Tuesday, June 28, 2011

"Cages or wings, which do you prefer?


 ...Ask the birds. Fear of love, baby? Don't say the answer.
Actions speak louder than words." -Jonathan Larson


The mountain we paraglided from!
So what’s life without a little adventure, right? Especially when you’re in Europe for 6 weeks. The first day in Chambéry we got a packet of excursions that were offered through our program, my eyes immediately landed on paragliding. Call me crazy but it just sounded so exciting, not to mention that one day I want to skydive so this seemed like a perfect starting point. It wasn’t until when I literally signed my name to the page that I realized just exactly what I was doing. But I felt that this was one of those “remember when” moments that only come a few times in your life. How many people get to say that they paraglided in the Alps?

Erin, Myself, and Kyle getting ready
to head up the mountain!
Another thing that really propelled me to do this was the fact that I feel like I’m always talking about living without regrets and just throwing caution into the wind. How would I be able to face myself if I didn’t take advantage of this insanely amazing opportunity? I am a firm believer that people need to take leaps of faith every now and again to live fully. I can’t think of a better way than literally running and jumping off of a mountain. Also, my infinite love of all things Band of Brothers and the history of what the Screaming Eagles did in Europe helped my nerves on this one. If they could parachute into Normandy on D-Day while being fired upon, surely paragliding would be a breeze (major pun intended).

The launch pad off the mountain
Let me start off by saying that paragliding has probably been my favorite experience from this trip so far and I’m not sure what could beat it at this point. There were 12 of us on the excursion today, and we had to go up to the mountain in groups of three. Erin, Kyle and myself were one group and we were the last to go. Most people would think that waiting around for a few hours to jump off a mountain would be nerve racking but really it wasn’t. My nerves didn’t kick in until the van ride to the top of the mountain. The mountain that didn’t look super high until it was time to take the thirty minute ride to the top. Now don’t let me sound like I did this on my own, we were with professionals in all honesty we just kinda sat there. But the thing was you literally had to get a running start before the wind would pick up and take you off the side of the mountain. This was the worst part but it literally was easier than it even sounds. The guy that was with me, Gael, was really nice and trying to make me feel better. I was asking him for the fiftieth time that I just run and then jump, and he responded with ‘No, you just run and then fly.’ No big deal, ya know?

One of three pictures I got before my
camera became tempermental
So Gael got the parachute ready as I stood there with shaking legs looking over the edge of a mountain. As soon as he gave the go ahead I started towards the edge and off we went. The second I was airborne I realized that all the nerves were for nothing. It was the most comfortable thing in the world and the view was breathtaking. Everything was so calm and so serene. We were about two minutes off the cliff when my camera decided to stop working – I’m blaming it on altitude sickness. But being that high in the air I realized that there are some things that you can’t really capture on a camera and this was one of those things. I’m literally sitting here at the computer at a loss for words to try and describe this experience other than absolutely amazing. It was everything I wanted it to be and even more and I honestly would have gone and done it again and again. 

Leaps of faith <3
I now completely understand why people jump out of airplanes. I am also completely jealous of birds because the views I got to experience today are so breathtaking. This was probably the best 60 Euros I could have spent on this trip. Italy and biking through a vineyard this weekend! I hope everyone has a nice 4th of July and know that I’ll be celebrating here in France! I can’t believe that this trip is almost over already!

Miss & love you guys!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

"Like all great travelers...


...I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen."  ~Benjamin Disraeli
Mountains in Chamonix
John 14:21
I feel like that quote is going to describe my trip perfectly. In all honesty there is no way that I will be able to remember every detail about this trip – even with my outrageous number of photos or words in a blog. The truth is there are little things that this trip entails as well – the conversations with people on this trip, the professors, the lady at the patisserie down the street…There are so many aspects to this trip that I don’t even know where to begin really and for the most part if I ever try and explain all the little inside jokes I’d get weird looks. But I desperately want to try and remember these things, because I can already tell that this was one of the best decisions I’ve made in a long time. I’ve had to do a lot of things that I might think twice about in the states and I’m so glad that every morning I wake up I feel more confident in myself. 

I’m not sure what inspired that as my starting paragraph, but I guess it’s just what has been on my mind lately and there it was. So I think I’m going to split this blog up into two parts, the first part I want to try and go through some of the things I adore in this country, the second part is going to talk about the breathtaking views I got to experience in Chamonix this past Saturday while on Mount Blanc.

