Food!

                It has been brought to my attention (primarily by my family) that I have yet to discuss my gastronomic adventures in France.  So to make up for it, I have decided to devote an entire blog post to one of my favorite things – food!

                First, I would like to make clear that this post is not about me tasting frogs’ legs or snails. In fact I have yet to even have the opportunity to try anything like that.  While I have eaten at a few restaurants (mostly while traveling), I typically eat at my apartment.  Our kitchen consists of two hotplates, a sink, and a mini-refrigerator.  It definitely took some getting used to as I pretty much use the oven any time I am in the kitchen, but I’m getting there.  So far, I’ve made things like fish, toast, eggs, crepes, chicken, pasta, rice, and potatoes. 

                Grocery shopping has not been too challenging so far.  There is a nice store that is about a 5 minute walk from my apartment.  I also like going to a larger store on the metro.  It’s enormous - maybe even bigger than Wal-Mart – and it has everything from olive oil to shampoo to kitchenware and electronics.  I find it amusing to walk down the international foods aisle and find taco kits, peanut butter, and Bisquick.  One thing that is much different here is at the check-out counter.  In America, you are given as many bags as you want, even if you only have one item.  Here, you have to pay for each individual bag so most people just bring their own reusable ones from home, a practice that I have happily adopted!

                Another great place to get food are the markets.  There are so many open air markets with lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, bread, honey, etc.  I’ve been to a couple while traveling, but have yet to go to any in Toulouse (it’s been so cold!).  It’s starting to warm up so I plan on going sometime in the next week!

                When I don’t eat at home, I typically eat cheap.  There are a lot of small restaurants and street vendors all over the city that have inexpensive and normally pretty tasty fare.  Typically you can find somewhere that sells paninis, sandwiches, croque monsieurs, or crepes and delicious pastries and desserts.  Another thing that is very common is kebab.  I think my favorite so far are the crepes.  They are so tasty!

                As for general updates, I am going skiing in the Pyrenees this upcoming weekend with all of the other exchange students and the welcome team.  We are skiing all day Saturday and going to a spa on Sunday.  It should be an incredible weekend! 

Exploring France

                Right now, I am sitting in first class on a TGV train from Strasbourg to Aix-en-Provence.  I have spent the past week traveling around different parts of France and Switzerland – Lyon, Geneva, Strasbourg, and Aix-en-Provence – by train with several friends.

                Why am I exploring France this week and not going to class?  For those that don’t already know, my course at the Toulouse Business School is designed as a series of week-long international business seminars taught by different professors from around the world.  The school was unable to schedule a seminar this week so we will have two seminars during one week in the future.  That will be a tough week, but it was nice to have some time off to travel!

                Our first stop was Lyon, the second largest city in France.  Many say that Lyon has the French charm that Paris once had.  That is very evident.  The city was beautiful and had features similar to those of Paris.  We spent most of our time exploring and wandering about the city.  We found an open-air used book market (Which of course captured my attention! I left with a book of French fairytales and a copy of Around the World in 80 Days), climbed up the Fourvière hill, visited the Place des Terreaux and Hôtel de Ville, saw the Roman Theater ruins, spent some time in Place Bellecour, and wandered the narrow cobblestone streets of Vieux Lyon.  My friend and I also got some traditional Lyonnais food!  It was very good!

                The next stop was Geneva, Switzerland.  The train ride was exquisite as we approached the Alps.  The terrain began to undulate as we passed through tunnels and French countryside.  When we arrived we had a beautiful view of the surrounding majestic snow-capped mountains.  The day was lovely and we explored the city on foot seeing the cathedral, the Reformation wall, and the famed flower clock which is literally a clock made out of fresh flowers. That afternoon I bought some delicious Swiss chocolate and walked to the United Nations offices on the other side of the city. My only two complaints for the day would be (1) the fact that we had no hotel and had to carry our luggage with us all over the city which wears you out much more than you would imagine and (2) the high prices of literally everything – especially food!  It was difficult too because we were only there for one day and didn’t want to end up with leftover Swiss Francs which are pretty much useless anywhere else. 

                After Geneva, my roommate and I returned to Lyon and left the next morning at 6:00 a.m. for Strasbourg.  We were unbelievably exhausted and had gotten virtually no sleep.  We slept on the train and got coffee as soon as we got to Strasbourg.  Bolstered by a little rest and a lot of caffeine, we explored the beautiful city of Strasbourg that afternoon.  It was probably my favorite part of the trip so far.  It was so charming and relatively slow paced.  We saw the cathedral, La Petite France, and the covered bridges.  We also found an open air flea market to explore and had dinner at a traditional Alsatian restaurant.  It was absolutely delicious!  Today, we saw a little more of the German influenced parts of the city which are completely different from the quaint, charming French centre-ville.

