One more time...

After a very weak attempt at blogging my way though the semester in France, I am taking a hiatus from my nomad ways in the ever so breathtaking Indiana. Yes, there is a tinge of sarcasm in that opening line although I am learning to find some charm to the place. When June 21st rolled around, six months after arriving in Europe, I found myself heading back to the U.S. of A. with a load of mixed feeling and memories. So what awaited me? (See pictures later)...

Better yet, what did I spend the last six months doing? The purpose of studying abroad, as the name suggest à is to study. However, when you’ve spent the greater part of your life living in a country that reaches from coast to coast (the song: This Land is Your Land comes to mind), and you suddenly find yourself in a country where: 1. A few hours in a car seems like a lot to the locals and might take you to another country, 2. Charter airlines have cheap tickets, 3. there are abundant vacation days, and 4. the motto is “travaille pour vivre et ne vit pas pour travailler” “work to live, not live to work” … I had to travel. What better way to learn.

Don’t take me wrong, I went to class, but the travel bug got the best of me as well. Since re-telling in detail what I saw and lived might be overdoing it at this point, I’ll go ahead and highlight some of the experience.
1. Barcelona, Spain: I start with Barcelona for the wonderful people I met there. The Italian Prince that saved me from the streets and introduced me to his friends, the random man on the streets that turned out to be the best trip advisor, the energy of the city (every city has vibes) – the mix of ages and art, mountains and ocean, Catalan and Spanish. It was a trip done on a whim and worth the unknowns, worth traveling through Ryanair, worth arriving to snow.
2. Marseille, France: The package deal. What better way to spend the last weeks in France than by being with great friends by the coast. Highlights of the week included a brass band, hitch-hiking, Festival du Soleil (street music festival), climbing rocks, ‘private’ beaches, and laughing from dawn ‘til dusk.

3.Budapest, Hungary: My Uncle comes from Hungary, which is what truly sparked my interest in visiting this capital. Memories of him reading “Josefina la Gallina” in Spanish when I first moved to the U.S. stayed with me as I met his life-long friends and walked through a city with fascinating history and gorgeous landmarks. I had the greatest hosts anyone could possibly ask for.

4. London, England: I only spent about 4 days in London, which was not enough to see everything the city has to offer, but the city definitely surpassed my expectations. Truth be told, I did not even want to visit London. It might’ve due to the weather (silly perhaps, but I tend to go by “sunny is better”) or the fact that English is spoken there, but thanks to some great persuasive skills, I spent a fabulous time visiting friends and seeing what someone described as “New York in the 70’s”. Favorite spot in London à Camden Town Market, sure it’s for tourists, but I have a thing for markets, especially big markets with music, vegan food, and antiques. Did I mention museums are free in England? God save the Queen.
5. Nantes, France: Falling in love with a small town, one hour away from where I lived (Rennes) was not at all on my to-do list, but I did it anyway. The city captured my heart away each of the three times that I returned…even if it’s the place where my camera broke. First, with our great couchsurfer, Alex, who showed my friends and I an exciting weekend complete with my first oyster experience, great views of the city, and an interesting dress-up party. I returned to Nantes on my way back from Bordeaux to visit Alex’s new bar and an exposition at Lieu Unique. The third and final, quick visit to Nantes was on the way to Marseille, and included a visit to a fishermen’s island, a bohemian community that reminded my friends of Valparaiso, Chile.

I round my city highlights off at five, because it’s my favorite numbers, not because that’s where it ends. Amsterdam, Brussels, St. Malo, all of Brittany really, Bordeaux, Paris, Germany…they were all great. Traveling is always an opportunity to meet new people, test my senses, encounter adventure, try the unknown. The sentences I weave in this blog can only touch the surface of what my semester encompassed. Furthermore, they leave out the most important part – Rennes, the city I lived in, and the feelings I had during the last six months. The challenge of capturing that and putting it into words is one I don’t want to take. I’ve left out the details on nights that started with the chanting of “IEP Libre” and ended with cold walks home, Saturday mornings in the market, weekends with the ‘family’, taking tea with friends, and becoming obsessed with ‘Weeds’ (the series). I went to France to learn more about the French. I returned knowing more, but I learned more about my own culture too, and gained a madrina, two papis, hermanos, and incredible friends. Though it may sound cheesy, despite volcanic ash that ruined vacations, French bureaucracy, rain in Rennes, and seminars of read lectures, it was a combination of the people, the classes, the weather, food, incidents, and fiestas calientes that made the semester worthwhile. These reasons, and more, kept me from updating the blog, and thus I’d like to think I’m different and quite okay with two months of partial unemployment and tranquility in Indiana.

