2003-09-10
The Great French Novel, Part IV

1:25 p.m.

This weekend, Nick is organizing a trip to Brussels, Belgium. I don't think that I'm actually going to go on this one because we have been given our next assignment and it's due on the 25th, and since I'm going to be gone the 17th-22nd, I don't think that I should go this weekend, especially as our first assignment is due on Monday.

Our second assignment is to write a newspaper article on the scientific accuracy of four movies: Apollo 13, Space Cowboys, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Mission to Mars. I don't mind watching Apollo 13 because I love that movie and 2001 since I haven't seen it (yes, I know, how can I work in the space program and not have seen it; what a travesty). Space Cowboys is a GREAT movie...up until they launch into space. The first part is funny and cheesy, but acts like it knows that it is and makes fun of itself, but then the second half goes downhill because the movie suddenly tries to be dramatic and takes itself too seriously, turning what could have been a fun movie into a horrible one. The last one, Mission to Mars, I swore that I would NEVER NEVER NEVER watch that piece of drivel again. It's SO bad, that it's not even worth watching just to laugh at! Anyway, I'm the only native English speaker in my group, and while the others speak English well, I might need to explain some nuances and maybe even to translate Apollo 13 for them, since that is definitely in another language: NASA-ese! ;)

So, I don't know. Opinions, anyone? Should I go to Brussels, and try to do some work on the train, especially since most of my first group is going, or should I stay in Strasbourg?

Here is more of my first few days in Strasbourg, Part IV of V. I'll post the rest tomorrow.

Strasbourg, my flat, 28/08/03

This is going to be a long year in some respects, if the behavior of the computers today is any indication. I have not written here for the simple fact that I�ve actually had access to the Internet and updated my diary yesterday. Nick and I returned to ISU today and I had written a nice long entry when Explorer quit and kicked me off, thereby deleting a half-hour�s worth of work. Lovely. Not that I said anything terribly Earth-shaking (it can be argued if I ever do), but still, it was extremely frustrating. It made me think of work, because that sometimes happens there, too.

Anyway, my diary entry centered on the bells of the cathedral. This is the one that I mentioned before, as in The Cathedral of Strasbourg. I can see the spire from my window, and being so close, I can hear the bells when they ring, which, is ALL OF THE TIME. Seriously. They ring on the hour every hour from 7AM until 10PM. Not only that, but there�s a second bell that rings about 30 seconds after the first bell is done. The first bell also rings on the quarter-hour, a little �ding-dong�. It gives one �ding-dong� at fifteen minutes, two at thirty, three at forty-five, and four at the hour before it tolls the hour. In addition, at 7AM, 9AM, and 10PM, the bells keep on ringing for a good 10-15 minutes. Who needs an alarm clock?

I have also been told that the bells ring a lot more on holidays and Sunday. Yay me. However, I really cannot complain as I have already become quite used to them and actually do enjoy them. But, beware all ye who come and visit. Bring earplugs.

I took Nick inside the Cathedral yesterday, and he was suitably humbled. It truly is amazing. The architecture just blows you mind, and the fact that it took 400 years to build just really gets me. I mean, imagine starting something that you know will not be finished in your lifetime. The thing that touched me the most, however, was a simple engraving on one of the pillars inside the church that read:

My great-uncle, Lowell, was a major in the 29th, 121st and was part of the first wave to land at Normandy on June 6, 1944. He had a lot of stories, and I would listen to him intently. I have always been fascinated with World War II, and to see that up there, well, it really sort of made the whole thing personal. It�s hard to explain.

At ISU this morning, Nick visited Amandine, who is the most helpful staff member there. She said that there was a flat available for Nick, but not until next week. He is very antsy. In trying to look for the best deal, I think that he will give himself an ulcer because he is so worried about it.

Nick is definitely not a person who can sit still at all, which is good, as it will gear me into action and I can be a little lethargic at times, and I don�t think that he will let me. For instance, he got tired of waiting for me just now � he wrote about a paragraph in his journal � and has headed downstairs to wait outside for me. He wants to go look at a couple places, and then this apartment that Amandine found tonight. After that, we�re going to come back here and have dinner next to the Cathedral and watch the light show that they put on. It�s really neat; we kind of wandered into the middle of it yesterday.

I still have to set up my electricity and get a bike. I also need to figure out what to do about the telephone. I don�t want a landline because you have to pay for everything; it�s not like the US where you pay for the phone and get local calls free. Cell phones, too, are expensive to call out, but cost nothing to receive and as instant messaging is huge over here, that really costs nothing at all, either, so I�m definitely getting a cell phone. However, Becca says that it is a lot more expensive to call a European cell phone from the States than it is to call a European landline. I don�t know. No offense to anyone, but how often am I going to talk to people? I don�t talk to people that much on the phone in the US as it is. Mainly just my family. I know that Becca talks to Karen occasionally, but Karen�s her best friend, and she�s in England for a long time. I�m gone for just a year. I�m thinking that it�s just not really worth it. Anyway, people, I�m open to suggestions. I just don�t want to waste money that I can spend on other things, like presents. =)

Nick and I met a good part of the ISU students last night. There are two from Norway, several Americans, Spanish, Irish, Austrian, French, etc. It�s very interesting. The Austrian, Mike, is very outgoing, upfront, talkative, and knowledgeable. The French guy, Gregory, is also talkative and outgoing. It is difficult to get a word in if you are having a conversation with them. The Norwegians are quieter and very nice. There is a lawyer here from Florida, David, who, in the short time I have known him, has made it clear that he has money and a lot of it, is used to getting what he wants, and while he may not run you over in his pursuit of it, he would definitely but firmly move you out of the way. He is very smooth, and subtly aggressive. They all speak pretty good English, with the worst of them being Gregory (the Frenchman), and if my French were as �bad� as his English, I would have no problems here. I am very jealous. I really feel handicapped knowing only English, but it is true, that if one were to know only a single language, English is a good one to know. None of the other Americans speak any French, and most of the other students do not, either. Mike does, however, and I guess that the Spanish guy does, too. Nick brought his camera and was taking pictures of the group all night; he has already sort of become our unofficial photographer. He carries that baby around wherever he goes.

There is one thing that I have NOT become accustomed to, yet, and that is the fact that my apartment is very warm, even when it is not outside, like right now. Today has actually been fairly cool, yet my apartment remains warm. While I will appreciate that during the long, cold winter months, I am sure, right now, it�s slightly annoying. I have decided that I am going to get that fan. It cannot be that expensive. I also mean to get a bike, soccer shoes, and a sports bag. We went into a sports store today and the bag and shoes are really a decent price; in fact, I think that the bag is quite a bit cheaper here than in the States. Margot, who is from Seattle, bought a new bike today for 200 Euro. Ouch. I do not think that I will do that. I do not care so much; el cheapo for 35 Euro is fine with me. Oh, and speaking of bikes, Nick says that he will sell me his road bike when we get back to Houston. It is $1100 new, and he bought it for $400. Of course, that is a year off, and I will have to look at it first, but he says that he is not as interested in road bikes as he thought he was, and as Sarah and Janna are into that and I want to get into it, I think that this will be perfect.

Anyway, I know that Nick is downstairs waiting impatiently for me, so I had better go.

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