So. Tomorrow, real life begins. It's been 3+ months since I had class, and a year since I've had any in Spanish (Besides my "intensive Spanish" class, that is). Try to restrain your jealousy, you'll get your laughs when I'm having finals in July.
In the couple of weeks since I last updated, we've had orientation and a week off. Orientation was a bunch of useless information for those of us who'd been here more than three days. I was really there for the food (free breakfast!), visa information, and registration. Well, the medialunas (a type of Argentine croissant) were tasty, but the visa information was basically: we'll get back to you. Look out for an email and copy your passport in the meantime. And registration was a nightmare. They basically set up tables and they let you walk around from place to place squinting at the one schedule of classes they had put up for each department and telling you you (as an international student) were not cleared to take any of the interesting classes. And I thought France was bad. The actual signing up part took place the next day and was a thousand times easier, except for the PELs classes (the international-oriented ones), where there were two men registering us and we were told to take a number. I was 169--you can imagine how happy I was to wait around.
(un)Happily registered for my classes: Argentina in Words, Peronism, Argentinian foreign policy, and Latin 1, I headed out to Bariloche with Harris and Alessandra for a week.
Bariloche is a town southwest of Buenos Aires, part of the mountainous lake district. It's absolutely gorgeous, what with the fresh air and all. Kind of reminds me of home, especially since it's a ski destination in winter. The first day we went on a tour/hike to the black glacier (black due to volcanic sediment), then in the following days we hiked, biked, kayaked, and generally played the outdoorsy type.
They also are famous for their chocolate. Mmmm.
Picture's worth a thousand words, right? Here ya go.
Also, here's another album of life in BA. I warn you, it's a lot of flowers.
Oh, and I turned 21. Thai food and dancing. I also like this people buying me things idea. I think I'll turn 21 more often. :)
Monday, March 9, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Of blondes and buses
Dearest Erin,
I hope this satisfies your vicarious travel needs.
Love,
Jenelle
I haven't posted in a while because I haven't really felt like I've had that much noteworthy to say. I mean, I read people's blogs from Africa and I feel like what I'm doing is tame by comparison. Yes, I'm in South America, but I feel like the city here is extremely European. A city is a city is a city. It's new and exciting, but sometimes I feel like I've been away from home so long I don't truly appreciate the differences.
Buenos Aires is cosmopolitan. It even looks like Europe--a lot of blondes, everybody's last name is Italian or Jewish. Apparently there were slaves in Argentina, but most of the African population died a century or two ago of yellow fever, so you don't even see a lot of black people. It's hard to pick out tourists. In France everybody had this chic air about them, here they're a lot more laid-back and their style is more colorful and unique. They all wear awesome sandals. Oh and all the girls are stick-thin. Like anorexically. Apparently they have a worse problem with eating disorders than the US. We were talking about it in my French class (I'm taking a conversation class through the Alliance Francaise to keep up my French) and apparently employers are really discriminatory and just want thin young women.
Where I live: I'm renting a room in the apartment of this wonderful old couple (94 and 90). They're chipper and love to hear about what I've been doing, and tell me about the time they went to Rome in 1936 or about Argentine history.
As for what I've been doing, I've not really been doing a whole lot of stuff--my normal day is to get up around 10, eat breakfast, mess around until like noon, make a sandwich, head to the subte, get off and walk the 15 minutes to school (I walk right by the Casa Rosada every day, don't even give it a second glance, it's ridiculous), have my 4 hour Spanish class, get out, hang out for a while, come home and make dinner, mess around for another couple of hours, and go to bed. Sometimes I go see touristy things, like we went to the Japanese Garden a while ago. But Buenos Aires is not full of really famous things you have to see like European cities are... I hope to be doing more touristing when classes start and I have a routine. Right now the fact that class is 2-6 makes it so that I sleep in and waste my morning (especially since nothing's open anyway), and you can't do anything afterwards.
On weekends we often go out, and as I mentioned before, the schedule is completely different, so I feel like I sleep the day away. In short, I can't wait to have a schedule. The intensive language class is over and we have orientation next week, a week of vacation, and then classes start the 9th of March.
