To Hades

Hades, my dear Hades,

It's been five months since we are far from each other. The time is long away from you, but we both know the choice of Zeus. There are only a few times before to meet us again and live happy. Hades, I miss you. Earth needs me to live, without the spring, there is no harvest and therefore no life. Pomegranate I ate before leaving Hell is our eternal love and you must never forget, even in my absence. And if you miss me, remember that pomegranate is the fruit of our love, it will make you happy and you will smile until my return. You know that it is very hard for me also to live away from you, my Hades. But here I must be strong. Oh Hades, the time seems to me very long without you. I feel alone, and lost, and distraught. I count every day that separates us. The leaves will begin to fall, and when the first will fall, it will be the sign that it is time for me to join you. Hades, here everything is colorful and beautiful, I would appreciate the landscape and this life, but I cannot. Because you're not here.

Fortunately, we'll see very quickly.

I love you.

Your Persephone.

A different way of life

“You will not conform to this world which will surround you”

The Amish are a community who live in North America, a little « different » compared to others Americans. Indeed, the case of Amish is particular, and can seem strange. First at all, the Amish are a group of Protestants Christians of the Radical Reformation, so they are Anabaptist. This community is called “Plain people” for their way of life. Their priority is God, but they carry a lot of importance to family and their farms too. These people have a strong sense of community spirit and help who need. In society, they don't go unnoticed. Indeed, they live like in the 16^th century, with the same clothes, without electricity, on horseback, working in fields. It is impossible not to notice them, they shock sometimes people, amuse them, intrigue them.

We can ask a lot about this original community. We'll talk about a few things. First, they speak a dialect of German, which it's surprising in America. Second, like you can imagine, there is no telephone, no Internet, or even cars. Third, when I visited Ohio, sure I was shocked by old clothes, but an other thing jumped me to the eyes : nobody have a mustache. They have beards but no mustaches. I ask someone to understand. The explication is purely religious : a long beard is for an adult Amishman, an Amishman who's not married haven't a beard. As for the mustache it is because this one is associated with the military aspect, which goes against the Amish's faith. And it's equal for women : they have to not cut their hairs.

Speaking of hair, beards and Amish, there had been recently attacks directly in the community, Amish against Amish. Indeed seven men were accused of having cut the other men and women's beards and hair, which is totally against their belief. The major accused is a sixty six years old man named Samuel Mullet who would have operate with three of his sons. Of course, he truly denied the all facts. He acted like the boss of the whole group and punished the others by locking them in “chicken coop”. As the police reported it, he would also forced women to have sexual acts with him to clean them of the devil. This act shows us that everything isn't always pink in all kind of populations, but we may not forget that a community mustn't be judged from actions that are done by a small group of people from this community.

- L.W.

 

The bad word starts with an "E"

Mr Bean writing an exam : here.

 

At start, Mr Bean seems really hurry, he drives quickly, he’s impatient, he destroys a sign in front of building. We understand that he goes to an exam because of the classroom and the board which is written “Silence”, and of students who are waiting sat in front of desks.

Mr Bean talks with his neighbor, he wants to afraid him and then he laughs, which are signs of stress. He does the same things like the man next to him, in others words, he brings out his pen. Then he shows that he is very put under stress because he has many pens, "in case" ; and he brings out of his bag a toy and an alarm clock, we can ask us “why ?”.

He takes the exam in the envelope, very quickly and looks around him. And very quickly his face decomposes, he seems afraid, he shakes one's head (to say “no no no”), he takes his hand to his eyes, he looks with one eye between his fingers. He’s again afraid when he sees that the paper is both sides. He blows a lot. He scratches his head like to reflect and he plays to “eenie meenie miney mo” to choose his pen, he writes his name, more concentrated, the tongue outside the mouth. He eats his pen, he bites one's nails, etc...

He looks his neighbor and sees that is writing a lot of things and he is below his page. Mr Bean ties to cheat and when the man sees him, he feigns the fact he was reflect, watching the floor, and does the sign, raising the index, as to say “Oh yes I remember”. He tries all the ways to cheat on his neighbor’s work. For example he feigns to show a thing in the goal that he turns off, and during this time he recopies on the paper, or he approaches discreetly the man noiselessly, and returns to his place when the man sees him, etc …

Then Mr Bean starts to cry and to call his mum, like when we are desperate.

[10:10 -> 11:58]

After nearly two hours, he wakes up and looks around him, looks in the envelope and realizes that the exam wasn’t the green paper, he doesn’t take the good paper. He empresses to start, his pen doesn’t function, he panics, he takes the man’s pen. He continues to write when the professor says “Stop writing”. 

All of his movements show that this man is stressed by the exam and he eventually fails it.

When I have an examination, I’m very put under stress. In general, I sleep very badly the night before. Before going to the exam, I verify all my pens and my ink, because I’m afraid having no pen which works. During the exam, I always look around me, not to cheat, but to see where the others are there to reassure me, or sometimes to hurry up when I see that I’m late compared to the others. Generally it always worries me when I see that all people are the head in their sheet and that I have time to raise the head. Sometimes, I take my time (a little too much) and a few minutes before the end, I write up quickly to have time to read again that I wrote, to see if I did mistakes. When I go out of the class, I compare my answers with that of my friend, just for once again, to reassure me or to worry me. To conclude : I don’t love a lot examination.

 
 

“There's a little difference between one man and another, but this is this difference which is everything.” By William James

Laëtitia Weber, a young French student, is nineteen. From now on she’s living in Grenoble but she was born at Essey-lès-Nancy, in the North-Est of France. She grew up there and now she lives here for her studying. She’s in Second year of university in Italian, to become an Italian’s teacher, or maybe a translator, or she wishes she could be interpreter of a minister if she succeeds. She loves reading, writing and laughing. She lives with two friends who she has known for four years. They live with their cat, Despé. In their appartment there are three bedrooms, but they live as a big community, actually they have a lot of friends who are often at home. She has a little sister that she loves so much. She works every Saturday in a furniture’s store to pay her studies and she likes her job. She loves travelling when she’s able to especially in Italy, to discover the culture, the language, etc … She’s independant and she loves being with her friends.

In short, I’m this young woman. My name is Laëtitia, I have brown hair, brown eyes, a small nose, I measure 1m63, and I love koalas, chocolate, Nutella, and SLEEPING !