Sorry, for those who read, that I haven't been around in a while. Immediately after returning (and by immediately, I mean less than 24 hours after hopping off the plane) to the South, I had soccer matches to referee. Then, afterward, a week-long tournament to keep me busy. And I'm glad for it, because having that instantaneous activity to occupy me probably helped quite a bit. I got to see friends I hadn't laid eyes on in a year while running my butt off chasing after a soccer ball. Loads of fun.
However, now that's over and I'm faced with an expanse of "summer vacation" laid out before me. Hopefully something that will help keep me somewhat entertained, and not depressed and listless with the sadness of feeling torn from this past year I've loved so much, is recounting all I've glossed over the past year! Namely, my vacations. I feel like I've been quite faithful with my blogging but not so much that I've missed out on the pleasures of life in Montpellier, so now comes the time to catch up. I can chat to you about Christmas markets, Bavarian food, crawling on the Great Pyramids at Giza, and the hilarious commentaries of Moroccan men, to give a few tidbits...
But I'll leave starting that to the next post. At the moment, I'll start a list. Perhaps one of many. I'm not sure. Let's start with the shortest one, things I've missed about the States, even if only marginally so.
Cheap/free laundry! Those who have followed from the beginning know that I almost religiously did my laundry by hand, for nearly ten months, because a single wash at the cheap student laundromat, besides having huge waits, cost the equivalent of 3.50 (give or take). Ouch. Also, yes, I know. I'm a cheapo.
Microwaves! Throw ovens into this list as well, because contrary to student residences in the U.S., French studios are equipped with stovetops, not microwaves. Clearly they are less afraid of their university students burning their buildings to the ground than American schools are. Granted, I loved having two burners (two?! oh no, but that's such a fire hazard!) in my dorm and lived happily with the myriad of things I could cook, but there were times that I really really wanted a quick munchie late at night and could neither run to the store for it nor pop it in the microwave. I was forced to cook, which in retrospect would probably help a lot of Americans manage their diets? This could be solved if living in France for an extended period of time, in which case I'd probably just buy one.
Having a gym! French universities are just that - universities. They are there to educate, not to disguise themselves as trendy, all-inclusive student resorts. Hence, no student "recreation center" or gym. Yes, they do exist, but me not being willing to buy a membership (which can cost), I had to get creative in my workouts. I will say, though, it was fun looking around and seeing what I could do to build up strength without all the fancy machinery. That being said, I'll surely be enjoying my last year of "free" gym membership while at the University of Alabama.
Soccer fields with grass. A bizarre thing to miss, and you get used to not having them around, but don't go to a city in France and expect to find yourself a nice green pitch within 15 kilometers. What you'll find instead is either dirt or asphalt; soon enough, you'll get used to it, and forget what it's like to have people sliding at you trying to snap your ankle in half with the underside of their cleats. :)
TV! Yes, I did miss having a television to watch, guilty as charged. No matter how busy you keep yourself (and believe me, I did!), there are going to be times when you want to just sit down and turn off your brain for a while in front of the tube. Eventually I adapted to the quiet, and I refrained from complaining about it for the most part, but the internet connection in my dorm was generally fairly terrible. Youtube or any video was typically out of the question except for those times when most people are out enjoying the day. I heard that 3 am speeds were pretty good, though...
So, that was about it, really. Maybe you can tell from the writing, but none of these things really detracted from my stay in France. I didn't miss my car, as me and my bike were two peas in a pod, American food and restaurants were a long-distant memory, and I didn't really care if nobody around me spoke English or sucked up excessively to me in the name of customer service. I still can't bring myself to calculate sales tax or tip in anything to buy (it's been two weeks now; this could become a problem), I want to hear French when I listen in on others' conversations, and I'm constantly reminded about how darn far apart everything is around here.
But hey, I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually...though I'm not sure how long it will take my poor little heart to stop bleeding every time I walk through the bread department in Wal-Mart. Saaadddd...until next time!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
Time to say goodbye...
Well, guys, this is it. I depart in one hour for the airport, to take my flight out of Montpellier and back home. I haven't been around much lately because, well, as you can imagine I've been trying to enjoy my last few days in Montpellier after coming back from England (which was great, by the way - will share eventually!) as much as possible. I got back the 8th and today, the 11th, was my departure, and I haven't slept more than four hours during any night since. In fact, I'm writing this at 6 o' clock in the morning after staying up all night,
....and that's where I stopped my post before realizing that I still had to mop my floor before leaving an hour and a half later. So, while this goodbye to Montpellier post isn't actually in Montpellier, per se, the sentiment remains. I'm now back in south Alabama, after a long trip and some entertaining soccer matches. But that's for another time.
