Sarah à Lille

Weekend in Paris (lots of pictures, WATCH OUT!)

2010-04-03T16:04:00.012+02:00

Middle of March I got the opportunity to play tour guide in Paris to some friends. Not that I could tell you about the good restaurants or cafés- my qualifications are that I have been there a few times already, I can speak French (and therefore try to avoid tourist treatment), and I know how to open the metro doors. It was cold and overcast, but despite the weather it was a blast, really. Every time I go I feel like I get to know the city a tiny bit more, and I am always struck with how beautiful it is.

Tintin! :D

One of my favorite bands- there were posters up all over the metro :)

Europeans really love their Swatches

Expensive but warm coffee break- totally worth it

Two happy lil travelers ^_^

Some awesome sculpture near the Louvre

This really tickled me... Parisians... at work.

Notre Dame

Our hostel

Sacré Coeur

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I do apologize if that was a picture overload, but it's kind of impossible to go to Paris and not be inspired to shoot everything you see!

Next stop, Madrid and then London! Two weeks of spring break is perfect for us exchange students :)

A la prochaine...

2010-03-05T16:23:00.002+01:00

I know absolutely nothing about sports. In fact, when friends try to talk to me about teams or events, they know by now that they have to specify which sport it is. But it is so easy and so fun to get into football (soccer!) matches here. I feel like what's going on is pretty straightforward, it's fast paced, and if all else fails, just yell when everyone else does. A couple of weeks ago I found myself in the Solferino Bar in downtown Lille, cheering on LOSC with my friends and all of the Lillois that could fit into the place. It was packed wall to wall and the last 8 or so minutes Lille turned it around and won. I think that is what they call a good game, the more exciting ones. Either way, it was a great night. And if I am not mistaken, that game set them up to play Liverpool sometime in the next few weeks.

I don't think I ever listed my class schedule:

Monday:
Geography of the Countryside
Geography of Deserts

Tuesday:
Lit- Racine and Molière

Wednesday:
Translation- French to English
Irish Literature

Thursday:
Translation- English to French
Francophone Literature

Having no classes on Friday is pretty awesome. I decided to watch Bienvenue Chez Les Ch'tis. It is really funny, but I am glad I waited to watch it until I'd been here for awhile, because now I actually understand it (for the most part) and the jokes. I know so many people who could very well be in the movie. In particular, when my neighbor's boyfriend doesn't understand something he'll do the "HEIN?!" thing.

I feel like there have been more sunny days in March than in January and February put together. It's awesome! In celebration of this I went out and got myself a monthly pass for the metro. It was 30 euros with my young person discount card (carte viva), but I really think it will be worth it. I won't find myself thinking at any point "Well I WOULD like to go downtown and just walk around, but I don't really wanna spend the three euros for the metro ticket".

Time for food, more to come later!

Need your input!

2010-02-21T16:45:00.003+01:00

*view from my room*

As it gets warmer, I really want to start making some day trips in France. I've spent the past week of Carnival vacation here in Lille, which has been nice and restful and it saved me a bundle of traveling money. Dear professors, friends, random internet readers- where would you suggest? What are your favorite places in France? Leave me comments, please :)

Getting lost in Lille...

2010-02-09T19:52:00.005+01:00

Holidays

2010-02-07T20:33:00.001+01:00

The holidays were kind of bittersweet. I got to spend a really nice Christmas at home with my family and I came back just in time to spend New Years Eve here in Lille. I got lucky- the morning I left for Charles de Gaulle airport it was snowing, thick gorgeous flakes, and people were stranded everywhere, for days at a time, but I made all of my flights. And there is something really nice about speeding through northern France on a TGV when all you see around you is blustery white. Anyway, after a week or so of recharging, sleeping, eating a lot and spending time with my mama, I was looking forward to going back to Lille.

