things i learned abroad

1. to ride the train/bus backwards
2. to eat ketchup
3. to drink sparkling water

quick catch-up

my last 2 weeks in strasbourg sped by. on the weekends we explored the black forest, heidelburg, wrote our papers for the hague, shopped, rode our bikes around town, and ate at a l'observatoire about 5 times a week, minimum.

i already miss it. but not the dorm and the classes, but all my people.

last friday i stopped in munich and then continued to garmisch-partenkirchen to recouperate at my half-brother's house. this involved playing with his 3 babies and searching for summer jobs. on monday morning i left on my whirlwind tour of central/eastern europe.

i spent a few more hours walking around munich and then took the train to vienna. still one of my favorite cities. after dropping my stuff off at my hostel, i went to the town hall for their food and music extravaganza. i ate some fabulous spetzle, drank a radler, and watched classical music on a giant tv screen.

tuesday i met up with ilana and her friend shiri to enjoy some more of vienna.

wednesday morning during breakfast i met a boy/actor from nyc, who accompanied me to bratislava. thank god i wasn't alone. we really had to maneuver our way around the post-soviet capital. all i can really say is that bratislava is nothing like vienna, prague, or budapest. after a day in bratislava, we made our way to budapest.

my arrival in budapest was far from glamorous. it was alreadz 10.30pm and i had to make my way, with no forinths, to my hostel. after being controlled on the metro i finally got to my stop, and then spent close to an hour finding my street, which was completely hidden due to construction. this hour was not fun for several reasons: i was sweating (p.s. i ran out of deoderant), developed a giant blister on the bottom of my foot due to sweat, and was stressed out about being either robbed or my hostel closing down before i got there.

lucky for me, the guy was waiting for my arrival. in the morning i went to meet ilana and shiri for a walking tour. they never showed up, but i miraculously ran into them randomly in the streets and we set a time to meet for dinner. i went on the walking tour. it was the best 3000 huf (approximately 12 euro) i spent all week. there were onlz 3 of us with our private tour guide. after the tour i went to one of the famous baths and then met the girls for a nice dinner.

yesterday i had a very rough start. the atm machine i went to use to get cash to pay my hostel ate my card. because it's expired. so i had to use my credit card to get a cash advance. ugh. then i stood in the wrong line for my train ticket and missed the 11.10 train and had to wait another 2 hours. so i didn't get to salzburg until 8pm.

salzburg is beautiful. it rained all last night and this morning. now the sun is shining and the sky is bright and crystal clear as i prepare to head back to garmisch.

bastille day

yesterday was bastille day. which meant we had no class. which means we have way too much class the rest of the week.

last night we headed into the center of town to watch the fireworks. it felt like the entire city was out on the streets. the fireworks were cool and reminded me of how we basically missed the fourth of july and how i like to sing patriotic songs like god bless america and america the beautiful. it also reminded me of setting off fireworks in cupertino last fourth of july, which was incredibly fun. and slightly dangerous. it seems like every year the fourth of july is more and more bizarre. one can only imagine what next year will bring...

maginot line

sunday, we took the car up through northern alsace. we went through towns famous for pottery and then ended up in hatten, where we visited a museum/fort of the maginot line. the 3 euros we spent made for a much larger experience than we had anticipated.

baths-baths

saturday morning, we rented a car and headed off to baden-baden, a resort town in germany. when we arrived, we hiked around the alte schloss.





we had a great german lunch and then off we went to the baths, which were incredibly relaxing. the three hours we spent there just flew by.

we tried to go to the casino, but were not dressed well enough. but through the glass doors, it basically looked like casino royale. lucky for us, outside the casino was some kind of summer concert with really good food.

oh, and our car is super cute.

velocation.

on tuesday we rented bikes. 20 euro for the whole month. basically, the best possible transportation. it's so flat and biker-friendly here in strasbourg, and it doesn't even matter that the bike is a one speed :)

i only live about 5 minutes away from school by bike, which, for the most part, is a pleasant way to start the morning. however, it's so hot and humid here that after the 5 minute ride, entering our stagnant classroom is miserable.

last night i watched no country for old men with lisa. after she left my room, thunder and lighting hit. thank god. unfortunately, i still had to wipe the sweat off my body this morning. you know, because even though it's rainy and coolish outside, the air in every building is stagnant. i don't understand how europeans seem to be comfortable with non-moving air. i'm not even talking about air-conditioning, but, come on, get some vents open and moving air!

