The plan for this weekend was to go to Lyon and then Normandy, to see more of France ... well, we made it to Lyon. It was oooookkkkkkaaaaaayyyyyy. It was like a huge Dijon, only uglier, more busy, and REALLY hot. Plus, I was coming down with a cold, so I took it out on the city itself. We did get to see some Roman ruins, and went to a museum with more Roman ruins, which was cool. But I got sunburnt and my throat killed me all day. That is neither here nor there, however. The bottom line was, we wanted to see Paris. We had to see Paris. Screw Normandy, it was all about the Tour Eiffel. We went to the train station in Lyon and changed our train tickets before sunset. We spent two hours trying to get cheap hotel rooms near the Tour Eiffel. That was Lyon for us: Paris overshadowed it. And yes, we are going to Paris on Friday. But all of us wanted to see it NOW. And I'm glad we did.
We had the chance to figure out their extensive Metro system; we got to see the Louvre; we got drunk on American food and drink at the Hard Rock Paris; we watched the sparkling Tour Eiffel at midnight. All in all, a great time. I literally teared up when I saw that Hard Rock menu, and all of the American foods on it. We've been eating so many baguettes, so much jambon (which I pronounce hambone just for fun), so much butter, that we spent over 3 hours hanging out in there. Plus, there was American rock music. And yes, the French love their American music, but all we've heard in Dijon is that Glamorous song, Rihanna's Umbrella, and Justin Timberlake, and that's it. Over and over and over again. Mixed in with some awful, truly awful French pop. Don't even ask.
So. We were in the Hard Rock Paris for so long that we made friends with the waiters and they invited us out after their shift was over ... they even drew us a map on how to get there. And we fully intended to go, but once we got back to our hotel to get ready, we all fell promptly to sleep. It had been a long day of train riding and Metro riding, and we'd come in from Lyon that day (Saturday). Before we'd even left the Hard Rock, I started (kind of) shouting, "I want to see this damn Eiffel Tower everyone's talking about!!!" Yes, everyone was staring at us because we were loud and hysterically laughing about everything. So, with a few drinks in us, we headed to the damn Eiffel Tower. And it was amazing. I knew this was going to be a moment I'd always remember, so I was in each moment. Walking up the steps of the Metro to the tree-lined boulevard above. I could see this sparkling on a building and wondered what it was ... I followed my eyes across the street, and it was the Eiffel Tower that was sparkling. I had no idea that it periodically starts sparkling with white lights. I even filmed it with my camera. It was amazing. We oohed and ahhhed all the way down the street and took tons of pictures and were begged to buy stupid things from street vendors. It was beautiful, and it was much bigger than I ever imagined. We didn't get to go up into it because it was too late, it closed at 11 p.m. It's 11 euro 50 to go all the way to the top, which I fully plan on doing next weekend. So, we spent the rest of the evening sitting in the grass nearby, joking around, laughing, and soaking in the sights.
The next morning, we got up and returned to the Eiffel Tower. We had to see it again and it was only 1 km from our hotel. Not as pretty in the daytime, but still a sight to behold. Plus, we didn't look as icky for the pictures. Then we headed to a little French cafe to fill up before a long, long afternoon in the Louvre. We were so psyched.
It made our trip to be able to go into the Louvre ... all of us, Lauree, Jenna, Julie and I have all been waiting our whole lives to see the things inside. So, we again took tons of pictures and then waited in the extensive lines to get inside. Julie and I split off from Lauree and Jenna and got the Da Vinci Code audio tours at 10 euro a pop. We both loved the book and wanted to see everything from the book and movie ... and it did not disappoint. It was really fun, and made the whole thing really mysterious and exciting, with audio bits from the movie, and it was narrated by Jean Reno. Of course it involved going to the Mona Lisa (Oh Lame Saint!), and I elbowed my way right to the front so I could stare for a long time. It was amazingly beautiful in real life. There were also lots of other Da Vincis, Caravaggios, Raphaels, Berninis, Vermeers, everything you'd ever want to see.
