Somehow it is already that time. I would like to believe that someone has just been stealing pages from my calendar and it's really only January and not halfway through May. On August 31st I believed that nine months was going to feel like forever, and that I would never actually make it back home. Now, on May 16th, I feel like I barely scratched the surface of time and leaving Chambéry is something that I'm finding very hard to do.
I've never lived anywhere other than home for any period of time. Sure, I've lived on campus, but that was a 30 minute drive to my house and inaccessible during the holidays. I've never lived somewhere on my own like this before. Chambéry is the only other place that I have ever been able to call home. I keep getting really bummed out that I'm leaving, but then I remember that everything that makes this place home will be gone too. All my friends are leaving and without them, it's just like starting over somewhere new. But that still doesn't make it any easier to give all this up.
Lemon tarts, Moroccan pizza, caramel ice cream, raspberry macarons, speculoos everything, fondu, and all things French. Just a few of the things that I'm leaving behind and am unsure of when I will return to.
I'm all packed up now and I'm laying in an empty room, my empty room in Comte Vert B14D, for the last time. Tomorrow I will be checking out of my room, going to the post office to ship some things home, and then going to the Challes-les-eaux train station for the last time. I'll get in Paris tomorrow afternoon and I'll spend my day cramming every last minute souvenir shopping and sightseeing that I can, and then I'll be heading to the airport and crashing there until my plane leaves on Tuesday to take me back to the good ole U.S. of A.
Bittersweet has never more appropriately described my life. Maybe when I get home I'll write a whole blog about my reverse culture shock. I already feel it.
Thank you Chambéry, thank you France, thank you all who have been a part of this experience. It was absolutely worth it.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Finals in France
For those who don't already know, it's that time of the semester for finals. The only difference now is that my finals are all in French. It's right about now that I'm starting to question what madness led me here in the first place. I always knew this would happen. I haven't had to do anything but show up to all my classes all semester. It was inevitable that the day where I was put to the epic test would get here.
So here's what it's like. I studied all weekend for my medieval history final. I could tell you all about the Vikings, the Hundred Year's War, the Crusades, and bits and pieces of other events. Better yet, I could tell you all about those things in French. But then I get to the final and the question is about the State in France and how it was constructed.
...
Let's just hope I'm as good at BSing in French as I am in English, because that's pretty much what I did. The final itself was a little weird too, at least compared to America. First of all, there were only 2 questions and you chose one to write a dissertation on. Second, we were placed in the sports hall with everyone else. We were divided into sections for our subject, but there were psychology finals, history finals, and who knows what other kinds of finals going on in there. A little different from our structure in America, but I rolled with it.
I have a few more finals coming up, and what I've learned is - whatever I think is going to be on the final, won't be. So I should study the things I find irrelevant because that's what I'll be asked. I have 2 more written finals and one oral final. I'm kind of freaking out about the oral final, but at this point...I kind of just have to roll with it, right?
Here's to hoping I pass, even if it's just barely scraping by. I'm already working on arranging the retake tests in June in the event that I do fail. Cover all my bases so I don't cry too much.
So here's what it's like. I studied all weekend for my medieval history final. I could tell you all about the Vikings, the Hundred Year's War, the Crusades, and bits and pieces of other events. Better yet, I could tell you all about those things in French. But then I get to the final and the question is about the State in France and how it was constructed.
...
Let's just hope I'm as good at BSing in French as I am in English, because that's pretty much what I did. The final itself was a little weird too, at least compared to America. First of all, there were only 2 questions and you chose one to write a dissertation on. Second, we were placed in the sports hall with everyone else. We were divided into sections for our subject, but there were psychology finals, history finals, and who knows what other kinds of finals going on in there. A little different from our structure in America, but I rolled with it.
I have a few more finals coming up, and what I've learned is - whatever I think is going to be on the final, won't be. So I should study the things I find irrelevant because that's what I'll be asked. I have 2 more written finals and one oral final. I'm kind of freaking out about the oral final, but at this point...I kind of just have to roll with it, right?
Here's to hoping I pass, even if it's just barely scraping by. I'm already working on arranging the retake tests in June in the event that I do fail. Cover all my bases so I don't cry too much.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Home is where your rump rests
I've been blogging less and less lately. I think I understand why though. There's nothing significant to tell. I'm not saying that everyday I spend in France doesn't mean anything. In fact, I'm saying the exact opposite. Everyday in France just feels like everyday anywhere else because this place has become home. All the things that may seem significant to my friends and family aren't to me anymore, they are just my life.
I walk to the grocery store and I buy all my food. I go sit in the park or by the lake, surrounded by mountains. I open my window in my room while I hang my laundry on the drying rack. I walk to school where I sit in lectures for 2 hours at a time. At least I used to do that last bit. I'm on the last leg of my French education right now. I'm on break and after break I will be taking my exams. I'm trying not to freak out too much about that though.
I'm not ready to say goodbye to this life. The closer I get to my departure date, the more I want to freeze time and stay here forever. I want to be able to hop on a train and go to Paris. I want to be able to hop on another train and spend the day in Annecy, by the lake and where the speculoos ice cream is. I like to walk around the center of town in Chambery just to get out of my room and enjoy the day. I love that everyday there seems to be a cool breeze and there's never any humidity. I love fresh bread and pastries, I love french ice cream, and I love macarons.
I'm comfortable here and I'm happy here. I miss my friends and family, but I find that it's not unbearable to be away. I can adapt to living somewhere else and on my own. That's a big step that's started leading me toward deciding what I want to do with my life and where I want to do it. Knowing that I'm capable of this makes future decisions easier.
I will come home, for those of you worried that I'm going to never leave this country. Even though I love France, I've already bought my return ticket so expect me back. But just know that this will not be the last time I ever blog from France, even after my next month and numbered days are up. There's a part of me that's always going to be in this country...and a part of this country that will always be with me, both emotionally and physically.
I walk to the grocery store and I buy all my food. I go sit in the park or by the lake, surrounded by mountains. I open my window in my room while I hang my laundry on the drying rack. I walk to school where I sit in lectures for 2 hours at a time. At least I used to do that last bit. I'm on the last leg of my French education right now. I'm on break and after break I will be taking my exams. I'm trying not to freak out too much about that though.
I'm not ready to say goodbye to this life. The closer I get to my departure date, the more I want to freeze time and stay here forever. I want to be able to hop on a train and go to Paris. I want to be able to hop on another train and spend the day in Annecy, by the lake and where the speculoos ice cream is. I like to walk around the center of town in Chambery just to get out of my room and enjoy the day. I love that everyday there seems to be a cool breeze and there's never any humidity. I love fresh bread and pastries, I love french ice cream, and I love macarons.
I'm comfortable here and I'm happy here. I miss my friends and family, but I find that it's not unbearable to be away. I can adapt to living somewhere else and on my own. That's a big step that's started leading me toward deciding what I want to do with my life and where I want to do it. Knowing that I'm capable of this makes future decisions easier.
I will come home, for those of you worried that I'm going to never leave this country. Even though I love France, I've already bought my return ticket so expect me back. But just know that this will not be the last time I ever blog from France, even after my next month and numbered days are up. There's a part of me that's always going to be in this country...and a part of this country that will always be with me, both emotionally and physically.
Monday, March 28, 2011
Boxer Rebellion meets Maryville girls
First off, I'd like to preface this blog with what just happened in my French and Communications class. My professor is ridiculous and just told some French people that she was surprised they were in college based on their presentation. It was hard to sit through because I'd hate to think of what she really thought of our presentation. I miss America where things make sense.
Now on to the good stuff-
Hungarian, Algerian, South African, Canadian, American, TENNESSEAN, Italian, Asian, British, Australian, and French: this is a list of all the different nationalities I encountered in three days. It started on my train to Paris where I met this amazing South African woman. She realized that I spoke English and she sat there and talked to me for the entire 3 hours it took to get us to our destination. She told me about her daughters, about life in South Africa, and about her travels. She cracked me up a few times too. I ended up helping her carry her things and find her way to the terminal because she didn't speak French and seemed directionally challenged when it came to navigating airports. I think she was about 60 and she kept telling me, "you have to remember, one day you'll be 60 too". I only rode on a train with her for 3 hours, but I think I'll probably remember her the rest of my life. Talking to her was so fascinating.