                Now, I am on my way to Aix-en-Provence before returning home to Toulouse.  I feel very ritzy on the second floor of this TGV in my oversized first class seat (first class was luckily the same price as second class for us!).  I absolutely love the French train system.  It’s so easy to travel! You can literally show up one minute before the train leaves.  The TGVs are amazing too! They feel a lot smoother than normal trains and go so much faster!

It’s been nice to see all of the different parts of France.  Each region really does have a certain uniqueness about it.  I’m glad I got to see these other cities, but I am glad I live in Toulouse! It’s such an ideal place for students!    

An International Education

I have officially started classes in France.  It’s been over 11 weeks since I have been a student in a classroom.  Honestly, I am extremely happy to be back.  I feel a lot more productive and finally have assignments and deadlines.  I know.  I am so strange.

            I thought I would use this blog post to describe how classes work here.  My school is part of the French “Grande Ecole” system.  It is extremely different than the American education system in terms of timing and evaluation.  After lycée, the French equivalent to high school, students take an exam called the baccalauréat, or simply “le bac,” to go on to higher levels of studies.  About 80% of students take the bac.  Students can then choose one of three options – (1) Specialist Schools (similar to technical school or an associate’s degree), (2) Universities, or (3) Grandes Ecoles.  The main difference is the concept of the Grandes Ecoles.  These schools are very competitive and require two years of post-high school preparatory studies prior to admission. 

            The Toulouse Business School is one of these schools.  After admission to the school, students spend one year studying basic concepts and subjects.  The next two years are considered the “Masters Programme” where students actually get to specialize and study a particular field of interest.  This is the program that I am in.  There are two parts two our semester – the OAP (9 weeks) and the OAC (4 weeks) – followed by Artemis which is a short management simulation at the end of the semester. 

My OAP and OAC are both International Management.  It’s been really interesting so far.  We have a different topic and different professor from another university from somewhere around the world every week.  This week our professor was from Argentina and the seminar was on Sustainable Development and Inclusive Business.  The course is a little challenging because it basically crams what you might do in several weeks or a whole semester into one week.  This week I have already had to do a lot of individual reading, a group presentation, and a 5-8 page paper.  I also have an exam tomorrow morning.  It’s very different from what I’m used to, but I enjoy it.  It’s really cool to get to work in groups with students from around the world.  I feel like I am getting a much better global perspective of the world.

Aside from class, I haven’t done much this week.  The weather is getting much warmer, and it feels like spring.  I have gone down to La Garonne (the river that runs through the city) a few times and just sat and talked with friends.  It’s a lovely place to relax, hang out, or have a picnic.  I have a feeling I will be spending a lot of time there this spring.

Le Canal de Brienne

La Garonne

Another thing that has been going on here are the campaigns.  Unlike at the University of Arkansas where you can make virtually any kind of club you want, the Toulouse Business School has a set number of associations.  That doesn’t mean that there aren’t a lot of different organizations though.  During the month of March, all of the organizations campaign to be one of the school’s official associations, and it is insanely competitive.  The organizations provide free breakfast and lunch, will run errands or cook for you, bring you food, throw massive parties, etc. for the whole month.  It has been quite nice so far.  I really enjoy the free breakfasts – unlimited pain au chocolat, croissants, pound cake, muffins, crèpes, juice, and coffee.  Life is good! 

The Tourist

           This past week I took an intensive French course.  It was nice to be back in the classroom after my ten week break from school and do a quick review of some French grammar.  On the last day of class, we did a debate in French.  It was kind of challenging, but nice to be able to practice speaking. 

I have felt like such a tourist this past weekend.  Friday, we were finished with French class so the welcome team organized a walking tour of Toulouse for all of the new exchange students.  I really enjoyed it! We went to several different locations in the city center – La Capitole, La Rue du Taur, La Basilique Saint Sernin, and Les Jacobins.  I had seen all of those places before but didn’t really know much about their history or purpose. 

La Capitole

(the main administration building and theater)

  

Rue du Taur

(the street of the bull)

 Les Jacobins

(Dominican monastery with an interesting history) 

La Basilique Saint Sernin

(a Romanesque church famous for its pilgrimage history)

Saturday morning, I got up very early and took a train to Carcassonne with some friends.  It’s a very charming city about an hour train ride away from Toulouse famous for its enormous fortified medieval city and castle.  We had an amazing day! When we arrived, we started to walk toward the castle.  We stopped in the city square to explore an open air market and bought fresh pastries for breakfast.  A little while later we arrived at the castle.  It was fantastic! We explored the town all morning, stopped at a little café for coffee and hot chocolate, and then toured the castle and ramparts.