screw you la somme.

before we came to strasbourg, we were on strict instructions to, under no circumstances, allow ourselves to be put in the dorm paul appell. so after my 5 hr train ride, the 3 trams to get here (which, it turns out, could have been 1 if i hadn't followed the "instructions"), and the aimless wandering with luggage to find my street, i am told that la somme, my dorm where the rest of my classmates are already checked in, is full. no keys. "see, no keys." i might have cried. but all my friends were very positive and helped me carry my stuff up to their rooms so i could go at a leisurely pace to paul appell.

when i get to paul appell, woman is a bitch. sends me to registration. "registration closed at 7." "you have to register." so i go out and stare at the locked building and head back in to check in, now for the third time that day. i get my key to my unmarked room across from a stairwell that faces a ghetto apartment building. yay. i'm also told to register monday morning at 9am at the university. which part? i'm not sure. but it doesn't matter since i really can't register until tuesday. thanks bitch.

at around 8.30, ilana, lisa, and i head out of la somme with my luggage. our plan is to get dinner along the way to paul appell, maybe catch some of the soccer game. as we pass through the "lobby," ilana spies the desk guy who had assured her the previous night that he would "reserve" me a room. so we waited in line to speak with the man.

this man is a character. speaks spanish and some french. ilana questions him about my "reserved" room. "no, no keys. no rooms. all gone. sorry. paul appell. oh wait, but there is this one room, 317. but you don't want it, there's nothing there." "what do you mean nothing there? no bed?" "yes bed, but it's dirty." so we take the keys to look at the BAD room. it's "perfect." so i weasel my way into la somme. the building with stagnant air and no pillows and dirty floors.

oh and we can't forget about the 2 phone calls i got this morning from INDIA. the man was trying to call someone in room 315. why couldn't i take a message or get her? i'm sorry, i'm not the front desk (although i did try knocking on the door).

gastronomique.

friday night i couldn't sleep. apparently this is a new thing for me because i couldn't sleep last night either. also, i've become one of those always hot people. i'm thinking it's because i basically spent last summer in an air-conditioned office building and didn't experience summer?

lyon was splendid. and susi a great host. in the morning we stopped for a cafe and pastry in vielle lyon and then continued up the hill to a beautiful cathedral that overlooks the city. susi was able to point out every main attraction. we then made our way to the center/shopping area of the city and took advantage of the "solde," i.e. sale of the season. the first time this trip i've bought something other than postcards :)

we had a very lyonnais lunch, comprised of a salad with saucisson au briochet, this weird lyonnais bready-eggy delicious thing in a rocquefort sauce, and iles flottant. yum. also add in a bourdeaux rose and a cafe.

we did more walking around and made our way home for a short break before going to the hotel de ville for a beer. and later a crepe in vielle lyon. basically a beautiful night.

luckily i was able to pass out despite the sleep and slept the latest i have in weeks, 9am.

au revoir geneve.

it's 4pm and i'm sitting in my room, listening to jose gonzalez, and getting a bit nostalgic, as this is my last afternoon in geneva. and while in theory i'd like to go out and take in my last hours with the city, i've resolved to just sit here and be a little sad. this evening we are having our farewell fondue dinner in the old town, which will be nice, but several people have already left, so it'll still feel incomplete.

today i did two loads of laundry, since i don't know when i'll have the chance to easily do it again, and i'm slowly deciding which books and pamphlets to take with me. for lunch i ate the last of the food in my icebox and i'm currently drinking my last glass of wine. the bottle is already in the trash.

i've also been having some crazy dreams. many about the restaurant industry and people from my past life. weird. if i knew how to write in a journal, i would right now. oh man desperado just went on...it may be time to go outside.

mont blanc is not just a pen company.

after not making it home until LATE on saturday night, up ilana and i got at 7.30am to be at the bus station by 8.30 to take a bus to mont blanc (well, actually to chamonix, the town at the bottom of the mountain). unfortunately, the bus schedule changed saturday night, which meant we missed our bus. as we stood at the bus stop, weighing our options, ilana flagged down a swiss police car. they would not take us to the bus station. then several hired taxis passed us. finally at 8.15 one of the taxis that had passed by came back to get us. we made it to the bus station by 8.25 and off we went!

