Adrienne Bohémienne

Tout change à Londres

2007-12-05T02:37:00.000-08:00

Because I promised this to a very special friend, my loyal reader! now I'm finally going to blog about London.

We had the chance to visit London for a weekend, unfortunately it's not enough time to get to know not even half of the city, but still we enjoyed every second of it with a great weather.
When you walk in London you feel like you are part of a movie. You feel like you can go inside a street drawing to a beautiful place like it happens in Mary Poppins, or you can fly with Pieter Pan, you can adventure in the diagonal alley with Harry Potter or solve mystery cases with Sherlock Holmes near Baker Street.
London, it's a real royal city. It's one of those places in which you feel you are in a completely different dimension. Paying attention to the direction of the streets was a new thing for me.
There are plenty of beautiful gardens. You see horseguards and nice, red telephone cabinets everywhere.
Evereything in London feels like you have been there before. Everything has been burned at least once according to our NEW TOURS' guide.
People at restaurants and stores are very polite always, or maybe it's the british accent that makes each phrase look so sophisticated. WHO KNOWS? Walk in London and you are going to see a parade going on, or children playing and running, horseguards dressed in nice costumes, well a scene taken out from a movie. The National Gallery has impressive art pieces from Van Gogh, Degas, Velázquez, Van Dyck and many more painters. Go to the West End and adventure yourself in Soho and Chinatown. Finally, try to get some cheap tickets beforehand to watch a musical. We were lucky to see the wonderful production of Wicked with a nice british accent. It was amazing!
The Big ben is just what I was expecting to see, we went there when the sun was about to set. A beautiful view right in front of me:

Une p'tit pause

2007-11-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

A small pause to write on my own language: the beautiful, most loved and easy-for-me-to -speak spanish.
I want to tell you about a dream I had days ago and when I woke up there was no time to write or blog about it so I just decided to get dressed and go to school instead.

Soñé un día soleado como los de Sonora. No era el calor de Julio que todos destestamos, sino el de Noviembre que todos esperamos. Eran las calles de Angers llenas de hojas por doquier y yo recuerdo haber vestido sin mangas, sin bufanda, sin guantes. Era libre de vestimentas que cargo todos los días y que me pesan. Me pesan casi tanto como las penas que se tragan, me pesan mucho que prefiero dejarlas puestas aún cuando he llegado a mi destino. Así puestas y bien distribuidas por todo el cuerpo en lugar de cargarlas solamente con un brazo o en la mochila. Ese día, sin embargo, no había penas ni vestimentas. No había nubes que no dejan salir el sol, no salía humo de mi boca cada vez que respiraba o suspiraba. Era un día perfecto en una ciudad presque perfecta. Caminaba tomada de la mano de un caballero. No vestía armadura ni espada pero vaya que lucía bien al caminar. Delgado y alto, despeinado pero con cierta gracia al caminar que podía hacer a cualquier mujer que pasara voltear de nuevo sólo para verlo una vez más. Su sonrisa no era la mejor pero su carisma y sus ojos al reir eran inigualables. Lo veía bailar y pensaba que como latina, yo le podía enseñar. El supo guiarme, supo tratarme, supo hacerme reir, supo traerme en las nubes. El me decía que se quedaba, que se quedaba conmigo toujours. Yo no entendía el por qué, y se lo pregunté, le dije por qué me lo tienes que aclarar.
Desperté en un día templado y frío de Angers. El termómetro marcaba 0 grados: la temperatura perfecta, hubiera dicho mi madre, ni frío ni calor. Tengo algo que refutarle al respecto cuando llegue de vuelta a mi tierra donde sólo hay dos estaciones, la del verano y la del tren. En donde el invierno existe porque nos han impuesto que hay cuatro estaciones. En Obregón, podré revivir el sol de mi sueño y vestir sin mangas, sin bufanda, sin guantes. Sin tener que cargar toda esa vestimenta que cargo todos los días y que pesa. Pesa casi tanto como el pensar que ese hombre existe pero no aquí conmigo. Es un viajero de sueños, conquista mujeres en su estado más vulnerable. Llega y perturba la existencia de cualquiera. Es imposible resistirse a esas manos, a esos ojos que tengo tan presentes todavía. Y me encela, me encela pensar que existen por ahí otras mujeres soñando con él. Lo más triste es no poder encontrarme con él otra vez, y no poder controlar mis sueños para volver a soñarlo y preguntarle su nombre para ver si existe en realidad. Si tan sólo hubiera una forma de encontrarlo, lo haría. Pero el hubiera no existe, entonces sigo aquí suspirando ese sueño, ese calor, y ese hombre.

