Some people travel for perspective or to "find themselves". Others to check sights and countries off their bucket list. Still others, for the photographs and the memories and the experiences made along the way. Any way you travel, though, I think you pick up valuable lessons. People always say that living abroad will change you. Has it me? I'm sure it has.
Here is a final compilation of a few things that I have learned this year, some a bit silly and some more practical:
1. I simply do not enjoy wine, and I have accepted that. 10 months drinking wine and going to tastings hasn't changed that. I have learned a damn fantastic poker face while sipping whites, though I can't help but cringe at red wines. And on that note, same goes for tomatoes: I just don't like them.
2. On the other hand, I have learned to love cider (the alcoholic kind), hot spiced wine, black olives, frog's legs, sauerkraut, and galettes, along with being introduced to German, Swiss, French, and Moroccan cuisine that I have already looked up recipes for.
3. Sometimes every single train you take will break down or be late. Sometimes you have to run through terminals to catch a connection. Sometimes every form of public transportation will fail, and you will be extremely late, not for lack of trying. Stuff happens. I've learned to stay calm in such situations, because some things are just beyond my control, and there's no use in stressing. And Switzerland, your normally flawless public transportation was having a really off day back in March, but thank you for that lesson.
4. Personally, I feel robbed when I jet off to a country for a day or two with little research done ahead of time. The only trip I regret taking was to Croatia, because I had barely a day and a half to spend in Zadar and I saw almost nothing. In fact, I don't even count Croatia as a country that I visited this year, because I saw so little of it.Taking a spontaneous adventure is a cool idea, but it is almost always better to put a few hours of research into trips, because then they will be infinitely more worthwhile.
5. Credit to my parents; they do a wonderful time planning vacations! Planning them on your own is so time-consuming and frustrating, especially when comparing prices of everything. Plus, whenever I'm in a new place, I never know where to eat. I have literally spent hours wandering cities looking for a decent place to eat. I find it quite stressful, notably when someone in the group is looking for something in particular (ahem, Kat and her shrimp in the South of France).
6. How to spot an American tourist with 90% accuracy. It's such a fun skill when you are people watching.
7. It's not always the places you go. It's not always the things you do. Sometimes, it is the people we meet and the memories made with them along the way that are the most priceless parts about travelling.
8. How to teach English to upper-intermediate level French guys. I won't say that I was a particularly good ESL teacher, but I'm working on it. And it was an experiment in confidence that I will never forget.
9. How to speak French. When I arrived in France, I could barely string three sentences together. In the past year, I have witnessed a dramatic improvement in my speaking skills especially, for I can tell stories and give 20-minute presentations in this language now! Am I perfect? Hell no! Am I fluent? Nope, not at all. But I can understand. I can communicate, and not just on a basic level! And it feels AMAZING to be able to live in or visit a country and speak their language. I only truly felt helpless in Germany and Italy, because I couldn't communicate with anyone in their language. But in France, in Switzerland, in Morocco -- I could. And there is no better feeling.
10. I learned to travel alone--multiple times--and it was always okay. I think everyone is a little afraid to be alone in a new place, surrounded by strangers, no immediate lifeline or friend close by. In Annecy, in Leon, in Geneva, and in Milan, I was alone, with no one in those cities that I knew. And honestly, it was a little frightening. I had half a mind to stay in my hostel, just to feel safe. But you can't do that. So each time, I left, went out into the world, and was amazed. It's a little lonely to be alone, I'll grant you. But at the same time, it was very liberating. I was testing what I could do, and I exceeded my own expectations.
The same thing is true for studying abroad. I arrived in France alone, met up with 11 other students who I hardly knew, lived with two families I had never met, in cities I had never heard of, in a language I could scarcely understand. It was terrifying. But fear doesn't have to be paralyzing. Cliches aside, these past ten months were some of the most rewarding of my life.
I arrived in Paris on Tuesday, May 27th, with my bags all packed. Immediately, I headed for my hotel near Charles de Gaulle airport, and exhausted, I stayed there the rest of the night.
Wednesday--my last full day in France--I took a train into Paris, and met Carlee and her boyfriend Eric under the Eiffel Tower. It was their last day in Paris as well, so the three of us made the most of it.
Although the day was rainy, it was perfect. We ate banana-Nutella crêpes and strawberry-Nutella crêpes (so many delicious crêpes) all day long. We wandered around Sacre-Coeur, sitting on top of the stairs and thinking about this past year as we gazed over Paris. We explored the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery. And that evening, after dinner at the apartment that Carlee and Eric had rented, the three of us climbed the Eiffel tower.
None of us had done it before. There was no line, for it was raining; a chilly, misty rain. We climbed the winding iron stairs for most of the way, then took the little elevator up to the last platform. From the top, I saw Paris in the dying gray light as I had never seen it before. It looked almost magical in the rain.
After one final crêpe under the shimmering lights, I bid Carlee and Eric goodbye. I took the long train ride back to my hotel. I fell asleep. The next morning, I took the shuttle to the airport and checked in. I boarded the plane to London, and then the next one to the States.
