So much culture, so little time.

Another week has past me by, and with it comes a fountain of memories that will be remembered throughout my life.  Returning to my normal schedule after going to the beach and hiking over the weekend was difficult.

On Monday we had a field trip for ecology to boulogne sur gesses.  Even though it was sprinkling and a little cold, the outing was enjoyable.  Walking through the the abundance trees and flowers soothed the soul.  The views were breathtaking, and the flowers were beautiful.  It is worth visiting.



The next afternoon we took  field trip to a farm right outside of Toulouse.  The technology utilized here falls a little behind the technology used back on the farms in the United States.  However, this could be sure to a lack of finances and it is not necessarily needed.  Also, I noticed the government subsidizes many frivolous things here (although I guess that's not too different from us).  The French culture emphasizes the environment.  Almost everyone here considers the environment as a precious commodity and take great strides to preserve it.  The farmers as well as the greenhouse we visited displayed this tendency towards preservation.  The greenhouse had a wide variety of flowers and plants that were grown using environmentally safe methods.  I learned more about flowers than I ever had! I would have never guessed it took 15 years on average for orchids start flowering.

The most interesting trip this week occurred at a free range poultry farm, where I learned how Foie gras is made.  This process is apparently controversial, because ducks are force fed for a period of time to fatten them to the perfect weight.  However, the meat is so delicious I say it's worth it, and I'm pretty sure France agrees with me.  Apparently, France produces about 90 percent of the Foie gras and consumes about 80 percent of it.  The free range chickens were interesting to learn about.  One thing I noticed about chickens is that, well they're chicken.  They're very timid creatures who need specially placed structures (trees) around the yard before they will roam outside; otherwise they do not feel safe and will likely not leave the building.

The week was cut short due to a back holiday, giving us Thursday and Friday off.  We took this opportunity to visit Barcelona.  The city was filled with life and excitement.  From the shopping centers to the beaches to the riots, Barcelona was a blast and is worth paying a visit.  Although, it was rather expensive, and the people can be very pushy.

All in all, this week has been fantastic.  I have learned so much about the French culture and had am opportunity to learn some of the Spanish culture.  For being so close together geographically, Spain and France have some significant culture differences.  Every time I ponder over these past events, I cannot help but be eager for the great opportunities the next week.

Hello, Bonjour, Hola, Güten Tag

Well week two has come to a close and its been fantastic. I am currently on a train speeding through the outskirts of Barcelona, Spain where the group and I spent our long weekend. Going to the “playground of Europe” was likely one of the best decisions we could have made for our four day weekend so that’s what I’ll talk about in this blog.

The trip had a very rocky start, our train was canceled and we didn’t figure this out until after we had run all over the train station looking for the train to Barcelona, which was nonexistent, thanks SNCF. So after tearing almost all of my hair out we went to the customer service window and they got us tickets for the next train leaving the station with only one connection to get to our beloved Barcelona. We thought the stress was over but little did we know we would be on four trains and four different cities before we finally got in, thanks to a few friendly people otherwise we probably would have ended up in Chernobyl. When we finally arrived, 7 hours late, everyone was in high spirits as we were about to put everything people had told us about “Barca” to the test or maybe the infamous city was going to put us to the test, either way we were excited.

After roughly a three kilometer walk we arrived at St. Christopher’s Inn, a European hostel chain (which I highly recommend), we started the check in process and met some really cool people from Alabama who were on a backpacking trip across Europe. When I heard them speaking English with a bit of a southern accent my face probably lit up I was so excited, we talked to them for a bit but couldn’t get anything else planned due to conflicting schedules. When we finally got to our rooms we all decided that there was no time for naps (I’ll sleep when I’m dead has been the mentality so far) so we changed clothes and got ready for our first night in the “playground”.

