#cinemas in christchurch

[cinemanz]

Why Should You Choose Cinema as Your Entertainment Hub?

When it comes to entertainment options, there are numerous choices available today. From streaming services to gaming consoles, it can be overwhelming to decide how to spend your leisure time. However, one option that stands out is the Academy Gold Cinema Christchurch wide. In this blog post, we will explore the reasons why you should choose cinema as your entertainment hub and how it offers a unique and immersive experience.

Larger-than-Life Experience:

One of the biggest advantages of choosing cinema as your entertainment hub is the larger-than-life experience it provides. With a big screen and state-of-the-art sound systems, cinemas offer an immersive experience that cannot be replicated at home. The sheer size of the screen and the booming sound transport you into the world of the movie, making you feel like a part of the action.

High-Quality Visuals and Audio:

Cinemas invest in high-quality projectors and sound systems to deliver a superior audiovisual experience. Unlike watching movies at home, where the quality may vary depending on your equipment, cinemas ensure that every detail is crisp and clear. The visuals are vibrant, and the sound is powerful, allowing you to fully appreciate the artistry and craftsmanship of the filmmakers.

Social and Shared Experience:

Going to the cinema is not just about watching a movie; it's also a social and shared experience. Sitting in a room full of people, you can feel the collective emotions and reactions to the movie. Whether it's laughter, gasps, or tears, sharing these moments with a group of strangers enhances the overall experience. It creates a sense of connection and community, making cinema Christchurch a memorable and enjoyable activity.

Wide Range of Movie Selection:

Cinemas offer a wide range of movie selections, catering to various preferences and genres. Whether you are a fan of action-packed blockbusters, heartwarming romantic comedies, or thought-provoking documentaries, you can find something that suits your taste. Cinemas provide an opportunity to discover new movies, explore different genres, and be a part of the ongoing conversation surrounding the latest releases.

Escape from Everyday Life:

Life can be hectic and stressful, and sometimes you just need a break from reality. Cinema provides a temporary escape from the rigors of everyday life. Stepping into a theatre allows you to disconnect from your worries and immerse yourself in a different world. It's a chance to relax, unwind, and let the story unfold before your eyes, providing a much-needed mental and emotional escape.

Enhanced Movie-Going Experience:

Cinemas are constantly innovating to enhance the movie-going experience. From comfortable seating and convenient online booking to 3D screenings, cinemas are dedicated to providing a memorable and enjoyable experience for their audience. They strive to keep up with advancements in technology and create an environment that adds value to your movie-watching experience.

Nostalgia and Tradition:

There is a certain nostalgia and charm associated with going to the cinema. For many, it is a tradition that has been passed down through generations. Recalling memories of watching movies with friends or family in a cinema brings back a sense of nostalgia and warmth. Choosing cinema as your entertainment hub allows you to continue this tradition and create new memories to cherish.

Conclusion:

Choosing cinema Christchurch as your entertainment hub offers a larger-than-life experience with its high-quality visuals and audio. It provides a social and shared experience, a wide range of movie selections, an escape from everyday life, an enhanced movie-going experience, and a sense of nostalgia and tradition. So, the next time you're looking for an entertaining and immersive experience, consider heading to the cinema and let yourself be swept away by the magic of the big screen.

[20thcenturyvole]

Essay worth 40% of my grade due in five days, fourteen tabs open on my browser with articles and book chapters about misinformation, disinformation, and library policy-making, notes jotted down about how 4chan /pol/ culture directly influenced the Christchurch shooter, I take a break from the 24,000-word chapter defining why misinformation is problematic to read a blustering Brabazon article about disintermediation in librarianship, the fifth hour of YouTube lo-fi remixes burbling on my headphones.

A genius idea strikes me. I should track down all the X-Men movies I liked and watch them back to back. Man, I really enjoyed Deadpool and Wolverine. Aimed squarely at the nostalgia button and hit the bullseye. X-Men came out when I was 12 and made me fall in love with cinema. There were shit ones but there were enough good ones to make a real marathon, like 10, 12 hours. I should do it this weekend. This is a good idea and in no way fuelled by my deadline or the volume of literature I have to get through in order to competently tackle the topic of what influence local information policies can have on the steaming jungle of algorithm-driven bullshit all seekers of knowledge must hack their way through on their quest for so much as a pasta recipe. In 2000 words. By Wednesday.

