La Vie Quotidienne

Sometimes I feel like studying abroad is an experience of opposition. When things go right, they go so right and everything feels perfect and it's like the stars aligned to make everything happen right and all the parts of my life seem like they work together and my brain works in both languages and everything seems to fit together. But when things go wrong, it feels so much worse here than it does at home.

It seems sometimes like studying abroad is more about crossing the hurdles than enjoying the time in between. I know that isn't true, and that the good stuff will and does outweigh the hurdles by far, but it's easy to feel like half the things are great, half of them aren't. You have the worst class ever and then the best afternoon ever. You can have fluent two hour conversations with your host mom and be completely useless in the presence of a fast-talking salesperson.

The last week and a half has certainly been a period of opposition. Some of our classes are getting really frustrating and a little hard to deal with. The grading has really been stressing me out and it's impossible to talk to the professors about it. One of our professors is great, and his philosophies are pretty similar to American ideas, like that you should explain activities to students and use exercises rather than straight memorization to teach and that you shouldn't be condescending to your students. (Really radical concepts.) But otherwise, I guess I have to look at it as a case study of the French culture. The professors don't have the same respect for students as in the US, things aren't explained well if at all and we're tested on stuff we haven't been prepared for.

But on the other hand, we had beautiful weather for a couple of days. Last Friday we walked around the lake, tried to go to a dance class and failed but had a really fun time wandering around the sports area of our school, and then we went and bought drumstick ice creams and took them to the park and sat and talked for a few hours in the sun. It was so lovely. All the fountains in Dijon have been turned on, and they're beautiful! There's one right outside my house and it's surrounded by violets and poppies that have just bloomed. This Wednesday was also really fun. Cha and I had lunch and shared a rhubarb tart, which was delicious, before doing some shopping. We had dinner at the Condorcet, as usual, which is always nice and relaxing. We also got to talk to Michel on the phone for a few minutes. And on Thursday one of our professors asked us for suggestions as to how to change the course, and we had a really productive conversation.

So it's easy to feel down, but, luckily, it's easy to feel up, too. Traveling sort of makes people bipolar. But despite it, and because of it, you learn a lot, even when you've only eaten salad for three days because you're in a Germanic city and your only other option is blood sausage or ox tail or something. We're exactly halfway through our time here, and I think April brought with it a little bit of a slump for us. Between making summer plans and being frustrated with classes it was easy to get a little homesick. But the good part is that you learn. We're always learning and always thinking and mulling and I already feel like I couldn't possibly articulate what I've learned so far. And one of those things is that the positive and the negative come together, especially in an experience like this, and you just have to know that. But the best part is that that means that there's always a positive after a negative, and even when you have had a really awful week, you get to go away on vacation with the best nine girls ever in eighty-degree weather with the nicest, loveliest psuedo-mother/tour guide/teacher and explore a new place, and you have reason again to say over and over, "Is this real life?" Being here obviously brings with it a storm of emotions, a lot of them conflicting, but what I feel above all, when I think about my home and when I'm doing things here, is lucky.

Kayla, the Citadel and Crepes!

This weekend, Kayla came to visit! We had lots of adventures and it was so much fun to have her here in France. On Friday, we did a little grocery shopping after her train got in and then we cooked dinner and watched a movie and just caught up. My host mom went to Munich to see her daughters last weekend so she was gone and we had the house to ourselves, which was fun, especially for cooking.

On Saturday, we ventured to Besançon, a petite ville about an hour away, for a day trip with Kathryn. We knew what we wanted to see there, but we hadn't planned anything more than that, so it ended up being a bit of an adventure! It was actually pretty cool to go somewhere and just explore and wing it for once. When we arrived, we had to figure out how to get from the train station into downtown, but thanks to our wonderful deductive reasoning skills we found not only the bus stop but also the right bus. We were starving, so we basically went to the first cafe we saw to get sandwiches. It turned out to be a totally traditional French cafe! It was quite an experience. It was run by an old man named Max, and his friends made up the majority of the clientele. They were just hanging around at the counter talking and joking. He came and talked to us for quite a while before he gave us menus and he told us about his son, who goes to school in Wisconsin. He went and got his University of Madison mug and showed it to us, and he asked us about where we were from. He made all the food himself, and it was a typical slow French experience (they traditionally take a lot of time to make and eat their food). We waited for our check for quite a while because the French like to just sit there and talk for hours. The people at the bar kept looking at us like we were the most exciting thing to come to Besançon in a while, and one of the men stole our drinks off the tray when Max was bringing them to us. ''That is what it is like to be a man in a French cafe,'' Max said. Another old man came up to us and asked us questions, too. It was really cute and felt sort of like something out of a movie. It was also fun to translate everything for Kayla ;)