Evidemment et vie d'amant

2007-10-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well this is a game of words. They sound alike and go funny together. I've been very busy lately with my classes, homework, school trips, and, of course, some rende-vous.
Some updates:
There was a reception last Tuesday for all the international students at "La CATHO." They gave us the official bienvenue and showed us a video about the city and what to do in different areas of interest. There was wine and cookies (no fromage though... WEIRD).
France lost in the Rugby World Cup and French people were angry and disappointed last Friday.
We went to St. Malo and Mont St. Michel in an excursion. I took some photos and here they are:

I have learned a lot of French expressions lately from everywhere, I would love to share them with you but there are too many. And... c'est pas votres oignons (they ar e not your business hahaha) C'est une blague (just kidding).

Un morceau de mon carnet de bord français (A piece of my French journal)

2007-10-18T01:43:00.000-07:00

Aujourd’hui nous avons fait une activité très amusante. Nous devions d’écrire une petite description d’une personne célèbre. J’ai choisi une auteur, compositeur et interprète qui s’appelle Julieta Venegas parce qu’elle est ma chanteuse favorite du Mexique. L’écrit devait être comme un petit article pour le journal, donc il devait être aussi créative. Je ne sais pas encore les résultats de l’activité, mais j’appris beaucoup d’adjectifs qui je peux utiliser dans le futur.

So, in my class of Writing we are supposed to write a journal entry after each class we take to write down what we learn each day so we keep track of it. Today, that was my entry and I wanted to share it with you since I know many of you also like Julieta Venegas. I love my writing class and the teacher is amazing. She is like a character of the little town in The Beauty and the Beast. She really wants us to start exercising creativity when writing in French, not just the usual structures article, subject, verb and direct and indirect objects.
SoI have been going out quite a lot compared to what I'm used to this week. The good news is that I have met a lot of French people, but yesterday it was TROP french pour MOI (too French for me). We went to a bar called Falstaff in the University area with a student organization that promotes the exchange of languages english and French. So, me, Adriana and Patricia, our friend from Leon, Mexico first went to a reunion in which we were introduced to three French and we were supposed to speak English and French but they were a little bit introverted and boring.
Afterwards my new French friend Emily, the president and vicepresident of the organization guided us to this bar and we were introduced to more French people that I can't call locals since most of them come from different cities of France. We had a couple of drinks and when I thought guys were starting to get a little too drunk, we left to go back home. We learned how to use the world touche. Apparently, when someone likes you and is flirting with you, you have a touche. So, French people tell their friends Il/elle a une touche (He/She has a touche). Please correct me you French speakers if something is wrong cuz these kind of things you can't find anywhere. There's also a familiar world for breaking up j'ai cassé (I broke up) it's what I hear some people use. Anyways, there are plenty of new things you learn every day (and plenty of weirdos you come across with every day as well). A French bourré (drunk) came to me when we were sitting on the table and started to speak Frenglish saying that I should faire attention of French people cuz you never know if they are right-handed or left-handed and that there are a lot of racists. I deduced that after a while because if you sum up the factors that there was loud music, he was drunk and I struggle understanding French... well you have not so good results. After he said that, he grabbed my head and said Bienvenue en France and he was going to kiss me on the cheek but I pushed him away and the other people kicked him off the table. It was funny, but he was weird even to the other French.

