Well, believe it or not, I'm on to my last week in France. For me, it seems like I was just counting down the days to coming here. When they say a semester abroad flies by, they were 100% accurate. Except for the whole final exam time thing. Ugh. But that's not the point of this post...hahaha! I find it quite bizarre to think about the concept of going home. I hear the shell shock is just as bad as when you come to another country. For me, I feel like I've been living in the Twilight Zone for the past 4 months. But I am so lucky to have had the opportunity to come and live abroad for a whole semester. Even though the actual university of Lille III hasn't really impressed me, I have loved the city and all of the amazing and wonderful friends I have made while being here. I have certainly learned a lot about being independent and being completely on your own to accomplish things. I think that I have proved to myself and others around me (and at home) that I can handle being an independent adult. I mean, for heaven's sake, I've lived in a foreign country for 4 whole months!!
I must say though, I am ready to come back to America. Being in France has definitely taught me to appreciate all that I have and am blessed with in the US. Never again will I complain about Wal-Mart. Hahaha! I also am grateful for Bellarmine. Good grief I am so lucky to attend such a superb institution!!! I think I have found that I value organization...Being unorganized when it comes to things such as academic matters can be terribly detrimental to one's mental sanity and stability. I have really loved meeting so many amazing people. Shout out to Sarah Miller (Ole Miss) who has stuck by me through everything here. She deals with my odd quirks, tears of homesickness and exasperation, as well as some of the best times I've ever had. I'll never forget our (nearly) weekly shopping trips to Euralille and V2. And the delicious pastries and cups of tea that we have consumed in four months! :) She has been my real confidante here and I will surely miss my little southern belle when I go home!
I am also so excited that I met so many British people and have become such good friends with them. And my many wonderful French friends :) I seriously have never felt so lucky or blessed in my whoooole life. I can easily say that my friends here are like family to me. We all became so close so quickly, and they are the only ones who will truly understand what it is like to live abroad and be in Lille, France. I am a little nervous about my return to home though...For all of you who will see me when I return home, I apologize for not being very talkative about my trip abroad for a little while. However the statement, "So tell me about France!" will not fly. I can't describe 4 months to you. Ask me about something specifically, and I will tell you. But really, this experience has changed my life forever and I can't wait to share some of my stories that I have been to lazy to put up on my blog here.
I can't wait until Christmas though!!! Since my mom, dad and sis won't be coming to Louisville until the 26th, I will be going to Cincinnati to spend Christmas with Steve and his family! I am SO excited!!!! I hope Santa can find me all the way up there in Ohio ;) And my 21st birthday is coming up!! Two weeks from today! I feel extremely old though...but not as old as BRIAN STACY (if he sees this...fyi it's an ongoing joke.) Anyways, I am so extremely proud of me and Steve for making it through my study abroad semester!!! I will tell the FLIS 201 (study abroad class that I am student advising for next semester) that it IS possible to maintain an awesome relationship while abroad!!! :)
Hmmm I am not sure where else to go with this post. But this week is going to be extremely busy with exams and packing and moving out. Eeeeek. And then I get to do the voyage to Brussels again next Monday. Pray for no snow. I mean NONE. This world traveler can't afford to miss her big metal bird back to the States. All you people going back to England on a 3 hour trainride: No Pity. Sorry. My total travel time: 25 hours. GROSS. Well, hopefully I'll post one last time before I leave here!
"Oh the sun shines bright on My Old Kentucky Home..."
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
My life in France...October-November
Okay, okay. I know. I'm a terrible study abroad student blogger. It has literally been over a month since I last posted anything on here. So, bear with me. It's gonna be a long one! So let me recount my mid-semester break:
Steve and Jason's Visit to Lille
On October 23rd, I traveled to Brussels, Belgium to pick up Steve and Jason (our friend from Bellarmine) from the train station. They arrived at about 9:30, when my train wasn't actually going to leave Lille until 9:30! Ahhh!! And lo and behold when I get there, neither of them answer their cell phones. *Note to smart phone users: They don't work abroad. HAH. Anyways, I finally found them in the busy Brussels-Midi train station, and it was like a dream...It was one of those uber-cheesy movie moments. I never knew how much I could miss someone. We literally couldn't stop smiling all day...In fact, I think my face hurt from smiling so much. I suppose it was a good thing though :) Steve and Jason then got to experience their first European high speed train as we went to Lille. The poor things looked terribly jet-lagged and I felt bad for dragging them through the Lille metro system...but we eventually made it to their Hotel Ibis in Villeneuve d'Ascq (which is like, a 7 minute walk from Triolo). They slept most of the afternoon, and then we all went out with some of the Americans to Le Zeppelin, just to give them a taste of Lille nightlife! It was lovely.
The next day was terribly rainy and disgusting. We wandered around Villeneuve d'Ascq a little bit, and I introduced them to the V2 Centre Commercial (the mall) and AUCHAN!!!! AHHH! They loved in fact, and don't understand why I hate it. Hmm. Anyways, later that evening, everyone decided to go out to dinner in Lille Centre at a cute little restaurants...and Steve ordered mussels and fries...which is a Lillois delicacy. And they were actually quite good! Never thought I'd say that...Then we took them to the Saloon and watched a little soccer on TV there! We didn't stay out too late because we had to leave early the next morning for LONDON.
Lille to London
Monday was quite the hectic day. We thought it would be a good idea to stop by Auchan before going to the Lille Europe train station to get snacks and whatnot...we got to the station and Steve's credit card wouldn't work on the kiosks to get the train tickets...therefore, we had to stand in line for a while...and ended up missing our original train. Luckily, my French proved to be good enough for an Anglophone and the guy working gave us tickets for the next train for free :D Yay. However, we had to wait in the train station for nearly 3 hours and it was freeeeeezing in there! Thank goodness for hot tea and crazy picture taking moments...After a little while, we went through customs and whatnot and before we knew it, we were on our Eurostar. Another hiccup occurred when we got to our assigned seats and there were people sitting in them. I explained to them that we paid for these seats and even showed them our tickets...and they were like "well, sorry." And refused to move! Unbelievable...but we ended up finding some seats in an adjoining car and made it through the Chunnel nicely. The thing is, I was kind of nervous about going through the Chunnel (the tunnel that goes underneath the English channel) but I actually didn't realize we were in it until about 25 minutes later...when we had reached Dover, in the south of England. I seriously freaked out the whole way to London just because I was in ENGLAND. It's been a dream of mine for ages to go to Britain, and I finally got the chance. We arrived at London St. Pancras international train station within 90 minutes of leaving Lille. I was SO excited because when we got outside, I looked at the station, and it was the one from HARRY POTTER. AH!!!!!!!!
We got in a London taxi and it took us to our hotel, which was actually only about 2 minutes from the St. Pancras station. Hahahahaha! We dropped off our stuff and then decided to go exploring. We went to the London Underground station nearest to us, and got passes for the day to go anywhere in Central London. I had heard that Piccadilly Circus was a cool place to visit, so that's where we went. We got off the Tube (which is extremely far underground) and were taken aback by the awesome-ness of Piccadilly Circus. This is the area of London where they have the huge jumbotrons and whatnot, along with the "Broadway" theaters and such. We walked around a little and were just extremely excited to be there! We wandered into this gigantic souvenir shop called "Cool Britannia" and I have never seen so many things that said "London" or "England" on them!!! And I might add, there were red double decker buses EVERYWHERE in London. It was also quite difficult to adjust to the way people drive...they drive on the left side of the road and it is waaay awkward. I was still in seventh heaven though. After lots of souvenir shopping, we were all absolutely famished, and decided to peruse around Piccadilly Circus for a restaurant or somewhere to eat. We found a really cool pub called Devonshire Arms. We opted to get a sampler of pies (which included, Shepherd's, Steak and Kidney, Steak and Ale, and Chicken and Mushroom) and they were absolutely delicious. For our main meals, we all got fish and chips and peas :D YUM! And for dessert, we got treacle tart, which is a British dessert that almost tasted of butterscotch. Whatever it was, it was absolutely delicious.
After eating, we decided to walk down the road and see what the area was all about. We saw all of the theaters, as well as Chinatown in SoHo. We wandered into the Rainforest Cafe (which was really cool) and then into Ripley's Believe it or not place, and it was definitely amazing. After a tiring day, we wandered back to King's Cross/St. Pancras and decided to call it a night.
London: Day 2
For our first full day in London, we decided to start it out by going to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the Royal Guard (the guys who wear the red coats and really big black furry hats). We took the Tube and got off at Green Park, and walked towards St. James' Palace and Buckingham Palace. As we were walking down the main road to B.Palace, we noticed a police motorcade type thing, and I thought they were just getting ready for the changing of the guard....As I began to step onto the road to cross over, Steve grabbed me by my jacket and held me back...if he had not, I would have been nearly run over by a dark marroon, shiny ROLLS ROYCE. But you see, that's not the best part...Take a wild guess at WHO was in that Rolls Royce. If you guessed QUEEN ELIZABETH II AND PRINCE PHILLIP, you're right. Yes people, I did in fact see the Queen of England herself. And I nearly passed out. I got a picture of it in time (thank you, reliable Samsung camera). We continued down the road, during which point I was still epically freaking out, and finally found a spot in front of B. Palace to watch the changing of the guards. It was literally the coolest thing ever...and so official! They had a royal band and everything...geez. But basically, lots of marching, lots of horses and police...and that was that. We then decided to walk past St. James' park towards Westminster and the Houses of Parliament. St. James park was absolutely beautiful, even on a cold and rainy day. Even in the midst of a bustling and busy city, there was just this tranquile, quiet, and beautiful park right in the middle of it. About a mile and a half away from Buckingham Palace, were the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. I took millions of pictures and proceeded to freak out. (Note: Thank you to Jason and Steve for not strangling me.) Anyways, we took tons of pictures there, and then noticed Westminster Abbey next to us. I really wanted to visit it because that is where all of the monarchs of England are buried and St. Edward had a huge influence there...So we paid 12 Quid a piece and decided to go for it. Westminster Abbey was sooo amazing. It wasn't as gorgeous as Notre Dame, but it had such a rich influence of history that I was just really in my element. We walked around and saw the tombs of famous monarchs of England such as Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, St. Edward, Henry IV, etc etc. As well as other famous and influential British people. Sir Isaac Newton is there as well I believe. It was an amazing tour, and it took us ages to go through. It was so cool to walk up the aisle where Queen Elizabeth II walked to be coronated, as well as where Princess Diana's coffin laid. It was quite powerful just to be in the place in which so many influential and historical figures had been. Westminster Abbey is one of the oldest churches in all of London, and it was absolutely amazing.
After Westminster Abbey, we started walking down the street to see what else we could find, but our feet were absolutely starving and wanted to get some sort of delicious food...hahah! We ended up going to Trafalgar Square and eating at Pizza Express (which was AMAZING). We wanted to go to the British museum and National Gallery, but were just too exhausted...London really wears one out! Geez! After resting a bit at our hotel, we decided to go to the original Hard Rock Cafe in London for dinner! It was so nice getting some normal American food and ordering food in ENGLISH. It's really weird ordering in English now that I've been in France for so long...We really enjoyed ourselves at the Hard Rock!!
London Day 3
On our next full day in London, we designated it to be "The Tower of London" day. And needless to say, it took us nearly all day to see the whole Tower of London. While on the Tube that morning, we passed through the stations that were bombed a few years back...it was sooo weird...and kind of as if one would go through the area of the WTC or something... And we also found out that someone had been pushed onto the subway tracks and was killed by the train, the first night we were in London at our station of Kings Cross. EEEK. Talk about scary. Anyways, we proceeded to go the Tower of London that morning, and I commenced to freak out. Yet again. The ToL was built in 1066 by the Norman invaders in London, and has stood there ever since. It was truly an amazing sight. I was impressed at the fact that it still stood after the Battle of Britain during the second World War. Our tour guide, a Yeoman Warder, was amaaazing. He told us all of the grizzly stories about the Tower of London and all of the Crown Jewels housed by the Tower. We wandered around the grounds of the Tower and were just amaaaazed by everything. We got to see some of the torture tools used during the medieval period rulers and whatnot...Creepy stuff. We also got to see the place where Anne Boleyn and other people were beheaded! EEEEK! After a lovely tour (lol) we decided to eat lunch at the restaurant on the grounds of the Tower of London called "New Armouries Cafe" and it was absolutely delicious.
After lunch, we decided to go see the special "Fit for a King" suits of armor exhibit in the White Tower. There were hundreds of pieces of armor and military weaponry. There was also a sign that mentioned the giving of some stuff to "the Frazier Historical Arms museum in Louisville, Kentucky, USA." I freaked out when I read that too. After the suits of armor, we went and waited in an extremely long line to see the Crown Jewels and the Imperial Crown. It wasn’t an insanely extensive collection, but it was just really cool to see the largest cut diamond in the whole world. WOW. As well as the crowns used by monarchs for centuries in England. The Tower of London was definitely an amazing place to visit, and I am SO glad we went there.
Later that day, after nearly 4 hours at the Tower of London, we decided to head back to Kings Cross (but not until buying a Dr. Pepper and some souvenirs!). We rested, and then decided to head back to Piccadilly Circus to find somewhere to eat on our last night in London. We went to a pub type restaurant and it was complete rubbish. YUCK. But whatever. After dinner, we went to the London Eye, which is this HUGE Ferris Wheel that gives you a view of the entire city of London. It was at night, so the whole city was lit up with lights and it was so clear, so the view was breathtaking. I took tons of pictures of the river Thames and Parliament from the London Eye. It is about a 30 minute ride altogether and it was just absolutely wonderful. I’ll never forget that amazing view! And we didn’t stay out too late, because we had to catch an early train to EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND.