From there, I found Shaina in the airport and we started our Parisian adventures. The hostel we stayed in was really nice...you know, once you actually got inside. Getting there was a little stressful and full of very persistent ...gentlemen... assessing the level of my beauty and trying to somehow turn the word no into yes. No means no, fellas. No means no. Oddly enough, the hostel bed was about 100% more comfortable than my dorm bed in Chambéry and I slept like a baby. After, of course, I finally managed to end the conversation with the Algerian man who had the bunk bed beside me. He was actually really cool too and I learned a lot about Algeria. It sounds crazy, but honestly, every person I met in that hostel or on the streets that wasn't trying to sell me something or sleep with me turned out to be awesome.
The next day wehit some of the big sights and my favorite part was just laying under the Eiffel Tower forever. It was the only sunny day of my entire trip, but it was warm and beautiful and tickled my French-lovin' heart. That night we went to the concert, which was the original motive for this entire excursion.
BOXER REBELLION. They are an incredible band, and I have even more mad respect for them now. The show they put on was fantastic and it was in a bar type venue so we were able to basically touch the stage from where we were standing. Then after the show, the band went to their merch stand and sold their own things. I thought that was really awesome of them and definitely a cool way to connect with the fans. Shaina and I had something in common with them too.
The lead singer is from Maryville, TN. It was awesome and we were dubbed "the Maryville girls". He told us they played a show at the Clayton Center. I don't know when that was, but I hope someone from MC went to it and appreciated/enjoyed it.
Our next roomies in the hostel were Hungarian and definitely had no problem walking around in their underwear and changing clothes in the room. They were so nice though, and not at all creepy, so it just almost felt natural because honestly, that's not as taboo here. I kind of like that actually. I feel like Americans can be way too uptight about nudity sometimes, and I was once guilty of that, but I think being here has loosened me up a little bit. Even if I'm not as comfortable with it myself, I'm not as uncomfortable about others expressing their right to be naked. Hah.
We also met another girl whose mom was from Maryville when we took a picture for her and her boyfriend/fiance/husband/whatever-he-was. It's such a small world. They talked about going to the drive in. The rest of the Paris trip was rainy, but still cool. I've been to Paris a few times, but I think that this time was probably my favorite.
Now on to the good stuff-
Hungarian, Algerian, South African, Canadian, American, TENNESSEAN, Italian, Asian, British, Australian, and French: this is a list of all the different nationalities I encountered in three days. It started on my train to Paris where I met this amazing South African woman. She realized that I spoke English and she sat there and talked to me for the entire 3 hours it took to get us to our destination. She told me about her daughters, about life in South Africa, and about her travels. She cracked me up a few times too. I ended up helping her carry her things and find her way to the terminal because she didn't speak French and seemed directionally challenged when it came to navigating airports. I think she was about 60 and she kept telling me, "you have to remember, one day you'll be 60 too". I only rode on a train with her for 3 hours, but I think I'll probably remember her the rest of my life. Talking to her was so fascinating.
From there, I found Shaina in the airport and we started our Parisian adventures. The hostel we stayed in was really nice...you know, once you actually got inside. Getting there was a little stressful and full of very persistent ...gentlemen... assessing the level of my beauty and trying to somehow turn the word no into yes. No means no, fellas. No means no. Oddly enough, the hostel bed was about 100% more comfortable than my dorm bed in Chambéry and I slept like a baby. After, of course, I finally managed to end the conversation with the Algerian man who had the bunk bed beside me. He was actually really cool too and I learned a lot about Algeria. It sounds crazy, but honestly, every person I met in that hostel or on the streets that wasn't trying to sell me something or sleep with me turned out to be awesome.
The next day wehit some of the big sights and my favorite part was just laying under the Eiffel Tower forever. It was the only sunny day of my entire trip, but it was warm and beautiful and tickled my French-lovin' heart. That night we went to the concert, which was the original motive for this entire excursion.
BOXER REBELLION. They are an incredible band, and I have even more mad respect for them now. The show they put on was fantastic and it was in a bar type venue so we were able to basically touch the stage from where we were standing. Then after the show, the band went to their merch stand and sold their own things. I thought that was really awesome of them and definitely a cool way to connect with the fans. Shaina and I had something in common with them too.
The lead singer is from Maryville, TN. It was awesome and we were dubbed "the Maryville girls". He told us they played a show at the Clayton Center. I don't know when that was, but I hope someone from MC went to it and appreciated/enjoyed it.
Our next roomies in the hostel were Hungarian and definitely had no problem walking around in their underwear and changing clothes in the room. They were so nice though, and not at all creepy, so it just almost felt natural because honestly, that's not as taboo here. I kind of like that actually. I feel like Americans can be way too uptight about nudity sometimes, and I was once guilty of that, but I think being here has loosened me up a little bit. Even if I'm not as comfortable with it myself, I'm not as uncomfortable about others expressing their right to be naked. Hah.
We also met another girl whose mom was from Maryville when we took a picture for her and her boyfriend/fiance/husband/whatever-he-was. It's such a small world. They talked about going to the drive in. The rest of the Paris trip was rainy, but still cool. I've been to Paris a few times, but I think that this time was probably my favorite.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Montpellier & London!
Alright, big couple of weeks down and another one to go! March has absolutely flown by and I don't know that I've actually had a free weekend in a while. School and my social life have been in full motion. Since my last post I've been to Montpellier with Cyril which was AWESOME. The ONLY complaint that I have is that I hardly spent any time in that city dry. It rained the entire time, heavily and that is why in almost all of my pictures I look like I just stepped out of the shower with my clothes on. That aside though, it was really an amazing city and I had the best tour guide who took me to a pretty wonderful fondue restaurant where my age was put into question as seen in the photo-
I was shown around the city and taken to a few parties too, and that was awesome. It's always better being shown around a town by someone who actually lives there rather than relying on a map. This past weekend I went to London to see Meg. This is ridiculous, but one of the most exciting parts about the actual traveling itself was the fact that I finally got my passport stamped by someone. I've wanted my passport stamped for so long! I say the actual traveling because most of my journey was dealing with the public transportation system. From France I had to take a train to Lyon, a shuttle to the airport, a plane to London, a train to Meg, and then the underground to her place. I'm starting to miss the simplicity of having a car. I got there pretty late at night so I just crashed as soon as we got back to her place and then started the adventures the next morning with one of the highlights: WIMBLEDON TOUR!
Being a huge tennis fan, this landed itself in the top ten of my "favorite things I did in Europe" list, right next to Roland Garros. The only thing that could have made that better (only two things, actually) would be if 1) my Dad was there, because next to me he's the only one I know that would have appreciated it and 2) if the actual tournament was going on and I had someone scored insanely impossible to get tickets to center court. After that tour, Meg showed me around town a bit and then we had some St. Patty's day festivities that night. I had a fantastic time seeing her. I hit all the big things, Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, Parliament, and Buckingham Palace. God save the queen. One thing I definitely noticed about this past weekend is how weird it is to hear everyone speaking English again. I actually experienced a little culture shock because I'm just so used to hearing people speak French. I would order something in English and feel wrong because I felt like they couldn't understand the language I was speaking. Coming back to America is probably going to be a lot like that, so go ahead and expect me to be confused and start my sentences with "Je voudrais".
And I mentioned that getting there took a lot of transportation, but I should comment just a bit on getting back. I took a bus to the airport, a plane back to Lyon, and that's where I got stuck. There were no more trains or buses going back to Chambéry that night and I ended up sleeping in the airport again. It was the same airport that Michael Gunther and I slept in before going to Rome and I even had my old sleeping spot on the bench. No matter how long you lay on those benches, they never EVER get warm and I now know by heart the 2 messages that play over the intercom in five minute intervals...in both languages. It took me 14 hours to get back home, but it was worth it.
Up next weekend I have a nice weekend in Paris. I'm going to a Boxer Rebellion concert on Friday which I'm really excited about and spending the whole time with fellow MC-er Shaina Arp. It should be really great, but I think after that I'm going to cool it on the traveling a bit. My wallet and my energy will greatly benefit from it.
