Author Archives: aim5172

And we’re off to Poudlard!

If you’re reading this blog, you probably know that I have always been an avid Harry Potter fan. Obviously, I had eagerly been awaiting the release of the 7^th movie (first part of the 7^th movie to be specific). So when 19^th November rolled around, the universal release date for the movie, I could barely contain my excitement as I started preparing myself to go for the midnight release. Apparently, the term ‘universal’ applies to the whole world, except for France. I was so livid, I wanted to wave my ‘baguette magique’ and Avada Kedavra someone into oblivion for making me wait another week. This is SUPPOSED to be a developed country, so why do we still have to wait for universal blockbusters to come out weeks after they are released?! Even India is ahead of France in this aspect! (as it is in a lot of aspects, something I have gathered over my semester here…expect a blog about that soon).

Anyway, after much disappointment, I finally saw the movie last week! In English, with French subtitles which is a story in itself. The movie theatre system works differently here. If a movie is scheduled to start at 8.15, previews will go on for a good 20 minutes before it begins. There was no intermission during the movie, no snack machines. No seating system (but then, I think that only exists in India), and the lights stayed off even after the movie was over, which was a bit odd…I know you have a universal health care system, France, but are you really encouraging people to have to use it?

As much as my dad tried to convince me to watch Harry Potter in French (you are there to practice French. Make it an educational experience!), I just couldn’t bring myself to do it, and for good reason. Even just reading the ridiculous French translations for some of the words that have been in my vocabulary for over ten years now was bad enough- I found myself cracking up uncontrollably when I read that Hogwarts translates into ‘Poudlard’ en Fran�ais. Or that a wand is a ‘baguette magique’ or simply, a baguette. Like the bread.

“What happened to my baguette, Hermione?” “It broke while I was trying to disapparate”

Sorry Dad, but I don’t think I could have sat through that with a straight face!

Location: Rouen, France

J’suis en grève!

If you’ve been following the news, you’ve probably heard about the political unrest in France. No, there are no terrorists blowing up malls or kidnapping Americans (thanks for your concern, Penn State, but I think I will be safe if I step out to buy some milk); But there have been multiple strikes, starting from the day I arrived in France. Once in a while, sure, everybody goes on strike. However, when it happened for the fourth time in a month, can you blame me if my reaction was as follows?

“ANOTHER gr�ve?! This time, I’m going on strike too.”

So I did, just for a day, and what a luxurious day it was. (It was a Saturday, so there was no skipping class and the like. I’m not totally irresponsible. In case you were wondering, mom) Now obviously, me going on strike is slightly different from when transportation companies and labour unions go on strike, in the sense that no one really cares what I do, and it doesn’t affect anybody else. However, when the organisational framework of an entire city is dependent on something to function normally, the stakes are much higher. Everyone knows (or has learnt by now from experience) that in France, all you need is one small chink in the system and the whole system comes crumbling down like a house of cards.

Cynicism aside, it really is a frustrating ordeal. I was downtown last week, catching up with some friends at a bar. Imagine our surprise when we started to make our way back home, only to realize there were no more buses! Since it was well after midnight, another strike was already underway! While we were lucky enough to find a taxi after forty minutes of searching, some of our friends were not as fortunate and had to resort to making the hour-long trek uphill, all the way back to the dorms in the middle of the night. Add rain and cold winds to the mix, and you have yourself a pretty awful situation.

Flights were cancelled without warning and trains were delayed, to the chagrin of people whose weekend travelling plans turned sour right before their eyes. Friends who live downtown were forced to miss classes, tests and presentations. It got so bad at one point that my French class was even cancelled because the teacher was unable to make it to school on time! Now, as welcoming as the break from the monotone of French class may have been for a day, I would much rather sit through three classes than have to deal with another strike. And if you have ever sat through one of my French lessons, you know exactly how banal and unappealing that choice is, and what a grand sacrifice it would entail on my part.

I understand that they are striking for their rights, but I’m not entirely convinced that this is the most effective way to go about it. I am no stranger to strikes, having witnessed several in the past few years when petroleum prices have shot up unexpectedly. The difference is that in New Delhi, one goes on strike continuously for a few days, so that by the third day, when the situation is at the peak of crisis, an agreement is reached and the strike is suspended, the terms having been settled. In France, one goes on strike for a day, and everything is normal the next day. And this happens over, and over, and over. Yes, eventually, they may get their demands met, but at the expense of the citizens. Monsieur Sarkhozy, we are unhappy that things must resort to this. Are you listening?!?

