From France to Minneapolis
Hello everyone. I am Pierre, a French student studying abroad for one year. Please pardon my English, which should be actually ok (I hope) but still may contain a few mistakes. I am from south of France, originally from Marseille, but I study in Montpellier. In our system, I should be graduated at the end of this year, in communication and media. I am a full-time student, and besides University I would say that all my time/money/energy go to music. I actually don't play any instruments but I go to a lot of concerts (around twice a week generally), I buy a lot of records, I write about music on some websites and I used to have a dj night every weeks back in France (http://rockittothemoon.blogspot.com). I will probably work for a small record label at the end of this exhange program.
Some of the rest of my time is dedicated to sport (not enough time maybe...). I have played european football for 10 years when I was younger, and I still play sometimes for fun. My roomates are big fan of this sport, which was a good surprise when I arrived here!
I started using Internet very late, compared to what I have read about you. The first computer my family had at home was a pc in 2000 with a 56kbs connection. My father had a Macintosh before (don't ask me which model!) but I never used it. Our first internet provider was a small French company which made us pay with a minute rate and my mother almost killed me when she got the first bill. I had discovered online video games. A few months later, AOL arrived in France with the first cheap illimited contract which was a revolution for us. I did not play video games very long but Internet became a fabulous place to discover music, and almost all my use of internet in now related to it. I started making a website about a band four years ago, and I gave up because I don't have enough technical knowledges. As I said, I have been involved in a few websites, but just as a writer (http://www.soundofviolence.net).
I did not know what the Web 2.0 was exactly before reading the article, and I have to say I am not sure if I completely got it. I think I may have known Web 2.0 since I'm online so I don't really see the difference... I have a little question on this subject. I have seen a few references in the article to the facebook or other websites that I did not know, but nothing about myspace. Since I have been here, I have met many people telling me that myspace is not so popular in the USA, compared to the facebook. I did not expect that at all. In Europe, the facebook does not exist, and everyone (well, almost everyone) has a myspace account. So, is Myspace a good example of what the web 2.0 is? Did I only meet some people not representative of the USA?
Comments
In America, MySpace is used more by folks in the entertainment industry: musicians, artists, actors, porn stars, etc. Every band that I’m interested in has a MySpace page. FaceBook is more popular among students.
(That's my experience, anyway. Has anyone noticed anything different?)
Posted by: Krista | January 17, 2007 2:15 PM
Hello Pierre! I enjoy talking to study abroad students because there is so much that can be learned. My parents have been to France a few times and I even have some relatives there although I have never visited myself. I thought it was incredible when you mentioned how you go to concerts twice a week! That is great that you can do something you truly enjoy. My boyfriend is also a musician (plays drums and sings) and music can really impact others. Although I don’t know much about music, I enjoy it much.
Wow, your first internet was a minute rate? That reminds me of the phone companies when they used to charge per minute with no free nights. Thank goodness for technology, right? I used to create websites too but gave up on it because I didn’t have enough technical knowledge either. The experience was great and I’m still amazed how adding different codes can do certain different things. I have a myspace and facebook but I use it to write blogs mainly because I still can’t get the codes down right. I would say that myspace is largely used compared to facebook because facebook is offered only to students. (From my understanding)
Posted by: May | January 17, 2007 9:19 PM
Hello Pierre! I enjoy talking to study abroad students because there is so much that can be learned. My parents have been to France a few times and I even have some relatives there although I have never visited myself. I thought it was incredible when you mentioned how you go to concerts twice a week! That is great that you can do something you truly enjoy. My boyfriend is also a musician (plays drums and sings) and music can really impact others. Although I don’t know much about music, I enjoy it much.
Wow, your first internet was a minute rate? That reminds me of the phone companies when they used to charge per minute with no free nights. Thank goodness for technology, right? I used to create websites too but gave up on it because I didn’t have enough technical knowledge either. The experience was great and I’m still amazed how adding different codes can do certain different things. I have a myspace and facebook but I use it to write blogs mainly because I still can’t get the codes down right. I would say that myspace is largely used compared to facebook because facebook is offered only to students. (From my understanding)
Posted by: May | January 17, 2007 9:20 PM
Hello Pierre,
How do you like it here in Minneapolis? Is it a lot different from France? Can I ask exactly is there a difference between American football and European football?
What made your decision on coming to the United States? I am just curious because I have traveled to Holland and Costa Rica. I like to hear responses from others. Hope to hear from you.
Dawn
Posted by: Dawn | January 18, 2007 2:47 AM
Hello everyone.
Well I hope the comment will work this time..
I really like being in Minneapolis. The beginning has been a bit difficult, because I live with 5 guys who knew each other before, but it's been finally a good idea because thanks to them, I met a lot of people and I never really felt alone.
I think I did not have a lot of difficulties to adapt, and the everyday life is not SO different from France. One thing very different is TV. I almost can't watch it because of the commercials, it's insane. The U works differently too (no homework in France, not so much attendance, and only big final exams).
By european football, I meant soccer. But now I got the rules of your football, which were a mystery for me before.
For the decision to come to the USA, I wanted to study abroad for a long time, not really knowing where to go, and I went to this meeting at my university about going to the USA and the program seemed very interesting, so I applied, and after a few months I got accepted. I don't regret it at all, it's a great experience!
Posted by: Pierre | January 19, 2007 1:10 AM