Author Archives: dnp5079

Ibiza, We-biza

I just got back from an exhausting but amazing weekend in Ibiza. Ibiza is a small island off the eastern coast of Spain in the Mediterranean Sea. We planned this weekend through Tripbiza, which was a packaged deal that included hotels and parties all weekend. This was a trip that I had planned at the very beginning of my abroad experience and I was so excited for it to finally be here. I met some of my friends in Barcelona on Thursday night and we flew to Ibiza bright and early on Friday morning. The entire plane was study abroad students who were starting off their week long Spring Break with this weekend excursion. Even though I already had three weeks of break and have almost another two weeks in May to look forward to, I was a little jealous of every. On Sunday when it was all over, I had to come back to France and get ready for all of my exams, while everyone else was going to straight to Portugal for a week! I was just happy to be back with all my friends from school and relaxing by the pool. The party began after take off when someone decided to whip out speakers on the plane and start blasting Jay-Z. At that point it was 7:30 in the morning so I needed something to wake me up anyway.

When we landed in Ibiza the weather was a little overcast but it was still warm enough for bikinis. After getting to the check-in point, I realized that this whole Tripbiza program was a little unorganized. They had over 500 study abroad students checking in at one time. It was complete chaos because everyone just wanted to put their things down and get to the pool. Luckily we got there early so we only had to wait about an hour before we were all settled into our room and ready to hit the beach. Ibiza is basically just a tourist destination. There was really nothing there except for hotels and resorts. Our trip was a little before the island was officially “open” so nothing was really going on except our program. While we were walking around trying to find a place to eat, we spotted a Burger King and figured we had hit the jackpot. We asked the woman who was sweeping outside when they opened and she told us “Monday”. Not the most ideal response, but in retrospect it was probably better that we didn’t eat Burger King before a weekend of beach parties. We ended up just going to a local market and getting some snacks that ended up lasting us the entire weekend (great for my bank account!).

We partied at the pool of the hotel all day. At night we had access to a club that had a dance floor that turned into a pool halfway through the night. Tripbiza provided us with transportation to and from the club, which was great because the club was a 30 minute drive from the hotel. For Saturday, there was a boat party scheduled, but it never ended up happening. There were three different boats, which were first come first serve. So obviously everyone was running down the beach, charging the boats and trying to get on the first one. They ended up kicking everyone off and telling us that no other boats were coming and the whole boat party was cancelled. In our defense, if they didn’t make the boats “first come, first serve” I think the whole situation could have been avoided. I mean, what can you except from 500 study abroad students on spring break? We ended up just going back to the pool/beach area and having an awesome time. It would have been cool to be partying in the middle of the Mediterranean, though.

The weekend was just the craziness I needed after relaxing in Montpellier for the past three weeks after our Winter Break. And it was the perfect little taste of what is to come for Spring Break. We are planning on going to the Amalfi Coast!

� bient�t

Location: Montpellier, FR

Barcelona > Praha > Budapest > Roma

Bonjour tout le monde!

Sorry for such a huge gap in between posts (there was no room for my laptop on this trip)! It is safe to say that our Winter Break was a huge success! Barcelona, Prague, Budapest, and Rome! I might have aged about 10 years during the span of three weeks but it was well worth it. I got to see SO many things in such a short span of time. I am so lucky and blessed (and happy to make it back in one piece). Three weeks worth of fun is a lot for one blog post so I will give you the condensed version (without leaving out the good parts) and put in LOTS of pictures.

