Author: Steve Evans

Re-bonjour de Paris !

Je n’arrive pas à croire que je suis ici depuis presque 3 mois maintenant et que tant de choses passionnantes se sont produites. Comme je l’ai dit dans mon dernier article du mois, il se passe toujours tellement de choses dans la ville et c’est ce que j’aime le plus. Dans cet article, je vais donc parler d’un événement qui se déroule depuis mon arrivée ici et qui vient de se terminer ces dernières semaines, la coupe du monde de rugby. L’atmosphère les soirs de match ici

était incroyable avec toutes les différentes nationalités portant leur propre maillot de football, chantant leurs propres chants et passant un bon moment ! J’avais quelques amis en visite ces week-ends et ce fut la meilleure expérience pour eux et moi. Je dois dire que le point culminant de cette période de la Coupe du monde a été d’aller voir le match de la troisième place entre l’Angleterre et l’Argentine. C’était surréaliste d’être assis au Stade de France avec l’équipe d’Angleterre juste en face de nous. Encore une fois, une atmosphère inoubliable lors d’un match sportif en direct. Le lendemain c’était la finale entre l’Afrique du Sud et la Nouvelle-Zélande et nous nous sommes rendus au Rugby Village de la Place de la Concorde. Il s’agissait d’un écran en plein air installé pour que tout le monde puisse venir voir ensemble et gratuitement les matchs de rugby. Bien sûr, nous sommes venus avec nos maillots anglais pour continuer à célébrer notre victoire de la veille ! Ce week-end plein de rugby devait être l’un des meilleurs que j’ai vécu depuis que je suis à Paris et regarder l’Angleterre jouer au niveau de la Coupe du monde pendant que je vis à Paris était une opportunité unique dans ma vie. Je pense qu’il est temps pour Paris de se calmer un peu maintenant en termes de sport jusqu’aux JO en tout cas !

Hello again from Paris!

I can’t believe that I’ve been here almost 3 months now and that so many exciting things have happened. As I said in my last monthly post, there are always so many things going on in the city which is what I love the most. So, in this post I am going to talk about an event that has been going on since I have been here and has just finished in the past few weeks, the rugby world cup. The atmosphere on match nights here was incredible with all different nationalities wearing their own football shirts, singing their own chants, and just having a great time! I had a few friends visiting on these weekends and it was the best experience for them and me. I would have to say the highlight of this period of the world cup was however, going to watch the third-place match between England and Argentina. It was surreal to be sat in Stade de France with the England team right in front of us. Again, unforgettable atmosphere being at a live sport match. The day after it was the final between South Africa and New Zealand and we went to the Rugby Village at Place de la Concorde. This was an open-air screen that had been put up for everyone to come and watch the rugby games together for free. Of course, we turned up in our England shirts to keep celebrating our win from the night before! This weekend full of rugby had to be one of the best that I have experienced since being in Paris and watching England play at world cup level while I am living in Paris was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I think it’s time for Paris to calm down a bit now in terms of sport until the Olympics anyway!

These days in Seoul have definitely been eventful! I was excited to see the Autumn season in Seoul and enjoy the cool weather. However, the period was really short this year, so I had limited time to enjoy various outdoor activities and see the beautiful Autumn colours. I have been able to see amazing plants and trees as they started to change from green to warm toned reds and oranges. I participated in various cultural tours that are available for foreigners living in Seoul. One of the more traditional locations I visited was the Korean Folk Village that is Located in Yongin. I was able to see various hanok style buildings and landscapes. I was even able to see a Buddhist temple that had it’s own small pond and Koi fish in various colours swimming peacefully. Although the location was really amazing, It was unfortunate as it seemed I chose the tour date in which many local school children were having their educational trip, so the area was a bit too busy for me.

In addition, these days my family has actually come to visit me here in Seoul! I have been so excited to see them and also to give them experiences that possibly other tourists might not be able to locate or participate in due to various restrictions, such as if you don’t have a resident card here, you cannot make reservations for anything! I have been able to show them a wide variety of locations, both traditional and modern, and they have so far been amazed by the diversity that Korea has to offer. It has also been very fun to show them my language ability in person, as they have never had the opportunity to hear Korean back in UK. Their favourite activity so far has been the Seoul Botanical Gardens and their favourite meal has been a noodle dish called ‘Kalguksu’, which consists of noodles, dumplings and minced pork in a flavourful soup broth. I’m am so happy to share my journey so far which them and even gave them a tour of my language school!

