Final travels and visitors

I pretty much think that I have become a terrible traveler since I’ve come to Europe. Firstly, I contributed to missing a flight from London to Paris a few weeks ago (a 45-minute flight, mind you) by 4 hours because I was silly enough not to verify the exact departure time. Now, I am sitting in Paris Orly airport waiting for a flight to Rome after contributing to missing Ricky’s and my earlier flight all because we just assumed it left out of Charles de Gaulle and didn’t even consider the fact that there is another airport in Paris.

Now, we are sitting here on the floor waiting for a flight to Rome that is delayed because of non-existent “snow”. I’m getting angry calls from our hotel in Rome asking when we’re coming, my paper is glaring at me to write, and it’s already 6:50 pm. Awesome. Sometimes, this traveling-thing just gets old. I’ve never appreciated staying in the same place as much as I do now.

Update: Flight to Rome was canceled due to the “snow”, so Easyjet put us in a hotel and we left the next morning (my birthday). *Sigh*

So, since that depressing last entry, I haven’t updated you guys on my last three weeks of travel. I spent one weekend in Bourgogne, the region in central France known in English as Burgundy where the vineyards and caves of wine are abundant. I was there with my good buddy Haley and a tour group of mostly international students. We had a ton of fun exploring little medieval villages like Vézelay, Chablis, and Fontaney as well as spending a full day following little owl markers in Dijon to see all the best sites in the city. The towns were so medieval and provincial that I wanted to sing Beauty and the Beast all the time. I also became obsessed with Taylor Swift that weekend, so all in all a great trip!

Weekend after that was spent with the lovely Ariel as we finally got ourselves to London. Sooooo much fun! It was an incredibly busy weekend, and we were running from site to site like ol’ Londoners. We saw the Tower, the London Eye, had tea and scones, ate at Gordon Ramsey’s restaurant, had amazing Indian food, rocked the Tube, went to the Tate Modern, saw Bloodbrothers in the West End, went to the Globe, visited Westminster Abbey, and a bunch of other little things along the way. It was an exhausting but awesome weekend…let’s just forget about our night spent in Heathrow.

And finally, Ricky, my Uncle Tony, and Susanne just visited me for their Thanksgiving breaks. It was so nice to see bits of home here in my French world, but now that they are all gone and I have 2 major papers, a few small ones, and 2 finals all within the next 2 weeks, I’m slightly bummed out. It’s just so overwhelming to write essays in the French-style (not to mention writing them all in acceptable French grammar!). I feel like I need my tutor’s help at every single step. It is for this reason mostly that I’m writing my blog entry…anything to avoid looking at my paper documents and books. If I could just do all my research in English, that would be a big help, but it’s hard to find books about Parisian boulangeries not in French. Ok, I have to stop being negative and just get through this…only 17 more days til I am in sunny Punta Cana! Ahhh…

The past ten days have been super busy with travel and visitors! As I already said, Ricky came to Europe, and we met in Copenhagen to stay with his Aunt and her family. It was such a nice little break to be with a warm, welcoming family. The Danish have a word which symbolizes this warm feeling of comfort called heugli. In a place that gets dark at this time of year around 4 pm, one really needs to find places to keep the joy alive throughout the dark winter months. For us, this was a warm house with a cozy fire, great food, fantastic people, and a Wii. Nothing better!

Ricky and I then came back to Paris for the week so that I could attend my classes and he could see the city. We did a lot of sightseeing (and hanging around my school), saw HP7 (!!!), and got to visit my Uncle and Susanne on Thursday for a fabulous 2^nd dinner after a Thanksgiving dinner with my friends here. It was so cool that we made a whole T-giving meal by ourselves. So proud of everyone! Ali made the turkey, and the rest of us contributed to mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, salad, bread, wine, apple tart, cake and ice cream, and pumpkin pie. It was such a feast and so wonderful to spend it with my little “family” here in France. We all felt so grown up making it ourselves. Bizarre.

