Lyon Part Deux

or, "Why I need to get out more." 

Due to my sister's urgings, I am writing another blog. I have half a dozen unfinished blog entries sitting in my documents folder, but I just don't seem to have the strength to finish them. Nevermind the endless hours I spend sitting alone in my room on any given day, never mind the weekends I spend shut away like some paranoid recluse - I like to spend my time doing constructive things. Like watching hours upon hours of Sex and the City, Smallville, and Friends on French television every day after school. The weather has been chilly and rainy, thus offering no temptation to leave my warm, if claustraphobia-inducing, haven. I reason that I'm spending a fortune on Christmas vacation (true) and can't afford to travel (true). I reason that I have no friends in town (also, sadly, true). I reason that my French is improving by watching French-dubbed American TV shows (possibly true). But when it comes down to it... I just plain don't get out much. 

This weekend, however, was one of those blessed occasions where I left La Tour du Pin - again, for a visit to the wonderful Lyon. This weekend was a special weekend in Lyon - called the fête des lumières. The whole city was lit up by beautiful Christmas decorations and punctuated by dazzling light shows. The Christmas markets were open and the scent of fresh vin chaud wafted through the air. Despite the lack of snow, it felt like Christmas was finally coming. 

Wouldn't it have been nice to have pictures of this beautiful event? Yeah, I thought so too. This is why I brought my camera with me. Apart from blogging, I also excel at sucking at remembering to take pictures of things. My trip to Lyon over the Toussaint holiday was the only well-documented adventure that I've been on, though I have indeed has several notable adventures. So I vowed I would be better. I brought my camera along, and at the first cool-looking thingee that we saw I whipped out my camera and started snapping pictures. But after the third picture, much to my horror, the words "internal memory full" flashed on the screen. I flipped open the battery hatch and saw that the brillant Sandra had left her memory card back in La Tour-du-Pin stuck in her computer. I had taken ONE measly picture of the sad, sad Christmas tree in the lobby of the foyer and left the stupid card in my computer, losing the chance to take hundreds of photos of the breathtaking sight in Lyon. Idiot. 

Well, here's a picture of the tree anyway: 

He's not as sad looking as he was when he first came in. And I'm pretty sure that I sacrificed my dignity taking this picture in the lobby at night (two guys were outside smoking and clearly laughing at me). 

Anyway, I don't want this to get too long, and I've already talked about enough non-important thingssssss ssssssooooooooo LIST! 

Sandra's sights and happening at the fête des lumières 2011: 

1. (Mom don't read this one!) A crazy drunk man pulled a knife out next to me!!! Creepiest thing to happen to me so far. I heard the click and woosh that i recognized to be that of a switchblade, and then Emma's bf pulled me away from the guy next to me... sure enough, he was hiding a knife in his hand, just wandering through the crowd. That made me a little nervous then whenever we were in really crowded places again (often) and also served as a good reminder that there are EFFING PSYCHO PEOPLE in this world. 'Nuff said. 

2; SO MANY PRETTY, AWESOME LIGHTS! Not like the way crazy Americans decorate their homes, but the whole city was lit up, and there were a lot of light shows too. My fave was this one (pic taken during the day because HEY I could only take 3 photos!) They danced and did karate to sweet music. 

3. SO MANY PEOPLE. Some of the light displays were kinda hard to see because you had to fight your way through the massive crowds of people to see them properly. That being said, it was totally worth the fight. 


4. Christmas Markets. Seriously, America. Where are all your Christmas markets? I could write an entire blog on how much I love Christmas markets. For realz. 


5. Vin chaud - my love for vin chaud (hot wine) is intertwined with my love for Christmas markets. It's wine. It's hot. It's spiced. Drinking it is like drinking Christmas.This is one Frenchie thing I will definitely bring back to the states, and you will try it and you will like it - even if you don't like wine (I'm not a huge fan of red wine but I LOVE vin chaud rouge!!) As my 2-year-old nephew would say - DEELISHUSS! Though he probably shouldn't be drinking vin chaud at his age. 


6. Hanging out with other assistants. Have I mentioned I don't get out much? 


Also, I've determined that in order to really learn French, I need a French boyfriend. That really seems to be the best way to learn the language. 


And finally... BALLOONS! All that I could think of was UP!!!! 

Lyon, Lion, Grrrrrr

or, "Why a spontaneous idea is sometimes always the best idea." 

