I had my first Internal Assessment for Niveau 3 at AF on the 29th, after my return from Bhopal...needless to say my french is terribly rusty after such a long gap, and I was very unhappy with the way I spoke...was basolutely sure my marks would be not the least bit satisfactory. Yesterday we requested eeral, our prof, to tell us how we've fared...we can impove our oral exam marks during the remaining three months of class - if she sees an improvemnt then at the end of the course she will raise our marks..anyways she said I was hanging between satisfactory and unsatisfactory...so there's still hope for me...LOL!! I've been brushing up all my French grammar and vocab for the past 2 days, having abandoned MA studies for the time being.
Unluckily for me, my cousin who had borrowed my carefully made French grammar notes has merrily lost my book, so I'm sitting and making all the notes again. Luckily, on the other hand, my careful nature didn't permit me to throw away even the rough notes, so I fished them out and now I'm spending precious time making another book...ah well I'm finicky I know, but this is just so aggravating..I mean how can you misplace something that isn't yours..and that too, a book? Specially MINE...I mean if there's one sure-shot way of losing my trust, it's to go and misplace/lose/mishandle my book...my most treasured possessions are my books!!! Now I'm all worried coz she has also borrowed ALL my MA I novels which, well, are not only worth thousands, but precious in the other sense too...ick!
Been good and studying alot for the past 2 days, even if its French...gonna be following a regimentary schedule from now on, so that I don't embarass myself at either exam!! Today since Bhaiyya, bhabhi and papa have left for the north for Elecrama/maika visits, I cleaned up the entire house, transforming it from a 'warehouse' that it has been since the Elecrama work began, into a nice house that it has always been....Nothing beats a clean, well-kept, home, what say? Also been listening to my favourite 'study' songs to get me in the mood...all my 80's and early 90's favourites....there are too many to list right now...but it's Wilson Philips at the moment....getting all nostaligc about the days Mansi and I would discuss music, have arguments over Bon Jovi/GNR etc etc...damn but I miss the babe!!!!
Hmmm...c'est tout maintenant...bonne weekend et a demain!!!
Saturday, January 31, 2004
Friday, January 30, 2004
Amelie
The only french movie I've seen isAmelie (2001)
I thought it was a brilliant movie...I was never a movie-buff and never impressed to hear that so-an-so 'star' sat here etc etc...but it was thrilling for me to be having coffee in the cafe where the movie was filmed, or go to the gardens where she left the album for the guy she liked...anyways I strongly recommend the movie for those who haven't seen it yet. Starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the movie is a rich and imaginative work that delights from the opening credits, a sweet confection that should be savored more than once.
Excerpts from a review by Bob Aulert
"The film starts with Amélie (rhymes with "Family") as a young child, born to a neurotic mother and emotionally distant father. She longs for her father's affection, so much so that her heart races every time he uses his stethoscope to examine her (he's a physician). He diagnoses a heart condition and she's kept away from other human contact. Her mother dies (in a blackly hilarious scene) and she's raised in the countryside until she's old enough to leave home and take a waitress job at the Two Windmills café in Paris. She discovers a tin box hidden at her flat that contains artifacts of a young boy's long-ago childhood. Amélie decides to find its owner and reunite him with the toys of his youth. Thus begins her new part-time job and full-time philosophy: making people happy.
But Amélie's own joy remains elusive. There's no special person in her life. Then she meets Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz), a clerk in a porno shop. His hobby is collecting discarded picture fragments from automated photo booths and reassembling them in a scrapbook. Amélie is smitten - but just as her father didn’t judge her heart strong enough to withstand the rigors of a "normal" life, neither does she trust that it can bear the demands of love. So her strategies for meeting Nino are as convoluted and intriguing as the means she uses to enhance other peoples' lives and the practical jokes she plays on a local grocer who cruelly demeans his assistant.
"Amélie" presents an idealized Paris, far too sanitized and homogenized to ever pass for the real thing. It's more of a theme park look - a world that you suspect could never exist, but secretly hope could. But don’t let words like magical and charming lead you to dismiss Amélie as a fluffy trifle. It deals with some fundamental human themes: love, loneliness, self-confidence and insecurity. In many ways it's as light and sweet as cotton candy. But unlike the circus confection, its essence will stay with you long after you've enjoyed it."
I thought it was a brilliant movie...I was never a movie-buff and never impressed to hear that so-an-so 'star' sat here etc etc...but it was thrilling for me to be having coffee in the cafe where the movie was filmed, or go to the gardens where she left the album for the guy she liked...anyways I strongly recommend the movie for those who haven't seen it yet. Starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the movie is a rich and imaginative work that delights from the opening credits, a sweet confection that should be savored more than once.
Excerpts from a review by Bob Aulert
"The film starts with Amélie (rhymes with "Family") as a young child, born to a neurotic mother and emotionally distant father. She longs for her father's affection, so much so that her heart races every time he uses his stethoscope to examine her (he's a physician). He diagnoses a heart condition and she's kept away from other human contact. Her mother dies (in a blackly hilarious scene) and she's raised in the countryside until she's old enough to leave home and take a waitress job at the Two Windmills café in Paris. She discovers a tin box hidden at her flat that contains artifacts of a young boy's long-ago childhood. Amélie decides to find its owner and reunite him with the toys of his youth. Thus begins her new part-time job and full-time philosophy: making people happy.
