This is It

So I am up getting ready to head to home!  What a strange feeling.  Much like before I left, when it never quite hit me that I was really going to Europe, right now it really doesn't feel like I'm going home.  Instead it feels like I am embarking on yet another exciting weekend trip.  I guess all will feel new, so it will be its own adventure.

This semester has been incredible.  It has been full of opportunities to see more of Europe than I thought possible while still taking a full load of courses.  I visited somewhere between 7 and 9 countries, depending on your personal counting system.  I spoke a lot of French, bits of German, and even a few words of Hungarian.

I certainly learned a lot, and most of it had nothing to do with a classroom.  I learned that you can, in fact, still catch a train if 3 minutes before it leaves you haven't even made it to the train station.  I learned that spoken language makes things easier, but it's not a necessity.  I learned that a hostel is a hostel, really no matter where it is.  I learned that you can easily travel to distant lands for 4-5 days with only a half-full backpack.  I learned that contrary to my prior beliefs, a car isn't a necessity, and can be a hindrance.  Most importantly, I learned a lot about my self and about those I had the privilege of traveling with.

So this is it, goodbye everyone!  I will see a lot of you in Morgantown, but nothing will ever be quite like this experience, that's for sure!

Much Smaller

So I lied, this will be the real last "catching up" blog.

I was thinking about all I have had the chance to do, and one quote from my cousin Bela came to mind.  As we were leaving, he asked us "So have you had this thought that perhaps everything in Europe is Smaller than in the US?"  Why yes Bela, now that you mention it, I have.

What an interesting thought, in my opinion.  Just look around, especially at the roads, the houses, the cars, even the people!  Everything is just plain smaller.  At first, it kinda made it seem a bit claustrophobic, but at this point it's completely normal.  That makes me nervous to return home, everything will be gigantic!

One of the "small Europe" characteristics I have really noticed is that there is never just one house, everyone lives in a community.  A very close community at that.  Bela lived on the edge of a Budapest suburb, and had open fields in front of his house, and yet he had neighbors 15 ft on either side of him.  The don't seem to mind living close to other people, maybe because they ran out of room!  It will be weird to return home, or especially to return to WV where your "neighbors" are defined as any house you can see from yours.  Everything will seem huge!

An Intimate History of Humanity

My secondary book was An Intimate History of Humanity by Theodore Zeldin.  Overall, I did rather enjoy the book.  His survey of humanity is a very interesting idea, and the stories he portrays  really help to paint the portrait he is trying to paint.  For anyone interested in psychology, the book would be fascinating!  I have a laymans interest in psychology, so I did like it.

However, perhaps the parts of the book applicable to travel could be used, rather than the entire book.  I enjoyed it, but Zeldin does offer some lengthy analysis of his stories, leading to a rather long book.  The good thing is each chapter is not dependent upon the last, so it would be possible to offer excerpts of this book in future classes.

So overall, it was a good and applicable book, and I would recommend you keep using it- just in excerpt form instead.

Book Review

For my supplemental book, I read a book of haiku's by Matso Basho and I enjoyed it. The haiku's were sometimes hard to understand but always entertaining. Some were sad and some were funny. Overall, the book was interesting because the main character gave up everything he had to travel and learned a lot about Japan and himself along the way.

Christmas How it Should Be

The last of the catching up series!

So we have all visited at least the Christmas Market in Strasbourg and Heidelberg, and I visited them in a few other cities as well.  I just have to say, I absolutely love this part of German culture! It's like Christmas without the department store craziness that takes over back home!  No one is freaking out, fighting over deals, or ridiculously stressed out at these markets, which is a nice change from back home.  It seems that they really see Christmas as a time for family bonding and fun!  Not to mention food, these markets have the best food, and for cheap!  Bratwurst, crepes, fried potato cakes, all kinds of deliciously unhealthy food!

