YAY!

my cell phone which has been fastly dying over the last few days and which apparently would cost 425$ to replace took a turn today.

starting two days ago the screen has been going wack... the touch screen stopped working two days ago along with most of the colour...

But today I was listening to music and noticed that the screen was different... so i touched it... and the touch screen worked... and the colour was back... so i have hopes that it's getting better... I ordered a screw driver set to clean it out the other day so I should get that soon and the begin surgery... hoping to fix it, and not make it worse by cleaning out the mud. Though it is possible that the mud is what is holding it together...

Ooh and I love the entertainment book... I've saved so much money on food by using coupons... SOO Much... and today when I bought a double bacon cheeseburger from Burgerking (and getting another free) the guys made a mistake making an extra drink, and they gave it to me... right when I was wondering where I could pick up a cheap soda. SCORE!

Photos: Day 23: Snowballs and Snails

Soo lets do a survey...
One French, one cigarette

Another French, another cigarette.

Yet another French, and yet another cigarette.
That's right folks, Three French, Three cigarettes.

After their extended smoke break, a snowball fight broke out...

And Pauline is the obvious loser (well only obvious by the fact she's on the ground but still obvious!)

One american... no cigarette...

A brief intermission of beauty after seeing my mug.

Yummy... Escargot! And the Loser of the bet!

They're pretty aren't they!


The winners of the bet. The bet was that the local small mountain town grocer would have escargot... we bet they would... (It's a rich french mountain getaway, why wouldn't they!)


MMMMmmm Cookin!

Dinner is served!

The first one...

An amused French girl... I swear she's amused... she was really excited... but it's just like the French to never be caught in photos without the "I'm French, why are you looking at me" face.


So beautiful!

Photos: Day 22: In Megeve

Morning in a beautiful alps town.

Our hike up the mountain begins!

Can you tell someone is out of breath?? Silly french smokers :-)



Oh... the beauty I've seen.




Megeve at night.
So I picked up two habits while in France (well at least two)... one I now eat chips... Pringles to be exact. Two. I now crave appertif... it's a snack prior to dinner... composed of chips or something like that, and a sweet cocktail... eg... Apple liquor and apple juice, Kir (white wine and a fruit liquor), a sweet appertif wine, martinii, or other. I think the first one is the most impressive (I already like good wines and cocktails), as I've throughout my life never taken an interest in chips... shows you that France is amazing huh.

Apparently, if there's a cake in the house Pauline's family holds a birthday for someone... It was Marie's turn.

Who has more joy Pauline or Charles?


After dinner, (ragoule or something like that, with heated cheese, potatoes, and other stuff) it was Pauline's turn to have a birthday... we added fruit, some smelly cheese, apple skins and other tastey delights. :-)

Photos: Day 21: To Megeve

So I woke up early and was rewarded with a beautiful train ride...



I rode the TGV to Megeve from Lille (this is in the middle of the train, I think there is a total of four engines on most of the TGVs)

Uhm can we say Beautiful??? And you wonder why I love france!



The Alps

The view from Pauline's Flat in Megeve... as the sun sets.


Mount Blanc the highest point in Europe is the tallest snow capped peak on the left

w00000000000t

I just finally checked my grades (one of the things I decided was unimportant for me to think about until I got back from Europe) and I PASSED MY FRENCH CLASS! YAYAYYAYYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYYAYAYAYAYAYYAYYAYAYYAYAYAYYAYAYYAYAYAYAYYAYA

Day Twenty five, first day of the rest of my life... or was that last week... uhm maybe next week?

Day Twenty Five
18.1.7
822pm
So the last 24ish hours have been quite nice.

Last night when I arrived, i hung out with Gael in the laundry mat as he finished his clothes, took a picture underneath a sign with my name (apparently I'm a line of grocery stores around here), and then dropped my stuff off at his place, which is a really really perfect appartment.

Afterwards, we headed out for food, and after being offered McDonalds, Chinese or French food, I went for the obvious... French food... I don't even eat McD's very willingly in the US, and I can get Chinese in NYC (probably even more authentic... the patrons and the staff doesn't even speak english in the last chinese place I ate at in NYC).