My last few days in Montpellier, after arriving home from England, were incredibly full. See, I got back late afternoon of the 8th and, as you saw above, left early early on the 11th. So there was lots and lots to do in the meantime. That day I got back, I had pre-planned a last night of salsa dancing with my wonderful dance group friends, a couple hours after arriving home. Once the party started winding down near 3 am, me and a couple -other- great friends (who I also met through our common love for dance) grabbed a group together and went to a friend of theirs' apartment for late-night cards, music, and drinks. Ended up riding my dear bike home sometime around 5h30 and crawling into bed before setting my alarm for 9, given all the "business" I had to attend to the next day.
That business was: closing my bank account, arranging course credit transfer, meeting with my agent de menage for what needed to be cleaned and how in my studio before check out, and last-minute shopping for items I wanted to bring home. Closing my bank account felt more sad than I expected it to, like a big ripping away of a legitimate link to French life. Same with doing the état des lieux with the cleaning lady, as my room got progressively emptier and more plain. The shopping was...well, actually kind of fun, deciding what wonderful French goodies (read: FOOD) I wanted to bring home with me. I ended up with an amusing assortment, including a bottle of wine, two beers, saucisson sèche, several varieties of tea, chocolate, cookies, mayonnaise (French mayonnaise is better: trust me!!), kebab sauce, and perhaps one or two other things that pressured my already quite full suitcases. I also bought some pastries, but those were just for me! Guilty.
Then after that, I spent the following night-the 9th- in a similar state of non-sleep. More meeting up with various Montpellierain friends for our last goodbyes, continually reminding me with each meeting that this meeting or the other will be the last time I see this person for a long time. But I kept away the blues for the most part, focusing instead on enjoying myself. Had crêpes and cidre for dinner/dessert, then went for a walk through town with a friend to feel less guilty. Over these last few days I proceeded to randomly run into just about everybody I know, giving me a chance to say goodbye in person to people I hadn't otherwise thought! It was crazy, but just goes to show how on beautiful summer days/nights in Montpellier, everybody's out and about.
I wish I had my camera available to post pictures, but while enjoying the sunset over the top of the Corum (one of Montpellier's performance halls/opera houses that also happens to have great views of the centre of town), ran into some more friends! And though I had been planning on biking home to change, I ended up just staying out, once again, all night. At the Esplanade in the centre of town there was the coolest gathering going on of at least 30 people, with their own instruments, doing traditional French dance. These were mostly young people, awesomely, very welcome to people watching and even making clumsy attempts to participate, so throughout the night I/we tried our hands at some super entertaining circle/group dances, mazurkas, and waltzes. As the night went on, the people I was with shifted: the friends I was with before went home, and other friends out on the town joined in, and we ended up staying out yet again quite late (this time, only until 4 am!) Even better, I got to say goodbye to a friend going home for the summer that I hadn't expected to be able to. The atmosphere of the night was great, just a bunch of people outdoors playing music, dancing, and hanging out under the yellowish-orange lights that give a warm glow to everything. You could just taste the happiness.
My final day at Montpellier was spent in a similar fashion, up early once again as I had so much to do, and so little time! My wonderful Moroccan friend made me a delicious tajine lunch, I later on ate Nutella and banana gaufre (waffle - French street food) not caring the least bit about our waistlines with a girlfriend, took care of assorted business, and wished I didn't have to leave this awesome place for good. At the end of the day, I just sat and talked with two friends from the day previous about leaving. It was happy, but sad. I got home after 10 pm to attempt to clean, but got sidetracked by saying an extended goodbye to my wonderful Erasmus friends at Vert Bois. Altogether, the last couple days in Montpellier could not have passed more perfectly. I was worried beforehand that I wouldn't wrap up my time here well for whatever reason, but as it turns out I didn't need to. At the end, all that was left to do was go back to my studio at around midnight and, as you know, stay up all night finishing that stuff I'd been procrastinating.
I think that's all for now; I'm off with my mom soon to buy a new cell phone. I seem to have notoriously long-lived electronics; my current one that's about to retire I got in December of 2006. And it's still kicking. I'm gonna miss it, actually...
There will be a new post soon, for anybody still reading! So with that, until next time! bisous.
....and that's where I stopped my post before realizing that I still had to mop my floor before leaving an hour and a half later. So, while this goodbye to Montpellier post isn't actually in Montpellier, per se, the sentiment remains. I'm now back in south Alabama, after a long trip and some entertaining soccer matches. But that's for another time.
