This trip has been SO amazing, in part because of all of the people I have met. I was so fortunate to be placed in such a caring host family, and amidst a great group of students. Here's a little tribute to them (Imma write like I'm addressing some of them, in case they read this, however unlikely that is):
The Students
Abbey- Abbey you are so fun to be with!! You are always so cute, have some funny quip to add ("There goes JennBunny again"), and are really down-to-earth and relatable. It was great to get to know you, and I love how dedicated you are to the ski-team at Syracuse. Woof.
Della- Known for the emphatic statements ("OMG, that is SOOO <adjective>") Della you are also a blast. Your photography skills amaze me, and you seem to be educated on everything, which is why it is always so interesting to talk to you. Plus I like that you have learned to sass the locals in French :)
Jenna- Jennbunny, you were the cultural lifesaver this trip. I appreciate how enthusiastic you were for everything, and loved LOVED your catchphrases (Thank G/ I'm All About That, etc etc) As our ethnic chameleo ;) it was always entertaining to go out with you at night. I also like you are genuinely interested in all of the people here and such a good listener; it made it a great experience to share with you.
Patrick- Aight Texas, you were a good sport, hanging out with all us girls for the whole six weeks :) Thanks for being our enforcer/body-guard/decision maker when the going got tough. I didn't see you all that much, only on weekends, but you, like Della, always had a great educated opinion on everything, which I appreciate.
Molly- Queen of the secret sassiness, you were the biggest surprise here! Haha it was great to spend time with you, to vent about the pig-headed French guys here. I love your passion for magazine journalism and fashion; you will go far! P.S. Thanks for not teasing me about my spending habits :)
Eduardo- I felt like you were one of the most open and cultured people of the group. I really appreciated discussing/debating issues with you (even if it was at 2 AM :D) because you have very strong and heartfelt opinions that are backed by very educated reasonings, which is SO refreshing. Thanks for taking care of all of us girls and walking us home every night!
Brianna- Girl, you are a hoot! I loved that you put everything out there in such a care-free manner and held nothing back. You are truly an adventureous spirit who didn't give a darn, and it was great to get to know you. P.S. I'm totally jealous of your dance moves :)
Sheerin- Sheerin, you were absolutely enthusiastic about everything, which was great. You made every experience into a learning one, and you always had something to add to the conversation. I loved that you know how to make the most out of every situation, and you seem to find the coolest things to do around here!
Erin- Erin I appreciate your incredible passion for everything you do- your music, the culture here, your internship. I can really tell that you invest yourself in the things you do, which is an incredible trait to have. (That pastry was awesome, by the way). Hearing you talk, you can tell that you have a love for just DOING- whether it be practicing cello, traveling, or making 1000s of macaroons. You go girl!
Andrew- Only knew you for the first three weeks, but it was cool to have you around! I felt like you had a lot of experience under your belt, so it was fascinating hearing your take on different cultures. Plus it was fun seeing you and Patrick light things on fire. Hope you're doing well in your travels.
Laura- Wooo what would I have done without you this trip, internship/workout buddy? Thanks for keeping me sane and taking time to have adventures with me (pranayama, anyone?). I don't know about you, but I'm gonna miss going to that crappy little gym and kabitzing with the local frenchies. Also, thanks for understand my weird fetishes with home improvement and sharing my appetite for food :)
Xi- Xi you are such a sweetheart, and I am in awe how you tackle each new experience calmly (man if I were you I'd be freaked out about being in France!) You always took everything in stride, laughed at all my stupid jokes (including my chinese accent, which incidentally, wasn't a joke...), and were diligent about your work (even when the French weren't). We need to stay in touch, for real!
The Adults (now in third person)
Profs Eddie Smigiel and Emmanuel Alby from INSA- great directors, even if they were absent much of the time. It was evident that they were busy with their actual jobs, so I appreciated them taking time out of their work days to explain processes to me. They were also very patient when I came across stumbling blocks, most of which occurred through my own stupidity.
Prof Poulet from INSA- this guy wasn't even my professor, but he definitely took me under his wing, something that I'll never forget. From hosting a lavish lunch at his house, to driving us around in his swanky BMW, to teaching us French politics and history, to taking us on an excursion to Mont Saint Odile and Wine Tasting, to presenting us with regional gifts, this guy was AWESOME. Plus he told really funny (unintentionally so) stories, like the first time he dated his wife ("...and then she just kissed me! I was so confused!)
Sabrina, Mme Hardenberg, Alison- these women from the Syracuse center I only really came in contact with once a week, but they were all very helpful. Sabrina always sent great emails encouraging us to go out on the town and providing us with opportunities to do just that. Mme Hardenberg, a former french teacher who reminded me a lot of Madame, was quick to share her love for French culture by pouring over the extensive DVD collection at the center and making personal recommendations. Alison took me and Xi to the market for our picnic, and told us fascinating stories of her moving here as a student from the US, meeting her French husband in mime school, and falling in love with the culture.
M. Dominic- the director of SUAPS at the Centre Sportif at the university, he was a good-natured, boisterous, funny guy who liked to practice his broken English with Laura and me. He always let us in for free (that's on the hush-hush though) and greeted us happily every time we entered the room.
Prof Bach- the director at the Syracuse Center, this man was very knowlegeable and informative on all topics. He led us personally through Strutthof, the French concentration camp, and spoke passionately about the horrific past there. He is a really smart guy, to say the least.
M. Marxer- another director at the center, he was a bit more gentle and soft-spoken that Prof. Bach. He amazes me, being fluent in French, English, German, and, surprisingly, Japanese (his wife is the cute little Japanese woman with a huge camera always around her neck). He is so cultured and sophisticated, and exudes such a calm and soothing manner that everyone loves to talk to him. Plus he's generous and kind, so every excursion we went on ended up being very pleasant, even in the worst weather conditions.