Location: Mont Saint-Aignan, Rouen

Take Me, Take Me, To The Riot!

Saturday, there was a Techno parade taking place in Paris- basically, a parade of tempo trucks blasting different kinds of Techno music, going from one destination to another over a course of time. I anticipated a day full of fun, with great music and great company. However, as irony would have it, the day did not go quite as well as I envisioned.

It started on a note of doom as I woke up Saturday morning, realizing I had slept in and all my friends had left without me. Getting ready as quickly as possible, I decided to rush to the station and take the first train out, intending to get there by myself and meet up with my friends later. Which, in retrospect, was not the smartest idea, since I did not have a phone, having broken it a few days ago, and had no idea how I would get in touch with anyone.

Anyway, I got to the station and met another friend who had slept in as well and was now trying to get to the same place I was. At least he had a phone, albeit with no credit. The problem was, neither of us knew where exactly to GO, since it was a moving parade, and we weren’t sure where it ended.

By a stroke of luck, we met some other friends from school on the train who knew where the parade was going to culminate-Bastille- so when we reached Paris, we just decided to go there. This was the first time we were in Paris, and had never used the metro before. After getting credit for my friend’s phone, we tried to get in touch with a few people to ask them where they were. However, you can imagine what ensues at a techno parade, thanks to which none of our friends picked up their phones. If they did, they were not coherent enough to be helpful. So, we spent the next thirty minutes figuring out the metros till we finally arrived at Bastille and saw the parade. We had made it, just in time to see the parade pull in! The turnout was absolutely incredible- there must have been hundreds of people in the streets, all dressed in neon colours, glitter, wigs and numerous mismatched accessories. Bottles of poorly concealed alcohol and rolled up joints that I can only assume were cigarettes completed their ensembles and epitomized the general heady atmosphere of the parade. Needless to say, being sober, my friend and I were not in the same frame of mind as ANYONE else at the parade.

When the parade finally started coming to an end, the dynamics of the crowd seemed to change rapidly, almost like a switch being activated. Since people did not have music to listen to or dance along to anymore, they started getting bored and agitated, looking for alternative ways to entertain themselves. We saw several SWAT teams march in lines and get in place- armed with guns and covered from head to toe in military gear- clearly anticipating some kind of violence. I was anxious to find everyone else, as the crowd got increasingly rowdy. We finally got through to our friends, and started making our way towards where they were, right across the street from us.

However, at that exact moment, someone in the middle threw a glass bottle at the SWAT team, and all hell broke loose. Numerous glass bottles were being flung at the police by an angry mob, glass shards were flying everywhere from the impact and people were running in all directions to avoid getting hit. In a split second, the SWAT team descended on the mob, spraying the crowds with tear gas and pepper spray. My friend grabbed my arm and we ran away as fast as possible to find a safe place as the riot unfolded before our eyes, at the exact spot we had been at less than a minute ago. The air was so thick with the fumes of the tear gas and pepper spray that we both felt our eyes tear up almost instantaneously. It was absolute pandemonium, and without a doubt, one of the scariest experiences of my life, even though it only lasted for a few short minutes (the SWAT team did an impressive job of breaking the crowd up and calming things down quickly).

I eventually found my friends and we spent the rest of our day in a much calmer environment, walking around Paris and enjoying the night-time view the city has to offer. However, I learnt a few important things that day:

Lesson #1: It is not the smartest idea to go to a parade by yourself, hoping to find your friends when you reach.

Lesson #2: Never, EVER, travel without a phone to a new, unfamiliar place; especially when you have no idea where you are going.

Lesson #3: Being spontaneous is GREAT, but it does not always work out for the best. Planning ahead is both safer, and has a higher success rate of ensuring you will have a good time.

Lesson #4: Mob mentality is like spilled petroleum on the floor-dangerous and highly volatile. All it needs is one spark to ignite before it spreads like wildfire, causing damage in its wake. BE CAREFUL and alert any time you are in a place with a large group of people.

And finally, lesson #5: It is extremely idealistic to expect all experiences while studying abroad to turn out exactly the way you planned. However, they all add up and contribute to what is bound to be an interesting m�lange of events during your stay. And most important of all, they will always make for the best stories 🙂

Location: Bastille, Paris, France

An artistic getaway to Giverny

Yesterday, I spontaneously decided to take a trip to Giverny, which is about an hour away, to go see Claude Monet’s house and famous garden. I was an IB Art student in high school and part of the requirements included doing hours of contextual research on various artists, movements and periods in Art history. The impressionist movement interested me immensely, especially Claude Monet’s work, which played a big role in inspiring one of my projects for school. Therefore, I was really excited to go see one of the houses where he lived and the garden he painstakingly cultivated, which inspired some of his great masterpieces.

