Hey all,
So good news from Santiago, Brittany has an apartment, yayy! After much searching and just as much stress, I managed to find an apartment in the old district of SDC. It's really cute, in a nice location, and relatively cheap!!! The place is owned by an older couple, who are really sweet; the husband actually lived in Paris for a couple years, so we had fun talking french for a bit. I will be living in an apartment with two guys, one of which is on the Kansas program, and another who is actually from Poland-but speaks spanish really well. I don't really know anything about either one of them, but it should be interesting! The place has a nice kitchen and bathroom that we will all be using, as well as wifi, which will be so nice to have. It's right by north campus, where I have my morning classes, which means I get to sleep a bit longer-always good. Sam and I did rock-paper-scissors to see who got it, as we were both in love with it. Obviously, I won, but shortly after we left my place we saw an announcement that there was another apartment in the area for rent. The three of us (me, Sam, and Laura) went and checked it out, and it ended up being really nice. So the two of them took it! It's really nice, although more expensive than mine, but I'm so glad they are going to be living so close to me. It worked out so perfectly, and I can't wait to move in and get all settled! The last couple days we had our classes, which I'm pretty excited about. I've decided to take Islam in Spain, Transatlantic Hispanic culture, and Women as a site of change, all in addition to the daily language course we are required to take. I think it will be a challenging semester, and am convinced that my Spanish is going to really improve, which is exciting. The professors all seem really great, all so nice and welcoming, and all Spanish. It will be nice in that I think the classes will be very similar to those I would take at Kenyon, so I wont have to worry about the European way of doing things like I did in France. So yes, overall I'm feeling much better about being here, and am looking forward to moving in (which I will probably do tomorrow...). The other good news is that Sam finally got her second bag today, so all our stuff is now here (only took them a week, haha). Will keep y'all updated as I explore more,
Brit
Friday, January 16, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Get oriented!
Hello again,
So i've been here a few days now, still without one of my bags, but hopefully that will be taken care of today...maybe I will even get some money out of it. As far as my first impressions, I don't know how I feel about this whole thing. I don't know, I guess I'm just missing Paris, plus right now we're living in a hotel, without one of my bags, and I can't sleep, so overall I'm just not feeling at my best. Hopefully after I get settled into my new apartment and classes start up I will be feeling better. I just wish I could have had more of a break between trips, I'm kind of sick of being abroad, and having to speak my crappy Spanish isn't making it any easier. Oh well, wish me luck, I guess I just need some time. In any case, the last few days we've just been doing orientation in the mornings, talking about the University, culture shock, apartments, etc. Yesterday I went and saw a couple apartments with three other girls; basically the program just gave us a list of about 15 apartments to check out, and we need to visit them all and pick one in like a week. Hopefully it should go okay, i just want to get out of this hotel and be able to get settled. Other than that, I've just been going out for meals and stuff with people, mainly Sam and the two girls from Kenyon (Laura and Florette), but haven't really gone out at night yet, but hopefully will soon. Unfortunately, it seems like the twenty kids from KU (out of 25 total on the program) seem to already be friends and are sticking together, plus I feel like I missed out on some major bonding at the Madrid airport (where the rest of the group spent the night). Will give more of an update as I start exploring more.
Love, Brit
So i've been here a few days now, still without one of my bags, but hopefully that will be taken care of today...maybe I will even get some money out of it. As far as my first impressions, I don't know how I feel about this whole thing. I don't know, I guess I'm just missing Paris, plus right now we're living in a hotel, without one of my bags, and I can't sleep, so overall I'm just not feeling at my best. Hopefully after I get settled into my new apartment and classes start up I will be feeling better. I just wish I could have had more of a break between trips, I'm kind of sick of being abroad, and having to speak my crappy Spanish isn't making it any easier. Oh well, wish me luck, I guess I just need some time. In any case, the last few days we've just been doing orientation in the mornings, talking about the University, culture shock, apartments, etc. Yesterday I went and saw a couple apartments with three other girls; basically the program just gave us a list of about 15 apartments to check out, and we need to visit them all and pick one in like a week. Hopefully it should go okay, i just want to get out of this hotel and be able to get settled. Other than that, I've just been going out for meals and stuff with people, mainly Sam and the two girls from Kenyon (Laura and Florette), but haven't really gone out at night yet, but hopefully will soon. Unfortunately, it seems like the twenty kids from KU (out of 25 total on the program) seem to already be friends and are sticking together, plus I feel like I missed out on some major bonding at the Madrid airport (where the rest of the group spent the night). Will give more of an update as I start exploring more.
