Since I've arrived, I've been journaling constantly ... there's so much going on that there's always something new for me to process or think about or observe. For a writer, it's exciting because there's a lot of grist for the mill, a lot of new, meaty experiences to sink my teeth into. And right now all of my groupmates are searching the internet for hotel deals in Venice, which I'm hopeless at. Clearly. So here's a transcription of some of my recent journal entries.
From May 26, near midnight:
I think photographs can say so much more than my utterly incompetent words ever could. In fact, as I journal, I'm feeling extremely frustrated. The words won't express how I feel at all. So, let me try to set this small scene: it's near midnight, downstairs in the lobby/kitchen area of the Villages Hotel; the night manager has one of the glass doors open and he's talking loudly in French on the phone ... two of my classmates just came in from dinner and said they tried some bizarre mixture of liquer and beer. The outside street is quiet, but over my iPod I can still hear the clinking of tiny espresso cups from the neighboring cafe, and I can hear chatting and coughing wafting in along with a cool breeze from the open door ... a small red motor scooter revs down the road, past the red sign on the door to the hotel that says Bonjour! Entrez vous etes les bienvenus. As well as variations on that theme in German and English. My body is sore, my head is hot, I'm a mess ... but I'm also completely peaceful.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
A castle, a hotel and a lake - it's Switzerland!
More pictures ...
For some reason, I've been taking pictures of every weird sign I see ... this one is probably my favorite. I'll have to post my Strange Sign Series at a later date, when I'm less scatter-brained.
Geneve, Switzerland ... everyone rides motor scooters around Europe.
The famous Lake Geneva. It was big, it was watery, it was a lake. It was beautiful, sure, but everything else was more interesting than it, really. Such as the chocolates.
Montreux, Switzerland ... I really, really loved Montreux. If I could go back, I'd skip Lake Geneva and just spend an entire day roaming the waterfront in Montreux. It had such an easy, breezy feel, and was just gorgeous. Plus, there were so many different types of people and foods and trinkets ... very cool.
The mountainous, watery vista on the cobblestone path toward the castle ...
The castle in Montreux ... it cost 12 euros to get in, and the line was enormous, so I had to enjoy just the outside. Which was amazing, in and of itself.
For some reason, I've been taking pictures of every weird sign I see ... this one is probably my favorite. I'll have to post my Strange Sign Series at a later date, when I'm less scatter-brained.
Geneve, Switzerland ... everyone rides motor scooters around Europe.
The famous Lake Geneva. It was big, it was watery, it was a lake. It was beautiful, sure, but everything else was more interesting than it, really. Such as the chocolates.
Montreux, Switzerland ... I really, really loved Montreux. If I could go back, I'd skip Lake Geneva and just spend an entire day roaming the waterfront in Montreux. It had such an easy, breezy feel, and was just gorgeous. Plus, there were so many different types of people and foods and trinkets ... very cool.
The mountainous, watery vista on the cobblestone path toward the castle ...
The castle in Montreux ... it cost 12 euros to get in, and the line was enormous, so I had to enjoy just the outside. Which was amazing, in and of itself.
I promised it, so you get it ...
Pictures! These are of Dijon, the city where we're staying...
Set for dinner ... about 6 blocks from our hotel.
The biggest, oldest, and only "official" cathedral in Dijon. The size is intimidating.
A close-up on the detail of the underside of a staircase in the cathedral.
A building front on the street ... very old, medievalish and well-preserved.
The Palais du Ducs Bourgogne, or in other words, the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy. Facing it is several cafes, and it's so beautiful at night when there are hundreds of people out eating dinner in the evening hours.
Set for dinner ... about 6 blocks from our hotel.
The biggest, oldest, and only "official" cathedral in Dijon. The size is intimidating.
A close-up on the detail of the underside of a staircase in the cathedral.
A building front on the street ... very old, medievalish and well-preserved.
The Palais du Ducs Bourgogne, or in other words, the Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy. Facing it is several cafes, and it's so beautiful at night when there are hundreds of people out eating dinner in the evening hours.
Monday, May 28, 2007
switzerland, truffles, and wee-fee!
Yesterday we went to Switzerland - specifically Lake Geneva and Montreux. I have no non-generic terms for it at all. It was beautiful, it was a lot of walking, and I took an entire gigabyte of pictures. Let's just say: Lake Geneva - beautiful lake, strange architecture, banks and watches; Montreux - like a Suisse Monterey Bay with crepes, breathtaking cloud-shrouded mountain vistas, and an ancient castle set near the water up a winding, lakeside cobblestone path. I will post pictures as soon as I can ...