[misplacedmidlanders]

Monday, May 13th 2024. Nelson.

For our second and last day in Nelson (a name which still just makes me think of The Simpsons' character), Jake and I were largely separated as he was taking a helicopter tour and I haven't gotten over my fear of spinning blades since the fan incident of '02.

This morning we met Halfdan Hansen (tell me a cooler name than that), a ringmaker who worked on both trilogies and whose father, Jens, created the One Ring for the film. Jens sadly passed away before he could see his creation make it to the big screen, but Halfdan informed us that they had made 13 different ring designs for the One Ring alone (7 of which were lost and have never been recovered, so if you find these down the side of your sofa do let him know) before the filmmakers selected the one that we all know and recognise today - a plain gold ring.

He also informed us that they had around 40 rings in total to use for the LOTR, all of which were different sizes depending on who was wearing it and for what purpose. An obvious example is the giant ring that they needed for close-ups, most famously for the shot of the Council of Elrond where the Fellowship are all reflected in the ring (also recreated above, I guess Halfdan and I are a Fellowship now if anyone wants to join us). After leaving Hansen's jewellers, I took a wander around Nelson which admittedly doesn't have a lot going on except for a very lovely cinema called State Cinemas Nelson (can you guys start showing Challengers at better times please).

I did, however, find a short hike trail up a nearby hill (although 'hill' is quite flattering term for a 15 minute walk that's a merciless 45⁰ angle and the price of admission is one punctured lung) to see the Centre of New Zealand Monument. I then wandered past Christ Church Cathedral, stopped by an indie bookstore called Page & Blackmore (sadly I am staring down the barrel of a 20kg suitcase weight limit for the trip home and my current suitcase weight is around 3000kg, so I left bookless) before catching dinner at Burger Culture with the gang and enjoyed a Chicholas Cage.

Tomorrow is a travel day to Christchurch, which is on the east side of the island five hours away, so don't expect the next update to be too coherent.

[emransblog124]

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[olekskaftan]

Animation Skills "Head Turn" Part 1

We started working on another project where we had to make the character turn his head in different directions and show 2 different emotions.

In the beginning I thought we had to make an animation of the head where it just spins and shows different angles and that everything was in its place. However, later I realised that I had to do something completely different, but I'm happy that I did it because I could look at it as a reference for a bigger animation. And as you can see I used lines when drawing the character reference to make sure that all the facial details were in place, of course there are a couple of mistakes that I noticed later, one of them was that in the second turn the second part of the hair was missing, and that some lines don't match it, namely the position of the heads, so I need to pay more attention to this and not repeat these mistakes with other characters.

Later, when I finished working on the reference, I started working on the animation itself. Firstly, I decided to understand what exactly I was going to draw, so I made a small draft where I could see how the character would move and what emotions she would show and how she would play her role in general. And then I cut all the poses I made into separate frames, adjusted the timing and added additional frames for more liveliness of the character.

In general, I have had this character for a long time and her name is Aisha, so it's not the first time I've drawn her and I remember what design she should have, but later I think I should draw a full reference where you can see her full height and what emotions she gives out in different situations, and in general to show through the design what kind of character she is by nature, so in my free time outside the university I will work on this and the same goes for other characters, as I want to try to draw different things to improve my animation drawing skills, especially when it comes to drawing different characters with their designs.

Research Element 05

Ease in and ease out

Ease in is starting the animation slowly and then speeding up the movement as it comes to a halt. Ease out is starting off quickly and slowing down at the end. Ease-in-out is a combination of these.

In doing animation, "ease in" is when you have more frames in the rest and anticipation position and "ease out" is when you have fewer frames after the main action before returning to a rest position.

One example is when a character swings and wants to hit, where at first there is a slow action during the swing, and then there is a fast action when the blow is already flying to strike. This method applies to every action when we need to convey quite expressive actions to better show the actions of the characters themselves and what is happening on stage.

Reference List:

KDAN. “What Are the 12 Principles of Animation? - KDAN Blog.” KDAN Blog, 7 June 2023, www.kdan.com/blog/12-principles-of-animation#6_Ease_In_Ease_Out. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.

Moos, Caleb. “6. Ease In, Ease Out.” Animation Appreciation, 7 Aug. 2019, medium.com/animation-appreciation/6-ease-in-ease-out-2c70119bb13. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.