The End of London/Beginning of Edinburgh
After an amazing time in London, none of us wanted to go to Scotland. But our train was an early one, but we were riding in first class so we were open to the new experience. And our first class, 4 ½ hour train ride was AWESOME. Seeing the Eastern Coast of England and the North Sea was absolutely breathtaking and astounding. The weather had taken a turn for the better, and it was just so nice. We had an amazing train ride though…unlimited tea! We had turned into tea junkies during our time in London…lol! When we finally arrived in Edinburgh, we were definitely well rested and excited to be there! I had never really learned a lot about Scotland during my years at school, so I was ready for a new adventure! We took a taxi to our hotel in Edinburgh called the Point Hotel. In fact, Sean Connery used to work at this place during his youth! Cool eh? Anyways, the hotel was extremely nice and everything in Edinburgh just went so smoothly! We had literally a two minute walk from the gigantic Edinburgh Castle as well. Our first excursion was the Scotland Museum, which held a lot of the history and artifacts of Scotland. It was really cool, but kind of long and dragging, but we all learned a lot about Scotland; which was good before we actually got a real look at the city…Edinburgh is the most gorgeous city I’ve ever seen in my life. It is just so far north and untainted by industrialism. It retains so much of its “small town” charm and history. Apparently, the Edinburgh Castle is sitting on a volcano…Who’d have known??? I loved hearing people playing bagpipes and wearing kilts everywhere J it was wonderful! Edinburgh is relatively a close city, and so we just walked everywhere. We went to a cool restaurant for dinner, owned by the Tudor family and then decided to go on a Ghost Walk because it was so close to Halloween.
The Ghost Tour was absolutely amazing. Our tour guide was also extremely interesting, and her name was Kate! It was more so based on historical scary things, rather than smoke and mirrors, which was really cool. We went to an old cemetery in Edinburgh and it is supposed to be one of the most haunted places in all of Scotland. We also walked up this large hill to wear they used to burn people accused of witchcraft were burned at the stake! Creeeeepy! We got to see a lot of Edinburgh and it was such an amazing tour. I love that city!
Edinburgh Day 2
On our second day in Edinburgh, we took a free city tour with the same tour guide from the night before. She took us all around the city and showed us tons of sites. Also, we saw the Elephant House, which is the coffee shop where J.K. Rowling wrote HARRY POTTER. Super exciting if you ask me. We also walked down the Royal Mile, which was the street next to Edinburgh Castle with tons of Scottish shops selling kilts, cashmere scarves, and whisky! The Scots do love their whisky. It was an amazing day for the tour and we just saw a ton of churches, the royal gardens of Edinburgh Castle and whatnot. Later that evening, Jason decided to go to a pub with the tour group, and Steve and I had our own date night in Scotland!! He actually gave me a set of pearl earrings and a matching necklace!! And they were REAL . It was so sweet and romantic! We went to this posh little restaurant in Edinburgh, and had an amazing dinner. And we even ate Haggis. Which is a Scottish traditional dish that is everything left in a sheep (its intestines, heart, kidneys, etc ) which are then put in its stomach and cooked. And in fact, it’s quite delicious. It tastes like spicy meatloaf! Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it! And then I had chicken and potatoes and it was just such a pleasant evening! Later on, we met up with Jason and went to a cool pub across from the hotel and then watched some BBC! Good times.
Last Day in Edinburgh
For our last day in Edinburgh, we had to make sure all of our activities were before 1pm…because we had to catch our plane to Belgium at 4! So, we decided to go to Edinburgh Castle and explore. It almost felt like going through the Tower of London again, but we had some of the most spectacular views ever. The sky was such a beautiful blue that day, and it was just absolutely breathtaking!! We walked around the castle and saw some of the armor from Scotland’s past. Which was really cool.
After a few hours there, we wandered down the Royal Mile for a bit and then headed back to the hotel to grab our stuff, and have a taxi take us to the Edinburgh Airport. We had a lot of trouble at the airport. Basically: heavy bags, Steve left a huge bottle of Scotch in his carry on, had to go back to the Ryan Air desk and security again, and it was just extremely stressful. After an hour and a half long flight, we arrived at Charleroi airport in Belgium…and it is actually 50 miles away from Brussels itself. By the time we get to our hotel, it’s nearly midnight and our hotel is absolute rubbish. UGH. It was the worst part of our trip, but thank goodness it was only for a few hours, because Jason had to catch an early flight from Brussels National Airport to go back to the States. After saying good bye to him, Steve and I relaxed for a bit in the airport and had breakfast. We took the transit train to Brussels Midi and then were treated very rudely by the woman at the ticket counter. Dislike. Whatever, we eventually made it back to Lille and life returned to normal.
Back in Lille…my time in France
Having Steve in France with me was really weird, but I really liked it. It was like having a piece of home with me here! J However, I had midterms and such that week, and was quite busy. But he was very helpful with doing things for me and helping me the best he could! It was definitely extremely sad when he left L
I actually became extremely homesick the week after he left. I suppose it was just the low point of my time here in France. It was also a very stressful time with homework and such, but I finally pulled out of it and have been having an awesome time!! I am so lucky to have met so many amazing people here, whom I hope to be friends with even after we all leave France in a little under a month. I have so much to see and do before I leave…And I’m sorry I haven’t blogged in ages…it’s a busy life being an exchange student! Phew! xoxo
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Inconvenient Truths.
If it wasn't already apparent, France has been experiencing unrest from the recent strikes throughout the country. The strikes began about a month ago, and they're over the law that President Nicholas Sarkozy is planning to put through Parliament that will increase the retirement age from 62 to 65 and the state pension age to 67, I believe. (Sidenote: I don't quite understand this to be a problem for the French; they already have the youngest retirement age in the world, they have 35 hour full time work weeks with 2 hours for lunch everyday, and more vacation time than anyone in the world...hmmm.) But annnways, strikes have been occurring throughout the country, and recently things have escalated and gotten much worse. In northern Paris, there have been riots against the police and military police. They even had to bring in the French version of a SWAT team...
Some French people are blocking France's oil/gas companies as well, and 1/4 of the gas stations in France are without gas...which is quite problematic. Along with using blocades against oil and gas, they have also blocaded the schools. The high school near Lille III has been blocaded for several days now, and there has been talk of Lille III being blocked. And yesterday, they voted to make that happen. So this morning, the school was basically fenced off with protesters and the like. Apparently this happens from time to time in France, and I don't see the point of blocading school 2 days before mid-term break. Hmmm whatever.
In addition, yesterday all of Lille's modes of public transportation (run by Transpole) were completely shut down and closed due to a few acts of violence against Transpole workers. One bus driver was apparently held at gunpoint, another Metro worker was shot, and something else but I don't remember! They reopened today and life is continuing as normal, but there are helicopters flying all over Villeneuve d'Ascq...BUT I also heard that SNCF train workers are striking (they run the TGV) and that could be a problem because I have to go to Brussels on Saturday morning to pick Steve and Jason up from the train station...My fingers are crossed. But that is a happy thing to think of! I can't believe that time has flown by so quickly! Is it really time for mid-term break??? AH! And my little sis is gonna be 18 soon :( sad face. But now she can go to big girl jail...HAHAH! Well tonight is the Halloween party held by the Club Angellier (english dept club) and hopefully I can find some sort of costume for that...we shall see! But as for my safety here, don't fret kids, I'm fine. I'm a smart cookie, and I can handle whatever life throws at me! :)
Some French people are blocking France's oil/gas companies as well, and 1/4 of the gas stations in France are without gas...which is quite problematic. Along with using blocades against oil and gas, they have also blocaded the schools. The high school near Lille III has been blocaded for several days now, and there has been talk of Lille III being blocked. And yesterday, they voted to make that happen. So this morning, the school was basically fenced off with protesters and the like. Apparently this happens from time to time in France, and I don't see the point of blocading school 2 days before mid-term break. Hmmm whatever.
In addition, yesterday all of Lille's modes of public transportation (run by Transpole) were completely shut down and closed due to a few acts of violence against Transpole workers. One bus driver was apparently held at gunpoint, another Metro worker was shot, and something else but I don't remember! They reopened today and life is continuing as normal, but there are helicopters flying all over Villeneuve d'Ascq...BUT I also heard that SNCF train workers are striking (they run the TGV) and that could be a problem because I have to go to Brussels on Saturday morning to pick Steve and Jason up from the train station...My fingers are crossed. But that is a happy thing to think of! I can't believe that time has flown by so quickly! Is it really time for mid-term break??? AH! And my little sis is gonna be 18 soon :( sad face. But now she can go to big girl jail...HAHAH! Well tonight is the Halloween party held by the Club Angellier (english dept club) and hopefully I can find some sort of costume for that...we shall see! But as for my safety here, don't fret kids, I'm fine. I'm a smart cookie, and I can handle whatever life throws at me! :)
Saturday, October 16, 2010
And so my life in France continues!
It's been quite a while since I've updated my blog, so I'm taking this opportunity to do so...At this point, I feel as if I have reached a sense of normalcy with my life here in France (if you didn't think that was possible, it definitely is). As far as school goes, I added another class--Etudes Irlandaises, in which I will study Irish literature and civilization. I frantically ran around Lille III last Tuesday trying to find my classroom and finally stumbled upon it, and even managed to beat the teacher to class ;) She was sooo welcoming though, even though I was three weeks late attending the class! Several of my L3 French friends were in there, so I definitely felt comfortable and ready to take on the class. My first lesson in the class was about the economy in Ireland back in the 18th century...and we learned about the Guinness brewery...haha! Definitely an interesting class!
My DEFI class decided to stress me out a lot by giving me this silly paper assignment requiring us to be like journalists...so I got to break out my AP stylebook knowledge from Winnie Spitza's class last year...thanks for that one. Anyways, it was a tough assignment, but it was even tougher because I had stayed out the night before attending my first club! My British friend Victoria was turning 21 so everyone went out to celebrate with her! It was so fun! I had no idea what to really expect when going to a club...there were a lot of people at La Boucherie (which is where we went) and they played the best music ever!!! And everyone just had the best time dancing and being all together!! But needless to say I was completely exhausted and danced out by Friday morning! We ended up going to La Boucherie again on Saturday night just because we could! And we missed the last metro at Gare Lille Flandres, and ended up catching a taxi back to Triolo...and I didn't get home til 5am. UGH! I'm such an old woman...staying out late isn't my forte if you will...
Yesterday I had my medical appointment at the immigration office. It was definitely interesting trying to get there. But I had to first buy some stamp that cost 55 euros!!! AHHHH. Ridiculous if you ask me. Anyways, I had to take the metro to the Gare Lille Flandres station, and then track down the tram...which i found thank goodness!!! I then rode it to the immigration office. I arrived at 12:40ish for my 1:30 appointment just because I didn't want to be late. But to my surprise, the office was closed until 2pm...Isn't that interesting. A lot of other people showed up at the office and we were all equally confused. Rosalind ended up coming as well so it was nice to have a friend there!! They ended up opening just before 1:30 so we didn't have to wait all that long...After handing the receptionist my paper work, I went to a sitting room with a bunch of other people looking to get their visas verified as well. When I was sitting in there, I saw another American...I knew she was American because she was wearing EXPRESS jeans!!!!!!!!! I got super excited! As for the medical exam, they put me through an xray machine and measured my height and weight, and asked me if I smoke....eeeasy! Afterwards, Rosalind and I travelled back to Euralille and had a petit cafe creme and a pastry to celebrate the end of immigration stuff. It was lovely :) I then took the rest of the afternoon to look around Euralille.
OH! I almost forgot! So, Tuesday i was doing laundry. I put my things in the dryer and go upstairs to my room to watch an episode of Gossip Girl while I was waiting. When I returned to the laundry room, to my dismay, my University of Kentucky laundry bag and most favorite Express shirt were missing in action. I was definitely not a happy camper. I looked all over the room and they were just gone. After crying a little bit, I decided that they will be remembered fondly and life goes on...because yesterday at Euralille, I went into a store called Andiamo and found the CUTEST laundry bag ever!!!! It's a black and white print of London and it has red telephone booths on it. So there. Yesss for problem solving and making things better.
Thursday night was the International Soiree, which was a huge party organized by the Ulysse Association at school! We all dressed up and looked faaaaaabulous and met up in front of the Palais des Beaux Arts to all walk together to Duke's club. Everyone was there and we all ate a small dinner before the party actually started. We had something that reminded me of Jambalaya and sarah, brian and i all recognized the smell...it smelled like New Orleans!!!! :D but sadly I think it was paeya. But it was still delicious! After mingling a little while, we finally hit the dancefloor to some AWESOME music. Since I was missing Ball on the Belle at BU, I had to make this dance count!!!! But it was definitely the best night in Lille so far!! They played tons of my favorite songs, and I got to dance with some of the amaaazing friends that I've met here in Lille. I'll always remember that night!!
So that's all I can think of right now....Lots of things coming up soon though! Brian's birthday party tonight...and Steve is coming to France a week from today!!!!!!!!!!! :D Bon week-end :D
My DEFI class decided to stress me out a lot by giving me this silly paper assignment requiring us to be like journalists...so I got to break out my AP stylebook knowledge from Winnie Spitza's class last year...thanks for that one. Anyways, it was a tough assignment, but it was even tougher because I had stayed out the night before attending my first club! My British friend Victoria was turning 21 so everyone went out to celebrate with her! It was so fun! I had no idea what to really expect when going to a club...there were a lot of people at La Boucherie (which is where we went) and they played the best music ever!!! And everyone just had the best time dancing and being all together!! But needless to say I was completely exhausted and danced out by Friday morning! We ended up going to La Boucherie again on Saturday night just because we could! And we missed the last metro at Gare Lille Flandres, and ended up catching a taxi back to Triolo...and I didn't get home til 5am. UGH! I'm such an old woman...staying out late isn't my forte if you will...
