Finalized Classes and a Good Weekend

I survived the first week of classes!  Barely.  By Friday I was exhausted and I had a hard time waking up early for my language block at 9:00.  HOWEVER, I finally have my classes picked out.  Funny enough, most of my classes are on Mondays and Tuesdays.  Thursday I don't have class until 6 PM, and even then it's only for one hour.  Unfortunately, Friday I have class at 9 AM for 3 hours and then again at 1 PM for three hours, so I by no means have a long weekend.  But Thursday will be a good day to run errands and catch up on homework and catch up with everyone back home.  This Thursday I'm actually planning on going into Germany with Harris (a good friend from the French Academy last summer who is teaching English for the year here in Strasbourg).  It will be my first time going into Germany but we're going to go shopping there for groceries and necessities, apparently meat and household items are a lot cheaper in Germany.  Who knew?  Either way, I'm excited to go to Germany!

So my final list of courses is:
Monday:

• 10 AM: Language block
• 11 AM: French Society Through Song
• 2 PM: Advanced Grammar
• 3 PM: Linguistic Diversity
• 5 PM: Street Languages
• 6 PM: Culture and Civilization

Tuesday:

• 10 AM: Language block
• 11 AM: Teaching French
• 1 PM: Art History
• 2 PM: Theatrical Language
• 4 PM: Geopolitics
• 5 PM: One Work, One Writer (we'll be studying Voltaire and reading Candide)

Wednesday:

• 1-3 PM: Language block
• 3 PM: World Philosophies
• 6 PM: Literary Movements (20th century French Poetry)

Thursday:

• 6 PM: Creative Writing

Friday:

• 9-11 AM: Language Block
• 1-4 PM: Language Block

There you have it!  Lots of classes means lots of work but I think I'll learn a lot this semester so I'm really looking forward to spending so much time in class. 

I had a pretty good first weekend after classes.  I'm no longer jet-lagged so I was actually able to somewhat enjoy the weekend!  After class on Friday, I went with my friend Tifffany to get books and school supplies.  The only two books that I need for my classes cost a total of 17.75 Euro, about $25.  I still can't believe it!  My school supplies were only about 12 Euro, so that was a relief, too!  I thought everything in France was supposed to be more expensive??

Friday night I hung out with Harris at his apartment and we watched trashy TV online (The Real Housewives of New Jersey) and talked.  It was nice to chill out after such a hectic week!  Saturday morning, unfortunately, I woke up not feeling too hot.  I had a bad headache, stuffy nose, and felt achey all over.  (I knew it would only be a matter of time before I got sick!)  I ate some breakfast and showered but that was exhausting so I went back to be for a bit afterwards.  I took a pretty late-morning/early afternoon nap but by the time I woke up and felt better, it was mid-to-late afternoon.  I had a few errands to do, so I did those and then went to Mass with Astrid.  After Mass, my headache returned with a vengeance.  I went back to the apartment and took some aspirin and laid down for a bit before I went to a wine and cheese party at Astrid and Claire's apartment.  It was a lot of fun!  I got to meet their friends and everyone was really nice.  I got home pretty late and was FREEZING so it felt great to sleep in a warm bed and sleep in on Sunday!

This afternoon, Astrid came over and so did her grandparents and we all had a really awesome lunch.  My host mother is an amazing cook and I'm learning a lot about French cuisine!  For lunch, we had real champagne (most of what is in the US is just sparkling white wine because real champagne is expensive as it is only made in the Champagne region of France) and as an entrée we had oysters on the half shell.  It was my first time eating oysters, and I had no idea they were alive when they were served!  Astrid instructed me on how to prepare them and then how to eat them.  I was surprised by how much they tasted like salt water and I didn't know that you were supposed to drink the salt water with the lemon juice when you slide the oyster down the shell and into your mouth.  It was really salty and I wasn't sure about how I felt about the first one so I was hesitant to try another, but I did anyway.  The second one tasted better than the first.  It was pretty good!

As the main dish, we had DUCK.  If you have heard about my first experience with duck, you will know that I LOVE it.  Today we ate a duck thigh with sauerkraut (but the Alsacian version).  It was soo good!  Champagne, oysters and duck in the same meal?  France is spoiling me.  Maybe it's just my host family... :)

For dessert we had a fruit salad.  It was refreshing after a heavy meal!  