Chapter One: Barcelona, Spain

I would compare the city of Barcelona to that of a black hole. It sucks you in and once you’re there it is impossible to get out. We started the first leg of our journey traveling by car to Barcelona. We found a carpooling website where people post what days they will be driving to and from certain cities. My roommate Greta and I signed up to ride with a young couple from Montpellier directly to Barcelona. It was only a three-hour ride and only cost us 20 euros! We were a little worried about this concept, but we got there safe and sound and would definitely recommend this type of transportation if you are looking to safe a little bit of money. The weather in Barcelona was so beautiful when we arrived and I could not wait to get out and see the city. Our friends took us to Bo De B’s, a super famous sandwich shop in the Gothic area of town. The restaurant was super tiny, only seating about 15 people but there was still a line wrapped around the block. I was instructed to get the chicken sandwich with everything on it (except for the spicy sauce). It was delicious but the greatest part about it (and the reason this place is so famous) is that it only costs 3 euros! During the weekend we were in Barcelona, and the main reason for our trip there, was for Abroadfest. Abroadfest is three nights of concerts at different clubs in Barcelona. It is a chance for all American students who are studying abroad to get together in one place and have one hell of a time. During the course of our stay in Barcelona I got to see all my friends from school who I haven’t seen in months. Some highlights of the weekend were watching the sun rise on the beach, getting the best pancakes from Milk, seeing Cedric Gervais play his remix of Adore You by Miley Cyrus(my fave), and getting kicked out of our hostel (not fun). Since no one in Barcelona goes to bed before 6 am or wakes up before 3 pm, it was hard to do the touristy sight seeing things. My roommate and I did get to see the famous Sagrada Familia Basilica though. It was absolutely beautiful! Sunday morning we got a cab home from the club, packed our things and were headed straight to the airport for our 8 am flight to Prague. Don’t worry, Greta and I got to nap in the terminal during our 5-hour layover in Brussels. After an exhausting day of traveling and barely any sleep, we arrived at our hostel in Prague at 8 pm and went directly to bed. But not before buying Chinese food for $3! I knew Prague was going to be a wonderful place.

Barcelona Beach

Chapter 2: Prague, Czech Republic

Greta and I were relieved to have chosen a nice hostel compared to our experience in Barcelona…

This one provided us with a HUGE free breakfast every morning (music to our ears). When we left the hostel on Monday morning, and saw Prague for the first time during the day light I was a little shocked. It was definitely different from any other European city I had been to. Being a post-communist city, everything from the buildings, to the clothing and the people were just slightly off. The currency was the hardest thing for me to get used to. 1 Czech Koruna = $0.05 USD. So the first time I ordered a beer and saw the price was 300 Koruna, I was a little baffled. I was even more surprised when I calculated that to be only $1.50 USD! Just like in Barcelona, so many of our friends from school were in Prague visiting because it was Penn State’s spring break. It was nice to travel in a big group and actually do some sight seeing (opposed to Barcelona). We went on some very informative historic tours of the city, got to visit the beautiful old castle, and of course enjoy the authentic Czech cuisine.

Fun Fact: The Rolling Stone’s paid for the lights to be installed around the castle because they wanted it to be seen from the city at night. Sick.

There was surprisingly a huge nightlife in Prague, which I was not expecting. By Wednesday night, we had pretty much seen and experienced everything we wanted to and were ready for our next stop: Budapest.

Chapter Three: Budapest, Hungary

We decided the best way to travel from Prague to Budapest was to take an 8-hour overnight train. This ride ended up being 10 hours long (because of unforeseen train problems) and we arrived in Budapest at 10 am on Thursday morning. Being woken up at every boarder to have your ticket checked on the train isn’t really considered a “good night’s rest” but we were so excited to be in Budapest so we weren’t phased by the little sleep we got on the train. We checked into our hostel and immediately went out to explore. We traveled from the Pest side (where our hostel was) to the Buda side to check out the castle and the amazing view from the top. After stopping for some authentic Hungarian cuisine (sausages and saut�ed vegetables) we went on a tour of the Jewish Quarter. We learned about the Jewish history of Budapest and saw every synagogue in the city. The tour ended at one of the most famous “ruins” bars in the world. Despite looking like a hole in the wall from the outside, this bar was ENORMOUS on the inside. It was kind of like a yard sale meets a tailgate and it was very cool. Budapest was filled with very cool modern bars, which was very surprising to me considering they were just a communist country only 25 years ago. Because Budapest is known for its traditional Turkish baths, this was on the top of my list for things to do during our stay. We went to the Szechenyi Baths, one of the biggest baths in Budapest. There were 21 different pools that are open all year long. It was a little nippy the day we went but even the outside pools were nice and warm. Although the majority of the crowds at the bathhouse were old men in speedos, it was an experience of a lifetime and definitely something you should try if you ever make it to Hungary! Budapest was definitely my favorite city on the trip. That was until I tried the spaghetti in Rome…

