Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Paper Topic

Prompt:

A partir de vos lectures de Descartes, de Hobbes ou de Pascal, tentez de definir les rapports entre ordre de la nature, ordre du savoir, ordre politique.

Reaction:

Ok, first off, I only read Hobbes. Second, this isn't even a complete sentence. Third, tentez means try, which I take to mean its very difficult and possibly can't be done. Fourth, does Hobbes even talk about all of this? Fifth, that is all we get? There isn't even page length, formatting, nothing. I don't know what the hell I'm doing. This is going to go very very bad, I can just tell.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Election, Less Than 10 Days

I'm starting to get nervous for the elections. Meaning, I am obsessively reading polls and looking at possible outcome maps. I feel like in a way I am jinxing everything and that things are going to go very very bad. Knock on wood I guess. I'm just ready for a change, and I know who I want to be in charge of that change. Until the 4th, I'm going to chant in my head, over and over... YES WE CAN.

Reims

Living in Paris is really great, but sometimes you want to get out of town to enjoy something a little bit more laid back. That was the intention on setting up a day-trip to the village (city) of Reims. Reims is about 45 minutes by TGV train to the northeast of Paris. It is about half way to Germany, which is evident in the strong accents the people of Reims often have. I went with three classmates, Benna, Janet, and Jessie, and we got into town at about 9:45 am.

The first thing you see in Reims is the huge cathedral, Notre Dame de Reims. It soars above every other building in town, and you can see it from afar. We headed towards the cathedral first, to get a map of Reims from the tourism office next door. When you approach the cathedral you are immediately drawn in. We entered, and immediately were entranced by its beauty. I have been to a lot of large cathedrals now, but nothing quite as grand as the cathedral in Reims. The history of the cathedral is amazing in itself. Clovis was baptised there in the 400s, and since then, most kings of France were coronated at the cathderal. The church that Clovis was baptised in is part of the cathedral, and since it has been added on to, to make it one of the grandest and largest cathedrals in France. It is still being worked on and added to, as illustrated by the gorgeous Marc Chagall stained glass windows in the back of the cathedral. The outside of the cathedral is just as spectacular, with enormous flying butresses, and elaborate stonework all around.

We stopped in a cafe for a quick coffee, before almost running to our next stop. We had signed up online for a tour of a champagne cave. Reims is one of the largest towns in the region of France known as Champagne. This region is technically the only place in the world where champagne (called champagne) can be made. If champagne is made somewhere else, they are technically not supposeed to call it champagne. We signed up for a tour and tasting at Pommery, the largest champagne cave in Reims. We decided to take the tour in French, so as to practice a bit. Our guide was really interesting, and he had a very thick germanic accent. He took us through the caves, 30 meters underground! Inside the caves there were tunnels and tunnels that were filled with bottles. The tunnels are named after different cities in the world, so they can keep track of which bottles are where. The guide told us that they store the bottles (filled) in the caves for 7 to 10 years. This means that when you buy a bottle of Pommery it is at its perfect age. He said that you can keep it for about 3 years, but that after it might start to taste strange. The guide also explained that they store the champagne in the caves because the caves have the same temperature and humidity level all of the time, which makes the process perfectly consistent. After the tour we went to the main room and got a sample glass. I'm not a wine/champagne person, but it was quite good. Everyone around us seemed pretty impressed at least. I just thought it was fun to try out the product that we got to see the making of behind the scenes.

After the caves we walked back into the center of town to find a place to eat. We wandered up and down one of the main roads, and stopped in a cafe. We had agreed ahead of time that we would have a nice meal in Reims, to experience the local specialties. So we all ordered the plat du jour, a risotto and fish plate with a very rich butter sauce. It was delightful. I also had a brownie with it, and then a coffee (the best I've had in France I think). It cost about 15 euros, which was actually a very reasonable price for what we had.

We then wandered around the city, stopping at the Porte de Mars (a wall from the 200s that was built by the Romans) and the Reims cemetary (looks like it was devasted during WWII, and no one ever fixed it, stones are smashed everywhere, its sad, but strangely peaceful). We then ended up at the Musee de la Reddition. This museum is housed in Eisenhower's former WWII headquarters, and is the site where the Germans surrendered WWII. The highlight of the museum is the room where the Germans surrendered. It has been virtually untouched since Eisenhower moved his officials out of the building. The city of Reims was given the building, as a thanks for housing the allied forces, and now displays a variety of WWII items (part of a plane, uniforms, etc). The room is interesting because it has maps and battle plans posted on all of the walls. The historical facts are interesting as well. The Russians were not properly notified of the German surrender, and force the Germans in Berlin to redo it the next day, so that they could be more a part of it.

