Today was the day we had to move out of our homely apartment. A sad departure it was to leave the people I’ve come to know very well within this last month. I want to say thank you to Elle, Katie, Lucy, Brittany, Danielle, Alex, Soren, Kenny, and Charlie for making this trip one for the books. I am extremely fortunate to have learned something from each one of you. The memories we’ve made, I’ll never forget. I am so happy to have met such different kinds of people, from different kinds of places, who all have different views about the world. You’ve all helped me learn how to see the world differently in a more positive light and roll with the punches in the craziest of cities. Seeing the Eiffel Tower, going to Normandy and Versailles, walking through gardens, listening to all different kinds of music, exchanging such random stories, I’ll never forget it. Perhaps in the future our paths will cross, perhaps not. There would be nothing better than reminiscing our memories of Paris over a bottle of the cheapest wine we can find with a baguette and a jar of Nutella.
I wish you all the best of travels in your future, and I hope all of you enjoy being back in the good ol’ U.S. of A. While you enjoy going back to driving and the barbecues, I will enjoy a traditional Korean meal in a hostel...in the suburbs :)
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Fête de la Musique
There could not have been a better time to be in France. Every year on the day of Summer Solstice, the entire country of France celebrates Fête de la Musique, basically the biggest free musical party ever. The festivities don’t start until around 6 PM and lasts until the next morning. It’s actually a three day long celebration, but naturally the first night is the night to celebrate and most of the concerts are free (the ones outside anyway). Throughout the afternoon it would be typical Paris weather: sunshine, rain, thunderstorm, sunshine, hail, sunshine. By the time it was time to leave it stayed sunny, thank goodness!
The whole set up is on every couple of blocks there are bands in front of a café, garden, on the edge of a corner, everywhere. My desired neighborhood of Paris is Saint-Germain-des-Prés so a couple of us headed there.
We get off the métro and just start walking to see what this crazy celebration had to offer on the longest. We first encountered this band right in front of a café and they seemed pretty cool, nothing too exciting. Obviously the night hadn’t even started yet, so it was time to move on. We continued walking see a couple of other bands. I didn’t see any band of importance that I know of, so I’m only assuming they’re all local bands.
At one point we turn to find a huge crowd in a small street. On this particular street the vibe totally changed from mostly rock bands to some Mexican music. It was so crowded and there were people salsa dancing all over. How crazy it was to take one simple right turn and end up listening to a whole different genre of music really intrigued me. But the exploring was not yet done!
I had no idea how prevalent American music was in other countries until this night. I probably heard “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes several times. There might not be anything funnier than listening to the French sing American songs with their accents. Especially this band...
These guys were doing mostly covers of The White Stripes and 80s music. After about the third time of listening to the same song by a different band, they decided to change it up a little and play some Joan Jett and AC/DC. We were feeling a little quench of thirst so we ran into the Monoprix across the street to buy something and upon our return they’ve moved on to The Clash. We decided that we had spent quite a bit of time listening to these guys, so we began to walk a bit more as it started to get a little darker.
We ended up walking all the way to the Musée du Louvre which didn’t have much music going on so more walking we did! The next thing I know, we see the Eiffel Tower all light up. It could not have been more perfect: faint music coming down from the Eiffel Tower, and the best view in the world. I could easily get used to looking at the Eiffel Tower everyday. After spending some time here taking it all in, we wanted to watch some more bands, naturally.
Unfortunately it was getting to be very late and there weren’t any bands on the streets anymore, so we decided to get on the métro and find somewhere else to go within Paris. But it was closed. So was the next one. And then the one after that...closed. Finally, we find an open one with people everywhere. People screaming in French, K-9 German Shepherds with the French police, and people running to the métro. We were kind of lost in a haze so we decided it wasn’t very safe and to head home. We’re waiting for the train to arrive and all of a sudden I feel like my eyes are burning and I’m coughing. We look around and everyone else in the station is acting the same way. We assumed it must have been tear gas and we were lucky enough to have only gotten there after they used it. A long night it was, it was time to head home.
This experience can barely be put into words, let alone within the space that a blog can allow. This won’t be the last time I get to experience Fête de la Musique. I’ll never forget this night with good music and good company, but it certainly won’t be the last!
The whole set up is on every couple of blocks there are bands in front of a café, garden, on the edge of a corner, everywhere. My desired neighborhood of Paris is Saint-Germain-des-Prés so a couple of us headed there.
We get off the métro and just start walking to see what this crazy celebration had to offer on the longest. We first encountered this band right in front of a café and they seemed pretty cool, nothing too exciting. Obviously the night hadn’t even started yet, so it was time to move on. We continued walking see a couple of other bands. I didn’t see any band of importance that I know of, so I’m only assuming they’re all local bands.
