Parlez-Francais -- Sending James to Europe since 2005

It's that time again.

2006-01-06T22:41:00.000-06:00

We've neglected the blog for far too long. After all, if we don't post, how will everyone keep up to date on all of our activities? We can't have our overzealous public out there thirsting for more without at least throwing them a little bone.

So, it's another semester, and we've got a ton of great new activities in the works. I know that like me, you all have a ton of stuff going on in your lives, and exciting new things happening and maybe even some big news you'd like to share. We need to start updating our blog more often, so our sponsors, patrons and fans can see exactly what we're doing, every step of the way. Why, they might follow our little blog so closely that some might even consider it (dare I say it?) stalking. tsk tsk.

So, tell everyone what you've been doing over the break. Does anyone have any ideas for fundraisers that they might like to share with the rest of the group? Post your ideas, maybe we can get some feedback from our readers? Re-introduce yourselves. Let's really get this think rolling.

---Looking forward to seeing all of you classmates next week,

Christy

Silent auction coming soon

2005-11-08T06:02:00.000-06:00

With our silent auction coming soon, we have alot of work,it's time for us to find more company who will donate something for it

Testing?

2005-11-03T18:05:00.000-06:00

Test -- seems to be working. Going to go fix the template now.

Beat the Beater a huge success

2005-10-17T15:43:00.000-05:00

OK, guys, sorry that I haven't posted before now, but as many of you may know, I've got a load of personal stuff going on, namely finding out I have two weeks to move.

The Beat the Beater was a smashing success. Haha. I do have a bunch of pictures, but have yet to get them processed on the 'puter. Dan Collins, who is my new hero, posted the pictures that he's taken on the One South website, and sent me the link. So go here to see photos of ye olde "Beat the Beater" fundraiser.

I will post the before and after pictures shortly.

Soon,

Christy

And the official car is . . .

2005-10-12T23:04:00.000-05:00

There was some question about what car we were going to use for the beat the beater on Sunday. It's official, we are using the 1980 something Dodge Diplomat!!
I think that Friday will be a lot of fun. See you there!!
Amanda

Ne pas oublier!!

2005-10-12T17:55:00.000-05:00

Don't forget to bring something to eat for the class tomorrow

Fundraising

2005-10-12T17:31:00.000-05:00

Alright guys... I have used up all my fundraising flyers for the Beat the Beater fundraiser, i put them on all the doors in my court (half of marigold and half of pennyroyal) ha i had time to do it before my soap started :) lol. just thought i would update.. see everyone tomorrow!

Félicitations

2005-10-11T20:21:00.000-05:00

Je suis très contente de vos examens d'aujourd'hui, Bon travail!

Yankee Candle Fundraiser

2005-10-11T17:12:00.000-05:00

The Yankee Candle box is in. Val will have the catalogs and other information in her classroom tomorrow between 12 and 1:30. If you are able to stop in to her classroom to pick up your packet tomorrow, please do so.

Thanks,
Christy

Je t'aime, Valerie!

2005-10-11T13:12:00.000-05:00

Don't cha all just luv Valerie? I mean, who else would try so hard to get us to learn all this French stuff...For that matter, who else in the world would put up with all the antics in our oh-so-wacky group?! It just struck me in our review session before the test today that we're very lucky to be in that class together. It was great the way we were all pulling together, helping each to figure out the answers to all those last minute panic questions. Not to mention, the jokes that are always flying to blow off some of the tension. This is such a fun group to be a part of and I can't wait to visit Europe with y'all!

The Fundraiser has been advertised!

2005-10-11T09:03:00.000-05:00

Just so everyone knows, I put up the "Bash a Beater" Fundraiser flyers around LRH. If they seem to be lower than normal, it's because I used my wheelchair to spam errr post them. We still need more placed around campus like UHall and PAC.

Bon voyage

2005-10-11T06:51:00.000-05:00

Ce jeudi,Nous regarderons un film appelÃ© " Bon Voyage " avec Isabelle Adjani, GÃ©rard Depardieu.
This Thursday, we will watch a French movie !

