Labyrinth

Update on EDF

Alors! I am due for an update on my internship situation. In short, I absolutely love it! I don’t think I could have asked for a cooler group to work in. I am in the R&D section of EDF, called ICAME (I forgot what it stands for at the moment) and focuses on ways to integrate energy and technology in order to maximize savings by both the consumer and utilities. The projects range from creating iphone applications to read the stickers that are posted on buildings in Europe that describe the building’s energy efficiency and consumption, to a wii mote that can control the blinds, lights, tv, etc. There’s a whole lab set up to simulate and test the technology, with modern furnature, IP televisions – it’s like the media lab moved here to focus solely on energy efficiency.

I don’t have much work yet, which is a little frustrating. I wouldn’t mind as long as I could receive confirmation that I’m doing a good job. When I finish a task early I always wonder if I should’ve worked on it longer or if I should take initiative with another project.

However, I absolutely LOVE speaking french all day! I’ve been hanging out with the other interns, which means I have good conversations with them during lunch at the cantine (large cafeteria) and during les poses (breaks). I know that I make a plethora of mistakes with vocabulary and verb tenses, subject agreement, etc, but I am understood, and I can (usually) get my point across. Though today I had a difficult time discussing the qualities of us tv shows and films (irony, sketches in snl, tina fey). Lol. They’re all tons of fun – very nice, like to joke around, etc. I’m looking forward to hanging out with them sometime soon, perhaps next week on Friday after work, when they say that the weekend actually starts. Yahoo!

Outside of work, I had a lovely dinner with Katie Szeto and her parents – a quintessentially long and delicious meal of salade frisees avec du lardons, veau, et des profiteroles, all with good vin blanc, of course.

This evening Jana and I met up at the Saint Michel stop in St. Germain and wandered the streets. We bought cheap crepes and watched people picnic on the bridges while some kind of music video was being filmed! I definitely want to do this more – pick up a bottle of wine and some bread and cheese, and just picnic somewhere in the center of Paris. Perhaps we shall do this tomorrow.

A demain!