How long it has been since my last post! I am truly sorry for the delay for those of you on the edge of your seat :)
My trip to Spain started at the Barcelona airport in the early hours of the mroning. We bought bus tickets from Barcelona to Madrid and back (8 hours each way, and let me say, it is not worth however much you save by not flying), so without seeing any of Barcelona we first made our way inward Spain to visit the capital. One of my first experiences in Spain, while at a stop for food during the bus ride to Madrid, was pretty comical. I have very, very minimal knowledge of Spanish and knew that in this middle-of-nowhere-bus stop, they probably would not speak any English. I still figured I would try and asked if they spoke English but only got a confused look for a response. The only reason I needed to talk to them was to see if they took debit/credit cards because I didn’t have any cash. So, naturally, I proceeded to take out my credit card, made a swiping motion with it, and asked, “Si??” Luckily, she understood and said in Spanish I had to spend at least 5 and I was pretty proud of myself for understanding. I feel like my trip to Spain really pushed me the farthest out of my comfort zone because of the fact that there was very little to no English, French, or Italian spoken, so getting by on my own was very difficult, for once.
Madrid was really something. We had a good experience overall with our hostel and the food we ate, people we met, and places we went were all together phenomenal. Between all of us travelling together (three of my friends from Santa Clara and three others from Louisiana, Alabama, and Illinois) we knew some people either studying or travelling in Spain at the same time, so we were able to meet up with them and have them show us the best places to visit.
The first night we found a nice place to eat authentic Spanish food. There was a nice looking tapas place that we ended up trying and the food, although kind of expensive with smaller portions, was extremely tasty. Tapas, if you don’t know, are just little appetizer-like dishes that can range from bread with salami or coppa to an assortment of cheese. Everywhere you go, if you get glass of wine or a beer or a soda or anything, you will also be served tapas with your drink. It’s a pleasant surprise and was very well received by yours truly. The first night I had the best ‘maple-brazed’ chorizo I have ever tasted. After the first night we searched for more affordable places, though, and luckily found a very fun place that was always packed. They were called 100 Montanditos and served 100 different little tapas sandwhiches with a variety of things in it and each one was only one euro. A pint of Sangria, a very authentic Spanish drink, was only one euro as well. Needless to say, we returned to that place often for cheap but very good meals. We did do more than just eat in Madrid, though, as surprising as this may sound. There was definitely a lot to see. We took a free tour during the day we had there and learned a ton about the city. We started our tour in the central plaza which is in the dead center of the city. It is in that plaza where they hold their large celebrations and hold protests as well. We learned that the world’s largest protest was held in that plaza some years back and that the city itself is known for having many outspoken protestors. Also on our tour, we learned a lot about the royalty from many years ago and how the different government buildings came to be. It was an interesting history but I did question our tour guide’s knowledge at some points… she was a nice tour guide from Florida (originally Connecticut), surprisingly, but some of the things she said were somewhat questionable. The final straw was when she was describing a queen that married her cousin and described it as “modern day Alabama or Louisiana,” and of course, as I mentioned, I was with two friends from Louisiana and Alabama. She lost a bit of credibility there. It was still a fun tour and afterward we headed to an indoor market that we heard a lot of good things about. We were so glad we went because this place had everything; chocolate dipped churros, all sorts of meats and cheeses, tapas of all kinds, cheese croquettes and much, much more. The market was packed with locals enjoying lunch before siesta. We continued to ask each other why we didn’t have places like this at home! Everything you could buy was one or two euros so you could buy an assortment of things for five or six euros and be set. Afterward we went to a Renoir art museum followed by another trip to 100 Montanditos.
We took a night bus back to Barcelona from Madrid and I will take this time to try and convince everyone and anyone who is reading this that an 8+ hour night bus is really, really not worth it even if it is free. I will never put myself through so much misery ever again. I was drooled on, I was awake the entire time, I was yelled at in Spanish because the seat in front of me would not lock in the reclined position (apparently it was my fault), and worst of all, I was stuck on a bus without any of my friends. Because of how we booked our tickets, all of my friends made it on the first bus whereas I was on the second (both buses were running from Madrid to Barcelona at the same time, though). Never, ever again.
Luckily, we made it to Barcelona and found our hostel first thing. We had quite the fun hostel with bunk beds that were probably 15 feet high so we had to climb large ladders to get to our ‘bungalows’, as we called them. We had a little bit of a hiccup when we got there because my friend’s folder with her passport and other information was left on the bus. She was very lucky to have been able to get a new passport that day but went through several, several hurdles to get it. We were told about the many pick-pocketers in Barcelona (and Spain in general) so we were very cautious, but even more so after that ordeal.
One of the first things we did was get food (naturally) and to my surprise, one of the first things I saw was a Viennetta ice cream cake! When I was very little my family used to visit my great grandma and other family in Florida, where my parents grew up, and we would always eat these vanilla and chocolate ice cream cakes. I loved them more than anything. I craved them many years after I had even had one and looked for them desperately on the web, including eBay. They were nowhere to be found in any store near where I live or even online and I figured the company no longer sold them. So when I saw that Viennetta cake, I grabbed it immediately and ate almost an entire cake to myself. Of course, after not having eaten for about 15 hours, it wasn’t my best idea… but it still tasted just like I remembered it. Anyway, Barcelona, right.
I wish I could have spent more time in Barcelona because there was even more to see there than in Madrid; incredible architecture, gorgeous coastline, and endless nightlife. One of the first places we visited was the Bacelona Cascada del Parque de la Ciudadela. I will have to let my pictures speak for themselves but will say that they, like all of my pictures everywhere I have been able to go, do not even do this place justice. It was gigantic. I loved this place. Before finding it, though, we walked along the coast and I was surprised by how many huge sailboats and yachts there were. It was definitely a change of scenery for me being on a beach that was surrounded by a very urban and populated city. We also went to a museum that was featuring Pablo Picasso’s very famous “Guernica” painting which was both bizarre and appealing at the same time. Sorry to say they would not allow us to take pictures. I actually liked a lot of the Picasso paintings that I saw at the museum. Plus it was free for students! There was too much for us to see before we had to go, but we still fit in a lot during the time we were there.
Barcelona was definitely a fun place to be for Halloween and I was so glad I was able to celebrate it there! Most of Europe sees Halloween as a very American celebration that they do not find entertaining. Some places will throw parties but trick-or-treating is pretty unheard of. If there was one city that went all out with costume and parties, however, it was Barcelona! People were dressed in costumes on the streets throughout the day and night. Unfortunately, the clubs did not play any fun Halloween music to dance to nor did any of them have nearly as scary decorations as the Diemer household back in Washington. Still, our night on Halloween was a blast and we all dressed in black with hats that we found that had bull horns, ears, and eyes, so that together we were all running of the bulls! One of our friends led us as the matador with a big flag of Spain. My night ended with good friends on a sandy beach before I had to leave to catch my plane back to Lille. I had a phenomenal time overall and really wish I would have had another couple days to see everything I wanted to see. Something tells me that I will definitely be going back to Spain, though.
Pictures will come soon!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Vacation Time!
The past week in France was a vacation week for my school and for most of the country, thus I took advantage of my week off of classes to go places I had never been! My itinerary looked like this: Dublin on October 23rd until the 26th, Madrid from the 26th until the 28th, and Barcelona for the remainder of my trip until the first of November. In a few words, this trip was epic.
