Reporting Words: Hostess Lab Story

Four days after Hostess announced it planned to close its operations a bankruptcy judge is urging the company to resume talks with union leaders and lenders hopes of salvaging the 18,000 jobs that would be lost. 

However the company is skeptic the talks will lead to anything because of the losses the Hostess’ has incurred during the union leaders’ strike.

“I think we have to see what unfolds. My impression is that the judge wants to understand the parties' positions and some of their logic, but it doesn't change our financial position," Hostess Chief Executive Officer Gregory Rayburn said.

Reporting Words: Precinct 247

Powell, Austin

The 2012 general election marked a year of change for precinct 247 in the Northwest Hills area of Austin.  Of the 622 registered voters who voted, Mitt Romney garnered about 55 percent of the vote whereas President Barack Obama collected about 43 percent.

Voting took place at Doss Elementary on Northledge Drive.

The results for this year’s election contrasts dramatically with the 2008 general election when then Senator Obama took in about 63 percent of votes compared to the 35 percent of votes for Senator John McCain.

However the precinct shrunk in number of registered voters between the 2008 and 2012 election.

The 2008 general election saw 2,260 voters registered in the precinct, but only 799 registered in 2012.  This represents a 65 percent decrease in registered voters in the precinct.

The precinct as a whole also saw a shift in political party voting from straight Democrat ballot to Republican.  Straight party voting for the Democrats was nearly 62 percent in 2008 compared to 40 percent in 2012.

This is a result of redistricting every ten years to adjust precincts in response to census counts, Melinda Avey says.  Avey is the geographic information system coordinator for the Voter Registration Division of Texas.

According to Avey precincts are not allowed to cross the congressional lines when there is redistricting so as to eliminate any notion of political bias during redistricting.

In precinct 247’s case, the redistricting caused the area to lose the student apartment complexes across from the Jewish Community Center on Hart Lane.  Democratic precinct chair David Mann believes this was a factor in the changing demographics from predominantly Democrat voters to Republican.

“When it comes to redistricting it’s all political,” Mann said. 

He has held the Democratic precinct chair for eight years. 

Mann knew that his party would be unable to claim the precinct during the presidential election so he resorted to polling for voters outside of the state via phone calls.  He says that there was no way Obama would have been able to win Texas.

His precinct opponent Peggy Bower however took to the streets when attracting voters.  She believes the best way to get in touch with citizens is by doing 225 house calls to distribute a newsletter she creates each election.  People generally appreciate it and like being educated, she says.

Bower was on scene at Doss Elementary to help administer the voting process for the precinct.

“I always try to work the election,” she said. “It’s always important to have honest people at the elections with a checks and balances system in place with both Democrats and Republicans.”

She says the voting process in her precinct went smoothly and there was no sign of malfunctioning voting booths in her precinct and the rest of Travis County.

Mann feels the area’s change in demographics will continue to have long-term effects on the precinct’s voting trends.

“With the rise of house prices in the area and the presence of the Jewish Community Center the area is getting older,” he said.  “The housing market here is pushing young people away because of its steep prices.  It’s about keeping up with the Joneses around here.”

Housing prices have indeed gone up since the general election in 2008.  According to Zillow.com, homes in the 78731 area have risen from $500,000 to $519,000 between Oct. 2008 and Oct. 2012, thus representing a 3.8 percent increase.

But the increasing housing prices is not deterring people from moving to the area to send their children to Doss Elementary.  From 2007 to 2012 enrollment increased from 657 to 785, or 16 percent more students, according to Texas Education Agency.com.

In regards to citywide election results, nearly 78 percent of registered voters in precinct 247 let their voices be heard for city propositions.  Most notably, Proposition 1 was voted against with 57 percent of voters saying no to the creation of a UT-Austin medical school.

Following the election both precinct chairs said they have no upcoming plans for the precinct.

“It’s going to be a while before we start doing anything for the next election,” Bower said. “Right now I think everyone in the Republican Party is licking their wounds after this election.”

