Tag Archives: cla abroad

Rollin’ on the River…

Throughout the course of this study abroad, there have been various activities to partake in order to give us more time to practice our language skills. I got to do a high ropes course, canoe, visit a First Peoples’ Nation, and listen to a nature concert on a lake. The grande finale of the entire program of events took place on a cruise ship that sailed up and down the river.

We got to get all dressed up and relax on the boat….

There were beautiful scenes along the river throughout the night. Check out the Chateau Fontblanccccc at dusk.

Dancing, of course, was encouraged.

Unfortunately, my phone died so I didn’t get to take too many pictures. But it was a lot of fun hanging with our professors and animateurs in a more relaxed setting. (I’m borrowing this picture of the group from a friend since my camera died. )

Location: quebec

Festival d’été de Québec

Some of the most amazing experiences that I’ve gotten to have so far in Canada are directly related to the Festival d’�t� de Qu�bec. In total, there were “300 spectacles 10 sc�nes, and 11 jours [days] de musique.” Throughout the festival, I attempted to go to one concert a day, though it was exhausting to go into the city every night after classes and homework.

The first one I had the opportunity to see was LMFAO at Sc�ne Bell. This state was the biggest of them all and as you can see in the photo, there were so many people. The newspapers said the next day that over 800,000 people were in attendance for LMFAO. Though their music isn’t my favorite jam, it was so amazing to experience the energy that such a huge, peaceful crowd gave off. Below is a picture of just a small chunk of the crowd.

I also got the chance to see Salom� Leclerc in concert. Though her songs are in French and were hard to understand, I enjoyed the concert as Sc�ne Loto-Qu�bec is a lovely place to have an open air concert. Many people brought blankets and the younger children amused themselves by running around. You can check out one of Salom�’s chansons ici:

Le Vent Nous Portera

My favorite band to see live (and by far, THE BEST concert I’ve ever been to) was

Walk of the Earth.

I was afraid I would not get to see them since the venue they played at was very small, and the line had wrapped around the block. But after waiting over an hour and half, I was victorious! The Imp�ral venue was beautiful inside.. and shortly after I was admitted, they began to play. Never have I experienced a show quite like that. They played with so much energy and whipped the crowd into a joyous frenzy. Though I knew them mostly through their covers, they played a lot of their own music that night that was also incredible. Their new song, “Summer Vibe” was most excellent (the youtube version pales in comparison). The crowd helped, singing the Eh-oh, eh-oh, eh-oh bop bop away-o in unison with the band’s prompting.

Walk off the Earth originally gained popularity through this video with the whole band playing the same guitar: Somebody that I Used to Know.

When they came back for their encore (after we hooted and hollered and sang Eh-oh, eh-oh, eh-oh bop bop away-o for at least three minutes straight), they came back to play a lengthy encore, including “Somebody that I Used to Know.”. (I have a video of it but was unable to successfully upload it to the blogging platform.)

I also got to see Jah & I in concert at Sc�ne Hydro-Qu�bec, the stage thats free for anyone to come watch. I was so close to the stage for this one! I think the boy in the foreground of this photo traveled with the band..

One of the last concerts I had the pleasure of attending was The Wailers concert. As you can see in the photo, the venue was not large enough and the crowd spilled out onto the streets to hear. A couple of my friends and I climbed up onto the St Jean “castle” wall in order to enjoy this view of the concert and the familiar music of Bob Marley. His band captivated the audience and the sea of green, red, and yellow Rasta colors was so cool.

All in all I attended around 13 concerts including LMFAO, Deltron 3030, Delhi 2 Dublin, Salom� Leclerc, Walk off the Earth, Johnny Hallyday, Gnawa Diffuion, Sarah Mclachlan, Beirut, Caracol, Jah & I, The Wailers, and Donavon Frankenreiter. It was amazing to experience so many different types of music and truly one of the best experiences I’ve ever had. I hadn’t realized how many people here love music… it seemed like everyone in the city came out for the festivities… from young (many children on the shoulders of their parents) to very old got to enjoy the festivities.

Location: Scène Bell, Scène Loto-Québec, Impéral de Québec, Scène Hydro-Québec

Arbre en Arbre

Yesterday, I had one of the most exhilarating and terrifying experiences in my life. Let me explain: I vehemently detest heights. I don’t do ferris wheels or desire to get close to the edge of any tall place. So I’m not quite sure what I was thinking when I signed up to go Arbre en Arbre (tree to tree). When we got to Le Relais centre de ski resort, I was super excited/nervous to try my hand at the high ropes course, even though J’ai peur des hauteurs (I’m scared of heights).