And well the meal was fantastic! We started with a Kir (Whitewine/blackberry liquor) then I had an entree (entree means entry I believe and thus is the first plate of a meal) terrine de chef(some good pate, condiments and bread), followed by a nice piece of steak that was very very delicious (they eat mustard with everything in france, which is quite fantastic in my books, and the mustard is even strong!), after the meal I had a delicious piece of cake filled with hot gooey chocolate sauce and a scoop of some french ice cream that was mostly sucre de leche (or caramel) with a hint of anise (or liquorice). Gael had the Gambas (HUGE shrimp) on a bed of rice for his main course (he had already eaten a meal just before I showed up in Paris, so he didn't have much else). It was a very nice meal and very french meal (and very expensive). At the end of the meal Gael decided to pay, which was quite amazing.

After that we headed back to his place, talked about Calcutta, God and our friends, as he did some ironing. Then we hit the hay.

This morning he left early for work, and though the room is *maybe* 20x30 I didn't really wake up as I had very little sleep the night before. I was so tired that I even dreamed I had a conversation with him.

I eventually woke up, got ready for the day and headed out to find Notre Dame cathedral and wander aimlessly.

I found Notre Dame rather easily, though after being happily shooed away from the palais de justice ( I was standing just outside it taking pictures as I was quite impressed). Notre Dame was very very impressive I like it so much more than St. Patrick's in NYC... maybe not as much as the church next to my school though. After Notre Dame I headed around trying to find a place for evening mass... and just to wander... I first came upon a horrid sight, well horrid at least to me and my french classmates... the red lips that signal a repeat after me phase... and another church with its doors wide open (the weather here is a bit cold but not too cold)... then I headed around and saw two MC sisters... then I bought a few things at Ed, and headed back to Gael's place... where I checked my email and then headed to findout if I could do evening prayer at a church nearby (aimless wondering aimed at finding a church I was pretty sure must exist somewhere). When I got to the church it was 1900 and I noticed on the door a sign that said mass was at 1900... so I went inside and found it empty... but I also noted a little old lady walking down the other aisle... so I switched aisles and followed behind her... (I think she was a bit scared by that, but I figured little old lady's always know where they're going.) and I was right. The other place I would have looked (the main chapel) was a eucharistic chapel and no one was in it... but the little old lady walked through a nodescript door, which I followed her through, and ended up in another chapel where mass was being held.

And now I'm back at Gaels about to head for dinner...
Ciao.
853pm

Day Twenty four...

Day twenty four
1/17/07
So this time I was even three minutes late! And I made the bus to the train to the bus.

Whew.
710am
1150am
Just got in (to geneve) a bit ago... Bought a soda, sandwich and the little prince (a b00k) en francais.

As I was walking (correction, am walking) people have been noticing and smiling at hetti, some even snicker to themselves.

One guy said "salut!" and then asked me in french where I'm going or were my travels have been.
1155am
1205pm
I'll continue that thought in a second... So I can head to near lourdes tommorrow afternoon by bus which means i'd arrive around 2am on the 19th to a city that I'd have to find a train from which would cost a bit of cash... About as much as taking a train today and getting there either tonight or tommorrow morning. Or I could just go to paris and checkout that city... Tonight.
Hmmm when does my flight leave?
Hmmm
1211pm
301pm
Two things I've noticed about geneva... A lot of ameicans and the city is really not very beautiful
302pm
349pm
So I was going to send a few postcards from geneve... Which by the way was a huge ordeal to decide upon as there are no good postcards for geneve as there really aren't any worthwhile sights, but in the end knowing that they do take credit and I would like people to know that I am thinking about them enough to find a postoffice, speak french, take time to actually handwrite something and spend some money (i.e., that I do care very much for them) I finally decided to do it. Much to my chagrin they don't take credit for postcards, and though they did take euro, all I had was coins when all they accepted was bills (swiss use the swiss franc)... So no postcards from a second rate city... And you will have to guess those who were going to get a card.
358pm
505pm
So I'm on the train to Paris... I decided that due to finances the way they're going and the fact that I anticipate being back in europe (and possibly living here) in the near future, I don't need to get all expensive and drastic. It is just next door!
Anyhow, there are numerous things I want to check out in Paris anyhow... amongst them are the Rue de Bac, a few communities, and my friends :-)

