My parents arrived two weekends ago and I gave them the grand tour of London, or as close to it as possible in 2 days before heading to France. Most things I had already seen, but I did have a chance to see two new things--the BBC headquarters and the London Eye. I thoroughly enjoyed the BBC tour, probably since of all the things I did in London it had the most relevance to my major, although really it is just a cool place in general. I didn't realize they still did dramatic radio broadcasts. I got to participate in a mock reading of Sherlock Holmes with about 5 other people. It felt good to be putting my vocal skills to work. The eye was impressive as well. It was built at the turn of the millennium, and offers great views of the city in lieu of a large skyscraper--something London does not have.
Then on Tuesday we packed up and headed to Paris. I finally got my ultimate high speed train fix. Eurostar averages about 150 mph the entire route. It has only been in service since 1994, when the channel tunnel was completed, which served as the link between England and France. It takes about 20 minutes to get through it. We arrived in the Paris Gare du Norde around Noon and got a taxi to our hotel. Little did we know, the last portion of our journey would occur on foot. We were a few blocks away when a police car inexplicably blocked the entire street in an attempt to handle what I'm assuming was an urgent matter. We had no idea what was going on and neither did the taxi driver, so we paid him and got the heck out of dodge. Fortunately our hotel wasn't far. We spent the afternoon hitting up a few sights including the grand Cathedral of Notre Dame. We also took a boat ride on the Seine. Definitely would recommend it for any first time Paris visitor. Great views of the Eiffel Tower. The next day my dad and I ascended the Eiffel Tower to level 2, which has the best views of Paris. I have to say that as beautiful and romantic a city this is, there are some things that are not to be desired. For one, there are virtually no traffic patterns. Driving would be a nightmare, and I though London was bad. Additionally, Paris is known for pickpockets and you have to be on your guard everywhere, especially on the subway. The tube may be the oldest subway system in the world, but the Paris Metro looks the part, and on some lines you even have to open the doors by hand. After that it was off to the town of Dijon, about an hour and a half south. We hopped on another grand high speed train--the TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse). This train went as fast as 180 mph on some sections of the route, but had to slow down when we got to the rolling hills of the wine region. Scenery was absolutely incredible. We arrived in Dijon around 4pm. After settling in to our hotel, we explored the town a little before having a full course dinner. Main course was a delicious Beef bourguignon. I must admit that as much as I like French food, I wish there was a little more diversity on the menu. They are very meat-heavy. The next day, I took a wine tour with my mom. I didn't know much about the wine-making process coming in so this was a good place to get a little exposure. Our guide drove us around Burgundy and gave us a great narration of the various vineyards throughout the region. We even saw a horse pulling a plow, which he even admitted is a rare sight. I had 5 samples of wine at the winery, which was enough to give me a nice late-afternoon nap. The next day we packed up and headed back to the UK on the two trains by which we had come. The only thing left on the agenda was to do some last minute shopping for folks back home.
Finally, Saturday came and it was time to say goodbye. I didn't even get to finish my tea at the hotel, as the taxi came early to take us to Paddington, where we would catch the Heathrow Connect. I soaked it all in at that point. I am going to miss being able to just go to a grand old train station any time I want and being able to hop on a train that leaves on time and glides along a smooth track at a minimum of 70 mph to any destination of your choosing. Of the things I will miss the most about being in London, that is at the top of the list.
We spent some time in the airport using up our remaining British pounds at Duty Free before our flight. I think I was mostly happy to be going home. It was just hard to understand after growing accustomed to being in a large city for three months. Our plane, to my surprise was full. The 8 hours seemed to pass relatively quickly, but that's probably because it was during the day and we gained 5 hours. On the way over I got no sleep and basically lost my entire night, so I ended up being dog tired. As we approached the East Coast, I could see puddles of yellow, reminding me of the formidable force of pollen which comes around each April. Fortunately it appears I've escaped the worst of it. Maybe I'll have to go to Europe every April. My passport got stamped for the 6th time on this trip at RDU. I have now covered 7 countries in my short 21 years on Earth. I am looking forward to the warm days ahead, something I havn't felt since October.
I can't possibly sum up the last three months right now. All I can say is that I feel proud that I conquered a large city and made it my own. I feel more confident about living independently, regardless of location. The important thing to remember is that even if you're in a large place, it will always start to feel smaller because you'll frequent certain areas. You'll find a grocery store you like. You'll get to know your neighborhood and explore it. You'll begin to interact with the locals, to find out things to guidebook didn't tell you. Within a few weeks, Bloomsbury felt familiar to me.
I think I covered my academic experience in my last post, but if anything, I suppose it made me appreciate the higher education system back home and how privileged I am. Having said that, I do think that having a host family for a program like this would help make up for some of the lack of a social environment on campus. I think I'll look at these three months and remember what I was exposed to and what I did and use that as a motivational tool when I leave UNC, and eventually settle down somewhere new. It was a worthwhile experience. I think study abroad on the whole is valuable no matter what your field is, but don't take it from me. You have to do what is right for you, and the best way to do that is to search the UNC study abroad website to find a program that fits your needs. Just spend 5 minutes looking around here. You just might find something amazing.
No comments:
Post a Comment