Love, Brit
Saturday, January 10, 2009
A new semester begins, complete with airport horror story
helllooo,
So i did it, I made it to Spain for the second semester, still can't believe it actually happened but here I am! So here we go, a new semester of adventures, and blogging. Hopefully the process of getting here isn't indicative of how the semester's going to go! Wednesday (the day before I was scheduled to leave), I woke up feeling nauteous, complete with a slight headache and overall nasty feeling. It was all to familiar, just like how I was feeling my last night in Paris, where I spent several days puking my guts out and other such unpleasant things. So the rumbling in my tummy was very unwelcoming, and I spent my last day or so at home feeling pretty terrible, eating almost nothing and staying close to the bathroom. Thursday morning I woke up still feeling sick, but it was time to go. No problems at RDU, everything went smoothly and quickly, my bags were checked to Santiago de Compostela (SDC) so I wouldn't have to deal with them, so I got myself a frappacino and settled down to wait. The flight was fine, and I got to Chicago, where I had a four-hour layover. It was funny, I guess everyone was leaving for there various study abroad programs that day, so there were lots of college kids milling about, finding people from there upcoming programs in Rome, Madrid, etc. I sat by myself for a while, plugged in to my Ipod and annoyed by the constant chatter coming from some preppy girls sitting around me,until finally the huge group of students heading to Rome left to board. A few minutes later, who should I see, but Sam! I ran over and surprised her, and we sat together and caught up a bit while waiting for our flight. Eventually we boarded, and I ended up being in what must have been the Business class or something, definitely not first class, but I had a bigger seat and more room than what most have been Economy class. Also, the seat next to me never filled, so Sam and I got to sit together on our way to London, yay! We arrived at around 9:45, and my flight to Madrid was scheduled to leave at 10:55. Of course, I had to transfer to a different terminal, got through security, and all that, so I was pretty worried I was going to miss my flight (Sam was scheduled for the later flight, at 12:15, so she wasn't worried). Me and a few other hurriedly made our way to our terminal, pretty much running the whole way, only to find that all Madrid flights were delayed. By this time a group of six of us had met up, two of which were on my program, from KU-Becca, and Chris, both of which were sporting Jayhawk sweatshirts. There was also this guy Mike, who was on his way to Alicante via Madrid to study abroad, as well as a girl named Jess? (i'm not sure about that), who was teaching English in Madrid. They were all really nice, and we banded together in our collective frustration. We went to find more information, and learned that Madrid was having snow problems, and was CLOSED! So basically we couldn't do anything except wait, so the six of us went off to find some breakfast. To make a long story short, we ended up being in the airport for hours, and made friends with some other people stranded as well. They cancelled the 12:15 flight altogether, transferring those people to our flight (which was perpetually delayed). We set up camp in a small-ish waiting area, people lying on the ground and sleeping, we were pretty pathetic. After several hours of waiting, Chris and Becca were called to the desk, and given the "good news" that there was a flight that they could catch to La Coruna, a city in Northern Spain about an hours drive from SDC. The three of us contacted one of the program coordinators, and made the decision to take that flight (at no extra charge). By this time they had figured out I was in the same situation, and had given me the green light as well. We still had a few hours of waiting, but at least we weren't going to have to spend the night in London. Meanwhile, Sam called me via security, as she was outside the terminal seeing our friend Ryan Lloyd, and learned of the new plans. So eventually we made it to La Coruna at around 9pm, I had no problems getting through with my British passport, and the four of us made our way to baggage claim...where we waited, watched everyone else get there bags, and then went off to find someone to help us. I nice woman working at the aiport came and helped us, and took us to another room where some bags were. Fortunately, Chris and Becca found both there bags, although I was missing one, and Sam was missing both. :(. We gave the woman all the information she needed to get us our bags, and then went off to find a bus. The bus to the main bus station in La Coruna came every 30 hour, so we waited outside about 20 minutes for the bus. It finally came, and took us to the station, where we bought tickets for another bus that would take us to SDC. We had about a two hour wait, of course, and headed outside to wait, only realizing that we should have waited a while inside before dragging all our stuff down and out for no real reason...whoops. It was pretty cold, and after awhile Sam and I went back in to find some food, as by this point I was starving (I hadn't eaten much at all in the past 48 hours or so, as my stomoach was upset). I got a tortilla, which in Spain is more like quiche, basically a slice of egg, cheese, and potatoes; very tasty. Then it was back in the cold to wait, and to find our bus among the many buses that were continuously pulling in and out of the station area. After incorrectly trying to get on another one, we eventually found ours, stowing our heavy bags underneath and got on the bus for the hour ride to SDC. It was a pretty ride, obviously dark at this point, but I still got to see parts of the landscape and the lights of the city. We finally made it to SDC, and found a couple taxis to take us to our hostel, getting in at around midnight. Sam and I are together, Becca is next door, and Chris is just down the hall, so we said our good nights and stumbled into bed. The Group was apparently stuck in Madrid for the night, so it was just the four of us, I guess going separately actually worked out for us. This morning we slept until almost 2pm, and then Sam and I got up and wandered out to find a bite to eat and do a bit of exploring. There's a little cafe right next to our hostel where we got tortillas (which ended up being egg, ham, and cheese on a baguette-style sandwich, so we're still not sure what a "tortilla" is, as we now have three different definitions, but they are all tasty so it's okay with me). We haven't seen much of the city, but honestly what I've seen today hasn't been all that impressive, just lots of little stores in a kind of run down area, but like I said we only saw a little bit, and none of the areas Santiago is known for, so I'm not worried. Since we arrived here, however, I have realized just how rusty my Spanish is. I'm having a really hard time understanding and communicating, so this semester will by much more language-centered one than the last one, where I understand and could communicate with ease. It's going to be tough, that's for sure, but I will definitely improve, I've already started learning new words and adding to my vocabulary. In terms of the other people on my program, we have only met Chris, Becca, and I just met momentarily another guy named Taylor. I'm not sure when the group got in, but our orientation meeting for the day was cancelled so I'm guessing they just got in pretty recently and are all passed out in there rooms. We are still having a group dinner tonight, though, so I should meet more people then. In any case, there's the update, I'm safe and sound, didn't get stranded in Madrid (just in London, but didn't have to spend the night), so all is well. I miss you guys at home, it was so good to be home for a while, wish I could have been there longer. Love you all, big kiss :), will keep this thing updated,
Brit