First stop: Dublin. I had never been to Ireland before and did not really know what to expect. I must say now that Ireland was one of the most memorable trips I know I will have for a long while. The island is truly amazing. Dublin itself is an interesting city with a lot of pride. Everyone drinks Guinness with meals or at the pubs and so naturally, we chose to visit the Guinness factory right when we got there. The place was really big. We learned a lot about the process of how beer is made and got to taste Guinness beer, as well. Money well spent, I do recommend it if you find yourself in Dublin. The city was expensive and so the plan was to get off the beaten path to go to the countryside on the other side of the island, where we would find the wee town of Kilarney. Online, we found that train ticket should have been around 30 euros so we had our hostel booked in Kilarney and planned out our trip accordingly. When we got to the train station, however, we found that the tickets were 78 euros roundtrip! We were torn as a group but I knew that I did not want to spend over 100 US dollars if there was a way to avoid it. So in the end, three of my friends went to Kilarney and three of us stayed and made other plans. Honestly, it worked out way better than we could have ever planned. The hostel in Kilarney did not charge us for cancelling, thankfully, and my two friends and I were also able to find a hostel in Dublin that allowed us to stay in a full apartment for only 5 euros more per night than we were paying before! This place was phenomenal – full kitchen, fireplace, family room area, balcony, bedroom and full bathroom. For 20 euros a night! We knew that we didn’t want to stay in Dublin the entire time, though, so we bought day passes on the local rail to explore the nearby coast. 4 euros for unlimited rail pass the first day, and 8 euros the next – what a deal! First up was Howth, the gorgeous suburban, countryside city along the northwest coast of the island. Howth is amazing. At the docks you can buy fish to feed the seals which congregate near the edge and wait patiently. They are amazing animals! The city itself is very pretty and around every corner is a new photograph waiting to be shot. We first visited the weekend market which supplied fresh baked goods, farmer’s fruit, and other knickknacks for cheap. There, we bought our dinner for that night since we had a full kitchen to cook it in. Next, we hiked up a trail to the peak of the hill overlooking the city and there we had a ¾ view of the entire ocean. Breathtaking is the word to describe the moment when we reached the peak. Utterly breathtaking. Looking back on the pictures, I realize now that they do nothing to truly give an accurate visual of what we were seeing. The cold wind blowing at the top of the hill over the tall grass and stone cottages which lined the streets below, the warm sun shining over the bluest ocean I have ever seen with nothing but green landscape behind us – this was honestly a highlight of all my travels. We enjoyed Howth a lot and all recommend it to anyone making their way to Dublin or Ireland. The next day we went on the other side of the northwest coast below Howth to a city called Dun Leary. On this day we felt a little more adventurous and wanted to get the most out of our unlimited rail pass during the day (and that we did). We started in Dun Leary but walked through four different towns before we realized that there was no turning back, so we caught the train in Dalkey where we ended up. Between Dun Leary and Dalkey, we had a lot of photographic moment, as well. The coast was cold but we lucked out again with the sunny weather. At one point of the bay there is a small beach called 40 Point where every day of the year, even on Christmas, you will find people swimming. They had to be crazy! The water felt extremely cold and they were only wearing small bathing suits! I was impressed. Dalkey was a city a little farther inward from the coast but had a very cute town center with small restaurants and shops in cozy stone buildings. I found a restaurant that we planned to visit again for dinner but when we finally did, it had closed. Eager to finally try traditional (but cheap) Irish food, I convinced my friends to continue onward on the rail to find a place to eat dinner. I remember I had seen pretty postcards from a city named Killiney, so I figured hey, they must have cool places to eat. It was a couple stops over and so we went for it. My friends, tired and hungry had high expectations and it was all on me if we didn’t find anything. So when we got there, there was nothing. It was a very residential area that was hard to navigate at night. Some young teens passing by (they had to be 13 or 14) luckily helped us out a bit. We asked them where the ‘city center’ was and they said ‘well, there’s a wee village down there, just follow the lights’. When he said ‘wee village’, he meant it. Two pubs and a gas station. I wanted to be like a local and believe me, we were amongst only locals at the pub we chose. It was one of those situations where we walked in the pub and everyone looked toward the door (likely because they know everyone in the town), saw us and thought, hm, they aren’t from around here. The people, nonetheless, were friendly and we had some good food. I did forget to mention, though, about our first night in Dublin. The first night (after the Guinness factory) consisted of us making our way to the Temple Bar pub where there was amazing live music and tons of smiling faces having a jolly ole time. Really, it was like one big family in there all belching out the lyrics of the songs in unison for the whole night. Nothing beats great music with great company! So right off the bat, I knew I would love Ireland.
It’s getting late here and I need to make dinner! Thus keep posted for my blogs about my trip to Spain, where I visited both Madrid and Barcelona. The trip only got better as it went on!
First stop: Dublin. I had never been to Ireland before and did not really know what to expect. I must say now that Ireland was one of the most memorable trips I know I will have for a long while. The island is truly amazing. Dublin itself is an interesting city with a lot of pride. Everyone drinks Guinness with meals or at the pubs and so naturally, we chose to visit the Guinness factory right when we got there. The place was really big. We learned a lot about the process of how beer is made and got to taste Guinness beer, as well. Money well spent, I do recommend it if you find yourself in Dublin. The city was expensive and so the plan was to get off the beaten path to go to the countryside on the other side of the island, where we would find the wee town of Kilarney. Online, we found that train ticket should have been around 30 euros so we had our hostel booked in Kilarney and planned out our trip accordingly. When we got to the train station, however, we found that the tickets were 78 euros roundtrip! We were torn as a group but I knew that I did not want to spend over 100 US dollars if there was a way to avoid it. So in the end, three of my friends went to Kilarney and three of us stayed and made other plans. Honestly, it worked out way better than we could have ever planned. The hostel in Kilarney did not charge us for cancelling, thankfully, and my two friends and I were also able to find a hostel in Dublin that allowed us to stay in a full apartment for only 5 euros more per night than we were paying before! This place was phenomenal – full kitchen, fireplace, family room area, balcony, bedroom and full bathroom. For 20 euros a night! We knew that we didn’t want to stay in Dublin the entire time, though, so we bought day passes on the local rail to explore the nearby coast. 4 euros for unlimited rail pass the first day, and 8 euros the next – what a deal! First up was Howth, the gorgeous suburban, countryside city along the northwest coast of the island. Howth is amazing. At the docks you can buy fish to feed the seals which congregate near the edge and wait patiently. They are amazing animals! The city itself is very pretty and around every corner is a new photograph waiting to be shot. We first visited the weekend market which supplied fresh baked goods, farmer’s fruit, and other knickknacks for cheap. There, we bought our dinner for that night since we had a full kitchen to cook it in. Next, we hiked up a trail to the peak of the hill overlooking the city and there we had a ¾ view of the entire ocean. Breathtaking is the word to describe the moment when we reached the peak. Utterly breathtaking. Looking back on the pictures, I realize now that they do nothing to truly give an accurate visual of what we were seeing. The cold wind blowing at the top of the hill over the tall grass and stone cottages which lined the streets below, the warm sun shining over the bluest ocean I have ever seen with nothing but green landscape behind us – this was honestly a highlight of all my travels. We enjoyed Howth a lot and all recommend it to anyone making their way to Dublin or Ireland. The next day we went on the other side of the northwest coast below Howth to a city called Dun Leary. On this day we felt a little more adventurous and wanted to get the most out of our unlimited rail pass during the day (and that we did). We started in Dun Leary but walked through four different towns before we realized that there was no turning back, so we caught the train in Dalkey where we ended up. Between Dun Leary and Dalkey, we had a lot of photographic moment, as well. The coast was cold but we lucked out again with the sunny weather. At one point of the bay there is a small beach called 40 Point where every day of the year, even on Christmas, you will find people swimming. They had to be crazy! The water felt extremely cold and they were only wearing small bathing suits! I was impressed. Dalkey was a city a little farther inward from the coast but had a very cute town center with small restaurants and shops in cozy stone buildings. I found a restaurant that we planned to visit again for dinner but when we finally did, it had closed. Eager to finally try traditional (but cheap) Irish food, I convinced my friends to continue onward on the rail to find a place to eat dinner. I remember I had seen pretty postcards from a city named Killiney, so I figured hey, they must have cool places to eat. It was a couple stops over and so we went for it. My friends, tired and hungry had high expectations and it was all on me if we didn’t find anything. So when we got there, there was nothing. It was a very residential area that was hard to navigate at night. Some young teens passing by (they had to be 13 or 14) luckily helped us out a bit. We asked them where the ‘city center’ was and they said ‘well, there’s a wee village down there, just follow the lights’. When he said ‘wee village’, he meant it. Two pubs and a gas station. I wanted to be like a local and believe me, we were amongst only locals at the pub we chose. It was one of those situations where we walked in the pub and everyone looked toward the door (likely because they know everyone in the town), saw us and thought, hm, they aren’t from around here. The people, nonetheless, were friendly and we had some good food. I did forget to mention, though, about our first night in Dublin. The first night (after the Guinness factory) consisted of us making our way to the Temple Bar pub where there was amazing live music and tons of smiling faces having a jolly ole time. Really, it was like one big family in there all belching out the lyrics of the songs in unison for the whole night. Nothing beats great music with great company! So right off the bat, I knew I would love Ireland.
