This weekend was, um, how do you say? Pretty amazing.
A few friends and I decided, somewhat randomly, to go to Normandy, or, in French, Normandie. This is probably the region with the most history of all France. It's like someone decided I think France needs to have like a historyland, because it doesn't have enough history already (note the sarcasm). Seriously: the castle of William the Conquerer (disons, Guillaume le Conquerant), the famous (or infamous) Cathedral Notre Dame de Rouen, the only center of apple distilleries in the world, the beaches of the Allied invasion from WWII...I mean, what more could you ask for?
In any case, I'll try to do the rundown, but who knows how well I'll do. The five of us (myself, Jenny, Nikki, Parilee, and Killeen...yes, I was the only guy) got to our train station at the appointed meeting time of 12h30, only to be greeted by the do-do do-do-do of the SNCF announcer, and the now familiar announcement "Mesdames et messieurs: aujourd'hui, le 27 Octobre, 2006, un mouvement social a deroule tous les trains au depart du Gare St-Lazare. Veuillez consulter les centres d'acceuil pour vous renseigner." Or something along those lines. Basically, for you non-French speakers out there (which admittedly are shrinking and shrinking as a proportion of the people I know), our train (and all trains departing from that station) was cancelled due to a strike or, really, a "social movement." I, personally, was excited to be experiencing my first French social movement, something which some of you may or may not know to be commonplace around here. Just a part of le quotidien en Frane.
So anyway, we finally got out of Paris. We stayed in a hotel in Caen called the Etap hotels. They were like amazing. They're these cheap hotels that are sort of like hostels but owned by Accor, so they're everywhere. I like to refer to them as the do-it-yourself hotel. It was great fun! Hehe. And Caen was amazing, with the chateau de Guillaume le Conquerant. And Bayeux was great, as were the Norman beaches. Everything in that area looks alot like England, and there were British flags everywhere because we ended up going to Allomanches (the beaches that the British landed at during D-day). Food was fun, of course. I got a bottle of calvados to enjoy at some later point as well. In any case, all of it was great, and I have a ton of new memories and new photos on facebook (including the new fall catalogue). It was great.
I guess the thing that was best about the whole experience, though, was getting out of Paris. I mean, Paris is an amazing city, but, like with any place where you live for an extended period of time, it can get tedious and monotonous. You have to get out to remind yourself how amazing it is. The same applies to Stanford, to Orange County, to anywhere...and the key to being thankful for the places you come from and the places that characterize and define you is to escape from them and to come back. Normandie this weekend was great. It was like stepping out of the city and right into a scene from Rumpelstiltzkin (sp?) or any other fairy tale. Now it's back to the real world, with classes, and papers and tests and everything else. It was escapism if ever I've experienced it.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
On the complexities of the human brain (namely, my own)
So, you know when you put off writing about something for a long time, say, maybe two or three days, and then a ton of other things happen in your life, just day-to-day, and then you don't feel like writing about whatever it was anymore? Well, yeah, that kind of happened to me.
Last weekend the Stanford Program went to Marseille, Aix-en-Provence and Arles in the south of France. It was a good time, naturally, mostly because of the fact that it was different from the drudgery and everyday-ness that has started to characterize Paris. Life tends to be like that. Once you get used to something, you need to escape from it just because it's too monotonous. Or maybe that's just me. I don't know.
But in any case, I think the best part of the south of France was how much it reminded me of Orange County. Now, I know, I know...I hate Orange County too. On principle, any way. But, I you see, Arles is like what Newport Beach wants to be...it's got those Mediterranean houses, the graceful hills and the peaceful sound of the empty countryside, without the unnecessary traffic and shopping centers and artificially planted palm trees (they prefer oak, here). So yeah, all was amazing. It was great to be reminded of home for a second, because, let's admit it, I am a little homesick at times (or else why go to Gap every once in awhile or sit in McDo for free internet and maybe some fries). The south of France is amazing, and if you ever get a chance to come to France, skip Paris (too touristy anyway) and go straight there. If you're into that kind of thing, anyway. Which I'm not (well, completely anyway).
