May is always a hectic month. Unfortunately, while all of you in America are packing your things and heading home, I have to suffer through the entire month — with two exams in June, even. Don’t get me wrong, I’m certainly in no particular hurry to return home, but this year has just been so crazy…I feel like I’m running out of gas.

I started to really notice it last semester, when the schoolwork was piling up. The consequent stress, combined with the claustrophobic feeling of being stuck in LA (and USC in particular), is a big reason why I decided to study abroad this semester. It was probably the right decision, but I can’t help but feel that I’m still carrying my old stress and, in fact, it’s catching up with me.

I really have no right to complain, considering all of the wonderful things I’ve been able to do and see this year, but in some ways, that has compounded the problem. I’ve been doing so much, with planning trips and everything, that I’m even more preoccupied than I was before…and sometimes, it’s hard to get my priorities straight.

I have a gigantic list of tasks, projects, etc. that I intend to accomplish, some of which have been on the list for years. It’s impossible to find the time for everything, and sometimes I’m so overwhelmed by it all that I end up accomplishing nothing, really. I have a hard time choosing what to do, and that often leads me to procrastinate severely on an assignment, for example, or to hold off on writing my thoughts here until they have to burst out, like now.

I got my first B+ last semester, which I know was a result of my ‘project overload’ (and I didn’t really give a crap about Don Quijote in Los Angeles history), but I feel that this semester has been my poorest yet. I suppose that’s fortunate, considering my grades here won’t affect my GPA, but it doesn’t stop me from feeling ashamed. I wanted a break, but I didn’t need a vacation.

So now that I’m in the home stretch, I’m going to muster whatever willpower I have left in order to turn the tide and regain my energy. It might be too late to salvage an A in some of my classes, but I suppose the only thing I can do is not worry about how this might affect my chances of getting into grad school, or how it might affect my future. Because the future is still uncertain right now and the last thing I need to do is sit on my arse and worry about it.

One thing that is certain, however, is that I’ll be returning to USC. Despite my overwhelming desire to leave, it all comes down to money. There’s still something about it that troubles me, though, which is the fact that I applied largely for the film scoring program, but went nonetheless in order to get out of high school. While I don’t really regret that (and I know that composition just wasn’t meant to be), there’s still the feeling that I’m stuck somewhere I don’t belong.

On the other hand, would I appreciate my home so much if I hadn’t gone away? Probably not. And California certainly has a lot to offer, which is why I’m hoping to be able to get away from USC more often (Madeline, you had damn well better stay at Oxy and get a car).

If you’re interested, I’ll be living in a three-person apartment in Troy East. I have no idea what my flatmates will be like, but I’m starting to realise that anything is probably better than a dorm. The only foreseeable dilemma is whether to bring my Wii to school or not, considering I’ll only have two months to play it at home… Will I have time to finish any games? Will I have time at school?

Here I go worrying about my projects again. I also might be working for the Overseas Studies Office next semester, which could be a good or bad thing depending on what my courseload is like. I really have no idea what to expect from the classes I’m taking, which are:

Race, Gender, and Power in Francophone Literature

History of Japan to 1550

The Broadway Musical: Reflection of American Diversity, Issues, and Experiences

Italian I

An interesting mix, eh? I’m not particularly happy about that — I was hoping to take an upper-level linguistics elective, but they’re only offering *one* next semester (Atypical Language), and I want to wait for one of the many courses that would really interest me.

The Japanese history and musical courses are for the T.O. Humanities and Diversity requirements, respectively…which essentially means that they’re pointless fluff. I mean, Japanese history will probably be very fascinating, and I enjoy musicals, but I can’t help but feel that these courses are a major waste of time. In fact, I was hoping to take Social and Geographic Varieties of Spanish, which counts for *both* requirements, but it would mean taking an undetermined number of Spanish classes first, and I just don’t have room in my schedule.

The only remaining G.E. requirement is my T.O. 101, another ridiculous piece of fluff, but I can only hope that there will be a marginally interesting one next semester.

As for Italian - that’s in part to satisfy my linguistics fix, but also because I just really want to learn the language. I’m conquering the Romance languages one at a time. My French course sounds like it could be potentially ridiculous (I think it was Paul who said “I’m tired of writing about women and gay people,”), but to be honest it was more appealing than French Literature of the 17th Century, etc. The main attraction, though, is that it focuses not on France but rather on French Africa, the Caribbean, and - yes - Quebec. I’m looking forward to that.

Speaking of Quebec, I’ve come across more Francophone music videos on youtube, including some by the Simard family (I’m amazed at how much new stuff gets uploaded to youtube every day. I’m constantly discovering great new videos). Here’s a video of René and Nathalie singing “Tous les enfants du monde” at some kind of tribute to Canada at Disney World. How cute.

Thanks to Mme. Mandeville and her enormous collection, you can find all kinds of videos of the prolific Simard family on youtube - including the lesser-known Régis (you can listen to more of his songs on one of Mandeville’s blogs). And here’s a very funny “pochettographie” of René. Keeping with the silly videos, you can also watch Nathalie’s Danse des canards, or the “P’tits Poudings Laura Secord” commercial that put them all on TV for the first time.

