Sunday, January 30, 2011

Belgium and Luxembourg

What a perfect weekend to make a trip to Belgium--although the temperature was around or below freezing the entire time, the sun was out and the sky was blue :)







I now understand why some of my friends have suggested train travel around Europe. Both my trip to Brussels from Paris, and then later from Brussels to Chloe and Jerome´s hometown, were super comfortable and a great way to enjoy the countryside.

I arrived in Brussels Thursday around 5:30. My friends picked me up from the airport and we walked back to Chloe´s place which was just about a five minute walk. I dropped off my bag and we went for a night tour of the city, which immediately reminded me of San Francisco.



This artist is all over Brussels on random walls :)

On our walk we stopped by a grocery store for some cheese and headed back to Chloe's for dinner. We started the meal with a Belgian beer that Jerome has been bragging about forever. I must admit, Jerome was right. Belgian beer has made me like beer haha.



After finishing some delicious pasta that Chloe made, a few of their friends came over for drinks. We then headed to a club that is literally a two minute walk from Chloe's apartment, which was definitely a plus because of the cold! It was my first European club experience and it was really fun! Definitely a lot of American music, which I found entertaining, but I really like the French techno I'm getting exposed to.

The next morning, we had a nice breakfast chat with Chloe's roommate Stephanie about the education system in Belgium. I´m really loving the opportunity to soak in the different perspectives of young people from all over Europe.

Chloe and I walked around downtown Brussels during the day for a few hours, during which time I purchased an awesome leather jacket. We then met up with Jerome to grab some lunch. Even though it was just a random sandwich shop, I though my sandwich was amazing haha. Just a chicken pineapple concoction, but I swear everything in Europe is just such better quality.



After lunch we grabbed our bags and headed towards the train station to head to their hometown. However, before we left, we spent time in the Grand-Place in Brussels, which is definitely one of my favorite places I have seen in Europe, made more magical by my first, and amazingly delicious, Belgian waffle.



Just to clarify, waffles are EVERYWHERE in Brussels, so if you were´t sure if Belgian waffles are really Belgian, they are haha






We next went to a famous bar in Brussels to grab a special type of sweet beer before heading out. Again Jerome was right about how delicious it was. I had apple, Jerome cherry, and Chloe strawberry. All three were so good. It's unfortunate that beer doesn't always taste like that :)



The train ride to their hometown took about 2.5 hours, but it was a very pleasant/beautiful journey. They grew up in Arlon, which is a very small town, about 20,000 people. I was really excited to finally see a more intimate part of Europe!

For dinner, we actually went to IKEA since they were having a Swedish meatball special for only 1.25euoro. Sadly, it took me going to Europe to finally set food in my first IKEA. I particularly liked how they served cranberry sauce to the meatballs, definitely something I need to add to my own attempts at Swedish meatballs back home :).



After dinner, Jerome and Chloe picked up some special Belgian candy for me to try, cuberdons, which were really yummy.



Definitely had too many haha. After such a long day of eating, I definitely slept well.

The next day, we took off to Luxembourg, one of the world´s smallest, and richest, countries. To cross the border from their hometown in Brussels into Luxembourg literally takes all of ten minutes. We spent most of the day in Luxembourg with another one of their friends. It was absolutely gorgeous....



The city's fortifications, which I had learned about in European history as some of the best in Europe, were incredibly impressive in person.







After a lonnggg day of walking and sightseeing in the cold, we went back to Chloe´s house. I love how Europeans (or at least her family) treat meal time. First, we began with appetizers and drinks for a good hour, before moving onto dinner. The meal was delicious, a family recipe of fondue, followed by Italian cookies Jerome and Chloe had picked up at a Luxembourg market during the day.



Even though I wasn't able to speak much to her family because of the language barrier, they were incredibly welcoming and wonderful. I think the best thing I got out of the trip was to spend a good amount of time in a European household and observe the differences, but mainly similarities, between our cultures. Staying there definitely made me a bit homesick because of all the familyness and comfort :)

After dinner, we went to their friends house for a drink and visit, but were back to Chloe´s house and in bed by midnight. We were both pretty exhausted and slept until nearly 11 the next day. Chloe had a project to finish for school, so we spent Sunday afternoon hanging around the house, which was more than fine with me! She gave me Harry Potter in French to attempt to read, which was definitely more than enough entertainment!