by the time we got to chamonix at 10am, we were exhausted. but we quickly found our way around the adorable alpen village to a superb patisserie. i picked up a great little danish-y pastry with custard and fresh blueberries. we took them to this hole in the wall internet cafe, where we figured we could buy coffee without being embarrassed about the pastries we bought elsewhere. this cafe was BOMB. one of the best "renverse" i have had. maybe because i was so tired and hadn't had a cup of coffee in a LONG time. we then bought 2 sandwiches a emporter to eat on the mountain.

we took the funicular up the mountain. it was spectacular. basically just lots and lots of photo ops. on our way down, we stopped at the halfway point to eat our sandwiches. these random sandwiches from the internet cafe were fabulous. i had one with chorizo, goat cheese, pesto, lettuce, and tomato. ilana's had smoked chicken, mozzarella, avocado, lettuce, and tomato. i would basically eat them non-stop if i could. after our lunch we took a hike to lake bleu, which was a bit difficult in my birks, as there was still snow to trudge through. and my foot definitely got stuck in snow a couple times.

and somehow i've gotten the tannest i've been in a long, long time.

hup holland hup!

saturday - lausanne. supposedly one of the two must-see places on lake geneva. the other is chateau chillon. clearly we read guidebooks.

lausanne was a lot like montreaux. upon arrival, susi, ilana, and i started walking up to the old town, through a market, of course, and stopped at a great little cafe. we had carac, susi's favorite swiss dessert and, while eating, were found by lisa and abbie. i think it may be time for someone to write a travel book on "market days through europe."

we then went to the olympic museum. and then went paddle boating. and then ate. and then ate a little more.





and once we came home, back we went to the music festival and to fanzone. but the russia v. netherlands game was truly ruined for me by some anti-american brit who basically yelled with me through the whole overtime period of the game. loser. too bad he was well-educated.

la fete de la musique and FANZONE

this weekend was la fete de la musique. everyone in geneva was out walking around the parks, listening to various types of music, drinking and eating lots of cheap, good food.

susi came in at 7pm, just as we were getting back from montreau. we went straight to the park to join in with the rest of geneva.



however, as we made our way to listen to some bossa nova, we suddenly found ourselves at the fanzone for the turkey v. hrvatska game. which was intense. not only did we get like dix churros pour cinq franc, instead of the usual six, but the game went into overtime, with turkey scoring in the last moments of the period to send us into penalty kicks. turkey fans had already started leaving and suddenly were sprinting back once the roar had erupted. lucky night for them, as hrvatska missed 2 shots.

lifestyles of the rich and famous.

friday, after our oral exam, off we went to the swiss riviera, i.e. to montreaux to see chateau chillon.

again, it's a bit unfair that our weather has been this spectacular.

montreaux was like disneyland. everything perfectly pruned, with walking paths along the lake, some sailboats, and a giant castle. after about a 45 minute walk, we reached chateau chillon, which was not at all like french chateaus, but like the castles we read about as children. the best part was that we were able to see almost the entire castle and from every window we saw lake. and mountains. and beauty. ahh.

oh, and i went swimming in the lake. finally.

daydream believer.

this week, my class was on international organizations. but really, it was on the un and its pitfalls. i enjoyed it, but the french professor was a bit too anti-religion and pessimistic about the fate of america. apparently i'm still the eternal optimist, as i can't believe that 8 yrs of the idiot bush (and Strauss theory) could actually reverse the world's opinion of the u.s. and set us back several generations of human rights policy. but in any case, i may be able to make the world a better place for MY children.

last night we had a pizza and beer party. it was much fun. now that many of us have been together for close to 5 wks, we've all become pretty close, despite the natural separations during "freetime." we also played 5 v. 5 soccer before dinner. it's quite possible i sprained my toe. it's okay since my team won and i actually scored/assisted a few goals. all of the euro 2008 stuff really makes me miss field hocky and competitive sports. perhaps my fh hiatus is soon to end...

tomorrow after my oral exam we are going to montreau, i.e. the swiss riviera, on lake geneva and to chateau chillon. this weekend geneva is hosting a music festival. here is the website http://www.ville-ge.ch/culture/fm/. and on saturday, susi is coming in from lyon to go to lausanne, also a village on the lake. i want to take a side trip to gruyere to go to a dairy. and eat some fondue.