After lunch, the family moved into the living room where we had coffee and talked.  It was a great afternoon.

This evening, I helped my host mother made a chocolate cake from scratch.  It was really easy!  I'm going to get the recipe from her and try to make it when I get home; it was delicious!  

Tonight I'll be working on homework for tomorrow and Tuesday since I know I will be burnt out tomorrow night when I get back from class.  I'm happy to be back in class but I could live without all the homework! 

First Week of Classes

It is currently raining and very cold.  I think this is normal weather for the time of year; apparently Strasbourg gets a LOT of rain.  It was raining when I woke up and as I'm about to go to sleep, it is still raining.  I'm afraid that the four days of beautiful weather that graced Strasbourg upon my arrival were fleeting.

I braved the bitter cold on Monday morning to go to my first class at 10:00.  It was my obligatory language block class - a group of 15-20 students who are in my same level of French.  We meet for 10 hours every week and have four different teachers who teach our level on different days of the week.  In addition to the ten hours of language block, I have a lot of "option" classes from which I can choose.  The option classes meet once a week for one hour.  I'm going to as many as I can this week but I've really liked almost all of the ones I have visited so far.  Eventually, I'll have to pick out 8-10 classes that I want to take.  This will put me in class for about 20 hours a week.  A few of the classes I've visited so far and really liked are: French Society in Song, Advanced Grammar, Linguistic Diversity, Street Languages, Teaching French, Art History, Theatrical Survey, Geopolitics, World Philosophies, and Literary Movements.  That makes ten already and I still have Thursday's and Friday's option classes to go to... I think I'm going to have a hard time choosing my classes!

What I've noticed about classes in Strasbourg is that there is a lot less discussion in class.  The teacher stands up in front of the class and talks for an hour and it's up to you to decide what's important and what to write down.  Occasionally the professor will write things on the board but it's not much and it's not enough to just copy what they write on the board.  (I went to the International Relations class today, he mumbled for an hour about European governmental institutions and occasionally scribbled a word or a date on the board.  It was hard to take notes.)

A wonderful thing about classes in France: I only need to buy one book (for my language block class) and it will probably cost less than the equivalent of thirty dollars.  I'm used to spending at least $400/semester on books at Longwood so this will be a very welcome change.

More about classes at the end of the week!

A Trip to Nancy!

Yesterday the group had our first excursion!  We met at the train station early to go to Nancy, a city in the Lorraine region.  The train ride wasn't too long - about an hour and a half.  When we got there, we were given a brief walking tour of the city before going to the Lorraine Region Museum.  The city definitely looked different from Strasbourg and it was a lot smaller.

For example:

On the streets of Nancy

On the streets of Strasbourg

A street across the river in Strasbourg

It's a pretty big difference in architecture and city life.  At least that was the impression that I had from my short stay in Nancy!

Our tour ended in the Place Stanislas.  It was beautiful; surrounded by gates that had gilded decorations and then a statue of Stanislas in the middle, it definitely looked artistic (Nancy is known for being a city associated with the arts).

Statue of Stanislas

Hotel de Ville

Decorations Rococo

Gilded gate in the Place Stanislas

Arc de Triomphe in Nancy

 I also saw the main church (I'm not sure if it's a cathedral or not) in Nancy.  It was reallllly pretty but I prefer the cathedral in Strasbourg.

Church in Nancy

Cathedral in Strasbourg

Protestant church near my host family's apartment in Strasbourg
      

   

Again

River that runs through Strasbourg

Again

Strasbourg looks really different from Nancy.  In a good way, I think.  Strasbourg is so beautiful in it's own way!  It was nice to see the differences in Nancy, though.

So anyway, after looking around the Lorraine Museum we finally went to lunch!  It was delicious.  We went to a restaurant called Le Vivier.  My menu du jour:

Entree: smoked ham over potatoes with a yellowish cheese sauce and a small salad

Plat principal: steamed salmon in a citrus sauce with a zucchini/carrot pasta.