Chapter Four: Rome, Italy

By the time we arrived in Rome, we were completely exhausted (mentally, physical, emotionally) from traveling around Europe for the past week and a half. It was becoming routine to being dropped in a new country I had never been in and figuring it out. Figuring out public transit, which restaurants to go to, landmarks to see (all while trying to be conscious of spending) is something I was getting quite accustomed to. So by the time we got to Rome we were pros at figuring out the lay of land, which was perfect because Rome has SO MUCH to see and do. I immediately fell in love with the language. It seemed like everyone in Rome was so happy, outgoing and excited. Everyone was very helpful and willing to speak English, which is always a plus. We got to see all of the main attractions: The Vatican, The Spanish Steps, The Trevi Fountain, The Colloseum, and of course indulge in the AMAZING cuisine.

Note: Gelato every day is a must!

Sadly, I don’t think I will ever be able to eat spaghetti again unless it is in Italy (I don’t know if this is good or bad…). The only down side of Rome was the annoying men at every tourist attraction trying to sell you crap. They run right up into your face and try to put things in your hand. After four days of being harassed by them I was ready to leave. Except for that one little downside, Rome is the most beautiful and interesting city I had ever been to. I would recommend anyone to go there and would really like to make it back some time in my life. Although I saw so many things in my short stay, there is still so much of that huge city to discover.

Montpellier felt like a completely different place when we returned. The weather was warmer and there were many more people on the streets. I was so excited to take a nice hot shower and be back in my own bed. I slept for about 14 hours the night I got home (much needed) and woke up feeling so refreshed. The last three weeks were some of the most amazing weeks of my life. I got to see and do more things than many people do in a lifetime! It really reminded me how lucky I am to be here and experience so much culture.

� bient�t!

Location: Montpellier, France

Barcelona > Praha > Budapest > Roma

Bonjour tout le monde!

Chapter One: Barcelona, Spain

Chapter 2: Prague, Czech Republic

Greta and I were relieved to have chosen a nice hostel compared to our experience in Barcelona…

Fun Fact: The Rolling Stone’s paid for the lights to be installed around the castle because they wanted it to be seen from the city at night. Sick.

Chapter Three: Budapest, Hungary

Chapter Four: Rome, Italy

Note: Gelato every day is a must!

� bient�t!

