Aww man, a sunburn right before I leave...the whole front of my body too. Lesson #136: Don't fall asleep lying near the pool.
So, the realization that I'm going to be in France is really starting to kick in. This week we had a lunch at the Houston equivalent of the Petroleum Club. For those that don't know, it's basically a nice club for the good ol' boys in oil. When we went around the table, each student saying what what they thought of the program and where they were going, a hearty chuckle broke out from everyone when they heard I don't speak French and am going to Paris. Huh.
We are also finally done everything, no more presentations, no more reports (well for now...), no more tests. It's a bittersweet feeling though, all these people I've been hanging out with for 24/7 are just going to be gone and I don't know when or if I'll see them again. That being said, I think we are all going to be glad to get away from each other at least in the short term. Especially a certain roommate...
Cultural differences are fun. We all had noticed last night that we didn't really know what the other cultures were like, we just knew the stereotypes before we came here. For the most part the stereotypes were false, but I think some of them held true. French people blowing raspberries and eating a lot of chocolate, cream and butter; the Croatian guy drinks A LOT; the Pakistani speaking at rediculously fast tempo; and us Canadians. I don't know how much I instantiate the Canadian stereotype, but it's been fun to have Aaron here. He hunts for moose, has done a lot of wilderness work, and well, has lived in Edmonton hahahaha. I dunno how many of us Canucks really do all those things, but it's pretty entertaining.
One thing that has come up repeatedly in our talks is street fights. If anyone has been to bars in Calgary (or Edmonton for that matter), then you know all about it. As I'm sure it hasn't changed much in the 3 months that I've been gone, but I remember that the fighting had been getting really bad in cowtown. If you went to an average nightclub, you could expect to see at least 3 fights break out on the dancefloor and if you walked to the c-train, you could expect to get challenged twice. It definately sounds like this isn't the case in Europe (thankfully!), but the idea as to why people want to street fight has always confused me. I've done a damn good job at avoiding it my whole life, and I think its worked out pretty damn good for me. Who wants to get injured or injure somebody? In any case, I think this article is a good explanation on the whole thing and it gives some good tips, click! It doesn't mean you're a coward if you choose not to fight, as it takes a lot more confidence to avert the situation than to revert to your id and take that primal challenge.
bah, I should go tend to my sunburn here. See you all soon.
So, the realization that I'm going to be in France is really starting to kick in. This week we had a lunch at the Houston equivalent of the Petroleum Club. For those that don't know, it's basically a nice club for the good ol' boys in oil. When we went around the table, each student saying what what they thought of the program and where they were going, a hearty chuckle broke out from everyone when they heard I don't speak French and am going to Paris. Huh.
We are also finally done everything, no more presentations, no more reports (well for now...), no more tests. It's a bittersweet feeling though, all these people I've been hanging out with for 24/7 are just going to be gone and I don't know when or if I'll see them again. That being said, I think we are all going to be glad to get away from each other at least in the short term. Especially a certain roommate...
Cultural differences are fun. We all had noticed last night that we didn't really know what the other cultures were like, we just knew the stereotypes before we came here. For the most part the stereotypes were false, but I think some of them held true. French people blowing raspberries and eating a lot of chocolate, cream and butter; the Croatian guy drinks A LOT; the Pakistani speaking at rediculously fast tempo; and us Canadians. I don't know how much I instantiate the Canadian stereotype, but it's been fun to have Aaron here. He hunts for moose, has done a lot of wilderness work, and well, has lived in Edmonton hahahaha. I dunno how many of us Canucks really do all those things, but it's pretty entertaining.
One thing that has come up repeatedly in our talks is street fights. If anyone has been to bars in Calgary (or Edmonton for that matter), then you know all about it. As I'm sure it hasn't changed much in the 3 months that I've been gone, but I remember that the fighting had been getting really bad in cowtown. If you went to an average nightclub, you could expect to see at least 3 fights break out on the dancefloor and if you walked to the c-train, you could expect to get challenged twice. It definately sounds like this isn't the case in Europe (thankfully!), but the idea as to why people want to street fight has always confused me. I've done a damn good job at avoiding it my whole life, and I think its worked out pretty damn good for me. Who wants to get injured or injure somebody? In any case, I think this article is a good explanation on the whole thing and it gives some good tips, click! It doesn't mean you're a coward if you choose not to fight, as it takes a lot more confidence to avert the situation than to revert to your id and take that primal challenge.
bah, I should go tend to my sunburn here. See you all soon.
posted by Poshy at 3:46 PM
1 Comments:
No chance of a sunburn here, as its raining cats and dogs...mom
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