I’ve gotten a couple e-mails from people who have found my blog and are interested in studying in France. A new site just popped up where you can search programs and places that other students have been to and reviewed:
USAC sent all of us Spring students an e-mail asking us to review Pau. The site looks pretty new, but I haven’t had much time to check it out. Hope this helps someone!
After my amazing (although rushed) tour of Versailles I arrived in Paris around 8 pm. Vanessa and I settled into our hotel room and at 9 pm I went downstairs to wait in the lobby for Charles, who lived in the states a while back and went to ECHS my senior year.
I recalled him telling me he lived near Paris, so about a month prior to the end of my stay I facebooked him and mentioned I would be visiting. Turns out he lived only 20 minutes away and could easily meet up with me via the metro. He met me at the hotel and asked me if I had eaten dinner yet. I hadn’t, so he offered to show me a street of great restaurants a couple blocks from the hotel. The street was very Parisian, jam-packed with cute restaurants that spilled out with patio seating onto the street, lighting it up and creating a great French atmosphere.
The dinner itself was delicious as always, I can’t even remember now what I ate, but I do remember talking about French food, A LOT. Charles kept asking me what I would miss about France and what I loved about it. Sadly I mentioned the cheese, pastries, meusli, yogurt, produce and other unprocessed, un-American goodies more than anything. I articulated my love of French cuisine to the point where he was actually said, “Yes I know, you like French food”. Haha, oh my American appetite!
There are many (non-food related) things I love about France, but I think the main reason I was afraid to bring them up was that I was avoiding one touchy subject: my opinion of the French themselves. Finally he just blatantly asked me and I tried to delicately describe my overall experience, which I hadn’t completely figured out by this point. Upon reflection here at home I have had some interesting revelations, however at this time, I wasn’t sure how to put my overall unease with the French into words. I lived in their society for four months and still had no idea what to make of these people.
Much to my relief, when I did bring up something negative, Charles wasn’t offended at all. “He even said something as blatant as, “Yes, the French are rude. Very Rude”. Hearing a Frenchmen admit this was a bit of relief. And he himself despised the work ethic and strikes as much as I do. Since misery loves company, I eagerly complained about my horrid experiences in the service industry, as well as dealing with SNCS; he completely empathized.
Eventually I turned the tables and started asking him about his thoughts on the states. I was kind of surprised to hear he thought Americans are extremely fake. I later realized I had been thinking the same about the French. He didn’t appreciate many of the students at my private high school, because of how fake they were. Americans are rather infamous for smiling too much, apologizing too often and he felt we pretend to care about one another, but in a way that obviously lacks sincerity. I’m sure the school of Eastside Catholic did nothing, but emphasize that impression. Charles also mentioned that he found Americans to be rather stupid. He said each time he thought he could possibly date an American girl he would get to know her and realize she was, well stupid. Once again, the dating pool at ECHS was rather stereotypical for preppy rich kids. I know plenty of intelligent girls from the school, but for each one I could name off ten stupid ones. And this kid is very mature for his age, the entire time I felt like I was speaking to someone older than me, when he is actually two years younger.
I must say I appreciated his honesty. He was completely and utterly blunt with his views on American society. It wasn’t insulting, just interesting. It definitely got me thinking from his point of view. What a shock to be uprooted from a Parisian life and forced to move to the states for two years! I’m fortunate enough to have grown up in the same area. Even switching from public to private school was completely my choice.
After dinner we walked around the blocks for a while (fun fact – there is no word for “block” in French). Time flew by, as it always does with old friends. Before I knew it, the time came for him to catch the last metro home. His opinions on the US and France definitely lingered in my mind for a while and the discussion was a good conclusion to mon sejour en France.
I kept thinking about the French for a while afterwards, because there are few French people I genuinely like, (only this guy and one or two people in Pau). Not that I hated most of them, it was more of a consensual indifference. Overall I’ve decided that I love French, but no so much the French. There was something about them I couldn’t relate to that just irked me…..
A couple weeks ago I figured out what it was. I went to get my eyeglasses fixed and spent a long time talking with the worker there, who was from Russia originally, but considers himself American after having lived here for twenty years. We started speaking about the French and he said he has a friend in Paris who has worked there eight years and still cannot tell whether or not his co-workers like him. “They are so fake” he told me, “you never know what they think of you”. At that moment it was like a light bulb clicked. I found the French just as fake as my French friend finds Americans. I cannot tell you what any of them thought of me. I don’t know if my French friends liked me, if my French friend himself considers me another stupid and fake American or even if my host mom liked me (towards the end I got the feeling she did not). That was it! I was irked by the fact that I didn’t know what anyone thought of me! No idea! What makes you more insecure than living in a country surrounded by people who you cannot relate to in that way?! No wonder I was so worn down by the end of my stay, Elly and Vanessa were the only true friends I made.
