Annecy, France ("the Venice of France")
Orchestre des Pays de Savoie concert!
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
15 octobre 2009
Bern (capital of Switzerland), tour of the Swiss Parliament
Thai (my favorite!) for dinner with Anna and Momma!
14 octobre 2009
I had a lot of school today, so Momma got to know more of Fribourg on her own. It’s so wonderful having a mother come visit! They buy you the practical things that would be very nice to have but that you probably wouldn’t buy for yourself – a kettle/water boiler, warm socks, a Halloween/Thanksgiving pumpkin… Momma also discovered a local produce market in the heart of town – she got us beautiful raspberries, brioches, cheese, and bread. When I got out of class, we took a short train to Murten (or Morat in French). It’s only 18 km from Fribourg, but on a beautiful lake. It was bitterly cold today so we strolled for a little while and then ducked into a tearoom. Momma got a thé menthe vert (mint tea) and I got a melody of sweet fruits: fruit de passion, cassis, fraise, framboise… We had wine, cheese, a baguette, raspberries, and caramel wafer cookies for dinner back in Fribourg J After dinner, Momma and I met Myriam, her boyfriend (in town from Germany), Kim, and Anne-Pauline for drinks at Mondial. I am SO glad Momma got to meet them!
13 octobre 2009
Momma became a student again today! On Tuesdays, my only course is the lecture: Transcontinental Hemingway. The professor, Dr. Austenfeld, is one of the people who worked very hard to establish the exchange between l’Université de Fribourg and Ole Miss. After we went to his lecture, Momma and I had lunch with Dr. Austenfeld in the Mensa. We had a great time talking with him. I think the exchange is going to be a really good thing! After lunch, Momma and I set out for Gruyères, Switzerland – a medieval village known for its Gruyères cheese and double cream. The village itself is inside of walls built between 1272 and 1280. Gruyères is exactly what I imagine when I think of a quaint Swiss village in the Alps. It’s almost too picturesque: rolling hills of green, lush farmland and vineyards, towering, snow-topped Alps, hundreds of roaming cows with bells around their necks, and then an ancient Swiss chateau surrounded by a petite village and protective walls. Switzerland is beautiful in all its fall colors right now! The trees are all brilliant oranges, reds, and yellows. Leaves are falling and piling up everywhere. J Momma and I walked all around the village, visited the chateau and cathedral, and then ended the night with Swiss fondue (the fist time for both of us)!
12 octobre 2009
Momma got here today!! She landed in Zurich at 7 this morning, ate breakfast, figured out her train ticket, and rode to Fribourg all while I was in class this morning. When I got out of class, I went straight to la gare and there she was! We walked back to my residence, put her things down, and then set out. We ate lunch at one of my favorite cafés just across from l’université, Le Mondial, and then I walked her all over Fribourg. I showed her the university, old town (basse ville), the shopping district, the cathedral, the Sarine River, the many bridges… anything and everything I could think of. Momma was very, very tired due to jet lag so when I had German class from 5 to 7, she went back to my place to rest. I told her not to fall asleep though (I’ve been trained well by Lou Lou J) and try to make it to 9. After I got out of class, we went to have hummus, falafel, and Turkish wine at a Turkish restaurant on Rue de Lausanne.
11 octobre 2009
My mom left and States today and will be here, in Switzerland, tomorrow morning! I CANNOT wait! She’ll be here for a little over a week. I’m so excited for her to see Fribourg and for the traveling we’re going to do over the long weekend! Fly safely dear – can’t wait to see you!
10 octobre 2009
Last night, Kristen, Anne-Pauline, Myriam, and I had apératifs at Anna’s place. Afterwards, Anne-Pauline, Anna, and I went to UniFesta, the 3 level party at the post office. We had a great time dancing to all our favorites, but called it a night around 2 since we had such a big night at Stalingrad the night before. Today, I did all my coursework for the upcoming week so I won’t have to worry about anything once Momma gets here. It’s finally winter in Fribourg and the weather changed overnight! Tonight, it will be 6 degrees Celsius, which is around 43 degrees Fahrenheit! Everyone’s a litter under the weather, literally, with the quick change.
9 octobre 2009
I wish I could explain how incredible this past month has been! No amount of photos or blog entries could do it justice. I love it here – in Fribourg, in Switzerland, and in Europe. The people I have met are so great. They stand as proof that friends can be found anywhere - in all shapes and sizes and in the most unexpected places and times. That was one of the things I was most worried about – not meeting people and being alone in Switzerland for a semester. God has provided like no other time in my life though. The people He has placed in my life this semester are incredibly wonderful. I am learning so much from them and having a BLAST! To say the very least, they are very dear to me.
In one of my courses, we talk a good bit about a sense of place in the novels we are reading. Studying abroad has made me think about “place” so much. Nothing will ever come close to home, but it is so cool to see how some place so far away and different from home can have such a homely feel. I have the habit of saying “I’m going home” to wherever I happen to live at the time. In Columbia, going home is to 1416 Ivy Lane. In Oxford, going home is to the apartment 1114. In la Suisse, going home is to Fribourg and to my room at St. Justin.