But Amélie's own joy remains elusive. There's no special person in her life. Then she meets Nino (Mathieu Kassovitz), a clerk in a porno shop. His hobby is collecting discarded picture fragments from automated photo booths and reassembling them in a scrapbook. Amélie is smitten - but just as her father didn’t judge her heart strong enough to withstand the rigors of a "normal" life, neither does she trust that it can bear the demands of love. So her strategies for meeting Nino are as convoluted and intriguing as the means she uses to enhance other peoples' lives and the practical jokes she plays on a local grocer who cruelly demeans his assistant.
"Amélie" presents an idealized Paris, far too sanitized and homogenized to ever pass for the real thing. It's more of a theme park look - a world that you suspect could never exist, but secretly hope could. But don’t let words like magical and charming lead you to dismiss Amélie as a fluffy trifle. It deals with some fundamental human themes: love, loneliness, self-confidence and insecurity. In many ways it's as light and sweet as cotton candy. But unlike the circus confection, its essence will stay with you long after you've enjoyed it."
Time Flies...
I got up this morning and looked at my Monet calendar, admiring the print and it struck me like thunderbolt that it's been a month since i was in France. on 30th Dec, 2003, I was boarding the train back to Germany, from Gare de Paris l'Est! Can't believe how fast time has flown by....was giving myself a memory test and seeing how much I still remember of my stay in France - the City of Bordeaux, with its labyrinth of streets and old hourses, wine warehouses in the Chartrons area, the banks of the river, the newly inaugurated tram lines, Christmas eve at Jacqueline's place, lunch at Rose's place...the wonderful French cuisine that still makes me mouth water : Onglet Grille, Ratatouille Provencal, Poulet et Carottes a la Vichy, Boudain Blanc , all the Cheese, the Wines and the Desserts, and last but not the least (rather the best) Foie Gras!!! My trip to Lacanau beach on the shores of Atlantic Ocean, which is just across NY on the globe, the trip to St.Emilion, the charming vineyard village....
Paris brings back a rush of memories from the Eiffel Tower, going all the way up, to roaming around Montmartre, Cafe de Deux Moulins (that's where Amelie of the film "Amelie" worked), Moulin Rouge, Sacree Couer, Le Pantheon with the crypt that has the tombs of Rosseau, Voltaire, Balzac, Marie Curie amongst many others, St Germain des Pres, an exclusive shopping area, the Louvre, Sanmaritaine, Galleries Lafayettes....soooooooo much more and more! I wish I could upload all the pics quickly, but I must wait till my brother resumes work and can get them scanned for me from his office....sigh!!!
I finished my last roll and this had pics of my trip to the Hartz mountains with Hardo and his prents on our last weekend in Magdeburg...they took us to a skiing resort so we could play in the snow!! That was cool....actually freezing cold!! LOL!! that day was great...we had gone back to Hardo's house picking up Annika en route and had left for our place at like 2.30 am!! Hehehe....nostalgia rules right now!!!
I was also thinking of how I managed to restrain myself from picking up my favourite perfume Contradiction by CK - I did have time constraints and budget worries towards the end....but the more i think of it, teh more I am surprised at my restraint! Now I'm almost itching for papa to go abroad so he can get it for me...this despite the fact that I have the other 2 CK perfumes I adore!! LOL!! I'm really quite spoilt I think...I'm already itching to shop...pick up some more junk jewellery and stuff...books too..but keeping myself in check coz i knw i'll end up picking stuff up when I take Hana shopping...LOL!!
Onto more serious stuff....the WSF drew to a close this week..and I'm almost glad...as it is i thought it was hyped way too much, and with that "rape" incident it was all one saw in the newspapers...but I just read an artcile at how badly it was organised and I really wonder whether it achieved anything...can't pass a judgement coz I didn't take the effort to go there, even though one of our faculty members was a part of it and even spoke there at some seminars...or so I understand!!!
Au revoir et a demain!!!!
Paris brings back a rush of memories from the Eiffel Tower, going all the way up, to roaming around Montmartre, Cafe de Deux Moulins (that's where Amelie of the film "Amelie" worked), Moulin Rouge, Sacree Couer, Le Pantheon with the crypt that has the tombs of Rosseau, Voltaire, Balzac, Marie Curie amongst many others, St Germain des Pres, an exclusive shopping area, the Louvre, Sanmaritaine, Galleries Lafayettes....soooooooo much more and more! I wish I could upload all the pics quickly, but I must wait till my brother resumes work and can get them scanned for me from his office....sigh!!!
I finished my last roll and this had pics of my trip to the Hartz mountains with Hardo and his prents on our last weekend in Magdeburg...they took us to a skiing resort so we could play in the snow!! That was cool....actually freezing cold!! LOL!! that day was great...we had gone back to Hardo's house picking up Annika en route and had left for our place at like 2.30 am!! Hehehe....nostalgia rules right now!!!
I was also thinking of how I managed to restrain myself from picking up my favourite perfume Contradiction by CK - I did have time constraints and budget worries towards the end....but the more i think of it, teh more I am surprised at my restraint! Now I'm almost itching for papa to go abroad so he can get it for me...this despite the fact that I have the other 2 CK perfumes I adore!! LOL!! I'm really quite spoilt I think...I'm already itching to shop...pick up some more junk jewellery and stuff...books too..but keeping myself in check coz i knw i'll end up picking stuff up when I take Hana shopping...LOL!!