My last few days in Montpellier, after arriving home from England, were incredibly full. See, I got back late afternoon of the 8th and, as you saw above, left early early on the 11th. So there was lots and lots to do in the meantime. That day I got back, I had pre-planned a last night of salsa dancing with my wonderful dance group friends, a couple hours after arriving home. Once the party started winding down near 3 am, me and a couple -other- great friends (who I also met through our common love for dance) grabbed a group together and went to a friend of theirs' apartment for late-night cards, music, and drinks. Ended up riding my dear bike home sometime around 5h30 and crawling into bed before setting my alarm for 9, given all the "business" I had to attend to the next day.
That business was: closing my bank account, arranging course credit transfer, meeting with my agent de menage for what needed to be cleaned and how in my studio before check out, and last-minute shopping for items I wanted to bring home. Closing my bank account felt more sad than I expected it to, like a big ripping away of a legitimate link to French life. Same with doing the état des lieux with the cleaning lady, as my room got progressively emptier and more plain. The shopping was...well, actually kind of fun, deciding what wonderful French goodies (read: FOOD) I wanted to bring home with me. I ended up with an amusing assortment, including a bottle of wine, two beers, saucisson sèche, several varieties of tea, chocolate, cookies, mayonnaise (French mayonnaise is better: trust me!!), kebab sauce, and perhaps one or two other things that pressured my already quite full suitcases. I also bought some pastries, but those were just for me! Guilty.
Then after that, I spent the following night-the 9th- in a similar state of non-sleep. More meeting up with various Montpellierain friends for our last goodbyes, continually reminding me with each meeting that this meeting or the other will be the last time I see this person for a long time. But I kept away the blues for the most part, focusing instead on enjoying myself. Had crêpes and cidre for dinner/dessert, then went for a walk through town with a friend to feel less guilty. Over these last few days I proceeded to randomly run into just about everybody I know, giving me a chance to say goodbye in person to people I hadn't otherwise thought! It was crazy, but just goes to show how on beautiful summer days/nights in Montpellier, everybody's out and about.
I wish I had my camera available to post pictures, but while enjoying the sunset over the top of the Corum (one of Montpellier's performance halls/opera houses that also happens to have great views of the centre of town), ran into some more friends! And though I had been planning on biking home to change, I ended up just staying out, once again, all night. At the Esplanade in the centre of town there was the coolest gathering going on of at least 30 people, with their own instruments, doing traditional French dance. These were mostly young people, awesomely, very welcome to people watching and even making clumsy attempts to participate, so throughout the night I/we tried our hands at some super entertaining circle/group dances, mazurkas, and waltzes. As the night went on, the people I was with shifted: the friends I was with before went home, and other friends out on the town joined in, and we ended up staying out yet again quite late (this time, only until 4 am!) Even better, I got to say goodbye to a friend going home for the summer that I hadn't expected to be able to. The atmosphere of the night was great, just a bunch of people outdoors playing music, dancing, and hanging out under the yellowish-orange lights that give a warm glow to everything. You could just taste the happiness.
My final day at Montpellier was spent in a similar fashion, up early once again as I had so much to do, and so little time! My wonderful Moroccan friend made me a delicious tajine lunch, I later on ate Nutella and banana gaufre (waffle - French street food) not caring the least bit about our waistlines with a girlfriend, took care of assorted business, and wished I didn't have to leave this awesome place for good. At the end of the day, I just sat and talked with two friends from the day previous about leaving. It was happy, but sad. I got home after 10 pm to attempt to clean, but got sidetracked by saying an extended goodbye to my wonderful Erasmus friends at Vert Bois. Altogether, the last couple days in Montpellier could not have passed more perfectly. I was worried beforehand that I wouldn't wrap up my time here well for whatever reason, but as it turns out I didn't need to. At the end, all that was left to do was go back to my studio at around midnight and, as you know, stay up all night finishing that stuff I'd been procrastinating.
I think that's all for now; I'm off with my mom soon to buy a new cell phone. I seem to have notoriously long-lived electronics; my current one that's about to retire I got in December of 2006. And it's still kicking. I'm gonna miss it, actually...
There will be a new post soon, for anybody still reading! So with that, until next time! bisous.
Friday, June 3, 2011
1 week? can it be....?
Tomorrow is June 4th. I leave Montpellier for good June 11th. It's official: J-7. The final countdown.
I don't really know what to think. I'm having a hard time accepting that this part of my life is so very near to being over. I'd prefer to spend my retrospective reflections for after I get home and continue to "entertain" you with what's actually happening here, but I will say one thing that could probably cover at least a bit of how calling this time a "study abroad experience" doesn't quite cut it. I've had to remind several of my Montpellierain friends that once I leave this summer, I won't be coming back at the end of it...for example, unprompted while several of us were out on the town one night, a friend asked if I was coming back in the fall. I responded negatively. Caught that flash of disappointment before the other nimbly returned to the conversation. You know what? That really sucks. Knowing that they care enough to miss me, and unlike other friends who are in the same study abroad boat, they'll still have each other when I'm gone, and their lives will move forward. I'll be the only one separated.
