So, as a result of having been a little ill, worn down from schoolwork, and the impending week of travel, I (among a good few other MUDECers) elected to stay in town this weekend. Before the weekend however, I went out to dinner with Norby on Thursday night, and it was awesome.
So Norby's two friends (and I feel terrible about this, but I forget their names now) came over and picked us up around 7:30 or so. We had a beer before we left, and I had some other Luxembourg beer that I haven't had before. It was nice. So we went to this little restaurant that was originally just a house. It was really small, quiet, and very cozy. The place itself was basically just a room and a bar with a few tables around the walls. So, for dinner itself, I (on Norby's advice) had filet de cheval. For you non-french speakers, I ate horse meat. It was actually really tasty. I think it's best described as like American beef in taste / texture, but significantly leaner. Anyhow, Norby and his one friend split a Raclette meal. Ok, so basically this thing is a Swiss delicacy, and it's quite a feast. They serve you a big block of cheese in a heating device, so you slowly melt the cheese. They also provide you with a plate of assorted meats and a bunch of potatoes, so you can basically go to town and combine all of them in a warm, sumptuous feast of flavor. Norby let me try some, and it was superb. We ended up hanging out, having some wine, and chatting with the other people in the restaurant (which is cool, because that doesn't really happen a lot of places in Luxembourg).
Fast-forward to Friday night. I take the 17:48 train from Esch into Lux City. Greg and Patrick meet me on the train, and we arrive in Lux city at 6:15. It's a short 7 minute bus ride, where we get off near the city center. A 5 minute walk later and we arrive at the city center. Hilarity ensues as Patrick and Bobby are wearing the exact same striped sweater (with different colors). Dinner discussions are tense, the group splits up - I end up drinking strawberry margaritas at Chi Chi's. After the rest of the group meets us there, we get dinner at Chi Chi's (quesadilla - first mexican food in a month). Some of the group has already left, but several of us decide another margarita wouldn't really be such a bad idea, so we hang out for a little bit longer. Then, after a 10 minute walk through the city, we get to Clausen - basically a street with a bunch of bars on it. PROBLEM: there are bouncers at either end of the street, and to get in you need a valid i.d. For some reason, my train pass (with my birthday on it) or my student id (also with my birthday) did not suffice - they said I needed a passport or drivers' license. Bummer. SOLUTION: we walked around to the other entrance of Clausen, waited for a huge group of students to roll in, blended in, and snuck in. Ended up at some bar called Verso, had a couple of (quite expensive) drinks, and chilled out.
I took time to analyze how different the clubs were in Europe as opposed to those in America. (Disclaimer: I do not spend a large amount of time in clubs anywhere, but I've researched this subject extensively and feel I possess enough base knowledge to comment on key differences). So anyway, in Europe, they play extremely loud dance music all night, but no one really dances. At least, there's not like a pure dance floor where everyone is just getting down. Well, I take that back, there were some people dancing, but the vast majority of persons present were just standing or sitting, hanging out, and drinking with their friends. The bar was huge, the bathrooms weren't trashy, and everyone was really dressed up - these were the chief differences I noticed. Also, there were a lot more places to sit down in Europe. Oh, and in Europe, everybody smokes in the bars, which is not all that cool - because now my nice clothes smell like smoke. Anyway, back to my riveting narrative. So found Jacques and Phillippe (Greg's host brothers) and they guided us back to the train station in time to catch the last train home (it left Lux City at 12:50 am). As expected, we ran into a bunch of other Miami students on the train back (an experience in and of itself), and I made it home by about 1:30 am. A late night indeed.
Woke up about 11:30 on Saturday morning. Hopped on the 1:14 train into Lux City, as the game plan was to hit up the Apple Festival going on in Steinsel (a little village just north of Lux City). Now, I had been told that it would be a 15 minute bus ride, and a short walk up a hill. Allow me to correct that statement with what it actually was: a 30 minute bus ride, a 40 minute trek up a large hill. No big deal though, just got to Applefest a little later than I had planned. It wasn't really a festival so much as a couple of tents and an apple orchard. But, it was really cool. I had some of the best apple juice I've ever had, tried some fresh apple tart, and got to stroll casually through the orchard and pick some apples. They were fantastic.
On our way back down the hill, we ran into other Miami students and told them that they were unfortunately too late to make it to the festival. But, instead, we all went out to dinner in Lux City at a place called Banana's - which was awesome. The margaritas there were real strong though. Luckily, I also had a giant hamburger / egg / cheese / french fries sandwich contraption for dinner. After dawdling around in the city for a while, we were notified via text message that it was "student night" at Verso (the same bar we were at on Friday night), and that "student night" meant "free beer for students." Ergo, we made it to Verso (and I had my driver's license now, so it was chill). After another long night of chillaxing (and almost running into Norby, as I later learned), made it home, slept, and woke up around noon today. Very unproductive day so far, basically been getting ready to leave on our Study tour tomorrow.
Our chocolate class is headed to Koln tomorrow via bus. Then later to Brussels and Bruges. Should be interesting - especially since I have no real plans for afterwards on Thursday. By that I mean, we get done with our Study Tour on Thursday at 1500 in Bruges, and class doesn't resume until Monday morning, so I'm going somewhere - I just don't know where yet.
That brings me to a study abroad tip for anyone considering it: Either go with one really good friend, or go to a program where no one knows each other before hand. It's been a little difficult for me here, because I didn't know any MUDECers before I got here, and there are a ton of people here who came with like one best friend, so it can be clique-y at times, which is unfortunate. It can be hard to fit into groups of already-established friends at times. But, don't let that discourage you from heading out on your own. Sometimes, that's the best way to get to know yourself and how you really feel about life.
Anyway, I need to finish packing - look forward to hearing from me in a week or so about my long travel time. Thanks for reading!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Thursday, September 23, 2010
4 Cities, One Weekend
Sorry this has taken me a while to write. I'm just getting back on my feet after having quite a long week (two midterm exams and a research paper due, all while battling a cold). Anyhow, forgive me if memory fails, but here is hopefully an accurate account of my past weekend.
So I elected to go on the "Discovery Tour" which is a Miami sponsored trip led by our student activities coordinator, Kelley. I had signed up for the express purpose that part of the trip was a wine tasting, but more on that later.
Our tour began in Differdange, where we took the 1300 train to Luxembourg City. From there, we boarded a long train to Cologne, Germany (or Koln, as it's called in German). The train ride was just over three hours, and I had yet another opportunity to meet some cool people on the train. I sat with a young man who was originally born in Paris, but who was now living in Esch (where I live!). Also in Bonn, another guy sat next to us, and he was some sort of Olympic athlete from Germany. I say this because he was jacked (as in ripped) and was wearing a Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games official shirt. He was very friendly, and we chatted for a while about Germany, Koln, and America. We arrived in Koln at about six, and walked around the massive Dom (which is right by the train station). Here is what it looked like then:
It's giant. Anyways, I climbed it later.
