Sunday, February 25, 2007

How to Cheat Your Way into Africa

There is really only one way to get to Africa. You pick a country, book your plane tickets and just go. However, you can cheat. You can take a ferry over from Spain to Tangiers Morocco; go in a day, return in a day. How about that!

Something I absolutely had to do when I was in Spain was take that trip to Tangiers. I spent 7 years in Africa. My worldview and values were shaped in Africa. I’m hope to one day work in Africa. I love Africa and I’m always looking for ways to see more and experience more.

In order to make the tour bus, you have to wake at 4:30 am to catch the 5:30 am bus. You drive for 2 hours picking up other passengers until to reach Spain’s largest harbor and the ferry. The ferry is a fabulous 1 hour and 20 minutes through the straight busy with ships coming and going from all over the world.

As the ferry arrives at Tangiers, it looks like you never left Spain. There are the huge shipping cranes, the ships and white Arab modeled homes covering the hills. How on earth could this be Africa? Here’s what I found.

Tangiers (with a one million population) is a historically important city. It rose to influence in the 6th century and passed through Arabic, French, Spanish, Portuguese and American hands. Now, it’s Morocco single most important port and one of the most influential in Northern Africa. It’s divided into “quarters,” American, French, German ect. with schools, embassies and residences, left over from the colonial days but very much in use now. The old city is inside the ancient walls, the new city has grown up outside the walls keeping the same architecture.

Tangiers streets are small and narrow, many are impossible to drive though. It’s busy, seemingly crammed but very clean and organized; very clean and organized. Mosques chant out prayers, the Berbers mix with the Muslims, the world seems more peaceful then it actually is.

If you've never been to a developing country, Tangiers might be a bit of a shock. Africa is shocking which personally, thrilles me. For others, it will take a bit to grow on you but don't you ever give up! Tangiers is a great introduction to Northern Africa. I found it a great trip, great day, and great city. I’d move there tomorrow and maybe one day, I will. One never really knows does one?

How to (Really) Enjoy Spain

When your globetrotting grandparents invite you to visit them at their winter retreat in Spain, what do you do? Duh! You go!

Malaga, on the coast in Southern Spain, has a lot going for it. It’s warm, it’s sunny, and there’s the magnificent Mediterranean Sea. It’s a popular winter retreat for elderly Brits seeking sunshine and warmer weather. I heard a lot of English and when Rose and I walked along the beach, we were perhaps the only people under 60. Malaga has precious little connection to their history and traditional architecture but sports an air unique to Spain and hills I’ve never seen replicated before.

In order to really enjoy Spain, there are several things you simply have to do.

You must walk the beach. There’s no way you can visit the Mediterranean Sea and not walk along the beach. It’s not a glamour beach, not like the Bahamas but its quite beautiful. And come on! When are you going to the Mediterranean Sea again! I did, I put my toes in.

You Must Visit Mijas. Mijas is a little village up in the hills with an incredible view of the ocean. It’s more then an incredible view! The bus ride going up is something else on a one-lane switchback road with a huge bus, wondering if any moment you’ll meet the rocks far below on no pleasant terms. You’ll like it better when you reach the top. There are cute little shops with a million different souvenirs and lots of nice little restaurants with varieties of menus. Two years ago, my grandparents happened to meet David Beckham and family there so you just never know who you’ll run into in Mijas!

You Must get your Hair Cut. I got a do for only €11 and after spending €35 in Paris, well…I was pretty happy considering I got pretty much what I wanted! Having cash left over, I went and got a pair of Spanish designer sunglasses, enormously pleased with myself.

That’s just a few of the must-dos at Malaga. The southern Spanish coast is highly commercialized so there is lots of shopping and restaurants. The coast is covered high-rise hotels and apartments for the thousands that come down every year. There’s little coast, mostly high-rises which surprised me I must admit. You shouldn’t be disappointed however, it’s impossible not to like.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

How to Carry a French Baguette

Rose in front of Massy's finest Boulangerie


If you are interested in purchasing a French baguette (also know as a stick of bread), you should visit a boulangerie. Often a patisserie will carry a good baguette, but these shops specialize in pastries and other delectable confectionery. You can often get a baguette in a large grocery store but that's like...well...they're often very hard and since a baguette by definition is already hard...you get the picture.

