Over the Half Way Mark

Bonjout tout le monde!

First of all, I would like to say that my thoughts are with all of you on the East Coast, especially my family and friends in New Jersey.  I understand that it must be difficult seeing the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy, and I can't even imagine what all of you are going through.  My thoughts are with you, and stay strong!

And on a brighter note... 

I can't exactly believe how quickly time seems to be passing over here.  Normally in the United States the beginning of November seems like nothing.  It would feel like an eternity until Christmas.  But over here, I've realized that I have only one month and three weeks left, and the feeling is absolutely bizarre.  It seems that it was only yesterday that I was stepping off of the plane and shuddering as I was overwhelmed by the incredible amount of culture shock.

But lets not dwell on this bittersweet thought.

The past couple of weeks have in fact been rather eventful, and I don't exactly know where to start.  Classes have been great, and I can actually see that I have been progressing with the language.  In the novel I am currently writing, I can see how my use of vocabulary and phrasing has transformed since the beginning of my trip.  I'm no longer writing like an infant; I'm able to explain things as in-depth as I want to.  I can understand people when they speak, and I feel as if I can talk my way out of a paper bag.  Even so, I have been unimaginably busy.

So I guess I'll start with last Thursday, where I had the experience of a lifetime.  J'ai fait le parapente!  

Now one might ask, what exactly is le parapente?  Well to sum it up, I jumped off of the side of a mountain with a parachute (and a trained guide of course!) strapped to my back.  I went with a group of 7 other individuals, including a two fellow Rhode Islander, Azure; one of my German friends, Hannah; four GAP Year students who have just recently graduated high school,  Jeremy, Camilo, Aubrey, and Olivia (okay, so I guess I can consider her a Rhode Islander too...); and at last another girl named Olivia from Boston University.

Hannah (left) losing her stomach, and Azure (right).

Unfortunately, at this moment I do not have any pictures of myself landing, and I think I'm going to have to bug Hannah for those.  Also, Camilo luckily let me borrow his GoPro camera, so I have a 16 minute long video of the experience, in which I think you might be able to hear some conversation between my guide and I.  Thanks Camilo!  However, I'm still trying to convert the MP4 file, so it will take me a little while to get that on here.  Sorry guys!  I promise, I will have video/picture proof soon.

And this surely was a great start to a great weekend.  The following Saturday, we departed for Aix-en-Provence by bus.  We had a guided tour of the city entirely in French, which I surprisingly understood at the time.  However, I can't exactly remember what was said.  What I can tell you though is that the city was INCREDIBLY WINDY, with wind gusts up to 65 km/hour that night.  Here are some pictures to highlight the experience:

Directly behind this fountain, one can see the city of Aix-en-Provence.  To the left, the fountain faces towards Marseilles, and to the right, I believe the fountain faces towards Avignon.

So isn't some of this architecture absolutely amazing?

I sincerely apologize for my fingers being in the way, but I think I'll be able to get my point across.  Apparently quite a few centuries back, when one went to the bathroom, they simply hurled the excrement out of the windows after calling a specific phrase to everyone down below.  Can you imagine what this would have looked like a few centuries ago?

I figured I'd put a picture out there for all of you who have been complaining about not seeing enough pictures of me.  Yeah, I can't exactly get away with rocking the sweat pants in France, so I kind of needed an outfit adjustment...

So after our stay  in Aix-en-Provence, and what I'll call an eventful night for reasons I'm not going to write on here, we traveled to Avignon the next day.  That, however, will be explained in French in the next post.  Sorry for all of you Anglophones who won't be able to read it!

Au revoir!

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.  

Keeping Myself Occupied

Bonjour a tous!

      So living here has certainly been a wonderful experience, but now that I'm fully settled into classes, and now that I finally feel completely at home with my host family, it dawned on me the other day that I absolutely need to do something to keep me occupied, as well as interact with French people of all ages.  As much as I do love my American friends here, I need to speak the language and develop the reflex to speak randomly without really needing to think about anything (I think I'm almost there!)  So below are some of the things I am going to do to immerse myself even further into the French language and culture:

1.  Volunteering at the American Corner      Okay, so I know that I came here to get away from the busy life I lived in the United States, but I guess I'm just a sucker for punishment!  I miss my job at the YMCA dearly, but obviously I can't work there while I'm here (sorry guys!).  So I decided to volunteer at the American Corner, which is the first building of its kind to be built in Grenoble.  The grand opening is this Thursday, and they are expecting nearly 500 guests!  The mayor of Grenoble, along with French officials and Consulate representatives, will be there in order to introduce the building which will be located in La Maison de l'International.  
      So what exactly will I be doing there?  Well that my friends is a good question, seeing as I really don't know.  I know that my work will include giving French students resources in order to help them study abroad in America.  Aside from that, I really don't know what else I'll be doing.  but you know what, not only will this be a great experience, but volunteering at the FIRST EVER AMERICAN CORNER and being amongst the first volunteers might actually boost my resume.