During the week of vacation, I think we're going to go to Bariloche, a beautiful city in the lake country/mountains. There's a lot of outdoorsy stuff to do, and it'll be wonderful to get out of Buenos Aires, even if it is a 20-hour bus ride away. (Also, I will probably be spending the night of my birthday on a bus back to BA--no worries, though, we'll celebrate the night before).
I guess that's all for now. Sorry I'm having trouble coming up with things to talk about, leave me comments about things you want to know!
Oh one more thing: the buses. They have no maps. You just use the Guia T, a kind of map of the city booklet, and the grids tell you which buses are there. Then you look at the number and it lists what streets it goes down. But where the stop is? haha why would we tell you that. How much it's going to be? ask the driver when you get on (anywhere from 1.10 to 1.50 maybe? I always pay 1.20). Where to get off? see above. Oh and by the way, if you don't have change (monedas) don't even bother. Nevermind that there is a drastic change shortage because it's worth more as metal than as coins so people sell them on the black market... sometimes I love Argentina (but now it's just become more entertaining than annoying).
Final note: I updated my pictures. Link's in the previous post.
I hope this satisfies your vicarious travel needs.
Love,
Jenelle
I haven't posted in a while because I haven't really felt like I've had that much noteworthy to say. I mean, I read people's blogs from Africa and I feel like what I'm doing is tame by comparison. Yes, I'm in South America, but I feel like the city here is extremely European. A city is a city is a city. It's new and exciting, but sometimes I feel like I've been away from home so long I don't truly appreciate the differences.
Buenos Aires is cosmopolitan. It even looks like Europe--a lot of blondes, everybody's last name is Italian or Jewish. Apparently there were slaves in Argentina, but most of the African population died a century or two ago of yellow fever, so you don't even see a lot of black people. It's hard to pick out tourists. In France everybody had this chic air about them, here they're a lot more laid-back and their style is more colorful and unique. They all wear awesome sandals. Oh and all the girls are stick-thin. Like anorexically. Apparently they have a worse problem with eating disorders than the US. We were talking about it in my French class (I'm taking a conversation class through the Alliance Francaise to keep up my French) and apparently employers are really discriminatory and just want thin young women.
Where I live: I'm renting a room in the apartment of this wonderful old couple (94 and 90). They're chipper and love to hear about what I've been doing, and tell me about the time they went to Rome in 1936 or about Argentine history.
As for what I've been doing, I've not really been doing a whole lot of stuff--my normal day is to get up around 10, eat breakfast, mess around until like noon, make a sandwich, head to the subte, get off and walk the 15 minutes to school (I walk right by the Casa Rosada every day, don't even give it a second glance, it's ridiculous), have my 4 hour Spanish class, get out, hang out for a while, come home and make dinner, mess around for another couple of hours, and go to bed. Sometimes I go see touristy things, like we went to the Japanese Garden a while ago. But Buenos Aires is not full of really famous things you have to see like European cities are... I hope to be doing more touristing when classes start and I have a routine. Right now the fact that class is 2-6 makes it so that I sleep in and waste my morning (especially since nothing's open anyway), and you can't do anything afterwards.
On weekends we often go out, and as I mentioned before, the schedule is completely different, so I feel like I sleep the day away. In short, I can't wait to have a schedule. The intensive language class is over and we have orientation next week, a week of vacation, and then classes start the 9th of March.
During the week of vacation, I think we're going to go to Bariloche, a beautiful city in the lake country/mountains. There's a lot of outdoorsy stuff to do, and it'll be wonderful to get out of Buenos Aires, even if it is a 20-hour bus ride away. (Also, I will probably be spending the night of my birthday on a bus back to BA--no worries, though, we'll celebrate the night before).
I guess that's all for now. Sorry I'm having trouble coming up with things to talk about, leave me comments about things you want to know!
Oh one more thing: the buses. They have no maps. You just use the Guia T, a kind of map of the city booklet, and the grids tell you which buses are there. Then you look at the number and it lists what streets it goes down. But where the stop is? haha why would we tell you that. How much it's going to be? ask the driver when you get on (anywhere from 1.10 to 1.50 maybe? I always pay 1.20). Where to get off? see above. Oh and by the way, if you don't have change (monedas) don't even bother. Nevermind that there is a drastic change shortage because it's worth more as metal than as coins so people sell them on the black market... sometimes I love Argentina (but now it's just become more entertaining than annoying).