M. and Mme Gosselin- my host parents were a hoot! Kind and endearing, they always treated me like royalty and expected nothing in return. They took the time to get to know my personal interests, and paid me the highest compliment by sharing theirs (the French are very private, by the way). Both were unintentionally hilarious in their kooky old age (fighting pigeons with a dustpan was the daily morning norm in the Gosselin kitchen) and I will miss them dearly.
Okay, well that's that! Sorry it was so long- I just met so many great people!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Feelin Fat and Sassy
WOW do I have a food baby. That's because my host fam just took me out for our very own personalized farewell dinner (sad face) at La Cloche de Fromage, a fancy schmancy fondue place. Yeah, if you're reading this, Mom, I know what you're thinking: EWWWWW. That was my first thought too, me not being a huge fan of cheese in general. But I was actually pleasantly surprised; the fondue consisted of fresh french bread dipped into this three-cheese sauce mixture that included this buttery stuff and garlic so it had a very smooth consistency. It tasted very mild, the only thing that may have put me off a bit might have been the smell but I got over it. Plus we drank this fantastic red wine from the region, a "rosette" I think it was called. Having never really drank wine before this trip, may I say that I am quite proud of myself, bein' so sophisticated and all ;) MAN do I feel French right now!! Plus, I learned a new (incredibly useful) sentence: je suis repue, which means I am full (and I also learned not to say, je suis pleine, which literally means I am full....of a baby. i.e. that I'm preggers. Woops. Won't make that mistake again). Anyways, it was a great evening, and I realized how much I'm going to miss my host family :(
These past few days have been great because FINALLY the weather has cleared up. On Monday and Tuesday it was 91 degrees!!! So we took advantage of it by skipping work (shhhh.... ehh I don't think anyone noticed anyways; I already submitted my final report) and going to the public pool. The pool here is HUGE but it was also filled to capacity, like that scene from the sandlot. It felt amazing to be in the cool water on such a hot day though (especially since the first ti;e we tried to find it, Laura and I got lost and ended up wandering around for an hour and a half.... d'oh!) The only thing I would comment on is the dressing trends of the local frenchies. Let's just say that it's pretty much mandated that men wear speedos, for "hygenic" purposes. Let me also remind you that they do not discriminate based on physique; therefore, men of all shapes and sizes (and general levels of fatness and hairiness) were parading around in their tiny little banana hammocks. Lovely. -__- But the women are not excluded from the offensive pool-wear. APPARENTLY the local (older, may I add) women are not shy when it comes to tanning....topless. *Shudder* I have definitely seen things that I may never un-see.....
Last night I went to my very first real opera! I saw a french production of Shakespeare's Hamlet, and it was fantastic! Aside from being three-hours, the singing was absolutely incredible and the live orchestra was awe-inspiring. And in case you're wondering, yes, they do belt out every single word in an ear-splitting shrill, but no, there was no fat lady singing (alas). Actually, the leading lady who played Ophelia was this tiny little woman. When she began singing and then eventually screamed out octaves that I can only guess are hearable by canines, my only thought was, "Good God, what large lungs on such a tiny woman!!" Also thankfully, they had French subtitles playing on this screen as they sang, because as this local woman next to me put it, even if you're native French you would have no idea what the heck is going on. But from the subtitles I think I was able to pretty much understand the entire opera, go me ;)
Alas, this is my last couple of days here in Strasbourg and it is bittersweet. While I look forward to seeing my family, sleeping in my own bed, eating red meat, and taking a shower standing up, it will also be hard to leave such a nice town. I was really fortunate to meet so many nice people from the program and from the city. I'm going to write a "Cast of Characters" post next!
These past few days have been great because FINALLY the weather has cleared up. On Monday and Tuesday it was 91 degrees!!! So we took advantage of it by skipping work (shhhh.... ehh I don't think anyone noticed anyways; I already submitted my final report) and going to the public pool. The pool here is HUGE but it was also filled to capacity, like that scene from the sandlot. It felt amazing to be in the cool water on such a hot day though (especially since the first ti;e we tried to find it, Laura and I got lost and ended up wandering around for an hour and a half.... d'oh!) The only thing I would comment on is the dressing trends of the local frenchies. Let's just say that it's pretty much mandated that men wear speedos, for "hygenic" purposes. Let me also remind you that they do not discriminate based on physique; therefore, men of all shapes and sizes (and general levels of fatness and hairiness) were parading around in their tiny little banana hammocks. Lovely. -__- But the women are not excluded from the offensive pool-wear. APPARENTLY the local (older, may I add) women are not shy when it comes to tanning....topless. *Shudder* I have definitely seen things that I may never un-see.....
Last night I went to my very first real opera! I saw a french production of Shakespeare's Hamlet, and it was fantastic! Aside from being three-hours, the singing was absolutely incredible and the live orchestra was awe-inspiring. And in case you're wondering, yes, they do belt out every single word in an ear-splitting shrill, but no, there was no fat lady singing (alas). Actually, the leading lady who played Ophelia was this tiny little woman. When she began singing and then eventually screamed out octaves that I can only guess are hearable by canines, my only thought was, "Good God, what large lungs on such a tiny woman!!" Also thankfully, they had French subtitles playing on this screen as they sang, because as this local woman next to me put it, even if you're native French you would have no idea what the heck is going on. But from the subtitles I think I was able to pretty much understand the entire opera, go me ;)
Alas, this is my last couple of days here in Strasbourg and it is bittersweet. While I look forward to seeing my family, sleeping in my own bed, eating red meat, and taking a shower standing up, it will also be hard to leave such a nice town. I was really fortunate to meet so many nice people from the program and from the city. I'm going to write a "Cast of Characters" post next!
Monday, June 27, 2011
The Week in Review
Woooooo boy I’m tired. Let’s see, since my last blog post….