Despite this, I’m glad I studied abroad alone. Flying to France I couldn’t stop thinking about how I wouldn’t see a face I knew well for four months (That was before I knew I would meet up with Marco). I know it made my confidence stronger in the end, but it is not a voyage I would embark upon again.
I’ve been home for over two months and it is good to be back. I know I will visit Paris and other parts of France again – and it will be wonderful. I can’t wait to show family and friends the beauty of the French culture. For now though, I am going to enjoy and be thankful for my family, friends and the presence of home.
Adieu Pau et au revoir France!
I went to soooo many places in Paris with USAC. I’m just going to do a quick presentation of my favorites. Above is Vanessa and I on top of the Eiffel and below is a view from the top.
Napoleon’s Tomb:
Musee Du Rodin:
I am of the opinion “Le Penseur/the thinker” is overrated. He has other statues that are even more amazing. Such as the door to hell:
The Louvre:
The code of Hammurabi was my favorite sight (above right). Too bad you can’t make out the writing well in this shot- it was so tiny!
Vanessa turned our sunset boat ride into a booze cruise…. = P
Notre Dame in Spring:
That made me miss Sarah.
The oldest bookstore in Paris. Owned and operated by various Francophones:
And What may have been my all-time favorite (competes with Catacombs); the Opera House!
Had to insert an album for that one. I took so many pictures of it. I fell in love with that place, even went back at night for a French Ballet. Getting my tickets is an interesting story alone.
It is also the opera house that inspired Phantom of the Opera. Note the awesome chandelier. Apparently, there are underground tunnels and an underground river in it as well. Vachement interesting!
Anyway, that’s it for photos. I have one more blog to publish and I am done! Thanks for reading!
VERSAILLES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So big I couldn’t even take a picture of the entire place….
This is another blog of mainly photos. Not many words are needed to describe the awesomeness of Versailles…
This was our final USAC stop before Paris. I buddied up with Vanessa throughout most of the castle. We did a hurried self-guided tour (We only had 3 hours to explore everything!). The castle was amazing, overwhelmingly huge, but we anticipated the gardens being even more awesome and rushed through it…
They did not disappoint!
We decided to rent bikes. Just walking to the rental kiosk took a ton of time!
We biked around the grounds for an hour and saw a farm Marie Antoinette had built, as well as her own house away from the castle.
I would love to go back to Versailles one day….if I ever do I’m renting a boat!
Just when we were leaving I got in touch with my buddy Charles from ECHS about having dinner in Paris that night. I love meeting old high school friends abroad! Discussing my stay in France with a French friend who spent 2 years in America was a great and surprisingly refreshing discussion…I’ll write about that soon…
Fun Fact for those of you who went to Eastside Catholic: Doc has been here!
This Chateau was next on our USAC agenda. I had never heard of it and therefore had no idea what I would find when I walked up to this tiny chapel that I would find inside….
The tomb of none other than…
Made my day!!!!
The rest of the castle wasn’t too extraordinary. Most of it had burned down in a huge fire.
The black part shown below is all that is left of the original chateau:
It did have some amazing views though!
And a couple of interesting details on the inside….
Including a chest with secret compartments!
And this fireplace was right outside the King’s room. Everyone would gather by the warm fire to gossip, so this little guy pictured on the right was put in place as a warning. The walls literally have ears.
I ended my adventures in Europe with a USAC trip to Paris. My host mom dropped me off at the school bright in early and just as we were leaving the house I told her, “Je suis prete” with my suitcases in hand. She responded, “Tu es prete?” with a tone that seemed to affirm she knew I was more than ready to go home.
“Oui, je suis prete”.
Leaving Pau on the USAC bus,I seemed to be the only one who wasn’t torn. Girls next to me kept saying how bittersweet this parting was, well not for me. I smiled the whole bus ride out – Adieu Pau!
It was a good stay, but I don’t think I’ll ever return. There are so many other regions of France to explore!
On the way to Paris, we went through the Loire Valley. We toured two castles in the Loire and just before Paris visited Chateau des Versailles!
First Stop: Chateau Chenonceaux! Sitting on a river called: Le Cher – which translates to expensive = )
Coincidentally the same day we visited this place, it’s photo was the Bing photo for the day!
Below is the inside of the hall that straddles the river. The day was perfect. Absolutely perfect.
In addition to being built over the river, the castle had a moat, gardens and a labyrinth! Plus the forest behind the castle was full of lush green trees with the sun shining through….it was like something out of a movie. Vanessa and I almost expected Prince charming to come riding up on his white horse.
The castle has been inhabited by 5 queens, no men allowed!