The audio tour only lasted an hour, and then Julie and I felt a bit lost ... there's just so much to see and without a tour guide, it's daunting. So we poked around, went to see Vermeer's work, and then hit the gift shops. I bought a souvenir for Johnny and Grandma and of course, myself. Had to get a shirt with the Venus de Milo on it. And for Johnny, a goofy compass that looks like the one from the Vermeer painting L'Astronome. Hope you like it, bro!
After the Louvre it was time to head back to our hotel to collect our baggages (as they call it), and then through the maze of the Metro, finally to the train station, and back to Dijon. Which is when I decided to call everyone ...
I will post pictures hopefully in a few minutes, but if not, soon!
Jennie
Monday, June 11, 2007
Friday, June 8, 2007
Venezia in a few short pictures
Well, I'm finally getting around to posting some pictures from Venice. It was extremely hard to choose which ones to post, and even harder since my online time is almost always limited. Right now we're in Lyon and actually have free wee-fee, which is why I'm writing now. All of us are pretty homesick. I feel like I'm coming down with a some kind of cold and have a headache, stomachache, and heartache all at the same time. I just took about 5 different medicines and hope to go to bed pretty soon. We're heading out for another 3 hour train ride to Paris tomorrow. I almost want to just head back to Dijon and lay down for the rest of the weekend, but I'm already in, payment-wise, for the hotel in Paris so there's no going back now. And it's incredibly hot here, and I'm sunburned, and we've been sweating for about 15 hours straight. Oh well.
Venice. I'm already missing Italy. It was like a dream come true ... we almost went back again this weekend because everyone loved it so much. Must go back there as fast as humanly possible. Here are a few pictures:
One of the first pictures I took in Venice, on the waterbus. I loved taking the water taxis everywhere. Riding down the Grand Canal was one of my favorite things because you could see a lot of Venice.
My traveling companions: Jenna, Reddy, and Lauree. The others in our group were me (of course), Brian, Katie, and Amy.
Gondolas on the Grand Canal. A busy day on the water!
San Marco's Plaza, just after the rain began ... all of the pigeons that flood the square flew off as soon as it started raining. It continued raining for more than 24 hours afterward ... as I've mentioned, my "souvenir" from Venice is a new umbrella.
From the Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal. Breathtakingly beautiful.
On the Bridge of Sighs, inside the dungeons of the palace in San Marco's Plaza. It's the bridge that prisoners walk over just before they're executed, and this is the last view of Venice and the outside world that they see before they die.
Me, just excited to be alive and in Italy and with my buddies ... and also wearing about 17 items of clothing since it was cold and rainy!
An aerial view of San Marco's Plaza from the big bell tower (as seen in an above picture - the reddish tower) ... it was 6 euro to go up to the top, but it was so worth it to see almost all of Venice from above. You can see the pigeons pecking around down there.
Me, in a new French shirt, on the one sunny day we had in Venice. Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
More waterfront Venice.
Jenna, me, and Lauree on a little bridge in Venice ... we were rocking our new umbrellas! Reddy made us stand and wait for a gondola to come by before he took the picture ... the gondola rides were about 120 euro, so we didn't end up doing it! (120 euro = about 180 bucks)
Well, that's all for now ... I'm about to get some rest here in Lyon. We had an ok dinner that was cheap, all of us are tired, and we're going to sleep in tomorrow. A very rare occurrence. Love to all, and don't forget to write me!
Jennie
Venice. I'm already missing Italy. It was like a dream come true ... we almost went back again this weekend because everyone loved it so much. Must go back there as fast as humanly possible. Here are a few pictures:
One of the first pictures I took in Venice, on the waterbus. I loved taking the water taxis everywhere. Riding down the Grand Canal was one of my favorite things because you could see a lot of Venice.
My traveling companions: Jenna, Reddy, and Lauree. The others in our group were me (of course), Brian, Katie, and Amy.
Gondolas on the Grand Canal. A busy day on the water!
San Marco's Plaza, just after the rain began ... all of the pigeons that flood the square flew off as soon as it started raining. It continued raining for more than 24 hours afterward ... as I've mentioned, my "souvenir" from Venice is a new umbrella.
From the Rialto Bridge over the Grand Canal. Breathtakingly beautiful.