So i did it, I made it to Spain for the second semester, still can't believe it actually happened but here I am! So here we go, a new semester of adventures, and blogging. Hopefully the process of getting here isn't indicative of how the semester's going to go! Wednesday (the day before I was scheduled to leave), I woke up feeling nauteous, complete with a slight headache and overall nasty feeling. It was all to familiar, just like how I was feeling my last night in Paris, where I spent several days puking my guts out and other such unpleasant things. So the rumbling in my tummy was very unwelcoming, and I spent my last day or so at home feeling pretty terrible, eating almost nothing and staying close to the bathroom. Thursday morning I woke up still feeling sick, but it was time to go. No problems at RDU, everything went smoothly and quickly, my bags were checked to Santiago de Compostela (SDC) so I wouldn't have to deal with them, so I got myself a frappacino and settled down to wait. The flight was fine, and I got to Chicago, where I had a four-hour layover. It was funny, I guess everyone was leaving for there various study abroad programs that day, so there were lots of college kids milling about, finding people from there upcoming programs in Rome, Madrid, etc. I sat by myself for a while, plugged in to my Ipod and annoyed by the constant chatter coming from some preppy girls sitting around me,until finally the huge group of students heading to Rome left to board. A few minutes later, who should I see, but Sam! I ran over and surprised her, and we sat together and caught up a bit while waiting for our flight. Eventually we boarded, and I ended up being in what must have been the Business class or something, definitely not first class, but I had a bigger seat and more room than what most have been Economy class. Also, the seat next to me never filled, so Sam and I got to sit together on our way to London, yay! We arrived at around 9:45, and my flight to Madrid was scheduled to leave at 10:55. Of course, I had to transfer to a different terminal, got through security, and all that, so I was pretty worried I was going to miss my flight (Sam was scheduled for the later flight, at 12:15, so she wasn't worried). Me and a few other hurriedly made our way to our terminal, pretty much running the whole way, only to find that all Madrid flights were delayed. By this time a group of six of us had met up, two of which were on my program, from KU-Becca, and Chris, both of which were sporting Jayhawk sweatshirts. There was also this guy Mike, who was on his way to Alicante via Madrid to study abroad, as well as a girl named Jess? (i'm not sure about that), who was teaching English in Madrid. They were all really nice, and we banded together in our collective frustration. We went to find more information, and learned that Madrid was having snow problems, and was CLOSED! So basically we couldn't do anything except wait, so the six of us went off to find some breakfast. To make a long story short, we ended up being in the airport for hours, and made friends with some other people stranded as well. They cancelled the 12:15 flight altogether, transferring those people to our flight (which was perpetually delayed). We set up camp in a small-ish waiting area, people lying on the ground and sleeping, we were pretty pathetic. After several hours of waiting, Chris and Becca were called to the desk, and given the "good news" that there was a flight that they could catch to La Coruna, a city in Northern Spain about an hours drive from SDC. The three of us contacted one of the program coordinators, and made the decision to take that flight (at no extra charge). By this time they had figured out I was in the same situation, and had given me the green light as well. We still had a few hours of waiting, but at least we weren't going to have to spend the night in London. Meanwhile, Sam called me via security, as she was outside the terminal seeing our friend Ryan Lloyd, and learned of the new plans. So eventually we made it to La Coruna at around 9pm, I had no problems getting through with my British passport, and the four of us made our way to baggage claim...where we waited, watched everyone else get there bags, and then went off to find someone to help us. I nice woman working at the aiport came and helped us, and took us to another room where some bags were. Fortunately, Chris and Becca found both there bags, although I was missing one, and Sam was missing both. :(. We gave the woman all the information she needed to get us our bags, and then went off to find a bus. The bus to the main bus station in La Coruna came every 30 hour, so we waited outside about 20 minutes for the bus. It finally came, and took us to the station, where we bought tickets for another bus that would take us to SDC. We had about a two hour wait, of course, and headed outside to wait, only realizing that we should have waited a while inside before dragging all our stuff down and out for no real reason...whoops. It was pretty cold, and after awhile Sam and I went back in to find some food, as by this point I was starving (I hadn't eaten much at all in the past 48 hours or so, as my stomoach was upset). I got a tortilla, which in Spain is more like quiche, basically a slice of egg, cheese, and potatoes; very tasty. Then it was back in the cold to wait, and to find our bus among the many buses that were continuously pulling in and out of the station area. After incorrectly trying to get on another one, we eventually found ours, stowing our heavy bags underneath and got on the bus for the hour ride to SDC. It was a pretty ride, obviously dark at this point, but I still got to see parts of the landscape and the lights of the city. We finally made it to SDC, and found a couple taxis to take us to our hostel, getting in at around midnight. Sam and I are together, Becca is next door, and Chris is just down the hall, so we said our good nights and stumbled into bed. The Group was apparently stuck in Madrid for the night, so it was just the four of us, I guess going separately actually worked out for us. This morning we slept until almost 2pm, and then Sam and I got up and wandered out to find a bite to eat and do a bit of exploring. There's a little cafe right next to our hostel where we got tortillas (which ended up being egg, ham, and cheese on a baguette-style sandwich, so we're still not sure what a "tortilla" is, as we now have three different definitions, but they are all tasty so it's okay with me). We haven't seen much of the city, but honestly what I've seen today hasn't been all that impressive, just lots of little stores in a kind of run down area, but like I said we only saw a little bit, and none of the areas Santiago is known for, so I'm not worried. Since we arrived here, however, I have realized just how rusty my Spanish is. I'm having a really hard time understanding and communicating, so this semester will by much more language-centered one than the last one, where I understand and could communicate with ease. It's going to be tough, that's for sure, but I will definitely improve, I've already started learning new words and adding to my vocabulary. In terms of the other people on my program, we have only met Chris, Becca, and I just met momentarily another guy named Taylor. I'm not sure when the group got in, but our orientation meeting for the day was cancelled so I'm guessing they just got in pretty recently and are all passed out in there rooms. We are still having a group dinner tonight, though, so I should meet more people then. In any case, there's the update, I'm safe and sound, didn't get stranded in Madrid (just in London, but didn't have to spend the night), so all is well. I miss you guys at home, it was so good to be home for a while, wish I could have been there longer. Love you all, big kiss :), will keep this thing updated,
Brit
Monday, December 15, 2008
Last Week in Paris
Hey everybody, hard to believe this may be my last post from Paris, this semester absolutely flew by. It's been a while since my last one, so I will try to give a recount of everything that has been going on, although it is all start to run together. Last week I hung out with Xavier on Wednesday, we just hung out and watched some South Park, which I miss so much, haha. Thursday we had the end of year party for Sweet Briar, which was really great. It was very nice, yummy food and some live music performed by the students (and a little trumpet from one of the professors), as well as a Secret Santa-I got a cute little French recipe book, which was perfect-I will have to cook something over break. It was a really fun party, although I must admit it was pretty sad at the same time, knowing that it was almost over. Afterwards, a group of us went out to a bar, and ended up staying there for a really long time. It was so much fun, we all had quite a few drinks and just had a good time being together and silly. Friday I did a tour of the Opera that Sweet Briar had organized, which was interesting, and then that night met up with a bunch of friends to celebrate Abby's 21st birthday. We went to this cool Irish pub, where I tried Absynthe for the first time (ick...not a fan of liccorice taste), and then we went and got a glass of wine before calling it a night. Another fun night, we even did some dancing as the bar kind of morphed into a club as the night went on. Saturday, I spent most of the day working on my cinema essay, and then walked down the Champs Elysees at night to see all the decorations. I then met up with Xavier, who took me to this little bar that had some bizarre but cool live music, and where some of his friends were. After the band finished the two of us and his friend Baptiste (who I had met before) headed out to find another bar, ending up over by Montparnasse at a place that again had some live music for a bit. It was cool, we talked to a couple Egyptians who were working in Paris, and then we left and walked around for awhile. Sunday it was back to work, as today (monday) I had both my final cinema paper do, and my Atelier exam. They both went well, I think, so that's good, so now I'm trying to get my paper done for tomorrow, ack. It's coming along though, all should be well, and tonight Kristin and I are going back to our old bar, Bar Cristal, to de-stress a bit and catch up. The big news is that I was officially accepted into the Spain program today, YAYYY, so now I don't have to worry about that anymore, phew. So yes, life right now is pretty hectic as I try to get all this work done, and my days are sadly slipping away. I'm so excited though to be home for Christmas, it will be so great to see everybody!! Love you all, and will be home soon,
Brit
Brit
Monday, December 8, 2008
STRASBOURG and Paris loveliness
Salut!