In the afternoon, we went back to town to an Irish pub to watch the Ireland vs. Italy rugby match and have lunch.  I had never watched rugby before.  Some of the Irish exchange students were with us so they had to teach most of us how it worked.  By the end of the match we were all getting excited and cheering for Ireland.  It was a lot of fun!

I love that I am getting opportunities to sight-see and travel.  I am making plans to go to Paris next week! I can’t wait!

The First Week

                It’s official.  I have lived in France for exactly one week today.  I absolutely love Toulouse!  So much has happened since my last blog so let me fill you in on what I’ve been up to! 

                Last Friday, all of the new foreign exchange students had our orientation.  It was great!  I learned a lot about living here and how classes will actually work.  I also got to meet a lot of the other Erasmus (that’s what international students here are referred to as), go on a tour of the school, and meet members of the wonderful welcome team! Everyone was so nice and helpful! That evening, the Erasmus and the Welcome Team went out for tapas.  It was great getting to meet and visit with everyone!

                I’ve gotten a lot done in the past week.  On Saturday, I got my “Carte Pastel” which is my metro card for Toulouse.  It cost 10 euros for unlimited metro access for a month.  I absolutely love having the metro and being able to walk everywhere! It is so much nicer than having to get in your car every time you want to go somewhere, and it’s so much cheaper too!  I also got something that will give me discounted student train tickets.  That will be very nice when I travel for weekend trips or longer trips around Europe.  It’s so easy to travel here! This weekend, I am going to Carcassonne, a small nearby town known for a huge medieval castle!

                This week I also bought a French telephone, opened my French Bank Account, and mailed some letters back home – and I did everything in French! I know my French still needs A LOT of work, but it’s exciting to know that I can communicate and am confident enough now to do so.  I was so scared to speak at all when I first arrived! 

                I love living here! I have met so many amazing new friends from all over the world! I love learning about where they’re from and sharing with them about where I’m from.  I was with several friends a few days ago at a large grocery store where I learned that some of them had never had peanut butter and jelly before.  I insisted that they must try my favorite childhood food and scoured the store for the seemingly simple ingredients.  Peanut butter was almost impossible to find, but we finally found it on the international foods aisle.  Go figure!  After trying PB&J, I am happy to say my new friends are hooked!

                My favorite thing to do so far is just explore the city.  It is an absolutely beautiful place, and I feel so lucky to be able to spend the next four months here! 

Bienvenue

After months of planning and 24 hours in airports and planes, I am finally here in Toulouse.  These past few days have been kind of a whirlwind.  Friday I finished my student internship.  I went up to Fayetteville one last time over the weekend, and Monday I started packing.  While packing wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be, it was a little challenging to have to try and pack for clothes for winter, ski trips, spring, summer, school, traveling, etc. as well as things that I need for my apartment like bedding.  Somehow I managed to get it all organized and packed just in time to catch my flight. 

                Yesterday I left Arkansas and flew through Dallas and London to get to Toulouse this afternoon around four.  It was a long trip, but it went by pretty fast as I was able to sleep on the international leg of the flight.  Luckily everything went smoothly, and I experienced absolutely no problems.  When I arrived, a couple members of the Welcome Team from the school met me and several other students and brought us to our apartments.  Everyone has been very friendly and nice so far, and I can tell this is going to be an amazing semester!

                The apartment is very nice.   There is a living space with a couch and two desks, a small kitchen area, and a dining table.  The bedroom and bathroom are upstairs in a loft and are surprisingly spacious.  We are on the top floor so it is a little bit of a walk, but we have big windows and the view is nice.   It’s weird to think that this is where I’ll be living for the next four months. 

                So far, this experience has been kind of unreal.  I have been planning this for so long.  It’s hard to believe that I’m actually here and will be here for the next four months.    

It's Not Goodbye

I only have about a week left in America, and that means lots saying a lot of goodbyes.  This past weekend, I went up to Fayetteville to visit the majority of my friends one last time before I leave for Toulouse.  It was a lovely weekend.  My wonderful friends planned a surprise going away party on Friday night, and I got to see a lot of great people that I hadn’t seen in a while.

Even though I will only be gone for about four months, it’s still hard to say goodbye to everyone.  I absolutely hate goodbyes.  The French word for “goodbye” is “au revoir;” however, if you translate it directly, it means something more along the lines of “until we see each other again.”  So instead of goodbye, au revoir and I’ll see you soon! 

I will have regular access to the internet (i.e. Facebook, Skype, and email) so I would love to keep in touch!  Also, I absolutely love snail mail – both sending and receiving – so send me you address and I’ll be sure to write!