I have very little news to report. I’ve mainly been reading for the last several days. I finished my Chandler and am nearly done with Foxfire. I hope to have some reviews of them soon. I actually did sit down a write a review of a CD the other day. I spend a nice chunk of time writing it and I think it was quite good, but the internet screwed up and I lost everything. Argh!
I’ve been thinking about the term culture shock lately. Before I left for France I had expected to experience a lot of it. I somehow thought I would wind up sitting in my apartment for weeks staring out the window wishing I was somewhere else. That is a far cry from reality.
I’ve really had a great time here from the start. Sure there have been a few moments that were a little unnerving, times that I felt a little sad. But these were no more than I might feel if I was still in Indiana. Technically, culture shock is defined as the emotional response a person has to being in a different culture. So, yeah, I’ve had emotional responses.
Maybe I expected more because of the term. I mean it says “shock” so I suspected a real shock or jolt. I’m sure it would be a different experience if we had not lived with Daniel and Tammy for two weeks to start out. Or if there weren’t other Americans/English speakers with which we could spend time. They make all the difference I suspect.
I have spent several hours trying to get my DVD player to work with French-coded DVDs. That’s not exactly right. My DVD player will play French DVDs but only so often. Like many players, there is only a certain number of times it will switch from Region 1 to Region 2 or whatever before it gets stuck on whatever the last region was forever. There is software out there that will either override the system or simply reset the counter. However, I’ve failed to find the proper stuff for my particular brand. Does anybody have any experience with this stuff? Use the commenter or e-mail me with suggestions, please.
My pictures were finally viewed by the French class in Alabama. I’m told they were a great big hit. I don’t know why, but that gives me great joy. Even though I’ve had no direct contact with them it’s like there is a little connection between us now. All these kids have had a direct link to my life, and been taught, and learned from my little experiences. How cool is that?
themidnightcafe.org 