Just finished up a busy weekend, and am settling back into work mode for the week, ick. I've been up to a lot, so here we go! Thursday night was great, I went to the Frightened Rabbit/Department of Eagles concert. Xavier was really late, since he was held up at work, but luckily for himn Frightened Rabbit was really late and he ended up getting there right on time. It was such a great concert-for Frightened Rabbit we stood right by the stage-soooo great. While I was waiting for Xavier I even saw the band come in, and they walked right by me!!! haha, but anyways, they were great, as always, and then Department of Eagles was really chill-really amazing, beautiful music, with just these two brothers doing it all. We had a great time at the concert, and Xavier really liked it-yay! I had been a bit worried it wouldn't be his thing. Anyways, afterwards we were both hungry, and once Xavier heard I still hadn't had escargots in France he was determined to find me some. We ended up at this really great restaurant not too far from where the concert was. It was so nice, Xavier got us some wine, and I got to try escargots for the first time-which was delicious! The dinner was amazing, and it was really nice to hang out with Xavier. Unfortunately, I had to get up at 4:45 Friday morning to head to the train station for Strasbourg, ick, and almost did make my train because I had problems printing my tickets. In any case, Kristin and I made it to Strasbourg,getting in at around 8:30am! It was a fun trip, we basically just wandered around looking at the many christmas markets, and enjoying the various treats they had to offer. We even went ice skating on a little rink, which was nice-we will have to go ice skating at home-I miss it! So yes, I nice little trip, not a whole lot to do in Strasbourg, which was actually kind of nice as we were both looking for a bit of a getaway from work. We got back Saturday at around 6:30, and I headed home to unpack and get some dinner. Xavier had called me earlier and we were planning to go out, but unfortunately he had to cancel as one of his friends needed help (apparently his friend was moving), so instead I stayed in and finally got some work done, and finally had a chill night (all my friends were either traveling or working anyway, so I didn't even feel like a loser :). Sunday, Xavier called, and I ended up going to this Airplane place south of Paris. He took me on his motorcycle, and one of his friends came along too. His friend was really nice, although talked really quietly which made understanding him a bit challenging, haha. We went over on motorcycles, which was really cool, I love riding on the motorcycle! Unfortunately, because of the foggy weather it turns out the planes weren't flying, but there was a cool museum we checked out. Basically it consisted of a bunch of old planes in this big warehouse, and one of the workers there came over and gave us a tour. It was really cool to see all these old, awesome planes, and since Xavier and his friend are both really into motorcycles they found all the mechanics particularly interesting. It was dark by the time we left, and Xavier took me home so I could get my stuff and head over to the Dandy Warhols concert. I was late, but managed to find my friend Jen in the crowd; it was a really awesome concert!!! Actually, it was pretty crazy-we were right by the front, standing,and the fans were getting really into it-it practically became a mosh pit, ack. So yeah, that was a bit intense, and since it was so crazy and crowded it was getting rediucluously hot. Two or three people actually passed out and had to be carried out! After that they handed out some water bottles and such, but I left the concert feeling pretty exhausted and dehydrated. It was all good though, the Dandy Warhols were so great live, so much energy. So yes, that was my weekend. I did manage to get some work done Saturday and Sunday, so should be okay in terms of school work, although i'm running out of time! Today I had my cinema class, and the professor got really mad as only three of us (myself included) had watched the movie we were supposed to discuss. He basically gave a long, frustrated speech, and then put on the movie for the rest of the class to see, telling the three of us who had seen it to come with him to a cafe. I went, with two other guys from the class, and we got drinks at a cafe by the school. It was actually pretty nice, the professor's German, a really nice guy, and it turns out one of the boys was American-studying abroad from Middlebury! So yeah, it was nice, and we headed back before class ended and he gave us our midterms-I got an A!!! yayyy. Good day for Brittany, now I just have to really get some work done...wish me luck, much love,
Brittany
Just finished up a busy weekend, and am settling back into work mode for the week, ick. I've been up to a lot, so here we go! Thursday night was great, I went to the Frightened Rabbit/Department of Eagles concert. Xavier was really late, since he was held up at work, but luckily for himn Frightened Rabbit was really late and he ended up getting there right on time. It was such a great concert-for Frightened Rabbit we stood right by the stage-soooo great. While I was waiting for Xavier I even saw the band come in, and they walked right by me!!! haha, but anyways, they were great, as always, and then Department of Eagles was really chill-really amazing, beautiful music, with just these two brothers doing it all. We had a great time at the concert, and Xavier really liked it-yay! I had been a bit worried it wouldn't be his thing. Anyways, afterwards we were both hungry, and once Xavier heard I still hadn't had escargots in France he was determined to find me some. We ended up at this really great restaurant not too far from where the concert was. It was so nice, Xavier got us some wine, and I got to try escargots for the first time-which was delicious! The dinner was amazing, and it was really nice to hang out with Xavier. Unfortunately, I had to get up at 4:45 Friday morning to head to the train station for Strasbourg, ick, and almost did make my train because I had problems printing my tickets. In any case, Kristin and I made it to Strasbourg,getting in at around 8:30am! It was a fun trip, we basically just wandered around looking at the many christmas markets, and enjoying the various treats they had to offer. We even went ice skating on a little rink, which was nice-we will have to go ice skating at home-I miss it! So yes, I nice little trip, not a whole lot to do in Strasbourg, which was actually kind of nice as we were both looking for a bit of a getaway from work. We got back Saturday at around 6:30, and I headed home to unpack and get some dinner. Xavier had called me earlier and we were planning to go out, but unfortunately he had to cancel as one of his friends needed help (apparently his friend was moving), so instead I stayed in and finally got some work done, and finally had a chill night (all my friends were either traveling or working anyway, so I didn't even feel like a loser :). Sunday, Xavier called, and I ended up going to this Airplane place south of Paris. He took me on his motorcycle, and one of his friends came along too. His friend was really nice, although talked really quietly which made understanding him a bit challenging, haha. We