On the Bridge of Sighs, inside the dungeons of the palace in San Marco's Plaza. It's the bridge that prisoners walk over just before they're executed, and this is the last view of Venice and the outside world that they see before they die.
Me, just excited to be alive and in Italy and with my buddies ... and also wearing about 17 items of clothing since it was cold and rainy!
An aerial view of San Marco's Plaza from the big bell tower (as seen in an above picture - the reddish tower) ... it was 6 euro to go up to the top, but it was so worth it to see almost all of Venice from above. You can see the pigeons pecking around down there.
Me, in a new French shirt, on the one sunny day we had in Venice. Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
More waterfront Venice.
Jenna, me, and Lauree on a little bridge in Venice ... we were rocking our new umbrellas! Reddy made us stand and wait for a gondola to come by before he took the picture ... the gondola rides were about 120 euro, so we didn't end up doing it! (120 euro = about 180 bucks)
Well, that's all for now ... I'm about to get some rest here in Lyon. We had an ok dinner that was cheap, all of us are tired, and we're going to sleep in tomorrow. A very rare occurrence. Love to all, and don't forget to write me!
Jennie
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Fun France and Italy facts!
In France, Cool Ranch Doritos are called Cool American instead.
At crosswalks, the button you push to let you walk across the street says "Appel."
Everyone knows we are Americans because we wear flip-flops everywhere ... no European wears them.
Elevators are TINY here. Or non-existent.
The first floor in any building is consider 0 floor; the second is the first, and so on. We walk up 3 flights of stairs to school every single day, to class, after class, and for breaks.
Basically every French person owns a dog. And lets them poop in the street. And takes them everywhere.
The Italian accent isn't really exaggerated. They really do talk like everything's a party, and say Mama Mia!, and add an "ah" sound to the end of everything.
Store hours are completely random. Sometimes they open at 9 and close at 5, and other times they close early or open late, and sometimes they don't open at all. Everything really IS closed on Sundays.
Right now as I'm typing this at the school, the security guard is just standing behind us, watching us chat and surf the web. Our rapid-fire English draws attention everywhere we go especially since Americans talk louder than any other nationality. I think he's just a creepy guard though. Glad there are a few of us here...
Bus drivers in France get breaks every 2 hours ... so no matter where we are, he has to stop and we all have to get out while he smokes or whatever for a half an hour.
No one eats dinner until really late. Restaurants don't even open until 7. It really bothered us at first, but then last night a group of us were out at a restaurant and I said, Wow we're eating dinner early, and it was 10 o'clock! Also, it's difficult to get the check. You have to specifically ask for it, and dinner is always a 2 hour affair, minimum.
The French don't have hand towels in hotels at all. No matter how nice they are.
In many places, there is only one public toilet for women and men to use together. Sometimes I'd run into American men in the toilets, they'd look up in shock and then say, I just can't get used to sharing bathrooms with women! It is weird, but not as weird as you think.
In Italy, they don't really have toilet seats. Their toilets look like ours, but without the seat part. I chose the hovering option, while some of my traveling companions covered it in toilet paper a few times and then sat down.
Last night I was chatting with a French student from the school here, and he was completely disbelieving that if he went to America people would LOVE his accent. He hates it, but I reassured him that he'd have many girls to choose from if he went to the United States...
At crosswalks, the button you push to let you walk across the street says "Appel."
Everyone knows we are Americans because we wear flip-flops everywhere ... no European wears them.
Elevators are TINY here. Or non-existent.
The first floor in any building is consider 0 floor; the second is the first, and so on. We walk up 3 flights of stairs to school every single day, to class, after class, and for breaks.
Basically every French person owns a dog. And lets them poop in the street. And takes them everywhere.
The Italian accent isn't really exaggerated. They really do talk like everything's a party, and say Mama Mia!, and add an "ah" sound to the end of everything.
Store hours are completely random. Sometimes they open at 9 and close at 5, and other times they close early or open late, and sometimes they don't open at all. Everything really IS closed on Sundays.
Right now as I'm typing this at the school, the security guard is just standing behind us, watching us chat and surf the web. Our rapid-fire English draws attention everywhere we go especially since Americans talk louder than any other nationality. I think he's just a creepy guard though. Glad there are a few of us here...