Chamonix, France
So let’s be real, there are certain things that the French have right. Pastries (especially the apricot croissants and the rhubarb tarts and almost anything else you snag out of the bakery honestly). Bread, any kind, and yeah people do actually walk around with baguettes. Wine, blanc…rouge…whatever your fancy they have it, and the ones that are only a few Euros are not half bad. Outdoor markets, fresh produce is amazing. Cheese! Funny little story the other day in class my professor was teaching us the different words for ‘to know’ and she was telling us that the way French people describe cheese is the same way that they describe people they know. Which is completely true, because she had actually used the word ‘gorgeous’ to describe Camembert, a cheese from the Normand coast. And to be quite honest I went out and bought some and it is really, really good.

Indescribable views
Another, slightly more profound thing I’ve noticed is that the French have a better sense of relaxation than we do in the States. They take their time during their meals, they spend time in cafes talking over coffees and wine, there is never a real sense of urgency here and it’s so great. Of course it took some getting used to – just like going to LR and getting used to the laid-back Southern style of life did. Sundays are amazing – none of the shops are open and come mid-afternoon the parks are filled with people just laying out and reading or playing an instrument or just enjoying their time together. It’s easy to make jokes about how the French like their holidays and will take time off whenever possible, but I’m starting to think that’s not entirely a bad thing. I guess what I’m saying is that in France I’ve found that slowing down and taking time to relax should definitely be a way of life, who doesn’t need less stress in their life?

Mount Blanc & Glacier
Yesterday we travelled to Chamonix, which is the town at the base of Mount Blanc, one of the highest mountains in Western Europe. It was so gorgeous; I can’t even begin to describe how pretty the mountains were. The town itself was very picturesque and it was easy to see where there was more of a Bavarian/Germanic influence to it – which was really neat to see. We took a cable car up to the summit of the mountain were the scenery became even more unreal. The mountains are just so massive and snow capped, it’s exactly what you would imagine the Alps to be like. We got to take gondolas (scariest part of my day since I’m not a big fan of anything that’s suspended above the Earth) down the mountain towards the glacier where we then got off and had to take a bunch of stairs down into the glacier cave. It was so amazing to be in a glacier in the Alps!

Ice, Ice, Baby!

Such a pretty town
 I cannot believe that we’re already over the halfway point – almost to the 2/3 mark. This trip has definitely been a great learning experience so far and while I do think I’ll be ready to head home in a few weeks I’m so glad that I did this. Coming up we have a few excursions that I’m really looking forward to! For instance on Tuesday I’m going paragliding, how insane, right? I know I must have lost my sanity somewhere in this country but I think it’ll be fun while slightly terrifying. Who wouldn’t want to jump off a mountain….


Miss and love you guys,
Until next time…

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Lessons learned

Well, folks those of us on the ISEP program are 1/3 of the way done with our stay here in Chambery. Crazy, huh? What’s the really crazy part about it is that this was the generally “slow” part of the trip. We have things planned for the next two weekends and then the weekend after that is our last one here. I can’t believe that this trip is going so quickly but time flies when you’re being culturally immersed in a new country, I suppose.

Just a warning – this is going to be one of those ‘authentic’ blogs. So if you wanted to read about the fluffy fun things I do every day then you may want to skip to the end. In all honesty this past Monday/Tuesday was not the best for me. Monday night was a bit frustrating because I met my roommate who is French and speaks little English – paired with my little French it was a bit overwhelming. I also got some bad news from home about my dog so that didn’t really soften the blow. Class on Tuesday wasn’t that great either. It’s so hard to know what the professor wants from you when you don’t speak the language. The fact that I was told you didn’t need to know French for this program wasn’t necessarily true. So it just gets to the point where she’s asking me a question that I don’t know how to answer and I get frustrated. C’est la vie.

The class thing on top of the roommate thing was just like the breaking point for me. So I came back and cried on skype to my mom for a bit. It happens. But it got to the point where I knew I needed to just suck it up and get back in the game. So after all that I went downstairs to my friend, Andy’s room where a bunch of us usually have dinner together – which is a great tradition I absolutely love. A few of the guys had gone in on a guitar so we were listening to them play. Music is such a wonderfully magical thing, getting a group of people together to sing songs and just enjoy each other’s company is so comforting. So I was already feeling a lot better by this time. Later that night Andy’s roommate, Germain – who’s French – came back, and was hanging out with us. It was getting late so we had said how we were going to go to bed and Germain was telling us how when he was in the States he was so surprised how the Americans say hello and goodbye to each other. Such a quick affair.