Oh, and I just did my first presentation in French in France. It was a nightmare, I did horribly, but I passed. I hate presentations!
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
I apologize, select few readers, for the radio silence. There hasn't been much to say, though. My spring break was last week and as most of you already know, I was stuck in Chambéry alone for the duration of the vacation. I started to lose my mind a little bit, but a new dress and cute pair of shoes came out of the bit of pity shopping that I did for myself.
My stipend money from the school finally came in and I've stocked up on groceries, can eat what I want, and can travel freely again. This upcoming weekend I'm going to Montpellier to visit Cyril and I am super excited about it! The next weekend I'm traveling to London to spend St. Patty's Day with Meg Cotter and that should be epic. I'm even trying to get something in the works for the following weekend. There's a band that I recently discovered that I never knew I loved and they're playing a show in Paris. I've not confirmed that trip on paper yet, but there's a strong possibility that I will be there. March is seriously going to fly by with all this stuff I have planned.
Everyone always asks about classes, so I'll touch on that too. They're hard. At least they are for me because my French is minimal. They're hard, but I like a few of them a lot. Some I like a lot less than that, but that's the case anywhere you go. I'm just hoping that I pass. There's a lot of pressure with the grade solely riding on one final exam. I miss progress reports.
I've recently met a few really awesome French people - as some of you may already know ; ) or you can ask me about it if you don't and are interested.
I'm sure the post after I do all these awesome things in March will be better than this one.
And thought of the week - Raspberry macarons are reason enough to want to live in France forever.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
France updates
If you were all hanging by a thread from my last post, wondering "did she enjoy tennis or didn't she?!" then I shall keep you in suspense no longer.
I loved it. Honestly, one of the best decisions I've made since being in France. I actually realized yesterday in my tennis class that I understood what the instructor was telling me in French and I was responding to him and asking questions...in french. What? I'm learning a new language! Yoga is equally as wonderful, but tennis...that's where it's at with my Babolat.
Classes are going well so far too. I've had one professor not show up two weeks in a row and not give a notice of her pending absence either. It's horrible waking up so early, walking to school in the cold/dark, and then realizing that your 8 am has been cancelled. I always have something after that too, so I can't just walk all the way home to turn around and come back. I kind of just wish she would show up and teach me something!
The other professors are all pretty cool too, and definitely helpful and understanding so far.
Downside of France right now: money.
As part of my second semester I was supposed to get a stipend for food since I am essentially paying Maryville College for a meal plan. Typically, were I at Maryville College...I would be eating. France still hasn't given any of the Exchange students our stipend yet and we're all a little antsy. I heard that it will finally come in next week and I will be getting the money that they did not give us all of January at the same time. Helloooo travel and raspberry tart money. That's about the only thing wrong with this country right now though. Other than that, it's kind of spring weather and beautiful.
Also...this semester is FLYING by. I'll be home telling you all the stories in person in no time!
I loved it. Honestly, one of the best decisions I've made since being in France. I actually realized yesterday in my tennis class that I understood what the instructor was telling me in French and I was responding to him and asking questions...in french. What? I'm learning a new language! Yoga is equally as wonderful, but tennis...that's where it's at with my Babolat.
Classes are going well so far too. I've had one professor not show up two weeks in a row and not give a notice of her pending absence either. It's horrible waking up so early, walking to school in the cold/dark, and then realizing that your 8 am has been cancelled. I always have something after that too, so I can't just walk all the way home to turn around and come back. I kind of just wish she would show up and teach me something!
The other professors are all pretty cool too, and definitely helpful and understanding so far.
Downside of France right now: money.
As part of my second semester I was supposed to get a stipend for food since I am essentially paying Maryville College for a meal plan. Typically, were I at Maryville College...I would be eating. France still hasn't given any of the Exchange students our stipend yet and we're all a little antsy. I heard that it will finally come in next week and I will be getting the money that they did not give us all of January at the same time. Helloooo travel and raspberry tart money. That's about the only thing wrong with this country right now though. Other than that, it's kind of spring weather and beautiful.
Also...this semester is FLYING by. I'll be home telling you all the stories in person in no time!
Monday, January 24, 2011
And so it begins...
Ok, so I'm not sure if today was the 'official' first day of class, but it was the first day of school for me, the protagonist of this European storybook adventure. It's after a long day like today that one simply falls down, puts up their aching but educated feet, and drinks a hot cup of tea to smoke out the cold chills. Which is what I'm doing. I don't know where we last left off, but I'll just begin with the events of today.
My first class (after long internal debate over whether or not class ACTUALLY started today) was medieval history at ten this morning. Classes in France are once a week and two hours long, which seems great, but talk to me again when you're about to fall asleep and realize you still have an hour left of mind-numbing lectures. Even in French, they are mind-numbing. My comprehension level is still only so-so and I only understand about half of what happened once, a long long time ago in the West. There was something about corn and then something about silk. It will take some work. But after speaking with the professor, I'll be getting help when I need it and I'm not all that worried.
The next class was French & Communication, where the professor dashed all my hopes and dreams by telling me that I'll be attending the class at 8 in the morning on Mondays. Curse 8 in the morning. The American Ashton would be a little worried and nervous about that class since her French is terrible and the course requires her to do a fifteen minute speech in French. The French Ashton is just "ehhh whatever". It will all be over soon.
That's the blessing and the curse of it all. It will all be over soon. Yeah, it will be over and whatever fear, nervousness, anger, anguish, loneliness, or despair that I feel will be gone and in the past. I'll barely remember how I felt as I stood there, probably red faced and trembling, giving the speech once I'm back home. But it will all be over soon and all those good, happy, wonderful feelings and memories will be gone too. Blessing and curse.
The last class I went to today was economics - and that will be the last economics class that I go to. Right now it's kind of pick and choose and you can go and feel out the class to see if you want to stay. I don't want to stay. The worst part is that I totally understood the vocabulary, the definitions, and even the professor's French. I was on top of that whole language thing in that class. The part I didn't understand - the economics. I can't do or understand economics in English and there's no way doing it in a different language is going to be any easier. So I've decided to drop that one, take something similar if I need it when I get home, and not add that extra stress to my life.
I have a few more classes that I have yet to go to this week, but I'll make sure to document how they go either on here or in a journal to later type up on here. I have my first day of tennis tomorrow which I'm more excited about right now than nervous, but ask me again at 10h15 tomorrow and I'll tell you the nerves have taken hold. I bought a Babolat racket so now I'm like Nadal, who is the greatest no matter what anyone says.
My first class (after long internal debate over whether or not class ACTUALLY started today) was medieval history at ten this morning. Classes in France are once a week and two hours long, which seems great, but talk to me again when you're about to fall asleep and realize you still have an hour left of mind-numbing lectures. Even in French, they are mind-numbing. My comprehension level is still only so-so and I only understand about half of what happened once, a long long time ago in the West. There was something about corn and then something about silk. It will take some work. But after speaking with the professor, I'll be getting help when I need it and I'm not all that worried.
The next class was French & Communication, where the professor dashed all my hopes and dreams by telling me that I'll be attending the class at 8 in the morning on Mondays. Curse 8 in the morning. The American Ashton would be a little worried and nervous about that class since her French is terrible and the course requires her to do a fifteen minute speech in French. The French Ashton is just "ehhh whatever". It will all be over soon.
That's the blessing and the curse of it all. It will all be over soon. Yeah, it will be over and whatever fear, nervousness, anger, anguish, loneliness, or despair that I feel will be gone and in the past. I'll barely remember how I felt as I stood there, probably red faced and trembling, giving the speech once I'm back home. But it will all be over soon and all those good, happy, wonderful feelings and memories will be gone too. Blessing and curse.
The last class I went to today was economics - and that will be the last economics class that I go to. Right now it's kind of pick and choose and you can go and feel out the class to see if you want to stay. I don't want to stay. The worst part is that I totally understood the vocabulary, the definitions, and even the professor's French. I was on top of that whole language thing in that class. The part I didn't understand - the economics. I can't do or understand economics in English and there's no way doing it in a different language is going to be any easier. So I've decided to drop that one, take something similar if I need it when I get home, and not add that extra stress to my life.