Yoga: So my friend Laura and I finished sessions 2 and 3 of our 3-session yoga course. The way it works is that we pay 20 euro for any 3 courses in one week that we want. The first one was Hot Yoga, which was basically putting us in a Sauna and torturing us for 2 hours while we sweat our lives away. Hot Yoga was definitely the most intense, but also the most refreshing. After losing all that sweat and then rehydrating with fresh water and tea, it was amazing how new and vibrant my body felt! Anyways, on Thursday night we took a pilates course, which in my opinion was the easiest for the two of us, who both play sports at our respective colleges. Since it was a lot like the core work we have to do, I liked this session the best. And here comes the most interesting one: Pranayama and Meditation. OH, MY, GOD. This was SO WEIRD. Basically we started out with all of these breathing exercises, which quickly escalated into what I can only describe as a yoga orgy, where everyone would breathe in and out REALLY FAST and very loudly, and chant and yell as they rolled their stomachs (so awkward). We even had to sit in the Buddha pose, cross legged with our hands in an “OK” sign on our knees, and chant, “OOOOHHHHHMMMMM” in unison. The best part was the twenty minutes at the end, where we were all made to lie on our backs in the total darkness listening to this strange music while the instructor spoke to us in soft French. The only thing I remember is at the end, my friend Laura tapping me frantically on the shoulder, hissing, “Ohmygod Becky I have to PEEEEE soo badly but everyone is asleep and YOU ARE SNORING for God’s sake!!!” Woops, my bad J (I would be embarrassed but sadly this is not the first time I have fallen asleep in public and started snoring loudly).
So on Saturday after Yoga I went and took advantage of all of the sales happening, by finding a nice brown leather jacket marked down to 20 euro from 70 euro. Thank you, thank you very much.
In the evening I cooked an “authentic” Chinese meal for my host family, meaning I made shrimp and vegetable fried rice, and garlic string beans. I think they went over very well, actually (other than the fact I made a HUGE mess in the kitchen, woops). We all ate dinner as a family, which was pretty special because normally it’s just me and my host mom. But it was fun! My host parents are so funny when they are together; it’s like watching a sitcom when I eat with them. They’re two little elderly people who squabble in rapid French, until the wife ends up smacking the husband across the head and he shrinks in his seat and mumbles the equivalent of, “yes dear…” haha classic!
At night my friend Xi and I went to the Opera to listen to this piano-opera singer duet. So I didn’t understand a word of it, but it was so moving and absolutely beautiful. And I didn’t fall asleep, win!
Yesterday was a much more somber excursion. The Syracuse group traveled North deeper into the Alsace region (where we had this fantastic lunch of roasted duck, fresh vegetables, house-made apple juice, and this dessert with hot apple pie, melt-in-your-mouth meringue, fresh cold strawberry ice cream, and lots of sweet cream sauce, OMG) to visit Strutthof, one of the WWII concentration camps in Northern France. This particular camp was a work camp rather than an extermination camp, which means that it consisted mostly of “able-bodied” men to create all sorts of supplies for the Axis Powers during the war. Further, rather than being a camp with prisoners based on ethnicity or race (when most people think of concentration camps, they think of Jews), this camp was for the political resistance members from all over the region.
The experience was quite shocking. We were given a tour of the camp by one of the expert professors at Syracuse, who showed us everything from the barracks to the torture and gas chambers to the ovens. It was chilling to see this camp, surrounded by barb wire, place in the middle of this beautiful forest surrounding on such a clear and sunny day. And it is totally grotesque to think of how hyper-logical (in a twisted sense) that these camps worked. Really, it was an economic network for the war. I mean, I learned how the Nazis had everything scientifically calculated and accounted for to the T. When they burned their victims in the oven, they would use the heat energy to sustain the camp- how much more twisted can you get? And underground there was this man-made labyrinth, which was unimaginably huge, and suspected to be either a place to hide archives or an underground factory (to prevent from being destroyed during bombing). It was a genius yet barbaric operation, if you will. And it was horrible and emotionally draining just being there. I am so grateful to have went, and to have had the experience when I am old enough to actually understand and appreciate it as much as I do (to think that we read Diary of Anne Frank when I was eleven, and probably didn’t understand the magnitude). I mean, I definitely still don’t think I will ever full comprehend the horrors of what happened; I don’t know if anyone ever will, but at the experience, at least, left a huge imprint on my mind.
On a slightly less somber-note, this is my last week in Strasbourg! We have a few wrap-up activities planned for this week (farewell dinners, etc) before we all head our separate ways. I will be heading to Paris immediately after this to meet up with my family; can’t wait to see them!!!!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Pictures!
Bonjour, so I've uploaded most of my pics to facebook. Even if you're not on facebook, you can view them here:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150254994747125.369802.714677124&l=c14cc55012
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150284702107125.379978.714677124&l=0b08b9125a
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150254994747125.369802.714677124&l=c14cc55012
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150284702107125.379978.714677124&l=0b08b9125a
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150277106067125.377181.714677124&l=1422fdcdc9
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Fete de la Musique, Sales, blah blah blah
So yesterday was this city-wide music festival in Strasbourg, that went from 5 PM til midnight. The best way I can describe it is the crowds and fried food of the county fair mixed with the atmosphere of the Ocean City boardwalk. All in all it was pretty cool. The city set up these huge stages in every major square in the city, and even on random street corners or underneath restaurant awnings bands would just be there performing. Plus street vendors were selling sodas, churros, crepes, doner kababs (like a pit-beef sandwich equivalent), icecream, cotton candy, balloons, sweets, fried waffles, etc just about everywhere. It was really fun staying out late into the night, meandering from square to square and dancing to music.
Starting today and going through the beginning of August is a government mandated major sale. This means that most stores (clothing and accessories, not food or restaurants) have to slash their prices by around 50%. Sweet, right? But apparently it's this HUGE deal. This happens twice a year, and the interns at my work are all into it...they even made lists of what sales are happening when and where, like a hit list. It takes a lot of strategy. The sales are smaller at first, and then by the end of July everything is dirt cheap. BUT you have to decide how bad you want something, because if you wait until the end when it's the cheapest, there might not be any left!!! Such decisions.
On Tuesday I went to the market that I blogged about a while ago and helped shop for our weekly picnic. We bought all sorts of lunch meats, sausages, breads, tarts, cakes, peppers, tomatoes, fresh berries, olives, greek spreads, and cheeses (ew). Such a cool place; they had EVERYTHING there.