The French, he told us, make it a something special every time they said hello or goodbye to someone. They take the time to say hello and shake hands or kiss cheeks and when he told the reason it was exactly what I needed to hear after my bad day. Tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities but it’s also a day that isn’t necessarily promised. So the French make the best out of every hello and goodbye because you don’t know when you’re going to see someone again. Isn’t that a beautiful idea?

The rest of my week went really well. I think I had mentioned it before but I’m taking things one day at a time, and trying to soak up as much as possible. On Thursday we went to the Chartreuse liquor distillery and cellars. It was really interesting to see and it was pretty good too. They’ve been making Chartreuse before America was even a country…actually with the dates they gave out I think they could have been making Chartreuse before France was even a country.

But to end on a light note, things are getting better. Last night I had a broken conversation with my roommate about tattoos. She has three – one of which is a 5 pointed crown which is amazing – and I was showing her mine. She’s really nice and we’ve been getting along fine which is really reassuring. The people on this trip are amazing, I’m so glad that we all are getting along. Last night four of us went to one of the local bars and just sat there for a few hours talking about everything and anything just taking it all in. It was great. We head out to Mount Blanc next Saturday and I’m really looking forward to that. I’ll be sure to keep you guys posted on my French adventures!

Hope all is well in the States!
Miss & love you all! 

Monday, June 13, 2011

Salut

We had off from classes today due to Pentecost – the French love their holidays so we’ve found that any reason they have to not work they’ll take it. It surprised me though since really classes only last for about five and a half weeks that they’d be so willing to give us a day off seemed interesting. But when in France…do as the French (for the most part). So I figured I’d write up a little blog about my weekend adventures before heading out to the park with some friends to throw a Frisbee this afternoon.

Genva
Saturday we headed into Geneva, Switzerland. It was gorgeous, I seriously don’t even know where to start describing the city. There were a few of us and we kinda split up because a small group wanted to more shopping while the group I was in was more interested in sight-seeing. So we headed to a Voltaire museum that was closed but still really pretty, before grabbing a light lunch and heading to the Geneva botanical gardens. One of the guys in our group, Jon, is a natural resources major so he really wanted to see it. The gardens were spectacular – everything was so pretty. Their exposition was Edelweiss, which was awesome! I may have “accidently” picked one so I could press it.

Edelweiss and the Sound of Music? Well played Switzerland
After the gardens we headed to the museum of art and history, which was a really nice museum. We got to see another Monet, which is never a bad thing. By that time we pretty much just headed back towards the bus, we just hung out in a park for a bit. It was a really great day. One of the things that sticks out the most was when we were on the bus to the botanical gardens (which was free- free public transportation is amazing) Jon was asking a man for directions to the gardens and he asked if we were American since Jon was speaking French to him. Turns out that he had lived in Miami for a while doing work with our military. He was a really nice man who had no problem telling us how much he liked Americans. He said that while the government may not be the best all the time the people were lovely. It’s moments like that that are so reassuring. Sometimes it’s hard to judge how people will react when they find out you’re from the States but this instance was for the best, before he got off at his stop he once again told us how much he liked Americans.

Poppies in the Botanical Gardens
Sunday was just a lazy day for us, a few of us headed to a rugby tournament in the morning; it was pretty much from five year olds to more high school age. It was definitely an interesting thing to see. I really wish Rugby was a more popular sport in the States because it’s so interesting to watch. After that we headed out to the lake for a few hours. It was a great afternoon of just relaxing by the lake and mountains. I was listening to Adele for a while and the mixture of her voice, the scenery and sun was glorious.

This week will probably be a much more relaxed week for me, classes again Tuesday-Friday, and then this weekend is a trip to Paris that I opted out of going on. I’ve already been and to be honest it wasn’t my favorite city so I didn’t really feel like going. I think I’ll take the time with the other people who aren’t going to explore Chambery some more. We are touring a liquor cellar on Thursday so that should be fun. 


I hope everyone is well,
I miss you all and love you guys!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Bonjour!

4 Elephant Statue in Chambery
I’m currently sitting in front of my open window looking out onto a gorgeous French afternoon while listening to Van Morrison. Tres bien. My first week of class is over and I honestly cannot believe that it’s been a week since I’ve been in this city. Only five more to go, time is already flying. Class is going better for me, the beginning was very rocky but as we move on I feel more comfortable. I’m actually picking up on writing and reading a lot quicker than I thought – it’s just getting to the speaking that seems to be difficult at this point, but it can only get better and I’m already better than when I started off. I’m looking forward to the level I’ll be at after my six weeks here.