the weather has just become beautiful. and basically nothing has yet to change my positive feelings about this city. i may be coming from a skewed opinion because i love what i'm studying, despite sometimes disagreeing with speakers and the non-stop negative feelings we've been developing about the international system, and i love the people i'm surrounded by. most inspiring is the fact that all the students here are as inspired and determined as i am that we can make a difference. when the palestinian ambassador to the u.n. spoke to us last week, probably the best words he left us with were about the difference that our generation will get to make. we just have to seize the opportunities and truly believe that the sky is the limit.

one of my classmates is an llm student named kathleen. she lives in portland and has three kids. when we were in the hague she met with one of her greatest role models, a female judge on the icj (who may be elected the next high commissioner for human rights) and was offered a temporary job. kathleen is an international law junkie and serves as an incredible inspiration. even with a family, she is still able to be in the forefront of international human rights law. and she fulfills my belief that as long as you remain true to yourself and your dreams, your path will unfold before you.

sometimes i freak out that there is too much for me to do in my lifetime, especially when i want to have a family. but when i look at kathleen i'm assured that it will all work out.

honey, i'm home.

this morning i awoke with "as i went out one morning" stuck in my head. weird.

on friday, after our exam we went biking along lake geneva. we stopped at the botanical garden for a picnic and then at the lakeshore. it was so relaxing. the relaxation continued yesterday, when some of us took an hour long boat tour on the lake and then another boat to the medieval village of yvoire. (unfortunately, it was the one day i forgot my camera. ugh.) this morning i went to church for pentecost. the church is so beautiful. words can't even express it.

i think i've found where i want to live.

le jut d'eau

yesterday my allergies turned into what sounds like a smoker's cough. the worst part about it is that deep breaths and laughter only makes it worse. i've taken my first dose of cough medicine. we'll see if it works.

i wish i had more to tell you about my classes thus far, but truth be told, they haven't really caused much inspiration. although today we went to the icrc (international committee of the red cross) and it's possible i've found my job. we'll see. i feel like international human rights law may not be up my alley, but international humanitarian law could be. more on that next week when i'm in my humanitarian law class :)

geneva is just beautiful and might be the most livable city i've been to in europe, minus the high prices. yesterday we had the afternoon off, and ilana and i went down to the lakefront and walked around, stopping at the occasional beach and drinking 1 franc beers from the grocery store. when we stopped at the store for the second time, i remained outside. shortly thereafter 2 elderly swiss men left the store, holding a bar of chocolate between them. they stopped outside the front to open up the package and have a piece. it was the cutest sight. i just stood there smiling at them. after one old man took a piece, the one holding the bar offered me a piece. of course i took it. and they clearly knew what chocolate was the best to buy, because that was some good dark chocolate. we then headed back to the fanzone. to watch more futbol. yes.

even better, our friend coen from leiden emailed me back about the dutch game (they won on tuesday 3-0, it was great). i'm really touched that the these friends we've made are maintaining contact :) wow, i'm one of those mushy people.

tonight most of us are staying in to catch up on reading, as we have our first exam tomorrow morning.

i've also had the opportunity to work on my russian, speaking both with ilana and the russian. well, more like improving my comprehension skills, as i still respond in only half russian.

john knox

basically i just wrote a post and then hit a button and it disappeared. what's the point of autosave, when it autosaves the disappeared text OVER the text that used to be there?

so here's a funny story.

i'm staying in the john knox center. yesterday on our tour of the old town, we stopped in front of a monument recognizing four protestant reformers. wooooweeee. one was john knox. apparently, a guy in our group asked his taxi driver from the airport to take him to john knox. the driver took him to the statue. HA. also, clearly law school is affecting my life because i kept misspelling statue as statute. HA.

after our tour of the UN building we went to the fancenter to watch the france v. romania and the netherlands v. italy game. the second game was PACKED. and it was the game we were really there for, since we all now have this strong connection with the dutch people. by halftime we were winning 2-0. the fancenter is awesome. there's great atmosphere and LOTS of food. i had a veal sausage on a roll. tomorrow night, when we go to watch the russia v. spain game, i will get the falafel wrap. it's supposed to be excellent. also, surprisingly, the food at the fancenter is priced almost better than any other place.