As I was climbing up the ladder and onto the platform, the adrenaline started to rush in my bloodstream. I started to dread that first footstep out onto a tight wire, and as if to make it more difficult, the wind started to pick up, swinging the rope I stood on back and forth. Eventually, I coaxed myself out onto the first level and continued to make my way through the obstacles. Alexis (below), made the course seem easy as she was a little less queazy about heights!

A big part of me wanted to give up, but if you know me personally, you know that I’m as tenacious as a mule. Once I commit to something, I see it through, and personally feel like one should to something every day that is out of one’s “comfort zone.” Surely, this was way out of my comfort zone!!! I spent a good portion alternating between making awful animalistic howls of terror, muttering “Mon Dieu” under my breath, and singing Ani DiFranco’s “Buildings and Bridges” to keep myself calm.

As Ani writes,

Buildings and bridges

Are made to bend in the wind

To withstand the world,

That’s what it takes

All that steel and stone

Are no match for the air, my friend

What doesn’t bend breaks

The ropes course took about 3 1/2 hours to complete. Indeed, I didn’t think I’d learn any life lessons swinging from tree to tree, but life is surprising that way. It was invigorating, visceral, and very very frightening in ways that were eerily similar to being deposited into a foreign place and forced to speak a foreign language. What doesn’t bend… going abroad is an exercise in gaining that sort of flexibility.

I’m glad that I had the chance to step out of my safety zone, to take a chance of falling. I’m proud to say that I didn’t fall once, even though the terror of falling even a little gripped hold of me for most of the course. However, it was a great feeling to have had to have relied on my balance and strength to get me through it.

Still, twas the best fun I never want to have again.

Location: Le Relais centre de ski: Lac-Beauport, Québec

Poutine et biére

One of my favorite things to do in a new place is find out what is local to that area, especially when it comes to food and drink. I believe that doing things “as the locals do” is the best way to experience a location as well as being an exercise in global citizenship. For me, eating is an intimate experience and when one opens oneself up to trying new foods and customs surrounding food, I believe it is an exercise in adaptability. Participating in other customs make us more fluid in our ability to relate to others very different from ourselves.

So as part of this experiment, a group of us ordered a gigantic bowel of poutine one night.

Poutine is a Canadian dish comprised of french fries, gravy and cheese curds. Though it might not look very appetizing I must say, is delicious. We ordered it at le PUB on campus, just inside Universit� Laval’s social/business hub. The place looks like a nightclub on the inside and has this beautiful large outside seating area.

Another thing the Canadians seem to love is good beer. We went to La Barberie, a cooperative microbrewery and ordered some sangria-bi�re. At 9%, a “pichet” shared among friends leads to warm conversations.

Bi�re is a staple it seems for the Quebecois, and often it consumed socially. I had this Cheval Blanc (White Horse) a more commercialized Canadian beer while watching a football (soccer) game on the television.

Granted, there are drawbacks to enjoying this excellent food and beer. Taxes for such items are around 15.5%. For example, a pitcher of the sangria-bi�re is $24 CAD plus tip. The language intensive students get a discount on the pitchers at le PUB ($9) with our blue/red/yellow bracelets (Normally $14).

Even though the food and beer tends to be on the pricey side, the quality is clear. So while it is expensive, it is definitely worth getting a glass or two and having good conversations with the local patrons and waitstaff. So as they say here, “Gulu, gulu, gulu” …in moderation of course!

Location: Université Laval et around

Losing un peu… gaining beaucoup

When I loose one of my favorite things in a foreign place, I know it’s an omen of a good trip. When I went to Hawaii last summer, I lost a stone and wood necklace I had made. This time, I surrendered a favorite turquoise ring of mine the first day the CIC group toured la ville de Qu�bec. Though I am sad to have lost the ring, I know that I will gain so much by studying here this summer.

The CIC group got to tour Vieux Qu�bec (Old Quebec) with Monsieur Fernand Gill. His accent was difficult to understand, but he had a lot of interesting historical knowledge about the city.

We got the chance to see the Parliament building and and see an amazing fountain that is situated in front of the epic building.