Good Pears are not as good in France

2007-10-16T02:43:00.000-07:00

Ma vie c'est comme une bonne poire (My life is like a good pear). I'm wondering if that's the way to say your life sucks in French. I guess it's only used to offend people. Apparently it means, "a real sucker." Why would they use such a good fruit to start offending people? I have no idea.
Angers gets colder and nights get shorter. Today I woke up and it was 7 C. I can't accept the fact that I have to go to school when it's still dark... It just doesn't connect the dots. People say it's not so cold here, but I guess they don't know my background. In Obregón, the coldest day of the year it's something like 6 C and we are beyond freezing. I forgot my gloves so I guess it's about time to purchase a new pair. And I probably need a longer jacket with a hoodie.
So, the classes I ended up taking were language (it counts as 2), oral expression, writing, images and culture, art history and a petit class of familiar french that it's kind of the translation from starndard french we learn in class to the real street french you hear everywhere.
The Palais Universitaire, main entrance of "La CATHO"
And as you may know by now, France is not winning the Rugby World Cup anymore. C'est le sport, the say. They are only hoping to beat the Argentinians for a 3rd place.
The Adrianas during Saturday evening's Rugby game. I won a t-shirt with the French flag when they were throwing them.
Chauvinist French band people playing music in the bar

Je suis Mexicaine

2007-10-12T18:00:00.000-07:00

Je suis Mexicaine, was probably the phrase I mentioned the most during my first week at school. "La CATHO," Université Catholique de l'Ouest has about 12,000 students and 1,500 of them are international students of CIDEF (International Center for French Studies).
According to CIDEF I apparently know more French than what I thought. I was not tested once. I had to take a second written test after being placed in the SUP level. Well, imagine my surprise when I realized that I also did well with that test and that I can probably receive a certificate of superior French studies. Good stuff for the first couple of days, huh?.
I see a lot of Americans and Asiatic people everywhere in the main building. Je suis mexicaine works wonders because they assume I speak no English, DONC (therefore) I don't only get to practice more my French with international students, but I also get to listen conversations they think I don't understand.
Basically, during this week they let us attend to all the classes we wanted and next week we’ll keep six of them. I adventured myself listening to a funny art history professor who loves rupestre paintings and who is so proud of her country that has 1/3 of the ones that have been discovered in the whole world. I almost fell asleep listening about the European Union and United Nations from an old man who I couldn't really understand. I found myself paying attention to a history class. Of course, it had to be French history because they have lots and lots of things to brag about. Big model Roman cities were located in what today is France. Angers is one of them with no Roman ruins left, although according to my professor you can still see the shape of the Roman arenas in a street close to the Centre-Ville. Arles is of course a great example because it still has the Amphitheatre, columns, and other ruins.
I also solved the mystery of what the class of Images and cultures was about, or at least I think so. Apparently we will study publicity and media messages in France.
We went to the Mardi Soirées, an event organized by a student association in different cafés and bars throughout the semester.
I tried more classes like socio-cultural studies, composition, grammar, and translation. I’m still not sure of which ones I’m choosing, but I’m sure I’ll tell you all about it later. I couldn’t find a lot of time to write during this week because as you can see, I spent almost all days in school trying out almost every class.
Adriana and me finally got two bicycles from vélocité, a program supported by the city in which they lend bicycles for periods of three months for free. After failing three times to obtain a bicycle, we explained our situation, put our best faces and we got them.
Now, the weather is getting colder and colder, I found the expected not so friendly French. I learned that although French people enjoy of more vacations and have a more relaxed standard of living, more than three million suffer from depression leading to several cases of suicide.
I learned that living in France teaches you not only a new language but also a new culture that is uncovering itself day-by-day, and step-by-step. French culture is preparing itself to bare its teeth.

A walk through Angers

2007-10-07T02:04:00.000-07:00

I left the house at about 5 pm and went out for a walk. Some time for myself, fresh air, plants and flowers everywhere and people always walking down the streets of Angers. That's what I needed. I entered the Jardin Des Plantes, located near to the house where I live. It is a beautiful park with a lake in the middle, some sculptures, a lot of colorful flowers, and even some small waterfalls that entertain children that go with their parents to enjoy a pleasant afternoon or weekend.