“Principles of Animation: Arcs and Ease In/ Ease Out.” Welcome to Creativity School!, 11 Mar. 2021, creativityschool.com/principles-of-animation-arcs-and-ease-in-ease-out/.

Len Lye (1901-1980)

Len Lye is a New Zealand artist, filmmaker and sculptor who became popular for his abstract animated films ,and was born in Christchurch.

His first work that made him popular was Tusalava (1929), which had a unique style influenced by both modernism and Aboriginal art. He also used the technique of ‘direct’ or camera-less cinema.

"Rather than use a camera, he would paint and scratch directly onto the film."- Tate

To create abstract animation, he painted and scratched the film itself, as well as used innovative colour processing techniques.In the 1930s, he lived in London and worked on his work until he moved to the United States in 1944, where he continued to work on film and began producing kinetic sculptures.

These experimental films were created mainly as advertisements for postal services, cigarettes, Imperial Airways, Shell Oil and the Ministry of Information. His films were also shown in cinemas across the UK. Under the guise of advertising, they introduced viewers to artistic movements such as abstractionism and surrealism.

He focused on animation only in the period of 1935 and 1937, and then worked on films and other art forms as kinetic sculptures.

Reference List:

“Light Cone - Len LYE.” Lightcone.org, 2014, lightcone.org/en/filmmaker-200-len-lye.

Tate. “Len Lye Film Animations: 1935–1937 Display at Tate Britain | Tate.” Tate, 2019, www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-britain/display/len-lye-film-animations. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.

“The Len Lye Foundation - as an Artist in England.” Www.lenlyefoundation.com, 2024, www.lenlyefoundation.com/page/as-an-artist-in-england/4/69/. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.

“The Len Lye Foundation - Early Years.” Www.lenlyefoundation.com, 2024, www.lenlyefoundation.com/page/early-years-/4/68/.

[daneady-cinematographer]

Super stoked to have my image featured in the NZCS Still Stories Exhibition at the NZ International Film Festival! This new showcase, inspired by the American Cinematographer Society, challenges cinematographers to tell a story in a single shot. Curated by Roger Donaldson, the exhibition runs July to September across Aotearoa:

Auckland: ASB Waterfront Theatre (A2 prints) - Aug 15-18

Wellington: Roxy Cinemas (A3 prints) - Aug 1-11

Christchurch: Lumiere Cinemas (A3 prints) - Aug 15 - Sept 1

Dunedin: The Regent Theatre (A3 prints) - Aug 14-25

Prints for sale will support the artists and NZCS educational initiatives. Cheers to Rob Zielinski!

[denimbex1986]

Sounds from a Safe Harbour festival has announced its last brace of ticketed live and cinema programming for its 2023 instalment in September, in Cork city.

Taking place between Thursday, September 7 and Sunday, September 10, the festival has added a new film from Cillian Murphy, new theatre work from Enda Walsh, and an expansive live music offering to a four-day line-up of previously-announced music, performance and conversation events, which organisers are calling "the biggest to date".

Friday, September 8 sees the Irish premiere of All of this Unreal Time at Triskel Christchurch - a short film starring Cillian Murphy, written by celebrated author Max Porter (Grief Is The Thing With Feathers), directed by Aoife McArdle, and featuring music by festival co-curators Aaron & Bryce Dessner (The National), and UK electronic producer Jon Hopkins. The 24-minute film was originally commissioned and produced by Manchester International Festival in 2021.

On Saturday 9 and Sunday 10, the festival stages a co-production with the Abbey Theatre of Untitled Song Cycle, by festival co-curator Enda Walsh and Anna Mullarkey, at the Cork Arts Theatre; sung by Aoife Duffin with projections by Jack Phelan - a work-in-progress detailing the impact of bullying and memory on a woman who leaves her small town.

American composer and musician Alex Somers, and special guests, head to the Marina Market on Saturday, September 9 at 10pm, providing "a way of experiencing music in a live environment where slowing down, focussing on your senses and being present in the moment are the aim", according to the Sigur Rós producer - patrons are encouraged to bring their yoga mats.

Seanie Buttons presents Mayfield punks Pretty Happy at the Opera House's Green Room on Friday, September 8; and Cork-based singer and songwriter Elaine Malone launches debut LP Pyrrhic on Saturday, September 9, at the same venue.