So with that, and a small comparison of my summer and life in France…I say ciao.

Motivation...

I've decided to pick up the blog again. Re-phrase: I've decided to re-attempt keeping up the blog although the semester is almost over. Since a lot has happened, or I'd like to think a lot has happened, I might re-cap some of the highlights.
Currently, my mind is sort of a jumble of thoughts, plans, and expectations tossing around as the clock ticks. I've come to the conclusion that I have to step back and just let things fall into place. Since I'll be posting what I've already done, here are some of the things I'm looking forward to:
1. BUDAPEST -- (eeek, more on this later)
2. Aunt Kim is coming to Paris ... 1 week in Paris
3. My mom comes to France
4. Finishing work for the semester
5. Good summer plans (U.S. or Europe???)
6. GALA
Enough though. More later.

Deutschland

I've started my semester abroad in a more familiar place than expected. Hamburg looks similar to when I left three years ago, but that's not to say that it hasn't changed. The city looks beautiful, conserved by the icy winter that has enveloped it, and I'm reminded of memories from when I lived closed by.
The trip really began at the airport though, with the chaos of making sure my bags fit the new standards and that I could manage carrying everything on my own. I should add that while picking what I would take with me to Europe, I honestly thought I would be packing few things. Things turned out a bit different however, and I just hope that I'll figure out a way of getting everything back at the end of the semester. Regardless, I arrived in Hamburg mid-morning the 29th and Franzi picked me up with her friend Anna, whose mother is from Colombia and reminds me of Lorena.
Jetlag didn't hit until the evening, so we slept from 8:30pm until 8:30am. Overall, though, I haven't been too tired. We've done a lot of city-roaming and low-key hanging out. I did meet up with Julia and Martha yesterday for some coffee ,and tonight I'm meeting up with Marie for New Years, but I don't have any outrageous plans for the rest of my stay. I'm still excited to see what's changed and to visit my host-family, but I'm also getting nervous about what I'll find in France. Excited but nervous.
I'll post more later, but until then....tchüss!

Un homme fraicais

I haven't quite started the trip and I'm already writing...but you'll soon see why.
Like I mentioned in my previous post, my studying in France is not only an old wish of mine, but also of my mother, aunts, uncle, cousins, etc. By physically being abroad, I am fulfilling the desires of many and I hope that by writing this blog they may see part of what I see, breathe some of the french air, and have a sensation of life in France.
This post, however, isn't particularly about me. Funny enough, it's about my mother. More precisely, my mother and her first love, a frenchman named Daniel, who lived in Colombia for two years. That's where the story begins, with a twenty-two year old version of my mother in Bogota meeting a mustaschioed, long-haired frenchman that swept her off her feet and stole her heart. Although I wasn't even in existence at this point, I feel like I was there as jealous neighbors peered out their windows when the bright-blue car Daniel had shipped from France pulled up to pick my mom up for dates and outings. The man who took my family on roadtrips and found thrill in life. I can imagine this intellectual who, according to my mother, loved to learn and equally loved Colombia. Two years, however, ellapsed as fast as one can imagine when love enchants two individuals, and Daniel returned to France.
The split isn't something we regularly talk about, but contact was eventually lost and their lives took different turns. I've always known about Daniel as the frenchie (by my step-dad), el frances, the intellectual, the man with the blue Pijot and the first love, but 26 years after leaving Colombia, I will meet Daniel and the same age my mother met him. To me, it's a funny concept to experience a now much older Daniel as my mother might have 26 years ago. More peculiar is that after years of trying to find this old-friend, only a month ago, after my plans to go to France were finalized, a friend of my mother's contacted her to talk about Daniel and the wonders of facebook. So, when I arrive in France I will meet Daniel and see where this story goes. Call it cheese, romantic, whatever you will, but how often do you get the chance to see who your mother fell in love with...
Until then, however, this nomad is 0-u-t. :)

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, goodbye!