Final note: I updated my pictures. Link's in the previous post.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
La Reina de la Plata
([The queen of the River Plata] as it is apparently affectionately known )
So. Buenos Aires.
...Is huge. 48 officially recognized "barrios" (quartiers, or loosely neighborhoods), a huge percentage- like 1/3-of the country's population, 6 subte (metro) lines, a couple hundred bus lines, thousands of empanada stores and kioskos (little convenience-type stores), and a park every few blocks.
And they still can't fix the holes/broken spots in the sidewalk, give me a map of the buses I can actually understand, put air conditioning on the subte, or deal with the chronic shortage of change (the bus takes nothing but coins, so people hoard them. Hence the signs in every store saying they don't have them).
Despite all that, this capital city has a charm all its own.
We've been doing a lot of sightseeing and getting to know our way around the city for the first week. A couple of trips to the Casa Rosada, a nerve-wracking bus ride watching the streets for when to push the button, and countless empanadas and helados (ice cream cones) later, I'm starting to get a feel for it. I have a feeling I'm going to wake up one day and realize how much I love it.
Other than sightseeing, I've been keeping busy with my intensive Spanish class (4 hours a day...ughhh), a weekly conversation class at the Alliance Francaise to keep up my French, and spending hours and hours sunbathing in parks.
Some tidbits:
Argentines don't do the early morning thing. Business opens at 10. You eat dinner at 10pm. Then, if you're going out that night, you head to a bar around midnight, head to the club after 2, and stay out dancing all night. It gets a little fatiguing, I'd imagine.
The president (la Presidenta) Cristina Kirchner, is the first elected woman president. She works in the Casa Rosada (their version of the White House--the walls are pink, originally because they made the paint with animal blood against the humidity or something, and now due to tradition) where the security is apparently minimal. I saw very few armed guards, the fence is only a few feet from the wall, and there's a subte stop right next to said fence. That said, Ms. Kirchner does not in fact live there, she commutes to work by helicopter every day.
I love the dollar/peso exchange rate (US$1= approx Ar$3.50), especially after France.
Miss everybody, hopefully I'll be updating more regularly when I have exciting things to talk about!
Pictures can be seen here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2137857&id=7412579&l=27f7b
So. Buenos Aires.
...Is huge. 48 officially recognized "barrios" (quartiers, or loosely neighborhoods), a huge percentage- like 1/3-of the country's population, 6 subte (metro) lines, a couple hundred bus lines, thousands of empanada stores and kioskos (little convenience-type stores), and a park every few blocks.
And they still can't fix the holes/broken spots in the sidewalk, give me a map of the buses I can actually understand, put air conditioning on the subte, or deal with the chronic shortage of change (the bus takes nothing but coins, so people hoard them. Hence the signs in every store saying they don't have them).
Despite all that, this capital city has a charm all its own.
We've been doing a lot of sightseeing and getting to know our way around the city for the first week. A couple of trips to the Casa Rosada, a nerve-wracking bus ride watching the streets for when to push the button, and countless empanadas and helados (ice cream cones) later, I'm starting to get a feel for it. I have a feeling I'm going to wake up one day and realize how much I love it.
Other than sightseeing, I've been keeping busy with my intensive Spanish class (4 hours a day...ughhh), a weekly conversation class at the Alliance Francaise to keep up my French, and spending hours and hours sunbathing in parks.
Some tidbits:
Argentines don't do the early morning thing. Business opens at 10. You eat dinner at 10pm. Then, if you're going out that night, you head to a bar around midnight, head to the club after 2, and stay out dancing all night. It gets a little fatiguing, I'd imagine.
The president (la Presidenta) Cristina Kirchner, is the first elected woman president. She works in the Casa Rosada (their version of the White House--the walls are pink, originally because they made the paint with animal blood against the humidity or something, and now due to tradition) where the security is apparently minimal. I saw very few armed guards, the fence is only a few feet from the wall, and there's a subte stop right next to said fence. That said, Ms. Kirchner does not in fact live there, she commutes to work by helicopter every day.
I love the dollar/peso exchange rate (US$1= approx Ar$3.50), especially after France.
Miss everybody, hopefully I'll be updating more regularly when I have exciting things to talk about!
