Let's chat

Hello everybody,

Let's create a conversation where we can just chat about life, maybe about our Christmas break, what we did, or anything really! Just a topic where the aim is to create a dialogue!
I'll start! During the holidays, my Erasmus best friend, Nat (who is Russian) came to visit me in Niort! We spoke English for three days and it was amazing. We went to La Rochelle and Fouras because we love walking along the seaside when it's sunny and cold. Until something crazy happened! My friend saw the sign of "Fort Boyard" nearby and she was soooo excited! Apparently Fort Boyard is super big in Russia, they send there own famous people, and have a Russian speaking Père Fouras but everything else is the same! I was so surprised, so we checked online and the tv-show is actually the same in 70 countries.

So your turn, tell me about your holidays, did you learn something? Did you know that Fort Boyard was so famous worldwide?

Hello Amélie!
I love this topic, yes let’s chat. I had no idea that so many countries had Fort Boyard. During my holiday I spent a lot of time with my family and it was really nice. I celebrated Christmas with my family so I ate A LOT and I slept. And slept, more.
I also went to Poitiers to do New Year with my friends (hello you) and we also watched Frozen while being hangover with them. It was cool because the room was empty. Less cool when the movie stopped without warning and we had to look for someone to start it again!

So overall, my holidays were nice and now we have to be back in school so it’s less nice!

Hello Amélie, Hello Marina,
Finallyyyy, we talked about creating this topic and I love it. I think that it’s easier to write about my life than about marketing.
So during the holidays I saw the 2 of you (and others) and it was really cool. We laughed a lot and we ate a lot. When I was not with you during the holidays, I was sleeping, painting, eating and watching series about serial killer or horror movies. I love to scare myself, it’s a great feeling, until you’re too scared and it’s less great. I studied a bit about my memoire but not too much and I read for my personal pleasure.
So maybe next people can talk about what movies or book you’ve been reading during the holidays? Or just some that you like and want to write about?

Hello girls!
Yes let’s chat. So as everybody, I spent most of my holidays with my family, cooking, eating and sleeping. Holidays are made to rest so I rested. I tried new recipes, because you know how much I love cooking and it was amazing. I also read A LOT. I started a few weeks ago to read all the Harry Potter and I finished during the Christmas break. Nathan and I love Harry Potter, as many other people I guess and reading them IN ENGLISH and for the first time was amazing. The atmosphere of the books is so great, you just can’t stop reading once you’ve started. There is so much more in the books than in the movies, especially from the 4th one. It’s really one of the best feeling when you get to spend time in the universe of your favorite movie. Really makes me want to go back to the Universal studio during an entire day to be living it all over again!
Harry Potter is really something different, it’s like a reality exists in the head of so many, it’s something you can share and live, really J.K Rowling is a fantastic writer.

How about you guys, do you love Harry Potter? Or is there another book or movie that makes you feel the way that Harry Potter makes me feel?

Good morning girls (and boys),

I really hope that everybody had nice holidays! That you all ate and slept enough

For me, I went home by plane because I live to far to go home by car and trains in Ardèche don’t exist.
So I took the plane and I actually met English people at the airport. It was an old couple and they were really nice. They made me think of you John. They told me that they were visiting there son in Lyon and they were really happy.
So then I landed in Lyon where my brother lives and we spend some time together which was really nice. We talk very often but I had not seen him in 4 months so I was really happy. And together we went to Ardèche at my parent’s house. We did Christmas as a family, like most of you, but we were all sick. SO NOT FUN AT ALL. We couldn’t move so it was mostly all of us, on the couch under blankets watching Christmas movies. The good part about having a strong cold is that you can still eat a lot of chocolates, so we did.
To answer your question Léa, I like Harry Potter but not as much as you I think. I like to read and watch movies but during the holidays I changed my habits and watched A LOT of Ted Talks. It’s really addictive when you start.
I mostly watched videos about personal development, it was really interesting, most of them were in English so it really helped me to learn some vocabulary. I like it because it is not too hard to understand, or when I need I can put subtitles.
I really love Ted Talks and I think that I’m going to keep watching more videos in the next few days!