Location: Montpellier, France

Preparing for Winter Break

Today is my last day of classes before our first break in the semester. It’s quite a long one too. We have off from March 1^st until the 20^th to basically play in as much of Europe as we can in three weeks. Trying to plan out this break is proving to be a big challenge. Our first priority is to go back to Barcelona for their annual “Abroadfest” weekend. Many of our friends who are still back in State College are coming to Barcelona for their spring break. I am SO excited to see all my friends, many of whom have never been to Europe before. It will be an awesome time to catch up and show them what they’ve been missing these past two months! Abroadfest is a three-night event hosted at the biggest clubs in Barcelona with DJs from all around the world. Montpellier is such a low-key city so I cannot wait to get to Barcelona and go crazy with my friends. After spending 5 days in Barcelona we venture off to Prague. Prague is another big destination for Penn State students to study abroad so we will be seeing more of our friends when we go there. Apparently Prague is a very inexpensive city so I am also looking forward to that. I will still have to do my research about Prague to find out the main attractions, but hopefully our friends who have been studying there for the past month will show us around. Up next after Prague, we are taking an overnight train to Budapest, Hungary. This is the location that I am most excited about on my tour. Budapest is so different from most tourist locations in Europe. The language is definitely going to be a huge barrier. Although my French skills have increased immensely since coming to France, they are not going to help me when I am traveling around Europe. Normally I just fall back onto my English but apparently it is not common to speak English in Hungary either so we will see that goes! Also, in Hungary, they use the Hungarian Forint, not the euro. For every 1 USD is it equal to 226.80 HUF. A meal might cost 3,500 HUF, which sounds crazy, but in reality is really only 15 USD. Budapest is most famous for their ancient baths. It is called “The City of Baths” because the it is seated on top of over 100 natural thermal baths. I was a little weirded out thinking about hopping into a tub with a bunch of strangers, but I don’t think I want to pass up such a historic occasion. We spend 4 days in Budapest before flying out to Rome. My roommate Greta’s family will be in Rome so luckily we will have the chance to stay with them in a nice hotel and take a break from the hostel life. Like always, we will be visiting friends from school in Rome who are studying there. We are planning on taking a day trip to Florence from Rome because it is just a short train ride away. We head back to Montpellier from Rome on Thursday morning to make it back before a presentation in one of our classes. This was a huge problem for us at first. Because we don’t have classes on Fridays, we were planning on just skipping our later Thursday class because the earlier one is already cancelled. I wish I would have known all of this when signing up forth presentation the first week of classes because than we would have either stayed in Rome for the weekend or planned another destination to add to our tour. In any case, we will be returning home for our class presentation and maybe even going back out that next weekend for another small trip. I can’t believe that I will be visiting places that most people won’t see in a lifetime in less than three weeks. I don’t even know where to begin with packing! Checking luggage on these flights is not really an option and a lot times you get right off of the plane and don’t go straight to your hostel to put your things down. Packing light has never really been my forte but I guess I will have to try. I am going to dedicate this weekend to getting some school work done for when I come back to break and resting a little before my big tour of Europe!

Location: Montpellier, France

Valentine’s Day à Paris

Even though it was a little cliché, spending Valentine’s Day in Paris was a dream come true. There were couples everywhere and I wished that my boyfriend could have been there with me. My roommate Greta substituted for him and we seriously had the time of our lives. The coolest thing for me was putting a lock on the famous Pont de l’Archevêché, also known as the “Lock Bridge”. This is a very big attraction in Paris. The sides of the Pont de l’Archevêché are filled with

literally thousands of locks. The bridge is famous because people come from all over to lock a lock onto the side. Normally the lock is decorated or has initials or names on it. Many couples do it together and then throw the keys in to La Seine River. The bridge was especially packed on Friday morning because it was Valentine’s Day. Couples filled the bridge locking their locks, kissing, and taking pictures. For only 4 euro you can buy a lock from a vendor on the bridge. Greta and I both purchased locks and locked them forever onto the Pont de l’Archevêché, something I had wanted to do since I had heard about this tradition. A man on the bridge even gave Greta and I free roses!

Because it was a little rainy out, we decided to have Friday be our museum day. We visited the Musée d’Orsay (suggested by my grandfather) and saw Monet, Van Gough, Cézanne, Renoir, Manet and many others I didn’t even know. There were a lot of young children there on school trips learning about the paintings. Talk about an awesome field trip! After about two hours of wandering around the beautiful old converted train station, we walked right across the river to Le Louvre. Right as we were getting there we heard a loud cheering noise. When I looked across the way there was a huge crowd of people letting hundreds of heart-shaped red balloons up into the air right in front of La Pyramide du Louvre. Paris was really embracing this holiday. We spent about another two hours in Le Louvre, but I probably could have spent 24 hours there and still not have seen the whole thing. Of course I took the classic selfie with the Mona Lisa (like every other person there).