Bus drivers in France get breaks every 2 hours ... so no matter where we are, he has to stop and we all have to get out while he smokes or whatever for a half an hour.
No one eats dinner until really late. Restaurants don't even open until 7. It really bothered us at first, but then last night a group of us were out at a restaurant and I said, Wow we're eating dinner early, and it was 10 o'clock! Also, it's difficult to get the check. You have to specifically ask for it, and dinner is always a 2 hour affair, minimum.
The French don't have hand towels in hotels at all. No matter how nice they are.
In many places, there is only one public toilet for women and men to use together. Sometimes I'd run into American men in the toilets, they'd look up in shock and then say, I just can't get used to sharing bathrooms with women! It is weird, but not as weird as you think.
In Italy, they don't really have toilet seats. Their toilets look like ours, but without the seat part. I chose the hovering option, while some of my traveling companions covered it in toilet paper a few times and then sat down.
Last night I was chatting with a French student from the school here, and he was completely disbelieving that if he went to America people would LOVE his accent. He hates it, but I reassured him that he'd have many girls to choose from if he went to the United States...
This is your body on travel
I wanted to write a little about health, feeling good, and what goes wrong while traveling. Clearly it's different for everyone, but I haven't even slowed down enough to consider how I've been feeling really ... so I wanted to take note of what's different and what's the same about how I feel while traveling for an extended period.
Several people in our group of OSU students took ill right after we got here, but not in the way I'd expected. I figured someone would get traveler's diarrhea or something, but no, I haven't heard any complaints about that. And all of us drink out of the faucet. No, two of the students have severe colds with a really bad cough. Both of them are my good friends, Hillary and Reddy, but I haven't gotten anything like it from them. Several of us also have severe allergy problems. I've taken an allergy pill almost every single day because sometimes it's hard to catch a breath and I'm always stuffy or sneezing. It's not a big deal overall. What's funny is when my friend Reddy went to the pharmacie here to get something for his cough: we discovered that most drugs are sold over the counter. He asked for something to help his cough and they gave him a cough syrup WITH CODEINE in it. He has it with him at all times now, and says in his Indian accent, "I love eet." Anyway, maybe it's the mold from all of the rain here in Dijon, but many of us cough, sneeze, and hack every day.
Just a few days ago, another few people got bad stomach cramps, which I think was from some food they ate. But overall, no one's been sick enough to stay home from school or miss out on anything due to stomach problems. Today was the first day that I felt nauseous and had to lay down, and we're already two weeks into the program. I already feel much better.
Overall, I've eaten a lot less since I arrived. Mostly it's due to the fact that the free meals are not terrific. I eat them, but I'm not excited about it. Right now, I can tell that I'm a bit hungry but I'm in no rush to go find something to eat. The foods are pretty bland. I eat a few sweet rolls with butter in the morning with some coffee, and then a vegetable and rice with some sort of meat or entree at lunch, and then a nice dinner or nothing. The free food that we can access if we don't use our meal cards at lunch is pretty much the worst thing ever: there were actual FEATHERS on the chicken pieces we got, and it's extremely dingy. So, I only ate there once. We've had some nice dinners, though: I loved eating at the creperie. I miss the following foods: potatoes, chips and salsa, guacamole, cheddar cheese, big breakfasts from First Watch and chicken. Nothing here has chicken in it. I've eaten jambon, or ham, at meals where I have meat. At any rate, I go hungry, but I don't really notice.
Due to the fact that I'm around 20 college students all the time, there is alcohol around constantly. Last night, I wanted to start working on my presentation, but my other partner and someone else had broken open some wine. Thus, I started drinking instead. It's very difficult to get through a day without imbibing whatsoever. Which leads me to dehydration. I've been dehydrated since I left Tulsa. To be perfectly gross, there hasn't been a single time I've peed since I got here that it hasn't been intensely yellow. We sweat all the time, because we're always walking or in the heat, we're always on the go and have to pay for water, and we just can't keep up with how much water our bodies need. I try to drink as much as I can, but it's not even near enough. However, dehydration comes in handy becasue you have to pay for a lot of touristy-area bathrooms. I may go to the bathroom twice a day. Just writing about this reminds me of how thirsty I am. But there are no water fountains ANYWHERE, and I'm at school with no hope of getting some more water until I get home, a 10 block walk.