We also visited some churches including the beautiful Basilique-Cath�drale Notre-Dame de Qu�bec.

We also learned about the precarious weather of Qu�bec: it can change from sunny to cold to pouring in five minutes flat and indeed, it does! The tour got stuck in a rainstorm for some of the walking tour and at times, had to seek refuge!

After the 2 1/2 hour tour with Monsieur Gill, the group split up and had an chance for some “temps libre” (free time). Most of us chose to get a pint at a bar. The group I went with chose this charming little hole-in-the-wall.

Later, we reconnected to go to dinner at a charming little restaurant called Le Carthage where we ate our fill and were entertained by a live belly dancer.

She even got some of the group up to dance with her!

The first day, although a bit overwhelming, was SO much fun. Though I knew my French speaking skills were terrible, I felt like I spoke more French that first day than I have for some of my french classes at Penn State. Though I was extremely thankful for all the French that I have taken formally, immersion programs, like the Qu�bec program, seem like the best way to learn a language

Location: Ville de Québec, CA

The Netherlands

The next stop on our trip after Bruges, Belgium, was Amsterdam in the Netherlands.

I don’t know what I expected…but it wasn’t quite what I found. Amsterdam was a big city, but not that big. It was small enough to nearly walk around the whole thing in a day. I didn’t really take any pictures of the touristy, crowded, city-like areas – instead more of the pretty canals and quiet areas.

We went on a walking tour of Amsterdam where we learned a lot about the history and culture of the city. (Seriously, if you’re in Europe, check out the free New Sandeman tours!) Our guide told us about some of the politics around what the city is known for – namely drugs and its red light district. He said that the new government wants to make it so you have to be a Dutch citizen to purchase from the “coffeeshops”, which would have radical implications on its tourism, from which everyone in the city benefits. Interesting changes happening!

We went to the Van Gogh Museum, which was cool. There were a lot of other museums we wanted to go to (for instance, the Anne Frank Museum or a museum of artwork with cats in it), but Amsterdam was really expensive, so unfortunately we didn’t go everywhere.

Food I will never forget – pancakes (which is what they call crepes)! Yumm. I got this enormous ham and cheese one… twice.

Finally, we took a day trip to Keukenhof Gardens. It was a landscaped park that showed off probably hundreds of different types of flowers that are grown in the Netherlands. Surrounding the huge park were fields of tulips also. It was really pretty!

Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Belgium

Dan and I flew into Brussels, Belgium after classes finished for the semester on March 30. Tired from our early flight and carrying all of our stuff, we wandered around the city for the day.

We were taken in by the old Main Square and its ornate buildings. Statues carved into the stone and gold leafing were our first glimpses of continental Europe.

This is Manneken Pis, a statue and fountain of a little boy peeing. It is a huge tourist attraction (who knows why!). He is dressed up in a costume that is changed regularly; when we saw him he was dressed up like Dracula.

We went to the Musical Instruments Museum (MIM). None of the plaques were in English, so we simply enjoyed looking at all the different instruments and plugging our headphones into all the listening stations.

And, of course, we got some Belgium waffles before leaving the capital city of the European Union. Yum!

That evening, we took our first train ride of the trip to Bruges. We had gotten a Eurail pass – which I would highly recommend, though it does depend on your trip. The specific one we got gave us 5 “Travel Days” (unlimited number of trains in 24 hours) over 2 months through Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Germany. Perfect! It definitely saved us money instead of buying the tickets individually – it paid for itself through Germany alone.

But anyway, Bruges is a sort of small port city in Belgium. It’s absolutely beautiful, charming, and fun. It was one of my favorite places on the trip! We went to the Diamond Museum where we saw a cutting and polishing demonstration. We were mostly impressed by the presenter’s ability to switch between English, French, and Dutch! We also hit the Chocolate Museum, where we saw some more demonstrations and ate some samples.

We took an eventful tour of the city one afternoon, but mostly we walked around and explored on our own. Above are pictures of the Belfry tower. We woke up early on our last day in Bruges with the intentions of climbing the steps inside to the top, but were surprised to see this when we got to the main square:

A stage that had been used for a concert the night before now hosted what we think was the region’s cycling team! Despite not knowing exactly what was going on, it was a fun surprise.