Onto more serious stuff....the WSF drew to a close this week..and I'm almost glad...as it is i thought it was hyped way too much, and with that "rape" incident it was all one saw in the newspapers...but I just read an artcile at how badly it was organised and I really wonder whether it achieved anything...can't pass a judgement coz I didn't take the effort to go there, even though one of our faculty members was a part of it and even spoke there at some seminars...or so I understand!!!
Au revoir et a demain!!!!
Thursday, January 29, 2004
Bhopal Trip...
Lots to blog about...lots lots lots...I'm gonna start with my trip to Bhopal...there's more that I've jotted down notes for, and shall follow in a day or two...itching to blog all about everything on my mind!!!
I left for Bhopal on the 24th evening. We should have left earlier in the afternoon, but my dear workoholic father had to work till 4 pm...so we dropped Amma at the airport (she flew coz the drive would be uncomfortable for her) and then continued on our way towards Bhopal. We drove upto Nasik, where we halted for the night...on the way when we passed the ghats we saw a forest fire. Not one that was a hazard, rather one created by the forest department to clear the dry bush in order to prevent hazardous fires!! It was the first time I've seen a fire so I was quite awed by the sight...sadly I didn't fish out my brother's digicam on time and we couldn't get a shot of it!
We went by car coz we couldn't leave Schnapps behind and well...travelling with my Schnapps is entertaining, but very very tiring!! He simply won't sit still..curious about everything...barking at trucks, bikes, cows, goats, fields...clambering all over us to see from this window and that...whoa!!! And the hunt for a hotel which allowed dogs when we stopped for the night at nasik!!! Quite interesting, as I said...we finally got one hotel that said..."Dog will do as long as he keeps his pee out of our carpet"...I didn't know how to react at that statement!!! He attended most ceremonies and stole away all the attention from the "dhula"....hehe....he is a handsome dog after all!!! Even my new 'bhabhi' - Juhi - was enamoured with him!!!
We reached Bhopal the next eveg after having driven the whole day from Nasik onwards except for two short halts for meals - first after Dhule for "brunch" then at Indore for "high tea"....Indore was interesting to pass through, with the education zone road..which my brother compared to the "khau galis"...he said this was "padhai gali"...and then the flock of people from nearby villages who had come for some "mela"...they were all dressed in typical MP clothes, so all these women in sarees with their "pallu"s draped low over their foreheads, and big anklets, nose rings et al...and the HUGE "pagdis" of the men in vibrant colours...the way they commute piled up on tractors, or in matador vans...quite a sight....the drive itself is good...except for the bad roads in Madhya Pradesh and the number of animals I saw on the highways and ghats that had been run over, or the numerous over turned trucks, or the two sickening accident scenes I passed...I won't go into details coz it isn't worth upsetting your stomachs over!!! Its sad that ppl don't drive safely on highways and the narrow steep ghats! The amt of rash driving I've seen ppl do left me rather upset...
The city of Bhopal is awesome...I've been a few time sin my chilhood and last time was when I'd just given my 10th std exams...so like 7 yrs back....it used to be one dry mound of red earth...over the yrs the city has been transformed into a city of beautiful gardens...lots of greenery everywhere, charming bungalows, wide roads...quite a nice place to visit...it also has several lakes which are very very clean and a pleasure to walk ard in the evegs!!! Possibilities of there...you get wonderful Kosa silk, shoes and sandals much cheaper than BOmbay, the "Bhopali batuwas" famous with foreigners that are a work of art....ah well I dint have time unluckily...but did manage to pick up 2 pairs of sandals...LOL!! I could have done more if I had squeezed out more time in between catching up with relatives and attending ceremonies! Next time perhaps? Hehehe...
The stay in Bhopal itself was cool. Literally and metaphorically!! I got to meet all my chachas, chachis, buas and phuphajis...the marriage ceremonies themselves were ok...it was a small and simple marriage...keeping to traditions but not very loud and vulgar...except for the sangeet with the awful punjabi songs and the Baraat bit which I shall never be able digest!!
I sooooo abhorr the bit where you play this loud music on the road, have some poor kids carry lamps on their heads while you dance like idiots on the roads...extremely disgusting and declasse!!! I think the baraat arriving in a fleet of cars in a dignified manner is sooooo much more classy....I'll be damned if my "dhula" arrives in a vulgar display of music and gaudy dance!!! I have such a long list of "Will not happen at my wedding" I wonder if I'll find a guy whose family will bow down to my expectations of a classy, simple wedding!!! *Cross my fingers*
I got back last night...most uncomfortable flight...way too much turbuluence and a very wierd pilot!!! He swayed and kept dipping from one side to the other...I think he must have played alot with toy planes as a child and yesterday he was reminiscing!!! LOL!! Anyways I reached home safely without throwing up as I felt like several times during the flight...very wierd...not once did I feel odd when I was flying with Alitalia...guess thats the only point in their favour!! Hahaha!!!
Guess that's it about Bhopal....now it's back to Mumbai and studies...I have an internal assessment at Af today so I should get up now and revise my vocab and grammar...it's terribly rusty...sigh!!!
Until later, with lots more to add.....have a great day!!!