Reporting Words: Final Story

 Powell, Austin

            Poor Bevo Smith.  If only he knew the missteps and ethical errors he was doing.  What we have is an individual who throws any notion of respectable, credible journalism out of the window.

            He starts off preparing the story on a wrong note when he decides to turn to his former brother-in-law as a firsthand source for information.  Already this is a conflict of interest regardless if he doesn’t like him.  A journalist should never interview family members and former family members because the story will have zero credibility as a result, regardless if the journalist feels that they have no connection with said member.  In this situation Bevo should have searched for other sources such as another city council member or looked for another source that might have similar information as his former brother-in-law.

            Another problem with this story is the use of secondary sources.  A reporter should never base information on a secondary source because often the information is either false or has been changed over the course of time as it as passed through the grapevine.  In this case it’s especially disastrous because Gus is giving Bevo a secondary source but also suggesting he should make up a name and quote, so thus creating a source that doesn’t exist.  This problem could have been fixed had Bevo filed an open records request to look at the university and city council’s account information, or go directly to another source who might have information on the story.

            Recycled quotes also pose a problem to Bevo’s story.  While yes it is okay to reuse a quote that a source gave to another publication, Bevo needs to attribute the publication where he took the quote from so that he give attribution but also protects himself in case the quote proves to be false.

            Another pitfall Bevo faces is sacrificing accurate information for being the first to report the news.  In this situation, rather than verifying if the president did in fact resign he retweets what the Town Crier tweeted.  He should have first checked with the university to see if the president was going to officially resign instead of basing it as a fact from what the Town Crier posted.

            One of the biggest problems posed to Bevo when writing this story is when the president of the university offers him $10,000 to walk away from the story.  I’ve never understood why people would even entertain the idea of taking a bribe, but this is even truer for journalists.  Taking bribes are morally wrong, and as a journalist can compromise the story you’re working on and more importantly your career.

            Given that this meeting is open to the public, Bevo is therefore entitled to attend the meeting as a reporter and ask questions.  He should have known this and asserted his right.  Texas Government Code 551 (Texas Open Meetings Act) says that unless it’s a meeting closed off to the public then everybody has the right to sit in and attend government meetings.  He should notify his editor and see what kind of legal action can be taken to address his denial to the meeting.

            Since he is denied access to the meeting he decides to take the shortcut by copying and pasting information from the meeting synopsis directly into his story.  If this is not plagiarism I don’t know what is.  He would have been better served to go and speak to a councilman or citizen who attended the meeting.  Also, sometimes these meetings are recorded and placed online so he could have used the recording for reference when writing this story.

            And finally he makes the fatal error of deciding to ask three random guys that live on his hall to give him quotes on the issue.  This is a problem because these guys may have no idea about the story and could also be friends of Bevo.  He only exacerbates this problem by deciding to make up a quote from his former brother-in-law so that it “enhances the story.”  Both of these instances are obvious no-no’s in the world of journalism.  Bevo would have been better off interviewing citizens and council members who are informed on the issue and can offer an informed response.

Reporting Words: Assignment 5

 Powell, Austin

It’s almost midnight at the Arusha International Airport when an airplane en route from Dallas lands onto the tarmac.  The plane taxis away from the runway until it finally comes to a stop.  The door to the plane is opened and the passengers file out like zombies into the heavy, humid Tanzanian landscape.  The smell of campfire smoke was felt equally as much as the sweltering heat.

            University of Texas student Tara Boggaram had no idea what awaited her when she embarked on a study abroad program in the spring semester of 2012.

            “Tanzania was the opportunity to take what I learned in the classroom and have it fleshed out into color in real life,” Boggaram says. 

            Her program in Tanzania focused on wildlife conservation ecology.  This gave her the opportunity to work with local farmers and learn about Tanzanian methods of farming.

            “I got to see firsthand how local farmers were being forced to adapt their traditional farming methods to western customs, but I also saw how it wasn’t practical for a Tanzanian farmer to work this way if they’re only going to make less than $1 a day,” she says.

