La première semaine (the first week)

I’m trying to speak French- and it is working with a few people in the lab. But there are a lot of people who just speak English after I speak French to them.. I think it’s because they don’t want to hear me butcher their beautiful language 

I spent this week meeting lab members and other people in the department and getting trained in electrophysiology and other cool techniques… Fred has some very cool projects going on- and we’ve had some time to make a preliminary plan of action for my research.

I will start my first class on Wednesday: a two-week agriculture protection course in Grignon. Luckily, a few people are putting on a joint birthday party there this weekend- so they’ll be able to show me around the Grignon campus before my first day.


I have loved walking from the Saint-Cyr metro stop to work because there are all kinds of undisturbed grasses on the sidewalk and I have seen beaucoup d’insectes there (see pics on my picassa page!)…