And so we arrive at the end of the second semester of my Master's at MIIS, when we had to take the qualifying exams, the "quals," on each task and each language combination. For me, with English as my A language, French as my B language, and Spanish as my C language, my quals were French-English, English-French, and Spanish-English translation; French-English, English-French, and Spanish-English consecutive interpretation; and French-English and Spanish-English simultaneous interpretation.
I didn't pass all of my tests, so I had to go to France. If you remember, that was a condition of my admission in the program. I had decided to spend six months in France and six months in Spain to perfect my ability in both languages, and then I was supposed to return to MIIS afterwards to continue my Master's.
When I arrived in Paris in July, I rented a studio from a friend of one of my friends at MIIS. It was very small but cute, in the 18th arrondissement. One of the first things I saw was the Bastille Day celebration. I lived in a studio on the 6th floor of a building in the 18th arrondissement with a terrific view - I could see a dozen different fireworks displays around the city.
After two or three days, I started looking for a job, and after two weeks, my boyfriend (the same one I dated in Rouen the previous year) came to see me. Every morning we found a park in our tour book and went to have a picnic there with a baguette (bought from a local bakery), an avocado, some cheese, some strawberries or raspberries, and, of course, a bottle of wine.
It was a great way to get to know the city.
We played Scrabble every day and decided to be artistic by drawing two things a day: a drawing of each other and a drawing of the countryside or the view from my studio. It was amazing to see our drawing improve day after day.
So we picnicked during the day and did cultural stuff at night. We really like classical music, so we went to a lot of concerts: duets, quartets, choirs. One of the best things I've ever seen in my life was a quartet at St. Chapelle church, at sunset, with light from the setting sun streaming through the stained glass windows. There are no words to explain how beautiful it was.
There was a very good grocery store that sold organic food near my studio, so most of the time, we cooked and ate at home. But we also ate in town two or three times. I remember a fondue restaurant where they served wine in baby bottles and all the tables were together in a long line. We chatted with some interesting people there.
Despite all of these incredible experiences, after three weeks my boyfriend and I decided to break up, and he returned to California. And me? I had other problems to deal with.
I imagine that you're wondering, "OK, so she was doing all of these amazing things in Paris, but what was happening with work and the Master's degree?" That's a good question.
I went to France to be able to finish my Master's - I was supposed to live there for six months. But I was young and naïve - I hadn't understood how difficult it would be to obtain a visa and work permit. I looked for a job everywhere, but no one would hire me - not even a family looking for a babysitter. I didn't have a work permit, a visa, permission to work or live there for more than three months. The consulate told me I needed to return to the US to obtain these things.
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I didn't pass all of my tests, so I had to go to France. If you remember, that was a condition of my admission in the program. I had decided to spend six months in France and six months in Spain to perfect my ability in both languages, and then I was supposed to return to MIIS afterwards to continue my Master's.
When I arrived in Paris in July, I rented a studio from a friend of one of my friends at MIIS. It was very small but cute, in the 18th arrondissement. One of the first things I saw was the Bastille Day celebration. I lived in a studio on the 6th floor of a building in the 18th arrondissement with a terrific view - I could see a dozen different fireworks displays around the city.
After two or three days, I started looking for a job, and after two weeks, my boyfriend (the same one I dated in Rouen the previous year) came to see me. Every morning we found a park in our tour book and went to have a picnic there with a baguette (bought from a local bakery), an avocado, some cheese, some strawberries or raspberries, and, of course, a bottle of wine.
It was a great way to get to know the city.
We played Scrabble every day and decided to be artistic by drawing two things a day: a drawing of each other and a drawing of the countryside or the view from my studio. It was amazing to see our drawing improve day after day.
So we picnicked during the day and did cultural stuff at night. We really like classical music, so we went to a lot of concerts: duets, quartets, choirs. One of the best things I've ever seen in my life was a quartet at St. Chapelle church, at sunset, with light from the setting sun streaming through the stained glass windows. There are no words to explain how beautiful it was.
There was a very good grocery store that sold organic food near my studio, so most of the time, we cooked and ate at home. But we also ate in town two or three times. I remember a fondue restaurant where they served wine in baby bottles and all the tables were together in a long line. We chatted with some interesting people there.
Despite all of these incredible experiences, after three weeks my boyfriend and I decided to break up, and he returned to California. And me? I had other problems to deal with.
I imagine that you're wondering, "OK, so she was doing all of these amazing things in Paris, but what was happening with work and the Master's degree?" That's a good question.
I went to France to be able to finish my Master's - I was supposed to live there for six months. But I was young and naïve - I hadn't understood how difficult it would be to obtain a visa and work permit. I looked for a job everywhere, but no one would hire me - not even a family looking for a babysitter. I didn't have a work permit, a visa, permission to work or live there for more than three months. The consulate told me I needed to return to the US to obtain these things.
Cette page en français
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