Meanwhile, at the newly-refurbished Pavilion venue on Carey's Lane, Saturday September 9 sees a midday performance from Rónán Ó Snodaigh (Kíla) and Myles O'Reilly, with songs from new album The Beautiful Road representing a crossover of tradition and ambient music. American songwriter and producer Caroline Rose will also perform at the venue that afternoon.

The Pav also plays host to the festival's late-night club, with DJ Sally Cinnamon anchoring proceedings with special guests on the Friday and Saturday nights.

Speaking on a heavily-loaded announcement, Festival Director Mary Hickson says: "This is the biggest SFSH to date - we are really pushing the boat out this year. We have one more piece of information to come later this month that will connect everything. You'll see special guests listed on many events, we plan to share these details with you soon.

"Working with The Abbey is a huge deal for the festival, we're thrilled to be working with them to bring Enda and his team back to Cork for the week to workshop ‘Untitled Song Cycle’ and share their work in progress with an audience. The final work will be produced for The Abbey Theatre at a later date.

"Presenting the Irish Premiere of ‘All of This Unreal Time’ in our home town of Cork is very important for Cillian and I. Add our incredible director, Aoife McArdle to this and we have a lot to celebrate together on Irish soil."

The announcements join a stacked festival line-up, including major independent music artists like Feist, Wilco and supergroup Bonny Light Horseman; Ye Vagabonds' Lighthouse Constellations residency, including Anna B Savage & Brìghde Chaimbeul, Cormac Begley, Crash Ensemble and more; and experiences like Teac Damsa’s How to Be a Dancer, Luke Murphy’s Volcano, and much more besides.'

[ollie604]

SDL - 10 Designers from New Zealand

AKIN

"Based in the city of Auckland, on New Zealand’s North Island, AKIN is a strategic design studio co-founded by designers Tana Mitchell and Emma Kainuk. Their work aims to grab people’s attention and hearts and they achieve this through creating engaging brands with memorable type, eye-catching colour and gorgeous illustration. Their design for All Good Switchell, a collaboration with illustrator Natasha Vermeulen, is all these things—and we love it!"

Seachange

"Also based in Auckland, Seachange are an award-winning design and branding studio—they work across everything from digital design to naming and everything in between. Keeping themselves intentionally small doesn’t stop Seachange creating a big impact—their brands stand out for a whole variety of different reasons. One such brand is Ghost Street Dumplings, a pop-up dumpling, which used the company’s name very literally combined with a cute illustration to create a wonderful, memorable brand."

Tyrone Ohia

"Born of Ngāti Pūkenga (a Māori Iwi) descent in Tauranga, a harbourside city on the North Island, Tyrone Ohia works as a Creative Director in Tāmaki Makaurau (the Māori name for Auckland). Ohia believes that design is for the people and this is strongly reflected throughout his work. His project for the Museum of New Zealand Te Pape Tongarewa reflects on the fact that the Māori and English languages share the same alphabet and words through the word ‘TAKE’. He designed simplistic, yet beautiful, cards with the word simply printed on there for people to take away and consider the similarities between the two languages."

BrandAid

"BrandAid is a brand development and design agency based in Dunedin on New Zealand’s South Island. The award-winning agency’s creative director Luke Johnston has over 19 years experience in the industry—and founded BrandAid 15 years ago. They’ve worked with a huge range of clients, including their home city but it was this reusable packaging for Bay Rd Peanut Butter—which employs striking typefaces to make the look as good as it is for the planet."

Curious

"Another Auckland-based agency, Curious specialises in design and brand strategy. Working with their motto ‘Good design is simple—that’s why it’s so hard to get right. It helps that we’ve been practising constantly since 1998’, Curious work closely with their clients to create the best work possible. Their project for health food brand Amino Mantra combined quirky illustrations from Curious’ in-house illustrator Curtis Walker and a gorgeous colour palette to create the kind of packaging you just want to grab off the shelf."

Phoebe Morris

"Phoebe Morris is a illustrator from New Zealand’s capital city, Wellington. Since graduating in 2013, Morris has worked with companies like Google, Penguin Books and Kiwibank—illustrating for, to name a few, apps, websites, packaging, publications and shipping containers. The last was what made us especially fall for Morris’ work—she was commissioned by Wellington City Council in September 2018 to paint local birds on shipping containers on the city’s waterfront. They depict the cute critters in a number of activities that visitors can take part in at the waterfront."