I do have to admit though, while I'm loving it here, there are some things from home I miss. Like taking a shower standing up, for example. Or hilly trails in the woods to run on. Or regular sized water glasses. Or even, surprisingly, french fries. Oh well, I guess that will come eventually. The only thing I'm really actually getting bugged out about is all this freakin RAIN. Seriously, it's been raining on and off everyday for the past 3 and a half weeks, literally. Gettin a bit weather depressed here. Hence the dependence on icecream.
Starting today and going through the beginning of August is a government mandated major sale. This means that most stores (clothing and accessories, not food or restaurants) have to slash their prices by around 50%. Sweet, right? But apparently it's this HUGE deal. This happens twice a year, and the interns at my work are all into it...they even made lists of what sales are happening when and where, like a hit list. It takes a lot of strategy. The sales are smaller at first, and then by the end of July everything is dirt cheap. BUT you have to decide how bad you want something, because if you wait until the end when it's the cheapest, there might not be any left!!! Such decisions.
On Tuesday I went to the market that I blogged about a while ago and helped shop for our weekly picnic. We bought all sorts of lunch meats, sausages, breads, tarts, cakes, peppers, tomatoes, fresh berries, olives, greek spreads, and cheeses (ew). Such a cool place; they had EVERYTHING there.
I do have to admit though, while I'm loving it here, there are some things from home I miss. Like taking a shower standing up, for example. Or hilly trails in the woods to run on. Or regular sized water glasses. Or even, surprisingly, french fries. Oh well, I guess that will come eventually. The only thing I'm really actually getting bugged out about is all this freakin RAIN. Seriously, it's been raining on and off everyday for the past 3 and a half weeks, literally. Gettin a bit weather depressed here. Hence the dependence on icecream.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Wooo updates woooo
Okay, so sorry for being too lazy to update the blog this week! (although, a piece of advice, if your life is revolving around my blog updates, it MIGHT possibly be time for you to get a hobby (or a life) before it's too late :D)
So, the week in review:
Weather- it has been raining on and off ALL week for like the 3rd week in a row, and let me tell you, it's getting a bit depressing. Luckily I've been able to get creative with my free time (i.e. napping and eating), but I have now confirmed that I am never ever moving to Seattle.
Internship- soooo this internship is getting more and more complicated as we go along. I have to be honest that it can be a bit frustrating at times, not knowing what I'm doing and not being able to get help from the prof since the work hours are so strange; HOWEVER it does make it all that much more gratifying when I figure it out. Plus my friend Xi just downloaded all 10 seasons of Friends to my laptop at work. Win = me. Don't worry, I'm still being productive, especially by French standards ;)
Running- Running has been great this week. I found this 33 km bike trail that encircles the entire city, and it starts right by where I'm living, so it's great! I can easily do some of my longer runs on it, no problem. I love following the trail because the environment changes so quickly from quaint city to rolling countryside to Baltimore Inner Harbor-ish...very cool. Plus (warning, another slightly offensive French stereotype alert) since the French aren't really known for their athleticism, they DEFINITELY don't venture out in the rain to run. So the last time it was raining (luckily it's been pretty warm rain), I went running and felt like such a champ. People were actually cheering for me and congratulating me on going out running in such "horrible" weather (i.e. a drizzle).
Week(end) Activities- this weekend has been pretty jam-packed. Mid-week we always have a Syracuse program picnic, with fresh breads, cheeses, cakes, fruits, and meats from the local markets. Well, me trying to be helpful before the picnic volunteered to slice the bread and ended up slicing my finger open instead. Yeah, not my best move. But hey, at least now if I want to become a criminal my finger prints are all different than they were before!
The weight room has had some weirdly inconvenient hours lately so my friend Laura and I decided to supplement our workouts. We went to "les Bains Municipals" on Friday afternoon, and Hot Yoga on Saturday. Les Bains Municipals are basically these old public pools, which are beautifully architectured but also very old-school, not your state-of-the-art place. I do give them credit though, they are pretty strict on hygiene. Girls have to wear their hair up at all times, guys can only wear speedos (ugh *shudder*), and people must shower before and after entering the pool. We met these three French guys who were econ majors who were pretty nice and wanted to practice their English with us (I've found that that is pretty common here, when people learn we speak English), which was awfully confusing because I don't know much about Keynesian economics in English, let alone French. Saturday was Hot Yoga and boy was it HOT. The room was basically a sauna- I have literally never perspired so much in my life. I looked like someone poured water on me. Really, I didn't know people sweat out their shins. And I've never done real yoga before...it was SO difficult! Those people can contort themselves in ways that I'm pretty certain aren't natural. Probably one of the hardest workouts in my entire life. Definitely not making fun of those yoga-ers ever again. There was this one over-weight old guy there who did a perfect "Russian Dancer". I could barely do the child's pose. How pathetic am I?
Friday night we headed out to our usual French discotheque, "Seven". It surprises me how much the French here love our pop music. Most of the songs I recognize. I didn't get in until around 3:30 but my host mom was already up, doing Sudoku in the kitchen. I guess considering she goes to bed around 7 PM, that's not too bad, but it still scared the daylights out of me, walking in to find her standing in the doorway!
Today was a program excursion to the ruins of a castle and to The Black Forest (home of the chocolate-cherry-brandy Black Forest Cake, nomnomnom). It was really windy and slightly drizzling so we were glad to be able to eat a nice meal inside a warm restaurant. I ordered Wild Boar, which I was perfectly happy about until my vegetarian friend told me that I mind as well have been eating Pumba. Great. :P We were able to explore parts of the Black Forest and also walk around Baden-Baden, an aristocratic German town famous for its high-end hotels, casinos, and natural luxurious hot-spring baths (oh, and cuckoo clocks!).