Yesterday I had my medical appointment at the immigration office. It was definitely interesting trying to get there. But I had to first buy some stamp that cost 55 euros!!! AHHHH. Ridiculous if you ask me. Anyways, I had to take the metro to the Gare Lille Flandres station, and then track down the tram...which i found thank goodness!!! I then rode it to the immigration office. I arrived at 12:40ish for my 1:30 appointment just because I didn't want to be late. But to my surprise, the office was closed until 2pm...Isn't that interesting. A lot of other people showed up at the office and we were all equally confused. Rosalind ended up coming as well so it was nice to have a friend there!! They ended up opening just before 1:30 so we didn't have to wait all that long...After handing the receptionist my paper work, I went to a sitting room with a bunch of other people looking to get their visas verified as well. When I was sitting in there, I saw another American...I knew she was American because she was wearing EXPRESS jeans!!!!!!!!! I got super excited! As for the medical exam, they put me through an xray machine and measured my height and weight, and asked me if I smoke....eeeasy! Afterwards, Rosalind and I travelled back to Euralille and had a petit cafe creme and a pastry to celebrate the end of immigration stuff. It was lovely :) I then took the rest of the afternoon to look around Euralille.
OH! I almost forgot! So, Tuesday i was doing laundry. I put my things in the dryer and go upstairs to my room to watch an episode of Gossip Girl while I was waiting. When I returned to the laundry room, to my dismay, my University of Kentucky laundry bag and most favorite Express shirt were missing in action. I was definitely not a happy camper. I looked all over the room and they were just gone. After crying a little bit, I decided that they will be remembered fondly and life goes on...because yesterday at Euralille, I went into a store called Andiamo and found the CUTEST laundry bag ever!!!! It's a black and white print of London and it has red telephone booths on it. So there. Yesss for problem solving and making things better.
Thursday night was the International Soiree, which was a huge party organized by the Ulysse Association at school! We all dressed up and looked faaaaaabulous and met up in front of the Palais des Beaux Arts to all walk together to Duke's club. Everyone was there and we all ate a small dinner before the party actually started. We had something that reminded me of Jambalaya and sarah, brian and i all recognized the smell...it smelled like New Orleans!!!! :D but sadly I think it was paeya. But it was still delicious! After mingling a little while, we finally hit the dancefloor to some AWESOME music. Since I was missing Ball on the Belle at BU, I had to make this dance count!!!! But it was definitely the best night in Lille so far!! They played tons of my favorite songs, and I got to dance with some of the amaaazing friends that I've met here in Lille. I'll always remember that night!!
So that's all I can think of right now....Lots of things coming up soon though! Brian's birthday party tonight...and Steve is coming to France a week from today!!!!!!!!!!! :D Bon week-end :D
Sunday, October 3, 2010
"We'll always have Paris"..."Paris, je t'aime"..."An American In Paris"...
And if you couldn't tell from the title, my post today is going to be about my AMAZING trip to Paris on October 2nd. We had the opportunity to take this trip because of our international students club thing--Ulysse...and they planned everything! So here's the story:
Since we had to be at the Pont de Bois metro station at 6:30am, I had to wake up at 5:30! ARGH! Sarah, Colleen and I walked together from Triolo to the station, where we found a large double decker bus waiting to take us to Paris, as well as about 30 other international students and Hamid, the President of Ulysse. We met Rosalind and Raashnie at the bus as well and then headed off for a 3 hour ride to Paris. Driving through the northern French countryside was beautiful though, even at 6 o'clock in the morning...Driving on a highway in France is so much different than in the US. The sides of the roads aren't as tainted with tacky billboards and the land is just so unscathed and it's beautiful! We eventually arrived in Paris after a long and unexciting bus ride. We passed the Charles de Gaulle airport (the biggest airport in France) and as we were approaching a tunnel, a huge American Airlines plane was landing right on top of it...we were hoping it would land on us! AH! Anyways, We took the scenic route into Paris so that we could see Sacre Coeur and other famous Parisian monuments. It was kind of an overcast day, but the temperature was just perfect! Our first stop of the day, after riding down the Seine River, was of course the Eiffel Tower. As we got off of the bus, a lot of guys started coming up to us and trying to get us to buy souvenirs and stuff and they were REALLY annoying. "5 eiffel tower keychains for 1 euro!!" and Sarah and I both broke down and bought some, just because I needed to get souvenirs for people :) Even though I had seen the Eiffel Tower before when I last came to Paris, seeing again was just as majestic. There's something about it that just takes your breath away and makes you insanely dizzy when you are under it looking up! We didn't have enough time to go up to the top, but we walked around and went to Trocadero Square to take more pictures of the tower and see everything. That area came back to memory so quickly! But this time it felt different...and I'm not sure why! But the Eiffel Tower will always be one of my most favorite icons of Paris.
We boarded the bus oncemore and it took us around the city and showed us the Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette was held captive before being beheaded), les Invalides (famous building in which the architecture of the dome was actually used when building the state capitol building in Frankfort, KY!), l'Arc de Triomph (which is the large arc on the Champs Elysees that Napoleon had built to honor his war victories; too bad he died before ever seeing it...), la Musee d'Orsay (the impressionist museum), and then finally arriving at La Cathedrale Notre Dame. Notre Dame is another one of my favorite places in Paris. I love the Gothic architecture of the building with it's rose window, flying buttresses, and gargoyles of course! Sarah and I decided to not go into the church because the line for it was as long as the Ile de la Cite! ahh! So we decided to make that happen on our next trip to Paris. So instead, we walked behind the cathedral and into its beautiful gardens. There weren't many people around the sides of Notre Dame, so we really enjoyed the peace and scenery. And looking onto the Seine was really cool too. We then decided to hit up the touristy shops on the street facing Notre Dame...and it was awesome!!! I bought quite a bit for everyone back home :) as well as a French flag and a Paris sweatshirt for myself :) After being touristy, we grabbed some paninis from a little shop, and decided to just chill and eat them in front of Notre Dame...just because we could :) We then proceeded to take part in a tradition...chasing the pigeons in front of Notre Dame. And it was hilarious!!!!!! We then met the bus again and we headed to another destination in Paris. But it took us down the Champs Elysees (the most famous street in all of Europe, with tons of shops, restaurants, etc etc). An interesting fact: Paris was designed in a very geometric fashion. The Champs Elysees is on straight line, with major monuments and buildings following in that exact line. It starts with La Defense (this large square building in the downtown district of Paris), and then goes to L'arc de Triomph, la Place de la Concode (in which a large obliesk sits where a lot of the beheadings of the French Revolution took place), then the Jardin des Tulieres (a large beautiful botanical garden), l'Arc de Triomph du Carrosel (a smaller version of the arc de triomph), and then finally Le Louvre (the greatest and one of the largest art museums in the world that houses many of Da Vinci's work, and many many other famous paintings and sculptures). It's quite the interesting street :)
We got dropped off in the Place de la Concorde, which is a very busy roundabout in Paris. But before getting dropped off, we also got to see the Opera Garnier, one of the most beautiful opera houses in all of Europe, as well as the most expensive shopping district in France...with names like Chanel, Dior, Bvlgari, and Hugo Boss on top of the doors. I was in HEAVEN needless to say...After getting dropped off though, I noticed a black Mercedes Benz sitting next to the entrance of the Jardin des Tulieres, and it said ELLE on the side...as in, ELLE magazine...I got seriously excited...and then I noticed the large tents being set up...Interesting...We walked into the gardens and I saw loads of people with cameras and such...and then I saw tons of top models walking towards this building in the gardens...and then it donned on me...IT'S FASHION WEEK IN PARIS!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH! I seriously freaked out. I saw Agnyss Deyn, a very very popular British model, as she was walking towards the building. And I couldn't even process it all. Geez. We also heard the runway music start up from the fashion show being held inside. Oh goodness...it was awesome, seriously. But we had better things to do...so we started walking towards le Louvre. The jardin des Tulieres was absolutely beautiful and the flowers were so colorful, and you'd have never guessed it was October, the way they looked. Wow! We walked underneath the Arc de Triomph du Carrousel, and it was definitely amazing, but seeing le Louvre in front of me with the large pyramid was even better :)
We didn't have time to wait in the immensely long line for le Louvre to go in, but instead just took pictures and looked around. Except, as soon as I lifted my camera to snap a picture of it, my camera died. Needless to say, I was NOT a happy camper. Oh well. C'est la vie! After a few minutes, we thought it would be cool to stroll along the Champs Elysees :) I was definitely ok with that plan! We were going to walk to the Arc de Triomph, but it's a heck of a lot farther than one might think! So, I grabbed a banana and chocolate crepe (which was the best thing I've ever eaten in my entire life! YUMMM!!!!) And then strolled along the beautiful but busy street! The trees were beginning to turn yellow, and it was just absolutely amazing. We saw the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, as well as the awesome statue of Charles de Gaulle (who is from Lille...YAY) as we walked. Sarah and I decided to wander into Gap and then we headed back to the Place de la Concorde to wait for the bus. As we sat on the curb, we noticed a lot of couples getting their wedding photographs taken in the Place de la Concorde and it was actually really cute to watch!! I'm so doing that when I get married. Just saying.
After waiting, we finally boarded the bus and headed to Montmartre. We passed the Moulin Rouge and then were dropped off on the street. We all started walking up the large hill that led to Sacre Coeur (the really large white church in Paris)...and we regretted our decision after seeing the 12 flights of stairs to get up there...but it was worth it when we had the most spectacular view of Paris in the world. There was someone singing to a crowd on the steps of Sacre Coeur, so it was definitely an amazing experience! AH! And then we were hungry and decided to get food at L'Atelier before getting on the bus to head back to Lille. Unfortunately, we were MAJORLY pressed for time, and had to meet our bus back at 6:45...so we scarfed down our oinon soup, lamb and french fries at 6:44 and ran down to meet the bus, only being 5 minutes late! Phew! Traffic getting out of Paris was completely ridiculous and took AGES. I think we literally sat in traffic for an hour and a half. But we got on the road again and got back to the Pont de Bois station at about 11:15pm or so. We were definitely tuckered out from this long day, but I love Paris, and can't wait to go back in a few weeks!!!! :)
Since we had to be at the Pont de Bois metro station at 6:30am, I had to wake up at 5:30! ARGH! Sarah, Colleen and I walked together from Triolo to the station, where we found a large double decker bus waiting to take us to Paris, as well as about 30 other international students and Hamid, the President of Ulysse. We met Rosalind and Raashnie at the bus as well and then headed off for a 3 hour ride to Paris. Driving through the northern French countryside was beautiful though, even at 6 o'clock in the morning...Driving on a highway in France is so much different than in the US. The sides of the roads aren't as tainted with tacky billboards and the land is just so unscathed and it's beautiful! We eventually arrived in Paris after a long and unexciting bus ride. We passed the Charles de Gaulle airport (the biggest airport in France) and as we were approaching a tunnel, a huge American Airlines plane was landing right on top of it...we were hoping it would land on us! AH! Anyways, We took the scenic route into Paris so that we could see Sacre Coeur and other famous Parisian monuments. It was kind of an overcast day, but the temperature was just perfect! Our first stop of the day, after riding down the Seine River, was of course the Eiffel Tower. As we got off of the bus, a lot of guys started coming up to us and trying to get us to buy souvenirs and stuff and they were REALLY annoying. "5 eiffel tower keychains for 1 euro!!" and Sarah and I both broke down and bought some, just because I needed to get souvenirs for people :) Even though I had seen the Eiffel Tower before when I last came to Paris, seeing again was just as majestic. There's something about it that just takes your breath away and makes you insanely dizzy when you are under it looking up! We didn't have enough time to go up to the top, but we walked around and went to Trocadero Square to take more pictures of the tower and see everything. That area came back to memory so quickly! But this time it felt different...and I'm not sure why! But the Eiffel Tower will always be one of my most favorite icons of Paris.