It’s getting late here and I need to make dinner! Thus keep posted for my blogs about my trip to Spain, where I visited both Madrid and Barcelona. The trip only got better as it went on!
Pictures from Parent's Trip
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| Looking up the stairs from the Champagne Cave |
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| HUGE! |
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| Looking down the stairwell of the cave. Hi mom and dad! |
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| Very, Very old Champagne |
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| View of the side of Reims Cathedral |
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| Reims Cathedral |
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| Reims Cathedral |
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| Inside of Reims Cathedral |
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| Amazing. |
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| Escargot!!! |
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| Protest protest protest |
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| On the drive home to Lille. |
Parents Visit Lille, Reims, and Brussels!
Since last I have posted, much has happened. I’ll start from the beginning! First was the visit of both of my parents! I really hope that I can express to my fullest potential how happy I am that they were able to come. Not only were they both able to come out and stay with me in Lille, but they took me on an amazing trip to Reims in the Champagne region of France, as well.
My mom and dad arrived on the Monday just after I had trained in from Amsterdam the previous day. During their stay they were quite generous by taking me to great places for every meal and I could not be more thankful for it. While I cannot complain one bit about any of the meals I have had since I have arrived, there have undoubtedly been several restaurants that have caught my eye but remained a mystery to my taste buds because of my budget. Most of the restaurants in the area are not extremely expensive – we aren’t talking about 50 euros steaks and hundred euros bottles of wine, here – but what with the exchange rate, my inability to make any more money than I saved up while I am here because of my VISA, and my lack of super rich and overly generous friends, I have been sticking to the 2 euros baguette sandwiches for lunch and 3 euros dinners at the cafeteria on campus (again, not complaining, and to clarify our cafeteria has a lot of really good food). I have nonetheless been so grateful to try all of the amazing dishes that I have since their arrival. But I’ll talk more about meals later; I was, of course, happy to see my parents for reasons other than paid dinners.
Showing my parents the city in which I have lived for the past two and a half months (even if they have seemed like a week and a half) has been a delight. Lille is a hidden gem and I feel like there are so many parallels between this city here and Seattle. Until you come, you cannot fully understand how amazing this rainy little city is. But once you have seen it, you are definitely going to want to come back or never even leave at all. It will most certainly be one of the other for me. I think that I have successfully led my parents to the same conclusion about the city, as well, as they have agreed that the people seem so much more welcoming and friendly than those they met from their previous experiences in France. Even among the French, les gens du Nord or ‘people of the North’ are known as friendly and welcoming people. I suppose it helps that Lille is not overrun with tourism and all the overpriced and imitation shops/restaurants that come with it. In addition to being witness to the kindness of les Lillois, my parents have also experienced the wonderful, once in a lifetime, personalized tour by yours truly in order to observe all the beauty and character this old city has to offer (I am open for future tours and accept tips, but my calendar is pretty booked so you will need to call ahead!). My parents are lucky to be right in the center of our city, known as Lille Centre. A mere fifty steps from their hotel is the nearest metro stop, two minutes walk and you are at the main train station, and ten minutes by metro is all it takes to reach my residence hall. So our tour started in Lille Centre and gradually reached my residence hall. Along the way, I was able to show them the main shopping areas, our main avenue where most of the students go out at night, the amazing Sacre Coeur cathedral nearest to my dorm, the city’s art museum, as well as my school and a few others of the University. Suffice to say, they reached the honeymoon phase with the city just as I did when I first arrived (and have honestly remained ever since). Perhaps I am exaggerating and they were not exactly as thrilled with the city as much as I was and still am, but they were both certainly amazed with Lille’s architecture and food, taking several pictures everywhere we went. This feeling, however, did not last too much longer…
One thing that put a major wrench in our plans is the recent protests over the increased retirement age here. In case you are not aware of the current situation, a law recently passed which increases the legal retirement age to 62 from 60. Naturally, as is custom when the French are in disagreement with the government, protests and riots have broken out and trains have been cancelled left and right. Thus our trips to Bruges and Brussels have been cancelled but luckily we were still able to rent a car to get to the beautiful champagne region of France in Reims.
Before I talk about our trip to Reims, I should say that the protests which broke out did stem from more than just an older retirement age. The French government has been making other laws lately which have forced the French to be more efficient and keep up with the global economy. The French who are protesting are not protesting against being efficient, but are protesting against the government changing their culture – work to live not live to work. That being said, I still know several French students (actually, almost all of the French students I have talked to) who disagree with the protests and agree that the government is making the right changes. It’s a touchy subject here and I think I can see both sides of it. My mom asked, “Well, do they not want to be efficient?” A valid question, perhaps, but the truth is that if I had lived the way the French had lived my entire life, I wouldn’t want my lifestyle to be changed by the government either. I suppose with the new global economy, though, they have little choice if they want to keep up with the rest of the developed countries.
Back to our trip to Reims! The champagne region was really, really gorgeous. The cathedral in Reims seemed to mimic the Notre Dame in Paris in many ways. Because it was in a smaller city with smaller buildings surrounding it, though, the cathedral seemed utterly massive. I was glad I was able to see it. The food in Reims was also phenomenal. When I say phenomenal, I am making a huge understatement, too. My parents had read about a little restaurant called Restaurant Anna where we ate not one but two of our meals while in Reims. The place had a great menu with traditional French dishes that we could not get enough of. We all tried escargot (I am proud to say that the first time I ever tried escargot was also the first time my mom had ever tried escargot) and ended up loving it. The snails were served in these small dishes with garlic butter and certain herbs, topped off with a piece of toast on the top which fit the dishes perfectly (see pictures). They could have put anything in there – snail, slug, dirt – it would not have mattered, the garlic butter concoction was incroyable! We used the bread to wipe the dishes clean of the garlic butter. Also on the table was veal medallions served with four mustards from the region, chicken rolled in cheese, beef skewers, and much, much more (see pictures, again). We were thoroughly satisfied. Of course, while in the Champagne region, eating was not the only thing we did. My parents and I also visited a few Champagneries. There was one where we took a tour of the caves – the pictures do not do them justice, but still better describe our experience than I could in words – and had a nice tasting of different types of Champagne. We learned that for Champagne, dry means sweet as opposed to not sweet as in wine. We also visited Veuve Cliquot, a very well known maker of Champagne and the maker of the champagne I actually sold when I was a waiter at Porcella Urban Market (Rest In Peace). Unfortunately, reservations for tastings at this place are necessary so we were unable to get a tasting. We still enjoyed our time at the Champagne maker next door to it where my mom found some great champagne bottles to take home with her.