I left for Bhopal on the 24th evening. We should have left earlier in the afternoon, but my dear workoholic father had to work till 4 pm...so we dropped Amma at the airport (she flew coz the drive would be uncomfortable for her) and then continued on our way towards Bhopal. We drove upto Nasik, where we halted for the night...on the way when we passed the ghats we saw a forest fire. Not one that was a hazard, rather one created by the forest department to clear the dry bush in order to prevent hazardous fires!! It was the first time I've seen a fire so I was quite awed by the sight...sadly I didn't fish out my brother's digicam on time and we couldn't get a shot of it!
We went by car coz we couldn't leave Schnapps behind and well...travelling with my Schnapps is entertaining, but very very tiring!! He simply won't sit still..curious about everything...barking at trucks, bikes, cows, goats, fields...clambering all over us to see from this window and that...whoa!!! And the hunt for a hotel which allowed dogs when we stopped for the night at nasik!!! Quite interesting, as I said...we finally got one hotel that said..."Dog will do as long as he keeps his pee out of our carpet"...I didn't know how to react at that statement!!! He attended most ceremonies and stole away all the attention from the "dhula"....hehe....he is a handsome dog after all!!! Even my new 'bhabhi' - Juhi - was enamoured with him!!!
We reached Bhopal the next eveg after having driven the whole day from Nasik onwards except for two short halts for meals - first after Dhule for "brunch" then at Indore for "high tea"....Indore was interesting to pass through, with the education zone road..which my brother compared to the "khau galis"...he said this was "padhai gali"...and then the flock of people from nearby villages who had come for some "mela"...they were all dressed in typical MP clothes, so all these women in sarees with their "pallu"s draped low over their foreheads, and big anklets, nose rings et al...and the HUGE "pagdis" of the men in vibrant colours...the way they commute piled up on tractors, or in matador vans...quite a sight....the drive itself is good...except for the bad roads in Madhya Pradesh and the number of animals I saw on the highways and ghats that had been run over, or the numerous over turned trucks, or the two sickening accident scenes I passed...I won't go into details coz it isn't worth upsetting your stomachs over!!! Its sad that ppl don't drive safely on highways and the narrow steep ghats! The amt of rash driving I've seen ppl do left me rather upset...
The city of Bhopal is awesome...I've been a few time sin my chilhood and last time was when I'd just given my 10th std exams...so like 7 yrs back....it used to be one dry mound of red earth...over the yrs the city has been transformed into a city of beautiful gardens...lots of greenery everywhere, charming bungalows, wide roads...quite a nice place to visit...it also has several lakes which are very very clean and a pleasure to walk ard in the evegs!!! Possibilities of there...you get wonderful Kosa silk, shoes and sandals much cheaper than BOmbay, the "Bhopali batuwas" famous with foreigners that are a work of art....ah well I dint have time unluckily...but did manage to pick up 2 pairs of sandals...LOL!! I could have done more if I had squeezed out more time in between catching up with relatives and attending ceremonies! Next time perhaps? Hehehe...
The stay in Bhopal itself was cool. Literally and metaphorically!! I got to meet all my chachas, chachis, buas and phuphajis...the marriage ceremonies themselves were ok...it was a small and simple marriage...keeping to traditions but not very loud and vulgar...except for the sangeet with the awful punjabi songs and the Baraat bit which I shall never be able digest!!
I sooooo abhorr the bit where you play this loud music on the road, have some poor kids carry lamps on their heads while you dance like idiots on the roads...extremely disgusting and declasse!!! I think the baraat arriving in a fleet of cars in a dignified manner is sooooo much more classy....I'll be damned if my "dhula" arrives in a vulgar display of music and gaudy dance!!! I have such a long list of "Will not happen at my wedding" I wonder if I'll find a guy whose family will bow down to my expectations of a classy, simple wedding!!! *Cross my fingers*
I got back last night...most uncomfortable flight...way too much turbuluence and a very wierd pilot!!! He swayed and kept dipping from one side to the other...I think he must have played alot with toy planes as a child and yesterday he was reminiscing!!! LOL!! Anyways I reached home safely without throwing up as I felt like several times during the flight...very wierd...not once did I feel odd when I was flying with Alitalia...guess thats the only point in their favour!! Hahaha!!!
Guess that's it about Bhopal....now it's back to Mumbai and studies...I have an internal assessment at Af today so I should get up now and revise my vocab and grammar...it's terribly rusty...sigh!!!
Until later, with lots more to add.....have a great day!!!
Thursday, January 22, 2004
Exclusion, Indignation and more...
Have been missing for so many days eh? The last time I sat and blogged, something went wrong with the internet and I lost the whole big chunk..was so disgusted I just abandoned the computer..and I haven't been able to sit in peace and blog ever since then..that was Saturday!!!
Gosh I feel so odd...these days I don't even realise how time flies by...there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish everything on my "To do Today" list! Hell but I'm not complaining..I'd rather be busy than twiddling my thumbs and wondering how to pass time...not for me the existance of a bored individual...I'd be suicidal if I had to live like that for long! Last week flew by, in getting adjusted to the old routine again...now I'm truly settled back in...and its fun to be doing that stuff again. I do miss Tasu on the bus journeys back home from AF, and get a bit bored, but then that time alone gives me time to think and generally 'be with myself' and sort things out in my head that I can't be bothered with during the day!
