J'irai en France

Well, Cindy and I finally bought our tickets to France a few days ago and are now booking flights and hotels for the Italian leg of our trip. There will be plenty more interesting posts coming in the near future.

I'm not too worried about the touristy thing. I was able to bumble around Montréal with barely a smattering of French and still manage to buy simple things, so long as I didn't try to ask about anything. I'm sure it will be the same in France and, of course, Cindy can always translate for me. But what does concern me a little is that we'll be staying with her parents, who speak barely a word of English.

My French class is going pretty well. (It's a second year undergrad class, so I can't take too much pride in the fact that I'm beating unmotivated frat boys. Seriously, the majority of undergrads here are about as motivated to learn as year nines; they're only there because their parents want them to be.) The other day my teacher paid me a big compliment by asking me "What are you doing in this class? Where did you learn to speak?" and telling me that my phonology is good. I was tempted to tell her about my secret weapon (a French girfriend) but instead I told her about the French table I go to every Tuesday evening. But now that we're learning more tenses - the future, conditional, future past and past conditional - it's starting to get a bit challenging for me too. But today I got to score a few participation points by correcting the teacher's spelling (there are a lot of homophones in French!). At least, I think it was in good humour when she said "Bravo, Nicolas!" and asked if I wanted to come up the front and teach!

First Amendment in Action

I saw something a little strange on the way home today. Now, on the edge of campus there is always a pair of Mormons holding a sign saying "Ask the missionaries any question" (I haven't yet had a chance to ask them the wind-speed velocity of an unladen swallow). Certainly these quiet Mormons are much more agreeable than the Mormons at UNSW who stand on Anzac parade accosting people as they try to cross the street.

Anyway, today there was another guy holding a sign that said "Warning: Your rights are about to be violated - seat belt check ahead." I was only a little surprised that there would be a seat belt check, that is something that a lot of Americans are quite lax about. More surprising was that someone would go to all that effort so that a few people can continue to not wear their seat belts.

But most astonishing is that there was a cop standing just 20m behind this guy, just watching him alert the traffic to the trap. Now, as I understand it, in Australia it's highly illegal to flash your headlights to alert other drivers about RBTs, ostructing the course of justice or some such thing. But this cop was just watching that guy with his sign. I can only assume that his right to free speech protected him. All the same, it's quite surprising that they didn't try to shuffle him off into a free speech zone.

Summer time, and the living is easy

I've just submitted my last paper for this semester and poured myself a strong drink. I'm now on holidays for three months. And by three months I actually mean three days, because I'm taking a summer class, which starts Tuesday.

Just like last summer, I'll be spending my time learning French. Although I did well enough last year to fulfil my department's language requirement but, while my reading skills are ok, my speaking skills are rather poor. So I'll be working on that, but not too hard.

Anzac Day Again

Another Anzac Day in the USA. This time I've made Anzac Biscuits to mark the occasion. The recipe seemed pretty easy except that you can't get golden syrup here. Not even treacle. Only a molasses that is as dark as pitch. (I think that's why it's Br'er Rabbit Brand.) In fact, they don't even know the word treacle, except for one of my classmates who had read it in Harry Potter! So I just used brown sugar instead of white and they taste the same.

Grey Bombers off Target

As we were getting into the car on our way home from the orchestra last night, Cindy pointed out an envelope under my windscreen wiper. I had received a parking ticket! (The first traffic ticket I've ever received.)

I didn't understand how, seeing as I was in a proper carpark. The ticket explained that I could contest the fine, so this was the explanation I submitted to the website:

Because I do not have a permit I was looking for a pay-parking space in the Jordan Ave parking garage. As I proceded to the lower level in search of a space I noticed that the boom gates were up and, as it was after 8pm and the booth was empty, I inferred that parking was free for the rest of the night. Had the booth been staffed I surely would have paid but, before I had a chance to pay, I received this ticket. The ticket states that I was in an A permit zone, however I was in a pay-parking garage. There were no signs indicating that any sort of permit was required.

It's all true. I really did believe that I was legally parked!

I still can't quite work it out. If by some chance I missed a sign on the way in saying that only permit holders were allowed, why would there be gates and a toll booth? And how could I not have seen it all the other times I've parked there when going to the orchestra?

I really don't want to pay the $40 but now they know who I am they'll be able to dock my pay! I briefly considered just ignoring the ticket, given that it's campus parking, not the real police. But I have heard that they can and do contact the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles to track you down from your rego number. Damn!

Update - 2007/4/20
Good news! My appeal was successful. In less than 48 hour I received this reply:

Thanks for your appeal. I just wanted to let you know that the citation has been voided, and there is no fine due. If you are a student and the fee has been transferred to your Bursar account, a credit will be issued next Thursday; look for it to post by early the following week.

Hurrah! My faith in the system has been restored.

Buona Pasqua a Tutti!

So, today I finally get to break my chocolate fast! What a shame that it's so hard to find good quality chocolate here. And even the low quality stuff doesn't get sold as eggs very much. They've been in stores for a while now but it's mainly little ones, very few egg-sized eggs and absolutely no 300g, 500g or 1kg eggs available here. (Nor is there the great variety of flavours we have in Australia. Cadbury Creme Egg is the only interesting one.) I think it must be true what the Australian newspapers report every year, that Australians take their Easter chocolate more seriously than any other country.

