This is a short clip of a song in Bearnais, the regional language of Pau! Like many regional languages in Europe and throughout the world, Bearnais has been dying out, and only the older people in small villages really know how to speak it. However, each year, Carnaval is conducted half in Bearnais.
This was filmed after the opening parade of Carnaval, at the Hotel de Ville, and that is the mayor who sings into the microphone. :]
![Snowy Pau!
I took this picture on the University of Pau campus, the day after a “snowfall.” Yes, that’s right - trains and airports were shut down due to this “inclement weather.” :] What can I say… in France, as in Britain, and ESPECIALLY in Pau, the moment it snows, citizens start going seriously crazy.
So! I know it’s been a while. I was just reading through my old entries on here, and it seems like before I was saying, “Wow, time is going by so fast, it’s already NOVEMBER!” Haha! Well, here I am in the middle of February, and I have to say - WOW!
Lots of stuff happened since December. I will sum them up gradually and then post more detailed accounts. Let’s see…
My parents came to visit me in Pau over my holiday break, and we went to London together! It was so great to see them.
I started my second semester of class, with new classmates and professors.
Lots of new USAC students arrived from America, while lots of the old USAC students went home. I miss my friends who left after the first semester… but it is interesting to meet some new people who are experiencing Pau for the first time.
I went to Bordeaux for the first time with USAC! It was really fun and I liked it a lot more than I expected to.
I fell down and broke my nose… clumsy as usual. However, it gave me chance to experience first-hand the French medical system… and let me just say… A+!
The Carnaval of Pau, the celebration leading up to Mardi Gras, is going on right now! It’s like one big party for the whole city - plus, it’s filled with ancient traditions and regional specialities. Fun times. :]
It’s been a busy couple of months, and I feel like just yesterday my parents were still in Pau with me! My language classes will be over before I know it and then I will be almost heading home. It’s all very crazy. I feel like summer is only a few weeks away! And, of course, the thought of going home gives me mixed feelings: happiness because I still get homesick, sadness because I’ve come to love Pau and consider it a second home, and sheer TERROR at the reverse culture shock that I know is awaiting me!
I’m missing everyone back home and looking forward to seeing them again, no matter how sad I will be to leave. And, hey, I can always come back!
Love,
Leanne](http://27.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kxua8lRY2V1qa3svbo1_500.jpg)
Snowy Pau!
I took this picture on the University of Pau campus, the day after a “snowfall.” Yes, that’s right - trains and airports were shut down due to this “inclement weather.” :] What can I say… in France, as in Britain, and ESPECIALLY in Pau, the moment it snows, citizens start going seriously crazy.
So! I know it’s been a while. I was just reading through my old entries on here, and it seems like before I was saying, “Wow, time is going by so fast, it’s already NOVEMBER!” Haha! Well, here I am in the middle of February, and I have to say - WOW!
Lots of stuff happened since December. I will sum them up gradually and then post more detailed accounts. Let’s see…
It’s been a busy couple of months, and I feel like just yesterday my parents were still in Pau with me! My language classes will be over before I know it and then I will be almost heading home. It’s all very crazy. I feel like summer is only a few weeks away! And, of course, the thought of going home gives me mixed feelings: happiness because I still get homesick, sadness because I’ve come to love Pau and consider it a second home, and sheer TERROR at the reverse culture shock that I know is awaiting me!
I’m missing everyone back home and looking forward to seeing them again, no matter how sad I will be to leave. And, hey, I can always come back!
Love,
Leanne
Toulouse again.
![More from Toulouse. :]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kslruua38X1qa3svbo1_500.jpg)
More from Toulouse. :]
![Happy post-Halloween!!!
I went to Toulouse on Saturday (October 31st… the big day in the U.S., but not a big deal in France) with my art history class. We went to look at this cathedral, at a different church, and at some Roman art. There were busts of Roman emperors as well as sarcophagi dating back to the first few centuries A.D. It was really incredible!
On top of that, Toulouse was beautiful! It was a big gray and cloudy, but that wasn’t a problem, because it didn’t rain much and the city was still gorgeous. Toulouse is called “La Ville Rose” - the Pink City, because it is built all from brick. I think the Red City or perhaps even the Orange City might be a bit more accurate… but that sounds far less cool. Haha. My art history professor, who was born there, also calls it “La Plus Belle Ville de Monde” - The Most Beautiful City In The World. But that is arguable… :]
I hope to go back there sometime and explore more. I only went for the day, because it’s a two hour train ride from Pau.
Other than that trip, I’ve been busy with school work (I have 24 hours of class per week) and just going about Pau. I can hardly believe November is already underway. Time is flying.
