Strasbourg!

Two weekends ago-- October 8-10 I went to Strasbourg with my friend Kimmi.

Strasbourg is located in the north/EAST part of France right on the German border. I remember in high school, my senior year history teacher (Ms. Martinov) was obsessed with the fact that Alsace (the region in which Strasbourg is located) would switch from being a part of France to being a part of Germany and vice versa overnight. She was so amazed by it "They'd wake up and they'd be in Germany, they'd go to bed that night and they'd be in France! Then wake up again and be in Germany! Fascinating!"

I obviously don't share her same enthusiasm, but it is cool that it is so close to the border because there are a lot of German influences. Most people there speak both French and German and a lot of the buildings are designed in German style, especially Petite France-- it's so cute!!

We headed out Friday after class and made it to our hostel in Strasbourg around 11 or so that night. We were originally planning on going out that night, but we ended up talking to the two girls that were in our room for about 4 hours. They were both really cool; one was named Alex and she was from Canada and she's been traveling around the world and teaching English in different countries pretty much since she graduated college. The other girl was named Kerry and she was from NYC! Her story was pretty interesting-- she had been planning this big trip with a friend for like half a year to travel Europe after the friend took the bar exam and then right before they were going to buy tickets her friend bailed. But Kerry still decided to go and has been meeting up with people along the way and meeting new people (like us!).

Saturday we decided to check out some of the markets and do tourist-y things. We made it to one market and then went shopping. Strasbourg surprisingly has really good shopping though-- a lot of high end boutiques also. But the market we went to was cool-- it was a book market and they had a bunch of old school French books and a lot of vintage posters and postcards. I got a Kronenbourg poster that was literally cut out from a newspaper in 1959 and then an old postcard.

Afterwards, we went on a tour of the Kronenbourg factory. It was cool to learn the process of brewing beer and we got to see the history of Kronenbourg and a bunch of vintage posters and paraphernalia of the brand. The best part was at the end when we pretty much had free reign on their bar area. The tour was only 4 euro for an hour tour and then an hour of bottemless beer tasting. Kronenbourg owns or partners with a bunch of other beers so in addition to Kronenbourg, they had Carlsberg, Guiness, 1664 and a couple others. It was pretty sweet.

Beer tasting time

Ad shoot for Kronenbourg

For dinner we had made plans to meet back up with Kerry at the hostel and then we were meeting a friend of Kimmi's named Sophia who was in Strasbourg for the weekend with her dad. She's doing an internship program in Germany for the semester and we also met up with her the weekend after in AMSTERDAM! (post to come)

We went to dinner at a typical Alsacien restaurant in Petite France, the area with all the German-looking houses, and had a typical Alsacien meal. Afterwards, we headed to a bar in the main square area. I guess it was still early and it was a chill place because everyone was just sitting down in chairs talking amongst themselves. So we got bored and ditched it for a boîte (club) that we found by making friends with a few passerbys. The club was cool because it was underground so it almost looked like a grotto.

La Petite France

We stayed for a couple hours and decided to head back because Kimmi and I wanted to go to Baden-Baden the next day. Baden-Baden is the area in Germany (not too far from Strasbourg) with the naturally occurring thermal waters and they have a couple big spas there. They also have a famous casino where they filmed part of Casino Royale. On our way back to the hostel we stumbled upon the Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Strasbourg. It was amazing because it was so immensely huge. I have a pretty cool picture of Kerry just standing in front of it looking up at it and the cathedral is so big you can't even see the top of it.

The next day, Kimmi and I got up to go to the train station (and took some picturesque fall pictures along the way-- Kimmi is from Seattle and they don't really have a fall season there so she was surprised to see all the leaves changing color. It wasn't even as pretty as fall in VA though.)

However, our plan to go to Baden-Baden was thwarted because they were doing work on the track and didn't have a lot of trains running. Our train home left at 3 and there wasn't a return train until after that. So we decided to do more touristy things. We had crepes at a café near the cathédrale for lunch and it was so good, love crepes. Then we did a boat tour along the river and for some reason I could not manage to stay awake. I still enjoyed it though. Then it was time to catch our train and head back, but not before we stopped to get a bratwurst on the way out!