After so many months in Europe, I was bound for home.
I know one day I'll be back. Not just in Paris, but in Strasbourg, and Morocco, and Germany, and Annecy, and Ireland, and all the places that I loved as well. Because I'll make it a priority. My mom says that you leave a bit of your heart in the places where you have been happy. I know I've left a lot of my heart in France.
Continuing on from London; Laetitia and I returned to Strasbourg on the evening of Sunday, May 25th.
I spent all of Monday in a frantic panic: I went shopping for host family gifts (eventually settling on chocolate, flowers, and a nice bottle of wine), went for a last lunch at Flam's with Kat, and closed my French bank account. Then I packed, packed, packed! My host family also took me out for dinner one final time at the pizza restaurant that I visited for the very first time back on August 30th, 2013, my first night in Strasbourg.
Tuesday morning, I spent furiously packing and throwing out trash. Originally I had thought that I would have plenty of room in my suitcase, but when it got down to those final moments, I had barely enough space to put everything! It is absolutely astounding how much stuff accumulates over ten months!
I was in such a rush to get to the train station on time to catch my train that I didn't even have time to be sad. I had spent the last month--basically all of May--saying goodbye to my city, and on my final morning in Strasbourg, I didn't feel heartbroken. I didn't have the energy or spare moments to be heartbroken. I said my final goodbyes to my host family at the train station, did a final round of bises (cheek kissing) to everybody, and then waved as they drove away.
Malou was meant to meet me at the station, but she ran very, very late. I boarded the train and stowed away all my luggage near my seat, then paced the platform looking for her. Three minutes before my train was set to leave, I see her running crazily across the platform to me. That's when she decided to lecture me on French politics!! An election had taken place two days before, and the results were grim: The UMP (a far, far right-wing political party) had won the majority of seats in the European Parliament, and Malou didn't want me to have a bad impression of the French because of it!
Then conductor was blowing his whistle, and Malou had tears in her eyes, and she said she would truly miss me, and I was running for the train, and I was in my seat and Strasbourg was far behind me.
I was headed to Paris. Then I was headed home.
I've been back in the U.S. for a few weeks now. My 10-month adventure in France officially ended on May 29th, when I took a flight out of Paris to London, made a quick dash through Heathrow for my connection, and then hopped on a PA-bound plane (along with the Nigerian National Soccer Team, by the way. Their match coordinator was in the seat next to me).
Since it has been so long, I'll briefly sum up my last week in the next few posts, the first being about my last-minute trip to London with Laetitia. Originally, I was going to pop over to England to visit my grandparents in the North for a few days, but my granddad was scheduled to have surgery just days before I could come, and I didn't want to be in the way if any complications arose. So I arranged to meet up with one of my cousins in London, and I invited Laetita--who had never been to England--to come along.
So what did we see and do there?
* 221B Baker Street (I've been obsessed with the BBC show Sherlock recently, so I really just wanted to visit the famous address).
* Tower of London (Laetitia really loved our hilarious Yeoman Warder tour guide even though she didn't understand everything he was saying).
* Big Ben and the Houses of Parliment (of course).
* The Harry Potter Studio Tour, which is just outside of London. This was a true highlight for me, being one of the things I've always wanted to do, ever since the studio opened. I absolutely loved it, as well, and I would go back in a heartbeat. The attention to detail was amazing to see, and the butterbeer was super sugary and delicious! The funniest part was seeing Laetitia try the butterbeer and her surprise that it was 1. not at all alcoholic and 2. so sweet! The four hours we spent at the studio were pure magic for me.
* Cream tea at the British Museum (warm butter scones with clotted cream and strawberry preserves, along with classic English Breakfast!) along with seeing the Rosetta Stone.
* Wandering through Harrods, which is always a favorite for me, as the old department store is so exquisitely decorated.
* Seeing The Mousetrap, a murder mystery play by Agatha Christie that has been continuously performed in London since 1952 (the longest-running play of all time). My parents actually went to see The Mousetrap years ago. I, on the other hand, had never heard of it until Laetitia brought it up.
* Going out to lunch in a pub, and dinner at an Indian restaurant, two eateries that Laetitia had really wanted to experience.
I really loved this trip to London, as last-minute as it was. For me, the strangest part was that I spoke French the entire time, even though I was in a country that spoke English. I was in such a French mindset that, when other people spoke to me in English, I would automatically respond in French, much to their (and my) confusion! And honestly, the French were everywhere! There were groups of French schoolchildren at the Tower of London, there were French couples in every pub, the hostel we stayed at was run by a Frenchman, and the people sitting next to us in the Indian restaurant were French people on a buisiness trip!
I asked Laetitia why there were so many French people wherever I went (I found them in Ireland, in Morocco, in Italy...) She told me, "Well, you know how we are nicknamed, "The Frogs," right? It's because we hop from country to country all the time!"
