Year end reflection Survey

I've been reusing this survey every year I've had a blog (including the one before this) to reflect upon the year. Lots of stuff happened in 2008 as opposed to 2007, so let us reflect in a non jibjab fashion.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before? Studied abroad, and I'm still going! Living in France is quite an experience. I also filmed and edited a short movie with the guys.
2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I forgot what they were, but one was probably working out, so no. :-) I'll try to procrastinate less in 2009, it should do me good and it'll be easy to keep in theory.
3. Did anyone close to you give birth? No
4. Did anyone close to you die? No
5. What countries did you visit? Spain! (Catalonia to be precise) Also France as well. And don't forget Canada! Yeah Quebec!
6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? A good exchange rate.
7. What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? August 1st, the last time my feet were on American soil.
8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Becoming a referee in France and running a line on a 16 ans national game.
9. What was your biggest failure? Screwing up in this one match as a referee :-).
10. Did you suffer illness or injury? I got my wisdom teeth removed. It hurt like hell, and I couldn't play on my indoor soccer team because of it.
11. What was the best thing you bought? A ticket to watch Barcelona destroy Atletico Madrid 6-1. Thierry Henry scored :-D!
12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Carol Huber, the director of the UNC program, she was super kind and took care of us while we are trying to make sense of everything in Montpellier. Her family is brilliant as well.
13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? The supporters of French youth soccer teams. I've never heard such fierce verbal abuse in any language.
14. There was never a question 14 in this survey.
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Living in France? Maybe?
16. What song will always remind you of 2008? This Time Tomorrow by the Kinks, but also Supplique pour être enterré à la plage de Sète by Georges Brassens.
17. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder? Happier, but a bit nostaligic because I'm leaving all the great people I met in Montpellier.
18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Blogging, I have so much to share about my travels and I never got around to write about it.
19. What do you wish you'd done less of? I still procstaniate like a champ, I need to tone that down :-).
20. How will you be spending Christmas? I spent it with all my family here in France. One of the more memorable Christmases I've spent.
21. How will you be spending New Years Eve? Hanging out with a bunch of Americans in Paris
22. Did you fall in love in 2008?
Question 23?
24. What was your favorite TV program? The Amazing Race, as always.
25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? No not really
26. What was the best book you read? Memories of World War I: North Carolina Doughboys on the Western Front
27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Georges Brassens, It may be old music, but I really like it
28. What did you want and get? A new president that inspires hope.
29. What did you want and not get? A Montpellier HSC scarf. I couldn't find them anywhere >:o
30. What was your favorite film(s) of this year? I think the only 2008 films I saw have been Iron Man and The Dark Night, but I did go buy Letters from Iwo Jima, so I'll say that despite the fact it came out in 2007.
31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 21, and spent the evening with my grandparents eating a fabulous Indian curry. I then threw up because I ate too much (yes I ate too much, not drank too much). Then about 2 weeks later I celebrated with everyone in Montpellier, and well I don't remember the end too well :-).
32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? A better exchange rate.
33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? I got to wear a cool Addidas referee uniform.
34. What kept you sane? Making fun of French and American quirks
35. Which celebrity/public figure did you admire the most? I seem to always put a politician down for this question, so I'll just keep the trend going and say Barack Obama. He inspired millions of Americans to vote, and there is now an unprecedented enthusiasm for our political process in the US. He has given us hope, now he needs to make something with it.
36. What political issue stirred you the most? Obviously the election, it garnerd most of my attention. But the real issue now is how the politicians of the world will handle the economic crisis. There is much oppurtunity out there.
37. Who did (do) you miss? I miss my best buds back home. We hung out as much as possible before I left, but I still miss those bastards. You better come visit me in the Spring!
38. Who were the best new person/people you met? I met loads of new people, from all over the US, to all over Europe. No particular person stands out, but it was quite a year for meeting people from 10+ states, and at least 8 different countries.
39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008: Be thankful for the little things we take for granted in the US. Like gas priced by the gallon, cheap food, and decent showers.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year: I always like to do this with some lyrics from a song that came out this year.

Lovers, keep on the road you're on
Runners, until the race is run
Soldiers, you've got to soldier on
Sometimes even right is wrong

Coldplay - Lovers in Japan


2008 has turned out to be a spectacular year. I certainly made up for my lack of travel in 2007. All aspects of my life got better. I'm now allowed to referee higher level matches, and I was able to referee in Montpellier at a surprisingly high level (you would think they wouldn't trust an American ref to go solo in a U18 tournament game). I travelled to Montreal, Philadelphia, Nimes, Carcasonne, Avignon, Montpellier, Clermont-Ferrand, Paris, Setes, and Barcelona. I'm now off to Old Blighty to experience Great Britain outside of London.

