It's been been a month and three days since I returned to the states and somehow I'm only just starting to get what that means. It means that a language that I fought through is non-existent in my every day life. It means that the amazing baguettes that I ate every day now taste like cardboard (NY has everything, but I haven't found REAL french bread yet). And it means that the friends with whom I shared so much are now really far away.
In French, you don't say "I miss you." The verb "to miss" is reflexive, so you say, "tu me manques" or rather, you are missed by me.
But as sentimental as this is making me feel, I think this is the most important lesson I've learned from studying abroad. Everything ends. And it's more important to enjoy this moment than to weep over the past ones because someday you'll probably miss this moment too.
À bien tôt, Montpellier!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
La Fin.
I feel like this blog has reached it's natural conclusion. I've enjoyed writing about everything, but now that my life is a little less foreign, I think I've reached the end. But that's also how I felt about my final days in Montpellier. I would wander down the streets, enjoying the sun (just as I enjoyed writing this blog), but feeling ready to go home.
That is not to say that I was ready to leave. Wanting to go home and wanting to leave are completely different things. Wanting to go home for me meant that there were parts of my life at home that I was really starting to miss versus wanting to leave would have meant that I was unhappy with life in Montpellier, which was very much not the case. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be to say good bye to my host family and I always feel a little sad when I wonder if I'll ever see that beautiful city again.
Being ready to come home, in contrast to being ready to leave, just means that I missed the familiarity of home. I would not say that I was tired OF Montpellier, but that simply existing in a foreign culture is exhausting. It is hard being a foreigner and, for someone who has never been a foreigner, it's hard to suddenly become one. But this challenge is what made my time great.
So for my final reflection, I can say that I'm proud of what I did. I did more than survive in a foreign country. I lived. And I hope that I'll never take that for granted.
I don't think I'll blog about the details of my final trip with my parents because it was a family vacation, not a part of my study abroad experience. But there were two things that made it more than just a normal family vacation for me: 1. I was translator. I got to use my French in a very real way and that was really awesome. 2. I was navigator. I'm never navigator, but I navigated a lot of the trip and really proved a lot to myself.
And that's what this experience has been to me: a self assertion that I can do it. I can live in a foreign language, take classes abroad, navigate, live independently, and meet new people while simultaneously maintaining important relationships at home, finding a paid summer internship, and winning two essay prizes. I did it. This isn't bragging. It's self-declaration and I hope that everyone can find this in their lives.
Bisous,
Julia
For pictures from my last trip with Mom and Dad click on the flowers from Monet's Garden:
Thursday, May 19, 2011
It Ain't Over til It's Over
I have officially left Montpellier.
That sentence takes a minute to sink in for me. First, I had to say good bye to all of my friends. And getting thrown into a completely foreign culture can really bring you close to people. And I had some really great friends. We traveled, studied (or rather, pretended to study), ate lunch, shopped... things that seem really normal, but when you do it in another language, it's never that simple. So we bonded and I'm sad that I really have no idea when I'll see most of them again because most of them live in Minnesota.
Then I had to say good bye to my host family. They were so friendly and welcoming that I'm leaving way more than just a bed behind. The wonderful conversations we had that were not only fun and interesting, but really pushed and stretched my French; the food; and the overall feeling of having a family who was there to help me, but also to give me my independence (a rare balance for sure) will all certainly be missed.
Hardest of all, I had to say good bye to my host mom, Marie. This makes me think of one day that I came back from class. Everything had gone wrong and nothing was making me happy. On top of it, I felt worse because I had just come back from break the day before and was super exhausted. So I hear someone downstairs and I figured I'd see who was there (and check on my laundry in the process). And there's Marie unpacking groceries. And she offers me a coke and it was probably the most well time glass of coke ever. And then we sit and chat for maybe an hour, maybe more. And we talked about a lot: my past trip, Bin Laden, the Royal wedding... etc. But more than what we talked about, just having someone there to talk to who was interesting, interested in what I had to say, and patient when I couldn't quite get it out right, made me feel so at home. Not just that I was at ease, but I felt true support, even though the subject of my Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day never even came up.
So my real parents came into Montpellier yesterday and things have been kind of bumpy sailing. They like to get lost at every chance they get and unfortunately, real Mom is sick. But we had a really nice breakfast with host Mom.
Then we packed up and headed out. Of course, about an hour and a half into our all day drive, I realize I left a coat at my host family's house. Didn't go back for it so hopefully it'll show up in the states one day.
But this mini-vacation at the end will be an interesting wrap up and (as soon as mom feels better) we have a lot of cool things on the itinerary.
Stay tuned for... A Merz Euro Tour (sponsored by Rick Steves)
(Note: I arrive back in the states on the 25th, so keep an eye out then for posts from this trip and a final wrap up about being home and such)
That sentence takes a minute to sink in for me. First, I had to say good bye to all of my friends. And getting thrown into a completely foreign culture can really bring you close to people. And I had some really great friends. We traveled, studied (or rather, pretended to study), ate lunch, shopped... things that seem really normal, but when you do it in another language, it's never that simple. So we bonded and I'm sad that I really have no idea when I'll see most of them again because most of them live in Minnesota.