            Learning a new language in a new culture is one of the most difficult parts during a student’s study abroad experience.  But for some this is only part of being abroad because depending on the area their views and experiences can vary drastically depending on the environment.

            For instance, most students don’t expect to contract typhoid fever, brucellosis (a disease caused by the eating or drinking of unsterilized food from infected animals) and get mugged while studying abroad.  But then again most students don’t go to Tanzania.  A country with a GDP of $23.3 million and women are expected to have children by 16.

            “I had just gotten over typhoid fever and brucellosis when I was mugged and it was during the time my 60 page thesis was due,” she says.  “Thankfully I was on my period so the only things they got from my backpack were tampons, chocolate and Tylenol.  It was a reality check because even after being there for a while it showed that I wasn’t Tanzanian.”

            Since being home Boggaram has taken her study abroad experience and implemented it on campus by working on the Study Abroad Mentor Program (StAMP) within the International Office.   She is among ten other peer advisors who advise students about studying abroad.

            Samantha Fanelli is one of those ten advisors whom work with Boggaram.

“I was drawn to her personality.  She has a way of making people proactive and experience new things.  Tara never lets stress bog her down or hold her back,” StAMP peer advisor, Samantha Fanelli said.

Fanelli admits that every time she talks to Tara she sees how passionate she is about her experience in Tanzania.  It’s for this very reason that she hopes to return to her newfound love in the Fulbright Scholar program, a government-sponsored exchange program that sends students abroad to conduct research in that country.

She hopes to study knowledge transfer in humans and attitudes toward words, and conservation techniques.

“I’d studied abroad before in Wurzburg, Germany, but being in Tanzania pushed my limits in a way that forced me to ask myself where my place was in the world as an educated person, a Westerner, and an educated woman,” she says.

Reporting Words: Assignment 4

 Powell, Austin

Crime is increasing in downtown Austin according to a study between the Downtown Austin Alliance and the Austin Police Department.  The downtown area saw a 36 percent increase from 2010 to 2011, according to a Downtown Crime and Public Order Report compiled by the Downtown Austin Alliance and Krimelabb, a website that compiles reported crimes in the greater Austin area.

Aggravated assault is one of the more prevalent types of crime in the downtown area.  This year alone has seen 78 aggravated assault claims compared to 91 in 2011.  If this trend continues, downtown Austin will have the most cases of aggravated assault cases in its history by the end of the year.

“Crime is up in downtown.  We want downtown to be a safe place because high crime doesn’t bode well for hosting events for the city,” Bill Brice, security and maintenance director of Austin Alliance told the Austin Community Court Advisory Council Friday.

According to Brice, a majority of crime committed downtown takes place in the entertainment district near Sixth St. between midnight and 4 a.m.

A majority of these incidents are occurring near bars with alcohol being the factor in causing the crime he said during the meeting.  Cell phones were cited as one of the main reasons for committing the crime.  Usually this occurred when victims are leaving a bar and walking to their car in dark areas, Brice said.

However, of those arrested, APD identified 32 as being homeless – 25 percent of the total.

But Brice said there is no correlation in rise in crime in the area in proximity to the homeless shelters in downtown.

“A majority of the crime is not committed by those in social centers and shelters because doors close at 6 p.m.  These people are taking the right measures to improve their situation in life,” he said.

To take care of the problem, Downtown Austin Alliance and APD are partnering together to designate crime hotspots via Krimelabb as mentioned earlier.  Once the hotspot has been determined, APD will attempt to fix the situation whether it be through installing more lights to thwart crimes from even occurring or putting in cameras to monitor the location.

The alliance and APD are making this a priority because the city usually tends to follow downtown in trends, he said.  Therefore, if crime increases downtown then it is likely to spread into other pockets of the city.

Downtown is considered to be between Martin Luther King Blvd. to the north and Riverside Dr. to the south, and Interstate 35 to the east and Lamar Blvd. to the west.

Reporting Words: Assignment 3

Powell, Austin

Each year more college students are packing their bags and taking their education outside of the classroom to a foreign country in the hope of experiencing a new culture.  The trend is also taking place at The University of Texas at Austin as UT is ranked fifth among colleges and universities in the number of students that go abroad each year, according to survey by a non-profit that specializes in international education.

