Valpo Voyager

Student Stories from Around the World

Month: October 2011 (page 2 of 2)

Street art!

October 11, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Translation: One learns more in one white night than in a whole year of sleep. All-nighter, anyone?

Coming from a fairly urban background, I’d like to think that I’ve seen my fair share of graffiti in my twenty-one years of existence. In the States (well I can mostly speak about my home base, Chicago), street-art is often gang related and while always colorful and interesting to look at, disappointingly homogenous.

Saw this on a sidewalk not too far from where I live. What does it mean? well, long live the sh*t, essentially. Instead of seeing this as negative, I’m taking it as a cheeky nod to the copious amounts of dog excrement on the street.

Thus, whenever I find myself in a new place, I always make it a point to scope out any  specimens of uh, self-expression that are a bit different–more creative, more humorous, more uplifting. I’m happy to report that, in Paris, I’ve found just that. All but one of the photos posted here were taken in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, which is home to both the Pere Lachaise cemetery (home to Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde) and happens to be the birthplace of famous Parisian chanteuse Edith Piaf (as immortalized in the movie La Vie en Rose). More about the 20th later, back to its street art! While some may argue that these are nothing more than examples of spray-painted concrete (and indeed that’s what they are!), I’d like to think that there’s more to them than meets the eye!

Translation: Where will you guide your boat?

Graffiti, above all, offers information about the most important part of any city–its inhabitants! You don’t have to look far to get a general sense of the thoughts and feelings and above all, SPIRIT of the people that live around you. Public defacement of property or not, street art adds a little bit of grit and character to places that might otherwise be a little mundane or even a little too pristine. In the same way that some people plant flowers to brighten up a space, others create public art (call it what you like!) to make other people smile, laugh, and most importantly, THINK. A mon avis, (in my opinion), the world’s urban playgrounds would be boring without it! If you’re interested in seeing more, check out my Picasa album https://picasaweb.google.com/114721777633407213084/Franceypants. Ciao for now!

This was taken in the 20th arrondissement of Paris, called Belleville (Beautiful city). While I have yet to encounter a Parisian who considers this the most beautiful part of the city, it is definitely one of the most diverse and interesting.

 

TOO FRENCH???

October 8, 2011 / / 0 Comments

My first weeks in France, I had this reoccurring (and curious) thought: that

Une boulangerie. In Paris, you can find one of these babies about every 10 feet.

somehow all the Parisians I saw in my daily comings and goings were TOO French. French to the point that they must have been acting. The more I observed, the more I was convinced that all these cigarette smoking, baguette buying, and small-dog toting people existed only to reinforce all the stereotypes that exist about French people. It had to be a farce! Un petit spectacle du théatre! And I am here to tell you that it is anything but. It’s life à la française! In Paris, daily living is art. Everything from self-presentation to meal preparation is a delicate process which requires much time and attention to details.  And the thing about the French is that they don’t apologize for their Frenchness, which is interesting to me, an American in Paris, who, for better or worse, is constantly apologizing for the supposed shortcomings or “unculturedness” of her home country. Having been here a little over a month, I’ve since decided to “laisse tomber” the apologies and instead take full advantage of my current (if unofficial) position as American ambassador to France and soak up as much Frenchness as possible,  and if in doing so, I happen to leave a little USA behind, so be it.

For my smoking specimen, I've chosen mon ami Mathieu Brandisi, who was, interestingly enough a French exchange student at Valpo 2009-2010.

 

Où j’habite ! (and other gentle reminders that I’m not in the US)

October 8, 2011 / / 0 Comments

Quite excellently, my homestay assignment is in the 18th “arrondissement” (=French term for the districts in which the city is divided) of Paris which is called Montmartre. Home not only to the famous Sacre Coeur cathedral but also the vampy Moulin Rouge cabaret, Montmartre is generally regarded as the sort of artist’s quarter of Paris. But we’ll get back to that later! Right now, I want to give you about more of an idea about the building in which I live! When you think of Parisian architecture, you undoubtedly picture ancient and ornate apartment buildings with intricate iron balconies and flowering windowsills. And in doing so, you would be spot on! (Here, see for yourself! http://maps.google.fr/)

The view from my bedroom window! Typical Parisian landscape!

ANYWAYS  i live on the 6th floor of a wonderfully old brick immeuble (apartment building!) with two wonderfully hospitable host parents. The apartment is small for our standards, but for Paris, it’s just about right! It’s quaint and intimate and I have a little upstairs loft to myself. These little upstairs fixtures are remnants of post 1860s additions to buildings (Haussmann! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haussmann%27s_renovation_of_Paris) to create more housing in the city. Thus, back in the day, my little space would have been used as servant quarters! But today it’s perfect space for housing exchange students like myself! Have a look!

La baignoire (bathtub!) Note the lack of shower curtain!

The beautiful little parlor area! I suppose our equivalent of a living room!

The view from the dining room table!

European specialty: le WC (water closet, gotta keep that toilet separate! it's both a matter of sanitation and space!)

My whole back wall is covered in empty Camel packs. What can I say? The French love their cigarettes!