Once everyone was in the lobby we headed out to find a good place to eat and stumbled upon a Tapas restaurant and the food was to die for, everything I could have hoped for from our first meal in Spain. The next day was a bit rainy so we toured the city with our umbrellas and rain coats, we didn’t have a set plan so we just took off from our hostel and started walking. It’s amazing what you can find just walking around like that! The day was full of eating, drinking and taking pictures which I think was the best use of our day. That night we ate some seafood and listened to a mariachi band that came through the small restaurant we were eating at, the live music paired with the good food has been one of my favorite things along with the long, drawn out dining experiences. Saturday was a beach day since it was so beautiful outside and everyone got a little darker. It still kind of shocking seeing naked men and topless women walking along the beach but I guess that’s all part of the European experience. We returned to Toulouse Sunday afternoon with a much smoother train ride, we came direct from Barcelona and it was much less stressful than the ride out there.

All in all I think the long weekend in Barcelona was among the top weekends of my life time and I don’t know if I will ever get to experience something like that again. It is seriously the city that never sleeps. Meeting people from all over the world and getting to experience such a rich culture was a very unique experience for me and the city itself was breathtaking. I would strongly advise taking a trip there, even if it is just for a few days, as a matter of fact I would highly recommend going to any city on the Mediterranean. There is a different way of life down there and it’s something I hope to experience again very soon.

Goodbye for now you 8^th wonder of the world, I’ll see you again soon and this time I will be prepared for everything you have to throw at me.

Oh and on a horticulture note, the orchids were nice too.

Bar-the-lo-na

I'm drained. this weekend started with excitement but quickly turned to frustration. Our train to Barcelona was canceled. this began a series of events that included train hopping to finally reach our destination. BUT it was defiantly worth it. So worth it that Barcelona will probably take up a majority of this blog.

First off the food was amazing. Every single thing we ate was fantastic. The nights were long and the drinks kept coming. People spoke plenty of English so getting around was much easier than in France. We definitely treated ourselves to a wonderful weekend. Between wandering the city, The clothing optional beach ;) , the Picasso museum and the restaurants, Barcelona will be the highlight of our time in Toulouse. Paris will have to work hard to match the Spanish experience.

On another note, the students from University of Georgia have returned home. We are now a measly six. Everything is much quieter and you can hear the laughter and fun we all had echoing through the empty halls of our hotel. It was fun Georgia!

Overall I still have the same impression of Toulouse that i did last weekend. It definitely feels like the norm right about now.

Alas I must admit I had been remiss in my last entry. I am not much of one for photos. I like to experience things through my eyeballs not through a camera screen. I have taken some photos though and hopefully i can make up for it here.

There might have been riots while we were there but its alll good the Ninja Turtles had our backs.

 Lots of Orchids

 Really cool orchids

 Aggie orchids

 Much Hand

 Cool arch we stumbles upon in Barcelona

 And a statue in front of a Roman wall

The Beach right before it started raining

behind the orchid

This week was the week of the orchid.  However, I don’t think Zodiac signs consist of plants, so I cannot tell you what that means in regard to the stars.  However, I can tell you that where there are bountiful amounts of orchids, there is a person with an unreal amount of patience behind them.   
The orchid family is huge.  I had always pictured orchids as the show-stopping colorful flowers you see in Japanese tea gardens, not the tiny flowers you see while hiking that almost blend in with the rest of the meadow.  To begin the week, we went on a sort of scavenger hunt for wild orchids, which would have been tricky to find if we hadn’t had a guide to point them out because they look nothing like the iconic orchid.  They are much smaller and grow more in a defined line than the other curved orchids.  As we hiked through the plant reserve, the guide pointed out several endangered species of orchid, and it was interesting to hear about so many different ones in the same area. 

On Tuesday, however, things flip-flopped.  We got to see an ornamental plant greenhouse, which was neat. But then, at the end of the tour, he showed us his orchid collection, and let me just say that they were the most beautiful orchids I had ever seen.  They were bright and bold flowers all collaged together on the greenhouse benches, making the room a truly lovely sight.    