Study, study, study...

2005-10-10T23:38:00.000-05:00

Is anybody else out there feeling a little overwhelmed with this whole mid-term thing? I'm studying SO hard, Val, I promise. So just remember that you love us all and that we will be knowing where you sleep on the trip this summer. ;) Anyways, I'm completely stoked about the new t-shirts. I LUV 'em and can't wait to wear them at the Beat the Beater thing on Friday. Also, I want to give say that I left a stack of cards at Abbey's Sewing Center when I went in to teach tonight. (I love those Viking sewing machines, btw....they're amazing. I just learned a new technique when I was playing tonite, holler at me if you're a sewing buff and I'll share.) So, the manager is an amazing women (Hehe, thanx Mom) and let me leave some there for people to grab with all our information on it. I even had some new gals in class tonite. They were so excited for me about the trip that they took a card with our blog address so that they could keep up to date too. Anyways, back to the books. Bon chance, tout le monde!

Recent Pics

2005-10-10T19:25:00.000-05:00

I took some pictures in our French Classroom recently -- Here we are, working VERY HARD in our Intermediate French I class:

Valérie, our fearless leader, no doubt imparting some French (Belge?) wisdom upon some lucky member of our classroom.

From Left, Clockwise: Valérie, Missy, Heidi, Kelly and the back of James' head. See how hard we are all working in class?

Again, Clockwise from far left: James (concentrating very hard on his French Homework), Val, Missy, Heidi and Kelly.

See, proof that we are actually real, living human beings, and not just some web bot. I'll be taking more pictures Friday during the Bash the Beater contest, so watch this space.

---Christy

Dang It

2005-10-10T10:40:00.000-05:00

Did you all catch this in the student events email?

Student Life Policy on Campus Wide E-mails
The Student Life Office has been overwhelmed recently with requests from students and student organizations to send out campus-wide e-mails advertising their specific events. Given the fact that there are over 70 student organizations at UIS, the Office of Student Life has instituted a policy which limits campus-wide e-mails to the "Student Life E-mails" sent out on Mondays and Thursdays of each week along with a small numbers of others of campus-wide importance such as announcements of student elections. Exceptions were also made recently to send out information related to the Hurricane Relief efforts.

I know we were planning on doing this for the Bash the Beater, or can we still go about it a different way?

Rachel

McKendree and Kissing a Pig

2005-10-10T10:38:00.000-05:00

Ok, so I found an online schedule for basketball games and the first McKendree game isn't until next semester, January 12.

Bonne chance

2005-10-10T06:31:00.000-05:00

Bonne chance pour les examens de cette semaine!

Parlez-Francais 2006 T-shirts

2005-10-10T01:19:00.000-05:00

The final design for the front of our T-shirts this year:
I think it's adorable. I'm taking the artwork to the screenprinter tomorrow, and soon, we willl have new shirts!

Thanks to Heather and James (mostly Heather?) for working on the design. I think it's fabulous.

So Excited

2005-10-10T00:05:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to say that I am so excited about the Beat the Beater on Friday. I am glad that we got all the details nailed down tonight. See you all on Friday

Heidi and I had a fun tour of the library tonight ;)

Bash the Beater -- Cream the Car -- Wreck the Ride

2005-10-08T14:09:00.000-05:00

Whatever you call it, it's going to happen!

Amanda has informed me that she can have the car here early on Friday (11 or so) so that we can spraypaint it before we destroy it. A couple of us can be taping the windows while the rest of us are painting the car. Ideas for paint? Targets, bandaids, whatever.

Amanda told me that the car is a 1980 Monte Carlo -- we're talking about a BIG OLD CAR -- far more fun to destroy than say a little Kia (besides, Kias fall apart like their made with legos upon impact) or a Ford Focus. (And less expensive than say a Mercedes or a BMW).

So, those of you attending, plan on being there at 11 or so to help get the car painted, set up and ready to whack.

--Christy

Bash the Beater Fundraiser.

2005-10-07T19:48:00.000-05:00

OK, we've got a place, we've got a time and we've got official permission!