요즘 들어 서울에 이벤트들로 가득 찬 거 같습니다. 나는 서울의 시원한 가을을 즐기길 제일 기대했습니다.
하지만 이번 가을은 너무 짧아서 다양한 야외 축제들과 알록달록한 가을의 색감을 즐기기에 시간이 촉박했습니다.
나는 초록색이었던 식물과 나무들이 붉게 물드는 광경을 볼 수 있었습니다.
나는 서울에 사는 외국인들이 참여할 수 있는 다문화 관광을 신청했습니다.
많은 전통문화 관광지들 중에 하나가 용인에 있는 한국 민속촌이었습니다. 나는 거기에서 다양한 한옥 양식들과 풍경을 보았고 심지어 작은 연못이 있는 절에서 색색의 잉어들이 헤엄치는데 평화로워 보였습니다. 한국민속촌은 정말 좋았지만, 내가 방문한 당일에 학교 현장 체험들이 많아서 학생들로 붐벼서 조금 아쉬웠습니다.

최근에 나의 가족들이 서울로 나를 보러 와주었습니다.
나는 가족을 만나서 정말 반가웠고, 한국에서 특별한 경험들을 했으면 좋겠어서 일반적이지 않은 관 광을 시켜주었습니다. 한국에서는 거주증이 없으면 예약을 못하는데 내가 있어서 다행이었습니다. 나는 가족과 다양한 현대적인 그리고 전통적인 장서들을 갔고, 다행히 한국의 다양성에 감탄했습니다.
그리고 영국에서는 한국어를 쓰지 않아서 이번 기회에 나의 한국어 실력을 보여줄 수 있어서 신이 났었습니다.
우리 가족이 제일 좋아했던 곳은 한국 정원들이고 가장 좋아하는 음식은 국수, 만두 그리고 돼지고기 육수로 만든 칼국수였습니다.
나는 가족과 같이 여행하고 어학당도 보여줄 수 있어서 정말 행복했습니다.

Ce mois, on avait une pause du semestre avec la semaine de lecture, une semaine pour se reposer un peu, et rattraper ce qu’on a étudié. Pendant cette semaine j’ai pris l’opportunité d’aller visiter la Ville du Québec avec une amie. La Ville est la capitale de la province, et elle est une de premières villes ou les européen.ne.s se sont installé.e.s pendant la colonisation d’Amérique du Nord. Grâce à ce fait, elle est une des villes les plus vieilles et est remplie de culture. On est resté.e.s là-bas pendant trois jours, et a beaucoup exploré.

Pendant la première journée, on a visité le musée de la civilisation, un musée qui se situe au centre de la ville, et présente des expositions qui parlent de l’histoire québécoise, l’histoire autochtone au Québec ainsi que des expositions temporaires. J’ai eu la chance que pendant ma visite, l’exposition temporaire était unique en son genre qui traite l’histoire LGBTQ2 + au Québec (et une plus grande échelle). On a eu une visite guidée qui a répondu à nos questions, et nous a expliqué des éléments de l’exposition. Je trouvais super intéressant d’apprendre davantage de la communauté au Québec ainsi que comme la langue française s’adapte à devenir de plus en plus inclusif.

Après ce musée extraordinaire, on a soupé dans un restaurant typique du Québec, qui s’inspire d’une cabane à sucre. J’ai choisi de prendre une poutine, car il n’y a rien de plus traditionnel que ça !

La deuxième journée on commençait par des bagels de la fabrique la plus ancienne au Québec ! Après ça, on est allé.e.s au parc Montmorency pour voir la chute Montmorency. C’était une expérience extrêmement précieuse, et j’ai beaucoup aimé passer de temps dans le paysage canadien. La chute elle-même était incroyablement belle, et même formait un arc-en-ciel avec le soleil ! Ensuite on a visité le Château Frontenac un édifice formidable qui est au centre de la Ville. De là oMon amie et moi à la chute Montmorencyn a apprécié la vue de toute la petite ville. Finalement pour finir la soirée, on a exploré le Vieux-Québec, en se promenant dans les rues et faisant un peu de magasinage !

À Montréal, maintenant, on est en train de ressentir vraiment le changement des saisons. Après un automne assez clément, les premières journées de neiges sont venues. Je me suis réveillé à la ville tout enveloppée par la neige, c’était si beau. Je me prépare pour un hiver super froid, qui prévoient toutes les stations de météo. Au Québec, il y a une phrase qui s’utilise pour décrire quand il fait vraiment froid, “il fait frette” . J’ai également hâte et peur de voir la réalisation de cette phrase !

Le mois qui vient, la ville se transforme à un Winter Wonderland, et je vois même maintenant la ville en train d’être dressée par les décorations de Noël. J’ai également les examens de la fin de session (je ne peux pas croire que l’on est déjà à ce point-là !) donc novembre va être un mois intéressant et vraiment chargé.

This month we had a break from the semester with a reading week, a week to rest a bit and catch up on what we’d studied. To make the most of this week, I took the opportunity to visit Quebec City with a friend. The city is the capital of the province, and was one of the first cities to be settled by Europeans during the colonisation of North America. Due to this, it is one of the oldest cities in the continent and is full of culture. We stayed there for three days and did a lot of exploring.