My two main problems have been sleep deprivation and foot problems. Sleep deprivation for obvious reasons: I'm always on the go and can't say no to doing anything. I love to have fun with everyone and want to see everything and do everything, so I'm always exhausted. I got 45 minutes of sleep on the train home from Venice last Sunday night, then got up, went to school, and went all day long and hung out at night until 1 a.m. By Wednesday, I finally broke down and took a two-hour nap.
My feet are an issue becasue they are my main mode of transport. Now that I have to walk everywhere, I'm very tuned in to their behavior and moods. They are grumpy a lot of the time. After our trip to Switzerland, I had some severe cramps in my feet, which caused shooting pains every time I stepped down. By the time I'd walked to school and back, I'd have tears in my eyes. And I was very upset because I needed to get around and wanted to sightsee but my feet were just torn up. All of our feet are ugly to behold. They have blisters, they are black on the bottoms, and they are rough. But they are well-used. My feet were constantly swollen while we were in Venice, and are better now but not the best.
I've been a lot less anxious than I thought I would be. I've taken a few Xanax, such as for the night train, but overall, less than I thought I'd need. I've been so busy, I don't have time to be nervous ... and even when I do feel some anxiety coming on, I'm usually distracted by someone or something enough for it to pass. I like it this way.
Well, it's getting late and I don't know where anyone else is right now ... we're getting ready to part ways for the weekend. Lyon & Normandy here we come!
Love,
Jennie
Several people in our group of OSU students took ill right after we got here, but not in the way I'd expected. I figured someone would get traveler's diarrhea or something, but no, I haven't heard any complaints about that. And all of us drink out of the faucet. No, two of the students have severe colds with a really bad cough. Both of them are my good friends, Hillary and Reddy, but I haven't gotten anything like it from them. Several of us also have severe allergy problems. I've taken an allergy pill almost every single day because sometimes it's hard to catch a breath and I'm always stuffy or sneezing. It's not a big deal overall. What's funny is when my friend Reddy went to the pharmacie here to get something for his cough: we discovered that most drugs are sold over the counter. He asked for something to help his cough and they gave him a cough syrup WITH CODEINE in it. He has it with him at all times now, and says in his Indian accent, "I love eet." Anyway, maybe it's the mold from all of the rain here in Dijon, but many of us cough, sneeze, and hack every day.
Just a few days ago, another few people got bad stomach cramps, which I think was from some food they ate. But overall, no one's been sick enough to stay home from school or miss out on anything due to stomach problems. Today was the first day that I felt nauseous and had to lay down, and we're already two weeks into the program. I already feel much better.
Overall, I've eaten a lot less since I arrived. Mostly it's due to the fact that the free meals are not terrific. I eat them, but I'm not excited about it. Right now, I can tell that I'm a bit hungry but I'm in no rush to go find something to eat. The foods are pretty bland. I eat a few sweet rolls with butter in the morning with some coffee, and then a vegetable and rice with some sort of meat or entree at lunch, and then a nice dinner or nothing. The free food that we can access if we don't use our meal cards at lunch is pretty much the worst thing ever: there were actual FEATHERS on the chicken pieces we got, and it's extremely dingy. So, I only ate there once. We've had some nice dinners, though: I loved eating at the creperie. I miss the following foods: potatoes, chips and salsa, guacamole, cheddar cheese, big breakfasts from First Watch and chicken. Nothing here has chicken in it. I've eaten jambon, or ham, at meals where I have meat. At any rate, I go hungry, but I don't really notice.
Due to the fact that I'm around 20 college students all the time, there is alcohol around constantly. Last night, I wanted to start working on my presentation, but my other partner and someone else had broken open some wine. Thus, I started drinking instead. It's very difficult to get through a day without imbibing whatsoever. Which leads me to dehydration. I've been dehydrated since I left Tulsa. To be perfectly gross, there hasn't been a single time I've peed since I got here that it hasn't been intensely yellow. We sweat all the time, because we're always walking or in the heat, we're always on the go and have to pay for water, and we just can't keep up with how much water our bodies need. I try to drink as much as I can, but it's not even near enough. However, dehydration comes in handy becasue you have to pay for a lot of touristy-area bathrooms. I may go to the bathroom twice a day. Just writing about this reminds me of how thirsty I am. But there are no water fountains ANYWHERE, and I'm at school with no hope of getting some more water until I get home, a 10 block walk.
