Dancing on the ceiling

5-27-11

Friday, the last day of class. Now it was time for us the students to lecture. We were to give an overview of the presentation we'd given at the beginning of the two weeks and tie in what we'd learned over the trip. We also were to say what subjects interested us the most and report the US perspective of it. To end the presentations, we were asked to describe what about the trip helped us grow as a person and expand our view on international agriculture. All the projects were presented very well in my opinion.

I was slightly embarrassed in mine because once I got to the end of my part, I started crying. I was so tremendously grateful to have this opportunity to explore what I love outside of my homestead that it was a little overwhelming. I'd never dreamed that I'd see the day when this little farm girl got to travel the world. I couldn't help it, so I had a good cry during my speech.

We were given a tour of the old AgroParisTech library after our presentations and the woman in charge of the books showed us texts from the 1600s and 1700s. She showed us books in all sorts of languages, describing everything from grafting techniques to what a whale might look like to making fun of the British. The library was small but it was wonderful. I'd kill to have that much book space in my house.

To conclude our program, our hosts set up a cocktail party on the roof for us. Now by cocktail, we were thinking mixed drinks, which most of us weren't too proficient in. They meant eight bottles of champagne and curious-looking hor'dourves. That was fine by us. We had tons of fun, joking and sipping champagne and enjoying the view. It was a great conclusion to the program.

Now if you've been keeping up with my blog, you've seen the red shoes I bought last weekend for my sister and I. I had decided to wear them for the cocktail party because there was a bit of red in the dress that I'd brought for said occasion. But I looked a little silly in bright red shoes and a predominantly black and white dress. So I'd been looking for a little something red to go either in my hair or around my neck to balance out the outfit. I didn't find anything until after Alyshia and I had visited Saint Sulpice. There was this red flower clip that was so pretty and matched perfectly that I wanted to buy. But then I remembered that I had given the rest of my money to the church and I couldn't afford food and the clip. So I said to Alyshia, "That's alright. I'll just wear the shoes anyway and not worry if I look ridiculous. I don't need the flower." We left the store before I could try to redo the math to get this little flower, because I knew there weren't euros enough to make it all work.

We wandered into another store and I was having fun perusing children's clothing when Alyshia said she'd forgotten something and excused herself for a minute. I didn't think anything of it and just kept looking at the strawberry onezies. After we got back on Thursday night, I made dinner for Alyshia, Grace, and I and we were laughing until late at night. When I finally made it back to my room, I found a bag on my bed that I hadn't put there. Inside was the little red flower that I'd liked so much. Alyshia had gone back and gotten it for me when I was distracted with toddler apparel. I was so shocked that I almost cried then too. I ran back down the hall to hug her, temporarily forgetting that she was sunburned too, and apologizing profusely in between thanking her. She refused to let me make it up to her even though I tried to insist. I rocked the flower all day and recieved several compliments on it. That is one souvenir that I'll never forget. Thank you so much, Alyshia. You're an amazing friend and I'm so happy that we've grown close over this last semester. Love you, girl. :']

Forget diamonds. Chocolate is a girl's best friend.

5-26-11

Yay, Thursday! This was an adventurous day. We started the morning off first thing with a tour of the National Assembly. There aren't many good pictures of this visit because A. you can't take pictures most of the time for security reasons and B. the lighting was pretty low so good pictures were hard to take. A few members of Parliament were having a debate so we were able to see French legislation in action for a few minutes. What I find awesome is that they can pass notes, make copious amounts of noise, shout, and carry on while the floor is open. As a speaker, that would be totally jarring. But they seem pretty used to the noise, so it didn't sway them too much when one member kept throwing his two euros in between sentences. Anyhow, our tour guide was very sweet and gave us some behind-the-scenes looks. A very good morning.

Once we were done at the Assembly, most of the class went on an adventure. We were looking for Choco-Story, a little known chocolate musem in Paris. We'd stumbled upon an advertisement for it by accident and we'd talked about going for a week and a half. Finally we decided to go fo it on Thursday. Man, was that cool!!! Three stories, detailing the history of chocolate, where it started, what it was used for, how they made it, stored it, shipped it, lost it, traded with it, marketed it, etc. It was so interesting and informative. Halfway through our visit, a woman came upstairs to invite us to her chocolate demonstration. Totally. She showed us how they made filled chocolates there, the machinery, the times necessary, the different ways to make different chocolate types, and then let us try one of everything. Sooooo good.