I kept walking passing one of the big boulevards: Carnot and entering the pedestrian zone for Downtown Angers. In here you can find everything. From clothing brands like Mango, H & M, and Zara, to electronics in Saturn or Fnac, big supermarket chains like Monoprix, and even a ventriloquist violinist playing on the streets giving away free smiles and music to everyone that walks by.

In such short walks you can visit Angers’ main sights. I suddenly found myself standing in Place du Raillement, where Angers’ Grand théâtre is located.

I’ve been seeing three beautiful houses I wanted to show you in a picture. They are located in a very small street; therefore I did my best to show you as much as I could.

Then, in the heart of Centre-ville d’Angers I found, la maison d’Adam. This was apparently the first house built in Angers. It was named this way because it had sculptures of Adam and Eve on its façade. For me, it’s amazing that this beautifully built house is just next to an Irish pub in a normal street of Angers.

I kept walking and found the Cathédrale of Saint-Maurice, the main church of Angers, an official monument of France. It is an impressive artwork that stands somewhere in the middle of Romanesque and gothic styles.

I walked down the stairs that face the cathedral to get to the fountains that stand right before the Maine River. I crossed the river to get a better view of the city while the sun was setting. I waited some time for the lights of the cathedral and the bridge to turn on. While I waited I saw a couple of teenagers hanging out in the river. I assumed they were boyfriend and girlfriend because they hold each other’s hand and kissed every now and then.

Autumn in Angers is beautiful. I have always lived in places where you don’t see leafs falling off the streets because a new season is about to start. Angers is pretty much like that: a long sidewalk with no cars, no people, but just the calmness of the river, the wind, and some leafs accumulating while you walk.

The calm after the storm

2007-10-04T16:45:00.000-07:00

Finally, I decided to start writing again on my blog. But I have to say I couldn't have done it before because I was traveling computer free, which meant I had to pay about 2 euros for 20 minutes in a "cheap" cybercafé. I kind of traveled the world and wrote on my travel journal every experience I would be happy to share with you if you ask me personally. My itinerary went like this. We hit Brussels, Belgium after a long flight from El Paso. We visited Antwerp, where my boyfriend Pieter lives.

I met his family and they all made me feel like home, cooking Belgian typical dishes and giving me delicious chocolates from Antwerp’s fabrics. After spending four days in the beautiful country of Belgium we headed to Amsterdam, The Netherlands, where we only spent one day and a half but visited a great amount of beautiful sights like Anne Frank's house, Van Gogh museum, the Red Light district, Royal Palace, and strolled a little around the romantic canals that shape Amsterdam like a perfect ring.

After Amsterdam, we traveled to the advanced capital of Germany, Berlin. Berlin has everything to be the capital of Europe some Italians, who we were about to see in a few days, said. In Berlin we went to the Reichstag, Bradenburg Tor, we walked through what it used to be the Berlin wall and checkpoint Charlie, we visited Sony Center and the Holocaust Memorial as well.

After Berlin, we felt a drastic change when visiting Prague, Czech Republic. I could never understand the whole conversion of Crones to Euros, and dollars and pesos. It was too confusing for me to digest in less than three days. I decided to give in and try their food, (not such a good option), and not complain about our accommodation (another bad option). Besides that, I could understand the charm everyone sees in Prague. The city is more than just public services and food, is its unique environment, architecture, people, and beautiful sights divided into three main districts: Nove Mesto, Mala Strana and Prague Castle.

When he Pragued ourselves, we tried the musicality of Vienna visiting the Opera house not only to watch the building and façade, but also to experience a real fine evening of music. We bought standing tickets for only 3 euros about an hour and a half before the show started. As their name indicates, we had to stand the whole time but it was definitely worth doing. Watching I Puritani, an Italian opera, in Vienna's state opera house is an opportunity that doesn't present itself very often.
We visited Stephensdome, Maria Theresien Platz, but we definitely fell in love with the community events we caught in the Museum Quartier and Hofburg Platz. We also went to hear the Vienna Choir Boys sing and visited the beautiful (castle) SchloB Schönbrunn.