At one point we turn to find a huge crowd in a small street. On this particular street the vibe totally changed from mostly rock bands to some Mexican music. It was so crowded and there were people salsa dancing all over. How crazy it was to take one simple right turn and end up listening to a whole different genre of music really intrigued me. But the exploring was not yet done!
I had no idea how prevalent American music was in other countries until this night. I probably heard “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes several times. There might not be anything funnier than listening to the French sing American songs with their accents. Especially this band...
These guys were doing mostly covers of The White Stripes and 80s music. After about the third time of listening to the same song by a different band, they decided to change it up a little and play some Joan Jett and AC/DC. We were feeling a little quench of thirst so we ran into the Monoprix across the street to buy something and upon our return they’ve moved on to The Clash. We decided that we had spent quite a bit of time listening to these guys, so we began to walk a bit more as it started to get a little darker.
We ended up walking all the way to the Musée du Louvre which didn’t have much music going on so more walking we did! The next thing I know, we see the Eiffel Tower all light up. It could not have been more perfect: faint music coming down from the Eiffel Tower, and the best view in the world. I could easily get used to looking at the Eiffel Tower everyday. After spending some time here taking it all in, we wanted to watch some more bands, naturally.
Unfortunately it was getting to be very late and there weren’t any bands on the streets anymore, so we decided to get on the métro and find somewhere else to go within Paris. But it was closed. So was the next one. And then the one after that...closed. Finally, we find an open one with people everywhere. People screaming in French, K-9 German Shepherds with the French police, and people running to the métro. We were kind of lost in a haze so we decided it wasn’t very safe and to head home. We’re waiting for the train to arrive and all of a sudden I feel like my eyes are burning and I’m coughing. We look around and everyone else in the station is acting the same way. We assumed it must have been tear gas and we were lucky enough to have only gotten there after they used it. A long night it was, it was time to head home.
This experience can barely be put into words, let alone within the space that a blog can allow. This won’t be the last time I get to experience Fête de la Musique. I’ll never forget this night with good music and good company, but it certainly won’t be the last!
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Normandy, it's been real
Basically the longest two days of my life.
This weekend the program I’m in took an overnight excursion to Normandy. Rainy. Windy. Normandy. We were to leave at approximately 7:45 AM for a four hour bus ride. The second the bus leaves Paris I put my headphones in and fall fast asleep. We eventually arrive to Bayeux, which is a town in the region of Normandy and we go to a museum to visit the Bayeux Tapestry. I won’t lie, that was super boring. We had some free time afterwards to walk around this tiny town and grab some lunch. I had a ham gallette which was incredibly delicious. Our group returned to the bus ten minutes late, oops!
Next we move on for another hour of a bus ride to visit the D-Day beaches which was completely fascinating to me since I just studied WWII in my history class this last quarter. Our first stop was Pointe du Hoc which has all of the bunkers. It was starting to drizzle a little bit and the wind wasn’t too kind at all. My bangs were a mess. Anyway...the beach went on for miles, it was so beautiful. The view, the bunkers, it was moving to realize that a battle of World War II took place on the Earth that I was walking over. Just to imagine people actually fighting there was overwhelming. By the end of this stop my feet are completely soaked because it started to rain a good amount and I lack the proper shoes for such rainy weather.
Our next stop was Omaha beach which had two memorials for the soldiers. The first one had red gravel surrounding it to represent the blood of those who died. The next one was just an awesome piece of art. We only stayed at this beach for five minutes due to our group’s lack of punctuality. We stayed just long enough for my feet and shoes to be covered in sand which was utterly miserable. There is NOTHING worse than having wet feet covered in sand in the cold.
Then we departed Omaha beach to go see the American Cemetery which was my favorite part of this baby excursion. Now it starts raining...and it won’t stop. Despite this awful part, we walked around the graves and as sad as the history is, it was so moving. The elegant tomb stones all in the lines, ah. It was simply breathe taking. There just aren't words to describe it. You just have to look at it, and you understand. Now we have one more beach to visit...
We arrive at Arromanches and no one wanted to go out in the rain besides one brave person. After being on a bus for the entire day, everyone just wanted to go to the hotel and eat. But we have to wait because there’s an hour and a half drive to Trouville. We finally arrive to this tiny town in Normandy and it seems that the only people in this place is super old. A little bit after we arrive, we’re served a three course meal which was the most I’ve eaten so far in one sitting here. After dinner, for the purposes that my mom is the only person in the world reading this silly blog, we did not go out to a bar, and everyone went straight to bed after a long day of traveling to get a decent night’s sleep.
