Berlin + Stockholm

For my November break, I headed off to Berlin, and then to Stockholm.

Here are the pics from Berlin.


Here are the pics from Stockholm.


Further description:

When I went to Berlin I stayed with Krista, who is an other SFU student on exchange. She was extremely accomodating and provided me with maps and guidebooks to get me started. I went to a number of museums while there: Pergamon, Altes, Check Point Charlie, Jewish,Eastside Gallery and the Holocaust Memorial. I also met up with Heike, who I know through Ulrika, and Sandra, who I know from my trip to the Dominican Republic last year. I was amazed at the history in the city, and love how laid back it is. It was very refreshing after being in Paris, since while people in Paris all dress nicely, there is very little diversity.

While in Berlin I met a group of girls from Stockholm, four of whom were on my flight. I ended up staying with one of the girls, Sara for my 2 nights there which was really great. It saved me from paying for an expensive hostel there (about 25 euros a night) and, gave me a friend to recommend cool places. I met up with Cecilia and Nick in Stockholm, and we went to the Vasa Museum, and then the National Gallery. After some shopping, my day in Stockholm ended with dinner at a very interesting Thai restaurant where we dinned in a Rickshaw.

F*&% SFR

My quest for internet has, as pointed out by a friend, turned itself into an epic novel that just won't end. Last Thursday, Laure, the lady in Paris who has been helping me integrate into life here (one of Ulrika's friends), helped me call the customer service number to find out what was happening with my account. It turns out that it reached maturity a while back and was never re-activated which is why they did not call. I feel very lucky to have her help me, since when I went to the store, and called the number myself I was unable to get any information or help.

She got them to move their asses though, and since it has taken over 3 weeks to get it installed, I get my first month free. (woot, but I was willing to pay for it in order to have it a month earlier). Anyways, France Telecom FINALLY called me today, to make an appointment to install my line. Their earliest appointment being Thursday December 4th between 9-11am. I have taken this appointment, but since I ordered it on October 21st, which will make the delay 6.5 weeks long. Since I get one month free for it being more then 3 weeks to install, I think I should get 2 months for free since it will take over 6 weeks to install!!!

Being a student in Paris, I really do not have time to waste going back to the phone company, and getting on their ass so I can PAY them to have their internet service. I have essays to write, and having a landline is also vital. I can't continue having to go to friend's houses everytime i want to check my email, since the schools internet is only available for a total of 6 hours on weekends. I am not the only one in France to have to deal with BS on this matter; one of my professors is also sans internet at the moment. The French really do not know how to provide good customer service, in my opinion.

Premiere Neige

I knew it was getting cold this week when I found myself sitting on my couch wearing a sweater, and a touque, so I finally heated my apartment yesterday for the first time. For anyone who has visited my house in the winter, you will know that my family loves to freeze themself, meaning, it was actually cold yesterday.

Anyhow, it snowed this morning for the first! :) It was a pathetic snow fall, but I am still glad the sky tried. After being told it does not snow in Paris, I will take what I can get.

General updates

I cannot believe it is only Thursday. This week has been long, for no particular reason.

I had an exposé Monday for my Nobel prize of litterature course. I had to present on Thomas MANN, a German author who won the prize in 1929 for his epic novel the Buddenbrooks which he wrote in 1901 at the age of 25. The presentation went well, and I found that the research on teh author was quite interesting. After the presentation we were immediatly given our critiques, which were not that bad. The professor then went on to comment how he loves when international students speak French, and that he liked my pronounciation and thought I had a fairly high but pleasant voice...he then announced the marks for that days presentations at the end of class in front of everyone.

Tuesday, I went to the Young Adults group at the church I am attending. Young adults here include anyone from 18-35 years, but some people who are older than that come too. There were about 40 people that went. A nice evening. However, the day was not great. I went to SFR to complain about my lack of internet again. It has been over a month, and I am still waiting for a technician to call me to make an appointment to come install it. When the dude informed me he could do nothing, and that I just have to keep waiting, I burst into tears. This brings the count to 5, 5 being the number of times the internet has made me cry while in Paris.

Wednesay was also a fun day. In my Asian Cinema class, after having a short debat on religion, the professor asked me if I attended church. I replied yes, he then asked if I went everyweek. I said usually. Unable to prove his point that only old people attend church he simply said, "Bless you". On my way home, I stopped at SFR again, this time more composed, and the guy, who knows me by my first name now says he called his manager yesterday since my emotional display the day before made him uncomfortable. He tells me his manager has taken it into his own hands to resolve my situation. I tell him that while I appreciate that, I just want to know when someone shall call me. Wednesday evening entailed meeting up with friends at the student restaurant, going to a salsa bar, and walking down the Seine.

Today, Thursday, I am going to see "The President's Last Bang" at the Korean Film Festival. It is by IM Sang Soo, the director I will study for my upcoming Asian Cinama research. The film is about the assassination of former Korean President Park Chung Hee. he special thing about the screening tonight is that the film will be shown in its original format, and not its censored theatrical release one. The film finishes at 11:45pm, and then I have 2 classes at 8am tommorow! Any suggestions for cities to go to for a day trip Saturday? I am thinking somewhere in Normandy.