I have a few more classes that I have yet to go to this week, but I'll make sure to document how they go either on here or in a journal to later type up on here. I have my first day of tennis tomorrow which I'm more excited about right now than nervous, but ask me again at 10h15 tomorrow and I'll tell you the nerves have taken hold. I bought a Babolat racket so now I'm like Nadal, who is the greatest no matter what anyone says.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Chambery, sweet Chambery.
I'm finally done traveling, I think. It's kind of nice to be in one place for an extended period of time now. Traveling was great and I loved every experience that I had, but traveling is exhausting too.
I'm moved into my dorm and almost completely settled in. I'm a little sniffly, but hopefully that will pass. I'm a little homesick too, but I'm hoping that will pass as well. I miss home a lot. I think it's the abrupt changes and the slow changes that have me a little off my balance. I miss all the people from last semester that made this place what it was. It's different now and I still haven't gotten used to that. I can't wait until May 31st right now. So many things I'm already planning to do when I get home.
Rome, Italy - let me just say this city was everything and nothing I expected it. I think I get in my head that these historical places still look like they do in the history books. I always know that's wrong, but it doesn't stop me from hoping to see no modern day buildings and cobblestones everywhere. I loved the coliseum and the Vatican. Rome is definitely a place I've always wanted to go and that's one more thing to scratch off my bucket list.
My dorm is different from where I lived last semester too. It's a pretty big room and I really like it, but it's definitely lonely. You're basically just alone unless you actively seek someone out to hang out with. I can't go into the kitchen and strike up conversation with two awesome ladies like I could last semester. I'm going to have a hard time battling with that, I think. I love my alone time and I love being alone, but I also don't like being confined alone for long periods of time. And since I'm kind of homesick, I definitely need to make myself get out there and do something. I need to distract myself.
*I've heard that it's not been possible to comment on my blogs without being a member of some sort. I think I have fixed that issue and I think that anyone who wants to will now be able to post comments on this blog. So go on, give it a go!
I'm moved into my dorm and almost completely settled in. I'm a little sniffly, but hopefully that will pass. I'm a little homesick too, but I'm hoping that will pass as well. I miss home a lot. I think it's the abrupt changes and the slow changes that have me a little off my balance. I miss all the people from last semester that made this place what it was. It's different now and I still haven't gotten used to that. I can't wait until May 31st right now. So many things I'm already planning to do when I get home.
Rome, Italy - let me just say this city was everything and nothing I expected it. I think I get in my head that these historical places still look like they do in the history books. I always know that's wrong, but it doesn't stop me from hoping to see no modern day buildings and cobblestones everywhere. I loved the coliseum and the Vatican. Rome is definitely a place I've always wanted to go and that's one more thing to scratch off my bucket list.
My dorm is different from where I lived last semester too. It's a pretty big room and I really like it, but it's definitely lonely. You're basically just alone unless you actively seek someone out to hang out with. I can't go into the kitchen and strike up conversation with two awesome ladies like I could last semester. I'm going to have a hard time battling with that, I think. I love my alone time and I love being alone, but I also don't like being confined alone for long periods of time. And since I'm kind of homesick, I definitely need to make myself get out there and do something. I need to distract myself.
*I've heard that it's not been possible to comment on my blogs without being a member of some sort. I think I have fixed that issue and I think that anyone who wants to will now be able to post comments on this blog. So go on, give it a go!
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year!
It's been a while since I've posted, but I've not really known what to say. I did go to Colmar and it was as adorable as I wanted it to be. I went to Strasbourg too. But the best part so far has been staying with Melodie's family in Avignon.
French Christmas. I had two of them, really. I surprised even myself with the way I've pushed my limits and crossed my boundaries when it comes to being a picky eater and trying new things. I ate so many things that I never would have eaten if I hadn't been here and I'm better because of it. Chestnuts? Who knew I liked chestnuts? I didn't, but I sure do now! And snails, even. Superb.
It's been great being here and just having a home to stay in instead of a dorm. I know I lived in a house last semester, but I would hardly call that a home. It wasn't warm, it wasn't welcoming, it wasn't inviting. People weren't allowed to come over and it almost felt like we weren't allowed to actually "live" there, just be there. This has been wonderful and I'm going back to Chambery tomorrow. I'm going to miss it here. Melodie and her entire family have been more than welcoming and even though there's been a language barrier, it's been wonderful. I'm here for another 5 months and I just hope that I have a chance to come back and find a way to thank them for giving me a home for the holidays. I missed my own family, but it was nice to shake up the season. When else will I have a Christmas and a new year in France?
Speaking of the New Year - it was crazy. Where was I when it turned 2011? Well, technically I was passed out in bed for all my American friends and family, but when it turned 2011 in France I was living it up.
A few New Year's Resolutions - (I have some more personal resolutions, but these are the more general ones. If you want to hear about what else I have in mind, feel free to chat with me sometime)
-Actually say yes to everything. I know that Bridget and I made that pact in the beginning of the year and by the end of the year I was saying no more often than yes. I'm going to try to at least make it 50/50 this semester. Try and say yes as much as I say no.
-Speak French for crying out loud! That's what I'm here for!
-Keep trying new foods and new things. It's going well for me so far, so I don't see any reason to stop now.
-Keep in touch with the people close to me that aren't here with me. I've realized the value of friendship and how important it can be to not let the people you want in your life slip away from it.
-Finish a story. This was something that I said I wanted to do before I left for France and I'm not even close. I've got to get a move on.
That's really the gist of my list. There are more petty things like "dress like a Frenchie" (which I'm slowly starting to do) and the generic "do better in school" ones.
Up next for me is Rome and then back to classes. Hopefully everything will get settled down soon because it's kind of a mess going into it right now. Confusion is something very common in this country, I've realized. Hope everyone had a fabulous new year and here's to what 2011 can bring!
French Christmas. I had two of them, really. I surprised even myself with the way I've pushed my limits and crossed my boundaries when it comes to being a picky eater and trying new things. I ate so many things that I never would have eaten if I hadn't been here and I'm better because of it. Chestnuts? Who knew I liked chestnuts? I didn't, but I sure do now! And snails, even. Superb.
It's been great being here and just having a home to stay in instead of a dorm. I know I lived in a house last semester, but I would hardly call that a home. It wasn't warm, it wasn't welcoming, it wasn't inviting. People weren't allowed to come over and it almost felt like we weren't allowed to actually "live" there, just be there. This has been wonderful and I'm going back to Chambery tomorrow. I'm going to miss it here. Melodie and her entire family have been more than welcoming and even though there's been a language barrier, it's been wonderful. I'm here for another 5 months and I just hope that I have a chance to come back and find a way to thank them for giving me a home for the holidays. I missed my own family, but it was nice to shake up the season. When else will I have a Christmas and a new year in France?
Speaking of the New Year - it was crazy. Where was I when it turned 2011? Well, technically I was passed out in bed for all my American friends and family, but when it turned 2011 in France I was living it up.
A few New Year's Resolutions - (I have some more personal resolutions, but these are the more general ones. If you want to hear about what else I have in mind, feel free to chat with me sometime)
-Actually say yes to everything. I know that Bridget and I made that pact in the beginning of the year and by the end of the year I was saying no more often than yes. I'm going to try to at least make it 50/50 this semester. Try and say yes as much as I say no.
-Speak French for crying out loud! That's what I'm here for!
-Keep trying new foods and new things. It's going well for me so far, so I don't see any reason to stop now.
-Keep in touch with the people close to me that aren't here with me. I've realized the value of friendship and how important it can be to not let the people you want in your life slip away from it.
-Finish a story. This was something that I said I wanted to do before I left for France and I'm not even close. I've got to get a move on.
That's really the gist of my list. There are more petty things like "dress like a Frenchie" (which I'm slowly starting to do) and the generic "do better in school" ones.
Up next for me is Rome and then back to classes. Hopefully everything will get settled down soon because it's kind of a mess going into it right now. Confusion is something very common in this country, I've realized. Hope everyone had a fabulous new year and here's to what 2011 can bring!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Fah-who foreze, Dah-who doreze.