Nor are there hot cross buns. I have seen just one or two packets of rather nasty looking buns with custard crosses and white glaze, not what we're used to. And none of those terrific chocolate hot cross buns you get from Baker's Delight or Woolies. (I wonder how long they would last in the freezer. If Erin bought me some now, would they still be good when I visit in December?)

But the strangest thing I have to share with you is that in France, they don't have an Easter Bunny. Instead, their Easter eggs are brought by flying church bells! I thought Cindy was having a lend of me when she told me that. But then I saw this on French Wíkîpédïà:

En Belgique et en France, ce sont les cloches de Pâques qui apportent les œufs de Pâques. Depuis le jeudi saint, les cloches sont silencieuses. On dit qu'elles sont parties pour Rome, et elles reviennent le jour de Pâques en ramenant des œufs qu'elles laissent tomber à leur passage.

In Belgium and France, it is Easter Bells who bring the Easter eggs. From Maundy Thursday the church bells are silent, so it is said that they have left for Rome and that they return on Easter Sunday filled with eggs, which they let fall as they pass.

Strange but true.

Cold Again

After a few weeks of warm weather (mid-20s Celsius) it's turned cold again! Yesterday and the next four days we have top temperatures <10˙C.

And last night it started snowing again! There was a little more this morning but the flakes are so few and far between that I don't think it will accumulate at all.

Crazy! (Even the Americans are complaining about Indiana weather.)

My First Passover

Last night I had another traditional American experience - I participated in a Passover Seder dinner with my Jewish friends.

Before dinner we had to do a few ceremonial things. Sean lent me a kippah and we sat around the table to hear explanations of why the various things were eaten. I forget why we ate parsely dipped in salty water; something to do with tears, I think. The bread has to be unleavened because the Hebrews were in such a hurry to leave. I thought matzo would be like pita but it's more like a big cracker. Before the actual dinner we had to eat a matzo sandwich with horseradish and another with charoset, a mixture of diced apples and dates in wine. (For some reason they were refering to the horseradish as a "bitter 'erb", even though it's clearly a root, not a herb.)

The dinner itself was turkey, not Paschal lamb, it being America and all. It was pretty good, latkes with applesauce make an interesting side dish.

There were a few songs in English and various chants in Hebrew (my throat's quite clear now, thanks for asking) between which we had to drink four cups of wine. Unfortunately it had to be kosher wine, most of which is increadibly sweet. (I managed to buy a bottle that tasted like normal cab sav but the Manischewitz and every other bottle was really quite syrupy.) It was certainly an eye-opener to see my friends reading Herbrew so fluently (in their American accents) and recounting childhood stories steeped in traditions I've never heard of.

Dog Days

The hot weather has returned, after only a couple of weeks of mild weather. So, so humid!

Licensed to Drive

I've mentioned before that the state of Indiana doesn't recognise foreign driver's licences. So back in September I got a learner's permit but have been driving myself around on a temporary international driver's permit. I've become comfortable enough driving on the wrong side of the road and the last of the snow melted a few weeks ago, so today I went and did my driving test. When I first got my licence back in Australia it was in an automatic so this was a bit more difficult driving Fenry with his clutch. But I managed to pass the driving test on a manual.

However, I failed the eyesight test. When I got my Ls I was able to procrastinate long enough for my eyes to eventually focus on the letters and I just scraped through. But this time I had to put my glasses on and the guy put a thing on my licence to say that I always have to wear them. Oh, well.

But the one good thing about Indiana is the low taxes etc. They didn't charge me anything for the joy of taking the test. Unlike NSW, where my last licence cost me AU$129 for 5 years' worth, my Indiana licence only cost me US$21 for almost 7 years! (For some strange reason it expires on your birthday.) Somehow, despite this, all the highways are free, unlike NSW.

LibriVox

I've just discovered a great site. It's a community where people take public-domain books and make audio recordings that you can download for free.

This will give me something constructive to do with my iPod while I'm in the lab doing something boring like staring at a thermometer.

St Patrick's Day

St Patrick's Day is a big thing here in the US. I'm not sure why, they don't have any more Irish than Australia. I guess it's just the effect of Americans' habit of identifying with their ethnic heritage, no matter how many generations they've been here.

Not only do they decorate buildings with shamrocks but they do everything in green; including the beer. I had heard about green beer on St Patrick's day before I came here but didn't try it last year. So this year, even though I'm not normally a beer drinker, I decided to try a green Harp. It didn't taste any different.

After that pub we moved on to the Irish Lion, which was not nearly as crowded as I had assumed it would be. There I tried a drink called the Stinger, Woodpecker Cider topped with Guinness. It's not as bad as it sounds but, still, I won't be ordering it again. Next time I'll just get a half-yard of plain old cider!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yesterday was my birthday. I baked myself a lemon-poppyseed cake with cream cheese icing (it still being Lent), which Cindy painstakingly decorated. All my American friends were out of town, spending Spring Break with their families but there were a few other friends still in town who came around to help me eat the cake. As you can see, it was only after we'd eaten four slices that I thought to take a photo. But it's legible enough for you to get the gist of what it said.

