Interlaken

This past weekend myself and three other people from the Ohio State program took a train to Interlaken, Switzerland which is in the middle of the Swiss Alps. What an adventure! We left on Thursday evening and arrived late into Interlaken. They have this rule about no loud noises at all after 10pm, and so it was absolutely serene and majestic as the mountains were shadowed behind us and the stars twinkled above you. I cannot even begin to describe the stars, but I heard an author once write that it is like someone spilled sugar all over a black table cloth. The first night we actually camped out in the woods, which I won't go much into detail except that it was extremley cold and pretty dumb.
We woke up early on Friday morning and checked into our hostel, Balmers, which was very nice. We met so many people who were backpacking through Europe and shared their stories of travel and adventure too. (Ironically, as we were walking through the town wearing Ohio State gear, someone noticed and called us Gatorbait! I couldn't even believe that would happen in Switzerland!) Even though we were going on poor sleep we rented scooters and went up into the hillsides by waterfalls and creeks. It was the most beautiful views I've ever seen. Afterwards, we all did canyoning. Canyoning bascially consisted of rappelling down 165 feet into a deep gorge in the mountainside. Then we would jump off cliffs into the rushing water or different waterfalls, or slide down into the water. The water so cold, and I was nervous at first, but it was so much fun! Out of the four girls on our group of 15, I was the only girl who didn't ever chicken out of a jump so I was really proud of myself at the end.
Saturday morning, two of the guys we were with went ice climbing way at the top of the Alps, and Katie (the girl I was traveling with) & I rented bikes and biked to the two lakes in Interlaken. We hiked up part of the mountain and also went down right next to the lakes, and I can't even begin to describe the air, the silence and the soft sounds of the water lapping against the rocks. We had lunch in the mountains and it was a very relaxing day. In the evening, Katie & I went into the main street of the town and window shopped while eating Swiss truffles, which were so good. Swiss chocolate is not disappointing!
Balmers itself was a great atmosphere because after talking to the people that work there and the instructors, I was so inspired to move to Switzerland! Well, I am not going to jump to conclusions, but for example, the photographer who went canyoning with us had moved there from New York after visiting and she has lived there for 3 years and takes pictures of all the people doing extreme sports that she gets to do as well. It's not as easy to get your license and your Swiss citzenship to work, but... Photography + Beautiful Scenery + Extreme Sports = AMAZING.
Anyways, Sunday morning, Katie and I woke up and didn't know what to do before our train left back for Dijon at 4pm. So we decided to check out what sports we could still do that day and they had paragliding available- so we signed up! It was a great way to relax and see an aerial view of everything we had climbed, hiked and explored the past few days. We went tandem with a pilot but it was so fun because we bascially just sprinted off of a cliff and the wind just picked us right up. I was able to bring my camera and take videos and pictures, and the pilot also swooped us in circles in the air which which flipped my stomach a lot but was such a rush.
Leaving Switzerland was very hard actually, I cried a little on the train ride back just because it was probably one of the most beautiful and serene places that I had ever been. I truly appreciated the lifestyle, the mountains and nature. I know that I will definitely return there one day.

Paris

Paris
This past weekend the entire group of students traveled together to Paris which was about a four hour bus ride. As soon as we arrived we visited Notre Dame and then spent the evening at the Eiffel Tower. I really don't think that pictures give justice to the tower! We were able to go up into the second floor where we had an amazing view of the city. We stayed until the tower lit up at night and it was a gorgeous view. The next day we went to the Louvre and I can't even explain the feelings of recognizing so many paintings and sculptures that I didn't even know were in Paris! Some of the pieces I saw were the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, Lady of Auxerre, and the Mona Lisa. The museum is so large with over 300,000 pieces from all different cultures and times. We also went on a boat ride and tour along the Seine River; afterwards we went shopping on les Champs Elysees which is almost like the Rodeo Drive of Paris. It faces the Arc de Triomphe, which is a great view. It was so packed with people but the shopping was very fun! On Sunday, we went to what was my favorite museum, Musee Rodin. Rodin's pieces are made mostly of bronze and his most famous sculpture is Le Penseur, or The Thinker. The museum is located in a garden so the atomosphere is very serene and I really enjoyed his use of displaying the curvatures of the human form. I convinced my friends to help me find a restaurant that Asha had raved about when she was in Paris two years ago; so after visiting Centre Pompudou we went on the scavenger hunt to find it and eventually did after asking for directions! The restaurant, Chez Janou and amazing food and especially their dessert, chocolate mousse. On Monday before we left we visited the village of Montmartre, where the church, Sacre-Coeur is located as well as one of the homes of Renoir. Before we left Paris, we also visited Tombeau de Napoleon, which is so large and under the large dome is where Napoleon Bonaparte is buried. Overall, the entire trip left me feeling inspired by the art and culture. I cannot forget to mention the crepes, ice cream, cheese and wine that we devoured! Some more pictures are posted on my Facebook profile but only a few since I took about 300! The city is always bustling with people, tourists, gypsies and vendors but the artistic and historic atmosphere is what completes the romanticization of Paris.

Bonjour du Dijon!

Bonjour mes amis! I arrived in Dijon on Sunday evening around 6pm after a hectic day of traveling! I reached Paris, Charles De Gaulle airport at 6:30am local time and was very excited that I managed to arrive at the university all by myself, while barely knowing French. It was rather exhausting carrying all of myluggage and belongings. But I was rather surprised at the ease of getting my way around from the bus station to the train. In the evening I was absolutely exhausted especially when I realized that I hadn't eaten or drank anything in 12 hours!
Monday was our first day of orientation where we took a placement exam, and I placed into a beginner French, with a few people from Ohio State and while it's pretty overwhelming because the professor will only speak in French, I am beginning to speak more with my fellow students. They are very helpful and more than willing to teach me. I will take mostly French classes here. but I am also taking culture courses, such as food & wine, and art history.
My residence hall is managable...I have my own room, with a sink, bed, and dresser. The bathrooms are coed; the showers were interesting the first day because you have to continually press this button to get water, but I think I will get my routine down where it becomes more efficient! We move to a "nicer" residence hall in August which is also closer to our classrooms.
Tonight, a few of us went exploring around Dijon, and I convinced everyone to try the Escargot Pizza; so we tried that with the 5 Fromages. The escargot was very good!
This weekend we will be traveling to Paris for four days, so I will keep this updated with more pictures and stories soon! Au Revoir!