Been so long…

Hi friends

I just wanted to update quickly…

I left Strasbourg last Monday for Paris, stayed in Montmarte, saw the Eiffel Tower, the Sacre-Coeur, the Musee d’Orsay, and some other stuff.

Left for Amsterdam on Wednesday, spent the first day there by myself which SUCKED, my friend got there on Thursday, I saw the Van Gogh Museum and the Red Light District, and sampled the joys that Amsterdam had to offer.  It was ok, but definitely not my favorite place.

Right now I am in Brugges, Belgium, which looks ok, I will let you know.

The internet is CRAZY expensive here, so that’s all I got. I’ll be home on Wednesday. If anyone from work reads this, tell Phil to put me on the schedule for next week. I’m broke. And I’ll see everyone later this week.

Love jamie

The end of Alsace

I leave Strasbourg on Monday morning for Paris, and am excited and nervous.  To be honest, these past few weeks feel like they have gone by really fast, but I also feel like I’ve been away from home for a LONG time.  I’ve got just over a week of traveling to do and as of now the plan is to hit Paris, Amsterdam, and Berlin, and then fly out of Brussels, on the 2nd.  I know everyone in St. Louis has been hot, but I’m telling you, it has been 98 degrees here the past week or so and the only AC to be found is in the stores. Not in the dorm, or the classroom, so I’ve been taking a LOT of sweaty naps.  Anyway, I will be overjoyed to take a nap in the AC with a glass of ICE water next to me. I havent had ice since I left St. Louis.

Strasbourg has been a really great place to spend the last few weeks.  Everyone I have encountered has been really nice and helpful, and the city, of course, is beautiful.  I’ve also become good friends with some people on the trip which was quite unexpected, but really great. Thursday night we went out for a traditional Alsatian dinner, which for me was delicious sauteéd mushroom in a puff pastry followed by potatoes with garlic, parsley, and onions in a <fromage blanc> which is really just like sour cream, so…. delicious.  Everyone else had to share two HUGE platters of sauerkraut and meat. Those Alsatians, man, they dont mess around with their meat.  Anyway, I am proud to say that most everyone was increadibly jealous of my veggie feast.

Today I went all over town to shop, because EVERYTHING closes on Sunday and I leave Monday at 8 am. My quest for the day was to get myself an adorable dress like all the French girls have, and to get souveniers for everyone. I managed half the souveniers, and a bag (green, of course) but no dress. Maybe I will have better luck in Paris. Tonight we are all going out for a nice dinner together, then tomorrow will be spent doing laundry in my sink in the morning and napping at the beach in the afternoon. I have a tan to keep up, you know.

That’s all I’ve got for now, I’ll keep you updated.

Happy Bastille Weekend

So this weekend has been great because Friday the 14th was Bastille Day so we didn’t have class.  My day started with a mojito at this boat restaurant called “Strasbourg sur la plage…sans la plage”, which is Strasbourg on the beach, without the beach.  It’s a restaurant on the river, and it was a very nice way to start the day.  Then my friend Eric and I went to a beach about 15 minutes away, and laid out for a while, then came back to partake in the Bastille Day festivities.  It doesn’t seem that the French really care about Bastille day at all.  We went to the “Ball” in one of the city squares, expecting a party, but there were maybe 100 or so people, a BAD band that sang a lot of songs frome the 80’s.  The best thing about it is that the French can’t dance and that provided at least an hour worth of entertainment.

I’ve been exploring the bars in Strasbourg….last night we went in search of a gay kareoke bar only to find it was closed, and then found a spanish bar called “La Mosquito”, that serves Delerium Tremens so we hung out there a bit, then went to a bar pretty close to the dorm called Jimmy’s.  On the weekends they have a DJ who plays 90’s rap, so it’s pretty much a good time.  I requested Regulators by Warren G and got to dance to it.  Can you say you danced to Warren G in France? Probably not.

Today we went back to the beach, I’m determined to come home with a fantastic tan.  Which for me really just means not ghostly white.

I am going to leave you with interesting French facts:

-the toilet paper is colored and scented.  Mine is lavendar and smells like baby powder and I’m afraid it’s going to give me some sort of rash.

-some of the men here all wear capri pants and carry little purses that they can sling over their shoulder.

ok, really, that’s all I can think of right now. And I’ve got good news and bad news about the food:

Thursday I ate broccoli and french fries for lunch, then green beans and french fries for dinner, and decided I will never ever eat and that dining hall again.

BUT there is an awesome vegetarian restaurant around the corner that’s perfect and delicious.

ok, that’s all I got. love jamie

This weekend was interesting, Saturday one of my assignments was to go to the market and look for foods Ive never seen before and take notes on them. It was interesting, because Im a big fan of food, but I found that I recognized the majority. There were black green beans that ive never seen before as well as some fruits and vegetables. I was a little scared to ask the vendors about some things because the market was really crowded. I did get some fresh apple juice thats quite tasty, but I figure Ill go back next Saturday and try again.

Yesterday we went on our wine tour, which wasnt really much of a tour at all. Well, not of wine anyway.  We stopped in a bunch of small towns and mostly looked at some different churches, then went to one winery.  All the towns were quaint and charming but they sort of reminded me of going to Disneyland, where they have the different countries…everything was just very brightly colored and full of tourists, it was ok but I didnt love it. I might have if I had gotten to taste more wine.

