Dublin

So, I really don't feel like doing anything productive like all my friends are, so here's another blog post. The semester is winding down and I leave to go back to the States on Saturday... sad day. I'm really sad about leaving, but I'll post more about that Friday night when I have 12 hours to kill tout seule in the Paris airport.

Anyways, this past week, my friend Lisa left Grenoble to go back home to Ireland, so my friend Katie and I decided that we needed to make a trip to see her before we left. I promised Nanny that I would make my way over there, and what better way to keep that promise than a week with the Russell family? So, we left last Wednesday for a quick trip to Dublin.

The first night we were there, Lisa took us around the city to a few parties with her friends from college. We started at this Prohibition party at Trinity, which was really cool because people actually stuck with the 1920's theme and kept it classy... it wasn't like an American theme party where everyone ends up black-out drunk by 10PM, so that was cool. We went out to a bar afterwards where we "had the bants" with this girl in the bathroom. The girl was rockin' a fake tan, bejeweled head scarf, and a shirt with American flags covering it. She was super wasted, but kept saying "HAHAHA I'm Osama Bin Laden! HAHAHA I'm going to bomb America! HAHAHA I'm a terrorist!" and making all kinds of jokes, then asked me and Katie if we found it offensive. Bahhh... OUI! Her friend asked, "Do people do this a lot in America?" Like... seriously?? Really?? We both understood that they were just drunk girls in another country, so obviously 9/11 doesn't hit home as hard for them as it does for Americans, but still. Why would they think we just walk around making jokes of it? Do they think Germans walk around pretending to be Hitler all the time, too?

Anyways, so the next day, we did a bit of shopping around Dublin and Lisa showed us various places around the city (pictures are on the Facebook). We went to the Guiness factory, which was cool, but we didn't spend much time there. Lisa introduced us to the infamous Pennys that she talked up all semester, which is basically Ireland's version of Target, but just for clothes... it's all decent and really cheap, so that was awesome. Friday, we went to Belfast to do some shopping and visit Dani, who studied abroad at PC last year. They had this really cool Christmas market going, so we did what we do at any Christmas market: rushed straight for the tartiflette (potatoey-bacony goodness) and vin chaud. Belfast was really cool and a pretty city. Their accents are so thick there, which was weird after hearing Lisa's soft Irish accent all semester. When we got back to Dublin, we went out with Lisa, her twin, and their friends, which was really fun because everywhere we went was pretty chill, but still fun.

Saturday we did a lot of walking around Dublin to see what was there. We stumbled upon a Viking tour, which is this really dorky tour where you're in this Viking "ship" that takes you around to learn about the history of Dublin. You have to wear Viking hats the whole time and everything. Then the bus magically turns into a boat and you do a tour around the water. Anyways, we got to do some other cool things, like we saw Oscar Wilde's house and statue at a park.

So, after being in France for so long, Ireland took some adjusting at first. There were things that I knew would be different, like being in cars that drive on the other side of the road, hearing the accent, and eating heaps of potatoes, but there were a lot of instances where I (shockingly) experienced culture shock:
1. Hearing people speak English.
2. Being able to interact without stressing about language barriers.
3. People being friendly. No offense France... but I forgot what it was like for strangers to smile.
4. Getting ID'd for alcohol.
4. People wearing sweat pants at the grocery store. I forgot that people can do that... and I miss it.
6. Decent size coffee.
7. Free public restrooms.
8. Real toilets everywhere you go.
9. Quickly moving lines (or "queues", if you will)
10. Sitting on a couch and watching an actual TV.
So, don't take it all for granted guys.

...Eurotrip

Sorry I'm really bad about updating this... I never really think about it, but hearing that various friends/family members have recently said that they've read my blog, I felt the need to update, and what better to write about than my recent adventure around Europe?

I took a trip with three other girls and it was probably destined to be crazy from the start, considering we planned to leave on Friday, but didn't bother booking any tickets or choosing any destinations until the Tuesday before (or Thursday for Keenie...). Our first stop was Strasbourg and our train was meant to leave Grenoble at 4:58AM. The plan was to go down the mountain and stay the night at Cornelia's so we would be close to the train station. We dropped our stuff at Corny's, then what did we do? We went out. We had every intention of catching the last tram back to Corny's, but 1AM came and went and, since we made friends with the bartender, we stayed for two extra hours after he closed. Finally, at 3AM, we booked it back to Cornelia's, grabbed our bags, and ran to the train station to sleep for the five hours to Strasbourg. Strasbourg is a cute little city. Since it's within walking distance of Germany, you can see a lot of German influence, which was pretty cool. I honestly can't say how we spent our 17 hours there... walking around cathedrals, walking around various streets, chasing swans by a river... anyways, we had a really nice dinner that night (foie gras, thanks for the tip Allen), then tried to find something to do until our train left... which was once again at 5AM, so we didn't bother booking a place to stay and we stayed out all night (again). Obviously, we were all freezing cold and delirious. We found some bar which was full of incredibly expensive drinks and pathetic/rude people... I never thought I'd feel like the coolest person in the room while soberly sitting in the corner with bags full of stuff, making faces at my friends,  but whatever. Anyways, when 4AM finally rolled around, we made our way to the bus stop, got on the bus to Munich, and passed out.

