Jay Swanson's Blog, page 12

Back from Guinea – and French Friday

I’m back, safe and sound, and I have a lot to share. For tonight I’ll leave you with French Friday and my post-return Monday vlog (I’ll post the return trip soon, though my computer has been unhappy to work with me so far).

I’ll be posting videos sporadically for a while from my trip to visit my friends on board the Africa Mercy, in Conakry, Guinea. I had a great time, and I am completely exhausted from the non-stop socializing, filming, and hot African sun. We had some issues with demonstrations in the city, and that’s what French Friday was about:



Not to worry, things cooled off and we were able to head at least a little ways into town (and I got to play some ultimate frisbee!!).

And in returning to Paris, and realizing that my initial travel-video plan wasn’t going to work (with highlights from the trip as well), I recorded a little something for you in my present sick/tired state. I’m not sick and tired, I’m just sick on top of being tired. I’m still handsome.



Lots more videos of African adventure coming soon! Be sure to keep checking back every Monday and Friday for new videos! And I need to go to bed…

Conakry, Guinea (Africa) – Safe and Sound

I haven’t posted about this trip much on the blog just to maintain my attempts at surprising Marty, but once I get back to Paris I’ll create a playlist of all the videos I made in the process and over the trip – and I’ll post that here as well. But the basic gist of this trip is to bring treats and hugs to my friends serving with Mercy Ships in Conakry, Guinea. That’s really it – and make some videos about them and their jobs so that they can share their lives with people back home.

If you wanted to know what I look like on 3 hours of sleep and an international voyage, you’ve had no better chance than this. I took a lot of footage that I thought would be great in the moment. It wasn’t. You won’t be seeing it any time soon. The trip down to West Africa wasn’t bad, and consisted of a flight from Paris to Brussels, and another down to Conakry.

My buddy Josh picked me up at the airport and we immediately went to find more people and hang out – you’ll see that in the video though, so here you go:



I’ll be making more videos while I’m here, though I don’t know how many I’ll be able to post. I barely got that one up, but I’ll aim to keep my committed Monday and Friday schedule, so expect a #FrenchFriday on Friday (though it’ll probably be a French-Speaking West African Friday #FSWAF).

I did get footage of the surprise (it was a SUCCESS) when Marty found me playing video games in his cabin with his sons. It was pretty glorious, though my acting skills failed under the pressure of my excitement to see him. We also went out to go bike shopping (that’s not Marty above, FYI, it’s Ken, the ship’s chef) and I think I got enough to make a video out of that experience too. Both Ken and Marty will probably regret their lack of filter, but we’ll all be entertained.

Let me know if there’s anything you’re dying to see, otherwise I’m gonna stick to what I have planned and share it as I can!

Cheese Legs – French Friday #4

Do you like legs? Who doesn’t like legs? How about French cheese legs?

I’m serious though, the women in Paris are very modest with how they dress, yet very classy and attractive at the same time. There’s something about the sense of style they portray that just sucks you in, and then you realize you’ve been following someone for like three blocks and suddenly feel like a stalker. This is where those random “I’ll just check out this store” moments come from if you ever see a guy pull one. If you’re wondering how this all pulls together, on to the video:



Sorry if the girl knows who she is (she doesn’t – heck, I don’t) but next time you’re out walking around, ladies, avoid any cheese stores. Or find them all if you’re trying to repel men, because that works just as well.

Could this be the new preventative measure to keep men at bay? To keep those stalkers away? A stinky cheese perfume, perhaps?

The photo in the background today wasn’t a photo, it was an Eiffel Tower keychain – sorry. And it’s really late and I’ve got a plane to catch so I’m gonna get lazy on you here and end it… hmmm.. right about… now.

Oh, but I met Christophe Albertini (French Elmo) tonight after making the video, so I’ll share that with you instead.

Free Fantasy Audio Book – White Shores is on its way

I mentioned it earlier, and the time has finally arrived for some fantasy audio. I did a run through the introduction a while back and solicited feedback from a few people including my buddy Curtis, a theater major from my Alma Mater. I’ve gotten it close to down, and will only improve as I go (I mean, I’m gonna have over 100 chapters to read, I have to be an expert by the end).

I’ll be releasing each chapter here on my blog and on soundcloud for free as I go. Listen in, download it, go nuts, and let me know what you think! Once I get the proof copy of the latest edition of White Shores from the printers, I’ll even do some video versions and see how that goes, although those will be a bit lighter and will probably contain extras and asides as I go.