            In a report by the same non-profit, college campuses across the nation reported that 270,604 students studied abroad the 2009-10 academic year compared to the 260,327 students who went overseas the previous year, representing about a four percent increase.

            In the 2009/10 academic year alone , UT sent 2,284 students overseas.  This was fifth among other higher education institutions around the country.  UT offers 450 study abroad programs in 70 countries.

            Third-year government major Eduardo Luna is the senior peer advisor for the Study Abroad Mentor Program (StAMP) at the UT Study Abroad Office.  This is Luna’s third year working as a peer advisor.  Luna studied abroad in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, last summer.

            ”Study abroad is definitely a topic of conversation that comes up often,” Luna said.  “Study abroad is not a decision to bed made lightly.  We as peer advisors try to educate students on the positive and negative aspects associated with.”

                        Luna is not the only person to notice a growing interest in study abroad.

            School of Journalism professor Dennis Darling leads photography Maymester course in Prague of the Czech Republic each summer.  He has witnessed the changes within the study abroad program at UT to account for its growing popularity.

            “My first time taking students abroad in the summer of 1985 to Ireland felt like a game of pick-up baseball,” UT design professor Dennis Darling said. “We had no cell phones or maps to guide us.  We scrounged for beds and breakfasts.”

            Since then study abroad has come a long way in the services it offers to students and teachers going abroad, Darling said.

            “Everything now is more structured in case an emergency arises.  Also, the university provides guides who speak English within the country,” Darling said.

            However not all is rosy within the Study Abroad Office.  The high volume of students can often make communication difficult between students and study abroad coordinators.

            “The Study Abroad Office is so slow in responding to my emails about getting my courses evaluated (for my degree requirements). Does he mean as far as if they count in his major?   It sometimes takes them two to three weeks to answer an email,” French and linguistics major, Chase Crook said.

            Crook is studying at a Parisian university in France on a UT exchange program. So, this is not a faculty-led program, right? So it’s at a university that is not affiliated? Can you explain that?

            However, in response to the growing popularity of study abroad the university has implemented new programs and scholarships to reach every student regardless of financial background.

            The newly implemented Global Pathways program, for example, seeks to appeal to freshmen, sophomores, juniors, or seniors with a 2.0 GPA or greater the opportunity to select from 15 different study abroad programs.  There is no foreign language requirement. 

            “The Global Pathways program is really opening up doors for students who were under the false impression that study abroad was hard to do.  This program will also give students the chance to apply for Global Pathways specific scholarships,” Luna said.

            The Global Pathways Planning Scholarship is worth $2,000 and is available to students two years prior to departure abroad.

Reporting Words: Assignment 2

Powell, Austin

Universities and colleges are being forced to cut their budget to cope with the ripple effect the economic crisis has created.  However, student safety on and off campus is still a major concern for these universities despite budget constraints.

University state funding in the state of Texas has shrunk from 47 to 13 percent.  University of Texas Police Department is one of the university police departments that must adjust its resources in the wake of reduced state from the state legislature.

In a press conference for UT journalism students held by UTPD Tuesday, Sept. 18, officers discussed how UTPD is reacting to a smaller budget from the Tower.

UTPD requests a certain amount of money each year from the university and then those funds are allocated to the department.

“The university has to do with what its got.  There’s no magic pot to take money from,” UTPD Police Chief Robert Dahlstrom said.

UTPD’s budget is 90 percent employee salary with the rest going toward operating costs, Dahlstrom added.

UTPD is staffed with 66 officers.  Five to eight of those officers are on campus on a rotating basis.  23 of the officers on staff have less than 2 years of experience.

Newly hired officers with UTPD must shadow another officer in the department for two years before he or she is allowed to go out into the field alone.  UTPD’s police force was put to the test Sept. 14 when the university was alerted of a possible bomb threat.

North Dakota State University also received a bomb threat the same day.