Yup, so that was my week in review. This Tuesday is a huge city-wide music festival and of course we have another picnic. I put up all my Milan pictures on facebook and I'm going to try to get around to putting up more Strasbourg pics, but I've adopted the French work mentality more than I'd like to admit, so it might not happen :)
Becky
So, the week in review:
Weather- it has been raining on and off ALL week for like the 3rd week in a row, and let me tell you, it's getting a bit depressing. Luckily I've been able to get creative with my free time (i.e. napping and eating), but I have now confirmed that I am never ever moving to Seattle.
Internship- soooo this internship is getting more and more complicated as we go along. I have to be honest that it can be a bit frustrating at times, not knowing what I'm doing and not being able to get help from the prof since the work hours are so strange; HOWEVER it does make it all that much more gratifying when I figure it out. Plus my friend Xi just downloaded all 10 seasons of Friends to my laptop at work. Win = me. Don't worry, I'm still being productive, especially by French standards ;)
Running- Running has been great this week. I found this 33 km bike trail that encircles the entire city, and it starts right by where I'm living, so it's great! I can easily do some of my longer runs on it, no problem. I love following the trail because the environment changes so quickly from quaint city to rolling countryside to Baltimore Inner Harbor-ish...very cool. Plus (warning, another slightly offensive French stereotype alert) since the French aren't really known for their athleticism, they DEFINITELY don't venture out in the rain to run. So the last time it was raining (luckily it's been pretty warm rain), I went running and felt like such a champ. People were actually cheering for me and congratulating me on going out running in such "horrible" weather (i.e. a drizzle).
Week(end) Activities- this weekend has been pretty jam-packed. Mid-week we always have a Syracuse program picnic, with fresh breads, cheeses, cakes, fruits, and meats from the local markets. Well, me trying to be helpful before the picnic volunteered to slice the bread and ended up slicing my finger open instead. Yeah, not my best move. But hey, at least now if I want to become a criminal my finger prints are all different than they were before!
The weight room has had some weirdly inconvenient hours lately so my friend Laura and I decided to supplement our workouts. We went to "les Bains Municipals" on Friday afternoon, and Hot Yoga on Saturday. Les Bains Municipals are basically these old public pools, which are beautifully architectured but also very old-school, not your state-of-the-art place. I do give them credit though, they are pretty strict on hygiene. Girls have to wear their hair up at all times, guys can only wear speedos (ugh *shudder*), and people must shower before and after entering the pool. We met these three French guys who were econ majors who were pretty nice and wanted to practice their English with us (I've found that that is pretty common here, when people learn we speak English), which was awfully confusing because I don't know much about Keynesian economics in English, let alone French. Saturday was Hot Yoga and boy was it HOT. The room was basically a sauna- I have literally never perspired so much in my life. I looked like someone poured water on me. Really, I didn't know people sweat out their shins. And I've never done real yoga before...it was SO difficult! Those people can contort themselves in ways that I'm pretty certain aren't natural. Probably one of the hardest workouts in my entire life. Definitely not making fun of those yoga-ers ever again. There was this one over-weight old guy there who did a perfect "Russian Dancer". I could barely do the child's pose. How pathetic am I?
Friday night we headed out to our usual French discotheque, "Seven". It surprises me how much the French here love our pop music. Most of the songs I recognize. I didn't get in until around 3:30 but my host mom was already up, doing Sudoku in the kitchen. I guess considering she goes to bed around 7 PM, that's not too bad, but it still scared the daylights out of me, walking in to find her standing in the doorway!
Today was a program excursion to the ruins of a castle and to The Black Forest (home of the chocolate-cherry-brandy Black Forest Cake, nomnomnom). It was really windy and slightly drizzling so we were glad to be able to eat a nice meal inside a warm restaurant. I ordered Wild Boar, which I was perfectly happy about until my vegetarian friend told me that I mind as well have been eating Pumba. Great. :P We were able to explore parts of the Black Forest and also walk around Baden-Baden, an aristocratic German town famous for its high-end hotels, casinos, and natural luxurious hot-spring baths (oh, and cuckoo clocks!).
Yup, so that was my week in review. This Tuesday is a huge city-wide music festival and of course we have another picnic. I put up all my Milan pictures on facebook and I'm going to try to get around to putting up more Strasbourg pics, but I've adopted the French work mentality more than I'd like to admit, so it might not happen :)
Becky
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Milan-o, So Fun-o
Ciao, bella!
This past weekend was a three-day weekend, with yesterday being another jour ferie (holiday). Most of us took advantage of this by traveling! Me and my friend Xi went to Milan (oooooh, ahhhh) from Saturday to Monday (actually, we arrived Tuesday morning around 6 AM and BOY am I tired)
Milan was a fantastic city of culture. We went to a bunch of museums (art, history, archelogy, music, technology, egyptian, just to name a few), saw a handful of cathedrals (The Duomo was spectacular, although my favorite was the Saint Babila Basilica), and of course, pigged out on pizza, pastries, and pasta. (Good God I don't want to see pizza again, ever!)
Milan is considered one of the fashion capitals of Europe, so of COURSE we did lots of shopping! There was this one mall that was TEN stories, and was chalk-full of famous brand-names...Juicy, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Marc Jacobs, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Jimmy Choo, just to name a few. They had everything from shoes to bags to suits to dresses, funky hats (they didn't like it so much when we tried them all on and danced around to the Britney Spears song that was blasting over the speakers...woops), books, HD tv's, lamps that were really works of art, furniture, sushi, chocolate delicacies, nuts, fruit, a whole candle section (wanna buy a 49 euro candle? anyone?), soaps, housewares....it was huge! For us it was more like a museum than a store, because of course we couldn't afford to buy anything.