And in the next picture we have one of the families who lived here. Does anyone else think this child looks demonic?
And to top it all off there were rabbit holes in the forest behind the castle. They were huge – no wonder Alice fell ; )
And there I go getting all picture happy again! I guess I have more than one blog left to write. Ahh well… I’ll get around to Paris eventually….
I have been terrible with the blog the last month. There were 3 final blogs I wanted to write before I closed this, but I’m only on # 2 and it has been 5 weeks since my return!
This is the final prompt for the WSU blog squad:
8 Preparing for Re-Entry: Reflecting on How You’ve Changed
Many people describe studying abroad as a life-changing event. As your
study program abroad winds down, pick one example of how study abroad has
changed you and explain to us not just how you have changed, but why this
change came about. Consider this your “capstone blog” – something that you
can point to with pride and use to articulate to your friends and family,
even future employers, why your education abroad experience was more than
simply “awesome.”
This one is my favorite of the prompts. People constantly ask me, “How was France?” or “How was Europe?”. I never know what to say, where do I even begin? Surely my travels merit the typical responses of “awesome” or “amazing,” but if I give that reply am I really answering the question? And honestly, there were many extraordinarily unawesome parts to the trip. Lots of good times were had, as well as days of homesickness, awe-inspiring sights, horrible travelling experiences and interesting (for better or worse) people to meet.
I think travelling tends to strengthen one’s love for humanity or diminish it. I definitely like people less after going abroad. It kind of opened my eyes to how unintelligent the human race is and I’m a little less trustful of authoratative figures after being screwed on my travel plans so often. I also can’t think of a stereotype I had before leaving that was broken, but I could give you a long list of ones which were validated.To fully explain I would have to recount the numerous idiots I met (unfortuantely the vast majority were fellow americans), as well as the people who treated me differently because I was a tourist, people who treated me like an idiot for not knowing Italian or Spanish and the people who were just disrespectful to society as a whole.
I think the most pivotal moment in my new disdain for humanity occured when I visited the catacombs of Paris. When you enter there is a sign that says, “Please Respect The Dead. Do Not Take Flash Photos”.
In the very first hallway I hear this american accent and turn to see three tourists laughing loudly and goofing off. One says to another, “It says not to take pictures, but it doesn’t say don’t touch,” as he reaches out and pokes a skull. I hold my tongue and just walk away hoping a guard would find them. A little later on I see another guy flashing tons of pictures. I usually have no problem with illegal pictures, but seriously? In the catacombs?
A guard tells him “No Pictures” and he apologizes, but takes them again once he is a safe distance away. I then run into more and more loud and obnoxious giggling Australians and Americans. I had expected to come into a tomb of silence where people stared in awe and was met with people treating it as a haunted house. I see one guy pick up a skull to show to his girlfriend who screams at him and then bursts into laughter. I also run into the same Americans I met at the entrance who pick up a bone to examine it and toss it back on the pile. I wanted to say something, came so close to saying something, but held my tongue. I don’t know why I did, I shouldn’t have. I left the tombs livid with anger at how disrespectul people can be. The catacombs aren’t some dumb tourist trap, there are a part of history we are priviledged enough to access. Do people not realize the bones are real?
I expected studying abroad to make me more open-minded and gain a new respect for other cultures. Instead I came back a bit more racist and nationalistic. It sounds horrible to say, but if I’m really honest with myself that is the bitter truth. Studying abroad was an irreplacable and unforgettable semester. I refuse to ever sum it up as simply awesome though, it was an experience and if you want me to tell you more about Europe, I’d love to talk about it- just drill me with specific questions, because I can’t describe it as a whole any more than I can briefly tell you how my life has been.
*Also, this is not my final blog. I will be writing one blog about my final trip to Paris -a great end to my stay in France!
#7 Incorporating your Studying Abroad Experience into your Career
Brainstorm and jot down all the skills and knowledge that you are gaining
from being abroad. Your list might include working effectively on a team
with people from other cultures, considering multiple viewpoints when
dealing with challenges, the ability the synthesize new ideas, or the
ability to communicate in a second language.
Then imagine that you are interviewing for your dream job, and the search
committee asks you this question: “How did studying abroad while at WSU
prepare you to be a better [insert your dream job here – doctor, lawyer,
teacher, scientist, journalist, engineer, etc.]? Describe how you would
answer that question. (Don’t forget to tell us what the dream job is that
you’ve chosen!)