This is probably one of the things I will really miss.  It definitely made Christmas shopping a whole lot easier this year!  I liked how each city was different, yet also they all had the same types of vendors and the same types of food, just different ways of presenting them.  The whole atmosphere was fun, all the food was great, and it was just a general good time.  Macy's could never top that!

Old versus the New

For my supplemental reading I was assigned The Great Railway Bazaar by Paul Theroux. It follows a man across Europe and into Asia. The majority of his setting takes place in train carts, and records who meets and all of the interactions he has. It embodied the idea that the destination was not the goal, it's the journey. Theroux meets many people who have tiny effects on his life, and it is interesting to see those.

When I heard that Theroux came back to take this journey again after long years after I was intrigued. I typically love the new things rather than the old, because it is fresh and clean and usually has a more relatable vibe. It would be interesting to see a newer perspective on his journey, but I always have to remind myself that Classics are world renowned for a reason.

Book Review

I chose to read The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain. I’m not a fan of reading, honestly. I know it’s sad, but everything’s on video now and it’s so much easier. Nonetheless, this book was entertaining as all Mark Twain books. Was it my favorite? No way. Would I read it again? Probably not. The cool thing about this book however is that I could relate to many things he talked about. The awesome thing about Europe is that it doesn’t really change. People always go to the same monuments and tourist attractions. It was weird to read about place from a book in the 1800’s then be able to relate. There were many things Twain said in the book that I disagreed with in his choices of art, but those are all personal opinion.

Time to Say Goodbye

So, tonight we had our Mexican night. One of our final shebang’s before leaving. Besides the awesome food and little taste of home, it sort of made me sad. We sat around the table and reminisced about all of the fun we’ve had while in Europe and told all of our funny stories from the semester. Listening to everyone’s stories made me realize how much I’m going to actually miss this place. The past few nights, I’ve sat around with different people and laughed until I cried. I’m so happy with the friends I’ve made (even though I only made friends at school during the last week). I’m going to miss my Georgia girls so much!!! I’m also going to miss the West Virginia group. Even though we go to school together, the chances of us seeing each other often is rare. It won’t be the same. I know we’ll all stay in touch through Facebook and the Strasbourg group page… well we better! And I can’t wait to come and visit everyone!

Also, I’d like to congratulate our group for avoiding arrests and being taken! Well done team, well done.

How was France? Which one?

Add another to the "Zak is catching up" series.  I kept a personal blog this semester, and it seems that entries only ever made it to that one!  Anyway, this is a synthesis of a few of those other blogs.

I know everyone will ask me "How was France?" very soon upon my arrival back home.  The problem is, I have no idea how to respond to that question.  My initial response would be "Which one?" because there are so many differnet sides of France.  I feel like it will take an hour for me to answer anyone's questions, and by then they will all have lost interst!

It was such a cool experience going so many places in France, because they were so different yet so similar.  In Saint-Malo, Nice, Lyon, Paris, and here in Strasbourg they all speak French.  There are differences in accents of course, but it is all French.  In Saint-Malo and Paris, they seemed to understand my French better than in Strasbourg or Nice.  Perhaps this is because both have close proximity to another language, German here in Strasbourg and Italian in Nice.  The people were by far the warmest in Nice and Saint-Malo, interestingly enough.  In Strasbourg and Paris, people did not want to get in our way by offering their advice, yet in Saint-Malo and Brittany people seemed genuinely interested in making us happy and comfortable.

I really did like France, no matter where I went, at least after I got used to the French attitude.  I often forget how geographically small France is compared to the US, but when I do it makes the fact that there are so many different cultures even more interesting.  So close to each other, all speaking the same language, yet the cultures have many distinctions! I am going to make it a point to visit new provinces during my return to France, whenever that may be!

Three airplanes and Two layovers then Country Roads Take Me Home!

