Sunday, June 16, 2013

Coucou from Lyon!

Coucou is the super friendly version of <<bonjour>> that you only use with your friends. There are so many words here that mean the same thing, and I think that the language is the hardest part for me right now, but I try to speak French whenever I can and people have been telling me that I've been making good progress, so yay!

 
Lyon is INCREDIBLY pretty though. It is the 3rd largest city in France other that Paris and Marseilles, and it's the perfect blend of urban and rural: there are large shopping centers (always outdoors!) but it's also where 2 rivers meet, so it's full of tree-lined parks and trails along the river. ^ the 2 pictures here are views from the Basilica of Notro-Dame de Fourvière, on a part of this town that's on a big hill looking over the city. My roommate Rémi, who is an amateur movie-maker, was nice enough to take me around the city my very first weekend here. My 3 other roommates are also super cool, and I"ll post a picture of all of us soon!

Speaking of interesting people, my new lab-mates and PI's are some of the coolest people I've met. The fact that the 1st week I was in the lab, they told me that "Mélanie, you will be eating all the time since you work in this lab" further confirms this.

A grad student from the lab prepared a home-made French meal for the entire lab last Wednesday b/c she heard that I wanted to try authentic French cuisine. There were 4 types of cheese! I've been told though, that if I wanted to try all the types of French cheese in 3 months, I'd have to eat a different one every day when I'm here. CHALLENGE ACCEPTED.


**Note to self, French chocolate cake is not really cake, but actually a bit like brownies in America. And apparently some of them contain alcohol...

 I haven't met anyone who can parkour yet, BUT I just got back from the last day of a dance festival at Pôlé Pik, a dance studio in Lyon. Nearly 20 hours of free hip hop/breaking/pop-locking classes and performances, featuring Lyon's own Pockemon Crew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHVpvAwUoB4




BBoy Moncef from Pockemon Crew! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STXRIEsrcbM








I am going to have a hard time biking to work tomorrow b/c of how sore I am, but it was so worth it!


Until next time, or à tout à l'heure, as the locals say.

-Melanie
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3 comments:

  1. LeahJune 17, 2013 at 9:18 AM

    nice! do you have a favorite cheese yet?

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  2. UnknownJune 19, 2013 at 10:44 AM

    My mouth is watering with you talking about cheese and chocolate. Looking forward to seeing more pictures when you return!

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  3. Melanie.ZhangJune 27, 2013 at 4:06 PM

    Yes - I can't wait to try Belgian chocolate too! I love Emmantal, Reblechon, and Saint-Marcellin so far. But with 100+ different kinds, it's really hard to pick just 1 favorite. The only thing I'm not a fan of is goat cheese, but like German beer, they tell me it's an acquired taste.

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