We boarded the bus oncemore and it took us around the city and showed us the Conciergerie (where Marie Antoinette was held captive before being beheaded), les Invalides (famous building in which the architecture of the dome was actually used when building the state capitol building in Frankfort, KY!), l'Arc de Triomph (which is the large arc on the Champs Elysees that Napoleon had built to honor his war victories; too bad he died before ever seeing it...), la Musee d'Orsay (the impressionist museum), and then finally arriving at La Cathedrale Notre Dame. Notre Dame is another one of my favorite places in Paris. I love the Gothic architecture of the building with it's rose window, flying buttresses, and gargoyles of course! Sarah and I decided to not go into the church because the line for it was as long as the Ile de la Cite! ahh! So we decided to make that happen on our next trip to Paris. So instead, we walked behind the cathedral and into its beautiful gardens. There weren't many people around the sides of Notre Dame, so we really enjoyed the peace and scenery. And looking onto the Seine was really cool too. We then decided to hit up the touristy shops on the street facing Notre Dame...and it was awesome!!! I bought quite a bit for everyone back home :) as well as a French flag and a Paris sweatshirt for myself :) After being touristy, we grabbed some paninis from a little shop, and decided to just chill and eat them in front of Notre Dame...just because we could :) We then proceeded to take part in a tradition...chasing the pigeons in front of Notre Dame. And it was hilarious!!!!!! We then met the bus again and we headed to another destination in Paris. But it took us down the Champs Elysees (the most famous street in all of Europe, with tons of shops, restaurants, etc etc). An interesting fact: Paris was designed in a very geometric fashion. The Champs Elysees is on straight line, with major monuments and buildings following in that exact line. It starts with La Defense (this large square building in the downtown district of Paris), and then goes to L'arc de Triomph, la Place de la Concode (in which a large obliesk sits where a lot of the beheadings of the French Revolution took place), then the Jardin des Tulieres (a large beautiful botanical garden), l'Arc de Triomph du Carrosel (a smaller version of the arc de triomph), and then finally Le Louvre (the greatest and one of the largest art museums in the world that houses many of Da Vinci's work, and many many other famous paintings and sculptures). It's quite the interesting street :)
We got dropped off in the Place de la Concorde, which is a very busy roundabout in Paris. But before getting dropped off, we also got to see the Opera Garnier, one of the most beautiful opera houses in all of Europe, as well as the most expensive shopping district in France...with names like Chanel, Dior, Bvlgari, and Hugo Boss on top of the doors. I was in HEAVEN needless to say...After getting dropped off though, I noticed a black Mercedes Benz sitting next to the entrance of the Jardin des Tulieres, and it said ELLE on the side...as in, ELLE magazine...I got seriously excited...and then I noticed the large tents being set up...Interesting...We walked into the gardens and I saw loads of people with cameras and such...and then I saw tons of top models walking towards this building in the gardens...and then it donned on me...IT'S FASHION WEEK IN PARIS!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH! I seriously freaked out. I saw Agnyss Deyn, a very very popular British model, as she was walking towards the building. And I couldn't even process it all. Geez. We also heard the runway music start up from the fashion show being held inside. Oh goodness...it was awesome, seriously. But we had better things to do...so we started walking towards le Louvre. The jardin des Tulieres was absolutely beautiful and the flowers were so colorful, and you'd have never guessed it was October, the way they looked. Wow! We walked underneath the Arc de Triomph du Carrousel, and it was definitely amazing, but seeing le Louvre in front of me with the large pyramid was even better :)
We didn't have time to wait in the immensely long line for le Louvre to go in, but instead just took pictures and looked around. Except, as soon as I lifted my camera to snap a picture of it, my camera died. Needless to say, I was NOT a happy camper. Oh well. C'est la vie! After a few minutes, we thought it would be cool to stroll along the Champs Elysees :) I was definitely ok with that plan! We were going to walk to the Arc de Triomph, but it's a heck of a lot farther than one might think! So, I grabbed a banana and chocolate crepe (which was the best thing I've ever eaten in my entire life! YUMMM!!!!) And then strolled along the beautiful but busy street! The trees were beginning to turn yellow, and it was just absolutely amazing. We saw the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, as well as the awesome statue of Charles de Gaulle (who is from Lille...YAY) as we walked. Sarah and I decided to wander into Gap and then we headed back to the Place de la Concorde to wait for the bus. As we sat on the curb, we noticed a lot of couples getting their wedding photographs taken in the Place de la Concorde and it was actually really cute to watch!! I'm so doing that when I get married. Just saying.
After waiting, we finally boarded the bus and headed to Montmartre. We passed the Moulin Rouge and then were dropped off on the street. We all started walking up the large hill that led to Sacre Coeur (the really large white church in Paris)...and we regretted our decision after seeing the 12 flights of stairs to get up there...but it was worth it when we had the most spectacular view of Paris in the world. There was someone singing to a crowd on the steps of Sacre Coeur, so it was definitely an amazing experience! AH! And then we were hungry and decided to get food at L'Atelier before getting on the bus to head back to Lille. Unfortunately, we were MAJORLY pressed for time, and had to meet our bus back at 6:45...so we scarfed down our oinon soup, lamb and french fries at 6:44 and ran down to meet the bus, only being 5 minutes late! Phew! Traffic getting out of Paris was completely ridiculous and took AGES. I think we literally sat in traffic for an hour and a half. But we got on the road again and got back to the Pont de Bois station at about 11:15pm or so. We were definitely tuckered out from this long day, but I love Paris, and can't wait to go back in a few weeks!!!! :)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Interesting times in Lille...
So things in France have become quite interesting lately...if you haven't been reading the news...Apparently Paris is on the list for the next terrorist attack? Hmmm..well don't fret, kids. The French Intel are all up on this. Besides, they did find out about the Cuban Missile Crisis on accident right? Anyways, don't worry. Everything is fine. Although, my poor friend Adam in Ecquador is probably going to see a coup d'etat of their government. Gulp. Kudos to ya man, be safe!
Enough of the craziness....the past few days have been quite interesting! Wednesday night, my American Film Studies prof actually decided to show up...and she taught 80% of the class in French. However, my comprehension skills have SKYROCKETED since I've been here, so I caught pretty much everything she said. And it's going to be an interesting class! We're studying Hitchcock films, and a few others. I'm excited. Also, Wednesday night was the Angellier Soiree (English club/department) at Saloon (this American-esque place). I got to meet several French people and they were all excited to talk to me about the US. Haha. Anyways, it was definitely funny to see a bunch of French people wearing cowboy hats...I just couldn't take them seriously! But it was definitely a good time. Except when we got caught in the rain...again.
Thursday has been a relaxing day! I had my 8am Great Britain studies class...and then came back to Triolo and took an EPIC nap. AH! It was great. And then I caught up on the latest episode of Supernatural :D Then my friend Brian (the dude from LSU who now goes to Lille 3 officially) and I got some pizza from Triolo Pizza down the road, and he led me in a crash course in French...I had to meet his French host family...Talk about nerveracking...But before we went there, we walked around Lille centre and it is seriously the most gorgeous/European-esque city ever. I mean, it's not ginormous and overwhelming like Paris; it's just a typical European city with a lot of history and charm. Seeing the Lille Opera building lit up is just absolutely amazing. And don't even get me started on the Palais de Beaux Arts with the foutain in front of it...Ah!! But we walked past the Gare Lille Europe (where I arrived at) and I saw a TGV coming in and it made me nostalgic :) haha...24 more days until I'll be on one of those to pick Steve up from Brussels :D Anyways, the city was absolutely majestic tonight. We headed down the road to Caulier, where his host family lives. We get to this really random, very Northern France looking house (it has 3 levels), and I was immediately overwhelmed..."Je vous presente ma copine, Christine", says Brian. Oh lord. And immediately, his host dad is super excited and starts speaking to me in French, and all of the sudden it donned on me, Hey, I can understand this guy! I also met his host mother. They were absolutely adorable and soooo welcoming! They gave us some water, and a million different syrups we could flavor it with...hahah that was hilarious. It was interesting trying to explain that we don't normally flavor our water in the US. And then the host dad was like, "Oh tu es Americaine? Comme Brian??" "Oui, Monsieur." And then he grabbed his huge map of the US and asked me to point out Kentucky. And so I pointed out good ol' Louisville, KY! And he thought it was cool that we have a legit airport...Then we talked about fried chicken...it's inevitable. And then I showed them Hammond, LA where the rest of my family lives. He was fascinated by that. Hahah!!
After listening to him give Brian a funny grammar lesson, I began to feel a bit more comfortable! I definitely got across what I wanted to say in French, and I understood his questions, as well as the rest of his conversation between his wife and Brian. Oh goodness. I was also telling him about being here for Christmas and having my birthday the day after and he insisted that I join them for Christmas if I ended up being all alone! How sweet eh?? I love the French, they really will do anything for you. After spending an hour there, we decided that it would be best not to catch the Metro back to Triolo too late. I am pretty sure that I did not breathe through that entire encounter...I was soooo nervous! It's just intimidating for me seeing someone like Brian, who is American, speaking French so quickly and with such ease, and then listening to myself trying to string sentences together. Geez. But I made it back to Triolo safe and sound and am now enjoying a Kinder Bueno bar...I think as Americans, we need to embrace the taste of Hazelnut. It is AMAZING. Speaking French for a long time really does wear one out. Although, I feel like I am definitely getting used to it, and have much more confidence now after being put in those weird situations! Another adventure for the books I guess....
Enough of the craziness....the past few days have been quite interesting! Wednesday night, my American Film Studies prof actually decided to show up...and she taught 80% of the class in French. However, my comprehension skills have SKYROCKETED since I've been here, so I caught pretty much everything she said. And it's going to be an interesting class! We're studying Hitchcock films, and a few others. I'm excited. Also, Wednesday night was the Angellier Soiree (English club/department) at Saloon (this American-esque place). I got to meet several French people and they were all excited to talk to me about the US. Haha. Anyways, it was definitely funny to see a bunch of French people wearing cowboy hats...I just couldn't take them seriously! But it was definitely a good time. Except when we got caught in the rain...again.
Thursday has been a relaxing day! I had my 8am Great Britain studies class...and then came back to Triolo and took an EPIC nap. AH! It was great. And then I caught up on the latest episode of Supernatural :D Then my friend Brian (the dude from LSU who now goes to Lille 3 officially) and I got some pizza from Triolo Pizza down the road, and he led me in a crash course in French...I had to meet his French host family...Talk about nerveracking...But before we went there, we walked around Lille centre and it is seriously the most gorgeous/European-esque city ever. I mean, it's not ginormous and overwhelming like Paris; it's just a typical European city with a lot of history and charm. Seeing the Lille Opera building lit up is just absolutely amazing. And don't even get me started on the Palais de Beaux Arts with the foutain in front of it...Ah!! But we walked past the Gare Lille Europe (where I arrived at) and I saw a TGV coming in and it made me nostalgic :) haha...24 more days until I'll be on one of those to pick Steve up from Brussels :D Anyways, the city was absolutely majestic tonight. We headed down the road to Caulier, where his host family lives. We get to this really random, very Northern France looking house (it has 3 levels), and I was immediately overwhelmed..."Je vous presente ma copine, Christine", says Brian. Oh lord. And immediately, his host dad is super excited and starts speaking to me in French, and all of the sudden it donned on me, Hey, I can understand this guy! I also met his host mother. They were absolutely adorable and soooo welcoming! They gave us some water, and a million different syrups we could flavor it with...hahah that was hilarious. It was interesting trying to explain that we don't normally flavor our water in the US. And then the host dad was like, "Oh tu es Americaine? Comme Brian??" "Oui, Monsieur." And then he grabbed his huge map of the US and asked me to point out Kentucky. And so I pointed out good ol' Louisville, KY! And he thought it was cool that we have a legit airport...Then we talked about fried chicken...it's inevitable. And then I showed them Hammond, LA where the rest of my family lives. He was fascinated by that. Hahah!!
After listening to him give Brian a funny grammar lesson, I began to feel a bit more comfortable! I definitely got across what I wanted to say in French, and I understood his questions, as well as the rest of his conversation between his wife and Brian. Oh goodness. I was also telling him about being here for Christmas and having my birthday the day after and he insisted that I join them for Christmas if I ended up being all alone! How sweet eh?? I love the French, they really will do anything for you. After spending an hour there, we decided that it would be best not to catch the Metro back to Triolo too late. I am pretty sure that I did not breathe through that entire encounter...I was soooo nervous! It's just intimidating for me seeing someone like Brian, who is American, speaking French so quickly and with such ease, and then listening to myself trying to string sentences together. Geez. But I made it back to Triolo safe and sound and am now enjoying a Kinder Bueno bar...I think as Americans, we need to embrace the taste of Hazelnut. It is AMAZING. Speaking French for a long time really does wear one out. Although, I feel like I am definitely getting used to it, and have much more confidence now after being put in those weird situations! Another adventure for the books I guess....
Monday, September 27, 2010
This Just in...
.....I found KFC in Lille. And ate there. Update: Disappointing. No mashed potatoes and gravy, no mac and cheese, no buttermilk biscuits...Epic Fail YUM brands.
My thoughts on France...
I find it difficult to believe that I have been in France for a few days shy of a month...As each day passes, I begin to feel more and more like this is home to me. I don't feel nearly as afraid and nervous as I did on Day 1, but what can ya expect? It's France for heaven's sake! Anyways, the past few days have been...well...normal and ordinary! Friday night, Sarah, Brian and I went to this Irish Pub down the road from Residence Triolo and saw an AC/DC cover band...interesting no doubt...the best part was the little 4 year old French boy singing "Highway to Hell" with all his might. I love kids sometimes hahaha. Saturday, was more of a relaxing, I-need-to-catch-up-on-sleep day. Colleen and I decided to head over to V2 Centre Commercial (the mall.) to grab a few things from Auchan. After that, I went back to Triolo and decided to make dinner. I wanted to fry up some chicken with my amaaaazing Provencal spices...but I try to find them, and they were GONE. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper and pouted while slurping up my tomato soup and peanut butter sandwich.
Although, my day was brightened when I got the opportunity to put on a Homework Party at Triolo. (All my BU folk know what I'm talkin 'bout). Anyways, a Homework Party is not exactly a study group because we all study different things at Bellarmine...but we enjoy having each other's company while doing homework and tasks of that nature. So I decided to try this practice on non-BU people. And it worked. I got called a mega-nerd in the process, but we all had a really great time! Most of us worked on Translation hw, and my wonderful 8 year old dictionary got majorly dissed. Even though it's falling apart at the spine, I could never give it away...it's been WAY to helpful.
Sunday morning, I braved the cold rain and went into Lille to Le Pain Quotidien (a bakery/breakfast place) with Rosalind, Colleen, the Brits, and Stephanie. We had a lovely breakfast for Rosalind's 22nd birthday! But unfortunately, the French kinda skimp on their breakfast options...I mean, a pain au chocolat and a Cafe Creme are delicious, but I enjoy my bacon, pancakes and eggs!!! After the breakfast, the Brits invited us to their cute little house for a Sunday English roast dinner. And let me tell you...I have never tasted anything so delicious in my life. True story. We had some roasted chicken that they had picked up from the Wazemmes market in Lille, and it was mixed with soft potatoes, carrots, and PARSNIP! Yum. Parsnip is delicious. We Americans need to expand our veggie views...Anyways, we ended up having another homework party on Sunday night and I definitely got a lot accomplished.