Dessert: Fromage blanc (it was like a plain yogurt) with a raspberry sauce and of course a coffee

Lunch in Nancy was sooo good!  I could get used to eating like this.  I'm taking mental notes (and sometimes tangible ones, too) of the things that I eat and how to make them so that I can continue to eat such delicious food when I get back home.  :)

After lunch, we went to the Musee des Beaux Arts de Nancy (an art museum).  It was really cool.  We had a guided tour that was supposed to be an hour but since we weren't pressed for time he ended up talking for an hour and forty minutes.  A lot of the art was really beautiful! I especially liked the Collection Daum in the basement of the museum.  It's a collection of glass made by a company that has been around for a long, long time.  

Collection Daum

By the way, my host family is one of the principal donors to the Musee des Beaux Arts de Nancy.  Their name is engraved in the wall by the main stairs.  How cool is that??  

de Crevoisier

The complete list of donors to the musuem

After the Musee des Beaux Arts, there wasn't much time left before our train to go back to Strasbourg had to leave, so we headed towards the train station.  It was a very long day and when we got back to Strasbourg, I couldn't go directly home.  I had to go to the university to check the results of my test and find out the time of my first class!

After my French language placement test on Monday, I finally found out on Friday that I placed into the top level classes.  I'll be taking classes at the Diplome Superieur des Etudes Francaises (DSEF) at the university.  My first class is Monday at 10:00.  The director of the American program gave us each a list of the option courses that we can take, so besides my language block next week, I'll be visiting and choosing option courses to take as well as courses at the Faculte.  Starting Monday I will FINALLY be busy!  I can't wait.

This whole week was pretty low-key.  It actually got really boring, to be honest.  I had a meeting almost every day but it was only for an hour or two so I had a LOT of free time.  It was enough to prevent me from traveling but not enough to keep me busy.  I explored the city and that was fun but I feel pretty familiar with it now so by Wednesday/Thursday, I was BORED.  It's nice to not have any stress and be able to do what you want, but I couldn't go anywhere and everyone else is working/in school so I didn't have anything to do.  I prefer to be busy; when I have something to keep me occupied and  busy, I find that time goes by much faster and I don't have time to get homesick.  I'm really looking forward to classes starting next week and being in class for 7-8 hours every day.  It will be good for me to have a routine.

Until Monday, though, I will be pretty bored.  I was too tired to do anything last night after coming back from Nancy and I still feel pretty tired today.  Plus it is FREEZING in Strasbourg.  Literally.  It hasn't gotten above 32 F all day.  It's also windy so it feels even colder.  I don't want to go outside if I can help it.  I really don't want to get sick right before classes start and there are already a few other Americans in my program who are sick!  My immune system can only last so long but I'm trying to stay healthy for as long as possible.

Testing, Exploring, a Cell Phone, and a bank account

Something I have noticed since my arrival in France is that the sun does not rise as early as it does in the states.  True, it is winter and the days are shorter (although after winter solstice they're supposed to be getting longer), but when I left the apartment this morning around 8:00, the sun wasn't even up yet!  This is not going to make waking up in the morning any easier.

My placement test was this morning across town at 8:30.  It was easy to get to via tram and I met up with the other Americans in my program there.  The test consisted of an oral comprehension exam and then a writing portion.  The oral comprehension part started out really easy and became progressively more difficult.  The last two parts were kind of difficult but I think I managed pretty well.  The written part was no problemo.  I'll find out the results on Friday after the group comes back from our first excursion to Nancy!

After the test and lunch, we walked around campus and explored buildings before hopping on the tram to go downtown to buy a cell phone.  Finally I have a cell phone that works!  My American cell phone will turn on and has French reception but I cannot call home, I cannot send or receive text messages nor can I check my voicemail.  My French cell phone is a little dinky thing that I will probably drop and break but at least it's something affordable.  I'm only here for 5 months so I don't really care.

Once we had our cell phones, Jillian and I went back to where the test was to set up our bank account.  Let me tell you, having a French bank account is going to be dangerous for me.  Apparently, in your checking account you are allowed to overdraw up to 500 Euro (About $660) and have it overdrawn for up to two weeks before I get into trouble with the bank.  Lucky for me (or unlucky, whichever you prefer), this is the sales month in France.  ALL of the stores are having huge sales on everything.  I'm talking about reductions from 30-70%.  The sales will be going on for another few weeks and then there won't be sales again until July (I will be long gone from France).