So we checked into our hostel (Pathpoint Backpacker's Hostel) which was a sweet converted Evangelical church, and we even had a private bathroom in our room. Then, on the advice of one of the other students on the Discovery Tour, Tiffany, we found our way to this incredibly happening German restaurant, Fruh (or something like that). It was real awesome, and I had probably some of the best beer I've had yet, Kolsch (which is made in Koln). I had had that same beer earlier, in Trier, but it was not nearly as good then. I had a bockwurst with potato salad for dinner, and it was quite tasty. We then strolled leisurely through the streets of Koln, where there were shopping sites everywhere. We wandered into a street performance of 4 guys that was really cool. Then, our advisor, Kelley left us to go meet a friend, and it was just us 10 Miami students, alone, in Koln. So, we went back to the hostel, got jackets, and decided to find a club to hit. We took the subway (which was ubersketchy at midnight), and made our way to the main club street. It was crazy. Imagine High Street in Oxford times five. But yeah, we weren't really dressed well enough to get into any club, and we didn't want to pay that much at other places. So we ended up just walking slowly back to our hostel before konking out for the night.
We got up early, had a sweet breakfast in the hostel, and then got on an 0858 train to Moselkern. Now, the town of Moselkern is not exactly a booming metropolis, but near there is the castle Burg Eltz, which was our destination. Here is a picture of the sleepy town of Moselkern:
So yeah, we hiked through the city first, and then made our way through the woods approximately two additional kilometers up to Burg Eltz. It was really cool. As in, it was set back on a hill, in the middle of what appeared to be an extensive forest. We chillaxed in the castle, and actually had a guided tour in English (which was nice). Turns out this castle is still owned by the original family descendent, and is in its 33rd generation of ownership. I remember I found it interesting that every room had a chimney in it, as they had to heat each room individually. We then had lunch - in the castle courtyard, which rocked. I had really good french fries that actually tasted like pretzels. Then we hiked back to the train station so that we could make our train to Cochem (where our wine tasting was scheduled). We took the short train to Cochem, which is another sleepy town along the Moselle river, and literally walked 100 steps to the vineyard.
First, we had the proprietor give us a little lecture (in English) about his vineyard. I learned all about the terroir of his vineyard. Apparently, terroir is a french word which describes the unique aspects of a vineyard. It takes into account local weather, local soil, the actual grapes used, and the work/workers. This guy told us all about how there they have hot mornings, so they grow the grapes on the southeast side of hills to maximize the morning sun. Then, they use a very gravelly-slate soil (which apparently adds a potassium taste to the wine). The grapes they grew included Riesling, Dunfelder, and Pinot Noir. Then, after a tour through their rock cellar (where they keep wine - it was literally a cave), we got to taste some wine (my favorite part). We had three different glasses of white wine, and then one glass of red. The red was especially interesting - they keep their reds in oak barrels, so there was a very strong woody taste to the wine, which I was not used to, and did not particularly enjoy. So I actually ended up buying a bottle of one of the white wines we had (for 9.80 euros), to give to Norby as a present (My first wine purchase, and assuredly not my last - my parents would be so proud).
Our group then weighed our options and figured out how to get to Aachen, where we had rooms booked for Saturday night. Unfortunately, we called the hotel to let them know we were going to be late, and by then they had already given away some of our rooms. Luckily, they just booked us new rooms in a hotel right by the train station in Aachen. So we took like a long, four hour journey, with several changes, to get to Aachen. Notably, when we were on the train from Koblenz to Koln, at one stop in Remagen like a thousand people got on the train, and it was a party. There were some older people who brought glasses and bottles of wine on the train, people were standing throughout the entire train aisle, I gave up my seat to an old lady, twice (one of them was so appreciative, she gave us an entire bag of chocolate to say thanks!), it was a Party Train (or Party Zug, in German). Oh, side note about cultural exchange, when one of the german guys dropped and broke his wine glass, I said out loud, "Das ist eine Party Foul!" and everybody laughed, so I think they understood the notion of a "party foul," which was funny for me. German people are incredibly friendly, which has really contributed to how much fun I've had the last two weekends. So we didn't get into Aachen until after midnight, and by that point we were all exhausted, so we set up a rendezvous time for the next morning and went to bed. I, regrettably, decided to sleep on the couch and had quite a cold night. Nonetheless, I survived, and after a warm shower in the morning, I was back in the game.
So we headed out in search of food, and stumbled upon one of the coolest little cafes I've been in yet. The place was called "Bagels and Beans." Thus, we had delicious bagels and the best coffee I've had in Europe yet. It was awesome. Plus, the owner was talking to us and explained that that day, Sunday, was the last day of a rock and jazz festival going on in Aachen, and that there would be free concerts all day starting at 1300. So, we walked into the city center, and it was already happening. Turns out they were hosting some sort of running fundraiser for Amnesty International, so there was a large hoopla in the city center with people cheering and a big band playing inspirational music (like YMCA, and the Rocky theme song - pure America). We went into the Rathaus, which was like the town center, and saw a bunch of cool stuff about German kings and Charlemagne. Later on, we would visit the cathedral in Aachen, where Charlemagne's remains are located.
It was really cool that there was this huge festival going on, and it provided a fascinating juxtaposition between the ancient parts of the city and the still vibrant German population. Here is a picture that explains this idea well:
Anyway, so that was cool. Then, we had some lunch (more sausage), and decided to catch a train back to Koln so that we could climb the tower of the Dom (for some reason that seems to be the thing to do in Europe). So, after a relatively short, and uneventful, train ride, we got to Koln and promptly headed over to the tower.
It got real high, real fast. The stairs were quite steep and thin. Yet again, I had my backpack on, which added to the difficulty of climbing the 509 steps to the top of the tower. Though it took quite some time, it seemed fast, and tiring - the oxygen level decreases with an increase in altitude, just so you know. Anyway, so we got to the top, and had some pretty sweet views of the Rhine River and the city. Here is one of them:
And, we were like caged in, as I can imagine the danger of falling from such great heights. But, it was a really fantastic view, and I could see for miles. The climb down was equally precarious, but I again survived. Then, some members of our group actually elected to go to mass in the Dom, which is cool, but I was hungry. So instead, we went to the train station and plotted our return course as well as got McDonalds. We got on a train about an hour later, and had a long, long journey back to Lux City. On trains, you learn a lot about people, and they always provide a great opportunity to really get to know the people that you're spending time with. They are truly fascinating modes of transportation.
And thus concluded our whirlwind tour of Koln, Moselkern, Cochem, and Aachen. It was very hectic. So I'm now much more chill after having completed my exams and papers (by the way - classes are NOT easier here, I don't know how that myth exists, but it does, and it's wrong). So, I plan on putting up the rest of my pictures on facebook soon, and you should be able to check them out.
Thanks for reading, and look forward to next, next weekend, I should be returning from a weeklong vacation. Er, I mean..."Study tour" for my chocolate class. I'll be sure to take good notes.
So I elected to go on the "Discovery Tour" which is a Miami sponsored trip led by our student activities coordinator, Kelley. I had signed up for the express purpose that part of the trip was a wine tasting, but more on that later.