And lastly, Ricky and I finally made it to Rome (read above for travel issues in between) to see the sights and eat up the pasta for his last weekend in Europe. Rome was so interesting to me because in a way it felt like I was in Florida. The buildings were colorful, there were palm trees, and the weather was a ton warmer than Paris. Though we got stuck in a few downpours, we had a wonderful time! Gelato was consumed as a meal, so therefore nothing could be bad about Italy.

I was supposed to head on my final trip this weekend to Edinburgh to visit Tom, my friend who studied abroad at Penn last year, but due to major snowstorms in Scotland, it’s been canceled by Easyjet. Oh well. Though it would’ve been super fun, it’s fine that I get one extra weekend in Paris. I only have 2 weekends left to go, so it’ll be nice to spend it with my friends (more likely in the library writing my papers).

I can’t believe the semester is almost over. It’s been long but a lot of fun at the same time. Reflections on the experience are to come later as this entry is already quite long. Sorry if it’s been confusing, but I wrote it in sections from airports, hotels, and home. Enjoy the pictures!

History of all kinds

I know, I have not held up my promise of writing more frequently on here, but I am now going to give an update on the last few weeks. I have begun my spectacular 6 weekends of travel and wrote much of this post from a weekend in London....

As many of you know, I have a slightly irrational obsession with all things British, so this is definitely a wonderful little trip. I'm actually really excited to also use this experience to semi-test the waters of still "living" abroad in my future. If I've learned one thing from my time abroad so far it's that it's harder than it looks to be away from one's country, family, and friends. I had previously thought that I could live abroad no problem and love it, but as I spend more time away from America and all the things I've left behind, I miss them more and appreciate them like never before. Paris and traveling is great and all, but I feel like I'll probably want to kiss the airport floor when I return aux Etats-Unis. We'll see if London has any effect on this...

So last time I wrote I was getting ready to head to Poland for the weekend. This trip happened three weekends ago, and I think it's really been the cause of me not writing on here. Don't get me wrong, it was a life-changing experience. The program was flawlessly organized and I met some really wonderful kids from all over the country. The subject matter was just so heavy and draining though that I think I couldn't bear to relive it all so soon after visiting.

We began our 4-day weekend in Krakow which is a beautiful city in the Fall time. Leaves were changing, parks were full, bagel-things were a-plenty, and there was lots to see and do. We explored areas such as the Main Market Square, the old Jewish quarter, and the former ghetto. The Jewish quarter was its own town at the time called Kazimierz. It was really strange for me to be there because of how many times I've seen Schindler's List which is meant to take place right where I was. We learned how Krakow had around 60,000 Jews before the war and how only about 160 returned to the city after the war ended. I believe our leader said that today there is just a fraction of that number currently living in the city. We saw the old synagogue (now a museum) and walked around one that is still in use today. This site also had a chilling cemetery where most if not all of the stones had been removed by the Nazis either as a form of vandalism or in order to use the stones for construction projects. After the war, many were brought back but alas they are now just randomly placed. Some are just fragments.

It was really strange to see how many little things are left around the areas we visited from the period of the war. For example, mezuzot had been removed from door-frames leaving odd slanted holes in the wood which are still seen today. Also prevalent were swastikas, but most were actually drawn and had anti-Nazi slogans written below. Throughout the trip it was very evident how much Poland is still affected by its past. The country seems cursed almost, like it can't shake the memories of the horrors that took place 70 years ago.

Saturday morning we drove to Oswiecim, the town where Auschwitz is located. I couldn't believe when I got out of the van that I was actually there. It's really hard to wrap your mind around being at a place like Auschwitz. It's so notoriously infamous, but never have I been to a destination with such a negative connotation of my own free will. It was incredibly strange...tons and tons of people were there purchasing headsets and taking tours that it felt sometimes like just a regular museum. It was however, easy to be reminded of where you actually were with rooms and images directly in front of you that live forever in history textbooks.

The whole of Auschwitz I is set up like a museum. People can only walk through on a guided tour and on a set path. We made our way through the little camp (Auschwitz I was just the main location; in reality there were over 40 other camps branched off which collectively make up Auschwitz) and its brick buildings. It's so hard for me to describe this experience...I was constantly reminded of all I had previously studied while walking around--the films I've watched, the testimonies I listened to, the stories I've read. It was just so weird to actually be there and have my previous knowledge make this place that now shone with sunshine and had bright green grass covering it's lawns turn back into the chilling place it was created to be.