Today I had more classes. My DEFI class as usual (the French extensive course) and in that, my teacher Martine asked me if I wanted to represent the American international students in a film about the Nord-Pas de Calais region of France...and I was like, OUAIS!!!!!! (That means, YEAH, in case you needed to brush up on your French slang...) And I'm starting to feel a little bit more comfortable in that class. I have realized that my epic French test taking skill (hahah) placed me in a high level, and they're going to make me work hard. It is weird though not being like the "top dog" in my French class. So it's humbling me and it's definitely for the better. I am definitely learning a lot and refining my skills, and it's challenging me more than my 312 class would at Bellarmine I think. But I just feel lucky to be here. I also had my Argumentation/Debate class today. I had to do a presentation with 6 other French students on educational reform in a school in Chicago. We each gave our schpeel about the radio broadcast we had to listened to, and then people began to debate...and let me tell you, I never expected the reactions that came from it. People were getting really rialed up and talked loudly over one another. In America, people usually respect when someone else "has the floor" but in France it's a completely different story. I looked at my teacher at one point and wondered if this was normal, and she smiled and said "Welcome to France". Hahahahaha. Classic. But it was very interesting and quite lively!!!
Now that I am feeling somewhat "normal" here in France, I am starting to pick up on quirks and odd things here. It's kind of hard to explain though. Here's a random spew of thoughts and reactions to things:
--I heard Maroon 5 on the metro the other day and totally started rocking out. Looks like the French love them too :D
--People here dress REALLY nice.
--French mayonnaise is NOT the same as American mayonnaise.
--It's impossible to break a 20 euro bill. I don't get it. Americans will throw down a twenty on a freakin candy bar...but nooooo not here.
--Our dining hall on campus is open a total of 3 hours a day. :(
--Laundry machines are highly unreliable. And dryers...what are those?! grrowl.
--It's epically cold and rainy in Lille. All of the time.
--It's not silly for a grown man to have a little yappy puppy.
--Cats aren't nearly as friendly.
--The Triolo metro station is the dodgiest place ever...
--Even at the worst, dodgiest food places, you will NEVER find a bad dessert. Tartelettes aux framboises (raspberry tartes) are as common as a McDonald's apple pie. But ten million times better.
--They don't refrigerate milk and eggs oftentimes...
--Special K is way better here. Hahaha.
--If you take French in school in America and think you're amazing at it, think again.
--Immigration forms in France kill millions of trees every year...can we attend to this problem please??
--The academic system is very bureaucratic.
--Most teachers LOVE anglophones...
--French people are SO nice to you when they find out that you're American.
--Going to Auchan any later than 5pm is the biggest mistake of your life.
--I never want to be in the military...I can never tell military time...which is what they use here.
--McDonald's fries are not good. But their coffee is. WOW.
--Subway is SO GOOD HERE. You can actually get ice in your drink :D
--Converting everything into the metric system is difficult.
--Pain au chocolat is delicious. That is all.
--Flunch is the coolest buffet restaurant ever. They even have "poulet-Kentucky"=Kentucky chicken...which looks more like a chicken patty...haha. Still delicious though.
--I can't understand why people listen to really loud music in their rooms late at night. Grrowl. Not cool.
--It's hard to be bored in France.
--Americans and Brits are extremely similar...
--Prepaid cell phones are inconvenient.
--I think I love it here!
So those are some just random things that I think about and notice, but it's hard to actually make them into a structured blog...C'est la vie! :)
Although, my day was brightened when I got the opportunity to put on a Homework Party at Triolo. (All my BU folk know what I'm talkin 'bout). Anyways, a Homework Party is not exactly a study group because we all study different things at Bellarmine...but we enjoy having each other's company while doing homework and tasks of that nature. So I decided to try this practice on non-BU people. And it worked. I got called a mega-nerd in the process, but we all had a really great time! Most of us worked on Translation hw, and my wonderful 8 year old dictionary got majorly dissed. Even though it's falling apart at the spine, I could never give it away...it's been WAY to helpful.
Sunday morning, I braved the cold rain and went into Lille to Le Pain Quotidien (a bakery/breakfast place) with Rosalind, Colleen, the Brits, and Stephanie. We had a lovely breakfast for Rosalind's 22nd birthday! But unfortunately, the French kinda skimp on their breakfast options...I mean, a pain au chocolat and a Cafe Creme are delicious, but I enjoy my bacon, pancakes and eggs!!! After the breakfast, the Brits invited us to their cute little house for a Sunday English roast dinner. And let me tell you...I have never tasted anything so delicious in my life. True story. We had some roasted chicken that they had picked up from the Wazemmes market in Lille, and it was mixed with soft potatoes, carrots, and PARSNIP! Yum. Parsnip is delicious. We Americans need to expand our veggie views...Anyways, we ended up having another homework party on Sunday night and I definitely got a lot accomplished.
Today I had more classes. My DEFI class as usual (the French extensive course) and in that, my teacher Martine asked me if I wanted to represent the American international students in a film about the Nord-Pas de Calais region of France...and I was like, OUAIS!!!!!! (That means, YEAH, in case you needed to brush up on your French slang...) And I'm starting to feel a little bit more comfortable in that class. I have realized that my epic French test taking skill (hahah) placed me in a high level, and they're going to make me work hard. It is weird though not being like the "top dog" in my French class. So it's humbling me and it's definitely for the better. I am definitely learning a lot and refining my skills, and it's challenging me more than my 312 class would at Bellarmine I think. But I just feel lucky to be here. I also had my Argumentation/Debate class today. I had to do a presentation with 6 other French students on educational reform in a school in Chicago. We each gave our schpeel about the radio broadcast we had to listened to, and then people began to debate...and let me tell you, I never expected the reactions that came from it. People were getting really rialed up and talked loudly over one another. In America, people usually respect when someone else "has the floor" but in France it's a completely different story. I looked at my teacher at one point and wondered if this was normal, and she smiled and said "Welcome to France". Hahahahaha. Classic. But it was very interesting and quite lively!!!
Now that I am feeling somewhat "normal" here in France, I am starting to pick up on quirks and odd things here. It's kind of hard to explain though. Here's a random spew of thoughts and reactions to things:
--I heard Maroon 5 on the metro the other day and totally started rocking out. Looks like the French love them too :D
--People here dress REALLY nice.
--French mayonnaise is NOT the same as American mayonnaise.
--It's impossible to break a 20 euro bill. I don't get it. Americans will throw down a twenty on a freakin candy bar...but nooooo not here.
--Our dining hall on campus is open a total of 3 hours a day. :(
--Laundry machines are highly unreliable. And dryers...what are those?! grrowl.
--It's epically cold and rainy in Lille. All of the time.
--It's not silly for a grown man to have a little yappy puppy.
--Cats aren't nearly as friendly.
--The Triolo metro station is the dodgiest place ever...
--Even at the worst, dodgiest food places, you will NEVER find a bad dessert. Tartelettes aux framboises (raspberry tartes) are as common as a McDonald's apple pie. But ten million times better.
--They don't refrigerate milk and eggs oftentimes...
--Special K is way better here. Hahaha.
--If you take French in school in America and think you're amazing at it, think again.
--Immigration forms in France kill millions of trees every year...can we attend to this problem please??
--The academic system is very bureaucratic.
--Most teachers LOVE anglophones...
--French people are SO nice to you when they find out that you're American.
--Going to Auchan any later than 5pm is the biggest mistake of your life.
--I never want to be in the military...I can never tell military time...which is what they use here.
--McDonald's fries are not good. But their coffee is. WOW.
--Subway is SO GOOD HERE. You can actually get ice in your drink :D
--Converting everything into the metric system is difficult.
--Pain au chocolat is delicious. That is all.
--Flunch is the coolest buffet restaurant ever. They even have "poulet-Kentucky"=Kentucky chicken...which looks more like a chicken patty...haha. Still delicious though.
--I can't understand why people listen to really loud music in their rooms late at night. Grrowl. Not cool.
--It's hard to be bored in France.
--Americans and Brits are extremely similar...
--Prepaid cell phones are inconvenient.
--I think I love it here!
So those are some just random things that I think about and notice, but it's hard to actually make them into a structured blog...C'est la vie! :)
Thursday, September 23, 2010
First Week of Classes...Finished!
This week has definitely tested my patience. I suppose that is why I'm here after all. So, first day of classes went really well with my DEFI class and Argumentation. However, Tuesday was a different story. I walked into my Translation class with a few other ISEP and Erasmus students (there were about 15 of us) and the teacher comes in and takes roll of the enrolled students. Then she inquires about the international students. We raise our hands...and she says "Well, no offense or anything, but please find another class that is not mine." And we just kind of go quiet and look at each other wondering if this woman is serious...But she can get over it. I'm staying. Anyways, we translated text from French into English which was pretty easy. And then the teacher announces that if we Anglophone students take Version (the translation course from English to French) we WILL fail. No ifs, ands, or buts. Needless to say, I'm pretty sure every one of us was freaking out. After the class finished. Another teacher came in the room and began speaking French very rapidly and I just sat there, completely lost. It's one thing having American professors speak French to you throughout your entire academic career, to having a real Native French speaker teach a legit class in French...it was insanely difficult.
Wednesday, I showed up at 4:45pm to my 5:00 class...I had a lot of trouble finding my classroom, but I made it with time to spare. However, about 16 other students and I waited for our Film Studies prof to show up...and we waited until 5:45...Ridiculous. So I ended up not having class on Wednesday! Woohoo! This morning, at 8am, I had my Great Britain Literature and Civilization class...which has probably been my favorite class so far. We're studying the Renaissance, Revolution, and Restoration of England. Soooo interesting, not even kidding. Thank you Charlie Shircliff for 7th grade English history :D I was surprised at how much I remembered and how confident I felt to actually respond to questions in the class! Woohoo!! Talk about an A for participation ;) Anyways, we talked about the beginning of the Renaissance and Henry VIII (I couldn't help but snicker when I thought of the song "I'm Henry the Eighth" by Herman's Hermits...lol), and we also read some of Twelfth Night by Shakespeare (which I read Junior year at AHS!) And it was definitely easy and interesting!! Can't wait to see how the semester goes!
So, I emailed my advisor back at Bellarmine, Dr. Carriere, and he was extremely helpful with trying to figure out credit transfers and everything...I think now I can relax and just enjoy my classes now that most everything is figured out! Hooray! And tonight, me and some of the other Americans are fixing tacos for our British friends :) What fun! :)
Wednesday, I showed up at 4:45pm to my 5:00 class...I had a lot of trouble finding my classroom, but I made it with time to spare. However, about 16 other students and I waited for our Film Studies prof to show up...and we waited until 5:45...Ridiculous. So I ended up not having class on Wednesday! Woohoo! This morning, at 8am, I had my Great Britain Literature and Civilization class...which has probably been my favorite class so far. We're studying the Renaissance, Revolution, and Restoration of England. Soooo interesting, not even kidding. Thank you Charlie Shircliff for 7th grade English history :D I was surprised at how much I remembered and how confident I felt to actually respond to questions in the class! Woohoo!! Talk about an A for participation ;) Anyways, we talked about the beginning of the Renaissance and Henry VIII (I couldn't help but snicker when I thought of the song "I'm Henry the Eighth" by Herman's Hermits...lol), and we also read some of Twelfth Night by Shakespeare (which I read Junior year at AHS!) And it was definitely easy and interesting!! Can't wait to see how the semester goes!
So, I emailed my advisor back at Bellarmine, Dr. Carriere, and he was extremely helpful with trying to figure out credit transfers and everything...I think now I can relax and just enjoy my classes now that most everything is figured out! Hooray! And tonight, me and some of the other Americans are fixing tacos for our British friends :) What fun! :)
Monday, September 20, 2010
First Official Day of Classes?
So the day has finally arrived...the reason why I have come to France in the first place. SCHOOL!!!! Life up to this point in France has just been trying to adjust and meeting a lot of great new people :) But now the work starts! It's been a crazy week trying to pick and choose which classes to take, and it's definitely more of an adventure trying to navigate myself around this huge school with tons of people and randomly labeled classrooms....Anyways, my schedule will be (most likely) as follows: DEFI (which is my French extensive course), Argumentation (Is a License 3--aka Senior year--level debate class, which is taught in English. I'm taking it because they love Anglophones), Traduction (Which consists of 2 different classes: Thème and Version. It is a translation course of taking French texts and translating them into English), Film Studies (pretty much self explanatory...), Great Britain Culture and Civilization, Tandem (which is where I will have a partner who is French speaking and we will speak in English and French to each other in order to practice and become mildly fluent), and 19th century novels with a focus on the works of Jules Vern (taught in French).
My first class today was my DEFI class, which I have been taking for over 2 weeks now...and am still convinced my teacher dislikes me for some unknown reason. Whatever. Anyways, after frantically grabbing a sandwich from Brian in the Ulysse Cafe, Lauren and I trekked around Building B to find our Argumentation class. Talk about confusing. We finally made it to our room with time to spare, and our teacher comes to the door and looks at the two of us and says, "You aren't French, are you?" And we were like, "Nope! American and Canadian" And our teacher was like, "Be prepared to speak a lot." Greeeeat. So the classroom was filled with French students, and the teacher, Mme Ullmo starts speaking to us in English :) It was wonderful. Ahahahaha. She pointed out to the class that Lauren and I are Anglophones and made us come up with topics to debate...And then she wanted to talk about Obama...hahahah! So next week, I am with a group and we have to listen to an American radio show and come up with a presentation about it. I'm really kind of excited to have an easy class, but I feel like I can really help the French students with English, and vise versa. So I'm definitely looking forward to this :) It's about time school started again!