So we checked into our hostel (Pathpoint Backpacker's Hostel) which was a sweet converted Evangelical church, and we even had a private bathroom in our room. Then, on the advice of one of the other students on the Discovery Tour, Tiffany, we found our way to this incredibly happening German restaurant, Fruh (or something like that). It was real awesome, and I had probably some of the best beer I've had yet, Kolsch (which is made in Koln). I had had that same beer earlier, in Trier, but it was not nearly as good then. I had a bockwurst with potato salad for dinner, and it was quite tasty. We then strolled leisurely through the streets of Koln, where there were shopping sites everywhere. We wandered into a street performance of 4 guys that was really cool. Then, our advisor, Kelley left us to go meet a friend, and it was just us 10 Miami students, alone, in Koln. So, we went back to the hostel, got jackets, and decided to find a club to hit. We took the subway (which was ubersketchy at midnight), and made our way to the main club street. It was crazy. Imagine High Street in Oxford times five. But yeah, we weren't really dressed well enough to get into any club, and we didn't want to pay that much at other places. So we ended up just walking slowly back to our hostel before konking out for the night.
We got up early, had a sweet breakfast in the hostel, and then got on an 0858 train to Moselkern. Now, the town of Moselkern is not exactly a booming metropolis, but near there is the castle Burg Eltz, which was our destination. Here is a picture of the sleepy town of Moselkern:
First, we had the proprietor give us a little lecture (in English) about his vineyard. I learned all about the terroir of his vineyard. Apparently, terroir is a french word which describes the unique aspects of a vineyard. It takes into account local weather, local soil, the actual grapes used, and the work/workers. This guy told us all about how there they have hot mornings, so they grow the grapes on the southeast side of hills to maximize the morning sun. Then, they use a very gravelly-slate soil (which apparently adds a potassium taste to the wine). The grapes they grew included Riesling, Dunfelder, and Pinot Noir. Then, after a tour through their rock cellar (where they keep wine - it was literally a cave), we got to taste some wine (my favorite part). We had three different glasses of white wine, and then one glass of red. The red was especially interesting - they keep their reds in oak barrels, so there was a very strong woody taste to the wine, which I was not used to, and did not particularly enjoy. So I actually ended up buying a bottle of one of the white wines we had (for 9.80 euros), to give to Norby as a present (My first wine purchase, and assuredly not my last - my parents would be so proud).
Our group then weighed our options and figured out how to get to Aachen, where we had rooms booked for Saturday night. Unfortunately, we called the hotel to let them know we were going to be late, and by then they had already given away some of our rooms. Luckily, they just booked us new rooms in a hotel right by the train station in Aachen. So we took like a long, four hour journey, with several changes, to get to Aachen. Notably, when we were on the train from Koblenz to Koln, at one stop in Remagen like a thousand people got on the train, and it was a party. There were some older people who brought glasses and bottles of wine on the train, people were standing throughout the entire train aisle, I gave up my seat to an old lady, twice (one of them was so appreciative, she gave us an entire bag of chocolate to say thanks!), it was a Party Train (or Party Zug, in German). Oh, side note about cultural exchange, when one of the german guys dropped and broke his wine glass, I said out loud, "Das ist eine Party Foul!" and everybody laughed, so I think they understood the notion of a "party foul," which was funny for me. German people are incredibly friendly, which has really contributed to how much fun I've had the last two weekends. So we didn't get into Aachen until after midnight, and by that point we were all exhausted, so we set up a rendezvous time for the next morning and went to bed. I, regrettably, decided to sleep on the couch and had quite a cold night. Nonetheless, I survived, and after a warm shower in the morning, I was back in the game.
So we headed out in search of food, and stumbled upon one of the coolest little cafes I've been in yet. The place was called "Bagels and Beans." Thus, we had delicious bagels and the best coffee I've had in Europe yet. It was awesome. Plus, the owner was talking to us and explained that that day, Sunday, was the last day of a rock and jazz festival going on in Aachen, and that there would be free concerts all day starting at 1300. So, we walked into the city center, and it was already happening. Turns out they were hosting some sort of running fundraiser for Amnesty International, so there was a large hoopla in the city center with people cheering and a big band playing inspirational music (like YMCA, and the Rocky theme song - pure America). We went into the Rathaus, which was like the town center, and saw a bunch of cool stuff about German kings and Charlemagne. Later on, we would visit the cathedral in Aachen, where Charlemagne's remains are located.
It was really cool that there was this huge festival going on, and it provided a fascinating juxtaposition between the ancient parts of the city and the still vibrant German population. Here is a picture that explains this idea well:
And thus concluded our whirlwind tour of Koln, Moselkern, Cochem, and Aachen. It was very hectic. So I'm now much more chill after having completed my exams and papers (by the way - classes are NOT easier here, I don't know how that myth exists, but it does, and it's wrong). So, I plan on putting up the rest of my pictures on facebook soon, and you should be able to check them out.
Thanks for reading, and look forward to next, next weekend, I should be returning from a weeklong vacation. Er, I mean..."Study tour" for my chocolate class. I'll be sure to take good notes.
Thursday, September 16, 2010
The People You Meet
Ok, so this will be kind of a hodge-podge post that combines a couple of things I've wished to write about.
First, earlier this week, on Monday night, I walked up the stairs to the train stop in Differdange to catch the 10:00 train home. As I climbed upwards a familiar sound reached my ears. Though there were no other Miami students at the stop, I heard English. As I approached, I recognized one individual who I had seen last week in Esch with a Boston College sweatshirt on. So when I realized they were speaking English, I had to know more (i.e. introduce myself). So it was that I met Ella, Walter, Bierette (spelling?), and some other lady whose name I cannot remember but who was definitely from Mexico. Turns out these four individuals are students working towards their Masters degrees in international studies and relations. They are doing that through the university in Leuven, Belgium. So I learned that for their program they are spending eight months in Differdange and Luxembourg and then going back to Leuven for the last three months of their year-long program. It was fascinating, and refreshing, to meet students who are not as crazy or as loud as the Miami students. You see, from the train stop, one can see the MUDEC student body's favorite bar, "Cafe le Notre," more commonly know as "Das Boot." The juxtaposition was ironic and comical for me. To hear the rowdy Miami students from the bar (on a Monday night, no less), and to hear the stories of Walter, a student originally from Belgium, Ella, who came from Armenia to study, and Bierette, who was from Estonia, was a little saddening. Even the internationalism presented by the MUDEC students pales in comparison to that of the Europeans.
Basically, it was cool to hear all of their perspectives on Luxembourg and on university matters. It was nice to meet other students in a relatively similar situation as ourselves. And, we'll hopefully get a chance to see them all again (as I learned that everyone from their program lives in either Differdange or Esch).
Fast forward to Wednesday night. For our mandatory activity, this guy Paul Dostert from some official Luxembourgish government office came and spoke about the Resistance in Luxembourg during World War II. While many of my fellow MUDECers studied for tests or spaced out, I in the front row stayed at least attentive during his hour and a half speech.
I heard the story of a 19 year old who started a strong anti-German resistance in Luxembourg's north. This student, two years later, was to be arrested by the Germans and instead he shot the two German police officers and then took his own life. I learned about how in 1939, Luxembourg defiantly celebrated the centennial anniversary of its founding as an independent nation. I thought it was really awesome that this small country had the guts to basically spit in Germany's face, even as war loomed. This was all during the hour and a half spiel to the whole of MUDEC. After that however, there was a reception scheduled (which I had signed up for - because there was going to be cheese and wine), and so I got to basically hang out with Mr. Dostert, the MUDEC theatre professor (still don't know his name), Assistant Dean Raymond Manes, Kelley (our student activities coordinator), and two other students for another hour. That's when I really learned some interesting things.