Certain things really brought my thoughts back to the history of the place. All the fences have been left intact, and to see the barbed wire everywhere and thinking about it buzzing with electricity sent chills down my spine on the otherwise sunny and warm fall day. It was so bizarre to be at Auschwitz on a day like that. Whether it's from always viewing the place through black and white images with hardly any foliage or from listening to god-awful testimonies of people who had been kept there, it was stupidly unexpected that I found myself in such a physically bright place. It's like I forgot that Auschwitz was a place outdoors where birds could live, grass could grow, and the sun could hover above. I was constantly reminded of a survivor's testimony which I heard in my Holocaust class last Fall at Penn. In her testimony, she memorably stated: "The sun was not the sun." But it was on the day I was there, and that was the strangest part. It's like the sun didn't belong at Auschwitz.

We walked through the rooms that the had been set up, and I found myself a little surprised at how "museum-y" the place felt. Most of the rooms where prisoners had previously slept had been converted to showcase different parts of camp life and the Nazi regime. I guess this is sort of necessary for the majority of visitors who only have time to visit one camp. We went to Birkenau the following day which has been kept almost exactly as it was. More on that later...

It's hard to talk about all the horrifying things on display at Auschwitz I. For those who have been to the Holocaust museum in DC and remember the shoe exhibit, imagine a room with shoes, one with luggage, one with items taken from prisoners, and most upsetting a room full of human hair. I was so disturbed after this room that it was honestly hard to keep going. We made our way through a prison (too sad to share stories from this place), some rooms showing how the prisoners lived/slept, and finally to the gas chamber. Up until this point I now realize that I was slowly building up my emotions at being here. Until entering this room, I had kept my cool, observed all the artifacts as I have during my studies, and overall just tried to wrap my brain around the realization that this really was Auschwitz.

Entering the chamber however I completely lost it. It has honestly been the most terrifying place I have ever set foot in. I couldn't believe how small it actually was, and I couldn't help but think as I entered it how lucky I was to be able to walk back out through the door. I looked up while inside and directly above my head was a hole in the ceiling where the Nazi soldiers would drop down the pellets of Zyklon B. I couldn't stop seeing the shot from Boy in the Striped Pajamas when this is happening, and it felt like I was actually about to be at my death. I could just imagine the masked Nazi dumping out the can right above me in this cold room jammed with others. I was just so overwhelmed at this point that I had to leave the chamber but unfortunately not before seeing the crematorium which was literally the next room over.

Being at Auschwitz brought out feelings I wasn't ever expecting to develop. Throughout my tour I was surprised that I really just kept thinking about how I wanted to leave. Though I know it sounds morbid, I have always wanted to make this pilgrimage sometime in my life. I was "looking forward" to finally getting a firsthand look at this place I had researched so much, and yet I absolutely couldn't wait to get off its grounds. Another emotion that grew inside me at the end after leaving the gas chamber was a surprising burst of red-hot anger. I ripped off my headset and trailed behind the rest of the group as we made our way to the exit. I couldn't understand it at the time, but all I knew was that I wanted to kick something really hard or else smash my headset to the ground. It's almost like I was mad at having to listen to this saga (which I voluntarily put myself though). Even now as I write this, it's just so hard to convey properly my feelings at Auschwitz. Of course I am...what's the word? Not "happy", but "relieved" or else "thankful" that I have gotten to go and pay tribute to those who were murdered, but it's just so hard to put into words an experience like that.

We spent our last day in Poland at Birkenau and at the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oswiecim talking about the weekend. As I said before, Birkenau has been left almost perfectly intact with the exception of what the Nazis destroyed before the Allies arrived (like 2 huge gas chambers). The camp was much larger than Auschwitz I, for this was a true work camp and an unbelievable number of people lived here at one time. With many fewer tourists walking around and the fact that the camp was left as it was (not museum-y), Birkenau truly had the feel of what I was expecting to experience at Auschwitz. It was horrible.

