Words of Wonder

There have been many, many moments of epiphany and even more of puzzlement, as I've learned my French vocabulary. Today, for example, in class (with the very strange Phillipe), when discussing employment and the process for applying for jobs here in France, we discussed the French custom of requiring candidates to submit a hand-written letter of interest. The word to describe this (a hand-written document) in French is "un manuscrit". I had never made the connection between the word manuscript in english and the roots of the word -- manu (main = hand in french), and script, meaning written. Ok, so I'm slow on the uptake sometimes, or often, depending on your perspective.

The other strange thing about this has nothing to do with the word manuscript, but rather has to do with french cultural norms, which are in so many ways so very different from those I'm used to in either Ireland or certainly in the US. French employers will often send your carefully hand-written cover letter to a graphologist who will, for a fee, analyze the candidate. I shudder to think what type of information makes its way back to the employer: "sloppy style, indicating a sloppy mind; left-leaning capitals, signifying an unstable emotional nature; doesn't dot her i's, signifying lack of attention to detail . . ." Uuugh! Strange enough that after all of these years of reprieve from being criticized for my handwriting or at least having it evaluated by my primary school teachers, I now have to start worrying about not only how it looks, but what it reveals about my employability - gulp! How I wish I had tried harder in school to develop a more standard and mature writing style. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure we were instructed in a standard style of writing. I've noticed that very many Americans have beautiful and highly regular, standardized penmanship -- is that a teaching method tauted in particular states or during a specific era? Hmm? Certainly, Irish people write distinctively, but there doesn't seem to have been a strict standard we were held to. Well, that's another subject.

So, here are some of the more head-scratching words I've learned in French so far:

une fermeture Eclair = a zip (yes, a zip)

un ordinateur = a computer

un velo = a bike

un soutien gorge = a bra (I ask you, where does the word "brassiere" come from, if not France???)

un retroprojecteur = an overhead projector

un apparail photo = a camera

A bientot . . .

Welcome to Spain

Calafell and the best calamari sandwich ever

We had the pleasure of staying in a 'piso' (apartment) in the seaside town of Calafell, which is about 40 km south of Barcelona. We were feeling a bit peckish one afternoon, so we stopped (somewhat hesitantly) at the train station cafe to have a quick bite to eat. Toute suite, we were served with two sandwiches, both of which were fresh, and delicious. One was made with a baguette stuffed with fried calamari -- simplicity embodied. YUMMMY! That and a beer, and we were truly happy and content!

Barcelona - Gaudi's fingerprints

Barcelona - Sagrada Familia - Gaudi's unfinished vision

Girona, Spain

The old center of Girona, north of Barcelona, is enchanting with its tiny cobbled streets and huge impressive cathedral.

Swiss Alps - Ski?

Take one Christmas tree, add a garden hose of water, and move it to the Swiss Alps. Hey Presto, instant sculpture.














Here's the train we took to Grindelwald.






Here's the lovely refurbished mansion we stayed at -- from our guide of charming Chambre d'Hotes. We also ate dinner here -- all was delicious, and the host was most gracious, sharing stories of local history and his challenges with the French administrative processes in getting the financing he has needed to restore this local treasure. It was cold when we arrived, but we awoke to this freshly fallen snow blanket. The drive home to Paris was quite nerve-wracking. We were accompanied by snow ploughs for about 50 km of the trip west to Paris. By the time we reached Paris, we were well out of the snow, and back to sunny, wintry weather.
Trundling our way up to Grindelwald on the cog-train -- it was too misty, foggy to climb any higher.

Wintry Wine Country

We wended our way through the Jura mountains on our way to Zug, Switzerland in February. The countryside was still in the full grip of winter.