went over on motorcycles, which was really cool, I love riding on the motorcycle! Unfortunately, because of the foggy weather it turns out the planes weren't flying, but there was a cool museum we checked out. Basically it consisted of a bunch of old planes in this big warehouse, and one of the workers there came over and gave us a tour. It was really cool to see all these old, awesome planes, and since Xavier and his friend are both really into motorcycles they found all the mechanics particularly interesting. It was dark by the time we left, and Xavier took me home so I could get my stuff and head over to the Dandy Warhols concert. I was late, but managed to find my friend Jen in the crowd; it was a really awesome concert!!! Actually, it was pretty crazy-we were right by the front, standing,and the fans were getting really into it-it practically became a mosh pit, ack. So yeah, that was a bit intense, and since it was so crazy and crowded it was getting rediucluously hot. Two or three people actually passed out and had to be carried out! After that they handed out some water bottles and such, but I left the concert feeling pretty exhausted and dehydrated. It was all good though, the Dandy Warhols were so great live, so much energy. So yes, that was my weekend. I did manage to get some work done Saturday and Sunday, so should be okay in terms of school work, although i'm running out of time! Today I had my cinema class, and the professor got really mad as only three of us (myself included) had watched the movie we were supposed to discuss. He basically gave a long, frustrated speech, and then put on the movie for the rest of the class to see, telling the three of us who had seen it to come with him to a cafe. I went, with two other guys from the class, and we got drinks at a cafe by the school. It was actually pretty nice, the professor's German, a really nice guy, and it turns out one of the boys was American-studying abroad from Middlebury! So yeah, it was nice, and we headed back before class ended and he gave us our midterms-I got an A!!! yayyy. Good day for Brittany, now I just have to really get some work done...wish me luck, much love,
Brittany
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Stress galore, mais Paris je t'aime toujours
Hey everybody!
So just to give an update, all is well, and I'm working my butt off, or at least trying to. This week I was dealing with all the application stuff, I now have everything in, except my transcript (which kenyon said they sent off Nov.19) still hasn't arrived, and my teacher for the language proficiency report filled out the wrong thing, so she has another page she needs to fill out. I emailed her and asked her to do it, and she said she would "try", and I have heard nothing since, arghhh. I so hope she gets it done, then my application will finally be complete. I talked to the University of Kansas lady, though, and she's like the nicest person in the world-so patient and helpful. She made it sound like it was all going to work out, and kept saying how she was so happy that I was applying. So yeah, hopefully it will all work out, I will have a big party once I finally find out if I get in :). Other than that, I've been waiting on professors to give me approval for my final papers and such, so I spent the first few days this week just being frustrated, waiting around for email responses. I just checked my e-mail though and got approval, so I can really start to get stuff done, which will greatly reduce my stress level. My days this week were basically just filled with me going to various libraries in Paris, doing research and whatnot, ick, but it's all good. Tuesday I went to Kristin's for a bit with Olivia and we watched some Harry Potter in french, always fun, haha.
Last night was actually a really sad night at my house, though. My host mom has been working a LOT lately, and is also pretty sick-she can't even sleep she's coughing so much. So basically last night she had a little breakdown, and I could hear her crying :(. she called her son and was talking to him, while i sat in my room akwardly not really knowing what to do. Once she got off the phone though I went and asked if she was okay, which she said she was, and I told her if she ever needed help or anything she could always ask me. She thanked me, tearfully, and said I was adorable, and then I felt akward again and went back to my room. Like a minute later she came back in crying, and I got up and we just hugged for a while, she's having such a hard time-I felt so bad...I think it made her feel a little better though...This morning she left early for work and doesn't get back til late, so I went and bought her some pretty flowers, and left her a little note, hopefully that will lift her spirits a bit. But yes, so my host mom isn't doing so good, I really like her and just feel so bad for her-she's so sick and is working way too much; fortunately her kids live close by, so with my and their help hopefully she'll get her spirits back up soon.
On a lighter note, I'm going to Strasbourg (France) tomorrow with Kristin! Our train leaves at like 6 in the morning, which is gonna be intense, and then we are spending the night there, and leaving Saturday evening. It will be so nice to go do something fun after this stressful couple of days; it's supposed to be such a beautiful city, and I can't wait to see the Christmas Market and the beautiful cathedral. I'm so excited! Also, tonight I'm going to another concert, this time with Xavier. It's Frightened Rabbit again, opening for Department of Eagles-should be really great, two alt/indie bands, and I haven't seen Xavier in a while so it will be nice to catch up. So yea, life is good here, just working hard with really fun and exciting stuff mixed in a bit sporadically. I will post again and tell you about my weekend, love you all!
Brit
So just to give an update, all is well, and I'm working my butt off, or at least trying to. This week I was dealing with all the application stuff, I now have everything in, except my transcript (which kenyon said they sent off Nov.19) still hasn't arrived, and my teacher for the language proficiency report filled out the wrong thing, so she has another page she needs to fill out. I emailed her and asked her to do it, and she said she would "try", and I have heard nothing since, arghhh. I so hope she gets it done, then my application will finally be complete. I talked to the University of Kansas lady, though, and she's like the nicest person in the world-so patient and helpful. She made it sound like it was all going to work out, and kept saying how she was so happy that I was applying. So yeah, hopefully it will all work out, I will have a big party once I finally find out if I get in :). Other than that, I've been waiting on professors to give me approval for my final papers and such, so I spent the first few days this week just being frustrated, waiting around for email responses. I just checked my e-mail though and got approval, so I can really start to get stuff done, which will greatly reduce my stress level. My days this week were basically just filled with me going to various libraries in Paris, doing research and whatnot, ick, but it's all good. Tuesday I went to Kristin's for a bit with Olivia and we watched some Harry Potter in french, always fun, haha.