So yeah, this week has been busy. I'm procrastinating right now, as perhaps Nick will remember I told him I was doing last night. Who needs to read a paper about the gender gap in voting in France when it's already been explained what that gap is (and when the paper is 20 pages long and in French and has these nice tables which are much easier to read). So yeah, la-tee-da. Had a good run this morning, my third run since arriving in Paris. I'm starting to get into the routine now, so I think things should start picking up. Another sign of progress: last night I had a moment when my host mom was speaking to me in rapid French and, as is uncharacteristic of my normal aptitude, I actually stopped being able to understand her. My brain just shut down and said in loud and screaming voix haut: I WANT ENGLISH NOW! They (our infamous authorities on everything from sex to the history of the state of Kentucky) say that's a sign that you're on your way to full fluency. I'll let you know.
Alright, so, such is my entry. I'm sorry there wasn't more about the south of France. There is more I would like to blog about, but, well, my brain is blanking and I have 20 pages of reading to do before the Opera tonight! Haha. Alright, have a great day!
Last weekend the Stanford Program went to Marseille, Aix-en-Provence and Arles in the south of France. It was a good time, naturally, mostly because of the fact that it was different from the drudgery and everyday-ness that has started to characterize Paris. Life tends to be like that. Once you get used to something, you need to escape from it just because it's too monotonous. Or maybe that's just me. I don't know.
But in any case, I think the best part of the south of France was how much it reminded me of Orange County. Now, I know, I know...I hate Orange County too. On principle, any way. But, I you see, Arles is like what Newport Beach wants to be...it's got those Mediterranean houses, the graceful hills and the peaceful sound of the empty countryside, without the unnecessary traffic and shopping centers and artificially planted palm trees (they prefer oak, here). So yeah, all was amazing. It was great to be reminded of home for a second, because, let's admit it, I am a little homesick at times (or else why go to Gap every once in awhile or sit in McDo for free internet and maybe some fries). The south of France is amazing, and if you ever get a chance to come to France, skip Paris (too touristy anyway) and go straight there. If you're into that kind of thing, anyway. Which I'm not (well, completely anyway).
So yeah, this week has been busy. I'm procrastinating right now, as perhaps Nick will remember I told him I was doing last night. Who needs to read a paper about the gender gap in voting in France when it's already been explained what that gap is (and when the paper is 20 pages long and in French and has these nice tables which are much easier to read). So yeah, la-tee-da. Had a good run this morning, my third run since arriving in Paris. I'm starting to get into the routine now, so I think things should start picking up. Another sign of progress: last night I had a moment when my host mom was speaking to me in rapid French and, as is uncharacteristic of my normal aptitude, I actually stopped being able to understand her. My brain just shut down and said in loud and screaming voix haut: I WANT ENGLISH NOW! They (our infamous authorities on everything from sex to the history of the state of Kentucky) say that's a sign that you're on your way to full fluency. I'll let you know.
Alright, so, such is my entry. I'm sorry there wasn't more about the south of France. There is more I would like to blog about, but, well, my brain is blanking and I have 20 pages of reading to do before the Opera tonight! Haha. Alright, have a great day!
Sunday, October 15, 2006
Next time on The Reo World
So, I had quite a good weekend. How about you? Did you go to Marseille, Aix-en-Provences, and Arles in a three day mad dash around Provence? No? I didn't think so. Hmmm. Well, maybe you at least took a boat ride (or should I say roller-coaster-on-water ride) to see the Chateau d'If (of Count of Monte Cristo Fame) and the Calanques of Marseille? Not quite? Well, that's just to bad. Because I did. And I love the Bing family, mostly because of all of the amazing food they provide us starving, uncultured Stanford students.
So yeah, I'm really tired right now. I have a lot more to say about this whole weekend, and a lot not to say about it as well. In any case, tune in next time for a more exciting post. For now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the commercials! Wooo! Yeah commercials! You know you love them.
So yeah, I'm really tired right now. I have a lot more to say about this whole weekend, and a lot not to say about it as well. In any case, tune in next time for a more exciting post. For now, just sit back, relax, and enjoy the commercials! Wooo! Yeah commercials! You know you love them.
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Still missing my camera, but even if I had one you wouldn't be able to tell how amazing it was...
Yes, it's a long title. Yes, it was an amazing night. Yes, I came home at 5 in the morning last night. Yes, Paris is a crazy amazing city. Yes, yes, yes, yes...yessssssssssssss. (I have to fulfill some of the promises of the preview, don't I?)
You know what I realized? I'm never much of a person to write descriptions of what I did. I much more prefer writing about what I experienced, what I learned, how I felt, than to write sentence-by-sentence reports of what exactly went on. I guess I don't have much of a career in journalism. And I myself much prefer reading about what went on than getting someone's self-centered perceptions, but, well, you're just going to have to deal. I'll try my best to include some sort of detail.