Alright, can't hide it. I'm really really sad. I now understand what every international student feels when they meet new people, become incredibly close with new people, adapt their lives around new people only to either watch them leave their lives or to be the one leaving theirs. It's not easy.
My move out process has been less than ideal and almost painful. The landlady is not making things easy in the slightest and as much as I have to thank her for, she's making me happy to be moving out soon. Very soon. However, it's hard. I'm in my room right now, but it's the last night that I'll be in here forever. As soon as I publish this post, I'll probably be crying. I'm a girl and I'm emotional, it's allowed.
I don't even know what else to say. Except this sucks and I can't believe I'll have to do it all over again in May.
My move out process has been less than ideal and almost painful. The landlady is not making things easy in the slightest and as much as I have to thank her for, she's making me happy to be moving out soon. Very soon. However, it's hard. I'm in my room right now, but it's the last night that I'll be in here forever. As soon as I publish this post, I'll probably be crying. I'm a girl and I'm emotional, it's allowed.
I don't even know what else to say. Except this sucks and I can't believe I'll have to do it all over again in May.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Last week of my first semester in France
Friends, a chapter is ending and a new one is beginning. I find myself once again reflecting on the time that I have spent here so far and I must say - it feels like it was yesterday and it feels like I've been here forever. I wish I could freeze time because the friends I have made here are so spectacular that I don't want them to leave. But all good things must come to an end, and now I just have more potential places to crash in the states if I get the travel bug at home.
I feel like I haven't learned nearly as much French as I would like to, but I've also been living on crutches, so to speak. I'm rarely forced to speak French and I have American friends. Maybe the silver lining of next semester will be that I'll finally not have a choice but to speak and learn French. After all, it's what I'm here for.
I also realized something yesterday, in abig way. The revelation hit me like a high speed supersonic TGV train. I've been throwing around names like "Italy", "Germany", and "France" like I'm going to a grocery store down the street. People spend their entire lives in one spot, never seeing the world and I'm getting the chance and have already booked tickets to some of the most amazing places in the world. I remember reading about these countries in history classes and thinking I'd never see them, never be there, and here I am about to hop on a train in a week and travel all around Europe. I feel like I haven't really appreciated the gravity of the opportunity that I have until just now.
Itinerary -
in one week I will be in Colmar, France. It's a cute little town near the border of France and Germany and it's adorable around Christmas time from what I've heard. It was a less known place that I chose because I stumbled upon it one day and it was labeled as one of the cutest, most fairytale-esque city in Europe.
Hopefully from there I will be taking a day trip to Strasbourg which I hear is somewhere that I really should visit. I'll check more into that and see what they have to offer.
From there, I'll be traveling south to spend the holidays with Melodie and I absolutely cannot wait. I'm so glad that she's letting me stay withher too because I think I would be a little homeless for a while if it weren't for her.
Sometime after that I will be coming back to Chambery and moving my stuff into a dorm and starting all over again. I'm excited about it though because this house would not be the same without Bridget or Amy to come home to.
Then on January 5th I (and my travel buddy, Michael Gunther) will be hopping on a plane and heading to Rome, Italy. I think this might be one of the things I'm most excited about because I want to go to the Vatican and Rome so bad I could just burst. Dream come true, really.
So - for the next month or so I don't know how often I'll be posting. I'll try and post at least once during or after a stay in a different place just to capture the feel and experience while it's fresh.
Monday story time though -
Today I had a lunch with the ISEP/ISEFE directors, so basically school officials. It was the Americans, the officials, and the two students who basically held our hands throughout this whole semester. We all got there and sat down and enjoyed a nice pizza and some non-alcoholic beverages. Very school appropriate, right? Ok, so then the two bottles of wine came out. No big deal, we drank them and continued eating. Then some candies with a popper inside came out, which I was afraid to pop because things like that scare me. Those came out, however, with two bottles of champagne. So, no big deal. I drank my champagne. Then I drank Amy's champagne. Then the bouche Noel came out. Then the macarons came out. And before I knew it, I was walking away from a school lunch with school officials slightly tipsy. Only in France, friends.
Only. In. France.
I feel like I haven't learned nearly as much French as I would like to, but I've also been living on crutches, so to speak. I'm rarely forced to speak French and I have American friends. Maybe the silver lining of next semester will be that I'll finally not have a choice but to speak and learn French. After all, it's what I'm here for.
I also realized something yesterday, in abig way. The revelation hit me like a high speed supersonic TGV train. I've been throwing around names like "Italy", "Germany", and "France" like I'm going to a grocery store down the street. People spend their entire lives in one spot, never seeing the world and I'm getting the chance and have already booked tickets to some of the most amazing places in the world. I remember reading about these countries in history classes and thinking I'd never see them, never be there, and here I am about to hop on a train in a week and travel all around Europe. I feel like I haven't really appreciated the gravity of the opportunity that I have until just now.
Itinerary -
in one week I will be in Colmar, France. It's a cute little town near the border of France and Germany and it's adorable around Christmas time from what I've heard. It was a less known place that I chose because I stumbled upon it one day and it was labeled as one of the cutest, most fairytale-esque city in Europe.
Hopefully from there I will be taking a day trip to Strasbourg which I hear is somewhere that I really should visit. I'll check more into that and see what they have to offer.
From there, I'll be traveling south to spend the holidays with Melodie and I absolutely cannot wait. I'm so glad that she's letting me stay withher too because I think I would be a little homeless for a while if it weren't for her.
Sometime after that I will be coming back to Chambery and moving my stuff into a dorm and starting all over again. I'm excited about it though because this house would not be the same without Bridget or Amy to come home to.
Then on January 5th I (and my travel buddy, Michael Gunther) will be hopping on a plane and heading to Rome, Italy. I think this might be one of the things I'm most excited about because I want to go to the Vatican and Rome so bad I could just burst. Dream come true, really.
So - for the next month or so I don't know how often I'll be posting. I'll try and post at least once during or after a stay in a different place just to capture the feel and experience while it's fresh.
Monday story time though -
Today I had a lunch with the ISEP/ISEFE directors, so basically school officials. It was the Americans, the officials, and the two students who basically held our hands throughout this whole semester. We all got there and sat down and enjoyed a nice pizza and some non-alcoholic beverages. Very school appropriate, right? Ok, so then the two bottles of wine came out. No big deal, we drank them and continued eating. Then some candies with a popper inside came out, which I was afraid to pop because things like that scare me. Those came out, however, with two bottles of champagne. So, no big deal. I drank my champagne. Then I drank Amy's champagne. Then the bouche Noel came out. Then the macarons came out. And before I knew it, I was walking away from a school lunch with school officials slightly tipsy. Only in France, friends.
Only. In. France.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Deux Alps Weekend
< -- That's me. You know, looking all excited to be holding a snowboard in the Alps. If I had an after picture there would be less of a smile, more of a grimace. Not that I was necessarily attempting to grimace, just that my face froze that way after falling several times down a bunny slope. I often didn't even make it out of the starting gate. Pathetic.
My ski trip was overall...interesting. I can't really think of another word for it. It was fun for the most part. We all went ice skating one night and we had this huge ice rink to ourselves so we just goofed off in the snow for a bit. The hotel provided dinner for us each night we stayed there and the first night (brace yourselves) I tried salmon. Now for the anticipated reaction - didn't love it. Fish tastes fishy, and I understand that's often the appeal of eating fish but that's what generally turns me off it. But I at least gave it an honest shot. Our hotel room was freezing though, and Amy and I had to bundle up and steal extra blankets from the spare bed in our room just to keep from getting frost bite during the night.
Second day was ski/snowboard day. I opted for snowboarding for several reasons.
1- It's way cooler.
2- I felt more hardcore holding a snowboard than skis
3- I've never skied before, but I have been on a snowboard
4- I still just wanted to be cool
So, I made it (sort of) down the bunny slope a few times. They had one of those ski lifts that you just hold on to and it lifts you up the slope which is easier for skis, but difficult for a snowboard. I had to turn sideways, balance myself, get out of the way quickly when I fell... Moving on, I made it down a few times and then my gloves, which were weather inappropriate, froze and my hands froze with them. So I sat out for a little bit while my dear friends made their way down the slope.
