Final Videos: the beginning

So for the final project of my online course through Clemson I have to shoot and present 3 videos on my experiences in France.
The first video has to be related to my personal experience here in France. Since I literally take a picture of almost everything I eat, I think I might make this video about the differences in the food, essentially stealing from "Eat, Pray, Love" and "eat my way through France." Talk about the high carb diet of the French, and the little meat that is consumed, and how that in turn has affected my diet and moods.
 The second video is on how our desired career path is portrayed in the host culture. This is an easy one, considering I am a marketing major, marketing, advertising, and sales are everywhere! I plan on interviewing my marketing professor here in France and get her take on marketing in France.
The third video is on public issues. From my first week here, I have known what I was going to do this video on. Poop. Yes that is right, I plan on discussing the amount of dog poop that litters the streets and how that affects the look of the city and the residents. I am not talking about the poop in the grass, although there is a lot of that as well, dogs literally just plop down in the middle of the sidewalks. It's gross and displays and utter lack of respect by the owners for the other people that are walking. What is worse is when there is a box of dog bags right beside it. If this occurred in America people would be in an uproar. On a given day walking to my University (about a 7 minute walk) I probably have to dodge a good 6 or 7 poops. It drives me crazy! So my third video will be on poop.
I cannot believe I have been here a month already and that final videos are starting to loom in the future! Eek!

Tropos of Digital Photography (assignment 8)

For my assignment this past week, I was asked to evaluate the "tropos" of my previously posted photos.  Tropos are things such as the reasoning behind the picture, the angle, what is included and excluded from the frame, what is in the foreground and the background etc. Basically it's taking the picture and deepening the meaning and direction behind it.

In the photo below I chose the angle because it made the architectural details of the side of the cathedral stand out. I liked the way it added depth to the photo. I also chose this because you can see the wear of the weather. It also makes you stop and almost have to take a second glance. Your mind doesn't immediately recognize what it is, so it makes you think and maybe see the picture instead of just browsing over it.

I also chose this picture to take not of the foreground and background. Immediately your eye is drawn to the foreground where you see the (insert smart knowledge of what this is actually called) Also in the foreground are the pillars and columns that make up the interior of the cathedral. But if you take time to really look at the photo, you will see the alter as well as the people walking in front of the alter. 

I feel that by not just taking what I would call your "typical" picture over and over again, you allow those looking at your pictures to explore deeper into the origin and reasoning behind them. It creates more of a story by capturing different angles and weird objects. It plays with the eyes and therefore entertains more than the average photo. 

the best thing you will ever eat

Okay friends...now that the internet actually works, I can start using this blog for more than assignments! yay!
Let me begin by saying Vichy is wonderful, and as soon as there is a sunny day, I will take pictures so you can see for yourself! I love all my friends from all over the world. But right now I just want to tell you the best thing that you will ever eat....it is called "pain au chocolat aux amandes" basically its a croissan that is baked with chocolate in the middle and then is baked again with almonds on top and then sprinkled with powdered sugar. Below is a photo...its essentially like eating heaven. I have only limited myself to one while I have been here and I am saving them for special occasions, but I literally dream about them. So amazing! Well I am about to go eat dinner at a creperie :) Au Revoir!

some photos from Clermont-Ferrand

 this is my residence in Vichy, France. I love how its so modern and it juxtopes with the old charm of Vichy.

 This is a church (not the cathedral) in Clermont-Ferrand

 Side of the Cathedral. I loved how you can change angles and the photos are so unique

 this is a zoomed in photo of the top of the cathedral

 the alter of the cathedral

 spanish influence in Clermont-Ferrand

 Clermont-Ferrand

 Cathedral! So gorgeous! I love this picture!

 This is actually the ceiling inside the cathedral. I changed the ISO levels so it would take a sharper image! It turned out so cool!

 stormy sky with the sunset. So pretty!

I wish I could post more, but I love to mix between horizonal and vertical and play with zooms and ISO levels. The video we had to watch gave me some great ideas!

FINALLY I HAVE INTERNET!

okay, so my internet has been terrible for the past two weeks. I am literally having to get up early to get any kind of decent signal. And even then it takes FOREVER! But I finally have enough to upload pictures so that I can complete my assignment! yay!!
so McDonalds....
This past saturday, some friends and I ventured to nearby Clermont-Ferrand, France. Our first stop? McDonalds. How excited we were to have a cheeseburger and a mcflurry! (of course I was sad because my favorite is a reeses mcflurry and the French do not believe in peanut butter) But none the less, I was beyond pumped! Upon entering, we were surprised at how much more modern and cool the decor was then the ones in America. I mean sure in the states we have upgraded to the "McCafe" versions, but still....this McDonalds was three stories...THREE and it was packed! I mean literally it took us 15 minutes to order! But this is the best thing about McDonalds and being a student...if you purchase a meal and show your student ID card you get a free sandwich (the same one your ordered in your meal) So hello saving money and splitting meals between two people, well only if you are a girl, the guys demolished two sandwiches....no surprise. But the favorite thing of the guys in the group was that they could order beer with their big macs. I do believe at one point every guy made some comment about how they are going to bring this trend to the states. One even went as far as to say that he was going to run for a legislative position and his first duty would be to allow beer in mcdonalds.
So to compare: French McDonalds have generally the same menu items. They do have a "Royal Delux" it has some different special sauce on it. This is what I ordered and it was fantastic! They have all the frappes and things that are becoming popular in the states. Their website is fairly similar to the United States website...only it's in French. French people enjoy their McDonalds just as much as Americans do. I mean we are students will walk 45 minutes to the closed McDonalds...that is saying something.

FINALLY HERE!!!

i finally made it! yay! after much traveling and wayyyy too many stares, I finally arrived in vichy france! so the assignment for this past week when i was traveling was about mcdonalds. I know there is a mcdonalds in my town and I want to experience it before i blog on it. soooo i am going to wait a few days! hope that is okay!! I am getting acclimated and getting excited!!

New Literacies

In response to Kevin Kelly's comment on a "2nd Gutenberg shift" I would 100 percent agree! I didn't realize how much of my life revolves around things on a screen now. I mean even my teachers either post the material online, or use powerpoints and such to teach. Now my math homework is no longer written down, but rather typed out into a computer program. You can even order food through touch screen order systems now. Just looking around my room, there is my computer, a TV, my smart phone, calculator, ipod, and a digital picture frame. But I guess the biggest thing to back up Mr. Kelly's statement is the recent hype of digital readers. I mean we don't even read books in print anymore. Instead we pick up our kindles and nooks and read books and magazines that way. Things like the ipad, which allows every necessary media device to be combined into one. Think about the amount of time teens and young adults spend in front a screen playing video games.  Do Video Games Cause Depression? In this article in the NY Times, it is suggested that children who play video games regularly are less social and therefore become more depressed. It's sad to think that we are a generation who spends so much time in front of a screen that it makes us depressed. The whole idea behind technology improving was to make life simpler and easier, but the influx of visuality may be turning our culture from the greatness it can achieve. Now I am not by any means against technology or screens, I probably check facebook three times daily on average, and I have a few shows I watch on a regular basis. I guess my fear is that as we turn more from the simple yet beautiful aspect of sitting down with a text and pouring over it, that we might lose or miss out on the knowledge behind it. The original Gutenberg shift changed the world, in a good way...so I guess I can only hope that the 2nd shift does the same.
Less than a week until I am in France!!!