Her mom prepared a delicious lunch of pork and mushrooms in a yummy sauce, over rice. Later, for snack, we had a Belgian specialty of sweet break with raisins and another with chunks of sugar, yum! I have definitely eaten quite well in Belgium haha.

We headed back to Brussels that night with Chloe's grandparents. We arrived around eight and had some homemade lasagna her mom had sent with us. The next morning, we had a few hours to kill before my train. I had one main mission: buy Belgian chocolate. Happy to say mission accomplished :)

Made it back to Paris by 5:15 and am now focused on preparing for classes which begin on Wednesday. No more travels for me until my winter break trip to Spain, but I'm excited to get into the routine of school and get a better idea of what my semester is going to look like.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Musse de l'Orangerie and the beginning of travels...

Tomorrow morning I will have my first lecture at 8 am (the not so lovely part). After, I will come home, pack, and head to Belgium until Monday. Definitely excited to see Belgium and of course my friends there :) Wanted to do a quick post before I headed out for the weekend...

I've been taking it easy the last few days. I woke up the other morning with a slightly swollen and painful foot, which I think was a symptom of simply too much walking in boots. I stayed off of it as much as possible the last couple of days and am happy to report it is no longer an issue.

Yesterday was another day of attempted/failed usage of French, but I got some necessary errands out of the way. I opened up my French bank account so I can apply for the CAF, a government program that provides ANY student, no matter what nationality, money back on their rent. I recently signed up for rock climbing through my school here, which required me to get a medical clearance yesterday as well. The people at the doctor's office were rather rude about my French, definitely making fun of me, but the appointment was a joke and I got my clearance. I'm hoping my knee can hold up to one day of rock climbing a week :)

I really enjoyed today. Went to the Musse de l'Orangerie with a few friends, which was very interesting. They had a bunch of different artists--Monet, Rousseau, Renoir, Picasso, Sisley, Matisse, Soutine and others. Definitely learning a lot about art :) A few of my favorites...



Monet -- apparently this guy suffered from cataracts and was pretty much blind for the last two years of his work




Sisley





Derain




Soutine -- I'm not a fan of his figures, but the landscapes/buildings were really interesting

I also went to a showing of a French film tonight at my school. Every Wednesday night the BDE (student association) does a free screening of a film. Definitely something I plan to take advantage of--anything to help me develop my French is highly welcome :)

In other news, I have booked flights with a few girls from Berkeley to spend our "winter" break in Spain! The plan is to fly into Barcelona and head home from Madrid with Grenada in between. Can't wait!! Our flight out is February 28--really not too far away! As for this weekends trip, I haven't decided whether I am taking my laptop on the train tomorrow, but, regardless, the Belgium update will probably have to wait until my return on Monday!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Eating my way around Paris...

I haven't eaten out THAT much, but since this week has been mainly orientation, I have spent more time getting to know other international students over pastries/dinner/coffee. It is also the only thing I have really been taking pictures of, despite still roaming around and seeing new parts of the city almost daily :)

First up is my first chaussons aux pommes (apple pastry). Bought it with my friend Sophia at this super overpriced, but VERY popular and delicious patisserie. They had some ridiculously fancy desserts in there...unfortunately I didn't take more pictures inside the shop (however my friend did so I am definitely planning on stealing them). The pastry was basically like eating an apple pie, just more flaky. Though quite yummy, I still prefer the almond croissant from my first week here.



I also went to my first proper crepe place the same day I had the above pastry. Since I was still kind of full, I shared a chicken, spinach, and creme fresh crepe with a friend. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed. It was good, but nothing amazing (definitely added my own salt and pepper). However, it was still pretty so I took a picture :)



Today I FINALLY had roasted chestnuts off the street. We had a "buddy" scavenger hunt this afternoon. Basically, every international student is paired with a student from Sciences Po, and today was our first official activity, which was really just a two hour stroll through the city before closing at a bar. These chestnuts were the first thing on our "to do" list and they were awesome. Only about 2euro for a pretty big bag. I definitely plan to get more next time I am at Jardin de Luxembourg.



My "buddy" is an international student from Germany who is working on her masters. Really warm and kind lady, I'm excited to get to know her better.

At the bar after the scavenger hunt I had one glass on wine and a very lovely conversation with a young women from Finland and a friend from Berkeley. If you know me and alcohol, you know I rarely have more than one drink, and it is usually enough to make me sufficiently tipsy. Definitely had that experience today. I don't think I was even half way through the glass before feeling very relaxed and a little out of it haha.