New Neighbour

I, as you may know by now, live on the 7th floor of a building that is sans assenceur. My little rooms comes fully equiped sans toilette. My toilet is located in the hallway. For the past 2 months, I have been the only one using it since the other rooms on this floor are used as storage or are unoccupied; or, WERE unoccupied. When I came back from my petite voyage, I noticed my toilet paper was gone... dun dun dun... and on another occasion, when I went to the toilet, and it was occupied! How shocking it was for me to discover I am no longer the only person on my floor. I heard the person trying to get into their room... so I ran over to my peephole. The walls are paper thin though and HE turned to look at my door. I think the person is a 60ish year old man, but I cannot be sure since that one glimpse through the peephole is the only time I saw him. I am sad now... since I feel I should put on clothes to use the toilet, and not go in my PJs anymore. I am also afraid it will be occupied again and that is weird. I hope I get to meet this neighbour soon since I hear him come and go all the time, and the longer it takes to say HI the stranger (pun!) it becomes.

Pretty

Hair salons in Berlin are DIRT CHEAP. You can cut and dye your hair for 20 Euros, no joke. Due to this amazing deal, I was very tempted to get my hair done. However, after long contemplation I decided not to for a few reasons:

1. I like how my hair falls at the back right now, which is hard to acheive.
2. My last haircut was only 2 months ago, so it is still in decent shape
3. I want to grow out my hair, as per usual.
4. I have died my hair EVERY fall for the past 3 years, so why not be au natural for once?
5. A ton of Berliner women have ugly bright red hair, which seems to be "in" right now, and I didn't know if I trusted the hair dressers sense of pretty.
6. A lady on the U-Bahn randomly told me I shouldn't dye my hair. She commented that it looks like gold :P. She said if I want to change it, I should use Hazelnut leaves...I tried to buy some from the Apothoteke, but they would have had to order them in, and I didnt have time. Plus, how does one use hazelnut leaves on their hair?

I spent my last day in Berlin walking around Sans Souci, a beautiful series of palaces which Frederick the Great built in the spirit of wanting his own Versaille. Anyhow, I'll post pictures of that later. I was amazed by the automn colours during my walk that day, and decided my hair is a good colour for fall. Observe:

And for those who wanted to see the boots....

They aren't THAT great, they were just a steal and keep rain off my feet. A definite step up from wearing my canvas Etnies slip-ons with holes in their soles around town.

Speaking French

Last beef of the day...

A few weeks ago, my friends the Twins, were complaining about how they felt used for their English. I did not feel this way at the time, but today I definatly did. I understand when people hear my accent that they may reply in English, fair enough, but when I speak back in French they should get the idea that I can actually speak the language.

Today, on two occasions I had people explicity speak to me in English and be like, this is great, I can practice my English. I let them know that this is not the case, and that if they would like to speak English, that they can go to Canada... but that while I am in France, I will not speak to native French speakers in English.

The guy continued to speak in English, so I discontinued the conversation. I refuse to have people exploit my English. I will correct their English in their essays if they ask, but only under the pretext that they then correct my French ones in the future.

Ugly

I accidently deleted the colours that were here before... I now think it is ugly, but I am having trouble getting it back to normal... I need a new template too. This one bothers me...

This is just added to my discontent from earlier. I have been reading a number of blogs this afternoon, and I am not the only one in a ventful mood.

On a side note, I am wearing the new boots I bought in Sweden today, so I look great!

Still waiting

I am finally back in Paris and upon my arrival back to my flat I was very excited that I should have my bus pass sitting and waiting for me. I was also happy because I should have had messages tellibng me my internet was going to be installed. However, my happiness was soon crushed when I realized despite waiting over 3 weeks, I still had not received my bus pass nor was there an update on internet.

I am sorry to bore you with these details, but these facts are very frustrating to me. I went to SFR to inquire about my Neufbox. I waited in line for 15 minutes and it was annoying. The French service people are not like those in Canada, you do not have someone smile and greet you. While you wait, you are not acknowledged at all, you do not exist. When it was my turn the dude called someone and I was told I should get a phonecall in 3 days. So, although I was told everything should at most 21 days, after 23 I must wait 3 for a phone call to make an appointment for the installation. What the heck!?? They seriously do not care about customer service.

Talking to others who have different providers the situation has been similar for them, waiting up to 2 months for internet. This horrible service seems to be the norm, so the individual company is not worried about losing clients. However, I refuse to become accustomed to the bad service I receive here.