Mr. Dostert spoke about Bulgaria during World War II. He told us how not a single Bulgarian was ever taken to a death camp or concentration camp (which are two very different things, as I've learned). He told us how after the war the Bulgarians had tried to claim themselves as a shining example of protecting their own jewish community, and even went as far as to blame other nations for not doing better. To Mr. Dostert, this was hogwash, as he explained that basically the Bulgarians had just not been forced by the Nazis, and that they themselves made no distinctions between protecting Bulgarians and protecting jews. Mr. Dostert also spoke about the interrogations of the Nazi leadership after the war, which John Dolibois (for whom MUDEC is named) participated in. He told us how the Americans took a very "ambitious" policy of taking Nazi leadership into questioning. He said that they had kept them in Luxembourg's north where many interrogations took place before the Nuremburg trials. Now, although it was only his personal theory, he said he had read documents suggesting that Americans actually went so far as to kidnap Nazi leaders from parts of Germany and Luxembourg so that they could question them before they got to Britain or before the Allies' had come up with rules about how the German prisoners were to be treated. Mr. Dostert even said that this tactic was basically designed to make sure that the German prisoners were not taken into Soviet custody. Fascinating. This whole history thing can be really interesting sometimes.
Anyway, I've got to go. This weekend I will be in Cologne and Aachen in Germany. I will definitely take pictures and write a sweet post when I return on Sunday. Thanks!
First, earlier this week, on Monday night, I walked up the stairs to the train stop in Differdange to catch the 10:00 train home. As I climbed upwards a familiar sound reached my ears. Though there were no other Miami students at the stop, I heard English. As I approached, I recognized one individual who I had seen last week in Esch with a Boston College sweatshirt on. So when I realized they were speaking English, I had to know more (i.e. introduce myself). So it was that I met Ella, Walter, Bierette (spelling?), and some other lady whose name I cannot remember but who was definitely from Mexico. Turns out these four individuals are students working towards their Masters degrees in international studies and relations. They are doing that through the university in Leuven, Belgium. So I learned that for their program they are spending eight months in Differdange and Luxembourg and then going back to Leuven for the last three months of their year-long program. It was fascinating, and refreshing, to meet students who are not as crazy or as loud as the Miami students. You see, from the train stop, one can see the MUDEC student body's favorite bar, "Cafe le Notre," more commonly know as "Das Boot." The juxtaposition was ironic and comical for me. To hear the rowdy Miami students from the bar (on a Monday night, no less), and to hear the stories of Walter, a student originally from Belgium, Ella, who came from Armenia to study, and Bierette, who was from Estonia, was a little saddening. Even the internationalism presented by the MUDEC students pales in comparison to that of the Europeans.
Basically, it was cool to hear all of their perspectives on Luxembourg and on university matters. It was nice to meet other students in a relatively similar situation as ourselves. And, we'll hopefully get a chance to see them all again (as I learned that everyone from their program lives in either Differdange or Esch).
Fast forward to Wednesday night. For our mandatory activity, this guy Paul Dostert from some official Luxembourgish government office came and spoke about the Resistance in Luxembourg during World War II. While many of my fellow MUDECers studied for tests or spaced out, I in the front row stayed at least attentive during his hour and a half speech.
I heard the story of a 19 year old who started a strong anti-German resistance in Luxembourg's north. This student, two years later, was to be arrested by the Germans and instead he shot the two German police officers and then took his own life. I learned about how in 1939, Luxembourg defiantly celebrated the centennial anniversary of its founding as an independent nation. I thought it was really awesome that this small country had the guts to basically spit in Germany's face, even as war loomed. This was all during the hour and a half spiel to the whole of MUDEC. After that however, there was a reception scheduled (which I had signed up for - because there was going to be cheese and wine), and so I got to basically hang out with Mr. Dostert, the MUDEC theatre professor (still don't know his name), Assistant Dean Raymond Manes, Kelley (our student activities coordinator), and two other students for another hour. That's when I really learned some interesting things.
Mr. Dostert spoke about Bulgaria during World War II. He told us how not a single Bulgarian was ever taken to a death camp or concentration camp (which are two very different things, as I've learned). He told us how after the war the Bulgarians had tried to claim themselves as a shining example of protecting their own jewish community, and even went as far as to blame other nations for not doing better. To Mr. Dostert, this was hogwash, as he explained that basically the Bulgarians had just not been forced by the Nazis, and that they themselves made no distinctions between protecting Bulgarians and protecting jews. Mr. Dostert also spoke about the interrogations of the Nazi leadership after the war, which John Dolibois (for whom MUDEC is named) participated in. He told us how the Americans took a very "ambitious" policy of taking Nazi leadership into questioning. He said that they had kept them in Luxembourg's north where many interrogations took place before the Nuremburg trials. Now, although it was only his personal theory, he said he had read documents suggesting that Americans actually went so far as to kidnap Nazi leaders from parts of Germany and Luxembourg so that they could question them before they got to Britain or before the Allies' had come up with rules about how the German prisoners were to be treated. Mr. Dostert even said that this tactic was basically designed to make sure that the German prisoners were not taken into Soviet custody. Fascinating. This whole history thing can be really interesting sometimes.
Anyway, I've got to go. This weekend I will be in Cologne and Aachen in Germany. I will definitely take pictures and write a sweet post when I return on Sunday. Thanks!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Chocolate Tasting (Best Blog Post Ever)
So last Thursday in my "Business" class, we had our first chocolate tasting. I thought it pertinent to share the proper notes on how to taste chocolate on my blog, because it's really awesome. I've reprinted material courtesy of Professor Rob Rollins, and the author of our "textbook" (so it's all chill and legal) (Just kidding, I'm just writing this because I took notes on chocolate tasting - so sue me) (but not really, don't sue me).
Most Important Attributes to bring to Chocolate Tasting
1. Focus and Attention - it takes a lot of concentration to figure out the distinct flavors. You really do have to get in the zone.
2. A Clean, Rested Palate - brush your teeth, don't eat, smoke or drink heavily before you begin.
3. A Sense of Humor - it's just chocolate, so don't get frustrated or angry if you can't figure the exact taste out.
How to Clean your Palate
Drinks: you can cleanse your palate by drinking cool (not cold) drinks such as plain water with slivers of lemons or limes, or with sparkling water. You can also use warm (not hot) tea to cleanse your palate.
Food: blue corn tortilla chips can clean your palate out due to their grainy-ness. Also, you can use unsalted saltines (what are those?), plain white bread without crusts, and very thin slices of tart apple.
The 8-step Process for Tasting Chocolate
1. Smell
Take deep breaths, try to analyze the intensity of the chocolate. Is the aroma clear? Do you smell vanilla? (Vanilla is an ingredient often used to mask lower quality chocolate - not a smell you want to sense). Do you smell the sweetness? It helps to lightly rub your finger against the chocolate to warm it up, which releases the aromas. Try to sense smells such as vanilla, fruit, toast, smoke, bitterness, spice, milk, earth.
2. Look
Dark chocolate should be shiny. Powdery-looking chocolate is caused by "cocoa butter bloom" which implies that the chocolate was not stored properly. Irregular white coating of sugar crystals are caused by "sugar bloom" the result of the chocolate having come in contact with too much moisture. "Pinholes" are holes in the chocolate and are a sign of a rushed (not necessarily bad) processing; it's important not to eat truffles with pinholes or cracks as they can allow for the growth of bacteria inside the chocolate.