While in Lake Geneva, we stopped in a tiny gourmet chocolate shop run by the sweetest, funniest Suisse woman. We complained about the conversion of the Euro from the dollar, and she said, "Oh, well it is all your fault!" In a funny way, not rudely. I got some of the most beautiful, delectable truffles (raspberry, strawberry, and my favorite, champagne!) ... I haven't dared touch them yet. Plus, I was so tired after our long, long day in Switzerland that I didn't even eat dinner before falling asleep at 10 p.m.
Also, I finally got an internet connection through my laptop ... so I'm not hunting and pecking anymore. It's reaaaalllllyyyyy sloooooooowwwwwww ... but it's there. Also, those of us with laptops met up with the college's IT guy to get our internet set up. He had trouble saying Wi-Fi (he said, wee-fee), and the guy from Oklahoma (that was also getting his internet connection set up) knew way more than the Frenchman did. It was just a funny example of how the French are a little ill-at-ease with computer lingo ...
Also, I didn't really mention it before, but I'm here with about 20 other students. It's been interesting getting to know everyone. After our whirlwind weekend, I know them all a little better. It was hard going without knowing anyone, but it's also forced me to make new friends; I see some of the others who came with one other friend, and they're not venturing out to meet some of the other people in the program. However, my own roommate is very reserved and goes to bed early. So, I've been out in the kitchen/lobby area with my journal in the evenings.
Today was our first day of class. It was really strange to sit in our classroom and look out the window at all of the old brick chimneys and cathedral peaks (we're on the third story, which is really the fourth, since they consider the ground floor the first - make sense?).
Well, I think it's off to the hotel room for a bit and then see about dinner somewhere ... I miss everyone but homesickness hasn't set in yet.
bon soir!
Jennie
While in Lake Geneva, we stopped in a tiny gourmet chocolate shop run by the sweetest, funniest Suisse woman. We complained about the conversion of the Euro from the dollar, and she said, "Oh, well it is all your fault!" In a funny way, not rudely. I got some of the most beautiful, delectable truffles (raspberry, strawberry, and my favorite, champagne!) ... I haven't dared touch them yet. Plus, I was so tired after our long, long day in Switzerland that I didn't even eat dinner before falling asleep at 10 p.m.
Also, I finally got an internet connection through my laptop ... so I'm not hunting and pecking anymore. It's reaaaalllllyyyyy sloooooooowwwwwww ... but it's there. Also, those of us with laptops met up with the college's IT guy to get our internet set up. He had trouble saying Wi-Fi (he said, wee-fee), and the guy from Oklahoma (that was also getting his internet connection set up) knew way more than the Frenchman did. It was just a funny example of how the French are a little ill-at-ease with computer lingo ...
Also, I didn't really mention it before, but I'm here with about 20 other students. It's been interesting getting to know everyone. After our whirlwind weekend, I know them all a little better. It was hard going without knowing anyone, but it's also forced me to make new friends; I see some of the others who came with one other friend, and they're not venturing out to meet some of the other people in the program. However, my own roommate is very reserved and goes to bed early. So, I've been out in the kitchen/lobby area with my journal in the evenings.
Today was our first day of class. It was really strange to sit in our classroom and look out the window at all of the old brick chimneys and cathedral peaks (we're on the third story, which is really the fourth, since they consider the ground floor the first - make sense?).
Well, I think it's off to the hotel room for a bit and then see about dinner somewhere ... I miss everyone but homesickness hasn't set in yet.
bon soir!
Jennie
Saturday, May 26, 2007
bunk beds, sweat, and bread
i dont have much time to update. and the keyboards here are different. all of us are at the school right now hunting and pecking out emails back home. a few things: there are bunk beds in the rooms, no air conditioning to speak of, and most of the proffered food has been baguettes, toast and biscuits. its truly an old city here, there are rules against changing the fronts of the buildings ... so a very modern clothing store like H&M still has a very gothic face. i woke up early this morning to explore and found a broken down carousel, a fountain with a statue covered in a mcdonalds advertisement ... very surreal. i also met some very friendly frenchmen. no other comment on that right now. i will take my laptop to a caffe soon and will write more later...
bonjour
jennie
bonjour
jennie
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Luggage storm!
The day before a trip, as you probably know, should not to be confused with the eye of a vacation storm, or even the calm before the storm. It is, in fact, a messy part of the swirling hurricane-y vortex of the whole vacation experience. The planning, packing, weighing of suitcases, and general running around that goes into leaving the country for a month pours out before the actual eye of the storm. Which is, if you think about it, probably that time when you're just sitting in the airport with nothing to do but wait.
I'm anxious. My brother called tonight, and said, So are you nervous? And I said, Well, yeah, I'm sort of a mess. He said, I knew it, I know you too well. So I'm what my family and friends consider "high-anxiety," however, I'm also an intense procrastinator, which only adds to my stress.
All in all, though, pretty much everything is done. I just need to double-check absolutely everything, finish some last minute laundry, do some last minute shopping, and oh yeah, a few more pages to read for class... but I have this vague buzzing filling my head, making it impossible for me to concentrate. I'm filled up with a prickly sense that I'm missing, forgetting something or not doing something extremely critical to my survival in France.
