Unfortunately over the last four days I did not run into very many people that did speak Anglay. Ben Yust, Liz Kunde, and I ventured to Paris over our long weekend and if I had to describe it in on word I would call it an "Experience", and it was. It was an experience to remember.
We flew out of beautiful and sunny London on Friday afternoon and arrived in cloudy and cold Paris an hour later to be greeted by words we could not understand. We were very naive in the sense that we did not realize ahead of time what a struggle it would be to deal with the language barrier. The only benefit we had was that Liz had a few years of high school French behind her. So we mispronounced our way across town on a few very long train rides and finally arrived at our hotel in the somewhat shady Parisian suburbs. Our hotel was called Gis Hotel and our room consisted of a double bed and a single bed crammed into a room with what was, I think, to be considered a desk and a what appeared to be a 10" TV. We had hoped we would be able to go to the Louvre that night but after struggling somewhat with the somewhat disorganized and altogether confusing train system we were too wiped and it was too late. So we crashed for the night.
Saturday brought much better results. Right away in the morning we figured out the trains much quicker and made it to the Eiffel Tower. It was very impressive but certainly not the highlight of the trip. We met up with our friend Molly (who also attends Ripon and is studying abroad in Paris this semester) and she ushered us back to her apartment (she lives with Ms. Poupon the mustard heiress). From there we went to the Louvre which was a very great experience. We saw the Mona Lisa, many works by Raphael, and the crown jewels of the past monarchy of France and we were in awe of it all. I have had the amazing opportunity to see some of the most famous and impressive art in the world in my short stay in London and it is great to be able to add this to my growing list of cultural experiences. Ben had been feeling under the weather from the get go and it seemed to be worsening so he went back to the hotel and Liz and I continued on to the Arc de Triomphe. It was dark at this point and it was a really beautiful structure all lit up at night. It was built to honor the returning forces lead by Napolean and one cannot help but think that he was overcompensating for something (he was 5'2").
Saturday was a ridiculous day. If people say you cannot see Paris in a day Liz and I proved otherwise. Ben was on his deathbed with a sinus infection (we think) and decided to stay in so Liz and I decided to take Paris by storm. We started our day at Sacre Couer, a bassilica built to honor those that died in the Franco-Prussion war. It is a massive structure built on top of a hill over looking Paris. It had immaculate views and an even more beautiful interior. When we went in on Sunday morning Mass was still going on which added wonderfully to the ambiance of the experience. After avoiding the barrage of people trying to sell us two incredibly overpriced strings that apparently would look beautiful around our wrists we found a quaint cafe to eat lunch at between tourist traps. We then ventured to Notre Dame which was also very beautiful but, to me, was not quite as grand as Sacre Couer (maybe it just seemed like more of the same). Still though, to its credit, it is a wonderful work of architechure and built right on the Seinne, you can't really go wrong with that. Then we wasted 6 Euro on a lame museum that used to be a prison during the revolution but now is apparently open solely for the purpose of luring unsuspecting non-french speaking tourists in to attempt to read all french displays about a pretty boring topic (our guidebook led us astray!). After that we were ready to crash but not even close to done. We went to Luxemburg Gardens to get coffee with Molly. It was good to sit for a while and very nice to have a french speaker with to order for us. You think we should be done but we weren't...
After dinner we went to Centre Pompidou, the Parisian modern art museum. Again, very impressive, but not quite as memorable as the Tate Modern art museum here in London that has Picasso and Jackson Pollack on display. Last but not least, we trecked back to the Eiffel Tower to see it sparkle up as it does every hour on the hour after six p.m. It was amazing and definetely worth seeing up close. It was beautiful and a wonderful tourism investment on the part of the Parisians I must say. We finally arrived back at the hotel to find Ben in somewhat better sprits at 11 p.m. What a day!
That is my Paris experience. Today all we did was sleep in, go to the mall to find some souvenirs, and fly home. My initial observations about Paris (although my stay was breif) are as follows:
1. Paris is much dirtier than London.
2. There is graffiti EVERYWHERE!
3. The language barrier is harder than you realize if you don't have any french experience.
4. The people, overall, were very accomodating.
5. The homeless people/street hawkers(selling wrist strings/miniature eiffel towers) are very invasive and sometimes will not take no for an answer. Be aware! word on the street is that they pickpocket.
In a nutshell we were all very excited to be back in London today and although the experience was a positive one it by no means shyed us away from travelling. I think, if anything, it encouraged me. I conquered Paris in essentially two days and came out the other side no worse for the ware. I am excited and anxious for my next opportunity to travel in Europe.