Now that I've probably lost all of my readers and thoroughly depressed everyone, let me just say in summary that the weekend was a really educational and fascinating trip. I met some really wonderful students on the program who all made some fantastic contributions to the discussions. We were able to meet with two different women from the period (one was a Polish prisoner who survived the camp and one was a child whose family secretly hid a young Jewish girl) and had the privilege to visit so many sites, museums, and memorials. Needless to say, it was an experience I will never forget but also one I am not looking to repeat anytime soon.

Strikes, art, football, and Disney

Well, I've been pretty much the world's most terrible blogger the last few weeks, but thanks to Jake and Ricky and their harassment, I shall resolve to do better. I think it will be more interesting to blog in the following weeks as I'll have so many exciting things coming up. Starting Thursday, I will be traveling every weekend for 6 weeks plus have Ela, Ricky, and Uncle Tony and Susanne visiting in November. It's going to be nuts, but I'm so excited for it all to begin.

The past few weeks here have had their ups and downs. As those who follow the news must have seen, France has been the home of some extreme unrest between workers and the government who is pushing through a retirement-pension reform bill. They want to change the age of retiring from 60 to 62 to receive partial benefits and from 65 to 67 for one's full pension. To us who can understand even the basics to economics, this seems a logical solution for a country with baby-boomers retiring, people living longer, and a debt poised to send the country into bankruptcy. Well, that's not how most French see it, especially the young high schoolers and university students. Protests like I've never seen before have been taking place the last few weeks with marches in the streets, severely limited public transportation, fuel blockages, schools shutting down, and trucks hindering traffic through the "snail method" of driving next to each other and at unbelievably slow speeds. You could say the country's going to pieces over this silly legislation.

The incredibly frustrating part is to watch so many people join the movement for the stupidest reasons. The young join mostly to jump on the bandwagon and also to be able to have gone through life having participated in one protest. Apparently, this is France's national sport and to not be involved in a manifastation throughout one's life is a life wasted. Hmph.

I was incredibly frustrated last Tuesday (my busiest day with 7 hours of class) when I commuted 30 minutes on the Metro each way to a class only to find the building locked up and closed in anticipation of "crazy students". Upon arriving at the gate, I see chains yet no other confused Sorbonne students. Apparently they all got the memo but didn't bother to alert us internationals. I am getting so sick of this university system. My host sister in her last year of high school was also blocked out of classes for the majority of this week, one measly week before the whole country goes on a week's vacation anyway. About here is where some might insert the 'lazy' French stereotype, but I'll do my best to only imply.

In other news, the classes have really been picking up and I've had a lot due. It's so sad when writing papers takes literally 4 times longer cuz of my language skills. I'm so jealous of those study-abroaders who have been practicing much longer than I have. I wanna enjoy Paris--not be stuck in my room typing and Word-Referencing.

Sorry for the negativity of this post so far. There were some very fun things that have happened since I last wrote as well. Firstly, Penn hosted a reception for all European alumni (and us) likely for fund-raising purposes at the George C. Marshall Center in the Hôtel de Talleyrand. This place was sooooo legit! It faced the Place de la Concorde with a wonderful view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance, and it was the building where the Marshall Plan was signed. There we were wined and dined and had the chance to speak with tons of alumni from the area. Afterwards, the Young Penn Alumni Club of Paris took out all the people under 25 to a bar and we drank on Penn's tab. Siiickk. The best part of the night was just being around so many people who know Penn and Philadelphia. It made me feel almost back home, and it was so wonderful! Gutmann also made the hike out here!

My friends and I have done a few really fun things the past few weeks as well. A few of us went to Fountainbleau for a day of hiking through the forests. We got super lucky with a gorgeous day, and it felt so nice to get out of the city.

We also went to a French national team soccer game vs Romania where France pulled through at the end with a 2-0 victory. That game was so much fun and hilarious because we saw how the French support their team. We were pretty much the most decked out there supporting les bleues having all went out and bought t-shirts or jerseys the morning of the game.