This week there were 2 articles on France in the papers...the first was about their new law concerning wearing anything that displays your religious affinities - I was very surprised to see it in the paper, because I had discussed this with Patricia when I was in Bordeaux. I personally think that the law shold be scrapped coz every person has a right to follow his religion and you can't impose rules on how he follows it...but then you wonder where one can draw a line? Yet banning the wearing of turbans/scarves etc to school is outrageous...next they will say that one shouldn't wear a 'salwar kurta' because that shows the community you are affiliated to and sets you apart as 'different' - is it so wrong to be different? And how can one live in such an exclusive culture today when boundaries are getting vague and people are spilling over borders into different cultures?
French Muslim Minister in Support of bBn
Muslim Women Protest Ban in France
British Sikhs Condemn The Ban
The other article did nothing to my blood pressure, luckily!!! It was just a travelogue concerning 2 cities in France one must visit - Paris and Bordeaux. Again it caught my attention because of my recent link wth both cities...what pleased me was that I'd seen all the places they mentioned in the article...and more!!! Unluckily I can't find that on the internet, so only those who see my Bordeaux album will see the article, for it is pasted on the last page of my album!!!
Speaking of french, I think I'll probably talk of this kind of movement to 'exclude' other cultures for my expose in Niv 3. Serious enought topic and I feel quite strongly about it....
Have some others things I wanna voice my opinion on, but that shall have to wait for later...SIMPLY MUST get up now and be 'productive!!!'
Gosh I feel so odd...these days I don't even realise how time flies by...there just don't seem to be enough hours in the day to accomplish everything on my "To do Today" list! Hell but I'm not complaining..I'd rather be busy than twiddling my thumbs and wondering how to pass time...not for me the existance of a bored individual...I'd be suicidal if I had to live like that for long! Last week flew by, in getting adjusted to the old routine again...now I'm truly settled back in...and its fun to be doing that stuff again. I do miss Tasu on the bus journeys back home from AF, and get a bit bored, but then that time alone gives me time to think and generally 'be with myself' and sort things out in my head that I can't be bothered with during the day!
This week there were 2 articles on France in the papers...the first was about their new law concerning wearing anything that displays your religious affinities - I was very surprised to see it in the paper, because I had discussed this with Patricia when I was in Bordeaux. I personally think that the law shold be scrapped coz every person has a right to follow his religion and you can't impose rules on how he follows it...but then you wonder where one can draw a line? Yet banning the wearing of turbans/scarves etc to school is outrageous...next they will say that one shouldn't wear a 'salwar kurta' because that shows the community you are affiliated to and sets you apart as 'different' - is it so wrong to be different? And how can one live in such an exclusive culture today when boundaries are getting vague and people are spilling over borders into different cultures?
The other article did nothing to my blood pressure, luckily!!! It was just a travelogue concerning 2 cities in France one must visit - Paris and Bordeaux. Again it caught my attention because of my recent link wth both cities...what pleased me was that I'd seen all the places they mentioned in the article...and more!!! Unluckily I can't find that on the internet, so only those who see my Bordeaux album will see the article, for it is pasted on the last page of my album!!!
Speaking of french, I think I'll probably talk of this kind of movement to 'exclude' other cultures for my expose in Niv 3. Serious enought topic and I feel quite strongly about it....
Have some others things I wanna voice my opinion on, but that shall have to wait for later...SIMPLY MUST get up now and be 'productive!!!'
Saturday, January 17, 2004
Changes....
Changes a plenty...I hadn't realised how much I'd changed in these short months...Can't converse on the phone at all..don't think of calling up anyone unless I have work and definitely can't talk to people at odd hours like 11 pm!!! Kinda makes life tough for me coz friends are wondering why I am acting snooty and don't call...sigh!
Plus I seem to have become even less tolerant...just can't say "It's alright anymore" as I used to...end up telling my friends how annoying or whatever they are being and getting this blank look from them...they aren't used to me being this blunt. No crap from others either...I just cut them off and walk off...jeez but I'm gonna lose my angel's wings very fast at this rate!!! LOL!!! I'm not yet complaining but well....
Ouch my mom thinks I must go shower coz it's lunch time..sigh...off I go...more laters....
Plus I seem to have become even less tolerant...just can't say "It's alright anymore" as I used to...end up telling my friends how annoying or whatever they are being and getting this blank look from them...they aren't used to me being this blunt. No crap from others either...I just cut them off and walk off...jeez but I'm gonna lose my angel's wings very fast at this rate!!! LOL!!! I'm not yet complaining but well....
Ouch my mom thinks I must go shower coz it's lunch time..sigh...off I go...more laters....
My Encounter With An American Bimbo!!!
This happened when I was in a restroom of a Parisien Cafe...it was on my first day, just after I'd walked from the arc de la triomphe, down the Champs Elysees upto the Place de la Concorde (where the guillotine was during the French Revolution)...picture a buxom blond with pink lipstick and blue eye shadow...
Bimbo (B) : I wanna see the Danish palace....
Geetanjali (G) : *smile*
B : Do you know where it is?
G : I am not from Paris..what does your guide book say?
B : Is it in Paris or in Denmark?
G : I wouldn't know..I'm not from France or Denmark!!!
B : Well I wanna see it...
G : Why don't you look up a guide book and see what it says? Or ask one of the guys in the cafe?
B : What city in the US did you say you are from by the way?
G : I didn't say I am from the US...
B: But you speak good english...
G : There are other countries in the world apart from the US where people speak excellent english...
B : So where in UK are you from?
G : Guess again...
B : Then it must be Australia...thats the only other country...
G : Nopes wrong again...I'm from India...