Besides the Tour Eiffel, Le Louvre must be one of the most visited places in the world. There were SO MANY tourists there from so many different countries. There were a lot of Americans there too, which took a little bit of adjusting to. In Montpellier I am used to walking down the street or taking the TRAM and not really being able to fully understand what people are saying around me. But when I was in Le Louvre, almost everyone was speaking English and I thought my head was going to explode. I felt like I was listening to 500 different conversations at one time and it was very overwhelming. Going back to America is definitely going to be an adjustment. After Le Louvre, Greta and I did a little bit of shopping and then heading back to our apartment. We were so lucky to get such great accommodations while in Paris. One of our friends from Montpellier told us about an apartment that we could rent for the weekend that was cheaper than most of the hostels in Paris. It was a cute little place with two beds, a small bathroom and kitchen, and in a very central location. Having the kitchen meant that we could save money by cooking in rather than going out to eat and we definitely took advantage of that. Friday night we stayed in and cooked ourselves a little meal. It was starting to feel like we lived there! The next morning the first thing we did was scope out the nearest Starbucks (obviously).There was one about three blocks from our apartment; I was in heaven. Greta and I had been planning on going to Versailles that morning but the weather was a little rainy again. We also heard that the gardens aren’t open during the winter and that they are one of the best parts about Versailles. I had wanted to visit this château since I had learned about it in my French History class. I was upset when we decided not to go, but figured it was incentive to make another trip back there at some point in my life. We got to visit Notre Dame and of course Tour Eiffel. Tour Eiffel was our last visit.

We went on Sunday, which was the nicest day of the weekend so our pictures are incredible. The line to go up in the elevators was incredibly long so we decided to walk up the steps. This would have been a feat for anyone but we also were carrying all of our luggage from the weekend with us! It was a great workout to say the least. As crowded as it was up on the top it was very peaceful and serene. It was the perfect way to end our amazing weekend. I really underestimated how huge of a city Paris was! The metro system was a little confusing to figure out at first so we wasted quite a lot of time trying to figure out how to get from one place to the next. I still would have loved to visit the Catacombs, Sacre Cœur, and Jim Morrison’s gravesite. We might just have to book another weekend there before I go back to America!

Location: Paris, France

Merci Wifi

I can’t believe that I’ve been living in France for almost a month and a half now! SO much has already happened, yet I still feel like I was just saying goodbye to my mom in the Philadelphia airport. When I thought about going abroad, I really felt like I would be disconnected from everyone back at home. I thought it would be like living in a completely different world. Now don’t get me wrong, living in Montpellier IS like living in a completely different world, but by this point I have adjusted to the new culture while still feeling like I am connected to my friends and family in America. Because of Facebook, Instragram, Twitter, Skype, and (my lifesaver) the app Vibr, I have managed to stay in touch with my friends and family practically 24/7. All I need is wifi, which is available in my apartment, on campus, at our program office and even some restaurants/bars, then I am connected to the world. Vibr has been the best by far for staying in touch with people. You can text, call, send pictures, videos, and even voice messages. The phone quality is sometimes better than a regular phone. The only challenge is the time difference. Montpellier is six hours ahead of Eastern Time. So when I’m waking up for class around 8 AM, most of my friends are just going to bed if they haven’t already. I normally don’t start hearing from people until around 3 PM or later. I am constantly attached to my phone whenever I have wifi because I don’t want to miss any texts or calls, which is typical for me even if I wasn’t living in France. It’s pretty normal for my roommates and I to come home, immediately turn on our wifi, and then stare at our phones or computers (sometimes both at the same time) for a good two hours in silence. Sometimes I wonder what we would do all day in our apartment if we didn’t have wifi. Last Sunday our wifi was not quite working and I thought we were going to go insane. We spent about half an hour fiddling with the router before we conjugated in the living room and turned our TV on for the first time. Surprisingly it worked and we watched the Olympics and read books (shocking!). About two hours later, someone discovered that the wifi was working again so we immediately attended to the texts and calls that had been waiting for us. I’m sure if we didn’t have wifi we would spend more time exploring the city than watching endless old Entourage episodes and every Leonardo DiCaprio film ever made. I guess even though I love it, technology does have its downfalls. I would definitely prefer to be in contact with people than not. When we are out and about though, it is nice to not be constantly attached to your phone. When we go get coffee or food at a place that doesn’t have wifi, we actually sit and talk to each other like regular human beings. Back in America I could go out to eat with my friends and barely say a word to them because we are either stalking our ex-boyfriends on Facebook or Instagraming the food that we ordered. Even the locals here, who have access to Internet continuously, aren’t obsessed with their phones. It’s a nice change of pace that I hope I can bring with me back to America. You definitely get to see more sights when your face isn’t buried in your phone. Speaking of not abusing the wifi service, I should probably get my day started! I have no class today so I’m going to do a little shopping so I look tr�s chic when I go to Paris this weekend, go for a run and then go to an “American Soir�e” at the Australian bar Caf� Oz. We’ll see how “American” it is….