Our tour guide had recommended instead of climbing the tower to take a tour of a brewery in town, which not only included an awesome view over the city that rivals the Belfry’s but a free beer at the end of the tour. So we did this instead, where I learned that in the olden days, Belgians used to preserve the summer fruits by leaving them in alcohol. This results in delicious cherry flavored beer.

This is another one of Bruges’ squares. The first building is the town hall and the grey building on the left in the second picture is a church that has a vial of Christ’s blood.

We saw a lot of the sights from the movie In Bruges which was cool–including the park in the picture above!

Along the river there are several windmills. On our last day, we walked around the park and went back through town a different way, seeing a different part. In general, it was the perfect place to just wander around and find interesting places and pretty sights.

Location: Bruges, Belgium

Exam time in Galway

Hello, friends, family, and fellow Geobloggers! When I left Galway for my Easter break Eurotrip, everyone was tanning outside in the gorgeous 70 degree weather. Now… not so much. It seems that was just a random week of fantastic sunshine. I’m back to drinking hot tea and enjoying the heater in my room. Just as well, I guess–it’s exam time at NUIG. I have two exams this Wednesday, Irish Mythology, Religion, and Folklore and Imagining Modern Ireland. Those are my only exams during the exam period (Irish Language was during the last week of classes and I only had essays for Irish Lit and Literary Theory). Then I only have one paper left to do–for my Castles class–due by the end of April. Then I can just relax and travel until I leave in mid-May!

I’ll be writing about my spring break trip soon, but I’ll probably break it up into a few entries so I can write about all my adventures. Preview: we went to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany! I’m also studying, getting ready for Dan’s birthday on Thursday, and planning the rest of our international (and local) trips!

It’s starting to hit me that the semester is winding down. I’ve been thinking about the things I miss at home (namely, my family, Penn State, Target, the convenience of driving, Kraft mac & cheese, etc.) but I’m also beginning to think of what I’m going to miss about Galway…

Location: Galway, Ireland

St. Patrick’s Day

March 17–one of the best reasons to do a spring semester in Ireland. To be honest, there’s bigger celebrations in Dublin, New York, Chicago, or probably even Washington D.C., but spending St. Patrick’s Day in Galway was really nice.

To start, it was on a Saturday. I hope I’ve mentioned how much I love Saturdays in Galway for the farmers’ market. So 10 AM is the perfect time to get a donut with cocoa powder to snack on while waiting for the burrito fillings to warm up. I also treated myself with some hot apple cider, which was an excellent decision.

The parade was very near the market, so I assumed I would have a good spot since there were barely any people while I was getting my food. Well, by the time I finished and the parade was closer to starting, that changed! It got very crowded, as you can see from the pictures.

The parade itself was pretty nice and decently long. There were lots of different groups represented. One particular float stood out because it had people doing blacksmithing on it! Others had wrestlers, Irish dancers, musicians, and many other somewhat random things. The parade ended with a giant snake.

Aside from some people watching downtown, I wasn’t too keen to go in any of the bars that day. Instead, Dan and I walked around town and I took these nice pictures. The first picture is of a monument for those who left during the famine.

Classes ended the last week of March, so now I’m studying for exams in April, writing papers that are due soon, and travelling until I come home in May. I can’t believe the semester is winding down!

Location: Galway, Ireland

Cork Continued

The next day, we took a bus to the Blarney Castle bright and early! I think we got there right when it opened, because there was barely anyone there. That changed, though. But anyway, the castle was pretty. You go inside and walk up this narrow spiral staircase. At each level, you can get out of the stairwell and see the rooms, though, as you can see from the picture, the main floor isn’t there, but there are rooms off the sides. There were signs up explaining what each room was when it was used, like bedrooms or kitchens. So, you climb up to the top and end up in line to kiss the Blarney Stone. I did not kiss it! It seems a little strange to me. But anyway, then we got to explore the grounds!

The grounds around the castle are amazing! I can imagine being a princess and riding my pony out there and running into a wizard or fairy. It’s crazy and beautiful. There were two main looped trails, one through a forested part and one around a lake. I think we made it around both. I can cannot stress to you how many daffodils there are all over Ireland. Spring = daffodils EVERYWHERE.

We spent several hours there. By the time we made it out, we were exhausted. We caught the bus back to Cork, and ending up catching a bus back to Galway a little earlier than we thought we work. I really enjoyed Cork, though it wore me out. A small city, known for its food, with a young, artsy vibe–awesome!

Location: Cork, Ireland

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