I will miss all of you crazy people and all of the experiences we have had together. We met as complete strangers and yet I have traveled more miles with you all than I have most people back home. We have so many jokes that I know when I get home I will slip up and say one to someone and it will be awkward. I will miss seeing you all everyday! I really hope we all keep in touch and still hang out. Everyone have a safe trip home!

 Now onto Little Tour of France. This book would be very interesting for someone who is currently not in Europe so they have a better feel of the architecture and places of France. It was kind of a hard read for me. I guess I was really looking for a story of someone traveling who I could relate with.

The Loose, Frank Evaluation

Thoughts on The Great Railway Bazaar are numerous. I chose the book solely for the sound of the exotic, as perhaps Faulker chose Egypt. However, it didn’t really satisfy my craving for reading about far-off travels and being surrounded by strange cultures. At first, I felt a little distance between the author and his destinations, though I suppose that is the nature of train travel. Theroux spent barely any time in any location, and his experiences were largely described through train passengers and those at the stations.

As such, I think the book gave me a deeper enjoyment of trains. They’re fascinating, aren’t they? Theroux’s distance from his destinations was a quick judgment, and I think I’d take it back, just like a traveler would take back first judgments of a new culture after spending any considerable amount of time there. I had misinterpreted the man’s journey as a journey to see places, not as a journey for the sake of a train ride. I sometimes forget that saying about destinations and journeying, and about how sometimes the journey is more important than the destination. Surely you know the one.

I liked the book. I’ll probably read the “sequel” to it, and perhaps even read this one again for pleasure and without any need to use it for something. It still conjures the fantastic destinations in my mind when he mentions a place, so it never lost that exotic quality. The mode of transportation itself is like a daydream to me, as before this semester, I’d never considered a train as anything more than a tourist sightseeing outing. My frank appraisal of the book is positive, overall.

last post!

For my supplementary text I read Voss by Patrick White. Even though I didn’t find it completely relatable, I thought it was a good book and appropriate for the class. I liked the perspective that it gave of being a “foreigner” in another country. Being in Voss’s mind through half of the book was certainly an interesting perspective and gave good insight to being an “adventurer”. He also had some very stereotypical German quirks that I feel like we could smile about. I also liked the story line of the expedition and how the team dealt with situations and with each other. However, I felt that the love story was drawn out and kind of painful to follow. That half of the book with Lauren at home was kind of irrelevant to our study abroad.

Overall, I’d say keep the book. I don’t have an alternative suggestion. It’s a good fiction option from the list.

Thanks, everyone, for a fantastic 3.5 months. It would not have been the same without you!

-Maria

Winter Wrap Up

4 December 2011

I haven't had a lot to say about academics this semester, because well, my classes are few and far between. As it comes down to the last two weeks, however, I realize that it's going to come at me all at once. Three major finals, a presentation this week, a three day seminar. Which, sure, doesn't sound like a lot, but after the slow semester that I had, it's a bit overwhelming.

It's funny when you realize you have all of this free time with no immediate work that needs to be turned in, but then when it's time to do the work, it comes at you head on. I'm not too incredibly stressed out, I just know it will be a tough week that I will be glad when it is over. That's the difference between the French system and the American system, with French work, there are only a few grades that determine your final grade. And in the American system you are given frequent work to measure your progress in the class. I'm undecided which system I like, both have their flaws and their advantages, and both you just have to get used to.

These next two weeks will be a strange feeling, when we're all getting to the end of our stay, packing our things, doing last minute Christmas shopping for friends and family, and finishing up on classes. It will be a surreal feeling when I land back in Atlanta.

-Jessica Fitzgerald

See ya, Strasbourg

            It’s weird to find myself writing a “goodbye” blog. While some days it seems like I’ve been forever, other days I feel like I was just arriving.  I realize saying this is probably the oldest cliché one hears when talking about time, but it’s certainly a cliché for a reason. It strange to think that, in a week from now (God willing everything goes to plan) I will probably be in my parent’s car, thousands of miles from where I am now. I will be in a different country, where almost no one speaks French, where food and road signs and culture is totally different. It’s my native culture, but I realize it will be slightly alien to me for a slight while.

