Month: March 2010

Despite the fact that I escaped my life ‘strasbourgeoise’ a weekend ago, it seems like I have not had a break in ages. This past week I finished a very important of my ICIP (cultural immersion project that all French study abroad students must to): research. I finally interviewed all those I had to interview to finish the last part of my ICIP. Now, please don’t take that to mean that I am almost done with it, since I have only actually written about 2/5 of it, but I have all the information to write it now. All I need is time and inspiration to finish it. Don’t ask me when those will come around.

My weekend was incredibly uncomfortable yet satisfying at the same time, this because it was my first (and only) camping weekend with my louvettes (girl scouts). From Saturday to Sunday we (myself and 3 other cheftaines) were responsible for 22 little girls in a small village outside of Strasburg.

Thankfully, the weekend concluded without any problems. Except of course for the rain. The rain that fell as we tried to start the fire for the food, the rain that fell as I tried to cook the various delicious meals in the fire (pasta, rice, chicken), the rain that fell as we were starting our evening activities and forced us to run to the barn. The barn, thank God, was where we slept, which saved us the trouble of setting up tents and getting wet during the night. Not that we slept at all, since we had to be constantly comforting girls that cried or woke up with nightmares.

Regardless, come the morning it was a wonderful experience. We had the opportunity to assist in the Convent mass on Sunday, then we played games and there was enough sun to spend the day outside. The fire was also much more cooperative, somehow the ashes from the previous night were strong enough that we did not need to use matches anymore. Before I knew it, it was 6pm and I was in the shower at home.

I would have loved to crawl into bed, but we had dinner at Malou’s since she wanted to celebrate my and Kate’s birthdays together because they are conveniently a week apart. So I headed to Malou’s and ended my Sunday in the company in the people that are closest to me here. It is always nice to go to her place, we talk for hours without noticing and in no time it is midnight.

Needless to say I am dying today. My back is killing me, I caught a minor flu, and the allergies barely let me breath. But it was worth it 😛 The weeks to come will be of official vacations: Pâques (or Easter break). After these four days of work-class-sleep (boulot, dodo, boulot, dodo), it’s over until April 19^th 😛 I don’t have many travels planned since prices are very high, but I am going to Amsterdam and my boyfriend is coming over to my lovely French city for the weekend. So, I shall write again on the 19^th!

Bises!!

I am officially old. Had I not chosen to study in the US, I would probably be engaged now and working in some boring law firm in Santo Domingo. Life would be simple, easy, and certain. But I chose the US and this weekend I turned 23 in Geneva, with what little family I have in all of Europe and with my boyfriend. I must say, one year ago I would have never guessed I would spend this birthday in Europe. It has indeed been an exciting path and I’m happy I took it. The time is also coming to think ahead: after Strasbourg, after the summer, after senior year. God, it’s all happening so fast and every step taken can determine where I will be in the future.

What better way to celebrate it than visiting a possible Grad school? Since I was in Geneva, I took the opportunity to visit a Graduate Institute of International Studies and Development. I also went to museums: Ariana and the Red Cross. The Red Cross is really something to see, it is a complete documentation of the organization’s existence. With videos, pictures, recordings, etc., you can feel how the Red Cross has really been everywhere, in every crisis, every war, and every disaster relief operation. It was really touching, so if you are ever in Geneva, Go!

Saturday we went to Charmonix, again. It is a very touristic town because it is the closest town to Mont Blanc. So it is just full of restaurants and souvenir stores, I am not sure I like it so much and I’m pretty sure that the French living there do NOT appreciate being part of a theatre show. In any case, you have to visit it because Mont Blanc will surround your view when you are there. Unless of course you ski, then you can go all the way up to the mountain. I don’t skii, so I settle for Charmonix.

I spent the rest of the weekend at my boyfriend’s aunt’s house in Thonon, a French town close to Geneva. I am happy to have seen that part of France, because it really fits the stereotype of la Provence in France, something that Alsace certainly does not because there is too much German influence in all its cities. But Thonon is just lovely. The saucisson…the milk…the breads…it is the heart of the French countryside; the perfect getaway from the real world, just 45 minutes away from Geneva.

Now I’m back in Strasbourg. Another two weeks of work, class, work, class, until the next break. Countdown…

I stole the title from a dance show we saw last week, called “More, More, More…Future!” So Tuesday night we went to the Maillon theatre (known for being the socialist, anti-conservative theater in Strasbourg) to watch this African dance show that had sold out. It was sort of good, but way too long. The idea was nice and attractive: a dance that symbolized the demise of African nations and the persistence of poverty. To illustrate that they had costumes made out of bags. It was a good concept, but it was 2 hours of the same concept and that is just too much.