Location: Montpellier, France

Faire du Skiing

As I peered over the edge of the 1300 meter cliff I wanted to scream “AIDEZ-MOI!” I think I overestimated my skiing abilities when I signed up for the Ski Trip to the French Alps provided by my program. We left Friday evening on a five hour bus trip from Montpellier to the Pelvoux-Valloise Sk Resort. We paid a flat rate of 200€ for the whole weekend which included all meals, ski rental fees, lodging and transportation. When we entered the chalet it was almost midnight so we settled into our quaint little room and hit the hay.

Saturday morning we were up bright and early for a 7:30 am sharp petit déjeuner (bread, of course). Stepping outside of the chalet to get onto the bus was like stepping into an alternate universe. It was pitch black outside when we arrived so I failed to notice the ENORMOUS mountains that surrounded us. They were absolutely breathe taking. Coming from Philadelphia, I’m not used to being in artic wonderlands often, so the first thing I did was whip out my phone and started taking pictures. Once we got all of our ski gear (boots, skis, poles, and helmet) I started getting a little nervous.

My previous skiing experience : none.

“How hard could it be?”, I thought to myself as we headed towards the lift. Very, very hard I soon figured out. I thought I was going to have a heart attack as we ascended the largest mountain I’ve ever seen in my life. The only thing I could think of on the way up was “How the hell am I going to get back down this thing without dying?” I was so consumed with fear about going down the actual slopes that I neglected to think about my first challenge: getting off the ski lift. I never thought of myself as a graceful person but I really solidified that theory when I tumbled off of the ski lift directly into an innocent bystander. “This is going to be a long day”. Apparently skiing is a lot harder than it looks! I stood in terror at the top of the hill as I watched all my friends go down without me. I mustered up the courage and proceeded to go flying down the first stretch of the mountain at what felt like 100 mph until I fell flat on my back and skidded into the first bend. Thankfully, one of the leaders of our program saw me struggling and gave me some pointers. One hour later, I was finally safe and sound at the bottom of the hill. I was really enjoying myself once I actually figured out how to ski properly.

I went up the mountain a couple more times (keeping up with my friends this time), ate a nice lunch and then called it a day. Back at the chalet I was introduced to vin chaud. Hot wine is a delicacy in the south of France but I wasn’t really a fan. Before dinner was served, we were taken to the center of the little town we were staying it. There wasn’t much there except for a few gift shops and a very old church, but it was pretty cute. At 8pm we had this amazing potato casserole dish that was literally just potatoes and cheese. It was the perfect meal to eat after a long day of skiing. The next day everyone went skiing again but I stayed behind with my roommate Maddy. I was REALLY sore from the day before and wanted to catch up on some reading. Maddy and I hung out by the fire in the lobby of our chalet until everyone came back from skiing. It was such an eventful and relaxing weekend all at the same time. I learned a new sport (slightly), made some new friends, and best of all conquered my fears of plummeting down a huge mountain. I honestly had an amazing time. Maybe I’ll make skiing a part of my winter endeavors…

À bientôt

Devon

Location: Montpellier, France

Reality Check

Living in Europe for the past three weeks has been an absolute dream. So many new things to experience and learn; there is never a dull moment. But being my third week here, reality is setting in. There is a pile of laundry in the corner of my room that is begging to be done. Though living in an apartment definitely has its advantages, it also comes with its downfalls. There are chores that come along with having an apartment that I definitely hadn’t anticipated when I was thinking about all the things I would be doing while abroad. So on Wednesday, since my roommates and I didn’t have class, we decided to venture off into town to do our laundry.