Amy's collision story through Ashton's eyes - I'm standing at the bottom of the hill, right? And I finally spot Amy, my roommate, about halfway down. She's on the ground and I think "oh, she fell, poor thing" it happens to the best of us. But then I see Ron try and help her up and her fall back down on the ground. So something's wrong and I know it, but I'm like this helpless little thing at the bottom of the slope. Long story short, I ended up pulling my French resources and asking (in French) to get Amy help because she was injured. The snowmobile took her down the hill and then an ambulance came and picked her up. I rode with her to the little hospital thing and went to get her things as they took a look at her. Nothing was broken, but her meniscus was messed up and the poor thing is on crutches for 2 weeks. Crutches aren't easy, especially in ice and snow.
So that night was a pretty chill night. We ate some raclette (which is basically a French version of fondue...sort of. It's hard to explain) and then went upstairs. I had my first stand up shower since I've been in France and let me say - don't ever take showers for granted. After that I went to a little pub with some friends and hung out there for a bit. It was an old man's pub.
The next day I stuck with Amy and took care of some of her outrageous expenses (future reference - buy the ski insurance or France will charge you 350 euro to take you about 50 feet in a snowmobile.) and then we played rummy the rest of the day while we (or I, rather) watched the Davis Cup Tennis Tournament on the television in the hotel lobby.
So that was my ski trip in a nutshell and now for other news -
I realize I don't discuss my classes much. Basically I just have classes 4 days a week where they teach me French grammar. It's tough and sometimes I feel like the dumbest person in there because I still can't understand basic French phrases when they're directed at me (stage fright, I think), but something I have noticed is that I AM getting better. I learned that this weekend when I had to speak French to help Amy out and I learned that today when I actually spoke French more in class. I still struggle with it, but I think it will only get better, especially when I really have no choice but to speak French next semester.
Happy holidays, friends. I'll report back. This was probably longer than anyone wanted to read.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Faux snow day
Here's a little doozy of a story for you.
France + snow + Americans = catastrophic miscommunication.
It's been snowing in Chambéry since around 5 in the afternoon yesterday. It still hasn't stopped snowing and we now have I'd say at LEAST a foot and a half of snow with no signs of stopping anytime soon. So naturally, post snowman outside (which now looks vaguely like that mountain that Jack Skellington sings his lament on) we naturally began to wonder what the status of our courses would be for today.
I woke up at around 7 and just watched the snow until about 8 this morning. I'd first like to say that I have never seen snow fall like this in my life. I feel like TN gets max 4 inches and it melts away around noon anyway. This is an incredible sight and I am mesmerized by all it's fluffy white goodness. Way to bring in December, for sure. Once the girls woke up we started to actually find out whether or not we had school today. There was an email in our Savoie mailbox saying that the LL(insert two more letters here I can't remember) department was closed today. We are in the ISEFE program though, so we still weren't sure if that meant that we didn't have class or didn't have class. So Madame, our landlady, helped us out and she called the ISEFE building and no one picked up. She called several times and we still had no answer. All of our classes started at 9 and it's not exactly convenient for us to walk to school in a foot and a half of snow, across town, up a hill, for 30 minutes if we're just going to have to turn back around. So when no one answered, we all more or less took that to mean that no one was there and there would be no class.
So at around 10 something, she finally gets an answer and it turns out that mine and Bridget's professors trekked through the snow storm to teach the classes and give the tests that we were not there for.
I'm a little irritated. A lot irritated, actually. There should have been more communication, I think. Call out the every class, close the entire school, save the ISEFE building? They could have mentioned that in the email.
"Annulation des cours aujourd'hui ... except you Americans...you guys still need to show up."
Now I have that sinking feeling of being a terrible student, skipping class, missing a test, and concerned over the fact that I'm going to have to find a way to explain why I didn't show up to the professor I'm most afraid of. I'm hoping that a lot of people didn't show up and I won't be the only one. But they have to understand, right? I live 30 minutes away on a good, sunny, bright morning. Sans snow shoes, it would have taken me a lot longer to scale that mountain that is the hill to school and who wants to do that when odds are (so I thought) that it would be cancelled anyway?
Communication for the foreigners during snow storms. Really not too much to ask. Now I need to find a way to banish this feeling i have of missing class and actually enjoy my faux snow day. At least a foot and a half!
The lesson in all of this is: when in doubt, school's not out. Noted for tomorrow if this snow keeps up.
Told you all I'd be writing more ; )
France + snow + Americans = catastrophic miscommunication.
It's been snowing in Chambéry since around 5 in the afternoon yesterday. It still hasn't stopped snowing and we now have I'd say at LEAST a foot and a half of snow with no signs of stopping anytime soon. So naturally, post snowman outside (which now looks vaguely like that mountain that Jack Skellington sings his lament on) we naturally began to wonder what the status of our courses would be for today.
I woke up at around 7 and just watched the snow until about 8 this morning. I'd first like to say that I have never seen snow fall like this in my life. I feel like TN gets max 4 inches and it melts away around noon anyway. This is an incredible sight and I am mesmerized by all it's fluffy white goodness. Way to bring in December, for sure. Once the girls woke up we started to actually find out whether or not we had school today. There was an email in our Savoie mailbox saying that the LL(insert two more letters here I can't remember) department was closed today. We are in the ISEFE program though, so we still weren't sure if that meant that we didn't have class or didn't have class. So Madame, our landlady, helped us out and she called the ISEFE building and no one picked up. She called several times and we still had no answer. All of our classes started at 9 and it's not exactly convenient for us to walk to school in a foot and a half of snow, across town, up a hill, for 30 minutes if we're just going to have to turn back around. So when no one answered, we all more or less took that to mean that no one was there and there would be no class.
So at around 10 something, she finally gets an answer and it turns out that mine and Bridget's professors trekked through the snow storm to teach the classes and give the tests that we were not there for.
I'm a little irritated. A lot irritated, actually. There should have been more communication, I think. Call out the every class, close the entire school, save the ISEFE building? They could have mentioned that in the email.
"Annulation des cours aujourd'hui ... except you Americans...you guys still need to show up."
Now I have that sinking feeling of being a terrible student, skipping class, missing a test, and concerned over the fact that I'm going to have to find a way to explain why I didn't show up to the professor I'm most afraid of. I'm hoping that a lot of people didn't show up and I won't be the only one. But they have to understand, right? I live 30 minutes away on a good, sunny, bright morning. Sans snow shoes, it would have taken me a lot longer to scale that mountain that is the hill to school and who wants to do that when odds are (so I thought) that it would be cancelled anyway?
Communication for the foreigners during snow storms. Really not too much to ask. Now I need to find a way to banish this feeling i have of missing class and actually enjoy my faux snow day. At least a foot and a half!
The lesson in all of this is: when in doubt, school's not out. Noted for tomorrow if this snow keeps up.
Told you all I'd be writing more ; )
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Happy holidays!
Thanksgiving has come and gone, and what a wondrous holiday it was. The turkey arrived just in time and I dined in Chambéry meets America style. It started snowing during the feast though, which was not exactly what I bargained for. I've had to make some wardrobe adjustments since being here to be able to walk through slush and snow without getting frostbite on my poor little helpless toes. Plus part of the remaining pumpkin pie in the box I was carrying did not fair well in the wet, slushy, cold, unwelcome rain/snow/hail/slush/ice-water.
Now the pumpkin pie is all gone and has taken with it the remaining feel of Thanksgiving and fall. Now it's time for Christmas and winter. I have already started the month long process of making paper snowflakes, decorating baby trees, coloring Christmas trees, drinking Christmas tea, and watching Christmas movies. I think my favorite holiday movie is The Family Stone and I've already watched it once. I'm sure I'll watch it many more times before it's even Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas - I've started arranging my holiday plans and I couldn't be happier about them. Gunther is flying to France and we're going to Colmar (a town which I will tell you more about once I've actually been there) and possibly taking a day trip to Strasbourg. After that we/I am/are heading south to spend a good portion of break with Mélodie and I'm so excited about that. She's incredibly gracious and kind to let us spend the holidays with her and I'm lucky to have made friends that can house my homeless student butt over the holidays.
