Mc. Do

From Grenoble Exchange

Despite selling themselves as the culinary capital of the world, the French have an inexplicable infatuation with the inescapable globalizing American restaurant Mc Donalds, or Mc. Do (pronounced "doe" like, "doe a deer, a female deer"). There is always a line there, frequently out the door. And you can find Mc. Do's partout. So I decided it was my duty to try this Mc. Do to properly understand French culinary tradition.

So Vanessa and I trekked our away across the town, through the blistering late fall winds of the Alps to reach our culinary destination. There, we encountered thralls of excited frenchmen, frenchwomen, and frenchchildren, patiently very waiting for their feast. Very very patiently. If Mc. Do has one thing going for it, it's fast. The French seemed to have take the fast out of fast food.

After waiting about 15 minutes to order, we received our food and sat ourselves in the luxurious chairs in their basement seating area. There, we consumed, what would be my first Big Mac I've had in probably, oh I don't know, a decade. It was decidely boring and came accompanied with a side of flacid, lukewarm fries, and a coke. The two burgers, two fries, and two cokes for Vanessa and I cost about 12 euros, which could get you two kebabs and fries and a drink, 3 plates of pasta, or 25 pounds of clementines at the supermarket.

It's probably abundantly clear that I was not impressed, and Vanessa even less. But we did as the French did, which makes you wonder, with such a strong culinary tradition, why do the French eat so much American crap?

Toussaint - Paris, Milan, Venice

From Grenoble Exchange

This is about 2 weeks late, but I suppose some account of events is better than nothing.

A little background information. Toussaint is a religious holiday in France, causing schools to close for the week. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure what specifically they were celebrating, but I'm not one to complain about a week off from school. With this extra time, Vanessa and I decided to visit Paris, Milan, and Venice.

Paris
Naturally, we visited all the major tourist spots - the Eiffel tower, the Louvre, l'arc de triomphe, etc. Paris definitely had the big city feel (duh...) which I really enjoyed but Vanessa found to be a little too much. We got lost more than a handful of times, and it rained the last two days we were there. One thing we stupidly didn't consider was that it things would be more expensive in Paris. If you ever find yourself planning to visit Paris, expect to pay 25-50% more than what you normally do. Despite the prices, we thoroughly enjoyed Paris.

Milan
Quick summary: cold, rainy, and really REALLY expensive stuff. Like ten thousand euro wallets and hundred thousand euro baby cribs expensive (how much money do you need to justify spending 100000 euros on something your baby's going to sleep in for a year?). I suppose it was nice to do some window shopping for things that we clearly could not afford, but you won't find me in Milan again unless my bank account suddenly multiplies by, oh I don't know, a million times. We did have some kick ass food in Milan though, including Milanese risotto and some bomb pizza.

Also, I have to say that the hostel we stayed at were amazing. Vanessa forgot her camera there when we moved out. We called the next day (when we were already in Venice), and they told us they found it and that we could pick it up. They could have easily said they found nothing and kept it for themselves or ebayed it, but they were honest, and we really appreciate that.

Venice
Another easy place to sum up: gorgeous. I know, it's a complete tourist trap. Everything caters to tourists, meaning it doesn't have much else and everything is expensive. The food was mediocre and a little on the pricey side, but just walking around was amazing. It is easily the most beautiful city I've seen. It isn't a terribly exciting location or known for it's amazing parties, it was simply beautiful. We also happened to be there Halloween night, so it was fun seeing little kids in costumes trick-or-treating (I have no idea what it's called in Italian). For some reason, they trick-or-treat at shops instead of at houses, not sure why.

Chambery et Annecy

So I think my favorite thing about France is the little towns that you can find all over France. One hour by train, two hours by bus outside of Grenoble, is Chambery. It's a cute little town where you can basically cover the entire centre-ville and all the tourist sites in about half a day. Nonetheless, we spent an entire day there. I think my favorite thing was the elephant fountain. (Pictures to come)Of course we had a delicious lunch avec les specialites savoyardes - meaning tartiflette! (Basically potatoes and bacon in cheese and cream)Yum!

We went to Annecy with the EAP program for Les Fetes des Alpages, the celebration where all the livestock come down from the mountains to the warm confines of the city. It was a very smelly day, but fun nonetheless. The weather was beautiful and we took a boat out around the lake at Annecy. Annecy itself was super cute. I love European style architecture - you can't find anything like it in the US. It had character.

Marseille et Cassis

We went to Marseille and a nearby town last weekend. Not much to say other than it was AWESOME. Friday, we hit up most of the tourist sites, which was fun and all. Then Saturday, we bussed it to Cassis where lies La Calanque, a natural cove. We swam in the Mediterranean with the fishies and just generally chilled on the beach. Good stuff.

