ESC: It's more than a show

"We’re a team, not a family. We’re like a pro sports team, not a kid’s recreational team. Netflix leaders hire, develop and cut smartly, so we have stars in every position."

- Reed Hastings, Co-Founder of Netflix

I basically play classroom roulette every day because there are two buildings that house about 85% of the classrooms and there is one building 10 minutes away that has a few classrooms. I've heard about the system where the students stay in the same classroom and the professors have to move instead. ESC Clermont has a special system where both the students and the professors move to a new classroom every day. It's a good way to get to know the school, but I have no idea where I'm going to have class each day. Today, my classroom just said "auditorium"...

Tea and Legends of Korra

Nicolas and I have become Legends of Korra watching buddies. I remember watching Avatar the Last Airbender growing up with Natalie and she would get really upset when I watched episodes without her. Nicolas and I, in the spirit of the airbender universe, drink tea while watching. As you can see in the picture above, Nicolas has a variety of ingredients for his teas. They call herbal teas "infusions" and it was super fun to make my own mix of herbs. Maybe I'll open my own tea shop in Provo like Uncle Iroh.

Watching Megan

Kevin and I watched Megan together. It was more of a thriller than a horror movie, but still interesting commentary on artificial intelligence. The 3 foot tall doll was able to do a lot of damage, so I think we are in trouble with Elon Musk's 5'8" humanoids.

Esope63

I finally got to volunteer at Esope63! It only took me three weeks...

Prepping for the day

Getting ready for the day. I arrived around 10am and when I got there, they printed a full page picture of me. Underneath the picture it basically said the French equivalent of 'newbie' and was pinned to the bulleton board for all to see.

Vegetable Poster

I thought they might assign me to preparing produce in the backroom or something, since I don't understand French well, but to my surprise they put me in the store to help people. I was assigned to the produce area where I picked, weighed, and priced vegetables for students. Let's just say, my fruits and vegetables vocabulary is going to be incredible by the time I leave here.

Tropico

I tried this fruit juice drink.

Lunch

A few guys made pizza and pasta, so I grabbed a quick lunch.

My station

Here I wait for someone to walk up, they tell me what vegetables they want, and I pick, weigh, and bag them.

Amandine aux Poires

I also tried this almond pear pastry. It was dense and delicious. I'm not sure where the almonds where though.

Xining and his wok

Xining and I went out to lunch at Let's Wok, one of his favorite restaurants. I think it was my first time trying Wok, but it was basically a meat and vegetable fry with rice on the side. There was a thin sauce at the bottom of the bowl that I mixed with the rice. It was a delicous meal, but at about $15 I think it was overpriced. I will make something about as good for half the price if I can find the spices.

The Chinese Students

All of Xining's Chinese friends showed up to eat with us as well. It was funny because every single one of them wear a beige jacket. I guess it's Chinese fashion and since I was the only one wearing a black jacket, I guess I represent American fashion. Another interesting thing I noticed was the lack verbal communication. I don't understand Chinese, but I understand silence. Everyone ate in silence as they played either Clash of Clans or War Thunder. I suppose they are enjoying life in a country with no legal limits on screen time.

An absolutely freezing day

RLCS: European Open

Nothing like steak, potatoes, and a Rocket League tournament to wrap up the day.

Des Grèves

Des grèves means strikes in French and I got to experience my first one, (probably not my last...). I did not attend the protest; this picture is credit of Nicolas. Thankfully for me, I plan my life to not need a car or public transport so I was right on time to my class. 

Street Sweeper

I saw a street sweeper cleaning up confetti from the mornings events. The building is l'Université Clermont Auvergne which is a much larger university in Clermont at 16 thousand.

The uninteresting interior of a bank

I finally got my French bank acct paperwork done. Hopefully, I will be able to use it soon.

Clermont at night

It's not the best view, but it's something.

Festival du Court Métrage

This week is one of France's biggest film festivals and it takes place right here in Clermont-Ferrand. 

We found our seats

We got to one of the International showings. Some films I didn't understand while others I connected with introduced new ideas.

Army building in Clermont

Bull Versus Cow

We found wall art in this alleyway. 

Horses

I found my happy place

Adèle told me about a store called Fnac that has, in my opinion, a strange collection of items. They sell household electronics, board games, and music so it's similar to a Target.

Splendor

I found a few of my favorite games in French, including Carcassone! I also found a copy of Splendor Duel, which I have not tried yet.

Road Construction

The city is doing construction on one of the streets I take often.

Apple Bread

I was craving something sweet, so I made apple bread. It turned out incredibly delicious. 

Au Cinéma

I went to see the movie Asterix & Obelix: The Middle Kingdom which is a French comedy based off a kids cartoon. It was silly and funny, but I didn't understand any of the jokes. 

Kebab and The Office

After the movie, we grabbed Kebab from a fast food place for dinner. This was my first time trying Kebab and it wasn't very good to be honest. It was only 7 euros so maybe a more expensive one will taste better. I don't plan to buy it again tho.

I spoke French in a dream for the first time. I kind of forgot that it happens when learning a language, but I'm sooo happy! It's been incredibly difficult to understand French people, but I must have enough French bouncing around in my head to make it pop up in a dream.

Sweet Tomato and Pepper Pork Roast

I made a stovetop pork roast that turned out wonderfully. I got sick of eating pasta and oatmeal every day, so I'm looking for new foods to cook.

The Impossible Crosswalk

This crosswalk always turns green for the second half of the street but stays red for the first part. French crosswalk lights are sooo annoying.

The Royal Classroom

ESC is doing construction, so they have rented event halls to use as classrooms. Today I got to have class under glass chandeliers.

Zekeriyya

This random guy stopped me in the hallway and asked if I was a friend of Carlos. Zekeriyya did an exchange to BYU during my first semester. Carlos actually tried to introduce me to him, but I wasn't interested. 18 months later, fate has given me a second chance to get to know him.

I've been thinking about the quote at the beginning of this post because a classmate told me they refuse to work with people of average intelligence. Reed Hastings had a similar mindset, but I wasn't sure I agreed with him. Should a company fire an average or below average employee? Is it even possible for a company to be composed of only star employees? Is there enough talent to go around?

The first book I read on psychology used a study to show how a little diversity can increase happiness. There is diversity in everything and companies have recently been looking for ethnic and cultural diversity (although this may be for public appearance rather than increased productivity). I believe that increased intellectual and skill diversity promotes innovation and creativity. It seems illogical to intentionally hire inexperienced or average performers, but it increases a company's diversity. Hastings was an innovator and his hiring model is unique among large companies. He stepped down as CEO last month, so we will see if he has managed to set up a company with leaders that will carry on his legacy.