Welcome to Paris! Your train is an hour late, it's raining, and there is a frightening demonstration in the Metro

This weekend was the first few days of my winter break.  I didn't want to waste any time so I left for Paris right after classes ended on Friday afternoon.  I jetset back to the apartment from school to get my suitcase and get to the train station since I had about an hour between class ending and my train's departure.  I made haste in vain.

When I got to the train station in Strasbourg, I saw on the screen that my train was running 10 minutes late.  Ok, no big deal.  When I got to the platform, it was 20 minutes late and then there was an announcement that the train had to stop because it was having an electrical problem.  Great.  I waited on the platform as the temperature dropped and 5:15 (original departure time) crept closer and then crawled by.  More people arrived and expressed their frustration at the train's tardiness.  As I stood on the platform waiting for the train, the delay of the train increased: 20 minutes, 30 minutes, then 40 minutes.  ...Seriously!??!  At one point, a train pulled up!  Thank goodness!  Unfortunately, it was only half of the train to Paris and it was NOT the half where I was to be seated.  Finally, an announcement: "The train will arrive with a delay of 50 minutes."  A lady turned to me and said, "They should be giving us a free ticket, that's what they normally do."  Free train ticket?  Sweet.  A few minutes later, a frantic woman approached me and asked me what was going on, where was the train, and why it was so late.  I think she had been there as long as I had, but I explained to her the situation.  She agreed with me that it was annoying but then went and complained to an old man farther down the platform about how unorganized the SNCF (train company in France) is.
When did the train finally arrive at the Strasbourg station?  6:15, an hour after the train was supposed to leave for Paris.  The train left the station around 6:25.  Did I get a reimbursement/free ticket?  Nope.  I get a "reduction" of 30% on my next ticket, as long as it costs the same as the ticket I paid to go to Paris from Strasbourg.  Thanks, SNCF.

When I arrived in Paris (at 8:50), Cecile picked me up at the station and then we went to meet our other friends (Brice, JB, and Francois) at a different train station.  I didn't know they were coming so it was a surprise to see them.  We ate dinner and then hung out.  Saturday it was raining and cold so there wasn't much to do besides sort of shopping, which is difficult (nigh impossible) to do when with males.  We ate lunch at a Japanese restaurant and walked around Paris in the rain.  The Japanese food was good.  The rain was not.  Saturday afternoon JB and Francois went back to Nantes so after they left, Cecile and I headed back to her house to get ready for a party at her sister's fiance's house.  When the metro pulled up, there was absolutely NO room.  There was a demonstration/protest going on for I have no idea what cause.  It was a bunch of angry black people yelling, stomping, and pounding the walls/doors of the metro car.  I don't know how/why Cecile and I got on that metro.  It was a mistake.  The windows were fogged up with the heat of so many warm bodies crammed together.  It smelled.  It was loud.  There may have been a fight in the car but I'm not sure, I couldn't see.  Either way, it was horrifying.  We were only on the metro for one stop.  Unfortunately, our stop was the same one as all of the enraged protesters.  I got lost in the sea of screaming bodies and could barely find Cecile when we both got off the metro.  We stood off to the side until they passed by and then we were able to continue in peace.

The party that night was a lot of fun.  I met some of Cecile's and her sister's friends and I had a good time.  This morning we slept in.  When we woke up, it was raining again (surprise, surprise) so we couldn't really go out.  We had a lazy Sunday afternoon.  I had a delicious lunch with Cecile's family and we all talked together afterwards until we realized that I had to leave to catch my train back to Strasbourg.  Cecile went with me to the train station.  Luckily, my train was on time.  When I got back to Strasbourg, it was sleeting and extremely cold.  Typical.

Tomorrow I am back at the train station early to go to Germany for four days!  I can't wait!

Lastly, here is the most important picture of my trip to Paris.

5 kg/11 lbs of Nutella

An Excellent Weekend!

The weekend was a few days ago but I didn't have a chance to update until now.  I had a good weekend!

