Here's part two for those of you keeping up with me!! There are two schools for American students here in France; one for the social science students, and one for the art students. I am enrolled at the former, since my major is International Relations. The names of the schools are the School of Social Sciences and Humanities, and the other is Marchutz School of Arts.
My friend Kate who I mentioned in part one is an art student, and for that reason we spend a lot of time at the art school. The school wouldn't catch your eye as a school, as there is one large stone building, and around it there are two wooden sheds which the architecture students made over the past few semesters. There is a wood-working station that is outdoors with a large wooden table that Kate and I have made our home. We come up here, (a hike and a half), and do homework and paint very often. It's the most peaceful place in the world. There is a gorgeous view from where we sit, the picture on the left is what we enjoy everyday. The panorama at the end of this blog is of what I described above. It's a great place to do homework and step outside the routine for a while.
I have a real appreciation for old music, as does Kate, and as we sit here everyday, we listen to Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Earth Wind & Fire. This past week I was feeling a bit homesick, and so I decided today to venture to Marchutz to to my work for the rest of the week and have a bit of down-time. As I am doing research, and using YouTube for our music, I saw on my history that I have Elvis Presley tagged to my YouTube account. I completely forgot that I had done that, and hadn't jammed out to the King of Rock in quite some time. I also forgot how much of an obsession I have for Elvis Presley. Part of me feels like something out there knew I was going to need a slice of home, and a flashback to great times that I spent with my father as a child. He and I used to live on a lake in upstate New York, and he and I would listen to Elvis endlessly. I immediately put on Jailhouse Rock, You Ain't nothing but a Hound Dog and the rest of his top hits. This put me in such a happy place today, I can't even describe. After a while, I gave my dad a call, and he was ecstatic to hear about this. It's incredible to me how much music can really influence your mood, something that I shall keep in mind for my last two weeks. Plus, Elvis just rocks in general.
Moving on, I've gained a new perspective for a lot of things in life from being here, and as corny as it sounds, I feel like I've grown up quite a bit from being here. The only guidance I have is what my parents have taught me throughout my life, and the new knowledge that I've gained of this culture. It's important to take criticism in a way that is beneficial to your life. Being in a new country, you learn a lot about what the people appreciate, and learn to see things through their eyes. The United States is very fast-paced and go, go, go. Here, people take time to smell the coffee, which I must note again is fabulous. France has shown me an appreciation for experience. Live in the moment, and worry less. I've learned to focus my energy on the things that make me happy, and soak up every drop of it.
Before I began this blog, I thought that most of my writing would be a kind of advice column for the next students coming in, but I soon realized that they will learn on their own like I did, and that the most important thing I can offer is my emotional connection to this opportunity that I have. Of course I have a lot of little notes that I will probably share in my final blog, but for now, during the actual experience, I'm enjoying sharing a blog that's deeper than a brochure.
C'est tout pour maintenant!! Part III shall follow soon! Oh and the acoustic guitar below...art prof jams out pretty hard, if that's any consolation to how low-key and real this place is, fa
XOXO KLD
My friend Kate who I mentioned in part one is an art student, and for that reason we spend a lot of time at the art school. The school wouldn't catch your eye as a school, as there is one large stone building, and around it there are two wooden sheds which the architecture students made over the past few semesters. There is a wood-working station that is outdoors with a large wooden table that Kate and I have made our home. We come up here, (a hike and a half), and do homework and paint very often. It's the most peaceful place in the world. There is a gorgeous view from where we sit, the picture on the left is what we enjoy everyday. The panorama at the end of this blog is of what I described above. It's a great place to do homework and step outside the routine for a while.
I have a real appreciation for old music, as does Kate, and as we sit here everyday, we listen to Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Rolling Stones, Earth Wind & Fire. This past week I was feeling a bit homesick, and so I decided today to venture to Marchutz to to my work for the rest of the week and have a bit of down-time. As I am doing research, and using YouTube for our music, I saw on my history that I have Elvis Presley tagged to my YouTube account. I completely forgot that I had done that, and hadn't jammed out to the King of Rock in quite some time. I also forgot how much of an obsession I have for Elvis Presley. Part of me feels like something out there knew I was going to need a slice of home, and a flashback to great times that I spent with my father as a child. He and I used to live on a lake in upstate New York, and he and I would listen to Elvis endlessly. I immediately put on Jailhouse Rock, You Ain't nothing but a Hound Dog and the rest of his top hits. This put me in such a happy place today, I can't even describe. After a while, I gave my dad a call, and he was ecstatic to hear about this. It's incredible to me how much music can really influence your mood, something that I shall keep in mind for my last two weeks. Plus, Elvis just rocks in general.
Moving on, I've gained a new perspective for a lot of things in life from being here, and as corny as it sounds, I feel like I've grown up quite a bit from being here. The only guidance I have is what my parents have taught me throughout my life, and the new knowledge that I've gained of this culture. It's important to take criticism in a way that is beneficial to your life. Being in a new country, you learn a lot about what the people appreciate, and learn to see things through their eyes. The United States is very fast-paced and go, go, go. Here, people take time to smell the coffee, which I must note again is fabulous. France has shown me an appreciation for experience. Live in the moment, and worry less. I've learned to focus my energy on the things that make me happy, and soak up every drop of it.
Before I began this blog, I thought that most of my writing would be a kind of advice column for the next students coming in, but I soon realized that they will learn on their own like I did, and that the most important thing I can offer is my emotional connection to this opportunity that I have. Of course I have a lot of little notes that I will probably share in my final blog, but for now, during the actual experience, I'm enjoying sharing a blog that's deeper than a brochure.
C'est tout pour maintenant!! Part III shall follow soon! Oh and the acoustic guitar below...art prof jams out pretty hard, if that's any consolation to how low-key and real this place is, fa
XOXO KLD