Now, we just need a few things to tie up the loose ends of this event, and we are good to go. If anyone has, or knows where to procure any of the following, please let me know so I can take them off of the list and quit worrying about them:

*A couple of cans of spray paint to decorate the car before we smash it up
*A card table
*Chairs -- preferably card chairs or camp chairs
*Push brooms (I'd like to have two -- for cleanup)
*Dust pans
*A BIG tarp -- we really, really need a big old tarp
*Sledgehammers (two at least)
*gloves with leather palms
*Goggles

Do we need a money box or anything like that? I mean obviously we need a place to put any money collected. We also need to decide how much we are going to charge for this thing.

So if anyone can help out with any of the items on the list, (especially the tarp) please let me know.

Oh, and also, let's send a big THANKS to Amanda who donated (or talked her husband into donating) the car, a 1980 Monte Carlo and the towing service to and from the University. YAY for Amanda and YAY for a free tow!

--Christy

Parlez-Francais -- We're going to Europe

2005-10-07T17:37:00.000-05:00

Parlez-Francais -- We're going to Europe
Hey guys! I can't believe Dr. Ethan Lewis has agreed to help us with the "Kiss a Pig" Fundraiser!!! It took some cajoling, but he finally agreed to be put in the running with the proviso that if he "loses" he gets to wear wax lips and the pig is sterile!!! What a sport!!! Does anyone know how many we have now for this particular fundraiser? I think this is going to be one best ones we have. Certainly the funniest!!! Who knew fundraising could be fun!!
Beth

Fundraising fundraisers raise the most funds!

2005-10-06T18:40:00.000-05:00

Fundraisers, fundraising, and Raise Funding... my head is spinning! While we are trying to hold as many effective and lucrative fundraisers as possible, we need to take a step back and notice our immediately successful efforts.

Hopefully we can hold the "Beat the Beater" fundraiser during the Farm Games, but if not then I am sure we can find many more fundraising events. Keep up the excellent work everyone!

James "Best Fundraiser" L.

Bash a Beater Fundraiser

2005-10-06T18:05:00.000-05:00

I don't want to get anyone TOO excited, but....

We have permission from the "officials" at the University to do the "Bash a Beater" fundraiser from 12 noon to 3 or 3:30 pm on Friday the 14th-- just before Farm Games.

I need to clear the logistics about the car with Amanda, to make sure she can get the car there and away within the time frame allotted, and as long as everything is copacetic, we can do this!

I'm really, really counting on those of you who live on campus and in the dorms to get people enthusiastic and pumped up about this fundraising event. We also have permission to leave the glass in the car as long as it's taped, and of course you know those first few hits will be directly to the windows! YES!

Anyway, I need as much help as possible on the day of the the event, and in the next few days leading up to this event. Also, we WILL have a planning meeting at Panera on Sunday night!

YAY!

---Christy

2005-10-06T17:38:00.000-05:00

Hey Guys, I just wanted to say that I am so excited about all this fundraising that we are doing. I am not a very good at thinking of ideas, but I can (and will) help with the fundraising as much as possible. The fundraising ideas we have had so far have really impressed me! I am going to go to HRC this Sunday to ask them if it is okay that we do the Bash the Beater fundraiser at the same time, as to not step on their toes.

Rachel

Thanks -- Fundraiser Donation!

2005-10-06T17:26:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Sam Goody and the nice young man who was working there for their donation of literally a BAGFUL of CD's today for our silent auction fundraiser.

You guys are awesome!

Christy

Beat the Beater

2005-10-06T09:20:00.000-05:00

I have emailed Chief Mitchell and Dave Taylor of the Sangamon Auditorium for this event. Both seem more than willing to cooperate with us. I will call Mr. Taylor prior to class to further discuss the fundraiser.

Nous verrons...

Wish us luck...

2005-10-06T08:05:00.000-05:00

Missy and I are headed out this mornng, first to go to the DMV, then to go to the mall to hit some businesses up for donations! Wish us luck!