While UTPD later determined the call to be a hoax, the event called into question UTPD’s emergency-alert response.  At 8:35 a.m., a call came in claiming bombs would go off in all university building 90 minutes after the phone call.

But buildings were not cleared out until 10 minutes before the 90-minute mark of detonation.  Students were also notified via text message and social media to evacuate the campus.

“The university obviously didn’t take the incident seriously.  They would have set the alarm off at 8:30 a.m.,” said Emma Kettle, an exchange student from Australia.

However UTPD defended their response time in dealing with the threat and the protocol they took in informing students and faculty.

“We have had 14 bomb threats since 2006, so we look at each one individually and determine their credibility,” Dahlstrom said in relation to UTPD’s delayed evacuation response.

No suspect has been named in connections with bomb threat because the investigation of the suspect’s identity is still underway.

“Your (the students) safety is our concern.  We try to be as transparent as possible,” UTPD Assistant Chief Terry McMahan said.

Reporting Words: Assignment 1

POWELL, AUSTIN

 

            Journalism schools across the country are changing their curriculum to better prepare their students to the ever-changing journalism market.  The journalist today must know how to write, film, and shoot video if he or she plans to find a job in the industry.

            In an article published by Association for Journalism and Mass Communication.org, 80 percent of journalism and mass communication schools in the United States have changed their curriculum.  This has included a growth in multimedia and digital print courses offered.  The study reported that 96 percent of the new curricula incorporates web writing.

            The University of Texas at Austin’s communication school is one of the journalism schools to implement such changes.  Changes have included a new digital-based curriculum and a new home for journalism, the Belo Center for New Media.

            The new curriculum looks to eliminate ‘the old walls between print, magazine, photojournalism, multimedia and broadcast…and emphasizing good writing and critical thinking from Day One,’ according to the school of journalism’s website.

            A panel of four professional journalists spoke in front of University of Texas journalism students Sept. 4 in the Belo Center to give students a better understanding of the ever-changing profession.

            “Journalism is now plastic.  Corrections and updates can happen immediately instead of waiting 24 hours for a correction,” said Ross Ramsey, managing editor of Texas Tribune, to students.

            Websites such as Twitter and Facebook have now made journalism an ever-evolving business with news occurring every second.  Journalists are now being forced to be early adopters of new social medias, journalist Joshunda Victoria Sanders said during the panel.

            “Young journalists must be early adopters,” said online KVUE correspondent Rebekah Hood.  Students were encouraged to tweet their thoughts about the panel in real-time to further emphasize the importance of new media in reporting.

            While schools and journalists are encouraging students to adapt themselves to the new medias available to them, there is a growing concern that journalism and communication schools are not adapting quick enough to the emergence of new medias.

            In an article published by Insidehighered.com by David Moltz titled ‘Keeping J-School Relevant’, Moltz discusses how schools are often playing catch-up with the digital age. 

Moltz writes that programs such as Columbia University’s graduate journalism school have been forced to radically change its program two times within the past seven years.  The most recent change in 2009 saw the program ‘integrate new media and business skills within its traditional reporting curriculum’ writes Moltz.

            But in an article published by PBS’s MediaShift in April 2011, many journalism schools do not regularly update their Facebook pages.  As of this writing only 777 people ‘liked’ the UT Journalism Facebook page.

            However as new blogs are created faster than rising gas prices, there is still a demand for professionally-delivered news.

            If you produce quality work you’ll make it in the business, Sanders said.  However Sanders cautioned that students must not be afraid to try new things out and fail in the business first.

            The lack of stability in the profession and the closing of media outlets across the country does not paint a good picture of the profession, but UT professor Wanda Cash insists that their will always be a need for journalists.

            “Society will always have a need for storytellers.  It’s your job as journalists to find the story,” Cash said.

A Little Gin in the Cake

It's funny how a place or an event can remind us why we fell in love with something in the first place.  The past week I had my first 'I hate Paris moment.'  I never thought the day would come.  I'd heard about it from other exchange students (and written about it), but I always told myself that I was too easy-going to be phased by Paris, much less the French culture.  But then it happened.