Today in Geneve, Switzerland, I ran around with my full pack on... I always forget how heavy that thing is until I actually carry it for 6 hours on my back... the bad thing is that I don't anticipate it getting any lighter any time soon... probably heavier. The good thing is that I anticipate carrying the full thing only for about four more days of my trip (counting the 23rd twice, since it really does count as two days for me... one day in italy [or possibly paris] and one in NYC)

So back to my earlier story, the guy asked me something in French, and my response was "Je vais a le Gare" or "le Gare" or something of that sort... to which his immediate reply was "so do you speak english?" My guess is that my response was horribly confused and quite likely wrong.

But he's a Kiwi (aka. New Zelander) who's grandmother luckily for him is Swiss, and mother is French, so he can work pretty much anywhere in Europe and was in fact working a construction site in Geneve that I passed by... He offered to let me crash (sleep for the non-native english speakers) with him at the construction site (there's a room with a heater and a stove where he can crash for free and which had a great view of the city according to him). But as I decided later in the day to head to Paris as I have limited days left, I had to bypass that offer. (One thing you notice while travelling is that fellow travellers will quite often go out of their way to help you, especially if they're from your home country or a related country).

So yeah, I'm currently on the TGV again, but to Paris, possibly for the rest of my trip. To meet with friends, practice french and gather my thoughts for the upcoming semester... oh right... THAT. I keep postponing any real thoughts of it... mostly as all that I need to do can be done when I get back there. I'm rethinking my choice of not living in hostels this coming semester... I hope that I can get into the dorms (DEFINITELY BEST option) but if not, I just might live in the hostels or possibly do that for a few months and then house sit for one of my friends for a few months (a possibility). Who knows... we'll see what happens.

I definitely hope I have a spring break (preferably around easter so I can head to Israel with some friends, but if not, I'll just head back to France).

So enough thinking about the coming semester, I'm still on break! I've met some amazing people on my trip, and I expect I still will. I've deepened relationships and seen my friends in their natural habitats. I've learned a little about myself and learned that I can survive "just going" without a plan. That sometimes that leads to things much more fortunate than I could have dreamed. And that I'm almost always perfectly on time (have I missed a bus or train yet?!) even when I don't expect I'll be. I've also learned that people across the world remember me for some reason I don't really understand... Theo put it in some way like this (when talking about the girl in Lille that knew me but not him): "Of course she remembered you! You're Ed! Everyone remembers you." I've been meaning to ask him why people remember me...

I've also learned that people across the world think I'm nicer, more put together, holier, and more trusting in God than I really am. "One day when you know my sins, you'll understand," I think to myself whenever someone smiles at me or comments on some aspect they admire about me. It's funny how many things that are hidden can change a person's view of another, to some, my sins would make me more human, to others more demonic, yet others would laugh at me and say "that's it?"

I can't compare my darkness and selfishness to another, all I can do is look at myself and realise how depraved a human I am at times.

I wonder.
543pm

Day Twenty Three... slimy things

Day twenty Three
16.1.7
5:19pm
today I woke up circa 11, ate petit dejeuner, listened to some music and then headed up the mountain to meet Pauline, et. al. at a restaurant to eat lunch (we actually had brought our own lunches, but it was a place I knew, so we could meet). Up the mountain, I met a couple, a ski guide of almost thirty years and a woman who had lived in NYC and spoke pretty good english (I spoke mostly broken french, so it was useful when I couldn't think of or didn't know the word).

I showed up late to dejeuner, but not too late, and we ate, threw some snow around and then they headed up another mountain, and I headed back to town to get a ticket for the train tomorrow.

On my way down, I slipped, fell and ended up half mud. My cell phone convieniently chose this moment to fall out of my pocket, land on the ground my hand was headed to, and was pushed into the soggy earth. When I got up, it had become a mud ball and was looked almost hopeless. A rock had gone through the case, and was thus the first thing I took out. I then sat down, grabbed some grass and proceeded to clean it off over a period of about 30-45 minutes. It's alive and well, though it now will have mud insided it for the near and probably distant future.