The history was so awesome. Chocolate had been a spicy drink when it was first discovered and only became a sweet drink when the Europeans started tampering with it after Cortez conquered Central America and brought it back home. The tools and cups and ornamentation dedicated solely to chocolate were so cool. We did notice that nowhere in the museum was Hershey mentioned. Nestle got a shout out, but nothing about Mr. Hershey in all the history. That's alright though. We know where the world's best chocolate is made, even if the French won't acknowledge it. ;]

After Choco-Story, Alyshia and I went to visit Saint Sulpice and Arc de Triomphe. Saint Sulpice is a lesser known church near Notre Dame that has a magnificent organ. I stared at it, awestruck, for about 15 minutes. The church is huge, but since it isn't as popular as the others it isn't repaired regularly. This building needs some love desperately. I was so shocked at how the gorgeous paintings and beautiful stain glass windows were merely wasting away in this church that I couldn't help but give a donation. All around the church, there were stations with prayer candles that asked you give a 2 euro donation if you chose to light one. I don't know the full meaning behind the gesture so I hadn't planned on lighting a candle anyway. When I had pulled all the change from my bag, I was a little heavy hearted. I had set aside 10 euros back at the dorm so I could buy a little food in the next two days and only had those few coins to spend. It didn't even amount to 2 euros. It was then that the story of the poor woman who gave her last two pence to the church and how to everyone else, it was seen as insignificant but to Jesus, it was a blessing because she was giving all that she had. I'd been tight with money during the whole trip and did my best to only buy what I would eat and could afford. I was sad that I didn't have more to give, but I knew that if I didn't put those coins in the donation box that I would feel so much worse. So I prayed that God would take my meager euros and help that splendid church continue to operate. It was definitely a pivotal experience for me.

The Arc de Triomphe was cool. I didn't understand most of it, but it was quite a sight to see. I really liked the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. That was a really cool monument. It was a very interesting day all the way around.

We walk on streets of gold

5-24/25-11

Tuesday doesn't have any pictures because we spent the day in the classroom. We did have cheese tasting for lunch, but by the time he finished explaining the cheese processes I was too hungry to fool around with my camera. For future reference, I definitely prefer hard cheeses when it comes to France. The rest of them? Eh... I tried them. Most of them smelled similar to sleeping in a goat pen. There was one cheese that I'd assumed would taste pretty good, and I came away with the feeling that I'd just made out with a really dirty sheep. It took a bit of wine to flush that taste out of my mouth. Yowza.

Wednesday is where the excitement was at. We got to visit Versailles! We met an entomologist that works with AgroParisTech and INRA, and he showed us around his lab at Versailles. Then we walked over to the canals outside of the palace and had a picnic by the water. What a beautiful day! The weather was glorious and the sunshine felt so good that a few of us took a nap during lunch. And then a few more of us got sunburned. Good thing I packed aloe vera gel!

After lunch, we toured the Kitchen Gardens at Versailles. Since there is no royalty in need of a flashy garden to show off to the nobles, this garden is now home to a landscape architecture school. They have 12 full-time gardners to keep the place in order and students work in the garden for class. The current project is they're trying to restore the garden to its original prominence and grow all or most of the plants that the first royal gardner had listed as "necessary" in the garden's first guidebook. There are several cultivars that don't exist anymore and some have different names today than they did 300 years ago. So it's a bit tricky, to say the least. Regardless, they maintain the space very well. Grace and I had questions out the wazoo for the tour guide. It was so much fun being around plants again, we were almost giggling. Combined with her book knowledge of plants and me growing up around tons of varieties, we were having a grand old time.

Then. A few of us went to the palace itself. I took pictures, but they don't begin to do it justice. The palace was absolutely breathtaking. I couldn't believe how much gold was used on one house. Granted, this "house" is the size of a small village to begin with. But still. I'd almost wager that the reason the price of gold is so high is because most of it is decorating the gutters in France. It was such a splendid sight, all of it.

And when we left, we were REALLY hungry. Then we found McDonald's. As a sidenote, EU McDonald's is SOOOO much better than US McDonald's. No lie, I think that burger was blessed by the gods before it was wrapped. That was an amazing sandwich. My mouth is watering just thinking about it... :]

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

5-23-11

Monday was an easy day. We had a few lectures and then we went to wander the city a little bit. Alyshia, Grace, and I wanted to go see the gardens of the Louvre. We didn't actually go in the Louvre, because it was a bit expensive for out-of-country students. Also, I was a little worried that once I got in I wouldn't be able to get back out. Holy cow, that palace is HUGE. Now I understand why the French had a revolution. If I was a starving peasant and my monarchs were living it up in this ginormous house full of luxury, heads would roll. (Hahaha, get it? Because it's France and they guillotined people? I did listen in History class, Mr. Wyatt.) Anyhoo, it was definitely a splendid sight to see. And contrary to general opinion, I think the glass pyramids are awesome where they are. Modern and classical architechture next to each other kind of makes me see it as where we've been and where we're going in terms of art and building design. That doesn't have to make sense to anybody but me, so don't be worried if that's confusing.