This room was not only filled with beauty, however, it was filled with many years of patience.  Some of the orchid species he had took at least fifteen years to mature and bloom for the first time, and one orchid was supposed to take at least thirty-five years.  As the farmer walked around his prized greenhouse, it occurred to me that patience is not just waiting for something without complaint.  Patience is also working at something while you wait.  Some of the orchids have not bloomed.  Yet, he still takes care of them in hopes that they will one day.  It was an inspiring scene to see. 

Therefore, next time you see an orchid, think about the beauty of patience. 

805 Words to Describe the Week of a Lifetime

All I can say about this past week is wow! It has been a whirlwind of an adventure and excitement. As far as school goes, it was pretty light. We had a four day weekend so school was only Monday through Wednesday. The best day was definitely Wednesday, where we visited a local poultry farm. We learned about raising ducks and the force feeding that is performed in order to increase the size of the liver for foie gras. The way they treated the ducks gave me mixed emotions. They were kept in small, individual cages, in which they could barely move. They were also constantly excreting because they were in a permanent state of digestion. It honestly looked horrible. I remind myself, though, that they are animals and they don't know any different. It also French culture and I have to respect that. I am still processing what I saw that day, and trying to form an accurate opinion about it. 
After our short week of school, we headed to Barcelona, Spain! If only it had been quite that simple to hop on our train and arrive there. Our direct train departing from Toulouse had been cancelled. After rearranging our new route, with a train change in Narbonne, we thought the storm had settled. Boy, was I wrong. We arrived in Narbonne and went inside to find out what train we were supposed to be getting on, because they were not clearly labeled and our ticket didn't have a train number. Well by the time we made it back outside to hop on the train, it had left without us. So, we tried to be resourceful. We looked at the departures schedule, and saw another train leaving in a few minutes for Barcelona. We hopped on that train and arrived at the end of the line. Needless to say, we were not in Barcelona. At this point, we were all a little frustrated and exhausted. I made my way to the Chief of Station and she rearranged our tickets for us. We arrived about two hours later than we should have in Barcelona, but we made it! It was quite the adventure. I felt really accomplished that we had figured it all out, even if it took longer than expected. 
On Friday, we spent the whole day exploring the city. It was raining, but we certainly made the best of it. We found that a lot more people in Spain spoke English than in France. It was slightly refreshing to be able to communicate with everyone we came in contact with, and to have a chance to practice my rusty Spanish! Saturday morning we headed to the Picasso Museum bright and early. The art was incredible, of course, but I was also intrigued by the architecture of the building. It was traditional Spanish style on the outside, but the inside had been remodeled extremely modern, with the exception of a few brick walls here and there, adding extreme contrasts to the room. After the museum, we headed to the beach. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the beach seemed to be the place to be! We soaked up the sun for a few hours, until it started sprinkling. We took a little walk around the beach and marina. We even passed the nudist beach, which was certainly a culture shock for me! I had never seen people walking around so openly. 
Saturday night we ate one of the best meals of my life. I had tuna tartar with avocado and a salmon caviar garnish, and chilean sea bass with fried apples and raspberry jam. Fue muy sabrosa! On our walk home from dinner, we saw dozens of SWAT style vans driving down La Rambla (one of the main streets in Barcelona). As we continued on, we discovered a huge riot. It was very intimidating and scary to see so many people chanting, and not understanding what they were saying. I found out later that they were upset about a housing situation in Barcelona. Apparently, young people without jobs will take over condemned buildings and produce their own electricity and water and live there. The Spanish government has apparently been letting this go on for a while, but has recently decided to stop it because it is illegal. So, in result, thousands of young Spanish gathered in La Rambla to let the Spanish government know how they felt about that. 
I had an amazing week, with the opportunity to learn not only about French culture and food, but also Spanish culture! I have been having an amazing time here in Europe, and have learned more about culture, life, and myself in the past two weeks than in all my previous 20 years combined! Can't wait to see what is in store the next few weeks!