While I find myself incredibly exciting to go home, I’ve come to realize that I’m not quite ready to leave. Well, I’m ready to leave Strasbourg. But I’m not ready to leave Europe. Who knows when I’ll be back again? And when I am, will I get the chance to do and see as much as I right now? I would assume not.  And there are things about this place that I don’t want to forget here, but easily could. What if I forget how good spekuloos tastes? What if I forget exactly how beautiful the Christmas markets are? And then there are the little things I’m sure I’ll forget—for instance, the names of tram stops. I use them all the time and they’re a necessary part of my life, so the idea that in a year I’ll probably have forgotten what they’re called is strange to me. Memory is a funny thing, and soon enough, that’s all that this will be.

                I think that this, more than anything is why I’m not ready to leave. I’m not ready for this to become just a memory that slowly fades away over time. I want to somehow stay here, yet be at home as well. And  yet obviously that can’t happen. And yes, I can hope to come back, but it won’t be this experience again. For better and for worse, I did enjoy this experience. And the bad parts of it helped me grow as a person just as much as the good parts did.

                But even though I am saying goodbye to everything I’ve known for the past 3 months,  I have the internal growth from this experience that will help me go forth into the next stage of my life, whatever that may be. I've seen things I've always dreamed of seeing, I've made positive growth as a person, and I've made new friends. So with the knowledge of what this trip has given me, leaving doesn’t seem so hard anymore. 

Sentimental Heart

- 29 November 2011 -

There's a lot to be said about studying abroad. There are adaptations to be made and ways to get prepared. A big fear for most is being homesick, not having a support system behind them and being lonely. That is something that has not been the biggest issue here. Living in a chateau with thirty five other people, you're never alone. And they're all going through the exact same thing that you are. And you even have the "Chateau Mom & Dad" Jim and Jan.

So when there is a particularly hard week, maybe your friends will get together one night and cook a group meal. It is close to the end of our time here and last week we held a "Southern Night" wherein we each pitched in to make a dish. We had fried chicken, cornbread, beans, potato salad, blackberry cobbler, mac & cheese, and a hole table full of other things. It was a good night for those of us who had started to feel homesick. But to be honest, it just made me a bit more sentimental than anything.

1. I don't really get southern food back home, that's not a regular thing for me. And to see a group of college students come together to make a truly impeccable meal, that has some sort of sentimental value to them is just plain awesome. and
2. Being that I'm from GSU and that we only make up 6 out 15 people in this group, that means that when I go back to Atlanta, there are 9 people currently in my life that I won't see everyday, or even every week. Nor are we even that close to just meet up on the weekends. I'm torn, Strasbourg is starting to feel old because i've gotten comfortable and now i'm ready for a change. (Which I admit is a problem of mine). I'm excited to go home and have Atlanta feel new again (and meet my baby nephew), but i'm a little bit heartbroken to leave the friends that I've made here (here being the Chateau). A few weeks ago I was ready to leave Strasbourg, but i'm at that point where I could maybe stay, so long as I could keep the people I have with me. I'm not typically a sentimental person, but nights like these make you feel like there is a family with you everywhere.

-Jessica Fitzgerald

Supplementary Text "Frank" Appraisal

To tell you the truth Prof. Gregory, Mark Twain, "The Innocents Abroad", as rather boring.  He takes one whole chapter and explains every single detail of where they went, what they did and most of it has no sense of humor. Unlike "The Art of Travel" by Alain de Botton, his experiences are short and to the point, and above all a lot of humor.

Mark Twain is very critical in his experiences, and pulls his readers to the negativity of his works, which made me lose flavor of reading his book, even though I read it as a requirement.

The Art of Travel has so many little stories, one can read not necessary in succession of the other, and this made reading this book so different from "The Innocents Abroad".