Christy

:)

2005-10-05T16:44:00.000-05:00

annnnnnnd todays lucky number is..... 40 :)

French Poem

2005-10-05T10:30:00.000-05:00

Hey, everybody I'm looking for a French poem and I'm not really having any luck. Has anyone found a good website? I tried using search engines but didn't find anything good. Oh, and are we meeting at Panera on Sunday or not? Was there a final decision?

Passport

2005-10-05T07:50:00.000-05:00

Bonjour tout le monde,
I would like to ask my little group of students to start the process of completing your passport,
merci beaucoup

Welcome twosouth visitors

2005-10-04T21:25:00.000-05:00

I know Heidi posted a welcome message to visitors from twosouth -- but it's probably buried in all of the other posts by now, so....

Welcome, visitors from Two South! Have a look around -- and if you read a post or two, you might at least get a good laugh -- and be sure to check out all of our links!

--- Christy

réunion ce dimanche

2005-10-04T19:29:00.000-05:00

Bonsoir tout le monde,

nous aurons une réunion ce dimanche à Panera à 19h00,

merci,
Valérie

Pig Kissing.

2005-10-04T16:26:00.000-05:00

Dr. Ethan Lewis has agreed to participate in the kissing of a pig.

Kudos to Beth for having the guts during class today to bring it up to him.

---Christy

Excellent News!!

2005-10-04T15:16:00.000-05:00

Great News -- We have tentative permission for both the "Beat a Beater" and the Silent Auction!! YAY. Lots of good things are happening today!

James is going to follow up with the Police Department and also Dave Taylor, the grounds guy, so lets all keep our fingers crossed and our hopes in that direction! (I think it's going to be fine.) Dr. Ringle suggested that we have a waiver to sign, and we are going to work that into our ticket sales -- it should be a pretty easy process. We are also going to need a couple of card tables or such. (OOPS, I didn't put that on the request.) I can bring one, does anyone elsehave one they can bring? OH, and to James and Missy, there do not appear to be any events happening that afternoon at Sangamon Auditorium, so that's a good thing!

Dr. Ringle suggested that we have the beat a beater in the small parking lot between the front of LRH and the Sangamon Auditorium, which is a FANTASTIC location for that event! YAY! Now, we need to decide as a group, the perameters of the contest -- 3 whacks for $1? 15 seconds for $1? We're going to have to sit down as a group soon and get that all worked out. Also, we need tarps. I thought I'd be able to get a huge tarp from my dad, but it turns out that he has built a frame and is using it as a tent so he can build some cabinets under it. (Yeah, it's THAT big of a tarp.) Amanda? Beth, does Dave have a tarp we could use, maybe? Val? I can get a couple of small ones, if we have several small ones to put under the car, that would be fine. Anyone out there reading have a large tarp that you're willing to loan us?

Also, Valerie, Mr. Ringle would like to know how to say "Conehead" in French. :)

-- A very, very excited Christy

here we go again :)

2005-10-04T14:18:00.000-05:00

well i don't know about all of you.. but HSB and UHALL are looking mighty fine today! (wink wink)... todays lucky number is 30 haha

walmart-- no go

2005-10-03T19:44:00.000-05:00

alright guys... i called walmart this morning and asked them about setting up a table ouside to do the applications for credit cards.. they told me that we cant do it cause they only let people sit out there for non-profit organizations like sellin cookies or something.. apparently credit cards dont apply to that... soooooooo they turned us down. i had an idea tho.. if we could set up a table to "sell" cookies... and also to see if we can recruit any body for credit card apps... that may work... we can tell wally world that we will be sellin baked goods... which isnt a lie... haha...

on another note... i stopped by the comp. lab at HSB... can anyone say lucky 15!!! (wink wink) haha...

Brad will kiss a pig.

2005-10-03T17:01:00.000-05:00

I talked to Brad Ward and he agreed to be a contestant in the kiss a pig contest. I think that makes two RAs including Brad and JK. I have a whole page of tommorow's homework done. Yes, clap for Heidi!!! Haha.

