Inevitably, each ride on the metro in Paris provides me with at least one larger-than-life caricature of a person. After seeing the movie Amélie I figured all the characters were just exaggerated to match the tone of the movie, but now I realize that’s not the case at all. People here are actually like that.

I made sure to write this sketch of one man watched for quite some time on the ride from the 16th arr to Place de la Concorde:

His whistle gave his presence away before he was actually seen, a breathy, shrill, constant sound like the birds who are so awful outside my window at 3 am these days. He was dressed almost entirely in black with a black felt fedora of good quality, a fox fur scarf, and a prada bag he treated with relative disregard. He carried his coat draped across his arm, an olive colored trench lined with satin paisley. His gloves were the same color as his coat, and he took them off and put them on gingerly. When he did I saw that he had beautifully delicate hands with fingers I’d suspect a pianist to have. He wriggled them gleefully when they were released from their glove-prison and when he covered them again, which he did every few seconds. The man comported himself much like his fingers, gleeful and animated, and walked, or rather bounced, to the rhythm of his whistle. He carried a wooden platform of sorts, 4 unvarnished boards nailed into two other pieces of equal size on either end. He paid very close attention to this unlikely treasure, setting it down hesitantly and glancing at it furtively every so often. He touched it every 5 seconds or so, as if to ensure it’s stability as it leaned against his Prada bag. Eventually, however, the imagined precarious state of its balance proved to be too much for him and placing his glove back on his excited fingers one last time with determination, he placed a firm hand on his prized possession.

After just a few weeks in France, I can honestly say that I’ve never been in a more diverse environment. An international exchange program called Erasmus allows Europeans to easily participate in exchange programs all over the continent. Thanks to that I’ve met people who’ve come from everywhere from Lithuania to Finland, from Slovakia to Ireland. But it’s not just Europeans studying here in Cergy, my roommate is Japanese, there’s a Nepali student in one of my classes, and just last night on the train ride home from Paris I met a boy from Morocco who attends an engineering school just next to my university.

Now, all this is just great, really. The concept of people from all over the world coming to live and study together in one place is a fascinating one. However, what I find even more fascinating, and a little frustrating as well, is how everyone communicates with each other – or at least attempts to.

My second day here the international student department took us on a day trip to Paris. I spent my time walking around the city with 3 girls, two who speak fairly fluent English and decent French, and a third girl from Spain who barely speaks French and speaks even less English. Our conversations were an almost humorous mixture of French, English, and the little bits of poorly pronounced Spanish I’d picked up from years ago.

Similar situations pop up all the time. My roommate, who is fluent in Japanese, speaks to her Spanish friend in French, and all of her Japanese friends, naturally, in Japanese, while she and I communicate using a really halting mix of French and English. However, it seems as if, overwhelmingly, students are speaking English with each other. The majority of international students are more comfortable with English and will use it over French when given the choice. I can go entire days without needing to speak a word of French to anyone. At first, I wondered how Valerie, the other American girl in my program, was going to get by without knowing any French, but since then, I’ve learned she’s not the only one. Of the 8 Americans studying in the city right now, there is only one other student who knows any French. Inevitably, this means I run into the same problem that Nick was discussing in his blog. However, it also means that I’m being asked quite a bit to interpret for those students who don’t speak French and even sometimes for those French students who don’t speak much English.

Conversations at home have been different as well. I do have access to skype and facebook, but the majority of my conversations with friends and family at home have been through email. After years of interacting with people in almost instantaneous ways through texting or phone calls or face-to-face conversations, I get the option to edit my words, to come back to the email if I want, and then, when I feel like I’ve said everything, I have to wait for a response! Honestly, it’s been good for me. I wrote letters with a very good friend of mine two summers in a row, but I don’t know if that prepared me for communicating in this way with everyone close to me.

The result of all of these language barriers, and all of this adjustment and waiting has been that I’ve had quite a bit of time to myself to think and experience and observe what’s going on around me. It definitely isn’t a bad thing, if I was interacting with people as much here as I was doing at home I think I’d be moving so fast I’d miss something. I wonder why no one tells you these things when you’re preparing to go abroad “Also, you won’t be able to communicate much with people so sharpen your observation skills now and get ready to be reacquainted with yourself!” A Valpo alum, who is currently studying in China advised me to keep a travel journal saying “it’ll make the best souvenir”. I think that’s some of the best advice I’ve received in reference to life abroad. I follow her blog, and regularly find some kind of inspiration and fellowship in her attitude towards travel and life away from home. It’s a different life, but it’s definitely, very worthwhile.