Frances Haszard

"Frances Haszard is an animator from Auckland who creates alluring, quirky and often outright weird animations. She’s worked on music videos for musicians like Two Door Cinema Club and drummer Julien Dyne. Though Haszard often using dazzling colours and 3D graphics in her work, we were struck by her animation for Hera Lindsay Bird’s ‘Children are the Orgasm of the World’—which, instead, uses simple black line animation on a white background to striking effect."

Pete McDonald

"Pete McDonald is a Christchurch-based freelance designer, illustrator and animator who has created a massive and massively varied body of work. He’s worked with some of the biggest companies in the world including Google, Nike, Converse, Sundance Film Festival and Coca Cola. Though, it was this illustration from his work for Unicef East Africa Appeal that caught our eye—pattern, colour and shape are combined to make this illustration an absolute treat for the eyes!"

Klim Type Foundry

"Founded in 2005 by Kris Sowersby, a New Zealand typeface designer, Klim Type Foundry is a type foundry based in Wellington. The world-renowned type foundry produces custom typefaces for businesses around the world, retail typefaces and custom lettering and logotypes. We love his typeface Geograph—a typeface designed for National Geographic as part of their rebrand in 2016. It’s a contemporary, plain sans serif that is made up of 24 different styles that the company uses across their broadcast, print and web channels."

Salted Herring

"Salted Herring, based in Wellington, is a digital design consultancy and agency who specialising is SaaS (Software as a Service for those who don’t know!) who specialise in digital products. They not only develop identities and create websites for brands—they do UX design, UI design, data visualisation, strategy, front end development and loads more. Kōkako is an app that measures the use of the Māori language on the radio across the country, Salted Herring delivered the strategic creative, visual identity, UX and UI design and the front end development. The app combines cutting edge technology, created by Dragonfly Data Science, and contemporary design to promote the country’s first language."

[harryhenry1]

Sme of the awesome things found at the Lumiére Cinemas at the arts centre in Christchurch. Nick did an incredible job with the place! #lumierecinemas #christchurch #newzealand #theatres #theatre #film #films #movie #movies #cinema (at Lumière Cinemas) https://www.instagram.com/p/B0IsOe0AJbf/?igshid=1hr23qu5zofts

[cinemanz]

Exploring The Impact Of Cinema: How Movies Shape Our Culture And Society?

Movies are a powerful tool to change our culture and society, whether they're promoting values, raising awareness of social justice issues, or influencing societal change. In this article we'll explore how the Cinema Christchurch can impact the world in positive ways. We'll look at examples of movies that have made an impact on society as well as some of its limitations.

Movies reflect the values and ideas of a culture.

Movies reflect the values and ideas of a culture. They can be a reflection of the movie times & tickets in which they are made, or they can be a reflection of society's fears and hopes.

Films are a way for us to see how people think and how they feel about the world around them. They can be a reflection of the values and ideas of a culture.

Films can be a reflection of the values and ideas of a culture. They can be a reflection of the times in which they are made, or they can be a reflection of society’s fears and hopes. Films are a way for us to see how people think and how they feel about the world around them.

Movies can influence societal change.

Movies can be a powerful tool for social change. They can be used to promote social justice issues and cultural changes, as well as provide a space for people to express their views.

In addition to providing platforms where marginalized groups can speak out against oppression, films may also inspire viewers' behavior by showing them what kind of impact change has had on other people's lives before theirs--whether it's through stories told through documentary footage or fictionalized accounts based on historical events; whether those stories reflect positive outcomes resulting from activism efforts such as marches/protests against racism; or whether they portray negative consequences associated with ignoring problems like hunger/homelessness among children living within inner city neighborhoods.

Movies shape our culture and society in many ways

Movies shape our culture and society in many ways. First, movies reflect the values and ideas of a culture by showing what people believe to be important. For example, if you look at movies from different time periods, you can see how those values have changed over time.

Second, Cinema Christchurch can promote social justice issues such as feminism or racial equality by portraying characters who stand up for these causes. Thirdly, they can also influence societal change through their ability to reach large audiences quickly through mass media outlets.