Whoof. Better stop before I go on too long. Besides, why talk about sad things when you can talk about...
No, I didn't just sneeze. Flammekueche, besides being more than a little tricky to spell and pronounce, is also a French dish. More specifically, it's Alsatian - from the Alsace region up near Germany - and is delicious! It's a thin stretched dough covered with white cheese, lardons, onions, crème fraîche, and perhaps things like mushrooms as well. And it's deeeeeelicious! Basically, a friend and I went out to a real sit-down restaurant just because we could. The weather the past couple days has been grey and on-and-off rainy, so it was an excellent day to spend an afternoon. Conversation, trying not to slip and slide on the wet ground while trying to find the restaurant, and....
Okay, sorry for the torture. I'll stop now! I guess I decided that if I couldn't go out for a run in this weather, I might as well do even more damage to my referee training and go the whole hog without feeling a single ounce of guilt. (I won't mention how many times I've eaten kebab in the last week...nor crêpes/gaufres, for that matter...)
Besides that, I've been spending a lot of time just trying to enjoy the city and life as much as I can. When I'm not spending time with friends or training or cleaning (ok ok, or eating), I tend to take lots of long bike rides or walks to my favorite spots or on the never-ending discovery of new places in this crazy wonderful town.
Life, despite the ominous looming of my departure, is good. Tomorrow, I'm actually leaving Montpellier for a bit - I get to visit one of my best friends from elementary school, in England! She moved back after 6th grade, and we've kept in touch, and I feel super lucky to get the opportunity to see her again. You know this is important if you can tear me away from my town for any amount of time this close to when I'm going home!
I think it'll be great, and probably a little surprising to be surrounded by English again, and in the coolest of accents! Well, I think the French accent while speaking English definitely wins my heart for cuteness, but I'd love to see what people in Essex (where she lives - not too far from London!) think of my nowhere, generic North American Female accent. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll be able to imitate that French accent and fool people into thinking I'm French. I think I may make that a personal goal of mine, actually. Hmm...
Anyways, until next time, toodle-oo! It's off to England!
I don't really know what to think. I'm having a hard time accepting that this part of my life is so very near to being over. I'd prefer to spend my retrospective reflections for after I get home and continue to "entertain" you with what's actually happening here, but I will say one thing that could probably cover at least a bit of how calling this time a "study abroad experience" doesn't quite cut it. I've had to remind several of my Montpellierain friends that once I leave this summer, I won't be coming back at the end of it...for example, unprompted while several of us were out on the town one night, a friend asked if I was coming back in the fall. I responded negatively. Caught that flash of disappointment before the other nimbly returned to the conversation. You know what? That really sucks. Knowing that they care enough to miss me, and unlike other friends who are in the same study abroad boat, they'll still have each other when I'm gone, and their lives will move forward. I'll be the only one separated.
Whoof. Better stop before I go on too long. Besides, why talk about sad things when you can talk about...
 |
| ...FLAMMEKUECHE! (gesundheit?) |
 |
| Fondant au chocolat! (melty chocolat cake, sitting in a bath of crème anglaise with real whipped cream on the side!) |
Besides that, I've been spending a lot of time just trying to enjoy the city and life as much as I can. When I'm not spending time with friends or training or cleaning (ok ok, or eating), I tend to take lots of long bike rides or walks to my favorite spots or on the never-ending discovery of new places in this crazy wonderful town.
 | |
| The playing field specifically reserved for players of boules, the favorite game of old French men :) In the shadow of the aqueduct! |
 |
| A typical apéro in a plaza in the old center, on the church steps. Wonderful meeting place! |
Life, despite the ominous looming of my departure, is good. Tomorrow, I'm actually leaving Montpellier for a bit - I get to visit one of my best friends from elementary school, in England! She moved back after 6th grade, and we've kept in touch, and I feel super lucky to get the opportunity to see her again. You know this is important if you can tear me away from my town for any amount of time this close to when I'm going home!
I think it'll be great, and probably a little surprising to be surrounded by English again, and in the coolest of accents! Well, I think the French accent while speaking English definitely wins my heart for cuteness, but I'd love to see what people in Essex (where she lives - not too far from London!) think of my nowhere, generic North American Female accent. Who knows? Maybe one day I'll be able to imitate that French accent and fool people into thinking I'm French. I think I may make that a personal goal of mine, actually. Hmm...
Anyways, until next time, toodle-oo! It's off to England!
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