I think a lot of people are under the common misconception that it’s difficult and expensive to cook French food or to eat well in general. Admittedly, I was once one of those people, but after stumbling across this man’s blog and very willingly falling victim to the charms of Julia Child, I’m determined to counter that stereotype and I’d love to share it with all of you! Obviously, as a college student, I’m not the wealthiest woman in the world, and I’ve come even farther from that title since coming to France. Luckily, food is beloved and cheap here and I have free reign to experiment. I’m realizing, however, that the staples of classic French cooking can be had in the States as well without breaking the bank. As I found out last week you can do any number of things with just butter, bread, eggs, and cheese. A few days ago I decided to splurge in order to broaden my horizons for many weeks to come. One of my treasures, and seemingly, the theme for this week’s meals has been a massive 3.5 kg (almost 8lbs!!!) bag of potatoes. That treasure, along with the recipe for a sauce I was taught and wearily comprehended my first day here inspired the following recipe:

What: Gratin Provençal avec Sauce Béchamel

What that actually means: Potatoes, tomatoes, and onions layered, baked together and covered in béchamel sauce.

Serves 1

Before you Start:

You can make this either in the oven or on the stovetop in a skillet. If you’re going to use the oven, preheat it to 350.

I recommend having a baguette or other type of bread to accompany this meal.

You’ll Need:

–       1 Potato, a little smaller than fist-sized, sliced into thin pieces

–       1 Med-Large slicing tomato, sliced thinly

–       half an onion (if that), again, sliced thinly

–       About ¼ cup of a dry White wine

–       Olive oil

–       1 clove of garlic, crushed (just lay the flat part of your knife over it, unpeeled, and hit it with your fist. The peel will come right off)

–       Herbs de Provence (or any of your other favorite spices)

–       Butter

–       Flour

–       Milk

–       Salt

–       Pepper

For the Gratin:

1. Rub the crushed clove of garlic over the bottom of the pan or dish and set it aside for the sauce if you like. Then pour in enough olive oil to cover the bottom.
2. Lay down a single layer of potato slices, followed by onions, and tomatoes
   

   Oh so good.

3. Drizzle on a little more olive and some of the wine. Season with herbs and salt and pepper to taste.
4. Repeat the layering and drizzling and such until all the vegetables are in the pan.
5. If making this in the oven, bake uncovered at 350 for about 40 minutes or until the liquids are bubbling and the edges of the vegetables are just starting to brown. If making this in a skillet, cook covered over low heat for about 45 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

For the Sauce:

I couldn’t tell you how much of anything I used for the sauce as I just went by the texture. But you will need equal parts butter and flour. Melt the butter in a small saucepan or pot on low heat. When it’s melted, whisk in the flour and whisk the milk into the mixture in small amounts until the sauce is combined and looks sauce-like.

I added salt and pepper to mine and when I was done with the garlic clove for the gratin I threw it into my sauce as well. Then, I melted a little bit of cheese into it for added flavor.

The recipe for béchamel sauce is basically just the recipe for a plain sauce. If you’re feeling adventurous try throwing different things in. May I suggest making homemade mac&cheese? Cook some macaroni noodles and melt some cheddar cheese (or any kind you like) into the sauce after you’ve whisked the milk in. They don’t sell mac&cheese here in France so I fully plan on making some with this sauce at some point in time.

When both are finished, pour the béchamel over the gratin, and mix slightly with the wine and oil in the gratin. Eat well, with a huge piece of bread to soak up any extra sauce, you won’t want to let a drop go to waste. Bon Appétit!

Confession:  I did not prepare at all for studying abroad.