sweat, sweat, and no sleep

right now i'm sitting in a weird chair at the john knox center, my new home for 3 wks. 2 seats to the left of me is a russian guy speaking to a ukrainian girl who is standing beside me. neither of them are with my program. but the reason i bring this up is because the guy has a phenomenal speaking voice. it's deep and sexy, and it's kind of blowing my mind right now.

i'm not sure if i should work backward of forward from yesterday to best impart on you the vast amount of sweat that came to pass from my body. (although i'm sure dena beats me.)

i arrived here at 11am, after hiking 15 minutes up hill with my bags, which was after the bus ride, which was after the train, which left paris at 7.10. i think that "i'm afraid of missing my train" feeling kept me tossing and turning all night.

the paris i saw last night was beautiful. but like i said before, the feeling of melancholy still remained.



on my last day in paris i went to the musee d'orsay and l'orangerie. they were both incredible. i made my first purchases...a small monet print, a book on l'orangerie so you all can see what an awesome "museum" it is, and 2 postcards. one of the postcards is this random orientalist piece that is called elephants in africa. it's basically not at all the typical style of art i like. but something about it drew me in.

i like paris, but i don't love paris. but i could basically eat my way through the city. too bad money doesn't grow on trees...

paris, je t'aime

today was basically insane. i almost overslept. my train left bruges at 6.26am. i was rushing out of the hostel at 5.55am. to catch the bus to take me to the train. as a result, i'm not a pretty sight. i didn't straighten my hair last night, so my bangs are kinda crazy. i have bugbites on my face (and a zit), and barely any mascara. and i've worn this same shirt like 4 times. which could explain why i've been sweating so much because i think old clothes makes you sweat more. now that i've adequately grossed you out, i will continue.

i arrived at the gare du nord at 9am. i was at my hostel by 10. then i walked. all day. i also went to the picasso museum. i ate one sandwich. by 2pm my legs couldn't carry me any longer, so i went to see the sex and the city movie. more on that at another time. after the movie, i started walking again. and i stumbled across a giant crowd watching the semi-finals of the french open in front of the hotel de ville. i joined them for about half an hour before i went to au lys d'argent, a teeny restaurant on the l'ile st. louis that my mom had recommended. it was good. i had a salad with toast and smoked salmon, then a crepe with fromage, tomato, and creme fraiche, then a chocolate cake with creme anglais. i drank a glass of muscatelle with dinner and an espresso with my dessert. i sat and ate it all alone, with no one else in the restaurant. because i'm in paris and was clearly eating too early. afterwards i made my way to the eiffel tower and read. now i'm at an internet cafe. soon i will go to sleep.

i'm not sure how i feel about travelling alone. part of me likes it because i don't have to bend what i do to someone else's needs. and i can get started early, as is my style. but there's this part of me that gets kind of melancholy. maybe it's really like that because being in paris reminds me of the last time i was in paris. and so much has changed since then.

here's hoping that no one has stolen my suitcase. since it's been sitting around in the hostel for 12 hours.

in bruges

on wednesday morning i left scheveningen and arrived in brussels at around 2pm. i did a whirlwind tour of the center...2 walking tours and a lunch of beer, mussels and fries. then back i went to the train station to pick up my bags and headed to bruges (of course that was after dealing with the crazy brussels train station, where my train didn't say it was going to bruges). my first night in bruges i ate dinner on the center. i had beer and this weird salad, where it seemed like the chef threw together whatever he could, i.e. endive, lettuce, green beans, tomatoes, cucumber, bacon, warm goat cheese on little apples slices, croutons, all joined together with a raspberry vinaigrette. truth be told, it was still good. i then befriended 3 of my roommates in my hostel and we went downstairs to the bar.

yesterday, i toured bruges with one of my hostelmates. we did, of course, a walking tour. saw some historical stuff, blah, blah, took a tour of a brewery, where we met some nice australians, bought some belgian chocolates, and then had dinner at a pub, which had over 150 kinds of beligian beers. all delicious. i tried some kind that is unique to belgium. it's called a trappiste. it's made by a special group of monks. there are only 7 trappiste breweries in the world. their beer is super strong, but you can't even tell. and has great flavor.