Trevor

Yesterday I heard something a little strange. One of my lab-mates asked me, "Have you seen Trevor today?" Now, I don't know the names of too many others in the lab, because they're in a different research group. Forgeting to speak in American I asked, "Is he the young bloke?" which only confused him. So I clarified, "Is Trevor the guy who works at that bench?" To which he replied, "No, she's the oc-health and safety officer."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You're looking for a woman named 'Trevor'! That's a woman's name?"

"Oh, yes, it's quite common," He assured me. I didn't actually accuse him of having a lend of me but something on my face made him produce Trevor Ann's business card. That had me giggling for hours.

Communication breakdown, it's always the same...

I've been having problems with MSN lately. For some reason people have been trying talk to me when I'm offline; I receive several messages all at once whenever I log in. I figure it's got something to do with the fact that it's through a Jabber transport but I don't care enough to do anything about it.

So if you find me particularly unresponsive, it may just be that I'm not really there. Still, it could be that I am there and just ignoring you! (Yes, Cameron, I'm talking to you!)

Worse still, I'm without an internet connection at the moment (I feel so naked!). I've changed my connection from Cable back to DSL (to try to save a little money). Although I asked them not to turn it off until Monday, I now find that the cable's not working. Sigh! So I'm checking my email only when I bring the laptop to campus.

Richard Thompson

Just got home from a concert. It's hard to believe but Richard Thompson played Bloomington, Indiana. Apparently he's come here on tour a few times before, years ago. Perhaps that fact that it's a university town means there's enough fans to make it worthwhile. They did sell-out a 600 seat theatre; luckily I bought tickets weeks ago.

It was just him, no band, with an amplified acoustic guitar, which he played with a ferocity normally reserved for fully electric guitars. It was fantastic to see him there actually working the instrument, watching him live gives you an appreciation for his skill that CDs can't convey. He played mainly classics, nothing from his latest album. At one point he offered to do a Fairport Convention number, letting the audience choose which one. Alas, he was deaf to my cries of "Meet on the Ledge" and played "Matty Groves" instead. But everything he played was fantastic.

Self Deprivation

I've decided that this is the year I give up chocolate for Lent. I thought it might be worth trying to test my self-control and make those Easter eggs taste even better.

I've never done it before but I think I can last, what is it, forty days?

Plenty of Precipitation

The day before yesterday was stinking hot, +2˙C! The snow started to melt, that counts as hot. Yesterday morning it was still hot and so we got rain instead of snow. Which is really inconvienient when there's still snow on the ground, it's like walking through a giant, white, non-potable squishee. But around the middle of the day the temperature dropped below freezing again and the rain turned to sleet! (At least, I think "sleet" is the correct word for when ice falls in tiny spheres (~0.5 mm), as opposed to snow-flakes or hail-stones, but Americans also use the term "frozen rain" and I can't quite work out the difference.) By the time I went out last night, around 8pm, it had turned into normal snow. Three different kinds of precipitation in one day!

But the really cool thing is that when the temperature dropped so suddenly the trees were still wet from the rain. So now the trees all look like they're still dripping water, but really they're encased in crystal-clear ice. It's so clear that the small drops at the tips look so much like liquid water that you expect them to be wet when you touch them. Unless you're looking you don't notice that the ice goes beyond the tips with a thin layer covering the whole branch. The forest on campus is quite spectacular when the sun hits all those sparkling trees!

Addendum 2007-2-15
Last night I had another new cold-weather experience when my car was snowed in. I figured that reverse gear would be low enough for me to get over the little mound of snow that Mr Plow had left behind my car. But what I hadn't reckoned on was the layer of black ice that had been forming under my car. After burning a little rubber a good samaritan passing by offered to lend me his snowshovel but by then I realised it was more about traction than the piles of snow so I didn't need the shovel. After about 10 min of pissfarting around I finally managed to point the wheels at the right angle to get myself out of the spot.

Some things just aren't meant to be deep-fried

I would never have thought it possible to make unhealthy something inherently healthy like green beans. Then last night I went to TGI Friday's. I was foolish enough to order bean fries for my "appetizer", as part of a set menu deal.

I soon regretted my choice, despite the "cool creamy Cucumber-Wasabi Ranch dip" being almost as good as it sounds. No, some things just aren't meant to be deep-fried (cf. deep-fried mozzarella, available in Oz from Chili's). This may seem obvious to you at home but time and again I find that this is something Americans fail to grasp.

Go the Blues!

Last night was the Super Bowl XLI - the Chicago Bears vs the Indianapolis Colts. Indianapolis is the closest city to me and Chicago is the next closest so Bloomington is full of fans of both teams.

The Colts won, so I think there'll be a lot of happy fans around here this morning (possibly a lot of sore heads, too). This is the first time they've won the Super Bowl since coming to Indiana so they'd normally have a ticker-tape parade for them. But today it's -19˙C outside, so I don't know what they'll do.