In less than a week I take a plane to North America. I will travel 4,942 miles by plane, train and automobile. I will carry 99 pounds of luggage. It will take 35 hours in total, from the home and life I made for myself in Lyon, to the home and life I left behind … Continue reading Saying goodbye →

Well, Monday was. Happy French Labor Day! As you might imagine, France is particularly fond of celebrating their work force, but they are even more fond of telling their bosses and politicians exactly where to stick it, if you'll pardon my French. It was a wild day, so I think I'll let these images and … Continue reading Todayborday is Labor Day →

Mid-semester breaks are two weeks in France, so whenever I get one I'm usually a little lost with what to do with all that time. My friend Leeah visited the week before the break started, and she's a social butterfly who is very knowledgeable about travel, so I picked her brain about what to do. … Continue reading Basketball, Barcelona, and Aix →

I'm on break again! Happens all the time here, it seems. I was graced with a visit from my dear friend Leeah, whom I have now known for six years. This is a bit of a tradition for me and Leeah; we keep ending up in Europe at the same time. The first time we … Continue reading A visit from a dear friend →

Thursdays are my least favorite days this semester. I have back to back classes from 8am to 3pm, and then tutoring in the evening. I usually don't get home until 6:30. So when I trudged up to the front of my school today, I was prepared for a long day. I saw the crowd of … Continue reading Eat your young →

Prague is the most pleasantly weird city I have yet visited in Europe. It's hard to explain, but I felt very much in my element while I was there. It's relaxed but energetic, marvelously old but youthful and spry, and certainly too much to see in one weekend, which is all I had. I compare … Continue reading Weekend in Prague →

Hi guys! Just a little life update today. I bought a pineapple, it was warm enough to go without my jacket, and the Prime Minister bypassed the National Assembly to force through a deeply unpopular reform bill, thus potentially triggering the collapse of the French government. How's it hanging in the States? Not great? Same … Continue reading Another hum-drum day in a normal country →

Want to hear about a weird language quirk? Of course you do, you follow my blog. The French language gives gender to every noun. Tables, thermometers, rocks, and keys all have a gender. Abstract concepts like love and discontent also have gender. You and I have a gender, and so do our fingernails and socks … Continue reading language quirk →

A long one! A little over a million people took to the streets Tuesday in the sixth and largest such demonstration this year. I had a little time before work, so I walked along the edge of the crowd to take it all in. It wasn't like I could avoid it, really; I live a … Continue reading Aux armes, citoyens →

It's protest time in France, y'all! The next several days may just be interesting enough here in the land of the Gauls to get on the news back in the States. Maybe not, though. You guys have a lot going on right now. The protest is nominally about retirement reform, but it's expanded to cover … Continue reading To the streets, again →