And I believe the last really awesome thing we did was get ourselves to Disneyland Paris for a day of magical fun! It was so great, and we all felt like we were in America again if only for a day. All the good rides were there and in true Disney-fashion the place was decked out for Halloween! It felt so good to see someone caring about this holiday because in Paris it is hardly mentioned. :( I went on a quest to find a pumpkin yesterday but because of the rain all the fruit vendors called it quits and didn't show. I wanna carve and eat pumpkin seeds while watching Halloweentown!! At least Disney understood me.

It's also been quite the artsy scene for me in Paris lately what with my art/museum class taking field trips every week as well as knowing a girl who's mom works at the Met and has all these great connections. I got to go to a gallery opening for an artist from NYC who makes everything out of beads (portraits, flags, tables, chains, you name it) as well as a huge modern art fair where buyers come from all over to view and make some big purchases. I'm starting to develop more of an appreciation for the world of modern art (the Basquiat exhibit really helped this past week), though every once in a while I'm just totally stumped by the genre. Take for example a group of Obama-masked girls holding a boulder over a girl lying down on a pile of dirt for 70 minutes straight. Every 15 minutes, they would rotate jobs, but that was pretty much as exciting as it got.

Yeah, I don't get it either.

Chantilly and Nuit Blanche

So, since Germany classes have been in full swing. Dropping most of my French university classes, I'm now really happy with the 3 I have at Reid Hall and the 1 I have at Paris IV (La Sorbonne). Trying to deal with this university system gives me so much more appreciation for the American school system. I shall do my best to never complain again at Penn. Here in France, nothing is done via computer, so when classes change unexpectedly to a different day, room, etc, you must check these enormous bulletin boards with all the other students crowding around. I miss Penn-In-Touch. I've already missed classes due to this method.

I'm ending up taking a History course at Reid Hall with the most charming professor ever. He's going to be taking us around Paris and teaching us about the development of the individual neighborhoods. I'm really loving his enthusiasm! I'm taking another which teaches us how art influences politics in France (we go to a museum every week!), and then the mandatory Academic Writing course which will give me the tools to navigate my French papers. Eww.

The University class is called Moyen-Orient which means Middle East. Though it's a lecture and a tad difficult to understand at times, I'm going to do my best to make French friends and learn more about the Middle East from a country so infused with immigrants from the region. I like it so far!

Besides our classes, last week a group of us ventured outside Paris for a day trip to Chantilly. Chantilly in French means whipped cream, and this is the birthplace of that wonderful substance. One would imagine that every storefront would be bragging about their claim to fame, however we pretty much had to ask where we could get the dreamy fluff. Apparently today the village is more known for its chateau and horse events. To the side is a picture of the Grand Stables. Yeah, they take them seriously here...

The chateau was lovely and we had a fun time walking around and looking at the art of the connected Musee Conde. They have a really large collection of pieces. My favorite room was a small room of all portraits. It felt like we were in Dumbledore's office. :)

After a long day exploring Chantilly, we stayed up extra late here in Paris because it was Nuit Blanche. This loosely translates to all-nighter in English, so needless to say people stay out late. It's a night full of modern art exhibits and music all over the city celebrating new artists trying to get recognized. We found some pretty cool exhibits around, though some were just downright odd. I just don't understand modern art most of the time. For example, there was a giant exclamation point hanging inside of a church made out of tinsle, fans, and glowing bright blue. It was times to music so that the blue lights would make odd patterns. It was pretty cool, just totally confusing. I was truthfully surprised that they could use a church as the space. Seemed slightly sacrilegious to me.

I spent Sunday in Pere Lachaise with my friend Susan. Pere Lachaise is a really famous cemetery here in Paris with tons of famous dead people including Jim Morrison, Edith Piaf, and so many others. It's absolutely humongous, and we already have plans to go back and finish exploring it. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the place is that all the graves are above ground tombs. Some are incredibly elaborate with private sanctuaries to go into. Interestingly, people are still being buried in their family's plots; I saw a few 2010 dates. Creepy, yet beautiful area...

And lastly I visited Les Printemps, a luxury department store, to go to the roof-deck for some lovely views of Paris. Definitely think this is the best spot I've found for such amazing views. Check out the pics below!

Off to a Penn-Paris alumni event in a bit. Super excited to have some yummy food and meet some alums. President Gutmann is also going to be there oddly enough, so it promises to be an entertaining evening. I wonder if things will be in English or French...