Pictures can be seen here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2137857&id=7412579&l=27f7b
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Volume II, Chapter 1
So my flight for Argentina leaves in approximately 4 hours. I think I got all the panic out of my system last night, but I'm still a little nervous. And excited! This is going to be so very different from France, not least because it's halfway across the world. I've attempted to do my research, reading books on tangos and the dirty war in the 70's and watching Madonna sing (Evita, quite an enjoyable movie for those of you who haven't seen it). But I still feel like I know nothing about the country I'm going to. With Paris, I had been before and been learning about it for years (not to mention spending my summer speaking French). But this time, I'm really heading into the unknown with my rusty Spanish.
But anyway, I'll be there tomorrow, living in a hostel for a bit while I work out housing. And the intensive language program starts next week (supposedly, I haven't really heard from them, actually...).
I would put in some stuff about reverse culture shock and missing France and all, but I think it's not really anything that hasn't been said before. The weirdest thing was walking by strangers in restaurants, public transportation, etc., and hearing them speak English. I have to say, I also really miss the city, the food (breaddd) and the people I met there. I will hopefully be spending quite a bit of time there in the future.
I'll leave it there, as I can't really think of anything profound to share. One last thing though: word associations for Buenos Aires from the American perspective:
South America, steak, cows, pampas, tango, Evita, Juan Peron, gauchos, summer, mate
I'll let you know if that is actually what makes up BA.
But anyway, I'll be there tomorrow, living in a hostel for a bit while I work out housing. And the intensive language program starts next week (supposedly, I haven't really heard from them, actually...).
I would put in some stuff about reverse culture shock and missing France and all, but I think it's not really anything that hasn't been said before. The weirdest thing was walking by strangers in restaurants, public transportation, etc., and hearing them speak English. I have to say, I also really miss the city, the food (breaddd) and the people I met there. I will hopefully be spending quite a bit of time there in the future.
I'll leave it there, as I can't really think of anything profound to share. One last thing though: word associations for Buenos Aires from the American perspective:
South America, steak, cows, pampas, tango, Evita, Juan Peron, gauchos, summer, mate
I'll let you know if that is actually what makes up BA.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
La fin... de la premiere partie
So here I am almost on the other side of my first study abroad experience. I'm looking at a month at home, a week in DC, and then six months in Argentina. And then life goes back to normal (or what passes for normal...).
Exams are over, my bags are mostly packed, and I have a couple of euros in my wallet for one last pastry. And I have realized that I both really don't want to leave and really really want to be home. Aside from the things I have done very well without but miss all the same (dryers, Chipotle, Target), there's a comfort in living in the culture you grew up in that I always took for granted. It's tiring living day in and day out where your instincts, reflexes, and ingrained knowledge don't really mean anything. That said, there are things I've really come to love about France (the accessibility, the abundance of fruit, the absence of cheap consumerism). I also think I've come to realize that it's a place and people with pluses and minuses like any other, which is a realization that comes from really knowing somewhere (that may seem like a very obvious conclusion, but I think I used to put France on a pedestal because I enjoyed my vacation here and cultural allusions back in the States--I've got a more realistic view now). I've also found myself being really proud of my own country--when we talk about democracy or separation of powers in class, I find myself nodding approvingly in a "yeah, that's right, we're awesome" sort of way. So I guess the point of that long ramble was that I have developed a more realistic view of both cultures.
Right now I'm just looking forward to sleeping for a while, but I have a hunch it's going to take a bit to wrap my head around all I've seen and done.
Still, no regrets. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Which is lucky, since I'm off on another adventure soon (which still doesn't seem real).
I updated a photo album. The link's in the last post, I'm feeling too lazy to search for it and repost it...
Just a few more Christmas presents to buy, a farewell party, and hours and hours on a plane until I'm back in the 3 oh 3.