So we wandered around the gardens and walked to Place de la Concorde. We critiqued some statuary and pondered which Roman figure was which as well as "human evolution." It was definitely an enjoyable stroll on Ile de France. ;]

And for Aunt Laurie's benefit, these are the shoes...

Weekend Warrior

5-21/22-11

Woohoo, this weekend was fun! Did some sight seeing, a little shopping, a lot of climbing. Yeah, I pretty much did it all. ;] Well, I did enough let's go with that!

Saturday was a visit to Sacre Coeur with Alyshia and Kendra. We climbed some rather crooked steps to see the church and the beautiful view of Paris. We detoured a bit on the way back down to avoid the hagglers and tourist traps, and found some cute shops on the way by. ...And I bought some shoes. This is very out of character for me because I don't like shopping. It's Blair's thing, not mine. But these shoes are adorable and were under the acceptible price limit. So I said what the hey! and got them. Definitely wearing them on Friday for the cocktail party at the end of class.

After shopping, we stopped outside the Moulin Rouge just to say we'd seen it. It's pretty sparkly I'll tell you that. We browsed through the topless history of the joint and marvelled at the pictures of shows in years past. It was interesting, I'll give it that. We brought back our spoils to the dorm before Alyshia and I headed out to find the Pantheon. We got sort of lost once we stepped off the Metro and had to ask some very charming firemen for directions while they were cleaning off their trucks. Things to note: 1. the French don't have huge firetrucks like we do back in America, 2. we asked in French correctly and understood them when they answered us in French as well, and 3. all firemen should be required to wear short shorts and tight shirts when they're washing the equipment.

The Pantheon was awesome. We wandered around in the crypts right before it closed and then took our time appreciating the various paintings and sculptures around the main hall. We were doing our best to piece together what we remembered from history class to tell the stories of the artwork. It was a lot of fun.

Sunday involved a LOT of climbing. I got up early and met up with Grace and Alyshia to go on the gargoyle tour of Notre Dame. That's 387 steps, one way baby. We took tons of pictures of the Paris horizon, a few pictures of us being weird, and I took a video of the church bells ringing out over the city. There's nothing like real church bells to give a girl chills in the morning. Grace and I saw the Great Bell (i.e. F sharp 2) and as we were about to head back down the stairs, we realized the door was open to climb the bell tower. Did we go for it? Heck yes. The three of us climbed to the roof and took pictures of some more Parisian horizon and marveled at the Catholic pidgeons. Once we finally made it to the street level again, our legs were shaking from the workout. But it was an amazing experience!

Grace departed to find a chicken for dinner then and Alyshia and I browsed the local street art. I found a painting for my dear friend Breeann - whom I believe will love it! :D - and had a lovely stroll around the cathedral. Then we mozied over to Denfert-Rocheroeaux and waited for the rest of the group to arrive.

We hopped in line to go tour the Catacombs under the city by 2pm and managed to make it in by 3:30pm. That was definitely creepy, but it was a good experience. See, the tunnels under the city used to be mines - limestone I think. When the cemetaries reached maximum capacity a few centuries ago, it was proposed to exhume the bones and move them to the catacombs under the city. Proper burial rituals were taken for these deceased and placques dating their final placement were put with the neatly arranged bones. What made the experience really memorable was Grace translating all the Bible verses on the walls. Many of the death-related Bible verses were carved into the stone and so reading those texts added to the whole ambiance of the place.

I didn't set the world on fire, but I had a lot of fun. And that's what you need to do on vacation/school trips is have fun. I enjoyed hanging out with friends and appreciating art as well as death. The weekend was very enjoyable for me. :]

Fish, cows, and cherries. Oh my!

5-20-11

Sorry for posting this entry a little late, but Friday was a LONG day! We started the day by getting on a bus at 4:30 in the morning. We went to the Rungis Market, which is huge!!! This market consists of 26 (gigantic) buildings, is the largest wholesale market in France, and sees about 30,000 buyers in one day's time.

The fish market was the first to open and the first to close, so that's why we were up at 4:30am. The fish market starts selling at midnight and closes at 6am, so we missed the big buyer crowd thankfully. Next was the meat market. That building housed carcasses of cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and a few chickens. It smelled so good and looked amazing. Well, to me it did anyway. I was mighty hungry for some steak. Anyway, the next building was still a part of the meat section but it was a little different. It was the meat "specialties", i.e. tongue, tail, brains, stomach, occasional face, ear, and testicles of basically every animal that had been butchered. I figured I'd save those images for my own gain and not post them here. ;]

Poultry was next, which had rabbits and other random small game mixed in as well. Then came cheese, flowers, and fruits and vegetables. Thankfully the buildings were progressively less refrigerated as we continued the tour. We definitely saw a LOT of product move before 9am. After the tour, we had breakfast in one of the many restaurants that populate the area. Rungis has just about everything, let me tell you. Then we climbed back on the coach bus and slept until our next destination: an organic farm.