And not to worry, we are still going to Baden-Baden. Strasbourg has a big Christmas market in December, so we're going to have a spa/Christmas market weekend in Baden Baden and Strasbourg the weekend before finals!

Day 34567890 of the strike

So... classes are canceled for the rest of the week!

The situation on campus has gotten so bad that the school administration doesn't want the students or teachers being put in an danger so they decided to cancel class until the manifestations pass. Apparently about 380 school were blockaded yesterday in protest.

The protesters on campus physically barricaded the buildings on campus with whatever they could find. Mainly they used all the chairs and tables from inside the buildings and just stacked them up really high in front of all the entrances. I wish I had brought my camera because some of the stacks were ridiculously high but this picture will do. It's kind of hard to see but you can make out all the chairs stacked in front of the entrance.

One of the buildings has an outdoor stairway to get up to the second floor and there were chairs literally blocking the entire thing, it was ridiculous. Nobody was really doing anything about it though-- students were just standing there talking casually as if 100 chairs weren't physically preventing them from going into the classroom.

The only building on campus they didn't barricade was my building, the IEFE building (the foreign language center). So yesterday classes were still going on as usual, but the strikes are going to get worse today and tomorrow so they decided to cancel class. They are having a police force go onto campus this week to physically remove the protesters, but I don't think they're going to have too much luck with that.

The law to change the retirement age goes through either today or tomorrow so I'm not exactly sure just how bad things are going to get after it actually passes.


My friend posted a link to a cartoon making fun of the situation that is pretty funny. The question is asking if high school kids are being manipulated. The one kid thinks that the unions are distributing iPads to encourage kids to participate in the strike. Note the 'Twilight Forever' shirt on the left.

Basically, all the protesters are trying to rally up the high schoolers and even the middle and elementary school kids to help them blockade the tramways. It's just humorous because even the government noted that these kids are not affected by the reform at all. But the protesters are trying to manipulate and brainwash them to make the situation worse. Somehow someone got a hold of a bunch of high school kids' cell phone numbers and parents were worried because they were constantly getting texts to participate in the manifestations and blockades.

I'm hoping the SNCF, the train company, doesn't completely cancel trains once the law passes-- I don't think they're really allowed to do that. But they usually always have TGV runnings at least a couple times a day so I should still be able to get up to Paris on Friday!

The strikes never end.

They really don't. As you will learn from an upcoming post about this past weekend, the strikes tried as hard as they could to keep me from getting to Amsterdam (and back), but they did not succeed.

The strike originally started last Tuesday (just about a week ago) and are still continuing. There were more manifestations planned for this past Saturday and more strikes will be going on tomorrow and this upcoming Saturday. The law for the new retirement age passes Wednesday though, so I don't know how much striking is going to help after that (aka please stop).

My uni (université) is cracking down on students who will be on campus this week and checking everyone's IDs to make sure no "hooligans" are screwing around trying to start huge protests on campus.

The high schoolers are the ones that we should be worried about. A lot of the grevistes (strikers) go to the lycée (high school) to round up all the young impressionable kids and get them to barricade the tram lines and whatnot. Although it's pretty useless for them to be involved in this at such a young age, because as my host mother put it, they don't even know what they're going to be doing in 40 years when they hit retirement age. Completely new laws could be in place that declare something else entirely different.

Although, I guess if I were in high school in France at this time it would be kind of interesting to be involved in something like this that the entire country is pushing for. But, since I am not I feel pretty detached from the whole situation except for when my trains get canceled.

So let's just hope that it isn't too intense at the end of this week so that I can make it to Paris to meet mis padres and my bro bro!

Quote

I was bored after packing for AMSTERDAM! and I just did a Glee character quiz and I got Finn which was kind of upsetting because he annoys me sometimes. (Also I did a Harry Potter sorting hat quiz and I got Ravenclaw... I guess that's appropriate.)