We spent time in the local park, ate a croque (ham and cheese sandwich) and then headed to the train station to go home. It was a really nice day. I experienced three incredibly different, but interesting things, among many, and I got to see a different part of the country.

PHOTOS:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2010004&l=badfc&id=1599570086

Friday, October 24, 2008

Versailles

Our Friday excursion this week took us to Versailles. We had to wake up early (ish) and take the train to the Center, just to turn around, get back on the same train (back towards home) and go to Versailles. The train ride is about 30 minutes, and it goes through suburban Paris before getting to Versailles. I thought it was going to stop in the middle of nowhere and there would be the palace. No. Versailles is actually a large town (100,000 people) and it dropped us off on a busy road across from a McDonald's. We walked a few blocks, and turned the corner, and there was the palace. It looked strange and out of place. The walk up was on a large cobbled road, and there was traffic. I imagined a glorious garden or something. No, just stones.

We did a tour with a guide on the inside of the palace. The guide was this somewhat strange and batty French woman, who just talked a lot about non-sense. The palace was also incredibly crowded. You litterally had to push your way from room to room. As a result I didn't follow much of what the guide said, relying almost entirely on the signs and the small pamphlet I got. To add to everything, there was this really strange modern art display throughout the tour. In the middle of rooms there would be strange sculptures of things like Michael Jackson and bears. It did not fit at all. A lot of people really liked it, but I think it took away from the rooms. The rooms themselves were impressive, though they were all similarly furnished. It was hard to appreciate them for what they were. And the fact that it was so crowded took away from it a lot. We were spoiled at Chambord when we were the only people there. I did like the Hall of Mirrors. It had a great view out onto the grounds and the gardens, and the room itself was very beautiful (and bigger so it felt less crowded). In all I liked Versailles, but I feel like a lot of the excitment was missing because of the circumstances. I'll probably end up back there with my next program, so maybe it will be better. If not, maybe I'll make a weekend trip out of it in a few months.

After the tour we were given a return train ticket home (on the RER so time wasn't an issue) and the freedom to wander. We stopped and had lunch, just sandwiches, at the cafe. We sat in this gorgeous room, and I'd love to know what it was for. Afterwards we headed out into the gardens.

The first impression I had of the gardens was that they were amazing. They are huge. Which means that the crowds break up considerably, so you are free to relax. And if you turn and look at the palace, what you will see is way cooler than what you'd see from the other side. There is a large reflecting pool, and then the palace is just there. We wandered onto a path and just started walking and enjoying the fall day. At certain points along the path there were great things, like beautiful statues or fountains. At one point we took a break to relax our feet and I looked at a map. I really wanted to find Marie Antoinette's cottage, but it wasn't marked. So, I made up something so that I could get my friends to continue walking. We turned north up a path, which was tree lined, and since its fall now, all of the trees were yellow. It was really nice. Up ahead we saw something, which turned out to be a field of sheep. We for some reason got really excited and ran to go look at it, which was stupid, because if we had looked to our left just like ten feet, we would have seen the sign for "Marie Antoinette's Domain." After many pictures of sheep grazing, and an attempt to get one to walk towards us (failed) we headed through the gates to see what this "Domain" was.

Turns out it was Petit Trianon, Marie Antoinette's "cottage." We managed to get in with our Art Student Cards (for free!) and we wandered around. Its beautiful, and huge. Bigger than my house by far, and it was just a cottage. It was also lavishly decorated. From a window we saw a cool statue thing, so we headed out into the gardens to check it out. As we were heading there we saw something else we wanted to see in the distance, a cool old mill looking thing. We stopped at the statue first, the Temple of Love. It had a sculpture of Hercules in the middle, and it was sort of romantic. All white marble.

After we started to head out to the mill thing. It was Marie Antoinette's "Hamlet." She had a small hamlet built for her use so that she could escape court life. I had always thought it was just a cottage, but this place had at least ten buildings. They were all gorgeous too. And whoever the current groundskeeper is did a wonderful job, because all of the gardens were well kept, and well stocked. We wandered around the hamlet in awe for awhile, and ended up at the farm, with live animals. We laughed at the rabbits and chickens for awhile, before turning in and heading back towards home (like a 30 minute walk because we were so far out). I'm so glad we decided to keep searching, because the highlight of my day was that little hamlet. I could take or leave Versailles, but seeing the hamlet was one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my life. It felt like Disney, but it wasn't. It was real. Hundreds of years ago a queen used to play there with her children. It's unimaginable.

Versailles:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009975&l=e7b34&id=1599570086

Gardens and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009976&l=bab74&id=1599570086

To Start The Louvre...