Now, without my boyfriend, we traveled overnight to Venice, Italy to spend one day in the romantic city of canals and confusing streets. We got lost a couple of times but decided to go without a map since that's the whole point of Venice, discover new sights without noticing. We walked pretty much every district and visited the usual sites: St Marcus Cathedral, Ponte Rialto, and Ponte L'Accademia.

We were about to take a tourist break in the beautiful Tuscany region of the Chianti. We went with some friends who live in San Giovanni Valdarno, a city near Florence. We also went to Florence as a day trip and walked through the center and to get an amazing view in Piazza MichelAngelo. One day, my friend Roberto Granci, took us to make a journey in different places of Chianti region. We went to Badia in Chianti, and different fortresses on a hill like Vertine and Rhadda, medieveal towns and Castello di Volpaia, where they make the wine "Castello di Volpaia," and where you can enjoy a picnic at the lake nearby. Tuscany is prettier than I what I was expecting. The vineyards, people, weather, and panoramic views are something you can't avoid falling in love with.

After a three-day rest in Tuscany, we visited hectic Rome spending two days there. We went to the main tourist sights, the coliseum, Roman forum, fontana di Trevi, Piazza Spagna. We experienced nightlife in Campo dei Fiori and Piazza Navona, and of course we didn't miss St. Peter's church and the Vatican.

We entered France spending three nights in beautiful, but expensive French Riviera. We visited St. Paul de Vence one day and Nice the other two. We enjoyed the sun of the beaches and views at the Castle Hill. We also loved a bar near the Palais de Justice, called Wayne’s, where we went three times in total. We met a lot of Argentineans in our hostel and made friends with two girls.

After Nice we spent two days in the French Provence region. One day in Arles and the other one in Avignon. Most of my last photos were taken there because of its beautiful surroundings. I can see why Van Gogh was inspired by places like Cafes, houses and nights in Arles. And I could also see why the Roman Catholic Church bought Avignon to make it the Popes city for some centuries back in 1300's. They are both amazing cities with Roman ruins everywhere, beautiful churches, houses and the Rhone river scenic views.

Now, Paris. In Paris you can't just be there and do nothing. Everything has to be well thought to make the most out of your weekend. I met with my friend Adriana in the train station,(now three Adrianas) we went all out to a place near the Louvre the first night. The second day, Adriana O and me visited the Museum of Rodin. It is a beautiful and worth-going place. It has beautiful gardens with some sculptures but most of Rodin's treasures are hidden inside the museum. You can also find some Camille Claudel and two Van Gogh paintings. After Rodin, we met everyone at St. Michel fountain for an early dinner at the Latin Quarter. We had kebabs and fries and went for a walk in direction to a night at the Louvre museum. We took pictures everywhere we could in the way and watched the Louvre's main highlights: Mona Lisa, Victory of Samothrace, Love & Psyche, a slave of Michelangelo, and Venus of Mile, among others.
Pieter arrived to Paris that night, and next day we visited sights without the others. We went to Forum des Halls gardens, Notre Dame, walked through the Seine river, visited Luxembourg gardens and palace, and went to Pigalle for an evening in Montmartre with the Adrianas and Paolo, another friend. We heard an Italian singer's show in Sacre Cour steps while we waited for them. When they got there, we walked a little in Montmartre and took some nice pictures. Next day, we had to find a train we didn't make reservations for so we only went to walk near Place du Republique and found Indian restaurants in a nice alley. Eating there was the last thing we did before going with ALL the suitcases to Gare de Montparnasse. We couldn't catch the train at 3 pm, we wanted to, so we waited til 5:30 pm to catch the next one. We had a coffee next to the tall tower in Montparnasse and enjoy our last evening together.
It was a sad goodbye but I will see Adriana again in London, Adriana O throughout the whole semester, and Pieter on the Day of the Saints holidays.

Now, I am in Angers and although I haven't taken pictures yet, I'll tell you it is a beautiful small city with a lot of flowers, fountains, green areas, beautiful houses, a lot of shopping areas, and charming people. I'll blog about Angers later!