One of the best things about the fall semester was the close group of friends I made. So it was kind of sad to say goodbye to everyone as they left, slipping away one by one over the first weeks of January. I returned to Lille on New Years Eve, and contrary to what we might have thought at the time, I think we spent a rather satisfactory night. We made it downtown just a little too late and found that the usual clubs were charging amounts that nobody had in cash. As midnight approached we found ourselves standing on a busy street next to some trash cans, watching the revelers pass and replying to everyone who wished us "Bonne année les filles!". I rang in the new year laughing in the heart of Lille with friends I love. I am definitely okay with how the evening worked out. I don't have pictures to share, but you will just have to imagine the streets full of young French people setting off firecrackers and brandishing silly string.

Décembre

2010-02-07T19:42:00.008+01:00

December in Lille started out with a bang, followed by a groan and a very loud sigh all coming from my direction. I remember specifically having a great first couple of days of the month, until Friday came, and I got what I can only describe as the flu. I was completely down all weekend, and when Monday afternoon rolled around, realizing I needed a note for my grammar class or I would be out, I dragged myself over to campus to see the nurse, not knowing where to find a real doctor. I feel like this was my fatal mistake. She proceeded to ignore everything I told her except that I had a cough, gave me some lozenges to suck on, a pat on the head, and sent me on my way. I feebly mentioned that I needed a note for a class I had missed in the morning and her response was "I can't prove you were sick this morning, you should have come earlier". And just like that, a semester's worth of work, good grades, and the $500 I paid to change my plane ticket were for nothing. Six credits out the window on the last day of class. I wasn't alone, though. Lorenzo, a very smart Italian kid in my class (who knows as much as I do after having studied French for only 7 months!), found himself in the same situation. That same weekend he contracted chicken pox, and was just as surprised as I was to find that he wasn't allowed to take the exam either, having missed one too many classes.

However, the incident led to my very first visit to a French doctor, which was really interesting. By Thursday my flu symptoms were gone but the cough had gotten really bad, to the point where I couldn't settle down and sleep. Asking around, I found out there was actually a doctor within a 5 minute walk from the residence, next to our metro stop. Who'da thunk it? Not knowing hours and having nothing on me but a little bit of cash, I made my way in that general direction. The building was very plain. I walked in and almost thought I had it wrong- there was a bare table, no secretary, just a plain waiting hall in front of individual office doors, and a few posters. A very friendly female doctor waved me in to her office and saw me right away. She showed an interest where I was from and how I was liking my studies, and made sure that I understood everything she was saying. She handled everything, appointments and money, and when she didn't have correct change for my 25 euros, she just took my 20 and told me to come back later with the two! It was pretty neat to have that direct contact with the doctor, instead of going through secretaries and nurses- very different from how things are handled in the States.

Being down for the first half of December meant I didn't get to spend as much time as I would have liked downtown. Lille was absolutely lovely decked out for the holidays. Not only in the main parts of town, but there seemed to be something no matter where you were. There were trees and lights strung up everywhere, a huge Ferris wheel in the Grande Place, roasted chestnuts, hot, spiced wine and cider, rides for children, food vendors with hot waffles, crepes and beignets (donuts), and of course the Marché de Noël.

Here it is on the first day it opened:

And here are some pictures I took the last Saturday before Christmas:

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Novembre

2010-01-02T16:17:00.008+01:00

Ohh boy. Let me apologize for dropping off the face of the earth for awhile. There were several things that...came up. I will go chronologically because that is, after all, the order in which things tend to happen.

November was good, and went by pretty quickly. The first few days were taken up by the end of Fall break. Early on a friend of mine came to visit from Germany and we went to see one of our favorite artists, Morrissey, at the Aeronef. It was a great concert, even if Moz is getting to be a grumpy old man. He introduced one of the songs, Cemetry Gates, as being about people who have nothing to do, and quietly added on "like you people". I had to wonder how many people caught that. And it was nice to be able to stay in Lille and show my friend around instead of having to meet up at a bigger city like Paris or Brussels.