The series of frustrating events began Wednesday of last week.  I had just gotten home from a class around one and was preparing lunch when I heard the doorbell right.  It turned out to be a delivery man with a package from home.  'Ah yes, score!' I'm thinking to myself...until he says, 'Alors, ça fait quatre-vingt trois euros pour le colis, Monsieur.'  I did a double take at him to make sure what I heard was correct and not my poor French rearing it's head again.  He repeated the same phrase, but it turns out this time my comprehension was on the money.  The customs agents required 83 euros for the package!  After a few not-so pleasant insults about the delivery man ran through my head I finally told him that he would have to come back another day, preferably Friday, to give him the money.  'C'est pas possible car le colis va retour au destination originaire après demain.'  Translation:  I either pay the money Thursday or the package goes BACK to the States.

I had class the next day at noon, therefore that means I must leave Paris an hour before to get to St. Denis via the Métro.  So it was decided he would deliver the package at 9 the next morning.  'Tu seras la?' He asked.  'Yes, I'll be here,' I replied.  It goes without saying that the rest of the day was wasted on a way to bypass having to pay the 83 euros.  This involved being on hold for at least an hour combined and talking to people who obviously did not care about their job.  Imagine the DPS back home but magnified to a new level of 'I don't give a damn about your problem.'  The only solution found?  Pay the 83 euros.

Thursday morning comes, and much less arrives on time...I can't say the same about our friend.  9 o'clock.  Nothing.  10 o'clock.  Still nothing.  Now it's 11 and not a sign of Captain Incompetence.  I decide to even give him another 15 minutes of leeway just in case he's possibly behind his delivery schedule.  Rien.  Enough is enough, it's time to head to school...behind schedule.  Football equipment and school materials in hand I stumbled down the six flights of stairs into the street.  Even before getting one foot out of the door who's delivery truck is parked across the street?  The Captain himself.  We immediately recognize each other and he gives me that weird, conniving smile that reeks of, 'Oh I have something that you desire.'  I then begrudgingly approach him and we exchange pleasantries.  Seeing the frustration and agitation on my face he asks what sport I play.  'Football,' I replied, and nothing more (in France is it's ok to voice displeasure if the situation warrants it).

He noticed that I wasn't one for conversation at the moment and just wanted the package.  'Ok, I'm going to go around the corner to the Post Office.  You go take out your money and we'll meet in front of the Post Office.'  Not having three euros on me (partially my fault), I was forced to take out 100 euros.  This initially posed a problem because, not failing to live up to his name, the Captain didn't have enough 17 euros in change.  Fortunately he was able to spot a euro to accompany the two I already had.

After what felt like an eternity, I was finally able to get the package and take it back up the six flights of stairs to my room.  The time now:  11:30.  Génial.  I finally arrived at St. Denis after a rather annoying Métro ride that included countless stares because of my gym shorts and football equipment in my hand.  Ah no, and the crying baby for a good 30 minutes didn't help either.  Fortunately the rest of the day improved gradually with football practice (below) and getting in touch with friends at my old job.

But then, Friday night happened.  And all was well.

'You look around and every street, every boulevard, is its own special art form and when you think that in the cold, violent, meaningless universe that Paris exists, these lights, I mean come on, there's nothing happening on Jupiter or Neptune, but from way out in space you can see these lights, the cafés, people drinking and singing.' -Owen Wilson, Midnight in Paris

And I then remembered why I fell in love with this city in the first place.  Above is church that Owen Wilson sat in front of in Midnight in Paris.  Who would have thought?  This only solidifies why Rue de la Montagne Sainte Genevieve is without a doubt Paris' best street and neighborhood.  Charming winding street, cafés, and the best bar Paris has to offer.  What more is needed?

For some, more apparently.

'This area sucks.  There's nowhere open to go eat.  It's awful here around here.' -remark from an ignorant exchange student at the Violon Dingue that night.

Some people just don't get it. 

Friday's discovery opened up a new desire to explore more of the area near Pantheon and Ile de Saint Louis.  Pictures below.

