A weekend in Dublin

Ok, well I've been to Ireland and back during the last weekend, so it's time for a post.

We got up Friday morning, myself, Lauren and Katy, and we walked down to the train station here in Angers while it was still dark, around 5 am. After waiting for a few minutes, we hoped on the train that took us west to the town of Nantes roughly 35 minutes away. While I didn't get to see any of the city there, I didn't mind so much, seeing as how I'd be in Ireland is about 2 hours. We took a taxi (like we ended up doing a lot in Dublin) to the Nantes airport and then flew for about an hour and a half on Ryanair to Dublin, Ireland....

So let me start this off by saying that Ireland is better than France in a couple ways: better food (minus cheese and wine), nicer people and better pubs. We rolled into town on the bus and ended up grabbing brunch at an authentic Irish restaurant which was recommended to us by a man in perhaps his 60's standing at the entrance of a hotel. His demeanor and overall kindness blew us away after having spend so much time in France where, basically, they're more closed off to strangers.

After an amazing meal, and me convincing the girls to drink a whole pint of Guinness (earning them my upmost respect), we headed out to Temple Bar, the district in Dublin adjacent to the river where all the best....well, all the best bars are. But that's not where the name comes from. Anyways, we were growing increasingly tired of caring our backpacks around so it was such a relief to sit at a pub, soak up the Irish culture, and rest our weary backs for a time.

The city was amazing by the way, decked out in green, white and orange in every direction and filled with tourists and locals alike all sporting their brightest green jackets and sweaters (on account of the chilly weather). It was one of the most fun things I have ever been a part of. We enjoyed ourselves immensely. When 5:00 rolled around, we met up with Katy's friend Remi, who was half Irish, half French (speaking both French and English fluently, albeit English with a thick Dubliner/James Joyce accent). He showed us around for a while, then we ended up grabbing some Mexican food...I know, shame on me...and found another pub at which to sit, chat, laugh, and share a few more pints together, all the while surrounded by hundreds of people with that very same mission in mind.

We ended up crashing at Remi's that night on the outskirts of town, taking a taxi to get there. Remi and Lauren decided to head out to some more nearby pubs while Katy and I collectively decided our fatigue was just too much. When we woke up at 9...Remi and Lauren still weren't home and didn't end up getting in until about 9:30. Lauren hadn't slept. Remi had merely napped. It was a bit sad really because we soon headed downtown to watch the Saturday morning St. Paddy parade, but Lauren didn't come, as her basic instinct for sleep was her overriding motivation for the afternoon.

In town, the streets where lined with spectators cheering and laughing at various people that paraded by in assorted costumes and floats. It was great, but so stinking cold that after about 45 minutes of parade watching, we wandered back to Temple Bar for some pints and the great heated indoors. Also, there was a big rugby match on TV... Ireland vs. Italy in what turned out to be a route by the Irish. Believe it or not, I'm actually starting to get into rugby...I like it I mean. Strange.

I'll stop here to mention something that brings me great sadness. My poor little camera never made it back with me. Like Fival in Disney's, An American Tale, it was separated from me in a foreign land. But unlike the classic animated children's movie, we won't be reunited (although I do sometimes feel like my life is a musical). I left it at a bar toward the end of that first night, and I went back to see if they still had it the next day, and sadly...there was no word on my little lost camera. So...no pictures, except the ones that Katy took, which she will soon be giving me and which you all will soon be viewing, if all goes as planned They're all fantastic picutres. Sad though, huh?

Well, after the rugby match, for which I was sporting around my shoulders an Irish flag I had bought in a souvenir shop, we went and grabbed some food. I kid you not, we went to a Burger King! Ridiculous. But after that, we went home to collect Lauren, who was still asleep when we rolled in. Later on, we ended up eating at an Italian restaurant that wasn't half bad. After the meal, I ordered an Irish coffee to sip on while we just shot the breeze. I knew they have alcohol in them, but this one seemed to be super strong. They're made with regular coffee, sugar, a shot of whiskey (Jameson's I'm assuming), and whipped cream on top. Super tasty, but I felt really buzzed after drinking it. Anyways, just thought I'd mention that.