Since as travelers we do not have a lot of time to seat and remember everything we read on our journeys, maybe in the future you may want to introduce more like "The Art of Travel."  Every time I read this book, it did not matter if I had finished a chapter or not, I would pick up easily whenever I returned to my reading, and if I did not like the particular story, I would chose another one that would enlighten my reading.  Eventually I would return to the earlier story at a later date, not be be disconnected in my reading.

Well at least this is my frank appraisal on my supplementary text, hope it helps some.

Wishing you and yours a Merry Christmas. - Caroline

Aurevior!

Thoughts on Voss

              If I’m going to be totally honest, I wasn’t the greatest fan of the book Voss.  This could be attributed to that fact that I’m not the world’s greatest fan of the style of writing that Patrick White uses in his novel. I didn’t like how certain parts of the book took extreme amounts of time to for the characters to observe, contemplate, and philosophize about the world around them or the interactions they were having with each other. While this can be good, I felt like the amount used in Voss caused it to drag somewhat.

                This being said, I was invested in the storyline and interested in how the relationship between Voss and Laura would be played out. I remember hoping that Voss would quickly come back from his expedition so Laura and he could reunite.  I also felt that as a “travel” book, Voss worked out well, considering Voss’s expedition. I also found some quotes within it that stuck with me, so I was pleased with that. Overall, while I liked the general story line, I wasn’t an overall fan of the book, due to how much I disliked the style.  However, that’s just my personal preference, so I feel that Voss works well for this class. 

Are We Really THAT Interesting?

Another round of catching up- all of these blogs that never quite made it to publication. . .

Anyway, this one is a reflection on our EM classes.  For the most part they centered around one thing - culture.  Not just that, they all centered around the question "How is France's culture different from the culture of you home country?"

For the first few weeks, this made classes extremely interesting, it was wonderful to learn about all kinds of new places.  The wonderful aspect of the Erasmus program is that our classes were filled with students from all over Europe, and even all over the world!  So for the first couple of classes, it was great to have a chance to learn about them while at the same time venting to them about the French.

However, this soon became a bit tiresome.  While in my opinion every culture represented was very interesting, it seemed that in everyone else's opinion the only culture worth discussing was America's.  Now I  love talking about America, but it really does get old.  I didn't come abroad to tell everyone else about how strange we are with our 3-car-per-family and super-extra-large-fountain-drink customs, I came to embrace new cultures!

Being abroad it is inevitable to be an ambassador of your homeland, but I had no idea people were so thirsty to talk about America, and quite frankly I am sick of comparing America and France!  Clearly they are different, but that doesn't mean that one is better than the other!  Embracing differences as a tool for a French class is fun for a short while, but after a few weeks I just wanted to learn French without having to talk about America all the time!

And now on the eve of our return to the US, I imagine the role will be reversed and I will be met by a bunch of people thirsty to hear about how strange Europeans are. . . Can't they just read a book??

On to the next one (New and Improved)

I would have never thought ten years ago, that ten years later, I would be studying abroad in another country. Little Miss Reeva, away from everything she loves for a long period of time? Of course not. I’m pretty sure that’s what people were thinking and me too at the fine age of 10.

Ten years later, I’m a totally different person. Good or bad it is definitely true. Being in France, forced me to emerge myself in another culture, which has changed my perspective on life. Even the things that I thought was so important on the day that I boarded the plane to Europe are just minimal to my life now. Now that I realize the people, the activities, and the trips don’t compare to what is on the other side of the world. I’m am blessed to have experienced such a thing. It is hard to explain without being so broad and vague but studying abroad is a life changing experience.