My two main problems have been sleep deprivation and foot problems. Sleep deprivation for obvious reasons: I'm always on the go and can't say no to doing anything. I love to have fun with everyone and want to see everything and do everything, so I'm always exhausted. I got 45 minutes of sleep on the train home from Venice last Sunday night, then got up, went to school, and went all day long and hung out at night until 1 a.m. By Wednesday, I finally broke down and took a two-hour nap.
My feet are an issue becasue they are my main mode of transport. Now that I have to walk everywhere, I'm very tuned in to their behavior and moods. They are grumpy a lot of the time. After our trip to Switzerland, I had some severe cramps in my feet, which caused shooting pains every time I stepped down. By the time I'd walked to school and back, I'd have tears in my eyes. And I was very upset because I needed to get around and wanted to sightsee but my feet were just torn up. All of our feet are ugly to behold. They have blisters, they are black on the bottoms, and they are rough. But they are well-used. My feet were constantly swollen while we were in Venice, and are better now but not the best.
I've been a lot less anxious than I thought I would be. I've taken a few Xanax, such as for the night train, but overall, less than I thought I'd need. I've been so busy, I don't have time to be nervous ... and even when I do feel some anxiety coming on, I'm usually distracted by someone or something enough for it to pass. I like it this way.
Well, it's getting late and I don't know where anyone else is right now ... we're getting ready to part ways for the weekend. Lyon & Normandy here we come!
Love,
Jennie
Since you've probably forgotten what I look like ...
I thought I'd refresh your memory! Yesterday we took a long, windy, but still beatufiul and entertaining, bus ride to the Abbey de Fontenay and to Auxois-en-Semur. Which meant only one thing: Scenario Pictures! My new BFF LOL Jen and I shouted phrases and made faces into my camera for at least 30 minutes ... here are some of the amusing results. Or at least amusing to us. :)
Before we left the school. All appears normal.
Decided to do the first thing that came to mind when we said various TV show names. This is titled, "Salute Your Shorts."
"American Idol"
I don't recall what this was all about. Try to think of something funny in which this picture would fit.
And, finally, what I feel was my finest acting moment: "Bad Hair Day." It was actually hard to get my hair back in order after that, but one must suffer for their art.
At any rate, we have a lot of fun. I will post more serious traveling pictures soon.
Love,
Jennie
Before we left the school. All appears normal.
Decided to do the first thing that came to mind when we said various TV show names. This is titled, "Salute Your Shorts."
"American Idol"
I don't recall what this was all about. Try to think of something funny in which this picture would fit.
And, finally, what I feel was my finest acting moment: "Bad Hair Day." It was actually hard to get my hair back in order after that, but one must suffer for their art.
At any rate, we have a lot of fun. I will post more serious traveling pictures soon.
Love,
Jennie
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Ridin' the Rails: Part Deux
So, we had a great time partying it up - 8 people squashed together in one tiny couchette (that's what they're offically called). However, as two a.m. rolled around, we really needed to try to get some sleep since we had class at 9 that morning (our train left Sunday evening at 8 p.m. and arrived in Dijon at 5:30 a.m., and then class started at 9 a.m.). So, we started pulling down the bunks and getting arranged. But then two of my college classmates decided to literally SHARE a tiny bunk - not even the size of a normal twin bed - which was maybe 3 feet away from me. Shenanigans ensued, which featured nausea-inducing slurp noises and such like. Also, the Italian man who spoke no English promptly fell into a sleep in which he frequently called out in either Italian or French random things. All of a sudden he'd turn violently and shout "Oh la la!" or some such. And he was in the bunk directly above me. I took to walking from car to car, as the train swayed dramatically. It was also going very fast, so the wind was whistling and rattling the cabin windows. Also, going between the coupled cars was an adventure, as they were shaking and getting the doors open and closed was difficult in the dark. But I couldn't sleep. I even went into the one of the bathrooms and sat on the toilet seat, writing in my journal for a little while until someone padded out in the night to use it. Here's some of what I wrote:
"Right now I'm sitting in the bathroom because Person A and Person B are sharing a bunk and being disgustingly loud. I've been so homesick today. I'm locked in a toilet in a dirty night train. It's so weird. Dr. Miller (our professor here in Dijon) said that oftentimes students on the study abroad program have a great first week, are up and at 'em every day, but then by the second week become massively depressed and homesick, and then sort of come out of it by the third week. I don't want that to be me. And I don't feel like actually going home; I just have a vague empty feeling that nags at me sometimes at night. It's stupid because I'm having a great time and I love everything I'm seeing and doing and all of my new friends ..."