After about an hour and a half at the bar, I headed out to dinner with students from my methodology course (we all got split up into smaller groups for the classes). I thought the restaurant would be fairly easy to find, but getting off the metro in the dark, coupled with being a bit tipsy, really hampered my ability to find the place/ask for directions properly in French (some of my friends here swear their French gets better with alcohol...mine, just like my English, gets worse). I was giving one last street a try with every intention of just heading home, when I found the restaurant. So glad I did....



This pasta was so good, and really reasonable even with the exchange rate that continues to become worse almost daily to my dismay... It was simply basil pasta, but it was definitely done right :) I didn't leave the restaurant until around 10:45. Some international students were going to a Canadian bar for some American football watching (Steelers and Jets I believe?), but I decided it was a much better plan to go home and chat with my parents and friends since the time difference on the weekends is quite perfect in the evenings :)

The last few days haven't been all orientation. I had a really lovely evening last night at a very Parisian venue where a local band was giving a free concert. It was a nice way to just relax and get to know a bunch of other girls attending Sciences Po this semester. My camera died on me so I only got this lousy picture...



It looks like they do a bunch of free music nights. I definitely plan to go back :)

Also had the night boat cruise on the Seine a few days ago. Only took pictures of the Eiffel Tower, but the ride was pretty enjoyable--besides the fact that it was below freezing outside and I had zero time to grab dinner after class and before the cruise. Definitely sank into a big bowl of cereal around midnight once I finally got home haha. French people don't seem to understand the concept of late night food...after the boat cruise and on the way to bars, we assumed we would have tons of food options. Negative..I think there is definitely money to be made for a munchies shack in one of the bar districts. Just saying :)



I am also super excited to report that I will be heading to Belgium this coming Thursday, staying through Monday. My classes don't really get going until the following week, so it is the perfect time to visit my friends in Brussels, who are kind enough to let me stay with them/show me around, before the stress of the semester begins. I'm sure there will be MANY pictures of Belgian waffles/beer/chocolate/awesomeness on the way, so watch out for that :)

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Taking a break with Monet-Rodin

No update the last couple of days, largely because I haven't had anything too exciting to document or report. This entire week is orientation. I have optional lectures/activities during the day and then a two hour class during the evening on French methodology.

The French definitely have a different philosophy on writing/presenting knowledge. To simplify what I am being taught, think of it as a "mystery." You do not write a thesis here, but instead problemitize a very simple subject given to you. For example, the question might be, "Does the internet increase our liberties?" Instead of answering yes or no, you instead must define each of those terms (ie: does our refer to users? or does it refer to everyone globally, and therefore the lack of access to internet also interplays with notions of equality and inequality???).

Once you analyze every term, you attempt to create your "problematique" or what question you will be extrapolating, but again, there is no thesis. It is about the development of your argument leading up to some vague conclusion in the end. The French also stress the same notion in oral presentations, which are a big aspect of almost every class here.

It is definitely different, but also has been interesting to explore. I think it definitely allows for more creativity--students can inject their own perspective, educational background, personality, and passion into their chosen approach to the question.

I had a pretty lovely day. Went grocery shopping with a flatmate (currently munching on my favorite purchase of Lindt dark chocolate) and then met up with a fellow UC girl who lives near me to walk over to Sciences Po. It is about a 45-50 minute walk to my school, so not too bad. I went to an optional lecture in French about the history of Parisian fashion, which was pretty interesting. I definitely wasn't able to catch every word, but I did at least follow the main ideas.

After the lecture got out, I had about two hours before my methodology course. My friend Sophia suggested we go down to the Musse Rodin, which is literally just about a 10 minute walk from our school. Admission was free for international students, which was awesome, but I definitely would've paid the normal admission fee anyway. Monet is a pretty impressive fellow :)







There also was an exhibition of the contemporary sculptor Henry Moore. I really enjoyed his interpretation on the human figure.



After that, I headed to class. The unfortunate thing about my methodology class being in the evening (I didn't have a choice) is that it often conflicts with social activities of the welcome week. Tonight, our class was during "French Nibbles" (free wine, cheese, and bread). Our professor was nice enough to give us a break to grab some of the grub, but by the time we got there all the cheese was gone. I still got some delicious bread and wine, so I'm not complaining :)

When class finished I headed home to make some real food. Tomorrow is more of the same, except in the evening we are having a boat cruise on the Seine, which should be beautiful and also extremely cold. I'm planning on lots of layers tomorrow! I'm also trying to figure out a last minute trip. I just found out yesterday that courses in English don't actually begin until February 1, so I have absolutely nothing next week in terms of classes...hopefully there will be an exciting update on this soon :)

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Stranded at the Metro and other tales...