On the drive back, we stopped at one point so I could practice driving our manual rental car. I had only ever learned before on my aunt and uncle’s Nissan Pathfinder (which I stalled many times) but did retain some feel from those lessons. Still, I stalled the car a few times this go around and have a bit more learning to do.
Back in Lille, my parents and I hit up the movie theatre on a rainy day to see Social Network, the movie about how Facebook was started. Great movie, we all thought. Before I left for my next trip (and my parents for theirs back home), we made our way to Brussels for one more night together and I was able to show them a few places which I had been to before. Because they had a couple more nights to stay in Brussels and I had already experienced a lot of Belgian food, I was able to convince them to take me to this hole-in-the-wall Greek restaurant near our hotel. If you don’t know already, Greek food is one of my favorites and finding good Greek food here has been a feat. So we lucked out and had a great Greek meal while we were there. The next morning, I was off for my next trip… keep posted :)
My mom and dad arrived on the Monday just after I had trained in from Amsterdam the previous day. During their stay they were quite generous by taking me to great places for every meal and I could not be more thankful for it. While I cannot complain one bit about any of the meals I have had since I have arrived, there have undoubtedly been several restaurants that have caught my eye but remained a mystery to my taste buds because of my budget. Most of the restaurants in the area are not extremely expensive – we aren’t talking about 50 euros steaks and hundred euros bottles of wine, here – but what with the exchange rate, my inability to make any more money than I saved up while I am here because of my VISA, and my lack of super rich and overly generous friends, I have been sticking to the 2 euros baguette sandwiches for lunch and 3 euros dinners at the cafeteria on campus (again, not complaining, and to clarify our cafeteria has a lot of really good food). I have nonetheless been so grateful to try all of the amazing dishes that I have since their arrival. But I’ll talk more about meals later; I was, of course, happy to see my parents for reasons other than paid dinners.
Showing my parents the city in which I have lived for the past two and a half months (even if they have seemed like a week and a half) has been a delight. Lille is a hidden gem and I feel like there are so many parallels between this city here and Seattle. Until you come, you cannot fully understand how amazing this rainy little city is. But once you have seen it, you are definitely going to want to come back or never even leave at all. It will most certainly be one of the other for me. I think that I have successfully led my parents to the same conclusion about the city, as well, as they have agreed that the people seem so much more welcoming and friendly than those they met from their previous experiences in France. Even among the French, les gens du Nord or ‘people of the North’ are known as friendly and welcoming people. I suppose it helps that Lille is not overrun with tourism and all the overpriced and imitation shops/restaurants that come with it. In addition to being witness to the kindness of les Lillois, my parents have also experienced the wonderful, once in a lifetime, personalized tour by yours truly in order to observe all the beauty and character this old city has to offer (I am open for future tours and accept tips, but my calendar is pretty booked so you will need to call ahead!). My parents are lucky to be right in the center of our city, known as Lille Centre. A mere fifty steps from their hotel is the nearest metro stop, two minutes walk and you are at the main train station, and ten minutes by metro is all it takes to reach my residence hall. So our tour started in Lille Centre and gradually reached my residence hall. Along the way, I was able to show them the main shopping areas, our main avenue where most of the students go out at night, the amazing Sacre Coeur cathedral nearest to my dorm, the city’s art museum, as well as my school and a few others of the University. Suffice to say, they reached the honeymoon phase with the city just as I did when I first arrived (and have honestly remained ever since). Perhaps I am exaggerating and they were not exactly as thrilled with the city as much as I was and still am, but they were both certainly amazed with Lille’s architecture and food, taking several pictures everywhere we went. This feeling, however, did not last too much longer…
One thing that put a major wrench in our plans is the recent protests over the increased retirement age here. In case you are not aware of the current situation, a law recently passed which increases the legal retirement age to 62 from 60. Naturally, as is custom when the French are in disagreement with the government, protests and riots have broken out and trains have been cancelled left and right. Thus our trips to Bruges and Brussels have been cancelled but luckily we were still able to rent a car to get to the beautiful champagne region of France in Reims.
Before I talk about our trip to Reims, I should say that the protests which broke out did stem from more than just an older retirement age. The French government has been making other laws lately which have forced the French to be more efficient and keep up with the global economy. The French who are protesting are not protesting against being efficient, but are protesting against the government changing their culture – work to live not live to work. That being said, I still know several French students (actually, almost all of the French students I have talked to) who disagree with the protests and agree that the government is making the right changes. It’s a touchy subject here and I think I can see both sides of it. My mom asked, “Well, do they not want to be efficient?” A valid question, perhaps, but the truth is that if I had lived the way the French had lived my entire life, I wouldn’t want my lifestyle to be changed by the government either. I suppose with the new global economy, though, they have little choice if they want to keep up with the rest of the developed countries.
Back to our trip to Reims! The champagne region was really, really gorgeous. The cathedral in Reims seemed to mimic the Notre Dame in Paris in many ways. Because it was in a smaller city with smaller buildings surrounding it, though, the cathedral seemed utterly massive. I was glad I was able to see it. The food in Reims was also phenomenal. When I say phenomenal, I am making a huge understatement, too. My parents had read about a little restaurant called Restaurant Anna where we ate not one but two of our meals while in Reims. The place had a great menu with traditional French dishes that we could not get enough of. We all tried escargot (I am proud to say that the first time I ever tried escargot was also the first time my mom had ever tried escargot) and ended up loving it. The snails were served in these small dishes with garlic butter and certain herbs, topped off with a piece of toast on the top which fit the dishes perfectly (see pictures). They could have put anything in there – snail, slug, dirt – it would not have mattered, the garlic butter concoction was incroyable! We used the bread to wipe the dishes clean of the garlic butter. Also on the table was veal medallions served with four mustards from the region, chicken rolled in cheese, beef skewers, and much, much more (see pictures, again). We were thoroughly satisfied. Of course, while in the Champagne region, eating was not the only thing we did. My parents and I also visited a few Champagneries. There was one where we took a tour of the caves – the pictures do not do them justice, but still better describe our experience than I could in words – and had a nice tasting of different types of Champagne. We learned that for Champagne, dry means sweet as opposed to not sweet as in wine. We also visited Veuve Cliquot, a very well known maker of Champagne and the maker of the champagne I actually sold when I was a waiter at Porcella Urban Market (Rest In Peace). Unfortunately, reservations for tastings at this place are necessary so we were unable to get a tasting. We still enjoyed our time at the Champagne maker next door to it where my mom found some great champagne bottles to take home with her.
On the drive back, we stopped at one point so I could practice driving our manual rental car. I had only ever learned before on my aunt and uncle’s Nissan Pathfinder (which I stalled many times) but did retain some feel from those lessons. Still, I stalled the car a few times this go around and have a bit more learning to do.
Back in Lille, my parents and I hit up the movie theatre on a rainy day to see Social Network, the movie about how Facebook was started. Great movie, we all thought. Before I left for my next trip (and my parents for theirs back home), we made our way to Brussels for one more night together and I was able to show them a few places which I had been to before. Because they had a couple more nights to stay in Brussels and I had already experienced a lot of Belgian food, I was able to convince them to take me to this hole-in-the-wall Greek restaurant near our hotel. If you don’t know already, Greek food is one of my favorites and finding good Greek food here has been a feat. So we lucked out and had a great Greek meal while we were there. The next morning, I was off for my next trip… keep posted :)
Monday, October 11, 2010
Amazing Amsterdam!