Later, when I was back in my bunk and the shenanigans in the nearby bunk had subsided, I wrote some more by this weird blue light that are in all the couchettes. I suppose it's some sort of night light, and maybe they think that blue is the least disturbing, but frankly it makes everything look eerie and surreal. And there's no way to turn it off - we tried several times. Here's what I wrote by the eerie blue light:
"Still on the night train and can't sleep as the weird Italian man keeps calling out and moving or groaning. So. Night trains are first of all noisy: the creaking of the rails, a steely high-pitched whine and the howling wind. Earlier, when I was walking the narrow, slightly spooky halls, the windows were shuddering and teh steel floor boards fluttered from the wind. Then there's the sound of the snoring ... a pretty funny symphony of sleep, which between the Aussie husband and the Italian, is a chorus of bad sleep by itself. As for the smells - well, these bunks are clearly unsanitary, made of the same plastic-y material they use for airplane seats, but scratchier and older. They smell of world-weary travel - the bad kind. In my coach, it also smells of stale alcohol, spilled Fanta and the Aussie wife's fading perfume. Little bottles of grappa and Bailey's are rolling down the hallways because of our room's little party earlier tonight ..."
So, that was as far as I got before I fell asleep on my book. Only to be awakened a few minutes later by more French phrases and coughing. I'd look up once in a while and the Aussie wife, Sana, and I would just shake our heads at each other as if to say, What can you do?
I'm planning on taking a nap today and then doing some laundry. The laundry here is expensive. Must go eat lunch ... love everyone and miss everyone muchly. :)
"Right now I'm sitting in the bathroom because Person A and Person B are sharing a bunk and being disgustingly loud. I've been so homesick today. I'm locked in a toilet in a dirty night train. It's so weird. Dr. Miller (our professor here in Dijon) said that oftentimes students on the study abroad program have a great first week, are up and at 'em every day, but then by the second week become massively depressed and homesick, and then sort of come out of it by the third week. I don't want that to be me. And I don't feel like actually going home; I just have a vague empty feeling that nags at me sometimes at night. It's stupid because I'm having a great time and I love everything I'm seeing and doing and all of my new friends ..."
Later, when I was back in my bunk and the shenanigans in the nearby bunk had subsided, I wrote some more by this weird blue light that are in all the couchettes. I suppose it's some sort of night light, and maybe they think that blue is the least disturbing, but frankly it makes everything look eerie and surreal. And there's no way to turn it off - we tried several times. Here's what I wrote by the eerie blue light:
"Still on the night train and can't sleep as the weird Italian man keeps calling out and moving or groaning. So. Night trains are first of all noisy: the creaking of the rails, a steely high-pitched whine and the howling wind. Earlier, when I was walking the narrow, slightly spooky halls, the windows were shuddering and teh steel floor boards fluttered from the wind. Then there's the sound of the snoring ... a pretty funny symphony of sleep, which between the Aussie husband and the Italian, is a chorus of bad sleep by itself. As for the smells - well, these bunks are clearly unsanitary, made of the same plastic-y material they use for airplane seats, but scratchier and older. They smell of world-weary travel - the bad kind. In my coach, it also smells of stale alcohol, spilled Fanta and the Aussie wife's fading perfume. Little bottles of grappa and Bailey's are rolling down the hallways because of our room's little party earlier tonight ..."