I learned a ton, but more importantly I've met a lot of great people who I hope to keep in touch with in the future. Thank God for facebook!

Happy New Year everyone!

Thanksgiving.

I'm sitting here now, listening to a tune from the Civil War, reminiscing this day from past years.

of turkey drenched in gravy.

of a walk in the woods, the brisk autumn air on my face.

of sitting next to a fire, reading about heroes past.

of a game on TV, cheering on today's heroes.

of a mountain stream, fishing pole in one hand, no fish in the other.

of board games, and a daemon who doesn't lose in Yahtzee...

I just finished speaking with my family in the United States on Skype. Two large groups, one in New Mexico, the other in North Carolina. I spent a good 45 minutes chatting with each.

I've spent a fantastic time here in France, but today was the first day I was truly homesick. I woke up in the morning thinking how I'm not with my loved ones, and how I can make it better. Calling them helped, but it made me realize how much more I want to be there right now.

But our UNC director summed it up quite nicely. "If you can't be with family at least you can be with friends"

We ate a nice meal ensemble, turkey of course. Not quite like home, but it was a hearty meal, and one of the girls made pecan pie for dessert.

I love you all. Family, old friends, and new.

Observations on UM III

After a few weeks in the French university system, I think I've sorted it out mostly by now.  It's odd how one month into classes things are still very confused, and I still haven't officially registered for classes yet!  You ask how that's possible?  Well I have the answer for you… The French university system is organized anarchy, eventually the professors state when and where they'll teach, and they assume students will find out where and when to be.  Amazingly enough it works.  But I digress,  what I want to talk about are quick little observations on the French university system.

First:

It's ugly here.  Now I don't mean Europe as a whole, nor individual cities like Paris and Montpellier.  I mean of course Paris is filthy , smelly, and the repository for the world's dog poop, but there is an innate charm to the city.  It's hard to describe the "City of Lights" with Notre Dame, and the Eiffel tower as ugly. 

No I mean the Universite de Montpellier Paul Valery III.  This place is ugly.  I keep wanting to take pictures, but then students will look at me funny and ask "Why the hell are you taking pictures of this ugly university?"  But of course there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this.  The French university system, like most things in the developed world (France in particular), is divided into the "haves" and "have-nots". 

There are the French "Grandes Ecoles" basically the Ivy League + 20 other top universities in the US.  They are incredibly selective, get heavy government finances, la crème de la crème of French society go there.  Anyone who is important in French society, went to one of les Grandes Ecoles.  You would think that UNC may send us to a Grande Ecole, actually we have a program with Sciences Po, the political science, history, and journalism school in France.  However it was expensive and closed off for UNC students at the moment, so I went to Montpellier.

Second:

French note-taking skills.  Holy crap, These kids are brilliant at taking notes.  It is truly an elaborate art-form.  Sit in on some random French university class and this is what you will see...

The students arrive and pull out their paper.  This paper is a mix between our notebook paper and graph paper, there are 4 lines per line, but this has to do with their strict handwriting code, where certain letters are certain heights etc.  After pulling out their paper, they pull out a little pencil pouch.  It's like a miniature toiletrie bag, inside it there are multiple colored pens, a small 15 cm ruler (6 inches), and highlighters.  The professer begins to speak, french students immediately huddle over their paper writing down almost word for word what the professer says, all while creating titles and subheadings.  They are also underlining key phrases and titles (with the ruler no less), and colorcoding as they see fit.  Finally they somehow get every little bit of information the professer says.

It. Blows. My. Mind.  You have to see it to really appreciate it.  I look at my notes and I feel incredibly self-conscious, because not only are their notes organized (unlike mine), the handwriting of french students is generally perfect (unlike mine).  My notes say "FOREIGNER HERE" to Frenchies.

Finally:

The organization.  Now of course I have a United Statesian perspective on this.  We pay (or our parents) thousands of dollars a year for the priveledge to attend an institute of higher learning.  At the French university system, as long as you pass high school, you can attend a university.  The students pay some annual fee that hovers around 500 euros, and they are in.  As a result the campus will not have the same level of organization and infrastructure as American universities...

But it shouldn't be this damn complicated!  For example: classes started september 8th.  The history department hadn't decided what classes they will offer until the 9th or 10th, and didn't inform the students until Saturday afternoon on the 13th.  We then had classes on the 15th.  

It's all one big mess, but amazingly enough it all falls into place.

 

Update

So I was going to update. But then the Lyon game was on the TV, and that turned out to be a good match. Then my friend and I spoke on Skype for an hour and a half... so now I'm here, it's midnight, and I have a class on the Crusades in 10 hours...