2.  Volunteering at Nursing Homes and Hospitals

      Many people who are friends with me might potentially see this as bizarre.  Once again, I am a sucker for punishment, and I apparently am addicted to working.  I will be performing music for the elderly on Wednesdays, probably singing and playing the guitar for 45 minutes.  Now how did this opportunity come about?  Well that's an entirely different story, seeing as I had a conversation with a French woman on the phone for 20 minutes.  Understanding French is difficult enough face to face, but nearly impossible on the phone.
      
3.  Le Feu

      So I may have mentioned this a few times before, but I'm going to reiterate it once more.  The Feu is an Evangelical organization located in various cities throughout France.  In Grenoble, every Sunday, there is a gathering at the Feu where students from all over Grenoble pay a couple of euros, eat crepes, and just have fun.  For me, it was a bit difficult at first, because conversation was very difficult to follow.  Now, on Tuesdays, I'm going to be regularly running to the Bastille on Tuesdays with some guys that I met there.  Pretty neat, huh? 

4.  Shopping

     I'm not talking about walking into the nearest shopping super-center to actually go shopping, although that can be useful.  I'm talking about walking around stores without having any goal in particular.  The other day, I knew I needed a pair of shoes, so I found a cheap sports store and started walking around.  In the end, I walked out with a nice pair of shoes, along with a membership card to get discounts!  I'm pretty excited, to say the least.

5.  Teaching Others

      So I have actually been blessed with the presence of living with another international student during my stay, also from the United States.  He and his friend are both here in order to prepare for their stay in Niger, where they will be participating in an International Mission.  Both of them have significantly less French experience, but have both come a long way in the short time I have known them.  They are extremely dedicated and well motivated, and I must say, I keep them both in the highest regards.  I've been speaking with them in French, and helping them whenever they need it.  It is bizarre, really.  You never realize how much you actually know about a language until you need to help someone else out!
     The other bizarre thing is that the student living with me studied math!  I never thought I would be having a conversation about Dynamics, LaTeX, Difference Equations, Stochastics, or Real and Complex Analysis during my stay!  Seeing as this student has also received his Master's Degree in Applied Mathematics, I look up to him a great deal.  It truly is amazing, the friends one can meet while far away from home...

6.  Speaking With Other International Students      So making French friends can be particularly difficult, seeing as the majority of the population speaks very quickly.  A good way to start is by speaking with other international students who are there to learn the language as well.  Many international students do speak English, but sometimes, it is easier to mediate in the French language.  You are both there for the same reason, so you both will understand the effort required to speak the language.  In particular, I have met one German man who seems to be just as motivated to learn the French language as I am, and we try our hardest not to speak as much English when we're around each other. 

      So to say the least, I've had some pretty amazing experiences here.  I'm happy to finally be settling in here, and I think I might be falling in love with this country.

Not the most attractive picture of me ever, seeing as I was practically crying as the sun scorched my corneas.  But hey, it wouldn't be a proper blog post without a picture, huh? 

A bientot, and LEAVE ME SOME COMMENTS!Michael
 

The Placement Test

Bonjour tout le monde!

So today is probably the least active Sunday I have had during my stay in France.  Typically, Sundays are devoted to family life.  For example, with my host family, we typically go on hikes or small day trips.  However, this weekend, I was left at home and had to cook for myself (Yikes!).  

I’ve been here for three weeks now, and I really can’t believe that it’s been that long.  Some days, time seems to pass very slowly, while others are gone within the blink of an eye.  This week has been rather uneventful, so I guess I’ll describe the situation regarding the courses I am taking.  

The Placement Test

Upon my arrival in Grenoble, I had to take a placement test which is given to all international exchange students at the university which I am intending, the Université Stendhal—Grenoble 3. 

Now one thing I have found out in my life is that I am absolutely awful at any form of standardized testing.  If the test is for a grade in my courses, I typically pass with flying colors.  But as soon as someone hands me a piece of paper which has a greater impact on my future, of course I choose this time of all times to perform poorly.  

So about that test… it was AWFUL.  And by awful, I mean pretty ridiculously terrible, and I had no idea what was going on for most of it.  

The first part of the test was an interview with a professor at the university to assess my oral production skills.  Prior to leaving for France, I would have assumed that this would have been my weakness, but it turns out that I’m not half bad at speaking the language.  I got my point across, and still remain confident that I performed well during the interview.    

And then, the written test began, with 35 minutes worth of oral comprehension.  An audio tape of “episodes” was played, and each episode was played twice.  After each episode, the questions became a bit more difficult, and by the end of the audio tape, we were listening to a full-blown French interview, during which the only word I could actually understand was l’eau.  At this point during the test, I remember distinctly thinking to myself, fantastic job Mike, fantastic.  Out of the hundreds of words spit out during this interview, you understood one?  