5 hours

5 hours = the amount of time my plane to Berlin was delayed by.
After we all got to the airport at 5 am, noone was impressed by the delay. What added to it, was that they would not tell how long the delay would be for, for quite a while. The screen simply said "delayed". After 2 hours, they gave us some good. This was good since we met other people on the flight, and had people to converse with. I met a student from Paris who is living in Berlin, and a translator from Berlin who is living in Paris. This was nice, the three of us talked from about 6 am until the place landed in Berlin at 1pm.
A 5 hour wait is a bit excessive, but at least I got there the same day. I have heard horror stories of poeple having to wait multiple days with delays. I would like to say it is better to just train since it is simpler, however coming back from Barcelona my train was about 2.5 hours late... so I don't know what the most reliable transportation is. Perhaps walking...but that is too tedious when traveling... and who knows, maybe one would sprain an ankel and also be late. Last night getting home took over an hour when it should't take more than 30 min due to construction on S-Bahn lines. grr...
OK, that was my transportation rant... I am done.

aufWiedersehen Paris!

I just can't seem to stay still!

Tommorow at 4:30am I start my trek to Berlin. I was previously unsure how I would make my 635am flight since check in stops at 6 and the Metro only starts runnig at 530! I decided to pay for a shuttle. My door to the airport will cost17.5€, which is only 10€ more then public transportation, much faster, and allows me to have a goodnight sleep at home and NOT hang out at the airport between 1130pm and 5am. I think it is worth the cost.

I will be staying with a friend in Berlin and meeting up with my Godmother's friend on Friday, and finally seeing a girl I met in teh Dominican Republic on Sunday. I love how networks and modern communication allows people to keep and get in touch from long distances.

I will then leave and meet up wtih Cecelia and Nick in Stockholm where we will chill for a day. I am excited to leave! Thank goodness I have been slowly adapting my sleep schedule for this. Woke up at 645 on Tuesday, 530 Wednesay, and tommorow 4am! If i keep this up...

Take care everyone!

Congrats Obama!

This week is all about the USA. Walking into school Monday morning it looked like the 4th of July. There have been contests and parties, all themed after American inspiration (re: The American Dream Party).

Many students chose to stay up all night to watch the action at bars where the parties went on all night. For those of us not quite hard core enough to stay up all night, we got up at 5 am to watch the final poles come in and hear Obama's acceptance speech. By 6am 2 large amphitheatres were filled with students to watch the festivities together and hear political science experts weigh in on Obama's victory. One French newstation even had a correspondant persent in the theatre, showing the students at Sciences-Po enthusiam for the campaign and victory.

Will things change? I believe they will. Can we make things improve? YES WE CAN.

Pictures in Paris (Part I)

Here are some pics of life here so far.

Paris in September!


Paris in October!

How to cook an Eggplant

Intro: On my previous post about Market Saxe Breteuil, I mentioned buying an Eggplant. It was an impulse buy and for a week it sat in my fridge while I contemplated what to do with it. It was only when Lisa came to Paris for a week and I invited her over for dinner that it was finally cooked. She had read the post and specifically inquired about how it was doing. Upon the news it was still just sitting in my fridge, she personally took on the task of cooking it up.

Prereqs: Eggplant, Pan, Knife, Olive Oil, Salt, Pepper, Hotplate, Asian from Vancouver.

Step 1: Cut the Eggplant into bit size peices! (It turns out my eggplant was bigger than most of the small asian ones she was used it. We cut it in half, and that was more then enough.)

Step 2: Put the Eggplant into the hot pan with oil, sat and pepper! (only spices I own)


Step 3: Let simmer
Step 4: Enjoy!

Result: Edible Eggplant dish.

pulled a Nancy

I have always had problems making sense. If you have spoken to me, you have likely realized this. I just thought I'd recount what happened Thursday evening, as a prime example of the accidently randomness of my speach.

So I was leaving my Asian Cinema class and nearly forgot my jacket. After going back to grab it someone remarked, "Is that all you have? Will you not be cold?" I assured them that I will be fine since the coat is a rain coat and does not breath well therefore I am always kept extra warm in it.

We then squeeze onto the elevator with 5 other people. It is squishy, but when we read the sign we note that it says there can be up to 8 of us. After this is stated, there is a 3 second pause, after which I say, "And I have mittens!".

I realized almost immediatly, as people turn to stare, that what I said had no context whatsoever to them. The only person who realizes that I am making reference to the earlier comment of me being cold laughs, as do others. I felt a bit embarrassed, but laughed at myself since I realized it came across as absurd.

Even in France, Nance is still Nance.

November!?

Hey everyone,

So, although I have ordered internet, and have the modem sitting in my room. I still do not have access to it because I am waiting for the line to be installed. This is the excuse I give for not posting recently. I have a number of posts that are made, and waiting to be published, but I am trying to include pictures... and with the bad connection I have, they cannot be uploaded. So, I may not be posting now, but when I do, they will be fabulous.

I hope everyone had a happy Hallowe'en. I was so sad not to see people dressed up here during the day. There were some parties where people dressed up, but it just wasn't the same. I saw NO pumpkins! :(

and boo, it is raining again! and fereeeeeezing! (ooo, obvious exageration)