I've decided to start the blog again. The impetus? France. On December 28th, I will once again hit the airways and embrace my nomad ways in the city of Rennes. The process isn't as simple as the previous sentence makes it sound though. Before actually starting my semester abroad, Germany awaits me. December 29th to January 3rd will be spent with family and friends in Deutschland! Hamburg, actually. The trip will be the first time I return to Germany since leaving in July 2007, which means that seeing old friend, my host family, and the area will be exciting and eventful. It's a packed schedule that I haven't quite planned out, but that I'm looking forward to.

The more uncertain part of my trip starts once I leave Germany for France. Before beginning the story, let me preface by stating that studying in France in the culmination of my childhood dream along with that of my parents, really my mother. I won't be in the city of love long enough, however, because my new 'home', although I'm not quite sure what that means anymore, will be Rennes. Pronounce it as if you had something nasty in the back of your throat. It lies 2 hours east of Paris on train in Bretagne (Brittany). Look at the map at the bottom of the blog and you'll get an idea of where it is. I'll be studying at l'Institut d'Etudes Politiques (Institute of Political Science) and living on my own, but there are plenty of unknowns still, like if anyone is showing me my new apt. or where orientation is. That makes the experience more exciting I suppose.

Regardless, I can't help but feel a touch melancholy when I think about what I'm leaving in the states. I should be used to leaving, but it feels heavier this time, if that makes any sense. Like prior traveling adventures, I've made some obvious goals for the next six months, learning francais, making friends, traveling, etc. I really just want to experience la vie francaise to the fullest....really test out if it lives up to what I've heard. I'm sure it will. Aside from those, I can't really pin point more detailed goals until I get there, but the wait isn't long.

Until later though, this nomad is 0-u-t.

Catching up...quickly

My infrequent writing makes me want to put into words everything I experience in between blogs. To post page upon page on how this country effects me. Impossible.
Since I last wrote, time has ticked away, leaving me with about two weeks of Indian-time. A few weeks ago we headed to Agra for the expected tour of the Taj Mahal. Before going, I was actually somewhat skeptical about the building, having heard it's beauty was exaggerating. After a train ride to Delhi from Varanasi and a four hour car ride to Agra, we made it in time to see a beautiful sunset at the Taj. It was smaller inside than I expected, but the weather added to the splendor of the sight. Other highlights in Agra were the Agra Fort and Fatehpur Sikri.
Our stay at the heart of the Mughal empire was very short. So, after a luxurious night at the Imperial Taj, we went back to Delhi and the next day to Varanasi.
Since, the last week has been a blurr. I've been with the two other girls living in the guesthouse quite a bit, exploring the city mostly. It's a lot of sweaty walking, because the rain has been almost nonexistant until tonight. It's the reason for the common power outages and the hot afternoons where people escape to their houses or shops to rest. In spite of the inconveniences, the friendliness and atmosphere in the city is incomparable. It has a rythmic breath that hypnotizes and wraps me in its sights, history (the little I know/understand), mystery.
Because my curiosity tells me there is more I should know about this place, I know I should come back. Better prepared, bookwise, I think.
This weekend, we are leaving the pilgrim center for Hinduism and heading to an important Buddhist center -- Bodh Gaya. The place where the Buddha was englightened.

The time is Closing in...

I'm beginning to feel that my time in India is quickly coming to an end. Too quickly actually. The past few days I've talked to some friends who are leaving soon, and they say how their experience in India is complete. I don't think my experience is complete yet. There's still so much more I want to see and experience here. I found my niche, an unpredictable rhythm of meeting new people, of making relationships wtih the people who live here, getting lost in allies, and feeling at home.
Today I leave for Lucknow with a group who is here for two weeks. It's the capital of Uttar Pradesh and should be a very different city than Varanasi. We should meet some women involved in the feminist movement and, obviously, get a feel for the city.
I'll be back Monday to continue working. There's only about one month left for me in India and I already know I will be back. :)