From last Thursday up until yesterday (Sunday), I had the opportunity to train my way up to Amsterdam to meet three of my closest friends from Santa Clara who are also studying abroad. The trip exceeded my expectations. I knew of course that Amsterdam would be unlike any other city that I had been to, but I feel like I really got to experience a lot while I was there. My friends and I actually stayed right outside of Amsterdam in Leiden, a small college town in the outskirts of Amsterdam. I must say, the absolute highlight of my trip was the Anne Frank house. Unfortunately they did not allow for any photos to be taken, but I certainly snapped a lot of other great shots around this gorgeous city. Another highlight, of course, was being able to see my friends (who are studying abroad in London and Rome) who I was so used to seeing nearly everyday back at Santa Clara. Without them, my experience would have not been nearly as much fun, I am sure, and I would not have had nearly as many laughs.
I think pictures speak for themselves so I'll post some shots that sum up my weekend in Amsterdam, for the most part.
I think pictures speak for themselves so I'll post some shots that sum up my weekend in Amsterdam, for the most part.
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| Hey, what street do you live on? We came to realize the Dutch language has really, really long words. |
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| Everyone owns a bike in Leiden/Amsterdam |
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| Really, everyone. |
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| It's hard to tell here, but most of the buildings along streets and canals lean inward! |
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| My friend Joe in a giant wooden clog. |
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| Windmill in Leiden. |
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| Highlight of the trip. In my mind, everyone should have this museum on their bucket list. |
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| Van Gogh museum. |
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| Largest floating Asian restaurant in Europe. It was huge! |
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| NEMO, Amsterdam's Science Center. |
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| Amsterdam's architecture museum, that was unfortunately closed :( |
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| Another view of the architecture museum. |
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| View of the city from the top of the NEMO. |
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| Another view of the city from the top of the NEMO. |
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| I amsterdam overcrowded with tourists |
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| My initials! |
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| How much for that house?? |
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| One of the over 2500 house boats in Amsterdam. |
Monday, October 4, 2010
Friends Visit Lille and Never Want to Leave (Obviously!)
Off to class, I'll update again soon!
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| Visiting Bruges with Friends Studying in Rome |
The past extended weekend was SO much fun! I was lucky enough to have friends from home come to visit me in Lille and I cannot put into words how great it was to spend time with them. They were the taste of home that I really needed! First, my friend that I went to high school with who is currently studying abroad in London made a train over to spend the day with me on Thursday and stay the night Friday night. While it was short and quick, it was enough time for me to show her the pretty areas in Lille (not enough time for all of them, of course), get some really good food, and catch up. I was able to show her the bar next to my school that everyone from my school goes to after class to grab some fries and a beer or just meet up with friends. We had a phenomenal time and had lots of laughs. After my high school friend left Friday morning, my friend from Santa Clara and her friend who are both studying abroad in Rome came to visit me Friday afternoon and they were both able to stay until Sunday morning. While figuring out the transportation for them throughout the trip was not nearly as simple as it was for my friend in London, they were still able to make it to Lille safe and sound. They were amazed by Lille and they made me remember my first few days in Lille.
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| I'm a Great Tour Guide :) |
The city is still amazing to me, but seeing their faces light up every time we turned on a new street made me realize really how lucky I am to be studying in this city. Not only that, but I was able to intoduce them to my close French friends here that go to my university and they were really thankful to have had that experience. I myself am so happy I have met some of the nicest locals and plan to keep in touch with them all long after I leave. My friends from Rome also wanted to go to the Venice of the north - Bruges, of course. Although I had already been, the city amazed me the first time and I jumped at the opportunity to go back. Because I had my map from last time and remembered some tid bits from our tour, I was able to be a little tour guide of sorts and point out some interesting facts about the city. If anyone is looking to come to Bruges, I'd love to be your tour guide :)
Off to class, I'll update again soon!
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| Back in Bruges and Loving it |
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Update: Little Lecture on Lovely Lille
I realize I haven't done much to preface my readers with a proper description of Lille itself, where I am currently studying. Now that I have gotten to know the city and its people quite a bit, I feel like I should give you all an adequate picture of what this city is all about:
Lille is a seemingly small city in the very far north of France right next to the Belgian border. The city of one million consists of about 300,000 students, meaning it is a very young and lively city. This has made my stay here extremely fun - students my age eager to meet new people and spark up conversations at bars, restaurants, or even like today in the laundrymat, are scattered throughout the city. Lille is a homey city that is easy to figure out; everyone is nice, welcoming, and lives a simple, care-free lifestyle. It was different and hard to get used to saying 'Bonjour' and 'Au revoir, bonne journée' every time I entered and left a room, whether it was the community kitchen in our building or just passing by in a hallway. It's not that I don't like saying hi or bye, but I'm just not used to saying it to an entire room of people I have never met every time I walk through the door! But that's an example of how welcoming and polite the people here are. I'm not in Paris anymore!
As far as getting around, most 'Lillois' walk around or take the metro. The metro only has two lines, so it's easy to learn in a day and I use it from time to time. There is a bus system as well but I haven't needed to use it. Pretty much walking is the main way that people get around, even in the rain. Like Seattle, Lille is kind of known for having lots and lots of rain three seasons out of four. Surprisingly also like Seattle, though, the people all seem to be happy and upbeat despite the gloomy weather, for the most part. It's kind of nice just walking around, something I thought I would dread every day. To walk to school in the morning it takes about 15 minutes and it's about the same to get to the center of the city (although it's a really quick metro ride to get to the center of the city). I have enjoyed walking, though, and realize now why French people are so thin! The only part I dislike is walking on cobblestone or uneven pavement, common to the sidewalks in Lille. The visual appeal of the old cobblestone streets wears off after your feet begin aching. There is a lot less English spoken here than in Paris or Brussels (Paris is an hour south by train, Brussels only 30 minutes northeast by train) but I would not have it any other way. I am definitely enjoying speaking French with the locals and learning new words and phrases.
I promise to get some pictures up on here soon!!!
Lille is a seemingly small city in the very far north of France right next to the Belgian border. The city of one million consists of about 300,000 students, meaning it is a very young and lively city. This has made my stay here extremely fun - students my age eager to meet new people and spark up conversations at bars, restaurants, or even like today in the laundrymat, are scattered throughout the city. Lille is a homey city that is easy to figure out; everyone is nice, welcoming, and lives a simple, care-free lifestyle. It was different and hard to get used to saying 'Bonjour' and 'Au revoir, bonne journée' every time I entered and left a room, whether it was the community kitchen in our building or just passing by in a hallway. It's not that I don't like saying hi or bye, but I'm just not used to saying it to an entire room of people I have never met every time I walk through the door! But that's an example of how welcoming and polite the people here are. I'm not in Paris anymore!
As far as getting around, most 'Lillois' walk around or take the metro. The metro only has two lines, so it's easy to learn in a day and I use it from time to time. There is a bus system as well but I haven't needed to use it. Pretty much walking is the main way that people get around, even in the rain. Like Seattle, Lille is kind of known for having lots and lots of rain three seasons out of four. Surprisingly also like Seattle, though, the people all seem to be happy and upbeat despite the gloomy weather, for the most part. It's kind of nice just walking around, something I thought I would dread every day. To walk to school in the morning it takes about 15 minutes and it's about the same to get to the center of the city (although it's a really quick metro ride to get to the center of the city). I have enjoyed walking, though, and realize now why French people are so thin! The only part I dislike is walking on cobblestone or uneven pavement, common to the sidewalks in Lille. The visual appeal of the old cobblestone streets wears off after your feet begin aching. There is a lot less English spoken here than in Paris or Brussels (Paris is an hour south by train, Brussels only 30 minutes northeast by train) but I would not have it any other way. I am definitely enjoying speaking French with the locals and learning new words and phrases.