On the first day, we visited the Musée de la civilisation, a museum in the centre of the city, with exhibitions on Quebec history, Indigenous history in Quebec as well as some temporary exhibitions. I was lucky enough that during my visit, the temporary exhibition was called Unique en son genre, which was an exhibition on LGBTQ2+ history in Quebec (and on a larger scale). We had a guided tour which was amazing as we were able to have all our questions answered and they further explained elements of the exhibition. I found it really interesting to learn more about the community in Quebec and how the French language is adapting to become more and more inclusive.

After this extraordinary museum, we had dinner in a typical Quebec restaurant, which was inspired by a Cabane à sucre. I opted for a poutine, because it doesn’t get more traditional than that!

The second day started with bagels from the oldest bagel factory in Quebec! After that, we went to Parc Montmorency to see Montmorency Falls. It was an unforgettable experience, and I really enjoyed spending time in the Canadian countryside. The waterfall itself was incredibly beautiful, and with the mist and sun even formed a rainbow! We then visited the Château Frontenac, a wonderful building in the centre of the city. From there we enjoyed the view of the whole City. Finally, to finish off the evening, we explored Old Quebec, walking the streets and doing a bit of shopping!

In Montreal now, we’re really starting to feel the change of seasons. After a fairly mild autumn, the first snowy days have arrived. I woke up to the city blanketed in snow, it was so beautiful. I’m getting ready for a super-cold winter, which all the weather stations are predicting. In Quebec, there’s a phrase used to describe when it’s really cold: “il fait frette” (compared to ‘il fait froid’ in standard French). I am equally excited and scared to see how that phrase manifests itself!

Over the next month, the city will be transformed into a Winter Wonderland, and already I can see the city being decked out with Christmas decorations. I’ve also got many end of term exams (I can’t believe we’re already at this point!) so November is going to be an interesting and super busy month.

Bonjour à nouveau!

Ainsi, après avoir passé deux mois ici à Paris, je m’habitue beaucoup à voir assez souvent de grands événements se dérouler dans toute la ville. C’est amusant de voir autant de choses se produire tout le temps ! C’est pourquoi j’ai pensé, dans ce rapport mensuel, vous parler de quelques événements qui se sont produits à Paris et dans ses environs ce mois-ci.

Donc pour commencer, tout le monde connaît l’importance de la Fashion Week de Paris ici à Paris et il y avait une ambiance tellement incroyable ici tout au long de cette semaine. De nombreuses célébrités ont été observées passant leurs journées dans la ville, telles qu’Ed Westwick, Kelly Rutherford et Anna Winter. Les rues et les métros étaient également remplis de gens au style impeccable, une influence mode pour tous ! Évidemment, la plupart des défilés de mode étaient uniquement sur invitation, mais le dernier jour, L’Oréal a organisé un défilé de mode sous la Tour Eiffel avec des personnes comme Kendall Jenner marchant gratuitement pour le public. Nous avons eu la chance d’entrer, après une longue file d’attente, et l’ambiance était incroyable. La musique, les lumières et le fait que nous assistions à un défilé de mode incroyablement prestigieux étaient incroyables, et le tout était rendu parfait par l’éclairage rose de la Tour Eiffel à la fin. Ce sera un moment que je n’oublierai jamais de mon séjour à Paris.

La prochaine chose dont je veux parler, et je suis sûr que vous en avez probablement entendu parler récemment aux informations, est la crise parisienne des punaises de lit. J’ai vu cette explosion pour la première fois sur Tiktok, mais je ne pensais pas qu’on en parlerait autant qu’elle l’était, je l’ai même vu en gros titre sur les informations de la BBC au Royaume-Uni. Pendant environ une semaine, de nombreux sièges de métro étaient vides, même aux heures de pointe, car les gens avaient peur d’attraper des punaises de lit. En me promenant dans Paris, j’ai aussi vu de nombreux matelas abandonnés devant les immeubles, cela montre que beaucoup de gens étaient paniqués. Deux semaines plus tard, je crois que les gens se sont calmés car les sièges du métro sont à nouveau pleins, mais j’entends maintenant de mes amis en Angleterre que la même chose se passe à Londres, désolé de Paris !!

Quoi qu’il en soit, c’est tout ce que j’ai à vous dire sur ce mois-ci à Paris ! On se voit le mois prochain!

Hello again!

So having now spent two months here in Paris, I am getting very much used to Parisian life and one of the things I have noticed since being here is that big events are going on all the time all over the city.

It’s exciting to see so much happening all the time!

Therefore, I thought in this monthly report I would tell you about a couple of the things that have been going on in and around Paris this month.

