Salut toute le monde!
Well it's pretty much the end of January already...classes have fully started up both at Syracuse and at IIEF. I went on an excursion around Alsace this past Sunday with Syracuse again--it was pretty much the same agenda from last time, but who could resist a free lunch and wine tasting? Not me. Nonetheless, it was a good opportunity to get to be able to socialize with Syracuse students--a lot who I feel like I still don't really know.
Oh well, I'm with the same group that I was with last semester at the IIEF, so that is fun. I finally worked my schedule out today which is nice. I'm pretty sure that I will have time for a wall climbing class on Mondays which I'm really excited for, although I still have to go and sign up for it...anyways, I'm set with books, bought a french-french dictionary, and also a dictionary of synonyms...kicking the french into high gear now.
Tomorrow there is going to be a strike in France--for what reason? Well not just for one reason, for many reasons. I could list all of them but that would make for a long blog post. So basically if I want to get anywhere, I will have to walk but that's probably better for me anyways. I don't think I have anything else to write...just felt like letting you guys know that I was alive and stuff like that. Ok cool. more to come :)
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Quelle week-end!
So I am still feeling jet lag I think...I am not yet able to sleep through the night, even though I was able to the first night that I got here. I will be fast asleep for about 3-4 hours, and then my body will wake itself up and I'll toss and turn for most of the rest of the night. Anyways, I'm sure that'll fix itself soon.
This past weekend went pretty well. Friday night I went out with a bunch of the new SU people and the two other girls who stayed this semester. It was nice to get to know some of the new people. All of those who I've met so far are pretty cool and nice. I had one of my favorite beers out here, Kriek--it's a Belgian Blonde beer made from cherries, so really you think you're just drinking a carbonated cherry drink.
Anyways, saturday was a lazy day for me--I spent most of the day trying to see what prices there were for my winter break which will be at the end of February, 3 days after my birthday. In the afternoon, I went with my host family to "les bains chauds" It's a place that is like a spa, it has a ton of hot pools though--however there is a certain order you go. Each time you go it gets hotter and hotter. This place was in Germany just outside of Freiberg, which was only about an hour drive from Strasbourg. After being there for a good chunk of time and practically falling asleep in the hot pool that had music and plenty of noodles for you to float on, we made our way to Colmar.
Colmar is another quaint little town in Alsace--way smaller than Strasbourg however. I like it a lot for its quaintness actually. We ate a great dinner at a restaurant there and met a guy from Chicago who worked for Wrigley (apparently there is a Wrigley factory around Colmar). Throughout the dinner I helped translate between him and the waitress which had its comical moments. After eating a HUGE dinner, we drove up to their cabin in Thannenkirch which is in the Vosges mountains and stayed there for Sunday. My host mom and I braved the drizzle and fog to go on a short hike, then I napped, then I watched "Les Bronzés font du ski" with my host parents. One of the funniest french movies I've seen so far. We ended the weekend in Strasbourg with a dinner at my host grandma's apartment--these dinners are always huge. Needless to say I will need to rent that bike soon so I can start exercising in some way again.
Hope everything is going well on that side of the ocean, or on this side of the ocean for that matter. More to come :)
This past weekend went pretty well. Friday night I went out with a bunch of the new SU people and the two other girls who stayed this semester. It was nice to get to know some of the new people. All of those who I've met so far are pretty cool and nice. I had one of my favorite beers out here, Kriek--it's a Belgian Blonde beer made from cherries, so really you think you're just drinking a carbonated cherry drink.
Anyways, saturday was a lazy day for me--I spent most of the day trying to see what prices there were for my winter break which will be at the end of February, 3 days after my birthday. In the afternoon, I went with my host family to "les bains chauds" It's a place that is like a spa, it has a ton of hot pools though--however there is a certain order you go. Each time you go it gets hotter and hotter. This place was in Germany just outside of Freiberg, which was only about an hour drive from Strasbourg. After being there for a good chunk of time and practically falling asleep in the hot pool that had music and plenty of noodles for you to float on, we made our way to Colmar.
