Profitez du Soleil, Pour le Dernier Weekend !

It’s officially the end of summer here in Lyon, but, no worries for the Lyonnais, that is just another reason to celebrate. And no, I am not talking about the recent university-sponsored international student party, although it was pretty cool for me to realize (under the cover of a smoke machine, an epilepsy-inducing strobe light, and a very odd collection of American music) that we were the “exotic” international students on this campus. No, this Lyonnais party involved roller skates, stilts, and berets. Nothing too exceptional about my classes this week, so I will not bore you with coursework details, and instead get right to the fun.

After seeing him (among others) last weekend in Paris, my fellow pre-trip traveler Brian Hwang decided to make it two weekends in a row in France, and on Friday arrived in Lyon, where my host mother was kind enough to allow him to stay at “our” house. Of course, Friday was a gray, cold day in Lyon. Additionally, the metro and bus system has been on strike here since Thursday, but it has not been nearly as exciting as I had hoped. Instead of angry people marching in the streets waving signs and such (and allowing me to join in the fray), this strike has been invisible except for the fact people are now packed at bus stations waiting for the one or two buses that are still operating during the “disturbance.” Quite boring. Anyway, the point is that we could not use the metro to hop between all the sights of Lyon, and instead had to kick it old-school, and took to walking. It was Friday afternoon, the streets were empty, the sidewalk cafes were all closing, and I'm pretty sure Brian was wondering why he had ever left Barcelona for this dreary city.

But then Saturday came along. The sun came out, the temperature rose, and Lyon came to life. We started it off with a lunch with the family, and the meal lived up to the strong reputation that I had promised of my host mother’s cooking. The two of us then set out into Lyon, and obviously started it off by climbing a massive set of stairs up to the very peak of Lyon. From there we walked around the 15^th century Basilica, the roman amphitheatre, and took in the view of the entire city. Feeling relaxed, We eventually made our way back down the hill and meandered over to the center of the city. The party was underway.

Place Bellecour, the center of town, was a beehive of people, and we quickly found that there were a whole host of both wonderful and very French activities underway. First up was the state-sponsored roller skate competition, featuring both “slalom” skaters that were big on style, and later a competitive roller-derby type race around the block (it turns out this was not only a two day event, but also the French national championship!). This of course was accompanied by the obligatory loud/old/bad American music which I’m starting to realize is still very popular in Europe (only 5 years behind the States). Fortunately, the plaza was large enough to hold two celebrations on one day, because at the other end we had the Handicap International group supporting disabled persons and mine victims. The highlight over here was the live French band, mixing rock and big band styles, featuring a singer drenched in sweat, a trombonist, and a poorly dancing clarinet/saxophonist. The French people loved it (see photo). Even though I couldn’t exactly understand what he was trying to say up on stage, I definitely could tell that this guy was pretty successful at working the crowd. We left the square feeling content at having seen (and played an integral part in) a true French festival.

Now, this is Lyon, so of course the craziness did not stop there! We headed down the main walking thoroughfare in Lyon, and came across another band, this time featuring a sousaphone (or two), odd looking costumes, and another large crowd. While not as ridiculous as the band up on stage in Place Bellecour, these folks were still popular with the people, and were a perfect complement to a sunny afternoon. Upon leaving them, however, we ran into the most elaborate production of the day: a parade sponsored by the same Handicap International group that was in the square. At the front were the stilts walkers, trying to reconcile the two issues of dancing to the beat and staying on said stilts. Next in the conga line were the choreographed dancers doing some sort of shimmy that had a couple people in the crowd subconsciously mimicking. Last, but certainly not least was the drum line, all of whom were wearing matching berets! Suffice it to say that after this production, I was ready to buy my own, but somehow I resisted, for now. That did mark the final crazy French thing of the day though, and the two of us headed back up the stairs feeling very cultured for the day.

Tomorrow marks one month since I arrived in Lyon for this grand experiment we call study abroad, and I have slowly come to the realization that I could not have picked a better city for the semester. After being in Paris last weekend and spending this one in Lyon, I continue to be struck by this realization. It is true, Lyon is not a tourist destination, and besides a church and a crumbling theater, we really do not have a lot of historical artifacts. But because of that, this is truly a French city, and instead of being overwhelmed by tourists and not practicing anything but English in Paris, I am getting a French experience. It’s fair to say that Paris is the New York of France, and that Lyon is Philadelphia. For some people that has a bad connotation; but I’m loving Philly right now.