Here is a list so far of things I like and dislike about being in France:

I like:

• My host family (I love them!!)
• The food (everything I have tasted is SO good although I ate foie gras the other night and the taste was perhaps too rich for me)
• Speaking French all the time
• The ability to buy alcohol everywhere (my friend had a 1664 with her lunch today in McDonalds at 11 AM)
• The alcohol (I have missed French wine... I can't say it enough)
• Public transportation
• The beautiful architecture
• Fresh bread everyday
• Amazing coffee

I dislike:

• People who do not wear deodorant and then stand next to me on the tram
• Murses... they're everywhere!!!!  It's quite funny so I guess that is more humorous than a dislike
• The exchange rate
• Communication difficulties with everyone back home
• Creepy French men
• No free refills (BOO)
• Songs that are now popular in France were popular 4-5 months ago at home
• Cigarette butts lining the sidewalks outside the local university
• STILL not knowing what classes I'm taking

That is all for now; I will add more as I find out more of what I like and do not like :)

Day 3 in Strasbourg!

This morning I went to Mass with my host family.  I'm Lutheran but I have a feeling that I am going to be a good Catholic while I'm here!  The church was absolutely beautiful- lots of stained glass windows, a huge pipe organ in the back, and beautiful statues and architecture.  The mass was surprisingly similar to a church service back home- the same prayers, readings, etc.  It was interesting to hear everything in French and understand it all.  I went to mass with my host family in 2006, but my French has vastly improved since then so I understand much better now.  Astrid introduced me to some of her friends after Mass and then we went back home to a delicious lunch of salad, fish and rice with an amaaaazing sauce, and a mille feuille for dessert.

After lunch, Astrid's fiances parents came over to meet and plan for her wedding in September (I can't wait to come back for her wedding!)  I used the downtime to try to call home but no one I called answered or could talk. :(  Shortly after, though, Astrid and I went to the movies with her roommate, Claire.  We saw a chick-flick called "La Chance de ma Vie"  It was about a guy who brought bad luck to every woman who fell in love with him/with whom he fell in love.  It was really funny and very cute; I liked it a lot!  It wasn't a typical French film though - it had a happy ending.

Tomorrow I have to take my test at 8:30 AM to determine my level of French.  I don't know if I should feel nervous- I don't know what I can do to prepare for it.  It's in two parts: writing and speaking.  Hopefully I'll do well!  I'm more nervous about finding the building where the test is because I didn't pay close attention when we went there on the walking tour, plus I'm coming from a different direction.  Mappy.com will be my best friend until I become familiar with the city layout.

Luckily, my host family's apartment is right in the city-center so I'm pretty much within walking distance to everything.  There is a tram station very close the the apartment and it makes traveling faster but I think I'll be able to get everywhere I need to be this semester within 20 minutes by foot.  :)

Orientation

Day 2 in Strasbourg: Orientation with the American program.  I had to walk to the director's apartment this morning and after getting a little bit lost, I arrived about 20 minutes late (I'm becoming French already... uh oh...) It was cool to meet the 7 other American students but the orientation was pretty boring.  We went over regulations and talked about our families, had lunch, and then went on a walking tour of Strasbourg.

Tonight was much more exciting!  I met up with my friend Harris, who is currently teaching English for the year, I know him from French Academy last summer and we went to a birthday party for one of the other English teachers.  I met a lot of his colleages in the teaching assistantship program.  It was an evening full of fun people. good music, and excellent wine.  I have missed French wine.

Now I am off to bed as it is nigh 2:30 AM and I am going to mass with the family tomorrow morning.  Bonne nuit!

The Arrival

I have arrived in Strasbourg after a very long 2 days!  My trip went relatively smoothly- no problems at the airport until I brought my carry-on luggage on the plane.  A flight attendant stopped me as I was finding my seat and said, "That carry on is too big."  What? I responded, "Are you sure?  The person at the ticket counter said it would be okay..." "No.  It was illegal for him to tell you that.  That carry-on size is illegal.  It won't fit in the overhead compartment, you're going to have to check it."  Illegal?  So I followed her around the plane while she tried to figure out what to do with my "illegal" luggage.  She finally brought me around to the entrance of the plane and had a guy from the boarding counter put a tag on my luggage and take it away to get it checked in.  Not too stressful, but it was annoying nonetheless.  On the plus side, I had a bag checked for free.  She also gave me crap about that: "You should have paid to have this second bag checked.  Next time you'll have to pay."  Now that I know a way to beat the system, we'll see about that ;)  Just kidding.  Maybe.

I arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport around 6:00 AM (France time, midnight at home), 35 minutes before my flight was scheduled to arrive.  I got through immigration and got both of my suitcases pretty quickly so when I called Cecile and she wasn't quite there yet, I wasn't surprised.  When she got there, II realized just how much I had missed her!  Her dad was waiting for us outside in the car.  We quickly shoved my stuff into the car and headed back to Cecile's house.  After dropping my stuff off at her house and having a small breakfast, Cecile and I took the train and metro into downtown Paris where she has her internship.  I decided to accompany her instead of going home and sleeping all day in an attempt to get over jetlag as soon as possible.  (It didn't really work.)  After a pretty lazy day for me, we went to buy my 12-25 train card (a discount card on trains for people between the ages of 12-25.)  Then we met up with Brice and Mariza for dinner at Les Belles Miettes.  (Brice and Mariza are two of the French students who studied at Longwood last year) It was great to see them again and catch up!  As far as the meal goes, to say it was delicious would be an understatement.  Here are photos of the 3-course dinner.

Entree: Fried egg, toast, a sort of greens, and salmon.  Sooo good.

Plat principal: Duck thigh with a mushroom sauce, rice, and green beans.  It was one of the best things I have ever tasted. My first duck experience but it certainly won't be my last.

Desert: Chocolate tart with pear baked in and cream and whipped cream.  It was so rich.

After dinner, Cecile's dad, sister, and brother picked us up downtown and her dad took me on a driving tour of Paris.  It was great to see the city all lit up.  We even drove down the Champs Elysees and then around the l'Arc de Triomphe.  It was really cool but I was exhausted (and in a food coma).  However, when we got home and I got into bed, I had a really hard time falling asleep.  Jetlag sucks.

The next morning, Cecile's sister went with me to the Gare du Nord (one of Paris' train stations).  She was so nice to help me with all my luggage (roughly 70-80 pounds total) but she had to be at work so she couldn't accompany me all the way to my train station (Gare de l'est).  I had to take the metro (with all my luggage) by myself to get to the train station.

Once I was there, I had to go up stairs (there was no escalator) to get to the platform.  I dragged my luggage to the platform that was indicated on the screen for my train to Strasbourg.  While I sat and waited to be able to board the train, all of a sudden, the platform changed on the screen.  The train was leaving from the other side of the station.  I had to drag all my stuff (and now plastic bag of lunch stuff, I bought lunch at the station) across the train station to get to the new platform.  

When the time came to board the train, I found as I was walking the length of the train that my designated car was alllllll the way down.  (By this point I was getting pretty tired).  When I found the car, I had some difficulty pulling my stuff up onto the train and then finding a place for it near my seat.  I think I annoyed a lot of people who were already seated in the aisle as I dragged my fat suitcases down the aisle and bumped into their knees.  Woops.

The train was a TGV, which is a high-speed train in France.  I got to Strasbourg in about two and a half hours.  When I arrived, I walked across the station to the front where I had to take a bus to the station near my host family's apartment.  From the bus stop, I walked another ten minutes.  When I got here, everyone was at work/school so I had a chance to unpack everything.  Around 6 PM everyone got home and it was great to see the de Crevoisiers again.  I hadn't seen Astrid since I was 16!!  We had a great dinner together and then Astrid, Amicie, and Astrid's roommate Clare watched a French movie together.  My first night in Strasbourg was relaxing and wonderful. :)

Globetrotting

Hello!  I made this blog by request and I figure it will be easier to write of my experiences and share with friends and family this way rather than writing a million emails everyday.

I'm off to France tomorrow afternoon where I will live and study in Strasbourg for about six months.  Although it's really difficult and sad to say goodbye to my loved ones for such a long time, I'm looking forward to the many adventures that this experience will bring.  It actually feels surreal - I've wanted to live in France ever since I started learning French (8-10 years ago) and the time has finally come.  I don't know if I feel more excited or more nervous!

I'll update when I'm across the pond!