It was my own fault, the combination of bad habits and an entire month off before I took off on the biggest trip of my life gave me the perfect excuse to engage my procrastination skills.  I spent the month before my departure working at a local bookstore and during my downtime I’d make lists of things I needed to do or buy before I left, then would promptly ignore them when I got home. By the time my last week at home arrived, my job had ended and I had no more excuses to ignore what I knew I needed to do. Unfortunately, by the time I finally got up the motivation to shop and prepare, I’d lost all my lists. So, I spent the last week half-heartedly gathering my things in various piles. This was a pretty decent strategy. I separated my clothes into things I was taking with me and clothes I would be taking back to school with me when I came back. This really helped me figure out what I was missing and needed.

Now, my main concern with the upcoming semester and packing was cost efficiency, this meant space efficiency. This whole semester abroad will be lived on a fairly tight budget thus skimping whenever possible is necessary. I determined that I needed to get everything in one suitcase to avoid the additional luggage charge and planned my wardrobe accordingly. I opted for dresses and skirts instead of bringing jeans and shorts. Honestly, I’m not the kind of girl to wear dresses, never have been, but when I started thinking about this trip last summer I realized all the advantages of changing my wardrobe habits. To all the girls going abroad out there: believe me, it was a good decision. Not only did I have the ability to bring more skirts and dresses and thus have more options for outfits, but made packing for multiple seasons so much easier. Layering leggings, tights, and sweaters with dresses or skirts transition very easily from winter to spring to summer clothing, and honestly, I blend in better. People in Europe dress much more formally than people in the states. Jeans, t-shirts, and tennis shoes are a pretty easy way to be spotted as a foreigner.

So, I ran out and grabbed a couple pairs of leggings to guard against the month of lingering French winter I’d be experiencing and set to packing clothes. I brought along two pairs of jeans, all the dresses and skirts I owned (not a lot) and quite a few tops. I was very good and decided I didn’t need 11 different colors of cardigans, 10 would do just fine. I packed 3 pairs of shoes, one of which I wore on my feet, deciding I would buy an extra spring/summer pair when I got there, and I forced myself to only bring 5 t-shirts, most of which would be for any kind of exercise I would be doing.  I threw in quite a few camisoles and all of my undergarments to prevent the necessity of doing laundry too frequently. The fewest amount of clothes providing for the greatest amount of outfits and honestly, I think I still brought too many clothes.

I bought huge bottles of any kind of toiletry I needed knowing they’d take up room on the trip over but would provide free space on the way home. Now that I’m here I realize how smart that choice was. Shampoo and similar items are pricier in Europe than they are in the States and I think I’d have a difficult time finding something comparable to what I use at home. I should have packed these in some kind of plastic bag. By the time I got to my room in France and began unpacking I realized that my conditioner had exploded all over my suitcase. It may have actually been a good thing as my clothes were ok, and I salvaged most of the conditioner, the only consequence was the fact that my shoes smelled (and still do smell) absolutely fruity.

The next step was getting everything else I’d bought that wasn’t clothing to fit in my suitcase. A suggestion from my friend who’d just recently come back from a trip to England really saved my life. For some reason I hadn’t heard of the space saver bags everyone’s talking about. They’re just large plastic Ziploc bags that you remove the air from with a vacuum. I bought a box of 3 large bags from Target for around $13 and I could not believe how well they worked! I fit a roll of dresses, the two towels I brought (one to use one to wash) and my roll of tank tops into one bag. You can see how much of a difference they made in my photos. I used my packing buddy as a scale, even though she was terrified of them after I took the air out. All together the bags fit perfectly into my suitcase, leaving just enough room to throw in my shampoo, conditioner, body wash, lotion and shoes. I also brought along a few small mementos for my walls and, in retrospect, I wish I would have brought more. I recommend bringing a poster or wall hanging of some sort. They’re light and will do wonders for curing homesickness or “oh my gosh what have I gotten myself into?!” freak outs (believe me, I had one).

I threw all of my electronics into my carry on along with a couple changes of clothes, travel toiletries, and the two books I brought. It was heavy, but worth it to save the space in my suitcase.

When everything was said and done it probably took me about 3 hours to pack. I made it an all night affair, dragging it out with phone calls to friends and a last minute decision to make cookies for my brother at 4AM. My partner stayed up with me all night and after a one hour nap, we were both just exhausted on the way to the airport.