La Tour Eiffel? Ouais, C’est Ennuyeux.

I’m back to Lyon following my jaunt to Paris, and I’m returning to the daily grind of classes, exploring Lyon, and eating French food. I’m slowly starting to figure out the French university system, but first let me quickly recap my weekend in Paris.

Following my day long excursion to Normandy, I arrived in Paris a little travel weary and a bit sick from the lack of sleep the night before. But, I was quickly remedied with a few blocks on the Champs Elysées. Meeting up with my friends forced me to walk by the Arc de Triomphe, the Luxor Obelisk, and the Louvre. Welcome to Paris, I guess. I soon found that it is true that everyone in Paris speaks English, following an encounter with our waiter at a sidewalk café. I ordered a chicken dish, and explained to him, in French, that I could not have eggs, so if he could please ensure there was no eggs in what I had ordered, that would be great. Pretty standard action, nothing special. However, we (the four travelers) were clearly speaking English, and the waiter picked up on it, and wanted to throw a little joke out there to top it off. So he brings me the chicken plate, and I ask him again (in English this time) if there are any eggs, to which he replies “No eggs, but you know that this makes eggs, right?” with quite a wry smile on his face. It was one of those Fran-glais moments: did he mean to use that verb? Does he know what he just said? Eventually, us dumb Americans (a common theme in Paris) figured out his hilarious joke.

After settling in Friday night, Saturday was our day to explore. We did not end up going to many different places, instead spending plenty of time just relaxing and taking in the sun at each destination. First was Sacre Coeur, where a Parisien street musician (of Spanish descent) butchered the words of Coldplay and Oasis as we tried to ignore him by looking out over the city from the mini hill of Montmartre. Then it was off to the Arc de Triomphe, where we took advantage of France’s “day of patriotism,” which meant that all the touristy state-owned monuments throughout France were free, and spent plenty of time up on the top snapping photos and looking over the Paris skyline. Again, I did not have a working camera at the time, so you’ll have to check out facebook (the picture today is from the American cemetery in Normandy). We capped off our sightseeing for the day with a promenade down the Champs Elysées, in which we encountered at least two McDonalds (or “MacDo” here) and two Starbucks.

Night brought the highlight of the trip for some of us: picnicking in a park (nearly) under the Eiffel Tower. We met up with some friends from Reid Hall and had an authentic French dinner, complete with French wine (perhaps not the finest, but the price was right), cheese, ham, and, of course, baguettes. A true Paris experience. As we were appreciating the cultural experience, the clock struck the hour, and the Eiffel Tower began to sparkle. Now, it normally is lit up at night, but we quickly learned that every hour it sparkles with fluorescent lights for about five minutes, and it is a sight to be seen. For us Lyonnais, this was unexpected and amazing (we heavily anticipated the next hour). Yet, the Parisiens among us were thoroughly not impressed. “It’s tacky,” or “so boring,” or “it really gets old after a while” were the only phrases they could muster as this spectacle unfolded. I just kind of looked at them blankly (albeit for only a few seconds as I didn’t want to miss the show), and wondered what a shame it must be when the sights of Paris are no longer exciting.

The rest of the trip was uneventful, marked by an early exit from the hotel room to catch a train back to Lyon on a gray and rainy Sunday. I finally had class on Monday this week, as the Professors decided to show up this time around. I had two classes in French (on European and International Institutions, and then on the United States in the 20^th Century), and this is where I really figured out the French system. First off, we were told when we came here by Penn that this would not be like the United States, in the sense that students wanted to be in class (a radical concept) and would truly be focused when they were there. False. Just like at Penn, most of the class is on Facebook, checking up on the world while the professor in vain tries to describe the subject material. If this professor is reasonably entertaining and interesting, the students will reward him/her at the end of every class with a round of applause, a nice touch. However, if this professor happens to be a bit boring, the French have no problem blatantly talking up in the back, so much to the point that the professor is drowned out by the class chatter. That is a bit awkward. Additionally, I tend to be someone who takes plenty of notes, and especially here I try to take notes on phrases that are helpful or other French words that stick out to me. Yet, I do not always get exactly what the professor is saying, as again, this is not my native language. So it is always enjoyable for me to see some French kids lean over to mooch off my notes (expecting to be wowed by their content), and then kind of slink back into their chair more confused than ever. Final point is that we really have very little work here. Yes there are readings for almost every class, but nothing like the daily work at Penn. For starters, we only have one session of each course per week, rendering daily work completely useless. Further, professors usually give out a “bibliography” at the beginning of each course of recommended books throughout the semester, ie a list of books it would be helpful to read, but no worries if you never get around to them. At the end of the semester, each class normally just has one exam on which your entire grade is based. No pressure, but you better be a good test taker.