Finally--and perhaps most importantly--movies teach us about history through stories about events that actually happened or fictional accounts based on real-life events.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed this exploration of the impact of cinema. Movies are an important part of the society, and they have the power to shape our culture in many ways. We encourage you to watch some movies and think about how they might influence your own life or the world around us!

[lgeelove]

I FINALLY watched the Favourite and I loved it even more than I thought I would 😍😭

Plus: the cinema where I saw it is so amazing (Alice Cinema, Christchurch NZ)

[truelovedotcom]

Scenery in Heavenly Creatures - 1994

dir. Peter Jackson

[annie-xyp]

Researches& Inspirations/ Week 2/ 1- Interiors and objects

Steve Carr

https://stevecarr.co.nz/work/palm-frond

Forging alliances between materiality, magic, performance and cinema is what Christchurch artist Steve Carr does best. Playing with the mechanisms behind moving images and photographs, Carr creates controlled experiments that push the possibilities of film beyond the confines of linear narratives.

Marie Shannon

https://trishclark.co.nz/artists/shannon-marie/#page/selected-works/ Shannon’s images pay attention to the poetic resonance of the single object that can deliver remarkable emotional density and weight.

Many of Shannon’s works hinge on relationships – the objects and evidence of personal interactions enacted through the course of everyday life.

American Interiors- MJ Casteel

https://www.mlcasteel.com/american-interiors#1

American Interiors depicts the psychological repercussions of war and military service through images of the interiors of cars owned by veterans in the USA.

Taryn Simon

http://tarynsimon.com/works/contraband/#20

[moviethoughtswithkate]

Blithe Spirit (2020)

Isla and I saw this in the Alice cinema when we were down in Christchurch and we loved it. It was originally a 1941 stage play which is still fairly popular today; after watching this movie, Isla watched a recording of a stage production of it and told me they did a lot of work to bring it up to date in 2020. Cutting out the racism, etc... the usual.

I really enjoyed this movie. Its funniest moment is absolutely the scene where a certain character plunges to their death off a beautiful cliff. I loved how frivolous and shallow all the characters were. All the acting was perfect.

[airariaira]

Deuxième - 26/01/20

I have been in Troyes for almost 2 weeks now - wow! The travel day over was hectic, Alex and I were on planes for 27 hours. We were very tired, and I felt like I really needed a shower and a nap.  Us before it all:

Us right in the thick of it:

I was so tired by the end of it that I missed my train stop 😰 I made it in the end though, and was really struck by how beautiful the countryside and old buildings around Troyes are! The city is also in the shape of a bottle cork, which is pretty neat. It’s also been around since the middle ages.

^ This is the oldest house in Troyes - from the 15th century!

I had my first day of school last Thursday, my first class being Philosophy. Still beign jetlagged and very tired, the French went right over my head. I met some of my classmates though! Most of them are good at speaking Engish, which is great when I dont understand something in French... We ate at the canteen at lunchtime. The canteen food here isn’t nearly as bad as people have seemed to describe it as, in my opinion! We also visited a nearby thrift store, which was pretty cool. The bell at school took a little adjusting to - it’s a tuneful song sort of thing, and was a little jarring for me at first!

The school system here is organised into subjecct streams - I’m in the Literature stream, so the subjects I take are Philosophy, History-Geography, French Literature, Arts-Plastiques, English, and both Literature and History-Geography taught in Englush also. Being in classes taught in French was very difficult at first, but each class seems to feel easier. My comprehension of French feels like it’s improving already! Sometimes I feel a little behind though, seeing as I’ve arrived in the middle of the school year, hence in the middle of most topics. I’m getting there though. Art classes here are very relaxed - no art portfolio board to stress about finishing like in New Zealand. Before art on Thursday I gave soe of my new classmates the souvenirs I brought over from New Zealand - the pins and patches were very popular.

I found my own way home, and I have each school day since - at the start it felt like I got a little lost or confused in a different way each time, but now I’ve finally got the hang of the route home. I also bought some postcards to send back home, to friends, family, work, etc. Sometimes I take pictures of the buildings and things around me - I must look like such a tourist! One of the things I walk past each time is the Seine river, which also runs through Paris. Along the riverside there’s some cool sculptures...