Friday I went to Colmar, one of the bigger ‘cities’ in Alsace. I guess it is big enough to be more than a town, but regardless of the size the town is charming. Only 13 Euros round-trip away and I found myself in a very historical city with amazing architecture. The houses are more provincial than in Strasbourg, so it is easier to appreciate the typical Alsatian architecture. The centreville is just charming, it’s much like La Petite France in Strasbourg but it encompasses much more than just a few blocks. It also has, to my surprise, La Petite Venice. Well, don’t expect it to be like Venice, but the scenery is just lovely with all the little restaurants around the canals. The other nice thing is the it hosts one of the most important pieces of Catholic art: Le Retable d’Issenheim. I love that fact that it is just in the simple town museum, entry free of charge for me, and only people who are well informed go look at it. Unlike the Monalisa, which is the size of a paper napkin and is made much too fuzz about. It was a nice daytrip all together.

Saturday night we had another Soiree Crepes at Malou’s. I wish we had one every weekend. I could just eat crepes everyday. This time we had crepes with pesto and cheese followed by the typical assortment of sweet crepes with nutella, etc. We had such a nice evening!

Sunday, OH MY GOD. Sunday we went to Caracalla, one of the natural thermal baths in Baden Baden. Thank you Scarlett for suggesting it. It is just one of earth’s natural gifts to man that are a big part of German culture, so why not? For two hours we hopped from one thermal bath to the other: freezing cold, warm, very hot, average cold, Jacuzzi, pool, waterfall, massage jet. It was just heaven. Totally worth the trip. Afterwards we went to this really nice restaurant, very Vienna-like, and of course I had the apple strudel because it is the one pastry Germans do really well.

We ended the day by going to the Frieder Burda Museum and saw this temporary exposition by a disturbed East-German man who draws people upside down. It was hilarious trying to understand why he does paintings the way he does. We ended up making up his life according to how we thought it made sense from his paintings. I mean come on; no one really knows what goes on in artist’s heads when they draw.

Naturally today I am beat. I shall rest until heading off to Geneva to celebrate my birthday in family.

Cheers!

I can now say that I have lived unique experiences in France. And by unique I don’t mean nice, I mean experiences that people should not go through. Last Saturday I was giving my mom a tour of Paris, it was our second day and we had already seen plenty: Montmartre, Sacre Coeur, Le Louvre, and Pere Lachaise. Now it was time to go up the Eiffel Tower. Before going up however, I was hungry and decided to get some fries with sausages because the waiting time inside was of about 45 minutes. So I ate my food and went up. My mom was too scared to go all the way up to the third floor so she stayed on the second floor and I went up by myself. When I rejoined her on the second floor I had some hot wine and then we went down.

That is when it happened: extreme nausea and fatigue took over me right next to the south side of the tower. I didn’t know what to do, because I was the one in charge being that it was her first time in Paris and she does not speak French. So we kept walking and I came across the Musee de Quai Branley so we went in.

I immediately rushed to the bathroom and sat there for about 15 minutes before it started: intense vomit. It was so disgusting. I sat there for about 30 minutes before going out, and then I rushed to the sink to continue. Eventually the cleaning lady called the ‘pompiers’ (firemen), which are always at the museum, and they came to check up on me. I declined my offer to go to the hospital – this time. So they left and I just sat waiting and praying to get enough strength on my legs to go back to the hotel. But instead: more vomit. So after vomiting twice more the pompiers came again and this time they did not give me a choice: they called the SAMU (sort of like 911 but slower). I was then taken to the Pompidou Hospital, supposedly the best in Paris.

So about 5 hours later I had been tested and given enough medication to be sent back to the hotel at 2 am. I continued to vomit through the night and spend our last day in Paris in bed with a fever. I will never eat Paris street food again. On the bright side, I got to ride in a French ambulance with the cute French SAMU guys.

So my trip was not limited to London. Because I was mainly in Manchester, I was able to travel around Northern Publand and see the REAL UK. First we went to Liverpool, famous Liverpool. It does have a charm to it: it’s next to the water and consequently the nicest part borders the sea. There are several unique museums, like the Slavery Museum, only one in the UK I think. It’s nice to walk around as well. They also have the largest Protestant Cathedral in the world and a nice Chinatown. It is very small though, even for me. You can see all there is to see in 4 hours.

Next stop was Leeds. Leeds is also very much like Manchester but a bit nicer. For some reason the streets seemed more lively and colorful, and there was not sun so that wasn’t it. In Leeds we did not do the museums, we went to pubs instead. Since we had some friends from highschool studying there, we let them take us to different pubs. The best one was a boat in the middle of downtown Leeds, an actual boat next to a mall with a really nice interior design that made you feel like the ocean was right outside. I also ate something I had not eaten in a while and I never thought I’d miss: an American burger with curly fries. Go figure.

Liverpool Slavery Museum

So after a nice two weeks I came back to Strasbourg and resumed my routine really fast. Classes are now decided, work goes on, and my ‘scoutism’ is still in action. We also had a ‘cultural’ outing with Malou to the Tomi Ungerer Museum. This time we saw a temporary exhibition that was really nice. We also had time to catch up and we finalized the schedule. That made me realize that the end if France is right around the corner. Now it’s March and my mother is coming! So I have to redo Paris with her but this time I will be the guide. Given my lack of orientation I have prepared an extensive list with directions and maps. So Paris is up this Thursday! Might as well enjoy France while it lasts!

A la prochaine!