The next morning we wake up to some breakfast which had coffee! My goodness how I’ve missed having a cup of coffee in the morning. Shortly after that it’s time for another full day of being on the bus and making several stops. We depart to Honfleur which is a super old town. All of the houses had no space in between, the river runs right through the middle, it was very quaint. We had such a long walking tour, visited an old church, and the Boudin Museum which I liked since it had a bunch of watercolor Impressionist paintings. After Honfleur we visited Château du Breuil to taste some Calvados, apple cider, and apple pie. We were only served a little bit of the Calvados because of it's ridiculous amount of alcohol content. It was pretty strong and tasted very strongly of apples, naturally. The apple pie wasn't as sugary like it is back home, but still very fresh and scrumptious.
Honfleur
Château du Breuil
Now it’s time to go home. FINALLY. (It was really weird to say, “I want to go home” and I don’t mean the one in Spokane). We arrive in Paris and it felt like home sweet home where I yet again, went straight to bed because of walking around and being cooped up inside a bus.
Normandy, it’s been real but I think I like the hustle and bustle of Paris a little bit more. The country side is definitely beautiful and was a nice little change of scenery. Versailles, I think you’re next!
This weekend the program I’m in took an overnight excursion to Normandy. Rainy. Windy. Normandy. We were to leave at approximately 7:45 AM for a four hour bus ride. The second the bus leaves Paris I put my headphones in and fall fast asleep. We eventually arrive to Bayeux, which is a town in the region of Normandy and we go to a museum to visit the Bayeux Tapestry. I won’t lie, that was super boring. We had some free time afterwards to walk around this tiny town and grab some lunch. I had a ham gallette which was incredibly delicious. Our group returned to the bus ten minutes late, oops!
Next we move on for another hour of a bus ride to visit the D-Day beaches which was completely fascinating to me since I just studied WWII in my history class this last quarter. Our first stop was Pointe du Hoc which has all of the bunkers. It was starting to drizzle a little bit and the wind wasn’t too kind at all. My bangs were a mess. Anyway...the beach went on for miles, it was so beautiful. The view, the bunkers, it was moving to realize that a battle of World War II took place on the Earth that I was walking over. Just to imagine people actually fighting there was overwhelming. By the end of this stop my feet are completely soaked because it started to rain a good amount and I lack the proper shoes for such rainy weather.
Our next stop was Omaha beach which had two memorials for the soldiers. The first one had red gravel surrounding it to represent the blood of those who died. The next one was just an awesome piece of art. We only stayed at this beach for five minutes due to our group’s lack of punctuality. We stayed just long enough for my feet and shoes to be covered in sand which was utterly miserable. There is NOTHING worse than having wet feet covered in sand in the cold.
Then we departed Omaha beach to go see the American Cemetery which was my favorite part of this baby excursion. Now it starts raining...and it won’t stop. Despite this awful part, we walked around the graves and as sad as the history is, it was so moving. The elegant tomb stones all in the lines, ah. It was simply breathe taking. There just aren't words to describe it. You just have to look at it, and you understand. Now we have one more beach to visit...
We arrive at Arromanches and no one wanted to go out in the rain besides one brave person. After being on a bus for the entire day, everyone just wanted to go to the hotel and eat. But we have to wait because there’s an hour and a half drive to Trouville. We finally arrive to this tiny town in Normandy and it seems that the only people in this place is super old. A little bit after we arrive, we’re served a three course meal which was the most I’ve eaten so far in one sitting here. After dinner, for the purposes that my mom is the only person in the world reading this silly blog, we did not go out to a bar, and everyone went straight to bed after a long day of traveling to get a decent night’s sleep.
The next morning we wake up to some breakfast which had coffee! My goodness how I’ve missed having a cup of coffee in the morning. Shortly after that it’s time for another full day of being on the bus and making several stops. We depart to Honfleur which is a super old town. All of the houses had no space in between, the river runs right through the middle, it was very quaint. We had such a long walking tour, visited an old church, and the Boudin Museum which I liked since it had a bunch of watercolor Impressionist paintings. After Honfleur we visited Château du Breuil to taste some Calvados, apple cider, and apple pie. We were only served a little bit of the Calvados because of it's ridiculous amount of alcohol content. It was pretty strong and tasted very strongly of apples, naturally. The apple pie wasn't as sugary like it is back home, but still very fresh and scrumptious.
