Author Archives: idf5002

Occupy Brussels

Back in mid-October I went to Brussels for the weekend, Friday-Sunday, with one my friends that I met at the Rouen Business School. Our hotel was located in the center of the city near all the historical and tourist sites. It was great because we were in walking distance of nearly everything. That gave us the opportunity to really get to see all that Brussels had to offer. I think the highlight of the trip was our last day, Sunday, when we were walking past “La Bourse”, the Brussels Stock Exchange.Fun & Brussels 052.JPG

 There were a group of people sitting on the steps of the Brussels Stock Exchange protesting as a part of the Occupy Wall Street movement. They had many creative signs and posters all over the the front of the building.

Fun & Brussels 055.JPG

Fun & Brussels 057.JPG 

Fun & Brussels 053.JPGOf course we ate plenty of Beglian chocolate and Belgian waffles! They were so extremely delicious! There was also a wide variety of restaurants in Brussels, so there were plenty of options to choose from. I really had an amazing time sight seeing in Brussels and trying all types of food, I can’t wait to go back!

Fun & Brussels 065.JPG

Fun & Brussels 067.JPG


Location: Brussels, Belgium

Many New Adventures COMING SOON

Please forgive me, I have not posted in a VERY long time; but I have kept a log of everything I’ve done and I have plenty of pictures to share. After my French for Business exam tonight I will be posting about my various adventures. I visited a fellow Penn Stater who is also studying abroad in France and we went to the Salon du Chocolat in Paris. For my mid-semester break I travelled to Barcelona and Madrid in Spain, as well as Lisbon, Portugal. In my town Rouen there is a fair (la foire) and it’s full of exciting games, rides and delicious treats. There so many other great things I have to post about, so be on the lookout!

 

Ciao!


Location: Rouen, France

Mont Saint-Michel

Saturday, September 17, I went to Mont Saint-Michel, a trip organized by one of the clubs here at the Rouen Business School. Mont Saint-Michel is an island in Normandy, France. It was once used as a fortress but has been the home of the Saint-Michel monastery since the 8th century. Here are a few pictures I took while there.

Mont St Michel 093.JPG

The architecture and moldings were beautiful! Party et Mont St Michel 168.JPG

Party et Mont St Michel 187.JPGParty et Mont St Michel 141.JPG

Party et Mont St Michel 160.JPG

Beautiful Garden and the view after climbing to the top!

Party et Mont St Michel 129.JPG

 

 

Party et Mont St Michel 149.JPG


Location: Mont Saint-Michel, France

FAMILY TIME

I’ve been in Rouen for about two weeks now and almost every night my seven flat-mates and I have dinner together. This has been such a huge part of my experience because it has helped me understand a bit more about the French culture and improve my French skills.

 

France 001.JPG

(chicken in a cream sauce over rice with string beans)

Dinner time in France is similar to dinner time in some American homes. It’s the one chance where everyone can get together and discuss how their day was or any events coming up. When I first arrived my flat-mates would speak in English because they weren’t sure how much I would understand if they only spoke French. I let them know that I can understand most of a French conversation as long as they don’t speak to fast, but speaking in French is where I find much difficulty. They’ve been speaking to me in French (about 60% of the time) and my comprehension skills have improved tremendously; I understand everything said at the dinner table. Soon there will be times where they’ll only respond to me if I speak in French; I know with their help I will be fluent before I leave!

 

France 003.JPG

 

France 009.JPG

Although dinner time is a time that I have enjoyed while being here I know soon this will end because all of our schedules will be completely different once they being their normal classes.

 


Location: Rouen, France

JE NE VEUX PAS PRENDRE DU POIDS, MAIS…

I don’t want to gain weight, but…

Here a a few pcitures of the great sweet treats that I’ve been DEVOURING here in France! (I found the usb cord for my camera so now I’ll be posting TONS of pictures)Grille Aux Pommes

Above is a picture of a party called Grille aux Pommes, it’s smiliar to apple strudel but it tastes 100 times better.

tarte.JPG

Tarte aux framboises (raspberry tarte) YUM!

-Both of the pictures above are pastry’s from one of the best (and oldest) pastry shops in Rouen, Paul

paul.JPG


Location: Rouen, France

My First Two Days

Thankfully I had a really smooth flight and entry process into France. While I waited for the taxi, the Rouen Business School arranged for me, I purchased some air-time to use the Wi-Fi in the airport. I was able to use Skype on my netbook to call my family at home and let them know how everything was going. The ride to my apartment from the Paris airport was a little over an hour, but I slept through most of it. When I arrived in Rouen, one of my seven French roommates was there to greet me. I was really excited to get all my things moved in. I live in a triplex in the heart of Rouen. From my apartment I can easily get anywhere in or out of the city. My room is on the top floor and I have a magnificent view. (I forgot the usb cord for my camera in the US, so when I get a chance I will load all the pictures I have taken)

After getting settled in, my roommate drove me to the IKEA that is about 15/20 minutes away driving. I was able to pick up a few of the things I needed for my room. Later that night we went to a small get together of French students. It was a great experience, they all knew so much about American culture. They were talking to me about various popular TV shows (True Blood, Entourage). I also used this opportunity to start remembering all the things I learned in my French courses. I was surprised at how much I remembered.

The next day all my roommates came back from their weekend vacations and they all came to greet me and let me know that they were willing to help me with anything I needed. It really made me feel at home. All my roommates speak English so there is no communication barrier. I let my roommates know that I would like to become fluent in French, so sometimes they speak to me in French to help me learn the French language. Everyone is so nice and excited for me to be here, and it feels wonderful to finally be in France.

 

 


Location: Rouen, France

Introduction

HI EVERYONE,

My name is Indiah and I will be studying abroad the first semester of my senior year in Rouen, France. I have been studying the French langauge and culture for about eight years and this will be my first time actually going to France. I’m very excited to be able to finally take part in various French cultural events. While in Rouen I plan on taking various classes to get a better understanding of the French government, as well as their business sector. I would also like to visit several other European countries while abroad. I will make sure to include blog entries about those experiences as well.

Well, that’s all I have for now.

Until next time…

 

 


Location: Brooklyn, New York