Tyrolienne

Today, one of my cousins did a small concert for a sports day in his town. He is the lead singer for the group Houdini. Here is a video of a song he performed (No worries- he sings in English):

Since it was a sports day I got to go on a zip line (tyrolienne), which was really cool! However, I'm still recovering from accrobranche, a tree climbing activity. I had to climb up a tree that had wood blocks for a latter and then walk across cables to another tree to walk across more cables, and so on until you reach the end which is a zip line and you soar back down to the ground. I am officially scared of heights now. Accrobranche is not for those who are scared of heights or for those who have a poor sense of balance.

Sous-sol

The vacation continues, and the French certainly know how to relax! Last Tuesday (9/18), my mom, aunts, and I went to Thermapolis, a water spa in Amnéville-Les-Thermes. I found out that the water is actually from the natural hot spring underneath the spa! I highly recommend Thermapolis for anyone with joint pain. The water current and various water jets were really fun to try out!

On Friday, we had a galette/crepe night with family, during which I learned I really need to work on both my French and English pronunciation. The first incident of the night was when we tried to help my French uncle remember some English phrases. Although I said, "I speak English," he heard, "Aspic." For the non-foodies out there, aspic is a cold gelatin meat dish- quite the miscommunication. One of my French cousins has the same English teacher that my uncle had, I hope the teacher has improved, lol.

The second episode of the night happened while I was skyping my dad. I was trying to explain that he was in the basement to my French relatives, so I said, "Il est en sous-sol." (He is in the basement.) Only, I pronounced the sentence as "Il est en sous-sou" instead of "sous-sol" (IPA: /su.sɔl/). Naturally, now all my relatives continue to make fun of that mistake days later- word travels fast around here.

Journées du Patrimoine

After a long day traveling (Washington to London, London to Luxembourg), my mom and I finally arrived in France on Thursday evening (9/13/12).

On Saturday, I moved into my residence, and what luck- it was the weekend of Journées du Patrimoine (Heritage Days). Patrimoine is an annual celebration when many cultural sites that usually charge admission or that are closed open their doors to the public for no or little charge.

To take advantage of Patrimoine, my French relatives and I visited the Museé Lorrain and had dinner at a restaurant in the Place Stanislas. We stayed late out on the square because there was an amazing light show about the history of Nancy.

Today, after visiting the Museum Aquarium de Nancy in the morning, we went to the Château de Fléville, a castle built during the Renaissance. The chateau continues to train falcons, just like the chevaliers (knights) did for hunting during the Renaissance.

Here are two quick videos of le specatcle fauconnerie (falconry) at the chateau. Enjoy!

Bienvenue!

Bienvenue! Welcome to my blog!

As many of my friends and family know, I love to send, receive, and collect postcards. This blog Cartes Postales de Nancy (postcards from Nancy) will follow my adventures as a teaching assistant in Nancy, France for the 2012-2013 school year. I plan to post regularly about my teaching and cultural experiences in Europe.

Enjoy! Perhaps learn a little French as you read...