Exams are over, my bags are mostly packed, and I have a couple of euros in my wallet for one last pastry. And I have realized that I both really don't want to leave and really really want to be home. Aside from the things I have done very well without but miss all the same (dryers, Chipotle, Target), there's a comfort in living in the culture you grew up in that I always took for granted. It's tiring living day in and day out where your instincts, reflexes, and ingrained knowledge don't really mean anything. That said, there are things I've really come to love about France (the accessibility, the abundance of fruit, the absence of cheap consumerism). I also think I've come to realize that it's a place and people with pluses and minuses like any other, which is a realization that comes from really knowing somewhere (that may seem like a very obvious conclusion, but I think I used to put France on a pedestal because I enjoyed my vacation here and cultural allusions back in the States--I've got a more realistic view now). I've also found myself being really proud of my own country--when we talk about democracy or separation of powers in class, I find myself nodding approvingly in a "yeah, that's right, we're awesome" sort of way. So I guess the point of that long ramble was that I have developed a more realistic view of both cultures.
Right now I'm just looking forward to sleeping for a while, but I have a hunch it's going to take a bit to wrap my head around all I've seen and done.
Still, no regrets. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Which is lucky, since I'm off on another adventure soon (which still doesn't seem real).
I updated a photo album. The link's in the last post, I'm feeling too lazy to search for it and repost it...
Just a few more Christmas presents to buy, a farewell party, and hours and hours on a plane until I'm back in the 3 oh 3.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Procrastination method #137: New Blog Post
Hi all!
Thought I'd take some time out of my busy schedule to let you know what's going on in my life (What I should be doing: an essay outline of the first scene of Moliere's Le Misanthrope. What I am actually doing: reading The Cider House Rules (after having finished the 6th Harry Potter in French), cleaning my desk, meeting friends for sushi, discovering the genius thing on itunes, walking around Paris in the cold to do all the touristy things I never got around to, etc-the list goes on).
As you may have guessed, it's crunch time in Paris. I finally have assignments due that are actually going to be graded, and of course they hit in the last three weeks of the semester. It is insane to me that three weeks from today I'll be on a plane headed home. It's a bittersweet thought--I really miss everybody at home and I feel disconnected from everything going on there, but at the same time I am finally comfortable here and don't want to leave. I've decided the solution is for you all to up and move to Paris. Take a week, get your affairs in order, and head on over. I'll even meet you at the airport (a very generous offer, considering transport to/from there is 8.5 euros one way--highway robbery). Thanks.
I had intended to take another trip, but a look at my planner and bank account has convinced me that living it up and enjoying my last few weeks in Paris is the better option. I may take a day trip or two, but those are TBA.
Notable events since my last post: I had escargot! (I know you hear it all the time, but it really did just taste like the garlic sauce, with the chewy texture of calamari or mussels). So perhaps it didn't really merit the exclamation point, but those of you who knew me as a picky child unwilling to try anything will appreciate it.
I saw some lady rolling a cigarette in the metro. I used to think the French smoking stereotype was crazy, but I have since realized that while not always super obvious (especially since the smoking ban in restaurants) and exaggerated, it's definitely there.
I went to a French soccer game (France v Uruguay). We expected a little more excitement, but with a final score of 0-0, there wasn't much to fight about.
Harris and I made Thanksgiving dinner for our host families. It was a grand success, although the day in the kitchen was exhausting. They seemed to really like everything, although I don't think they really understood the American tradition of stuffing yourself silly :)
I don't know whether it's because I'm becoming used to all the little differences, stopped pointing them out to myself, or whether they weren't that large in the first place, but at this point I'm not coming up with many big cultural differences to report.
Final news, I sent in my deposit for the program in Argentina next semester, so that's definite. I have a month at home, a week in DC, and then off for my next big adventure (ooh another procrastination technique: planning a semester in South America...)
ps I added new pictures to a previous album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2122365&l=82d97&id=7412579
Thought I'd take some time out of my busy schedule to let you know what's going on in my life (What I should be doing: an essay outline of the first scene of Moliere's Le Misanthrope. What I am actually doing: reading The Cider House Rules (after having finished the 6th Harry Potter in French), cleaning my desk, meeting friends for sushi, discovering the genius thing on itunes, walking around Paris in the cold to do all the touristy things I never got around to, etc-the list goes on).
As you may have guessed, it's crunch time in Paris. I finally have assignments due that are actually going to be graded, and of course they hit in the last three weeks of the semester. It is insane to me that three weeks from today I'll be on a plane headed home. It's a bittersweet thought--I really miss everybody at home and I feel disconnected from everything going on there, but at the same time I am finally comfortable here and don't want to leave. I've decided the solution is for you all to up and move to Paris. Take a week, get your affairs in order, and head on over. I'll even meet you at the airport (a very generous offer, considering transport to/from there is 8.5 euros one way--highway robbery). Thanks.