Decided to attempt laundry yesterday. The washers here are much smaller and also quite different. When you open the top there is a tumbler inside which you must also unlock. You then put your close and detergent in the tumbler and lock it again. It also took forever, too long I know I did something wrong. It definitely was hotter than washers at home, my dark jeans bled for the first time on a white shirt. However, the shirt is now a very pretty baby blue, so I am not that upset about it! I also definitely feel spoiled having always had a dryer back home, but hang drying really isn't bad. Everything was dry by the next morning.

After waiting and waiting for my laundry to be done, I finally met up with a few friends from UC Berkeley. I underestimated how far away the district they were in was, took me over an hour to walk there. We went through Victor Hugo's house, which was really interesting, and then walked around the neighborhood for a couple hours.







The person who does this art goes by "Space Invader." There are tons of these around Paris.



This is all chocolate :) Thought my mom would like this. The truffles inside looked even more amazing.

They also went to the Pompidou, but as I had made the mistake of running that morning, I didn't think my knee could handle also walking around a museum for a few more hours.



Pompidou at night.

I came back to my apartment, chatted with Berton and my parents, and then had some wine with my housemates. Silome, from Holland, turned 21 yesterday, so we decided to go to a bar for drinks. We took the Metro over as it was quite a ways to the bar where we were meeting up with another one of my housemate's friends. The bar we ended up in was actually "private," only open to those friend's with the owner (one of the guys we went with did). It was quite small, but it was nice to have a glass of wine in a bar for the first time. However, since it was private, smoking was also allowed inside which led me to develop a headache pretty quickly. We finally left a little before two.

On our way out, more friends of the people we were with were coming to the bar.the They definitely enjoyed that I was Californian and I got to practice a bit of my amateur French with them. I am really amazed about how much people know about America here...a couple of them started asking about Jerry Brown being governor and the Steelers game that was in progress. Also, when I told them I was going to Sciences Po, they began to bow to me, literally. Apparently it is a really big deal to go to this school here...similar to Harvard in America I suppose. It will be interesting to be in a private institution. They already told us during orientation that we don't have to worry about strikes since it isn't a public school. I'm sure I'll have a lot to say about this by the end of the semester :)

Anyway, we were heading back to the metro a little before 2 am, under the impression that it didn't close until 3 am. We were wrong. We got to grab one train that brought us closer to the center of Paris, but could go no further. The gate of the metro were literally closing as we were attempting to exit.

We would have probably began a one hour walk home, but my knee at this point had had it. I was ready to just take the hit and hire a taxi. However, my housemate who navigated us home through the bus system. We ended up getting home at 3:30, and to celebrate making it and our friends birthday, we finished the night off with some Paris pastries and tarts (yummy).

The consequence of staying out so late however, is that I didn't get up for mass at Notre Dame and lunch after with Berkeley friends as I had planned, which I was really bummed about.

I instead got up when mass was about getting out, 11:30. My housemates and I decided to visit the Catacombs today, which was definitely interesting, but more creepy.





I didn't expect it to be so massive...it really went on forever, and tourists are only allowed through one path of the catacombs, it is really crazy expansive. Also couldn't get great pictures because flash was not allowed :(

Because of the beautiful weather, Silome and I decided to make the trek over to the Tour Eiffel. However, we underestimated how tired we were.



I thought the name of this place near the Tour Eiffel was really funny-stands for the dog who smokes.


But of course we made it there :)



I thought the Tour Eiffel was really impressive. I've had people tell me that it isn't such a big deal in person, but I thought it was very awe inspiring.



We didn't buy tickets beforehand, nor were we up for the wait in line, so after walking through the park we took the metro home and took a bunch of pictures of the Tour Eiffel on the other side next to the Seine.



I think my plan for tonight is to RELAX and stay off my knee. We may watch a movie and drink some wine later which sounds perfect to me :)

On another note, definitely felt my first pinch of homesickness today. Little things that are different/more difficult/need to be fixed (washing machine, house needing to be cleaned, knee hurting, fridge not being very cold, school starting) have left me a little anxious. However, I'm trying to take on one thing at a time. My orientation begins again at 9 am tomorrow with free breakfast, so I'm sure that will lift my mood. If not, I'll stop by a pastry shop on the way home :)

Friday, January 14, 2011

Orientation Day 1 and Notre Dame

After waking up at 11 and finishing yesterday's blog post, I didn't have much time before taking off to orientation. The UC Center is in the Bastille area which has the largest Paris Opera house. Orientation was fine, most of the discussion was about housing, transportation, and other things I have already pretty much figured out since I got here a few days early.