Did I mention we don’t have a washing machine in our apartment? We stumbled upon a laundry mat (or in French a laverie) one day while walking back to our apartment from class. It looked really clean and new so we figured it would be a good place for us to go. This laverie is about a 10 minute walk from our apartment, so we hauled our belongings through the streets while getting a few weird glares. Although I think it’s normal to use a laundry mat, we had never seen anyone carrying their laundry through the streets, and neither have the French apparently. First off, the washing machines were very, very small. I couldn’t even fit all of my things into the middle sized one. Secondly, and the reason I decided to use the middle size and sacrifice some items being washed, was because the prices were ridiculously expensive. The price to use the biggest washer was 9 euro! I spent 4,50 to use the middle size and had to pick and choose which items to put into it. This was my first time using an actual laundry mat too. At school I would put my wash in the machines in the dorm buildings, go get food or do some work, and then come back to dry my stuff. I felt weary about walking away from the laverie while my clothes were being washed so we waited until they were done. There were a few other people in the laundry mat as well. I realized that they bring duffle bags or back packs to carry their clothes in. That’s probably why we got so many weird looks while we paraded through the streets with our laundry baskets. Upon moving into my apartment, I noticed the clotheslines outside of our balcony but never thought I would actually use them, until I saw the price to use the drying machine. It costs 1,20 euro to use it for only 10 minutes! I normally dry my clothes for at least 50 minutes at home. “When in France!” I thought as I lugged my wet laundry back through the streets and up the three flights of steps to my apartment. I hung my sopping wet clothes on every surface I could find in and outside of the apartment. By the time I had finished hanging everything up a good hour and a half had gone by since I began my chore. I was completely exhausted. I am now starting to understand why there is always a distinct smell of body odor no matter where you go in France.

Doing your laundry is hard and expensive! I guess this is just one of those cultural differences that I’m going to have trouble adapting to. Even though I was experiencing a little culture shock on Wednesday, there is always something else that makes me turn my attitude around and fall back in love with France. Like today, for example, was one of the nicest days in Montpellier so far. My roommate and I got a baguette and some confiture (jelly) to sit by the l’Arc de Triomph with and eat. Such a French thing to do. Afterward, we walked around town and discovered the Facult� de M�decine de Montpellier. This school for medicine was absolutely stunning. There were busts of the first doctors of Montpellier on the inside and a beautiful courtyard that overlooked the stunning Saint-Pierre Cath�drale. I love finding these hidden treasures when I’m not even looking for them. Montpellier is a pretty small town, and every time I think I’ve learned all there is to know, something else strikes my attention. Up next on the agenda is a ski trip to the French Alps this upcoming weekend. Stay tuned!

Location: Montpellier, FR

Barca Barca Barca!

This past weekend I took my first trip out of France. My roommate Maddy and I decided we would spend the weekend in Barcelona, Spain. I know this is such a typical “study abroad” place to go and super clich�, but it had to be done. Almost all of my friends who are studying abroad are doing so in Barcelona and I figured visiting them would be the perfect remedy for my homesickness. Because our journey was planned a little last minute, the train prices were somewhat high but I knew I wouldn’t regret the decision. The train only took three hours from Montpellier to the Sants train station in Barcelona. The ride there was actually beautiful.