Last night was the match, so a bunch of us went to the big town square where there was a huge screen and at least 500 people.  It was really strange though, because no one was really that excited. I kept comparing it to a Cards/Cubs game, or maybe a world series, where St. Louis would go crazy…the French didnt really seem to care.  After about 15 minutes we walked to a bar and the crowd wasnt very big but they seemed a little more excited.  Its a shame they ended up losing though because everyone just got up and left quitely.

Today I dont have a whole lot to do, our homework is to go to a restaurant and write a review which is GREAT, because Im finally planning to get myself a delicious meal.  There is a garden somewhere on the university campus that Im going to seek out because the weather is pretty nice, and Ive got to work on my tan. Or burn, whatever.

Free time is really nice here and Ive realized that I dont miss TV at all. Not even Unsolved Mysteries. Well, ok I miss Unsolved Mysteries a little, but nothing else. I feel like I have so much time to read and walk and enjoy Strasbourg. Im actually hoping to give up TV for the most part, but it is the devil box, so who knows.

Anyway, things are good, and Ill try to post more pictures soon.

I heart Strasbourg.

I don’t even know where to start with this post.  I know I have only been in France a week, but I absoloutely love it.  The differences between Strasbourg and St. Louis are amazing.  In this city, I do quite well for myself getting around on foot.  There is absoloutely no need for a car, everything is close enough to walk to, and there are trams here that run on a course next to the street where the cars drive, and they’re very efficient and quiet and cheap. My dorm is about a 10 minute walk from the main part of the city with the Cathedrale Notre Dame, which is over a thousand years old and quite beautiful.  Every night in July at 10:00 they turn on Mozart and light up the Cathedrale and it’s “magique”.  Every street is a mixture of store, the boulangerie, the tabac, cafes, restaurants, bookstores, and other sorts of shops.  The river runs through the city and at one point it surrounds it, like a little island.  The other day in class we had to do a project on architecture, and there were several different groups that reported on different periods.  Mine was mideval, and it’s incredible to see the mixture of styles, up to a thousand years old, all in one place. Today I went to a large market and looked around, I’m still a little shy with my French and am not quite comfortable navagating crowds to ask for a kilo of apples, or whatever. But there’s still time.

Everyone in Strasbourg rides bikes, from kids to professionals, to parents. I’ve seen many bikes with carseats on the back and it’s just amazing.  There is a bike path on every sidewalk. Amazing! Imagine having an actual path to ride your bike on!

The only thing that has been disappointing so far has been the food situation.  For breakfast I’ve been eating a crossiant with jam or honey, which is great, but for lunch we have to eat in the dining hall as a group so we can all speak French to one another.  Before my trip the professors spoke very highly of the dining hall and all the choices it has, and really, it’s a big fat lie.  It’s very difficult for me to find something to eat, being a vegetarian. Sometimes they serve fish, which is usually not delicious, but it’s mostly pork or chicken.  I haven’t really been eating out, other than at sandwich shops and whatnot, because I don’t want to spend a ton of money every day.  The markets have amazing food, but I also don’t have a kitchen or anything to cook with, so that’s not really an option either.  Luckily I have a mini fridge in my room, so I can keep fruit and yogurt, but it’s really hard being in France and not being able to enjoy the cuisine as I feel I should.

Tonight we are having a picnic in the park, which should be fun. Tomorrow we’re going into the small towns of Alsace for a wine tour and I’m really looking forward to that.  The towns are supposed to be “charmant”.

I’m kicking myself for saving my study abroad until the end.  My French is improving day by day, but I think I’ve got to branch out and make some French friends, because I mostly hang out with people from my group and it’s much easier to speak English together, so we do. 

All in all, everything is great.

Aller le Bleu!

The past few days in Strasbourg have been wonderful but exhausting.  Every day we do activities that involve running aound the city, yesterday we took a walking tour, the day before was a boat tour, and today was a tour of Parliment.  Its a really great way to get to know the city, its not very big and is fairly east to navigate, but the heat here is getting to me a little. Its about the same temperature as St. Louis, I think, but very few places have air conditioning, so theres very little escape.

Yesterday we watched the match from a little kabob joint and it was fairly exciting. After the game everyone honked their horns for HOURS and waved the French flag….to be expected of course. It was a good time.

I learned the word for squirrel yesterday, écureuil, which probably wont be very useful to me because I havent seen any yet. Pigeons, though, les pignons, are EVERYWHERE. I get pretty good exercise saying, I hate you pignons! and trying to run and kick them. So far theyve all been a little too quick for me, but one of these days…

Sorry I am keeping things short, but they keyboards here are frustrating, and I have to get going to the store to buy toilet paper, because apparently they give you one roll to start and then youre on your own. Awesome.

I put up a few new pictures, hopefully I will put up more after the wine tour and the match on Sunday.

à bientot!

bonjour

I arrived in France yesterday after a LONG night in the Dublin airport, and things are remarkably good. Aside from the fact that Im still not comfortable with the French keyboard, so bear with me. 

Strasbourg is LOVELY. Not too big, very nice for walking, it is cut in half by the River Ill, which I can see from my room…quite a nice view. There are cafés and shops all very close to my dorm and the city center is just a short walk away. I have already discovered that July is the month of sales so Ive got to show some self control and wait until the end of the trip before I can take advantage of them.

My dorm room is enormous with a mini fridge and a sink as well as an extra bed…so if anyone needs a place to stay…the invitation is open.

Things are looking good, but I am getting frustrated with this keyboard so Ill say goodbye. I will put up pictures as soon as possible, its hard working from an internet café but Ill see what I can do.

A bientot!