Hemingway said that one couldn’t write about or truly appreciate a place while you were there. You had to remove yourself from it in order to see it clearly and see just what it means to you. That’s why Hemingway could write about home, the States and Illinois in particular, while living in Paris. When he wanted to appreciate or write about Paris, he had to leave. I never really appreciated home until I left it. I had this whole new appreciation for Columbia and South Carolina when I left for Ole Miss. And now, I have this whole new appreciation for the States and Mississippi too. Home is such a wonderful place.
8 octobre 2009
So glad the weekend is here! My friend, Daniel (from Spain), was the guest DJ at the bar Stalingrad tonight. We had the best night – we danced from 10 until 14. There was such a good turnout, Daniel will be DJ’ing every 2 weeks for Stalingrad and we can hardly wait until the next time J
5 octobre 2009
If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.
Ernest Hemingway
I’m studying Hemingway in two of my courses in Fribourg and have become a huge fan. Paris was just that to Hemingway – a moveable feast that he took with him every place he went. No place compares to Paris. It is absolutely wonderful and beautiful in completely unique-to-Paris ways. This was my third time to Paris and I loved it even more than the first and second times. I just can’t get enough of the city of love and lights. Paris is amazing enough on its own, but it was even more AH-MAZING being there with a group of friends that mean so much to me J I hope I keep a little piece of this weekend in Paris with me at all times.
I don’t even know where to begin in describing this past weekend. I had the most amazing time spending my birthday with friends from Ole Miss in PARIS! I left Fribourg late Thursday afternoon by train, with one switch in Lausanne. The whole trip, including a layover in Lausanne, only took 4.5 hours! So easy! I arrived in Gare Lyon and took the metro to Place d’Italie in the Latin Quarter, where we were staying. Lee (studying in Norwich, England), Kimberly (Bilbao), Leah (Bilbao), and I were the only ones staying together Thursday. I got in first, checked in, and was waiting in the lobby of the hostel when I heard Lee scream, “JJJPPPPP!” You would think we hadn’t seen each other in years – I think we made quite an American spectacle J Lee and I sat outside a café for a few hours catching up and then went back to the hostel to meet Kimberly and Leah! It was amazing to see Kim and Leah – SO surreal all of us being in PARIS together!
Leah, Lee, Kimberly and I woke up Friday and were getting breakfast downstairs when Emilie and Ann arrived! Emilie is studying in Angers this semester and had stayed with a family friend in Paris the night before. Ann is studying in Paris this semester. We started off towards the Pantheon and then towards the Seine and Shakespeare and Co. I could not wait to see Shakespeare and Co. Along the way, we wandered through local street markets and oohed and ahhed at everything Parisian. It was so great wandering around Shakespeare and Co. – I felt like I was in a piece of history, but not a piece of history like a monument or a museum, but a piece of history that continues to live today in literature. The authors that spent nights reading and writing in the tiny, upstairs rooms of S. and Co. continue to move readers today. I guess that is one of the perks of being an accomplished writer – you leave behind such wonderful works of art for future generations to read, discuss, dwell on, and interpret for themselves in their lifetime. I bought a secondhand edition of Hemingway’s To Have and Have Not (with the official S. and Co. stamp on the inside cover J). It was our very own Square Books, minus the Bottletree leftovers and coffee. We walked along the river for some time and then decided to have lunch in a little nook we found. I had moules-frites J We walked to Notre Dame and then to La Tour Eiffel! After climbing the tower, we went to Chartier (ah-mazing!) to meet Susan, Courtney, and Tyler for dinner. Tyler and Susan just got engaged!! At Versailles! We were SO happy to celebrate with them – plenty of champagne toasts!
Samedi – my birthday! My friend, Ann Kirk, is teaching English in Metz, France for the next year and came into the city – it was SO great to see her! We had breakfast downstairs and then got coffee at Starbucks J Guilty… I know I can have this anytime I want in the States, but the caramel latté was just as good as I remembered it to be and was so worth it! We went to the Galeries Lafayette, where they had me close my eyes and surprised me with a Longchamp bag of my choice! I was sooo surprised and couldn’t have asked to spend my birthday with a better group of friends J We had lunch on the roof of the department store and had the best view of the city! Afterwards, we walked to see my FAVORITE building in Paris: Palais Garnier or the Opera House! I had my first ever chestnuts roasting on an open fire! Lee and I got them from a street vendor. They were so tasty! Later in the afternoon, Ann Kirk, Ann, and I got café au laits at a cute café and then headed back to get dressed and ready for the night. Lee had made us reservations at Le Café Marly in the Louvre courtyard! It was beautiful! We sat outside at the most comfortable table with heaters above us and the best view of the Louvre pyramids lit up against the dark sky. We had the best time at dinner – such a great way to end the best anniversaire. It wasn’t near to being over yet though – it was a Nuit Blanche in Paris! Nuit Blanche is a celebration of contemporary art – from 7pm to dawn. The installations are available and free to the public all night long. Lee and I had so much fun wandering around the city into the wee hours of the morning. We were nowhere near to being the only ones or the selected few out – they were thousands of people on the streets! It was so cool to see the streets so lively and active that late at night and early into the morning.
