La Vie en Rose

Well, it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow so I figured the title was appropriate and besides “La Vie en Rose” is one of my favorite songs. (The Édith Piaf and Louis Armstrong versions are the best in my opinion.) I’m going to find the original by Édith Piaf and play it over and over again while eating the red and white heart shaped chocolates I bought at one of the many chocolatiers in Angers. Rather expensive, but eminently worth it.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ32WWXHyjg













Classes started this week and wow was it a long week. On Monday I was at school for eight hours! It never occurred to me I’d be in class for that length of time. Amazingly I wasn’t bored at all, probably because I had to concentrate really hard in order to understand what the professors were saying. Thankfully, I don’t have to be in class that long every day, but I’ll still be going to class 18 hours a week. (This will be very different from Merrimack, as I was accustomed to having 9-12 hours of class a week, but not at all a bad thing.) I really like the classes I’m taking and the professors are wonderful and speak slowly so that everyone can understand. This week was a shopping week so we could attend (or not attend) any class to find out whether we wanted to take it or not. Because I tested into a decently high level I only have to take 6 hours of Language (Grammar, written and oral comprehension and expression, etc.) a week, leaving room for more cultural classes. Therefore, I’ve decided to take Art History (18th to 20th Century French Painting); Sociocultural Studies (French population, gender studies, discrimination, education, immigration, etc.); Translation (English to French) and Twentieth-Century Literature (Proust, Apollinaire, Ionesco, etc.). Everything is in French, of course, but I think my comprehension is already improving. I wish I could say as much for my speaking skills, which are abysmal.

My youngest sister Emma told me after my last post that she was mad I’d included Sarah in my blog, but not her. This made me realize that I’d failed to properly introduce myself. I’m originally from Southern California, but study History, French and English at Merrimack. I’m also on the volleyball team and am involved in Intramural Ice Hockey, Ultimate Frisbee, the Writing Center and Renew. I have three younger sisters: Emma is a freshman in high school, Laurel is a junior and Sarah is a freshman at Auburn. All of them play volleyball at their respective schools and we are all very close to each other. My dad is a high school physics teacher and cross-country and track coach while my mom is a middle school counselor. It probably won’t surprise you that I intend to go into education as a high school history teacher and volleyball coach. But who knows.

Happy Valentine’s Day, happy Chinese New Year and happy Winter Olympics!
Heidi

P.S. La Vie en Rose literally means “Life in Pink” but connotes “life through rose-colored glasses” (aka the haze of love). It really is a beautiful song, it’s in many, many films and I would highly recommend reading the English translation.