My friends and I took a train to Vernon, after which, we got on a bus that took us to Giverny. The bus looped through a scenic backdrop for about twenty minutes, escalating my excitement with every turn it took. Once in Giverny, we visited the Impressionist Garden. It was a huge garden that was split into several sections of flowers that were colour coordinated and matched to perfection. We walked through patches of yellow flowers, purple flowers, reds/magentas, pinks, oranges and whites. It was one of the most artistically planned gardens I have seen so far. After the garden, we skipped the Impressionist museum that was connected to the garden, and walked straight to Monet’s house (we were really eager to see it). We were lucky because the sun was out for the first time in a few days and it was the perfect weather to walk around (and take pictures) in!

When we got to Monet’s house, the line to get in was HUGE! We must have waited for over twenty minutes to finally make it through, but let me tell you, it was definitely worth the wait. We entered through a gate that led us straight to his garden. A little ahead, we could see his house to the right. I have absolutely no words to describe how breathtaking the garden was. Everywhere I looked, I was surrounded by gorgeous flowers and trees in every arrangement, colour and size possible! It was like a palette with splashes of colour everywhere. The fragrance that hung in the air was a sweet, tantalising mix of the numerous scents. It was a complete visual and olfactory delight. We walked around different patches, till we came across some of the actual scenes that Monet painted. Seeing Monet’s famous Lilly pond in real life was such a mind-blowing experience! It was exactly like his painting, complete with the little green bridges and the overhanging trees. The garden seemed to have no horizon, much like Monet’s paintings- it surrounded you in every direction, and wherever you looked, all you could see were flowers.

After the garden, we visited his house, which was made of wood and had several small rooms. Monet’s interest in Japanese artwork was apparent in his choice of decor and the paintings that lined most of the walls throughout his house. Each room was painted a different pastel shade, making it seem like we were in a magnified dollhouse. At the same time, it was fitting to Monet’s love for colours and his celebration of them. His house exuded his personality, something that is a bit of a rarity in today’s world.

Here are some pictures from my trip…they do no justice to the actual garden but they will give you a sense of how amazing an experience it was to be there.

At the grand allee, that leads to Monet’s house (you can see a tiny bit in the background)

Monet’s water lilly pond

Location: Monet's House and Garden, Giverny, France

Le monde est vraiment petit

I’ve met SO many people in the last few days, French and international students alike, most of them quite randomly. In India, if you go out to a club or a party, everybody goes with their group of friends and mostly sticks to that group for the entire night. You will never run into someone on the street and become friends with them, it’s too random and potentially unsafe. However, in France, you can meet anybody anywhere and it’s not weird. Maybe it’s different here, because Rouen is not the same as Paris, for example, but that’s my observation all the same.

Rouen is much bigger than I thought it would be. I went into the city and it was mind boggling how everything seemed to stretch on forever! I’m waiting for it to start looking familiar because getting off on the wrong bus stop and walking for miles in the dark is not something I’d like to repeat!

Yet, it’s pretty small. A few days ago, I met a boy from Marrakech, Morocco. One of my good friends at Penn State is from Marrakech, so I casually mentioned it to my new acquaintance. Turns out, he knows him! Rouen is such a small city by comparison, I never expected I would run into anyone I knew (or who would know someone I know).

The truly amazing part? It happened AGAIN today! I was at lunch with a Parisian girl from my seminar along with some of her friends. Her friend inevitably asked me where I was from, and then proceeded to tell me how one of his friends is studying abroad in India for an entire year. In fact, I met a French student who was studying abroad in India this year at a friend’s house over the summer. So, taking a wild guess, I asked him if it was the same person…and it was! So crazy!

The world truly is a small place.

Location: Rouen Business School, Rouen, France

Finalement, Rouen!

After days of waiting and whiling away the remaining days of my endless summer, I have finally arrived in Rouen! It feels surreal to be here and I almost have to pinch myself sporadically to remember that this IS real and that I AM here!