Here’s the introduction:

In the meantime, here’s the introduction for White Shores. I don’t know if I’ll leave the entire book up for free forever, so be sure to get on them when they go up (but the first half will probably be free forever at the very least).

Do you like audiobooks? I’m looking into the pricing and so forth, but how much do you normally pay for them? What’s reasonable?

 

Faking Canadian – Why You Should Be an American (if you’re a good American)

What is “faking Canadian?” It’s not a swear. It’s what Americans do ALL THE TIME when they travel abroad, and it only serves to hurt the rest of us. How? Well, as usual, I’ll let the video do the talking:

Or the drunk singing.

Listen guys, if you’re an American and you’re going to travel you need to remember two things:

1) You’re a guest in someone else’s country. Act accordingly (in other words: they aren’t the foreigner, you are)

2) Things are going to be different than you expect – try to take it in stride and remember that the rest of the world does things differently than, well… the rest of the world

Also you could definitely try to keep your voice down, Americans are notoriously loud. Don’t fight it, just accept it and move on. If you ever want any travel tips, or suggestions on how to get a better experience out of traveling abroad please feel free to ask. A lot of people have a horrible experience for all the wrong reasons when they’re abroad, don’t let that happen to you.

I’ll post more about this in the future, I’m sure, but what have you experienced? What do you wish you had known before you traveled?

The background image from today’s post:

French Friday #3 – The Mighty Baguette

So there’s nothing as tasty as a delicious baguette. Well… that’s not true at all actually. I can list a lot of things that are tastier than a baguette. But not for just one euro!

I eat one of these things every day, between sandwiches and hummus I can’t really keep myself from eating them.

You know what the hardest part really is? The closed captions. You were expecting something baguette related, weren’t you? I have a loose script that I demolish when I do these and I have to go back through and transcribe my ramblings. It’s ridiculous.

Anyways. What’s your favorite thing to get at the bakery?

 

Impostor Syndrome

I suffer from it, and I can’t be the only one… or can I? It’s one of those things that you hope no one will find out about you, so it makes sense to just shout it from the highest YouTube you can find.

 

Not to be SUPER cryptic or anything… sheesh. I had to run out the door really quickly on this one, and I don’t feel like I did the concept justice before I did (but I’m sure I’ll revisit it).

I actually managed to make it through without needing any edits. Well, without NEEDING any edits. Impostor syndrome is one of those things that I think we all suffer from here and there, and I know that whenever people pick up my books I immediately have this influx of fear: “I hope they don’t realize I’m a total sham.”

Not to say I AM a sham, but when you make yourself vulnerable through creativity (among other things) it’s really easy to feel like you are. This is the same as being called out as an expert or in any other way that you put yourself out there. Don’t you think?

Exploding Pastries and Terminal Illness

Forgive my attempts at the opening line. They all suck, I’m fully aware.

 

 

Those pastries are totally worth the pain though.

At this point I’ll be releasing new videos every Monday and Friday (Fridays being #FrenchFriday), and will throw in extras as we go along. I need to write a real blog post here though, so I’ll get on that sooner than later.

French Friday – Raclette and Water

The raclette part actually comes from dinner on Wednesday, but we’ll just group them together. Raclette is a cheese that turns into an amazing meal. You’ll see if you watch the video, but it’s worth noting that while it’s hard to find in the States, it’s well worth it if you can. It’s also well worth convincing your friends to do it at their place.

The second video is the actual French Friday video.

French Friday this week is highlighting something you may not think was worth highlighting, until you see it in action. Water faucets. For some reason the hot water faucets in this country are self-regulating and turn themselves off (or close to it) well before you want them to.

Also, if you wanted to see what I said at the end there, you can ask for a pitcher of water at any restaurant by saying “Je voudrais une carafe d’eau, s’il vous plait.” Which means literally “I would like a pitcher of water, if you please.” (Well, literally if it pleases you, but this isn’t a French lesson).

If you’ve got any questions about France, Paris, or French culture that you’d like me to address you can always leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to figure it out for you.

Swanson Vlog – the Hermit Crab

Featuring no hermits nor crabs nor hermit crabs. Sorry. At least not the real kind.

I didn’t even get to tell you about some dude jumping out to scare me thinking I was someone else, or the girl who literally lives in the windowless box, or the banshee under my sink… but I’ll get to those some other time.

Enjoy!



As reference, for those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about (not my neighbor, I can’t manage to get a photo of her):

Borrowed with trepidation from Tapirback.com