Today is Colleen's 20th birthday so we're all going out to a potato place for dinner! I'm so excited!! i am definitely adjusting to living here and am almost starting to call it home. I definitely am in need of a care package from the USA! Hahaha. And a Bellarmine course catalogue? ;) I'm having a good week, and it's only Monday...this is a good sign ;)
My first class today was my DEFI class, which I have been taking for over 2 weeks now...and am still convinced my teacher dislikes me for some unknown reason. Whatever. Anyways, after frantically grabbing a sandwich from Brian in the Ulysse Cafe, Lauren and I trekked around Building B to find our Argumentation class. Talk about confusing. We finally made it to our room with time to spare, and our teacher comes to the door and looks at the two of us and says, "You aren't French, are you?" And we were like, "Nope! American and Canadian" And our teacher was like, "Be prepared to speak a lot." Greeeeat. So the classroom was filled with French students, and the teacher, Mme Ullmo starts speaking to us in English :) It was wonderful. Ahahahaha. She pointed out to the class that Lauren and I are Anglophones and made us come up with topics to debate...And then she wanted to talk about Obama...hahahah! So next week, I am with a group and we have to listen to an American radio show and come up with a presentation about it. I'm really kind of excited to have an easy class, but I feel like I can really help the French students with English, and vise versa. So I'm definitely looking forward to this :) It's about time school started again!
Today is Colleen's 20th birthday so we're all going out to a potato place for dinner! I'm so excited!! i am definitely adjusting to living here and am almost starting to call it home. I definitely am in need of a care package from the USA! Hahaha. And a Bellarmine course catalogue? ;) I'm having a good week, and it's only Monday...this is a good sign ;)
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
le 13 septembre 2010 :)
So it's been a little while since I've updated this, but I had a very enjoyable weekend in Lille! All of us anglophones went shopping at this huge mall in Lille called EuraLille. I bought an awesome winter coat and some other things! I am definitely loving France for all of their desserts and pastries. I think it's funny that even at the sketchiest of places here, you'll always find FABULOUS desserts. Some that I've had so far is a Tartlette au Frambroises (raspberry tarte), chocolate and coffee eclairs (delicious), a chocolate and banana crepe (which I had today in a Creperie), and tons of pain au chocolat (its like a croissant with chocolate in it). I really enjoy Lille Centre. The architecture of the buildings are sooo French and just absolutely gorgeous. It makes my little suburb of Villeneuve d'Ascq look awful lol! Anyways, I got to stroll around Lille Centre with my friend Brian on Sunday, which was very enjoyable! He was actually a student at LSU previously, who decided to transfer to Lille 3 permanently! It's nice to know people who can show you around! Anyways, I got to go to the Citadel, which was built in 1670 by Louis XIV who had recently conquered the land and wanted to build a fortress there. The French Military still uses it today for intelligence related things, but most people just stroll along the path, or ride their bikes :)
I am definitely tired of the French class that I'm having to take. It's pretty tough and my teacher openly like, criticizes me. It's something that I'm definitely not used to, and don't think I will ever be. Whatever. Nevertheless, it's nice to be done with classes for the week. I still don't know when my actual classes start because the professors haven't posted the schedules...hmmm...Yesterday however, I made the most fabulous dinner for myself: It included, chicken that I fried on my skillet with yummy herbs from Provence; a salad with cherry tomatoes, shredded cheese and honey mustard dressing; and finally bread...with PEANUT BUTTER on it. It's quite fascinating how much you miss peanut butter when you don't have it. I found some Skippy's, along with Dr. Pepper and Hellmann's Mayo in the "international foods" aisle in Auchan :) I was the happiest camper yesterday.
Today hasn't been too entertaining I guess. Me, Colleen, Lauren, and Sarah went into Lille centre to try and retrieve our bankcards from the BNP Paribas bank...and apparently they weren't ready...contrary to what our mail had said. Oh well. C'est la vie. We did however, go into this really cool department store called Printemps (which means Spring in French) and it was pretty much like Saks 5th Avenue with tons of designers and whatnot. PS--I also boughy a water heater so that I can make hot tea!! Woohoo! Except I forgot sugar...Oh well.
Being here is definitely really difficult. It's hard starting completely from scratch with things...Like, plates and utensils and cookware seem so negligent because they're so readily available for us at home, but here, you have to just buy everything new because there's no way for you to just go home and get what you need. It's definitely an adjustment, but I am doing so much better and finally finding normalcy in my life. I am definitely making some great friendships that I'm sure will last me a lifetime :) No one can possibly understand what exactly it is I'm doing here except for them. I can blog all I want, but it's still way different. I'm quite content now. And ready for classes to start! Geez Louise!! :)
I am definitely tired of the French class that I'm having to take. It's pretty tough and my teacher openly like, criticizes me. It's something that I'm definitely not used to, and don't think I will ever be. Whatever. Nevertheless, it's nice to be done with classes for the week. I still don't know when my actual classes start because the professors haven't posted the schedules...hmmm...Yesterday however, I made the most fabulous dinner for myself: It included, chicken that I fried on my skillet with yummy herbs from Provence; a salad with cherry tomatoes, shredded cheese and honey mustard dressing; and finally bread...with PEANUT BUTTER on it. It's quite fascinating how much you miss peanut butter when you don't have it. I found some Skippy's, along with Dr. Pepper and Hellmann's Mayo in the "international foods" aisle in Auchan :) I was the happiest camper yesterday.
Today hasn't been too entertaining I guess. Me, Colleen, Lauren, and Sarah went into Lille centre to try and retrieve our bankcards from the BNP Paribas bank...and apparently they weren't ready...contrary to what our mail had said. Oh well. C'est la vie. We did however, go into this really cool department store called Printemps (which means Spring in French) and it was pretty much like Saks 5th Avenue with tons of designers and whatnot. PS--I also boughy a water heater so that I can make hot tea!! Woohoo! Except I forgot sugar...Oh well.
Being here is definitely really difficult. It's hard starting completely from scratch with things...Like, plates and utensils and cookware seem so negligent because they're so readily available for us at home, but here, you have to just buy everything new because there's no way for you to just go home and get what you need. It's definitely an adjustment, but I am doing so much better and finally finding normalcy in my life. I am definitely making some great friendships that I'm sure will last me a lifetime :) No one can possibly understand what exactly it is I'm doing here except for them. I can blog all I want, but it's still way different. I'm quite content now. And ready for classes to start! Geez Louise!! :)
Friday, September 10, 2010
Woohoo! Night out on the town!
Today was my last day of my super intense-intensive French class. Thank the Lord. It wasn't a very entertaining day really; I finally got to eat at the Forum, which is like Lille 3's version of Kosters, but with gourmet desserts :D And it was actually really good. I think I'm finally getting my appetite back on track...it's really hard adjusting to things here. People think I'm on some lovely vacation while I'm here...that is absolutely false. Living in a different culture is waaaaay tough...but it's fun to meet up with a bunch of friends for a fun Friday night out ;)
We all decided to meet up with our British friends, and head to some local pubs in Lille. We had such a wonderful time and really got to see the city when it wasn't jam packed with La Braderie stuff! Tomorrow we're all going to EuraLille to go shopping :) EuraLille is like this massive mall type place and it has all kinds of shops and things :) I'm so pumped. Anyways, I don't really have much to say, but today was a really good day! :)
We all decided to meet up with our British friends, and head to some local pubs in Lille. We had such a wonderful time and really got to see the city when it wasn't jam packed with La Braderie stuff! Tomorrow we're all going to EuraLille to go shopping :) EuraLille is like this massive mall type place and it has all kinds of shops and things :) I'm so pumped. Anyways, I don't really have much to say, but today was a really good day! :)
Thursday, September 9, 2010
A whole week in France? Already?
So it's official: I've been in France for a full week. To me, it feels like it's been at least a month...I've never been so busy in my life. I am so unbelievably sick of my intensive French course...seriously...4 hours a day, all this week. It's also really hard being in a class full of Europeans who speak French nearly perfectly. I'm quite intimidated. I thought I spoke it really well in the USA, but coming here is a completely different story. OMG. Lille 3 is so chaotic and completely unorganized. I now have a new found respect for Bellarmine. BU is sooo helpful to their international students, as well as their domestic students. For us here, the classes won't be posted until the first day of school (which is still TBD for some departments) and they don't post the room locations until that time either...which is highly inconvenient. I can honestly say that I miss Bellarmine right now! Being in France is an insanely difficult experience, a good one yes, but the hardest thing I think I've ever encountered...and classes haven't even started.
On the bright side, my my I have met sooo many amazing people!!!! Last night, my lovely English friends, Georgie, Laura and Katie had me, Colleen, Sarah, and Lauren over to their cute house for dinner! We always have the most interesting conversation and they are just soo sweet! We promised to make them a Thanksgiving dinner when it comes around :) Also, Lauren, my friend from Canada, is soo nice. All of us ISEP students have been really working together to try to get all of our Visa stuff and OFII stuff done so we don't get deported :) yess for all being in this together. I honestly don't think I could do this without them. When everyone else around you is speaking a different language, you don't really realize how precious it is to know someone who speaks English :D
I really dislike Auchan...the French wal-mart...it is truly a nightmare and I really try to avoid it, but unfortunately it's nearly impossible...Also, it rains a lot here...It's like London, or so i've heard. I did laundry today for the first time in France too...coincidentally, it's quite easy here. With the exception that it costs money :( I also bought a new comforter...it makes my room feel a little bit more like home :) I am definitely sick of hearing my Lebonese neighbor's arabic music at 2am though....OMG! Well tomorrow night I am heading into Lille centre (like, downtown) with a bunch of my friends for a night out on the town! I'm super excited so we'll see how that goes! Last day of my intensive class is tomorrow...thank the Lord!! C'est tout!
On the bright side, my my I have met sooo many amazing people!!!! Last night, my lovely English friends, Georgie, Laura and Katie had me, Colleen, Sarah, and Lauren over to their cute house for dinner! We always have the most interesting conversation and they are just soo sweet! We promised to make them a Thanksgiving dinner when it comes around :) Also, Lauren, my friend from Canada, is soo nice. All of us ISEP students have been really working together to try to get all of our Visa stuff and OFII stuff done so we don't get deported :) yess for all being in this together. I honestly don't think I could do this without them. When everyone else around you is speaking a different language, you don't really realize how precious it is to know someone who speaks English :D
I really dislike Auchan...the French wal-mart...it is truly a nightmare and I really try to avoid it, but unfortunately it's nearly impossible...Also, it rains a lot here...It's like London, or so i've heard. I did laundry today for the first time in France too...coincidentally, it's quite easy here. With the exception that it costs money :( I also bought a new comforter...it makes my room feel a little bit more like home :) I am definitely sick of hearing my Lebonese neighbor's arabic music at 2am though....OMG! Well tomorrow night I am heading into Lille centre (like, downtown) with a bunch of my friends for a night out on the town! I'm super excited so we'll see how that goes! Last day of my intensive class is tomorrow...thank the Lord!! C'est tout!
Monday, September 6, 2010
First Day in a French Classroom
Today was certainly one to remember. So I met Rosalind, Colleen, and Sarah down in the Triolo lobby so that we could head over to Lille III together for the first session of our 4-hour a day, 5 day a week intensive French course. We arrived at school just in time to check out where we were supposed to have our class. Colleen and I were lucky to have the same class together, but we didn't sit next to each other. Our teacher came in and introduced herself, her name is Martine, and everything was in very rapid French. I ended up sitting by a girl named Solina and she is from Romania. We got to know each other, and worked on some exercises in grammar and listening comprehension. It was definitely difficult, but nothing I couldn't handle. I think it's just weird actually having a class completely conducted in French with absolutely no English spoken. I also met this other guy, whose name is Jeremiah and is from the University of Nebraska, and he was one of the other Americans whom I had yet to meet. He was really nice and definitely full of energy!
Our class went from 9am to 1pm, with a 20 minute break, and then we had a meeting regarding sports at Lille III. Apparently we can get credit for just going :) Anyways, for some reason, most of the English speaking people sat around each other, so I got to meet several people from England. We also then met Lauren, the other ISEP student from Canada, and she was really nice and just as confused as the rest of us. So, my fellow Americans, Lauren, and several British girls decided to walk to L'Etudiant to get lunch before the ISEP people had our meeting with Isabelle (she's in charge of us). So we sat around this table outside of this off the wall little cafe and had an awesome time! We talked to the English girls about different things and I was curious as to what they were taught about when the American Revolution was brought up in their history class...they said it didn't. Hahah!!! After lunch, the 7 ISEP students (including myself) went to meet up with Marine to go over our French Social Security stuff, our banking info, and registration. Isabelle, the ISEP coordinator for Lille III also eased our worries. Apparently we have absolutely free range of the courses that we want to take at Lille. And we can tell the professors that we are from ISEP and they will give us a take home paper to do instead of the in-class test :D yay. So she basically made our lives a million times easier.
After a super duper long day of stress and business, we all decided to head to the centre commercial for dinner. Sarah and I went to Pizza Pai and had spaghetti :D Jeremiah and Lauren went to Auchan, but I was in no mood to take that on tonight. Yuck. After walking back to Triolo, we all decided that it would be best to just take the night easy. And now my next door neighbor is listening to Justin Bieber. I guess there are Beliebers in France too... :)
Our class went from 9am to 1pm, with a 20 minute break, and then we had a meeting regarding sports at Lille III. Apparently we can get credit for just going :) Anyways, for some reason, most of the English speaking people sat around each other, so I got to meet several people from England. We also then met Lauren, the other ISEP student from Canada, and she was really nice and just as confused as the rest of us. So, my fellow Americans, Lauren, and several British girls decided to walk to L'Etudiant to get lunch before the ISEP people had our meeting with Isabelle (she's in charge of us). So we sat around this table outside of this off the wall little cafe and had an awesome time! We talked to the English girls about different things and I was curious as to what they were taught about when the American Revolution was brought up in their history class...they said it didn't. Hahah!!! After lunch, the 7 ISEP students (including myself) went to meet up with Marine to go over our French Social Security stuff, our banking info, and registration. Isabelle, the ISEP coordinator for Lille III also eased our worries. Apparently we have absolutely free range of the courses that we want to take at Lille. And we can tell the professors that we are from ISEP and they will give us a take home paper to do instead of the in-class test :D yay. So she basically made our lives a million times easier.