T-Shirt Idea

2005-10-03T14:49:00.000-05:00

Okay so I was really bored... I am not sure where I found the time to be bored, but I managed. I put together a t-shirt idea for us. I thougth even if we do not use this company we can still use the idea. If you want to see a pic go to: http://customink.com/cink/r.jsp?E=rdase2%40uis.edu&F=forksnail from there we can change it how ever we want. Also, I put in a price thing for 5 M, 5 L, and 5 XL it came up to be $12.42 each ($186.30 total) for a 2 week delivery, which is normal for them. The more shirts we order the cheaper it is per shirt. I just took a guess to get us started.

Rachel

Congratulations

2005-10-03T11:23:00.000-05:00

Just a quick note of Congratulations to two of our members, James and Heather, who were announced Homecoming King and Queen this weekend!

Congrats guys!

Farm Games Update

2005-10-03T10:02:00.000-05:00

I talked to the chair of HRC last night. I confirmed the date for Farm Games to be Oct 14 at 3:30. To decide if we can do our event in consenting with theirs, I need to go to a HRC meeting. I will do that this Sunday at 5:30pm. Since I am going to be talking about this infront of a bunch of people, would it be possible for someone to get me some details on the car bash such as a location, who is donating the car, and etc.

Rachel

New fundraising materiels

2005-10-03T09:56:00.000-05:00

Bonjour tout le monde,
I just received the materials from Common Threads, we will need to look at it tomorrow and decided very fast about it, with this we will get 50% profit with Yankee Candle it's 40%, because I will have class all day long, if you would like to come early, that would be great.
Also, because I will have start teaching at 8:00, be nice with me!!!!!

Wow!

2005-10-02T21:18:00.000-05:00

Oh my goodness, we have soooo much going on right now, it's not even funny. With everything from car bashing to pig kissing to yankee candle selling (Yeah, that's right. Yankee Candle orders, people, right in time for Christmas. - hint, hint-), life's going to become quite insane for us rather quickly. We're pushing to have at least three big fundraising events in October, two of which might end up on the same night (Yes, by communal vote, we decided that as college students, future sanity was not necessarily a requirement!). Please, please, please, help us out by showing us some love and support once we start releasing dates for activities. I personally just started a new job, that I'm hoping will free me up some more time that I can use to really get a grip on all of these treasurer duties (Christi, I love you for carrying me so far. I promise I'm gonna start carrying more of my own weight with the whole contacting TPTB!). Anyways, that's all that's new on this front. Take care and remember us fondly (and maybe a lil sympathy) in the coming days!

International Festival

2005-10-02T13:26:00.000-05:00

Friday afternoon, I spoke with Jonathon GoldbergBelle and his GA, Amit in regards to the International Festival. The Festival will take place this year on Oct. 30 (the same day that I kind of wanted to do the "Beat a Beater" event, but we'll figure it all out.).

I think this will be an EXCELLENT PR opportunity for our club. If we have a strong, vibrant presence at the Festival, perhaps the administration will see that we are a group of intelligent, determined students who are working hard -- not only for our own benefits, but also for the benefit of the University community. I have a lot of ideas for our display at the festival, and I am looking forward to hearing everyone else's ideas as well --I'm hoping that a couple of you will jump on board with me to form an "international festival" committee, so we can keep the planning as organized as possible (says she who suffers from terminal disorganization!).

I've spent several hours this weekend downloading French TV commercials from the internet -- and a couple more hours putting them all together in movie form. I'm not done, but I'd like to have this as an interactive A/V component to our table at the international festival.

There are prizes for the best booth, as well as the best "theatrical" or "entertainment" display --Although I'm not sure if we can pull something together for entertainment -- James, can you do wheelies?

possible funds!!!!

2005-10-01T19:39:00.000-05:00

hey guys... well i spent most of the day at the car dealership.... but good news!!! Bob Ridings in Taylorville is a very real possibility for some sponsership!!! woot woot.. ill tell ya the details on sunday but i thought i would spread the word! haha...

