random thoughts?

[Karine]

Thanks!
I sure have wonderful memories of my time in France and I hope I'll be able to see my friends again (if they come to visit Canada or if I go back there).
I didn't have a big welcome party but I was happy, because my uncle and my aunt were at the airport to welcome me. I was really glad to see them!

[Karine]

I miss you guys!!
I'm so busy right now: I found a small apartment in a city close to Ottawa (20 minutes by bus) and I'm moving there next week. I'll rent it at least until May 2015, but maybe more if my job contract is renewed for next year. I traveled from Ottawa to Montréal by bus last week and it took me 2 1/2 hours. I'll be able to visit my family more often than in the past

[CarolCiola]

Miss you too, Karine! Good to know that you found a place, and you'll be able to see your family more often!

I'm in a rush here too, there are too many projects running at the same time at work, all scheduled to run until the end of September (it's always like this every time before my vacations, why did I think that it would be different this time? ) I'll be on vacation in November, so... much work.!

Can't wait till November! I guess you have something scheduled at the same month, don't ya?

[Islandflyer]

I miss you guys!!
I'm so busy right now: I found a small apartment in a city close to Ottawa (20 minutes by bus) and I'm moving there next week. I'll rent it at least until May 2015, but maybe more if my job contract is renewed for next year. I traveled from Ottawa to Montréal by bus last week and it took me 2 1/2 hours. I'll be able to visit my family more often than in the past

Hey Karine, we've missed you on the occasional weekend chat. Can you get around Ottawa entirely by bus, or do you need a car like in most American cities? From the pictures I've seen, it looks like a very pretty city. I guess your classes are about to start? Best of luck in your new position.

[Karine]

When I'm alone, I have to go to Ottawa by bus because I don't have a car. We went there using my mother's car and it tooks us 2 1/2 hours: it takes the same time by bus. I could do it by train, but it's more expensive.

Ahah, Carol, yes, I have something planned in November

[Karine]

Hey!! I am finally in my new apartment! It is still a mess and I will have to take the time to put everything in the right place, but I think it's going to be great! I hope I'll enjoy living here, close to Ottawa.

[Islandflyer]

Hey!! I am finally in my new apartment! It is still a mess and I will have to take the time to put everything in the right place, but I think it's going to be great! I hope I'll enjoy living here, close to Ottawa.

Sounds like a nice place, Karine. Is it a nice, walkable area? Your school starts soon, I suppose. But now your role is reversed!

[Karine]

Hey!! I am finally in my new apartment! It is still a mess and I will have to take the time to put everything in the right place, but I think it's going to be great! I hope I'll enjoy living here, close to Ottawa.

Sounds like a nice place, Karine. Is it a nice, walkable area? Your school starts soon, I suppose. But now your role is reversed!

I have to take the bus to go to the university, but it's okay. It takes me 15-20 minutes, so it's not that bad. It wasn't the first time that I stood in front of students, but I love it so much! I have one group and we meet twice a week. Yesterday, we talked about medieval poetry and they seemed to enjoy it. They were answering my questions, raising hands to tell me what they understood about the texts... it was great!! Thursday, we'll finish the poetry part and talk about "chanson de geste": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanson_de_geste
I can't wait!

[Islandflyer]

Hey!! I am finally in my new apartment! It is still a mess and I will have to take the time to put everything in the right place, but I think it's going to be great! I hope I'll enjoy living here, close to Ottawa.

Sounds like a nice place, Karine. Is it a nice, walkable area? Your school starts soon, I suppose. But now your role is reversed!

I have to take the bus to go to the university, but it's okay. It takes me 15-20 minutes, so it's not that bad. It wasn't the first time that I stood in front of students, but I love it so much! I have one group and we meet twice a week. Yesterday, we talked about medieval poetry and they seemed to enjoy it. They were answering my questions, raising hands to tell me what they understood about the texts... it was great!! Thursday, we'll finish the poetry part and talk about "chanson de geste": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chanson_de_geste
I can't wait!

Karine,

I read in the article here that there is debate about whether the stories were written down from oral tradition, or were originally written and then learned orally, as we do now. The invention of the printing press was a major change for both prose and poetry, wasn't it, since the availability of (relatively) inexpensive copies of poems and stories made the tradition of memorizing hundreds of lines of verse unnecessary to pass it on to the next generation. I seem to recall reading that many scholars believed that the printed book would cause people to become feeble-minded because they would lose that ability to remember long stories. Remembering 4,000 lines of verse? Maybe they were right. But people learned to do this from a very young age, and they didn't have cellphones to distract them, either. What do you think?

Sounds like you're having fun.

[Karine]

Karine,

I read in the article here that there is debate about whether the stories were written down from oral tradition, or were originally written and then learned orally, as we do now. The invention of the printing press was a major change for both prose and poetry, wasn't it, since the availability of (relatively) inexpensive copies of poems and stories made the tradition of memorizing hundreds of lines of verse unnecessary to pass it on to the next generation. I seem to recall reading that many scholars believed that the printed book would cause people to become feeble-minded because they would lose that ability to remember long stories. Remembering 4,000 lines of verse? Maybe they were right. But people learned to do this from a very young age, and they didn't have cellphones to distract them, either. What do you think?

Sounds like you're having fun.

I do have a lot of fun! Yesterday, I had lunch with a few new young professors I met during the "training" week at the university. One of them, she's a new math professor, said that she didn't really enjoy teaching, that she studied to become a researcher and that she sees teaching as a parallel occupation. This is the complete opposite of how I feel about teaching. I love the interaction with the students and I really like to make them understand what the texts are about. I find it very fulfilling.

I think we'll never know the truth about the stories and the oral tradition. Today, some actors are able to learn very long plays without forgetting a single word and I believe people were able to do the same thing during the Middle Ages period. However, it's not because a text has 4,000 lines of verse that poets learned all of the them: they probably only learned their favorite parts