So here's a picture. It's the Arc de Triomphe of Montpellier at Night.

International Soccer and Time.

One becomes very conscious of time zones if they become a fan of soccer. Why? Because usually they are trying to watch games that occur on other sides of the world, and we want to watch them live. Normally for me in the states that involves getting up early and watching games between 9 AM and 3 PM on weekends. That's never been too bad. Yesterday was a very surreal experience for me and it is attributed to differing time zones. There's a great article at Pitch Invastion about this.

I went to FitzPatrick's Pub last night to take in the Croatia v. England, and France v. Serbia matches. The England match was brilliant, and although the French won their game, I was hoping they would lose or tie, and Domenech would be fired. But nevertheless they won and Henry scored so I can't be angry. My friends and I then went to the local park, where lots of students find a nice little spot to sit down drink, and chat with close friends. But when we went are separate ways at about 1130, the night was just starting for me.

I went home, and played some video games till 2, still buzzed, I found a live feed of FSC on my computer and sat down for the next 2 hours, fighting sleep, slightly buzzed, but pumped for the US soccer team. There is something special about staying up to an ungodly hour to watch the team you love. I'm used to waking up early, but this was a different experience. I don't know if it was the buzz from the alcohol, the adrenaline of being on the verge of sleep, or watching the US play a good game of soccer and beat down Trinidad 3-0. I woke up groggy and disoriented, but having no class is was OK.

Now I'm going to do it all again Sunday with the RailHawks :-D.

The Problem of Blogging.

Blogging is much like everything else in life, it can be very difficult to get into a routine, but once in it, it becomes like every day. Right now I'm experiencing difficulty in blogging regularly. Like normal. I found it amazing that I kept up with one of these in high school.

My problem is similar to one of my daily issues in life. I see things and I'll think "Oh I should blog about that" and then when I get down to doing it something comes up. It's an unintentional chronic procrastination in a way. I wonder if that's in the DSM-IV...

My excuse during the past 2 weeks is that I've been focusing on HW and my Essex application. I'm down to just the paper now which I was working on a bit earlier.

What to say about Montpellier though, it's a fascinating city, although not quite like others that I've enjoyed. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's relatively small, but filled with students, there's also a very vibrant night life that I've only just touched. I'm not really a big fan of going out, but I do occasionally.

What I do love about the city, like most medium sized + euro towns, is that there is so much history. I'll walk around and stumble across a piece of history. Like for example"

At the end of the aqueduct I found this stone, in a nutshell it says that the French resistance fighters came along this route to liberate the city in August 1944.

Anyways regular updates now. I promise :-)

Market Day!

OK so it was actually Saturday. Shoot me. I'm writing a letter to my grandma so you won't get the long blog post about my trip to Nimes and the Pont du Gare. But you get pretty photos of the market.
Grains and Spices!

Chicken!

Ham!

Pigeons! 20 Euros a kilo!

Peaches! Cheaper than the pigeons!

Trams are cool.

I ride them every day. It makes me feel like a kid again.

Bastard

That guy was a jerk in A Knight's Tale...




The bastard has a road in Montpellier...

Dumas, me voilà

Guillaume Mathieu, comte Dumas was born in Montpellier. He left with General Rochambeau in 1780 to help General Lafayette and General Washington during the revolution. Like Pershing before me I have arrived with a sense of purpose, to improve my french and learn the history of this region in France.

A couple of days ago I arrived here and have acclimated myself to the area. My host family is great so I figured I should describe them to you.

I live in a household with a mother, her boyfriend/practically a husband, and her son. There is also an English student staying here right now, along with the mother's sister. Everyone is pretty damn cool and it looks like this semester will go very well.

The mother Mme Henriel is very chill. She lived in Louisiana for a few years teaching French, but she's also been to many other places around the world to teach French. Conveniently she speaks fluent English, so those times when I don't know a French word I can just ask her.

The boyfriend Jean-Francois is also a great person. He is a political cartoonist, and has some very liberal, but extremely well formed political thoughts. It makes for some great discussion at the dinner table, at least so far. He also drew a picture of me that I'm going to put in digital form soon and put it up.

The son I only just met but he's a huge soccer fan. His favorite club is Olympique de Marseille. I guess when they play Rennes and Monaco I'm just going to have to drive him crazy. Sadly it looks to be Marseille's year to upset Lyon, but we'll see.

Those are the three I'm living with over the next semester. But right now theres this English student as well here. She's cool but I haven't had a chance to get to know her. She's not particularly talkative, in english or french. Oh well.

Anyways I'm heading out for the night to watch the 2nd half of the France game at the bar. Allez les Bleus!