Last night was actually a really sad night at my house, though. My host mom has been working a LOT lately, and is also pretty sick-she can't even sleep she's coughing so much. So basically last night she had a little breakdown, and I could hear her crying :(. she called her son and was talking to him, while i sat in my room akwardly not really knowing what to do. Once she got off the phone though I went and asked if she was okay, which she said she was, and I told her if she ever needed help or anything she could always ask me. She thanked me, tearfully, and said I was adorable, and then I felt akward again and went back to my room. Like a minute later she came back in crying, and I got up and we just hugged for a while, she's having such a hard time-I felt so bad...I think it made her feel a little better though...This morning she left early for work and doesn't get back til late, so I went and bought her some pretty flowers, and left her a little note, hopefully that will lift her spirits a bit. But yes, so my host mom isn't doing so good, I really like her and just feel so bad for her-she's so sick and is working way too much; fortunately her kids live close by, so with my and their help hopefully she'll get her spirits back up soon.
On a lighter note, I'm going to Strasbourg (France) tomorrow with Kristin! Our train leaves at like 6 in the morning, which is gonna be intense, and then we are spending the night there, and leaving Saturday evening. It will be so nice to go do something fun after this stressful couple of days; it's supposed to be such a beautiful city, and I can't wait to see the Christmas Market and the beautiful cathedral. I'm so excited! Also, tonight I'm going to another concert, this time with Xavier. It's Frightened Rabbit again, opening for Department of Eagles-should be really great, two alt/indie bands, and I haven't seen Xavier in a while so it will be nice to catch up. So yea, life is good here, just working hard with really fun and exciting stuff mixed in a bit sporadically. I will post again and tell you about my weekend, love you all!
Brit
Monday, December 1, 2008
AMSTERDAM
Hey everybody,
Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, it just didn’t feel like Thanksgiving without you guys, not to mention all the marvelous food we have. Thai food really just wasn’t the same…Anyways, I had a good weekend in Amsterdam, but as usual am happy to be back in Paris. Wednesday, my 3-hour art history class was cancelled because the professor was sick, so I actually ended up going on a motorcycle ride with Xavier!!! It was really, really cool, although by the end of it I was really sore and tired from clinging on for dear life, haha. We went on a pretty long ride, out to the west of Paris, which reminded me a bit of Ohio, very odd. Xavier really knows what he’s doing on a motorcycle, so it wasn’t too scary after I got over the initial terror, haha. I also met up with Kristin that night to steal her wifi and catch up a bit, and then Thursday Alex and I were off to Amsterdam, leaving directly after our Atelier class. We made it through the airport with no trouble, and had plenty of time, a rare feat! We got in to Amsterdam at around 8:30, and set out to find our hostel, taking a train to Central Station, and then a tram to our hostel. It was very easy, and gave us a beautiful view of the city at night, so gorgeous, especially with all the Christmas lights they had set up. Alex and I then checked in and then hung out waiting for Heather; the hostel was actually very nice, and even had a nice cheap bar at the bottom floor, with a cool lounge with lots of comfy couches. We relaxed there for a bit, and then Heather got in, yay. By this time we were all very hungry, and ready to go out to celebrate Alex’s 20th birthday! So off we went; it turns out our hostel was in a really great location, right near a main area with lots of restaurants, shops, and the like. We found a nice thai food place, Alex’s birthday choice, not Turkey but still very delicious. Then it was off to do some exploring, and we stopped in at the Bulldog, which was actually the first Coffeeshop in Amsterdam, and has since multiplied. We spent quite a while there, before heading back to the dorm to talk a bit more, and get to bed-it was getting late. Friday, we got up for the free breakfast, and then headed out to do some more exploring. We went over to the Anne Frank House, which was really moving; they even let you go up the stairs to the top, where she and her family hid, so you get to really see the conditions they were forced to undergo in hiding. They also had her original diary, and other remnants of the time spent in Amsterdam. Very interesting, although we were a bit disturbed by the café they had set up on the level underneath…a bit inappropriate. Then it was off to wander around a bit, and we made our way over to the Heineken brewery and did the Heineken experience. It was fun, the highlight being the a little ride where “you are the beer”, very amusing. We of course also got to do some tasting, always fun, and there were some amusing interactive stuff they had set up. After that, it was getting to be around dinner time, so we wandered a bit more and then found a great Indian restaurant, delicious. Afterwards, it was about time for Ryan to be getting in from London, so we decided to make our way over to his hostel-which is in fact a Christian hostel located in the Red Light District (he of course went for the cheapest hostel he could find…oh Ryan). So, we got our first look at the Red Light District of Amsterdam, which was….interesting, haha. It was pretty unbelievable, there’s this pretty canal running right down the district, and then on either side it’s just lined with sex shops/shows, and prostitutes posing in the windows of all these old houses. Definitely an experience; we ended up stopping in at a tattoo parlor, where Alex was going to get her second tattoo, although it ended up being too expensive. We did however get to talk to a nice guy from New York, a soldier in fact, and his Canadian friend who was getting a tattoo of the world on his arm, and did his best to convince us to get some as well. Don’t worry, I was very responsible and didn’t get anything, I’m not a tattoo kinda girl . Afterwards we left and walked around a bit more, turning down the many offers for ecstasy/cocaine/whatever and sex shows, and we decided to go into Ryan’s hostel and see if he had checked in (as by this point I had not heard from him, and it was getting late). It was a nice hostel, especially if prayer groups and Jesus are your thing, and oh so hilarious as literally next door there was a whorehouse. They were very helpful, and I left Ryan a note telling me we had gone home for the night, and to give me a call. We then made the long trek back to our hostel, stopping in at a coffeehouse for a bit on the way. Definitely an interesting night, the juxtaposition of beautiful, old houses and canals, not to mention memorials like the Anne Frank House, and then drugs and prostitutes was just so weird.