I miss everyone back home and I promise to update when something exciting happens! Haha.
Love,
Leanne](http://26.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kslrs8kX8t1qa3svbo1_500.jpg)
Happy post-Halloween!!!
I went to Toulouse on Saturday (October 31st… the big day in the U.S., but not a big deal in France) with my art history class. We went to look at this cathedral, at a different church, and at some Roman art. There were busts of Roman emperors as well as sarcophagi dating back to the first few centuries A.D. It was really incredible!
On top of that, Toulouse was beautiful! It was a big gray and cloudy, but that wasn’t a problem, because it didn’t rain much and the city was still gorgeous. Toulouse is called “La Ville Rose” - the Pink City, because it is built all from brick. I think the Red City or perhaps even the Orange City might be a bit more accurate… but that sounds far less cool. Haha. My art history professor, who was born there, also calls it “La Plus Belle Ville de Monde” - The Most Beautiful City In The World. But that is arguable… :]
I hope to go back there sometime and explore more. I only went for the day, because it’s a two hour train ride from Pau.
Other than that trip, I’ve been busy with school work (I have 24 hours of class per week) and just going about Pau. I can hardly believe November is already underway. Time is flying.
I miss everyone back home and I promise to update when something exciting happens! Haha.
Love,
Leanne
So today, in my French language classes, we studied Verlan. That is the name of a kind of slang in the French language that is formed by taking the first syllable of a word and moving it to the end of the word.
This post is about to become a bit more grammatical than usual. But bear with me - it’s really interesting, I promise! :]
So, for everyone out there who speaks Pig Latin, Verlan is basically the same thing, except that you move the entire syllable to the end of the word instead of merely the first letter.
Now just imagine if you were learning English, and all of a sudden, someone started speaking to you in Pig Latin. It sounds like a different language, right? Well, that is how Verlan sounds to a person learning French (cough me cough).
For example:
N’importe quoi means “It doesn’t matter.” It’s pronounced Nam-port kwah. To say it in Verlan, you first break it into syllables (“N’im - porte qu-oi”) and then you switch the syllables (“Porte-n’im oi-qu”). N’importe quoi becomes Portna wak (pronounced exactly how it looks).
Certain words, however, have been in Verlan for so long that now they are getting re-Verlaned. For example:
Arabe (in French, someone who is of the Arab race) in Verlan is Beur * (Ara-beh -> Beh + ‘ra -> Beur). However, “Beur” is now a word in the normal register of French, so it has been re-Verlaned to become the word “Reub.” But it means the same thing!!
Basically, it is the bane of foreign students everywhere, haha. However, it is really interesting to study, and I can’t wait to try it out on my French friends (outside of class, of course). It really makes you think about all the slang in English, and how often we make up words and still understand each other! Language is a crazy thing. :]
Other than that, not much is new. Can’t believe it’s already Wednesday. Oh, and we went back an hour for Daylight Savings Time last Sunday, so until this coming Sunday, there are only 8 hours of difference between here and home!
Missing everyone lots!!
Love,
Leanne
* A side-note: The French, like all Europeans (and basically every other country in the world besides America), are crazy about soccer (“football”). A popular cry at national football matches is “Bleu, Blanc, Rouge” - “Blue, White, Red,” the colors of the French flag. In 1998, however, when the French national team won the World Cup, that cry changed to “Black, Blanc, Beur,” a comment on the racial diversity of the French national team (probably the most racially diverse of all the national teams in Europe). Ever since the success of that team, immigrant culture has been part of the mainstream in France.
Hello everyone!
I realize that I have been a very bad blogger. I haven’t really gone anywhere on the weekends, so that’s probably the main reason for my lack of updates. I’ve just been enjoying Pau and hanging out with my new friends, and adjusting to my schedule at school.
The seasons are really changing now! It’s been pretty cool and gray for the last several days. The leaves are all very pretty as well. I think the heat of summer is gone for good and winter is right around the corner.
I did go with USAC a couple of weeks ago to the Pyrenees. We hiked and ate lunch at a nice restaurant together. It was really fun! The mountains were beautiful. As we hiked, I imagined what it would be like to live there: high up, surrounded by green trees and mist. It would be so isolated, but so peaceful!
Hmm. What else to say? I will take some pictures of Pau and put them up on here sometime soon!
Missing everyone. I promise to update more often!
Love,
Leanne
The anthem of the Barcelona football team :]
The Sagrada Familia. See what I mean? It’s like the ornamentation is melting off. :/
Julie in Parc Guell. That place was so amazing.
