Strasbourg

This past weekend my friend Meagan and I took a trip this past weekend to Strasbourg, which is right on the border of France right next to Germany. It's absolutely beautiful with a ton of French/German history. If you don't know already, the region of Alsace (includes Strasbourg and numerous other small cities) was fought over between the French and Germans and was finally given to the French in the Treaty of Versailles at the end of WWII.

We took the TGV (train) from Grenoble to Lyon then from Lyon to Strasbourg. It was about a 7 hour ride one way, which was beneficial to us because we got all of our homework done and was able to sleep after a long week. We arrived in Strasbourg at 11:50pm, we planned on going out that night to experience some of the night life but we were so tired and wanted to get an early start to Saturday that we checked into our hotel and crashed.
We woke up at 8:00am -__- (Meagan's idea) and got right to sightseeing. Because we didn't want to waste money on a taxi we decided to walk from the hotel to town (2-3 miles) which ended up to be a tremendous idea because we got to see more of the town this way instead of driving right by it. We ended up going to La Petite France,which is popular for their old/tiny french homes and buildings all right up against the Rhine river. Each building was painted a different color and it was absolutely adorable.
Next we visited the Strasbourg Cathedral which is the largest cathedral in France and the 4th largest in the world. The gothic architecture was AMAZING...absolutely breathtaking. It doesn't even compare to Notre Dame in Paris. There were separate rooms throughout the cathedral dedicated for prayer only or to different saints. There was an organ which was placed above where the congregation would sit and it was outlined in gold. We couldn't go up to the pulpit because it was sectioned off but from below I could see a huge gold cross in the center with different paintings and sculptures of saints and apostles. There was a huge slab of marble where the priest would stand and another organ on the side. In one of the hallways was a HUGE sculpture of the crucifixion with a congregation of people below him, including Mary. The sculpture was so detailed that Jesus face actually look real, not made of clay. In the other hallway stood a clock from the floor to the ceiling, very ornate which depicted heaven, earth and hell. Every 30 minutes the clock would ring and a doll type figure would come from behind the clock, come up to the skeleton (which I'm assuming depicted Satan and hell) and hit the two bells that the skeleton was carrying and then went back behind the clock again. It was very odd and seemed out of place in that cathedral, but the clock itself was absolutely beautiful.

We then went roaming in whatever direction seemed interesting. We came across little cobblestone alley ways which held cute little cafes and restaurants, we saw numerous other cathedrals, some catholic and others protestant. We saw the University of Strasbourg and the European Union :D Then we came across a sign for Germany and we both wanted to step into Germany just to say we had so we started following the signs, not knowing that it was at least a 40 minute walk we kept venturing through the city until we came to the border, took a quick picture and then turned around and came back. We were starving at that point so we stopped at a restaurant for one of Alsace's most popular dishes, "Tarte Flambée" which looked like a very very thin pizza, but was absolutely delicious.
 In total we probably walked at least 10-15 miles Saturday. Once we walked back to where the tram stop was, we ended up buying a 24 hour pass so that we wouldn't have to walk back to the hotel to rest and then walk back to Strasbourg for dinner. For dinner we decided to choose another popular Alsacien dish, "Choucroute" which is a slab of 5 different kinds of meat and a heap of sauerkraut and potatoes. This was the first time either of us had had some real protein since we arrived in France (because the French don't eat chicken, steak, fish, turkey, sausage ham etc. as much as Americans do and if they do it's in tiny, tiny portions) so we were ecstatic and wolfed it down. It has been my favorite dish I have had while in Europe, so far.
The next day we decided to go to mass in the Strasbourg church, just to see what it was like. The sermon was in French, obviously so I couldn't follow, but I've always appreciate and have been interested in the Catholic traditions so it was interesting to watch I even ended up getting blessed by the priest with Meagan haha.
As we were walking out we stopped into a cafe for a warm drink (since it was NEGATIVE celsius) we ordered a hot chocolate and when it came out they brought an ENTIRE bowl of whipped cream for us, I was so happy. I felt like a 5 year old:)

For the rest of the afternoon we took a boat tour on the Rhine River where we went through La Petite France again and saw the school where King Louis XIV studied and saw more of the European Union building. We even met a group of Americans on the boat too. We learned so much history while we were there and of course took a couple hundred photos :) I definitely want to come back here someday, it's absolutely beautiful especially while it's snowing.

bisous, bisous <3
Ciao!!