The train took us all along the coast of the Mediterranean; a sight I had yet to see during my two weeks in France. Barcelona is an absolutely amazing city. Even though Barcelona nowhere close to Philadelphia, for some reason I felt so reminded of home there. Besides the fact that I was surrounded by so many familiar faces, things in Barcelona felt so much more “Americanized” than in Montpellier. For starters, Barcelona is much bigger and gives off more of a “city” vibe than Montpellier. There were more name brand stores, including a Starbucks (hallelujah!), compared to Montpellier which has mostly little Mom and Pops restaurants and shops. The architecture was amazing and antique looking with so much detail and color, but the street level stores were completely refurnished and modern looking. The whole town itself was so clean because they wash the streets and sidewalks every single night. As I am starting to discover Montpellier, I am realizing that it really is a quaint little old town. In contrast, Barcelona was lively, loud, and the people just looked more similar to those in America. I’m glad that I have good friends staying in Barcelona because I am definitely going to be visiting multiple times during my semester abroad. Before going to Barcelona I was not aware of the political unrest that was plaguing its streets. I will give a brief history lesson if you are not already aware of what has been going on. Barcelona is in a region of Spain called Catalonia, hence the reason why the people in Barcelona speak Catalan and not Spanish. This region has wanted to become independent from Spain for a while now. During the weekend I spent in Barcelona, there were rioters demonstrating their protests in the street. ccording to the articles we read online, about 120 people were injured while police attempted to break up the protesting by shooting rubber bullets and hitting people with batons. As we walked along the streets that night, numerous broken shop windows portrayed the aftermath of the riots. I had always heard that Barcelona can be a dangerous town and to watch for thieves, but I never would have guessed that something like this would be going on while I was there. Other than the riots, I had an amazing time in Barcelona. Great food, great friends, and great times. I already have train tickets to go back in March for Barcelona’s annual Abroadfest! It was an exhausting weekend, so walking back up my street from Gare St. Roch (the train station in Montpellier) was oddly calming and inviting. I really felt like I was going home. This first weekend trip to Barcelona was just a taste of everything I have yet to explore this semester.

� bient�t!

Devon

Location: Barcelona, Spain

l’Université Paul Valéry

My first scheduled class on Monday was an integrated three hour film class at 9:15 in the morning. Yikes! This is my only integrated class this semester. An integrated class means I am taking this class with regular French students, as opposed to my other classes that are with only study abroad students. Unfortunately, I do not know what happened in this class because I missed it. I woke up early that morning, in fear that something like this happening. It was my first time venturing out into the city alone and I have to admit I was a little scared. To get to the University I have to take the Tram about 7 stops; it takes about 12 minutes. Our program conveyed to us that we were able to purchase unlimited month passes, but since the Tram Office wasn’t open on Sunday when we decided to go get them, I figured I could just use a day pass for Monday. I went to the little machine at the Tram stop to buy my ticket only to realize that it doesn’t take cash; it only takes coins. Getting a little nervous about being late, I ran back to my apartment to get my credit card. When I went back to the machine to use my credit card the machine wasn’t reading it. I later realized that the machine doesn’t take American credit cards. At this point I had exhausted all my resources and I only had about 15 minutes before the class started. There was no way I could walk to class because it was so far and I didn’t want to disrespect the professor by showing up late. I walked back to my apartment defeated.

Finding your way around any new city is difficult. But being in a completely different culture with a completely different language feels almost impossible. Every little task feels like it takes 10x longer to do and uses 10x the amount of effort as usual. Later that day, I finally did make it to campus for my Grammaire class. My professor seems very nice, but she speaks SO FAST. I can barely understand what she is saying. I am going to see if she will move me down into a lower section because my listening skills are not up to par for that class. My favorite class that I have is a conversation course at our program office with Cedric, one of the program staff. I have this class one day a week for two and a half hours. Apart from the fact that Cedric makes coffee and tea and brings bread and jam for us, I love this class because of it’s relaxed setting. If you couldn’t guess already, the conversation class is a completely oral course. Each week we bring in a news article or video clip and present it to the class. With only eight students in my section, I feel very comfortable speaking in class. I think I will learn the most from this class because I need to work on my listening and speaking abilities the most. I also think that learning about current events in France is the best way to integrate ourselves into society. The workload doesn’t seem too hard so far, but it was also only the first week of classes. Of course this semester is called study abroad, but I think I will learn the most outside of the classroom. Everyone I have met here so far has been so helpful and patient with teaching me French. I find it most beneficial to be able to order at a restaurant, ask where something is, how much it costs, or where to find something. Most people here in Montpellier speak a little bit of English, so if you are ever having trouble they can still understand what you are trying to say.

I’m hoping that I won’t be too behind in my integrated class tomorrow morning considering I missed three hours of lecture! I’m planning on asking some of the French students for their notes so that I know exactly what is going on in class. Definitely going to be missing Starbucks about half way through that lecture!

Location: Montpellier, FR

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Barca Barca Barca!

l’Université Paul Valéry