Volksfest in Stuttgart

October 3, 2011 / / 0 Comments

So it’s officially October here in Germany. And what does that mean? Oh yeah, Oktoberfest, of course!

Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany is probably the most famous, but there are Bierfests all over the country. After consulting with some German friends, we learned that making the trip to Munich might not be worth it. It was purportedly quite the experience, but very touristy, there’s nowhere left to spend the night, and everything is really expensive.

Instead, everyone suggested that we make a point to go to the Cannstatter Volksfest – Stuttgart’s version of “Oktoberfest” and the second largest Bierfest in the world.  They told us that there weren’t very many tourists, and it was probably the most authentic experience we could have.

On Saturday we decided to take the train into Stuttgart do a little shopping and then meet up with some other people from our German course at the fairgrounds.

We ate lunch at a café that serves traditional schwabisch food, just to complete the experience. Unfortunately we had terrible service.  Because customers here are expected to tip much less, there isn’t as much pressure for “service with a smile.”

Eventually we made our way to the Cannstatter Wasen – the grounds where the Volksfest is held. It was huge! There were rides and tents and food and toys and games and anything else you could dream of!

Canstatter Wasen

American Burgers! - "The Giant Hamburger"

Las Vegas!

Behind all the typical “carnival rides” they had giant beer tents that seat thousands of people. But these aren’t just like temporary cheap-o tents. These are like hardcore buildings they take up and down every year. And everything inside is done up to nines. It was surreal!

Dinkel Acker

 

The tent we were in

At first we had some difficulties meeting up with our friends from the course because it was so huge! We tried calling and texting but the German cell phone network kept crashing. That’s how many people there were at this Bierfest. The cell phones didn’t work. How crazy is that!?

Eventually we met up and sat with a bunch of German students. Because the Germans are pretty serious about their Bier consumption, they were pretty friendly.

Inside the tent

Panorama

We turned out to be one of the main attractions of the evening, with all the Germans taking turns teaching us all the traditional drinking songs. They showed us how to stand up and dance on the tables, as well as how to “properly” hold a Maß (1 Liter) of Bier.

The whole festival really reminded me of the smaller Galas or Fairs held in America around the Fourth of July. It was really an experience and I met some more German friends in the process!

 

 

Not all Rainbows and Butterflies…

October 3, 2011 / / 0 Comments

So I think when people read about going abroad, everything seems amazing. And believe me it is… but there are some things that can be really frustrating. Here are the things that have been really difficult thus far:

  1. LANGUAGE! So I think if you study abroad in a country that has one universal language this might not be as big of an issue. However, in Southern Africa there are numerous languages. In South Africa there are eleven official languages and in Namibia there are nine recognized languages. It has been so difficult to talk to people here because while I know some phrases in certain languages, there is no guarantee that they will understand what I’m saying. Needless to say it has been a huge frustration of mine.

    Eating out in Namibia

  2. FOOD! Ok so this also might not be something that upsets some people, but I have so many food allergies it is ridiculous! At first, the food here was really good; they made me lots of rice, beans and gluten free pasta. However, that is all that I have eaten now for 2 months. I am so sick of rice and beans I do not think that I can ever eat it again. I think going abroad is hard for people with any type of food restriction. On my trip we have vegetarians, peanut allergies, lactose intolerance, and gluten allergies. I know that each person has experienced aggravation with eating food here. But with all of that aside there is a food here called pap. It is one of the greatest things ever! I think I could eat it every day
  3. AFRICAN TIME! I was raised on the mentality that if you’re early you are on time and if you are on time then you’re late. The  idea of punctuality does not exist here in Africa. The locals have constantly called their concept of time “African time” They  get to places when they get there and they complete tasks when they decide to complete them. It has been something that has  been very difficult for me to adapt to because I am used to being so leisurely with my time. But I think that it is a part of my  lifestyle that I could eventually learn to change. When I was in South Africa, I was walking with one of my host sisters and I  told her that I was not used to walking so slow, because in Chicago it is so fast paced. In response she said to me, “Why would  you want to rush to a destination? The fun part is getting there. The place you’re going to will always be there, so take your time getting there.” I really love that idea, and while this slower paced life has been difficult for me, I can see it being in my future.

    Waiting on the bus

  1. 4. LIFE BACK IN THE STATES! This has probably been the hardest thing for me to deal with. Being here in Namibia, I have felt torn between two lives, the one here in Windhoek and my life back in the states. It can be really difficult to balance the two of them because you want to experience as much as possible here, but at the same time you want to stay connected with family and friends back home. It has been so hard when family or friends tell me about things going on at home that I want to be there for. Now I know being in Africa is probably a lot cooler than most of the things going on back in the US, but it is still a struggle to find a happy medium between contact with loved ones and truly enjoying your time abroad.

Out with some friends.

Like I said before, I am in love with Namibia and most days I find it hard to imagine leaving this place to go back home. But that doesn’t mean that everything about your abroad experience is going to be perfect. You just have to look at the positives and in my case that means being in the beautiful, warm country of Namibia and getting to see a glimpse into a world outside my own.

 

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