La Belle France

Rachel and I stayed a little closer to home this weekend and traveled through Western France. Conclusion #1: Paris and anywhere else in France are very different places (they smile in the rest of France!). Conclusion #2: France is absolutely stunning. Words will certainly fail me in this blog post because there is no way to capture the beauty of France in English or French. Hence the many photos below.

We began our journey in Tours, a city in the Loire Valley. Unfortunately, the weather was awful. We spent the morning taking shelter in two of the hundreds of chateaux (castles) in the area: Chateau d'Azay-le-Rideau and Chateau Villandry.

Azay-le-Rideau was built in the 1500s and housed a few of the rich and famous of France until the end of the 19th century. As castles go, it is pretty understated. It's one of the areas smaller castles and the architecture looked, to my untrained eye, simple and refined. Nonetheless, it was a castle, which is awesome.

Chateau Azay-le-Rideau

mote + grounds of Azay-le-Rideau

little village of Azay-le-Rideau

Villandry was another pretty castle, but it is more renowned for its gardens, which were incredible. It would have been great to see them in the spring or summer, but they were still impressive.

View from the belle tower

the castle

some of the gardens

We attempted to tour (no pun intended) the rest of the city, but the rain and cold made it a challenge. Instead we spent the afternoon being very French: drinking coffee in a cafe.

Luckily, the weather for the rest of our trip could not have been more perfect. I was not sure what to expect from our next stop, Bordeaux, but it is a beautiful and charming city with plenty to see and do for a day. This was especially important after the time change gave us an extra hour that we did not anticipate. Who knew French cell phone clocks did not change themselves.

Pont Pierre

a "porte" in Bordeaux

Bordeaux along the river

Palais Gallien

(remains from a Roman amphitheatre)

Musee d'Art Contemporain

On our second day in Bordeaux, we took a day trip to St. Emilion, a small medeival village out in the heart of Bordeaux wine country. It was so beautiful, I worked my camera from full charge to no charge within hours, but it was worth every picture. We even managed to find a 6 euro bottle of St. Emilion wine and bought a box of their famous macarons to enjoy while sitting on a bench overlooking the vineyards.

walk from the train station

the town of St. Emilion

vineyards

a "porte" of St. Emilion

I can tell you all about our final stop, Biarritz, which is just north of the Spanish border on the Atlantic Ocean. Unfortunately, I have no pictures to really convince you just how stunning it was. We only had about 5 hours to spend in Biarritz and we spent about 4 of them lying on the beach listening to waves and watching the surfers. The other hour was spent eating delicious seafood and drinking sangria. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend.

Je suis tombe.

Today I fell on the stairs in the Metro on my way back from class. I could use excuses like the ground was wet or I was wearing heels, but basically I just wasn't paying attention. My tumble has revealed two things about Paris that I did not previously consider:

1. Parisians pretending no one else exists usually bothers me. But, I really appreciated it when I wanted to pretend I did not fall down the stairs and everyone else played along.

2. There is no ice in Paris. Where is the ice? I can tell you where it's not: on my knee. Instead there is a bag of frozen berries that I plan on returning to the freezer before Madame gets home.

I guess I can thank my lucky stars that this is the most embaressing thing that has happened in two months. C'est la vie!

American in Paris

Salzburg, Austria was the plan for this weekend, but when Rachel and I went to buy our tickets on Thursday, they were all sold out! Fortunately, we have a sunny weekend in Paris to take advantage of. It's been a few weeks since I've had the chance to be a tourist in Paris. But, in order to maintain my status as an American in Paris, I really need to get it together see the sights that have yet to be seen.

Instead of touring Paris for these last few weeks, I have finally begun living the "study" part of study abroad. All of my classes started this week and I have no complaints. The professors all seem great and the classes seem interesting. I am taking two classes through my exchange program and two classes at a university in Paris called Nanterre.

With other exchange students in my program, I am taking an 19th century art history class (we get have more than half of our classes at museums like the Louvre and Musee d'Orsay!) and a French cinema class.