                                            La Petite France

                                       Strasbourg from the Rhine River

                                       La Petite France

                                      Protestant Cathedral

                                              Top of Strasbourg Cathedral

                                          Top of Strasbourg Cathedral

                                               Inside the Cathedral facing the pulpit

                                          The organ

                                             One of the small rooms devoted for prayer

                                        Looking at the entrance

                                        The pulpit with the gold cross and paintings of saints

                                           One of the hallways

                                      The old pulpit

                                           The chiming clock

                                             Cathedral windows

                                          The crucifixion

                                           Front view of the organ

                                          Close up of the entrance

                                                 Outside entrance

                                            Government building

                                              More Cathedrals

                                             Government building (love the architecture)

                                          The Rhine River

                                         

                                                 St. Maurice Cathedral

                                           The little cobblestone streets of Strasbourg

                                           Strasbourg alley

                                            Stradeling the border of France and Germany

                                    Strasbourg buildings

                                             My favorite house off in the distance

                                           St. Paul's cathedral from the boat tour

                                   Strasbourg Cathedral from the side

                                    One of Strasbourg's squares

                                            The European Union

                               La Petite France Cafe where Meagan and I had lunch

                          Video of a man singing in front of the Strasbourg cathedral. From a distance I thought it was a woman singing. Pretty impressive though

                                    Tarte Flambée

                                   Choucroute

Culture Shock

I never thought "I" would be the one to experience culture shock. When people told me that it's very possible, I thought to myself that it would never happen to me...but c'est la vie.....it happened.

I think the biggest adjustment is by far the language barrier. By the end of each day I am mentally exhausted from absorbing so much French and trying desperately to speak correctly and understand what people are saying when they talk to me. I never expected that it would take a toll though. The other part, like I mentioned before is the interaction between people, between strangers. They are soo unfriendly (compared to Americans). NO ONE smiles at one another when they meet eyes, hardly anyone says "thank you" when opening a door for them or says "excuse me" when they accidentally bump into each other on the street. I got nailed by a girl's shoulder and she didn't even wince or apologize, but kept on her way...s'est bizarre.

My host mom (Dominique) asked me if I wanted to go to "Gypsy" concert with her and her friends on Friday and that I could bring a friend with me, so I agreed and invited my closest friend here, Meagan. We had no idea what a gypsy concert was but we arrived and waited excitedly. 12 men walked out on stage, some with  trumpets, clarinets, flutes,  french horns, two sets of violins, an accordion and one single drum, and began playing Romanian/Hungarian music. It was INCREDIBLY fast paced. I had never heard that kind of music before, but the talent the musicians had for being able to play their instruments at that speed amazed me. They played several different songs, and sometimes the musicians would rotate singing and playing instruments. Meagan and I enjoyed it a lot. It was definitely an interesting experience.

That night we also experienced the night life for the first time with the group I traveled here with and although it was fun, it was definitely interesting. We went to a couple different pubs over the span of the weekend. What we learned was that there are always much more men than there are women because it is less common for women to drink especially in excess, they typically drink indoors in the privacy of their own home. However, the younger generations are starting to break this rule of society and more women are coming out to bars. Luckily, I learned before coming here that you must not make eye contact with men and smile or make frequent eye contact because that gives them the clue that you're interested so I was careful to keep my eyes down and not look at them while walking from the table to the bar to order. I definitely did not want to give any one the wrong message.

This past week, my friend Meagan and I wanted to get a jump start on traveling during our weekends and breaks, so we made a potential agenda: Strasbourg this coming weekend, Barcelona for 5 days since we have days off of school in February and then Ireland during our winter break which is also in February since she has family there we can stay with.  Easter weekend will be Germany, Prague and Vienna and then we have planned excursions with our study abroad group to Provence and Paris. Then for spring break the whole group wants to plan the entire 10 days traveling all over Italy. Then during public holidays day/weekend trips to Marseille and Normandy France and Geneva, Austria. We already have 3 trips booked...I'M SO EXCITED! I have dreamt about traveling Europe for most of my life and I'm finally making it happen. Once these trips come up there will be tons more pictures to show you. As for right now though, I only have a few more that I've taken.

                                  The river near my house with a view of the Alps

     

Beaucoup de français

Bonjour,

To be completely honest, these past couple days in France have been quite overwhelming. Thankfully we spent two days in a hotel in Grenoble so I was able to practice my french a bit without being thrown into it right away. However, saturday came around and my host family picked me up from the hotel and I was shaking, I was so nervous. I was placed with a single mom, Dominique with a 21 year old daughter, Chloé. It's actually quite perfect because I am a little rusty with my French so I don't have a lot of people surrounding me that I have to talk to but I have my own freedom when I need it and a girl my age to bond with. At first I thought they were going to be frustrated with me, having to repeat themselves or play charades until I understood what they were talking about, but they have been VERY patient. They even like to practice the little english they do know and it's fun to translate back and forth with the names of things. This has become our dinner tradition, translating  and laughing at how funny the foreign words seem to us.
I start school tomorrow and I only have three classes :)) Language class 4 days a week (one day is FOUR hours of it!!!) Vocab/Translation class to complement the language and then Multiculturalism, taught in english. The tram is the most frequently used form of transportation throughout Grenoble, it goes EVERYWHERE and that's what I use to go from my house to school and all over the city.

I have quickly fallen in love with the city..between the spaces of the picturesque, european buildings you can see glimpses of the snow capped Alps and they are SO close that from my campus you can actually see ski lifts. My whole group plans on taking trips to the slopes on our days off and perhaps on the weekends. Hopefully I will get better:)
Unfortunately there are no Starbucks or any places to get coffee to go in this city, so what me and my friend Meagan do when we've had time is go to a local café and order a "noisette" which is a very tiny cup of coffee with a dash of cream which is what they typically have after lunch.