I got out of class at 12:15 on Thursday, with no real plans for the afternoon. I figured it was the best time I would have to start the Louvre. And when I say start, I mean seriously start from one corner, and start working my way around. The Louvre is incredibly huge. You can wander around for hours and realize that you've only seen maybe a fifth of it.

I collected a few friends and we went to the Jardin de Tuileries to eat our lunches. To save money I've been packing a lunch from home to bring to eat at school, so as I sat in the garden with my PB&J (peanut butter is impossible to find here, buy my Mom brought me some Skippy from the States, it's never tasted so good) I took in the incredible fall day. The garden at Tuileries is an ideal rest stop for tourists because it is right across from the Seine, and an easy walking distance from the Musee d'Orsay and the Louvre.

After eating I headed into the Louvre. Before entering the museum proper I went to a small office to get a student card. The University of Chicago presented us with Art History Student Cards, which allows us into all Art museums (and most castles) for free. The Louvre required us to get their card (still free). It took longer than I'd hoped (30 minutes maybe), but I got my Louvre photo ID. Now I can enter and exit at will, it's great.

I started the Louvre with the early French and Northern European sculptures. Naturally they were gorgeous, and it was interesting to note that almost every single one of them had some sort of Christian theme. Afterwards I went up a level, and did the Ancient Greek and Roman sculptures. I saw the famous statue of Venus de Milo, and situated atop a staircase, Winged Victory. They were exquisitely done. I really enjoyed the Greek and Roman statues. Most were of people, and the worksmanship is incredible. I can't imagine what it would be like to create something so beautiful out of stone. The time that goes into that must be enormous.

A lot of the time I spent at the Louvre, I realized later, I spent looking not at the art, but at the palace itself. The Louvre was the royal home of an incredible number of French kings, and the grandeur is incredible. It also helps that it is immaculately upkeep by the French government. There was marble everywhere, painted ceilings, gold trimmings. Some rooms had gorgeous stone columns, others were painted in rich colors. It was breathtaking.

I ended by running up quickly to see the Mona Lisa. Only because you have to, and I was already nearby. I figured I'd get it out of the way, so that the next time I head up to the Grand Gallery I don't have to worry about pushing through the crowds, and I can admire everything else. The unfortunate thing about seeing the Mona Lisa is that because it is so popular, it is on total lockdown. You can't get within 20 feet of it, and its guarded by bullet proof glass. It takes away from the image completely. You can't inspect Da Vinci's brushstrokes. And yeah, people say it looks small, but thats only because it is so far away.

I left feeling like I'd accomplished somthing. I had checked off maybe 1/20 of the rooms on the map. But I'd only spent an hour and a half. I figure on days when I have the afternoon off I can head over and conquer a couple exhibits. I've got until mid-March.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2009974&l=308a0&id=1599570086

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Ma Famille!

Its been a bit of a long week for me. My first exam was last Friday, and I had a paper (dissertation in french) due on Sunday afternoon... and my family is here!

The dissertation was particularly hard. The French have a different writing style than the American's. What is known as a 5-Paragraph Essay with a thesis statement in the United States would probably get a failing grade here. In France the "thesis" goes at the end of the essay. The writer works toward discovering the point of the essay. In place of a thesis, a french dissertation begins with a problematique, or a set of questions that proposes what the paper is going to discuss. I find that I actually write better in this form, unfortunately since I have to write in French, that little advantage is thrown entirely out the window. It's definitely slow going. The Chicago Center tries to help us as much as they can, however. They set up a series of meetings for us with "correcters" in which we sit down with a french person and go over format and language. Its totally helpful, although a bit time consuming.

The exam was no big. Just two hours on about 1000 years of history. It focused primarily on religion, although there was a bit of politics in it too (which was totally fab for me).

Friday after I sat my exam I went to go fetch my family from the metro station. Miraculously I got there and they were standing right outside. We ate lunch at a cute cafe across from their hotel, which was fun because the waitress was really awesome and helpful. Saturday, after my English conversation (which was totally fun), we met up at Notre Dame, and explored the Latin Quarter together, including the Jardin de Plantes. We got dinner at the Franprix (supermarket) on the Rue de Mouffetard, which is a pedestrian only street with food stores all over the place. We ended up getting a fried chicken and potatoes from a bucherie instead though. It was fab. Sunday I met up with the fam at the Musee d'Orsay. After we headed over to the Eiffel Tower, and then I headed home to do homework.

Its been totally great having my family here. Its fun to see them, and fun to share this city with them. I'll be sad to see them go on Thursday, but I'm glad they got to see this place, because it is definitely going to be an important piece of my life.

Monday, October 20, 2008

Britney Spears - Womanizer (Director's Cut)

In honor of Britney officially being back... she had to go on the blog. This is hot. I'm so stoked for her album, I'm not even going to pretend I'm not.