I promise to get some pictures up on here soon!!!
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Broken Computer and Lots of Rain, but an Awesome Day of Fun!
Recently my computer was having difficulty connecting to the internet on campus until all of the sudden it froze and would no longer start up. It hasn't been all that bad roughing it out without my computer, in fact, if anything it is liberating. But still, with classes requiring research, friends trying to make plans to meet up abroad, and a blog left un-updated, I wish I would not have to walk fifteen minutes to the computer lab here to get onto the internet. Hopefully I can get that figured out soon, but until then, apologies for the slow updates.
So far, Lille has been quite on and off with the weather but there has been lots of rain. I bought a cheap umbrella for the first time - unlike Seattle, where it sprinkles constantly but rarely ever pours down, Lille has lots of rain that comes down hard. In addition to that, everywhere I walk to is at least a ten minute walk (school wise - luckily getting to Lille Centre is easy to get to by metro and I'm just a minute away from the metro stop), so by the time I get to class without an umbrella, I am absolutely soaked. It only took one of these experiences to teach me that in Lille, an umbrella is a necessity.
Fortunately, the weather yesterday was magnificent; cold in the morning, still, but warm by day and throughout the night. I say fortunately because yesterday was a sort of field day for all of the school's residences where we had a bit of a social. They bused over 800 of us students to an off-campus location where there were bouncy obstacle courses, a mechanical bull (I resisted), dance parties, lots of food, and many other organized activities. Each residence passed out different colored t-shirts so you could tell who was coming from which residence and there were some competitions between each one. They also taught each residence a choreographed dance - nothing close in comparison to the Orientation dances, I will say - to the Black Eyed Peas song 'I've Got a Feeling' and at the end of the night after dinner we all did the dance together, all eight hundred and some of us. Water was tossed in the air, people were jumping up and down, and everyone had a smile on their faces! It was loads of fun and I was thankful to live in a school residence so I could have the experience.
Lately I've been planning out my trips to go around Europe and if there's one conclusion I have come to, it is that I'm just going to have to come back. There are too many things I have on the old bucket list that I don't want to rush and too little money in the bank account to make all of them a possibility (although, donations are welcome). For now, London, Amsterdam, and Paris are on the books and hopefully more will be solidified soon enough!
So far, Lille has been quite on and off with the weather but there has been lots of rain. I bought a cheap umbrella for the first time - unlike Seattle, where it sprinkles constantly but rarely ever pours down, Lille has lots of rain that comes down hard. In addition to that, everywhere I walk to is at least a ten minute walk (school wise - luckily getting to Lille Centre is easy to get to by metro and I'm just a minute away from the metro stop), so by the time I get to class without an umbrella, I am absolutely soaked. It only took one of these experiences to teach me that in Lille, an umbrella is a necessity.
Fortunately, the weather yesterday was magnificent; cold in the morning, still, but warm by day and throughout the night. I say fortunately because yesterday was a sort of field day for all of the school's residences where we had a bit of a social. They bused over 800 of us students to an off-campus location where there were bouncy obstacle courses, a mechanical bull (I resisted), dance parties, lots of food, and many other organized activities. Each residence passed out different colored t-shirts so you could tell who was coming from which residence and there were some competitions between each one. They also taught each residence a choreographed dance - nothing close in comparison to the Orientation dances, I will say - to the Black Eyed Peas song 'I've Got a Feeling' and at the end of the night after dinner we all did the dance together, all eight hundred and some of us. Water was tossed in the air, people were jumping up and down, and everyone had a smile on their faces! It was loads of fun and I was thankful to live in a school residence so I could have the experience.
Lately I've been planning out my trips to go around Europe and if there's one conclusion I have come to, it is that I'm just going to have to come back. There are too many things I have on the old bucket list that I don't want to rush and too little money in the bank account to make all of them a possibility (although, donations are welcome). For now, London, Amsterdam, and Paris are on the books and hopefully more will be solidified soon enough!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
La Braderie, My First Class, and More!
Sorry that it’s been as long as it has without a blog post, I’ve been not only busy with classes but also have a broken computer. I will definitely be filling you in on what I’ve been doing but will also be concise as I am typing this on a French ‘AZERTY’ keyboard (the switch is near impossible !) . Luckily my business school here has an IT department and they say they will be able to repair my computer … cross your fingers !!!
First thing is first : THE BRADERIE. If you do not know what the Braderie is, don’t worry, you’re not alone. One of my friends in Paris was unaware of what it was. But as a whole, the Braderie is HUGE – it is all of Europe’s largest flea market based in no city other than Lille. It takes an entire weekend and vendors and sellors (whether selling legitimate products or just their old junk, garage-sale style) set up their tents weeks before the weekend of the Braderie just to reserve a prime location. There is no way as a Lillois (what I’ve learned someone who lives in Lille is called) that you could not know about the Braderie and certainly, there is no way that you can make any sort of plans to get around anywhere. The entire city is a huge cluster of people. That being said, you can only imagine how amazing it was. I could easily find absolutely anything i needed and at a low price that I could negotiate even lower. What would basically happen is you would ask the price, the seller would throw out a number that felt right at the time (it was usually different every time) and you would stare at whatever you want to buy for no more than five seconds without saying anything before they say « Trop chère ??? » (translation : too expensive ???). the negotiation would go from there. This kind of negotiation was more prevelant in the outskirts but in the center of the city you could find more regulated markets selling everything you could find in a typical (American) grocery store. It was difficult being there as a foreigner, though, because there was no way I could get half of the things I wanted back to the states, or else the price of shipping it would be too much. There were definitely things being sold there that would not be found at any flea market back home, though, so maybe if you’re an antique fan, or collect old albums (Malyssa : every and any album imaginable for around 4 euros) or maybe you want old furniture or anything, book a trip to the Braderie 2011 now !!!
As far as my purchases, there were not many. In fact, the first day we toured the Braderie, we mistakenly went to the outskirts first, the far outskirts. It was interesting enough but nothing we were really looking for. The second day we finally found ourselves in the city center where brand new scarves are 3 Euros, every restaurant is selling Moules Frites (Lille’s traditional dish of mussels and fries), and what made me happiest, I could buy pots, pans, and tupperwear all for under 5 euros each. Finally, now I can cook.
I was not able to take too many photos while at the braderie, I was overly cautious about being robbed and didn’t want to bring my camera. Still, when I get my computer back I will have many more photos to load.