Sunday morning, Leah, Kimberly, and I woke up and went to the Musée d’Orsay – my favorite art museum in Paris! We had the BESTTT dejeuner at a café on the Place d’Italie, near to where we were staying!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
28 septembre 2009
I love, love, love the first week of school! Not for the end of summer and end of the most amazing time traveling with Leah, but… For that nervous slash excited feeling walking into a class for the first time. For the school supply shopping (particularly fun in la Suisse). For realizing the world is such a huge place and then such a small place at the same time. For being inspired. And for realizing there is soooo much I have yet to learn.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
26 septembre 2009
“a des confettis plein les pieds, des coeurs sur les yeux, du vent dans les cheveux, un feu d'artifice dans la tête, et le smile over my face!”
Today and tonight, we went to Neuchâtel’s Fêtes des Vendanges! Anne-Pauline’s mother is Swiss and her grandparents live in Neuchâtel, Switzerland – just around the corner from Fribourg. She was already there visiting family so Myriam, Anna, and I drove to meet her for the wine festival in the beautiful Neuchâtel! The town is gorgeous. It’s on Lake Neuchâtel – a lake of crystal clear, blueist of blues water. The town was COVERED in confetti – it was beautiful! Kids and adults alike were throwing dyed and cookie-cuttered newspaper confetti pieces everywhere. My first (confetti) snow in Switzerland! I loved it. I was so amazed at how bright-colored bits of paper could entertain so many and bring so much happiness. I felt like we were living in a fairytale, where it rains confetti and smiles. We ate like queens – we barely said no to a tent/stand we passed. Anne-Pauline and I had warm Chinese noodles and vegetables for dinner, followed by barbe à papa (Daddy’s beard: cotton candy in French), Spanish churros, fresh passion fruit juice, a Chiquita banana dipped in Swiss chocolate and covered in rainbow sprinkles… The crowd during the day was very different than the crowd at night: more kid-friendly during the day and crazy at night. We moved from tent to tent, vendor to vendor, band to band dancing with les coeurs sur les yeux: light-up sunglasses in the shapes of hearts. We got to Anne-Pauline’s grandmother at the end of the night and she is precious! It was so great to see Anne-Pauline with her grandmother – grandparents are such wonderful people. I can’t wait to be close to mine again in Mississippi J
19 septembre 2009
I spent today in Bern! My friend, Myriam, has her car here and very kindly offered to drive a group of us to Bern this weekend. We had a blast! The group was one French, Anna-Pauline, one Canadian – Kim, two Germans – Myriam and Anna, one Finish – Suvi, and one Charlestonian – Kristen. I really, really like Bern. It’s the capital of Switzerland, but not a huge place. We ended the night making homemade pizza and having apératifs at Suvi’s place in Bern and then going out. It’s going to take me some time getting used to Swiss night outs – we got back into Fribourg around 4:30 Saturday night/ Sunday morning J
18 septembre 2009
SO much has happened in just one week! I have started classes and love them so far. I’m taking 3 literature courses (Terrorism and Literature, An American in Paris: 1920-1960, and Transcontinental Hemingway), 3 French language courses, 2 German language courses, and a Multiculturalism and Power-Sharing (case study: N. Ireland, Lebanon, and Iraq) course. Classes only meet once a week, but you meet for nearly 2 hours. It will be a really different schedule than I would have in Oxford, but I’m looking forward to it. In my department, Faculté des Lettres, students try out courses for the first 3 weeks. I can go to any classes I am interested in for 3 weeks and then must register for the courses I am actually going to take after the third week. Like trial and error - I really like it that way.
I had a full day of courses Monday. Walking into that first class at 8 am on Monday was a little frightening not knowing what to expect at all, but everything worked out great. Monday, I met Jen – the first American I have met in Fribourg! I can’t believe it took me this long to run into another American – she was a breath of fresh air and familiarity. Jen is from LA, but is studying in Fribourg through a University of Arizona exchange. She’s great! Monday night, I went to Anna’s place for dinner… she made us a great meal! She’ll never admit she’s good at cooking, but I love it! Anna was the first person I met in Fribourg! It’s a really funny how we met. I was running a few days ago with my Ipod and I saw her walking towards me waving her arms. She was lost and looking for directions… I definitely don’t know my way around yet and was probably lost myself so couldn’t be of much help to her in getting unlost, but we had the best time talking. She got my information and voila, my first friend in Fribourg! It just stands as proof that friends can be found in the strangest of places J
Tuesday – not so many classes but a great, great night! Anna and I met to go to an exchange student/ Erasmus (European exchange network) apératif get-together. This was just what I was looking for – we met SO many people! I met people from all over – Germany, France, Finland, Canada, Norway, Luxembourg, Belgium, England, just to name a few…
Wednesday night, I went with a group I met at apératifs Tuesday to a back-to-school party at the To See Club in Fribourg.
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