3. Touch / Listen to the Snap
Break the chocolate. This is really only important for dark chocolate, and less so for milk chocolate. The snap should be crisp, not brittle. Dull snaps are an indication of fatty or waxy chocolate. Brittle snaps are a sign of old or poorly stored chocolate.
4. Initial Taste
Place the chocolate on your tongue. DO NOT CHEW (it's really difficult not to). Breathe in air through your mouth and exhale through your nose; this process is called "guppying." Suck at the chocolate gently to get the flavors to other parts of your tongue. Write down your initial impressions.
5. Middle Taste
Chew 3-5 times. Pay attention to the changing tastes and textures. Move the chocolate between the tip of your tongue and upper teeth, and be sure to push it to the roof of your mouth as well. If there is any dry astringency, which is caused by tannins in the chocolate (just like in wine), you'll feel it on the sides of your tongue and at the back of your mouth. Common flavors that you might taste are spicy, nutty, roasted, dairy, fruity, flowery, or earthy.
6. Short Aftertaste
Swallow the last bit of the chocolate. What does it taste like right then? Astringency is a sign of fats, and is not viewed as acceptable for quality chocolates, which should "clean and clear" your mouth. If you taste anything like butter or oil, signs of pasty chocolate, or diet coke, then you've just eaten a low quality product.
7. Long Aftertaste
Wait 30 seconds after swallowing the last little bit. What does it taste like then? This is the sign of a quality chocolate. Are you left with any flowery feeling? The long aftertaste is considered as the litmus test for determining the true quality of fine chocolate.
8. Overall Rating
Evaluate the quality of your experience. We were told to use a four tiered rating system - Great = I would not share, Good = I would share, but only with friends, Ordinary = I would re-gift it to a friend, and Bad = I would only re-gift it to enemies.
So far, it's harder than it seems. But you should probably try it at home (just another excuse to eat chocolate!). Hope you have as much fun as I've been having with this. Oh, and be jealous, because I get to do that for homework every week. I love chocolate class.
Most Important Attributes to bring to Chocolate Tasting
1. Focus and Attention - it takes a lot of concentration to figure out the distinct flavors. You really do have to get in the zone.
2. A Clean, Rested Palate - brush your teeth, don't eat, smoke or drink heavily before you begin.
3. A Sense of Humor - it's just chocolate, so don't get frustrated or angry if you can't figure the exact taste out.
How to Clean your Palate
Drinks: you can cleanse your palate by drinking cool (not cold) drinks such as plain water with slivers of lemons or limes, or with sparkling water. You can also use warm (not hot) tea to cleanse your palate.
Food: blue corn tortilla chips can clean your palate out due to their grainy-ness. Also, you can use unsalted saltines (what are those?), plain white bread without crusts, and very thin slices of tart apple.
The 8-step Process for Tasting Chocolate
1. Smell
Take deep breaths, try to analyze the intensity of the chocolate. Is the aroma clear? Do you smell vanilla? (Vanilla is an ingredient often used to mask lower quality chocolate - not a smell you want to sense). Do you smell the sweetness? It helps to lightly rub your finger against the chocolate to warm it up, which releases the aromas. Try to sense smells such as vanilla, fruit, toast, smoke, bitterness, spice, milk, earth.
2. Look
Dark chocolate should be shiny. Powdery-looking chocolate is caused by "cocoa butter bloom" which implies that the chocolate was not stored properly. Irregular white coating of sugar crystals are caused by "sugar bloom" the result of the chocolate having come in contact with too much moisture. "Pinholes" are holes in the chocolate and are a sign of a rushed (not necessarily bad) processing; it's important not to eat truffles with pinholes or cracks as they can allow for the growth of bacteria inside the chocolate.
3. Touch / Listen to the Snap
Break the chocolate. This is really only important for dark chocolate, and less so for milk chocolate. The snap should be crisp, not brittle. Dull snaps are an indication of fatty or waxy chocolate. Brittle snaps are a sign of old or poorly stored chocolate.
4. Initial Taste
Place the chocolate on your tongue. DO NOT CHEW (it's really difficult not to). Breathe in air through your mouth and exhale through your nose; this process is called "guppying." Suck at the chocolate gently to get the flavors to other parts of your tongue. Write down your initial impressions.
5. Middle Taste
Chew 3-5 times. Pay attention to the changing tastes and textures. Move the chocolate between the tip of your tongue and upper teeth, and be sure to push it to the roof of your mouth as well. If there is any dry astringency, which is caused by tannins in the chocolate (just like in wine), you'll feel it on the sides of your tongue and at the back of your mouth. Common flavors that you might taste are spicy, nutty, roasted, dairy, fruity, flowery, or earthy.
6. Short Aftertaste
Swallow the last bit of the chocolate. What does it taste like right then? Astringency is a sign of fats, and is not viewed as acceptable for quality chocolates, which should "clean and clear" your mouth. If you taste anything like butter or oil, signs of pasty chocolate, or diet coke, then you've just eaten a low quality product.
7. Long Aftertaste
Wait 30 seconds after swallowing the last little bit. What does it taste like then? This is the sign of a quality chocolate. Are you left with any flowery feeling? The long aftertaste is considered as the litmus test for determining the true quality of fine chocolate.
8. Overall Rating
Evaluate the quality of your experience. We were told to use a four tiered rating system - Great = I would not share, Good = I would share, but only with friends, Ordinary = I would re-gift it to a friend, and Bad = I would only re-gift it to enemies.
So far, it's harder than it seems. But you should probably try it at home (just another excuse to eat chocolate!). Hope you have as much fun as I've been having with this. Oh, and be jealous, because I get to do that for homework every week. I love chocolate class.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Trier und Heidelberg
So, it's 7:29 am right now, I'm sitting on my bed in our 6 person hostel, where our group takes up the whole room, so there's no creepy other people who might steal our stuff. We're in Trier, Germany, which is the oldest city in Germany and for a while was actually a Roman capital.
How did we get here? So we got on the train from Luxembourg City yesterday afternoon at 1517, and it was a super quick, super convenient 49-minute train ride to Trier. We got off the train, walked about 7 minutes to our sweet hostel (Hille's Hostel). We checked in, paid, put a deposit on our room key, and threw our stuff in the room. The hostel is actually very nice, it's very centrally located, and it only cost 15 euros per person (+3 euros each for bed linens - that's how they get you).
So we walked around, checked out what used to be the Throne Room, and is now just a protestant church. It's in this giant brick structure that is enormous. But it is also very empty. From inside, I felt as if I was in a giant echoing chamber, because of the extremely high ceiling and huge brick walls on either side. It looked like this:
Then we waltzed over to what appeared to be some sort of formal gardens type set-up. Right outside of the church, they had several lawns worth of beautiful flowers, fountains, and sculptures, like this:
We then walked over to the Roman Baths, which are the 5th largest in the world (apparently). But alas, the place had closed at 1800, so we've resolved to go back there today. We kind of took our sweet ole time walking around the city, which was really cool. Trier is surprisingly awesome. There are some nice touristy things to do, but it definitely felt more intimate than Bruges, where everyone was a tourist. Eventually we decided on a little cafe where we sat outside for dinner, which was right by the main town square. And, of course, when in former Roman capitals… so we were all really thirsty, and had German beer. I myself had Bitburger, which I've been told is basically standard German draft beer. It was incredibly refreshing. It also went great with the food I had, which was a baguette with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese melted over it and a salad. So we just sort of hung out, had a second beer (I chose the same, Bitburger), and learned interesting things about one another (as is often the case in situations of prolonged exposure to the same people).