Primer insomnio antes del viaje

2007-08-30T07:09:00.000-07:00

Las 2:30 am y Claudia, mi amiga de Obregón, me contaba de su nueva vida en Hermosillo. Mis ojos abiertos de par en par sin mostrar ninguna señal de cansancio. A las 3 a.m. me dije a mi misma: mi misma, creo que es hora de dormir.
Mientras unas personas sueñan con viajes, amores, nuevas aventuras, y otras unas cuantas pesadillas, hay otras personas que no solamente no pueden soñar sino que no pueden dormir.
Ayy las fuente de Trevi en Roma, ¿Por qué calle estará? ¿Qué linea de metro tendremos que tomar? ¿le entenderé al transporte urbano en Roma? Digo son tantas líneas que ni siquiera pude encontrar el maldigo Campo dei Fiori en el mapa. Tengo que lavar el domingo, probablemente antes y tener muchos quarters para hacerlo. El cheque! tengo que ir a depositar el cheque... ¿Tendré probelmas con mi tarjeta de débito en Europa? ¿Compraré euros aquí? ¿Qué pasa si nos atrasamos en el viaje y todas las reservaciones se cancelan una tras otra como domino? Ayy, ya voy a ver a Pieter! ¿Si mi mamá habla a la casa de Pieter, se podrá comunicar con la mamá de Pieter? Digo, después de todo la señora no habla tan bien inglés y el francés y holandés de mi mamá deja mucho que desear. ¡El email a la editora del Prospector! Mañana, irá a mi lista. ¿Iré a hablar con la coordinadora de intercambios estudiantiles antes de irme? Uyy! para conseguir una cita con esa mujer! Ojalá pase el examen de manejo mi hermana mañana para ya no tener que volver a ir hasta allá.
Iré a tener tiempo para escribir cuando esté allá para la nueva revista en línea Café Abroad... ¿Café Abroad? ¿Por qué le pusieron café abroad? Le llevaré algo a Pieter... le llevo algo a todos menos a él. Pero bueno, voy yo y debe ser más que suficiente hehehe. ¿Cómo estarán los dormitorios de 6 personas? Nos tocará con hombres cochinos y malolientes? ! Ay ¡ojalá que no! instalar el Norton Antivirus! Tengo que instalarlo antes de irme.
Esto es un fragmento sacado de la mente de Adriana Gómez Licón en su primera noche de insomnio. Sí, y todavía tengo el descaro de cuestionarme por qué no podía dormir. Creo que está mas que claro que por más que quiero tengo una mente obsesivo compulsiva y me gusta preparar todo y hacer mis listas y mi mamá más que nadie sabía que más valía hacer lo de la lista el día indicado a la hora indicada porque sino me daba el ataque de nervios.
Pero como dice Pieter Sauviller, después de todo el papeleo y ajetreo el Intercambio al extranjero vale la pena totalmente.
¡Desénme suerte!

The Average Jean

2007-08-22T01:04:00.000-07:00

In less than 2 weeks I'll be leaving America, the continent, to start my adventure in the old world. I'll first make a Eurotrip during four weeks and then establish in the beautiful city of Angers in the Loire Valley in France.
I'll be going to 7 capitals of 7 countries in less than a month. It sounds crazy but amazingly true. I will visit Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Italy and finally my favorite country France.
Now, let's talk about the average French Rick Steves talks about in his tourist's book.
He reports that the average French person is 38 years old and will live almost 80 years. I am 19 but I certainly wouldn't like to live 80 years. This person eats lunch in 38 minutes, when I sometimes finish my food during the commercials of a TV show. He also consumes a glass-and-a-half of wine and a pound of fat a day. HA! I wish. The average French pops a bottle of champagne about every four months. I've done it once and the results were not so satisfying. The typical French woman is 5' 4", weighs 140 pounds, and wears a size 8-10 dress. Well, apparently I am not so bad after all. The average worker enjoys five weeks of holiday and vacation a year. Damn you French bastards! A dog is part of one in three French households. Let's hope is not the one Im staying in (I'll keep you informed); cats are animals non grata. GREAT!