It doesn't help that I'm also at work right now, trying to be careful about my job, but also imagining that my suitcase will have to be re-packed or something once I get home. At this point, I can pretty much imagine all of my favorite things suddenly becoming filthy or unwearable while my French phrase book inches underneath the couch... my brain has become a hive of bees. I need something to calm me down, but what?
The next two days will be difficult: I fly all night to get to Paris around noon, and am the very last student to arrive (it was a cheap flight and had the fewest layovers, so I had to go with it); then, there's customs and baggage claim followed by a 4-hour bus ride to Dijon. All in all, it's a solid 24 hours of travel ... in the same clothes. But by the end of my world-traveling weekend, I will be in Lake Geneva, Switzerland. I can't imagine it now, as I sit in a flourescent, yellowy newsroom with green, faded, stained carpet, typing away on a sticky keyboard and waiting for funeral homes to send me gritty faxes ...
Le sigh. One more day, one more long night, and I'll be on my way. Gotta get these last death notices done before I go.
One last notice:
Dateline: Tulsa
Boredom, Ennui Frustration, 27, liaison to Jennie Lloyd and general contractor for her days and nights, died Thursday. Service 5:01 p.m. Tulsa International Airport Terminal, and graveside service 11:20 a.m. Friday, Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. Adventure Funeral Home, Dijon.
I'm anxious. My brother called tonight, and said, So are you nervous? And I said, Well, yeah, I'm sort of a mess. He said, I knew it, I know you too well. So I'm what my family and friends consider "high-anxiety," however, I'm also an intense procrastinator, which only adds to my stress.
All in all, though, pretty much everything is done. I just need to double-check absolutely everything, finish some last minute laundry, do some last minute shopping, and oh yeah, a few more pages to read for class... but I have this vague buzzing filling my head, making it impossible for me to concentrate. I'm filled up with a prickly sense that I'm missing, forgetting something or not doing something extremely critical to my survival in France.
It doesn't help that I'm also at work right now, trying to be careful about my job, but also imagining that my suitcase will have to be re-packed or something once I get home. At this point, I can pretty much imagine all of my favorite things suddenly becoming filthy or unwearable while my French phrase book inches underneath the couch... my brain has become a hive of bees. I need something to calm me down, but what?
The next two days will be difficult: I fly all night to get to Paris around noon, and am the very last student to arrive (it was a cheap flight and had the fewest layovers, so I had to go with it); then, there's customs and baggage claim followed by a 4-hour bus ride to Dijon. All in all, it's a solid 24 hours of travel ... in the same clothes. But by the end of my world-traveling weekend, I will be in Lake Geneva, Switzerland. I can't imagine it now, as I sit in a flourescent, yellowy newsroom with green, faded, stained carpet, typing away on a sticky keyboard and waiting for funeral homes to send me gritty faxes ...
Le sigh. One more day, one more long night, and I'll be on my way. Gotta get these last death notices done before I go.
One last notice:
Dateline: Tulsa
Boredom, Ennui Frustration, 27, liaison to Jennie Lloyd and general contractor for her days and nights, died Thursday. Service 5:01 p.m. Tulsa International Airport Terminal, and graveside service 11:20 a.m. Friday, Charles De Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. Adventure Funeral Home, Dijon.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Whew!
Just found this on Think Progress:
O’Reilly lifts boycott of France
“In March 2003, Bill O’Reilly called on all Americans to boycott the use of French products because of France’s disagreement with the United States decision to invade Iraq… Through the years O’Reilly has claimed his boycott of France has cost the country “billions of dollars” (O’Reilly himself quoted that figure in the non-existent “Paris Business Review“).” But now that France has elected conservative Nicolas Sarkozy, the French can rest easy. O’Reilly said yesterday, “The Factor is lifting the boycott of France. However, ‘Boycott France’ bumper stickers do remain available on BillOReilly.com for nostalgia purposes, and you never know… we may have to re-impose it."
I'm so glad I'm going to an O'Reilly-approved country...
O’Reilly lifts boycott of France
“In March 2003, Bill O’Reilly called on all Americans to boycott the use of French products because of France’s disagreement with the United States decision to invade Iraq… Through the years O’Reilly has claimed his boycott of France has cost the country “billions of dollars” (O’Reilly himself quoted that figure in the non-existent “Paris Business Review“).” But now that France has elected conservative Nicolas Sarkozy, the French can rest easy. O’Reilly said yesterday, “The Factor is lifting the boycott of France. However, ‘Boycott France’ bumper stickers do remain available on BillOReilly.com for nostalgia purposes, and you never know… we may have to re-impose it."
I'm so glad I'm going to an O'Reilly-approved country...
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