We then strolled through the city to the Porta Nigra, or the Black Gate. It is the remnant of the Roman wall that surrounded Trier, and it is still rather impressive. I tried to take night photos, but they might not turn out so well. Then, we heard loud music coming from a smaller courtyard off to the side near the Porta Nigra. We investigated, and there was like a small stage set up for this German jazz-esque band that was playing. We hung out for a song, "Light my Fire," and decided it couldn't get any cooler, so we left. We ambled through the streets, and had ice cream on the way (for 70 euro-cents). Wait, maybe the ice cream was before we saw the Porta Nigra? Anyway, it was awesome - I had pfefferminz (peppermint) ice cream, and it was absolutely delicious. Then, thanks to my astute foresight, we went to O'Dwyers, an Irish pub. It was real cool. We sat in a booth, everybody was speaking English, and there was college football on TV. I had a small black and tan, which I had never had before, but came as a recommendation. It was excellent. The mix of Guinness and Kilkenny beer was like the perfect amount of smoothness, creaminess, lightness, and flavor. So after chilling there for a while, we decided to bar hop (since at this point it was only 10:00 pm).
We walked around, and came to this sports bar we had passed earlier. As we were deliberating outside as to whether or not to go in, this German guy introduced himself to us. Turns out Felix (the German guy) is like a member of the city parliament, and wanted to welcome us to Germany and chat. So, we asked him if we should go into this sports bar, and he told us he'd never been there. Then, he took one look inside and realized he knew the bartender, so we went in! We chilled in this small little sports bar and talked to Felix. He was asking us all about school, what we were studying, what we thought of Germany, and then he told us about Trier. From Felix, I learned that Trier has some drug problems, and often experiences hardships as a result of American soldiers stationed nearby. It was totally cool though, he thought we were sweet, and complimented several of us (not myself), on our German-speaking capabilities (I learned how to say, "Ich spreche kein deutsche" which means "I speak no German").
From there, we walked back towards the center of town, and headed for the Golden Arches. And no, that's not some sweet Roman monument, that's a McDonald's. I didn't have any, but according to the others it was, "Pure America." We then walked back to our hostel, and went to sleep.
Interjection: It is now Monday, so I'm writing somewhat retrospectively, but I will do my best to do justice to the last two days.
So we rolled out of Hille'sAmphitheater, which was really cool. Unfortunately, we had to pay 5,80 euros for the "kombiticket" (like a combopass), which got us into the amphitheater and the Roman baths later. There could definitely have been some gladiator fights or stuff in the amphitheater. It was a little chilly, somewhat foggy, but really cool. From there, we headed towards the Roman baths which we had seen the day before. We used our kombiticktets and strolled through the place. The arches and all of the underground structures were fascinating. Some of the above ground structure was still standing, and that was really sweet also. So after the baths, we went to the Karl Marx Haus, where Karl Marx was born and lived. It had been converted into a museum, which was neat, and we got to walk around the whole house (which was surprisingly large considering Marx's theories on social classes). Then, we headed towards the town square, and we now all decided that we had to try McDonald's. So I had a big mac and french fries and a coke light, and it all tasted delicious. The McDonald's was actually a lot nicer than any in the United States. The building it was in was really cool too - here is what it looked like:
So after getting lunch, we went back to the train station and hopped on a train towards Kaiserslautern (which sounds like an incredibly scary German town). We had to change trains in Kaiserslautern and get on another train toward Heidelberg. So, after about three and a half hours of train travel, we arrived in Heidelberg. We got off, walked about five minutes and somehow ended up at our hostel, Sudpfanne. We checked in, and again, had a room all to ourselves, which was cool. We even had a table in our room (which we used to sit and drink wine around to celebrate Elliot's 21st birthday).
We dropped our stuff off, and headed into town. The town of Heidelberg is located right along the Mosel river, so we walked up onto the bridge and just chilled out for a bit. The city was in a really picturesque setting, with the river bisecting the city, and green forest surrounding it in the valley. We returned to our hostel, because the attached restaurant had a 6 euro meal for people staying in the hostel. So I had what was like a really thin dough with sour cream and bacon on it. It sounds kind of nasty, but trust me, it was awesome. I had a German wheat beer at dinner called Hacker-Pschorr, which was tasty, but very heavy. We then walked back through the city, and ended up at sitting outside at this bar called Mohr. We chilled there for a while, as in like two hours, and I had two more German beers in that time span, one called Kolsch and one called Pils. It actually was getting a little bit cold and it was quite windy. So we walked through the city for a while longer, and after seeing all the craziness of the main party street, Untere Strasse, we decided to take a side street, and stopped at another Irish pub. I had a Guinness, on tap, and it definitely hit the spot. Then, since it was almost midnight, we all walked to the bridge to sit and chill and celebrate Elliot's birthday on the spot. We did, then went back to our hostel. After getting ready for bed, I think I was asleep in about two minutes. My bed was quite comfortable.
I awoke the next morning, took a shower, and just chilled until everyone else started getting up. We headed out at about 0915, and decided to hike up to the castle, which is on one side of the mountain. Here's a picture of the castle:
Yeah, it was a hike. We trekked up this really huge walkway. The castle was first built in 1214, and they're doing some renovations on it even now. The castle was sweet for several reasons. First, we walked into a wedding that was just letting out, so basically we went to someone really important's (who else could afford a wedding in an 800 year old castle?) wedding reception. Secondly, Heidelberg castle is home to the world's largest wine cask. That's right, the worlds largest wine barrel - I saw it. It can hold up to 58,000 gallons. It was massive. Finally, Heidelberg Castle was cool because it provided us with awesome views of the entire city, such as this one:
So, we then trekked all the way back down, and decided to cross the river to walk along the famed "Philosophenweg" or "Philosopher's Walk." Apparently, many German philosophers would stroll along this walkway, as it overlooks the beautiful city. There, they could ponder the many wonders of the universe. Little did we know however, that it would take us about 20 minutes and 400 vertical feet to climb up to the Philosophenweg (apparently German philosophers were also extreme sports and climbing enthusiasts). So then, we walked downriver, and had more incredible views of the city, but this time from the opposite shore. They looked like this:
Please note where Hiedelberg Castle is in this picture (it's on the extreme left, halfway up the opposite side of the river's hill). It was a really far walk. Then, we took the long journey back into the center of Heidelberg, where we had a massive hamburger feast at that bar from the previous night, Mohr. They had delicious food. We then walked over to our train station (which was not the main Heidelberg Station).
So...yeah...