I'm also working on maybe a trip to Rome. This one is less confirmed, more just an ambitious fantasy of mine. I already know when the flight out is and where I would stay if it happens. I've done my research. Because I've been so excited about all this I've started a Europe bucket list for my remaining time here. What if I never get to come back to France? I want to make the absolute most of the time that I have here and see all the things that I really want to see, just in case.
On a related holiday note - I'm not dealing too well with the fact that my friends are leaving me. They aren't just leaving for break though, their leaving for good. I don't know who I'm going to come home and ramble in English to, who I'm going to to shopping with, or who I'm going to have lazy weekends with. I'm sad about it, but note that the France postal service will be getting a lot of business from me because I'll be sending them a million things.
Holidays - sad, right. I'm sad because there are things I miss from home. Little things. I kind of miss Christmas shopping for people. I miss walking downtown during Christmas time, the smell of chex mix in my kitchen, and putting up the tree. BUT walking around Chambéry (and eventually Colmar) during Christmas is going to almost trump walking around downtown Knoxville. It's going to be worth a holiday away from home.
PS - I'm going skiing/snowboarding this weekend and just you all wait until you see my ski pants. They will blow your minds.
Now the pumpkin pie is all gone and has taken with it the remaining feel of Thanksgiving and fall. Now it's time for Christmas and winter. I have already started the month long process of making paper snowflakes, decorating baby trees, coloring Christmas trees, drinking Christmas tea, and watching Christmas movies. I think my favorite holiday movie is The Family Stone and I've already watched it once. I'm sure I'll watch it many more times before it's even Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas - I've started arranging my holiday plans and I couldn't be happier about them. Gunther is flying to France and we're going to Colmar (a town which I will tell you more about once I've actually been there) and possibly taking a day trip to Strasbourg. After that we/I am/are heading south to spend a good portion of break with Mélodie and I'm so excited about that. She's incredibly gracious and kind to let us spend the holidays with her and I'm lucky to have made friends that can house my homeless student butt over the holidays.
I'm also working on maybe a trip to Rome. This one is less confirmed, more just an ambitious fantasy of mine. I already know when the flight out is and where I would stay if it happens. I've done my research. Because I've been so excited about all this I've started a Europe bucket list for my remaining time here. What if I never get to come back to France? I want to make the absolute most of the time that I have here and see all the things that I really want to see, just in case.
On a related holiday note - I'm not dealing too well with the fact that my friends are leaving me. They aren't just leaving for break though, their leaving for good. I don't know who I'm going to come home and ramble in English to, who I'm going to to shopping with, or who I'm going to have lazy weekends with. I'm sad about it, but note that the France postal service will be getting a lot of business from me because I'll be sending them a million things.
Holidays - sad, right. I'm sad because there are things I miss from home. Little things. I kind of miss Christmas shopping for people. I miss walking downtown during Christmas time, the smell of chex mix in my kitchen, and putting up the tree. BUT walking around Chambéry (and eventually Colmar) during Christmas is going to almost trump walking around downtown Knoxville. It's going to be worth a holiday away from home.
PS - I'm going skiing/snowboarding this weekend and just you all wait until you see my ski pants. They will blow your minds.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
THANKSGIVING!
The time has come, friends, for all things delicious. Just because I'm not in the states for the solely American tradition does not mean that I won't be celebrating it as close to the book as possible. There is a turkey, there are pumpkin pies, and there are a lot of people who just enjoy each other's company and want to be together tonight. That's pretty much all it takes to create the perfect Thanksgiving, I'd say.
Yes, I'm sad that I'm missing Thanksgiving with my family, but I'm just having it with a different family this year. There will be pictures, so don't fret. I'm about to run to the store and buy some last minute things.
But first, in the tradition of Thanksgiving, here's what I'm thankful for:
-My family
-My friends (both home and here)
-The fact that I'm in France right now
-The food that will soon be presenting itself before me
-My health because I don't know enough French to deal with doctors yet
-The insane opportunities that I've already had and that I still have yet to come
-The fact that I actually have somewhere to go for Thanksgiving
PS - I hardly ever get feedback on my posts so it's time to get interactive! Tell me what you're thankful for!
Yes, I'm sad that I'm missing Thanksgiving with my family, but I'm just having it with a different family this year. There will be pictures, so don't fret. I'm about to run to the store and buy some last minute things.
But first, in the tradition of Thanksgiving, here's what I'm thankful for:
-My family
-My friends (both home and here)
-The fact that I'm in France right now
-The food that will soon be presenting itself before me
-My health because I don't know enough French to deal with doctors yet
-The insane opportunities that I've already had and that I still have yet to come
-The fact that I actually have somewhere to go for Thanksgiving
PS - I hardly ever get feedback on my posts so it's time to get interactive! Tell me what you're thankful for!
Sunday, November 21, 2010
A lot on my mind
It seems that my animal instincts have kicked in and my body has started preparing for hibernation. There's a crisp chill in the air, not quite cold enough to burn your nose when you breathe or turn your lungs into crystals after a deep intake of breath, but it's heading in that direction. It gets dark early, it's cold throughout the day and night, and quite frankly I have a really hard time convincing myself to move from my warm harbor of a bed and out of my oh so comfy pjs. It's hard, friends.
Another big part of my not wanting to step out into the light of day (aside from that society driven desire to be a vampire - thanks, Vampire Diaries, thanks) is that I've been feeling a lot of emotions lately that have me unwilling to go outdoors and face the world. I think that's almost like the opposite of what I should be doing though. Staying cooped up all day leaves me with myself long enough to dwell on all the things that have been bothering me. I don't come to any conclusions or resolutions. I don't find myself at ease with anything on my mind. I've been told that becoming disconnected is part of the fun of studying abroad. I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. That has actually been the hardest thing for me. Coming from someone who only has a limited number of friends as it is, realizing that maybe my absence falls under indifference for some people has knocked me breathless. With distance comes clarity, I believe they say. If nothing else I learn who notices the void I've left from being out of their lives and who fills it so quickly and easily that I couldn't have made that much of an impression as it was. I would have had to learn these things eventually.
So personal goal now - let go. I feel like I want too much for my life to mean something to people and for my absence to mean something too that I get incredibly too let down. I need to let go of the majority of my connections with people and start anew. This means I stop sending desperate postcards and pleas to deaf ears. I need to stop putting forth effort for a while because it only stresses me out and keeps me from missing out on all the opportunities here. I'm letting the ties I have to people hold me back. Maryville College functions incredibly well without me. It's a fine establishment that my enrollment neither makes nor breaks. They've given me so much, but I will go ahead and predict that re-adjusting post study abroad is going to be incredibly challenging for me. It will be worth it, but it will be hard.
Another big part of my not wanting to step out into the light of day (aside from that society driven desire to be a vampire - thanks, Vampire Diaries, thanks) is that I've been feeling a lot of emotions lately that have me unwilling to go outdoors and face the world. I think that's almost like the opposite of what I should be doing though. Staying cooped up all day leaves me with myself long enough to dwell on all the things that have been bothering me. I don't come to any conclusions or resolutions. I don't find myself at ease with anything on my mind. I've been told that becoming disconnected is part of the fun of studying abroad. I'm going to have to respectfully disagree. That has actually been the hardest thing for me. Coming from someone who only has a limited number of friends as it is, realizing that maybe my absence falls under indifference for some people has knocked me breathless. With distance comes clarity, I believe they say. If nothing else I learn who notices the void I've left from being out of their lives and who fills it so quickly and easily that I couldn't have made that much of an impression as it was. I would have had to learn these things eventually.
So personal goal now - let go. I feel like I want too much for my life to mean something to people and for my absence to mean something too that I get incredibly too let down. I need to let go of the majority of my connections with people and start anew. This means I stop sending desperate postcards and pleas to deaf ears. I need to stop putting forth effort for a while because it only stresses me out and keeps me from missing out on all the opportunities here. I'm letting the ties I have to people hold me back. Maryville College functions incredibly well without me. It's a fine establishment that my enrollment neither makes nor breaks. They've given me so much, but I will go ahead and predict that re-adjusting post study abroad is going to be incredibly challenging for me. It will be worth it, but it will be hard.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
A little taste of November
It's only the 16th of November, but already so many things have happened. I should be at a Shakira concert right now, but I took the French transportation system for granted and couldn't get to Lyon to make it happen. To make up for that, I proceeded to go with Bridget to our pizza place and order my usual pizza (an order that the owner now knows by heart because I am a regular - success).
