Archives for June 2013

I took advantage of Missouri S&T’s study abroad program to take a trip to Paris and study the history of war and its influence on French culture.  I learned a whole lot more than factual information during my time in Paris and Normandy.  I understand how differently people live in countries other than the US and how to meet people.  I have never been a shy person but it was a little intimidating to try to talk to someone in a non-English-speaking country. Cultural understanding and self-confidence were what I got out of my trip to France.

The majority of all people are nice and willing to help but sometimes it took boldness and persistence to get the information I have needed.  It was not easy finding my way around Paris; I even managed to get lost for four hours once.  It can be a little intimidating to approach somebody the first time but after the 20^th or 30^th I had fear of no one!  That being said, I was still careful as to who I would approach and I learned that I have to be more aware of my surroundings in a big city.  I was able to meet some people who were nice enough to help me find my way back to my hotel and nothing unfortunate happened.  All in all I feel more in control of the situations I get myself into and I have come to the conclusion that Paris is a relatively safe town.

France has a long history of conflicts and war.  I spent most of my time studying in Paris but I also visited the trenches and Normandy, too.  Hard evidence of past conflicts, such as stray bullet shots in the cement or brick structures, were visible.  The French people have a lot of respect and treat the graveyards of the fallen soldiers as hallowed ground.  They also seem to still be ashamed of the actions of some of the French citizens who collaborated with the Vichy government.  While they were ashamed of the collaborators, the French lift up and honor the French Resistance fighters.  It seems like the French people, the older generations at least, still bear the shame for some things that occurred in France during WWII and will continue to until the next couple generations pass on.

This trip has been a lot of fun and I would do it again if possible.  Since I am required to do an internship before I graduate this was probably my only chance to experience studying in another country.  The opportunity presented itself and I took it.  This trip was definitely worth it.

In the past 30 days I have been to four different countries, traveled over thousands of miles, and I can’t get enough of it. I’m excited for every new city and country I see but at the same time I’m sad to say good bye to the one I’ve leaving. I have seen more in this past month then I have probably seen in my lifetime. I visited my family in Horbach, Germany, where my roots can be traced back to the 1600s. After the short reunion, my fiancée and I traveled to Munich where I could eat all of my favorite foods. We took an enlightening tour of Dachau that helped me appreciate life. The day after, we went to Neuschwanstein, the fairy tale castle, and it looks like it jumped off the pages of a fairy tale. From Germany we traveled to France to meet up with the rest of our class.

I won’t bore you with everything I have seen in France because I could fill pages but I will run through a few of my favorites. Honestly, for me, there is nothing better than walking along the river at night in Paris. You can see Notre Dame, the Louvre (the outside at least), Napoleon’s Obelisk, and the Eiffel Tower. There are few tourists out at this time so you can see everything and it looks so much more beautiful at night, especially the Eiffel Tower. Even though I spent weeks in France I never got to see the one thing I really wanted to see, les Catacombes. This trip helped show me that it is impossible to see everything you want. When we weren’t in class my fiancée and I left the country, which sounds so cool now that I’m typing it.

On the weekends, we went to London, England and Dublin, Ireland. We only had two days in each place so we had to cram a lot of sightseeing into a short amount of time. In London, we saw the typical spots such as Big Ben (which is actually the name for the bell, not the tower), Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London, and many others. I think the most interesting thing we did on that trip was a tour that took us through Whitechapel to see where Jack the Ripper had been. In Dublin, we saw Trinity College, Dublin Castle, Guinness storehouse, and an 18th-century prison. This upcoming weekend, for our last excursion, we travel to Scotland for the weekend, then take a train from Edinburgh to London, where we will fly back home.

This month has been one of the greatest in my lifetime. It feels as though I have seen so much but I want more. I can never get enough of traveling and I never feel like I have seen enough, it’s my addiction. This study abroad program has allowed me to discover the world and myself and I would recommend it to everyone. I’m already planning my next trip and so should you.

The day I left for France I was excited and not sure what to expect from my trip. I thought I had a good idea of what to expect but I was in for a surprise. Upon my arrival I immediately discovered some differences between the U.S. and France. I was looking for the metro, so while I was checking my map a woman spots me and walks towards me. She looks at it and points me in the right direction then hands me a clip board. She couldn’t talk so she handed me the clip board and pointed at the handicap symbol. The paper was a donation sheet. She was looking for at least a twenty euro donation. Just as I was about to refuse, an airport worker walks by and says “Don’t give any money!” The woman who supposedly couldn’t talk was now yelling at the worker. At that point I didn’t want to talk to anyone. So after that it took me over an hour to get my ticket and find the metro. On the metro I hear music so I assume it’s the radio. All of a sudden it cuts off and a woman goes around collecting money. She had a speaker on a dolly and a microphone with which she was singing. The woman’s performance was fantastic in my opinion. So when I finally get off the metro my first sight was startling to say the least. The metro stop didn’t look too inviting to say the least and there were only two people in sight. At first I didn’t want to even step off the train but I had to get going. I discovered that the locals were very helpful when I was trying to find the hotel I was staying at.

Since my initial run-in with the city I’ve grown to like the city a lot. I’ve discovered that people will sell or do lots of cool things on the sidewalks such as sing or dance. A few things that I’ve seen that are different are how many different dishes they eat French fries with, or how they use mayonnaise as a dipping sauce. Also, French people eat French fries with a fork which I found to be a little odd since that’s something I’m not used to seeing. Another thing is the extreme lack of stores that are open on Sunday. The first day I went exploring was Sunday and there were no stores open for at least ten blocks where I could get a hoodie. I also noticed that things here such as chairs and tables are a lot smaller than in America. I’ve been picking up a little French here and there as I go and I’m adjusting fairly well. I’ve been having a great time so far and I look forward to exploring more of Paris as our trip progresses.

The one thing everyone pictures when they think about Paris is the Eiffel Tower. As soon as I arrived in Paris I started looking to the skies to find it; little did I know, Paris is a vast city and you can’t see it from every part. For the first week in Paris I only saw it from afar and many of us on the trip joked that we were never going to see it. Finally, on my second week we took a boat trip that took us right next to it… It truly is breathtaking. The view of the tower at night cannot be explained in words, so please take a look at the pictures. The next day we finally went to it. It is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, tourist spots in Paris. You can go to the very top and I would recommend doing it once in your life because the view from the top is amazing. It will take anywhere from half an hour to an hour to get to the top because of the lines, but it is worth it. You can see everything from the top, from the Arc de Triomphe to Notre Dame. Not only is the Eiffel Tower beautiful it has an amazing history.

It was built in 1889 for the World’s Fair in Paris by Gustave Eiffel. It measures over 1,000 feet and it held the record for tallest manmade structure for over 40 years. It was not meant to be a permanent exhibit, since Gustave only had a 20 year permit. During World War I, it proved to be such a valuable resource for antennas so they left it up. It’s a good thing that France left it up since it is the most visited paid monument in the world. There are three levels to the Eiffel Tower and all are reachable by the public. The bottom level, ground floor, is where you can reach the other levels. You can reach the second level by stairs but it really is quite high so prepare yourself. On the second story they have some good gift shops and a good café, so if you need some souvenirs they have them. From the second level, you can reach the top. You feel like you are on top of the world when you are at the top, especially since it is one of the tallest structures in Paris. The Eiffel Tower is the definition of Paris and for good reason. I hope it will be there for generations so my kids can see the beauty I did when I was younger.