As I pack up my things to head back to America, I catch myself wondering how I will adjust back in my everyday life. This is not to say that I didn’t stand out in Europe because I did but I’ll be different back at home too because of my four month experience. I’ve actually already noticed it wearing off on my friends back at home and in the conversations I have with them, I can tell this change might be difficult. My passion to help people has dramatically increased, my goals have intensified, and my values have changed. From the weird stares from the Africans in Europe, to the strange “mixed girl” questions, to even not being able to communicate, I’ll miss this place but I’m ready to go home. For awhile, at least. I can’t say that I won’t be back someday but its time I spend the holidays with my family. I’ve never missed them so much but I’m sure I’ll miss the friends I’ve made here too. So long, Strasbourg. It has been a good one.
(I’ll always question why a girl physically like me is considered mixed, even if the Africans say a thousands times because of my hair and skin color)

Open to something new

In A Little Tour of France by Henry James, he begins this book with a bold statement. The book is about him traveling around different provinces in France. He ends the book on his travel to Paris, France.

When I told everyone that I would be in France for awhile, the first question that everyone asked was the distance between my new home and Paris. No one seemed to care that I would be staying in Strasbourg, the Christmas capital of Europe. Everyone seemed to ask about Paris.

Since I have been over here, I have been to Paris twice. Both times, I didn’t fall in love like most people said I would. I expected the place to be the best thing my eyes have seen but it wasn’t. For many reasons, I am happy to say I like Strasbourg more. Of course, I could navigate Paris a little easier but I believe the downsides outweigh the good things. However, I have been to beautiful places in France. A trip down to the beach, was one of the best trips I have taken. I can’t say that it is my top city because I liked a lot of the cities for different reasons but Nice and Monaco are definitely some of my favorite places.

After visiting Paris and other cities in France, I can now agree with James when he said “France might be Paris, but Paris was by no means France”. When I first read the statement, I didn’t completely understand what he meant. I had already visited Paris for a long 4 day weekend, but I couldn’t relate because I had not visited other places in France. Of course, I haven’t visited all of France but Strasbourg, Colmar, Nice and Monaco have shown me that France has a lot more to offer than just Paris. I guess only people who have experienced other things can make that bold statement, but since I am one of the few I stand by it. Nevertheless, I am still open to exploring other regions in France so that I can completely relate to James’ statement.
　
　

Lurker of Chalice

Partick White tells the story of Voss, in his aptly titled Voss. It is the tedious love/adventure tale about a German who sets out to cross the Australian Outback in search of the unknown. With a shoddy, mismatched group, he embarks on his ill-advised adventure organized and supported by the wealthy Sydney resident Edmund Bonner. The counterpart to the story of Voss' journey is Laura Trevelyan, Voss' lost love and Bonner's niece.

Where do I begin when appraising Patrick White's Voss? I should probably start off with the positives. It is certainly a work of genius, but is not for the impatient. It is bold and adventurous, and scathing in its impact on the reader, through rigorous character development and descriptive language. The novel is what most would refer to as "dense", taking on an arduous form that I could only closely relate to the writing style of a Victorian novelist such as Dickens.

What I personally found most intriguing about this work of White was how much I ended up hating Voss by the end of the novel. He was self arrogant, narcissistic to no end, and painfully long winded. At first I was comparing myself to the man, but by the end, I truly had no clue how any woman could possibly wait around for a man as self serving and absent as Voss. Not only that, but it was incredibly hard to identify with the man on a personal level, and that it was I look for the most in any protagonist. Upon further reading up on Patrick White, it is very possible that Voss could have been somewhat of a autobiographical character, which made me develop even more disdain for the author.

Most reviews of Voss praise it for the way in which the story gradually unfolds into something eventually spectacular. However, the book not only failed to grab me initially, but I spent my entire reading experience waiting for something to happen which never actually came to fruition. I was pretty much bored throughout the entire novel, as a result. Ultimately the book was as dry as the Australian Outback itself.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed the Art of Travel much more than I did the renowned Voss. I guess it was just too dated for my liking, riddled with tedium. For the older reader, Voss could garner greater appreciate, but for the undergraduate student, Voss was simply obsolete in subject matter and could not properly hold my interest.

-Tyler Collins