Next up : my first week of classes ! I definitely have seen the full effect of the educational differences here already. Like i discussed in my last post, we were told to constantly check the website with our classes to make sure the class time/room/building had not changed. My friend and I had checked the day before one of my first classes (actually, for my friend it was the night before) and found it to be at the same place and time. Good, all is well. Except that when they said to check the website ‘constantly’, they literally meant every morning before you leave for class. As it turns out, about 8 or so of us from the class (all international students) found ourselves alone in the classroom where we thought we were to meet and eventually were able to determine where our class had been changed to late, late the night before our 8:00am course. Incroyable ! Luckily, we didn’t miss out on much and I guess you could say we learned our lesson…
My courses overall have been going well, though. My Frenc h course is not too hard or overwhelming (it is called Français des Affairs, or Business French) and the other classes I have do not seem like they will be overwhelming either. If anything, I hope that they would be more challenging, but I have yet to go to half of my courses yet, so hopefully I won’t be biting my tongue when I do. My very first class, however, was certainly a different experience. It was Introduction to Marketing and it was in a medium sized lecture hall with, I would guess, maybe 75 or so students. My friends and I sat near the middle so to not be hidden in the back but certainly we were too anxious and nervous to sit in the front. During the entire class the students around me were chatting and laughing and completely disregarding the professor. Now, I won’t say everyone in the class was doing this the entire class, but for the entire class there was a steady level of clamour that the professor, I suppose, either expected or did not know how to control. Needless to say, the four or five of us American students were looking at each other with wide eyes wondering if this was how every class would be like. Thankfully I can say that no, this class was an exception with a professor who did not choose to lay down any sort of ground rules or ask the class to be quiet even once. She just continued to talk on her microphone the entire class. Probably the only humorous thing about the class was when I turned behind me and saw a group of Taiwanese exchange students with the most horrified look on their faces. At that point, I had to laugh and realize that things could be worse.
Indeed, despite that class things could not be much better than they already are over here. I can’t complain about the food, I can’t complain about the people – who are ten times more welcoming, understanding of foreigners, and polite than the average Parisien, I must say – and I certainly cannot complain about the experiences I have been having. I have continued to meet more people both local and foreign and am thankful every day that I have had the chance to.
Until next time, cross your fingers that my computer is alright and then I can post some pictures!!!
First thing is first : THE BRADERIE. If you do not know what the Braderie is, don’t worry, you’re not alone. One of my friends in Paris was unaware of what it was. But as a whole, the Braderie is HUGE – it is all of Europe’s largest flea market based in no city other than Lille. It takes an entire weekend and vendors and sellors (whether selling legitimate products or just their old junk, garage-sale style) set up their tents weeks before the weekend of the Braderie just to reserve a prime location. There is no way as a Lillois (what I’ve learned someone who lives in Lille is called) that you could not know about the Braderie and certainly, there is no way that you can make any sort of plans to get around anywhere. The entire city is a huge cluster of people. That being said, you can only imagine how amazing it was. I could easily find absolutely anything i needed and at a low price that I could negotiate even lower. What would basically happen is you would ask the price, the seller would throw out a number that felt right at the time (it was usually different every time) and you would stare at whatever you want to buy for no more than five seconds without saying anything before they say « Trop chère ??? » (translation : too expensive ???). the negotiation would go from there. This kind of negotiation was more prevelant in the outskirts but in the center of the city you could find more regulated markets selling everything you could find in a typical (American) grocery store. It was difficult being there as a foreigner, though, because there was no way I could get half of the things I wanted back to the states, or else the price of shipping it would be too much. There were definitely things being sold there that would not be found at any flea market back home, though, so maybe if you’re an antique fan, or collect old albums (Malyssa : every and any album imaginable for around 4 euros) or maybe you want old furniture or anything, book a trip to the Braderie 2011 now !!!
As far as my purchases, there were not many. In fact, the first day we toured the Braderie, we mistakenly went to the outskirts first, the far outskirts. It was interesting enough but nothing we were really looking for. The second day we finally found ourselves in the city center where brand new scarves are 3 Euros, every restaurant is selling Moules Frites (Lille’s traditional dish of mussels and fries), and what made me happiest, I could buy pots, pans, and tupperwear all for under 5 euros each. Finally, now I can cook.
I was not able to take too many photos while at the braderie, I was overly cautious about being robbed and didn’t want to bring my camera. Still, when I get my computer back I will have many more photos to load.
Next up : my first week of classes ! I definitely have seen the full effect of the educational differences here already. Like i discussed in my last post, we were told to constantly check the website with our classes to make sure the class time/room/building had not changed. My friend and I had checked the day before one of my first classes (actually, for my friend it was the night before) and found it to be at the same place and time. Good, all is well. Except that when they said to check the website ‘constantly’, they literally meant every morning before you leave for class. As it turns out, about 8 or so of us from the class (all international students) found ourselves alone in the classroom where we thought we were to meet and eventually were able to determine where our class had been changed to late, late the night before our 8:00am course. Incroyable ! Luckily, we didn’t miss out on much and I guess you could say we learned our lesson…
My courses overall have been going well, though. My Frenc h course is not too hard or overwhelming (it is called Français des Affairs, or Business French) and the other classes I have do not seem like they will be overwhelming either. If anything, I hope that they would be more challenging, but I have yet to go to half of my courses yet, so hopefully I won’t be biting my tongue when I do. My very first class, however, was certainly a different experience. It was Introduction to Marketing and it was in a medium sized lecture hall with, I would guess, maybe 75 or so students. My friends and I sat near the middle so to not be hidden in the back but certainly we were too anxious and nervous to sit in the front. During the entire class the students around me were chatting and laughing and completely disregarding the professor. Now, I won’t say everyone in the class was doing this the entire class, but for the entire class there was a steady level of clamour that the professor, I suppose, either expected or did not know how to control. Needless to say, the four or five of us American students were looking at each other with wide eyes wondering if this was how every class would be like. Thankfully I can say that no, this class was an exception with a professor who did not choose to lay down any sort of ground rules or ask the class to be quiet even once. She just continued to talk on her microphone the entire class. Probably the only humorous thing about the class was when I turned behind me and saw a group of Taiwanese exchange students with the most horrified look on their faces. At that point, I had to laugh and realize that things could be worse.
Indeed, despite that class things could not be much better than they already are over here. I can’t complain about the food, I can’t complain about the people – who are ten times more welcoming, understanding of foreigners, and polite than the average Parisien, I must say – and I certainly cannot complain about the experiences I have been having. I have continued to meet more people both local and foreign and am thankful every day that I have had the chance to.
Until next time, cross your fingers that my computer is alright and then I can post some pictures!!!
Sunday, September 5, 2010
French Schooling System
So far, the schooling system in France has been completely different to the one I’m used to at Santa Clara. I came into it with expectations that things like signing up for classes and figuring out which ones to take would be much different than what I am used to – of course, it’s a completely different country with a different way of doing things – but I did not expect the school to be so… disorganized. I’ll explain. Firstly, when signing up for classes, we go online and pick the ones we want (without any guidance, whatsoever) but these courses we choose do not show a time or place. We can go to a different part of the website to see the times of all the courses and each section of each course, but this is pointless because we do not choose our section. In fact, the following day, after I had chosen the classes I hoped to take, I met up with an advisor who had selected for me the time slots so that there are no conflicts. The nice thing about this was that I did not have to look myself for sections that matched up in order to avoid signing up for classes that had conflicting times. The not so nice part is that I have no control over the times or days during the week of my courses.
But that in itself was already a given. Why? We were told, when getting our schedules, that we needed to check the website constantly, every week, in order to make sure that our class time and place had not changed. So I currently have a class on Mondays from 1:40pm until 3:10pm in building A, room 101. At any point, this can change to a different time on a different day in a different room of a different building. I was pretty baffled when I found this out. If you don’t already know, I am a huge planner and anyone that has had a class with me or knows me well can attest to this. I love my planners, my weekly reminders on my computer, my calendars, etc. etc. And now, I can’t even plan when my classes will be in a couple of weeks, much less the rest of the semester! I’m just not used to it and I crave structure too much in my life. But it’s nothing I can’t handle, it’s just different. I definitely have found myself to be very thankful for the structure we have at Santa Clara, though, when it comes to course selection and obtaining (solidified and unchanging) class schedules.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Brilliant Belgium: Bruges and Brussels
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| From Lille to Bruges (Brugge), Bruges to Brussels, Brussels back to Lille! |
I just got back from Belgium yesterday after traveling there with my two friends Molly and Andrew for the past five days (since Sunday), and we had quite the experience. We made a triangle of sorts, taking the easy and cheap (I mean, CHEAP) train from Lille to Bruges, Bruges to Brussels, and then Brussels back to Lille.