My classes at Nanterre have the potential to be boring because actual French classes. One class is for speaking and the other is for writing. Luckily, they're kept exciting by the fact that the students in both classes come from all over the world. In my speaking class, each person introduced their neighbor. There were people from Italy, Spain, Brazil, Turkistan, Thailand, Japan, Germany, Russia, Austria, and, of course, there were a few of us from the United States. It's an interesting bunch of accents all trying to speak the same language. I'm really excited to get to know some of the people in the class!

So far the workload does not seem too terrible. I have a few writing assignments, but nothing that isn't manageable. However, I do have a 10 page art history paper (all in FRENCH) on the horizon. I'm hoping that if I start now, I'll be able to figure out how aspects of Dante's work have manifested themselves in 19th century romantic paintings by November. Wish me luck.

Ich bin ein Berliner

I have returned to Paris after a yet another whirlwind weekend. And, once again, I am in love. Berlin was fascinating and exciting on every possible level. The food was delicious (and cheap!); the history was astounding; the nightlife was awesome. My only complaint was that it was COLD, but it could have been worse.

It was unbelievable to walk around the place that was within Soviet territory in my lifetime (if only nine months of it). Germany was arguably the most significant country of the 20th century. Between the Nazi Party and the happenings of the Cold War, it certainly fills a large portion of the textbooks I've been reading for close to a decade. I can't even find words to describe how surreal it was to walk the line where the Berlin Wall once was and to stand on the grounds of what was the once SS headquarters. Incredible.

I could only be there for about 24 hours, so I know it is somewhere I have to go back to one day. Hopefully soon!

Rachel (top) in East Berlin + me in West Berlin

Checkpoint Charlie (facing West Berlin)

grounds of the building that was SS (Nazi) headquarters

(now "Topography of Terror" exhibit)

Memorial for murdered Jews

Brandenburg Gate

East Side Gallery

(murals painted by artists from all over the world on a remaining kilometer of the Berlin Wall)

One mural on the wall

A building in Munich's Marienplatz

(as far as Rachel and I got in Munich in between trains before we nearly died from exhaustion)

!

This has very little to do with the fact that I am abroad right now, but I am so excited (and surprised!) to hear that Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. I think it is well deserved. And, although I am far from home, it makes me proud to be from the country that elected him as our president. Congrats Obama!

I'm off to Berlin for the weekend. Hope to have some exciting stories to blog on Monday!

Bon weekend!

Giving Back

I came to Paris for what I thought it could offer me: an opportunity to really learn French, the chance to experience a different culture, and the challenge to adapt to a different way of life. In one way or another, Paris has offered me all of those things.

On Monday, I began teaching English at a public high school here, thus beginning my chance to give back. I had no idea what to expect on my first day. I was given two guidelines: encourage students to practice their conversation skills and convince them that I do not speak a word of French. It has been an interesting change of pace. I have spent the past month and a half trying to blend into Parisian society by speaking the language and learning the culture. But, for eleven hours a week at this high school, I have to pretend that none of that exists. In the classroom, I am my most American, English speaking self.

My first few classes Monday morning were painfully quiet. I had drastically overestimated the amount of English they speak, so I was scrambling to create activities and discussion topics as I went. An hour has never seemed so long.

But, as I worked out the kinks, it became more and more fun. Yesterday, I had my most animated class yet. Instead of dragging them out of silence, I actually had to ask them to quiet down and speak one at a time.

Not much has surprised me so far. I asked them what they want to learn about. They said music, but were not as interested in American politics or history (except for Barack Obama - they LOVE Barack Obama!).

But, I did have one poignant moment when a student came up to me after class and asked me "What are you here?"

I was not sure how to react at first. My immediate reaction was to be offended until I decided to optimistically respond by telling the student that I was interested in getting to know the students at the school and help them improve their English.

"Oh," she said, "because I want to do this too. I love to travel. Can I do this too?"

I eventually figured out that she wants to travel to a different country, like me, to teach French when she finishes high school. I told her I am not sure if a program like that exists, but I would let her know if I find out about something.

As I left the classroom, I realized just how lucky I am to be a native English speaker. People all over the world are learning English every day. That opens so many opportunities for me to communicate with people all over the world. Unfortunately, there is not nearly the same demand to learn French, so this student may not be given the same opportunities.