After a super duper long day of stress and business, we all decided to head to the centre commercial for dinner. Sarah and I went to Pizza Pai and had spaghetti :D Jeremiah and Lauren went to Auchan, but I was in no mood to take that on tonight. Yuck. After walking back to Triolo, we all decided that it would be best to just take the night easy. And now my next door neighbor is listening to Justin Bieber. I guess there are Beliebers in France too... :)
Sunday, September 5, 2010
Jour 5 en France...
Well needless to say, I was quite unproductive today. I needed to be. I slept until about 2pm :) And it was totally worth it! I eventually got to talk to Steve on Facebook...I really miss him :( We talked for about an hour and I got to tell him about my France adventures thus far :) It's hard to believe our 1 year anniversary is on Saturday :) My, how time has flown! Anyways, tonight I was hungry, so I decided to make a voyage to McDonalds in Villeneuve d'Ascq. Normally to get to McDonalds, I have to walk through the Centre Commerciale...But seeing as how it is Sunday, everything was closed, so I had to walk around this gigantic shopping center. I felt sooooooooo lost. But eventually found the golden arches and all was well. I walked into McDs, and it was pretty busy in there! Apparently, you can order your food while you wait in line. A guy came up to me with a little PDA and started asking me what I wanted. I ordered a Royal Cheese (quarter pounder for all you Americans) and fries, and a Coke. He gave me the price and a number for when I reached the counter. I paid for it and voila! It was interesting. And another interesting fact about the French...the use ketchup for fries, but mix it with MAYO. Hmmm...I stuck to the ketchup just so it could taste a little like home. All in all, it tasted pretty similar to McDonalds at home, but it was definitely different. I couldnt figure out how to exit the McDonalds either...you just had to be there. It was weird. Finally after getting out, I found myself getting lost oncemore trying to get back to Triolo. Never was I so glad to reach that stupid winding staircase. OOh! I made an awesome drink discovery today!! It's called Oasis and its a juice made by the Schweppes Ginger ale company! And it has raspberry, apple and blackcurrant flavors...don't knock it til you've tried it. It was delish. Well I guess that's all I have to say for today! :)
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Day 4...La Braderie
So today was an eventful day! Colleen, Sarah, Monika, Rosalind and I met up to head into downtown Lille for the Braderie...It's the biggest flea market thing in the world. And they really do mean it. The small Lille metro system was packed and I felt like a sardine...Anyways, after arriving at the Lille Flandres metro station, we exited and were astounded by the crazy large mass of people that awaited us...but that was just the start. Lille itself is absolutely beautiful with tons of buildings; it reminded me a little of Paris, but more subdued and less hassle. We started walking towards the masses of people just to start exploring the gigantic flea market. It kind of reminded me of the Gas Light festival on MAJOR steroids and everyone speaking in French. The main theme of food was mussels and french fries...yuck, no thanks. Instead, we meandered to a small cafe and had ham and swiss cheese sandwiches :) yum. After that, we roamed the extremely crowded streets of Lille. There were vendors EVERYWHERE. They sold things like purses, cheap shoes, awkward underwear, cool French antiques, and cool trinkets.
We were really overwhelmed with everything so new around us (I suppose I should get used to the feeling!!) There were literally swarms of people though...wow. But anyways, I bought a few trinkets, like a cool Indian looking purse, a scarf, a fun little brown floor mat for like 2 euros, and some souvenirs for people back in the good ol' US. Haggling with vendors is definitely not my strength though! Hahah!!! Sarah is definitely the pro though...After wandering around for a few hours, Sarah and I bought Belgian waffles dipped in melty warm chocolate. It is heaven. Seriously. They were delicious!!! Haha. Shuffling through crowds of people definitely wore all of us out, so at about 5, we headed back to Villeneuve d'Ascq. Monika went back to Triolo and the rest of us went to a restaurant called Hippopotamus. It was amaaazing. I had this steak kabob thing with a salad and it was sooo good to finally have a legit, good steak again!! We all split a creme brulee and an assortment of chocolate desserts. So now I am back at Triolo sitting back and relaxing! Tomorrow I plan to just do nothing but sleep in and meander around Villeneuve d'Ascq. Unfortunately, most things in France are closed on Sunday, so I guess I'll just chill before my weeklong intensive French course starts...oh joy. But lucky for me, I get credit for it. My room is definitely starting to looked lived in :) I feel like I am starting to fit in here in France, and I am sooo glad that French people are so awesome and patient :D It drives me seriously crazy when people say that the French are so rude and the other stereotypical comments, but I honestly think that the people of Lille are almost nicer than Southerners in the US...Its true. So forget all of those stupid stereotypes, people. They are completely inaccurate. OK thanks. Well, that's all I've got for today :)
We were really overwhelmed with everything so new around us (I suppose I should get used to the feeling!!) There were literally swarms of people though...wow. But anyways, I bought a few trinkets, like a cool Indian looking purse, a scarf, a fun little brown floor mat for like 2 euros, and some souvenirs for people back in the good ol' US. Haggling with vendors is definitely not my strength though! Hahah!!! Sarah is definitely the pro though...After wandering around for a few hours, Sarah and I bought Belgian waffles dipped in melty warm chocolate. It is heaven. Seriously. They were delicious!!! Haha. Shuffling through crowds of people definitely wore all of us out, so at about 5, we headed back to Villeneuve d'Ascq. Monika went back to Triolo and the rest of us went to a restaurant called Hippopotamus. It was amaaazing. I had this steak kabob thing with a salad and it was sooo good to finally have a legit, good steak again!! We all split a creme brulee and an assortment of chocolate desserts. So now I am back at Triolo sitting back and relaxing! Tomorrow I plan to just do nothing but sleep in and meander around Villeneuve d'Ascq. Unfortunately, most things in France are closed on Sunday, so I guess I'll just chill before my weeklong intensive French course starts...oh joy. But lucky for me, I get credit for it. My room is definitely starting to looked lived in :) I feel like I am starting to fit in here in France, and I am sooo glad that French people are so awesome and patient :D It drives me seriously crazy when people say that the French are so rude and the other stereotypical comments, but I honestly think that the people of Lille are almost nicer than Southerners in the US...Its true. So forget all of those stupid stereotypes, people. They are completely inaccurate. OK thanks. Well, that's all I've got for today :)
Friday, September 3, 2010
Well...I made it...
After much hassle, frustration and worry, I have now made it into France. I feel like I don't know what to say, but I'll go ahead and say what i've been through thus far.
Day 1: Arrival into Brussels. My 7 hour flight really wasn't that bad...although my plane was relatively small for a transatlantic flight...and the pregnant italian lady sitting next to me wasn't very friendly...The food on the plane was not the greatest...but what can you do?? Anyways, it was the most gorgeous sunrise and completely clear so that we could see the bright lights of London and Southampton, England below us...it was serioulsy the coolest thing I've ever seen...And flying into Belgium was seriously spectacular...everything is so green and beautiful, I just couldn't believe my eyes! Customs in Brussels was a hassle though...but I met this really sweet American couple who apparently have a daughter that studied in Paris a few years ago before Med School. Anyways, after that I finally found my super huge suitcase and Colleen!! She's my friend who goes to the Univ. of Iowa! We planned to meet up at BRU (Brussels airport) and take the train to Lille together. I was wrong in thinking that navigating Brussels was going to be easy...but then I realized, I don't speak FLEMISH. OMG!!!!! Ridiculous. As we got on the train to get to the Brussels-Midi train station, I started to feel stupid about bringing the biggest suitcase I could...luckily, people were very friendly and I got a few minutes to relax and catch my breath on the train to the station. Brussels is not exactly the most picturesque city in the world, but I did see several lovely buildings! When we got to the Brussels-Midi station, poor Colleen lost a wheel on her suitcase on the way down the stairs...oops. And navigating the train station was also interesting...especially when lugging around a 60lb suitcase and a smaller one. UGH! We bought our TGV (train a grande vitesse) tickets and then finally bought a Coke. I have never needed one more in my whole life. We boarded our train at 11:20am (which, to me, was 5am...without sleep...) I was having a lot of trouble getting my suitcase onboard, but luckily this cute little French family helped me. They were so sweet and their daughter (who was about 3) probably spoke French better than I did! But I managed...when we got to the train station at Lille-Europe, Colleen and I were completely tuckered out. We met Emmanuel, the guy who was going to pick us up. He was so nice and took my big suitcase and we just followed him. He drove this van thing made by Renault...it was so weird! And I think French drivers are craaaazy!!!!! AHH! But we made it to our residence hall, Triolo, in like 15 minutes. The building is seriously confusing. Each section is named after a famous French philosopher, poet, or writer. I live in Stendhal...on the fourth floor. But the thing is, they don't have elevators...Only this tiny winding staircase...it is so lame. I checked in with this red-haired secretary...she wasn't exactly the friendliest...But it's whatever I guess. She gave me a key to my room and a key to my own fridge! Woohoo!! My room is pretty cute though! With TONS of storing space :D (eat your hearts our BU people hahahaha) I also have my own bathroom...but its like a capsule...and the shower is awkward, but i like it! My desk is gi-normus! My bed is like a foam mattress, but after being up for nearly 36 hours, I'll take it :D I sat in my room and kinda freaked out for a few minutes. It's the jetlag...it does things to you. After a quick nap, Colleen and I decided that we wanted to go exploring. The thing is, we had no where to go...We asked the mean red-haired lady where the Metro was and she gave us these odd directions, but we eventually found the centre-ville (like, downtown of our suburb that is called Villeneuve d'Ascq.) We found the Metro and rode it around just to get used to it. Afterwards, we headed to the V2 Centre Commercial (the mall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Seriously, its like heaven to me there. And then we got some pizza at Pizza Pai (Kind of like Sbarro). We then discovered Auchan. Its like the French version of Wal-Mart. It's 2 floors...on the top floor they have like non-food things...I bought a comforter for my bed which turned out to be really thin...lol! I then bought some Special K (and seriously, its soooooooooooooooo good.) Also some H2O and stuff like that. Auchan was seriously crazy. I don't even wanna think about it. We also walked around Villeneuve d'Ascq just to see what we were in for. I really had an overwhelming and stressful day, but it was just that first day experience. I survived.
DAY 2: Thursday was interesting...Colleen and I met at 8 to head over to Lille III (my school, Universite Charles de Gaulle) to take the Test. We met some cool Brazillian girls in the lobby so we all walked over together. The campus of Lille III is really quite dull looking...its kind of like just a bunch of gray buildings with a concrete quad. lol. After downing an Orangina (fizzy orange juice), I was ready to take this on. We walked into this big auditorium that had like 150 people in it...all speaking different languages. Definitely a unique situation. Anyways, we sat in there for like an hour waiting for Nadia (our international coordinator) to give us a presentation. In the meantime, I met a few new people! Sarah, is from Ole Miss, and she is sooooo fun! Full of energy and her southern charm was definitely appreciated especially seeing as I am a southerner too ;) I also met Monika, who is from Poland! She is sooo nice!!! And I finally met Rosalind, a girl from UofK (I have to distinguish now between UK and UofK because here UK means united kingdom...lame). Anyways, the meeting that we had was completely crazy. Nadia spoke French soooo quickly and I caught maybe half of what she said. UGH! And did I mention how WELL French people dress???? I felt SOOO frumpy in my tennis shoes and crops the other day...it was AWFUL! I never ever thought I'd feel frumpy. On the other hand, after the test, me, Sarah, and Colleen ate lunch at the cafe Flores on campus. It was soo amazing. I guess I'd describe it as Cafe-Ogle-ish? I dunno, but they had great food. I ate a panini du jambon (a grilled sandwich with ham, melty cheese, and tomatoes.) it was DELISH. And I had a banana and a bottle of water. Then we went back to the main building and found out that apparently there is a computer lab for international students. SWEET. But its kind of a long wait to get one. And the French keyboards are sooooooo weird. After that, we had to take this French proficiency exam in the auditorium. It actually wasn't bad...I guess it was about as hard as Dr. Carriere's in 212...but the essay was completely ridiculous...Should there be one language in the EU? No. Easy. But I think I did alright! After the test, Sarah and I went upstairs and I registered with the international office to say that I was there officially and whatnot. They gave me a sweet bag FULL of stuff about Lille and Lille III! I feel so much better about everything that i have to get done. I appreciate the patience that people have had with me back in the States; getting internet is complicated here in France. But I have it :D After registering, me and sarah ventured down to the Ulysees' club room. Ulysees is a club thing for international students and there's this cool cafe/hangout spot for just international students where you can get food and drinks! (Sidenote...there is actually beer on tap at the cafe Flores. true story) anyways, we joined that and started talking to some Lille students hanging out there. One's name is Brian and he actually went to LSU!!! He was SOOOO nice and incredibly helpful. He offered to show me and Sarah how to get to Triolo by walking from Lille and then to the Metro station closest to Triolo. After that long afternoon, Sarah, Rosalind and me went out exploring and found a cool chinese restaurant called Asian (i know, quite original) and had dinner there. The people of Lille are seriously SO cool though. Everyone is quite polite and really helpful! We kind of got lost on our way to the restaurant, so we stopped in a Pharmacy and the pharmacist gave us directions...she was awesome. After dinner, we walked around some more, and the climate is definitely significantly cooler here than in Louisville. WOW. BRRR! But it was quite pleasant. We then went back to Triolo and all sat in Colleen's room for a few hours just talking and laughing like we had been best friends for years...even though we'd only met that day!!! Good times. Gotta love the bonds made with other Americans going through the same thing you are. It's comforting. I slept for 11 hours. Epic.