Voila, donc. This weekend started Thursday night and ended Sunday morning. And, well, it almost ran straight through the entire thing. Anyway, let's see, to start - Thursday. Thursday I met Helena and Caroline and Daniela (Helena and Daniela are in the Sweet Briar program here, and Caroline was visiting Helena) for hookah in the Bastille area, which was great. We were all Parisian and such except for the fact that we were speaking English the whole night. But, well, we were still talking in some hole-in-the-wall bar/hookah place, which to me felt very Parisian.
Alright, so Friday: met Daniela and her friends at Bastille again (the world revolves around Bastille and St-Michel, I swear). We tried to get into a gay club, but that didn't work to well seeing as we were one guy and three girls trying to get into a male club. Oh well, there are others that are more open minded out there (or that allow women in any case). I mean, I understand the point, you know...but, gay men have friends who tend to be female. What's wrong with just wanting to have a good time, not necessarily finding some man meat? Whatever, I know for future reference to not go there, or to go there alone or with only male friends. But we had fun anyway downing a bottle of beer between three people at some karaoke bar up the street. Always fun to hear French people belting out Kelly Clarkson and Madonna as if they themselves are American (with perfect accents, might I add).
Then there was Saturday. What to say, what to say. Let me just say, it was Paris's 5th annual Nuit Blanche, which for the uninitiated means "white night" but translates to the idea of "all-nighter" (the night is "white" because you see the sun come up...get it?). Alright, so what it is like if someone took all of the artists in Paris, bundled them into a big balloon sort of thing, then stuck a huge needle in the balloon and let them explode all over the city. There were 6 main areas of focus, but it literally was like art had exploded onto Paris. I mean, there were ICE CUBES on the Champs Elysees, the Place de Concorde was lit up in blue/violet, and a movie was playing in some random back alley in le Marais. I mean, you know? It was so amazing and, at the same time, overwhelming. And there were people EVERYWHERE, which of course added to the excitement. It's hard really to choose a highlight...I mean, I saw amazing fireworks right in front of the Sacre Coeur, I saw Concorde in bleu, I saw a modern dance (and ALL MALE!!!!!) ballet in the Louvre (surrounded by Renaissance sculptures), I saw an amazingly dramatic reading in the Hotel de Ville...let's just say it was all amazing!!! I also would like to add that goal number 789,165 in my life is now to at least once perform a piece of theatre in French. The language just lends itself so well to the theatre, and it's a completely different auditory experience. It also meant that I was out until 5 in the AM. Score one for nuit blanche, and for a host mother who doesn't mind when I sleep in to 1:30PM after a nuit blanche.
Alors, enfin, only in Paris, is all I can say. I mean, other cities can rival the art collections (NY, London, SF), and other cities can have infinitely more people, but only in Paris would there be an "all-nighter" of art where what literally seems like the WHOLE CITY is out walking the streets still at 3AM (after that I'll admit it did start to teeter off a little). Suffice it to say that I am glad once again to have chosen Paris as my city of study, and to have chosen to go abroad. I can't wait to discover more and more, and to always wish I had much more time to explore. I'm definitely going to need to live here one day. Anyone wanna join?
You know what I realized? I'm never much of a person to write descriptions of what I did. I much more prefer writing about what I experienced, what I learned, how I felt, than to write sentence-by-sentence reports of what exactly went on. I guess I don't have much of a career in journalism. And I myself much prefer reading about what went on than getting someone's self-centered perceptions, but, well, you're just going to have to deal. I'll try my best to include some sort of detail.
Voila, donc. This weekend started Thursday night and ended Sunday morning. And, well, it almost ran straight through the entire thing. Anyway, let's see, to start - Thursday. Thursday I met Helena and Caroline and Daniela (Helena and Daniela are in the Sweet Briar program here, and Caroline was visiting Helena) for hookah in the Bastille area, which was great. We were all Parisian and such except for the fact that we were speaking English the whole night. But, well, we were still talking in some hole-in-the-wall bar/hookah place, which to me felt very Parisian.