Anyway, one of the questions was what is your life motto and one of the quotes was: "Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... it's learning to dance in the rain." I thought that was so cute and inspirational. And then I found this little picture to go with it.


This is a good quote to remember when you're stressed or something isn't going quite the way you planned. Just stop thinking about whatever is stressing you out and just learn to live in the moment.

OKTOBERFEST

Last weekend, October 1-3, I went to Oktoberfest in Munich! C'était genial-- it was great. It was all planned very last minute though.

Originally, I was going to go with my friend Erin who I know back at Tech from club field hockey and is studying in Dusseldorf this semester. However, that eventually fell through due to complications but it just so happened that my housemate, Andrea was also planning on going so I decided to just go with her and her friends.

We flew into Frankfurt Hahn, which is pretty much solely a Ryan Air airport. Don't be fooled by the title though, that airport is TWO HOURS outside of Frankfurt. That didn't matter though because we rented a car at the airport and drove to Munich that evening. There were 5 of us in the car: me, Andrea, her friends Victor and Tatiana, who are both from Colombia as well and are studying in Montpellier, and Tatiana's boyfriend. It was a pretty drive through the German countryside, but it was kind of a long drive. The only downside was that I was the only non-Colombian, meaning the only non-Spanish speaker. Although I do know minimal Spanish and they helped me improve a bit.

We drove into Munich that night and headed straight to Oktoberfest. Although it was about 10 pm and the grounds were starting to shut down, there were still a good amount of people out and we ended up sitting at an outside beer garden and ordered steins. We stayed there for about an hour and a half and had fun chatting with a group of Italians-- although they were starting to get a bit rowdy. I might as well have not even bothered taking a year of Italian because I couldn't remember anything. But they spoke broken English so we managed to communicate.

The importance of "Bro."
As we were exiting the grounds to head back towards the car, my trained ears registered a word that I hadn't heard in a couple months. As soon as the word "bro" was uttered, more like shouted, I shouted it right back at them. Of course they were American. No other country uses such a term. Both parties stopped to look at each other from a distance, and I shout "I'M AMERICAN!" They got really excited and rushed back over and each of us were like what are YOU doing here? They were from Philadelphia, I think, and were here for a pre-wedding trip or something. Seeing as my friends hadn't stopped to wait for me because they didn't understand the importance of bro, I told them I had to go but we made a plan to meet at the swings the next night at 8.

Afterwards, we met up with a bunch of Andrea's friends who were also in Munich for the weekend and we headed to a night club.Because we had only planned the trip that week, we didn't have anywhere to stay, per se. All the hotels and hostels were all booked or extremely expensive. Although there was a camping ground that a lot of people stayed at, we didn't really look into that. So we just parked the car at the train station and I managed to get a couple hours' sleep. It felt like a true backpacker's experience, or maybe a homeless one.

Crazy Italians

That morning we hung out at the train station for a bit to get breakfast, a beer and try on traditional German garb. The traditional outfit for males is called Lederhosen and consists of suspenders with short shorts. The outfit for the girls is called Drindl and is the corsett looking thing with the long skirt. Andrea and I tried on Drindl and had a mini-photoshoot before deciding that it wasn't worth the price (80 euro) and we headed on to Oktoberfest.



There were ridiculous amounts of people there especially since it was the 200th anniversary and it was the last weekend. So the lines to get into all the main beer halls were very long and none of the people I was with really wanted to wait in those lines. We walked around for a bit, got food, rode some rides and eventually ended up in an outdoor biergarten (I forget which tent it was at though). It was a lot of fun and we befriended Italians, Brits, and other Americans. I ended up separated from Andrea and the rest of the group because the car had gotten towed and they went to go deal with. I stayed and hung out with the other two Americans-- they were in the Army stationed in Hamburg I think.