Voila! Here I am on a train again.. thus, I am writing a blog entry. Never mind the fact that I spend most of my evenings sitting alone in my room, mindlessly browsing the great void which is the internetz, I seem to only feel motivated to begin to blog once I am on a train. I suppose a lot has happened since my last blog – I left my poor readers (my sister) after my return from Germany with no hopes for the near future but to lay on the floor in my room and writhe in pain until school started up again a week later.

Luckily, that is not how my vacation ended.

A Goodbye Kiss

Or, "Why being in France can make one feel rather lonely"

I find myself to be inspired by sitting on trains. I currently have four different windows open as a sudden surge of ideas came into my cranium... and I feel unable to write them all at once. So, as much as the French train system hates me, it often jump-starts the creative juices flowing in my brain, as well as letting me witness different things that I would not see, say, sitting alone in my room looking at pictures of cats with funny captions (I can haz cheezburger, I can haz YOUR SOUL). Today's image: the kiss goodbye.

Germany: The Quick-and-Dirty List Version

Maybe not so quick. Or very dirty.

My last couple entries were of the rather bitter, ranting, complaining nature… and I don’t want y’all to think that I’ve become a bitter, ranting, complaining fool over here. I do have fun, I am nice (most of the time), and I do rather love my life. And despite all of the setbacks and ailments of the weekend, I really did enjoy my time in Germany. For those of you who don’t know, I went to visit my friend Daniel, who was an exchange student last year at Hillsdale College;  he lives in Saarbrucken, Germany, which is not too far from the French border – so what better excuse to go see the country on my vacation?

I think I know what the Cruciatus Curse must feel like

Otherwise titled “Why being on vacation is not as much fun as I had hoped it would be.”

There is a poster hanging by the entry of my place of residence that reads “On connait très jeune les problèmes des gens plus agés.” Or something like that. I don’t know, I’ve glanced at it a few times; we all know how good my French is. Basically, I live in a place designed to help young, unemployed persons with a cheap place to live and help them find work and get on their own two feet – so there are a lot of signs around about hardships and abuse and the dangers of mixing alcohol and marijuana and remembering to use a condom etc, etc, etc. Well, this particular poster is talking about how even young people know the kinds of problems that older people are face with – homelessness, joblessness and the like. Well… I relate this poster physically now. Because I feel like I have the back of a ninety year old woman, and it decided to start acting like that – when else? – when I was on vacation.

I hate trains... even more

Otherwise titled, “Why I can never win at life.”

Or, as pondered, “Why can I never win at life??”

So yesterday was an adventure that I did not want to relive. On Take 2 to Germany today, I got up (relatively) on time. I had everything ready... except my power cord for this computer, it turns out... I even had time to blow dry my hair. I wore my converse, I put on a watch, I double-bagged my lunch and even had room in my purse to stick my lunch in there (read: I should have realized that I hadn't packed my power cord). On the way there, I thought that I might be walking too slow, so I did my best power-walking-while-dragging-a-suitcase-that-dad-will-be-lucky-to-get-back-in-one-piece and actually got there with ten minutes to spare. This was fantastic because as the train pulled away, I learned that my watch was actually two minutes slow.

I Hate Trains

Or, “Why I Had a Complete Mental Breakdown Today.”

I used to love trains. A long time ago, like this last weekend, I would marvel at their efficiency and the ease with which one could travel across cities and countries. My, my; how things have changed.

The Great Train Race

Otherwise titled “Why my problem with punctuality is in all actuality... a problem”

In the movie “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” there is one particular scene that I always enjoy. The whole point of the movie is about the curiosity of time and how it effects our lives, and in this particular scene, Benjamin explains and the director beautifully portrays the sequence of events leading up to the accident which causes Cate Blanchet's character to be horrifically injured and therefore unable to continue her career as a ballerina. Each specific action in the series, down the nanosecond, contributes to what is essentially the car accident. Had one things been different, had the man stopped to order a second cup of coffee or someone had stopped to tie a shoe, the accident never would have happened, and her life would have been completely different.

An American French Major in La Tour du Pin

Otherwise titled: "Why studying a language in college doesn't prepare you for the real world"

I was told by a very wise (or maybe just bored?) and rather forceful person that I should start a blog. So here I am, perhaps a month later than I should be – but to be honest, my life up to this point has been relatively banal. I have read several travel blogs and it seems to me that most people who embark on such trips have grand adventures and great educational, cultural experiences whilst working and making friends of all nationalities and walks of life. I, however, seems to be lagging a bit behind.