Complaining

In general, I think it's pretty dumb to complain about any difficulties while traveling abroad, or as the case may be, studying abroad. You leave knowing that things are not the same as they are at home. In fact, that is exactly why you travel, because it is different. With that in mind, there are still some things that are difficult as hell to get used to.

1. Bathrooms - Call me a princess if you must, but I like toilet seats and tissue paper. Is that too much to ask? really? At the very best, bathrooms have toilets without toilet seats. At the very worst, they are just holes in the ground. And you know why they don't have toilet seats? Because it's pas hygiénique. You want to know what else is not hygienic? Falling into the toilet... Seriously, if you're coming to France, you'll want to do some wall sits and other assorted quad exercises before you leave. Those muscles will be getting a lot of work.

2. Internet - It's slow. And it's not everywhere. I'm at a large research university with tens of thousands of students in a capital city of a first world country, and they couldn't figure out how to get internet to the dorms? Really?

3. Dorms - As mentioned above, there's no internet, the bathrooms are a hole in the ground. The dining hall isn't open for breakfast or dinner (Yah, what the hell is the point of a dining hall that doesn't serve dinner?). But if you think that's bad, oh it gets worse. My dorm is up a freaking mountain. I know there are those of you who lived in Foothill in Berkeley who are thinking, "oh, what's he complaining about? We lived up a hill too, and we managed just fine." Well, you have no idea. First, this hill isn't next to campus. The base of the hill is about 30 minutes from campus by tram. Then the hike up the hill takes over 20 minutes going up. And it's steep. There is a bus, but it only runes between 7-9am, 12-1, and 4-8pm. Want to go out at night? Better bring your walking shoes. Have a class that ends at 7:30pm (which there are tons of, by the way)? Guess you're shit out of luck. Oh, and the bus also doesn't run on weekends.

4. Schedules - This is what really has been annoying. When someone posts their schedule saying they will be there from 8h00-12 h00 and 14h00-17h00 (notice the two hour lunch break... très français) I think it's fair to expect them to be there at 14h00. And I understand, things happen, and sometimes that croque monsieur takes a little longer to eat than normal, so extend that two hour lunch break to 2 hours and 15 minutes. That's fine. I'm not a drill sergeant. But when I wait half an hour for your ass to show up when your OWN SIGN THAT YOU MADE says you'll be there, you better be there. I'm here to give you money for my rent! I'm giving you money and you're not here to take it!!! Oh, and that important university official who you need to talk to for your classes... yah, she's not there. Oh, yah, her sign says she's supposed to be here. But no, she's not here. How about we make an appointment? 10h00 tomorrow? Sounds good. What happens when you show up at 10h00 tomorrow? You guessed it! NO ONE'S THERE! So you sit there wasting another hour of your life until the incredibly important person shows up. Oh, don't worry about it, my time and life isn't important. Go sip your café crème while my life wastes away in front of our eyes.

Ok, I'm done ranting for now. Everything considered, I'm still having a pretty damn good time here. Just wanted to complain a little. It's therapeutic sometimes.

Les chinois

It's interesting. For the first time in my life, being Asian does not equal being in the majority. Growing up in the Bay Area then going to college at UCLA, I have always been surrounded by other Asians. Now I am somewhat unique. Despite that fact, more people in Europe have conversed with me in Chinese than on a day to day basis in America. Just off the top of my head:

1. After landing in Geneva and waiting for my baggage, a random woman asks me in Chinese where I am going and we proceed to have a short conversation.
2. While walking around Grenoble, a beggar woman says "ni hao" to us.
3. While hiking in the mountains, this random guy stops to ask us where we are from. We are talking in English when he suddenly mentions, in Chinese, that he is a Chinese teacher ... in France and do we speak Chinese.
4. At the kebab place,the worker attempts to speak Chinese (note he is not Asian). He can say "ni hao" and "shieh shieh" and "tzi jian". He also flirts with Asian girls.
5. At the University while waiting in line to get my food card, a girl comes up to me and immediately asks me, in Chinese, about how to get the card.
6. After class one day, an Asian girl comes up to me and starts talking in Chinese, until I politely mention that I actually didn't come from China, instead America.

For the first time, people are assuming my native language is Chinese. It's funny to me, but other Asians can tell as soon as I start speaking that I do not come from China, although I can usually adequately respond in Chinese. But it is still weird that people will randomly say "ni hao" to me and they always assume I understand.

Bob's Kebabs and Lightning Storms

 
I am addicted to kebabs. Completely addicted. Like stick me in rehab addicted. I think we've had kebabs every night for probably five nights in a row ... in addition to dinner. Basically, kebabs are the perfect midnight snack. Well, not quite midnight ... cause that's bedtime. =) I'm like a grandma now. By the way, a kebab is pita bread filled with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and pork. The pork is shaved off this gigantic hunk of meat that is rotating around on a stick (kind of like a rotisserie chicken turned ninety degrees). And it is pure deliciousness. Our goal is to find the best kebab place. So far we have two clear favorites: Le Syfax and this random shack on the way to someone's apartment. I never quite got the name of the place, but we were very pleasantly surprised when we tasted it - maybe the best place yet.