Trouville
Honfleur
Château du Breuil
Now it’s time to go home. FINALLY. (It was really weird to say, “I want to go home” and I don’t mean the one in Spokane). We arrive in Paris and it felt like home sweet home where I yet again, went straight to bed because of walking around and being cooped up inside a bus.
Normandy, it’s been real but I think I like the hustle and bustle of Paris a little bit more. The country side is definitely beautiful and was a nice little change of scenery. Versailles, I think you’re next!
Monday, June 11, 2012
"He who opens a school door, opens a prison" - Victor Hugo
It's Monday June 4, 2012 at 11:55, class starts in five minutes and I have yet to find my class. I felt so proud because I had taken the right metro, gotten all of the turns right and I come across this door which is exactly where the door to my school is. All I see is this lock on the door, and it won't open. Why will this door not open?! I ask a person for directions and of course no one knows where anything is in this city. Luckily, a man walks out of the door and he points me the way to my class. This would be the door to my school which is locked, and I had no idea how to open it until my teacher had to show me how to ring the bell to open this tiny door.
Finally! I find my class! And make it just in time. There are people from all over the world in my class. There's students from Thailand, Japan, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Brazil just everywhere. Now that is the epitome of a truly "diverse" group. Through the little French doors, would be the opening to my class. How I found it, is beyond me.
Then I meet my professor. Her name is Madame Greaves. She could not be any more French: skinny older woman, wears a scarf every single day, dresses très chic. She basically looks like what I thought older women looked like in France. She probably even smokes...That's beside the point. After having class everyday 12-2 for a week, I have yet to hear a word of English from her mouth. So far, school has been so enjoyable and I look forward to it everyday.
The best day thus far was Friday. Every night we are supposed to read out of a book that the Sorbonne gave to us, which consists mostly of poems and letters or extracts from theatrical plays. Everyday she asks us what we read the previous night before, and one of the days I said that I read Demain, dès l'aube... by Victor Hugo. Granted, I already read this for Eastern...but it's probably my favorite poem ever. Madame Greaves was quite excited because apparently the French just love this poem so we spent a good hour and a half on Friday discussing it. We were discussing the rhythm of the poem, and she starts walking around the classroom reciting it by heart. I was completely astonished. I was smiling from ear to ear so happy realizing that I'm able to discuss simple things such as a small poem and feel like I shouldn't even be anywhere else.
Other than that, school is boring grammar. But the best thing about being a student at la Sorbonne...is some of the museums are free. Le Louvre was free....AWESOME. Simply unblelievable. Now that we're on the topic of the Louvre, I came to France to see La Joconde, or the Mona Lisa. Now don't get your hopes up, she's not bigger than a laptop screen. To see her in person though, was simply breath taking. I was just looking at this painting wondering why I hadn't seen it sooner. It's so silly, it's just a painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Maybe it's just me, it's such a simple painting. Maybe it's the hype of it being the "Mona Lisa," but to me, nothing could even compare to make me feel whole.
Now that I've expressed my soul on a stupid blog, I'll end with the poem I read for this week, since I just can't keep it to myself.
Demain, dès l'aube...
Demain, dès l'aube, à l'heure où blanchit la campagne,
Je partirai. Vois-tu, je sais que tu m'attends.
J'irai par la forêt, j'irai par la montagne.
Je ne puis demeurer loin de toi plus longtemps.
Je marcherai les yeux fixés sur mes pensées,
Sans rien voir au dehors, sans entendu aucun bruit,
Seul, inconnu, le dos courbé, les mains croisées,
Triste, et le jour pour moi sera comme la nuit.
Je ne regarderai ni l'or du soir qui tombe,
Ni les voiles au loin descendant vers Harfleur,
Et quand j'arriverai, je mettrai sur ta tombe
Un bouquet de houx vert et de bruyère en fleur.
Victor Hugo - 1856
Finally! I find my class! And make it just in time. There are people from all over the world in my class. There's students from Thailand, Japan, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Brazil just everywhere. Now that is the epitome of a truly "diverse" group. Through the little French doors, would be the opening to my class. How I found it, is beyond me.
Then I meet my professor. Her name is Madame Greaves. She could not be any more French: skinny older woman, wears a scarf every single day, dresses très chic. She basically looks like what I thought older women looked like in France. She probably even smokes...That's beside the point. After having class everyday 12-2 for a week, I have yet to hear a word of English from her mouth. So far, school has been so enjoyable and I look forward to it everyday.