Do you guys ever watch Ted talks or this kind of video? What topic do you like to learn about?

Hello everybody,
I really hope that you all had nice holidays.
My holiday started on the Saturday afternoon when my brother came in Angoulême with me. We buy a lot of wine and a bottle of Cognac of the year he was born. The Sunday we did the 1 year birthday of the son of our best friend so it was very cool. For Christmas we went to Bordeaux with my family at my Sister’s house. Santa was very nice with me! After with my brother we watched a lot of movies like Kikboxer, or Harry Potter, same movies we’ve watched since we were young. So like you Léa I really like Harry Potter, the movie is amazing, the actors, everything is really nice. It is a movie that I will watch for ever and even later with my kids, it is a movie that everybody need to see and I really like it. I also love movies like Lord of the rings, we should watch it!
So I did not only watch movies, I eat a lot of food and drink a lot of alcohol. For new year, the party lasted all night until the sun rises again. I also tried to pub specialized in beer.

So that was my holidays, maybe like Manon said, next I will try to watch some Ted Videos. I already read articles in English on the website I Fucking Love Science that Amélie recommended last year, I learn a lot of vocabulary there.
What do you guys like to read? Do you prefer books or articles? Or do you prefer watching videos?

Yeeees, love this and love how everybody spent the break eating, chilling and sleeping. It's super important to rest, I know it, you know it, hopefully, so do Olivier and Inès!
During the holidays I also had time to binge The Witcher and YOU, anyone had the chance to watch one of this series? I really loved both. I actually disliked the season 1 of YOU but I was impressed by season 2 and how the character wanted to improve, I think that it's nice to see the struggle of improving and how it works. I also watched Soundtrack, nice but not the best show ever. I'm now looking for a new tv-show to start.
Léa I loooooooove Harry Potter! I read the books 2 years ago and I remember this feeling, the same one you're talking about. Rediscovering and learning more about an atmosphere that you adore is one of the best feeling eveeeer.

Manon I love TedX and it can be so ADDICTIVE! When you start you just keep adding videos to your watchlist ahahah. The video you sent last night was quite interesting, loved the fact about being "the first dancer to help to make self-love a trend, even more than a trend, just something that people finally accept!

Discussion session, let's go !

Let's discuss the fact that I DIDN'T want to come back that day AT ALL.
I was fine with my vacation, my cocooning, my relaxation (...) Couldn't we already be on vacation ALL THE WAY ?

Otherwise my holidays were mixed. I was supposed to fly to Istanbul on Saturday but : it was cancelled  for our GREATEST PLEASURE !
So, we (w/ my companion and my cat) took the road to Le Havre. We spent Christmas w/ our families and then we visited some parts of France (Annecy, Strasbourg, Lyon).
The last days were spent enjoying good chocolates in front of Disney Cinema (my new favorite channel, thanks Canal ).

I also read well during these few days off. I'm up to date in the scans of Shingeki no Kyojin, I started volume 2 of The Witcher.

Concerning the courses, the dissertation, the internship ? Uh... How can I put it ? There's nothing to say. NOTHING.

And the word for the end : Happy New Year to all ! May the fate be favourable to us.

Hi everybody,

For Fort Boyard Amélie I knew it, there's a game called kNOW! made by Ravensburger with questions more improbable than others so you learn this kind of thing. If you want, I have it, we can play it together.

During the holidays, it was a family holiday (and with my dog). We're the kind of family that gives presents at the last minute, so the beginning of the holidays was the search for Christmas presents. Then Christmas only lasted a day and a half because everyone was working.

And the second week was homecoming with friends, presentation of Amélie Trarieux to my parents, a new year with the best (only the real ones know) and shopping (luckily I didn't have to buy anything).

And the rest of the time like everyone else, sleeping, eating, watching YOU, hugging my dog (Amélie you know what I'm talking about now),...

We have 7 weeks left, don't forget to go out!

Hello everyone !!!!!