The next day, we decided to get the “I amsterdam” card, which costs like 33 euro but then gives you access to all sorts of museums, transportation, discounts at restaurants, and other free stuff. I checked my email before leaving, as we still hadn’t heard from Ryan, and discovered that he had missed his flight because he had forgotten his passport-oh Ryan. So we went off without him and explored one of the central areas of Amsterdam, including its oldest church. We also went to a beautiful department store and got our free shopping bag with our nifty amsterdam card, very cool. We walked around a lot, and eventually went to the Pancake Bakery, where we had a discount, and which we had heard was the best place to go for some pancakes. It was soooo good, and perfect as we got a chance to warm up (it was pretty much freezing the whole weekend). After that, we made our way back to Ryan’s hostel, and consequently the Red light district again, and he finally arrived. His flight had been delayed, of course, but it was good to see him. We had a free canal cruise included with the iamsterdam card, so we hung out a bit and then headed out to do that. It was nice and warm, and we got to a chance to see the city via the pretty canals, very nice. The tour ended right by our hostel, so we headed back there and hung out by the bar a bit before dinner. For dinner we met up with one of Ryan’s friends from his program, named Rob, and then went back to the yummy Thai place from before. It was a great dinner, nice to be surrounded by some of my best friends, and afterwards we all went out and walked around the city, stopping in at a coffeeshop and eventually a bar. Then we called it a night, as for one thing Ryan had to be back to his hostel before 2am, haha.
The next morning we got up early, as our iamsterdam cards expired at 11, and we headed over to the Reiksmuseum. The museum is undergoing some massive renovations until like 2010, so only part of it was open, housing all the highlights. The museum itself was gorgeous, and looked like it would be really big when open. I was happy to learn that “For the love of God”, by Damien Hurst, was being exhibited, which I have seen in magazinges and such. It’s this caste of a human skull, covered in diamonds, and with real human teeth. It was sooo cool, in it’s own dark room, and light strategically placed to highlight the diamonds. Apparently the name originates from his mother’s reaction to his idea to make this skull, haha. Afterwards, we went over to the Van Gogh museum, stopping in fron of the “I am amsterdam” lettering for the necessary photos. The museum was great, it was nice to actually recognize a lot of the paintings . After the museums, we decided to do some shopping, and grabbed some lunch. At this point, Ryan was of course MIA, so we just kind of walked around and checked out the touristy shops, and Alex found herself a pair of boots (which she had been wanting for a long time). We moseyed over in the general direction of Ryan’s hostel, and finally got in touch with him quite a while later. He was having major troubles with this cell phone, sigh. In any case, we all met up and walked around a bit, stopping in at a coffeeshop to hang out and warm up. We were all pretty tired at this point, and had run out of things to explore, so we just kind of wandered around a bit more and then went back to the hostel to relax for a bit before it was time for us girls to head to the airport. We collected our baggage, and then it was goodbye to Amsterdam, and Alex and I headed back to Paris. I got home at around midnight last night, exhausted, and upset as I lost my favorite necklace during the day (the flowery one from Provence)…must have fallen off…I was pretty bummed. But in any case, got home safe and sound, and then slept in late this morning.
So that brings me to today, where I spent the day at Sweet Briar, first with class, and then on my computer trying to make sure this application is coming together. The deadline is today; I found another professor to do my language proficiency report, as it had been two weeks and my best spanish teacher still hadn’t responded. Unfortunately, the one I got is actually traveling right now, so has to search for a fax machine, ackkkk. I’m just hoping hoping hoping that she finds one and sends it in, otherwise I’m pretty much screwed. Meanwhile, my french professor forgot about the recommendation she was supposed to do for today, and only just did it and faxed it off, so I need to make sure they received it…Argh, I just want this whole process to be over, I’m going to be so upset if something goes wrong and I can’t go to Spain!!! Anyways, tonight I’m going to go over to Kristin’s house and use her wifi to check in on all this stuff, wish me luck! Other than that, I’ve got a huge amount of work to get done, so am stressing out about all that, sigh. Again, wish me luck, this next week or two are gonna be rough. Alrighty then, off I go, love you all,
Brit
Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving, it just didn’t feel like Thanksgiving without you guys, not to mention all the marvelous food we have. Thai food really just wasn’t the same…Anyways, I had a good weekend in Amsterdam, but as usual am happy to be back in Paris. Wednesday, my 3-hour art history class was cancelled because the professor was sick, so I actually ended up going on a motorcycle ride with Xavier!!! It was really, really cool, although by the end of it I was really sore and tired from clinging on for dear life, haha. We went on a pretty long ride, out to the west of Paris, which reminded me a bit of Ohio, very odd. Xavier really knows what he’s doing on a motorcycle, so it wasn’t too scary after I got over the initial terror, haha. I also met up with Kristin that night to steal her wifi and catch up a bit, and then Thursday Alex and I were off to Amsterdam, leaving directly after our Atelier class. We made it through the airport with no trouble, and had plenty of time, a rare feat! We got in to Amsterdam at around 8:30, and set out to find our hostel, taking a train to Central Station, and then a tram to our hostel. It was very easy, and gave us a beautiful view of the city at night, so gorgeous, especially with all the Christmas lights they had set up. Alex and I then checked in and then hung out waiting for Heather; the hostel was actually very nice, and even had a nice cheap bar at the bottom floor, with a cool lounge with lots of comfy couches. We relaxed there for a bit, and then Heather got in, yay. By this time we were all very hungry, and ready to go out to celebrate Alex’s 20th birthday! So off we went; it turns out our hostel was in a really great location, right near a main area with lots of restaurants, shops, and the like. We found a nice thai food place, Alex’s birthday choice, not Turkey but still very delicious. Then it was off to do some exploring, and we stopped in at the Bulldog, which was actually the first Coffeeshop in Amsterdam, and has since multiplied. We spent quite a while there, before heading back to the dorm to talk a bit more, and get to bed-it was getting late. Friday, we got up for the free breakfast, and then headed out to do some more exploring. We went over to the Anne Frank House, which was really moving; they even let you go up the stairs to the top, where she and her family hid, so you get to really see the conditions they were forced to undergo in hiding. They also had her original diary, and