Hello all! Hope everything is going well so far! My birthday is tomorrow, which means it's the end of February...really really scary...this semester is seriously flying by way too fast. Do I have any big plans for my birthday? No, and actually I'm not really that excited for it because I've been going to the bars here for a couple months already, so it's not a big deal here. Oh well. We'll see what happens when I get home in the summer... :)
Anyways, what have I been up to? I'm still climbing once a week, although after the break I might sign up to do it twice a week if I can...I've started actually working out again which feels really good. I may actually end up going back to lacrosse for my senior year...so I have a lot of work cut out for me in terms of conditioning. It's doable though. I've been working hard with my classes, just living life, discovering new little parts of Strasbourg and I've realized lately how much I really like going to see the orchestra here. Also, there's been plays that I've had to go to for my literature class because it's a drama class...they've all been modern plays...one was well just very poorly directed and the other one I liked...so we'll see how those keep going.
The other weekend I went to Carnavale in Kehl--quite a spectacle. Being Germany, I would not say that it was the most glorious carnavale but it was fun to see nonetheless. The masks and costumes that people had on ranged from some of the ugliest I've seen to german girls in their traditional skirts and everything (think like the girl on the St. Pauli's Girl bottles...). It was cool to see it in Kehl, and I felt like everyone who was walking in the parade knew everyone in the crowd. For example, people would go up to kids, lift their mask up a little bit to show them who they were, and then just pick the kid up and take them! Also there was TONS of confetti blasted into the air, landing in my hair, shoes, pretty much everywhere...I think I still see some little flakes on the floor of my room haha. Nonetheless, it was pretty funnn and free. I need to go back to Kehl someday so I can get a currywurst...yum. Kehl is about a 15 minute bus ride and then a 10-ish minute walk over the "Pont de L'Europe"...so not far at all.
Oh, interesting thing I learned recently: a lot of Strasbourg's cultural buildings/companies receive money directly from Paris. For example, the big theatre is Théâtre Nationale de Strasbourg, L'Orchestre Philharmonique Nationale de Strasbourg, Bibliothèque Nationale de Strasbourg, et L'Opéra Nationale du Rhin. The word Nationale in all of those names implies that they receive money from Paris because in 1918, after World War I and after Alsace became french again, they wanted to make sure it stayed French so they fund a lot of cultural ongoings here. Just thought that was a cool little side note for all of you.
I'm half on vacation this week...I don't have any french university classes, but I still have my two Syracuse classes, and it is forbidden to skip my Syracuse classes. So I'm half on break...on Friday I'll be traveling to Barcelona, Seville, Granada, and Paris. I'm sure I'll have a lot more interesting things to tell you guys after that. Love and miss all of you!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Lacrosse me manque
Halfway through February, about 6th month abroad...and right now all I can think about is how much I miss lacrosse--mom and dad if you come out to visit can you bring my stick and a ball? It's the one with the black Colorado shaft--I can't remember exactly where in the house it is though--what a surprise. So I might as well ask this question for the 5 millionth time in my life, "Mom, I can't find it, have you seen it recently?" Unfortunately NONE OF THE FRENCH have ever heard of the sport lacrosse--I went into the adidas store yesterday to admire the new shiny colorful kleats on the wall and the guy who worked there asked me if i played soccer. I said no, i play lacrosse...and then I explained to him what lacrosse was, in franglish. At the end miraculously it turned out that he had heard of it. But boy, explaining lacrosse in Franglish might have been one of the highlights of my time in Strasbourg lol.
Besides missing lacrosse a lot and the bank screwing me over once again, things are going well. I have not been traveling--it is too expensive and I like discovering parts of Strasbourg. For example, I just went to the Musée des Beaux-arts for the first time last night with my host mom. There was an expo of Flemmish and Irish paintings and I also looked through the rest of the museum. It's beautiful. I climbed the cathedral once again. I've stopped randomnly at little outside markets that I stumble upon, I do my homework at my favorite café L'Artichaut. In short, I feel like in place of traveling a lot this semester, I actually have a life in Strasbourg.
I start my spring break on February 27th with Barcelona to visit one of my best friends Coop, we met at freshman orientation and have just kept hanging out for the whole of our college career. We're in separate sororities, but at Colorado, she's the one who I've known the longest. Next, I'm going down to Sevilla to visit Tina! I'm so excited and can not believe that this is the first time I will have seen her when it's not the summer! We've been friends since we were what, 5 or something? I'm not exagerating. Finally, I'm going to end my break in Paris and visit my friend Maggie, she was my roommate freshman year (the good one) and I'm also very excited for that!
So I'm watching a rugby match right now on tv and just realized how short men's rugby shorts are. Ew/awkward.
Other than those things, I have just been living life. The carnavals start soon. There is one in Kehl (Germany) which is like a 15 minute bus ride away on Sunday, so I'll probably go to that. Strasbourg supposedly has their carnaval after mardi gras...weird. Oh, Mardi Gras? oh yeah, that's my birthday...finally 21...in a country where they couldn't care less about my age when I go to bars. Oh well, it'll be fun.
Hope everything is going well for everyone--I'll once again miss Roe's annual Valentine's Day ladies get together--if she's having it. Can't wait to see everyone in May! More to come :)
Besides missing lacrosse a lot and the bank screwing me over once again, things are going well. I have not been traveling--it is too expensive and I like discovering parts of Strasbourg. For example, I just went to the Musée des Beaux-arts for the first time last night with my host mom. There was an expo of Flemmish and Irish paintings and I also looked through the rest of the museum. It's beautiful. I climbed the cathedral once again. I've stopped randomnly at little outside markets that I stumble upon, I do my homework at my favorite café L'Artichaut. In short, I feel like in place of traveling a lot this semester, I actually have a life in Strasbourg.