Since I got here in August, I have been jealous of every 3 year old speaking French on the playground or the girls who giggle in French on the streets because it all comes so easily to them, while I'm struggling to put sentences together everywhere I go. But, my teaching job is making me slowly realize that while I may be struggling in Paris, it's only because I'm on their turf. Language is a struggle for everyone around the world and by being born in the United States I have already been given the biggest linguistic advantage possible. Learning French seems a little bit less daunting.

Nein sprechen sie deutsche

I spent this past weekend in Stuttgart, Germany for Volksfest (the counterpart to Munich's Oktoberfest). It didn't really occur to me until I stepped off the train and glanced at the nearest sign that I don't know ANY German. I've watched the Sound of Music enough times to know one dated phrase accompanied by a hand gesture, but I didn't think that would be a good way to make new friends. So, I made my way through Germany this weekend thanks to the kind souls who answered "yes" to the question "do you speak English?".

Other than the language barrier, Germany was wonderful. We kicked off the weekend with a dinner at the home of one of my mom's friends who lives in Stuttgart. It was great getting to know them and the dinner was delicious! We also got some great recommendations for the rest of the weekend.

As a result of one of these suggestions, we spent Saturday at a pumpkin festival in Ludwigsburg (north of Stuttgart). It was incredible! The festival was held on the grounds of an old German castle. There was lots of food, games, fun, and - of course - pumpkins EVERYWHERE!

Ludwigsburg Residenzschloss

Pumpkin statue

Pumpkin canon

And, of course, the food was made out of pumpkins too! There was pumpkin spaghetti, pumpkin soup, pumpkin quiche, and I even had some pumpkin champagne with my lunch. Yum!

Pumpkin soup, quiche, et champagne!

me with Cindarella's pumpkin made of pumpkins

We spent Saturday night at Volksfest. For those of you from Williamsville, it was like a giant Old Homes Days with more ....animated... beer tents. We learned lots of German songs and words. It was great!

Rachel and me in the tent

Le Premier Jour d'Octobre

I got here in August, I survived September, and now I am beginning October as a true Parisienne. My friends have all started classes and I don't start until next week, so I have been exploring the city independently (don't worry parents - during daylight hours only).

Yesterday, I recharged my monthly Metro pass for October, I checked out the American Church in Paris for job and apartment listings, and when I ran out of things to do in the afternoon, I dropped by the Louvre and walked around inside. I had no idea the Mona Lisa was so small.

My developing inner-Parisienne must be starting to show because today I got asked for directions (by French people) THREE times in just a few hours. I tried so hard to read my map and help them (even though I never have any idea where I am), that they actually let me stand there and talk to them in French for a few minutes before walking away to ask someone else. Small victories.

I realize that my complaining card was revoked the moment I got the chance to move to Paris for a year, but my experience here has not been entirely perfect. I've found that being an exchange student and being a tourist are two entirely different experiences. I can't say I have not liked (and even at times loved) my experience here so far, but as a foreigner, I spend most of my day depending on the kindness and patience of others. Those are two things that aren't always easy to come by in Paris. Even more frustrating, people who will speak French with me have been even more impossible to come by. Everyone here seems to know, and only wants to speak, English! The music that plays in bars and clubs is American. Their movie theaters show mostly American movies. My host family's apartment is stocked full of seasons of Friends and How I Met Your Mother. Sometimes I feel like I'm living in a pseudo-USA with a terrible exchange rate and mediocre entertainment.

But, the last couple of days have been a little more uplifting. If things can change this much in just a few weeks, I'm much more excited to see what the rest of this year will hold!

I'm off to Germany for the weekend. I start teaching English at a high school here on Monday, And, I FINALLY start my classes for the semester on Wednesday. I'm definitely not a tourist anymore.

....But that doesn't mean I have to stop taking pictures. Here's a few I haven't gotten to include from a picnic in the Jardin de Tuileries near the Louvre. What a pretty night!

view of the Eiffel Tower at dusk

Eiffel Tower lit up

Eiffel Tower sparkling!