My ultimate dream job would be to start my own Dude Ranch (kind of a western themed resort), in which case I would be my own boss….but a more applicable dream job is an event coordinator of a hotel. If I’m really honest with myself, I don’t think studying abroad helped me very much when it comes to a future career. It was a great adventure and the experience gained definitely added some new philosophies and great stories to my personal life, but the values I appreciate most in a co-worker aren’t traits gained by travelling. I obviously couldn’t say that to an employer though so I would probably spit something out about how it helped me learn to make tough decisions in very stressful situations (using my travelling mishaps as evidence), increased my sensitivity to other cultures, made me more confident and of course I now have the added bonus of a second language on resumes.
Okay, after writing that I’ll admit it may have helped a little…
Currently sitting in my hotel bed in Paris, France.My bags are packed, my clothes set out. Laptop and Ipod are charged for the airports and plane rides tomorrow. I will wake up at 3:45 AM, head off to the airport and be in Seattle by noon your time.
I felt like typing that out would help me wrap my mind around the fact that I will be home tomorrow. Home with my family, my own bed, fireplace, comfy couches and pets. Europe has been amazing, but being home after four months of travelling will be nice to say the least.
I am exhausted to my core. Mentally and physically drained, but in a good way. I soaked up as much of the culture as I could here in my last few days and although I don’t care too much for Pau (in case you couldn’t tell from my previous blogs), I am head-over-heels in love with Paris. I am already excited for my next trip and have planned out exactly what I want to see.
I can’t wait to write about what I have done here, but I’m too tired to type…and way to lazy to reread this, so please forgive any flaws in my grammar or spelling. I will say that the highlights of the trip were seeing my friend Charles, going to a ballet at the Opera house and the Catacombs. This trip has been incredible and probably the most significant portion of my study abroad.
I am excited to write all about Paris, but right now I’m just going to put on some soft music, reflect a bit on the past months and fall asleep. It will be a loooong day tomorrow!
A bientot!
Woot! Last day in Pau!
I have been restless this past week, Pau is alright, but I am excited to see Paris again!
I was supposed to go to Nice last Thursday, but when I went to the train station to buy my ticket I waited in line for an hour to be told me there was no way I could get there. No trains are going to Nice, because of…..well you know why.
I was so disappointed. Aside from Paris, La Cote D’Azur was top on my list of places to see. Saved it for April so I could go to the beaches when it was warm outside. Oh well…..guess I’ll just have to come back ; )
I decided at the station that even if I couldn’t get to Nice, I had to escape Pau. What would I do here for a week? I had already seen all of what little there is in this town, aside from a mall and a forest with trails I had yet to explore. So I bought a ticket to Marseille and my train was set to leave at 8:30 am the next morning.
It seems that I was destined to stay in Pau though, because for the second time in my life I slept through an alarm. I’d gone to bed at 8 pm the night before and set my alarm for 5am so I could finish packing, clean my room and shower before I left for the train station.
I woke up at 7:25!
I packed for a week in Spain in a rushed 10 minutes, but even if I pulled that off again I still wouldn’t have had time for the 10 min walk to the bus stop, the 20 minute ride to downtown and the 15 min walk to the train station. I was so angry at myself. Sleeping through that alarm = 80 euros down the drain.
Realizing I wasn’t going anywhere I skyped Elly and have been hanging out with her all week. It’s reminiscent of being a kid; I have no phone and set up a time and a corner to meet my friend at every day. Not to mention, I haven’t had this much free time since elementary school.
My bus pass expired in Ireland and we’re too cheap to pay for the buses, so we always walk wherever we need to go. I’m glad I got new shoes. I spend at least 3 hours walking each day and one day it had to have been more like 4-5. My legs felt like jelly by the end of it, but it is a good way to walk off the yummy French food. Speaking of which, for my last day here I decided to walk to a bakery to get a pastry for breakfast. Settled on this guy:
Oh and I feel like I’ve mentioned Elly in every blog lately! I haven’t forgotten my old friends. I walked to the univeristy to have lunch with Ravid and Sarah yesterday. I will miss them! Ravid said if I ever come back to France, to call her, even if we haven’t talked in 10 years. She also gave me a bracelet she bought in Israel! She went back to visit these past 2 weeks.
These 2 ladies bid me adieu and told me to be young and crazy while I can! I am pretty certain they will be young and crazy their entire lives….they are both 5 years older than me and much crazier!
Last night I went to Kawita’s for dinner. One final delicious Thai meal….
There were 11 people there and afterwards they all went to a goodbye party for another USAC student afterwards.
I thought it would be a but awkward if I tagged along for that so I went home, I needed to ask my host mom for a ride to the school Wednesday morning…something I had been dreading all week. I hate asking for rides, but the walk is an hour, there are no buses and I will have my giant suitcase with me.
The sky was so beautiful last night – so clear!
Today I am going to finish packing, clean and say goodbye to Elly, then Kawita, Rebecca and Hiroka. I leave at 7 am tomorrow for Paris!
Katie' Pau Life En France 