Sorry this got so long and wordy, but of course there would be a lot to say after a weekend like that! I experienced a lot and am well on my way to acheiving my goal: becoming a part of the few, the proud, the cultured business majors!
Much Love! I will check back in in a few days.
Monday, February 18, 2008
Friday, February 8, 2008
Rigorous Leisure
Really, the title of this entry explains it all. There is a curious dichotomy happening on this trip. While on one hand we are in London experiencing the city first hand and immersing ourselves fully into the culture on the other we are also students and expected to act as such. The classes seem to be more rigorous than anybody expected. Just this past week our "London as a Visual Text" Professor assigned a paper the same day another was due and to make it worse it is due the same day as another paper assigned by our other professor for "London as a Theatrical Text." We have class most days of the week that, 2-3 days a week, are followed by plays in which we are expected to take notes and discuss them in class in the following few days. It has been no easy task to balance our extreme desire to travel the city and see everything while finishing our heavy workload.
That being said, one musn't complain. We are in the middle of one of the great cultural centers of the world and are having, for most of us, the times of our lives. Yesterday we went to Abbey Road and blocked traffic in the process of trying to recreate the famous Beatles album cover. Today we went to Camden Market which was full of some very eccentric individuals that definetely spurred on some culture shock for those less accustomed to city life or alternative lifestyles (thats a politically correct way of saying there were a lot of heavily peirced individuals with very colorful hair, often dressed in clothes normally worn by the opposite sex). I enjoyed it a lot though. It was fun looking through all of the shops that sell anything ranging from what most people would consider worthless knick-knacks to higher end clothing and jewelry.
The weather has been fantastic here and I am not missing the Midwest winter at all. The myth about it always being rainy in London has so far proven false as it has been in the mid-50's and sunny nearly the entire time we have been here. It makes it really easy and tempting to go walking in the markets or along the Thames.
We have a four day weekend coming up next week and a few of us just bought plane tickets to Paris where we will stay from Friday to Monday. With the exchange rate the way it is it was a bit of a shot to the wallet, but I am sure that it will prove to be worth it in the end being able to see the Eiffel Tower in person and to visit the Louvre. We are going to stay in a hostel and go see as much as we can see in our short stay. On our list of things to do so far is: See the Eiffel Tower, Tour the Catacombs and go to the Louvre. If you have any ideas just put a comment on this post and I will surely look into it. We are always looking for ideas of neat things to do.
That's all I have for now. I would like to announce sarcastically (kind of) that I am officially taking donations to offset the wicked and outrageous exchange rate. If you are interested send them to (cash or check only please):
Lee Homan
ACM London Program
270 Earl's Court Rd.
London SW5 9AS
United Kingdom
That being said, one musn't complain. We are in the middle of one of the great cultural centers of the world and are having, for most of us, the times of our lives. Yesterday we went to Abbey Road and blocked traffic in the process of trying to recreate the famous Beatles album cover. Today we went to Camden Market which was full of some very eccentric individuals that definetely spurred on some culture shock for those less accustomed to city life or alternative lifestyles (thats a politically correct way of saying there were a lot of heavily peirced individuals with very colorful hair, often dressed in clothes normally worn by the opposite sex). I enjoyed it a lot though. It was fun looking through all of the shops that sell anything ranging from what most people would consider worthless knick-knacks to higher end clothing and jewelry.
The weather has been fantastic here and I am not missing the Midwest winter at all. The myth about it always being rainy in London has so far proven false as it has been in the mid-50's and sunny nearly the entire time we have been here. It makes it really easy and tempting to go walking in the markets or along the Thames.
We have a four day weekend coming up next week and a few of us just bought plane tickets to Paris where we will stay from Friday to Monday. With the exchange rate the way it is it was a bit of a shot to the wallet, but I am sure that it will prove to be worth it in the end being able to see the Eiffel Tower in person and to visit the Louvre. We are going to stay in a hostel and go see as much as we can see in our short stay. On our list of things to do so far is: See the Eiffel Tower, Tour the Catacombs and go to the Louvre. If you have any ideas just put a comment on this post and I will surely look into it. We are always looking for ideas of neat things to do.
That's all I have for now. I would like to announce sarcastically (kind of) that I am officially taking donations to offset the wicked and outrageous exchange rate. If you are interested send them to (cash or check only please):
Lee Homan
ACM London Program
270 Earl's Court Rd.
London SW5 9AS
United Kingdom
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Exchange Rate Blues
Hello All,
It has been a while since my last post but we remain busy and it is hard to find time. Also I feel like I spend half of my time here reflecting because I have a journal for one of my classes, a personal journal and then this blog. It all gets a little bit repetitive.