One of them dared me that I wouldn't ride the drop zone ride, which was a huge mistake on his part. Of course I rode it and it was a lot of fun-- it dropped 3 separate times so it was better than the drop zone and King's Dominion! And then he ended up owing me a bratwurst and a beer. We headed back to the same biergarten and made friends with some Germans who then showed us around the grounds. We were going to go onto the beer carousel but then I realized it was 8 o'clock and my train to Frankfurt left at 8:50! So I quickly exited the grounds. Remember those bro guys? Yeah we never met up. They're probably still standing there under the swings waiting for me like a lost child waiting desperately for his mother. Or they completely bailed like I did.

The bier garten we were at


Hofbräuhaus tent


Bye Oktoberfest :(

I never ended up meeting back up with Andrea but luckily I had brought my backpack with me to Oktoberfest so I didn't have to find the car. I also had her jacket which was lucky because it was quite cold that night. I met some other Americans who were taking the same train and we sat in a private car and I just slept the whole way. I got to the train station in Frankfurt at midnight and the next bus to the airport wasn't until 3 am so I just sat around in the McDo's for a while, exhausted. Finally, the bus for the airport left and I slept the whole way again but it was still only 5 am by the time we got to the airport and my flight wasn't until 9:40.

I sat around again for a couple hours and slept a bit, and then eventually wandered outside and saw the most amazing sunrise. The sky was completely orange with streaks of purple and blue weaving in and out. It was hands down one of the prettiest sunrises I have ever seen. Then again, I'm often not up that early to watch the sun rise.

I definitely want to go back at some point and do it again. Things I would do differently: plan better-- not the week beforehand! You have to book hotels and hostels in the summer if you want to get a decent place! I will also buy Drindl and I will make a table reservation at one of the big beer halls because that's where most of the action took place. I still had a lot of fun this time around, all in all it was a fun weekend.

Les Faits Divers

The title is what they say in the section of the newspaper or a magazine when they have random things to say but don't know what to call it. So that's what this is: a collection of random remarks about France/Europe kind of.

Before I start, I like this picture:


1. Shakira is everywhere. They can't get enough of her over here. Doesn't matter where you are; I've heard her in France, Spain and Germany so far. Waka Waka is a favorite especially since it was the World Cup theme song and people here are fou (crazy about soccer). In Spain, a bus driver played Waka Waka 4 times in a row, a little excessive.


2. On another music note, they listen to a lot of American music here. But they also have all their European music, so they get the best of both worlds. The only time is when it's annoying is when clubs play 80s music non-stop. There is one dance club here called Australian and without fail, every night at midnight they start their American wedding/80s music track. The first time you hear it you're like "HELL YEAH!" And then everywhere you go they seem to play the Grease Super 80s mix and you gradually come to hate it.


3. People love their dogs. A lot. They treat them like children. They come into shops with them, on the tram with them, and I've never seen so many dogs being carried before. And there are no leash laws. Surprisingly the dogs don't stray, I always assumed that dogs without leashes would run around like crazy but they stick by their owner's side. I love dogs, but the mess they make is a little out of control here considering there are no laws about cleaning up after your dog either. In Paris, it's so bad that people are constantly slipping on dog s*** and having to go to the hospital. Quel horreur!


4. People speak to you in English. It's pretty easy to tell right off the bat who is from Europe and who is not. Aka, if you are American. Sometimes it's a relief and other times it's just plain annoying. For example, the other day I was trying to find the stop for the bus from the centre ville to take me back home so I asked the first bus driver I could find and starting asking him in French where to find the stop. The guy doesn't even let me finish my sentence, interrupts me and says to me in English, "You can speak in English, you know." And I politely respond in French that I want to speak in French. And then he continues to speak to me in English, telling me about how he used to live in London and wants to practice his English. I'm sorry, but I don't care. I am in YOUR country learning YOUR language so please respect that and speak to me in French. If you want to practice your English, go back to London. :)


5. As I mentioned in an earlier post, they love their strikes. There was another one yesterday (Tuesday October 12-- the date on this post is messed up). It even lasted a bit into today for extra effect. They are still a pretty pissed about that whole retirement age deal.