After entering a boulangerie, you must first admire the gorgeous pastries, fresh breads and expensive chocolates. You may even have to wait in line with the locals also getting their meal-y bread. (I can't say daily bread because a baguette must be purchased each meal. They don't keep from morning to evening without becoming rocks.) You will lay the equivalent of $1 in change on the counter and trying your humble French meekly ask, "Une baguette, s'il vous plait."

If the woman in the shop likes you, she will give you your one baguette. If she sizes you up and judges you a tourist (as is often my story) she will correct your pronunciation. "UNE BAG-e-T! C'est une BAG-e-T!" She might even correct your article. "It's not UN baguette! It's UNE baguette. It's feminine you foreigner!" You will stand stupidly while everyone in the shop listens to your little grammar lesson then hurry outside with your purchase.

Then comes the difficult part. How does one carry a one's purchased French baguette? Under one's armpit like in kids picture books? In one's hand like a teenager? Cramming it into one's shopping trolley? Shove it into one's purse? On one's head Africa style?

I've clenched a baguette so tight it broke in haft. I've swung it around and broke it on a wall. I've eaten it on the street and strewn crumbs all over public property. But it's impossible not to enjoy it, once you decide how you want to transport it.

Monday, February 12, 2007

How to Take a Dictee

Okay, question 1 you must always ask before taking a dictee is, what is it?

Your French teacher will give a dictee as a tool to gage your French level. She'll read a passage, in French, and you will try to write down exactly what she reads, word for word. Grammar and everything must be perfect. She might read (the French equivalent of), Julie and Pascal decide to go shopping in Paris. They leave at 6 in the morning and plan to return at midnight. In the metro Julie gets pick pocketed and loses her credit cards. They contact the police but nothing can be done. Julie is very sad.

The grammar, spelling, conjugation and context are each worth 5 points and 1 point is taken off for each error. The best you can get is 20. If you get over haft, your pretty clever. If you get over 3/4s your really clever. Children expect a little present if they get 15/20. If you get a 20...well you just can't get a 20!

The French grading system is harsh, considered by some to be repressive. It's extremely difficult to be a straight A student and exams are often pass/fail. However, the education system is better then the United States and students are required to studying 1 if not 2 languages in addition to French. That's one thing we Americans lack.

Les Cedres follows the French system of grading and scoring. We have a final exam at the end of term which determines a huge part of our score. We're also graded on our fluency and grammar. Fluency and grammar seem like the same thing but there's a difference. You can spit out complete monologues and no one has an idea what you just said. On the other hand, your grammar can be impeccable but it takes you 2 full minutes to ask where the peanut butter is. Language isn't easy, but when you finally get the peanut butter, you realize the effort is rewarding.

How to Start a Blog (Encore)

Okay, there isn't a real formula for starting a blog (encore). This is my second first blog entry. I've tried blogging last fall but with exams and Christmas holidays, I thought I might as well just delete the thing and save myself one less thing to do. Well, I've had a change of heart and might as well start this over again. The best way to start a blog (encore) is to have a motivation and a vision. Once you know what you want to say and how to say it, you should be fine.

I'm living in France studying French with my younger sister Rose. Actually, the school, Ecole Les Cedres is in the Paris suburbs which is completely awesome for soaking in the amazing feeling Paris gives the gaping tourists like us. I've been here since September 2006 when I started French as a beginner, beginner beginner who only knows how to say "hello" and "thank you." I hope to be decently respectable at this language by June and believe it or not, 6 months of intensive study is excellent.

I am one of 36 students at Ecole Les Cedres. The school is designed for missionaries hoping to serve God here in France or in francophone Africa. There are a few other students like myself who are learning the language for the sake of learning the language. In the future I would like work in development in francophone or anglophone Africa. After spending over 9 years living overseas and you find yourself wondering, why would I leave this?

So, that's one way to write your second first blog entry. Only if you're more clever then I, you shouldn't have to write a second first blog entry!