Pont de la Tournelle

The Poliodor.  So good!  Also where part of Midnight in Paris was filmed.

Football practice was exactly what the doctor ordered as it was good way to let out the stress that had been building up since Wednesday.  It was also a chance for us, as a team, to unleash our frustrations from last week.  Those who read last week's blog post know that we lost dismally 35-0.  I think I can speak for the rest of the team that we did everything we could to forget that atrocity.  This week however was much better as we went Hamma' Time on our opponent winning a scrimmage match 26-6.  It was a good morale boost for the troops even though it was a scrimmage.  Here's to looking to this week's match against the Pandas.  I'll keep y'all updated.

Some vocab for y'all:

-Grain de beauté: freckles
-Les alés de la vie:  things we can't change in life
-Frignant:  dashing, magnificent
-Biberon: baby bottle

Le Parc Buttes Chaumont; Sacré Coeur in the distance

Don't Call It a Comeback...No Really, Don't

There is a term in French to describe someone with a forgetful memory much like a gold fish memory in English.  However in French it's poisson rouge or for the non French-speakers, red fish.  Very forgetful in my ways, I fall under this category.  It's because of this that I've decided to resurrect this blog AGAIN.  To be frank, I hate it.  It's a time-consuming chore that is hardly what I would call fun.  However, it does serve as something I will be able to look back on years to come.  I don't want to forget any of this experience nor the memories I make.  I think the main reason I started a blog was to keep y'all, the masses, informed on my experiences in the land of wine, cheese and mustard.  But this offered absolutely no motivation when it came to writing new posts; a large reason why I stopped.  So in brief (brèf), this is a blog for me and my goldfish memory, however an audience is welcome.  Introductions aside, below is some of what has been going on over here and everything else in between.

I believe as study abroad students we all have one thing in common:  we don't know where life is going to take us or where we want to go.  We know we want to go explore a new quartier of Paris, visit the Colosseum in Rome, or run with the bulls in Spain; essentially expose ourselves to new cultures.  But when asked us what we're going to do with our lives after living abroad the answer is normally 'Well, I'm hoping I can find the answer while studying abroad.'  The more I have seen in France and Europe has made me question what it is I want out of life once I get back to the States in the summer.  Frankly, it's downright scary.  This is coming from a person who has always had a plan growing up from middle school, to high school, to university.  But living in France since September has seen everything and the kitchen sink thrown out the window.  I know what I like and don't like, but the tough part is connecting the dots looking forward.  How can one connect music, French, history, sports, art, technology, and culture into one career?  It looks more like a recipe for a dish or a Skyrim skills list if anything.  It can be done.  Look at Steve Jobs.  He took his love for art and technology and founded one of, if not the greatest, influential companies our generation has seen.  In his biography by Walter Isaacson it mentions how during his twenties he dropped out of Reed College but sat in on some calligraphy classes that would later influence the font types on the first Macintosh.  I'm sure many of you already knew this little story, but it truly goes to show how the past experience gained in a class, job, or whatever does provide some sort of reference point to the what we may decide to do later in life.  It just takes recognizing when to pull it from the archives in the back of our brain.

This is a big reason why I've decided to take as many courses as I can while here in France.  Rather than being confined to the normal 15 hours I'm going to branch out and take some extra courses I would otherwise never take at UT.  Just to give an idea of what I'm talking about, I dropped in on a Portuguese class this past Friday.  Wow what a language.  The best description would be a melange between Italian, Spanish, and French.  The language seems to be pronounced in the upper  back part of the mouth with an emphasis on rolling the r's like Spanish.  Hence the reference to a mix of languages.  Ah yes, in regards to courses.  Other courses this semester include:  an advanced French grammar course, French middle age literature, French language in relation to the press, history of communication, phonetics class, and a media discourse class.  It's looking to be a wild ride and one that hopefully doesn't end too soon.