City Hall in Chambery
Looking out over Grenoble at the Bastille
One of the things I’ve noticed the most that I really love is that everyone is more than willing to help, but not only are they willing to help they want to learn as well. So many of the people from the university offer to help with their French in hopes of improving their English, it’s really cool to be able to help each other out. People are just naturally curious and wanting to learn. We have two professors, one teaches three days a week, the other the remaining two; our professor yesterday started talking in class about their insurance, and we told her in broken French how ours was different. When we were on break she came over to where we were having our snacks and just talking and she wanted to know more about our health care system. It’s moments like that that I absolutely love. Curiosity is an infectious thing.

Yesterday after class we took a bus to Grenoble – which is about an hour from where we are. They had the Olympics there in the 1960s I believe, but it’s also the home of the Bastille. Which, from my understanding, if a very prominent figure in the French Revolution, it was such an immense fort on the top of a mountain – the views were spectacular! We also went into a museum and got to see AMAZING paintings. We’re talking paintings that are OLDER than our country! How bizarre is it to think that a painting can be older than our nation? It just puts things into perspective about how young America really is as a country. Also, I was about an inch away from a Monet painting. Needless to say I was a very happy girl!

An original Monet!
Tomorrow is a day trip to Geneva and I can hardly wait! I am so excited to get into Switzerland; I can barely put it into words. So this is my life right now, class in the morning, random activities in the afternoon and just overall enjoying my time here. Everyone I’ve met on this trip has been really great, we can all relate to each other which is really important. 

Not much more to report right now.
I miss you all and hope everything’s great!

Monday, June 6, 2011

First Weekend: Down



 (View of one of the mountains here)

Another greeting from the land of pastries, wine, and bread; my room overlooks a view of a perfect blue sky, green leaves, and a mountain peak that just raises above the roof of some local buildings. Well guys I survived my first weekend in a foreign country. I still have a hard time believing it hasn’t even been a week yet, I feel like it’s been longer than that, but I think that might just be the jet lag talking. My first evening here was nice – a bunch of us went to a café for a late dinner and we got to witness a bar brawl. Well there were no punches being thrown – except maybe a slap or two – so maybe it wasn’t really a brawl…BUT there was a lot of yelling involved. I didn’t understand a word of it except for a few choice words that somehow didn’t need to be translated. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing – American influence I would hope would be more than just a few cuss words but c’est la vie (don’t get too impressed, I knew that before I left for France).  Admittedly, my first night here was hard – it took me a while to get to sleep (after a few tears), and even then it was very restless. The surroundings were just very new, and it was all too soon before the thoughts of ‘what did I get myself into’ plagued my brain, but I survived.

 (Market in Chambery)

Saturday we got to go to the Market in the square, it was great! There were so many fresh options of fruit, veggies, bread, etc. etc. etc. I’m pretty sure anything you could have wanted to buy was there. The rest of the day was spent as just a lazy day in a park – which was nice.  The group that is here from the ISEP program – there’s about thirty or so – is very diversified and it’s just amazing to see people who are so different come together over something like this. We have people from Iowa, North Carolina, Washington, Virginia, Vermont, Missouri and a bunch of other places strewn across the US. Of course there are little clichés that have formed but it’s when you run into somebody or meet them it’s never rude or uncivil. I think in the back of everyone’s mind we realize that we’re all in the same boat – American college students in a foreign country for 6 weeks. 

(Heading to the cheese factory)


Sunday we got to visit – I believe they said smallest – cheese factory in the Savoie area. Our bus ran about an hour late so we missed the actual tour (and judging by the smell, I think I’m okay with that) so we kinda just caught the tail end of it but we got to sample some and hear about the process. It was interesting, but the ride there was breathtaking. We were weaving through the foothills of the Alps. I swear there were little towns nestled into these mountains so perfectly it was like something out of the movies. I’ve decided that if I lived in one of those villages I could never be angry because all it would take would be a glance out the window and things would be put back into perspective. We then went up to Annecy, which was so gorgeous I really don’t know how to put it into words (I’m sure the pictures will give you a sense of what I’m talking about). The lake was an ungodly shade of blue and the mountains were so vast…I just can’t even begin to try and do it justice. Even without classes started I felt more comfortable using some French words (obviously simple ones), or at least picking up on things they do (they way they use their fingers for counting) to try and at least show that there’s effort there. With that I’ve found that people are more than willing to help you out. 