BRUGES:
Upon arriving in Bruges, I was immediately amazed by all of the architecture. The city is old and has a lot of history. We were a little cautious coming into our first hostel, which got mixed but mostly good reviews, and I’m so happy to say that it exceeded our expectations so much. Most of the reviews were positive but there were some that wrote things like “there was just a little problem with a big spider,” and “it’s a nice place, if you don’t plan on taking a shower,” so, needless to say, we came in with low expectations to begin with.
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| First Meal in Belgium |
It was a youth hostel that helped us to really get to know the city. Immediately they gave us a map with all the great spots we needed to visit marked and a token for a free beer tasting at the adjacent restaurant that was connected to our hostel. So we got to try three beers that night right off the bat! I really learned SO much about beer in Belgium and felt so blessed (really, though) to be able to be able to taste the beers that I did. For our first three beers, we got a dark beer called Abbaye de Leffe, which I liked the most with my meal (chicken stew with croquettes, which are the best little fried potato things ever), a blond beer we get a bunch in the states called Hoegaarden, and then a cherry beer called Bellevue (coincidence?!). I liked the Abbaye the best, Molly liked the cherry beer the best, and Andrew liked the Hoegaarden the most, go figure. But enough about beer (for now…), after scarfing down our food we were ready to get settled in our room, a five person room. We had a sink in our room but the shared bathrooms on the floor were really clean. If you’re ever trying to book a hostel in Bruges, St. Christopher Bauhaus is definitely a good one!!!
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| Croquettes = Great invention |
We met a guy from London named Nick that was staying in our room. He worked at a University there but was traveling through Belgium for fun (he was maybe 28 or so). He joined us that night at a bar someone had read was a must-try, which I was mostly happy with because if he was with us, then he wasn’t stealing our stuff in the room (half joking…). More seriously, though, one of the best parts of staying in these youth hostels is just meeting all these different people you wouldn’t normally have met. As you’ll see, trying beers at local bars is a common theme on this trip.
Side note to Grandmother: I know that you said I would lose your inheritance if I drank beer/alcohol before I was of age, but in Europe, I am of age… So I’m not breaking any promises!
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| First Belgian Waffle |
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| Andrew with Nick, from London. |
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| In Bruges (there, they say Brugge) |
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| Molly and Andrew joined me for a shot in front of the hotel/canal where they shot the film 'In Bruges' |
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| 'Rarest' beer in Belgium! |
Kai was our tour guide on the second day on a free walking tour throughout the city of Bruges. He had lived in Bruges for a few years but was originally from Brooklyn, surprisingly. He was a phenomenal tour guide, pointing out different areas in Bruges that were in the film, ‘In Bruges’ throughout the tour. He would also make the group to fun things like hide behind the wall of the bridges and jump up and scream when a boat tour was just under us, promising that if we get one person to fall off the boat he would buy us all a round of beers. I won’t bore you all with the long history of Bruges (you’ll just have to visit and do the tour with Kai, he’s a lot funnier than me), but I think that the funniest part about the city is why it is visited by so many tourists. Tidbit: In 1892, there was a popular book called ‘Bruges la Morte’ that described the city as a dark, poor, and ugly place. Coincidentally, this attracted tons of tourists that I guess found it pretty romantic (which I can attest to the fact that it is quite the romantic city). Then when the movie ‘In Bruges’ came out recently, the same sort of thing happened. The main quote from the movie is when Colin Ferrel says, “If I grew up on a farm, and was retarded, Bruges might impress me. But I didn’t, so it doesn’t.” So just like in 1892, Bruges is seen as a bum place which only attracts more tourists… like me! So anyway, later that night after the tour, Kai gave a tasting of 5 different beers (1/3 of each beer) followed by a free full beer of our choosing and all for ten Euros! It was a deal we couldn’t turn down.
On our tour, Kai also showed us where there is a bar down Bruges’ smallest alley. This bar had the rarest beer in Belgium, supposedly, because you couldn’t get it anywhere else but at that bar. Their beer was called Garre and it was served with Gouda cheese. It was pretty good, we thought, but more just worth it to say we had the rarest beer in Belgium.
Finally, last but not least, we went to a chocolate museum called the Choco-Story. The museum itself was very informative and literally showed us the full history of cocoa from the beginning. The most interesting part to me was how prized it was by the Aztecs and Mayans. But anyway, we then got to try some chocolate and it was definitely not a Hershey’s bar. So Belgian chocolate was a plus and the museum was definitely interesting!
Thoughts on a Train Ride:
Between my travels on the train, I would plug in my iPod and listen to songs that reminded me of home. I’ve realized a couple of things. First of all, I’ve realized that the best Christmas present in the world will just be for me to be able to take an American shower at home. After four months of these dinky European showers where I have to hold up the faucet over my head, bumping into walls every time I need to bend down, it will be incredibly refreshing to be home for that reason alone. Second, I realized how weird it will be not being home for Thanksgiving. I always knew that would be the case, but I suppose it hit me on the train ride. A bunch of the Americans here have decided to find a big turkey and cook a big meal together, so that will still be fun.
BRUSSELS:
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| Interesting hostel... |
Leaving Bruges was hard for us because we loved the city so much. Our time there was incredible and I won’t forget it any time soon. But our hostel in Brussels awaited us. This time around, we treated ourselves to a slightly higher end hostel which didn’t get one bad review. The only weird part about it was that we had to check in and get our keys at a different hostel, but most reviews said it was not a big deal. Well, (here is the ‘yes, but…’) this hostel ended up being janky. ‘Janky’ is a word we say a lot at school in California but I know a lot of people haven’t heard of it, so allow me to elaborate. The bathroom door knob was taped on on one side and inexistent on the other, the wall was peeling off, the cabinet door wasn’t screwed on, the shower didn’t drain (we were looking most forward to a nice shower, too), the main lights never worked, and when we tried to turn on the light fixture in the bathroom the entire thing fell off the wall. So, obviously, this hostel was quite the experience. Since getting to our hostel, it seemed to be one thing after another in Brussels, but we still ended up having a lot of fun.
The first night, we met up with another student from Santa Clara who is studying in Brussels named Mike. He had us meet him at a bar where we tried ‘half-en-half’, a combination of drinks that made for a sweet, peach beer that we would call ‘Busch-Peche’ when we ordered it. And no, this is not the same Busch beer from home. It is a very traditional drink to order in Brussels, so I found, and as was our motto for the trip, when in Belgium, do as the Belgians do. During the day we decided to do a self-guided walking tour that was drawn out for us on a map that we received at check-in. Brussels is definitely an interesting city, but it’s not like Bruges where you can just visit all of the sights or even really begin to comprehend the city in a day or two. So while we did the walking tour, we were really confused by the city overall. It’s an ugly city – they openly admit this – where the locals speak a multitude of languages and mix each one that they know in between sentences. It baffles me that everyone speaks Dutch, French, and most of them Flemish, everyone English, and some of them German, as well. Crazy Belgians!
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| Andrew, Molly, and Mike |
Overall, we concluded that Bruges beats Brussels as a place to visit, but I feel like Brussels would be an awesome city to live in for a year or two. Belgium in general had great food and beer – waffles, croquettes, chocolate, 3 Euros pasta… and we were really glad we chose to go.
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| Westmalle Tripple, one of 7 Trappist beers |
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| Cool shot in Brussels |
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