The best day thus far was Friday. Every night we are supposed to read out of a book that the Sorbonne gave to us, which consists mostly of poems and letters or extracts from theatrical plays. Everyday she asks us what we read the previous night before, and one of the days I said that I read Demain, dès l'aube... by Victor Hugo. Granted, I already read this for Eastern...but it's probably my favorite poem ever. Madame Greaves was quite excited because apparently the French just love this poem so we spent a good hour and a half on Friday discussing it. We were discussing the rhythm of the poem, and she starts walking around the classroom reciting it by heart. I was completely astonished. I was smiling from ear to ear so happy realizing that I'm able to discuss simple things such as a small poem and feel like I shouldn't even be anywhere else.
Other than that, school is boring grammar. But the best thing about being a student at la Sorbonne...is some of the museums are free. Le Louvre was free....AWESOME. Simply unblelievable. Now that we're on the topic of the Louvre, I came to France to see La Joconde, or the Mona Lisa. Now don't get your hopes up, she's not bigger than a laptop screen. To see her in person though, was simply breath taking. I was just looking at this painting wondering why I hadn't seen it sooner. It's so silly, it's just a painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Maybe it's just me, it's such a simple painting. Maybe it's the hype of it being the "Mona Lisa," but to me, nothing could even compare to make me feel whole.
Now that I've expressed my soul on a stupid blog, I'll end with the poem I read for this week, since I just can't keep it to myself.
Demain, dès l'aube...
Demain, dès l'aube, à l'heure où blanchit la campagne,
Je partirai. Vois-tu, je sais que tu m'attends.
J'irai par la forêt, j'irai par la montagne.
Je ne puis demeurer loin de toi plus longtemps.
Je marcherai les yeux fixés sur mes pensées,
Sans rien voir au dehors, sans entendu aucun bruit,
Seul, inconnu, le dos courbé, les mains croisées,
Triste, et le jour pour moi sera comme la nuit.
Je ne regarderai ni l'or du soir qui tombe,
Ni les voiles au loin descendant vers Harfleur,
Et quand j'arriverai, je mettrai sur ta tombe
Un bouquet de houx vert et de bruyère en fleur.
Victor Hugo - 1856
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Whatever you do, don't smile
Being from the west coast, it only comes natural that if a car stops for me at a crosswalk, I wave and smile. If I make eye contact with someone it is my instinct to smile at them. After sitting through a grueling five or six hour orientation in a haze caused by the wine that we drank the night before, I learned that I am to NOT, I repeat, DO NOT smile and DO NOT go to the suburbs (that's a whole story and a half in itself). Then I realized going back to our apartment on the metro that I cannot stop smiling when I look at people. The French for some reason just aren't smiley people. Not that they're mean people because every person I've encountered thus far has been super nice! But to them when you smile at them, you might as well make a move because you're hitting on these people who you're smiling so innocently at.
While we're at it, the stereotype that the French are mean is simply preposterous. The first French person that I encountered was my cab driver. After we dropped off another student at his apartment, I got the courage to ask the chauffeur what he thought of politics since he was listening to a political radio show. First of all, politics in America can be the touchiest subject to talk about. People have such strong beliefs and feelings but we have a hard time accepting that we all feel a little different about diffficult topics and problems. In France, they're able to talk about such things, share their opinions and walk away without having a chip on their shoulder. Recently France elected a new president Francois Hollande instead of Nicolas Sarkozy. In the words of my super nice cab driver, "Sarkozy iz a crazy, crazy man. He not good for zee economy!" I had to giggle because I knew he was trying to speak English while I attempted to speak French to him.
That was the moment I realized I'm in the middle of living my dream. It couldn't be any more unreal, and it's only been a couple of days. I'm getting super excited to start school tomorrow, so I'm counting on that to be a crazy experience in itself.
Now all I need to do is figure out where my school is....
While we're at it, the stereotype that the French are mean is simply preposterous. The first French person that I encountered was my cab driver. After we dropped off another student at his apartment, I got the courage to ask the chauffeur what he thought of politics since he was listening to a political radio show. First of all, politics in America can be the touchiest subject to talk about. People have such strong beliefs and feelings but we have a hard time accepting that we all feel a little different about diffficult topics and problems. In France, they're able to talk about such things, share their opinions and walk away without having a chip on their shoulder. Recently France elected a new president Francois Hollande instead of Nicolas Sarkozy. In the words of my super nice cab driver, "Sarkozy iz a crazy, crazy man. He not good for zee economy!" I had to giggle because I knew he was trying to speak English while I attempted to speak French to him.
That was the moment I realized I'm in the middle of living my dream. It couldn't be any more unreal, and it's only been a couple of days. I'm getting super excited to start school tomorrow, so I'm counting on that to be a crazy experience in itself.
Now all I need to do is figure out where my school is....
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