So, that was as far as I got before I fell asleep on my book. Only to be awakened a few minutes later by more French phrases and coughing. I'd look up once in a while and the Aussie wife, Sana, and I would just shake our heads at each other as if to say, What can you do?
I'm planning on taking a nap today and then doing some laundry. The laundry here is expensive. Must go eat lunch ... love everyone and miss everyone muchly. :)
A Beaune to pick
We went to the Burgundy region last week on a little bus excursion for class. We saw the small neighboring town of Beaune, a lot of vineyards, as well as one little family-owned vineyard, owned by the family of our own tour guide, the awesomely funny Claude. And believe you me, a funny Frenchman, a truly funny one, is very rare indeed. Here are the pics of the Burgundy region ...
The small town of Beaune ... Claude told us that the conservative townspeople didn't want the railroad coming through their city ... so instead, Dijon got the train and subsequently became much more modern and populized (a word?). Now Beaune is just this little antiquated city on the outskirts. Some people think it's good that way, some think it's bad.
A large vineyard we stopped at on the way ... it was a Clos du something (don't remember?). A Clos is very different from a Chateau, and one cannot just call themselves these specific names. There are definite reasons for both, which I do not recall at this moment ... I shall consult Wikipedia in the near future. :)
I took this while on a hill overlooking the Burgundy region near a beautiful old castle ... we walked through the remnants of where the moat used to be.
We visited an old "hopital" in Beaune ... not in use anymore, clearly, but it's still set up so that you can see how they used to run things. This was a large room lined with red-colored beds. The beds are all too short, because they thought it was a bad idea for sick people to lay down - they thought they would die, so they made them sit up in short beds.
Scenario picture! We were making the first face that came to mind when we said, "Someone just left this winery to you in their will!" Jen and I on the bus. I look a bit worse for wear, but oh well. That's travel. :)
Claude the tour guide's winery! Or at least his family's. He lives in the village nearby. We got to see all the workings of a tiny, 5-acre winery ... including the wine cellar underground. We also had a wine tasting - it was a bit dry for my taste but I still drank it all!
The wine cellar ... it was very dank and moldy and cold down there. Also, the ceilings were extremely low, and covered with a fine black mold and smelled strongly of alcohol. I liked it, but some people really felt claustrophobic down there.
And one more installment in the Strange Signs Across Europe Series ... a few little posters for some kind of who knows what, hanging in the doorway to an ancient wine press. Out of place much?
The small town of Beaune ... Claude told us that the conservative townspeople didn't want the railroad coming through their city ... so instead, Dijon got the train and subsequently became much more modern and populized (a word?). Now Beaune is just this little antiquated city on the outskirts. Some people think it's good that way, some think it's bad.
A large vineyard we stopped at on the way ... it was a Clos du something (don't remember?). A Clos is very different from a Chateau, and one cannot just call themselves these specific names. There are definite reasons for both, which I do not recall at this moment ... I shall consult Wikipedia in the near future. :)
I took this while on a hill overlooking the Burgundy region near a beautiful old castle ... we walked through the remnants of where the moat used to be.
We visited an old "hopital" in Beaune ... not in use anymore, clearly, but it's still set up so that you can see how they used to run things. This was a large room lined with red-colored beds. The beds are all too short, because they thought it was a bad idea for sick people to lay down - they thought they would die, so they made them sit up in short beds.
Scenario picture! We were making the first face that came to mind when we said, "Someone just left this winery to you in their will!" Jen and I on the bus. I look a bit worse for wear, but oh well. That's travel. :)
Claude the tour guide's winery! Or at least his family's. He lives in the village nearby. We got to see all the workings of a tiny, 5-acre winery ... including the wine cellar underground. We also had a wine tasting - it was a bit dry for my taste but I still drank it all!
The wine cellar ... it was very dank and moldy and cold down there. Also, the ceilings were extremely low, and covered with a fine black mold and smelled strongly of alcohol. I liked it, but some people really felt claustrophobic down there.
And one more installment in the Strange Signs Across Europe Series ... a few little posters for some kind of who knows what, hanging in the doorway to an ancient wine press. Out of place much?
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