Right after, we walked across the parking lot to a bar called the Orchard. This place was amazing inside. It was possibly the coolest bar we visited. It was toward the outskirts of town, closer to Remi's, and it was a relief to walk into it on account of the wind. It had been incredibly cold and windy since we arrived. It actually didn't rain too much though, which was nice. At the Orchard we drank pints of beer dyed green with food coloring, which then proceed to stain our lips and tongues green. We ended up hanging out with a bunch of local Irish who were all plastered (St. Paddy's remember), but who held their beer quite well. People were singing songs and clinking pint glasses together in such a picture perfect way I thought I was in a movie. It was hard to think about leaving on Monday morning.

We ended up stoping by a dance club later on where, unlike the Orchard which was generally a slightly older crowd, a couple hundred young kids crowed to drink and dance until about 2:00am. I really enjoyed taking a seat and just observing them all. They were Irish and I wasn't one of them. But somehow I felt welcome and at home, which is how the Irish tend to make a person feel.

Well, we got back home late and were glad for it because the cold windy night was no place for us to be, as we realized while waiting for a taxi outside the club. I couldn't help but feel sorry for the throngs of Irish girls who were barely covered up. I also couldn't help but feel surprised at how little that actually seemed to bother them.

When we woke up the next day, we went into town and did a little shopping. The weather was reminding me of the Willamette valley that afternoon based on how inconsistent it ended up being. I could see blue sky in the east, dark clouds in the west, and twenty minutes later, they would have switched places. In between, 5 minutes of light rain would splash the streets, interrupted by more sun, then an inevitable downpour that lasted 10 minutes, always ending in sunshine again. However, when it started to hail, we jumped into the nearest pub and grabbed a few pints. We proceeded to hangout there through the moments when the hail stopped and started again, all the way through the moments when it began to snow (it was colder than I realized). Leaving there, having sat through a whole soccer match, we headed out to dinner at another pub, and ended having another fantastic Irish meal. I ordered a very hearty stew to accompany my pint of Guinness.

Afterward, we went in search of some good Celtic music near Temple Bar and ended up finding
a great place to sit down, have a pint, and soak in the countless years of tradition. We stayed there for a while, and had no intentions of leaving as long as we could still see the snow flakes falling past the window that looked out on the empty street. I guess everyone had the same idea: indoors and beer. It had been snowing off and on for the past 5 hours or so.

When we finally decided to head back around 1:00am, we grabbed the first taxi and prepared ourselves for about 4 hours of sleep, seeing as how our plane left the Dublin airport at 7:00, and we had to be there at 6:00. Unfortunately, we nearly slept through our alarm and woke up when the taxi arrived at 5...and none of us had even packed. We were in a pretty big hurry as we said goodbye to Remi and jetted out the door and into the taxi.

Everything went smoothly at the airport and flying back to Nantes and taking the train back to Angers, save the annoying America lady in her 50's on the train who'd been living in France for the last 13 years, embittered by politics and overly opinionated, wanting to talk to 3 exhausted kids with nothing much to say about Bush, the war in Iraq, or the bright red lipstick smeared all over her teeth. We got off the train as quickly as we could when it finally stopped, not only to ditch our unwelcome traveling buddy, but because since it was Monday, we actually had classes to get to. In fact, we had already missed a few, all in the name of cultural enrichment in the form of pint glasses and shamrocks. No regrets though.

Well, that's my weekend in a nutshell. I'll see what I can do about the pictures, but until then, I'll just continue hanging out here in Angers. Actually, my host brother and I might go see 300 tonight if all goes as planned. Take care everyone, and comment lots. Tell me how jealous you were, are and will be based on all I have in store for me here before I finally see home again. I miss you all!

Sorry it's been so long

Alright,
A lot's happened since the last time, so bear with me as I skim through most of it...leading up to this weekend, which will be amazing!

Ok, so I went and visited lots of castles, which were all super beautiful. I was super tired by the end after so much walking. Also, I went to a traditional Breton culture dancing night this last weekend and had a ton of fun. The Bretons in France are a really old Celtic culture. So much fun. Also I went with my host family to their friend's house to have some dinner, conversation and finally, watch the soccer game. Lyon Vs. Marseilles. Not a bad game, but the better one the night before was Barcelona Vs. Madrid. Amazing game. I watched it in an Irish pub called the Inish Moore.

Anyways, about this weekend, I'm going to Dublin for 3 days, and it's going to be AMAZING. Especially since this weekend is St. Patrick's day. Yes, that's right, St. Patrick's Day in Dublin, Ireland. I'll be sure to take some photos, and moreover, I'll be sure to Blog. Yes, that's right...I'll be better at blogging from now on.