B : But isn't that a small village in Asia?
G : (Mentally) I wonder what the sentence for murder is???? *fake smile* No it isnt..It's a big country with a lot of very intelligent people who speak better english than most Americans...excuse me I need to use the loo....
ARGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Bimbo (B) : I wanna see the Danish palace....
Geetanjali (G) : *smile*
B : Do you know where it is?
G : I am not from Paris..what does your guide book say?
B : Is it in Paris or in Denmark?
G : I wouldn't know..I'm not from France or Denmark!!!
B : Well I wanna see it...
G : Why don't you look up a guide book and see what it says? Or ask one of the guys in the cafe?
B : What city in the US did you say you are from by the way?
G : I didn't say I am from the US...
B: But you speak good english...
G : There are other countries in the world apart from the US where people speak excellent english...
B : So where in UK are you from?
G : Guess again...
B : Then it must be Australia...thats the only other country...
G : Nopes wrong again...I'm from India...
B : But isn't that a small village in Asia?
G : (Mentally) I wonder what the sentence for murder is???? *fake smile* No it isnt..It's a big country with a lot of very intelligent people who speak better english than most Americans...excuse me I need to use the loo....
ARGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!
Friday, January 16, 2004
Busy Bee Me
Phew...yesterday was a hectic day...I kept going in and out of the house the whole day..or rather right upto midnight. But I've managed to get alot accomplished, even if my legs felt like stone by the end of the day with all that walking around. Posted all my 'thank you' letters and photographs today...feeling good about that! Also managed to finally get some texts photocopied and read up a bit...AF was good as well. The prof was still recovering from the illness that kept her away from class on Wed, so she didn't tear into me as she is normally known to do!!! *Jaan bach gayi, lekin mera carefully prepared speech went down the drain!!* LOL!!
Returned home in a hurry changing buses to save time of waiting for my tardy 222 - gobbled down puranpuris and headed out again. Mocha with Kunu - it was nice. We had the Kahlua Mousse Cake...divine...there was a hi-society party happening as well with Star News and NDTV cameras hanging around...that bit was funny! Caught sight of some minor celebs as well...oh yeah I'm back in tinseltown for sure!!! :)
Gonna be another full day today since I'm going out for dinner...was looking forward to relaxing and being 'askati' on the weekend but doesn't look like I'll have that luck either...with a visit to town on the cards (for tomm) and a pooja happening on Sunday that I must attend...ah well there's always next weekend...or wait I'm leaving for Bhopal that weekend...the weekend after? LOL!!!
Returned home in a hurry changing buses to save time of waiting for my tardy 222 - gobbled down puranpuris and headed out again. Mocha with Kunu - it was nice. We had the Kahlua Mousse Cake...divine...there was a hi-society party happening as well with Star News and NDTV cameras hanging around...that bit was funny! Caught sight of some minor celebs as well...oh yeah I'm back in tinseltown for sure!!! :)
Gonna be another full day today since I'm going out for dinner...was looking forward to relaxing and being 'askati' on the weekend but doesn't look like I'll have that luck either...with a visit to town on the cards (for tomm) and a pooja happening on Sunday that I must attend...ah well there's always next weekend...or wait I'm leaving for Bhopal that weekend...the weekend after? LOL!!!
Thursday, January 15, 2004
Dragging myself back into action...
Been going to the University...and well it's so terribly boring..I mean while I'm there it's like alright - specially since its Veveina's class so it's actually quite interesting ( we are doing Eugene Ionesco's "Amedee")...but the bit with getting ready to go there and actually getting there can be such a drag...and then by the end of the day I'm like, Ok the day is over and what have I achieved..NADA!!! I hope classes wind up soon so I can get down to some serious studying...guess I should have things in order by next week, coz by then I'll also be done with this initial "I need to go out everyday" phase!! With Kunu in town I've been out daily and well, just been loafing.
Yesterday I FINALLY went for AF...and guess what? My prof didn't show up..so I left within half-an-hour! It was such a joke...bah! ?Ofcourse I've discovered who the prof is - and she ain't the nicest of ladies..quite a bitch actually..Niveau 3 ain't gonna be fun at all..brilliant! Welcome back to the real world Geetanjali!!
Spoke to Hardo on the phone yesterday...really looking forward to having him and Annika here in Feb..really miss Annika alot...ah well just a few more weeks! :)
Yesterday I FINALLY went for AF...and guess what? My prof didn't show up..so I left within half-an-hour! It was such a joke...bah! ?Ofcourse I've discovered who the prof is - and she ain't the nicest of ladies..quite a bitch actually..Niveau 3 ain't gonna be fun at all..brilliant! Welcome back to the real world Geetanjali!!
Spoke to Hardo on the phone yesterday...really looking forward to having him and Annika here in Feb..really miss Annika alot...ah well just a few more weeks! :)
Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Back Again...
I've been away for so long that I'm drawing an absolute blank on what to blog about now....I have way too much to update, so I dunno what to do...skip that stuff and resume from the present or update? Gah that can get tedious....guess I'll drop references as and when they strike me...
Been back 'home' for a week now....got back into the rhythm of things here. Yesterday I resumed with classes at the University and had planned to resume AF as well, but terribly lazy. Somehow I'm dreading it this time..but I think I'll start from tomorrow...the longer I put it off the harder it will be...sigh!!