In the Sforza Castello (this big castle smack dab in the middle of the city) there was a museum dedicated to Michaelangelo and Leonardo DaVinci that was absolutely mind-blowing. I don't think I've ever seen so many depictions of the Crucifixion in my life. I wish we had been allowed to take pictures. It's crazy to think, "that, right there, is an original sketch by Michaelangelo. I'm literally 2 inches away from it!" And all of the ceilings were painted in these lavish designs...so cool. The park behind the castle was awesome as well. There, you could find snack stands, a lake, locals having picnics or playing soccer, (Disney Junior came and put on a show there), playgrounds, and a famous soccer stadium. Also, lots of little yappy and annoying dogs, which I refrained from punting, because I figured that would be looked down upon. There was also this pretty sick archway which reminded me of the Arc de Triomphe, and of course I don't remember what this one was called :P
Other highlights:
being attacked by pigeons- in front of the Duomo Cathedral, there are peddelers everywhere just waiting to sneak up on the unsuspecting tourist. Well, I was standing there taking pictures when all of a sudden someone pushed a bunch of corn into my hand, and what do you know, a whole flock of pigeons come at me like flies to honey (or whatever that expression is). I was being attacked! It was terrifying- I have the scratches on my arms to prove it, blech. And of course then the peddelers say, "20 euro, for bringing the pigeons to you" What the heck are they thinking?
getting stuck in a bathroom- yeah, in one of the restaurants I got stuck in the bathroom for a good 10 minutes. There was a person on the other side trying to help me, but of course I couldn't speak Italian. Good thing I have enormously huge biceps and was able to muscle my way out of that one (not...I had to wait for one of the waiters at the restaurant to wrench open the door. how embarrassing)
chasing away this crazy stalker- we were in a plaza in front of the famous Scala Opera, when this guy aimed his camera in our direction. Thinking we were in the way of his picture, I grabbed my friend's arm and pulled her aside, saying "we're in the way, he's trying to take a picture." Except, the creeper ended up following us with his camera! I moved again, and sure enough, his camera followed us. After a few rounds of him chasing us with his camera, I finally got fed up and stomped over to where he was standing. I calmly tried to explain to him that it wasn't normal for people to take pictures of other people, especially when we were obviously trying to avoid it, but of course he only spoke Italian and wouldn't listen. So, we argued for a couple of minutes until I embarrassed him by causing a scene, grabbing his camera and erasing the TONS (creepy, right?) of pictures of my friend that he had taken, before shoving it back into his hands, grabbing my friend, and running far, far away. Ugh.
Flooded hostel- so, to save money, we stayed at a youth hostel on the edge of the city. The accomodations were actually pretty nice; there were nice clean beds and we shared a room with 4-6 other girls. The last night, however, it was raining pretty hard. We scurried back to the hostel, up the flight of steps to our room, only to find that the floor was soaking because the two of the other girls (who were passed out sleeping), in an attempt to dry all of their socks and underwear, had hung their clothes from the open window in the ceiling. Except that when it rained, water poured in everywhere, all over the floor! Woops, their bad.
Finally, the biggest lesson I learned this weekend was, you get what you pay for. Also in an attempt to save some cash, my friend and I decided to take a bus to and from Italy instead of a train or a plane. Well, let me just say, there were so fah-reeeks on the bus with us! Most notably, a young couple with matching waist-length dreads (dyed hot pink, nonetheless), studded/ripped/baggy clothes, and so many facial piercings I lost count. Of course when we went through customs, this couple was "randomly" selected to have their bags checked and boyyyyy were they upset. I guess SOMEONE was smuggling something they weren't supposed to? Tsk tsk.
All in all, it was a good experience. I found the people there to be a little less patient than in France, probably because neither me or my friend can speak Italian. I loved the food, the art, the fashion, and the monuments, but it's also true that we ran across some sketchy people (this is our own fault, we really skimped on the cash). Would I do it again? Absolutely not. But I'm glad I went once!
This past weekend was a three-day weekend, with yesterday being another jour ferie (holiday). Most of us took advantage of this by traveling! Me and my friend Xi went to Milan (oooooh, ahhhh) from Saturday to Monday (actually, we arrived Tuesday morning around 6 AM and BOY am I tired)
Milan was a fantastic city of culture. We went to a bunch of museums (art, history, archelogy, music, technology, egyptian, just to name a few), saw a handful of cathedrals (The Duomo was spectacular, although my favorite was the Saint Babila Basilica), and of course, pigged out on pizza, pastries, and pasta. (Good God I don't want to see pizza again, ever!)
Milan is considered one of the fashion capitals of Europe, so of COURSE we did lots of shopping! There was this one mall that was TEN stories, and was chalk-full of famous brand-names...Juicy, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Marc Jacobs, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Jimmy Choo, just to name a few. They had everything from shoes to bags to suits to dresses, funky hats (they didn't like it so much when we tried them all on and danced around to the Britney Spears song that was blasting over the speakers...woops), books, HD tv's, lamps that were really works of art, furniture, sushi, chocolate delicacies, nuts, fruit, a whole candle section (wanna buy a 49 euro candle? anyone?), soaps, housewares....it was huge! For us it was more like a museum than a store, because of course we couldn't afford to buy anything.
In the Sforza Castello (this big castle smack dab in the middle of the city) there was a museum dedicated to Michaelangelo and Leonardo DaVinci that was absolutely mind-blowing. I don't think I've ever seen so many depictions of the Crucifixion in my life. I wish we had been allowed to take pictures. It's crazy to think, "that, right there, is an original sketch by Michaelangelo. I'm literally 2 inches away from it!" And all of the ceilings were painted in these lavish designs...so cool. The park behind the castle was awesome as well. There, you could find snack stands, a lake, locals having picnics or playing soccer, (Disney Junior came and put on a show there), playgrounds, and a famous soccer stadium. Also, lots of little yappy and annoying dogs, which I refrained from punting, because I figured that would be looked down upon. There was also this pretty sick archway which reminded me of the Arc de Triomphe, and of course I don't remember what this one was called :P
Other highlights:
being attacked by pigeons- in front of the Duomo Cathedral, there are peddelers everywhere just waiting to sneak up on the unsuspecting tourist. Well, I was standing there taking pictures when all of a sudden someone pushed a bunch of corn into my hand, and what do you know, a whole flock of pigeons come at me like flies to honey (or whatever that expression is). I was being attacked! It was terrifying- I have the scratches on my arms to prove it, blech. And of course then the peddelers say, "20 euro, for bringing the pigeons to you" What the heck are they thinking?