Mid November I went to Caen on a trip with my Danish class for a sort of Scandinavian Festival called Boréales. It lasted all month, but we went on an overnight trip specifically for a colloquium on Denmark and globalization. Caen was very pretty city, I liked it a lot. Unfortunately I only took a handful of pictures, as we had a lot to do in only 24 hours or so. The first parts of the colloqium were Friday afternoon, at the Université de Caen. Afterwards, we went to a concert called Visions du Nord. Everything about it was absolutely gorgeous. It was in a nice, contemporary looking theatre with a ceiling dotted with tiny lights to look like stars. The stage itself was set up very simply, with a glowing bluish indigo backdrop. Then the 20 performers walked out, all of them string players, and played pieces from various Scandinavian composers, including Grieg, Saariaho, and Vasks. I thought it was fascinating. No conductor, nothing fancy, just the chillingly beautiful music and one deep color. I kept forgetting I was in a theatre in Caen. :) The rest of the trip was spent trying to keep up with the other two students from Lille who kind of refused to play nice and talk a bit slower so I could be included in their conversations. There were a few more talks the next morning, then I caught the train back to Lille.

Hotel in Caen

Rooftops in Caen

Ceiling that I loved so much

This one's a bit harder to see, but we sat on the lawn of this...fortress around 11 PM and ate pizza. There were actually lots of young people coming and going and I guessed it's a popular Friday night hangout in Caen?

Sadly this is the last picture I snapped on the way back to the train station. I decided not to take anymore because I was kind of in a hurry, but it really is a charming place...

I am going to write about December in a separate entry because I really feel it deserves its own... you'll see :)

2009-10-24T19:29:00.009+02:00

Hello!

I have my computer back, so I can take my time with this entry. I think I will start by posting some photos. I will go chronologically...

The Lille Braderie took place the first weekend the ISEP kids were here. It's basically a huge famous flea market that swallows up the entire city. There were so many people- I had never seen an actual "people jam" before. It was perfect for us, because we had the opportunity to buy some of the stuff we really needed. We also tried a regional specialty for lunch - moules frites (mussels and fries)!

Here is my room- it's rather small, but it's my own, and I get my own tiny tiny bathroom too, for which I am very grateful.

And some random pictures from around Lille...

Triolo- notre quartier :)

Me in Brussels! I went with some girls for a weekend trip to see one of my favorite musicians, Patrick Wolf.

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I think that will do for now, I don't want to overload anyone's computers.

Classes are going fairly well, as far as I know. This is because for most of my classes I will only have one grade, and I haven't gotten it yet. I sit in my literature classes and pretend I can keep up with what the teachers are saying. Other courses aren't quite as stressful, for translation I have at least as much as an advantage as the French kids do. It's hard to compare, though, because each class I have over here is really only worth one half or one third of a class back home.

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When I first arrived I was slightly disappointed that so many of the international kids I met were into the clubbing scene. It's expensive, I don't get it, I don't like the music, and personally, I would hardly call that dancing, if you know what I mean. But I discovered that I'm not the only one! Every weekend there are multiple local bands playing in Lille, all different genres. I've seen a ska band, a shoegaze band and a punk band in the past month. I found some venues I really like, and it is so great to support local music.

I am getting used to the accent here - people calling me what sounds like Saro, and when my next door neighbor told me about her pet "ro" it took me forever to figure out she was talking about a rat. I think I lucked out having her as my voisine. We have a lot in common, and she really challenges my communication skills. When I first met her I had NO idea what she was saying. Now I can understand at least half of it. Her boyfriend is in a band and they've invited me to come along to one of their répétitions, it should be fun.