Friday night I met up with some friends and we went to a concert with local artists.  It was really chill and there were some great musicians there.  The first group was an acoustic guitarist (he was French but sang in really good English), a cellist, and a drummer who played African drums.  Later there was a local hip-hop/jazz/blues group who put on a great show.  They're called Bazbat and you can listen to their only song on youtube here:

Bazbat le clip

After the concert, Brenah, Ryan and I went to a bar where an old drunk man talked to us for what seemed like forever.  He was really creepy (ask for details) and practically told us his life story.  When he finally went outside to smoke a cigarette (after telling us he would be right back), the three of us slid out the door as quickly and discreetly as possible.  We went to another bar and hung out there instead.

Saturday I slept in.  In the afternoon, Astrid came over for lunch with the family and we had a delicious lunch followed by coffee and hanging out.  Astrid recently learned the Valse dance for her wedding so she wanted to practice.  She had to pull her dad's leg to get him to dance with her, it was so funny!

Saturday afternoon I went to L'orangerie park with Jillian.  It was a pretty nice day outside so I'm glad I went out and enjoyed it.  There is a restaurant in the park, a mini zoo, a petting zoo, a pond, and a playground.

Saturday night I went out with Astrid and Claire to see a movie, "Qui a envie d'etre aime?" (Who wants to be loved?)  It was about a lawyer who isn't religious but goes to a catechism class out of curiosity and ends up converting.  There was more to the story than that, but that was the basis.  It was a really good movie! I liked it a lot.  After dinner, the three of us went to a small restaurant to have tartines for a late dinner.  I had a tartine with goat cheese and thyme... it was delicious!!  Afterwards I met up with Jillian and Trish and we went to a bar called Xanadou where I tried my first absinthe.  Here is my reaction:

It was an interesting experience; verrrrry strong.  I think I would do it again.

Sunday morning I woke up early to go to a Viennese Carnival in Rosheim, France with Jillian, Kaila, and Jillian's host mom, who drove us there.  The people who wore the masks and costumes will be the same ones in Venice at Carnivale soon!  It was cool to see but I have a weird fear of masks so I was kind of terrified during this festival.  There was one guy who was dressed as a jester and I saw him walking in my direction in a crowd.  I turned and said something to Jillian and when I turned back around, he was right next to me.  I screamed loudly and annoyed the French around me.  

Scary!

I was scared.  Look at his mask!!! :(

However, there were some beautiful (not scary) masks for sale.  In retrospect, I wish I had bought one. They were hand painted in Italy...I'm having non-buyers remorse (again)!  

After walking around the Carnivale, we ate lunch.  With lunch, I had a French doughnut-type pastry with filling called a Beignet. These delicious puffs of heaven are only sold during the month of February in France so I'm enjoying them as often as I can.  My favorites are the strawberry-jelly filled ones but there are also chocolate, cream, and Nutella variations.  

Left: My beignet framboise, Right: Kaila's beignet creme

After the Carnivale, Jillian's host mom drove us to Mount Sainte Odile.  It was gorgeous!  The top used to be a monastery.  I learned about the story of Sainte Odile and saw beautiful views!!

Mount Ste. Odile

Inside the Chapel of Angels at Mt. Ste. Odile

After spending some time on top of the mountain, Jill's host mom drove us to a small town called Obernai.  It was a really cute town and in the city center there was a tiny ice-skating rink.  Jill's host mom told us that the town is known for it's colorful roof tiles and colorful versions of the traditional German-style houses/buildings.  Here are some examples.

As we walked around the town, we saw a delicious-looking pastry shop.  Jill's host mom bought meringues.  It was nice to get out of Strasbourg (even for just a day) and walk around other places in France.  

This week is the last week of classes before winter break at school, so of course the week is going by terribly slowly.  I can't wait for my adventures of winter break, though!

La Vie Quotidienne

I've been in France about a month now and it has been enough time for me to establish daily routines.  I'm pretty much living the life.