Alright, so Friday: met Daniela and her friends at Bastille again (the world revolves around Bastille and St-Michel, I swear). We tried to get into a gay club, but that didn't work to well seeing as we were one guy and three girls trying to get into a male club. Oh well, there are others that are more open minded out there (or that allow women in any case). I mean, I understand the point, you know...but, gay men have friends who tend to be female. What's wrong with just wanting to have a good time, not necessarily finding some man meat? Whatever, I know for future reference to not go there, or to go there alone or with only male friends. But we had fun anyway downing a bottle of beer between three people at some karaoke bar up the street. Always fun to hear French people belting out Kelly Clarkson and Madonna as if they themselves are American (with perfect accents, might I add).
Then there was Saturday. What to say, what to say. Let me just say, it was Paris's 5th annual Nuit Blanche, which for the uninitiated means "white night" but translates to the idea of "all-nighter" (the night is "white" because you see the sun come up...get it?). Alright, so what it is like if someone took all of the artists in Paris, bundled them into a big balloon sort of thing, then stuck a huge needle in the balloon and let them explode all over the city. There were 6 main areas of focus, but it literally was like art had exploded onto Paris. I mean, there were ICE CUBES on the Champs Elysees, the Place de Concorde was lit up in blue/violet, and a movie was playing in some random back alley in le Marais. I mean, you know? It was so amazing and, at the same time, overwhelming. And there were people EVERYWHERE, which of course added to the excitement. It's hard really to choose a highlight...I mean, I saw amazing fireworks right in front of the Sacre Coeur, I saw Concorde in bleu, I saw a modern dance (and ALL MALE!!!!!) ballet in the Louvre (surrounded by Renaissance sculptures), I saw an amazingly dramatic reading in the Hotel de Ville...let's just say it was all amazing!!! I also would like to add that goal number 789,165 in my life is now to at least once perform a piece of theatre in French. The language just lends itself so well to the theatre, and it's a completely different auditory experience. It also meant that I was out until 5 in the AM. Score one for nuit blanche, and for a host mother who doesn't mind when I sleep in to 1:30PM after a nuit blanche.
Alors, enfin, only in Paris, is all I can say. I mean, other cities can rival the art collections (NY, London, SF), and other cities can have infinitely more people, but only in Paris would there be an "all-nighter" of art where what literally seems like the WHOLE CITY is out walking the streets still at 3AM (after that I'll admit it did start to teeter off a little). Suffice it to say that I am glad once again to have chosen Paris as my city of study, and to have chosen to go abroad. I can't wait to discover more and more, and to always wish I had much more time to explore. I'm definitely going to need to live here one day. Anyone wanna join?
Friday, October 06, 2006
In honor of the girl in Brazil :)
The M.P.A.A. has approved the following entry for reading by all audiences.
COMING SOON, to a blog near you!
MORE S.E.X.!!!!!!
"Oh Johnny! Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah, yes, yes, yes!!!!! Harder, faster, harder, no...wait, no, you've got it all wrong. Ugh. C'mon, you had me going, and then you had to go and do, well, that. What the hell? Gosh."
MORE VIOLENCE!!!!
"SMACK!" "BAM!" "BOOM!" "FRAP!" "ouch! That hurt."
MORE LANGUAGE!!!!
"&*(#$&(@, you &*$(#& ^&*^$*&@^er." "Get the *&() out of my ^$&#*^@&* %^&$6& you ^&$#@^* @$$ ^&$%." "And ^&$@!!!!"
With a little bit of the meaty, juicy details of my life. Don't miss it!
COMING SOON, to a blog near you!
MORE S.E.X.!!!!!!
"Oh Johnny! Oh, oh, oh, oh, yeah, yes, yes, yes!!!!! Harder, faster, harder, no...wait, no, you've got it all wrong. Ugh. C'mon, you had me going, and then you had to go and do, well, that. What the hell? Gosh."
MORE VIOLENCE!!!!
"SMACK!" "BAM!" "BOOM!" "FRAP!" "ouch! That hurt."
MORE LANGUAGE!!!!
"&*(#$&(@, you &*$(#& ^&*^$*&@^er." "Get the *&() out of my ^$&#*^@&* %^&$6& you ^&$#@^* @$$ ^&$%." "And ^&$@!!!!"
With a little bit of the meaty, juicy details of my life. Don't miss it!
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Paris est trop cher!