Everything is going really well. I had a really relaxing weekend that I spent mostly in the Earl's Court area where we live. We also had a paper assigned for the London as a Visual Text class that we have. We had to write about some way the River Thames has effected the City of London as we know it today. It wasn't too tough but it got a little bit time consuming and just today I found out it is worth 10% of our grade, which is a bit much.
Last night and today were particularly cool. Last night we saw an amazing play called War Horse. It is one of those plays that after you leave you think everybody should see it. It is a story of a boy and his horse. They become very attached and as every story must have the conflict they get separated. The horse gets sent away during World War 1 for an officer to use in the cavalry. The boy is so attached that he follows the horse to the front lines and tries to find him. It chronicles the vast amount of horses that died during that war (something like 8 million) and also the struggle, specifically in the 1st world war, between machines and horses. World War 1 brought on the invention of the machine gun with which the horse can obviously not compete. The even more miraculous thing is that they used giant puppets for the horses that moved in a very life like way. It was amazing that how emotionally attached you got to the horse as the play progressed. In any sense you guys, if you ever come here, should try and make it the show. It is very high budget and very awesome.
Today on the other hand was overwhelmingly packed with history and information as we toured Westminster Abbey. We got permission to go into the shrine, which is not normally open to the public and it was an amazing experience. Unfortunately you cannot take pictures inside the building because if we had been able to I am sure I would have been snapping them the whole time. This building is more ornate than I ever imagined anything could be; on the outside and on the inside. It was built over the span of several centuries and therefore incorporates many different styles of architecture and decor. It is mostly Gothic. Imagine a place where the designers were told to fit as much into every square inch as possible. It is filled with gold and extremely old tombs containing every King or Queen up to Elizabeth Queen of the Scots. It was an amazing experience that one can hardly write down. By the time I was done my brain was fried and I needed a nap.
Tonight we are going to our Prof. flat in Euston Square for a home cooked Spaghetti dinner that is sure to be delicious. It is especially nice to not have to eat my own food or pay for something as the exchange rate is worse than anybody ever imagined and is a thorn in all of our sides. Hope all is well back in the states. Cheers!
Lee
It has been a while since my last post but we remain busy and it is hard to find time. Also I feel like I spend half of my time here reflecting because I have a journal for one of my classes, a personal journal and then this blog. It all gets a little bit repetitive.
Everything is going really well. I had a really relaxing weekend that I spent mostly in the Earl's Court area where we live. We also had a paper assigned for the London as a Visual Text class that we have. We had to write about some way the River Thames has effected the City of London as we know it today. It wasn't too tough but it got a little bit time consuming and just today I found out it is worth 10% of our grade, which is a bit much.
Last night and today were particularly cool. Last night we saw an amazing play called War Horse. It is one of those plays that after you leave you think everybody should see it. It is a story of a boy and his horse. They become very attached and as every story must have the conflict they get separated. The horse gets sent away during World War 1 for an officer to use in the cavalry. The boy is so attached that he follows the horse to the front lines and tries to find him. It chronicles the vast amount of horses that died during that war (something like 8 million) and also the struggle, specifically in the 1st world war, between machines and horses. World War 1 brought on the invention of the machine gun with which the horse can obviously not compete. The even more miraculous thing is that they used giant puppets for the horses that moved in a very life like way. It was amazing that how emotionally attached you got to the horse as the play progressed. In any sense you guys, if you ever come here, should try and make it the show. It is very high budget and very awesome.
Today on the other hand was overwhelmingly packed with history and information as we toured Westminster Abbey. We got permission to go into the shrine, which is not normally open to the public and it was an amazing experience. Unfortunately you cannot take pictures inside the building because if we had been able to I am sure I would have been snapping them the whole time. This building is more ornate than I ever imagined anything could be; on the outside and on the inside. It was built over the span of several centuries and therefore incorporates many different styles of architecture and decor. It is mostly Gothic. Imagine a place where the designers were told to fit as much into every square inch as possible. It is filled with gold and extremely old tombs containing every King or Queen up to Elizabeth Queen of the Scots. It was an amazing experience that one can hardly write down. By the time I was done my brain was fried and I needed a nap.
Tonight we are going to our Prof. flat in Euston Square for a home cooked Spaghetti dinner that is sure to be delicious. It is especially nice to not have to eat my own food or pay for something as the exchange rate is worse than anybody ever imagined and is a thorn in all of our sides. Hope all is well back in the states. Cheers!
Lee
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