Colmar is another quaint little town in Alsace--way smaller than Strasbourg however. I like it a lot for its quaintness actually. We ate a great dinner at a restaurant there and met a guy from Chicago who worked for Wrigley (apparently there is a Wrigley factory around Colmar). Throughout the dinner I helped translate between him and the waitress which had its comical moments. After eating a HUGE dinner, we drove up to their cabin in Thannenkirch which is in the Vosges mountains and stayed there for Sunday. My host mom and I braved the drizzle and fog to go on a short hike, then I napped, then I watched "Les Bronzés font du ski" with my host parents. One of the funniest french movies I've seen so far. We ended the weekend in Strasbourg with a dinner at my host grandma's apartment--these dinners are always huge. Needless to say I will need to rent that bike soon so I can start exercising in some way again.
Hope everything is going well on that side of the ocean, or on this side of the ocean for that matter. More to come :)
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Je suis tellement contente d'être à Strasbourg
Back in the saddle again. Classes have not started yet, I am only doing orientation right now--half of which I don't have to go to because I did it last semester. The flights over here were fine, I slept a little, probably not as much as I wanted to. TIP--if you ever want to sleep on a plane, don't go with tylenol pm...granted I only took one, but a. it took a long time to kick in and b. i felt like my brain was just slow for a while after the pill had worn off.
Anyways, I would suggest Aer Lingus to people who want to fly somewhere in Europe from O'Hare. Their service in my opinion is pretty much the same and Air France and their accents are cuter and they are cheaper. Usually you do make a stop in Dublin and have about a three hour layover there, but for the price and service it is worth it. Anyways, what's the harm in relaxing in the Dublin airport? They have an abundance of Irish souvenirs to shop around and look at (duty-free!), or you can just relax with a glass of that black stuff they call Guinness (I didn't get to sit with the black stuff, I was too jetlagged to think about a nice cold beer).
Anyways, all in all, traveling here was very very long, but worked out well. After flying from Chicago to Dublin to Paris, taking the tram to the train station, and the TGV to Strasbourg, and being picked up by my host mom, I had one of the best night's sleep of my life. I probably fell asleep and woke up in the same position. It was glorious.
Today I met as many of the new kids in the Syracuse group as I could. So far, I like everyone who I've met. There are about 4 girls in our program from CU-Boulder I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure I'll be hearing a lot of stories about host families tomorrow, because everyone else met their host families for the first time tonight. So, so far, so good. I can't tell you how happy I am to be back in Strasbourg, and I can't tell you why exactly either, but I am. Hope everything is going well on that side of the ocean. A bientôt!
Anyways, I would suggest Aer Lingus to people who want to fly somewhere in Europe from O'Hare. Their service in my opinion is pretty much the same and Air France and their accents are cuter and they are cheaper. Usually you do make a stop in Dublin and have about a three hour layover there, but for the price and service it is worth it. Anyways, what's the harm in relaxing in the Dublin airport? They have an abundance of Irish souvenirs to shop around and look at (duty-free!), or you can just relax with a glass of that black stuff they call Guinness (I didn't get to sit with the black stuff, I was too jetlagged to think about a nice cold beer).
Anyways, all in all, traveling here was very very long, but worked out well. After flying from Chicago to Dublin to Paris, taking the tram to the train station, and the TGV to Strasbourg, and being picked up by my host mom, I had one of the best night's sleep of my life. I probably fell asleep and woke up in the same position. It was glorious.
Today I met as many of the new kids in the Syracuse group as I could. So far, I like everyone who I've met. There are about 4 girls in our program from CU-Boulder I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure I'll be hearing a lot of stories about host families tomorrow, because everyone else met their host families for the first time tonight. So, so far, so good. I can't tell you how happy I am to be back in Strasbourg, and I can't tell you why exactly either, but I am. Hope everything is going well on that side of the ocean. A bientôt!
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