So, if you were to ask a group of American students studying abroad in Paris or Berlin or London (Oxford, Cambridge, etc) or Madrid (to some extent, but not as much so) what the worst part about spending a quarter in Western Europe is, what would they tell you? They would say it's exactly that: spending a quarter in Europe. The Euro, as many of you know, is currently worth about one dollar and thirty cents give or take up to five cents on any given day. And I'm not even going to start on the pound. But nonetheless, McDonald's still sees fit to charge 5 euro 50 plus for one of their meals. Economists (or should I say The Ecconomist) often talk about the BigMac index for a comparison of prices across borders; well let me tell you - the BigMac is not equivalently priced in France. It's at least 10-15% more expensive over here than it is in the States. Granted, it does use different (read: better) beef and comes with infinitely more flavorful fries (forgive me, I had a day of American food binging), but still! Quel frustrant!
I guess that's a lesson in cultural differences for you. McDonalds is a completely different instution over here; in fact, anything with an American theme is much more popular here than it is in the U.S. While our citizens may not always like their own culture (or, say, 'fearless' leaders), our leaders have been infinitely successful at exporting Americanism worldwide. It's shocking really, and can gross the expat who isn't feeling a sense of homesickness (read: not me) to insanity. But right now, it's nice to have those little touches of home, albeit prepackaged in an easily exportable formule francaise (or, europeene), whenever I need one. I'm taking it slow, I suppose: yesterday, McDo; today, Quick (basically the French version of McDonalds or Burger King or whatever fast food chain you like...I think more Burger King than McDo though); tomorrow, La Brioche Duree (authentic French food, but fast); then finally authentic French cuisine all the time. Actually, I had some French-Chinese food today for dinner...that was a really interesting experience. Can you say MSG?
So yeah, right now I'm still a little bit in the culture shock phase, but I wouldn't call it so much a shock as an amazement. I am amazed and fascinated with French culture, more so now than ever. And I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I feel French, you know. It's like one of those feelings that you were born out of place or that you don't quite fit in your family or culture or whatever. French culture is a culture that fits me well. But, as I'm discovering more and more each day (which is probably the real "shock" about culture shock)...I'm an American, through and through.
Anyway, I love being here in Paris. It's the little things about this city that really make you appreciate it: the beautiful parks with their 5 million statues (seriously, Luxembourg must have about 5 statues per square meter), the banks of the river Seine (complete with naked sunbathers), the free admission to museums the first Sunday of every month, the plethora of places to go and things to see on a Sunday night that make you wish you weren't stuck at home reading. This is really the city, it's like what every other city aspires to be. Neighborhood charm, big city opportunities, and everything easily accessible. It's amazing, and I look forward to what lies ahead!
I guess that's a lesson in cultural differences for you. McDonalds is a completely different instution over here; in fact, anything with an American theme is much more popular here than it is in the U.S. While our citizens may not always like their own culture (or, say, 'fearless' leaders), our leaders have been infinitely successful at exporting Americanism worldwide. It's shocking really, and can gross the expat who isn't feeling a sense of homesickness (read: not me) to insanity. But right now, it's nice to have those little touches of home, albeit prepackaged in an easily exportable formule francaise (or, europeene), whenever I need one. I'm taking it slow, I suppose: yesterday, McDo; today, Quick (basically the French version of McDonalds or Burger King or whatever fast food chain you like...I think more Burger King than McDo though); tomorrow, La Brioche Duree (authentic French food, but fast); then finally authentic French cuisine all the time. Actually, I had some French-Chinese food today for dinner...that was a really interesting experience. Can you say MSG?
So yeah, right now I'm still a little bit in the culture shock phase, but I wouldn't call it so much a shock as an amazement. I am amazed and fascinated with French culture, more so now than ever. And I think it mostly has to do with the fact that I feel French, you know. It's like one of those feelings that you were born out of place or that you don't quite fit in your family or culture or whatever. French culture is a culture that fits me well. But, as I'm discovering more and more each day (which is probably the real "shock" about culture shock)...I'm an American, through and through.
Anyway, I love being here in Paris. It's the little things about this city that really make you appreciate it: the beautiful parks with their 5 million statues (seriously, Luxembourg must have about 5 statues per square meter), the banks of the river Seine (complete with naked sunbathers), the free admission to museums the first Sunday of every month, the plethora of places to go and things to see on a Sunday night that make you wish you weren't stuck at home reading. This is really the city, it's like what every other city aspires to be. Neighborhood charm, big city opportunities, and everything easily accessible. It's amazing, and I look forward to what lies ahead!
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