We misread the train schedule (and when I say "we" I mean "me" it was completely my fault), and missed our train. So we took a bus to the main station, where we had to wait another hour to get on a train. We also had to adjust our route to include another stop because we missed our train. So we took a train from Heidelberg to Kaiserslautern, had to make a quick change (i.e. running through the station), and got on a train to Saarbrucken. Again, after the long train ride, we had to run through the station to get on a train from Saarbrucken to Trier. We got into Trier at 2015, and had to chillax (read, "wait") until 2050 for a train to Luxembourg City. Then, we finally got into Luxembourg city around 2140, and got to take a nice leisurely stroll over to another platform, where I caught a train back to Esch. I finally got home at around 2230.
All in all, another sweet weekend, in a really cool part of Germany. As always, I'll post more pictures on facebook so you can check out all of those at your own convenience. I have to go now (class - what a bummer), but I'm going to post another entry about my chocolate class from last Thursday - because that's how we learned to taste chocolate properly. It's going to be awesome, I promise.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Belgium - Brussels and Bruges
Ok, I apologize for not getting this post out earlier. I hope I haven't forgotten much as it is now Monday night. But anyways, let it begin.
So Friday afternoon, we (as in I and about 59 other Miami students) got on a bus toward the Belgian Ardennes. We drove to the caves of Han-sur-Lesse, where we were taken on an hour long tour. It was pretty cool - lots of interesting rock formations and a really cool light show in the giant gallery.
From there, we got off the bus at the Arlon train station, which is in Belgium, but it's right along the border. Now, that was a cluster. The guy at the counter spoke no English, so I had to step up and bust out some francais. Anyhow, so what we got was this like Go-Pass, which allowed 5 of us to get to Brussels and back round trip for 10 euros each. So, we hopped on a 6:43 train toward Brussels. We didn't exactly fill out the ticket right, but the conductor was real nice. So anyways, we got into Brussels around 9:00, which was ok, except we didn't really know where we were.
We got off at Bruxelles-Central, which was good, but I couldn't find us on the map. So I asked this guy at the counter, and he was kind of a jerk about it (by American standards) but he gave us a new, more legit map. So we wandered for a little bit around the city, walked through a park, and finally got us to our hotel. Yeah, that's not a typo, we actually stayed in like a budget hotel. So it cost us 27.50 euros for the night, but it was definitely worth it to have our own private room and our own bathroom. Also, we had a sweet balcony with a sweet view of the Rue du Congres. It was like this:
So yeah, then we were starving. So, we just started rolling out into the city. Thankfully, we ran into this lady walking down the street with what appeared to be a burrito with french fries in it. We walked in that direction and came upon the most glorious Snack! shop I've ever seen. We had a delicious burrito type thing crammed with french fries. The guy who ran the place was also really friendly and nice to us, which was real cool. Then, we wanted to get some "drank", so we stopped at a convenience store and bought some beer to take back to our hotel (of course, I first had a conversation, en francais, with the store owner about which was the best Belgian beer). So we got some Jupiler and some Maes. Finally, I went to sleep, on the top bunk of a bunk bed, in a closet, at around 1:30. Then, we got up really early, and had free breakfast in our hotel. It was nice.
Then we walked around the city for a bit, checked out some monuments. These included such things as a giant cathedral. The inside gave it a cavernous feel, here it is:
And the Belgian Beer Weekend festival was also going on in the city center. There were a ton of English-speaking people walking around, so we got to hear some cool things. We talked to this one lady who was telling us how crazy the beer festival had been the night before and how we needed to come back later (since we were there at 10:30 am). So then, we waltzed on down to the Mannekin Pis, which is a little statue of a peeing child. It was a lot smaller than I expected, but it was cool to see some parade thing going on there. From what I learned later, every week they have a small ceremony to commemorate this little boy's heroic actions. (Interjection: just had to take like a four hour break from typing. I've told the story like four complete times now, so I'm making sure I go slow enough to get everything in there).
Ok, back in it. The next thing we did was get our waffle on. I had just a plain waffle with powdered sugar on it, which was incredible. We walked back to the city center, and then visited a few chocolate shops. I didn't purchase anything (yet) but I did have a nice conversation with one store owner about where all his chocolates came from. His store stocked chocolates from ten different Belgian chocolate makers. We then walked up to park we had been in the night before, just to get some sweet pictures, like this one:
From there, we decided it was about time to bounce, so we walked over to Bruxelles-Central, which was a lot easier to find the second time, during the day. Then, we hopped aboard an extremely crowded train to Bruges. I ended up sitting next to this really nice man and his wife who live in Oostende, but were on their way home from Rome. I tried to speak a little french to him, but he immediately asked me if I was English, and when I told him I was American, he said I spoke french with an English accent (which is cool I guess?). So then we talked for pretty much the whole hour long train ride, literally about everything. He had only been to New York in America, but we talked about the USA a lot. I ended up explaining to him the Electoral College system, and he was explaining to me the quagmire that is Belgian politics. To give you some background, Belgium is basically split into two large cultural groups: the Walloons in the south and the Flemish in the north. And actually just today there has been huge press over here since the president of Belgium was dismissed, so now there are actually talks about splitting the country up. So yeah, this guy was really chill and had lots of good advice about things to do in Rome (where I'll be later this semester). All in all, it was a sweet train ride.
We arrived in Bruges, got on a bus into the main city market place, and got our bearings. It wasn't far at all to our hostel, Snuffel Backpacker Hostel. The place was sweet. It had a nice little bar on the first floor, nice rooms, free wifi, and free breakfast. Oh, and it only cost us 15 euros to stay there. So we put our stuff in our locker, and then we headed back toward the main part of the city. Bruges is really easily navigated since there is a giant tower right in the center of town, so wherever you are, you can just look up and walk towards the tower. Here is a sweet picture I took of the statue in the center of town, with the tower in the background:
So then we just kind of wandered (which is really fun and interesting to do). (ok, another interjection, it's now Tuesday night, it's been a long day, but I'll try to get some more of my thoughts down).
I think it was at this point that I had another cool encounter with a stranger. So I was wearing my FC Barcelona jersey (a soccer team), and some random guy on the street walked up and was like, "Yeah, Barcelona!" And he didn't speak very good English, but I understood that he was from the south of Spain, and that he was a Barcelona fan. Then he said he was a philosopher, and asked what I was doing with my life. So I told him I was studying math, and he thought that was pretty sweet. We shook hands, and parted ways. So for dinner, we had some nice food at a cafe near the town center. I had mussels and french fries, a Belgian specialty. It was real nice, especially because I was drinking Jupiler as well. It did cost a lot though, but whatever. We then just hung out in the center of town for a bit, before heading back to our hostel's bar for their 9 o'clock happy hour. As it turns out, all the other Miami students had the same idea, so for an hour, Miami University took over Snuffel's. After that, a group of us decided to go wander the city at night, which was really beautiful. We got back around midnight, and then went right to sleep.
I woke up at about 7, and took a shower in the hostel. It was no big deal, the showers were just set up like the dorm showers at Miami. So, after getting all freshened up, team victory met downstairs for another free breakfast in our bar. Then, we had to check out, so we loaded up, and headed back into town. We decided to spend the four euros and climb to the top of the tower. It was really hard with all our stuff, but it was worth it, because the views looked like this:
Then, we went to some church to see Michelangelo's Madonna and Child, one of his only works that is outside of Italy. It was cool, and the church it was located in was also really beautiful. We then had some fish and chips for lunch, and decided it was about time to head out.