Que j’adore le Québec.

I’d like to visit Mandeville’s crazy museum someday, and I might have a chance to if I go to Montreal this summer (fingers crossed). I’ve also joined a Simard fan MSN group, which has a great collection of photographs and posts MP3s every week, the kinds of songs that I can’t find on Limewire — take Nathalie’s Monsieur Soleil, an adorable translation of “Mister Sandman.”

I know, I’m a major goofball.

In reality, my iTunes library, which is normally dominated by Francophone music (or whatever my current phase is), is running a little dry (I’m starting to get tired of listening to the same songs over and over). So, if anyone has suggestions for good music, I’m open to pretty much anything…

Pretty much anything is easier to find on Limewire (well, Frostwire) than the music that I look for - hopefully the Simard MSN group will upload some of the MP3s that I’ve been searching, such as “Les dimanches après-midi” (I only found a recording of Chantal Mandeville singing it on this page…she’s actually a pretty good singer), or “Bozo”, of which there is a video on dailymotion (you’ll notice René’s joke with the obvious lip-synching. I think that’s why he hosts comedy shows on Quebec TV these days.) I’m starting to develop a strange appreciation for the ’70s… I think that shows just how disconnected I am from contemporary music.

I also made a video of my own for the Marie-Jo Thério version of Evangéline, giving it an English translation. Hopefully it will help spread appreciation for this beautiful song. You can watch here:

Evangéline

I also came across a performance of the song by three singers from Quebec’s Star Académie (aka American Idol) - with French subtitles so you can sing along if you so wish.

You can also watch a very good performance of the song by Annie Blanchard, which I believe was the original performance on the show.

I also came across a couple of wonderful videos of Barbara (French Chanson singer). What an incredible songwriter…these videos really capture her spirit, I think:

“Nantes“

“Ma plus belle histoire d’amour“

And it would be wrong of me to neglect that other incredible singer of Barbara’s generation - good ol’ Jacques. I found an excellent performance of “Ne me quitte pas” on youtube (with English subtitles, for your convenience). Nobody puts emotion into their songs like Brel does.

Hmm…what other French music videos shall I inundate you with? Ah, yes! I’ve found most of the songs from the DVD of Notre Dame de Paris on youtube (I’ve posted a couple in past updates) — here are a couple samples (with English subtitles):

“Ces diamants-là“

“Dieu que le monde est injuste“

Now, I have one final French music video to share - “L’amour à la française” by Les Fatals Picards, France’s entry in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest. If you’re unfamiliar with the contest, it’s basically a competition between musical groups selected to represent different European countries, who vie for the title of best song. France’s entry this year is quite humourous, in my opinion…it’s a wonderful example of ‘franglais’, with the singer imitating an English person speaking French.

Now, France has not been particularly strong in the contest in recent years…they used to dominate in the ’60s and ’70s, but haven’t won since “L’oiseau et l’enfant” in 1977. They probably don’t have a particularly good chance of winning this year, either, but I think I’ll be rooting for them anyway, simply because the song makes me laugh. I have yet to listen to all of the songs, although so far none of them have really impressed me… I should be rooting for the UK, but their entry is just ridiculous.

The best thing about the ESC is that you can watch it online. :) Go here — you can watch each country’s entry, as well as the live broadcasts. The semi-finals will air today (May 10th) at 8 pm British time, 3 pm Eastern time, and 12 pm Pacific. The finals will air at the same time on Saturday (May 12th).

If you remember from a previous post, I mentioned seeing a commercial being filmed in Brussels when I was there. Well, I have to thank reader ‘Frisko’ for sending me a link to the commercial — watch it here. He says, “‘Thuis in de stad’ means “At home in the city.” It’s a campaign by the Flemish government where people can nominate their favourite (secret) spots in any Flemish city.”

Thanks a lot, Frisko!

Too bad I wasn’t in it. :(

I’ve been meaning to upload some of the videos that I took with my digital camera while on my European trip, but I’ve been having trouble putting them together with Windows Movie Maker - basically, the program’s a piece of crap. If anyone has any suggestions for a better program, let me know.

Speaking of movies, I was able to find Hot Fuzz on dailymotion last night - you can find the first part here (click on “member” for the subsequent parts). It was brilliant, and I found that I could really appreciate the British cultural satires more after living here. Ahh, I love these Brits. :)

Last weekend, I went to the Isle of Wight with my fellow international students, which was a great trip. Being in Hampshire and Portsmouth was very cool (although, to be honest, the Portsmouth in New Hampshire is nicer). A short ferry ride brought us to the island, and the village of Shanklin, which had an abundance of quaint thatched roof cottages:

To see all of my photos from the Isle of Wight, click here.

The island was quite beautiful. We took a very pleasant walk along the cliffs on the coastline…couldn’t have asked for better weather, once again. The landscape here is much nicer than it was during the winter, naturally, so I’m going to try to take some more pictures of the local area someday soon…if I have time.

I’m also fairly certain that I never linked to my last three Wales albums here — all that feels like ages ago now, but if you’re really interested, here they are:

Snowdonia: Part II

Conwy

Chester

Well, that’s all for now. I’m out of gas.