Today I'm at home all alone with Schnapps...was supposed to have gone to the beach with Kunu baba who has come down for the week..but he ditched me! Hmpf...so I'm home feeling awfully guilty of having bunked AF again...shall defi start going from tomm...and before that I must organise my notes for MAII as well and write out all my thank you letters so I can post them soon....time to get back into order Geets!!
Been back 'home' for a week now....got back into the rhythm of things here. Yesterday I resumed with classes at the University and had planned to resume AF as well, but terribly lazy. Somehow I'm dreading it this time..but I think I'll start from tomorrow...the longer I put it off the harder it will be...sigh!!
Today I'm at home all alone with Schnapps...was supposed to have gone to the beach with Kunu baba who has come down for the week..but he ditched me! Hmpf...so I'm home feeling awfully guilty of having bunked AF again...shall defi start going from tomm...and before that I must organise my notes for MAII as well and write out all my thank you letters so I can post them soon....time to get back into order Geets!!
Friday, January 02, 2004
Soon to come...
1. Historical tid bits, Trivia
2. Restaurants, Cuisine
3. Places visited
4. People I met
5. Train journey and fellow travellers!!!
The blog below was just something to whet your appetite and this I hope shall make you hunger for more!! Hehehe!!
2. Restaurants, Cuisine
3. Places visited
4. People I met
5. Train journey and fellow travellers!!!
The blog below was just something to whet your appetite and this I hope shall make you hunger for more!! Hehehe!!
Mon sejour en France...
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
I didn't do much for New Year's eve -just stayed at home here with some friends with some good food and wine...and saw some incredible fireworks at the Uni-Platz at midnight and then settled in to watch a movie - 'O Brother Where Art Thou' featuring George Clooney - and talk till the wee hours of the morning...but it was nice and cozy..a bit odd not celebrating New Year with my closest friends as I usually do, but nice all the same to celebrate it with new friends!!!
Hmmm...my fabulous trip to France...it was pretty phenomenal I have to say!!! For one, the journeys to and fro were so wonderfully smooth..ofcourse as Patricia said after my adventure to Sweden I am an expert at travelling by train within Europe so anything would seem smooth...but I must say the pleasure of having trains arrive at the destination on time, and getting to the next platform by walking not running is great!!! Hehehe!!!
Bordeaux - that's where Patricia stays and I spent 4 days with her, spending Christmas with her family. That was cool...her fiance Bernard is a nice guy - very typical French I would say , could almost fall in a stereotype!!! I also got to meet her mother, brother, his 'paxi', daughter, Bernard's mother, friend and father...and with these people I had to talk in French...incredibly slow and rusty French but I spoke all the same - and understood most of what they said!! Felt pretty good after nearly 3 months of not understanding anything of the conversation that flowed around me in German!!! Met some of her friends too - she's got a cool circle of friends and I really liked how they are with each other - I guess that comes with so many years of knwoing each other...pretty darn nice !!!!
The stay was fabulous as I said- Patricia and Bernad showed me around Bordeaux, walking around the city centre which has amazingly beautiful buildings and this labyrinth of streets filled with cottages, shops and cafes!! The cafes and restaurants were the best feature of the trip - we ate out once a day, and were at a cafe/pub/wine bar twice...'THE' French way of doing things as I was told..and do I love it. As I told Kunu on the phone...do the French know how to live in style!!
On Christmas eve we were at Bernard's mother's house for dinner...a traditional dinner, but then I ate very traditional and typical French food through-out my stay in France - and loved the cuisine!! I am a big fan of 'Foie Gras' now - it is simply mouth wateringly delicious!!! *Smack my lips* LOL!!!
The next day for lunch Pat and I were at her mother's place, while Bernard spent the day with his father. After lunch we drove down to Lacaunau, which is a beach on the Atlantic ocean shore...as Pat told me, if I knew how to swim and had the stamina and will oer (and insanity to try) I could swim across to New York from there!! Luckily though it was cold the day was clear so we had a nice long walk on the beach...and I realised then that I do miss even the beache back home...that's on my list of things to do when I return - walk to Versova beach and watch the sunset from the rocks there.... On the 26th we drove to St Emilion which is a village where some of the world's best wines are produced...though the vineyards were dry, the day was charming. The village is a heritage site so you can imagine...maze of streets winding up a hillside, church and houses dating back to the 12th century, restaurants set in wine cellars...utterly captivating!!! And a most memorable day and great way to wind up my stay in Bordeaux!!
Pat and I spent 3 days in Paris from the 27th to 30th. Her friend who works at the National Assembly had let his stay at his flat while he was holidaying in Switerzerland, so we had an increbible flat (filled with books - he seems to be a voracious reader and I was duly impressed - more by the books than the locality, or his salary which was also mind boggling!!!)...I had a great guide in Pat. Bernard was living in Paris till a few months back so Pat knows her way around and knew just the right places to visit. Ofcourse I did the Eiffel Tower bit, going upto the top, despite my fear of heights!! Beyond that we walked around alot - Opera house, Invalides, Pont Alexander (the most beautiful bridge in Paris), Montmartre (seeing houses of writers, cafes where famous artists, writers etc had rendezvous, Moulin Rouge, the cafe in 'Amelie' etc etc), Sacree Coeur, Notre Dame, Village de Saint Paul ( an area where only antiques are sold), Hotel Ville, Galleries Lafayette, Samaritaine (in which we had coffee in a restaraunt giving us a fabulius view of the Seine and the city at sunset and twilight!!!) .....more so much more that I can't put in an email!!! My mind is bursting with memories of the trip...if I liked the way the French lived from my stay in Bordeaux I was floored by Paris...as I said...I want to go back and stay longer...and be richer this time!! HEHEHE!!!