I start my spring break on February 27th with Barcelona to visit one of my best friends Coop, we met at freshman orientation and have just kept hanging out for the whole of our college career. We're in separate sororities, but at Colorado, she's the one who I've known the longest. Next, I'm going down to Sevilla to visit Tina! I'm so excited and can not believe that this is the first time I will have seen her when it's not the summer! We've been friends since we were what, 5 or something? I'm not exagerating. Finally, I'm going to end my break in Paris and visit my friend Maggie, she was my roommate freshman year (the good one) and I'm also very excited for that!
So I'm watching a rugby match right now on tv and just realized how short men's rugby shorts are. Ew/awkward.
Other than those things, I have just been living life. The carnavals start soon. There is one in Kehl (Germany) which is like a 15 minute bus ride away on Sunday, so I'll probably go to that. Strasbourg supposedly has their carnaval after mardi gras...weird. Oh, Mardi Gras? oh yeah, that's my birthday...finally 21...in a country where they couldn't care less about my age when I go to bars. Oh well, it'll be fun.
Hope everything is going well for everyone--I'll once again miss Roe's annual Valentine's Day ladies get together--if she's having it. Can't wait to see everyone in May! More to come :)
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
D'accord
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 :)
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 :)
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!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Vin chaud aux épices, Flambée baguettes, Marchés de Noël
So I am done with the bulk of my exams here. I still have some on Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon, but that is it for the most part. So what else have I been doing with my life out here in Strasbourg? Well I've slept in for the first time in literally a couple of months, which felt really great. Also, I've been wandering around the Christmas markets with friends multiple multiple times. They are very pretty though.
Vin chaud aux épices is popular. It's basically just hot wine with spices like cinnamon and stuff in it. There are also flambée baguettes, which are everything that is on a tarte flambée, just toasted on a baguette. Very very good. Also there are a lot of decorated candy apples. Whether they are covered with chocolate or nuts or whatever, also very good. Seeing the Christmas markets at night however, smelling the vin chaud, hearing Christmas carols playing and everything is almost magical. The only problem is the bajillions of tourists who don't know how to walk properly in a straight line through the markets...oh well.
Well, I am excited to see people in about a week! I can't believe this semester is over already...it went by too fast! This may be my last blog until next semester. Until then, Happy Holidays and see you soon! :)
Vin chaud aux épices is popular. It's basically just hot wine with spices like cinnamon and stuff in it. There are also flambée baguettes, which are everything that is on a tarte flambée, just toasted on a baguette. Very very good. Also there are a lot of decorated candy apples. Whether they are covered with chocolate or nuts or whatever, also very good. Seeing the Christmas markets at night however, smelling the vin chaud, hearing Christmas carols playing and everything is almost magical. The only problem is the bajillions of tourists who don't know how to walk properly in a straight line through the markets...oh well.
Well, I am excited to see people in about a week! I can't believe this semester is over already...it went by too fast! This may be my last blog until next semester. Until then, Happy Holidays and see you soon! :)
Monday, December 8, 2008
Travaille, Travaille, Travaille
Ok, well not exactly work, work, work--I just got back from Rome last night. Rome was pretty cool. I went with my friend Erin Odell and we walked around the whole city for the day of Saturday. I of course had some great Italian food--tortellini, pasta carbonara, red wine, gelatto, again and good things like that. We saw the colosseum, the pantheon, st. Peter's Basilica, and a famous fountain that I'll admit I can not remember the name of right now. Maybe Trevi fountain? Anyways, even though it pretty much felt like a day trip to Italy, there was good food, good times, sun, and it was a bit warmer there than Strasbourg. So all in all, I liked it a lot. After going to Italy for a second time, I've decided that I also really like that country.
In regular life, finals week has begun. I had one of my finals today, my history final which actually turned out to be a lot easier than I thought. I have four finals left for this week--some that I'm worried about but most that I'm not worried about. Then I have off until Wednesday of next week when I have my grammar finals for the french university and thursday when I have the oral finals for the french University. Then on the 21 of December, a flight to JFK. Then on the 22 of December, a flight from ISP to MDW. Only two weeks!
As much as I love Strasbourg, Alsace, France, Europe, I am ready to go home for a bit and see family and friends from home. However, don't be surprised if I announce that I'm moving out to France after college once I graduate college...haha who knows. Well hope everything is going well on your side of the ocean. See most of you guys in two weeks from today! More to come :)
In regular life, finals week has begun. I had one of my finals today, my history final which actually turned out to be a lot easier than I thought. I have four finals left for this week--some that I'm worried about but most that I'm not worried about. Then I have off until Wednesday of next week when I have my grammar finals for the french university and thursday when I have the oral finals for the french University. Then on the 21 of December, a flight to JFK. Then on the 22 of December, a flight from ISP to MDW. Only two weeks!
As much as I love Strasbourg, Alsace, France, Europe, I am ready to go home for a bit and see family and friends from home. However, don't be surprised if I announce that I'm moving out to France after college once I graduate college...haha who knows. Well hope everything is going well on your side of the ocean. See most of you guys in two weeks from today! More to come :)
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