The weather here is ADD. It was pretty stormy for the past couple days. It rained on and off during the night for the past week and it was pouring all day yesterday. In addition to the rain there was thunder and lightning. Living in California for most of my life, this is drastically different. Everyone on our program was so surprised to see so much rain and lightning. On the other hand, Lauranne, the French graduate student who was there to help us acclimate, took everything in stride and just said ca va - this is what the weather is like usually. And today was sunny. Sunny and hot. Although I am looking forward to the rain. I love the rain and being outside in the rain. We frolicked in the rain yesterday. The lightning is amazing. The sky will just light up and the all you can see is a brilliant blue for a second. It's gorgeous.

La Montagne

Grenoble is the place to be in France when it comes to hiking since it lies in a valley in the Alps. In fact, there is a saying in Grenoble, "Every street ends in a mountain." As such, Vanessa and I have been several times. Last time, we went up to the Bastille, which is a fortress built on the hill near Grenoble. It is about 2.5 km from town and it makes for a decent hike. The view from the top is amazing; you can see the entire city of Grenoble and its neighboring townships.

Today, we first hiked up to the Bastille. From there we headed to St. Martin le Vinoux, another 5 km hike. The weather has been more or less the same since we arrived here - comfortable in the morning, warm and slightly humid in the afternoons. We tried to leave early, but morning aren't exactly my thing, so we left around 10. As we were climbing to the Bastille, the sun started coming out, making for a tiring walk. But we are warriors, and we would never ever ever ever give up and our hike! We were going to get to St. Martin le Vinoux if it was the last thing we would do! So we climbed another 1 km hill, which had at the very most one step down hill. We soon summitted and came to a memorial for the soldiers who died in the Alps. Again, we were winded, but persistence is, and has always been, our modus operandi, so quitting was not an option. We hiked another kilometer and noticed our trail started going down hill. We discussed our options and came to the conclusion that every step downhill would later be a step uphill on the return trip, so we gave up and returned home.

Le Marché Ouvert

So one of my favorite things in Grenoble is the amazing food. But to save some euros (because we are poor college students) Edward has been cooking dinner. That isn't to say the food is any less amazing, on the contrary, it has been quite delicious. That is mostly due to le marché ouvert or essentially, a farmer's market. Let me just say, these markets are like heaven to me. So far we have discovered two markets and both are simply amazing. The wide selection of incredibly fresh vegetables and fruits makes me happy. I am in peach heaven right now. To give you some perspective on the freshness and natural goodness, we bought fresh broccoli about five days ago and had it last night for dinner and it was already past its prime, but still delicious. I don't even mind going for groceries every couple of days. Edward definitely doesn't mind going every few days because he loves to meander through them and ponder what we should eat for dinner. I wish there were more of these markets in California (and as cheap as in Grenoble). I will definitely be taking advantage of these markets while I am here as I will sorely miss them after returning home.

Chartreuse

EAP, the study abroad program we are in, has been working pretty hard to keep us liquored up the entire time we are here. We drank the first dinner together and it was almost nonstop for the first few days. This is probably reflective of the lax social rules concerning alcohol in France, but as an American it's still somewhat weird drinking wine with professors and program administrators.

For our first full day excursion as a group, we all went to the Chartreuse region. It is an area up in the mountains near Grenoble, and it is known mainly for one thing, the distilled liquor by the same name.

But before getting us all liquored up, they took us to the monastery where the alcohol was first produced. This was way up in the Alps, which provided us amazing views of the unaltered terrain. The monastery wasn't, as they call it, my cup of tea. The only thought on my mind during the entire visit was, "who is dumb enough to dedicate themselves to a life of silence and solitude?"

After leaving the monastery, we headed to the distillery, where the Chartreuse is now made. We walked through and saw all the pretty, shiny machinery that now makes the chartreuse. All pretty boring stuff. Then we got to try the Chartreuse, which sounds like fun, but it's not. It's pretty much the nastiest thing to ever touch my tongue. Vanessa likes to point out that she was smart and didn't get the Chartreuse, and instead got some fruity raspberry alcohol which tasted pretty good. I think that it was pretty lame, since we're in the Chartreuse region.

The Cameras

I bought Canon Rebel XTi to shoot pictures for this trip. It came with a kit lens, which I highly recommend you NOT get. It's pretty useless so you might as well save yourself $75 and put it toward a better lens. But I'm stuck with it because it's the only one I have and there's no way I'm buying one here, as the exchange rate sucks pretty bad and good lenses are expensive enough as it is.