Every morning when I wake up either by my alarm or on my own, I open up the shade of the bedroom window and shout, "Bonjour, Strasbourg!"  Kidding about the shouting, but I wish I actually did that.  Anyway, by the time I wake up during the workweek, usually around 9 or 10, everyone else is at work or at school, so I have a quiet breakfast and enjoy a big cup of espresso and fresh baguette with home-made jam.  Then I get ready and take the tram for a few stops until I get to school, where I stay all day with a break of an hour or so for lunch.  I usually eat lunch with Jillian, Brenah, and Kaila, depending upon the day.  We usually go to the grocery store to get cheap sandwiches and fruit, but we did go to Resto U (the university cafeteria) once or twice and it wasn't bad.  Thankfully, there is a coffee/espresso machine in my school's building so I get a cup of coffee around midday too, and it's actually really good.
By the time I get out of class, it's usually 7 or 8, so I head home and unpack my stuff before dinner with my host family.  After dinner I catch up with friends and do schoolwork if I have any.

On days that I don't have class or I don't have class until later, I go on adventures in Strasbourg.  Often these adventures end up in shopping, bars, or cafes, but it is fun to explore the city nonetheless.  Since today was Thursday and I did not have class until 6 PM, I went on adventures with Jill this afternoon.

In La Petite France

Delicious-looking pastries and cakes

Cheers!

Enjoying drinks before class

So there is a peek into my everyday life.  It's pretty awesome.  Next Friday, the 18, is the last day before winter vacation.  I get two weeks off from classes!  I'll be going to Paris February 18-20, Nürnberg, Germany February 21-24, and then Geneva, Switzerland February 28-March 4 or 5.  I can't wait!!

Updated List

I like:

• My host family (love 'em)
• The food.  My host mom is an amazing cook.
• Speaking French all the time
• The ability to buy alcohol everywhere (Jillian had a 1664 with her lunch 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 everyday
• Soccer and Rugby on televisions in bars
• Dogs EVERYWHERE.  The French take their dogs out all the time.  Not only do they walk their pups all over the city, but dogs are welcome just about everywhere.  I have seen dogs with their owners in grocery stores, the tram, clothing stores, and bars.  America should get on this trend.
• The sales month in France.
• The price of something is what you pay.  When you go to buy shoes, you don't need to worry about a sales tax; it doesn't exist here.  It's wonderful.
• Sidewalk cafes
• Trains

I dislike:

• People who do not wear deodorant and then stand next to me on the tram
• Murses... (man purses) 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
• There are never paper towels in bathrooms here.  I understand that it's better for the environment, but I think that France does it just because it's cheaper.  
• Everything (except the post office) closes at noon for lunch and stays closed for about two hours.  I understand that everyone needs a break, but why don't you take lunch in shifts?  The bank and administrative offices are closed. Some stores close at noon.  It's inconvenient.
• Administrative tasks take forever.  I was well into my second week of class before I was issued my student ID.  
• There is no time between classes.  Classes are one hour, but they start and end at the same hour.  If you have class at 2 and 3, by the time your 2:00 class ends, you're already late for your 3:00.  I'm used to at least 10 minutes between classes, you know, for a break and to get across campus, but here, that does not exist.
• Word limits.  I didn't come to France to write essays, but I'm going to have to anyway.  For these essays, there are word limits.  If you exceed these word limits, the professor subtracts 2 points (grades are out of 20) for every 10 words.  This is a lot.  For someone who is wordy (clearly), this is going to be a challenge.

No One Cares About the Super Bowl in France.

It was a very busy second week of classes, to say the least!  I still like my classes although the language block classes can get very boring and repetitive.  I think my favorite class is going to be French Society through song or Advanced Grammar (does that make me weird?) or the class on Candide by Voltaire.