It was very nice seeing said organic farm. I find it intriguing to learn about what guidelines they have to follow and how they differ from US standards. There's a lot more enforcement when it comes to policy adherement in France, I'll tell you that. We were given a walking tour of the farm and had the opportunity to talk with the farmer and ask specific questions. I found it funny at one point because I imagined a group of French speakers visiting my farm and my own father trying to explain our agricultural practices to a translator who didn't understand them too well to begin with. Then I wasn't as frustrated with our translator stumbling through his English.


We got back around 2pm and crashed, hard core. Most of us passed out for a few hours and just slept. After a much needed nap, we met up as a big group and went to the Eiffel Tower that evening. We had a picnic on the grass and watched the tower light up. If someone tells you it sparkles, they aren't just waxing poetic. It does actually sparkle. I kept waiting to see Tinkerbell fly out on a zip line and light up the rest of the city. It really felt magical. And then some gypsies got into an argument with Meghan in French and the magic was over. Never forget that cities equal pick pockets and theives. Thankfully we all made it back without too much trouble and none of our belongings got lifted. Overall, it was a really fun night. A great way to start the weekend, for sure. :]

Food Party!

5-19-11

I love the assurance that I'm in the right major. :] Today we had lectures on Food Science, labeling, and food safety. Our first lecturer explained the importance of food science and how they use it to enhance traditional products in France. The baguette is a staple over here and so part of their research on the baguette included taking an MRI of a loaf while it was baking to measure water concentrations and gas expansions. Talk about bread love.

Our second speaker talked about labeling, such as quality assurance and organic labels. We learned about the reasoning behind appelation labels and why there's a bunch of lawsuits around the world based on name infringement, essentially. After the lecture, they took us to their version of Redner's and we were given a budget, then set loose. We were to look for the labels we'd just been shown and buy quality products in our food group for our class lunch. I wandered with the cheese, bread, and dessert group and we found some awesome cheeses! After our instructers rounded us back up and paid for the groceries, we went back to the classroom and tried some of everything. Those carrots that the veggie group found were amazing, not gonna lie.

Then we came back for the food safety lecture and tried our best to stay attentive with our stomaches full to bursting. Next we visited the Musee d'Orsay, which proved very educational. We were given a guided tour, and our guide spoke wonderful English. She showed us the building itself, which was originally built as a train station. Problem was, modern trains were a bit too big for the ornate building. The architecture and design are absolutely exquisite. Soon before the building was set to be demolished, art historians petitioned to have it saved and converted into an art museum. They had the right idea, for sure! It's sloping glass ceiling and giant clocks are a sight to see. The third level was closed for renovation, so we couldn't see every level of the museum but we saw a fair amount. Our guide explained to us the history behind the more important paintings and the reasoning behind impressionist artists.

The reason there is a LOT of nudity in art is because the naked body was seen as the most perfect and most difficult image to portray. It took years of study and practice, so those who could paint naked figures were seen as masters. Also, the bigger canvasses for painting were reserved for depictions of the holy books, important moments in history, and/or pictures of serious literature - with nudity, of course. So when the impressionist painters began painting real life, everyday people, scenes of no real consequence, and stories not religious-historical-important, the state wasn't too pleased. Since the state commissioned most works, that meant these painters weren't paid very well. One thing I found particularly interesting was the methods of Claude Monet. They only managed to piece together his painting methods based on letters sent between artists telling one another what they saw Monet doing. Monet wanted to capture the image and not so much the emotion, so he took his canvas, eisel, brushes, and paints and went outside where he could be right there with the image he was painting. The trick with that was he didn't always have good weather or he had to wait for the clouds to move for the sunlight to be right again. That's also why his work looks sort of unfinished compaired to other artists of his time because he had to work really quickly before the light changed too much.

We were given time to wander the museum after our tour and so I went to go see the ba

llroom on the second level and the statues around the museum. Wow, was that ballroom grand! So much gold leaf and mirror and chandeliers. It was positively magnificent. On the way back, a few of us got the munchies so we hunted down a creperie and got our crepe fix for the night. We passed the Saint Michel fountain in the process and I snapped a few photos quick. All in all, a pretty awesome day was had. :]