After I got down the mountain, I tried to get a ticket at the bus station, but though the train company was open, there was no one present, and after waiting awhile I proceded to the local church and took some time of reflection and rest.

Then I came back and waited for the group to return from skiing... and that's what I'm doing... they just came though (minus Pauline).
529pm.
656pm
I got a ticket to Geneva for tomorrow morning... I wanted one to Lourdes, but it's very very expensive (circa 100e) and the ticket to Geneva is about 10e, and my guess is that a Eurolines bus should cost about 40-50e and hopefully I can catch an overnight one, thus saving me money for sleeping... granted sleeping on a bus is not at all desirable, but it's better than in a station... or not at all...
So I just realised I don't have the addy for the place in Lourdes... Hmm that could promise to be a difficult thing to figure out.
So item #2 for tomorrow is check the internet for the addy...

Tonight we're eating escargots, and I'm quite excited :-) I like trying new foods, and this one is definitely up there on the weird scale, but I figure if a whole country eats this as a delicacy they can't be that wrong on it.
hmm
tomorrow promises to be an interesting day.
Another venture into the unknown.
705pm

Day Twenty Two... Hiking in the mountains

16.1.7
705pm(est) +6 hours

Today we headed up the mountain a bit... I as usual provided the slapstick entertainment with one perfectly graceful fall... I was ever so cautious as well... but I made one step that I thought secure, when all of a sudden it was in the air to my right and I was on the ground with a thud. It's a good thing for muscles and rib cages. Otherwise, we've pretty much lounged around, eaten food and chatted... I'm picking up bits of French still, though I don't think I'm picking it up as fast I was the first few days... but that's mostly due to my mind being overworked, I think.

I'm really tired... going to sleep. 714pm

Day Twenty one onwards to Megeve

1/14/07
Day twenty-one
So " I have ameican" if anyone wants to know! I'm on the tgv, the high speed and quite comfortable so far train, which I believe uses electromagnetism to hover a few centimeters above the tracks.

And yet again I made it with plenty of time to spare... :-) about twenty seconds prior to the doors closing.

But this time it was due to my credit card not having a chip in it... Something you can work around usually, except when using some machines. See I had bought and arranged my ticket online so I could pick it up at a computer kiosk and save some time... Which obviously didn't work out, so we had to run to the service desk and found a teller who was just coming on to get a printed ticket... We actually had to wait for the machine to boot... Which it did just in time for us to run to the train (which the agent told us how to get to and which side) Theo to get it stamped (every ticket in europe requires self stamping with the aide of a validation machine) and me to step into the first coach.
Crazy start I'd say!
905am
216pm
In lyon, I had to transfer trains. And I thus ended up with a 30ish minute layover. Having realised earlier in the morning that I needed new gloves (i had one glove) I decided to scan a posted map for any commercial centers. Lucky for me, european cities seem to centralise their stores into the city center... And even more fortunate was my train station being a block away. So I headed to find an h&m(bigger better gap) or a decathlon (academy). Luckily I found both! Unfortunately both were closed... Who closes a store during lunch time! Insane Europeans! That's ideal shopping time!

So no I did not find new gloves, but I did find a nice chicken sandwich and an orangina... And best of all I boarded my train with like five minutes to spare... I got bored waiting for the sucker to move.

But now I'm in the Alpes near Geneve about an hour away from my train stop and another 30mins to the end of my subsequent bus travel.

I'm very excited to visit my friend!
226pm
336pm
I've never seen a gang moving before, but right now there's one messing around in the area around the train station... It's very odd and only parts can be seen from my various vantage points but they seem to completely ignore the tourists. Which is good... But their freedom of movement unchecked by the police seems very foreign to me... I haven't seen a cop in quite awhile... Which in the US is unheard of. They're everywhere and can respond to anything in a matter of minutes.
Oh yeah I'm in sallanche on the bus to megeve. 341pm

Day Twenty! The Lille encore!

Day twenty ?
1/13/07
616pm
I just ran into a friend from kolkata as we were walking through lille... Incredible! I'm in a foreign country and a person I knew for only two weeks remembered me as we passed each other on the sidewalk (I had thought her familiar, but didn't give it a second thought). Incroyable!