 (Annecy, France)

Today was the first day of class and admittedly it was very overwhelming. There were a couple times when the phrase, “What did I get myself into?” popped into my head. I guess I was expecting beginner French to be like the alphabet, colors, numbers, random phrases…apparently I was wrong. I was already conjugating and speaking French (every try and read aloud to a Professor in a language you don’t know…real fun). BUT my Professor seems very nice and understanding although she speaks very little English, and I just got back from the grocery store where I bought a French/English pocket dictionary. Right now I’m just worried about taking this one day at a time and trying not to get overwhelmed – I’m sure I’ll be speaking more French with the weeks to come.

 (View of Annecy from a flipping castle!)

Today is a day that has a very special place in my heart, it is the anniversary of the D-Day invasions, and it should be no surprise to any of you to know that I am a huge World War Two buff. While I wish more than anything that I could be on the other side of the country to pay my respects on the Norman coast I am so thankful to at least be in the country right now. Not that anyone is acting any differently but I know today is different. There were so many people who risked their lives for people like me and the rest of the people on this trip to be able to do things like spend six weeks of your summer studying abroad I can’t begin to describe the appreciation I have in my heart. 

(Check out that water color!)


To try and wrap up this long blog I just want to let you all know that this country is treating me very well. Despite a rocky start (at least emotionally) I am starting to really feel comfortable within this city. The weird thing is I’m already becoming used to the cultural differences and using some of the terms (merci, pardon, bonjour, au revoir) I know that when I get back to the states they’ll just slip out – and right now I can’t even imagine what it’s going to be like to see things in English again.  

 (One of my favorite pictures I've taken so far. Annecy)

We have a few trips coming up this week Gernoble on Thursday and then we’re spending Saturday in Geneva which I am so excited about I cannot wait. So definitely look for a blog later this week about those adventures.

I hope all is well with everyone in the States,
Miss you guys and lots and lots of love!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Just a hop skip and a jump later...

Hopping across the pond...skipping across the channel...and jumping in Chambery that is :)

So let's be real - this blog is going to be 100% authentic which means I'm going to be real with you all. I was a huge bundle of nerves from the time I woke up on Thursday morning until I landed in Lyon earlier today. (Yes, this time difference is catching up) Flying alone internationally for the first time was as stressful as I thought it would be but I managed, and asked lots of questions. When we were flying over Ireland the sun was starting to come up and it was the most gorgeous thing ever and I'm sure my poor Ipod never wants to play 'Defying Gravity' ever again since that was my pick me up song. But the strange thing is that the part of the trip I was most worried about - getting to France and the train safely, was the least stressful time. I was more worried while in London than when I landed in Lyon. I met up with this girl, Anna, at the train station who is also studying at Savoie this summer, so we made the trip to Chambery together. Which was great since I was getting tired of being by myself.

The train ride was breathtaking as we went further away from the countryside and more into the mountains. It was absolutely amazing, they rise up so quickly and the lakes are so blue I cannot wait to explore this area more. We made it to our rooms - which are a decent size - and instead of even unpacking a few of us decided to explore our new city. It is gorgeous. I can't even begin to describe. If I wasn't at a wifi hotspot in a cafe right now feverishly typing I'd upload pictures - but I don't have a lot yet, so I'll wait until there is more! From the looks of our itinerary they have our schedule pretty well packed with optional activities (which include Geneva, Turin, Vineyard tours, and a liquer cellar to mention a few). Needless to say I'll probably be coming back broke but well worth it. Oh! First legal drink in Europe? Hoegardeen Hefeweisen - even better than it is in the States because let's be real, I'm in France!

The people I've met so far are great - I think we're really going to have a good time here. All the nerves I felt are gone and I couldn't be happier. These next few weeks are going to fly by but I think every emotion and experience I go through will be worth it in the end. Actually I know it will. I'm going to steal a quote from the amazing Beth Feimster (who, I believe, in turn took it from someone else), "The growth is worth the goodbyes." This couldn't be more true in many different ways but for now I can relate it to this trip. I probably looked like the biggest idiot in the Philly airport (gate A17) yesterday because I was probably crying the entire time I was there...and then on the plain...because leaving people you love is hard. But you know what? It was worth it, and all the unrest I had during the past few days - worth it.

I am so blessed to have the family that I do who will allow me to fly by myself thousands of miles away to do something like study abroad for 6 weeks in a country that doesn't speak the same language I do. They are amazing and I cannot tell them how much I love and appreciate them.

Well tomorrow we hit up some local markets for a picnic, and then see some of the nightlife tomorrow and Sunday we're off to a cheese processing factory...cool? Why not I'm in France! Classes start Monday and there are a bunch of excursions coming up, Geneva on Saturday! So excited to see Switzerland! I will keep you all updated as best I can.

Miss you guys,
Lots and lots and lots of love (from FRANCE!)
Until Next Time...