other remnants of the time spent in Amsterdam. Very interesting, although we were a bit disturbed by the café they had set up on the level underneath…a bit inappropriate. Then it was off to wander around a bit, and we made our way over to the Heineken brewery and did the Heineken experience. It was fun, the highlight being the a little ride where “you are the beer”, very amusing. We of course also got to do some tasting, always fun, and there were some amusing interactive stuff they had set up. After that, it was getting to be around dinner time, so we wandered a bit more and then found a great Indian restaurant, delicious. Afterwards, it was about time for Ryan to be getting in from London, so we decided to make our way over to his hostel-which is in fact a Christian hostel located in the Red Light District (he of course went for the cheapest hostel he could find…oh Ryan). So, we got our first look at the Red Light District of Amsterdam, which was….interesting, haha. It was pretty unbelievable, there’s this pretty canal running right down the district, and then on either side it’s just lined with sex shops/shows, and prostitutes posing in the windows of all these old houses. Definitely an experience; we ended up stopping in at a tattoo parlor, where Alex was going to get her second tattoo, although it ended up being too expensive. We did however get to talk to a nice guy from New York, a soldier in fact, and his Canadian friend who was getting a tattoo of the world on his arm, and did his best to convince us to get some as well. Don’t worry, I was very responsible and didn’t get anything, I’m not a tattoo kinda girl . Afterwards we left and walked around a bit more, turning down the many offers for ecstasy/cocaine/whatever and sex shows, and we decided to go into Ryan’s hostel and see if he had checked in (as by this point I had not heard from him, and it was getting late). It was a nice hostel, especially if prayer groups and Jesus are your thing, and oh so hilarious as literally next door there was a whorehouse. They were very helpful, and I left Ryan a note telling me we had gone home for the night, and to give me a call. We then made the long trek back to our hostel, stopping in at a coffeehouse for a bit on the way. Definitely an interesting night, the juxtaposition of beautiful, old houses and canals, not to mention memorials like the Anne Frank House, and then drugs and prostitutes was just so weird.
The next day, we decided to get the “I amsterdam” card, which costs like 33 euro but then gives you access to all sorts of museums, transportation, discounts at restaurants, and other free stuff. I checked my email before leaving, as we still hadn’t heard from Ryan, and discovered that he had missed his flight because he had forgotten his passport-oh Ryan. So we went off without him and explored one of the central areas of Amsterdam, including its oldest church. We also went to a beautiful department store and got our free shopping bag with our nifty amsterdam card, very cool. We walked around a lot, and eventually went to the Pancake Bakery, where we had a discount, and which we had heard was the best place to go for some pancakes. It was soooo good, and perfect as we got a chance to warm up (it was pretty much freezing the whole weekend). After that, we made our way back to Ryan’s hostel, and consequently the Red light district again, and he finally arrived. His flight had been delayed, of course, but it was good to see him. We had a free canal cruise included with the iamsterdam card, so we hung out a bit and then headed out to do that. It was nice and warm, and we got to a chance to see the city via the pretty canals, very nice. The tour ended right by our hostel, so we headed back there and hung out by the bar a bit before dinner. For dinner we met up with one of Ryan’s friends from his program, named Rob, and then went back to the yummy Thai place from before. It was a great dinner, nice to be surrounded by some of my best friends, and afterwards we all went out and walked around the city, stopping in at a coffeeshop and eventually a bar. Then we called it a night, as for one thing Ryan had to be back to his hostel before 2am, haha.
The next morning we got up early, as our iamsterdam cards expired at 11, and we headed over to the Reiksmuseum. The museum is undergoing some massive renovations until like 2010, so only part of it was open, housing all the highlights. The museum itself was gorgeous, and looked like it would be really big when open. I was happy to learn that “For the love of God”, by Damien Hurst, was being exhibited, which I have seen in magazinges and such. It’s this caste of a human skull, covered in diamonds, and with real human teeth. It was sooo cool, in it’s own dark room, and light strategically placed to highlight the diamonds. Apparently the name originates from his mother’s reaction to his idea to make this skull, haha. Afterwards, we went over to the Van Gogh museum, stopping in fron of the “I am amsterdam” lettering for the necessary photos. The museum was great, it was nice to actually recognize a lot of the paintings . After the museums, we decided to do some shopping, and grabbed some lunch. At this point, Ryan was of course MIA, so we just kind of walked around and checked out the touristy shops, and Alex found herself a pair of boots (which she had been wanting for a long time). We moseyed over in the general direction of Ryan’s hostel, and finally got in touch with him quite a while later. He was having major troubles with this cell phone, sigh. In any case, we all met up and walked around a bit, stopping in at a coffeeshop to hang out and warm up. We were all pretty tired at this point, and had run out of things to explore, so we just kind of wandered around a bit more and then went back to the hostel to relax for a bit before it was time for us girls to head to the airport. We collected our baggage, and then it was goodbye to Amsterdam, and Alex and I headed back to Paris. I got home at around midnight last night, exhausted, and upset as I lost my favorite necklace during the day (the flowery one from Provence)…must have fallen off…I was pretty bummed. But in any case, got home safe and sound, and then slept in late this morning.
So that brings me to today, where I spent the day at Sweet Briar, first with class, and then on my computer trying to make sure this application is coming together. The deadline is today; I found another professor to do my language proficiency report, as it had been two weeks and my best spanish teacher still hadn’t responded. Unfortunately, the one I got is actually traveling right now, so has to search for a fax machine, ackkkk. I’m just hoping hoping hoping that she finds one and sends it in, otherwise I’m pretty much screwed. Meanwhile, my french professor forgot about the recommendation she was supposed to do for today, and only just did it and faxed it off, so I need to make sure they received it…Argh, I just want this whole process to be over, I’m going to be so upset if something goes wrong and I can’t go to Spain!!! Anyways, tonight I’m going to go over to Kristin’s house and use her wifi to check in on all this stuff, wish me luck! Other than that, I’ve got a huge amount of work to get done, so am stressing out about all that, sigh. Again, wish me luck, this next week or two are gonna be rough. Alrighty then, off I go, love you all,
Brit
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)