6. Trailing that comment, they're not too crazy about their President, Nicolas Sarkozy, who they believe is entirely to blame for the retirement situation. Although to be fair, I did overhear someone discussing it and saying the other presidents just kept pushing it back and someone eventually had to do something about it. So kudos to Sarkozy. Although, running off with numerous women and remarrying a third time all within the public eye doesn't exactly leave your countrymen thrilled. Also, one of the first things he did as President was give himself a raise. Doubled his salary, actually, to "match his peers."

That's one mean looking man

7. The French don't hate Americans as much as we think they do. The only reason they really hated us before was because of good ol' G.W. Bush, but now that Obama is large and in charge they really like the U.S. The same is true for pretty much every country-- they all love Obama and will repeat his name to you multiple times if that is the only English word they know.


8. Nostradamus studied and taught here in Montpellier. So that means everyone here is wise and omniscient also. Including me.


9. People dress very well. Even their babies dress better than you. Kids wear the cutest clothes here-- they put my purple ballerina outfits and princess dress to shame.


10. When you order a beer at a bar or a café, they actually put it in the right cup. Paulander comes in a Paulander glass, 1664 comes in a 1664 glass, you get the point. It's quite a difference from back home where they'll serve you beer in any available cup. Over the summer a bartender have me a JUICE CUP with my pitcher of beer. I kid you not.


11. Lastly, look at my Halloween pumpkin. They don't really celebrate Halloween here, so that's a bummer. But I'll be in Barcelona on Halloween and I think they have a couple festivals. Although their idea of Halloween is literally ghosts, ghouls and goblins, not the Mean Girls vision we're used to.

New logement!

I have moved to a new place! I wasn't feeling the dorm situation so much. It was a lot of fun during the pre-session when we were all in Triolet but then a lot of my friends moved into homestays and I decided I wanted to as well. Also the dorm I was in before was such a FAR walk from the tram stop that I didn't really feel safe at night walking back. The street I had to walk back on was a bit shady too.

But now I am much happier in my home stay. It's a bit further down the tram but that is fine because the walk isn't as long and it's much less sketchy since it's a family neighborhood. There is also a bus stop that's about a two minute walk so I can take the bus in the mornings to the tram if I'm feeling lazy. Or if I'm late, as usual, I have to sprint up to the tram and arrive in class panting. I need to get better about that. I will change my habits tomorrow.

Anyway, I'm living with a family named LaFon. M and Mme LaFon are so cute and kind. I can tell they've been doing this for a while- they have their system down pat. They have two daughters, both who live on their own. I haven't met one of them, but the other one Ann, is really nice and comes over for dinner a lot. We're actually going to the theatre tonight! Just a small comedy theatre but I'm really excited.

Right now there are four other students living in the house- there are quite a few bedrooms. Two of the kids (boys) are leaving Friday though, they were only here for a two week program from Switzerland. There are 200 kids on that program so right now Montpellier is overwhelmed with Swiss kids, especially at the bars (one bar in particular, they all seem to flock to the Australian). The other two are girls are named Martina and Andrea. Martina is 19 from Switzerland also and Andrea is 17 from Colombia. I actually just came back from Germany with her. A different post to come about that trip.

So to wrap things up, I like living here. And I would advise anyone studying abroad to do a homestay over living in the dorms- you get a better feel for the culture and the food is AMAZING. Also I get to practice my French pretty much 24/7 (English is frowned upon in our house but if I'm feeling too exhausted from speaking French all day I'll speak in English to Martina or Andrea).

Side note about the food: meals are very systematic. Every night for dinner we start with soup. Once everyone has finished, the salad is brought out. Then comes the main course, usually meat with another plat principal (main course). After the meat is the cheese round and then finally is dessert. Most nights they have fruit for dessert and I usually have a little thing of flan. Mmhm. Dinner is in 5 minutes so I'm starving right now writing this post.

Sorry there were no pictures! I haven't taken any of the house yet.