Earlier today I bought a new coat, most likely to the great satisfaction of my new york friends and those others who knew of my seemingly never-ending quest. I also managed to pick up a sleeping bag that I've needed for awhile.

Tomorrow I head to the alps near Geneva to visit a friend on my way to Lourdes.

Sometimes I think of how fortunate I am to have friends and the chance to travel le monde,
627
That all I can do is smile.
631
Today was Laure's Third Birthday!!! Isn't she absolutely adorable!

After lunch we went shopping (I for a coat and a sleeping bag, as the coat is probably going to be life saving in the Alpes I finally broke down)... and during shopping we made an excursion to the Cathedral... which I actually quite liked.

It was originally built in a Gothic style but they ran out of money at the turn of the century causing them to come up with a creative way to finish the building... they decided to use some modern architecture.

(photo courtesy of Theo)

and it turned out quite nicely. I really liked the inside as it was the first church that was hinting at the type of architecture I want to build... a living dynamic between the past and the ongoing present, and both of their hopes for the future. Think of it this way, the Church is both it's history and it's present... "ever ancient, ever new" as I think Augustine put it... it's living, never shedding it's whole body, just it's skin.


After we returned the girls taught me a new game of cards... Roi Noir (black king)... it was quite fun. :-) and it was a good time to try to pick up a little bit of French while enjoying the lively company of the younger part of the family.

I love this family! :-)

Tomorrow (actually today now) I head for Megeve near Geneve (Geneva)... and I won't have computer access for another few days... :-\ possibly the next week... depends on Lourdes. But know I'm thinking of you all and praying for you.

Day nineteen-- Still Lille :-)

Day nineteen
1/12/07
1222pm
I don't think I've ever had my laundry folded so nicely... It was fantastic!

I went to a mass held in a retired french priest's room, which was pretty cool... Slowly very slowly picking up french.

I don't know everything that's happening in me right now, but I suspect quite a bit is. Who really knows?

{--}

Last night I went to confession with a french priest who knew a bit less french than I knew of English... Interesting to have confession with a dictionary and spending thirty minutes trying to convey the gist of one thought... Good thing that the priest doesn't really need to hear everything to know that God does. And a better thing that God can read hearts.
{--}
1231pm
Perhaps the smallest chapel I know... and now surrounded by an intersection... I think it was the chapel of great remedy or good health or something akin to curing disease. I unintentionally but luckily dragged out Dorothy for a little escapade through Mauvaux to check out the three churches.

C'est moi et mon ami, Theophile.

Theo is an incredible guy... very very patient with my constant questions of "how do you say that in french?" And his sybling's constant questions of "how do you say that in english?"

(I have no idea how we both ended up smiling goofily and looking in the same direction... there was only one camera in the room and you're looking at it's picture)

Dorothy, his sister, was one of the best ways for me to learn english, as she has about the same level of English as I have of French, causing us to not revert to one language or the other, but having to constantly try to figure out what each other was saying.

Dorothy was also amazingly patient... for example... when we were walking around Mauvaux (the city that was incorporated into Lille, that they live in) I decided to say I was a idiot, so I said "J'ai une idiote" and I contentedly said it several times...
But if you translate "J'ai une idiote" it turns out to not be "I am an idiot" but that "I have a (female) idiot"... Poor girl having to put up with an American idiot. The correct way of saying what I wanted is "Je suis un idiot".

Hetti came out and decided to play with the family.

And she had lots of fun :-)


So much that she had to be put to sleep early.

Photos: Day 18: Lille

There is a fair which I think is part of the cities celebration of Indian culture...

one of my first memories of the city is getting to the train station wondering if i'd remember what Theo looked like, finding out that I did, getting into the car and all of a sudden being in India... With an Indian palace composed of lights

and being surrounded by elephants... How the heck do coincidences like this occur to me... right when I decide to come to a city they decide to have a celebration of India! (Well, I'm actually on the tail end of it, but still!)

There seem to be two primary elements to central Lille... NUMEROUS NUMEROUS shopping malls and stores (I'd swear the whole core city was an enourmous mall)

And interesting, beautiful architectural design... this is for example a highway flying over a park, connected to a mall (right side) and a transportation hub on the left side (Gare Lille?)... all beautifully styled.