No Traces of Bookworming

When I arrived in the French school I was so fascinated to see the awesome two storey library right in front of the entrance.

I am still astonished by this big hall where you can an access to enormous amount up to date information and you can find everyone here. (This reminds me of the recent IKEA's advertisement "You'll Always Find Me In The Kitchen At Parties" - a simply awesome ad, but the purpose of this post is not to analyze it).

When it comes to houses people care for their kitchen most because there is the most sociable place. Well, when it comes to universities, this place can simply be the library. Sadly, my faculty library is definitely not a place matching students' needs. On the contrary, it is the place which students visit less, know least about. So, please do not put the blame only on Bulgarian students and trying to justify everyone's observation that students in Bulgaria dislike meeting with a book. In fact, the question might be simple - are there resources and willingness to facilitate students work? Because I am not an example that can be found in textbooks only. On the contrary, I am alive and reside (most of the time) in the university library - simply because studying requires it.

Disclaimer: In this post I am talking about ordinary (by this I mean - well-functioning, the purpose of every library) libraries. My faculty library is a far from the ordinary concept.

That's Me!

There is something in me that always makes me help others! I don't know and sometimes do not understand it because it might look foolish to others but it is my driving force.

A week ago I received a letter to from an unknown person - a girl that had the same problems about surgery related stuff like me. Her husband found my publications in the Google group and organized everything quickly.

Now she sends me a letter full of questions and of awe:)

Others might consider that naive, but heck, I feel very satisfied and complete after such mails/ contacts/ interactions. I created this group hoping that thus I might help someone! Now I am so glad to hear that two years after its initial launch, it pays back!

I am not financially driven, I am morally! Mails like hers, move me! If I can encourage a person, and if this is the only thing I can do, I would love to do it! I will know that I have achieved something!

I Wish I Were an Attorney in Ireland

Yesterday, there was an unofficial meeting with all the students from my group in Le Lieu Unique bar. Of course out of 45 only almost half of all were present, but it is not important that much. Whoever had a desire to get to know the others came! In the conversation it became clear that it take 5 years to an Irish couple to get divorced. They must live at least 5 y together and for the last two to have been separated to have the right to inaugurate the process. It takes a long time and a lot of paper work and money.

I figured it out - I would like to be a divorce attorney in Ireland!

We Bulgarians are always around ;)

It was a gloomy day - the one in many again. I just preferred to sit down at home rather than getting out in the wind. Another gloomy day.... when unexpectedly there was a knock on the door. I thought there would be selling me crepe again, like the last time, for raising some money and was ready to turn him down this time when....

Today is the first month anniversary since I have been finding life on my own in France. Exactly, in the same time of the afternoon when I arrived in Nantes a month ago, this afternoon there was a knock on the door. I opened it to say "DA (yes)" in Bg and there must have been a reason for that - there were three girls who opened their mouths in Bulgarian. WHAT A SURPRISE!!

I was astonished - did not expect that AT ALL or might have anticipated it since I opened the door in Bulgarian. ;) I had almost no one to talk to for a month and now there are three BG girls from the same dormitory!!!

From the quick convo with them I got a trick how to use your ticket for the tram twice and how to travel for free when you accompany someone who has a pass on Sundays. (Spanish people spread the secret around the transport to the others - how so Spanish and Bulgarians are the two nations here that always try to find the other way out... ;)- transport is horribly expensive - that is so true!)
And tomorrow is the open for all museum day with entrance gratituit since it is the first Su of the month. So we are heading to the downtown for some cultural feeding. what an eventful afternoon - I need a snack!

Francaie (language)

Pace by pace I am getting ready for my one term exchange in France. And by that I mean not only getting in touch with AUDENCIA, the university in Nantes, France where I am studying next semester. This also means I am looking for a host family where to stay. Yes, there are no dormitories for international students so everyone is supposed to live in a native family. Cool beans!! What else can I tell since it is the best way to explore French culture, cuisine and to get further knowledge in my French language? The program at the university will be in English (that was my very first prerequisite to have it considered) but we are supposed to take classes in French as a foreign language. Living with a family will help get ginormous! :-)

As some of you know me personally, I don’t like it to be unprepared. This is the reason to start taking French classes here in Bulgaria. Yesterday was actually my last lesson and we had an exam – both oral and written – and I passed them well. So I can brag I covered the first half of the very beginning level successfully. At first we had a Bulgarian teacher who however was absent for the very last week so there was a native French grandma (she is really old, but she is native after all!) to finish the course. This language is freaking difficult to understand when listening it – that said, I confess I failed at the listening comprehension part of the test. It is easy to understand when written, at least for me, because everything is so similar to English. The grammar is a bit more difficult but it is nothing in comparison to the German. I studied German at school as a second foreign language and then continued with it as a private student and then my brother paid for me to go to Germany for a summer school for a month. So after all these years of studies, I cannot tell I know it as I would like but I can simply find my way, ask for prices, directions, weather what so ever and use 4 different tenses in German.

Now in French I can simply somehow introduce myself, ask for directions and time and know 3 different simple tenses which however I am not very sure how much I can use. But listening, oh my, French are from another planet for me when they start talking. Anyway, I am not very pleased with my teachers a t the French Institute in Bulgaria and I would either go on with another private teacher or will just forget about it for the next 4 – 5 months.

But now, now I feel so relieved mentally. Really! French classes must have been a great burden for me, even if I had not realized it before! Or I guess since the teacher did not have any pedagogical method or a slight hint of it (trust me, I studied English Philology (Language, Literature and Pedagogy) and practiced as a teacher fro two years) she was absolutely unable to kindle any interest to the language in me. As I talked to the rest of the group it was the same with them too. I am not bragging but heck the groups I was teaching always insisted on me teaching them the next level and even signed a petition to give to the director of the school to keep ME for the next level. That said, all the group grumbled against our teacher and those who subscribed for the next level hoped she would not be teaching them. Now do you get the difference ..??