Incredibly Delicious

2005-09-30T09:06:00.000-05:00

Bonjour ,
j'irai ce matin à Incredibly Delicious pour parler à Patrick, le propriétaire de cette excellente boulangerie/patisserie, je penserai bien à vous tous quand je dévorerai une mousse au chocolat!
I will be going this morning to Incredibly Delicious to talked to Patrick, the owner of this excellent bakery and I will think about all of you when I will be devouring a chocolate mousse!
bonne journée,

Moi aussi

2005-09-29T23:46:00.000-05:00

It's me again... I just wanted to say that we're working really hard on all of this fundraising. So far the response from the community has been pretty good, so yay for Springfield. Christi and I are planning on hitting some more starting next week, so Business Owners Beware! We're coming to ask for your sympathy in sending James to Europe!!!

Club Meeting Recap

2005-09-29T22:10:00.000-05:00

We met tonight, and as expected, we did an awful lot of talking about fundraising. We did have two first year students show up, which was great, and we hope that they both keep coming back (and bring their friends!)

We did get a lot of great fundraising ideas out on the table, which is fantastic. We've decided to donate a percentage of whatever funds we do raise to a local cause - we're going to decide exactly which one on Sunday's meeting.

We've also decided to get involved with our school's international festival on Oct. 30th -- I have a meeting with the coordinator of that event tomorrow afternoon, so I should have more to report then!

Overall, I think it was a great meeting -- we covered a lot of ground, and had a good time at it.

----Christy

Hey Everyone

2005-09-29T15:31:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I am a tag along. I don't know french at all and still want to tag along with the french class to go to France- I know it is sad. However, I do think this is going to be an amazing experience for me and I can't wait. Who knows, maybe I will even pick up some french skills.

C-ya
Rachel

Fundraisers

2005-09-29T10:22:00.000-05:00

I have a couple of new ideas for fundraisers -- one of them will have to wait until we get clearance for raffles, the other one is so bizarre, I don't know if anyone will want to do it!

Watch this space, though. After I get official clearance from the school. (Which is a much more difficult idea that I originally thought) I'll post these ideas and the group's reaction!

And, for anyone out there who happened to stuble across our humble little site because they were searching for fundraising ideas -- last night, I was doing some research, and I found this site. The content of the site isn' t what I really liked, what I was really interested in was the "5 Keys to successful fundraising." The site isn't trying to sell anything (except for her full print book) and provides a lot of good information on fundraising.

Car Bashing?

2005-09-28T12:04:00.000-05:00

What do you guys think about a car bashing fundraiser? We find a junkyard to donate a mostly intact, non functional automobile for fundraising purposes, and we rope off an area somewhere on campus (with permission, of course) get some safety goggles, gloves and a sledgehammer (and maybe a baseball bat) and charge folks $1 for 3 whacks.

We can either have the glass removed, or tape it front and back with clear tape to minimize glass shattering, and ask the junkyard to drain any fluids from the vehicle. We could set it up on a large tarp, so that cleanup would be easier.

We'd have a better response if we could time it with a big sports event -- but I think it sounds like a fun fundraiser. What are everyone else's thoughts?

Welcome twosouth!

2005-09-28T10:09:00.000-05:00

Welcome Brad, the twosouth RA and all other visitors from twosouth. It's good to see you here!

Heidi

Grrrrrrrr....

2005-09-27T19:05:00.000-05:00

I've been working my behind off getting "official" clearance to begin organizing our silent auction, I've just received an email that indicates that there may be an issue with a raffle license at the University.

First of all, according to the rules and regulations that I've read, a silent auction does not fall under the defnition of "raffle" as put forth by the Circuit Clerks office (the awarding of prizes must involve an element of "chance" to be considered a raffle. If we have a sign-up sheet where people list their contact information and highest bid, there is no element of chance, and voila -- no raffle. I am going to have to call the circuit clerk's office tomorrow. Or better yet, go down there in person on Thursday morning.)

While we want to be 100% sure that all of our activities are legal, this is a major frustration. According to the information I've researched, our group should qualify as an educational group, which is one of the types of groups listed as eligible for a raffle license in this county. If not an educational group, definitely a fraternal group.