Then I had to say good bye to my host family. They were so friendly and welcoming that I'm leaving way more than just a bed behind. The wonderful conversations we had that were not only fun and interesting, but really pushed and stretched my French; the food; and the overall feeling of having a family who was there to help me, but also to give me my independence (a rare balance for sure) will all certainly be missed.
Hardest of all, I had to say good bye to my host mom, Marie. This makes me think of one day that I came back from class. Everything had gone wrong and nothing was making me happy. On top of it, I felt worse because I had just come back from break the day before and was super exhausted. So I hear someone downstairs and I figured I'd see who was there (and check on my laundry in the process). And there's Marie unpacking groceries. And she offers me a coke and it was probably the most well time glass of coke ever. And then we sit and chat for maybe an hour, maybe more. And we talked about a lot: my past trip, Bin Laden, the Royal wedding... etc. But more than what we talked about, just having someone there to talk to who was interesting, interested in what I had to say, and patient when I couldn't quite get it out right, made me feel so at home. Not just that I was at ease, but I felt true support, even though the subject of my Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day never even came up.
So my real parents came into Montpellier yesterday and things have been kind of bumpy sailing. They like to get lost at every chance they get and unfortunately, real Mom is sick. But we had a really nice breakfast with host Mom.
Then we packed up and headed out. Of course, about an hour and a half into our all day drive, I realize I left a coat at my host family's house. Didn't go back for it so hopefully it'll show up in the states one day.
But this mini-vacation at the end will be an interesting wrap up and (as soon as mom feels better) we have a lot of cool things on the itinerary.
Stay tuned for... A Merz Euro Tour (sponsored by Rick Steves)
(Note: I arrive back in the states on the 25th, so keep an eye out then for posts from this trip and a final wrap up about being home and such)
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Munich
Day 9... in Munich this time:
So we arrived and checked into our LOVELY hotel (not that the hostel wasn't fine, but a hotel is definitely more comfortable) before going out to dinner. We had one Rick place in mind, but it was totally packed so we went to another on the same square. Only outside seating, but we found a spot under the heaters. And halfway through our dinner, a nice older man sat down and talked to us (in decent enough English) about the city. The food was amazing and it was such a welcoming start to the trip.
Day 10:
The sun was shining, it was a walkable city, and the metro system can be crazy cheap if you figure it out right. Already I liked Munich more than Berlin. Also, since it's smaller, there are more people and shops to look at when you're walking (we realized that walking with nothing to look at gets very boring... we started singing the theme song to the Odd Couple in Berlin).
We started in the historic part... The New Town Hall and the Clock Tower, Marienplatz, and the Three Main Churches (St. Michael's, Frauenkirche, and St. Peters... Martyr Bones and All!!). It all kind of felt out of a fairy tale.
Then (passing the Hofbrauhaus) we went to the Residenz, home to the Wittelsbach family. It was so beautiful. Think Versailles, but fewer pictures of Louis. Paintings and fabric walls, big grand halls, and amazing furniture.
I really loved Shell Grotto with the Mercury killing Medusa fountain (apparently, there used to be red wine instead of water... what an effect!).
Plus there were two tiny rooms right next to each other that I think were my favorite. One was COVERED in mirrors and gold and had tiny (think like 4 inches tall) pottery everywhere! The other room was no bigger than a walk in closet, was totally red, and was covered in mini reproductions of famous works of art (again, each mini painting was about 4 inches).
Next we took a nice beer break at a cafe and enjoyed the sun (have to say, I love the Augustiner wheat beer). Unfortunately, we missed our reservation (at the place that was too crowded for us to get into the night before) because the buses were way off schedule. So we went to a cool, artsy cafe/restaurant. Still delicious.
Day 11:
First we went to the Deutsches Museum. Kind of like the German version of the Smithsonian (smaller, because it's only one museum, but still very large). Some things weren't in English, so we just kind of perused by. Some real highlights were the boats, the planes, and the clocks.
Next we went out of the city a bit to the Dachau Concentration Camp. Dachau was created in 1933 for political prisoners but would later become the model for all other concentration camps under Hitler. It's maximum capacity is 6,000 people, but when it was liberated by US troops in 1945, it was found with 32,000 people. Of the 200,000 people who came to the camp over the 12 year period, over 43,000 of them died.
The front gate says "Work Brings Freedom" and the slogan written on the roof of the maintenance building read: "There is one path to freedom. Its milestones are: Obedience, honesty, cleanliness, sobriety, diligence, orderliness, sacrifice, truthfulness, love of the fatherland."
Every day they held roll call and if one person was missing, everyone had to stand motionless until that person was found (death was more likely than an escape attempt). Torture and work to the brink of death were a way of life and those who couldn't work were used for scientific experiments. The food was barely enough to survive and had little to no nutritional value. And on top of all of this, the camp was hit with a typhus epidemic.
A little out side of the main camp was the crematorium. A gas chamber was built but never used for mass exterminations. (Brausebad means shower in German).
Walking through Dachau is quite somber. From the barracks, it's clear that there is no comfort and one can barely imagine what it would be like to live with no protection from neither the elements nor the guards.