Also, if anyone wants to call me, to talk with me for cheap, get yourself a mic for your computer, download a program called Skype, and call me at 01133677268648 (the whole thing). It'll cost about 6 cents a minute, but that's such a good rate.

Also, care packages...the ones you all were planning on sending....????....can be mailed to me at

Attn: Jason Normansen
AHA (CIDEF-UCO)
3 place André-Leroy
49008 Angers cedex 01
France

Well, that's all for now, I have to run out. My laptop has been in the repair shop this last week and a half, but I'm getting back this week, so I won't have to wait and use the school computers to update. K, laters
Jason

hey kids




Week one of actually going to class is over, and I survived the last hour of it today, friday, with the aid of a cup of coffee from a Nescafé vending machine. It cost me 50 euro cents. Not the best cup I've ever had, but it got the job done. Anyways....

So tomorrow morning I'm going to visit a French tourist hot spot: Mont Saint-Michel

I'm stoked.

I'm also tired. In fact, I could use a nap...and a shower, and some food, and a clean pair of socks. Fortunately, those are all easy to take and to find.

Well, this week, all the French students have been on vacation, while us foreigners have been working hard, so the school has been all ours. That will all change on Monday, but that's a good thing in my opinion because that marks the return of the French language as well, which I haven't seen much of in these last few days...not gonna lie. I've been speaking too much English, and with all the actual citizens of this country returning, so will all my many chances of making small talk with random strangers...small, slow, and unimpressive, to be exact. But my French skills ARE improving. I just feel like I backtracked since I got here, and talk much worse, when in reality, my perception of how good at French I really was took 3 giants steps back. I'm actually a lot better... I'm just realizing now how far I have to go. It's actually a little frustrating because I'm still much better at Spanish, and just wish I could use French as easily. It's only the end of my 3rd week here, so I've got plenty of time left...plenty. And I will improve.

Dad, you'd be interested to know that since I started work at the local white flag factory, my French vocabulary has really began to skyrocket. Granted, I'm learning real useless phrases, like, "I surrender," "Uncle," and my personal favorite "What's a gun?" but it's French nonetheless. (Joking...all of it...a joke, just in case someone reading didn't know)

Ok, I'm done after that. this laptop is actually making my thighs sweat. That just another good reason to go find that shower. Laters!

School Tomorrow

Alright.

I have school tomorrow. Realistically, I haven't had much in the way of school...or what anyone would consider school back home. Last week was the trial week. I went to one or two classes that will be obligatory, but I was given the option to sample a few classes to see which ones I REALLY wanted. Essentially I didn't go to school all last week, 'cause I already decided what I wanted, so the trial based period ended up being "Let's explore Angers somemore" free time. But tomorrow I have to start going to all of them.

Also, I think I'll join the choir here. I'm not sure what it will be like, seeing as how I've never been in a choir, let alone a French "chorale," but I'm excited to meet people. Also, since I brought my guitar, I'm going to show up this Friday for the guitar work shop...and see what happens from there. I imaging that a couple French guys and myself might just end up forming what will soon become the world's greatest rock band...and by that I mean we'll sing pretty little songs in cafés filled with stylish little French kids smoking dainty little cigarettes. And then we'll eat cheese and drink wine. It'll be rock in its purest form.

Well, I'll leave you all with that. I'll be at school a lot...so I'll update periodically this week. But just know, I will actually be playing the role of student tomorrow...at long last.

A long time coming...

Well, here it is... the first post of my second study abroad trip. This time, I find myself in the windy little city of Angers, France. And I've already been here for a week. For those of you who've been rather frustrated by the lack of info so far, I'll do my best to paint a mental picture for you, then go ahead and just add some actual photos to make things easier.

Angers...more importantly...France. Wow, this is definitely not Spain, where I spent my last adventures. I do like it here. The people are great, with their tight puckered lips spouting out words that sound more liquidy than anything. I love my host family. Philo, the dad, loves to talk with me about everything. I've found myself making him laugh on accident on several occasions but he loves it. My host mom, Mick, is pretty stylish. She wears a trendy pair of glasses and isn't very tall. She's always up for a good laugh when Philo starts the ball rolling. My host brother, Antoine, is actually a super chill guy. He's 24 and speaks a bit of English. He's the only one practically.

