Des relations aller-retour

Tonight I attended an aparatif soirée, where I met three students from Lyon III who will be studying at Mizzou for the 2009-2010 school year. It was a very satisfying experience to meet people who are so excited about Mizzou and answer questions, as I wish I could have done before coming to Lyon. They seemed very excited about traveling all around the states, just like I have been doing while visiting here. I'm so glad the Relations International planned this (surprisingly) well-organized event for all the study abroad students to meet the soon-to-be study abroad students. All of us were ecstatic to meet each other and I can tell we will become good friends in my last 2 months here and at in a few months at Mizzou. 

Unfortunately I will not be able to meet them again right away because it's time for yet another spring break! The French really know how to do vacations and I can't complain! I'm off to the beaches of Normandy, then to Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany! I don't know if I will update much in the next two weeks but I'll have a lot to share when I return! Au revoir et à bientôt!

Les Calanques de Cassis

Picture this: A serene beach enclosed by limestone cliffs so high that you have to squint your eyes to see the top. The cliffs cast a daunting but beautiful shadow onto the turquoise seawater. This describes the scene where I took a running start into the freezing cold Côte d'Azur and swam until my limbs went numb. The water was so cold that my smile seemed frozen onto my face as the salt water soured my open mouth. 

The moment that I got to Cassis, I hit the trails to find what I came for. The Calanques are a well kept secret of France, and I hope they don't mind me sharing. The cliffs that line the southern coast near Marseilles make for great hiking and a million fantastic views of the sea. 

I'm talking about some serious hiking though. The amazing and very environment-friendly hostel that we stayed in was a 50 minute hike from town. However, we took the long route, which took about 4 hours. We cooked a delicious meal at the hostel and watched the sunset cast its dimming light over the sea onto the Calanques. That night we were so worn out that we hit the bunks at 20:30.  The next morning we went for a 'brisk' morning hike, on a rather dangerous decline that led us to Calanque d'En Vau. 

Beach at Calanque d'En Vau. Those specks you see are actually people. (above)

Another view of Calanque d'En Vau (above)

We arrived at an empty beach so beautiful that words can't describe. Soon after we arrived, some rock-climbers joined us on the beach as they prepared to climb the Calanque. But we had our own rocks to climb as we headed up the mountain back to civilization. I could go on for hours about my weekend in Cassis. Long story short, I fell in love with the French coast this weekend. 

Une Expérience Culturelle Lyonnaise- Olympique Lyonnais

Football (soccer) is like a religion in France. I am lucky to live in Lyon, where the #1 football team in France for the past 7 years plays. On Sunday night, I went with a group of friend to un match de foot at Stade de Garland stadium in Lyon. 

It was OL (Olympique Lyonnais) against a no-name team that they beat 2-0. The experience was a whirlwind of unfamiliar culture, as it would be for a foreigner to watch an American football game. I didn't know the cheers, the MVP, or the football lingo, but it was a learning experience. My friends and I went to the front of the stadium to sit with the hooligans so we could get the real football experience. We had drunken fans pushing all around us, standing on the seats, holding up signs, and yelling in our ears the whole time. It was amazing. The most amusing part was watching most of the 37,000 fans trying to take the métro home after the game. We opted to walk home, instead. Seeing all these dedicated football fans really made me miss Mizzou sports. Luckily I will come back to the states just in time for my last undergrad Mizzou football season!

Watch a video of the crazy fans:

Randonnée à Grenoble

Grenoble, France is a beautiful city on the foot of the most spectacular mountains in Europe. It was host to the '68 Winter Olympics and continues to be a hotspot every year for the Tour de France. I was able to enjoy the view with two of my favorite people in Europe. Jon, Clara, and I trained to Grenoble and spent the day hiking into the mountains. Along the way we devoured a very French picnic (fromage, pain, etc) at the fortification of la Bastille (pictured below). 

conquered this mountain

The crisp mountain air was a refreshing treat after traveling from the polluted cities of Paris and Lyon in the last week. I love that France has PR, sentiers de promenade et de randonnée. These are well-maintained hiking paths all over France, which have easy-to-follow signposts for hikers. We hiked for about 4 hours without a map and without getting lost. There were rock-climbers, runners, and mountain bikers who shared the paths with us. The view continued to get better the higher we got, as the sky cleared to the peaks piercing the clouds. I couldn't tell you which range was which, but the whole panoramic view was spectacular with endless mountains.

Each fort and ruined building we came across had history seeping out of the walls. The Bastille from the middle-ages, a bombed stone building, lookout holes carved out of the mountain, and a WWII memorial spotted the mountain. We explored each site with the enthusiasm of children, climbing around and discovering little details.

I should mention that it was Jon's wonderful idea to go see the mountains last weekend. They are certainly a must-see in Europe and unfortunately the glacial valley of the Isère is melting. It was a treat to see these jagged snow-capped summits during our leisurely hike though time.

We didn't spend much time in the city of Grenoble, other than shopping for veggies at a small market. I must say, though, I wasn't interested in museums and the cuisine, I wanted to see Grenoble from the top, where the view and history was.

La Deuxième Grève Nationale en France 2009

For the second time this year, I woke up to megaphones and beating music outside my window as the national strike marched by my apartment. This strike shut down ALL public transportation within France and any other businesses connected to the public sector and unionized workers (about 1 million people striking all over France). Now that I've had time to collect more of an opinion about the French tradition of manifestation, I witnessed this strike with a new perspective. Let me first remind you that French people have quite the history in organization of citizens and cooperation when it comes to grievances with the government (e.g. Storming of the Bastille during the French Revolution.) Keeping that in mind, they obviously have a great sense of French pride and passion as citizens each time they protest. Today I saw hundreds of university students striking for their right to education. The sight of students my age organizing in this strike brought an overwhelming feeling of (I don't know what) but it almost brought tears to my eyes. You're probably wondering "if these students are so passionate about education, then why are they skipping class every day and striking?"

"You don't save on education"

As a university student at Lyon III, I have witnessed an ongoing strike in the higher education system. My professors have explained the strike to the Erasmus/exchange students many times. So, as I understand it, there's two reasons for the university strike. 

1. The Students: In response to the economic crisis, right-winged Sarkozy is trying to reform the higher education system from a European model of free education (payed by tax money) to the anglo-saxon model where university costs an arm and a leg. So, university students are striking for the current free education system to remain.

2. The Lecturers: A new reform has transfered power of the education council out of Paris and into the hands of each individual university. Part of this reform is requiring that if the lecturer does not produce "enough" research, they will make up for it by teaching more classes. Research is not something that should have a standardized measurement. Assigning more classes shouldn't be a punishment for less research, as it would only take away time for more research to be done. It also means job-cuts and and different lecture training methods. 

In many cases the students AND the lecturers are on strike, blockading the schools. This is the case at universities across France, including Lyon II. My friends who are enrolled at Lyon II have no class and it has been decided that they will automatically receive credit for this semester. It also means, though, that the students from last semester have not received their final grades or credit. 

There are a few teachers and students at Lyon III who are striking but it has not effected the classes for my exchange program, luckily. However, the international students who have directly enrolled into the French classes (with the french students) have run into problems with the strike.

It will be interesting to see what becomes of the strike today, for the unions and the universities. Sure, the French people strike a lot, but it is because they have the will to. I am somewhat inspired by the university strikes. It's not that I agree or would go one strike, too, just that I am impressed with the passion that French people have and all the effort they put in for change.