Ah yes, university life has begun in France, and I am trying not to get bogged down in the class work. So far, so good.

J’ai Besoin d’Être en Congé

(Editor’s note: I meant to publish this yesterday once I found internet in Paris, however I just got online for the first time today…so allow me to take you back a day)

We are now finished with the first week of official classes at IEP, and after three whole classes, it feels great to get a break. As the week went on, professors did eventually show up to class, although still no explanation for Monday’s all around failure. Tuesday brought International Finance, focusing on the contemporary “dollarization” of the world, with a professor that is both engaging and welcoming to international students. No class on Wednesday (not sure if this will stick throughout the semester, but I’m inclined to make it work), but Thursday featured not only Multinational Firms and the Attractiveness of Territories, but also International Violence and Managing Conflict. The first showed that the French language has really not caught up to English in business terminology (instead they simply steal words such as capital, joint-venture, and multinational firm, albeit with some order inversion), while the second I attended because another first choice class was canceled, and, after being drawn in by its focus on civil wars around the world, I probably will take instead; you snooze, you lose. Also, apparently IEP has an English requirement, because for both of my Thursday classes, more than half of the readings are in English (despite the class being en Français), making it all the better for us exchange students.

But, so much work is pretty exhausting after a while, and after celebrating the birthday of our program director on Thursday night, the weekend officially had begun. After failing in my quest to go last weekend, I booked my tickets early this time for Paris, and am currently on my way to the capital city right now. With the combination of Penn friends in the Reid Hall program (there is an unspoken rivalry between “that one” and Lyon), other travelers coming in for the weekend (both from Lyon and Barcelona, one of my fellow travelers from the beginning Brian Hwang), and the fact that, after all, it is Paris, I could not pass it up two weekends in a row.

However, first I decided to make a little side trip, and a historical one at that which has taken me back a little over 900 years. Since I still have my rail pass from the beginning excursion (of which I missed part), and the pass is valid for a certain number of days, not individual train rides, I decided to take my travels a bit further today before heading to Paris. This morning, after getting up way too early, I boarded a TGV in Lyon to Paris, but after a quick change of stations (love the Paris metro system), I hopped on another train, this time for Bayeux. This is a tiny little village in the Northwest of France close to the English Channel that is well known for two reasons. I will describe each in turn.

Bayeux itself is home to one of the world’s oldest and most fascinating tapestries, aptly named the Bayeux Tapestry. Now, I’m not much of an art connoisseur myself, but this 70 meter long piece was crafted in 1066 to mark the run up to and the bloody finish of that year’s Battle of Hastings, in which William the Conqueror (the Duke of Normandy) captured back the English monarchy from his traitor cousin Harold. It was remarkable to see the intricate detail of each little “scene” of the tapestry, and to easily follow the story line and main characters of the action just from the drawing. Combine that with the Bayeux Cathedral (also from the Middle Ages), and you have yourself a pretty solid way to spend the first half of the day.

The main highlight of it, and the reason I decided to make this daytrip, however, was the beaches of Normandy. A twenty minute bus ride from Bayeux brought me to the famous Omaha Beach, site of the 1944 D-Day landing, and the beginning of the liberation of France. I know this sentiment is not shared by all, but I felt that as an American who studies international politics, this would be an experience not to miss while in France. I was not disappointed.