A few updates on what's been going on over here:

Christmas and New Years:  Christmas saw everyone go over to Laurence's daughter's home, Hélene, to celebrate.  In traditional French cuisine fashion, the food and wine was both plentiful and fantastic.  Sorry folks, but Honey Baked Ham just doesn't compare to smoaked salmon, roasted chicken, potatoes, maccarons, and much much more.  A few days later we celebrated a second Christmas that saw the side of the family who couldn't make it to Hélene's come over to the maison to celebrate.  The next day I went to the airport to pick up Chase, Anne, Fransisco, Cole, and his sister, May.  Hot dog was it great to have them to come visit.  Just when home was beginning to feel very distant, seeing them changed all of that.  They stayed for about a week.  In between that time I tried to show them as much of Paris as I could.  Fortunately we were also able to have a good time New Year's Eve by going to a new club near Opèra...even if we were putting our coats in the vestiare at the moment the ball dropped.  It was awesome that they were able to come over and share Paris with all of them.

Free Mobile:  YES!  An exchange students dream in France.  For 20 euro a month you get:  unlimited texts and calls in France and unlimited calls home without charge.  The signal is kind of week, but for what you're paying it's worth it.  It took a bit of jailbreaking and elbow grease to get the simcard to work with my old iPhone, but the work paid off.  As for Free's service plan,  it's definitely a game changer in the French cell phone market and could possibly be in the States too if the companies back home took a page from Free.  Ah and one more thing...there's no binding contract.

 Football:  While football season may be over back home in the States, it's just getting under way here in France.  My team, Blackjack 21, has already played two games.  So far we're 1-1.  I (usually) play free safety and tight end.  We managed to pull out the W in our first game even with sloppy play, but the second game was another story...35-0.  Then again, it does a present a problem when half of the offensive line doesn't show up and this guy has to play offensive tackle.  The game is still fun as ever, but it's taking time getting readjusted to the physicality of the game.  Each week I've managed to get nicked up and bruised somewhere new.  Our second match was especially brutal.  The outside linebacker I would have to block each series thought it would be a good idea to charge in each time leading with his head.  Needless to say, my head was ringing the first few offensive series before he finally began to slow down.  I think the few blocks to his knees started to make him think twice before bull rushing in.

It wouldn't be a true football post if I didn't mention the Super Bowl.  In true fashion it was celebrated at the Violon Dingue with the usual suspects.  It was a great time with the exception of seeing my former English teaching boss there.  In short, I decided to quit that job because, well I'm here to learn French, not teach English.  My boss, at the bar, decided to remind me of this by saying in French, 'Oh Austin, we're in France so we should be speaking French.'  Yup, awkward doesn't begin to describe that moment.  To add some humor to the event though, Maurice and I made a bet on who the winner of the Super Bowl would be.  If the Patriots won he would have to watch a full episode of the Simpsons (in his view the epidemy of all evil).  If the Giants won I would have to eat Roquefort cheese one night for dinner (In my opinion of the epidemy of evil of French cheeses.  It really is that bad).  You all know who won that bet.  A week later I swallowed my pride and the family and I had Roquefort cheese after dinner.  Thank you Wes Welker for that one!  Gisel Bundchen sends her regards, too.

Manchester United:  now this was the big one.  It's always been a dream to go see a match at Old Trafford, so the fact that it happened against Liverpool, a big rival, was pretty mind-blowing.  The match couldn't have been scripted better.  Dreary English day, pre-game drama between players on each side, and a packed house.  The match lived up to it's billing and then some.  The sounds of fans chanting during the match only added to the atmosphere.  There was probably a good 20 songs we heard whether it was for the Red Devils or mocking a player on Liverpool.  At the end of the day, ManUtd came out on top 2-1 with Rooney scoring both goals.  Perfect.  Hopefully one day I can make it back to Manchester to see a match there.  It truly is the Theatre of Dreams.  Magic doesn't begin to describe a ManUtd match.

I've omitted a lot of things that have occurred since last visiting here.  It would probably take a good three or four blog posts to include what has been happening here since we last visited at the end of November, so hopefully (crosses fingers) this will be updated on a weekly basis.  This is one of the best times of my life and it would be a shame if the slightest moment was forgotten.