Hmm...now I'm back in Magedburg...short stay here...just packing up, winding up....am I dying to return home. 6th...the day is approaching fast and I couldn't be happier!!!
Guess this is it for now, the details of my trip shall be filled in soon...perhaps on my return to Bombay...but they shall come for they are worth sharing!!! So be patient, and the fruit shall be sweet...LOL..it sounds funny translating the Hindi saying into English!! Ciao for now...
I didn't do much for New Year's eve -just stayed at home here with some friends with some good food and wine...and saw some incredible fireworks at the Uni-Platz at midnight and then settled in to watch a movie - 'O Brother Where Art Thou' featuring George Clooney - and talk till the wee hours of the morning...but it was nice and cozy..a bit odd not celebrating New Year with my closest friends as I usually do, but nice all the same to celebrate it with new friends!!!
Hmmm...my fabulous trip to France...it was pretty phenomenal I have to say!!! For one, the journeys to and fro were so wonderfully smooth..ofcourse as Patricia said after my adventure to Sweden I am an expert at travelling by train within Europe so anything would seem smooth...but I must say the pleasure of having trains arrive at the destination on time, and getting to the next platform by walking not running is great!!! Hehehe!!!
Bordeaux - that's where Patricia stays and I spent 4 days with her, spending Christmas with her family. That was cool...her fiance Bernard is a nice guy - very typical French I would say , could almost fall in a stereotype!!! I also got to meet her mother, brother, his 'paxi', daughter, Bernard's mother, friend and father...and with these people I had to talk in French...incredibly slow and rusty French but I spoke all the same - and understood most of what they said!! Felt pretty good after nearly 3 months of not understanding anything of the conversation that flowed around me in German!!! Met some of her friends too - she's got a cool circle of friends and I really liked how they are with each other - I guess that comes with so many years of knwoing each other...pretty darn nice !!!!
The stay was fabulous as I said- Patricia and Bernad showed me around Bordeaux, walking around the city centre which has amazingly beautiful buildings and this labyrinth of streets filled with cottages, shops and cafes!! The cafes and restaurants were the best feature of the trip - we ate out once a day, and were at a cafe/pub/wine bar twice...'THE' French way of doing things as I was told..and do I love it. As I told Kunu on the phone...do the French know how to live in style!!
On Christmas eve we were at Bernard's mother's house for dinner...a traditional dinner, but then I ate very traditional and typical French food through-out my stay in France - and loved the cuisine!! I am a big fan of 'Foie Gras' now - it is simply mouth wateringly delicious!!! *Smack my lips* LOL!!!
The next day for lunch Pat and I were at her mother's place, while Bernard spent the day with his father. After lunch we drove down to Lacaunau, which is a beach on the Atlantic ocean shore...as Pat told me, if I knew how to swim and had the stamina and will oer (and insanity to try) I could swim across to New York from there!! Luckily though it was cold the day was clear so we had a nice long walk on the beach...and I realised then that I do miss even the beache back home...that's on my list of things to do when I return - walk to Versova beach and watch the sunset from the rocks there.... On the 26th we drove to St Emilion which is a village where some of the world's best wines are produced...though the vineyards were dry, the day was charming. The village is a heritage site so you can imagine...maze of streets winding up a hillside, church and houses dating back to the 12th century, restaurants set in wine cellars...utterly captivating!!! And a most memorable day and great way to wind up my stay in Bordeaux!!
Pat and I spent 3 days in Paris from the 27th to 30th. Her friend who works at the National Assembly had let his stay at his flat while he was holidaying in Switerzerland, so we had an increbible flat (filled with books - he seems to be a voracious reader and I was duly impressed - more by the books than the locality, or his salary which was also mind boggling!!!)...I had a great guide in Pat. Bernard was living in Paris till a few months back so Pat knows her way around and knew just the right places to visit. Ofcourse I did the Eiffel Tower bit, going upto the top, despite my fear of heights!! Beyond that we walked around alot - Opera house, Invalides, Pont Alexander (the most beautiful bridge in Paris), Montmartre (seeing houses of writers, cafes where famous artists, writers etc had rendezvous, Moulin Rouge, the cafe in 'Amelie' etc etc), Sacree Coeur, Notre Dame, Village de Saint Paul ( an area where only antiques are sold), Hotel Ville, Galleries Lafayette, Samaritaine (in which we had coffee in a restaraunt giving us a fabulius view of the Seine and the city at sunset and twilight!!!) .....more so much more that I can't put in an email!!! My mind is bursting with memories of the trip...if I liked the way the French lived from my stay in Bordeaux I was floored by Paris...as I said...I want to go back and stay longer...and be richer this time!! HEHEHE!!!
Hmm...now I'm back in Magedburg...short stay here...just packing up, winding up....am I dying to return home. 6th...the day is approaching fast and I couldn't be happier!!!
Guess this is it for now, the details of my trip shall be filled in soon...perhaps on my return to Bombay...but they shall come for they are worth sharing!!! So be patient, and the fruit shall be sweet...LOL..it sounds funny translating the Hindi saying into English!! Ciao for now...
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