Speaking French is frustrating at times - when I know what I want to say, but just don’t have the knowledge of how to say it in French. I’m trying my best and it feels more natural each day. When people ask if I speak French, I still say “oui, un petit peu”, though. Troyes is famous for it’s outlet sales in January, which means a lot of stylish or branded clothes and shoes are at a really good price right now. I suppose that’s part of the reason so many people here look so stylish every day! At times I feel that I left a lot of my stylish clothes back in New Zealand, instead opting for my warmest options possible. It’s pretty cold most days here, usually the high being 5 degrees and the low around -2. However over the time I’ve been here I’ve been blessed with beautiful weather most of the time, which makes the pretty city look all the more gorgeous. Last Saturday I saw the local market, and also tried some chocolate from a chocolatier that won the award for best chocolatier in the world a few years ago - miam! I’ve also really been enjoying baguettes from the local bakeries, and good French cheese. The food here is great. I also went to see the museum and the inside of the Cathedral on Saturday afternoon with my host mother Marie. It was gorgeous:

There’s also lots of tributes to Joan of Arc there, too:

The museum was huuge, and had everything from archaelogical history, to Greek and Roman artefacts, to beautiful paintings from the 18th century to now, and even a section with stuffed animals. There was even a few stuffed New Zealand birds. The tui was very ugly for some reason - how sad that that ugly tui is the way so many people will see New Zealand’s native birds for the first time. On Sunday I woke up to the Cathedral bells - what an amazing thing to wake up to! I tried harder to speak French with a friend of my host family - I know I’ll get there eventually. That afternoon I went to see a movie at the cinema with my host family, in French. We watched ‘1917′ and it took me some concentration to understand, but I’m glad I went. One of my host family’s traditions is having crêpes after dinner on Sunday evenings - it feels similar to the tradition we had when I ws a kid to have pancakes every Sunday morning for breakfast. On Monday I met a classmate in my English class who lived in Christchurch for a year! It was really cool talking to her. Monday was also my first 10 hour day at school, so was very tiring. It’s weird getting to school while it’s still dark in the morning and leaving school after the sun has gone down in the evening. I started getting a little bit of a head cold on Monday, which sucked but is to be expected suddenly coming into the middle of winter straight from the hot New Zealand summer. On Tuesday we had P.E. class in the gym in the morning. It was pretty fun! I also found myself able to join in with some more banter and jokes with my classmates, which is really cool. Wednesdays are a half day, and seeing as I don’t take Spanish or German I only have 2 hours of classes on Wednesday mornings - wow! I had my first English Literature class, which was right up my alley. The teacher also had a lot of questions for me 😂 I went into town alone for the first time that afternoon because I needed some stationery, found my way around alright and actually quite enjoyed myself! I bought a French baguette for the first time 

(“I’m a real French girl!”) Since Thursday I’ve really been putting in effort to speak French and ask for people to speak French to me too. At school in my English class my teacher asked me to read out an extract from the text we’re studying to deomstrate how English has tonal shifts. I hope no one takes my accent and tone to be the absolute end goal of how they should speak English, because everyone talks differently! On Thursday during Arts-Plastiques we also went to see a showcase of art from the artist Deborah Bowmann. It was really fun to go to, but I did find the guide a little bit difficult to follow in French. Still a great experience nonetheless. I couldn’t believe that I had already been going to school here for a week - time is going so fast! On Friday (yesterday) I had a good day at school, and found myself opening up a little bit more to my classmates. I hope I can get to know them well with the time I have here.I only had one class yesterday because my Arts-Plastiques teacher was striking today. Some people here, particularly teachers I think, are striking because of the times the workday finishes. In the afternoon I went with all of the last year students (those in Terminal) to the Forum, which is a big expo in a big hall showcasing study and job options for after they’ve finished school. Some friends and I talked to a lady who was representing the (expensive) school that you go to to train for working in shops like Chanel in Paris. It’s very expensive, and you have to be very articulate in French, English, and even Chinese - as well as immaculately presented - because you are, essentially, the face of France. One of the other ladies at the stand was even told off because she had a piercing in her upper ear 😳 I walked past some of the strikers with Marie that afternoon - they were big yesterday. They caused traffic jams and there were protesters on many of the streets and everything. Yesterday evening we went out to dinner to a cool local restaurant called Rosa Parks. (It was très bon!) This afternoon we are going to go for a walk nearby the house my host family has by a lake that’s close to Troyes. I am really enjoying my time here! Until next time.