If worse comes to worse, perhaps we will just have to purchase our own $25 raffle license for this event. Or auction everything off in an non-silent auction. Because an out-loud auction is DEFINITELY not a raffle.

So, now I have the challenge of not only finding out if the silent auction is a considered a raffle, but then also convincing the powers that be at the university that what we are doing is actually legal, and ...... well, let's just say that dealing with mindless bureaucracy is NOT my strong point.

We'll get there. If there were no challenges, we would not learn anything.

I'm here

2005-09-27T16:06:00.000-05:00

I just received my invite. I've never done this before, so hopefully it all works out!!
Amanda

Current Fundraiser

2005-09-26T18:27:00.000-05:00

Hey guys!!!I was talking to Valerie and Christy and we thought one of those catalogue sales like we used to have in school would be good. So when I got home, I investigated the Current Fundraiser Program. It lookes really good to me. I talked it over with Christy tonight and I ordered the Participation Kit for $5.00. It should be here before the weekend, I hope.
We would get 50% profit off of the sales!!!! For every dollar we sell, we make 50 cents! The kit has enough catalogues and stuff for 15 people. I have a lot more information on it, so I will bring it to the next meeting!
Beth

Recent Progress

2005-09-26T18:02:00.000-05:00

It's been an eventful 24 hours -- we had a meeting last night, and discussed some fundraiser ideas, one of which involved a goat. I am all for the goat fundraiser. The best part of the whole goat fundrasing idea was that Amanda, one of our group members who hasn't been able to get onto the blog yet, actually has goats. We'll see where that one goes.

I stayed up very late last night printing stationary and envelopes -- we now have our very own letterhead. I've also printed up some business cards that contain basic information about our group -- hopefully a good fundraising tool. The business cards also contain the address of this blog, I hope that they manage to generate a little traffic for us.

So -- just a quick update to let everyone know how the progress is going, now it's time for me to go study for my French test!

Christy

Beth

2005-09-26T11:56:00.000-05:00

Hi! I'm Beth! I am so new to this blogging thing!!! And I am so excited to be involved in this trip! I can't wait to practice French in France!!!!

"Re-salut?"

2005-09-26T10:55:00.000-05:00

Can you even say that? Valerie, you keep telling us that re- in front of a verb makes it "happening again," so even if you can't you should be able to! Anyways.....LOOk, LOOK, everybody! I created my own account and did it ALL by myself. Didn't even need to use one of the guys. Is it possible I'm becoming more computer literate? Is there hope for me yet? Eh, yeah, you're probably right. Waaayyy too late for that.

Bonjour

2005-09-26T06:24:00.000-05:00

Bonjour,
juste un petit mot pour vous dire " Bon travail".I'm very proud of everyone with their hard work , don't forget to study for your test :-)

Meeting tonight

2005-09-25T11:08:00.000-05:00

Our group is getting together again tonight to meet and plan our strategy. I received a big box of information today from EF, the Educational Tour Company that we have choosen to do business with. We've done a lot of research into these types of tour companies, and we've choosen EF on the basis of a few big factors:

(1) They are less expensive than any other company we researched -- they will allow us to travel during the month of May, which, due to the fact that "tourist season" begins on June 1, is much less expensive for us.

(2) Not only are they less expensive than any other company we looked at, we will recieve a $1000 "referral bonus" since I refered Valerie (Hey, the ALT + 130 doesn't work for me, you'll have to show me how to do that) as a tour leader.

(3)The last, and perhaps greatest factor in choosing EF over another company was their reaction when we mentioned that we had a student in a wheelchair. EF's response was positive and enthusiastic, and the representative told us that it wouldn't be an issue at all. Other companies (I won't mention any names) that we contacted, while not exactly negative, seemed a tad discouraging.

I believe that we've made a great choice.

We have a great deal to cover in this evening's meeting -- I can't wait!