Afterward, myself and five other girls from UC Berkeley went walking to find some food. I had only had breakfast, so by the time orientation got finished at four, I was pretty hungry. However, not knowing Paris that well makes it rather hard to choose a place to eat. We ended up stumbling upon the Seine and decided to make our way toward Notre Dame.





These are love locks. All along the Seine there are bridges with gates where people lock locks with the names of those they love. Such a beautiful and random practice :)

Notre Dame was, of course, gorgeous, inside and out. I will get more/better pictures another time. I'm planning on attending a mass on Sunday so I can experience it fully :)







After, we finally just walked into one of the endless restaurants, which ended up being pretty good. I got a Crouque Madame (basically cheese, bread, ham, more cheese, an egg on top, and more cheese). It was really good, but unfortunately I was too hungry to remember to take a picture. We stayed at the restaurant for a good 2.5 hours getting to know each other better. I'm not close with anyone who is here from Berkeley, but I have definitely met/had classes with a few before.

Just got home and I think I'm taking it easy for the rest of the night, but I'm excited for more Paris exploration this weekend!

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Luxembourg and Feminism

I woke up again at 6 am today, actually a little before, 5:52. However, I forced myself to lie in bed, in and out of consciousness, until 8:00. My legs, and of course my dysfunctional knees, are pretty sore from all the walking I've been doing in boots, so I decided to get back to doing pilates which I usually do regularly at home which actually made me feel more normal and at place in the apartment.

One of my new roommates for the coming semester arrived last night from the Netherlands. I took her to the grocery store yesterday evening when she got in. I definitely wanted to share with her any of the little knowledge I have acquired in the few days I have been here. Even though I was planning on staying in during the afternoon today, I figured she, like myself on the first day, she would want to get out and see the city, so I suggested we go on a walk. We ended up choosing the Luxembourg Palace and it's gardens as our destination (and those are the new boots in the picture, my feet are very grateful for the shoe change).



Definitely was nice to have a companion on the walk today. The palace isn't too far from our apartment, I think it only took us about a half hour or so to get there.



There were little kids playing soccer on the walk up to the palace, so I had to take a picture.



Usually there are flowers and trees everywhere, but because it is winter, Luxembourg is not in fool bloom. Luckily I am here till the spring, so I can go many a time. This is actually the building where they house the orange and palm tress during the winter which I thought was interesting.



And a few more pictures of pretty things in the garden....If you want to see more you can check out my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lindseyfree/







Definitely in a ritzy part of France, all of the surrounding area was really beautiful. Semona (housemate) and I grabbed a coffee on the way back, my first French cafe experience. I am happy to report that I was able to order in French and be understood :)

Later today I went to a French feminist exposition with my American friend Steph and a bunch of the girls she worked with. The event was really cool and there were TONS of real French people there so it was fun to people watch as well. It basically documented the feminist movement, largely through pictures, from 1880-present. Although I couldn't talk much to those around me, i gained satisfaction by being able to understand most of the information on the displays.





After the exposition, we went to dinner with the organizer of the even (who one of Steph's friends knew) to dinner. It was my first real French dinner out, and it was also probably the latest dinner of my life. We didn't sit at the restaurant until 9:15 and didn't get our food until 10:15, apparently the French prefer to eat pretty late. The meal was delicious!



I ordered a petite rooster, which came with mashed potatoes. We also decided to share two carafes (jugs) of wine. I guess the French serve very protein dense meals at restaurants. All in all, it was pretty reasonable. I got my meal and wine for 17euro (which always includes tax and tip). Although more expensive because of the exchange rate, I'd expect to pay about 17 bucks at a nice restaurant back home with tax and tip. Obviously not going to be able to do this every night, but it was definitely a treat!

Was a really fun day! I got to bed super late (around 1 am) so even though I am saying "today" it is really the next morning that I am finishing it. I was also very happy to learn that my metro stop and neighborhood are still very much lively around 12:30--felt completely safe getting home. Didn't wake up today until 11, which I was happy about after the last two early mornings. I have my first session of orientation starting at 2, so I'm off to get ready for that!