getting stuck in a bathroom- yeah, in one of the restaurants I got stuck in the bathroom for a good 10 minutes. There was a person on the other side trying to help me, but of course I couldn't speak Italian. Good thing I have enormously huge biceps and was able to muscle my way out of that one (not...I had to wait for one of the waiters at the restaurant to wrench open the door. how embarrassing)
chasing away this crazy stalker- we were in a plaza in front of the famous Scala Opera, when this guy aimed his camera in our direction. Thinking we were in the way of his picture, I grabbed my friend's arm and pulled her aside, saying "we're in the way, he's trying to take a picture." Except, the creeper ended up following us with his camera! I moved again, and sure enough, his camera followed us. After a few rounds of him chasing us with his camera, I finally got fed up and stomped over to where he was standing. I calmly tried to explain to him that it wasn't normal for people to take pictures of other people, especially when we were obviously trying to avoid it, but of course he only spoke Italian and wouldn't listen. So, we argued for a couple of minutes until I embarrassed him by causing a scene, grabbing his camera and erasing the TONS (creepy, right?) of pictures of my friend that he had taken, before shoving it back into his hands, grabbing my friend, and running far, far away. Ugh.
Flooded hostel- so, to save money, we stayed at a youth hostel on the edge of the city. The accomodations were actually pretty nice; there were nice clean beds and we shared a room with 4-6 other girls. The last night, however, it was raining pretty hard. We scurried back to the hostel, up the flight of steps to our room, only to find that the floor was soaking because the two of the other girls (who were passed out sleeping), in an attempt to dry all of their socks and underwear, had hung their clothes from the open window in the ceiling. Except that when it rained, water poured in everywhere, all over the floor! Woops, their bad.
Finally, the biggest lesson I learned this weekend was, you get what you pay for. Also in an attempt to save some cash, my friend and I decided to take a bus to and from Italy instead of a train or a plane. Well, let me just say, there were so fah-reeeks on the bus with us! Most notably, a young couple with matching waist-length dreads (dyed hot pink, nonetheless), studded/ripped/baggy clothes, and so many facial piercings I lost count. Of course when we went through customs, this couple was "randomly" selected to have their bags checked and boyyyyy were they upset. I guess SOMEONE was smuggling something they weren't supposed to? Tsk tsk.
All in all, it was a good experience. I found the people there to be a little less patient than in France, probably because neither me or my friend can speak Italian. I loved the food, the art, the fashion, and the monuments, but it's also true that we ran across some sketchy people (this is our own fault, we really skimped on the cash). Would I do it again? Absolutely not. But I'm glad I went once!
Thursday, June 9, 2011
The Art Of...
Okay, so pretty soon will be my 3 week anniversary of living in Strasbourg, France. Since France is known to be an artsy country, and since I'm traveling to Milan this weekend, HUGE cultural center of art and fashion (wooo excitement), I decided to reflect on my last few weeks here in sharing what I've learned. I've picked up on a lot of things; this is what I like to call "The Art Of..."
The art of weaving in and out of tourist crowds on a bike (hint, follow the tram lines!)
The art of swallowing cheese with dignity, even if it's of the smellier, bleu-er variety...blech
The art of blending in with the French (cue colorful scarves and cool sunglasses...although I haven't gotten the handlebar moustache down yet)
The art of running on cobblestone...sorry Coach Dunham!
The art of French politics ("Oh, vous n'aimez pas Sarkozy?...Euh, ni moi non plus! Il est dingue, n'est-ce pas??")
The art of staying awake through 3 hour French Operas...okay I lied I totally fell asleep through the last one.
The art of discreetly holding one's breath while passing by smokers
The art of getting into dance clubs...fo' free! (Helps that I'm a girl, ya got me?)
The art of bargain hunting...I'm talking 10 euro purses, 5 euro wallets, 3 euro lunches, 90 cent icecreams, and 40 cent coffees!
The art of occupying ones' self on Sundays, or any time after 6 PM, or whenever it rains, since EVERYTHING CLOSES
The art of riding a bike in city traffic (right of way law=bigger vehicle wins)
The art of unproductivity (see: internship)
The art of French conversation...the key is literature, arts, movies!
The art of "appreciating" modern art (okay, I admit it, maybe I'm just too unsophisticated to understand, but I just don't GET it. I mean, the other day, when I went to a museum, there was a piece of "art" that was literally a pile of trash. And it was labeled, "A Pile of Trash". Waat???)
The art of getting student discounts...chaching!
The art of wine tasting (smell-look-swirl-taste!)
The art of playing dumb (What? I was supposed to BUY a gym membership? Oh, I didn't know! I don't speak French!)
The art of mastering the time difference...thank you, gmail phone calls
The art of taking French showers
The art of avoiding zombie pigeons (they are EVERYWHERE)
The art of asking for directions in French...this is a must!
So, weekly update. My internship is going a lot better. The professors are pleased with the model I've come up with, and my report is already around 7 pages! France is not the most productive country ever, and I'm afraid I'm adjusting to that way of life a little to well, but I'm still chugging along, aren't I?
After six weeks of a dry spell, Strasbourg has been getting nonstop gloomy weather. Like I said, everything shuts down when it rains! So last night, to avoid being cooped up indoors yet again, I went over to a small movie theatre and saw The Tree of Life (in English, of course). The movie was visually stunning and so beautifully done, but the story was absolutely AWFUL. It was literally two hours of nothing. While all of the nature scenes were great to look at, after seven minutes of watching a volcano eruption, I found myself white-knucke-gripping my armrests, squirming uncomfortably, wanting to scream, "OH MY GOD NOTHING IS HAPPENING" The coolest part of the experience was definitely the French commercials and previews before the movie. It is SO interesting to see how their culture differs from ours, even in their advertising.