When we were done with lunch, we spent rather a large amount of time walking around trying to find the signs pointing us to the citadel. It was pretty dreary and cold outside, and it seemed like the signs kept pointing us in opposite directions. By the end of the day, we were convinced that the tourism office doesn't actually exist. Eventually we found a map and some questionably placed signs and made our way towards this citadel. It was kind of a long walk, but we finally found the citadel-- about 300 feet above us on a cliff. We stared at it for a minute, decided that we would not want to be one of the people in the tower on the edge (the wall was pretty much flesh with the side of the cliff), and set about trying to find the path up. This presented another struggle, and after concluding that we probably shouldn't walk through the tunnel all the cars were driving through to get there, I asked at a tobacco store. He told us there were stairs just to the left, so we went on yet another hunt and eventually found them (quite a ways down from the left, I might add).

So we climbed and climbed and climbed. It wasn't all that bad, but the stairs were super old and steep. When we finally got to the top, though, the view was so worth it. It was gorgeous! The buildings of the citadel were pretty, too-- built under the reign of Louis XIV! Over the years, it has contained defense resources, a school for cadets and a prison, as well as prisoners of war captured and, for the most part, executed by Germany, who seized the citadel during WWII. Now, however, it houses a zoo and botanical gardens, which were cool, but slightly depressing-- it was about thirty degrees outside and the lions and flamingos did not look at home. We got to climb to the very highest towers, though, and walk along an open path between them. We ended up at the exact spot we had been staring at from below just an hour earlier and which we had decided looked like it was about to topple off the cliff. Luckily the rocks held up for us and the most eventful thing that occurred was lots of picture-taking of the breathtaking view.

On Sunday we walked at the lake and met up with some other Dijonettes to see The King's Speech and just hung out. It was a great weekend, in all, and so fun to be able to have a little bit of Puget Sound here :)

that looks stable, right?

the view from the highest point!

This week, by contrast, has been pretty stressful-- I think my worst since getting here. We got our midterm exams back and while I didn't fail, it didn't exactly give me lots of confidence about receiving As for my work here, and the whole system is just confusing and frustrating. We've struggled a bit the last couple of days, but now the week is over and I have a free weekend, so I am going to reorganize and try to really work. My host mom said she would help me and made me feel better about the whole situation. Also, a few of us made crepes for dinner and dessert together earlier this week and studied and it was really fun. I made my first crepe ever! It was very fun, and I really enjoyed my savory crepe! I'm still not a huge fan of dessert crepes-- but don't worry, I'll make them for you when I get home anyway. ;)

the crepe i made!

Rivers and Forests and Châteaux, Oh My!

Towering facades of bright white stone, spiral staircases awash in early morning light, towers worthy of Rapunzel, and tree-lined pathways that somehow preserve the majesty of arriving at a castle, even without horse-drawn carriages. Those are just a few snapshots of our weekend in the Loire Valley (I should also probably add in porcupines, the best tour guide ever, getting married, jumping a lot and stinky trees for any Dijonettes listening in ;) ). We left Thursday for Blois (pronounced Blwah, much to our delight), a town on the Loire River. The train ride was fun, and all we did Thursday was have dinner at the hotel (the Holiday Inn), which made for an evening filled with laughter and relaxation.

Friday morning we set off for Blois, château number one. It was only a short walk from the hotel and we were all excited to start castle-exploring. When you arrive at Blois, you walk into a courtyard, and you're surrounded by the four walls of the castle. Each side was built by a different king in a different time period and in a different architectural style. It's pretty rare to see so many different architectural periods just by turning in a circle. Blois was the castle of King Louis XII, whose symbol was the porcupine, so there were porcupines sculpted into all the walls. It was also where Catherine de Medici lived with King Henry II. After we toured the rooms, we walked across the grounds to the wall, where there was a gorgeous view of the village and river below.

amazing view #1

the gamma phi betas at the castle :)

the sun came out just in time for our visit!!!

After we were done at Blois, we went downtown to the find the crèperie where we were supposed to have lunch, but it was unexpectedly closed! This turned out to be a happy accident, though, because we stumbled upon the cutest bruschetta restaurant instead. It was all decorated with hearts and birds and other cute things in turquoise and white, and it was entirely run by one woman! Her ability to serve the eleven of us as well as the two other couples who came in just after we did was pretty impressive. I had a tomato, mozzarella and basil bruschetta with a green salad, and we had elaborate crepes for dessert! Mine was apple-chocolate with caramel ice cream. I don't think I actually like crepes that much, but it was fun! Then we walked along the river to meet our taxi drivers, who we had for the whole weekend and who were really nice.