Luckily it was a warm and sunny day and the museum exhibits, while they do stress the horrible injustices, were not horribly graphic. After we came back to the city, we treated ourselves to a much appreciated rest before a great dinner at the crowded restaurant that we had tried to get into for two days.
Day 12:
Castle day! It was nice to end the trip on such a cheery day trip (not that Dachau wasn't important, but clearly it's not the most uplifting place). We went to Neuschwanstein, the castle built by "Mad" King Ludwig (note: Ludwig is German for Louis). He was "Mad" because he was obsessed with the Middle Ages and built tons of story book castles. He died under "Mysterious Circumstances" ... ie found dead with his psychiatrist next to a lake.
But the Castle and the woods around it are so beautiful (and just made me realize how much I'm going to miss working at camp this summer)! You hike up a mountain and get rewarded with amazing views of the castle and the valley below.
Inside, photos aren't allowed, but I did my best anyway. Thing is, it isn't an especially pretty castle. In fact, because it's Faux Middle Age style done in the 19th century, it all looks kind of phoney.
We decided to call it an early night because we each had super early travel arrangements the next day. I had 12 hours of train trips... Munich to Paris and Paris to Montpellier. But, for half the ride to Paris, there was the cutest pug next to me! What a great way to end the trip :)
Overall, Lez and I really enjoyed our travels. It was really great to see her (it's so hard to see her much during the year anyway when she's in NY and I'm in PA) and we had a lot of fun!
Stay tuned for... good byes.
For more pics, click on the bejeweled skull:
So we arrived and checked into our LOVELY hotel (not that the hostel wasn't fine, but a hotel is definitely more comfortable) before going out to dinner. We had one Rick place in mind, but it was totally packed so we went to another on the same square. Only outside seating, but we found a spot under the heaters. And halfway through our dinner, a nice older man sat down and talked to us (in decent enough English) about the city. The food was amazing and it was such a welcoming start to the trip.
Day 10:
The sun was shining, it was a walkable city, and the metro system can be crazy cheap if you figure it out right. Already I liked Munich more than Berlin. Also, since it's smaller, there are more people and shops to look at when you're walking (we realized that walking with nothing to look at gets very boring... we started singing the theme song to the Odd Couple in Berlin).
We started in the historic part... The New Town Hall and the Clock Tower, Marienplatz, and the Three Main Churches (St. Michael's, Frauenkirche, and St. Peters... Martyr Bones and All!!). It all kind of felt out of a fairy tale.
Then (passing the Hofbrauhaus) we went to the Residenz, home to the Wittelsbach family. It was so beautiful. Think Versailles, but fewer pictures of Louis. Paintings and fabric walls, big grand halls, and amazing furniture.
I really loved Shell Grotto with the Mercury killing Medusa fountain (apparently, there used to be red wine instead of water... what an effect!).
Plus there were two tiny rooms right next to each other that I think were my favorite. One was COVERED in mirrors and gold and had tiny (think like 4 inches tall) pottery everywhere! The other room was no bigger than a walk in closet, was totally red, and was covered in mini reproductions of famous works of art (again, each mini painting was about 4 inches).
Day 11:
First we went to the Deutsches Museum. Kind of like the German version of the Smithsonian (smaller, because it's only one museum, but still very large). Some things weren't in English, so we just kind of perused by. Some real highlights were the boats, the planes, and the clocks.
Next we went out of the city a bit to the Dachau Concentration Camp. Dachau was created in 1933 for political prisoners but would later become the model for all other concentration camps under Hitler. It's maximum capacity is 6,000 people, but when it was liberated by US troops in 1945, it was found with 32,000 people. Of the 200,000 people who came to the camp over the 12 year period, over 43,000 of them died.
Every day they held roll call and if one person was missing, everyone had to stand motionless until that person was found (death was more likely than an escape attempt). Torture and work to the brink of death were a way of life and those who couldn't work were used for scientific experiments. The food was barely enough to survive and had little to no nutritional value. And on top of all of this, the camp was hit with a typhus epidemic.
A little out side of the main camp was the crematorium. A gas chamber was built but never used for mass exterminations. (Brausebad means shower in German).
Luckily it was a warm and sunny day and the museum exhibits, while they do stress the horrible injustices, were not horribly graphic. After we came back to the city, we treated ourselves to a much appreciated rest before a great dinner at the crowded restaurant that we had tried to get into for two days.
Day 12:
Castle day! It was nice to end the trip on such a cheery day trip (not that Dachau wasn't important, but clearly it's not the most uplifting place). We went to Neuschwanstein, the castle built by "Mad" King Ludwig (note: Ludwig is German for Louis). He was "Mad" because he was obsessed with the Middle Ages and built tons of story book castles. He died under "Mysterious Circumstances" ... ie found dead with his psychiatrist next to a lake.
But the Castle and the woods around it are so beautiful (and just made me realize how much I'm going to miss working at camp this summer)! You hike up a mountain and get rewarded with amazing views of the castle and the valley below.
Stay tuned for... good byes.
For more pics, click on the bejeweled skull:
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