Speaking of culture, I can feel my French improving and I love it! I'm not quite so sure about my speaking (although I will say that I think my accent is becoming better) but my comprehension has expanded exponentially, just listening to my host mom and professors. Today one of the professors at INSA, Prof. Poulet (yes, that means chicken) took us on this awesome 3 hour excursion up this breathtaking mountain to see the monestary of St. Odile, which has a gorgeous panoramic view of the Alsatian plains, the surrounding mountain ranges, and all of the little city clusters. Seriously, I was in awe- I've never seen anything like it. Everything was so....green! It was very beautiful. We were also fortunate to visit a local wine cellar, where we got to taste Alsatian wines. The woman there was so passionate about wine making; she explained to me the process and it really is an art. Like I wrote before, the wine business here is very personal; people invest their entire lives into it and pass it down from generation to generation. She told me how exact the process must be- they even depend on lunar cycles to plant complementary flowers of vegetables by the grape vines, so that they can interpollenate to create a better bouquet. And everything she sells is organic, so they must also take care of the insects naturally, instead of using pesticides. Anyways, since the professor and the wine vendor only spoke French, and my friends only speak English, I was the designated translator for the day. I LOVE it: I love speaking French with my professor, he treats me as an adult and doesn't try to simplify the subject matter or talk down to me just because I'm American. Indeed, he is so very wise and speaks on the most intriguing subjects: history, economics, politics, science, art, film. When I speak with him I can FEEL my French improving!!
Tomorrow my friend Xi, an electrical engineer that works with me at INSA, and I are going for a long weekend trip to Milan. We will be taking a bus there and staying in a hostel. Can't wait to see what the city has to offer!
The art of weaving in and out of tourist crowds on a bike (hint, follow the tram lines!)
The art of swallowing cheese with dignity, even if it's of the smellier, bleu-er variety...blech
The art of blending in with the French (cue colorful scarves and cool sunglasses...although I haven't gotten the handlebar moustache down yet)
The art of running on cobblestone...sorry Coach Dunham!
The art of French politics ("Oh, vous n'aimez pas Sarkozy?...Euh, ni moi non plus! Il est dingue, n'est-ce pas??")
The art of staying awake through 3 hour French Operas...okay I lied I totally fell asleep through the last one.
The art of discreetly holding one's breath while passing by smokers
The art of getting into dance clubs...fo' free! (Helps that I'm a girl, ya got me?)
The art of bargain hunting...I'm talking 10 euro purses, 5 euro wallets, 3 euro lunches, 90 cent icecreams, and 40 cent coffees!
The art of occupying ones' self on Sundays, or any time after 6 PM, or whenever it rains, since EVERYTHING CLOSES
The art of riding a bike in city traffic (right of way law=bigger vehicle wins)
The art of unproductivity (see: internship)
The art of French conversation...the key is literature, arts, movies!
The art of "appreciating" modern art (okay, I admit it, maybe I'm just too unsophisticated to understand, but I just don't GET it. I mean, the other day, when I went to a museum, there was a piece of "art" that was literally a pile of trash. And it was labeled, "A Pile of Trash". Waat???)
The art of getting student discounts...chaching!
The art of wine tasting (smell-look-swirl-taste!)
The art of playing dumb (What? I was supposed to BUY a gym membership? Oh, I didn't know! I don't speak French!)
The art of mastering the time difference...thank you, gmail phone calls
The art of taking French showers
The art of avoiding zombie pigeons (they are EVERYWHERE)
The art of asking for directions in French...this is a must!
So, weekly update. My internship is going a lot better. The professors are pleased with the model I've come up with, and my report is already around 7 pages! France is not the most productive country ever, and I'm afraid I'm adjusting to that way of life a little to well, but I'm still chugging along, aren't I?
After six weeks of a dry spell, Strasbourg has been getting nonstop gloomy weather. Like I said, everything shuts down when it rains! So last night, to avoid being cooped up indoors yet again, I went over to a small movie theatre and saw The Tree of Life (in English, of course). The movie was visually stunning and so beautifully done, but the story was absolutely AWFUL. It was literally two hours of nothing. While all of the nature scenes were great to look at, after seven minutes of watching a volcano eruption, I found myself white-knucke-gripping my armrests, squirming uncomfortably, wanting to scream, "OH MY GOD NOTHING IS HAPPENING" The coolest part of the experience was definitely the French commercials and previews before the movie. It is SO interesting to see how their culture differs from ours, even in their advertising.
Speaking of culture, I can feel my French improving and I love it! I'm not quite so sure about my speaking (although I will say that I think my accent is becoming better) but my comprehension has expanded exponentially, just listening to my host mom and professors. Today one of the professors at INSA, Prof. Poulet (yes, that means chicken) took us on this awesome 3 hour excursion up this breathtaking mountain to see the monestary of St. Odile, which has a gorgeous panoramic view of the Alsatian plains, the surrounding mountain ranges, and all of the little city clusters. Seriously, I was in awe- I've never seen anything like it. Everything was so....green! It was very beautiful. We were also fortunate to visit a local wine cellar, where we got to taste Alsatian wines. The woman there was so passionate about wine making; she explained to me the process and it really is an art. Like I wrote before, the wine business here is very personal; people invest their entire lives into it and pass it down from generation to generation. She told me how exact the process must be- they even depend on lunar cycles to plant complementary flowers of vegetables by the grape vines, so that they can interpollenate to create a better bouquet. And everything she sells is organic, so they must also take care of the insects naturally, instead of using pesticides. Anyways, since the professor and the wine vendor only spoke French, and my friends only speak English, I was the designated translator for the day. I LOVE it: I love speaking French with my professor, he treats me as an adult and doesn't try to simplify the subject matter or talk down to me just because I'm American. Indeed, he is so very wise and speaks on the most intriguing subjects: history, economics, politics, science, art, film. When I speak with him I can FEEL my French improving!!
Tomorrow my friend Xi, an electrical engineer that works with me at INSA, and I are going for a long weekend trip to Milan. We will be taking a bus there and staying in a hostel. Can't wait to see what the city has to offer!
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
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