Then, FINALLY, the writing section was given.  This section I felt fairly confident in, although it was a bit tricky.  I can write fairly well if I am given the topic to start with, but I am absolutely awful at finishing other people’s sentences.  And sure enough, that’s what I had to do.

My Placement Ordeal

After the test was over, we received our results the next day.  I was placed in Niveau B1.3, which was much lower than I had expected.  Here is a brief explanation of how the Nieveaus work:

A1- Low Beginner

A2- High Beginner

B1- Low Advanced

B2- High Advanced

C1- To be honest, I’m not exactly sure what this level is actually called, because barely anyone ever tests into it.  At this point, students start taking classes with actual French students, instead of being isolated with the other exchange students.

C2- For all intents and purposes, you are essentially fluent at this level.

Now I knew that I had not performed as well as I would have liked at this point, but I was expecting a little bit higher.  After two days-worth of sitting through the most BORING classes of my life, during which our teacher repeatedly drilled les adjectifs, le passé compose, et l’imparfait  into our heads, I spoke with her and asked if I could change levels.  Sure enough, they moved me up into B1.5, which is a much better fit, although still not as challenging as I would like.

Well, I guess I’ll describe the classes at some other point, seeing as this entry has become much longer than I had intended.  Jusqu’à demain, mes amis!

My Typical Daily Routine

Bonjour tout le monde! 

So how is everyone doing?  For the first time during my visit, I think I can safely say that I am, in fact, doing perfectly fine.  The past couple weeks have indeed been rough, but now that I'm starting to settle into a normal schedule and I'm starting to find my way around the city, things are starting to look up (not that I was doing horribly before.  After all, I am in France...duh)!

So I guess by now all are you are probably wondering, gee, it looks like Mike is having a great time and going to see all of these fantastic places.  What does he actually do every day?  Well, to put your mind at rest, let me describe to you my typical day and how it works.

My Typical Daily Routine

I wake up fairly early, but some days are earlier than others.  After waking up, one must open les volets, which must be opened every morning and closed each night.  More or less, they are like blinds, except are located on the outside of the windows.  Now look at what I see just about every time I open my windows:

Clouds rolling over the snow covered mountains... I know you're jealous.

At the earliest, I wake up at 06:55, and begin to take a shower.  The showers here are strange!!!!!!!! One does not simply stand under the spout, nor does one have the option of doing so, at least in my house! I actually have to use the shower head to clean myself off... Life is rough.

After I shower, I usually grab a quick breakfast, whether it is a bowl of cereal or a piece of bread.  If you are the last person to eat breakfast, it is polite to put away all of the breakfast foods which are normally already set out for you.  After I'm done eating, I lock up the house and head off to the bus stop.  I hop the on the bus, and then push the

THE BUS is probably the only form of public transportation which I dislike here, but even so, it's better than the United States.  One looks up the bus schedule which is usually posted at the bus stop, and simply wait.  Then, I scan my TAG card on this cool looking device, and when "Bon Voyage" pops up on the screen, you're good to go!  If you don't have a TAG card, you simply have to pay... 

*Note: You MUST push the BIG GREEN BUTTON to request a stop, the MOMENT AFTER the stop before yours.  If not, the bus driver will become very angry and then begin to swear at you in French.  This actually happened to me, and trust me, I will never make that mistake again!

Then after I get off of the bus, I hop on the tram.  The tram is probably my favorite aspect of public transportation.  It's clean, fast, and just outright efficient, more-so than anything I have ever seen in the United States.  The tram can get you from one end of the city to the other in about 30 minutes, and there are four different tram lines, which are pretty self explanatory.


Look at it this way.  I couldn't figure out the T in Boston, but I could do this.  It's foolproof.

And then, my day becomes BORING.  Really, classes are classes.  Whether you are in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, or Australia, classes are classes.  I will explain to those of you who read French the courses which I am following later on.  That is too difficult to explain.

Eventually, I return home, go for a run, and then eat dinner with the host family.  I will post another entry later on to describe the meal structure, because it's much more than I could sufficiently explain in one blog entry.  I roll the volets down, and then, I go to bed.

So on a more adventurous note...

So, I'm thinking about going paragliding or hang gliding in October (For all of my friends and family, don't worry, I will obviously be doing this with a trained instructor strapped to my back)!  Essentially, with a fully opened parachute, I run off of the top of a cliff and glide over the mountains for 20 minutes.  It's within my budget, so what do you guys think?  Please post comments and let me know!

Taking off!!!

It's really popular in the Alps.  That's part of the reason I want to do it!  I may as well do something I know I'm not going to be able to do while I live in Rhode Island.

After take off. 

 PLEASE COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK!

Until next time, mes amis!