First week in Toulouse

After spending one week in France, I already have a plethora of experiences to reflect over.  Upon arriving in Toulouse I noticed several differences between American culture and French culture.  The first observation was the amount of graffiti or "street art" scattered about the city. The people here view it as a form of expression and it is tolerated if not mildly approved.  I can understand calling it street art when the design is will thought out and appealing.  However, the scribbles spray paint everywhere its difficult for me to consider art. The greetings also differed drastically from America.  Rather than a good ol fashioned handshake, almost everyone in France greet each other by kissing both cheeks! I heard this was common here, but I was nevertheless astounded by how often it occurred, even among the men.  The cuisine in Toulouse, France was another surprise, especially the price.  Since the cost of producing food here is significantly greater for most meat than in Texas, the price of meat is high.  However fruits and vegetables are much more abundant than any other of the food groups causing their prices to be low.  This is likely due to the massive amounts of farmland covering the countryside.


On my first morning in Toulouse I woke up before the sunrise and explored the town, giving me one of my favorite experiences of the trip thus far. From the farmer's market along the street with its fresh fruits and vegetables to the merchants outside the cathedral with their unique goods, Toulouse was full of life and history.  The most memorable part of the exploration was walking along what I call main street and watching the rising sun's rays shine through the the green tops of the perfectly aligned trees creating a glorious golden sheen.  To any future visitors I highly recommend waking up early and seeing the city as it begins its Saturdays.  After roaming around the city I stumbled on some locals who thought I was German.  Luckily, a couple if then spoke some broken English so communicating wasn't too difficult.  I hung out with them for about, learning valuable lessons on the Toulouse locals: nearly everyone likes to drink and smoke.  One other important culture tendency in France is most of the people do not speak English.  They may know a couple words or phrases, but overall it is relatively difficult to verbally communicate with the locals.  


Over the weekend, I ventured to Collioure with some fellow students to find a beautiful little tourist town with some delicious local beverages.  The city settled on the Mediterranean coast with the chateau at the center, and it was organized so invaders would have a difficult time attempting a siege.  The beaches were a little too rocky for my preferences, but the weather was phenomenal and the scenery brought everything together perfectly.  All in all, Collioure is worth visiting.  Plus the majority of its citizens spoke English.


The following day brought more adventure as we traveled to Luchon.  Located in a valley, Luchon was surrounded by mountains that were covered in mist and a perfect location for hiking.  After spending many hours adventuring around the mountainside, I relaxed at a fantastic little tea house in the center of town.  The tea was delicious!  At the end of the day we were all exhausted and ready to get back to Toulouse.


Through my field trips to Carcassonne, vineyards/winery, gardens, shall towns and other historical places, I have  ascertained a greater understanding of the French culture and people.  These experiences are building lifelong memories I will forever cherish.  I cannot wait to build more in the next few weeks

Fight'n Texas Aggie First Week in France

 What a crazy first week its been! The week started out with jet lag and rough introductions to some UGA students also visiting France. However, it has ended in celebrations and many new found friends. 
     Since I've gotten to France I've tried to immerse myself into the culture by learning the language and applying it in everyday situations. When shopping for groceries or purchasing train tickets it can be a bit frustrating but picking up on the easier phrases has helped greatly. Our French teacher Anne gave us a book of popular phrases that we use in class to learn basic communication. The students at the school we attend are very skilled in the English language, and they are always interested in things about America and Texas. 
     My favorite experience this week has been our visit to a winery and vineyard in Corde. The procedures that they use to produce the perfect grapes are so  fine tuned that no vineyard makes the same grape. The combination of soil content, water usage, and manual weed removal make the grapes different.
     Since I've been in France the food has exceptionally exceeded my expectations. Cheese, wine, duck, foix gras, and kebabs just to name a few is some of the local fair that we have had a chance to sample. I wish my family could be here to try all of this wonderful food with me but the pictures will have to keep them satisfied.
     I still can't believe it's only been a week, who knows what else is in store. Everyday we get to experience something new. The beautiful countryside is nothing like I've seen in Texas. This is possibly the best place I've ever been, besides Texas and Aggieland. Merci & Gig'em