Well, I did say there’d be long periods where I didn’t post
Title says it all. It’s been, what, a week since my last post? I blame it on Spring Break. This blog is basically homework twice removed, so my blog-about-things brain has kind of shut off in the past week. Now, of course, it’s time to start gearing up for next Tuesday, when classes start. Well, the MICEFA class already started this past Monday, but that one’s fun. In English and all, which just makes things easier. We spend a lot of time commiserating about irritating French things. That’s something else I’ve been missing, largely due no doubt to lack of classes. No nonsensical language quirks of cultural tics presenting themselves to me to be complained about. Which really provided a lot of the wordcount for this thing. So it goes. I’ll make do, then, with some absolutely thrilling pictures chronicling my recent activities:
I got a frozen pizza at Franprix. Somehow I haven’t entirely registered the whole “you need a microwave to properly thaw frozen foods” thing:
Problem solved.
Apparently, I decided it was worth it to photograph this ad for a Tales of the City book:
I guess I was kind of surprised because I always thought of Tales of the City as a very American kind of series. Also, you know, there’s the slight bewilderment at people from a foreign country being interested in something of ours that’s neither politics nor New York. Well, in my more charitable moods, I concede that people may have an interest in LA. But what’s next? Chicago? Florida? Those bits in between the coasts without cities? Staten Island? I guess I’m a bit New-York-centric, but somehow the thought of French people being aware of San Francisco’s existence puzzles and amuses me.
Speaking of things that puzzle and amuse me, another English-language-learning subway ad:
All right, I’ll admit that I always find it weird to associate the Union Flag (fun trivia: while it’s commonly called the “Union Jack,” that name is only properly applied when it’s flown from a ship. Don’t ask where I learned this, because I don’t remember… I think it was a comment on the Society of American Magicians Yahoo list)… where was I? All right, it’s weird to me to associate the British flag with the English language, but I guess it does make sense–unless you’re specifically advertising “Wall Street English,” which most certainly is a non-British variant. Plus, you know, there’s something inherently silly about a guy with a flag on his tongue.
Some great big topiary by the MICEFA office:
Pretty little doorway:
“Hospital of Instruction of the Armies.” I guess this is where they practice making wounded people?
I’ve got more pictures uploaded that I’ll post eventually, but seeing as the sarcastic photograph commentary is currently my only source of bloggerly material, I’m going to continue with the whole rationing thing. More tomorrow, maybe.