Germany: a land of beauty, beer, and brezel

This past weekend, I ventured over to Bavaria for a once-in-a-lifetime experience of going to Oktoberfest. The weekend was amazing, and I was so lucky to spend it with my good buddy Ela.

It started off a little crazy cuz I had to book it out of my 12:30 class to make a train at Gare de l'Est at 1:09. Luckily, I scouted out the place the day before, so I made the train with about 4 minutes to spare. That train to Stuttgart was pretty uneventful until we just suddenly stopped on the tracks right about when we were supposed to get off. Now, I had a connection to Munich that they booked me on leaving in 12 minutes, so I was sort of freaking out. The announcer came on and consistently tried to say what was happening since a ton of these people were going to Munich, but since his French was really fast and his English was muffled and pretty rough, I had no idea what the problem was. I gathered as much that they would hold the other train for us for about 20 minutes, so when we finally pulled into the station I ran like the wind down to the platform. Literally, I squished myself into a random car and the doors closed behind me. I was sooooo lucky, but I feel bad for all the old people needing to make that connection who we left behind. No way any of them ran that fast. :(

On the bright side, I was on the train and trying to move down an aisle when a girl my age turned to me and tried to ask me something in German. I told her I didn't understand and she let out a sigh of relief cuz she was American. We spent the whole rest of the train together and she was so awesome! I made a new friend who's studying in Paris! Hopefully we'll meet up sometime here now that we're back.

Anyway, eventually got to Munich Hbf (even though we first got off at Munich-Pasing--apparently still not Munich) and I got myself on a suburban line which took me to Rosenheim where Ela picked me up. What a lovely reunion! It's so nice to see a piece of home in Germany. :) She took me to a lovely Bavarian dinner of käsespätzle (basically macaroni and cheese with fried onions on top) and schnitzel which was so satisfying after that long train ride.

The next morning we got up early and dressed in our dirndls for OKTOBERFEST! We had to leave extra early to hopefully get a table in a tent but alas, they were packed already when we got there (and it was raining which apparently doesn't deter people from wanting to drink still). Through some magic from Ela's friend Anna, we eventually worked our was into a smaller tent and got a table! It was so charming and adorable with the Bavarian musicians playing softly on the second level overlooking the tables. There, we all got our beers, pretzels, and a plate of assorted German specialties mostly consisting of pork. Mmmmmm.....I was in heaven.

Once the rain cleared up, we walked around and explored because besides a humongous beer fest, Oktoberfest is also a rather large carnival. Though, with rides costing upwards of 7 euros, I opted to watch. We briefly explored Munich before heading home for dinner where Ela's mom made us the most delicious meal. It was so nice to be in such a comfy and welcoming home! Truthfully, it got me homesick for my own family, but it was nice nonetheless. Ela and I crossed the border into Austria (check!) to go to a bar/hangout spot called Manhattan that evening with her friends, but since the day started to early we called it a night rather soon and headed home to sleep.

For my last day, Ela's dad and little sister took us to the "Bavarian Sea" which is a huge lake in Chiemsee with very large islands and cute towns nearby to explore. We went to Herrenchiemsee (Man Island) where King Ludwig II built his own version of the palace at Versailles. It was quite stunning though a bit funny because after awhile Ludwig went broke and some rooms are completely unfinished. I mean, grand hallways are gilded and adorned with fine details while others are totally and completely bare with basic wooden floors and walls of purely exposed brick. It was pretty funny looking.

But the area was truly stunning, and I was so happy to get to explore some of the countryside. Bavaria is really an absolutely beautiful place what with the Alps , the lush green friends, and all the picturesque German houses. I was sad to head back to Paris, but alas classes begin this week so I had to go. I took an overnight train (most uncomfortable sleep ever--go for the couchettes if you ever are in the same situation) and eventually made it back to the City for my week. So far so good, though today's first class at the Sorbonne was a little overwhelming. Hopefully it will turn out ok--I'm taking one about the Middle East and one about Media and Communications between the US and France. Ehhhhh, I need to find some French friends to share notes with.

Til next time!