It was about a twenty-minute drive to Chambord, our next château. This is probably one of my favorite places in the entire world. It is definitely top on my list of visits/activities I have ever done. We followed a pretty pathway towards the castle, which led past the castle to a forest. We turned at the château, however, and went inside to meet our tour guide, François. He told us about Chambord's mysterious history-- no one knows who the architect was (although, as we discovered during the tour, they think it was da Vinci) or why it was built. The castle holds a lot of secrets, and it felt like we were unwrapping a gift or something over the course of the tour as we discovered one thing after another. Our guide was hilarious and dynamic, and he would give us just enough clues to get us guessing and then wouldn't tell us the answer until later on. We learned a lot about François I, who built the castle; about his plans to build a canal system through France (the reason why the castle was built on water); about his symbol, the salamander; and about the meanings behind all the different sculptures on the castle walls. It was extremely interesting and lots of fun. Since historians knew almost nothing about Chambord, they analyzed every inch of the castle, and they actually discovered a lot of information. For example, they figured out that one room was used as a chapel just because on one of the salamander sculptures, there is a baby salamander biting the toe of the big salamander, and that represents the Catholic idea that the adult nourishes the child (I think there is a little more to it, but I don't remember-- you get the point, though). It was amazing to see how all these very tiny, sometimes unnoticeable details told the story of a king hundreds of years ago.

All in all, Chambord was simply fascinating. The castle itself was beautiful, as well, and we were running around it like giddy children, taking pictures like crazy. It was one of the most fun things I have done since I got here-- and probably also in my life! Our tour was two hours long, but we hardly even realized it. We left just as the castle closed, and the late afternoon sun was illuminating the castle as we left. It was gorgeous (and a perfect opportunity for more photos!).

the amazing Chambord. François only spent forty days here total after building it-- can you believe that?! it was finished in 1547, and since then, it has only been inhabited for twenty years altogether. um, i'll take it if no one else wants it!

amazing view #2

the castle was really cold inside, but they had fires going to warm us up! it made me feel even more medieval :)

ahhh.

an example of the sculptures-- lots of F's and salamanders. Each salamander is slightly different

Needless to say, we were somewhat exhausted after Chambord, and it was nice to head back to the hotel and relax before dinner, which wasn't good enough to warrant talking about. After dinner, a bunch of us hung out in one of the hotel rooms and watched French tv. We stumbled upon a spectacle that was apparently a charity concert but was really just a bunch of French people dressed up like crazy people. It was hilarious. There was even a battle between a Lady Gaga impersonator and a midget Madonna. Oh, the French. One thing that I discovered this weekend, though, is that my French has really improved (as has everybody's!). I could tell, of course, that I was getting better at speaking and more comfortable, but this trip was the first time I had watched French TV or had a tour guide since we were in Paris... and I understood almost everything. It was amazing! When we were in the train station, I heard the announcements about trains over the loudspeaker and understood them without even thinking about it, and then I realized that when we were arriving in Paris, I had strained to hear them and struggled to understand. I remember thinking that it seemed like the woman was speaking impossibly fast and I was worried I wouldn't understand enough when we got to Dijon because I couldn't understand the announcements. That was a pretty cool moment in the train station. I also could understand the TV shows for the most part, and I understood our guides completely, both things that had been difficult in Paris. It was really cool to actually be conscious of our development of language.

The next morning, we set out for Chaumont-sur-Loire. It was a bit farther, but the drive through the countryside was nice. The green hills and vineyards always remind me of Sonoma County. :) We followed a lot of very shallow steps up into the hill on top of which Chaumont-sur-Loire is built, but it was worth it when the castle came into view. Out of all the ones we saw, this one was most like a fairy tale princess' castle. A drawbridge led to the plump, tall towers and a bright green lawn sloped down to trees below the castle. In the other direction, quaint buildings once used for horses and servants marked the way to an expansive field and some gardens. We half-expected Rapunzel's hair to come tumbling out of a window above. There was even a wishing well in the courtyard. We didn't have a guide for this castle, and it was pretty small (haha), so it didn't actually make for a very exciting visit, but it was pretty nonetheless! As we left, it got humid and overcast, and it started to rain on our drive to the next château.

the cute well! and behind me, amazing but less easily photographed view #3

chaumont-sur-loire!