I had intended to take another trip, but a look at my planner and bank account has convinced me that living it up and enjoying my last few weeks in Paris is the better option. I may take a day trip or two, but those are TBA.
Notable events since my last post: I had escargot! (I know you hear it all the time, but it really did just taste like the garlic sauce, with the chewy texture of calamari or mussels). So perhaps it didn't really merit the exclamation point, but those of you who knew me as a picky child unwilling to try anything will appreciate it.
I saw some lady rolling a cigarette in the metro. I used to think the French smoking stereotype was crazy, but I have since realized that while not always super obvious (especially since the smoking ban in restaurants) and exaggerated, it's definitely there.
I went to a French soccer game (France v Uruguay). We expected a little more excitement, but with a final score of 0-0, there wasn't much to fight about.
Harris and I made Thanksgiving dinner for our host families. It was a grand success, although the day in the kitchen was exhausting. They seemed to really like everything, although I don't think they really understood the American tradition of stuffing yourself silly :)
I don't know whether it's because I'm becoming used to all the little differences, stopped pointing them out to myself, or whether they weren't that large in the first place, but at this point I'm not coming up with many big cultural differences to report.
Final news, I sent in my deposit for the program in Argentina next semester, so that's definite. I have a month at home, a week in DC, and then off for my next big adventure (ooh another procrastination technique: planning a semester in South America...)
ps I added new pictures to a previous album: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2122365&l=82d97&id=7412579
Monday, November 10, 2008
The one I know you've all been waiting for.
Sorry it's been so long since I updated! Time has been flying by.
Classes have been the same old same old, for the most part. I go. I write notes and stare off into space when the professor goes on a tangent (but I can get away with it because I'm that American kid...). The workload is different, and it kind of freaks me out that we have yet to have a graded assignment, but I'm enjoying the fact that I don't have to work as hard to follow anymore.
In fact this month has been marked in general by greater comfort in my surroundings. Coming back from my various and sundry journeys (read on for more information!) has been like coming home. I find I don't need a map all the time anymore, and I instinctively know which way to turn in the metro when transferring. During the long metro rides to class, I eavesdrop and understand with greater facility. I say "pardon" rather than "sorry" when I bump into people.
And I have for the most part stopped being a tourist in Paris. While I still intend to do more touristy stuff (I have yet to eat escargot, for example, and I haven't been to the Musee d'Orsay or the Centre Pompidou), I'm really enjoying the feeling of being in the flow of normal life here.
We did visit Mt. St. Michel (a very very long day trip on the bus) with my program, which was quite enjoyable. Pictures of that trip and the last month in Paris:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2122365&l=82d97&id=7412579
We got a week off for Toussaint (all Saint's Day), so I headed off to Spain with Harris and then went on to Italy. It was kind of a whirlwind trip, and I don't think I was properly dry for the last five or so days of it, but it was fantastic. It's scary to see how much Spanish and Italian I'd forgotten, but it was definitely coming back. Highlights of the trip included:
Beach and Basque culture in San Sebastian and Bilbao.
Seeing Gaudi's architecture in Barcelona, which is both way out there and absolutely fantastic.
Bocadillos in Spain (although I was pretty sick of the lack of vegetables by the time we left) and pizza in Italy.
The life and history of Rome. Also, going to the theater completely soaked from the rain and only understanding the very basics of what was going on
A group of Italian people who burst into song on a vaporetto in Venice.
Planning and executing a trip by myself--it's very empowering to know that I'm traveling through a foreign country on my own and knowing that I can handle anything that comes up.
Pictures can be seen here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2124479&l=474dc&id=7412579
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2125134&l=061f2&id=7412579
I was glad to get back, however. Moving place to place to place is exhausting, especially if you take night trains and/or buses.