So to start off, everyone knows about the importance of Paris Fashion Week here in Paris and there was such an amazing atmosphere here throughout this whole week. There were many sightings of celebrities going about their days in the city, such as Ed Westwick, Kelly Rutherford and Anna Winter. The streets and metros were also filled with people with impeccable style, definitely a fashion influence for all! Obviously, most of the fashion shows were invite only, however on the last day, L’Oréal held a fashion show that was free and open to the public below the Eiffel Tower and included people like Kendall Jenner in the walking line-up. We were lucky enough to get in, after queueing for quite a long time, and the atmosphere was incredible. The music, lights and the fact that we were watching an incredibly prestigious fashion show was unbelievable, and it will be a moment that I will never forget from my time in Paris.

The next thing I want to talk about, and I’m sure you’ve probably heard about this on the news recently is The Parisian Bed Bug Crisis. I first saw this blow up on Tiktok and on social media but I never would’ve thought it would attract so much attention and be spoken about as much as it was, I even saw it headline on the BBC news in the UK. For the next week or so, many metro seats were empty even during peak rush hour, as people were scarred of catching bed bugs. When walking around Paris, I also saw many mattresses left outside flat buildings, which shows the extent to which people were going to avoid catching. Two weeks later, I believe that people have calmed down as metro seats are full again, it’s a good indicator, however I am now hearing from my friends in England that the same thing is happening in London, all I can say is sorry from Paris!!

Anyway, it has been a really exciting, and a bit nerve-wracking, month in Paris and if you’re thinking of moving to a capital city to be surrounded by exciting international events all the time, I couldn’t recommend it enough! See you next month!

Le quartier de la Croix-Rousse

À Lyon, il y a deux collines, la colline qui prie et la colline qui travaille. J’habite sur les pentes de cette dernière, celle de la Croix-Rousse. La Croix-Rousse s’appelle « la colline qui travaille » parce qu’au cours du 19e siècle, le quartier

appartenait à l’industrie de la soie. Tous les immeubles dans le quartier, caractérisés par leurs grandes fenêtres et leurs hauts plafonds afin d’installer les métiers à tisser, étaient les maisons et les ateliers des ouvriers, y compris celui dans lequel je vis. Comme de nombreux quartiers européens traditionnellement populaires, aujourd’hui la Croix-Rousse est plus bourgeois, familiale, et pleine de « bobos ». Néanmoins, le quartier et les résidents ont conservé un sentiment de fierté locale. En fait, comme mon colocataire Fred m’a dit, « ici on n’est pas des lyonnais, on est des croix-roussiens », et je crois que cette sorte d’énergie « rebelle » provient de l’histoire du quartier. Dans les années 1830, il y avait deux révoltes, en 1831 puis en 1834, dirigées par les ouvriers, surnommés les « canuts », en raison de la faiblesse des salaires et des conditions de travail injustes. Les deux révoltes était supprimés par l’état pourtant de nombreux historiens croient que les révoltes des canuts sont un précurseur de la révolution de 1848 et d’autres mouvements de travailleurs en Europe à l’époque. Une autre caractéristique unique de la Croix-Rousse sont les « traboules ». Les traboules sont des passages qui traversent des immeubles du quartier qui permettaient les ouvriers à transporter la soie entre les rues. J’habite à coté de la traboule peut-être la plus célèbre qui s’appelle la « Cour des voraces », un magnifique escalier ouvert. Somme toute, je suis très content d’être devenu un croix-roussien!

The Croix-Rousse

In Lyon, there are two hills, the hill that prays and the hill that works. I live on the slopes of the latter, that hill being the Croix-Rousse. The Croix-Rousse calls itself  “the hill that works” because throughout the 19th century, the neighbourhood belonged to the silk industry. All of the buildings in the area, characterised by their large windows and high ceilings in order to fit the silk

looms, used to be the houses and workshops of the workers, including the one in which I live. Like many traditional working class European neighbourhoods, nowadays the Croix-Rousse is more middle-class, family orientated, and full of  “bobos” (the French equivalent of a hipster). Nonetheless, the neighbourhood and its residents have retained a sense of local pride. In fact, as my flatmate Fred said to me, “here we are not from Lyon, we are from the Croix-Rousse”, and I believe this sort of rebel energy stems from the history of the area. In the 1830s, there were two revolts, one in 1831 then in 1834, led by the workers, named the “canuts”, in protest against their poor salaries and working conditions. Both revolts were quashed by the state however many historians believe that the canut uprising was a precursor to the 1848 Revolution and other workers’ movements in Europe at the time. Another unique feature of the Croix-Rousse are the “traboules”. The traboules are covered passageways which pass through the apartment buildings which used to allow the workers to transport silk between the streets. I live very close to perhaps the most famous traboule which is called the “Cour des voraces”, which is a magnificent open stairwell. All in all, I am very glad to have become a Croix-Roussien!