense. 

The "V" on this sign, which is located in front of a single, approximately 8ft tall barrel of Chartreuse, represents vert in French, which is of course the color green, and in this case the type of Chartreuse contained in the barrel.

Last week, I had the pleasure of seeing a Theatrical Dance performance entitled Wu-Wei.  This was actually quite an incredible story to watch, even though I couldn't really understand much of it.  A team of Chinese acrobats performed an artistic dance which re-enacted much of the history of China.  Seeing as I barely understood what they were saying in French, I can't really give an accurate description of how interesting this dance actually was.  Unfortunately, I couldn't take any pictures :(





And finally, this past weekend, I went to visit Annecy!  This time of year, Annecy was an incredible sight.  I can't say too much here, because this is going to be the main focus of my upcoming French blog entry.  I can tell that the city is ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL, which you can see for yourself in the following pictures.

I don't know if I've ever seen a more beautiful lake.  Lac d'Annecy.

This is one of the many reasons why they call Annecy the Venice of France.

So I think that's all for today everyone, but expect more to come soon!

Bisous!

Mike

P.S.  A special shout-out to my mother, Denise, who's birthday was October 8th, and my sister Melissa, who's birthday is today, October 17th!  Bon anniversaire!

In Memoriam

Bonjour tout le monde,

                Normally, I would be writing to you today in order to recount my many funny adventures in France, posting pictures of myself in the mountains, or even complaining about the random little things that drive me crazy in this country.  But today I will speak about something entirely unrelated.  This blog post is dedicated to a past professor of mine, Dr. Lewis Pakula, who just recently passed away in the early hours this morning.  Rather than express my sorrow here, I am going to demonstrate to all of you briefly what made this man amazing.

Proof 

                I remember that day very clearly nearly one year ago, where I stepped into Mathematical Analysis and Topology I, which is a math class known to be notoriously difficult at my university.  I had no idea what to expect, and only knew that I was in for a rough year, knowing that I had to take Mathematical Analysis and Topology II the following semester.  I knew that the class was going to be based off of rigorous proofs, which is something at the time which I was not entirely comfortable with.  The first day of class, I remember Dr. Pakula’s enticing introduction, which sounded something like this.

                “You are going to learn things this year that Newton wouldn’t even understand.  I understand that this work is difficult, but remember that  it took thousands of years for many mathematicians to figure it out.  We only have one short year to learn all of it.”

                This remark was restated several times throughout that first semester, and was often followed with reassurance, which was constantly needed.  I remember sitting at my desk, scratching my head over one proof for many hours at a time.  Just when I was about ready to give up on the class entirely, with something I would barely call completed homework in my hands the next day, Dr. Pakula would give us that much-needed reassurance. 

                “I understand that this is difficult.  I was a student one day myself, although that may have been a little while ago.”

                As I write these butchered quotes, I can almost hear Dr. Pakula saying them to us, in a very distinctive, sarcastic tone.  Sarcastic, yet with truth.  Never before had I met a professor that admits that they were at one point in time a student.  Over the course of the year, as the class became much more difficult, his sarcastic tone and constant reassurance always made us feel better.  What better way to joke about our shortcomings than with sarcasm?  I remember one day very clearly, he asked the entire class what a derivative was, and we all remained silent.  He simply laughed and said,

             

   “You know, Math 141 [Calculus 1]?  It’s still the same.”

                Moments like these surely raised the morale of our class, even after taking the most difficult of exams.  Towards the end of our year, I remember when he was trying to draw abstract topological structures on the board, and how we would all laugh when he actually opened a marker that wasn’t black.  Then, he proceeded to tell us about how there used to is a specific type of chalk which he had preferred when chalk was still in use (This made me smile, because I hoard Ticonderoga pencils as if they’re going out of style).  At the end of the year, just before our final exam, he gave us one final pep-talk.

                “I’ve seen all of you come very far from the beginning of this school year.  But know that this is only the beginning.  We’ve only scraped the tip of the iceberg here.”

                And those were his last words of wisdom to us.   

 
       Although I only had Dr. Pakula for one academic year, I will always remember the impact he has had on my life.  I was more than struggling in his class, and I don't know how I would have succeeded having had any other professor.  I have only mentioned a few of the things that made this man exemplary.  Even if I had the time to sit here and write, I don't think any amount of words could express my gratitude to Dr. Pakula, nor would I be able to give you an accurate picture of all of the small things that made this man an amazing educator.  

Q. E. D. (Sketch) 

                To all of my fellow students out there, I cannot stress this to you enough; make sure that you let your instructors know that you appreciate them, because you never know when you won’t be able to tell them anymore.  And to all of the teachers in the world, thank you.  Merci.  Gracias.  Without your knowledge, none of us would have been able to achieve the goals we have reached today.

Rest In Peace Dr. Lewis Pakula.  You were a phenomenal professor, a phenomenal role model, and an all-around good man.  You will be missed.