Plus, I wouldn't want to have missed the elections! All the Americans I know were super excited and stayed up till 5 am to watch the results come in (we had quite a trek that involved going from a campaign party too packed for comfort to a bar that closed around three to my friend's kitchen, where I waited until the West coast results came in, cheered faintly, and made my way back to collapse into bed). However, the French reaction surprised me a bit. As much as they were excited about Obama and as much as the US elections took over the news here (they even broadcast from New York for a week), I didn't really hear much the next day. I think because Obama's victory was predicted for days in the polls they saw it as a foregone conclusion and just moved on. It probably would have been different if McCain had won.
Finally, I just got back from a trip to visit my brother Craig, who's rocking the Scottish educational system in Edinburgh. We visited a castle, had scones and some crazy diabetes-inducing desserts only the English would think up, and climbed a very tall hill (as steep as it was, I can't on principle call it a mountain...). It was good to hear English (of a sort) and have a connection to home. Pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2125159&l=ad0fc&id=7412579
Overall, it's been a fantastic month and I can't believe I only have 1 and 1/2 to go. I do miss home, though, and the people especially. Keep sending emails!
Classes have been the same old same old, for the most part. I go. I write notes and stare off into space when the professor goes on a tangent (but I can get away with it because I'm that American kid...). The workload is different, and it kind of freaks me out that we have yet to have a graded assignment, but I'm enjoying the fact that I don't have to work as hard to follow anymore.
In fact this month has been marked in general by greater comfort in my surroundings. Coming back from my various and sundry journeys (read on for more information!) has been like coming home. I find I don't need a map all the time anymore, and I instinctively know which way to turn in the metro when transferring. During the long metro rides to class, I eavesdrop and understand with greater facility. I say "pardon" rather than "sorry" when I bump into people.
And I have for the most part stopped being a tourist in Paris. While I still intend to do more touristy stuff (I have yet to eat escargot, for example, and I haven't been to the Musee d'Orsay or the Centre Pompidou), I'm really enjoying the feeling of being in the flow of normal life here.
We did visit Mt. St. Michel (a very very long day trip on the bus) with my program, which was quite enjoyable. Pictures of that trip and the last month in Paris:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2122365&l=82d97&id=7412579
We got a week off for Toussaint (all Saint's Day), so I headed off to Spain with Harris and then went on to Italy. It was kind of a whirlwind trip, and I don't think I was properly dry for the last five or so days of it, but it was fantastic. It's scary to see how much Spanish and Italian I'd forgotten, but it was definitely coming back. Highlights of the trip included:
Beach and Basque culture in San Sebastian and Bilbao.
Seeing Gaudi's architecture in Barcelona, which is both way out there and absolutely fantastic.
Bocadillos in Spain (although I was pretty sick of the lack of vegetables by the time we left) and pizza in Italy.
The life and history of Rome. Also, going to the theater completely soaked from the rain and only understanding the very basics of what was going on
A group of Italian people who burst into song on a vaporetto in Venice.
Planning and executing a trip by myself--it's very empowering to know that I'm traveling through a foreign country on my own and knowing that I can handle anything that comes up.
Pictures can be seen here:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2124479&l=474dc&id=7412579
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2125134&l=061f2&id=7412579
I was glad to get back, however. Moving place to place to place is exhausting, especially if you take night trains and/or buses.
Plus, I wouldn't want to have missed the elections! All the Americans I know were super excited and stayed up till 5 am to watch the results come in (we had quite a trek that involved going from a campaign party too packed for comfort to a bar that closed around three to my friend's kitchen, where I waited until the West coast results came in, cheered faintly, and made my way back to collapse into bed). However, the French reaction surprised me a bit. As much as they were excited about Obama and as much as the US elections took over the news here (they even broadcast from New York for a week), I didn't really hear much the next day. I think because Obama's victory was predicted for days in the polls they saw it as a foregone conclusion and just moved on. It probably would have been different if McCain had won.
Finally, I just got back from a trip to visit my brother Craig, who's rocking the Scottish educational system in Edinburgh. We visited a castle, had scones and some crazy diabetes-inducing desserts only the English would think up, and climbed a very tall hill (as steep as it was, I can't on principle call it a mountain...). It was good to hear English (of a sort) and have a connection to home. Pictures here: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2125159&l=ad0fc&id=7412579
Overall, it's been a fantastic month and I can't believe I only have 1 and 1/2 to go. I do miss home, though, and the people especially. Keep sending emails!
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