--Christy

Salut! :)

2005-09-23T22:30:00.000-05:00

hey everyone! I can't believe this is actually going to happen! tonight i'm making a list of phone numbers from places in tville and springfield that im gonna call. Sooo... everyone else introduced themselves... sooo here i go.. My name is Katie. haha... im majoring in chemistry and minoring in biology. crazy i know. Hopefully all of this crazyness will pay off one day when im a doctor. yes everyone, you can come to me and i'll but you to sleep :). haha. as with someone else in the group, i have always wanted to go to France, but never EVER thought that it could actually happen when i'm still in school. I feel very fortunate to be offered this once in a life time chance to travel to Europe with all of you. This is gonna be great!

a bientot!

I'm Heidi

2005-09-23T20:45:00.000-05:00

Bonjour!! I'm Heidi. This is looking wonderful. I'm really excited to see what we have already acomplished. We just might be able to pull this trip off. I can't wait.

Bonjour! Je m'appelle James, mais vous pouvez m'appeller l'homme handicapé

2005-09-23T14:11:00.000-05:00

Bonjour Tout le monde!

My name is James and I am a second year Capital Scholar from Elmhurst (Chicago suburb). I haven't officially declared my major, but I will choose either Political Science or Legal Studies. I haven't been in a rush to declare a major because I have been excitedly enjoying my scholastic endeavor. I never thought I would have this chance to be at school, and now I have the wonderful opportunity to visit France?!?!?!!

I am one of the disabled students. The cost for disabled students traveling abroad is truly more expensive, but I have luckily been accepted to this academically challenging and incredibly caring university. My professor, Valerié, and all of my classmates are determined to raise enough money so ALL OF US can have the experience of our lifetime. Although it is more difficult for me to look for sponsors, I have met some very interesting and personable people in the Springfield area. My experience quitely differs from Chicago, and I am thankful. I am starting to believe that all of Springfield is polite and generous.

I'll be sure to post all of the sponsors who can afford to help even a little.

À Bientôt,

James

2005-09-23T13:17:00.000-05:00

Valerie (I'm going to have to do some research and find out how to insert that accent aigu in blogger) just informed me that she has received a donation of $165 worth of gift certificates from Advance Tan here in Springfield, IL.

Way to go Valerie, and Thanks to Advance Tan! It's donations like this that are going to make this trip possible for us.

---Christy

Salut!

2005-09-22T19:30:00.000-05:00

Salut, Je m'appelle Melissa. (Hi, my name is Melissa.) I'm one of those lucky enough involved in this insane plan. I'm the treasurer for the club and will probably be the one inudated with paperwork so that we can keep y'all up to date. I'm a sophomore at UIS and am majoring in Communication. I've already started some of my major classes and have been having a ball with them. I'm planning to into the publishing field, as an editor for a book company. (Shameless plug for internship or job offers in a couple of years!) I'm stilling hoping for the university to add Languages as a minor, because I would love to be able to take more French classes. However that's not looking like it's gonna happen, so I don't really know what I'm gonna minor in.
Learning the language has been great, but I really love the culture and literature aspect of study. Since that's looking like a no go, however, I have to say that I'm SO excited about being able to go on this trip. It's been something that I've always wanted to do, but didn't think that I would be able to afford until much later in life. I think the opportunitites it will offer us promise to be once in a livetime. I can't wait!

Jump on in!

2005-09-22T17:33:00.000-05:00

OK -- I've sent email invites to everyone involved with this endeavor -- hopefully a couple of them will show up here soon.

Here's a brief overview of what we're trying to accomplish: We are a small group of dedicated students (and one fabulous French speaking instructor) who are trying to raise money for an educational trip to France which will take place in May of 2006. We've started this blog so that we can post our victories and vents -- to keep ourselves and the rest of the world up-to-date on where we are in our quest to raise enough money to SEND JAMES TO EUROPE!!! (and the rest of us, too.)

So, Parlez-Francais members, Please sign in, introduce yourselves, and lets get this thing rolling! (Laissez les bons temps rouler!)

2005-09-21T19:54:00.000-05:00

There's nothing here yet, but soon, the entire internet will be able to watch as we strive towards our goal of raising enough money to send our French Club to Europe.