We got on the train toward Brussels, and this time, it was much less crowded, with just a few crazy, loud french boys drinking beer in our railcar. We didn't talk to them. Anyways, then our groups split, since some of us wanted to chill in Brussels for a bit before going home. So we walked back to the giant park, watched a puppet show, in french (language didn't matter much, since they were performing Little Red Riding Hood). Then we just chilled by the fountain and people-watched. Now that was entertainment.
Cultural note: public displays of affection are much more acceptable in Europe, from what I've seen so far. I mean, people just make out all over - in the park, at the train station, in courtyards in Bruges. It's strange to me, because I think we Americans keep our romantic relationships somewhat hidden, and even go so far as to scorn people who make such displays public.
So then we got back on a train toward Luxembourg city, and had to buy a three euro ticket to get back across the border. We arrived in Lux city around 8:00 pm, but were starving. So after grabbing a bite to eat by the train station, we caught the 9:20 train toward Differdange and I got home around ten. I slept incredibly that night.
My gear all held up well. I brought enough clothes, and didn't get lost (that much). All in all, the weekend was definitely successful, and has made me optimistic about traveling more in the future. Sorry it took so long to post this and that this is such a long entry. As always, you can see all the pictures on my facebook page Jimmy's Facebook Profile Page. Thanks, and I'll write more later!
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Legit Cultural Exchange
Ok, so I know I said I wouldn't post anything till after I get back from my trip this weekend, but this could not wait. Tonight, I had dinner at Norby's house with him, his niece, Tammy, and her friends Michael, Andy, and Marie. They are all about 16 or 17 years old, and are legit local Luxembourgers (the best source of information about people in Luxembourg).
So after dinner, over coffee and dessert, we had a long chat about all of the differences between America and Luxembourg. None of them had ever been to America, so it was fascinating to hear what they thought of our country. So basically, here is what they knew about America:
1. You can drive when you're 16. They all think this is crazy. They think it's even crazier that you can start learning to drive when you're 15 and a half.
2. All they see on television about America is Barack Obama or obese people. So, they think all Americans are fat. Please note that I'm not blaming them for these opinions (true or false), and that I just think it's interesting to see the understanding that they have of American culture.
3. The only Americans they ever see in Luxembourg are the Miami students, and they said that they have never seen students who were not drunk. But they were very sympathetic about this, and seemed to feel bad for us, since we cannot drink until we're 21.
4. They think all people from Texas are crazy and own guns. I have no argument against that fact (just kidding) (but not really).
5. When I asked what was the first thing that comes to mind about America, Andy said, "Spring Break." I explained how much of a giant holiday this was, and how everyone goes to Florida. They also wanted to know about other American holidays, so I explained how big the 4th of July was. Also, for all my Miami friends, I explained to them the importance of St. Patrick's Day, and also about Green Beer Day in Oxford.
6. They do have at least a basic idea of American geography. They all knew where New York, Chicago, California, Florida, and Las Vegas were. But, they didn't know where Columbus, Ohio was. I don't blame them.
7. They thought it was crazy when I told them that there are no trains. All of Europe, trains rule, but we have no real passenger train system in America.
So, these were just some of their base observations about America. Mostly, they said these opinions had been formed from media such as "The Simpsons," the "American Pie" movies, and the news. I talked to them a lot about some of the differences I had already noticed, and explained some of what I thought were interesting parts of American culture.
Our university systems are vastly different. Marie was telling me that when you are 15 in Luxembourg, you basically have to pick your career - because then you go to school for that specific profession. I explained that I switched my major just last year, and that it was no big deal. They were very interested in the party culture in America, and I tried to handle that as accurately as I could (since I'm not exactly the world's biggest party animal). They had no knowledge of the greek system at college campuses, so I was explaining fraternities and sororities to them, which was surprising for me.
All in all, it was awesome to get an opportunity to talk to young people from Luxembourg about everything they knew about America, and to talk to them about my European experience so far. Norby was telling me that many people who come to study to Luxembourg have a hard time really learning from the locals - due to less openness from Luxembourgers. I told them that if you come to America, specifically in the midwest where I live, that everyone is extremely friendly and outgoing.
None of them, except Norby, has ever been to America, but I told them if they ever want to come visit, just let me know, and they can come stay with me in Oxford or Columbus. All of them spoke English very well, even Tammy who has only had it for two years at school. It was much better than my Luxembourgish (for now - I'm determined to make progress). Anyway, I need to pack and get ready to go to Brussels and Bruges tomorrow, so I have to go.
So after dinner, over coffee and dessert, we had a long chat about all of the differences between America and Luxembourg. None of them had ever been to America, so it was fascinating to hear what they thought of our country. So basically, here is what they knew about America:
1. You can drive when you're 16. They all think this is crazy. They think it's even crazier that you can start learning to drive when you're 15 and a half.
2. All they see on television about America is Barack Obama or obese people. So, they think all Americans are fat. Please note that I'm not blaming them for these opinions (true or false), and that I just think it's interesting to see the understanding that they have of American culture.
3. The only Americans they ever see in Luxembourg are the Miami students, and they said that they have never seen students who were not drunk. But they were very sympathetic about this, and seemed to feel bad for us, since we cannot drink until we're 21.
4. They think all people from Texas are crazy and own guns. I have no argument against that fact (just kidding) (but not really).
5. When I asked what was the first thing that comes to mind about America, Andy said, "Spring Break." I explained how much of a giant holiday this was, and how everyone goes to Florida. They also wanted to know about other American holidays, so I explained how big the 4th of July was. Also, for all my Miami friends, I explained to them the importance of St. Patrick's Day, and also about Green Beer Day in Oxford.
6. They do have at least a basic idea of American geography. They all knew where New York, Chicago, California, Florida, and Las Vegas were. But, they didn't know where Columbus, Ohio was. I don't blame them.
7. They thought it was crazy when I told them that there are no trains. All of Europe, trains rule, but we have no real passenger train system in America.
So, these were just some of their base observations about America. Mostly, they said these opinions had been formed from media such as "The Simpsons," the "American Pie" movies, and the news. I talked to them a lot about some of the differences I had already noticed, and explained some of what I thought were interesting parts of American culture.
Our university systems are vastly different. Marie was telling me that when you are 15 in Luxembourg, you basically have to pick your career - because then you go to school for that specific profession. I explained that I switched my major just last year, and that it was no big deal. They were very interested in the party culture in America, and I tried to handle that as accurately as I could (since I'm not exactly the world's biggest party animal). They had no knowledge of the greek system at college campuses, so I was explaining fraternities and sororities to them, which was surprising for me.
All in all, it was awesome to get an opportunity to talk to young people from Luxembourg about everything they knew about America, and to talk to them about my European experience so far. Norby was telling me that many people who come to study to Luxembourg have a hard time really learning from the locals - due to less openness from Luxembourgers. I told them that if you come to America, specifically in the midwest where I live, that everyone is extremely friendly and outgoing.
None of them, except Norby, has ever been to America, but I told them if they ever want to come visit, just let me know, and they can come stay with me in Oxford or Columbus. All of them spoke English very well, even Tammy who has only had it for two years at school. It was much better than my Luxembourgish (for now - I'm determined to make progress). Anyway, I need to pack and get ready to go to Brussels and Bruges tomorrow, so I have to go.
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