I've had a busy week! My dad left Strasbourg on Tuesday, Thursday I left with Laetitia for London, and the day in between was no relaxing walk in the park--on Wednesday, Malou took Kat and I hiking in the Black Forest!
All I know is that we were closest to a town called Oberkirch in Germany and that we kept following signs that read "Sohlberg", if those are good reference points as to location. Other than that, all I know is that we were in the Black Forest (which was much sunnier than I remembered it being back in November). All the late spring flowers were blooming along the trail we took, and Malou basically skipped through the meadows pointing out the daisies and buttercups, the forget-me-nots and Queen Anne's Lace.
It was quite a hot day, even at 300 meters up in the hills. We had a picnic lunch by the ruins of an old monastery, which sounds much more dreary than it actually was. Nearby is a bustling cafe (in the middle of nowhere, of course) and we sat down for tea and cake there. I stayed far, far away from the Black Forest cake... I have learned my lesson. Even though it looks like chocolate cake, it doesn't taste at all like it!
After a good two hours hike--more of a walk or wander, actually--the three of us arrived at some cascades, which is where the silliness commenced, at least for Kat and I. Malou remained unfazed by our ridiculousness. First, Kat and I were trying to take a nice photo in front of the little waterfall, yet were thwarted by a particularly difficult railing that we tried to sit on for the picture. It took a good while to actually sit down, and by that time we were in stitches, especially when we found out that Malou caught our entire struggle on film. Next, Kat decided to just look silly and Malou took it all in stride.
All in all, it was an absolutely lovely day in Germany. On the way back, Malou recounted Black Forest legends to us and showed us the liquor house. Because we were in Germany, of course, there has to be liquor available before/during/after the hike. There was just a little wooden "house" that was filled by a cold flowing stream and filled with bottles of German liquor in various flavors (cherry, pear, etc). The little hut also provided tiny shot glasses and a suggested payment for a glass of liquor, but no one was around and no cameras were there to make sure you payed. I just remember thinking that this liquor house would simply not work in the U.S., as no passing person would ever pay, they would either steal the bottles or just walk away with a free shot of some very VERY strong liquor. Honestly, I took a sip and almost gagged. The "pear" flavor is just a joke; the actual flavor is "horribly strong alcohol" flavor.
I can't even describe how nice of a day it was. It felt like something out of a movie. The crickets and cicadas were humming, the sun was bright and the air warm, the forest was full of flower meadows and cherry orchards... Such a perfect day. Although I've been finished classes and exams for weeks now, I'm glad to have stayed, as these past few weeks in Alsace (and abroad!) have been some of my favorites.
I haven't been to a castle in a while, so the Monday of my dad's four-day visit in Strasbourg, we drove out to Hohenzollern Castle in Germany. I've really wanted to visit this castle for a while anyway, and as it is really difficult to reach by public transportation, and as my dad had rented a car, it was perfect!
Hohenzollern is two hours away by car from Strasbourg, and you see the castle in the distance way before you see any road signs for it. It's pretty imposing.
My dad and I arrived around noon, and the only English tour of the day was at 2pm, so we ate a great lunch at the castle's restaurant and walked around (taking a million pictures all the while). We even saw a little owl! Unfortunately it is forbidden to take photos inside the castle, but the interior was absolutely beautiful: marble floors, gold gilt walls and ceilings, and fantastic views of the countryside below. The castle we walked through was actually the third to be built on that hill, as the original (built in the 11th century) was besieged and destroyed. The second fell into ruin, so the third was built in the 19th century. It's not a true medieval castle, of course, but it still felt like I was walking through one.
On one final note, I'm pretty sure I saw a prince and princess in person, but I'm not quite sure. They were filming something in the castle, or having a photo shoot there. It was a Monday after all, so there weren't as many tourists. Also, they'd only be the prince and princess of Prussia, but still, it was cool. Apparently they don't live in the castle (surprising, right?).
Finally, I have eaten at the Maison Kammerzell, one of the most famous places in Strasbourg! It's an old old OLD house dating back to 1427, and it's extremely ornate. Located right next to the cathedral, it has been turned into one of Strasbourg's best restaurants, but since it's a little pricey, neither Kat nor I had yet eaten there.
My dad offered to take us there, though, so Sunday night, after a day on the Wine Route, my dad and I met Kat at the Maison Kammerzell for dinner. Since it was our first vist (and probably last, at least for the foreseeable future), we didn't hold back, each ordering three courses. Kat and I both started off with chilled cucumber-melon soup while my dad ate escargot a la Strasbourgoise. My main course was chicken done in a "coq au Riesling" style, and complete with spatzle. And to finish off, I had an apple strudel, while Kat enjoyed a chocolate-cookie-pear sundae and my dad ended with a glass of "eau de vie" -- literally meaning "water of life," it's a super-strong clear liquor that I can't even stand smelling, not to mention tasting.
It was such a cool dinner at the Maison Kammerzell. I'm so happy to have eaten there before leaving Strasbourg! Highly recommended if you are ever in Alsace!