So most pictures you see will be taken with the XTi. The only exceptions will be if Vanessa uses her camera, which is a Canon SD750, or I use my point and shoot, the SD1000 (which is exactly the same as the 750, except the 750 has a bigger screen on the back).

My photography skills are pretty raw, but hopefully they will develop as this trip goes along. I've been snapping pictures like nobody's business. I think I took over 1000 photos in less than a week.

CERN

I realize that these posts are incredibly anachronistic, but you will have to deal until my posts catch up to the current date, because I'm just writing about whatever is on my mind.

So for those of you who do not know, my dad is currently working at Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire also known as CERN (it used to be called Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire, which is where the C in CERN comes from). CERN is the site for the Large Hadron Colider (LHC) which is the next generation particle accelerator. The project my dad is working on is called ATLAS. It is the largest of the six major experiments which are being conducted at the LHC and is designed to measure a very broad range of signals.

The amount of engineering going on for this project is enormous. I didn't have the opportunity to see the actualy detector, as entrance is extremely limited, but there are so many detectors, it is ridiculous. Just to give perspective, the detector will put out approximately 1 petabyte/second of raw data. And it's not as if these parts can be purchased at your local Radio Shack. Almost all these are designed and manufactured specifically for this experiment.

And to make it even more ridiculous, after assembling all the parts, they must lower it 100 meters underground, where the LHC actually resides. This requires two specialized cranes, each rated for up to 140 tons. Moreover, there are instruments that are longer than the length of the hole in which they must descend. So the engineers are forced to tilt the instrument, lower it 100 meters with just a few centimeters clearance from the walls on all four sides, then straighten it out underground. Simply put, ridiculous.

Driving There

Traveling with my dad always entails taking back roads instead of main highways. This has grown significantly since his purchase of a GPS system, which guarantees that we will never be too lost. Sometimes, this can lead to spending hours behind a tractor on a winding two lane country road. Other times, it can lead to finding a hidden site that would not be discovered any other way. And fortunately our trip from Geneva to Grenoble fell into the latter category.

We inputted our destination into the GPS and instructed it to avoid toll roads (basically any major highway). We left around 09h00, meandering our way through the country side. The scenery was simply beautiful. It was green rolling hills dotted with prototypical European farm houses; the Alps functioned as the backdrop.

After about an hour of driving, we crossed the Rhône for the first time. The road crosses the river a couple of times. Looking back, I wish we had stopped at the first crossing. There was a small town which looked nice, but we drove through without stopping. Fortunately about thirty minutes later, we came across a beautiful town called Chanaz. The town sits on a canal which connects to the Rhône and caters to French tourists. The French usually take a one month vacation every year, and many families enjoy camping, and the area around Chanaz is perfect for this. We meandered around the town for a good hour or so and then continued on our way.

As you may know, hunger attacks Vanessa as fast and as hard as a cheetah striking its prey. And we soon heard the grumblings of her stomach over the hum of the old Renault engine. So we stopped at a roadside restaurant, which again caters to French campers, and struck up a conversation with the guy at the table next to us. He recommended the jambon and the andouillette. I had the andouillette, which was grilled. I found it quite delicious, but Vanessa couldn’t get over the smell.

We finished our meal and headed on our way. We drove through the Alps for another hour or so and then into Grenoble. Seeing Grenoble, which is in a valley in the middle of the Alps, from above was absolutely stunning. I’ve already taken many photos, but I’m sure there will be more to come in the next couple of months, so stay tuned. In any case, we arrived around 14h00 and settled into our hotel in Grenoble, where we’ve been staying since. If you do happen to need to drive from Geneva to Grenoble (or Lyon) and also happen to have a GPS to keep you from getting lost, I hope you consider driving through the country side. It is incredibly beautiful and you will see things you probably wouldn’t have traveling any other way.

L’Arrivée

Our trip has finally begun. =) So we landed in Frankfurt on Sunday morning, local time, and proceeded to what we were told was our gate for our connection to Geneva. And after standing around, then sitting around for a while, we started to wonder where everyone was, as there were no workers at the desk. We then eavesdrop on some people only to discover that they had changed the gate, and forgotten to inform us. So after scrambling to find the right gate and get our boarding passes, we finally board the plane to Geneva. I have decided European cities are so much more beautiful than American cities. After about 14 hours of traveling and going forward nine hours, we finally arrived in Geneva!

An Introduction

I am studying abroad in France for the fall 2008 semester at the University of Grenoble. It is difficult to quantify how excited I am to study in a foreign country, but to give some perspective, I have been discussing the idea since at least middle school, more than eight years ago. I will be traveling with my girlfriend, Vanessa. I intend for this to be a journal of my/our adventures, to be shared with our friends and family. Hopefully, this blog will allow you enjoy our extended stay in France. I will attempt to update this as often as possible, with as many photos as possible.