The U.S. government financed and erected the cemetery to bury and honor all 9800 soldiers killed in the Normandy fighting, and topped it off with a powerful memorial overlooking the beach. In addition to the overwhelming grave sites, the monument provided historical background of the fighting, as well as names of over 2000 of those missing in action from the fight. Today was beautiful, and with the rows upon rows of plots marked by Crosses (or the occasional Star of David) combined with the crashing waves of the Channel below, it was a powerful scene. I eventually made my way down onto the beach itself and, despite the two horse drawn chariots racing by and multiple guys sailing in little cars on the sand (no clue what they were trying to do, but they were definitely failing at it), I appreciated the gravity of the location. For a second there, looking out into the Channel, imagining the scene from over 65 years ago, you could feel the fear in both the onrushing Americans, and the heavily entrenched Germans (average age of those killed in the invasion? 24 years old. Scary). Far more powerful than Arlington Cemetery, I almost forgot I was in France, as everything was in English and heavily American focused (in addition to the fact that the majority of visitors were clearly Americans like me). Then again, as I was snapping photos of statues and such, a French staffer came up to me to remind me that the park closed at 5pm, which was 20 minutes away. I told her it was no problem, and kept moving, however she felt it necessary to run me down and remind me again as I walked, as she clearly did not want any dumb American to ruin her French schedule of work (a whole different subject). For the record, I got out of there with over 5 minutes to spare, but I found it funny to be so sharply drawn back to the reality of France even in such a powerful site.

In all, it was a day trip definitely worth the early start, sore throat and all. I took plenty of great photos with my new and improved camera, yet forgot to both charge it and/or bring the battery with me, so I’m sticking with one of my Lyon shots for this post. As the train rolls on, I’m not sure how the no camera thing is going to work in Paris, but on the bright side, I guess now I have to come back?

Quelques Choses à Faire: J'ai Raté.

Today was the day of my first real class here at IEP, at 10 am, titled "European and International Institutions". Despite your personal opinion, to me that sounded pretty cool, and I was definitely looking forward to starting off the semester strong. Showed up to class (on time even), sat down with a few other Penn kids in the middle of the mobbed lecture hall, pulled out my computer to take some notes, I was ready. Turns out, the professor wasn’t, or at least did not feel like showing up to class today. After waiting around for 15, 20 minutes, we started to look around to see if anyone else thought this was odd, and to see if there were any real French students in this class who could expertly explain whatever was happening. Sure enough, a few minutes later (by this time 25 minutes into the class), a student left the room, and returned shortly thereafter with the news that there would be no class today. First class, no class.

Second class, this time on the United States in the 20^th Century. Not sure if I will actually end up taking this class as it probably will not earn me any credit at Penn, but I think it would be awesome to learn what the French think about the States, and get in some arguments in the process. However, I did not get any help in making my decision about this class unfortunately as yet again the professor did not show up. I know there were classes today, as other Penn kids did successfully begin their semester…just not me. While it was great to have an extra six hours in my day, I hope this doesn’t become/is not already an odd French trend of professors failing to show up to class. Maybe they were on strike? That would be very French.

Anyway, I can’t continue to move ahead in my life story without first catching you up on what went down this weekend. Now, I am not referring to any crazy fêtes or boums, and this paragraph is suitable for all audiences. No, this weekend brought the pleasant surprise of a chateaux tour. You see, I had initially wanted to go to Paris this past weekend to visit friends and see the sights, but after missing out on train tickets, I happily settled for more time in Lyon. My host family told me that they were going to the countryside for the day on Saturday and, since they knew I had some newly discovered free time, they informed me that they would be more than happy to have me join them. Trying to be open to new experiences, I gave it a “pourquoi pas” attitude, and consented to the trip. One of my two roommates had already been dragged into this, so I figured it could not be that bad. Turns out that the tour comprised of me and the roommate (combined age: 38), one IEP professor who at about 40 years old is actually a fun person/big kid and proved to be a great connection for us, and then probably 35-40 people between the ages of 60 and about 90. Yikes. Highlight of the trip was definitely the bus rides (as we could sleep and listen to music), because of the 3 (or 4?) chateaus we went to, they were all kind of similar. Yes it was a cultural experience and I tried to soak it all in as best I could, but I became saturated with culture pretty early on in the trip. Throw into that the fact that my camera is broken, and overall it was a fantastically boring way to spend a Saturday.

For this week, its off to classes (hopefully I will eventually have one), and more getting to know Lyon. Recent discoveries include a hockey team in Lyon, free opera tickets, and a carbon copy of a Target superstore in the heart of the city, all sure to be explored shortly. With treasures like this, who knows what the next week will bring.