I live in a house about a mile from the school...it's an ACTUAL house...not the atypical European apartment complex that rises 8 or 9 stories. I'm spoiled with a large bed that has a couple pillow I don't understand very well. One is shaped like a giant bit of ravioli, and the other is a long tube that stretches across the width of the bed, which is by far wider than I've had in years. But the house is decorated in a really cool way, with lots of color. I'll put some video up of all this later.

The town is nice...everything things a bit small, the streets, the cars, the space between buildings. There's a nice student population around the campus (which I will also get pitures of soon). I take the bus to school everyday. It's around a 5 minute ride by bus, but about 20 by foot. It's convenient. School's probably not going to kick my butt. Rather, I might be the one doing all the butt kicking if this learning French thing goes as well as it has been for this first week. I find that I can easily communicate with everyone in my host family. There are moments when it takes more effort, but so far so good. No cross-cultural miscues or anything thus far.

I will say that I miss some of you already, but that happened all the time back home when you would go away for a weekend or so and leave in Corvallis for a few days. It's just going to be a bit longer this time, and I'm the one whose gone. Well. This isn't too detailed I know, but hey...it's the first of many, and I actually was trying to upload a few videos while I was at it. This one:

Host Family's house (the downstairs anyway...upstairs can be act II)

Mmm...you guys might like that taste.
I'm going to have to create some online photo albums now...that's my next task. That, and go home and each cheese and sip on a glass of Bordeaux. They are truly into cheese here. K, that's all for now.

If you have questions, comment these and ask them freely. I'll do my best to answer in a timely manner...unlike the long time it took me to finally post. Um...I'm in France, and that's still crazy to me. Catch you all later! I love you my family! Be patient Holly, you'll be here soon!

Back Home...since the 20th, sorry

Hey, this post comes late...I know. But I've been back now for 9 days. It's good to be home. I met my family and friends...and girlfriend (yeah!) at the airport on Tuesday afternoon, or rather, they met me...I was just some dazed kid stumbling down the terminal on about 3 hours of sleep who happened to be awake but with this sleepy glazed look on my face. I was still all smiles so see everyone though. The long journey was over and I was back in Oregon. It felt weird being around so many people from where I was from. I felt like a brother to every single American in the airport, or at least the airport staff, cause I knew they were all mostly Oregonians.

One of our first stops on the drive back down to Eugene was to a Red Robin for lunch...and let me tell you, I hadn't had a proper burger since leaving the states. We make the best burgers in the world here...the ones dripping in grease and sauces...hence we are a heavier people, to oversimplifiy things.

But since being home, Christmas has happened. Every day so far, I can still shut my eyes and see the streets in Spain I walked down everyday. It's a pleasant feeling to open them again and see the people I love. When I go back, I hope to take a few of you with me this time. Thanks to everyone who commented on the entries and gave me feedback. It was always so nice to hear what you thought. I might not update this very often anymore. Sorry guys. The next time around, when I hope to France to study, I'll have to pull it out retirement and see if I still remember how to work this thing. Moreover, without erasing everything just before updating it like I did when I was first starting.

Alright, it's good to be home. Over and out.

Vienna, Austria

Alright,

So I find myself now, about 5 days after my last entry, in the city of Vienna, Austria. This city was way bigger than I thought it would be. Luckily, I have Justin Eckley and Nolan Roberts here with me. They know exactly when to get on and off the buses and subways, seeing as how they've been living here for the last 3 months. I'm having so much fun with these guys though. We lived together for the last two years at the Antioch House...a place to which I will be returning shortly. There's only 5 days left for me here in Europe...then it's home, and from there, a job and classes again. I'm excited for that though. Vienna's cool, and having the guys here to show me it is even cooler, but I'm 100% ready to be home. Christmas is almost here. I need a good dose of eggnog, a fireplace, and some good Christmas tunes. Anyone up for some of that when I get home? Well, we've gone downtown, and so far, that's about it. There's a going away dinner party tonight for the guys that I get to go to, but other than that, it's been the most relaxing part of my trip. It's a bummer that I don't speak German, seeing as how everyone here does, but the good thing is that everyone here also speaks very good English. These European countries blow us out of the water when it comes to how many languages the average person speaks.

Well, that's about it...just a little update. Ireland turned out to be so cool, and I recommend it to everyone. When I get the chance, some day in the future, I will definately be going back there. I'll see you all in a few short days! Miss you!