There is a series of postcards I came across in the bookstore, le Furet du Nord, about Nord-Pas-de-Calais, this particular region of France. They poke fun at the ch'ti accent, the weather, etc. Very cute, I think. My favorite is this one
http://www.adelchicon.fr/images/112A-04.jpg
And the rest can be found here
http://www.adelchicon.fr/cartes.html

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Last week was Fall break and I went with some girls to Ireland. We saw Tralee, Limerick, Galway and Dublin. It was fun but I was kind of glad to return to home sweet Triolo. The next couple of weeks are going to be fairly busy, as this is not only when all of my projects seem to be due at the same time, but a friend is coming to visit next week and we are going to see Morrissey at the Lille Aeronef! It always seems to work that way though.

Time for bed, I would like to be somewhat productive tomorrow, I still have some paperwork to finalize. But I can't end this entry without mentioning the GREAT beers that can be found here! Merci, Belgique. ;)

A la prochaine!

Excuses, excuses

2009-10-01T15:53:00.003+02:00

So. Funny story. The night before I left, I discovered my computer's cable had become so hot that it melted through the rubber covering, exposing the metal part. Not wanting to die, I took it in to be fixed a few hours before my plane took off. At this point I do not know when I will get it back, and I don't really feel like I can give an adequate first update until I do. There is nothing available at the residence and there is always someone else waiting for these ancient computers Lille 3 has designated for Erasmus/ISEP student use.

Other than this slight frustration, things are going wonderfully here. Our residence (Triolo) is situated in Villeneuve D'Ascq, which is a commune right outside of Lille. The residence is about a 20 minute walk to campus, 5-7 from the nearest Metro stop, and about 10 from the Centre Commerciale where we do our shopping. It's so insanely liveable, especially coming straight here from North Carolina. I already have a favorite pizza place, friterie, and bakery, all in between campus and home.

As for classes, my schedule is as follows:

Monday:

10-12 : Intensive French
13-14h30 : Medieval Lit (Le Chevalier de la Charette)
16 : Translation (French to English)

Wednesday:

No courses, but I meet with my tandem partner.

Thursday:

10h30-12 : Translation (English to French)
13-14h30 : Lit Française (Gil Blas)

Friday:

10-12 : Danish

It's hard to believe but somehow this adds up to 24 ECTS, which is 12 credits for me, the exact number I need.

I am going to stop here because I think this building is actually closing soon... but hopefully by the next entry I will be able to post not only what I am up to these days, but pictures as well.

Ciao!

..maybe next time I will also have a more clever way to end the entry, huh?

preparation.

2009-08-22T20:03:00.004+02:00

Last ten days before departure.

I feel ready to leave.

Acquired visa.
Bought (and re-bought) plane ticket.
Finished work.
Saw best friend.
Received lovely mix from a friend with impeccable taste entitled "Music for France (and her times in between)".
Have a clear idea of the classes I need to take and a vague idea of the classes I am going to take.
Looked up bands that will be in Lille during the next couple of months (Morrissey!, Placebo and Massive Attack, and Gérald Genty will be touring l'hexagone throughout the Fall so I am sure I could catch him somewhere).
Connected to the réseau social for Lille 3 and sent messages to several other exchange kids who will be there.
Scoured the internet (unfruitfully) for pictures of my dorm, Résidence Triolo, because I am REALLY excited to move in.
Looked into buying a secondhand bike when I get there and came across http://www.marche.fr, wonder if it's reliable?
Notified two different coordinators of my arrival in Lille and hope that the lack of response isn't as bad as it seems. They are on vacation...right?

Official date of arrival: September 2, Charles de Gaulle, bright-and-early AM. On the third we have a language test and registration for classes followed by a week of intensive language courses. Thank god for that. As departure is sneaking up on me I am getting more and more nervous about my French. Whenever I talk to an ISEP student who will be arriving on the ninth as opposed to the first or second, I can't help but think "Oh no, is this person's French really so good that they just don't even want the free intensive language classes?" However it is also possible they made the same mistake I did and bought their tickets according to the dates that were originally given to us back in May (and were revised in mid July) and didn't want to pay to get them changed (it's not cheap).

More immediately I have to start focusing on packing, which seems a daunting task but also a fun challenge... to prepare myself for an entire (academic) year! I think it's laundry time...