From Chaumont, we drove to our last castle, Chenonceau. It had my favorite entrance out of all the castles-- a very long tree-lined path with a large iron gate at the entrance. We ate lunch at the castle's cafeteria before heading to the castle itself. Chambord had the most inviting surroundings, but Chenonceau had the most beautiful gardens. Unfortunately, it had just started raining and the sun had disappeared, so we ducked into the castle gratefully.

We had an audio guide for this one-- just a pre-recorded thing that took us through all the rooms, and I didn't really like it. We were on our own, and all isolated from each other because we were wearing headphones listening to the guide, so I wanted to go at my own pace, but I couldn't because I had to keep with the guide. It was also a lot harder to pay attention to than a real person, so I didn't really get much out of it. Anyway, the castle was mostly filled with replica beds and dressers and portraits, so I didn't feel like I really saw anything new, although Catherine de Medici's study was beautiful. We warmed up in front of the fire once we'd gone through all the rooms, and then we headed outside to walk through one of the gardens and take pictures in front of the castle. It was really pretty, but I think I would have had a much better time if it hadn't been wet and gray and freezing. It wasn't actually raining, but it was still disagreeable. We went to the labyrinth after that, which was cool but would probably have been infinitely more fun had we been ten years younger and two feet shorter. :)

where's your horse-drawn carriage when you need it?

amazing view #4. i wished we had more time and better weather to explore the gardens

!

On the way home, we stopped for a wine tasting, but it isn't really worth mentioning since it consisted of a fifteen-minute tour in the freezing cold caves, during which we just looked at a lot of bottles, and then a glass of champagne for everyone, which I didn't want. However, the four castles had made for an amazing weekend, and I happily dozed off in the car on the way back as real rain started to come down. We relaxed (I took a bath!) and then had dinner, which was also not good enough to merit description, but was uproariously hilarious. I'm pretty sure every person in that restaurant was very happy when the eleven of us finally left, but we didn't care-- you only study abroad in France once, right?

kisses from the Loire!

Do You Need Directions?

Today I stopped at the bookstore on my way home from school, and when I left the store, there were two women standing in the square, staring at a map and saying “Place Darcy?“ in very confused American accents. I stopped and asked them if they needed directions, and they were so happy to see me and hear English. I pointed them in the right direction (which made me feel like a local) and then we chatted for a few minutes. They asked me where I was from and how long I was here and told me a little about their travels. After I had told them how to get to the Place, one of them said, “Do you live here?“ and being able to say yes was one of those moments where you sort of see your life from the outside. It really hit me after that that I do indeed live here, in France, and I can give foreigners directions and I can speak French and this is real life. They also started complimenting Dijon and telling me how they had just arrived but it seemed like their favorite area of France so far. They asked me how I liked it, and I found myself saying that I love it here, and as I realized as I spoke the words that they were true.

We chatted a little more and then they wished me good luck with the rest of my stay. They were very enthusiastic and nice and very grateful. It got me thinking about a lot of different things during the rest of my walk home. It is so interesting how everyone has a sense of patriotism, whether we always realize it or not, and how there is an inherent link between countrymen and women. It is something that is usually dormant when we're at home, but out of the United States, it's so easy to find your sense of patriotism. The women were so glad to see me, as if I was a familiar face, even though I was a complete stranger, and I was in such a good mood after I talked to them, like I had just run into a friend. It is sort of a comforting thing, the type of thing that gives you a little more faith in humanity.

That interaction also reminded me, once again, of how the littlest things can make the biggest difference when you are doing something like traveling or studying abroad. I had had a really stressful day and I was really tired and in a bad mood, but just giving these random Americans directions and having them be so nice completely lifted my spirits. It is just another thing that goes to show you how easy it is to feel like nothing is going right just because you are dealing with things that are different, but how people can always make you feel better. We all need some directions sometimes, and I think it might be just as helpful sometimes to give them as it is to get them.

In other news, the end of this week marks a month of classes! How did that happen? Being in class for so long each day is not getting easier, especially with the addition of our class at the political science institute. For the last two weeks we have pretty much just been going to class and working and stuff-- normal life! It's weird, but it truly is starting to feel like normal life here. The better I get to know the city the more I love it. Amber came to visit last weekend and it was so much fun and so, so refreshing to be able to hang out with her for three days. We had such a great time and we have more visits planned. Speaking of which, it seems like I have been spending half my time planning trips lately, which is a lot less fun than it sounds, but I know it will all be worth it soon! I'll keep you posted on my plans once I know them better!

We're leaving tomorrow for a weekend of vacationing in the Loire Valley, so I will have an exciting post with lots of pictures of chateaux next week after we're back! :)