So, we got to Munich and immediately went to find food. Our food choices in Munich were all interesting and not really German at all. We started out at an Italian restaurant, which was tough because none of us knew Italian or German and the guy working didn't know English, French, or Spanish... that was slightly difficult. Everything else we ate was either some sort of Asian or "leftover" from the hostel breakfast. Anyways, we spent most of our time there either walking around or at beer gardens (which have made it impossible to think of facing the harsh reality of "frat-water" when I get back to the US). We spent a day in Dachau, which was a concentration camp. It was super intense and a bit overwhelming. Despite learning about WWII in just about every year of school, I learned so much more and was able to understand more of the reality of what happened.

We left Munich (the train left at 3AM this time...) and headed to Amsterdam. It was a quick trip and I wish I could've seen more- the city is packed with museums and whatnot, and of course everything was closed while we were there. It was still a really cool city and I enjoyed being there.

Our next stop was Ghent to see Belgium and visit our friend Cornelia. She and her friends took us around Ghent and told us about all the history. We ate some amazing Belgian fries (if you didn't already know, fries originate in Belgium, they're not really French) then headed back to Corny's for the night. The next day, Cornelia took us to Bruges, which is a really cool medieval city (and very beautiful as well). We took a boat tour, then spent the rest of the day eating our weight in various amazing bits of food. We stopped for legit Belgian waffles, which were topped in homemade ice cream and Belgian chocolate, then went to a chocolate shop, then to a candy shop, then back to Cornelia's house for an amazing homemade dinner followed by amazing desserts, and my new-found love called Speculoos, which are a little cinnamony-gingerbread cookie that tastes like Christmas. Cornelia's family is very nice and incredibly hospitable, so we were very lucky to have such great hosts in the middle of our insanely poorly-planned adventure.

After Belgium, Cornelia's dad drove us to Lille. It's crazy crossing borders- you just drive down the interstate and end up in another country. I've seen more elaborate "Welcome" scenes when you cross borders from state to state, but Belgium to France was no big deal. Anyways, we walked around Lille for a bit then parted ways- I went to Lyon to meet Kati (a friend from PC) and the others went on to Paris for the night. All-in-all, it was an amazing trip and I'm really glad that we all had that opportunity.

So, I haven't updated in a while and I apologize. I've been busy with school and exploring Grenoble.

Classes are going well, aside from one. They're all in French, but most of them are completely manageable and I understand what's going on. Then there's this one class. It's the History of Modern France, which would be totally interesting if the class wasn't in rapid French. On top of being extremely difficult to understand, it's a ton of work. Luckily, there are 3 other Americans suffering in there with me. I mean, I know it will drastically help my French in the long run, but right now all it makes me want to do is cry, eat McDonalds, and drink PBR.

Aside from that, everything is going really well. Last weekend, a group of us took a trip to Lyon so I got to see Kati and DC, which was amazing of course. The trip was good overall; it was really nice to get out of Grenoble for the weekend, especially because when we left the bar, we didn't have to worry about climbing halfway up a mountain. Fall break is next week, so I'm going on a trip around Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and Paris with a few friends.

The French is getting easier to understand and speak. I feel like Americans just have to go abroad to really learn another language. We have no demand for it like Europeans do, since driving from state to state is like driving to another country for them. I just wish there were more pressure for us to learn other languages... I feel so far behind everyone else when it comes to that.

As far as culture goes, I feel like I've become progressively more Southern since I've been here. I literally said, "Just holler when you're ready!" to somebody yesterday and immediately wanted to slap myself in the face. It's surprising because I felt like the opposite would have happened, but it's cool. I can embrace my Southern culture. Except for when I use words like "holler".
It has been really cool seeing the way so many other cultures work, though. My building is full of people from all over the world and I can definitely tell so many differences. People from English-speaking countries are similar enough. The guys are all so much more respectful towards woman than American guys are- seriously boys, watch and learn. Also, when French people make plans with you, they expect those plans to go through. Americans will make plans with someone and then it never happens. Or, if you go out with a group at night, most of the time everybody just ends up doing their own thing. Separating is okay... Americans are fine with saying, "Okay, we want to go to this different place, we'll just catch up with you guys later". French people are more like, "okay, we're going out together, we're sticking together all night", so they make plans and compromise around what everybody in the group wants to do. It's not a bad thing by any means- friendship is just taken more seriously here and they aren't as casual about "hanging out" with people as Americans are.

One thing I've noticed is that Americans LOVE to trash our country. I can't tell you how many times I've heard, "I can't wear that, it looks American". Or, "Stupid Americans" coming straight from an American's mouth. It's like, yeah, okay, some people give us a bad name when they run around, being loud and obnoxious, screaming in English and refusing to learn other languages, but it also gives us a bad name when all you do is talk badly about your own country. Just own it. Just because it's a stereotype that Europeans hate Americans doesn't mean that they'll think you're cool if you walk around trashing your own nationality. Remember that if you go abroad.