As I told most of you, I started my holidays in England and it was really cool. I went to see my friend Sophie and I celebrated Christmas with her et her family, it was my first Christmas. Her aunt lives in a gorgeous house near London, so we visited the city as well and it was amazing. I was so happy to spend time with her and in a British family.I've drink a lot of english tea, and brought a lot in Angoulême, so now I'm drinking tea everyday haaha. Her family were really nice with me and I’m very grateful that I got to spend time with them during the Christmas break.
After that I went home just for a couple days, I spent a day in Annecy, because I love walking around the lake, specially with the weather when it’s cold but there is a lot of sun! Just like you near the seaside Amélie! After that I went in Germany, because I have family there and I spend a week there, including new year. I spend most of time with my little cousin, he is probably my favorite person on earth so we played together, walked outside, everything I can do to spend time with him. So like most of you, my break was full of family, food, and sleep!
I arrived back in Angoulême on Saturday with Manon but I didn’t watch TedTalk with her! I prefer reality TV, it’s really the best for me because it makes you feel good and you stop thinking about annoying part of your life!

Most articles I read are not about science but about packaging because it’s really what I prefer! But if you have movies or series to recommend that I could watch in English then I’m interested! And I’m probably going to start looking for videos about packaging on Ted because I like watching videos, and most Ted Talk I watched last year are dynamic.
No Harry Potter for me Léa, I really don’t understand why people like it so much ahaha

Have a good day be happy and smile

Good thread Amelie

Christmas. I finished marking M1 work after the speed defence and finished Staps marking the first weekend then started to relax which as always meant I was attacked by a virus and I've been ill ever since the 23rd December. I survived Christmas eve and Christmas day as my son and his partner stayed with us and then had to survive 3 days in Perigueux with my daughter her partner and their 2 children (plus my wife and molly and Scruff). I enjoyed it but I'm not sure how I managed to stay alive spending the day in the cold outdoors even if Perigueux is a very nice city.

Christmas day my wife cooked a wonderful meal centred around the goose that I plucked (did I tell you that story?) We didn't watch TV but played cards with the kids. In Perigueux we had a poor meal at an Indian restaurant and a great but expensive meal at a chic French restaurant. took the girls to the fun fair and the ice skating, watched an old movie (a bit like Mary Poppins) and played games that the girls had got for Christmas - hungry hippos and croque carotte. Then came home and tried to sleep the illness away before preparing for STAPS yesterday.

Isaure I read a few books mostly detective fiction, most recently a trilogy by Rick Mofina - nothing great but entertaining and relaxing.

Lea, I've read all the harry Potter books in English - wonderful stories, the first few I read to my son when he was young at bed time.

Manon, Did you think about me because they were old or because they were nice or because they were English Also TedTalks are great for improving your English - using the subtitles or the translations are good too. If you find any that you think are great that are quite short let me know and I'll consider them for comprehension exercises CEPE/STAPS/OTHER.

Victor, what was the link to that website.

Amelie, I've watched the first episode of witcher and will watch more - my son loves it but then again he played the game (and maybe read the book). I just finished "his dark materials" "when we rise", "Vikings" and a couple of short detective series.

Diana, send me any and all interesting videos you see on packaging - especially short ones that I can make into oral comprehension exercises. Please.

finished all questions on to the next....

Thank you so much for being a part of this conversation John, I feel really proud of that thread ahaha. Anything making people write is good!

I really hope that you will feel better soon, I believe that it, unfortunately, happens to most of us to be sick as soon as the holiday starts...
I feel like if you hadn't been sick, your Christmas break would have been quite fantastic! Family time, games, the fair, it sounds really good!

Tell me how you feel about the Witcher once you finish! I had actually never heard of the book or the video game before starting it but now I really want to start. However, I know that the opinion about the show are quite controversial. I was nonetheless very fond of it!

Quite a random question but could you tell us about the epiphany in England? Do you celebrate it the same way as in France? And are you team frangipane or briochée?
People do you have any hobbies that you would like to share? (John anything but teaching us)

John, Amélie,

Small disruption to say :
The first season of The Witcher series was was a pure and real surprise ! Special mention to Henry Cavill for his interpretation of Geralt of Rivia was very punchy, I was surprised to see him play so well. But it must be said that he was a fan of SAGA and that he had devoured ALL the tomes so he was able to immerse himself in the character.  