Shakira concert bust aside, I just came back the other night from Paris and I fell in love with that city all over again. I think it may be that I'm just getting more comfortable in France in general, but it felt different this time. I didn't feel as lost or confused. Plus I was watching some of the greatest names in tennis play in one of the greatest cities in the world. I was pretty bummed out that Nadal wasn't there, but I think I started appreciating other players more because of that. I wasn't so focused on that one player so I got to witness the potential in other players. I loved Llodra, the frenchman, because the French crowd went CRAZY for him. It was like I was at a rock concert or something. It was amazing. The trip was also a huge success because Mathieu was awesome enough to let my friend and I crash at his place for the weekend. I got to kind of experience Paris as more of an insider than an outsider looking in and even tried my hand at a French house party. I'm moving on up, friends. I can't wait to go back and hang out with a familiar Maryville College face in Paris very, very soon!
In other news, I think I'm really starting to pick up on the language. Definitely not speaking it, but I did catch myself writing something in French that I had intended to write in English. It's one small step for man, one giant leap for my overall comprehension. I'm hoping that it will be a domino effect and everything will just start falling into place with that one little push.
I don't know if I wrote about this yet or not, but I also spent the weekend before Paris in Nice. That was incredible and warm and all coast like. I loved the coast and could have stayed there a lot longer than 3 days. I also hit up Cannes and Monaco a little bit while I was there, but the weekend is not long enough to spend anywhere in France. I need a long time to just soak it all up.
It's getting close to Christmas time too, and I know Thanksgiving is first and all that, but they don't do that here so they're in Christmas mode meaning...so am I. I'm super excited about spending Christmas with Melodie and super grateful that I have friends here to spend Christmas with at all. It's going to be hard being away from home for Christmas, but it feels good knowing that I always have a place to stay here with someone. I love it.
There's my update for now. I feel like I leave so much out, but it all happens fast that if I continuously write about it I might miss out on something else.
Shakira concert bust aside, I just came back the other night from Paris and I fell in love with that city all over again. I think it may be that I'm just getting more comfortable in France in general, but it felt different this time. I didn't feel as lost or confused. Plus I was watching some of the greatest names in tennis play in one of the greatest cities in the world. I was pretty bummed out that Nadal wasn't there, but I think I started appreciating other players more because of that. I wasn't so focused on that one player so I got to witness the potential in other players. I loved Llodra, the frenchman, because the French crowd went CRAZY for him. It was like I was at a rock concert or something. It was amazing. The trip was also a huge success because Mathieu was awesome enough to let my friend and I crash at his place for the weekend. I got to kind of experience Paris as more of an insider than an outsider looking in and even tried my hand at a French house party. I'm moving on up, friends. I can't wait to go back and hang out with a familiar Maryville College face in Paris very, very soon!
In other news, I think I'm really starting to pick up on the language. Definitely not speaking it, but I did catch myself writing something in French that I had intended to write in English. It's one small step for man, one giant leap for my overall comprehension. I'm hoping that it will be a domino effect and everything will just start falling into place with that one little push.
I don't know if I wrote about this yet or not, but I also spent the weekend before Paris in Nice. That was incredible and warm and all coast like. I loved the coast and could have stayed there a lot longer than 3 days. I also hit up Cannes and Monaco a little bit while I was there, but the weekend is not long enough to spend anywhere in France. I need a long time to just soak it all up.
It's getting close to Christmas time too, and I know Thanksgiving is first and all that, but they don't do that here so they're in Christmas mode meaning...so am I. I'm super excited about spending Christmas with Melodie and super grateful that I have friends here to spend Christmas with at all. It's going to be hard being away from home for Christmas, but it feels good knowing that I always have a place to stay here with someone. I love it.
There's my update for now. I feel like I leave so much out, but it all happens fast that if I continuously write about it I might miss out on something else.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Halloween
Let's be honest. I never expected Halloween in France to be anything like Halloween in the states. I knew that there wouldn't be trick or treaters and I knew that the freaks wouldn't come out of the woodwork at night. I was well aware that no zombies would walk down my street and no pumpkins would be aglow as I walked through the neighborhood at night. I wouldn't even get to see a normal looking pumpkin, let alone get my hands on it to carve it. And yet, even with all of this in my mind - I was still disappointed in Halloween. I had even lowered my expectations drastically and was still let down. I saw a handful of people dressed in costumes last night and no one that I knew. I spent all of an hour out waiting for something awesome to happen and it never did, so I was in bed on Halloween by midnight.
Pathetic.
If I'm being honest - I miss home. I miss being spooked, I miss people going all out, I miss pumpkins, I miss candy, I miss Mountain Dew, I miss friends, I miss working at the Riviera, I miss seeing movies, I miss 24 hour drive thrus, I miss businesses being open on Sundays, I miss my sister, I miss my brudder, I miss MC campus, I miss my parent's cooking, I miss everyone around me speaking English, I miss cars, I miss it all. It's always there, but sometimes when I get into little tiffs with people or things around me make me feel as though I'm being turned on - I start to miss home even more. It triggers this chain reaction of anger, sadness, and then homesickness. But if I'm still being honest - that's what made me want to leave home too. I would have arguments with people or lose people and I would just want to run away from it all. That's all I ever want to do - run away from my problems. It's difficult to run away here because there's no where for me to really go. I just shut myself in my room and wait for the feelings to go away. They usually do, it just takes some time to convince myself that this is what I've always wanted and I can't let a little hurt feelings make me think otherwise.
Friday, October 29, 2010
The View From the Afternoon
So, this is what I see from the window of my classroom every day. Technically this exact shot is from a bench outside the building where my classes are held, but you get the idea. Soon and very soon that will be covered with snow. It actually snowed up in the mountains a few days ago. It only rained cold, icy, wet rain in the valley, but the mountains did have snow.It's been a while since I've posted any new updates. I think the last one was about my birthday, but very little has happened since then. I took a day trip to Italy with the ISEFE people. We're special. We're like Erasmus, but not because we're only Americans and Asians.
I think my expectations were a little too high. Maybe not too high, but maybe too different. When I picture Italy I picture Rome, the Vatican, Letters to Juliet even. I didn't picture industrialized city with a few nice old historical sites here and there. I realize now that I shouldn't go into things with expectations though, because if I hadn't then I really would have enjoyed it more I think. There is one thing that blew my mind far beyond my wildest dreams.
Italian pizza and gelato.
I've heard of the wonders. I've heard that pizza in Italy is the best and I've heard that you "just can't go to Italy without eating some gelato". But believe me when I say that I had no idea it was going to be like it was. First of all, it was the cheapest pizza I've had since I've been in Europe. We ate at this cute little Italian place that we finally found - believe it or not, it's crazy hard to find a sit down type restaurant where we were. I ordered the pizza margheurite...I'm not even sure if that's how you spell it because I've ordered that exact pizza and used at least 3 versions of that word in ordering it. So I'm no novice to this pizza. But when they brought that pizza out to me with my OUT OF THE TAP coke and I took my first bite I was expecting it to taste like every other marghajopoliseria pizza that I've eaten here. FALSE. It was the best pizza I have ever tasted in my entire life. Kudos, Italy. You rocked my taste bud's world.
Aside from that, very little else has been going on. I befriended this girl who loves Vampire Diaries as much as I do, possibly more. I then went on to turn two of my friends here onto the show. I'm making the world a better place, one vampire at a time. (Team Stefan, by the way). I also ate a kiwi for a boy. If you know me, then you know that's something I'd rather not do. I'd rather not try new things. Especially if they're good for me. But if I do, it usually means it's for something that's worth it...
Coming up: Trip to NICE! I'll get my bikini on, even if it's under a parka. We'll see how cold it gets. Also: PARIS for tennis! Get ready Nadal, I'm about to shake up your world. And then it will be time for my hips to speak truths at the Shakiraaaa concert.
I'm anxiously awaiting you, November <3
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