Basic chores are SO different for me here than in the US. Going grocery shopping has been interesting. I'm used to seeing Mom load up a cart full of food from Publix a few times a week, keeping the kitchen fully-stocked at all times. I've had two "major" trips to buy groceries here. By "major" I mean that instead of just buying baguettes, Camembert, and pasta, I'll throw in a vegetable or something. Like, yesterday, I additionally bought a half-dozen eggs and mushrooms and considered that a "major" shopping trip. It's hard, though. Anything you buy has to be lugged up a mountain, then there isn't much fridge room, and the kitchens are a bit shit, so you're not really encouraged to make anything that isn't incredibly simple. Like pasta.
Laundry has been different, too. It's really inconvenient. You have to go between 9-9:30 on Monday nights to sign up for a time slot for your laundry. It only costs a euro to use the machines, but you have to hope that there will be a convenient time available, then you have to rely on somebody else to bring you the laundry key on time. I've been in France for over a month and I JUST did my first load of laundry this week. Thankfully, we have sinks in our room, so I've been hand-washing a good bit, but it's harder now that it's cold and clothes now take a couple of days to dry. But, inconvenient laundry situations really make you realize exactly how "necessary" doing laundry really is.

That's all I've got for now. I need to go work on a project for this God-awful History class.

So, my "first week of classes" is down and I'm finally getting adjusted to being in France. The reason I can't seriously call it a week of classes is because I only went to two. The system here is so different than in the States. At home, we meet with our adviser, decide what to take, then sign up for all of our classes online a semester ahead of time. Not that I miss waking up at 6:55AM for that competitive rush to get the classes you need, only to see that Bannerweb isn't working properly, but I do miss the simplicity and organization. In France, you don't sign up for classes. At UPMF (my university here), you find a class online and just show up for it. If you like it after a week, you just tell your adviser, who will inevitably be someone who hates working and is never in his or her office. That part isn't bad. I have to take classes at this other university as well, and if I didn't have Gaelle to help me out, I'd be lost (the bad part is that Gaelle is French and attends this school full-time and she doesn't fully understand how it works). Just to find one English class, I had to go up to the English library, flip through three different books of course listings, go down to another office to find posted times for classes- which, of course, didn't match up with the ones listed and I couldn't find the classes that Dr. Brent approved, and then I had go to another building to find someone to ask about enrolling in their class (and of course, she wasn't there). The building set-up doesn't really make sense, so navigating it is just another huge pain. And you don't get much of a response through e-mail, either. I'm not trying to complain- it really does help with gaining independence and all that good stuff, but when October rolls around and PC students start complaining about the whole registration process, they just need to be thankful that it's easier than it is here.

Speaking of being thankful: So, I've never gone a day at PC without appreciating my professors. They're always there for you... if their door isn't open, they'll go out of their way to make time to talk. I once e-mailed Dr. Kiley at 8AM freaking out because I didn't know what I was doing with my life, and by 8:30 he had responded saying to meet me in his office at 10 (which was when I walked out with a French major and plans to study abroad...). That doesn't happen here. It just doesn't. So, once again... appreciate PC as much as you can because not everywhere is as easy or willing to help.

So, onto the more fun parts of France. Living here has been great. People are so much more open-minded and accepting than they are at home. I have yet to hang out with people who just sit around talking crap about other people. It's refreshing. Seriously.

One major drawback: Awesome American websites like Hulu and Pandora don't work here. Not fun.

Take Two

Okay, so I forgot how to get to the blog I started last week, so I just made a new one with g-mail.

Anyways, so I finally arrived in Grenoble last Monday after way too much travelling and a wonderful weekend in Lyon. Lyon is a wonderful city to visit; honestly, I may have had more fun there than I did in Paris (just maybe...). It's beautiful, full of fun, and we met some really cool people while we were there- and of course, being with Kati and DC was the best!

Grenoble has been quite the adventure so far. Liz and I got up at 5AM to make our train and didn't even have a chance to eat until dinner time. Trying to find our housing was intense (Thank God we had Gaelle to help us...). We took a tram to a bus stop, a bus up the mountain, then lugged three months worth of stuff up two flights of stairs to get to our building. The building isn't anything to brag about- tiny rooms, sub-par kitchens, holes in the ground instead of toilets- but the view is absolutely amazing. It's crazy to say that I literally have to hike the alps just to get to my room, but it's so incredibly beautiful that I don't even care. People are living here from all over the world and I've made some really cool friends so far.

Grenoble itself is a cool city... much more laid-back than Paris. It's really easy to get to know people and I haven't felt overwhelmed at all (except maybe with the whole language barrier thing...). There are mostly college students here because there are so many universities. Grenoble is divided up into many small schools; it's not like having one huge university like USC taking up the whole city, so it's very different but still a lot of fun. It's weird not having football season, though.

Even though it's only been a week, I can tell that I've changed already and I'm very happy with that. Studying abroad is the best decision I've made (minus having to leave little Arnold in his last few days...) and it's really got me re-thinking the route I want to take with my life. So, I guess we'll see how I feel 3 months from now!