I flew into Charles De Gaulle airport on Monday morning. When we took off, we were running a little behind schedule, but we more than made up the distance and wound up arriving earlier than the scheduled time. We landed at 5.45 am, and I was out of the airport, with my bags, at 6.05 am. I fly several times a year, and I have NEVER disembarked from a plane, gone through immigration AND got my bags within twenty minutes of landing! It was absolutely amazing how fast everything was.

Rouen Business School had organised shuttles to take us from Paris to Rouen. I met my taxi driver, Pierre, in the lobby, and even though he knew English, we spoke in French! Not only did I understand everything he was saying, but I was actually able to hold a decent conversation! I was so ecstatic to discover that I was capable of doing that. Pierre drove me to another terminal in CDG to pick up other students, and it took us more than five minutes to get there- CDG is HUGE! We did this several times, till there were enough students to fill a taxi. It took a couple of hours but we finally left and were on our way to Rouen!

I fell asleep in the taxi for a little while, and when I woke up, we were driving through the countryside in France. All the houses we passed were similar in structure, with big gardens and flowers everywhere (even in the windowsills, which looked so pretty!) They passed by too quickly to take a picture, but I will take some when I go explore.

My dorm is five minutes away from campus. When we reached, we found French students from RBS waiting to greet us and show us our rooms. That’s when I discovered- There are NO elevators in the dorms! And of course, my room is right on the top floor. I had to lug my suitcases all the way up 4 sets of stairs (64 steps, I counted). My arms and back are still sore and it’s been 3 days! Now I know why everyone in France is so skinny- everyone takes the stairs 😉

My room is small, but it’s cosy- I have a little sink and kitchen area in the room, and I share a bathroom with another girl. When I look out my window, I can see broken cars and boats on a lawn, and a parking lot. Beyond that, there are some buildings. It’s not too interesting now, but I know it’ll get better as the fall season comes around and the trees change colours.

The main building in Rouen, the administration wing, is a CASTLE! It’s gorgeous!

That’s all for my first update from Rouen, keep reading and I’ll promise to try and write new updates soon!

Location: Mont Saint-Aignan

T- 2 weeks

Summer is over…for most people. Fall semester for Penn State officially starts tomorrow, and while the majority of my friends will be waking up early morning and rushing to class, I will be sleeping in because my summer is still going on. Not that I’m complaining…but man, does it feel weird! Under normal circumstances, I would have taken a flight back to the US last night, and would be driving from New York down to Penn State right this very second.

Instead, I’m sitting and writing this blog at home.

Two weeks to France, and the nerves are beginning to set in a little bit. Don’t get me wrong, I’m obviously really excited…but the excitement is peppered with hints of apprehension. New country, new language, new people, new system. My main concern? Returning in December and not being any better at speaking French than I was before I left. And secondly, on a less serious note…What will I DO without my blackberry while I’m there?!? (All post paid connections in France with reliable carriers require at least a 1 year contract, as per my research, which is obviously not a feasible option. Oh well.) This is only the first of what I’m sure will be many differences in the way things work in France, compared to India or the United States. I’m curious to discover them all, but I can’t help but wonder…

Where did this summer GO?!

Location: New Delhi, India

Introduction

Bonjour 🙂

My name is Aarti and I’m a sophomore at Penn State. I’m majoring in Supply Chain and minoring in French and International Business. I’m studying abroad in Rouen, France for the fall semester of 2010.

Rouen is about an hour west from Paris (I used Paris as a guideline because this seems to be the only place everyone knows in France), and it is a charming little town, forever enshrined as the place where Joan of Arc was burnt in 1431. Having analysed and read Joan of Arc several thousand times for IB English in high school definitely makes this an interesting point of reference, and I can’t wait to explore the cathedrals and old buildings that still exist in Rouen.

Besides living in another country (this will be my third, since I am an international student from India), I’m looking forward to immersing myself in French culture. I’ve taken French lessons for the past 7 or 8 years and it’s a bit tragic that I still choke sometimes while having an actual conversation with someone, especially if their language skills are clearly far more superior than my own. So, my main objective while studying abroad in France is to achieve fluency and gain more confidence in speaking the language without any inhibitions.

I am also excited to travel all over Europe on my own and with my friends (thank you, Schengen visa), since all my previous travels have been with my family. This will effectively be the first time I’m traveling abroad by myself (I don’t count coming to Penn State under traveling abroad since there wasn’t a language barrier and it wasn’t a significant culture shock for me) and I’m a bit apprehensive, but mostly just super excited.

More to follow as we come closer to crunch time!

Location: Penn State University

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