On Wednesday my friends Christelle and Rob come in from Paris and Nurnberg, Germany to spend the day in Strasbourg!  I met them at Longwood last fall when they were both spending their semester abroad.  It was great!  I skipped classes that day (I only had 3) and showed them Strasbourg.  We had lunch in a restaurant/pub and spent the day exploring Strasbourg.  We went to the Cathedral square to try to see parts of Sherlock Holmes 2 being filmed but it was blocked off pretty far from the cameras so we could only see horses and buggies and a few extras in interesting costumes.  However, the three of us were pretty sneaky.  We went into Lacoste, a store that backs up to the Cathedral square and although the windows were mostly blocked, we managed to see this!

After walking around Strasbourg for the day, we went to a small bar called Zanzibar.  It was pretty quiet and relaxing but the back room/bathrooms smelled like Delta/Rugby house.  It was almost nostalgic.

Thursday I went to Germany with Harris and Christelle (she stayed the night in Strasbourg and went back to Paris the next day).  We hopped on the bus in Strasbourg and in 20 minutes, we were on the other side of the Rhine river and in Kehl, Germany!!!  I had so much fun in Kehl even though we only went grocery shopping and to a pharmacy-type store.  Food and household items are a lot cheaper in Germany.  I stocked up on Ritter Sport chocolate.  It is the best.

Friday I had class early until 4 PM.  It was so disappointing because it was soo beautiful in the afternoon but by the time I got out of class, it was cloudy again.  

Yesterday beautiful weather graced Strasbourg yet again and lasted the entire day.  I opened my windows and heard church bells ringing in the distance.  The sun was bright and the sky was a beautiful blue (it's usually very cloudy in Strasbourg so it was wonderful to see the sky) so I knew that I needed to take this as a sign to go shopping and make the most out of the last weekend of sales in France!  I went out by myself and I wasn't the only one taking advantage of the beautiful weather.  I think everyone in Strasbourg and the surrounding areas came to the city center to walk around.  There were street performers, a clown selling balloon animals, and demonstrations.  I'm still waiting to see a strike in France but I know it's coming soon.  I bought shoes, a skirt, a dress, and two shirts.  The sales here are amazing.  I wish they lasted all year long.

On a side note, while out shopping yesterday, I noticed that it is a worldwide phenomenon for women to go out shopping with their boyfriends.  I saw a German couple in a store and the poor guy was trailing behind his girlfriend while holding the 4+ shopping bags that more likely than not belonged to her while she was frantically sorting through clothes on the rack and only acknowledging his existence to ask him which color he thought would look better on her.  I thought it was just American women who tortured their boyfriends by making them go shopping with them.  False; this is a worldwide problem.  

After shopping, I met up with Brenah for an afternoon coffee.  We sat at an outside cafe and enjoyed the remainder of the afternoon although evening was quickly falling.  Then we walked around until we went back home for dinner.  Around 9, I met up with Brenah and Jillian at a bar called Brasseur (I think).  We shared a pitcher of amber beer and had a pretty low-key Saturday night but it was a lot of fun.  I noticed that pitchers in France are a lot bigger than pitchers at home.  After the pitcher, I had a blonde beer with grenadine, which I shared with Jillian.  It was a fun evening!  Here are pictures I took from Jillian, who documented the evening.

Me and Brenah

Me and Jillian

Today I went to Mass with my host parents.  After lunch, we went to a park called L'Orangerie with Axel, my 5-year old host brother.  It was just as beautiful outside today as it was yesterday but since everything is closed on Sunday, EVERYONE was at the park.  It was still a lot of fun and I had a great time walking around and enjoying the sunshine.  Tonight I'll be getting ready for another busy week of classes and writing my essay.  Tonight is the Super Bowl.  I wish I were home to watch it.  No one cares about American football in France or Europe.  I used to think that I didn't really care much for American football, either, but I surprised myself.  I thought I would be more OK with not watching the Super Bowl tonight than I actually am.  I'm going to miss the Super Bowl food (nachos, salsa, chips, wings, pizza, beer, soda, etc) and the awesome commercials that come with the game.  :(

With that being said, I hope Green Bay wins.