Day 3: Today was also reeeeeeallly fun. Me, sarah and rosalind decided to meet at noon and then head over to school to get some internet time and I had to take passport pictures...there are literally photobooths EVERYWHERE. i LOVE it! So we spent some time at Lille III and met up with Monika and Colleen. After that, we all went to the Centre Commerical to go to Orange (the AT&T of France) to get cell phones. It actually wasn't too complicated either. Thank goodness. My american cell phone is apparently locked so I had to buy another cell phone but it was waay cheap. I got a prepaid deal, so it was not bad at all. We had to have a french telephone number in order to get internet. yeah, true story. I am definitely starting to feel more comfortable with France now. It's not nearly as overwhelming and I am starting to become familiar with places here. And did i mention that the shopping is AMAZING? It is. Wow. Ok so anyways, I also decorated my room with pics of my friends, Steve, family, KY, etc...It's cute. After Orange, we went and had a cafe (coffee) at a cafe (it is what it is). I had a cafe creme (coffee with milk) and 2 sugars in this tiny little cup but it was delish. There was this cute little French woman sitting next to us (she was probably in her fifties) and she heard us speaking english and started speaking to us in french and was just so fascinated that we were American and one Polish. She told me that i was really pretty! HAhAH! And told Rosalind that she looked like Hillary Clinton...which is odd because Rosalind has red hair...lol. Anyways, she was asking us all about Obama and his healthcare bill, lol. I had actually expected this to happen to us in France. But she was sooo nice and told us how sweet we were and how well we could speak french! I liked being told that by a native...TAKE THAT, AP FRENCH EXAM! After an interesting discussion with the French woman, we headed to Auchan again to get groceries and whatnot. I bought some pots and a bowl, as well as milk and cereal. You wanna know something interesting? They do not refrigerate their milk in France. Its really weird but apparently they don't need to! BTW: Charles de Gaulle is from Lille, and Louis Pasteur went to Lille III. Ok just thought I'd throw that in there. After Auchan, we walked back to Triolo and went our separate ways for the evening. And here I am. That is my life from the past 3 days. Tomorrow I am going to the Braderie tomorrow (it's the biggest flea market in Europe!!) and it's held here in Lille this weekend. I can't wait! I need a new purse...I've been carrying around my red Lille bag...lol! Well I guess that's all i have to say for today. It's been a crazy journey getting here, but I am definitely glad I'm here. :) Bon soir!
Day 1: Arrival into Brussels. My 7 hour flight really wasn't that bad...although my plane was relatively small for a transatlantic flight...and the pregnant italian lady sitting next to me wasn't very friendly...The food on the plane was not the greatest...but what can you do?? Anyways, it was the most gorgeous sunrise and completely clear so that we could see the bright lights of London and Southampton, England below us...it was serioulsy the coolest thing I've ever seen...And flying into Belgium was seriously spectacular...everything is so green and beautiful, I just couldn't believe my eyes! Customs in Brussels was a hassle though...but I met this really sweet American couple who apparently have a daughter that studied in Paris a few years ago before Med School. Anyways, after that I finally found my super huge suitcase and Colleen!! She's my friend who goes to the Univ. of Iowa! We planned to meet up at BRU (Brussels airport) and take the train to Lille together. I was wrong in thinking that navigating Brussels was going to be easy...but then I realized, I don't speak FLEMISH. OMG!!!!! Ridiculous. As we got on the train to get to the Brussels-Midi train station, I started to feel stupid about bringing the biggest suitcase I could...luckily, people were very friendly and I got a few minutes to relax and catch my breath on the train to the station. Brussels is not exactly the most picturesque city in the world, but I did see several lovely buildings! When we got to the Brussels-Midi station, poor Colleen lost a wheel on her suitcase on the way down the stairs...oops. And navigating the train station was also interesting...especially when lugging around a 60lb suitcase and a smaller one. UGH! We bought our TGV (train a grande vitesse) tickets and then finally bought a Coke. I have never needed one more in my whole life. We boarded our train at 11:20am (which, to me, was 5am...without sleep...) I was having a lot of trouble getting my suitcase onboard, but luckily this cute little French family helped me. They were so sweet and their daughter (who was about 3) probably spoke French better than I did! But I managed...when we got to the train station at Lille-Europe, Colleen and I were completely tuckered out. We met Emmanuel, the guy who was going to pick us up. He was so nice and took my big suitcase and we just followed him. He drove this van thing made by Renault...it was so weird! And I think French drivers are craaaazy!!!!! AHH! But we made it to our residence hall, Triolo, in like 15 minutes. The building is seriously confusing. Each section is named after a famous French philosopher, poet, or writer. I live in Stendhal...on the fourth floor. But the thing is, they don't have elevators...Only this tiny winding staircase...it is so lame. I checked in with this red-haired secretary...she wasn't exactly the friendliest...But it's whatever I guess. She gave me a key to my room and a key to my own fridge! Woohoo!! My room is pretty cute though! With TONS of storing space :D (eat your hearts our BU people hahahaha) I also have my own bathroom...but its like a capsule...and the shower is awkward, but i like it! My desk is gi-normus! My bed is like a foam mattress, but after being up for nearly 36 hours, I'll take it :D I sat in my room and kinda freaked out for a few minutes. It's the jetlag...it does things to you. After a quick nap, Colleen and I decided that we wanted to go exploring. The thing is, we had no where to go...We asked the mean red-haired lady where the Metro was and she gave us these odd directions, but we eventually found the centre-ville (like, downtown of our suburb that is called Villeneuve d'Ascq.) We found the Metro and rode it around just to get used to it. Afterwards, we headed to the V2 Centre Commercial (the mall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Seriously, its like heaven to me there. And then we got some pizza at Pizza Pai (Kind of like Sbarro). We then discovered Auchan. Its like the French version of Wal-Mart. It's 2 floors...on the top floor they have like non-food things...I bought a comforter for my bed which turned out to be really thin...lol! I then bought some Special K (and seriously, its soooooooooooooooo good.) Also some H2O and stuff like that. Auchan was seriously crazy. I don't even wanna think about it. We also walked around Villeneuve d'Ascq just to see what we were in for. I really had an overwhelming and stressful day, but it was just that first day experience. I survived.
DAY 2: Thursday was interesting...Colleen and I met at 8 to head over to Lille III (my school, Universite Charles de Gaulle) to take the Test. We met some cool Brazillian girls in the lobby so we all walked over together. The campus of Lille III is really quite dull looking...its kind of like just a bunch of gray buildings with a concrete quad. lol. After downing an Orangina (fizzy orange juice), I was ready to take this on. We walked into this big auditorium that had like 150 people in it...all speaking different languages. Definitely a unique situation. Anyways, we sat in there for like an hour waiting for Nadia (our international coordinator) to give us a presentation. In the meantime, I met a few new people! Sarah, is from Ole Miss, and she is sooooo fun! Full of energy and her southern charm was definitely appreciated especially seeing as I am a southerner too ;) I also met Monika, who is from Poland! She is sooo nice!!! And I finally met Rosalind, a girl from UofK (I have to distinguish now between UK and UofK because here UK means united kingdom...lame). Anyways, the meeting that we had was completely crazy. Nadia spoke French soooo quickly and I caught maybe half of what she said. UGH! And did I mention how WELL French people dress???? I felt SOOO frumpy in my tennis shoes and crops the other day...it was AWFUL! I never ever thought I'd feel frumpy. On the other hand, after the test, me, Sarah, and Colleen ate lunch at the cafe Flores on campus. It was soo amazing. I guess I'd describe it as Cafe-Ogle-ish? I dunno, but they had great food. I ate a panini du jambon (a grilled sandwich with ham, melty cheese, and tomatoes.) it was DELISH. And I had a banana and a bottle of water. Then we went back to the main building and found out that apparently there is a computer lab for international students. SWEET. But its kind of a long wait to get one. And the French keyboards are sooooooo weird. After that, we had to take this French proficiency exam in the auditorium. It actually wasn't bad...I guess it was about as hard as Dr. Carriere's in 212...but the essay was completely ridiculous...Should there be one language in the EU? No. Easy. But I think I did alright! After the test, Sarah and I went upstairs and I registered with the international office to say that I was there officially and whatnot. They gave me a sweet bag FULL of stuff about Lille and Lille III! I feel so much better about everything that i have to get done. I appreciate the patience that people have had with me back in the States; getting internet is complicated here in France. But I have it :D After registering, me and sarah ventured down to the Ulysees' club room. Ulysees is a club thing for international students and there's this cool cafe/hangout spot for just international students where you can get food and drinks! (Sidenote...there is actually beer on tap at the cafe Flores. true story) anyways, we joined that and started talking to some Lille students hanging out there. One's name is Brian and he actually went to LSU!!! He was SOOOO nice and incredibly helpful. He offered to show me and Sarah how to get to Triolo by walking from Lille and then to the Metro station closest to Triolo. After that long afternoon, Sarah, Rosalind and me went out exploring and found a cool chinese restaurant called Asian (i know, quite original) and had dinner there. The people of Lille are seriously SO cool though. Everyone is quite polite and really helpful! We kind of got lost on our way to the restaurant, so we stopped in a Pharmacy and the pharmacist gave us directions...she was awesome. After dinner, we walked around some more, and the climate is definitely significantly cooler here than in Louisville. WOW. BRRR! But it was quite pleasant. We then went back to Triolo and all sat in Colleen's room for a few hours just talking and laughing like we had been best friends for years...even though we'd only met that day!!! Good times. Gotta love the bonds made with other Americans going through the same thing you are. It's comforting. I slept for 11 hours. Epic.
Day 3: Today was also reeeeeeallly fun. Me, sarah and rosalind decided to meet at noon and then head over to school to get some internet time and I had to take passport pictures...there are literally photobooths EVERYWHERE. i LOVE it! So we spent some time at Lille III and met up with Monika and Colleen. After that, we all went to the Centre Commerical to go to Orange (the AT&T of France) to get cell phones. It actually wasn't too complicated either. Thank goodness. My american cell phone is apparently locked so I had to buy another cell phone but it was waay cheap. I got a prepaid deal, so it was not bad at all. We had to have a french telephone number in order to get internet. yeah, true story. I am definitely starting to feel more comfortable with France now. It's not nearly as overwhelming and I am starting to become familiar with places here. And did i mention that the shopping is AMAZING? It is. Wow. Ok so anyways, I also decorated my room with pics of my friends, Steve, family, KY, etc...It's cute. After Orange, we went and had a cafe (coffee) at a cafe (it is what it is). I had a cafe creme (coffee with milk) and 2 sugars in this tiny little cup but it was delish. There was this cute little French woman sitting next to us (she was probably in her fifties) and she heard us speaking english and started speaking to us in french and was just so fascinated that we were American and one Polish. She told me that i was really pretty! HAhAH! And told Rosalind that she looked like Hillary Clinton...which is odd because Rosalind has red hair...lol. Anyways, she was asking us all about Obama and his healthcare bill, lol. I had actually expected this to happen to us in France. But she was sooo nice and told us how sweet we were and how well we could speak french! I liked being told that by a native...TAKE THAT, AP FRENCH EXAM! After an interesting discussion with the French woman, we headed to Auchan again to get groceries and whatnot. I bought some pots and a bowl, as well as milk and cereal. You wanna know something interesting? They do not refrigerate their milk in France. Its really weird but apparently they don't need to! BTW: Charles de Gaulle is from Lille, and Louis Pasteur went to Lille III. Ok just thought I'd throw that in there. After Auchan, we walked back to Triolo and went our separate ways for the evening. And here I am. That is my life from the past 3 days. Tomorrow I am going to the Braderie tomorrow (it's the biggest flea market in Europe!!) and it's held here in Lille this weekend. I can't wait! I need a new purse...I've been carrying around my red Lille bag...lol! Well I guess that's all i have to say for today. It's been a crazy journey getting here, but I am definitely glad I'm here. :) Bon soir!
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Last day in the USA...part 1...
Well, it is officially my last day in America. I'm sitting here in the living room looking at my well-packed suitcase, and I just found something that I got on my Bellarmine Crossroads 2008! It's Thomas Merton's prayer...I feel as if it is something to reflect on my feelings right now:
"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."
So here I go...not knowing what lies ahead. I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that I am leaving in 36 hours for France...I'm just trying to stay as calm and normal as possible or I will epically freak out. So that's all I have to say about that for now. :)
"My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone."
So here I go...not knowing what lies ahead. I still cannot wrap my head around the fact that I am leaving in 36 hours for France...I'm just trying to stay as calm and normal as possible or I will epically freak out. So that's all I have to say about that for now. :)
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Pre-departure thoughts...
So here I sit...a mere 6 days before I embark on the most life-changing journey I'll ever have. Today was an important day for me actually...I figured out how to use Skype! For those of you who will follow me on my journeys while I am in France, thank you for your support and I hope you find my blog somewhat entertaining! As I sit and think about what lies ahead...my mind is a completely blank slate. I don't know what to expect...it's such a mystery, but it's incredibly exciting at the same time. Part of me is extremely nervous, yet the other part of me is wondering why the heck didn't I book an earlier flight??? I am fortunate enough to have already corresponded with 2 American girls joining me at Lille III for the semester! It makes me feel a little more at ease at least knowing one person there. I remember so many years ago when I would have been deathly afraid of studying abroad, which would have been WAAAY far out of my comfort zone...And now, it seems to be the perfect time for me to go. I am not yet sure what I want to do with my life, and I've got a feeling I might find out in France. I am proud of myself for taking the initiative to study in a foreign country in a completely different language. I am definitely ready to experience and live in a culture so different from my own...The French really have a unique lifestyle, and I am SO excited to be a part of it. I am so lucky to have had so much help from my international studies coordinator, Hannah. She has helped me more than anything and has given me the confidence and knowledge to really succeed abroad. The last year of applying and killing an entire forest for all of my paperwork has been exhausting and extremely stressful, but I've got a feeling that I'll forget all of it when I step onto the TGV (train de grand vitesse...or, A REALLY FAST TRAIN) on September 1st. I may not have packed my suitcase yet, but I am definitely ready to go, and can't believe I'm going back to France again!! So many beautiful adventures lie ahead...and I say, Bring it on!
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