And John you should take an example from your son and try to read the books ! I'm on Volume 2 and it's really good reading (when you love the universe of course).

Take care of yourself John, good and speed recovery, see you thursday !

Hi Meg, thanks for being a part of the conversation!

Do you read the books in English? I really love the universe so I feel like it could be good reading for meeee!
And yes Henry Cavill was really fantastic in his interpretation, I feel like he was a really good fit for the character!

Hi guys,

I finished reading all Harry Potter's book ! Do you have any english book to recommend me ?

I did not tell you, I am back in high school ! For the past few weeks, I have relearned my irregular verbs... WHAT A GOOD MEMORY ! But really useful !

I have also worked on my grammar (which is REEALLY REALLY BAD) thanks to my mom old bled (who has been traumatized thanks to these book????)

Thank you Amélie for this topic

Hi classmates,

one week after our return to school !! yeahh very happy! -.-

As you may know i spent my Christmas break in Italy  i spent most of time with my family but also with my friends. It was very coooold   so i prefered staying at home and enjoying doing nothing   
and then of course another interesting activity i did was eatiiiiiiing   ohh yeaah my mom cooked for me all my favourite recipes. 
But John don't worry i thought of you aswell , i did some autonomous work , i watched documenaries in english and did another online course ( i am not lying  )

https://www.charentelibre.fr/2020/01/13/les-exclus-du-brexit-communalla-course-contre-la-montre-administrativema-maison-est-ici-je-suis-dans-le-systemesi-ca-existe-encore-je-serai-candidat-en-2026,3543114.php?fbclid=IwAR2C_eY7B6oqxwmQUsw9wvMu_ndqJfYVz9n85Yoj3HVE2xr1VUklP2pd29U
(the article was french but still interesting to talk about)

I would like to know how you feel about this news John ? Does it affect you ?

Léa ABREU wrote:https://www.charentelibre.fr/2020/01/13/les-exclus-du-brexit-communalla-course-contre-la-montre-administrativema-maison-est-ici-je-suis-dans-le-systemesi-ca-existe-encore-je-serai-candidat-en-2026,3543114.php?fbclid=IwAR2C_eY7B6oqxwmQUsw9wvMu_ndqJfYVz9n85Yoj3HVE2xr1VUklP2pd29U
(the article was french but still interesting to talk about)

I would like to know how you feel about this news John ? Does it affect you ?

I will wait for Mr. Macron's decision regarding us foreigners.

Hello everyone! Already 10 days after the return to Angouleme

To answer Amélie, I know that Ford Boyard is famous worldwide, we have an arabic version of Ford Boyard also I once read in internet that the shooting of this program is working during the whole year for different versions of the whole world.

For the christmas holiday, I spent it in Tunisia with my lovely family I was excited to see my family since I haven't seen them since September. It was really amazing for me and for them we celebrated my brother's birthday on December 25 :p and we celebrated the new year with family too. I ate too much, my mother prepared everything I wanted I have watched some programs on TV but in arabic not in english :p I also met my friends and my cousins and we had too much much fun. Honestly, It felt good to do nothing, juste sleep deeply, eat, and chill

Hii,

I already miss Tunisia, my parent and friends. When I was over there during the vacation, I was thinking about the opportunity that I get to do this experience in France, to meet all of you, to be in Angoulême, to discover a part of my personality, to get my own house, to be responsable for myself for my own. This experience will do a part of me and I already learned a lot.
Being with people that we love, it is just a gift.

Subconsciously, I was talking to my cercle of people about the 4 last months positively and with a lot of proudness. I am really thankful for destiny, for my choices, for everything who push me to be here, for every person who open or not her heart to me...

Amélie, During my childhood I've watched Ford Boyard on France 2 channel every week with family. Our routine was preparing home made pizza with an egg in the centre for the dinner and enjoying watching the TV program. A lot of nostalgia.

Have a good day