***Here are some interesting things I've learned while being in a French home:

1-there are two forms of "you" a formal form and casual, you must ALWAYS say the formal form to a stranger or someone you just met until they tell you it's alright to address them by the casual form.
2- you must always have your hands on top of the table, never in your lap or under the table
3- elbows must not touch the table
4- bread must always be on your place mat, never on your actual plate.
5- they always have a fork in one hand and a knife in the other, they do not just pick up the knife to cut something but use it as a tool at all times while eating.
6- when you walk in and out of the house you say hello and goodbye even if you can't physically see anyone, just to let the people around the house know who came in.
7- there are three keys to the front door. two skeleton keys and a normal key because they have locks for the handle of the door, the top and the bottom of the door so it's harder to break into places.
8- the cups are very tiny (child sized) and they may only have one or two glasses of water a day. They think we are crazy that we drink a lot of water either at meals or throughout our day...it's VERY hard to find water bottles to carry around with you -___-
9- milk is only used in meals or for cereal (which they rarely eat around here either).
10- yogurt is VERY VERY sour...I learned this the hard way, it tastes as if it's already gone bad.
11- they eat breakfast until 10am, lunch from 12-2pm (which is the biggest meal of the day) and dinner which is between 7-8:30pm..they do NOT snack. I haven't been able to find granola bars or anything like that to tide myself over until dinner :/
12- Instead of blinds or curtains to shade the windows they have mechanical metal blinds that are on the outside of the window and come down in one big sheet :/ (very odd to me).
13- When you are introduced to someone or see a friend you give them a bisou (a kiss on each cheek)...Thankfully I haven't done that yet!
14- showers consist of a tub and a hand held shower head, there is no spicket that comes out of the wall, so you must manually shower your body and you have to be careful not to spray outside the tub or else the whole floor is wet.
15- to the french, there is no reason to smile at a stranger unless you're interested in them romantically so (to me) it's like everyone has no expression or is mean mugging everyone they look at. It's been VERY hard for me not to smile at someone who I meet eyes with or when I say thank you to the cashier/waitress. Smiling is a very obvious clue to Europeans that you are American and therefore become a target for theft.

                                     One of the many squares throughout town

                                          My house keys (skeleton keys)

                                    Campus during the first snow

                                     A view of the Alps

                                          One of the squares with Christmas decorations still

                                   View of Grenoble with the Gondola

                                   Campus during the snow

                                    Grenoble during the winter

                                        A close up view of the Alps and how close they are to us

London London and more London

Bonjour mes amis et ma famille!! - Hello friends and family.

Sorry for all the foreign words and phrases in my blogs I am just so excited:)
Sorry that it's been 4 days since my last blog,so much has happened!!
Wednesday, I woke up and had a 3 hour long tour around the heart of London. I got to see Big Ben, the Eye of London (their ferris wheel), Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, The British Museum, the London Tower, London Bridge, Platform 9 3/4 (from Harry Potter) and more. Then around noon we were left to our own devices for lunch and had the rest of the day to do whatever we wanted. We decided to all stay as a group and explore together. We stopped at a famous fish and chips restaurant. I had what they called "Cornish Pastie" which was a crisp pastry filled with meat and veggies, it was delicious! Then went to the British Museum where we saw actual mummies out of their casket. Many were stilled wrapped but one one preserved so well by the Egyptians that the body was still intact and somehow the facial structure was very defined with parts of skin and even nails. We also saw part of the Greek Parthenon and the Rosetta stone which directly translates egyptian hieroglyphics. Next was Shakespeare's Globe Theatre which we took pictures of, then the London Bridge. We then crossed another bridge where Harry got attacked by the death eaters (for you Harry Potter fans). We continued on to Platform 9 3/4 where we coincidentally lost Cameron, the only guy in our group. Us girls wanted to experience a British pub so we wasted time there, waiting for Cameron to turn up but he never did :/ We headed back to the hotel early to get a good night sleep before the 7am flight to Lyon.

Some pictures of London before my camera died :(

                                    Victoria and Albert Museum

                                 Buckingham Palace gates with little crowns

                                   Good ol' Telephone booths

                                 The Queen's guard in mid march

                                Me in front of the Buckingham gates where the queen drives through

                                          Front of Westminster Abbey        

                                           Buckingham Palace

                                             Front of Westminster Abbey

                                   Side of Westminster Abbey

                                  Big Ben, part of Parliament and the Eye of London

                                         Another entrance of Westminster Abbey

                                            Close up

                              Me + eye of London+Big Ben+ double decker bus =happy girl

                                           Phoning home:)

                                            Ello'

                                       Pretty buildings

                                         The Royal courts of Justice

                      A place where they would place heads once they were beheaded (pretty revolting)

                                         Tallest building in Europe